HADITH-1 FQ-RL (New Year/Ashura)

Bismillahir RHRH,

TEXT:
Abdullah IbnUmar RA said:The people of Jahiliyah used to fast the day of
Ashura when ramadhan (fasting) was prescribed,the prophet SAW then said;
He who wishes should fast it....Bukh+Mus,BM.
COMMENTS:
Happy New Year!Saturday or Sunday ushers in the new year and new month
of muharram 1420AH.The Hegira calendar based on the prophets immigration
to medina should be used by muslims with or without the Gregorian
calendar in parallel.It is ironical that we remember the gregorian
events-new year,easter,christmas-dates that lack any coincidence or
relationship with religio-historical events even in christianity.
Although,that will continue to be claimed perhaps to the end of time.
The christian new year for instance previously began not on 1-January.
Doubts have been cast about whether prophet Isa AS had anything to do
with 25-December.Both hegira and gregorian calendars have astronomical
basis,the hegira following the lunar cycles.Allah SWT recognises these
12 lunar/hegira months as making a year.Although the gregorian year has
a better seasonal(solstice/equinox) correlation ie 23 December is always
in winter,the hegira year also has such cyclical relationship.A peak
winter in ramadhan would be repeated only every ~33years-a tribe from
Nigeria aptly put it as the difficult 3 to live to see-ie it is
difficult for an individual to live to see three such cyclical changes
,or 99years a century.
The first month of the year muharram has the ashura day which has alot
of Allahs blessings in it.In another narration the prophet SAW has said
he who fasts the ashura day will have his preceeding one years sins
forgiven;we should therefore to start the new year with a clean slate
by fasting that date.On arrival to Medina the prophet SAW met the Jews
fasting ashura because of its blessings-the day they were saved from
their enemies particularly the pharaoh and Moses AS fasted it,the
prophet SAW then said,I have more right to (copy) Moses than you have
and he fasted ashura and commanded its observance.Some ULAMA say it is
refered to as ashura-the tenths-because; 1-it concides with 10 muharram
(26 April 99).2-Allah SWT blessed 10 of his prophets among other
things-forgiving Adam AS,upliftment of Idris AS,saving of Noah AS,birth
of Abraham AS and saving him from fire,saving Yunus AS from the belly of
the fish etc...on ashura.3-Yet others say it is so called because of 10
blessings Allah SWT has bestowed on this Ummah among others-having the
month of ramadhan,the night of Qadr,the first ten days of Dhul Hajj,the
friday etc...all these are blessed times we await in the coming year.
Most Ulama agree ashura coincides with 10 Muharram-or 26 April 99-
but suggestions of the day being 9 or 11 Muharram have also been
advanced.In any case fasting of that day 26 April is strongly
recommended,but by no means is it compulsory as pointed out by the 
prophet SAW in the textual hadith above,where he emphasised it is
optional.Similarly fasting the Tasua 9 Muharram and the first ten days
of the new year are advocated.When one wakes up eating food on the
ashura (forgetful),the prophet SAW has said he could complete the day
fasting should one wish.One wonders the basis of the desire to eat to
excess on the day,a not uncommon tradition in certain areas of Nigeria.
May Allah SWT give us the best in the new year 1420AH,the ability to
remember to fast 10 Muharram(26 April 99),the reward therefrom and
forgive us our sins-amen.
Maasalam.
Abdulrazaq G. Habib



Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 23:44:11 +0300
From: "ABDULRAZAQ G. HABIB" <ahabib@ksu.edu.sa>
To: nmn@lists.lancs.ac.uk
Subject: HADITH-2 M/FQ-RL-(Equality and Piety)

Bismillahir RHRH,
Assalamu alaikum WRWB,

TEXT:
Abu Huraira RA reported that,the prophet SAW said;Allah does not look
to your faces or towards your riches but He sees your hearts and(the
nature of)your deeds...Mus.M.

COMMENTARY:
Although there are certain subtle biological differences between and
within races,these have not been shown to affect human behavior in any
significant sense.However from time immemorial most civilisations have
not been impartial among their citizenry.Discriminating factors have
usually been inherent-racial,origin,gender,birth etc-and material-
wealth,power etc.In Islam,on the other hand,all people are fundamentally
regarded as equal.Allah SWT says"O mankind...We have created you into
nations and tribes...Truly,the noblest of you with Allah is the most
pious"49:13.Both the Quranic verse and the text of the hadith above
emphasize that only piety differentiates and makes one nobler in Allah,s
sight--nothing else.
The prophet SAw never discriminated based on racial factors;That is why
Abu Dharr al-Ghifari notwithstanding his position as a high ranking
companion of the prophet,when,once in a rage called Bilal "O son of a
Negress" the prophet did not tolerate this much of intemperence on his
part admonished him and said,You still exhibit the evil traits of
Jahiliyah.Islamic history is replete with examples of blacks and people
of diverse origins that have risen to responsible positions in the
Ummah.Alas,blackman has not as yet been regarded as an equal in Judeo-
Christian material world of today.
Once asked about the best of people the prophet SAW reemphasized-the 
best of them in Allah,s sight is the most pious.There are instances
where he favoured freed slaves even over his close companions like where
he advised a quraishi lady to marry Usamata RA over Mu,awiyyah Ibn
Abu-Sufyan RA.Contrast this with western slavery where once a slave
always a slave.Remember Chicken Georg-in Alex Hailey,s Roots-who,despite
his father being an American plantation owner,remained to the end of his
life a slave;talkless of equating him with a freeborn man.The
opportunity for realisation of the dream of equality of sons of former
slaves and former slave owners lies only in Islam.Yet again he advised
another another lady to marry a Hijjam(blood cupper),a percieved lowly
profession....and stressing that people are like the teeth/prongs of the
comb,no difference from one another only by piety.May Allah SWT increase
us in piety-amen. 
Another form of discrimination that the prophet SAW admonished against
is that of pride of ancestry though he acknowleged that people will not
discard four things from Jahiliyah practices....one of which is pride of
ancestry.It is strongly condemned.
Allah SWT says we are created as nations and tribes and the common
denominator for us has always been Islam.Origin and tribal variables
should not in any sense differentiate us.At a lower level,human behavior
rests,not on biologic factors,but rather on individual/communal 
socialisation processes-norms,values and cultural aspirations.These
parameters are subject to modification by supreme factors of knowledge
and the deen-Islam,the ultimate social moulder.We should strive to stand
united,for in that lies our strength....and until we term ourselves as
equals in both words and deeds unity will remain ever like a mirage.
We pray Allah SWT strengthens and unites the Ummah,amen.
Maasalam,AGH.