Islamic Focus

Issue 113 Igniting the Spirit of Islam Dec 2013 Bukhara Publications/Tel: 078 672 7797/Fax: 086 651 2125 Email: islamicfocus@gmail.com/Korsten/Port Elizabeth

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WORLD

NEWS

IRAQ - Security forces are holding more than 4,200

Sunni women illegally and subjecting them to torture

and abuse. Many were held for months or even

years without charge. Interrogators often questioned

them about their male relatives' activities rather than

the crimes in which they themselves were implicat-

ed. Many of those interviewed described being

"beaten, kicked, slapped, hung upside-down and

beaten on their feet, given electric shocks, and

raped or threatened with sexual assault by security

forces during their interrogation". Most of the female

detainees had no access to a lawyer before or dur-

ing their interrogations. (BBC, 6 Feb 2014)

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - CAR soldiers

lynched a Muslim man accused of being a rebel. He

was stabbed and beaten to death and then his body

burned in the capital, Bangui. The lynching is the

latest in a series of shocking acts in CAR which have

been perpetrated by Christians against Muslims de-

spite the resignation of the Muslim president. The

man was killed in view of photographers and as AU

peacekeepers looked on. The soldiers suspected him

of being part of the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels. (6

Feb 2014)

EGYPT - Friday sermons have to now be delivered

on a set theme chosen by the government as part of

newly introduced controls on Muslim places of wor-

ship. The Ministry of Religious Endowments will de-

cide what imams should tell the millions who attend

the weekly prayers. Imams may not deviate from

the official theme. Private mosques are threatened

with annexation by the ministry if they do not toe

the line. Other newly introduced state controls over

mosques include restricting the weekly sermon to

clerics appointed by the authorities, and closing of

thousands of prayer rooms. Egyptian authorities are

imposing heavy restrictions on freedom of speech

after the overthrow of President Morsi. (BBC, 31 Jan

2014)

SAUDI ARABIA - 15 people killed and 130 injured

in a fire at a hotel used by pilgrims in the holy city of

Madinah. About 700 people from different countries

were staying at the hotel. The travellers were in

Madinah as part of their Umrah trips. (AJ , 9 Feb

2014)

BOSNIA - Some of the worst unrest in years saw

government buildings torched amid anger at the lack

of jobs and a perceived inability of politicians to im-

prove the situation. The unrest began in Tuzla and

quickly spread to other towns and cities. (BBC, 8 Feb

2014)

KENYA - Two Kenyan police officers were charged

with kidnapping two Somali fighters seeking inde-

pendence for Ogaden from Ethiopia. The police offic-

ers drove to the Ethiopian border and handed them

over to Ethiopian officials. The men are fighting for

independence for the Somali Ogaden region. They

were in Kenya to facilitate peace talks with the Ethi-

opian government. (BBC, 6 Feb 2014)

KOSOVO - Police used tear gas to disperse hun-

dreds of student protesters at the country's main

public university. Dozens of policemen and protest-

ers were injured. (BBC, 6 Feb) �

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3 Islamic Focus

SOCIA

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Christmas: Some facts while you wait 1. Date of Birth

1.1 Year: estimated between 7 and 2 BC 1.2 Month/Date: unknown 1.3 25 December: Only adopted by western churches 400 years after Jesus alaihis salaam although not all churches celebrate it on that day. 1.4 Coptic Church 7 Jan 1.5 Eastern Churches 19 Jan. 1.6 Others celebrate on 6, or 9 Jan according to the doubt on the actual date, the confusion over the calendar and other reasons. 2. Bible on Birthdays Origen of Alexandria said the Bible mentions only sinners as celebrating their birthdays like: 2.1 Pharaoh (Genesis 40:20–22) 2.2 Herod (Mark 6:21–27) and mentions saints and prophets as cursing the day of their birth like: 2.3 Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:14–15) 2.4 Job (Job 3:1–16) So,

✓ neither Jesus alaihis salaam, nor 300-400 years of Christians after him celebrated Christmas ✓ those who celebrate nowadays are uncer-tain about the actual date ✓ the origin of 25 Dec is based on pagan cel-ebrations ✓ today's Christmas celebrations are full of secular commercialism. �

