Asalamu Alaikum Ya Muslimeen wa Muslimaht

Asalamu alaikum Ya Muslimeen wa Muslimaht,

My name is.......... but you can call me your Muslim sister, Insha'Allah.

I would like to share with you something about me, the area I live in, MD/VA/DC. Alhamdulileh, it has been a huge na'ama for me being in this area.

Before this, let me state that I grew up in an area that had no Masajids. By time I was grown up, they had purchased a house and made it into a masjid, Alhamdulileh, yet everytime I went, they all spoke a language that I did not understand and every lecture or class I went to benefitted me little or not at all....even the Arabic classes were taught in a foreign language to me and so I grew up yearning for a community, an area, a Masjid that I could call home.


Alhamdulileh, Home is now Dar-us-Salaam in College Park, MD.

Now back to the area I now live in, MD/VA/DC. This whole area has a WEALTH of knowledge, SubhunAllah. We have so many scholars, Alhamdulileh, and people who continuously enjoin you to do good and encourage you to strive hard for the sake of Allah (swt).

There are so many excellent lectures and classes that go on, from one Masjid to another, I find myself and sisters travelling back and forth to different masjids, trying not to miss anything.

Ok, back to Dar-us-Salaam....Mesha'Allah, This Masjid has some of the most wonderful programs. For instance, we have a 2 day Hajj workshop that is coming up, we had the History of the Khulafaa class that just passed I will have to catch it in VA, Insha'Allah...We have an ongoing Hifzh Program, Arabic Institute, Qur'an Institute, TRUTH-which concentrates on ongoing dawah events, a Benefitness Gym for brothers and sisters, a Martial Arts Institute, Seerah classes, Halaqa's and to top it off, sometimes in the Masjid after salah, we get these little "talks" from Br. Muhammad, Br. Safi, or one of the other well rounded knowledgable people in the community, Alhamdulileh.

How about all of you? May you tell me about the areas in which you live and how they benefit you Islamically? I wonder about moving to other states in the US and if I would be able to benefit from an area as much as I feel I am now...Perhaps the next place to go to is Medina, Insha'Allah.

mg


Spread the Truth of Islam
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How about all of you? May you tell me about the areas in which you live and how they benefit you Islamically? I wonder about moving to other states in the US and if I would be able to benefit from an area as much as I feel I am now...Perhaps the next place to go to is Medina, Insha'Allah.

I highly discourage moving to any other place, as of right now, sister. From what I have heard, and your own testimony, it sounds like the Dar-us-Salaam center is one of the best places in the states, and quite possibly it is the best place. My advice to you is to stay put.

In fact, the jump to Madeenah may even be discouraged if you are not ready. It is, of course, in the hearts of every Muslim and Muslimah, in shaa Allaah, to seek knowledge in the city of the Prophet Muhammad (salallaahu `alayhi wa sallam), and we should all yearn to at least visit for the benefits to be had there, but we have the AlMaghrib Institute here, we have the American Open University, we have a lot of resources, in a more convenient place.

I remember Br. Muhammad telling us how so many people have the intention to go to Al-Madeenah al-Munawwarah, and so they put off studying in places that are accessible to them, assuming they will go to Madeenah eventually - and they never do, or they waste a good portion of their life.

I don't think this is the case with you, alhamdulillaah, but I am throwing this out because Br. Muhammad mentioned it to me and other brothers, and I have recently seen even more wisdom to it.

May Allaah (SWT) join us with the knowledgeable and pious in this dunyah. Ameen.

Welcome to the forums! : )

Originally Posted by Abu Hurayrah

-In fact, the jump to Madeenah may even be discouraged if you are not ready. It is, of course, in the hearts of every Muslim and Muslimah, in shaa Allaah, to seek knowledge in the city of the Prophet Muhammad (salallaahu `alayhi wa sallam), and we should all yearn to at least visit for the benefits to be had there, but we have the AlMaghrib Institute here, we have the American Open University, we have a lot of resources, in a more convenient place.

May Allah reward you for the goodly advice. Ameen.

I have gone back n forth with both opinions. To stay here and derive all the knowledge from the area that I am in now while giving dawah, by the Will of Allah.

or

To make hijjra to Medina and study.

The latter option overweighs the former in one particular aspect (well, for Adults), Concentration. I feel that here in the USA, it is quite difficult for Muslims to be able to fully concentrate and be resourceful in 1. obtaining knowledge 2. giving effective dawah.

There are rare exceptions yet I find those who just leave this fast paced enviroment and go to the city of the Rusul (saws), Concentrate, focus and learn and then come back to the US, teach and give dawah, are those who, Insha'Allah, are more effective in carrying out this Deen wa Allah Al'am.

Originally Posted by Abu Hurayrah

-I remember Br. Muhammad telling us how so many people have the intention to go to Al-Madeenah al-Munawwarah, and so they put off studying in places that are accessible to them, assuming they will go to Madeenah eventually - and they never do, or they waste a good portion of their life.

