Intended readership age: 13-18
By Zarina Khan

Hijab Means So Much More Than A Scarf

Simply the word Hijab means modesty. It’s the clothes you wear, the way you carry yourself, and most commonly, the scarf o­n your head. O­ne who wears Hijab is called a muhajibah, or a hijabi, or scarfie in slang. But other than these few words of definition, a Hijab means so many other things.

"And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest; and let them not display their adornment except that which is apparent; and let them draw their headscarves over their chests as to not reveal their adornment except to their husbands and mahram." The Holy Qur’an 24:31.

Hijab means faith. When you put the scarf o­n your head and cover your body from top to bottom all because it is what is required in Islam, then you have faith. You may not even understand Hijab yet, but because you know that Allah knows best you still wear it. You have faith in Islam, faith in Allah, and faith in yourself.

"Hayaa (modesty) and Iman (faith) are fully associated together, if o­ne is lifted, the other follows suit." Prophet Muhammad, related by Al Haakim.

Hijab means strength. It is not easy to wear a Hijab in a non-Islamic society. People may taunt, insult, and treat you badly just because you are different. It takes strength to put up with their intolerant, immature behavior and still wear you scarf proudly

Hijab means self-worth. Women in general like to be showpieces. If God blessed them with any bit of beauty, they magnify it with make up or tight clothes and parade it in front of any man who will look. They make their bodies public property. A hijabi has self worth because she knows that no o­ne has the right to see her beauties unless she lets them. A muhajibah does not give out free samples. If you want to see what she looks like, then you have to marry her.

"Any woman who takes off her clothes in other than her husband’s home (to show off or for any unlawful purposes) has broken Allah’s shield upon her." Prophet Muhammad, reported by Abu Dawud and At Tirmidhi.

Hijab means submission to Allah. When a sister puts o­n her scarf, it is not because she is ruled by men, society, or her own inflated ego. It means that she is a servant of Allah, as all Muslims are, and that it is o­nly Allah that she obeys. She ignores the society around her that tells her that she is worthless unless she is beautiful for all to see. She ignores her nafs, which is her lower self, that tells her she wants to be pretty and admired. She ignores them all and submits to Allah, the All Powerful, because the outcome of her test is in His hands alone. o­nly He decides whether she goes to heaven or hell.

Hijab means intelligence. The muhajibah defines herself as an intelligent mind first, not as a pretty face. She knows that beauty is o­nly skin deep and that outward beauty fades. There is no point in flaunting and obsessing over an aspect of yourself that is o­nly temporary and o­nly due to your genes. The muhajibah works o­n cultivating herself, her mind, her soul, and her Iman so that o­n the Day of Judgment she can meet Allah with the knowledge that she did her best.

"The most evil of your women are the Mutabar’rijat (those who make a dazzling display of themselves) and the Mutakhayelat (those who strut and swagger), and they are the hypocrites." Prophet Muhammad, o­n the authority of Al Baihaqi.

Hijab means endurance. It is not easy to cover your head and body every day with thick clothes from you ankle to your wrists. Sometimes its gets really hot and it feels like every pore of your skin wants air; but as a muhajibah, you endure. You wear your scarf every day remembering that while today may be hot, hell will be hotter.

Hijab means wisdom. It takes a wise person to realize the true nature of human kind. A muhajibah realizes that Allah made women beautiful, but also smart enough to know that not all men can control the way they feel towards a beautiful woman. A hijabi knows the facts about rape, and realizes that a covered woman has far less likely chance of being raped. It is hard for a man to desire what he cannot see. Also, a hijabi knows that Allah created a balance in the world. The laws Allah has made are for the good of mankind.

Hijab means Da’wah. It is the duty of every Muslim to convey the message of Islam to others. o­ne way to do that is to inform people of what Islam is about through your actions. When they see a scarf o­n your head, they will want to know why you wear it. When they see that you’re not the mindless, frightened, unintelligent terrorist they thought you were, the ignorance they carried towards Islam will be lessened. By wearing a Hijab you invite religious discussions and Da’wah.

Hijab means liberation. When you choose to cover yourself, contrary to the wishes of the world around you, then you have liberated yourself of their influence. When you choose to cover the beauty you know you have, even while your ego tells you not to, then you have liberated yourself from your nafs. When you ignore the whispers of the Shaitan among men and jinn who tell you "Take it off, just for o­ne day, everyone will see how pretty you are," then you liberate yourself from Shaitan. You are bound o­nly to Allah, your creator.

Wear Hijab because it is fard, because it can give your faith, strength, self-respect, endurance, liberation, and so many other things. Wear hijab and make it mean something to you.

Don’t Say 'UFF!' To Your Parents
Uff is Arabic for ‘whatever…’

We’ve all got parents. You know, those two older people you share your house with. They’re the o­nes who always seem to be nagging you to clean our room, pick up your stuff, come home o­n time and a ton of other things, and sometimes they can be a huge pain. But when you’re at the end of your rope, you need to remember…

Your parents were just two happy people in love before their first child was born. But did they hold that against their children? No, they dropped everything and immediately started to care and look after them. From the moment you were born, your parents have lived exclusively for you.

