[Sandvikla]

Isn't he (Barack H. Obama) an Arab?
This was a question posed to the other presidential candidate Mr Cain.
He dealt with it nicely, if not decisively, but the point remains in focus.
There are people in US who can not differentiate between an Arab and a Muslim in general.
And the deep books coming out of the Europe and the US should not trick us into believing that our brothers and sisters, on the whole, from those area know about Islam and Muslims.
And they do not know nearly at all about the Muslim point of view.
Because we have not taken time to put forward our point of view to them.
We are doing some thing here at SF but that is very little-if you consider the requirement.
And, if the truth be told, we went into a hibernation of a few centuries, we forgot to develop an Islamic view of the things-particularly the things that have happened in last few centuries.
There are very few blogs that offer Islamic perspective of Psychology.
There are very few blogs that offer Islamic perspective of Economics.
There are very few blogs that offer Islamic perspective of Physics.
Same is true of military sciences and defense, zoology and botany, evolution, sociology, politics and nearly every other walk of life.
Whether the world accepts it or not is a secondary question.
First we must have a perspective to offer.
If we do not do even this much then the least that will keep happening is that the detractors of Islam and Muslims will keep getting their walk over.
I heard a senior bureaucrat saying that the mere presence of a Muslim in a government office changes the notings taking place in that office.
The whole world is saying the things about Islam and Muslims that are widely off the mark.
Isn't it our duty to furnish the correct information.
And if we do not do that then who shall do that?
So, dear Sunni Forumers, please start blogging about the aspect of life and knowledge that you know about.
Give up your inertia, hesitation and more than anything else your lack of concern for Ummah.
Start your blog today. It takes only five minutes to do so.

[Arrocousa]

thought provoking

[CibQueersejer]

Would you please describe the procedure of opening a blog, Hazrat?

[Woziwfaq]

I was just thinking today of starting a blog, but I dont think I can write that well and I certainly do not have much knowledge, like knowing loads of stuff on one subject, Its all over the place for me, What say you brother Maripat on a blogger that writes on life experiences and slips in something about Islam every now and then, I mean it wont be a full fledged Islamic blog but there will be something about Islam in every other post. btw Thus Spake is a nice blog, I visit it sometimes, keep it up.

[Mister.levitra]

Asalaam Alaikum

A very interesting post mashAllah.

But I have a question - how can we give our perspective to non Muslims when we ourselves are always in ikhtilaf. Muslims can't even respect each other and are ready to rip each other's heads off and call each other non sensical names like 'deviant' - 'bidati' etc. What kind of picture is that to paint and show those who have not declared ' La Illah ha Ilillah Muhammad ur Rasul Allah'?

All I have seen in this site mainly since I have been coming on it is ikhitlaf and name calling and refutation of other's points of view without any real hard evidence from the Quran ans Sunnah.

It appears that Muslims from the Indian sub contnent believe that their way is the only way and then those from the Middle East then they will say that their way is best.

May Allah help us.

JazakAllah

[ulnanVti]

Asalaam Alaikum

A very interesting post mashAllah.

But I have a question - how can we give our perspective to non Muslims when we ourselves are always in ikhtilaf. Muslims can't even respect each other and are ready to rip each other's heads off and call each other non sensical names like 'deviant' - 'bidati' etc. What kind of picture is that to paint and show those who have not declared ' La Illah ha Ilillah Muhammad ur Rasul Allah'?

bro.

There are two sides to this. One is dealing with sects like Shia, etc which are clear cut deviant, here we have to point out their deviance and as you termed 'rip their head off'. Because in a forum like this we should refute such false beliefs, so that we all can learn what isn't Islam.

The other part is topics in which there is minor Ikhtilaf. Which we laymen shouldn't be discussing as we do not have the in depth knowledge. Its better to quote the scholars and stay away from long discussion in such topics. It often gets annoying when these discussions go to uncomfortable lengths.

