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FEBRUARY 2009 ISSUE

VOLUME 18

“O mankind, surely We have created you from a male and a female, and made

you tribes that you may know each other. Surely the noblest of you with Allah is

the most dutiful of you” (49:13).

Colors, colors everywhere, blue eyes,

brown eyes, brown skin and black eyes,

pale skin and red skin, light brown and

dark brown

What does the Quran say about colors? It

tells us that Allah created all people with

differences so that we could recognize

each other. It mentions the variety and

colors of the fruits and vegetables available for us to eat and enjoy. The Quran

also speaks of two colors in particular: black and white. It often mentions the

color white with regard to goodness, purity and cleanness. The color black is used

to show sin, bad behavior and punishment. Since Allah tells us clearly in the

Quran that all people are created equal and a black or brown

person is not better or worse than a white or pink person

in any way. The color of our skin is just a part of what we look like, not what

we really are like as a person. No one skin color is better than the other. This

means that when the Quran mentions colors and speaks of the hearts becoming

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black with sin, it does not mean that in the actual sense. It simply uses a certain

color as an example to teach us about the right way to behave and about good and bad actions.

Unfortunately often people are mean to other people because of their skin color.

In the history of the world, many bad things have been done to dark-skinned

people, simply because they looked different from white-skinned people. Many

years ago millions of dark-skinned people were kidnapped from Africa and

brought to other countries as slaves. Similarly, people of different nations have

been cruel to each other simply because of race differences. Adolf Hitler declared

that the Jewish race was inferior and taught hatred for them to his followers.

Millions of Jewish people died and suffered as a result.

Islam came at a time when slavery was common and slaves were treated cruelly.

As we read about the life of our great Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) we find that he

used every chance he had to root out the terrible practice of slavery. He never

kept any slave for himself and tried his best to free slaves and encouraged others

to do so. He knew that the dignity of a human being comes from the simple fact

that Allah created us and made us the best of creation.

Our behavior earns us more respect and love as we

treat other people well and earn respect from them.

Islam requires us to be very kind to those working

under our supervision. Hazrat Anas used to be a

personal assistant to the Prophet Muhammad and

reported that never had the Prophet treated him

unkindly or blamed him for doing something wrong.

We should all try to follow his example in our daily life

and look upon every person as a marvelous creation of Allah. Allah loves us even

more when we overlook the small things that bother us and love our sisters and

brothers simply to please Allah.

With the inauguration of America’s 44th President, Barack Hussein Obama, we

learn that hard work can overcome all differences and obstacles. Allah has

created us all equal and Islam has spread the message about equality. When we

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make the right choices in our lives nothing can hold us back from becoming

shining examples for others to follow.

WE ARE ALL ONE FAMILY

Our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was sent by Allah to show us how to live a good

life. Before his death, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) gave his last sermon to the

people of Mecca and that sermon was meant to be a lesson for all people in all

times. Here are some parts of that last lesson that teach us about equality

Our beloved Prophet said '' O people! Listen to what I say and take it to your heart

(which means remember it well and act upon it). You must know that every

Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. You are all equal. You are members of

one common brotherhood (and that is Islam). Do not oppress (be mean to) each

other. All you people, indeed your Lord is One Lord and all of you came from

Adam who was created from dust. An Arab is not better than a non-Arab, nor is a

white better than a black or a black better than a white except in righteousness.”

After delivering his message he cried at the top of his voice '' O Lord! I have

delivered your message.” And the people cried in reply: ''Yes, that you have.''

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What do all the fish do in the winter?

Do they swim to someplace warm just like the birds fly to someplace warm? Do

they build little igloos under the water and live in them? Allah must have

arranged something in His wisdom for them to survive the winter. Do they have

their own fishy jackets and fishy snow pants and fishy mittens and boots that they

dress up in and make snow cones? What do you think? Write to us and tell us.

What DO fish do in the winter? How do you think Allah has arranged for them to

survive?