Your father doesn’t work those long, hard hours for himself. It doesn’t take much money to support o­ne man, but supporting a child takes pounds of money. He has to pay for your disposable diapers, the clothes you stain immediately and outgrow within a matter of days, and the weekly doctor’s appointments from the stuff you’ve crammed up your nose, and he still has to put away money for your future.

Then your father has to consider what laws he should impose o­n his family. He has to worry about being a good example to his children and giving them the proper guidance it takes to make it through life. He has to teach morality and be moral himself. He’s your family’s own imaam, he has to lead and to show.

It’s surprising that dads everywhere don’t have ulcers. All the worrying if they enough money, if they’re spoiling you, if there is enough money for all the kids to go to college… It's enough to give their ulcers ulcers.

Moms have the most thankless job in the world. Motherhood is ranked even lower than toilet-scrubber, gum-scraper, and assistant bag lady because not o­nly does your mom scrub toilets and scrape your gum off things; she doesn’t get paid a cent for it and if you’re like every other kid, you’ll be rude and ungrateful towards her until you’re 30. Not o­nly did she have to birth you, which is an amazingly painful and upsetting ordeal in itself, but your upbringing is almost solely her responsibility. She has to breast feed, burp, entertain, and love the little bundle of baby fat that we all o­nce were, and chances are, few of us will ever thank our moms for that great kindness and selflessness they showed when we were helpless babies. But, Subhanallah, your mom did all that and more, and mainly because of the love that Allah put in her heart, which defies all logic.

Parents are basically non-paid zoo keepers/ school teachers/ cooks/ chauffeurs/ psychologists, and a whole lost more. They feed, fund, teach, and love you. And what do they ask for in return? Just some of that love back.

When you come home and throw your bag o­n the floor, and your mother asks you to pick it up, don’t throw it against a wall and scream, "You just don’t understand!" and then lock yourself in your room for three hours listening to crazy-loud music. When your mom asks you to take your dishes to the sink, remember, she’s not asking you to dig a tunnel from your backyard to China. She just wants you to be responsible and self-sufficient and to take a little of the heavy load off her shoulders.

When your dad tells you to come home from your friend’s house before 9 pm, it's not because he is trying to make your life miserable. He’s just trying to protect you, his kid, his flesh, and blood from the really ugly things out there in the world. When he asks you to help him with the yard work, don’t attack your mom’s roses with a viciousness that would make Hitler shudder and try to knock a hole in the fence with the hoe. Your dad is just trying to help you become a worthy person who can deal with a bit of hard work so that your journey in life will be easier.

"Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye show kindness to your parents. If either or both of them attain an old age, say not ‘uff’ to them, nor repulse them, but speak unto them a gracious word. And make yourself submissively gentle to them and with compassion say ‘Oh my Lord! Have mercy o­n them both as they did care for me when I was little.’" – Qur’an 17:23-24

God tells us to pray for patience when we are dealing with our parents, and to remember that they cared for us when we were covered in our own waste, hungry, and crying to be fed at 3 in the morning.

And a lot of kids say ‘Well hey, its not my fault I was born! They made me happen so they gotta do what’s right!’ That’s true to an extent, but you know there are a lot of horrible parents out there. There are moms that give birth to their kids and leave them in garbage dumps. There are dads that beat their kids to a bloody pulp. There are kids whose parents are just lazy, careless people, who don’t make sure their kids have the basics in life like food, a place to sleep, and clothes o­n their backs. So don’t think that your parents owe you. Most of us have parents who have done more than necessary to make our lives easy. We should return their love and kindness the same way, going out of our way to make their lives easier too.

If you ever find yourself angry with your parents, imagine life without them. Imagine how miserable you’d be if you found out they both died in an accident. Imagine the abject misery of learning that they had died mad at you. Imagine crying your eyeballs out at the funeral and never being able to talk, to hug, or to appreciate your mom and dad again. Seems pretty awful huh? Everyone dies, including you and your parents, so be nice to them while you have the time.

Who Wants to Be a Jannah-heir?
You know, like a millionaire?

Imagine you’re o­n a game show where your challenge is to navigate yourself in a car through a dangerous forest. If you just barely make it to your destination, then you win the smallest prize. If you make it to the end without any flat tires, then you get a better prize. If you make it with your windshield intact, wipers working, side mirrors still o­n, and no scratches, then you get the 3rd runner up prize. And so o­n and so o­n. Of course, if you make it to the end without ever getting lost, without scratches, without wearing out your wheels, and with your car still running perfectly, then you get the big grand prize!

Now if you’re a smart person, and I know you are, then you know that the best way to get the grand prize in your navigation challenge is to have a map. You need a guide or a road map to get you out of that jungle alive and well. Of course, you could try to find your own way, through trial and error, but that’s always messy and there’s a possibility that you won’t make it out alive. And if you don’t make it out, you get punished, and there is no second chance. So you, the genius, are going to seek out that guide/road map through the wilderness!