This often does happen and we should always say Alhamdulileh for where we currently are in life and take action by ensuring that wherever we are, we are learning this Deen and spreading the truth of Islam.

At the same time, It can be quite discouraging being in the US for even when one is in an Islamically enriched enviroment, you see people who are just too busy to even return your salams, or worse yet, they are just too busy to enroll themselves and their family to learn the Qur'an, or learn Arabic, or learn anything that Insha'Allah, will benefit them in their Deen.

I have only been to one Muslim country before, yet I clearly remember how people took the time....the time out for Islam. You can hear the adhan being called from the streets 5 times a day and instead of rushing off the internet to pray, many people were already in the Masajids.... and on the streets, people not only returned your salams but genuinely had an interest in sharing knowledge and ideas with you as hopefully we will benefit by doing so on this forum, Insha'Allah and so on that note....

-Welcome to the forums! : )

JazakAllahu Khairun.

mg

I honestly believe that no one (or very few people) are able to manifest their religon. And one of the conditions that make it permissable to stay amongs the Kuffar, is that you are able to manifest the religon.

That being the case, if its not able to manifest your religon, you should make Hijrah, and its an obligationj uponj you to do so. If this is a reality, in that you really are able to leave and move to Madinah, (and its not just a thought in the mind, etc. or a possibilty) then I sincerely believe you should do your utmost to leave the lands of the Kuffar, and reside with the Muslims.

If you are able to manifest your religon, and are calling people to Islaam, and increasing the Muslims, then well - More Power To You.

(by the way, I personally believe I am not able to manifest my religon at all)

I am attaching below a fatwa that is sort of relevant.

Living in the west with al-Wala' wal-Bara': Shaykh Nasir al-Fahd

Question: Are we sinful if we do not call the Kuffâr to Islâm while we are residing amongst them? In general, most of them know about Islâm however it is in an incorrect way.

Answer: Da’wah to Islâm is a tremendous virtue and it is the work of the Prophets and people of rectification. If you perform it then you have followed them and if you didn’t, then you must at least manifest the Deen. Manifesting the Deen is not merely in you praying and fasting in front of them. On the contrary, you are to manifest your Barâ’ah [disavowal] toward them and their Deen and by hating them and their Deen due to the words of the Most High:

“Certainly, there is for you a good example in Ibrâhîm and those with him when they said to their people: “Verily we are free from you all and that which you worship besides Allah. We disbelieve in you. And there has appeared between you and us enmity and hatred forever until you believe in Allah alone.”

Look here at his words: “From you all and that which you worship..” Hence, he began with Barâ’ah from them before their objects of worship. That is because there are some who declare their disavowal from their objects of worship while not declaring their disavowal from them. Look at his words: “We have disbelieved in you…” and not only disbelieving in their objects of worship. And [look] at his words: “ and their has appeared…”-meaning: manifested towards them. and [look] at his words: “Enmity and hatred…” so, he proceeded with enmity over hatred [mentioning it first]. That is because there are some who hate them but they do not oppose them with enmity. Therefore, whoever is mixing with them, then he must actualize this Millah of Ibrâhîm, otherwise, it is not allowed to reside among them.

-Shaykh Nasir ibn Hamd al-Fahd

[Muhammad Alshareef]

Originally Posted by sasjamal

If you perform it then you have followed the Prophets and if you didn’t, then you must at least manifest the Deen. Manifesting the Deen is not merely in you praying and fasting in front of them. On the contrary, you are to manifest your Barâ’ah [disavowal] toward them and their Deen and by hating them

Again dude, one has to watch out for the copy/paste fatwas. In doing so, one may be putting a bias in the reply which orginates from their own copy/pasting knowledge. There are fatwahs online for every angle of answer, so be wary of the copy/paste fatwa.

This issue came up in the AlMaghrib Fiqh Ad-Dawah class. The question that I had was this: "How do we balance between the statements of Shari'ah that speak about treating the sinner as a mother treats an ailing child and between the statements of Shari'ah that command us to disavow the disbelievers?" This question has been on my mind for many years because I tend to take the mother-with-ailing-child approach and I wanted to know if what i was doing was wrong.

I asked this question to Shaykh Salah - hafidhahullah - and he replied.
1. we are commanded to give da'wah
2. when the people receive the da'wah correctly, some will answer the call and some will arrogantly turn away.
3. Those that arrogantly turn away will be treated with disavowal.The disavowal is meant as A DAWAH TECHNIQUE and a protection for us from the vice. It is meant to guide them to the truth and to minimize the acceptance of the vice in the community.

The Shaykh said that the disavowal fatwahs of overseas are speaking about areas where non-Muslims live their lives hand-in-hand with Muslims and they know full well what Islam is. He is not saying that overseas scholars don't know our situation, he is just saying that you really have to be here to understand what is going on.