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"All around us..." by Akram Ahmad (Minnesota)

There are some really amazing things around us, the people living on planet Earth. Allah created it all. The home for our worldly life, planet Earth, is but one of several planets that make up a set of heavenly bodies called the Solar System. The Solar System has not only planets, but moons that circle the planets, and then there are the asteroids and comets. The Solar System is but a tiny part of the magnificently vast universe that was also of course created by Allah -- all the heavenly bodies travel in the universe with perfect precision! Can you imagine the traffic jams and collisions that would take place if the heavenly bodies traveled with less than perfect precision? The universe is so vast that scientists who study it -- called astronomers -- measure distances within it using light years. Now

keep in mind that astronomers define a light year as the distance that light travels

in one year, which is roughly 5.88 trillion miles. Wow! Does that make you

wonder if you can even imagine the vastness of the universe?

As far as we know about the entire universe, human life exists only and only on planet Earth. We humans are blessed with the surrounding atmosphere that contains oxygen and all kinds of nutrients to nourish us. So we should be grateful to Allah as we reflect on some of these amazing things around us. Thank you, dear Allah!

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The Tale of Despereaux. By Kate DiCamillo.

Book review by Aafia Ahmad.

This book is about a mouse named Despereaux. Despereaux is the only

surviving mouse of the litter and is abnormally small and born with his eyes

open. While most mice like to eat books, Despereaux reads books. He

hears a noise and thinks it sounds like honey. His brother and sister can’t

even hear it. Despereaux ventures on to find out what it really is. Now, one

of the mice rules is to never let humans know

they exist. Despereaux breaks this rule to see

what the noise is.

Despereaux meets the princess and she is so

kind and sweet he comes to love her. Furlough,

Despereaux’s brother, reports him to the

mouse council for having contact with humans.

And things seem to get really bad for him. I hope

you enjoy this book and see how Despereaux overcomes all the

problems he faces in creative ways and tries to be a knight in

shining armor.

The character of Despereaux teaches us many things.

From the moment he is born, he is different from all the

other mice, yet he accepts himself as he was made

and does not try to copy others to become like him. He

doesn’t complain about his body’s strange features.

Even though he is tiny, weak and prone to sneeze and

faint, he tries his best to be brave and face his

circumstances.

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The Tale of Despereaux shows us how circumstances affect the

personality of a person.

It teaches us that our actions have definite consequences and we never

know how much an unkind word can hurt someone, or how our care and

kindness can change someone’s life.

This book also talks about forgiveness and shows us how forgiveness is

healing for the person who forgives. The person who chooses to forgive

instead of taking revenge exerts a very powerful influence. In the story, the

life of the princess is saved when she chooses to forgive the rat who killed

her mother. It is an interesting story worth a cozy evening spent reading.

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Ask Ayesha and she will answer your wise, wacky and

wild questions

Dear Ayesha, yesterday, when I was reading the Quran I was surprised to see

verses about how slaves should be treated. I am confused because I thought Islam

put an end to slavery and said that people of all colors are equal. I think I don’t

know enough so please help me understand this matter clearly.

Dear Confused about color,

I love your question! It is true that throughout history, people have been

discriminated against on the basis of color. Islam actually makes it very, very clear

that all people are born equal in the eyes of Allah. What Allah judges us on, and

how we should treat each other, is on the basis of the good work we do. In fact,

when Islam was revealed to the Holy Prophet, he lived in a very unfair society.

People were mean to each other. They kept slaves and made fun of people based

on their class, nationality, and color! One of the big tasks Islam had in front of it

was to transform this mean, hateful, unequal society into one where

everybody appreciated everyone else for what they did, not what they looked

like. So Islam, in the very beginning, sought to erase the differences and

established equality amongst all the people of the community. The Quran clearly

declared,

“All men are a single nation” (2:213) and “O mankind, surely We have created you

from a male and a female, and made you tribes that you may know each other.

Surely the noblest of you with Allah is the most dutiful of you” (49:13).

This means distinction between people is only on the basis of their righteousness,

or the good work they do.

