Jewish rabbi confirms: Muhammad is a great Prophet.

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God’s Choice

Al-Qasas (The Story) – Chapter 28: Verse 68 (partial)

“Your Lord creates and chooses whatever He pleases. Never can they have such choice.”

This is a fact people often forget or overlook. Indeed, God creates what He is pleased to create. No one can suggest anything to Him, whether increase or decrease in His creation. No one can introduce any amendment or modification on what He creates. He is the One who chooses whatever and whomever He pleases for the fulfilment of the functions, actions and duties He determines. No one can suggest to Him any candidate, or course of action to follow. None can propose to Him any statement or move. Everything large or small belongs to God alone.

If only this fact was established in people’s minds and hearts, they would never feel frustrated. They would neither be elated with anything they receive nor be distressed by anything they miss out on. The choice is not theirs to make; it is God who chooses.

However, this does not mean that they should stop thinking or acting as they wish. It simply means that they should accept what happens after they have done their best to consider, reflect, plan and act. They should accept it willingly. All they have to do is their utmost, leaving the results to God.

Compiled From:
“In the Shade of the Quran” – Sayyid Qutb, Vol. 13, pp. 206, 207

 

Myanmar: Banning Quran Reading At Homes ?!

The Rohingya Muslims according to experts on genocide face the “final stages of genocide.” Part and parcel of the persecution of Rohingya has been targeting their religious identity and practice. According to Rohingya activists on the ground previously this meant that the public practice and appearance of Islam was restricted, now it has been extended to religious practice at home.

One activist, Aung Aung Sittwe, has reported that the District Director of Religious Affairs in the capital city of NayPyiDaw, has instructed subordinates not to let Muslims learn the Qur’an at home any longer. How this can or will be implemented is anyone’s guess. It is, if authentic, one more salvo in the anti-Rohingya campaign led by bigoted military officials and Buddhist nationalists.

 

The Rohingya are not welcome in Myanmar’s public school system, among other limitations the stateless ethnic minority faces in their homeland.

Myanmar: Director of Religious Affairs Allegedly Bans Quran Reading At Homes

 

Donald Trump led me to embrace Islam !

Donald Trump’s Hateful Rhetoric Led this Woman to Embrace Islam

A year ago Lisa Shanklin began reading the Qur’an after seeing Trump’s hateful rhetoric, She then began interacting with Muslims and eventually decided to embrace Islam, She has vowed to begin wearing the hijab on 20th January 2017 – the day Donald Trump will be inaugurated as President. She states:

It was Trump’s hateful rhetoric that led me a year ago to pick up the Quran (I hadn’t read since studying comparative religions at university) and study it closely. This led me to begin interacting with muslims, and eventually to embracing Islam for myself. For that I am so thankful.

I have now decided that on Inauguration Day: January 20, 2017; I will begin wearing hijab in public at all times. I have been reluctant to do so thus far, mainly because I was not raised muslim; and I did not want to represent almost 2 billion Muslims to the average Jane or Joe on the street. But now I say I only represent me. I do not have all the answers about a centuries old religion, I am not always in a good mood, etc. But I will stand against HATE of any kind towards others. Trump won’t need to give me a badge to wear. I will PROUDLY wear hijab and I will call people out on their bigotry of all kinds privately and publicly!

 

source: http://ilmfeed.com/donald-trumps-hateful-rhetoric-led-this-woman-to-embrace-islam/

 

Islamic Finance for Dummies

From Islamic Finance For Dummies

By Faleel Jamaldeen

Islamic finance is a global financial system that complies with sharia(Islamic law) — a code of conduct that guides all aspects of Muslim life. Sharia prohibits certain elements that are common in conventional finance, such as interest and speculation. As the world’s Muslim population increases, the demand for Islamic financial firms and products is growing dramatically.

KEY SHARIA PRINCIPLES AND PROHIBITIONS IN ISLAMIC FINANCE

Sharia law differentiates Islamic finance from conventional finance. The Islamic financial system is constructed on economic concepts specified by sharia — a code of conduct that guides Muslims (the followers of Islam) in social, economic, and political matters. Sharia promotes balance and justice and discourages behaviors of excess. Some of the core ideas promoted by sharia include the following:

• Allah (God) is the owner of all wealth. Humans are merely the trustees of wealth, which belongs to Allah. Humans must manage wealth according to Allah’s commands, which promote justice and prohibit certain activities, including wasting or destroying resources. Muslims have the right to enjoy whatever wealth they acquire and spend in sharia-compliant ways.

• Material pursuits must be balanced with an individual’s spiritual needs. A Muslim’s economic activities and pursuit of wealth should balance with the spiritual aspects of life. Economic activity conducted according to sharia is, itself, an act of worship, but finding balance between economic activities and spirituality is key. A Muslim is expected to seek moderation in the material world — to avoid being either miserly or too materialistic.

