This is a very sensitive and ugly story so sorry if it is not in keeping with the usual gentle posts here. My opinion of this is that if you are using drugs in the US you are responsible for the violence they are talking about. Every ounce of illegal drugs smuggled into the US across the Mexican border is stained with the blood of innocents.
Fearing Drug Cartels, Reporters in Mexico Retreat – NYTimes.com
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Continuing in the signs of Sura Ya Sin. What of those that are obedient in this life? What do they have to look forward to?
36:55إِنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ الْيَوْمَ فِي شُغُلٍ فَاكِهُونَ
Inna as-haba aljannati alyawma fee shughulin fakihoona
Surely, on that Day, the companions of the garden will be busy with their joy;
A Garden, but not just any ordinary garden, this one is special and eternal. Those that go there enjoy the highest of pleasures and are treated with such refined goodness. As is described in the next ayah.
36:56هُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُهُمْ فِي ظِلالٍ عَلَى الأرَائِكِ مُتَّكِئُونَ
Hum waazwa-juhum fee thilalin ‘ala al-ara-iki muttaki-oona
they and their spouses will be in shady groves reclining on soft couches.
And not alone but accompanied by friends and spouses. And here shade can be thought of as a metaphor for happiness and relaxing on soft couches brings to mind a state of peace and inner harmony – the very essence of the meaning of the root salama.
36:57لَهُمْ فِيهَا فَاكِهَةٌ وَلَهُمْ مَا يَدَّعُونَ
Lahum feeha fakihatun walahum ma yadda’oona
They will have all kinds of fruit and they will get whatever they call for;
So just in the physical real, remember cool shade and fruit and being treated in a dignified way, who would not want that. We all can appreciate the blessing of the shade in the searing heat of the dessert, and the abundance of food. And the personal blessing of a dignified existence, sitting on a throne, no longer subject to the whims and vagaries of the world and all it can do to drag one down. And what else?
36:58سَلامٌ قَوْلا مِنْ رَبٍّ رَحِيمٍ
Salamun qawlan min rabbin raheemin
“they will be greeted with the word “Salaam (Peace)” from the Lord of Mercy (Allah).
And the ultimate blessing, a greeting (salams) from the lord himself.
36:59وَامْتَازُوا الْيَوْمَ أَيُّهَا الْمُجْرِمُونَ
Wa-imtazoo alyawma ayyuha almujrimoona
And to the sinners He will say: “Get aside today, you criminals!
أَلَمْ أَعْهَدْ إِلَيْكُمْ يَا بَنِي آدَمَ أَنْ لا تَعْبُدُوا
36:60 الشَّيْطَانَ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌ
alam a’had ilaykum ya banee adama an la ta’budoo ash-shaytana innahu lakum ‘aduwwun mubeenun
Did I not enjoin you, O children of Adam, not to worship Shaitan, who is your open enemy,
So those that did not act truly and with faith and good actions are separated not only from their loved ones and from their friends but also from Allah (SWT).
Part 2
These signs are of extreme value to us. On one level we must take them literally as a description of what will happen to us on that last day. Those who have been obedient, who have had Taqwa and have been true to their faith and their rabb will enjoy the benefits. Those who have had faith and have done righteous deeds. They will dwell with their spouses and their families and close friends in a beautiful place where they will be cared for in every way. In addition they will have the blessing of Allah (SWT) greeting them with salaams. And those that do not will be separated from then and from their lord because of their disobedience.
But on another level we must look at this as a message about our condition in this life as well. Remember that rassul Allah (SAW) said that each of us takes into the afterlife, that which we gained here so why not start now to become the best we can?
The dwellers of the garden are better than those who are not.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا
الصَّالِحَاتِ وَأَخْبَتُوا إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ
11:23 أُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
Inna allatheena amanoo wa’amiloo as-salihati waakhbatoo ila rabbihim ola-ika as-sahabu aljannati hum feeha khalidoona
Truly, only those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds and humble themselves before their sustainer – only they are destined for paradise, and there they shall abide.