As for the west, we can safely say that we have a lot more to do in terms of educating the people about Islam. A LOT more. So before we jump the 'disavowal' wagon, let us ask ourselves this, "Have we done our duty as Muslims? And if anyone should be held accountable, wouldn't it be the Muslims who did not call to Allah and establish His Deen."

Until all our neighbors on our block have heard about Islam, just our neighbors, then I think we may have some room to speak about 'hating'.

And I'm not saying that everyone should go out and hug and embrace the Kuffar. Indeed, living in the west without calling to Allah is not an option. One has to do their duty and do it now.

And Allah ta'ala knows best

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world; in the extraordinary book, 200+ ways the Quran corrects the Bible, you will learn why and you will learn the ways to convey that knowledge to the non-Muslims, Insha'Allah!

mg[/QUOTE]
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah!
This book sounds exactly what im looking for. i have a VERY hard time doing da'wah; im afraid i just dont have the people skills and way of speaking necessary. That book you mentioned may help me with my problem, which i am trying to resolve.
Sadly, i never gave active da'wah much of a thought until i moved here to Miami. i realized the importance of it and how lacking i am in the skills necessary when i was asked a while back by a Christian woman why music is haram. To my utter disappointment, i gave her a muddled, inadequate and unconvincing answer. (Alahdmulillah i dont listen to music and never ahve but to explain to her *why* i dont was, sadly. beyond me
i hope we can all help each other with giving da'wah.
Sounds like many here have dawah-giving down pat, i look forward to learning from your experiences
wassalam,
Safiyah

Originally Posted by Safiyah

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah!
This book sounds exactly what im looking for. i have a VERY hard time doing da'wah; im afraid i just dont have the people skills and way of speaking necessary. That book you mentioned may help me with my problem, which i am trying to resolve.

Walaikum asalamu wa rahmatahu Allahi wa barakatahu

This book greatly helps me for it brings about a whole new level of comparitive religion in which Christians can not really refute for we have already refuted it for them from their own Christian scholars in the book, and then gave Islamic replies to counter that. Alhamdulileh. I am a bit biased though because someone close to me wrote it. In any case, to enjoy your copy of the book, Insha'Allah, go to http://www.muslimplanet.com There is another great book as well called "How to tell others about Islam" by Yahiya Emerick that you can get from http://www.soundvision.com Br. Muhammad recommended this book to us for our Fiqh Ad Dawah class.

Sadly, i never gave active da'wah much of a thought until i moved here to Miami. i realized the importance of it and how lacking i am in the skills necessary when i was asked a while back by a Christian woman why music is haram. To my utter disappointment, i gave her a muddled, inadequate and unconvincing answer. (Alahdmulillah i dont listen to music and never ahve but to explain to her *why* i dont was, sadly. beyond me

SubhunAllah, I have gone through that as well, and your story reminded me of a time when I was in an airport and a man approached me asking me why Muslim men wear a beard and I recall just looking around thinking "why are you asking me?" And what's worse is "Go away" is what I was about to tell the man, but then I just ended up telling him what the Rusul (saws) said and how it seperates him from the Jews and Christians and it's a man's fitrah (nature), and then I asked him if he thinks Jesus (alayhi salam) had a beard and he said "yes" but then I lost where I was going with that point, so then I too found myself leaving the whole situation feeling as though I gave a "muddled, inadequate and unconvincing answer".

Really though sister, to realize the importance of giving dawah is a na'ama in itself that many do not have and I think the more we learn about the ways the Prophets (as) did dawah and implement what we learn will be a great help. Also, I think we have to be constantly in dawah mode. I remember after taking the Fiqh Ad Dawah class, I felt that I was not only prepared to give dawah and ready for anyone to approach me about Islam but I was really looking for people to give dawah to and noticed how so many oppurtunities presented itself that I was not able to see before just because I was not in that constant dawah mode.

Instead of seeing curious people (you know the people who stare at you as though they are looking at a mirror and are bothered by what they see) as rude, I began to view them as excellent oppurtunities to help spread the message Islam and Alhamdulileh, I feel it's really made a difference.

i hope we can all help each other with giving da'wah.
Sounds like many here have dawah-giving down pat, i look forward to learning from your experiences

Insha'Allah, I really hope so as well. I don't think I will ever have dawah-giving down pat. Allah Azza wa Jal guides whom He wills and it is never because of us, we just have to do our duty, Insha'Allah. On that note, a really kewl "Da'wah Project Brainstorm" that Br. Muhammad wrote was to "Join an online forum" and he was talking about getting involved in a non-Muslim forum so perhaps we can find a really popular non-Muslim online forum and both join and that way, we can be back up for eachother when needed, Insha'Allah. :-)

mg

[Umm Sufyaan]

Salaamu alaykum,


MashAllaah your website is amazing, hamdulelah, but i can't find the sisters section! Could someone help me out! jzk khair

salaamu alaykum warahmatula wb