I'm so glad i could clearify something to someone

What about knife

its a tool silly

I think it is still related.
Riya is the opposite of Iklas.
Iklas is the intention and motive to do something for Allah. Riya is the intention and motive to do the same for someone else.

DS,

I am sorry to say that the word "Sha'an" of the ayah from suratur Rahman is not the same as "shaan" in Urdu or Persion. In Arabic, it means "to engage / engaged". Translation of the first part of the Ayah is correct. It is the second part where it is not correctly translated. It makes greater sense when understood in the context of the whole Ayah, "Whosoever is in the heavens and on the earth begs of Him. Every day, that is His engagement (listening to and responding to calls of His creations all at the same time).

Allah knows of his words better than his creations.

Djeedja Shareef said:

especially towards india
[49:12] O ye who believe! let not one people deride another people, haply they may be better than they, nor let one group of women deride other women, haply they may be better than they. And do not defame your people nor call one another by nick-names. It is an evil thing to be called by bad name after having believed; and those who repent not, such are the wrongdoers.

What does it have to do with India? Makes no sense to me.

I agree wid the rest as there are many good things in western societies. There are also very serious ills in the society which inflicts many and many more are becoming its victims at an alarming rate. A society that permits and encourages indecency and nudity. It promotes alcohol consumption and gambling. It incites Allah's disobedience in oppressing people with interest and merciless individualistic selfish attitude where people fear men.

My friend DS, all those good characteristics of a society may be present in western culture. The motive is either fear of law, social pressure, or personal taste and satisfaction. God's pleasure is completly absent from it. You know any good performed to satisfy anyone but Allah goes invain and may count as sin, even if it is for self satisfaction.

To my understanding it is permissible if you are sure one who killed the animal is from the people of the book and it has not been mixed with any haram item. As i said earlier, its an option but preference is for meat provided by a good Muslim.

Unfortunately, Muslim's story is same around the globe - filthy, dirty, and stinky. Followers of religion where cleanliness is part of faith - what a shame

DL, would you mind posting refernce for hadith Qudsi :)

Sall, Allah created Paradise to motivate humans to do good and to reward them wtih it; and created hell fire to admonish people of painful punishment for wrong doing. people react differently to motivational methods. for some encouragement is good enough. others require fear of punishment to hold back from sins. Yet others don't respond to any.

Allah uses terms like "wa mun khashi ar Rahman..." --"and those who fears the most Beneficent..." So doing something to earn a wager in the form of Jannah or to fear wrath of Allah in the form of "An-Naar" is same as to please Allah and to fear displeasing Allah.

shahrukh khan said:

Smooth_daddy said:

means "showing off"
more details later

feeling proud...like he is the best

kind of but it is more to seek praise from people. Some times to gain politcal milage out of it. Any time when a good thing is done to please one other than Allah (including seeking praise from self) is Riyaa.

You should have stomuch to stand opposition and pressure if you want to go against the norms.

What I meant to say Sall, Taqwa is the center piece of all actions. According to hanafi school of thought, buthers who don't offer 5 daily prayers, animals they slaughter are not halal for Muslims to consume. What about consumers who don't pray but consume so called "Halal" meat, is that food halal? Actually, people of the past did not eat from the food of people who didn't establish prayers in their life.

Allah SWT allowed us the food of the people of the book. It definitly has to be "Tayyab" that is clean and pure and have no trace of haram added to it. It does not mean it has to be zabiha. As DL et al mentioned earlier, when any animal or even other items of consumption are given in the name of one other than Allah are neither halal nor Tayyab.

Bottom line: Kosher or not kosher, if food is clean and free of shirk, there is no harm in consuming it when you are sure its from the people of the book. Yet, it should not be given preference over properly halal meat when it is available.

Allah knows the best. If you can find a better opinion from other learned persons with proper references from Quran and Hadith, take that opinion and throw my views aside.

