Thoughts of a Hijaabi

Israel war report ‘deeply flawed’

Human rights organisation Amnesty International has condemned as “deeply flawed” an Israeli report on Israel’s conduct in the war in Lebanon in 2006.

Amnesty criticised the inquiry for not addressing the issue of alleged war crimes by Israeli troops, such as “the indiscriminate killing of civilians”.

The government-appointed Winograd panel found that Israel went into the conflict without a clear strategy.

As a result it was “dragged” into an unwinnable war with Hezbollah fighters.

Amnesty says the Winograd Commission, which was published on Wednesday, should have examined government policies and military strategies which did not discriminate between Hezbollah combatants and Lebanese civilians.

It was “another missed opportunity to address the policies and decisions behind the grave violations of international humanitarian law - including war crimes - committed by Israeli forces”, said Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa programme director, Malcolm Smart.

“The indiscriminate killings of many Lebanese civilians not involved in the hostilities and the deliberate and wanton destruction of civilian properties and infrastructure on a massive scale were given no more than token consideration by the commission,” he added.

Israel has denied committing war crimes, saying it tried to avoid civilian casualties but its foe Hezbollah used civilian areas to launch its indiscriminate attacks against Israeli civilians.

Independent probe call

Amnesty is calling on Israel to set up an independent inquiry into its soldiers’ actions and a ban on cluster bombs, as well as helping the clean-up operation by providing data about where they were fired.

The 629-page Israeli report devotes six pages to cluster bombs, most of which were dropped in the final days of the hostilities and have been a lasting threat to civilians and mine clearers in Lebanon.

Winograd argues their use was legal, but displayed a lack of operational discipline, oversight and control.

“We recommend that on this matter there be a re-evaluation of the rules and principles that apply to the army in using cluster bombs,” the report said.

Amnesty says 40 people (including 27 civilians and 13 de-mining personnel) have been killed by such munitions and 243 people have been injured.

Hostilities broke out in July 2006, when Hezbollah fighters captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross border raid that left three other soldiers dead.

In the conflict that followed, more than 1,000 Lebanese died, mostly civilians, along with 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Amnesty concludes its statement by calling upon Hezbollah to treat the captured humanely and stop using rockets against Israel civilians.

Source: BBC News

Some other reads:

Second Kenyan Opposition Legislator Killed

Israeli Court Rejects Appeal to Ease Restrictions on Gaza

Gaza residents discuss the closure

WOMEN OF THE VEIL

by Hena Farooq

Her long, thick, shiny black hair

Fell against her back.

Her rich, copper skin

Gleamed in the sunlight.

Her slender figure outlined,

With her soft voluptuous curves.

But when she stepped outside,

She became a ghostly figure of the night.

Nothing more to the people

Than a dark, shadowy figure of oppression.

But she showed them.

As she walked down the street,

People made way,

Men lowered their gazes in utmost respect.

And others whispered,

As she held her head up high,

With pride in her belief

And showed them how oppressed she really was!

While they whistled at their women,

Looking them up and down as they were

pieces of meat to be inspected?

She pitied their savage ways.

As she walked into the arms of

her partner,

Her only love,

Her husband.

Where she was transformed,

Into her beautiful self,

For only his eyes to see.

A Midwinter Night’s Dream still continues to amaze me. Read about them:

A FIRE blazed in the stone fireplace in the foyer of the Oheka Castle here. Two young women dressed in floor-length gowns stood at the top of the Grand Staircase, welcoming guests to a fund-raiser for research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or A.L.S.

Partygoers crowded the ballroom, buying raffle tickets for items that included a vacation in Tahiti, and considered whether to bid in a silent auction for the autographed photo of Roger Federer or dinner and tickets to a taping of “The Colbert Report.” A band played in the Terrace Room, while the actress Edie Falco caused a stir at the bar.

It looked like any professionally run, high-end fund-raiser. But the Jan. 10 event, called “A Midwinter Night’s Dream,” was conceived, planned and executed by Northport High School students for David Deutsch, a biology teacher who has A.L.S.

What started in 2004 as a basketball tournament to raise money for Mr. Deutsch, 39, has turned into such a passion for some students that it is shaping their career choices, and the school and community have embraced the effort. The January benefit raised $250,000, bringing the total to date to $722,000.

Students vie to get onto the fund-raising committee, run by a chemistry teacher, Don Strasser. Kate Macina, 16, a junior, was one of 70 students who competed this school year for 18 spots on the committee. “This is what’s important,” she said. “Not whether you get a 95 on a test.”

