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Building Good Character, Page 41

Our greatest need of the hour

By Abdul Hamid Lachporia
” It is possible for the righteous word to transform into a righteous social structure only when it springs from a heart regenerated by the values that it signifies. Otherwise, it remains a hollow utterance without meaning or content. Thus it is the ‘heart’ that gives meaning to words, content to ideals, and direction and goal to outward development. …”

Why do bad things happen to good people?

By Arshad Gamiet
“We have a simple choice. We can either stay locked into our cultural ghettoes, choosing only to associate with like-minded people, while the suspicion and hatred of Muslims grows around us. Or, we can set a good example for our children and grandchildren. For their future, for their sake, we can and we must cultivate good neighbourly relations with the wider communities. We must build bridges of mutual understanding and trust..”

Where are today’s Muslim historians?

By Dr Husni Hammuda
“600 years ago, Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah (Prolegomena, or Introduction to history) laid the foundations for modern Sociology and Demography. He saw history as a process of causes and effects, rather than just a list of dates and events. Where are our modern Muslim Ibn Khalduns? If we don’t write our own history, someone else will, using their own bias and prejudice. We will then only have ourselves to blame….”

The Spirit of Islam

By Sheikh Abdul Hamid Lachporia
“In order to avoid the least semblance of high-handedness, no Muslim was allowed to acquire the land owned by a Christian nor could they be disposed of their property. All were equal under the law. In their anxiety for the welfare of all non-Muslim subjects, the Khalifs’ of Baghdad, like their counterparts of Cordova, created a special governmental department charged with the protection of all non-Muslim citizens and the safeguarding of their interests. ..”

Every day is Women’s Day

By Arshad Gamiet
“Our daughters have a right to education. They also have a right to work, to own businesses and to develop their God-given talents so that all humankind benefits. They have a right to be loved and respected no less than our sons. ..”

Khutbah on the Physically Disabled

By Sheikh Abdul Hamid Lachporia

I remember speaking to two young deaf brothers whom I met recently for Jummah Salaat. They told me how deaf Muslims praying in congregation end up just standing and following the motions, unable to hear any of the vocalized invocations and recitation of the Holy Qur’an that are meant to transform our hearts. They asked if it would be religiously permissible to use sign language when leading a prayer, so that those who could not hear would be able to be more actively present. It was honestly something I had never thought about, which was alarming to me. It opened my eyes to the many ways in which the leaders of Masaajid and Islamic Centres fail to be inclusive and accessible to our Muslim brothers and sisters living with hearing disabilities…”

Why am I so neglected?

By Sheikh Abdul Hamid Lachporia
” I am not an ordinary book that should be kept on a shelf collecting dust. I am the words of the Most Glorious and Exalted Creator of the heavens and the earth. I am the final word from Almighty Allah to mankind, therefore I am for all mankind. I am a continuation of the Light which was sent down by Almighty Allah through all His Ambiya Alayhim Salaam. So the Truth and final judgement is that I represent the final True Message of Almighty Allah. ..”