But we cannot be completely silent on the topics that involve fundamental deviations. Silence in such situations will propagate false approval of such beliefs. A good example is that one of the brothers here in the forum refuse to accept that a deviant sect are clear cut kafirs. In such situations one have to speak up and call spade a spade.


Edit: As for the blog part. should try do something productive like Maripat bhai suggested.

[VXHLrsO1]

Assalaamu'alaikum,

Jazakallah khairun brother for a very interesting post.

I was previously thinking about starting up some kind of blog, however I read something that made me change my mind, namely an excerpt from Shaykh Nuh Keller's new book 'Sea Without Shore' which is sort of a 'manual for life' for those in his tariqa. I'm not a murida of his but have found many general benefits in a lot of what is written in it. In the chapter on 'Pastimes' he mentions:

"Good books cultivate the mind, broaden horizons, prevent barbarism, and strengthen the power of expression... such reading [should occupy] a relatively short period of one's daily hours... [unlike popular news and magazines] books are typically more conscientiously produced, give a nuanced account of the subject, and bear the name of their authors. The mere deadlines of daily newsmen make it impossible for them to be very sure of their facts. Likewise, a salik should not waste the irreplaceable moments of his life on blogs, which mix showing off and self-indulgence with the ephemera of which they tell... someone with something to say should publish a book about it"

How far do you all think that this is true? Would it not be more worthwhile for laymen to do more 'on-the-ground' face-to-face da'wa and to try to become experts in our fields so that we can write in a more comprehensive way if we really do have that level of knowledge? I do find that we are more and more getting sucked in to the laptop screen and I think spending time organising something practical in one's local community, a talk or an inter-faith day or some kind of scheme for da'wa, would do much more than writing a blog...

I'm interested to hear all your thoughts inshaAllah.

Wallahu a'lam

[Mister.levitra]

Asalaam Alaikum

I agree with you brother Amr. Aqidah has to be correct but then we have a lot of people especially on this forum who are armchair mualanas and muftis, giving out fatwas on groups and individuals that they have no real knowledge about.

I have personally come under attack by such people and I have also had a thread removed for promoting a zikr majlis in my locality by the moderators of the forum. Is this deen? Is this the aqeedah of our Akabireen? Allah Hu Alam.

Kher, with regards to the blog.. MashAllah excellent idea to collate different perspectives and thoughts and experiences.

JazakAllah

[duncanalisstmp]

if i start a blog i'll never manage to keep it up. i'm just not the bloggy type unfortunately... plus i don't have the knowledge to maintain a blog either.

[lammaredder]

Brother Maripat for raising this important topic. I will in brief explain how to start a blog and maintain a blog as I see a few people have asked.

Its extremely simple, all you need to do is go to www.blogspot.com or www.wordpress.com, these are two of the most popular hosts of free blogs. So look at each one and see which suits you. Brother Maripat's blog is based on Blogspot.com while mine is using Wordpress.com.

Secondly, sign up an account as you would with any other online account. You'll need an email, password and username. Its just simply follow the steps.

Give your blog a name. Choose the layout. All this is done easily as its user friendly and graphical.

From there onwards start blogging. You don't need to start writing 1000 word posts everyday. Even if you write short posts on quite simply anything will work.

very soon we will see many SFers with blogs...

:jazakh

PS: with blogspot.com if you have a Google account you simply use that.

[Sandvikla]

@Afriki Haqq
akhi for everything.

@mmb786
Sister take your plunge and do not bother about bloggyness or otherwise. Even the best of the bloggers miss their targets and are not always the epitome of punctuality and regularity. Also not being knowledgeable enough is also a chimera. Human psychology is such that when we know something we start assuming that it will be known to everybody else. This of course is not the case. And as I said in my original post the lack of knowledge and disinformation spreading about Islam is rampant and if you could contribute even a little to clear the fog the rewards will be very pleasing to everybody. Female sensibilities are different from male and who knows non-Muslim ladies will find resonance with whatever you serve from the buffet of Islam. Finally it should be obvious that I am not assuming that one must be a scholar before we blog.

