Note to readers: I want to thank everyone who wrote recently and inquired about my health. I had a terrible fall a few weeks ago and had a mild concussion from it. I appreciate the wisdom of wearing a turban more. I am better, and the headaches have subsided – thanks be to Allah.
Unfortunately, it prevented me from writing much. I have been in Medina and am traveling to Turkey for the Rihla program. Please keep me in your prayers. I appreciate it greatly. I want to write soon in a more substantial way, in sha Allah. But for now, I would like to share my thoughts on some unpleasant recent developments and also share some observations from my recent stay in Medina.
I have been troubled by the attacks made on several notable scholars, especially the slanderous material written about my own teacher, Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah. He never pays any attention to them, but I have lived with him and witnessed his piety, decency, virtuous character, and genuine love for the Prophet’s Ummah, and I fear for those people who so lightly attack him, or who attack others, like Shaykh Sa’id Ramadan al-Buti, simply because they disagree with them.
We ought to know that such criticism of learned people is not a good sign. As recorded in al-Hakim’s Mustadrak, the Prophet of God, peace and blessings be upon him, is reported to have said, “When the Muslims begin to loathe scholars and are preoccupied with commerce and its development, obsessing over accumulation of wealth, God will then direct at them four tribulations: loss of productivity, oppressive rulers, corrupt justice systems, and enemies who find them easy prey.”
Islam has been a knowledge-based tradition from the start, with the first word revealed: “Read!” And scholars, more than any others, have carried that tradition forward through the centuries. Inquiring minds should peruse Franz Rosenthal’s Knowledge Triumphant: The Concept of Knowledge in Medieval Islam, a wonderful study on the centrality of knowledge in the Islamic world. When Abu Dawud narrated hadith, it was said, hyperbolically perhaps, that as many as 70,000 inkpots filled the mosque. Men and women from rich families and poor ones vied to be students of knowledge. Books were written in gold ink with stunning calligraphy, and are now displayed in Western museums as great works of art. Scholars filled our community centers, and a love of language, literature, and all things shining – thus Islamic – was the hallmark of our lost Muslim societies.
This is well documented in the travelogues of scholars such as Ibn Jubayr, which is available in English. About Damascus, Ibn Jubayr recounted that the sound of Qur’an recitation was akin to the buzzing of bees in their hives due to the vast numbers of people reciting. Circles of knowledge covered the mosque, and he was surprised to find that even the ordinary folk were listening to high levels of discourse. In other words, people strived to learn and increase their knowledge and understanding, and they looked to the mosques and community centers to quench their thirst.
In today’s mosques, we often hear stories of the righteous that are related in an attempt to inspire people. Imam Malik, however, did not allow storytelling in the Prophet’s mosque; he saw it as an innovation and as antithetical to real knowledge, which is incumbent upon every adult Muslim, male and female, according to the well-known hadith related in Ibn Majah’s collection. Today, however, such a position is often viewed as “elitist,” and scholars are expected “to get down with the common people.” Things have become topsy-turvy. In the past, it was understood that the common people needed to seek knowledge and be elevated – Shaw’s Doolittle had aristocratic pretentions to speak like Higgins, whereas today Higgins is wearing designer torn jeans and speaking in the debased vernacular of Doolittle, pretending to be hoi polloi. Today, the burden is on the scholars to downgrade their discourse so the common people can “get it.” Hence, rap replaces poetry, music replaces the maqams, stories replace study, and ideology replaces creed.
***** ***** *****
Meanwhile, sure as the Prophet’s prediction, we find Muslims preoccupied and obsessed with the pursuit of wealth and material possessions. We see Muslims, even in the revered places of Islam, more eager to sate their worldly appetite than their spiritual one. Mecca and Medina are transforming into giant malls where pilgrims spend hours wandering in a daze, gorging on their choice flavor from Baskin-Robbins, or seeking out the McDonald’s to grab a halal Big Mac before the farewell tawaf. It is now not uncommon at the Sacred Mosque to hear a pilgrim’s plea: “Oh, can you please take my picture as I kiss the Black Stone?”
In Medina, I found more signs of the troubled times we live in. I tried to find a non-smoking hotel because my children were with me, and because my reactive airway doesn’t tolerate smoke well. Sad to say, I was unsuccessful. Despite the fact that all of the major hotel chains outlaw smoking in their European and American locations, they revert to allowing smoking – due to popular demand, no doubt – in the two most sacred spots where smoking is not only haram1 but manifold times more so. And it’s common knowledge that secondary smoke clearly causes harm to others. When I went to a hotel’s manager to protest that my rights were being violated, he looked at me as if I was mad and flatly stated the obvious reason for their policy: “The majority of guests here prefer smoking!” So what is clear is that in the City of our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, a smoker’s right to harm himself and others trumps a non-smoker’s right to be free from harm and to breathe the blessed and healing Medinan air.
Apparently, they also prefer to waste food. The wastage I witnessed was beyond belief. While in Medina, my wife and I took leftover food out to the streets and found poor people who were overjoyed to eat it and thanked us profusely for having thought of them. I spoke with one of the waiters in our hotel about people placing far more food on their plates from the buffet table than they could possibly eat, and he responded, “If you saw what we see, you would weep.”
We clearly suffer from those very tribulations the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, identified, and we have to realize that the source of the tribulations is not the big bad West, nor is it the evil rulers in Muslim countries, or the unjust judges. We need only look within our selves. We are consumed by our indulgences and our excesses. These problems are all only symptoms, and as long as we treat the surface symptoms, the disease lies beneath and only gets worse. The antidote is to follow the Prophet’s sunnah.
In another hadith, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was reported to have said, “God is never angered with a people except that they suffer from inflation, their markets become depressed, corruption becomes the norm, and unjust governance becomes more severe. When that happens, the wealthy among them forget the rights of the poor, governance loses its virtue, and the poor stop praying.”
If we look at the current economic crisis, the prevailing view is that there are clearly discernible causes for it that have been studied, documented, analyzed, and articulated. And there are legal and legislative and systemic solutions being offered. But these are merely symptomatic analyses, and as long as the metaphysical roots are ignored, the tribulations will only recur. When God’s limits are transgressed, certain responses are incurred. God is not susceptible to emotions, so when He is “angered” (sakhita), this should not be understood anthropomorphically.
The solution then is to work to attain God’s pleasure (rida). One of the prayers of our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, every day was, “O God, I seek refuge in You from your anger and the fire, and I ask You for Your pleasure and Your paradise.” The pleasure of God is only discerned through following, to the best of our ability, the way of His beloved Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Our task is to learn and live by it. It begins with sincere intention, is followed by disciplined study, and is fulfilled through purposeful actions based upon sound knowledge.
I have no contempt in my heart for anyone. While in Medina, though troubled by much of what I observed in the Prophet’s city, my heart was always filled with a love for his community and with a desire to see them, and myself, on a path to purification. If the Prophet’s sunnah is not practiced in his own city, where the beloved rests awaiting the day of judgment, tell me, where then will it be practiced?
1While some difference of opinion still exists, the vast majority of scholars have declared smoking among prohibited matters based upon the hadith, “No harm and no reciprocating harm.” Smoking is clearly harmful, and secondary smoke harms others. See the transcript of the Friday sermon on “The Legal Ruling on Smoking” delivered by the excellent and courageous Syrian scholar, the Sharif, Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi.
Safraz bacchus Posted on 10/16/2011
As salaamu alikum dear beloved shaykh.
I first learnt about you while I was studying in alazhar uni.I had the opportunity to reach sh habeeb ali jifriand he mention your name .