Students who get involved often become hooked. Several committee alumni came home from college to help out, and seven members of the original committee have been so inspired that they are planning their college and postcollege careers accordingly.

Three are studying science so they can eventually perform A.L.S. research; two intend to become event planners; one is majoring in public policy to affect the allocation of money for A.L.S. research; and another is following in Mr. Deutsch’s footsteps to become a teacher. Four students spent a summer helping with research at different institutions.

Michelle Pernice, 20, a St. John’s University sophomore studying pharmaceutical science, became involved in the fund-raiser in 11th grade. “It’s totally changed my life,” she said. “It defines my life.”

She said she wants to do A.L.S. research and help develop drugs to combat the disease, which affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Currently, there is no cure for A.L.S., and treatment focuses on relieving symptoms and slowing its progression.

Mr. Deutsch, who is married with two sons — Andrew, 7, and Ethan, 4 — had always been active; he gutted and rebuilt his West Sayville home, was an expert sailor and dabbled in flying. But he began having symptoms in mid-2003, and A.L.S. was diagnosed in February 2004. He told his students days later.

Another Northport district teacher, Chris Pendergast, was stricken with A.L.S. more than a decade earlier, but his disease has progressed more slowly. Shaun Hager, 20, now a premed student at the University of Delaware, said, “We thought we should do a fund-raiser and that the school would rally around us.”

They enlisted Mr. Strasser and held a basketball tournament fund-raiser that June. Supplementing the basketball with carnival games and paper basketball hoops costing $1, they raised $26,000.

That summer, Mr. Strasser took 40 students to the Robert Packard Center for A.L.S. Research at Johns Hopkins to deliver their check. “They told us what our money was going for,” Mr. Hager said. “We realized that the $26,000 was great, but how much can that get?”

Mr. Deutsch’s wife, Dorothy, 36, and the students brainstormed, and “A Midwinter Night’s Dream” was born.

Mr. Deutsch, who had to quit teaching in February 2005, breathes using a mechanical device and can no longer speak. He communicates using an infrared light that is aimed at a reflecting dot on his eyeglasses, which he directs with imperceptible head movements to effectively type on a computer. And a computer-generated voice reads the text.

“With this disease, it is very difficult to maintain your will to live,” he said at his home this month. Having the students’ support “is a tremendous boost to my mental strength.”

Nearly a dozen students e-mail him from college and visit during school breaks. This month, nine students spent an afternoon in the Deutsches’ cozy kitchen/dining room.

“We enjoy hanging out with him,” said Sarah Pattison, 18, a Villanova freshman who volunteers at A.L.S. Hope Foundation in Philadelphia and wants to pursue A.L.S. research. “He has such an incredible outlook.”

The students kept the atmosphere upbeat, talking about college and joking about their transgressions over winter break, but eventually the joviality subsided and Mr. Deutsch became emotional.

“It comforts me to know I have had a lasting, positive impact on so many people,” he said. “When I die, I’ll know there was a greater good to my life.”

Source: The New York Times

Visit A Midwinter Night’s Dream here.

Watch their 2008 marketing video:

Over break I had the opportunity to re-read some of my favorite books. I have many favorite books but my two favorites (as of now) are Great Women’s of Islam and Child Companions Around the Prophet(peace and blessings be upon him). I love the stories from Child Companions Around the Prophet, they always put a smile on my face and make me wish that I was alive during the time of the Sahabiyah-khayr Allah does everything for a reason. Here’s juss some information about Hasan bin Ali(RA) that was given in the book. (*Note-any mistakes that you may find are mine, May Allah forgive me for any that I make/made.)

Hazrat Ali bin Abi Talib was the son of Hazrat Ali(RA) and Fatimah Az-Zahrah(RA). Hazrat Ali bin Abi Talib(RA) was the first boy to accept Islam, dearly loved by the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him), and the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) took him into his care from at such a young age that he never worshiped an idol. His mother, Fatimah Az-Zahrah(RA) was the most loved daughter of the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him), she was pious, pure, and sincere. She was loved so much that the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) said, “Fatimah is a part of me, whatever makes her doubt makes me doubt, ad whatever harms her harms me,” [Usdul-Ghabah]. Hasan(RA) was actually the first person to have the name Hasan-meaning good, the name wasn’t even known during the time of the Jahaliyyah(the period before Islam).It is said that, “Allah saved the names Hasan and Husain until the Prophet(peace and blessings be upon him) called his two sons, Hasan and Husain by them,” [Usdul-Ghabah volume 2].