Thanks for understanding bazi

Bazigaar said:

unfortunatly...i'm 90% westernized...which the 10% of desi in me tells me k is bad

Westernization is not always bad. it is bad when we pick up bad influences from the society along with good ones. Its just like a diamond miner. you get a lot of dirt and unwanted debris with diamond rocks. It takes a skillful craftsman to carve the diamond out of the rock and discard useless rocks.

Kash...
what do you think of comments above? Not that it offends me but are they related to serious topic here? You deleted my post just because you thought it was not serious enough for the topic.

Don't take me wrong, I am not asking you to remove any posts, I am just wondering about applying rules uniformly across the forum.

I have heard that story too but can't say if it is true.
DL

Let's find Islam right from its source -- Book of Allah and practises of His mighty prophet.

Thank you KB! Wma taufeqi illa billah
No one has any capabilities except for what Allah grants. Glory be to Him.

Kosher is money making business for Rabis. They are cashing in on religious restrictions in their religion.

Not all kosher is permissible as wine and liquor are permissible for consumption among Jews.

I agree with DL as many learned scholars have agreed to that theory. I take extra caustion in food matters because all westerners are not people of the book as many among them are atheists. So its better to consume that is pure. Allah swt has given us the best practise but has also allowed other options which may not be the best for us.

More importantly, it is the source of income with which you by your food. If it is not 100% halal, no matter what you buy with it is not halal either.

Pakis in the west are of three types. Ones who are totally westernized and don't care of any eastern values (fewer in number). Second group is of those who only see through the pakistani culture glasses (largest group). Third group is the one who try to maintain a balance.

People in the first group have completely melted in the pot and assimilated into the western culture and have no idea of Paki culture or society.

Second group is that who want western amenities for eatern living style. That is, they love the material of the west but they like to dress like pakis (now under western influence), eat pakistani food, marry pakistanis, follow religious rituals only according to paki practices, pakistani and indian music and films... They are living in middle to upper middle class quarters of pakistan while their their streets are maintained by westerners, their amenities are provided by westerners... They still gosip behind people, play petty politics among each other, showing off new gadgets and talking and boasting kids achievements, competing against each other for tiny and trivial things...Pray only on Firday as if they are the most pious and always critical of the affairs of mosques...Spy on and spread rumers about fellow men and women... Deceit, theft, lies, slander, contempt are hallmarks of the paki culture in the west. All in all, it is about how wonderful you look while you may be the worst person to deal with. They are ready to compromise anything but their desires.

Third group is of those who son't want to compromise their religion for paki culture or western culture. They constantly strive in becoming better humans and slaves of their Creator. They mix with muslims of other origins, share and appreciate their values and respect their culture also. They don't impose Pakistani values upon others. They filter and adopt goodness from western cultures as much as they do with paki cultures. Their set of glasses is their religion.

No matter what we do to our children, they were born in the west and that is their motherland. We must teach and show with practise what is right and what is wrong.

Answer to your question bazi: I don't care if I forgot some bad values from pak becuz I gained many better ones from the west.

Sall you mirrored my reflections and DL

Bazi -- I know of the values that were held at the center of Paki society not too long ago.

People still same rituals but for a different motivation. neighbor used to help neighbor without expecting a return only because it was a right thing. They still do it but either to show off or with expectations for a return.

I will give my impressions of Paki culture in the west in the next post.

Honor !! huh!!

where was their honor when their sisters in Islam were raped and dishonored. When their nation being treated like a pet.
Majority of our people are cowards who only prey upon weak. Double that with ignorance (like Sall said ). Above all, lack of wisdom is like icing on the cake.

Like Omar RAA once stated, we were people of ignorance and had no respect elsewhere. Adoption and practice of Islam brought us honor and respect. Now we want to seek greater honor in material things!

We don't practise islam but we use its name to justify our actions like honor killings.

I am neither on the side of people who would do anything for protecting their honor nor with indecency garbed in freedom of rights.