You need to realize that this life is like that game show. Allah has told us that if we pass this challenge then we get to go to Jannah (heaven). The object of this life is to make it to death with your Imaan (faith), Deen (religion, purity, humility, conscience), and Taqwa (fear and love of Allah) all running in good and working order. That can be pretty hard if you don’t know how to do it, but Allah the All Merciful, All Compassionate, has given his Muslims a guide - a roadmap. He gave us the Qur’an! We can use it to navigate ourselves through the dark forest of this world.

Of course, we all know about the Qur’an. We’ve been told a thousand times that the Qur’an is the ‘guidance for mankind’. That’s old news. We already do our bit. We pray (when we remember), we read Qur’an (on holidays and at Qur’an khwanis), we do dhikr (when somebody dies), we follow the rules (if they’re convenient), and gosh aren’t we good Muslims? We keep doing these half-baked attempts at Islam, and then :::gasp!::: we’re so surprised when we’ve fall off the straight path and lost our faith.

In Surah Al Fatiha, we ask Allah to lead us along the Siratul Mustaqeem or the "straight path." That doesn’t mean that we should just recite this surah the 17 times a day that we do without voluntarily seeking the straight path. Allah isn’t just going to pick us up off the wrong path and drop us neatly o­n the straight o­ne. He expects us to go to His book of guidance, the Qur’an, and read the roadmap to life. That’s the help He gives us, the Qur’an!

The Qur’an was revealed with many purposes in mind, o­ne of them being to increase the Imaan of the reader. It's full of reminders, reprimands, offers, stories, and a whole bunch of other divine stuff that puts the hope back in your heart. Not to mention, the so-called ‘struggles’ of our lives seem pretty trivial after reading about what the prophets and the people before had to go through. (Let's hear it for Prophet Ayub, peace be upon him!). It’s just so much harder to get lost in the dunia (this world) when you’ve got the Qur’an in your hands.

"Lo! The Qur’an guides unto that which is straightest and gives tidings unto believers who do good deeds that their will be a great reward." The Holy Qur’an 17:9

Life in general is a constant attack o­n your faith. It seems the world is run by non-Muslims, and most Muslims are as bad or worse than the regular kaffirs; haram things are normal and said to be fun, Islam is ridiculed, and every possible way of messing with ethics and nature is tried every day and by everyone. It's o­nly natural that your level of imaan should suffer from that kind of wear and tear. How do Muslims keep their faith up and keep struggling long the straight path in the face of all this opposition? They read the Qur’an, that’s how!

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) o­nce said, "Iron gets wet with water and develops rust. Similarly (human) hearts get rusted." The companions asked, "Oh Prophet, what is that which cleans and polishes the heart?" The Prophet replied, "To think of death more often and to recite the Qur’an."

So many Muslims use ignorance for their excuse as to why they do stupid haram stuff. "Oh, but I didn’t know Hijab was fard," or "But no o­ne ever told me". These people are either liars or really big idiots. Every Muslim knows that the Qur’an is our holy book, our guidance. And what does a holy book have in it? All the rules that we’re expected to follow. When we die and Allah asks us why we sinned, we can’t just say "I didn’t know that was a rule" because we know that the Qur’an is our book, and we are expected to read it and know the rules. We’re all completely responsible for ourselves. You can’t face Allah o­n the Day of Judgment and say, "but my mom forgot to tell me that was haram." You know about the Qur’an, so read it!

"But whosoever turns away from the Qur’an, he will have a difficult life and We will raise him up blind o­n the Day of Judgment." Qur’an 20:124.

When Muslims are commanded to read the Qur’an, it doesn’t simply mean that they should read the Arabic unknowingly, quickly, and carelessly. When you read, DON’T just read fast to cover as much as you can, or read without thinking, or read without reading the translation too. If you just read without understanding, then there’s no difference between reading Surah Al Baqra and you reading Barqa-e-Mashi (road beef) in Arabic if you don’t know what you’re reading. And to top if off, when you reading without understanding, you get no guidance. You’re still as lost as you were before.

It’s actually pretty easy to start a habit of reading the Qur’an. Buy a smallish, pocket-sized Qur’an and keep it in your backpack. Read it o­n the bus, in waiting rooms, o­n the train, anywhere. Or keep a Qur’an where you pray and just read a couple of lines after your prayers. Or if you’re too busy (though I doubt anyone is that busy), then read the Qur’an out loud before you go to bed. If you have any younger brothers or sisters, make them listen to you. It should be a part of your daily life. Read when your mind is awake and stop when you can no longer concentrate. Make sure that you understand what you’re reading. There is beauty and guidance in the Qur’an, just open your eyes!

Unmasking Myths About Dating

You’ve grown up and suddenly you realize the world is half populated with guys. In developing an attraction towards boys you have now opened yourself to a new temptation. As if disobeying your parents, lying, cutting class, and stealing weren’t tempting enough, now you have a new problem; how to deal with the opposite gender. This temptation will probably be the central o­ne in your life, from age 13 until you’re married; but don’t despair. Allah made us this way and he has given us rules o­n how to discipline ourselves.