From the moment I herd you speaking you touch my heart and you inspired me during my studies. I graduated and
returned to guyana my home land with with the central Islamic organization of Guyana. Sh Abdullah umr was in Guyana and i pray that one day you can visit us . You continue to play an integral part of my life, I listen to your lectures and I read most of your writings . I hope you feel better and may allah continue to show his blessings upon you.
Haves pleasant day.
Safraz Bacchus of Guyana
Fatima Shaikh Posted on 10/04/2011
Assalaam alaikum, Brother Hamza Yusuf!
Read your article and agreed with you 100%. Couple of years ago, I had a dream in which I was witnessing smoke arising from one of the two Holy sites in Saudi Arabia and I was crying in a most anguished manner, calling out “Ya RasulAllah!” and I was crying profusely as I awoke up from the dream. Dont know why but reading your piece made me so sad! May Allah guide us all in the path of our Noble Prohet (PBUH)!
May Allah Bless you and your family and all the Islamic scholars,Ameen!
ua Posted on 09/17/2011
Assalaam Alaikum,
No doubt Arab countries have the smokiest non-smoking airports…on my trip to Dubai, I was sickened by the overwhelmng smell of stale cigarettes tainting everything. I have sent endless emails, stop smoking products to relatives in the Middle East but despite a family history of cancer and heart disease,..they shrug them off saying “if Allah wills”..and that the time of death has already been appointed…ie so there’s no point in giving up.
Why is it that Muslims are the most reticent to take good advice?
I was appalled by the extent of the shopping malls that start right from the entrances of the holy mosques. For those that go to the sacred mosques in hope of some spiritual retreat/solace, will find “dunya” right at it’s door. I guess we muslims are already distracted and diverted that they can’t even sit through a Quran recitation; I went to an “islamic conference”(Living Islam) in the UK in the summer, sadly the Qazi who was scheduled to do a Quranic recitation/the Names of Allah at approx. 9.30am cancelled as very few or no attendees in the mornings whereas the night time entertainment sessions were packed out.
ak Posted on 09/02/2011
Asalam’alaikum Sheikh Hamza –
While I respect you as a scholar of our religious tradition and of the Arabic language, I nonetheless have major issue with what you have written above, particularly in the first part of your post. It seems to be little more than an attempt to defend the elitism of scholars of Islam, in all facets of life and thought, and ironically purports this idea that they are beyond criticism (which is of course self-serving). This isn’t the forum to discuss Islamic history, the interconnectedness of scholarship and politics, or historiography, but it’s a mockery of history to tout the greatness of knowledge in such an uncritical light and imply the problem of the Muslim world is that they do not respect the learned. One does not need to look at modern historians for treatment of this, but can simply pay attention to the introduction of many of Imam Ghazali’s works, which you’ve taught/lectured on, in regards to the corruption of scholars and the intermingling with politics.
Do you truly fear for people who attack people like Sheikh Sa’id Ramadan al-Buti? I’m sure you would then just have easily have feared for people who attacked the scholars of Islam who, in 1990, stood up on their pulpits to propagate Saddam Hussein and his “Army of Iman”, reading off their sermons provided by their governments and coloring their commentary with anecdotes heard on the state run media. Subhan’Allah. Those who had a sense of justice and the intelligence to look past their government found themselves without a job, but at least they stood up for their values and beliefs rather than sitting comfortably in their position and defending the unjust.
If we look at the case of Sheikh al-Buti specifically, he not only dismisses the protestors as “filthy people” and accuses them of creating fitna, but goes on to defend the Syrian regime as one that should not be criticized for its human rights record. Much like what you’ve done in this post, Sheikh al-Buti is using his religious authority to speak down, rather condescendingly, to the Muslim populous as he attempted to de-legitimize the protestors on religious grounds. Contrast his cowardice to Sheikh Muhammad al-Ya’qoubi or Sheikh Krayem Rajeh – who stood up against oppression and are no longer allowed on the pulpit in Syria.
I am confident that you are well aware of the expansiveness of your readership and as such it’s quite troubling that you continue to comment on things so casually, sticking to your initial line of thought, and running with it without considering the implications it may have on the public opinion of lay Muslims that you have so aptly criticized as ‘Higgins is wearing designer torn jeans and speaking in the debased vernacular of Doolittle, pretending to be hoi polloi’. Perhaps you should consider, in your elevated level, that history has never been shaped by the masses but rather their leaders. And then try to disengage yourself from defending your own elitism and assuming that someone educated in traditional Islam is not allowed to be questioned or criticized by “common people” as history has shown that ‘ulema are quite often wrong.
Just like most Muslims wouldn’t allow you, Sheikh al-Buti, or the like to perform spinal surgery on us, I also don’t think you are quite fit to be commenting on things such as politics, sociology, or economics, as anyone who looks beyond your citations of Islamic scholars that you use to establish authority and the randomly plucked authors of the Western cannon (read=pseudo-intellectual) can see there is a tremendous lack of insight in your treatment of these issues. Reverence for reverences sake is nothing other than foolish and the problem with the Muslim world today. May Allah guide you to use your influence more responsibly.
ak Posted on 09/15/2011
I forgot to comment on the most unique interpretation you have of Shaw’s Pygmalion. Perhaps you were confused when you read it, but Shaw wrote that play as an attack on the elitism in British society and it was his way of supporting women’s rights through Doolittle.
In a rant about scholastic superiority, to incorrectly cite a text that was written to attack elitism is irony at its finest.
the traveler Posted on 09/25/2011
bear brothers and friends, the shaikh has a point. the thirsty man always seeks the water fountain, the water never comes to you. we must take the first step to seek knowledge.
may Allah purify our hearts and mind and return us to our former glory
Sherifa Posted on 08/15/2011
My dearest Sheikh Hamza, Jazak Allah khairan for all that you do. You are an inspiration and guide to all of us. May Allah give you good health and long life. I am really bothered because I can no longer google you. Is this deliberate?
Ibn Malik Posted on 08/12/2011
There is a minor typo in the last paragraph:
have no contempt in my heart for anyone. While in Medina, though troubled by much of what I observed in the Prophet’s city, my heart was always filled with a love for his community and with a desire to see them, and myself, on a path to purification. If the Prophet’s sunnah IN not practiced in his own city, where the beloved rests awaiting the day of judgment, tell me, where then will it be practiced?
IN should have been is.
Zahraa Posted on 08/12/2011
Shaykh Hamza, you have taught me a lot. JazakAllah. Salam from New Zealand! Do come here someday! :)
Hamzah Muneer Posted on 08/11/2011
As Salaamu Alykum
Even with your unfortunate injury you’re writing is just as intelligent and clear as always, I remember visiting Makkah a few years ago and outside the harram it wasn’t a pretty sight, the hallmarks of poverty and luxury standing side by side, the most luxurious hotels and jewellery shops sharing the street with beggars and petty thieves. May Allah give you health and I look forward to reading and listening to more of your work. w’Salaam ~ Peace
Nishat Posted on 08/09/2011
May Allah grant you with complete recovery. I am really concerned about increaing “Hookah Bars” culture in USA & sad that this isimported from Muslim countries .Please include this topic in your Khutbas in here, as Muslim youth looks upto you.