Hasan(RA) and the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) had such an amazing relationship. The Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) helped raise Hasan(RA), the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) called the Adhan in his ear, and chewed a piece of date and put parts of its juice in his mouth (Tahnik). The Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) also was the one who named him, originally he was Ja’far and then the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) changed it to Hasan. Hasan(RA) was so close to the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) that he would call him by saying “Oh my father,” even in the presence of his own father Ali(RA). The Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) was always patient with him,when the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) was in prayer Hasan(RA) would play on his back while he was in Sajdah and he would remain in Sajdah until Hasan(RA) got off, when he was asked about it the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) said that I didn’t want to rush his play time, I wanted to wait until he was done playing. Anas(RA) reported that the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) was asked “Which memeber of you family is dearest to you?” and he said, “Hasan and Husain,” and he uses to sniff and embrace them [At-Tirmidhi].

Hasan(RA) reminded the people of the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) in both appearance and in his characteristics. Az-Zuhri reported that Anas(RA) said: “The nearest of them in resemblance to the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) was Hasan bin Ali,” [At-Tirmidhi] After the death of the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) the people would look at Hasan(RA) and be filled with the love that they had for the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him). Abu Hurrairah(RA) used to say: “I never saw Hasan(RA) without my eyes filling with tears.” Hasan(RA) was generous, gentle, courageous,God Fearing, and pious. He was also graceful, handsome, dignified, pious and modest. Hasan(RA) knew much about Islamic law and very knowledgeable he once said, “I will inform you about a brother of mine who was the greatest of people in my view; and one of the greatest things about him in my view was the lack of importance which he attached to material things. He was not ruled by his stomach and did not desire that which he had not, and when he had something, he would not take much of it. He was not ruled by his ignorance and would not extend his hand except to one whom he was sure would benefit from it, not would he take a single step except towards that which he gathered a group of scholars, he was more keen to listen than to speak. Most of the time, he was silent and when he spoke, he was the best speaker. H was not careless of unmindful of his brothers and would not keep anything to himself without sharing it with them.”

Hasan(RA) was poisoned, it is reported that he said, “I have tasted poison many times, but I have never tasted a worse poison than this.” The poison was deadly and physicians at the time said that Hasan(RA)’s intestines were all cut up as a result of the poison. His brother Husain(RA) came to his side and asked him who did this to him, Hasan(RA) said that he might have an idea of who it might be, but he didn’t want to take the chance of killing an innocent man so he never told Husain(RA) the name. Hasan(RA) wished to be buried in Hazrat Aishah(RA)’s house so that he can be close to his grandfather but Marwan and some people from the Banu Umaiyyah tribe prevented him from being buried there. His brother Husain(RA) wanted to fight them but did not because he remembered his brother telling him not to shed any blood over the matter. Hasan(RA) died at the age of 47 in the year 49AH and is buried in Al-Baqi Cementary- may Allah have mercy on him.

Revised 1/29/08.

Du’a by Imam abu Hamid al-Ghazali [translated by Shaykh Seraj Hendricks]

“O Allah, of Grace I ask You its perfection;

and of protection its duration;

and of mercy its completion;

and of health its attainment.

Of livelihood, I ask its comfort;

and of life its happiness;

and of virtue its completion;

and of blessings its totality;

and of graciousness its sweetness;

and of benevolence the nearest.

O Allah, terminate with happiness our final end

and fulfil for us our hopes beyond expectations.

Join with well-being and good health

our early mornings and dusky evenings,

and set Your mercy as our final end and outcome.

Pour the abundance of Your Forgiveness

upon our sins, and favour us with the

removal of our faults.

Give us piety as a provision and place

our efforts in the strengthening

of Your Religion.

In You is our trust and upon You our dependence.

O Allah, strengthen us on the road of sincerity

and righteousness and protect us

in this world from that which will be cause

for regret on the Final Day.

Lighten for us the burden of our sins

and bestow upon us the blessings of those

who live a life of Righteousness,

and be sufficient for us and avert

from us the evils of those who do evil.

Free us and free our fathers and our mothers

and our teachers from the fire of hell by

the grace of Your Mercy.

O Most Mighty, Most Merciful, Most Generous;

the Veiler (of faults), the Gentle One, the Potent.

O Allah… O Allah… O Allah… O Allah…

O Merciful… O Merciful… O Merciful…

O most Merciful of the Merciful…

the First of the First and the Last of the Last.

The Possessor of unshakable Power.