@Awan313
Brother my assumption is that there is a certain amount of core of Islam about which there will be agreement among the majority. The trick is to stop aiming for total agreement in Ummah-though it is desirable. Second trick is to blog about that part on which the majority agrees. Let me give an example. Just before reaching SF today I checked the blog of note. This is a blog by the Google bog service called the Blogger. They pick a blog-one of their editors does it and they give the link to that. That is all. The blog of note for today is about a girl who is talking about boys. Now why should a girl talk about boys. In the large society it will be controversial topic. In Muslim society, except the rabidly modern, it will be not so-there will be an agreement that this is not an Islamic activity where girls should talk about boys. Now if you decide that the world at large should hear the Islamic perspective on it then while blogging about it you'll have none of the tensions that are bothering you at the moment. Allah(SWT) is Rahman and Rahim, He makes our tensions disappear as and when He wishes. Few decades ago I personally had no solution to the tension called USSR. Have you heard of a tension called USSR?

@Bint-e-Amirah
Sister I am inclined to believe that if I can indulge in face to face Dawah then it will be better than a blog post which might or might not be read my anybody. But then there is a possibility that a post might be read by multiple people and it might end up being more effective. To maximize your impact, you shall agree-Insha Allah, is desirable. And as far as a book is concerned I personally feel that a blog is an excellent tool to develop a book. Of course if Shaikh NHM Keller forbids a disciple from blogging then his words should be given preference because for that disciple Shaikh's status is more than mine. Finally I also agree that vanity and show-off and insincerity might be involved in blogging and one should try to avoid them as we do so in the rest of the life. But this again is not an argument against blogging for this argument can be put forward against any Dawah activity. The way out is to watch out for your nafs playing tricks with you. Allow me to finish that I get emotionally choked when I see visitors from places like Trinidad and Tobago at my blogs. They are so few of them but they make their presence felt. There are other arguments also but may be I'll present in some other context. In sum I'll again urge you to take a shot at blogging.

@Amr123
Dr Sahab you too should give it a try. As I said some where else our Docs amr, 76, ati, abu-tamim etc will have a better chance in dealing with Darwin then Adnan Oktar.

@Salman Hanafi

I was just thinking today of starting a blog, but I dont think I can write that well and I certainly do not have much knowledge, like knowing loads of stuff on one subject, Its all over the place for me, What say you brother Maripat on a blogger that writes on life experiences and slips in something about Islam every now and then, I mean it wont be a full fledged Islamic blog but there will be something about Islam in every other post. btw Thus Spake is a nice blog, I visit it sometimes, keep it up.

Akhi you really warmed up my heart. Do not bother whether you write badly. I think it is from Hazrat Thanwi that it is immaterial whether your expression is Fasih and Baligh or not. The important thing is to say it. Personally I was relaxed to hear that statement. People hesitate too much because their eloquence is not like Amir-e-Shariat Hazrat Bukhari or because their prose is not like Edward Gibbon. Lack of knowledge also is not a problem because the ignorance about Islam and Islamic ways is so much that you'll be surprised to know how much you yourself have to communicate. Knowledge we have but do not communicate is a trouble for us in akhirah.

for the kind words and what pleased me that you got the point that the trick is to talk about those things that are familiar to people from their environment and then slip in the Islamic view unobtrusively.

So go ahead.

@Zahed
Sidi Afriki Haqq has covered the relevant thing. See also here and here.

[Dwencejed]

I know a bit of science. Linking it to Islam is the tricky bit. Didn't the old Islamic Philosophers try to do just that and a good number got denounced as deviants?

[Sandvikla]

I know a bit of science. Linking it to Islam is the tricky bit. Didn't the old Islamic Philosophers try to do just that and a good number got denounced as deviants?