Mecca and Medina … where are we going? | Just Another Voice Posted on 08/08/2011
[...] From an article by shaikh Hamza Yusuf : Where are the “No Smoking” signs in Medina? Since they are no longer in our hearts, at least put… [...]
sharif ibrahim Posted on 08/01/2011
May Allah bless you with abundant health and shower you and your family with His love, light and mercy. I have always believed that the Prophet peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, desired that his companions be transformed by his message as well as accepting it. We tend to forget that the aim of religion is to help us realise our specific purpose, sacred contract, while knowing that Allah Azza wa Jalla is our Creator and Reckoner. In our everyday teaching and learning of our religion, we must imbue it with the desire for greater transformation of the self such being the aim of these knowledge. The Prophet peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is described as being of majestic and noble character and an exemplar, thus exhorting us to higher levels of consciousness and practice. As muslims we must strive to reflect the nobility of our master and teacher if we desire Allah and the last Day. We are obligated to become witnesses to mankind and lead them to their Creator. We are here to manifest the beautiful attributes of Allah as He has exhorted us to strive towards this goal. The time has come for us to bring love and mercy to this world, to teach forgiveness to our warring brothers, to ease the suffering of others, to bring life and hope where there is death and despair, to teach tolerance and the brotherhood of all, to heal ourselves and the world, to make this world habitable for our children and to be sources of peace in our everyday life. Our spirit potential can only be realised when we strive to serve the whole of Allah’s creation, to be sources of good through our actions,speech and thoughts. May Allah purify us during this blessed month and show us the truth as it is and grant us adherence to it,unite our hearts in love, forgiveness, tolerance and bless us all with His pleasure and may we be pleasing to our Prophet too on the Last Day.
Nazya Posted on 07/31/2011
Randomly came to this whilst surfing for material that can help to genuinely re-inspire me towards my religion. Nice piece, well written and intellectually stimulating (hurrah!). Whilst I agree with the first part of the discussion – How about some comments on the damage that some ignorant scholars do in terms of un-inspiring people. Well done – I’m sure this will play a part towards my re-inspiration (still in the making).
Saleha Posted on 07/26/2011
Shukran for sharing dear shaykh & really happy to know you are recovering mashaAllah. Allah grant you a long blessed hayaat. in need of your du’as
Obaidur Rahman Posted on 07/25/2011
salam alaikum Shaykh.
Looling forward to your detailed thoughts on the debt crisis and the state of economy nationally and worldwide. Is there a global crisis on the horizon? what are the causes of it? what can be done to solve the crisis? what does Islamic Economics have to offer. I’m still waiting for a “ghazaliesque” response to the current crisis by a muslim scholar.
irshad soofi siddiqui Posted on 07/25/2011
As salamu alaikum Beloved Shaykh
I pray Allah gives you a speedy recovery. You have touched my heart and inspired me in ways that it is impossible to put into words. We need u for a long time , so in my limited words i pray to Allah for you daily and i am sure He understands in His unlimited Undersanding. Plese come to South Africa we need u. You inspired me to write a book called ‘Attack on the Spiritual Heart of Islam’.
Irshad Soofie Siidiqui Chishti
Khanqae Soofia
http://www.sufi.co.za.
irshad soofie siddiqui Posted on 07/25/2011
As salamu alaikum
My dear Shaykh
You may be physically hurt but for the spiritual healing you performed on my heart I caannot find the words to thank you. I make dua for your well being within my limited capacity but i am sure The unlimited understands them. I love you for the sake of Allah.
shaheera ahmad Posted on 07/20/2011
my prayers are with you shaykh…hope you are feeling better. May Allah bless and reward you for your efforts. Ameen
Lauren Posted on 07/19/2011
Assalaamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullah.
Not one word that comes from your pen dear brother Shaykh Hamza fails to inspire tears from my eyes or reflection in my heart.
I pray that Allah ta ala continues to bless you, your work and us all, InshAllah ta ala.
Wasalam,
Arizona sister
Iftikhar Posted on 07/18/2011
Assalamualaikum Sheikh Hamza Yusuf
Saddened to hear about your recent poor health. May Allhah continue to show his mercy and blessings you, all of us.
Aki, keep doing what you do and may allah be pleased with it, you and all those that benefit from it.
S.A Posted on 07/18/2011
I am so ashamed of where the Muslim Ummah stands today. There is so much chaos, it’s like a big mess that needs cleaning up. When it comes to ideals, and practicing all what Islam has to teach about Khuluq, I find it so difficult sometimes, and I get overwhelmed, feeling like I was the only one trying to apply these things, and that it doesn’t work that way…almost like swimming up-river, and May Allah give me more strength…
Today’s society is a me-first mentality and is almost a ‘survival of the fittest’… it can get quite difficult practicing the selflessness and sympathy the Prophet (PBUH) taught us… lest one gets trampled over. (Advice?)
['ideology replaces creed']
May Allah forgive our sins
Salamo 3alaikom
Songa Posted on 07/12/2011
Our prayers are with you!! May Allah grant you a long and healthy life!!!!!
Ameer Idris Prince Enoch Posted on 07/10/2011
Subhan Allah ~ Excellent read. Brought tears to my heart & eyes when the Shaykh mentions, “While in Medina, my wife and I took leftover food out to the streets and found poor people who were overjoyed to eat it and thanked us profusely for having thought of them. I spoke with one of the waiters in our hotel about people placing far more food on their plates from the buffet table than they could possibly eat, and he responded, “If you saw what we see, you would weep.” … Recalling being in the land of Arabia, & seeing all the poor ppl who beg on the streets, when there is an over abundance to eat thrown away everyday, is appalling. There are ppl (so called Muslims) dying of overeating in Arabia & right next door in Ethiopia & her neighbors there are Muslims dying of starvation. Don’t we remember the hadeeth of the Prophet alay he Salat Allah who is reported to have said, “They are not believers who go to bed with their bellies filled, while their neighbors go to sleep hungry” …. We have to come out of our coma. May Allah ta ala wake us up from this nightmare & give us instant Islah/Uprightness … Ameen Allah Ameen Allah Ameen Allah. Thank U Shaykh Hamza 4 giving us the jolts we need to arise & warn. May Allah ta ala preserve U & Ur loved ones always. Ameen Yaa Arhamoo Raheemeen
Syed Shoaib Posted on 07/09/2011
SubhanAllah, what a wonderful and erudite writing shaykh… Ma salaam
Abdul-Halim Posted on 07/06/2011
Dear Shaykh Hamza,
It goes without saying that I pray, alongside everyone else, for your good health. I thank God for your recovery.
I’m surprised that Shaykh Al-Yaqoobi’s ‘Legal Ruling on Smoking’ didn’t make reference to the Rum, Wine and other 597 additives used in cigarette production. This information can be googled quite easily. Rum and wine are inarguably haram. Additionally, “over 4000 chemical compounds are created by burning a cigarette – 69 of those are known to cause cancer.” (from Tri-Country Cessation Center website)
God bless you always.
Ilyas Posted on 07/03/2011
SA,
While in Mecca, SA. I was not able to get to the Web site, wonder if its filtered or blocked. Hope someone can explain or comment. I tried numerous times, so I’m sure it was not a random internet issue.
-peace
Sister Dania Posted on 07/03/2011
Dear Shaykh, I am grateful to hear that you are better now. May Allah put barakah in your health, strength and youth.
I am amazed at how you learned a lesson from your fall: The wisdom of wearing a turban. SubhanAllah!
The last time I visited the holy cities, I felt like a “ghareeb” (stranger) because these cities have become more commercialized. I was deeply saddened by that.
I would like to ask you a question please: How did you explain to your boys the ‘smoky’ situation they observed in Madina so that they don’t get confused with the ideals taught at home?
I hope I am clear.