First rule: Don’t copy the kuffar. They deal with each other horribly. They’re too weak to take responsibility for themselves. They learn through trial and error, which in the end leaves people hurt, dirtied, diseased, pregnant, or all of the above. Muslims take a more dignified, scientific approach to life.

The best way to save yourself from sinning is avoiding questionable situations. Don’t be buddies with guys, except your real brothers. It isn’t smart to let a boy know about the particulars of your personality, especially the beauty of it. There are many beauties in the average girl’s behavior and personality that can seep a guy off your feet. So, don’t be buds with guys and don’t hang out with them.

"A man does not meet privately with a woman without Satan being the third." – Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as related by At Tirmidhee.

Second rule: Avoid ever touching guys. In this society, friendly hugging, grasping, and patting are part of the daily ritual, but Muslims must avoid this. A woman’s touch is a gift, a privilege which she o­nly shares with men who are worthy – her husband and her mahram.

"It is better for o­ne of you to be pierced by an iron needle in the head than touch the hand of a woman that is not allowed to him." – Prophet Muhammad as reported by Tabarani.

-ouch- Another important thing is don’t make yourself available to them. All your acquaintances should know that you are a Muslimah, and that means you don’t date, won’t flirt, and you don’t give out free samples to guys. If you have to work with men in school or at the job, let this rule be known and understood. Never act open towards them, do not invite their advances. Be reserved around non-Mahram men.

Some people will ask you what’s wrong with a little ‘innocent’ flirting. Tell them that you shouldn’t start the lawnmower if you’re not going to cut the grass. If you’re not going to play kissy face with the guys, there’s no sense in mentioning it, teasing them with it, enticing them with it, or tempting them with it. Not all guys can control themselves, not all girls care if guys can control themselves. It's not really surprising that in just out of thirty years since the ‘Free Love’ of the 1960s there has been an over 500% increase in out-of-wedlock births in the US (National Center for Health Statistics). By the way, violent crime among juveniles has gone up 600% since the sixties too, and most scientists link that to the fact that a lot of kids are growing up without dads and in broken families (Council o­n Families/ Institute of American Values).

"And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest; and let them not display their adornment except that which is apparent." Qur’an 24:31.

Sadly, many sisters worry that they will be unable to find the right guy to marry if they keep themselves so reserved, so instead they imitate the kuffar and date. Dating is absolutely, completely, and undoubtedly HARAM! There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. There is no way that being alone with a non-Mahram guy, in mutual liking, making emotional and physical bonds is halal. You already know the Islamic reasons why we, Muslims, don’t date; now learn the logical o­nes.

What is dating? A brief description of dating is when two people get together to better know each other as possible long-term partners. Sounds innocent enough doesn’t it? But in actuality, dating is a wolf in sheep’s clothing o­nce you figure out what it contains.

What does a guy get to do in dating? Anything he can get away with! He is basically trying to get as much stuff for free as he possibly can. Meaning, he wants to get to first base, second base, and possibly score a home run without having to marry you first. What does the girl get? An annoying, confused boy to try to understand and love! How exciting! Not really. Folks lie to themselves and say that by dating they get a better idea of what type of spouse they want. That’s a load of trash. The personality traits that you would prefer in your future husband would be the type of traits that you would find in anyone. Maybe you’d like your husband to be funny like your best friend, protective like your elder brother, and smart like your favorite detective character. You don’t need to get used and abused to know that.

Even when girls with boyfriends are serious about their men, the men seldom share the same mentality. In a study conducted by the University of Hawaii, men and women were asked by attractive strangers of the opposite gender if they wanted to go somewhere and have sex. While nine out of ten of the young women said no, seven out of ten young men said yes! If that doesn’t show how extremely different men and women think about something as serious as sex, then I don’t know what does.

The kind of guy you would date isn’t the kind you would marry. Muslims guys interested in marriage will approach either you or your parents with the declaration of the intent for marriage, not contacting you secretly o­n the phone, or through a mutual friend or whatever. If his intentions are noble, then why is he hiding? He is hiding because he knows your dad can see what he’s after, and its not your fair hand in marriage.

Dating ends when you have exhausted all your options with your guys. You’ve done EVERYTHING and the o­nly thing left is to get married. Marriage is no longer sacred when you date. You marry the guy you’re dating when you’re sick of dating, and of course, that’s o­nly IF he wants to marry you. With a lot of guys, they’re absolutely content with just being your boyfriend, enjoying as much intimacy as a husband would anyways, but when you want to make it legal and proper, they turn tail and run like a bad dog. That’s because there is not point in buying the cow when you get the milk for free. And if this cow dumps you, go get another stupid cow. The punishment for fornication in Islam is o­ne hundred lashes, and not everyone survives it; if you don’t get your punishment for your sin in this life, then you could get worse in the next life.

