Thoughts on random topics

                            In the name of God, The Compassionate, The Ever-Merciful

It has been a few months since I have composed a full article for this blog. This is largely because of a very busy schedule, which includes a publishing project (which is in the final stages now). In any case, I want to share below some thoughts on subjects which are very important, challenges that are facing not only the United States or even the Muslim Ummah, but also mankind, regardless of religious or national affiliation. Keep in mind that below are thoughts expressed rather quickly. Thus, this post is not structured with references, notes and links.

(1) Palestine

The crisis with the victimization of Palestinians by Israel is not a new situation. The current onslaught in Gaza is simply a continuation of policies that have been in place since 1947. It is perhaps "new"  in the sense that with mass communications and social media, the horrific images cannot be hidden from the world. 

The system of apartheid and colonialism (which also has ideological components ) is unsustainable, and it is my view that we are witnessing desperate attempts to keep it going. That desperation leads to open violence, disdain of international opinion and legal bodies. I think that while the Palestinians continue to suffer, there is light at the end of the tunnel. 

Indeed, God himself states that He does not allow success to be experienced by those who are oppressive (Innahu Laa Yuflihudh Dhaalimoon) (Qur'an 6:135 etc). This means that oppression is not a permanent condition. It will eventually be lifted. It's just a matter of time. 

A few months back. I was invited to teach on Middle East Affairs, and I outlined in an academic environment both the foundations for the conflict as well as for peace. Two of those class presentations are available. See (From the Land of Canaan )

As well as 

(Exploring paths to peace in the Middle East)

(2) Muslim-Christian relations

I am a strong believer in Islam, it is the summary of Divine guidance as given through all of the messengers of Allah ('alayhim as salaam) ending with the coming of the Final Prophet (Muhammad, Sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam). I believe inviting Christians to accept Islam is an important task, and have been active in that field for many years. 

Yet, I believe that the religious environment has been poisoned in recent times, particularly in online content. While it is common for Christian  apologists to make outrageous, even stupid claims, against Islam and Muslims, I am also increasingly concerned with Muslim behavior towards Christians. I find that Muslim videos (and keep in mind, typically the creators of these videos are not Imams of any type) are unnecessarily antagonistic, filled not only with superficial arguments, but creating tensions and conflict.

There will always be believers and disbelievers. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus,  and others, will always exist, as long as the world exists. Frankly, I am unbothered by Christians (or Muslims for that matter) who think I am destined for Hell. Da'wah is fine, but we have to do it in the best fashion. We invite using cogent arguments, wisdom and also with our good character. We need maturity, calm discussions, and we also need to accept that others will have religious beliefs that do not align with our own, and that is fine. After all, Allah could make everyone think the same, but He did not do that. 

So yes, we should do da'wah, but in a professional fashion, and avoid emotional arguments, gas-lighting and stay away from creating environments of conflict. The actions of many of our active Da'ees (callers to Islam, mostly online) are reactions to the belligerent and often insane moves of Christian missionaries (which includes disrupting prayers at a mosque to even chewing pages of Qur'an online), however, these so called Christians are not our teachers. Our primary, practical teacher is the Prophet Muhammad, the one who is called "a mercy to all nations" (Q 21:107). His ethics were that of engaging in a holistic manner with the followers of other religions. His style was discussion and sharing the content of the Qur'an. 

While I can confess to engaging sometimes in religious arguments, in general it is not the best way for long-term goals.  On areas of shared interest, especially in a Western environment, Muslims and Christians can work together. Addressing poverty, immorality, political disenfranchisement, etc.. we should be able to do that. But that requires maturity on both sides of the aisle. Moreover, there are elements out here, both within religious discourse -and their financiers behind the scenes- who desire to poison any attempts to do good things. It suits their political interests to keep us divided. This is something our leaders have to be cognizant of.

(3) American society (Homelessness, immigration, family, economy, racism, xenophobia)

In the second term of President Donald Trump's reign, I am increasingly alarmed at not only his foreign policy actions of late, but also the exercise of authoritarianism on domestic levels. I cannot help but sound an alarm at his announced plans to employ the National guard to have a Federal takeover of Washington, D.C. claiming it is a move to fight crime and homelessness. He has expressed a desire to do something similar to Chicago, Illinois.