Jazaka Allahu Kheir,
Wasalaam,
Sister Dania
lavon.brown Posted on 07/02/2011
AsSalaamu Alaikum Sheikh Hamza,
May Allah make your ailment an expiation of your sins and bless you with a speedy recovery inshaAllah ta’ala. In reading your post, I was reminded of some hadith collected in Ibn Kathir’s End of the World collection in which one stated evil people would be expelled from Medina and Makkah. Allah knows best His creation. InshaAllah may Allah bless the people of Medina and Makkah and purify their hearts. InshaAllah may Allah strengthen and purfiy the hearts of all of the muslims inshaAllah. It is very true that problems of our today are only symptoms of broken hearts. May Allah forgive us and have mercy upon us inshaAllah ta’ala. I recently came across Sheikh Bin Bayyah’s video to American muslims. I thought was spectacular Alhamdulillah. He spoke about living up to the values America and being good citizens. My words are not doing his speech justice, but it was heart-warming to hear the Sheikh speak as he did.
Ummzan Posted on 07/01/2011
Salam
I pray you have a speedy recovery, you my dear brother are a hope of inspiration to all. We learn so much from your lectures and I personnely relisten to some of your lectures, such as purification of the heart, which is very indepth. I am also listeing to Following a Madhab, very interesting & eye opening. May Allah SWT reward you, your family & all our pious scholars Ameen!
On the subject of “No Smoking” signs in Medina. Good luck my brother, it seems some of our brothers & sisters still think it to be “Cool” to smoke, regardless of the health risk associted. Having said that I live in the UK, Buckinghamshire and I find that a lot of problems with the muslim community have are which their own hands have created. One in particaulr I speak openly about is providing false information for state benefits, including many peaople who are religious. I have been toldmay taxi drivers declare they earn £100 a wk & only work part time. which is usually far from accurate. These same individuals invite more trouble in their lives. When I have stated may a times that it is wrong and haram to do so, I have many a times been met with a very negative response, “how will we make ends meet if we do not claim”. I have seen many marriages & families separated, & i believe the root cause is most likely the income, not only does effect the married couple but also their children. I pray Inshallah Allah guide me & my brother & sisters to the sirtulmastqeem. Ameen!
Sis Ashura Mahdiyyah Posted on 06/28/2011
ASA – Thanks Sh. Hamza Yusuf – for continually awaking the Ummah with the issues that affect us now. May Allah preserve the Health of your Family
ma salaams
Hajjah Ashura
Abd Posted on 06/28/2011
Asslamu Alaikum,
I pray that you feel better and Allah give you long, healthy life. May Allah increase your rank and accept your services.
Jazakum Allahu Khairan.
Umer Posted on 06/27/2011
JAK Sheikh.
Any thoughts on NY legalizing gay marriage? I am interested in your point of view and also, what poisiton should Muslims take on this-or rather, how should we explain our point of view?
Sohail Posted on 06/27/2011
Assalamu Alikum!
“Alhakum ut takaasur………………..” (Al Qura’n)
May ALLAH bless you Sheikh
areeb faruqi Posted on 06/27/2011
Asalam u alaikum, May Allah bless you with health and more knowledge which can flow from you to us Inshallah …I passed on these rulings to some of my friends who im trying to convince to quit May Allah guide them too Inshallah. I have a question if anyone can help me trying to learn Arabic the community I live in is small and barely any resource available to learn Arabic does anyone know Online classes or anything which can help me ….appreciate your response thanks
» Blog Archive » …smoking… Posted on 06/26/2011
[...] Hamza Yusuf’s on his recent visit to our Mubarak City of Enlightenment witnessed, and subsequently wrote on his Sandala site about the lack of Adab in relation to smoking and the wastage of food in and around [...]
Rayan Sherbeny Posted on 06/26/2011
الله يطول عمرك في طاعته ويجعلك للمتقين إماما
Muslima Posted on 06/26/2011
Assalaam alaikum Shaykh Hamza,
I am thankful to Allah that you are feeling better, alhamdulillah. I pray tha He (subhana wa taála) protects you from all harm. May He raise your maqam and bless you in your life so that we can benefit and learn from your knowledge. May Allah bless you and your family in this dunya and the akhira. Ameen.
Yahia Posted on 06/25/2011
Salam 3alaykom,
Thank you cheikh Hamza for your thoutghts about the cigarettes polluting our holy cities.
I would like you to pray Allah to heal me from my protozoan infection ( I knew you have been infected with a protozoan in Africa). This infection is literally ruining my life but Elhamdollilah I’m trying to be patint. I used to get some suicidal thoughts from this infection. My protozoan is infection my intestines ( Colons and the Cecum). This infection is causing me a daily diarreah and a lack of concentration. I know it’s a protozoa because I detected its DNA by PCR.
I made a modest forum : http://microscopiccreatures.lefora.com/ for protozoan infection treatments. So please dear Cheikh pray or me.
Doctors don’t know a thing. I have a proof from a laboratory that uses PCR that I have protozoan and them telling me it’s mental to avoid the true treatment. I’m a pharmacologist by the way but I hope nchAllah to find something to deal with this creatures that defeat social darwinism.
I hope to be in touch with some Muslim scientists to work something out to deal with these infections that are ruining Muslim lifes also. I believe that protozoan infections are responsible for poverty in Africa and the middle east.
Jazaka Allahu khayran.
Anthony Posted on 06/25/2011
As’salāamu `alaikum wa rahmatu l-lāhi wa barakātuh Shaykh Hamza Yusuf,
I hope this reply finds you with ameliorating health.
Thank you for your thoughts on this issue. Allah has yet to give me the chance to visit either Mecca or Medina, but I’d prefer for my visit not to be sullied with the excessive and pervasive smoking that has become so characteristic of the Muslim World.
Shaykh, with all due respect, I humbly object to your statements about elitism and rap not being a form poetry. In fact, if I didn’t believe your comments reflected your concern for the intellectual and spiritual well-being of the Muslim community, then I think I would take umbrage to them. The station of scholarly discourse in the past notwithstanding, I simply don’t think Muslims in America can afford this type of Ivory Tower, Castalian, intellectual caste-type attitude now, even if there is some veracity to it. Right now, who do we have in our ranks that can deliver our narrative to the so-called “common folk,” the people who inhabit the trailer parks, the ghettos, and the projects of America? I don’t of too many Muslims, other than converts like myself, who have been or would be willing to go to some of these places, let alone attempt to disseminate the message of Islam in a way can understood by them. If we cannot reach these people, if we aren’t willing to reach these people because we’re too good to “break it down”, then the likes of Fox News certainly will; and truly, they’ve already done so. There is anti-elitism narrative in America, especially among the “common folk,” and there has been for quite sometime. I therefore don’t think it’s not wise on the part of Muslims to endorse this type of mentality. If we are truly to be a mercy unto mankind, then the onus should be on us as people of knowledge, consciousness, and understanding to “break it down” for the “common folk” so that they can “get it.” It might not have been like this in the annals of our history, but this seems to be the reality today. Allahu’Alim.
As for rap: I’m not sure what your exposure to hip-hop is, but I’m guessing it’s faint at best. University of California at Berkley and Havard University have been known to hold symposiums on hip-hop as a form poetry, specifically the rap of Tupac Shakur. Recall, if you would Shaykh, that hip-hop served as a medium to introduce Islam and Muslim terminology to the inner-cities and the ghettos in the mid 80s and early 90s. I can’t recall ever seeing a bearded, thawb wearing Muslim reciting Arabic poetry or the Qur’an in my neighborhood. Consider this: the first time I ever heard Bismillah al-rahman al-rahim or Allah or Qur’an was in a rap song – not from a conservative, bearded sheikh from over seas or a hijabi or a niqabi or even from a recitation of the Qur’an itself but from a rap song. Rap is not with it’s problems, specifically rap in its current manifestation, but it all the same has it’s place in American culture, specifically Blackamerican culture.