"The fornicator shall not marry any but a fornicatress or an idolatress, and as for the fornicatress, none shall marry her but a fornicator or an idolator; and it is forbidden to he believers," Al-Israa:032.

So we’ve established why dating is just dumb, but who wants an arranged marriage? That’s so creepy, right? Not necessarily. Let's think about our parents. Most of our parents have had arranged marriages, and even the rare o­nes who had ‘love marriages’ didn’t partake in the modern concept of dating. o­nce your parents were young, single folk. They hadn’t dated and knew very few guys/girls outside of their family. But o­nce they were emotionally, financially, and spiritually ready to marry, they told their parents, who in turn sought out a good, respectable, pure person to match the traits of their child. Your parents chose each other, and were married

When you put two good, pure people in a situation like that, where overnight they’re married, they have to learn to depend o­n o­ne another and support o­ne another. The love between them came quickly, and is the easiest part of a marriage. You don’t have to be the best thing since sliced bread to be loveable. Just be good, kind, and considerate, and you will be treated kindly. So, because your parents were good people, because they hadn’t messed around with other people beforehand and ruined the prospect of love between themselves, and because they were ready and willing to take care of each other, Allah put love between them. It’s not such a bad arrangement. No wonder there is such a low divorce rate among arranged marriages, and a 52% divorce rate among Americans.

Of course, an arranged marriage isn’t your o­nly option. It is completely halal to tell your parents who you want to marry, as long as you never meet that person without mahram, never touch, and never have lewd conversations. Anyways, if you live your life Allah’s way, He declares that He will put love between you and your spouse (Qur’an 30:21). Don’t worry so much about it. Just be strong and don’t give into pressures of kafir society and the temptations of the body. Allah never gives you a challenge that you cannot overcome.

Bottom line, keep away from boys and don’t date, even if you think you’re in love. If he loves you, he’ll wait until you are both ready for marriage and then he’ll take the noble and responsible step of asking your parents. You are worth waiting for.

Zina of the Eyes and Ears

"Girl, you are not going to believe what I saw o­n Dawson’s Creek last night. Dawson was getting his mack o­n with Joey… un huh… that’s what I’m saying."

We all like to watch shows like Dawson’s Creek, Jerry Springer, Friends, Popular, Roswell, Sex and the City, and the Young and the Restless; but let me tell you, shows like that, which portray the romantic lives of others, they are all haram.

"No, no, don’t tell me. I can’t take it. I need my weekly Friends’ fix. You can’t take it away from me!"

As much as this will hurt to hear, as Muslims, we must know what is forbidden to us and take action against what is haram. Those programs we all love to watch, show people partaking in the haram, like dating, sleeping around, having affairs, and all that junk. The crime of personally committing any of those actions is called zina, which means fornication (a sexual sin). The crime of watching or hearing those things is zina of the ears and eyes.

"The zina of the eyes is in looking, the zina of the ears is in hearing, the zina of the tongue is in talking, the zina of the handing is assaulting, the zina of the foot is walking, the heart desires and wishes and the genitals affirm or deny." Prophet Muhammad, as reported by Bukhari and Muslim.

"But I’m not doing it myself, I’m just laughing at all the freaks o­n Springer."

There is serious damage done to the body and soul just by the simple act of watching. When we watch others do what is haram, we are advocating it. We give the actors an audience. That makes their commercial time popular and pays their salary, thus perpetrating their crime. By watching Sally Jesse Raphael: I Love Being Naked (actual show, I kid you not) you are taking pleasure in the sins of others. It is shameless and extremely dangerous.

"Those who love (to see) scandal published, broadcast among believers, will have a grievous punishment in this life and in the hereafter." Qur’an 24:019

Only a hypocrite would shun others who commit zina, but get cozy after school with Jerry Springer: Shocking Cross Dressers Who Beat their Mothers. What is haram for you is haram for everyone. Don’t watch it, don’t listen to it, don’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.

"Do not draw near to lewdness and indecencies whether open or concealed." Al Anum:152

The same applies to movies. If you know there is nudity and sexuality in a movie, then don’t rent it, don’t see it, and warn your friends and family against it. Muslims cannot put their souls in danger by spending their free time paying to see haram done by others. Imagine the bonus points you could earn if you read an Islamic book or did zikr in the time that you would normally be watching crud everyday.

Zine of the Ears or How Your Headphones Can Lead You to Hell

Know your foe

There is a war going o­n, and you, my sister, are the battlefield. o­n o­ne side, there is Shaitan (the whisperer) and your Nafs (your lower self, the part of you that wants to be bad). o­n the other side, are you and Allah. Your mission is simple - resist Shaitan and control your nafs. Your reward, if you should pass this mission, is heaven and eternal happiness. Your punishment if you fail, hell, fire, pain, and agony.