Freedom of rights should have limits like anything else. Rights come in a package of responsibilites and consequenses. Islam gives freedom to both men and women in equal parts. If any one party exceeds their limits or usrups other parties rights, they are wrong doers and unjust. If a man, if assumed, to have right to kill a woman who brought disgrace to him, a woman should have the same right to kill the man who brought disgrace to her.

We have invented injustices and then try to justify those through religious injunctions. And we have invented indecencies and then justify those in the name of freedom of expression and rights and ...

I have not found in Quran an injunction of killing people of commiting a crime without due process.

It is only when a married man or woman found guilty of commiting adultry should be given capital punishment. This involves a long process of finding facts and evidence before drawing any conclusions.

I wrote elsewhere also about penal system in Islam. Islam is not about punishing people. It is instead a system that calls for accounting from the heart. Punishments don't correct a society, its only to examplify outcome of a crime for those who are thinking about committing similar crimes. Correction of the society begins from self reform. One should have firm resolve in the heart and mind to resist corruption. Motivation for that should be divinly inspired.

Glory be to Allah who is free from all false being attributed to Him. Book of Allah is free of all weaknesses being attributed to it. Messenger of allah is innocent of all lies and false being attributed to him. Islam is above what people are making it to fit their desires. May Allah guide us all and prevent us from attributing false to the Allah, His book, messenger and religion.

timez over for today, be back later

He guides those who seek it. His guidance is a treasure he gives out to those who seek it with sincerity.

Most people make that dua and then complain that Allah did not guide us. It is because they don't want to leave their ways and life styles they don't get it.

SALL said:

pehle me bhi aise hi sochti thi kaju
par aik baat meri samajh mei i hai,,, hum log soch samajh k agle bande ko judge kar k uss ki madad karte hein,, iss liye k hamari NAIKI zaya na ho,,, yani k madad karte hein hum naiki kamane k chakkar mei, Allah miyan k khushi k liye nahi

reya to yeh hua na,,,,

But who do you earn goodness from other than Allah. Seeking goodness or ajar for it from Allah is the same as seeking rida / pleasure of Allah.

kash_beauty said:

yup!..agree SD!

per masla ajj kal yeh hai k loag islam ka sirf woh hisa mantay hein jo un k faiday k liye hai!
baki sab hadayat ignore kar detay hein!
n thy find excuses

True, that's the tragedy - very serious and with severe consequences.

Allah swt says in the Quran: "Then do you believe in a part of the Scripture and reject the rest. Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in the life of this world and on the Day of Resurrection they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment."

We see the disgrace of ourselves and yet do not recognize it and we are ablivious of what would become of us in the end.

kash_beauty said:

thn how come parents are so in favour of it!
i mean..thy r experienced n ofcourse moreeeee educated abt ISlam thn childern r!

They may be educated but do not practice it or they may have forgotten it yet they are maintaining status quo.

Pakis in general are racist but they don't accept it. Younger generation with greater awareness and better practice of their religion can reduce cast and other racial problems.

When an oppressive system is imposed upon people, after while they break through it. No matter how much we preach parental respect, some hard headed youngsters will defy it and break all bounds of culture and tradition. If you want to change the system, let your children exercise freedoms you lacked. Remember, freedom has its limits and a price.

That's where we dropped the ball!

Islam encopasses all aspects of life, wheter it is household work, business or government. One who excels in of its field with the intention that Allah loves those who do good work with honesty, they will get reward for any work they do. House wives get equal ajar for household work they to make the house a comfortable place for the family where they will enjoy the peace of home as to a man who works day long to fulfill his family needs with halal means.

Islam is not limited to prayers and fastings only. Those are pillars of it and without which no other good deeds count.

deceit is different from showing off. Showing off good genuine works is what falls in the category of RIYA'.

False claims of good works or seeking sympathy for non-existant situations or decieving people fall in the category of fraud and deceit.

Its meaning are explained in another tradition of the prophet that (as recalled - not exact): Believers today is bette than his yesterday. That is in in his knowledge, practice of deen, closeness to Allan and His messenger, worhipping Allah, morals and behavior...)