Once again, thank you for your post. May Allah grant you success with your endeavors.
Salaam/Peace
~Anthony
hamza yusuf Posted on 08/17/2011
Dear Anthony:
Salaam alaykum:
Thanks for the post. I am actually referring to what is more mainstream i.e. gangsta rap and the type of rap that I hear from booming cars around Hayward. A lot of foul language and low things. Spoken word is a serious art form. Some great artists have emerged using that genre. I have even tried my own hand at some spoken word, which can be called rap also. All art forms have low and high manifestations. I should be clearer, but all communication is problematic because we are using words, loaded, emotive and tenuously defined as the post-modernists love to point out. Sincerely with salaams, hamza
M Posted on 06/25/2011
Shikh Hamza,
Hamdulilah ala salamtak. I hope allah gives you a quick and full recovery.
Regarding the non-smoking hotel in Madina. Although you have very valid points, one thing you have to keep in mind is that the hotel is also a business who cater to mostly 3rd world countries who are not as aware as the US and UK with how harmful smoking is and have a much higher smokers to non smokers ratio. Smoking in some areas of the world is still accepted and tolerated. Saudi Arabia currently (according to my knowledge) doesn’t now have a non-smoking restaurant in order to demand a non-smoking hotel. Even if you had a non-smoking hotel, do you think the customers would obey to that law? Everyone in Saudi Arabia is above the law.
Greg Posted on 06/25/2011
I’m confused Shaykh. I have no intention of criticizing the scholars, but don’t I have every right to be disappointed that they (in the case of Shaykh Buti) sided with the regime in Syria, and practically ignore the 1000s that have perished simply asking for freedom? He likened them to the lowest of the lows. The Muslim world is changing, by the will of Allah swt, regardless of the position certain scholars maintain.
Its just incredibly disheartening to see some of our beloved learned community ignore the lowly common folk. I know we can’t read good, and we ain’t got lots of money, but that don’t mean we don’t hurt when we’re being massacred by brutal dictators. I’m sure we got to share some of the blame, but Lord, these dudes in power spraying us with bullets ain’t helping! Am I to blame when a Syrian general orders the murder, torture, and castration of a 13 year old boy? Are we as a people responsible for that? Just a question, when do the people in power, when do the guys making the calls, have to own up to to their actions?
Gadhafi, Assad, Ali Saleh, Mubarak, Ben Ali, etc., these guys aren’t dismissible factors, there’s a reason they’ve been(were- Alhamdullilah!) in power for so long, they know how to do damage.
Again, I ain’t nothing but a simple man from simpleton. I can’t pretend to share the slightest academic prowess that you have amassed over the course of your life, and it is my hope that Allah swt allows me to benefit from your knowledge in any way I can. I’m not holding a position, or rebuking a claim, I’m simply wondering, I am legitimately confused. Any response would be greatly appreciated.
Akhook fil-illah,
Greg,
Salamu-Alaikum
samira asma Posted on 06/24/2011
Appreciate your focus on tobacco smoking-leading cause of preventable deaths globally. More than 5 million premature deaths annually due to smoking & 600,000 to secondhand smoke.
The Holy Cities were declared smokefree in 2002 and from your recent observations, compliance is deficient. The Governor’s office in Medina was supportive at that time. Can we encourage the relevant authorities in the two Holy Cities to enforce the bans? If enforced, this can be a beacon for other cities worldwide. If NYC can implement the bans, why cant the Holy Cities?
We pray for your wellbeing and for all. Salams,
Umm Zainab Posted on 06/24/2011
Asalaamu Alaikum,
One of the things that people of today lack is gumption! Eliza Doolittle had courage and gumption enough to want to change. She saw an opportunity to better herself and she took it. In today’s world the blame always goes to someone else. We are very eager to point fingers at others; parents, scholars, teachers, spouses, they all become our scapegoats. We lack the skills to truly become self aware and acknowledge that our shortcomings are only our own. If we can’t admit what is lacking in ourselves, we can’t even begin the process of change.
We only see people and judge people by the standards that we have for ourselves. I’m grateful that you have be a beacon for change for so many people, not, only for teaching us our creed and love for Allah, Most High, but for refining our habits.
I pray that you and your loved ones are in the best of health and spirit.
Asma Posted on 06/24/2011
I really cannot tolerate when people insult those whom I look up to. Putting all things aside, people should respect others and their views. I pray for your full recovery and may Allah preserve you and your amily.
Faisal Posted on 06/24/2011
Asalamualaikum Shaykh,
We created this short animation as a family project to teach our children about the dangers of smoking. I would like to share it with you and everyone else.
http://www.journeytojannah.com/dontsmoke/dontsmoke3.html
Many people have been asking for the continuation of it, however we have had a hard time thinking of exactly how to continue it. We would appreciate your suggestions.
We will InshAllah add those proofs in for not smoking to the end of the video along with the existing research.
JZK-
Mariam Posted on 06/24/2011
Sheik Hamza Yusuf you are always in our prayers and I pray to Allah swt that you get better soon inshAllah and continue to write profound documents that improve the condition of this Ummah.
Jazakullah Kair for everything you do. May Allah bless you aand your family with success in this life and the Akira. Ameen.
Mazin Posted on 06/23/2011
May Allah bring fast recovery to you sheikh Hamza, I ask Allah to give you the strength and health to continue on your holy duty.
Maryam Qadri Posted on 06/23/2011
Assalamu Alaikum Shaykh Hamza Yusuf:
May Allah the Exalted bless and protect you, your family and your esteemed teacher. Amin. Your words, composure, care and concern is always very encouraging. This blog is a great blessing to the Umma and a source of guidance and hope. Jazak Allah khair for your tireless efforts. Please remember us in your dua too!
Amjid Mahmood Posted on 06/23/2011
May Allah subhanuhu wata’aala keep you safe and grant you a speedy recovery.
As a conservative estimate, I would say around 50% of westerners under the age of 35 are going around the ka’bah at any one time due to being inspired by your talks, lectures and writings.
Sandala is a port of safety in the vast internet ocean.
S Nayyar Posted on 06/23/2011
Assalam Alaikum Sheikh
I was in Mecca in April and during tawaf my mother and I raised our hands and eyes to the skies and to our shock found ourselves looking at this new monstrosity – the clock tower. My poor mother who rarely gets angry was speechless with anger. From Allah we come and to him we return…..It truly was a devastating moment.
umm zain Posted on 06/25/2011
Indeed, the blazing clock tower is a strange sight to see, but I find it most befitting–in the city where the very signs that the Prophet (alaihi salaam) foretold (and as Sh. Hamza relates often), when we see holes being drilled in the mountains of Mecca, and buildings constructed that tower over the mountains, then the Hour is surely at hand! THE HOUR, “Al-Saa’ah” (just as the Clock Tower is named) is at hand. And that bright looming clock truly is an unsavory reminder for the manifest signs abound in the most holy of cities…
Muslimah Posted on 07/09/2011
MashaAllah Umm Zain, what an interesting way to look at that, jazakillahukhairan form sharing with us. May Allah Ta’aala increase you in insight and nur , Ameen
Afeef Posted on 08/06/2011
What’s wrong with the tower?
malika Posted on 06/23/2011
Salama’likoum Shaikh Hamza,
JazakAllahokheir for your post. In a sense, it make me realize the generosity of Allah towards me. I dream about going there with the hope it will increase my faith and it was hard for me to accept that I can’t go there yet. Al Hamdulilah ‘ala kouli hale.
But when I read your comment, it helps me more to realise that it’s not the most important the place I live in and it does not necessarly make somebody a believer…
It’s so sad to learn those things happen in the Prophete city, peace be upon him. SoubhanAllah.