The most Compassionate to the poor

and the destitute.

O most Merciful of the Merciful.

“There is no God except You.

Glory be to You. Indeed I am amongst

those who have done wrong” (surah Anbiya :87)

May the blessings of Allah be upon Muhammmad,

his family and all of his companions.

And praise belongs to Allah alone, Lord of the worlds.”

You know parents are amazing, they do so much for us and never ask for anything. Allah tells us in the Quran about the imporatance of our parents and our beloved Nabi(peace and blessing be upon him) also tells us about how we are to act towards our parents. Abu Usaid Saidi said: We were once sitting with Rasulullah when a man from the tribe of Salmah came and said to him: O Messenger of Allah! do my parents have rights over me even after they have died? And Rasulullah said: Yes. You must pray to Allah to bless them with His Forgiveness and Mercy, fulfill the promises they made to anyone, and respect their relations and their friends (Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah). SubhanAllah our parents have many rights over us but why wouldn’t they juss look at everything they do for us.

But it was a couple of days ago when I started thinking about mothers and how much they truly go through. Mothers are all amazing, they all go through so much, give us so much, and from the moment that they are given the news that they will become a mother, they begin to change their life and make sure that it will be comforting for their child. A couple of days ago I went to the hospital to go visit my cousin, hamdulillah the family is always growing and the newest addition is a beautiful baby girl. I saw my cousin and how she looked so weak, my mother and her mother were talking and I juss began to think about how much mothers go through. For nine months, mothers carry a child- I mean juss the thought of a human inside another human is SubhanAllah. Allah says, “We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents; in pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth” (46:15). The Quran and Sunnah tells us to obey, respect and listen to both of our parents, Allah makes mention of our mother and father, we are taught to take care of both of our parents and respect them so much, and they should never even hear us say “uff.”

It’s pretty scary when you see some kids yelling at their parents, but if you think about it mothers are very sensitive, you don’t have to necessarily scream at your mother to hurt her but rather there are very small things that can hurt a mother. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we all know our mothers very well. I know my mother well, probably not as well as she knows me but there are certain things that can get her very upset. For example, if I was to tell my mom that I received a bad grade on an assignment, no matter how important or unimportant that assignment may be it will still hurt her very deeply. So respect is big and we should keep our mothers emotions in mind all the time.

My mom is not juss a mother, she is so much more. Sometimes when I look at my mother I think, wow there is no possible way that I can ever be such an amazing mother like her. I have three brothers, one older and two younger, all of us together range from ages 21-7, quite an age range and many different things for anyone to keep up with. My mom is everything from a soccer coach to top chef, PTA mom to a happy playful mom. But most of all my mom is my best friend. She is always there for me and knows everything about me. When I am sick, or in pain, she sits there by my side. When I am tired, sad or angry she is the one who talks me through those hard times. Our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of course always gives us the best of advices; once a man came to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your father. (Bukhari, Muslim). So besides respecting your mother, and father too, be their friend, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) told us that they are the best companion and he (peace and blessings be upon him) always gives us the best advice.

Take care inshaAllah and go give your mommy a hug or a cup of tea

I leave you with some du’as below.

-radf

Rabbir hamhuma kama Rabbayani Sagheera.-My Lord! bestow on them Thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.

Rabbigh-fir-li wali-walidayya, wali man dakhala baytina mu’minaw walimu’mineena, wal mu’minati wala tazidiz-zalimeena illa tabara.- Our Lord! Forgive me, my parents, all who enter my house in Faith, and (all) believing men and believing women: and to the wrong-doers grant Thou no increase but in perdition!

Rabbij ja’alni muqeemus sal-laati wa min dhur-riyaati, rabbana wa taqabal du’a, rabban-aghfirle wali wali dayya wa lil-mu’minina yawma yaqumul hisaab.- O my Lord! make me one who establishes regualr Prayer, and alos (raise such) among my offspring O our Lord! and accept Thou my prayer. O our Lord! cover (us) with Thy Forgiveness- me, my parents, and (all).

So I came across this today and it really made me laugh.

I think it’s pretty clever, it’s a nice little humor relief so watch it if you get a chance.

Read some more about it here.

(Contains Music, lyrics are below the video.)

Sometimes it doesn’t really work on my blog you can go to it directly by clicking on the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SnQOdEXbNQ

Lyrics:

Updated January 21st, 2008.

See our beloved Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) and Allah always look out for us

LIJ docs help woman who had music-induced seizures

(01/17/0 NEW HYDE PARK - Doctors at Long Island Jewish Medical Center were able to help a woman they say suffered a seizure when she heard certain rap music.