مَثَلُ الْفَرِيقَيْنِ كَالأعْمَى
وَالأصَمِّ وَالْبَصِيرِ
وَالسَّمِيعِ هَلْ يَسْتَوِيَانِ
11:24 مَثَلا أَفَلا تَذَكَّرُونَ
Mathalu alfareeqayni kaal-a’ma waal-asammi waalbaseeri waalssamee’i hal yastawiyani mathalan afala tathakkaroona
These two kinds of man may be likened to the blind and the deaf and the seeing and the hearing, Can these two be deemed alike in their nature? Will you not then keep this in mind?
Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri
Sometime in the past week the leading scholar Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadiri issued a Fatwa against suicide bombing. I have not read it through yet, but from what I have read and the reports are that the 600 page document takes apart all religious justifications and rationalizations for terrorist activities. In fact, from what I have read it declares that not only are these acts illegal in Islam but that those who perpetrate them are no longer Muslims and after performing their heinous act will go to hell.
It is important to note that this is not the first time an Islamic Scholar (or scholars) have issued similar decisions, but the weight of this particular one is vast. Not only is Dr Qadiri a prolific and well known Pakistani born scholar, but the depth of the condemnations he lists and the horrible consequences to the perpetrator of such actions are more precise. His unequivocal statements against suicide bombing and terrorism are based on his extensive knowledge of Qur’an and Hadith. It is to be hoped that this fatwa will raise serious doubts in the hearts and minds of the men and women that are being recruited for this sort of thing.
Unfortunately, they may never hear about it. The lack of coverage of this fatwa is appalling, and its implications have been basically ignored in the western press. Despite the constant haranguing that is issued by western pundits about how “little” Muslims do to speak out against terrorism, only a paltry few have bothered to cover this fatwa. I have said this in the past, that the reason that westerners do not hear about Muslim voices speaking out against terrorism is not because they are not there, it is because the mainstream media will not give them the time they are due. I have my own ideas about why that is, but that is not the focus of this entry.
What I am saying here is that this fatwa can be as strong a weapon against terrorism as any so-called “surge.” This is because it instills doubt about the things the terrorist recruiters say. It contradicts in the strongest terms, the false information that is being given out in order to perpetuate these crimes. And, very importantly, it comes from a well respected scholar who has been writing and who has been followed and listened to for many years. Dr. Qadiri did not appear all of a sudden out of thin air. He has over 400 writings on many aspects of Islam and Islamic jurisprudence and is an author, speaker and teacher of high repute. So when he says these things, and takes the time to write 600 pages of it, people sit up and take notice.
So where is the western press? Where are the headlines that read “If you kill you are no longer Muslim – Fatwa says” or “No Heaven for Terrorists” or “Suicide Bombing Condemned in Fatwa.” These headlines should be on the front page of all western newspapers. They should be lead stories on CNN, Fox, MSNBC, al Jazeera. But they are not. What little coverage I have seen is in the small national newspapers and blog sites. I want it in bright lights over Broadway, I want it in every single madrassa from here to Timbuktu. I want every single man, woman and child in the Muslim Umma to know. And then they will think twice about joining a criminal organization such as Al Qaeda, and then if they think twice then maybe they wont. And maybe more and more scholars will join in with this fatwa and condemn terrorism. But not without the western press forcing it into the daylight. Not without Katie Couric putting it on the evening news, not without ISNA putting it on their website. Proclaim it far and wide.
Right now this important fatwa is not being heard by those who need to hear it most, it is, as the title of this entry says – The fatwa not heard around the world, but, insha’allah it will be.
I encourage each and every one of you to write to your local newspaper, the New York Times, The LA Times, CNN, Fox, MSNBC, and the national newspaper of whatever country you live in. Tell them to cover this fatwa in depth, to let people know about it and to make sure this fatwa IS heard around the world!
You can read an English summary of the fatwa here.
Interesting article about the contrast of Sufism and Mysticism according to one person’s opinion:
2 Americans and a third victim are killed in Mexico shootings – latimes.com
The crashed car of a U.S. Consulate employee and her husband sits near the Santa Fe international bridge to El Paso in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, after the two were shot to death. (Associated Press / March 14, 2010)
If you are taking drugs that were smuggled into the US from Mexico then you killed them.
2 Americans and a third victim are killed in Mexico shootings – latimes.com.