Well, I am writing you towards another topic :
I have listened to the all video “Qurat Al Absar Part 2″ and as I am a seeker of science, there is something I want to understand : it is about the birth of the prophet. My understanding through the courses I follow is that it’s bida. Why ? Because the prophet has never celebrated his birthday.
I have learnt recently that even if we do things different in religion, as long as we have a dalil, it’s acceptable. For instance, at the time of prophet’ life, there was a group of people who has prayed salat Asr during usual time slot of Asr and another group who has prayed salat Asr after magreb when they reached a specific place. All of them had correct. Why ? Because all of them have followed the prophet’s teaching. The prophet told them to pray salat Asr when they reach a specific place. After that, despite this difference, they did not fight each other. They just go to see the prophet and ask.
I want to follow their exemple. I miss something for sure. I will see my teacher this week end (My teacher is a jurist in Theology and was the student of Shaykh Al ‘Outhaymine, Ibn Baz) He was also student of Muhammad Hamidulah. May Allah bless them all.
So could you please help me on that subject ? Just need a dalil and then, I will ask my teacher.
JazakALLAHOKHEIR.
Salama’likoum
Malika
France
ps : sorry in advance for my written english. Not my mother tongue :) French as well anyway :)
Lina Alam Posted on 06/23/2011
Jazak’Allah Khair Shaykh Hamza…praying for your complete recovery…inshaAllah :)
Lina Alam Posted on 06/23/2011
Jazak’Allah Khair Shaykh Hamza…praying for your complete recovery! :)
maher Posted on 06/23/2011
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon his Messenger Muhammed Sallalaahu Alaihi Wassallam.
Jazakallah Khair for such a great article. I learned a lot and i think that you are exactly right about how we need to stop blaming
others for our problems and deeply reflect on our own state.
May Allah bless you, your teacher. your wife, your children, and those who follow you to the highest level of Jannah. Ameen
Please keep us in your prayers.
yousra Posted on 06/23/2011
Asalamu Alaikum,
The Muslim community depends on your knowledge. I pray for you and your family everyday. Inshallah you are well and may Allah always be with you, your children, and your respected wife.
Muslim Posted on 06/23/2011
Asalamu Alaykum Shaykh Hamza,
May Allah make it easy for you and help you recover from your fall Ameen.
It is really great to hear from you through your blog. I look forward to reading your posts often and was concerned when you did not write for a while. May Allah give you the strength and energy to keep doing your important work and bless us with the opportunity to hear from you and protect you from any evil Ameen.
Alhumdulilah, I have had the blessed opportunity to visit Mecca and Madinah Munawwara three times in my life. No other moment in my life was more precious to me than when I got a chance to walk up the Jannat-ul-Baqi side of Masjid Nabwi and turn the corner towards the Door of Jibril and to be able to finally see with my own eyes the beautiful Dome of Felicity over the blessed resting place of the Prophet, Sall Allahu Alayhi Wasalim. As I walked up just before turning that corner, I had immense feelings of shame and joy both at the same time. Something I’ve never felt before in my life. And as I turned that blessed corner of the Masjid and the Dome of the Prophet, Sall Allahu Alayhi Wasalim, was directly infront of me, every thought in my mind went away except one. The realization that my goal in life is to try and gain the company of him, Sall Allahu Alayhi Wasalim, and to do my best so that I can be with him, Sall Allahu Alayhi Wasalim, on the Day of Judgement. Is there any other way to attain salvation and the pleasure of Allah than through the pleasure of the Prophet, Sall Allahu Alayhi Wasalim? And I pray for you, Shaykh Hamza, and all of the scholars of Islam who have delivered this message to us, to the Ummah, in such a way that it not only penetrated our minds but also our hearts.
I also witnessed many of the things you mentioned in your article. All the pushing that goes on there, the smoking, the waste of food and the western mall-like culture that is invading those areas got me angry and I was very judgemental about it initially. I even witnessed people fighting each other verbally over a table in a 5 or 6 star hotel while their plates were over flowing with food. Educated Muslims cutting each other on line and losing their tempers. I witnessed people cursing and fighting each other while they were in Arafah on Hajj. I almost lost my own temper when grown men were pushing ladies, including my mother, just to get somewhere quicker and stay close to each other. Why are men afraid to be separated from each other? Isn’t sticking together important enough to maybe justify pushing or a tug at someone when you are trying not to be separated from your women, children and elderly? And I couldn’t be so immature to think that it was just other people. It was a reflection of the Ummah as a whole. It was a reflection of me. I might not be greedy for food, but maybe I was greedy in other ways that I could not even see myself. It was a big lesson for me.
The feelings and emotions I had when visiting the Prophet, Sall Allahu Alayhi Wasalam, and gazing at the Kabah and and praying in Masjid al Haram were so extremely different than the feelings I had when dealing with the situation outside those places just minutes later. All of the spirituality and feelings of awareness I attained just minutes earlier were just erased and washed away as I walked through a Super Mall to get to my hotel or witnessed people yelling at each other or just throwing away full plates of food. This wasn’t always the case but it really affected me. I realized how much, as an Ummah, we are taking everything we have been blessed with for granted. How far we are from actually attaining that true felicity even though its SO near to us. Literally a block away from many hotels in Madinah. I realized we have a lot of work to do with ourselves and others. But visiting Mecca and Madinah make you realize that we have to do it together. We have no choice but to be concerned with one anothers salvation and character because millions of us will be forced into a tiny little space every year to deal with each other.
May Allah make it easy for all us Ameen.
Muslimah Posted on 07/09/2011
BarakAllahufeek, Your comment was excellent and heartfelt. I myself have not yet had the opportunity to make the Hajj or Umra, and I always ask people who have to share their experience with me so I can feel it through them, yours was an excellent account. May Allah bless you.
Abu Yusuf Posted on 06/23/2011
assalaamu alaikum,
I’m sorry to hear about your fall and head injury. May Allah make that incident a mercy for you and may He give you a quick recovery. Ameen.
ws,
Abu Yusuf
Tricia Posted on 06/23/2011
I also want to add that although a glorious picture of the scholars has been given in this article, it remains to be said that the same scholars in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, would do better to tackle these flagrant harms than to engage in credal wars or cultural wars against women driving cars. I think accountability goes both ways.
Tricia Posted on 06/23/2011
I was on Rihla 2008 with you Shaykh Hamza. I remember being disturbed by all the plastic cups used to drink zamzam water. Do you know if the authorities recycle them? I’d be fine with cupping my hands and drinking that way. I dont see how one of the greatest blessings should incur so much waste.
Where are the "No Smoking" signs in Medina?- Shaykh Hamza Yusuf - Pashtun Community | Pashtuns | Pashto | Posted on 06/23/2011
[...] in Medina?- Shaykh Hamza Yusuf – Today, 02:05 PM A very insightful article. Where are the "All humans are dead except those who have knowledge. And all those who have [...]
Faatimah Posted on 06/23/2011
A pertinent reminder and heartfelt reflection. Personal change is not only the nearest in reach, but reaps the most rewards and alhamduLilah, the process seems endless.
Nur Amira Posted on 06/23/2011
Peace and blessings of God be upon you, Shaykh Hamza. Thank you for setting aside some time to update this blog, even though you are unwell. Jazakallahu khayran, thank you for reminding us about our condition. Indeed, we are in a deep sleep…
Muhamad Ashiq Posted on 06/23/2011
شفاك الله شفاءا كاملا، يا شيجي
I’ll be earnestly looking forward to see you and benefit from you and the other scholars. Please pray for this faqeer.