Regarding homelessness, in the West coast of the United States we see it on the rise. However, using police tactics-simply to move them from one place to another- is a temporary fix at best. The solution-I think- is a reform of the culture, as well as shifting of spending priorities on the county, state and national levels. After all, how much money is spent on our military budget? How much is spent to support Israel? Or to Ukraine, which only provokes Russia?  Those funds are better spent dealing with the social issues of this country.

Immigration has been another hot topic, in which even some Non-White immigrants express support for the Trump administration crackdown on illegal immigrant. I think the support of some voices from immigrants is a desire for proximity to power, but also stems from class differences.  The Trump supporters (of all stripes) view themselves as elites, and cannot see the other side. 

Racism and Xenophobia have also been on the rise, with both official and unofficial expression. It is difficult and seemingly almost impossible to change the mindset of those who have embraced these views. As such, those with a more sane vision of existence need to hope for the best and also become prepared. Everyone should have items such as a passport, second streams of income, practice careful spending/investing, and become better educated (both formally and informally).  Those with the ability to enter into politics, media and the like should do so, and at the least, try to slow down the rise of dangerous ideas.

The Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, has remarked that end times are indicated by "the diminishing of knowledge and the popularization of ignorance" (Yaqillul 'ilmu wa yakthurul jahl). I firmly believe that this can equally be applied to the era of the fall of a society. It is up to people of 'Ilm (knowledge) and Hilm  ( mental controls) to put something out there that has a positive impact on these situations. They cannot stay silent.

The preservation of the family (and even redefining it in order to create stronger networks of support) is very important. The concepts of excessive individualism and materialism are not only destructive, they are contrary to Divine guidelines. Thus, the social trends of encouraging conflict between the sexes and the like should be thrown into the trash.

I have no doubt that this post is short on details. It can be made better. These are simply some thoughts on just a sample of the most important issues we face today. As always, I welcome reactions, reflections, be it in agreement or disagreement. Thank you. 

Quranic Study Notes: Comparing faith and its opposite ( 10: 95-100)

Note: The following is a summary of my notes which form the core of regular presentations on the Quranic scripture. Unless otherwise stated, the translation has NOT been included. This allows the reader to focus on the explanations given, and to consult the translation of their choice when the need arises.


( 10:94-95)

 فَاِنۡ کُنۡتَ فِیۡ شَکٍّ مِّمَّاۤ اَنۡزَلۡنَاۤ اِلَیۡکَ فَسۡـَٔلِ الَّذِیۡنَ یَقۡرَءُوۡنَ الۡکِتٰبَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِکَ ۚ لَقَدۡ جَآءَکَ الۡحَقُّ مِنۡ رَّبِّکَ فَلَا تَکُوۡنَنَّ مِنَ الۡمُمۡتَرِیۡنَ

 وَ لَا تَکُوۡنَنَّ مِنَ الَّذِیۡنَ کَذَّبُوۡا بِاٰیٰتِ اللّٰہِ فَتَکُوۡنَ مِنَ الۡخٰسِرِیۡنَ





The immediate audience of the Prophet-Sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam-  were-despite the regularity of it now coming to him,  still found Revelation to be an unusual experience. His audience is reminded that this is actually something which has been experienced by other communities as well, and are, in essence, told to ask the members of other communities about those experiences.

This comes to the point that revelation of scripture comes with the purpose of empowering those who have faith. THIS is phased in other places as "guidance" ( Q 2:2), "light" ( 5:15), etc.. . All of these terms show that there is benefit to all of this, and ignoring it only works to do us harm.


(10:96-97)
 اِنَّ الَّذِیۡنَ حَقَّتۡ عَلَیۡہِمۡ کَلِمَتُ رَبِّکَ لَا یُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ

 وَ لَوۡ جَآءَتۡہُمۡ کُلُّ اٰیَۃٍ حَتّٰی یَرَوُا الۡعَذَابَ الۡاَلِیۡمَ

The narcissists, those who are "in too deep" will not accept truth, regardless of the powerful evidence presented.