Times have changed brother. There is lots of realization in the deeni circles about the utility of science as well as a confidence that Islam and Muslims are capable of getting connected to science. The problem is just to implement. Obviously the trick is not to get embroiled in the old fruitless debates. The scientific frontier is one significant border where there is a need of some action. You'll remember I had requested you earlier about blogging about science related matters. If we leave a corner unguarded then soon it gets usurped by falsehood. Character of Islam is assertive and one road on which we should assert is the one that concerns sciences. I am sure you have read the posts at Hamzah Tzorsis thread where a card carrying atheist is replying to the comments of the brothers as if he is dealing with those who are scientifically illiterate. This situation will take some time to change scientific blogging is precisely the thing that is the need of the day. Please make you contributions however insignificant you find them yourself.

[Woziwfaq]

JazakAllah Maripat for taking the time out to reply to each poster individually

[Dwencejed]

Well, I have tried to make a start:
http://saktah-breath.blogspot.com/

[Sandvikla]

Well, I have tried to make a start:
http://saktah-breath.blogspot.com/

Atheists promptly claimed that religion was merely part of human biology... but the flipside of it is, mystics and the great sages have long claimed that there exists in the human special senses that are a gift of the Divine, without which it is impossible to know the Transcendent. The discovery of the brain centres for religious experiences, for the mystic, only reinforces what they have been asserting for thousands of years and can therefore itself be taken to be proof of the existence of God.
I can not express how happy I am.


PS: Linked it here and here.

[Dwencejed]

for the response, bro...

Some of my thoughts might be less well received though. For example, one colleague was doing research on reverse-osmosis, using a membrane to filter salt water under pressure to remove salt. Salt water on one side, fresh water on the other.

So I quoted Surah ar-Rahman, "baynahuma barzakhan la yabghiyaan"

An Arab got cross at me and said I shouldn't make interpretations willy-nilly.

(
The verses in surah ar-Rahman :

19. He has let loosed the two seas (the salt water and the sweet) meeting together.

20. Between them is a barrier which none of them can transgress.

21. Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinns and men) deny?
)

[Sandvikla]

for the response, bro...

Some of my thoughts might be less well received though. For example, one colleague was doing research on reverse-osmosis, using a membrane to filter salt water under pressure to remove salt. Salt water on one side, fresh water on the other.

So I quoted Surah ar-Rahman, "baynahuma barzakhan la yabghiyaan"

An Arab got cross at me and said I shouldn't make interpretations willy-nilly.

(
The verses in surah ar-Rahman :

19. He has let loosed the two seas (the salt water and the sweet) meeting together.

20. Between them is a barrier which none of them can transgress.

21. Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinns and men) deny?
)

(1) We have been programmed by our education to think like the detractors of Islam. When I tried to talk about science related matters, to a colleague of mine, he asserted that we should not be mixing religion and science. It has taken me years to overcome that set back. Only now I can allow him to go wherever he wants. 9I hope you get the drift.)
(2) Similarly there have been very serious and many occasions where too much indulgence in intellectual matters lead to very bad results. That past should not haunt us because that was really so far in the past but one never knows. In any case the need in modern times to talk about science from the Islamic perspective can not be over emphasized. This has to be done. I suppose if you take enough precaution that you'll fit science into the schemes of things as designed by Allah(SWT) then you shall be able to deal with all the criticism. The trouble starts when we try to fit Allah(SWT) into science. I am sure you have no such intentions and hence just relax, take a deep breath and go ahead. (God! I am asking you to go beyond Saktah!)

Wassalam

[Sandvikla]

One more SF inspired blog - Hayat 'Ulama Deoband : Biographying our Akabir and 'Ulama by brother Afriki-Haqq.

[JNancy46]

Aslm...

This idiot started a blog recently as well...though I highly doubt if it serves any credible purpose...

www.saalikscanvas.blogspot.com

forgive me and please pray for my hidayath for the poor quality writing.