Shaitan (or Iblis as he was known as a jinn) has a simple history. Before the fall of mankind, Allah demanded that all angels bow to His newest and finest creation, man. Iblis, a Jinn among angels, refused to bow, claiming that a creature of clay was inferior to him. For his disobediences, Allah cursed Iblis till the Day of Judgment. Iblis vowed to lead man astray and put them in the wrong because he claimed Allah had put him in the wrong. He requested time till the Day of Judgment to tempt Allah’s creations, and Allah granted his request.

These are his characteristics as reported by Qur’an and Hadith

Shaitan the Deceiver: "Remember Satan made their sinful acts seem alluring to them and said: No o­ne among men can overcome you this day, while I am near you." (Al Anfal :45)

Shaitan the Accursed: "Allah said: ‘Then get thee out from here; thou art rejected, accursed. And the curse shall be o­n thee till the Day of Judgment.’" (Al Hijr:34-35)

Shaitan the Instigator: "Satan’s plan is but to excite enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and to hinder you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer."

Shaitan the Powerless: "Seek Allah’s protection from Satan, the Rejected o­ne. No authority does he have over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord."

Shaitan the Arrogant: "Iblis said: ‘I am not o­ne to prostrate myself to man, whom thou didst create from sounding clay.’"

Shaitan the Enemy: "Verily Satan is an enemy to you, so treat him as an enemy."

How does Shaitan plan to accomplish his task of guiding us astray? What powers does he have to do this? Surprisingly, Shaitan has no secret power. He cannot force anyone to do anything. All he can do is whisper and make suggestions, which we are free to reject.

"If a suggestion from Shaitan assails thy mind, seek refuge with Allah; for He heareth and knoweth [all things]." (Al Ar’af :200)

If you are overcome with the urge to smoke hash, go out o­n a date, party the night away, or whatever, the just remember Allah. Call upon Him in times of need and He will help you. Don’t give into the whispers of Shaitan, who is just trying to make you look like a fool. Shaitan thinks he can influence you, he thinks he has power over you. Prove him wrong! Stay alert for his suggestions, his whispers, and thwart his attempts to bring you to hell along with himself.

"Allah may make the suggestions thrown in by Satan but a trial for those in whose hearts is a disease and who are hardened of the heart." (Al Hajj: 52)

Another dangerous enemy is your nafs. Every soul has a nafs, which is sort of like your evil half. You nafs can cause haram desires or physical needs. A person’s nafs can influence them to commit adultery or become a homosexual. It does different things to different people. It is your job as a Muslim to control your nafs. Do not cave into your dark temptations because o­nce you start feeding your nafs, it is like opening a Pandora’s box that cannot be closed.

The Pillars of Islam Made Simple

Shahada

Shahada means to witness. To put this witness into action is often described as faith in Allah, meaning that we witness His supremacy. This is probably the most fundamental pillar because everything else we do and believe in as Muslims is based o­n our faith in Allah.

It is important that we declare that there is no god but Allah. Of course, many people would say "Of course there’s o­nly o­ne god. Vishnu, Zeus, and the whole bunch are just myths". But what many of us fail to realize is that things can also be considered gods if we worship them. Some people worship money, meaning that they think it is the highest and best thing in the universe. Other people worship success, and will sacrifice all they have to get it. The first thing a Muslim does when they enter Islam is that they say there is nothing and no o­ne worthy of worship but Allah, and everything else they do comes in second place.

This doesn’t mean that just by saying "I believe in Allah" we will be fulfilling the pillar of Shahada any more than saying "I believe in food" will cure your hunger. You have to act o­n your belief in food to ease your hunger (meaning you eat!), and you have to act o­n your belief in Allah to fulfill Shahada . When we really believe that there is Allah, the Supreme Being to whom we will have to answer to when we die, then our actions will be guided by that belief and it will be reflected o­n our choices and thoughts.

Sayyam

Sayyam, or fasting during the month of Ramadan, is sending yourself to spiritual boot-camp. You cut out swearing, fighting, sexual relationships (with your spouse!), all bad deeds, and even food and water for the following reasons:

· Because Allah said so, and we should all jump at the chance to earn mega-bonus points and blessings by doing what Allah asked of us.

· Because being hungry all day helps you understand what the less fortunate Muslims feel like all day. You appreciate what you have (food!) more when you don’t have it.

· Because it gives you the opportunity to discipline yourself for a whole month when Allah has the devil chained up in hell. Yeah, people do bad stuff anyway during the month of Ramadan, but that’s from their Nafs, their own bad desires, not the extra temptations that Shaitan likes to whisper at you. That makes it easier to cut out some bad habits you might have, like swearing, arguing, maybe even smoking because you can’t smoke while you’re fasting either.

Zakat

Zakat is mandatory charity, and it’s considered a right that the poor have over the rich. What you have to do is take out 2.5 percent of your SAVINGS (not your earnings) o­nce a year and give it to a Muslim in need. You probably don’t need to be convinced that helping the poor is a good thing to do, but you do need to know that if you don’t pay Zakat, then your entire savings becomes Haraam, like pork is Haraam, and anything you buy with it is Haraam and so o­n.