1. Constantly worshiping Allah Ta'ala

The Prophet � said, "Allah says, ‘O son of Ad-am! Take time out to constantly worship me, I will fill your chest with richness, and remove your poverty. And if you do not do so, I will make your hands filled with occupation, and will not remove your poverty” [Tirmidhi] 2. Marriage And marry those among you who are single (i.e. a man who has no wife and the woman who has no husband) ... If they be poor, Allah will enrich them out of His Bounty… [Quran, An-Nur:32] 3. Supporting students of Islamic knowledge

There were two brothers at the time of the Prophet �. One of them would come to Prophet �, whereas the other one would seek his sus-tenance by working. So the one who used to seek his sustenance complained to the Prophet � about his brother. The Prophet � replied, ‘It is possible that you are provided your suste-nance because of him’ [Tirmidhi 2:274] 4. Showing kindness to the Poor

“The only reason that you are aided in victory (against your enemies) and provided with sus-tenance is due to your weak." [Bukahri] 5. Being honest in ones dealings "The two parties of a transaction have the right (to annul the contract) as long as they don't separate (from each other). So, if they were truthful (to one another), and honest in ex-plaining (the defects of an item), then they will be blessed in their transaction…” [Muslim] �

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Heard of the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Sochi, Russia? Well, here are some facts about the area that you might not know: Sochi is situated on the Black Sea and is one of Russia's biggest resort cities. For 600 years the region was ruled and inhabited by Muslims (Circassians). Russia started invasions in the 19th century and the Muslims resisted for dec-ades. Then came one of the worst acts of ethnic cleansing by Russians against the Circassian Muslims: 1,5 million were killed or deported and only 80,000 were left on the land. This started the modern 'strategy' of ethnic cleans-ing and genocide. Sochi was the final place of expulsion of the Muslims. The world should hang its head in shame that Russia even got these sports events in the first place. To allow it to be held in an area that witnessed some of the worst Russian co-lonial crimes is to rub salt in the wound. Muslims need to be aware of the history of the Caucasus and the brutal invasion, atrocities and continued occupation of the land by Rus-sians, almost annihilating the Muslims as a re-sult. The Muslims of the Caucasus ruled there since the 8th century and never stopped fighting for liberation since the Russian inva-sions from the 18th century. They continue today in Daghestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya. Footnote: Research on Circassia and Sochi was prompted by a meeting with a Cherkess

Aalim from Circassia who was out in Jamaat in

South Africa. �

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WORSHIP / SOCIA

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Setting goals or targets is an excellent prac-tise. There are good resolutions a person can make and does not need to wait for a New Year. Here are a few tips to get started: Reach for the Stars! There is no harm in achieving good both ma-terially and spiritually. The most important is to note that all resolutions, hopes, ambitions and dreams etc. are entirely dependent on Al-lah Ta’ala, The Most Wise, for their fulfillment. So asking Allah Ta’ala is the most essential ingredient. When making dua “reach for the stars” i.e. ask Allah Ta’ala for the most, in fact ask for everything good. Don’t leave out any-thing. Allah says: “Invoke Me, I will respond to your (invocation/dua)...” (Quran 40:60) Eliminate Sins! Just like a shopkeeper refuses to grant more credit to a bad debtor or nonpayer, likewise how can we expect Allah to grant us good if we continuously sin? To get the Help of Allah we need to remove sin from our lives. We are not perfect and as humans we often err. Say: “O My servants who have transgressed against their own souls, despair not of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Quran 39:53) Set specific Goals It would be good if specific intentions are made. Also categorize goals. Let’s take sa-laah: Resolve that henceforth all five prayers will be read punctually and for men that pray-ers would be in the Masjid. �

5 Islamic Focus

QUESTIO

NS &

ANSWERS

Q: Is AIDS part of those

illnesses within the Shafi Fiqh School that

would allow nullification

of a marriage contract?