• An individual’s needs must be balanced with society’s needs. A Muslim needs to consider society in general when enjoying Allah’s bounties. These considerations include promoting justice in all economic activities, remembering that all people have mutual responsibility for all others, and using the earth’s resources wisely.

• Economic transactions should take place within a just, responsible, free-market economy. Islam does not restrict economic activity but instead directs it toward being responsible to other people, to the earth, and to Allah. Islam allows for a free-market economy where supply and demand are decided in the market, but it directs the function of the market mechanism by imposing specific laws and ethics. A primary purpose for imposing these laws and ethics is to promote social justice: a balance in which wealth is not accumulated only by a few while most others suffer.

In support of these principles, sharia prohibits business transactions based on the following:

• Interest: Riba, the Arabic word for interest, means to increase, grow, or multiply into more than what would be due. Riba is prohibited by Islam because it creates societal injustice; in a riba-based transaction, the owner of the wealth gets return without making any effort, and the borrower carries all the risk.

• Uncertainty: The Arabic word gharar means uncertainty or to cheat or delude. Transactions based on gharar are unclear or ambiguous; not everyone involved knows what to expect and can make an informed decision. Gharar exists when two parties enter a contract and one party lacks complete information or when both parties lack control over the underlying transaction.

• Gambling: Two Arabic words — maysir and qimar — refer to transactions that involve gambling. Maysir is the acquisition of wealth by chance instead of by effort. Qimar refers to a game of chance. Both types of transactions are based on uncertainty; no one can know how a gamble will pay off.

• Prohibited products and industries: Islam prohibits products and industries that it considers harmful to society and a threat to social responsibility. Examples include alcohol, pork, prostitution, pornography, tobacco, and any products based on uncertainty or gambling.

ISLAMIC FINANCIAL PRODUCTS BASED ON SHARIA-COMPLIANT CONTRACTS

In accordance with Islamic law (sharia), Islamic financial products are based on specific types of contracts. These Sharia-compliant contracts support productive economic activities without betraying key Islamic principles as some conventional financial products do. Sharia-compliant contracts cannot create debt, cannot involve the payment of interest, and must provide for a sharing of risk and responsibility between the involved parties.

To be valid, an Islamic contract must feature subject matter that is lawful, has value for a Muslim, and is specific enough to avoid uncertainties. The service or asset described in the contract generally must exist when the contract is being created, must be owned by the seller (hence prohibiting short sales of stock, for example), and must be deliverable.

Here are some of the most commonly used contracts in Islamic finance:

• Contracts of partnership allow two or more parties to develop wealth by sharing both risk and return:

  • Mudaraba: One party gives money to another party, which invests it in a business or economic activity. Both parties share any profit made from the investment (based on a pre-agreed ratio), but only the investor loses money if the investment flops. The fund manager loses the value of the time and effort it dedicated to the investment. (However, the fund manager assumes financial responsibility if the loss results from its negligence.)

  • Musharaka: This contract creates a joint venture in which both parties provide investment capital, entrepreneurial skills, and labor; both share the profit and/or loss of the activity.

• Contracts of exchange are sales contracts that allow for the transfer of a commodity for another commodity, the transfer of a commodity for money, or the transfer of money for money:

  • Murabaha: In this cost plus contract, an Islamic financial institution sells a commodity to a buyer for its cost plus the profit margin, and both parties know the cost and the profit in advance. The buyer makes deferred payments.

  • Salam: In this forward contract, the buyer (or an Islamic financial institution on behalf of the buyer) pays for goods in full in advance, and the goods are delivered in the future.

  • Istisna: This second type of forward sale contract allows an Islamic financial institution to buy a project (on behalf of the buyer) that is under construction and will be completed and delivered on a future date.

• Contracts of safety and security are often used by Islamic banks; these contracts help individual and business customers keep their funds safe:

  • Wadia: A property owner gives property to another party for the purpose of safeguarding. In Islamic banks, current (checking) accounts and savings accounts are based on the wadia contract.

  • Hiwala: Debt is transferred from one debtor to another. After the debt is transferred to the second debtor, the first debtor is free from her obligation. This contract is used by Islamic financial institutions to remit money between people.

  • Kafala: A third party accepts an existing obligation and becomes responsible for fulfilling someone’s liability. In conventional finance, this situation is called surety or guaranty.

  • Rahn: A property is pledged against an obligation. A customer can offer collateral or a pledge via a rahn contract in order to secure a financial liability.

    source: https://myislamiceconofinance.wordpress.com/2016/11/10/islamic-finance-for-dummies-cheat-sheet/