Ruqayya Posted on 06/23/2011
Assalaam alaykum Shaykh,
Thank you for the inspirational blog, May Allah grant you shafah
faten al sayyed Posted on 06/23/2011
thank you sheikh hamza for this great post…
firstable, about your health, i really just know about it right now, it is really hurt me when i knew about falling and a concusion, but alhamdulilah for keeping you with us, and alhamdulilah for being good right now.
we lived in a troubled time sheikh hamza, where forbidden things being the norm, and the good things being the the unusual. it is now being violating things is the norm, for me this is my bigger problem that i live with. in my work i tried to be everyday a better person with a pure heart, also with a pure sense of talking in a good way…like ourbeloved peace and blessing be upon him taught us…but when other people stare at you like you did a crime, when you already did the right thing, and find that you a hard worker, work for rida of allah..they stated that you are unusual and being not from the society, as smoking….here in jordan try tell some one when you in a bus not to smoke because he is violating your right..he will not respond ..never will, it is hard to live everyday with these kind of people,,human being is a social creature if he/she did not find a society to live with…what he will do?
i really thank allah for keeping you among us, i always keep you in my prayers…always i will
may allah bless you and reward you everyday. may allah grant you healthiness everyday and everytime.
i will keep you in my thought and prayers.
faten from jordan
Umm Yusuf Posted on 06/23/2011
Alhamdullilah ala salama and may Allah (swt) continue to bless you with good health, ameen.
Nasser Posted on 06/23/2011
Sure, the signs are there. We, as Muslims need to look into our own attitudes and reconnect with Allah. A similar post from a resident of Madina *Australian expat)
http://almiskeenah.com/?p=11045#comments
Ahmed Saad Posted on 06/23/2011
Salam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahe Wabarakatuhu Ya Seedi,
All Glory be to Allah Almighty and all peace and blessings of Allah upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad Sallalaahu Alaihi Wassallam.
Its good to see your post! i’ve been out of touch for quite a long time, and I long to hear from you. Infact, I’ve tried calling many times at Zaytuna in hopes of getting to speak to you but to no avail.
I was sad to read that you fell and were not well. InshaAllah you will recover fully and be back to your best health InshaAllah. I read this post and it reminded me how you use to teach us about these little things that mattered the most. Its very saddening to my heart that we listen, we read and for a little while, we pay heed but like a dogs tail, we never really straighten up! i keep reminding myself of your words…” we are in a state of heedlessness” and you see this more and more in Pakistan.. it has gotten really bad here..and if i start to write about it, it would take pages and pages…
anyway.. i hope you and your family are well and in good health. if you are still in touch with brother Abdul Bari, please convey my Salam to him. Also the same to Shaikh Khatri.
the time i spent with you in Santa Clara, during those Saturday Zikrs, the teachings of Shaikh Khatri.. it was the best of times for me..unfortunately i was too blind to appreciate it to the fullest… :) and May Allah bless you and shower His blessings and mercy on you.
Umm Ahmed Posted on 06/23/2011
Mashallah very very true . May Allah bless you and us
Nawsheen Coonjah Posted on 06/23/2011
Salaam Sheikh Hamza
I have not yet had the priviledge of going on the pilgrimage but I have family members especially elders of the family who came back with a “mi figues mi raisin” feelings about their experience to Mecca and Medina. There is no doubt to what extent they felt this unique connection with the Almighty and his Prophet (PBUH) and 1500 years worth of History and Civilisation. On the other hand, they were mortified as to the lack of hygiene especially in small hotels, where there were no proper sewage and you have to do a Wadu in this condition.
It is a complete chaos and not only some arabs but pilgrims in general would push the old people, be impatient and get angry if they cannot get in front of the queue to the Prophet’s coffins and if they do not have something “their way”.
I am 23 and I have never been educated in such a manner. perhaps it is because I am a girl and girls are given better discipline in comparison to boys. It is true also that they have remarked that most of these incidents involve saudi men or men of other nationalities as well.
Is it perhaps in the way the parents parent differently their boys and girls on this matter? the political or sociological environment in which people grow up determine the adoption of such attitutes? Or a combination of both?
Where is the problem? Where as muslims did we fail?
What will it take for us muslims to change our ways, recognize our arrogance towards each other and really embracing human values?
Darwina Posted on 06/23/2011
Salaams,
I agree and we on the foremost need to clean our gardens and backyards thoroughly before even attempting to point fingers at others.
Shamim Posted on 06/23/2011
Shaykh Hamza Yousuf, Jazak allahu khairan for writing so beautifully and giving us the reminders which we all need so very much. May Allah Subhaan OP Taala bless you with speedy recovery and may He accept all your Ibadaah and Ziarat at the Prophet’s ( peace be upon him) mosque. Ameen
May you be blessed with even more Emaan to see thru your heart with the noor of your Emaan, and may you continue to carry on the Sunnah. Aameen
Mohamed Isa Posted on 06/22/2011
Assalamu’alikum Shaykh Hamza Yusuf,
Alhamdulillah, its good to hear from you again after a long time. May Allah grant you good health to carry on serving the Ummah of Rasulullah (peace and blessing be upon him). Thank You for this very insightful blog entry, indeed it is a reminder for me to look within myself and to rectify myself from within. May Allah bless you and your family always and allow you an annual visit to the Haramayn. :)
SwisH Posted on 06/22/2011
Beautiful words. Please keep on writing. Your words truly have an effect on people. May Allah give us the Tawfiq to revive the Sunnah of our Beloved, peace and blessings be upon him.
Mohammed Khan Posted on 06/22/2011
Asalaam alaikum Shaykh Hamza,
Thank you for the pertinent post, having recently had the blessed opportunity to return to the haramayn I can relate to a lot of the things you mentioned.
One thing that personally upset me in Medina was the lack of respect people had at the grave of the Messenger of Allah (SAWS). I wemt a few houra before Fajr and saw Muslims treating it like a tourist attraction and having their pictures being taken as if they weren’t standing in front of the greatest of Allah’s creation. But after prayer I was forced to leave the Masjid through the gate nearest the tomb and saw outside a number of pious brothers in silence with tears running at having the opportunity for a brief moment being able to be with the Beloved of Allah, and I felt slightly better knowing that despite our many faults we still have many among us who are sincere and true to their hearts.
Elyas Posted on 06/22/2011
I took a relative of mine to the Hajj last year. What Sheikh Hamza is talking about is an absolute truth. I am not a smoker. In the holly city of Mecca and in Saudi Arabia in general is obsessed with smoking ciggerate. From the very young to the very old are into this practice. They smoke everywhere without any concern for others.
Another thing ive noticed while down there is that on the Eid day people slaughtered mostly goats and sheeps. Of course that was expected but what I did not expect was to see all these slaughtered animals abandoned on the side of the roads. I was told by natives of Saudi Arabia that were travelling with me(relatives, somali-Arabians) that it is the custom of rich people to slaughter animals and leave them on the side of the road for others to pick them up for lunch. However, they saturated the road with all these slaughtered animials that I guess it overwhelmed the poor and the needy. So it was a show of absolute wealth arogance. Yet you have their brethrens the Palistinians in Gaza living a dollar a day budget. Then you have their Muslim brethrens the Somalis starving because of natural drought. Still you have these Saudis flaunting their abundance of cash on the roads of Mecca. Thats why I do not care much for Arabs and their political struggles, whether in Palestine or in Libya. In the meantime, you can visit my blog at…myhajj.blogspot.com
Ibn Abi Alkalaam Posted on 06/22/2011
Why would the behavior of some Saudis flaunting their wealth in Makkah cause you to not “care much about Arabs” and the plight of the people of Palestine and Libya? DId not the Prophet alaihi salaam say the ummah is like one body, if one part of it is in pain the rest also feel the pain? And why is it “their” struggle and not “our” struggle?