A: The Shafi jurists hold that certain illnesses allow spous-es the right to break a mar-riage contract. Among these is leprosy. This is the au-thentic opinion of Imam Shafi rahimahullah. AIDS shares the same details as these illnesses mentioned by the jurists, such as: Af-fecting the pleasure that one would have in marriage, ina-bility to engage in sexual ac-tivity and fear of being in-fected with a contagious dis-ease like in the case of lepro-sy. The ruling of AIDS and issues that occur around it within the Shafi school have the same ruling as that of leprosy: both husband and wife have the option of sepa-ration whether at the con-tract writing or afterwards. Q: Is it permissible for the son of a lady who was

previously married to be

her wali (guardian) if she

has no father, grandfather or any relatives from her

father’s side?

A: In the Shafi school, if a woman’s son is connected to her only by the bond of being her child, then he cannot act as her guardian and marry her off. If another connection between them is established, then he may according to that. An example of this is them sharing in lineage by him being both her son and also the son of her uncle’s son; or for example, if he was the judge.

The right of wilayah guardi-anship] is one established by lineage, and a woman’s line-age goes back to her father and his family; while her son’s lineage is traced through his father. This is the Shafi position on the matter, the other three chools and Imam Shafi’s stu-dent, Imam Muzani, main-tained that a woman’s son may act as her wali. (Mughni al-Muhtaj 4:249;

Rawdat al-Talibin 5:381)

Q: Is it permissible for a

Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man who re-

spects her religion?

A: It is not permissible for a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man. In his Tamhid 12:21, Ibn Abd al-Barr related consensus on this, as did Imam Qurtubi. Hence, the matter is not spe-cific to the Shafis; there is a standing consensus from all the authoritative scholars from all the schools of juris-prudence on the issue. Q: Is it compulsory for

one to shave his or her pubic hair and bury it in

the earth?

A: “Five things are from man’s natural disposition: 1) circumcision, 2) shaving the pubes, 3) clipping the nails, 4) plucking the armpit hair, 5) and cutting the mous-tache.” (Muslim) Imam Na-wawi mentioned that shaving the pubes is sunnah. What is meant by the pubes is the hair that grows around one’s front private part. Shaving this hair is best; while other methods of removing it are permitted too.

In regards to the rear pri-vate, if one removes that hair for cleanliness and to make cleaning after reliving one’s self easier, then this is a good practice. In regards to when it should be done, Imam Nawawi stat-ed that this is based on the hair’s growth and the need to remove it. When the pubic hair grows long, one should then shave it. While if one delays, then it should not be delayed past forty days. It is recommended that one’s hair and nails which are re-moved be buried in the ground. (Sharh al-Muhadhdhab 1:289)

Q: What is the ruling re-

garding not trimming hair or clipping the nails dur-

ing the first ten days of

Dhul Hijjah? Does it just apply to those going on

Hajj? What about those

not on Hajj? A: In Minhaj, Imam Nawawi mentioned that it is recom-mended for one intending to slaughter that he not clip his nails or cut his hair during the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah until he slaughters. In Mughni al-Muhtaj 6:124, Khatib mentioned that doing so is disliked. Furthermore, he clarified that this ruling applies to both one in a state of ihram as well as others too. �

Answer by Shafii Fiqh Department

SHAFI Q & ASHAFI Q & ASHAFI Q & ASHAFI Q & A From various Ulama

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QUESTIONS &

ANSWERS

Q: Is adopting a child

(male/female) is permit-ted in Islam?

A: It is permissible to adopt a child according to Islamic law. The following conditions should be born in mind: 1. The child should not take up the name of the parents who have adopted him. His lineage should be separate and not joined with the par-ents. He should keep the name of his biological father if the biological father is known. 2. Strict hijab should be ob-served when the child reach-es the age of puberty. The hijab is between the mother and the child if it is a boy and between the father and child if it is a girl. The meth-od to avoid this is to adopt the child in infancy and the mother breastfeeds the child. In doing so, they will become the foster parents and hijab will not be necessary. Never-theless, breastfeeding will still not make him a real son and his lineage will still be separate. 3. The adopted child will not inherit from the adoptive parents. The adoptive par-ents are allowed to bequeath one-third of their wealth to the adopted child in their will if they wish to do so. The child may be adopted from any ethnic group. When the child is old enough to un-derstand, he should be in-formed with wisdom about the reality of the issue. Spe-cial care should be taken in ensuring that the foster par-ents do not cause any emo-tional harm to the adopted child when addressing such

sensitive matters. Q: Was the destruction of

Janntul Baqi (the grave-

yard of Madinah

Munawwarah) meaning the leveling of the graves,

justified in Islam?