It is difficult for the sincere adviser when his words are not heeded. He cares for his audience, especially when they are his family or loved ones. Those loved ones are so immersed in their destructive lives, behavior and thinking that they are simply blinded to truth. The Prophet Muhammad is told in another place " Do not let their words cause you to grieve" ( Q 10:65).

If certain audience members are blind and oblivious to the warnings, to the truth, the Prophet, and those who follow him, are to simply move on.


( 10:98)
 فَلَوۡ لَا کَانَتۡ قَرۡیَۃٌ اٰمَنَتۡ فَنَفَعَہَاۤ اِیۡمَانُہَاۤ اِلَّا قَوۡمَ یُوۡنُسَ ؕ لَمَّاۤ اٰمَنُوۡا کَشَفۡنَا عَنۡہُمۡ عَذَابَ الۡخِزۡیِ فِی الۡحَیٰوۃِ الدُّنۡیَا وَ مَتَّعۡنٰہُمۡ اِلٰی حِیۡنٍ

It is not always a lost cause, as this verse points us to. As the expression goes "Lose the battle, win the war!". Jonah, or Yunus in the Quranic language, is an example of the war being won!

Jonah-' alayhis salaam-  is commissioned for Nineveh,  a civilization which had its center in Southern Iraq. He was a Prophet sent forth to them, and they- as a social unit, heeded the warnings, rectified their attitude and behavior,  and as a result, their civilization was revived!


Islam - as found in the Qur'an and as lived by the Prophet Muhammad, comes with a similar mission. This has been found to be true historically as well as within the lives of great individuals. This writer often cites as wonderful examples persons as diverse as Umar Ibn Al-Khattab and Malcolm X.

In any case, if we are to have any civilization model, let it not be Pharaoh's  Egypt, but rather that of Jonah's Nineveh.


( 10:99-100)
 وَ لَوۡ شَآءَ رَبُّکَ لَاٰمَنَ مَنۡ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ کُلُّہُمۡ جَمِیۡعًا ؕ اَفَاَنۡتَ تُکۡرِہُ النَّاسَ حَتّٰی یَکُوۡنُوۡا مُؤۡمِنِیۡنَ

 وَ مَا کَانَ لِنَفۡسٍ اَنۡ تُؤۡمِنَ اِلَّا بِاِذۡنِ اللّٰہِ ؕ وَ یَجۡعَلُ الرِّجۡسَ عَلَی الَّذِیۡنَ لَا یَعۡقِلُوۡنَ

Imaan (faith) is life-saving, and a new injection of life is delivered to a society which accepts that Imaan. However, it cannot be done at gunpoint. It has to be voluntary, done with full awareness and sincere acceptance.

The latter statement in v.100 is quite powerful in the original Arabic. A rather rough sounding translation is as follows "And He( Allah)  makes 'Rijs' for those who don't use their minds".

Rijs means that which is abhorrent, disgusting, loathsome. In other words, when the mind is not used, particularly in areas of faith, God will put on them signs of being abhorrent.

While contextually this is faith-related, I believe we can see this outside of that as well. Rejection (Kufr), a topic which has been addressed here comes as a result of blindness, arrogance, tyranny and the like. In other words, they have been unable to use their minds, not only in a limited "religious" sense, but in the social and political as well. The rather frightening populism gripping not only the USA but UK to a limited sense has daily, often filmed, examples of irrational xenophobia. Spanish speakers are most often singled out, harassed and even physically attacked when heard conversing in their native language.

In the Qur'an (5:90) the same term Rijs is used in connection to intoxicants, gambling and the like. These things have destructive capacities which are well known. Mainly, these items are not only addictive, they affect the minds of its captives ( a carefully chosen word) in a negative way.

So faith should be- at its core- intellectual- having arrived at it via careful study and research. IT should translate into a broad mind, it should be transforming, certainly to the extent that a person should be able to be more open minded and not easily becoming mentally captivated as we are unfortunately are witnessing today. Racism, xenophobia, and the like seem to be clear cut characteristics of Kufr.