LIJ doctors say approximately three million people across the country suffer from epilepsy. However, they say 25-year-old Stacey Gayle suffered from a rare form that could not be helped with medication.

Gayle says she would have a seizure whenever she heard the song “Temperature” by Seal Paul. LIJ doctors diagnosed Gayle with musicogenic epilepsy. They tested Gayle and were able to pinpoint the problem area in her brain. After surgery, Gayle has now been seizure-free for three months.

Source: News 12-Long Island

In Giving, What Diminishes is What Remains

Ustadha Mona Elzankaly, currently enrolled in the seminary program at Zaytuna Institute, has studied in various parts of the Muslim world and holds teaching licenses in several Islamic subjects. We asked for her reflections about giving in the Muslim spiritual tradition.

Charity, rather than being limited to giving money or feeding the poor, is in fact the extension of goodness and benefit to others. It can be a smile, a kind word, or the act of removing harm from the road. It is the best of actions and the most beloved to God. The Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is reported to have said, “Verily the most beloved action to God is a happiness that you enter upon a believer, alleviating him
from a tribulation, fulfilling his debt, or dispelling from him hunger.”God promises many benefits to the one who gives charity. The Noble Qur’an and various prophetic narrations reveal these benefits to us. Giving charity increases one’s life, protects one from dying an evil death, and draws one nearer to God. Through charitable acts, God removes arrogance and pride. Giving charity cures illnesses, wipes out sins, and provides shade on the Day of Judgment, and there is a special door in Paradise for those who are charitable.

The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, has said, “Wealth does not diminish from giving charity.” In other words, one should give freely and not fear poverty. We see from the example of the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, how he always gave everything that he had and lived on very little. Paradoxical as it may seem, the Messenger of God, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, taught us that that which goes out for the sake of God is what remains, and what we keep for ourselves is what diminishes. Imam Muslim narrates that the Messenger of God, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, asked Sayyida ‘Aisha, radiallahu ‘anha, about a sheep that was slaughtered [and donated to the needy], “What remains of it?” She replied, “Nothing but the shoulder.” He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied, “All of it remains except the shoulder.”

Also, consider that Imam al-Bukhari narrates that the Messenger of God, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, “Two qualities are never coupled in a believer: miserliness and immorality.” Nowhere has God promised poverty for the one who is generous, and in no hadith has the Messenger of God, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, promised poverty for the one who gives charity. In fact, the opposite is true. Poverty is promised for the one who is greedy and the one who is treacherous: So keep your duty to God as best you can, and listen and obey and spend; that is better for your souls. And those who are saved from their own greed will surely prosper (Qur’an 64:16).

God knows what is best for us; indeed, He created us, and who knows the creation better than the Creator? He commanded us to our best interests, and He warned us against that which will be our downfall. He warned us about Satan and about our lower selves, both of which command us to evil. He warned us that Satan threatens us with poverty and commands us towards immorality, which is easy to fall into once one has fear of poverty. We can avoid allowing Satan and the lower self to lead us from the good God has promised us by recognizing our mortality and knowing that we can only take our wealth with us if we give it for the sake of God before we depart this world.

Knowing all this, what makes us withhold charity?

In his book, Purification of the Heart, Sidi Muhammad Mawlud identifies both the disease and the cure in just a few verses of poetry:

Fear of poverty originates in having a bad opinion of [God]
the Exalted, and its cure is in having a good opinion

and knowing that what God possesses is never diminished
in the least and that what has been apportioned to you will
reach you inevitably.

Out of His infinite blessings, God has given us an easy way to draw near to Him, but few people reflect and take advantage of this. Indeed, this world is diminishing, and what God has is greater than what anyone can imagine.?

Source: Zaytuna Institute

Excellence in Friendship- What are some keys to being a good friend?

By Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Imam Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami (Allah have mercy on him), one of the great sufi masters, wrote in his work The Proper Manners of Companionship (Adab al-Suhba) that,

Proper companionship with one’s friends is through:

[1] Remaining constantly cheerful

[2] Doing the good

[3] Spreading mention of their virtues

[4] Concealing their errors

[5] Considering great this little acts of good

[6] Considering little anything one does for them

[7] Taking care of them with one’s person and wealth

[8] Avoiding malice, envy, harming, hurting, and all matters
that they dislike, in any way

[9] Leaving anything one would have to apologize for.

Source: Sunni Path Blog