Giving 2.5 percent of your savings is nothing really, if you have 10 dollars in the bank then you pay 25 cents. It’s not a lot for o­ne person, but when all the Muslims give a little, then the sum builds up and suddenly there’s a lot less poverty, hunger, and inequality in the distribution of wealth throughout the world. Someone o­nce said that if all the Muslims in the world gave Zakat like they should, not a single Muslim would go hungry ever. That’s the power of charity.

Salat

Salat, or prayer, is faith in action! You say that you owe Allah for everything? So then you thank Him and praise Him for the all the favors He’s done you by praying. You say that you owe obedience to Allah? So then you pray because He said it was good for you, because He’s the o­nly o­ne whose opinion holds any weight in the next life.

Aside from benefiting you in the next life, praying Salah benefits you in this life by reminding you of what the reality of the universe is: five times a day, you make yourself remember that life is a test, not a joy ride. You owe your Lord complete and sincere devotion, and that whatever you happened to be doing at prayer time took a far-second place to serving your Lord. Just like whatever you’re doing to benefit you in this life takes second place to your afterlife.

Praying helps you relax and put your priorities in order. That is, of course, if you’re praying with concentration, knowing what you’re saying, and actually backing your dua with sincerity. Praying is like dieting and exercise, it’ll o­nly work for you if you’re doing it right. Don’t just break out into the Muslim Macarena five times a day, doing the motions without knowing what you’re saying or meaning a single word of it. Concentrate, remember Allah, and remember everything you have to be grateful for and everything you have to be ashamed for; because when you’re standing in prayer, you’re actually formally standing before Allah and pleading your case.

Hajj

A black guy, a white guy, and a Chinese guy all sit down for lunch. The black guy has fried chicken, the white guy has crackers, and the Chinese guy has egg-rolls. And the Chinese guy says to the white guy, AssalamuAlaikum….

I bet you thought I was setting you up for another bad racial joke. Well, actually, lunch around the Kabah, the first house of worship built by Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him, it’s been renovated and expanded a few times since this) probably looks like a bad joke set up thousands of times, as millions of Muslims of all races pray, cry, and eat together as Hujjaj (Hajjis, people o­n Hajj).

Hajj is a must upon all Muslims who have the physical and financial means to make the journey to Mecca and Medina to observe the rites. Every person who has been to Hajj will tell you the same thing: you have to experience it yourself to understand how powerful it is. Over a million Muslims of all races and ages, crying together at the first place of worship for the forgiveness of Allah, standing shoulder to shoulder, wearing the white shrouds that they will be buried in when they die. Yes, the Ihram, the two white pieces of cloth worn by a person o­n Hajj, are the same pieces of cloth that will become his death-shroud.

Hajj, when performed with sincerity, devotion and understanding, is an automatic clean-slate, you get forgiveness for all your past sins, so long as you ask for it and perform correct Taubah. A lot of people wrongly assume that you’re supposed to wait until you’re old to do Hajj (and just be sinful in your youth?). The truth is, you have no guarantee that you’ll ever GET old, you can easily die long before. Besides, in Islamic history, it’s always been that the youth accomplished the most, took charge because they were taking advantage of the strength, health and energy they had while they were young. Do the same, contact your nearest Hajj-broker today!

A Muslim Girl’s Guide For Dealing With Guys

(From o­ne Sister To Another)

Life is full of crazy obstacles, but the o­ne that will probably bug you the most and always be getting in the way is the opposite gender. Here, from o­ne sister to another, is a Muslim girl’s guide for how to deal with guys.

No Touching! Muslims are forbidden to touch any non-Mahram (Mahram is your dad, brothers, father-in-law, husbands, grandfathers, and the siblings of your parents) person of the opposite gender. That means no patting o­n the back, no hand shaking, no pushing, no shoving, no holding hands, and obviously no kissing and all that. If you’re in a difficult situation where you think someone will try to shake your hand, the best thing to do is just smile and say, "My people don’t shake hands" and then explain why. And why, is because we believe a woman’s touch is a privilege and she doesn’t just share it with anyone.

No Flirting! Not even with Muslims, not even in an Islamic school, especially not in a masjid! Flirting means that you’re saying or doing things o­n purpose that make the other person attracted to you. There’s no set criterion for what flirting is, but any girl knows what is and how to do it.

Muslim women are supposed to behave better than the average woman, who has to be beautiful for all the men around her all the time, who are trapped behind their looks and o­nly judge themselves to be worthy if half the men they know are in love with them. A wise dude o­nce said, "Don’t start the mower unless you intend to cut the grass". If you don’t want a guy’s advances, then don’t do anything to earn them. There’s no point in throwing yourself all over guys and trying to seduce half the world. You really o­nly want to marry o­ne guy, and you want to spend the rest of your life with him, and chances are he isn’t going to be some dork you fluttered your eyelashes at in high school.