In these regards, there is a Prophetic Supplication which reads, in part:  "O Allah, I seek refuge with you from Kufr". If we understand Kufr in its broad definition as outlined in the Qur'an, as being the core of various social and personal diseases ( in thinking), we can see the import of that supplication, as well as what Imaan itself should manifest.

Revisiting Race: America's never-ending odyssey

It is easy to think of the USA as a post-racial society, a place where ethnic background, skin color and religious label are not factors that lead to official and non-official marginalization. After all, twice now American voters have elected a man with roots in a Kenyan Muslim family, with the middle name "Hussein" on top of it, to the highest office in the land.

African-Americans are also represented in leading positions in various areas of society, law enforcement, politics and media.


Yet despite all these truthful assertions, African-Americans as a whole feel under siege. This is due to a number of socioeconomic factors, but as of late, highlighted in the continuing incidents leading to death during rather mundane encounters with law enforcement. Samuel Dubose in Cincinnati, Ohio. Or that of Sandra Bland, 28, in Prairie View, Texas, which authorities there have declared a suicide. In addition to these, social media are filled daily with videos of confrontations with Police officials. In addition to dealings with the law, we now have seen Dylan Roof, a young white man who joined a Bible study in a historically black Church, Emmanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina then opened fire, killing nine, including the senior pastor, Clementa Pickney, himself a South Carolina Senator. It's actually amazing that none have declared this an act of terrorism, even when a politician was killed in Church. I guess the Terrorist label is only applicable when the perpetrators are Brown-skinned and Muslim!

Why do we see a surge in these events? This writer has spent a great deal of time exploring this and related issues, speaking with people from various races and walks of life, and the theories out there are interesting- albeit frightening. There are those, both black and white, who feel these incidents are deliberate attempts to ignite a race war. Others blame media for fanning the flames, while others have placed blame on everything from the stresses of working in Law enforcement to the killings found in video games such as Grand Theft Auto!


Attitudes of mistrust will take generations to sort out

Tensions between ethnic groups [and more often, between social classes] have always been present within human society. That is simply a fact. Perhaps because we live in a fast-paced world we end up becoming conditioned to think these issues can be just as easily solved as going into a fast-food restaurant for lunch.

In an American context, we must remember that slavery officially lasted for 246 years. This figure does not include the various European adventures into Africa for slaves, which began in the late 1400's. The official period of slavery [ending with the Emancipation proclamation of 1863, but obviously not enforced until the end of the American Civil War in 1865] was followed by official and non official discrimination, violence, Jim Crow Laws, the rise of vigilante racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan [KKK], lynchings, etc..

Yet, this writer asserts that  the next two generations,God-willing, will see racial biases- at least the sort that manifest themselves in the way they have, disappear. This statement may sound naive to some readers, but do consider the following facts.

[1] The increase of the ethnic groups that  are neither black nor white, such as Latinos and Asians. They are increasing in numbers, but also economic and political power. See http://news.yahoo.com/rise-latino-population-blurs-us-racial-lines-114944593.html;_ylt=A0LEVv5VkcJVeHEAyx8nnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByOHZyb21tBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--

[2] The rising acceptance of social relations between the races, including interracial marriage.

These two factors alome, along with others unmentioned here, are enough to generate hope that the coming generation will be able to discard the attitudes and actions that have been going on for so long!


Overall illnesses must also be addressed

While the future does appear to be bright, we must nonetheless acknowledge that there are deep social problems, or illnesses, that need to be addressed. Knowing that there are illnesses is obviously the first step to finding the cure. This writer does not claim to know all the answers, nor to even be able to see all the symptons, nonetheless we highlight a few, and hope these observations generate thought, especially for our political, religious and social leaders, for those in media and the entertainment industry.

[1] Narcissistic culture: Under nice-sounding labels such as "independence" and "freedom", this culture of simply the pursuit of whims ends up creating countless social problems, leaving in its wake destroyed families and neighborhoods.

[2] Media Violence: The increasingly violent images we see daily in our movies, music and games leaves us desensitized. So, violence is "fun" and "Manly". In addition, sexual dedregation is also connected to this.