A: The structures that were built over the graves in the cemetery of Baqi in Madinah were not original structures present at the time of the righteous predecessors. The domes and other structures were initially built by rulers and governors in the fifth, sixth and seventh centuries of Hijrah, probably beginning with the Shia Fatimids. In the early part of the nine-teenth century, when the first Saudi state annexed Hi-jaz, these structures were systematically dismantled by the regime. After the Otto-mans defeated the them and recaptured Hijaz, they made new structures over the graves. The second (current) Saudi state destroyed all the-se structures in 1925. Hence, no structures now remain over the graves in Baqi. In accordance with the dic-tates of Islamic law, the ula-ma of Deoband are opposed to all structures built atop graves, besides those built over the blessed graves of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam and his two com-panions, Abu Bakr and Umar radhiallahu anhuma. Any other structure that is on top of a grave should be re-moved by those who have authority to do so. The pres-ence of these structures was also condemned by earlier Ulama.

When dismantling any struc-ture over a grave, however, it is vital to be respectful, and not display any disre-spect to the occupant of the grave. Q: Is it permissible to give a cat a Muslim Arabic

name?

A: It is permissible to give a cat a name in the Arabic lan-guage. If by Arabic name in your query you mean Muslim names, then the name should not lead to disrespect to any Muslim name, for ex-ample naming the cat after the names of Prophets (Alaihimus Salam) and Sa-haba (Radiallahu Anhum) etc. Q: I attend university, and

the Friday prayers (Juma) take place at the time of

my lectures. Do I go for

Juma or do I go to class? A: Juma salaah is a gift be-stowed to the Muslims. It is compulsory for us as Muslims to attend this salah: “O you who believe, when the call for salah is proclaimed on Friday, hasten for the re-membrance of Allah, and leave off business. That is much better for you, if you but know.” [Quran, 62:9] As such, it is imperative for you to attend Juma even if you have to forego your clas-ses. You will have to find an-other way to make up these classes later on. Try and fa-cilitate a Jum on the campus itself. �

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INTE

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INSPIRATIO

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In a mother’s womb were two babies, talking to each other. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?” The other replies, “Why, off course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.” “Nonsense,” says the other. “There is no life after delivery. What would that life be?” “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths.” The other says “This is absurd! Walking is im-possible. And eat with our mouths? Ridiculous. The umbilical cord supplies nutrition. Life after delivery is to be excluded. The umbilical cord is too short.” “I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here.” The other replies, “No one has ever come back from there. Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery it is nothing but darkness and anxiety and it takes us nowhere.” “Well, I don’t know,” says the other, “but cer-tainly we will see mother and she will take care of us.” “Mother??” You believe in mother? Where is she now?” “She is all around us. It is in her that we live. Without her there would not be this world.” “I don’t see her, so it’s only logical that she doesn’t exist.” To which the other replied, “Sometimes when you’re silent you can hear her, you can per-ceive her. I believe there is a reality after de-livery and we are here to prepare ourselves for that reality.” �

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8 Islamic Focus

SOCIA

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Advertisers pay R40 million for 30 seconds of advertising during the biggest US sporting event, the American football Super Bowl. Let someone please tell me that what you watch on TV doesn't have an impact. If it doesn't, why would anyone spend such incred-ible amounts on such short segments? R8 billion was spent last year on the budgets of just 3 movies. No impact? So what justifies such enormous expenditure of money? It's a given that media has an impact on mindset and plays a major role in fashioning lifestyle. So, what were the themes of the top sellers in different segments of the media/entertainment world? 2 of the 3 top grossing movies of 2013 had violence as a theme, as did 70% of the top 3 bestselling books of 2013 and 80% of the top 5 video games for 2013. The lyrics of the best selling music singles for 2013 featured violent sex and illicit sex as themes in 2 of the top 3. “And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing, etc.) to mislead (men) from the Path of Allah without knowledge...” (Quran, 31:6) Ibn Masood, Ibn Abbas and Jaabir radhiallahu anhum have said that idle talks refer to sing-ing, listening to songs and the like. �

An ombudsman or public advocate is usually appointed by the government or by parlia-ment, but with a significant degree of inde-pendence, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints of maladministration or violation of rights. The concept comes from the reign of Umar radhiallahu anhu who established the office of the Muhtasib (supervisor). He was a supervi-sor of bazaars and trade in the medieval Is-lamic countries. His duty was to ensure that public business was conducted in accordance with the law of Islam and to set standards in the fields of building, food, education, weights, etc. This concept continued through all Islamic states with institutions to evaluate the com-plaints of people. These included the Divan Mezalim (office for atrocities), Darul adl (house of justice) and Muhtasib (official for public order). The Ombudsman institution is an idea that Swedish King Charles XII picked up while staying in the Ottoman Empire in 1713. He instituted it in Sweden and it even-tually spread. Today, the ombudsman is found in 100 countries. In 1987, Mr V Pickl, then Director of the Aus-trian Ombudsman Board wrote that the idea of an Ombudsman had Islamic roots reaching back to the 7th century, when under the cali-phate the Muhtasib was installed to monitor the authorities. Even today, the official name of the Pakistan Ombudsman is Mohtasib. �

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BIO

GRAPHY / IN

SPIRATIO

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Three friends came to New York City. They de-cided to stay in a hotel and their room ended up being on the 60th floor. The policy of the hotel was that every night at 12:00am the lifts are shut down for security reasons. The next day, the three friends rented a car and went out to explore the city. They enjoyed the whole day. When they arrived, it was past 12am. The lifts were shut down. There was no other way to get back to their room but to take the stairs all the way to the 60th floor. One friend had an idea. He said "For the first 20 floors, I will tell jokes to keep us going. Then another one of us could say wise stories for the next 20 floors. Then, we will cover the other 20 floors with sad stories." With laughs they reached the 20th floor. The next friend started wise stories and they learned a lot while reaching the 40th floor. Now, it was time for the sad stories. The third friend started thus, "My first sad story is that I left the key for the room in the car." This story resembles our life. For the first 20 years, we spend time in joking and enjoying whatever is out there. When we reach 20, we go into the work force, get married, have kids and this is the time when we use our wisdom. Then, if we reach 40, we finally begin to think that my life is coming to an end. It's better that we start our life in the very beginning by remembering death rather than preparing for it at the end our life when very few of us have the energy to obey Allah completely. �

Sheikh Hassan al-Banna (1906-1949) was a school teacher and imam, best known for founding the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the largest and most influential 20th century Mus-lim organizations. Born in Egypt al-Banna studied with Shaykh Zahran and his father Shaykh Ahmad. In 1923 he attended Dar al-Ulum, an institution to ed-ucate teachers in modern subjects. al-Banna became active in Muslim organisations. In 1927 al-Banna became a primary school teacher in and grew disillusioned with the Brit-ish colonialism. He was concerned that at-tempts to modernize Egypt resulted in sacrific-ing Islamic principles and was dissatisfied with secularism. He established the Muslim Broth-erhood in 1928. By the 1940’s it had 500,000 active members. Rooted in Islam, Al-Banna's message tackled issues including colonialism, public health, ed-ucational policy, etc and was active in resist-ing British rule in Egypt. The Muslim Brother-hood actively took part in the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine and launched a pro-Palestine campaign that was largely responsi-ble for making the Palestine issue a wide-spread Muslim concern. When the society sent volunteers to fight against Israel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the Egyptian government disbanded it in. Al-Banna was assassinated in 1949 when he came to a meeting with the government in Cairo. The Muslim Brotherhood influence is felt in many countries of the Middle east and the world. �

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It is reckoned that Islam came to Zimbabwe in the first century of Islam, and Islamic civiliza-tion and culture prevailed in the country until the advent of British colonialism in 1888. Mus-lims established emirates on the coast of East Africa and traded with Zimbabwe. A significant Muslim population entered Zim-babwe during the colonial period, primarily from the Indian subcontinent. Other Islamic migrants came from the Yao tribe of neighbor-ing Malawi. There are small number of North African and Middle East immigrants as well. Estimates on the number Muslims in Zimba-bwe vary to as many as 1.2 million or 10% of the population. There are a number of academic studies and popular stories about the Lemba tribe who seem to have historic Muslim ancestry. There are several Muslim organisations, schools and around 100 main Musjids as well as hundreds of smaller ones with a Quran school attached to each. At the University of Zimbabwe a chair of Is-lamic and Arabic Studies has been set up. There is a drive in recent years to pass the message of Islam on to local Zimbabweans and this has met with some success. Muslims are also active in humanitarian work. Zimbabwe has an Ulama organization, the Mu-jlisul Ulama and has prominent international Muslim figures in the form of Mufti Ismail Menk and others. �

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“Give the worker his wages before his sweat dries.” (Tirmidhi) Islam requires that laborers should not be made to work so hard or in such miserable conditions that their health deteriorates or their ability to enjoy income or participate in family life gets impaired. If they are made to perform a task which is beyond their capacity they should be provided with help to enable them to do the job without hardship. "...and do not burden them with what overpowers them. If you do so, then help them." (Bukhari) "Your employees are your brothers whom God had made your subordinates. So he who has his brother under him, let him feed with what he feeds himself, and clothe him with what he clothes himself." (Bukhari) "An employee is entitled to at least moderate-ly good food and clothing and to not being burdened with labor except what he can bear." (Malik) A minimum wage must enable an employee to get a sufficient quantity of reasonably good food and clothing for himself and his family without overburdening himself. Uthman � is reported to have said: "Do not overburden your unskilled female employee in her pursuit of a living, because if you do so, she may resort to immorality; and do not overburden a male subordinate, for if you do so, he may resort to stealing. Be considerate with your employees and God will be consider-ate with you. It is incumbent upon you to pro-vide them good and lawful food." (Malik) �

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Al-Arqam College of Islamic Education is a pri-vate college in Port Elizabeth. It came about through the expansion of Al Madinah Institute which operated since 2008. Al-Arqam College operates as a non-profit community and faith-based organisation, established to provide ed-ucational programmes that equip and advance the local communities. Al-Arqam Online Learning Centre is the online student portal for registered students Courses

• Specialised Courses Unit. Providing short courses such as ABC’s of Love and Mercy: A contemporary study of Islamic marriage and related matters. Courses being developed: Islamic Finance and Laws of Janaa-iz. The unit also develops presentations, workshops and seminars on a needs basis.

• Department of Islamic Courses • Department of Quran Courses

Other programs include Islamic Studies for Adults, Beginner Quran, Islamic Lifestyle Clas-ses for Youth, Hifth and Sciences of the Quran and Quran Tilaawah and Tajweed. Sheikh Mukhtar Raban is the College Principal. Programmes are offered in Malabar and Parkside, Port Elizabeth. �

Contact

Tel: 041 811 0255 (09am-5pm weekdays) Email: admissions@alarqamcollege.com

www.alarqam.co.za

Once a group of 50 people were attending a seminar. Suddenly the speaker stopped and started giving each one a balloon. Each one was asked to write his name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room. Now these delegates were let in that room and asked to find the balloon which had their name written, within 5 minutes. Everyone was frantically searching for their name, colliding with each other, pushing around others and there was utter chaos. At the end of 5 minutes no one could find their own balloon. Now each one was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloon. The speaker said: ‘This is what happens in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happi-ness all around, not knowing where it is. Each person tries to gain happiness by focusing on their own pleasure. In actual fact our happiness lies in the happi-ness of other people. Give them their happi-ness, you will get your own happiness. That is why Islam places so much emphasis on helping others. The result of ensuring other people’s happiness is that we attain true satis-faction and contentment.’ �