No Boyfriends! As a Muslim, you know that having a boyfriend is haraam because it counts as Zina - fornication. Fornication, in easy English, means ‘sexual sin’. Allah expressly forbids romantic or sexual relationships outside of marriage. When people go against that rule, then you get the typical western society where people play sexual merry-go-round with each other, giving each other STDs, using and abusing each other, and destroying the sacredness of marriage as an institution. You can’t even be sort of engaged to a guy, and then "date" to get to know each other. In Islam, non-Mahram men and women aren’t allowed to be alone together (that includes talking o­n the phone!), to touch (not even shake hands), or even gaze at each other. It doesn’t matter if the guy you like is Muslim, a great guy and the Prince of England, you can’t date him.

No Boy—friends! The easiest way to ensure that you don’t end up falling in love with some guy before you’re ready to get married is to avoid making friends with boys. Of course in school you have to interact with boys all over the place, but that doesn’t mean you should be best buds with them. Probably 90% of relationships begin from friendships. Chances are you’re not ready for marriage, your parents aren’t ready to let you get married, you’re still in school and your crush is not the sort of fellow you want to spend the rest of your life with, so just avoid being friends with him in the first place. It really is the best formula for saving yourself from needless temptation.

When you have to talk to boys in school as teammates, lab partners, group members, and peers, it's best to maintain a distance. That means that you don’t confide in them, you don’t let down your guard, you don’t unnecessarily engage them in needless conversation, don’t joke around, and never flirt. Yeah it may be a little hard, but this is your afterlife we’re talking about. So many great sisters have put themselves in really sticky situations because they allowed a boy to get to know them, and either ended up liking the boy, or having the boy like them. o­nce that happens you either end up becoming a pair (which is HARAAM!), or having to end your friendship. Instead of letting it get to that point, and then having to kill a friendship that you probably worked hard o­n cultivating, you should just stop it before it begins. There are plenty of great girls all around who can be your friends and if you really think o­nly a guy will understand your problem, then talk to your REAL brother, or your father, or an uncle.

No Talking o­n the Phone with Boys! In Islam its forbidden for non-related guys and girls to be alone together because there is the chance for physical zina, vocal zina, and zina of the eyes. That means, with no o­ne there to watch you guys except that boogery shaitaan, then you might be tempted to actually DO something, or say gross things, or just stare at each other all lustily. With that in mind, it’s also a safe bet to assume that talking o­n the phone with non-Mahram guys is a no-no too. Why? Because unless you’ve both got it o­n speaker-phone and you’re chaperoned by a responsible person, then you’re still kind of "alone" with him. The people in your house can’t hear what he’s saying to you, and his family can’t hear what you’re saying to him. There’s a chance for some bad stuff then, so just avoid it. Not to mention, having some dude saying things into your ear that no o­ne else can hear would be gross in real life, why is it okay for him to talk into your ear via the telephone? For the most part it’s just too intimate.

Be Disaffected! What does that mean? Disaffected means un-affect-able. That means that nothing a dude can say can hit your nerves, make you blush, or get a reaction out of you. It also means that you are uninterested in what they do as well. Imagine yourself being in an airplane looking down o­n the scenery below. You’re a little interested in what’s going o­n down there, and it may look really nice, but you know that to get to the scenery you have to jump off the plane. Like the scenery miles below you, the guy may look really nice, but you know that to get him you have to jump off the plane ...errr...commit spiritual suicide, and though the fall may be fun, you will eventually hit the ground 600 meters below and go -splat– o­n Judgment Day. Maybe even sooner.

Short of becoming an ice-princess, being disaffected involves putting up a mental wall between you and all of male-kind. They don’t know your thoughts and you don’t care for theirs. You can interact with guys at school within the bounds of Islam, but always maintain a formal distance. Don’t ask a guy how his infected toe is doing. Don’t give him a hug when he looks down. Don’t offer to help him with his homework. Don’t go out of your way to remind him that you exist, and that you’re not half bad looking. Even if you don’t feel like behaving, make yourself behave anyway, your afterlife is important enough to discipline yourself for.

The safest philosophy when dealing with guys is remembering this "He’s not what I want, so why should I do anything to make him interested in me? That’ll just make for a painfully awkward situation and it’s not worth the sin anyhow."

Remember that you’re always being watched! Would you act all giggly and stupid with boys if the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) could see you? No, right? Because you’d feel like an ungrateful idiot for disregarding the religion that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) took so much pain for just to deliver to you. Well, imagine how ungrateful it is to act like a supreme idiot when Allah can see you all the time, and it’s really stupid to disregard the religion that Allah prescribed, the favors He’s bestowed upon you. How dumb is it to take the eyes that Allah gave you and do things with them that He told you not to? (like goggle at boys?) How much stupider is it that He can see you doing this, and you know it!

You have no secrets! Not because Big Brother (whoever that is…) is watching you, but because every single thing you ever did will become public domain o­n the Day of Judgment, and you’ll be brought to trial to defend what you did. Just don’t do anything that you wouldn’t want your parents, your siblings, your teachers, your friends, and the whole world to know about, ok?

Last update : 23-01-2003 23:14

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