Rashed Posted on 06/22/2011
Assalamu ‘alaykum,
Thank you for these beautiful reminders, Shaykh Hamza!
Zaynab Posted on 06/22/2011
Shaykh Hamza, may God the Exalted preserve you and your family. Please continue writing as this gives us an opportunity to be in dialogue with you. Please continue your research and teaching, as so many people have benefited in years past, are benefiting now, and will benefit in the years to come, insha’Allah.
Abdallah Sanaani Posted on 06/22/2011
Jazaka Allah Khairan Sheik Yusuf ,Please my salam to our beloved prophet
May Allah revive his sunna in the deep sense of the term not just the form of it in his community, it is surly the key to it is success in this life and the hereafter.
Yama Posted on 06/22/2011
Subhan Allah! Jazak Allaho Khyer
Rifat Sheikh Posted on 06/22/2011
May Allah give you complete shifa from your fall. amin.
We need you Shaykh Hamza more than ever before. We need to revive the love of humanity that leads to the love of the sunnah in the hearts of men and women. Although saddened to read of your accounts in the holy plains but relived to read your beautiful energising words.
Always at your service.
Abdul Waheed Jamal Posted on 06/22/2011
Salam Shaykh, May Allah cast his light over you, your folk, and all those that read your reminders…Barak Allah Fee Kum
Ebrahiim Ahmed Posted on 06/22/2011
Salaam Shaykh Hamza. What an excellent article. One that I can relate to in somewhat similar manner.
In September 2006, Allah granted me the honour of visiting the blessed city of Medina in the company my elderly parents whilst on Umrah. As a then smoker the one & half day journey from Cape Town, South Africa to Medina was a tiring one & left me a bit grumpy due to the lack of nicotine. @ that time Masjidun Nabawi was locked after Isha’ & after seeing that my parents were settled in their hotel room, I made a hasty exit to take a smoke. Whilst walking in the direction that most famous green dome , sigarette in hand, it suddenly dawned on me that here I was, walking away from my parents & not smoking in front of them out of adab, but that I was smoking in front of the Best of Creation (PBUH) & showing no adab to him (pbuh) @ all.
In that very instant I killed my sigarette & have not smoken again since. Five years later, I have no pains in my chest, arm, back, no head aches, no more throat infections & I just completed a 110km cycle race , the largest timed cycle race in Africa, something I could never have imagined a few years back.
Smoking is Haraam! no question about it. It is not impossible to quit. I smoked a packet of 20 per day & stopped in an instant! It was difficult but can be done. People just need to be educated about the many benifits, both physically & spiritually of stopping this bad habit.
Once again, JazakAllah Khairan for your article & many wonderful lectures.
Sulayman Posted on 06/23/2011
Baraka-Allahu fik for this beautiful story of yours!
Ibn Abi Alkalaam Posted on 06/22/2011
Salaam Alaykum Shaykh Hamza,
You captured my sentiments exactly as it relates to the state of our community both in general and then specifically in Muslim majority lands. However, I have always wondered how can we living in the West engage in dialogue and present Islam to non-Muslims in our communities when it seems the Islamic spirit is absent even in the city of the Prophet? It appears to me the real work to renew Islam lies in the Muslim world, for people, specifically non-Muslims, are prone to judge Islam itself not according to the articulations of Muslim scholars and preachers in the West but according to the spiritual state and behavior of entire societies in Muslim majority lands. It is for this reason that I am of the persuasion that for those of us with the ability to do so and are inspired by the Prophetic message ought to relocate to Muslim lands to help build societies that can truly represent what Islam stands for.
Hanna Posted on 06/22/2011
Thank you for this post and we pray that you are in the best of health and continue to inspire us.
Peace and salams from rihla 2008 student.
Thank you Imama Hamza Posted on 06/22/2011
Imam Hamza
Thank you for your effort and patients in educating us. I have benefited from your lectures and writings in tremendous ways. May Allah grant you Jannatul Ferdous
Nojmul Hussain
(London)
“Where are the “No Smoking” signs in Medina? Since they are no longer in our hearts, at least put them on the walls” – Shaykh Hamza Yusuf « Britishmisk’s Blog Posted on 06/22/2011
[...] You can find the article here. [...]
alfsalaam Posted on 06/22/2011
so beautiful to hear you are doing well, and that you are writing from the blessed city ma sha Allah! jazakum Allah kheir for sharing your reflections, and for continuing to inspire us as always!
Adam Posted on 06/22/2011
Shaykh, your point about the wastage of food in the Holy Land is spot on. I experienced that exact phenomenon during the Hajj pilgrimage. Hotel staff spoke to us about exactly what they told you. They spoke of the ridiculous amounts of food thrown away each day (one put the figure at $1 Million Riyals worth during Ramadan at his hotel alone), rather being given to the masses that wait outside the back doors of hotels in the alleyway, lest “they make it a habit of showing up twice a day, every day.”
I must say, that this I found to be most characteristic only of the hotels frequented by North Americans, Europeans, and other Gulf nationals (including many of the global hotel chains).
Muslims from elsewhere often stay in accommodations that either do not offer in-house meal service or don’t have nearly as much a copious amount of food and lavish buffets to throw away.
Hunger and poverty seemed widespread (even given that some may not be genuine).
I think a solution would be for our North American Hajj/Umrah tour operators to arrange for ‘pre-packaged meals/plates’ at hotels, with sufficient portions and with some extras on hand. That will certainly lower costs and loads of wastage. People can always go have street food if they are still hungry, (which tastes better anyway!).
Sherifa Posted on 08/15/2011
Dear brother,
SAlaam. I agree with you. The last time I made hajj, this was exactly my sentiment. I travelled with one of the well known hajj groups and I really felt ashamed of how much food was wasted while right outside our gates in Mina there were poor people. Sometimes I saw the guards surreptitiusly giving fruit and drinks to people at the gate. I really felt that there was more concern with our creature comforts rather than spiritual upliftment. Although we were a group of Americans, lectures were mainly in Arabic, and poorly organized for the women. May Allah make it easy for us all to find the correct balance and to be of the best adab, inshaAllah.
taahir abdur-rahim Posted on 06/22/2011
May Allah reward you. I would like to leave this video of your Shayh’s…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kConO8tX4UA
Dawud Israel Posted on 06/22/2011
Excellent much needed post. Apparently there was also a Spongebob Squarepants craze in Madina.
norah aldosary Posted on 06/22/2011
الله يوفقك بجد انت اكثر شخص غير فيني كثير ودايم اتذكر كلامك على برنامج قديم تقدمه ام بي سي
والله كل ماذكرك ادعي لك , الله يجزاك خير . دمت بحفظ المولى سبحانه .
Munawar Ali Posted on 06/22/2011
Asalamualaikum Shaykh,
If you start to leave food out for birds, they become dependent on the sustenance, and will die if you stop feeding them…or delay between feedings.
Please give my Salam to our Beloved (SAW) in his City, and make Dua that I can visit his city again.
Jazakullah, May your Rihla to Turkey be safe and beneficial!
Zeynep Posted on 06/22/2011
Turkey is safe country for everyone.
Yousif Posted on 06/22/2011
Salamu Alaykum Brother
Gazakum Allahu Khayran for the beautiful words.
MR Posted on 06/22/2011
Great post, Sh. Hamza.
Smoking is Haram no doubt about that. May Allah make it easy for our brothers and sisters who are addicted to smoking to quit it inshAllah,. May Allah stop the popularity of it. Ameen!