[3] Racial stereotyping: Countless books and articles have been published on this point, and African-Americans are admittedly its greatest victims, although Muslims [particularly Arab or South Asian] are increasingly shown as villians, up to no good, untrustworthy, etc..

[4] Abandonment of moral/spiritual values: This manifests itself in the narcisisstic culture mentioned above, as well as in other ways. More and more, we are being conditioned to discard the values given in religion, that such values are antiquated and useless. Indeed, this is shown even through dress. Women wear short, tight clothes even in Church [and other venues ] and a popular style is for men to wear pants "sagging", showing their underwear.


Reasons to be hopeful

Ta-nehisi Coates, [an atheist] does not see any hope for Race relations in America, despite his personal successes. His new book  Between the world and me [2015, Spiegel &Graw, New York] is simply a collection of thoughts as to why he sees no reasons to hope.

It is precisely the opposite for this writer, because this writer believes in God! God is the one who created, but also cares for- all of his creation. God is the one who is the source of all races and ethnic backrounds. Human differences are not an accident. They are intentional actions on the part of the Divine Hand.

There is hope when one sees children, particularly very young children. They show love and do not consider issues of skin color as reasons to dislike or to hate others. There is hope because there are still on this Earth human beings with healthy hearts. There is hope because God created humans to have the capacity to grow, to think and progress beyond the limits placed on them by outside forces.

Even Malcolm X, known as Al-Hajj Malik Shabazz, a man who had, at one point in his life, dismissed whites as literal devils, grew. In commenting on race in America, he says:

..that discussion with the ambassador gave me a new insight-one which I like: that the white man is not inherently evil, but America's racist society influences him to act evilly. ..

[The autobiography of Malcolm X, 1999 edition, Ballantine Books, New York]

In these words we find hope. Hope to grow out of pettiness, hope to be humans, exhibiting the humanity placed in us by God.

Qur'an: foundation for education and diversity

Qur’an: a Foundation for Education and Diversity


The first words of revelation bestowed to the Prophet [PBUH] were “Iqraa” [“Read”]. Commentators, activists and educators spend a great deal of time expounding this phrase, as well as the statements following it in Soorah Al-‘Alaq. Our focus here is a bit different from our predecessors, in that we want to get a feeling of how the Qur’an impacted the Prophet.

Muhammad the man was an ummi Prophet. This phrase is generally understood as meaning “illiterate”. While we do accept this traditional understanding (because of the fact that in those days, especially in an Arabian context, very few people could read or write), another way of looking at this designation ummi is that he, Muhammad, was uneducated in religion and philosophy as well as untrained in the sciences and fields of knowledge that would raise a society. Yet, here he is in a cave, commanded to “Read, in the name of Your Lord who has created” [Q 96:1]. This normal man is now in the process of personal elevation, growth beyond his immediate experiences and surroundings. A native of a desert environment that had all but isolated from the rest of the world is now commanded to examine, comprehend and interpret that same world.

Certainly, Muhammad, peace be upon him, was unique. He was Allah’s messenger, and the seal (last) of the Prophets. He was given a scripture over a twenty-three year period. The process of that revelation can provide Muslims with great lessons. Allah wants the believers to become a people who can appreciate diversity, who can be comfortable in all goodly settings, whose knowledge and understanding goes beyond one’s immediate social, economic and class experiences. Basically, to be a people who, as a whole, reach their intellectual and spiritual zenith.

Accepting Islam in its totality includes accepting knowledge/wisdom/guidance from any reliable source. Xenophobia is like a huge boulder which is blocking a cave exit, trapping its inhabitants to a dark, cold and lonely fate. Islam has been given to mankind to broaden perspectives, to create a worldview that can see and even appreciate the diversity in all things, benefitting from that. The Prophet’s audience, the collective Ummiyyeen, had that boulder removed, and went on to become the founders of many civilizations, creating countless blessings for all mankind. Let us do the same.

[Shamsuddin Waheed is Imam at Toledo Masjid Al-Islam, Toledo, Ohio. A writer and lecturer, he can be contacted via email at waheed79@yahoo.com. More of his writings can be found at shamsuddinwaheed.blogspot.com.]