During his life, the Prophet Muhammad

took specific actions to erase ideas of

difference amongst his people. Firstly, he

gave Bilal, an African and a slave, the high

honor of being the first to recite the Adzhan

and appointed him to this office; the second

highest bearer of the mosque after himself.

Secondly, he set the example that in prayer, people of all walks of life, regardless

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of color or riches were to stand side by side, in equal ranks before their Creator.

Furthermore, Islam also eliminated the idea of differences due to nationality or

belonging to any country. A radical concept was introduced by unifying people not

on the basis of the country they came from, but rather on the basis of their shared

humanity. The Religion of Islam states,

“Thus Islam laid the basis of a unification of humanity which no other religion has

ever dreamed of; a brotherhood of man which knows no bounds of color, race,

country, language or even of rank; of a unity of human race beyond which human

conception cannot go. It recognizes the equality not only of the civil and political

rights of men but also of their spiritual rights” (9,10).

This quote is a little difficult to understand. What it

is saying is that not only did Islam make sure that

people were treated equally on the basis of things

like what color they were, or how much money they

had, but also what language they spoke, and from

which country they came. They were given equal

rights in terms of their life in this world, and also

equal spiritual rights; this means that all people have

an equal chance to make Allah happy with them!

The Quran repeats the importance of this unity in

3:102 by stating,

“ . . .be not disunited. And remember Allah’s favor to you when you were

enemies, then he united your hearts so by His favor you became brothers.”

Some people say that because the Quran talks about slavery, Islam accepts the

cruel practice of slavery and is, as such, an unequal religion. But if you just look at

the Quran or the practice of the Prophet you can see that this is not true. For in the

Quran, Muslims are commanded to set slaves free and even buy slaves from others

for the purpose of setting them free. There is great virtue in this act:

“And what will make you understand what the uphill road is? (It is) to set free a

slave, Or to feed in a day of hunger An orphan nearly related, Or the poor man

lying in the dust” (90:13-16).

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The truth is that the Quran does talk about

slavery just as it talks about the poor and

orphans in the above verse. These were the

conditions that people were in at the time of

the Prophet. Recognizing that they existed

does not mean the Quran allowed or

encouraged them. In principle and in practice,

Islam establishes that all people are equal,

regardless of where they come from, what

color they are, or how much money they have.

MUSLIMS IN THE NEWS

REPRESENTATIVE Keith Ellison is the first Muslim member of the United States Congress. He represents Minnesota. He is a member of the Democratic Party and has used his faith to help his work as a congressman. He recently performed the Hajj becoming the first member of congress to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. He has recently been appointed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee

Congressman Ellison is a great example of how Muslims can make a difference in the world by engaging in diplomatic efforts for peace and progress everywhere. Way to go!

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WATCH ME GROW

Can you believe that the name Bushra means good news? Well it was no good

news for me when my father dear ordered me to spend Sunday with Aunty

Bushra. She is the kind of Aunty you might meet in a nightmare. My stomach

starts to hurt even before she visits and I try to hide in the bathroom but that

sneaky do-gooder-tattle-tale sister of mine drags me out.

The last time she visited, Aunty Bushra fixed her beady eyes on me, smiled kind of

crooked, wiggled her chin and said, “Well well, this kid seems the same size every

time I see her. May be I should make some lima bean pickles for her. Remember

how they worked for Mimi. The poor child needs to GROW! Laila and Saad are

growing so tall……..” I gasped and held

my breath, fear making me appear

even shorter than I actually am. Lima

bean pickles indeed! I could hear Laila

giggling behind mother and jabbed at

her, hoping to make her shut up. But

when the luck of Naseem is down, bad

things happen like dominoes falling in

a row. I jabbed Laila in the eye by

mistake and she started wailing like ten ambulances shrieking together. The good

thing was Aunty Bushra forgot talking about my height; the bad thing was she

started on my “wild and uncontrollable nature instead.” I spent the rest of the

evening in the bathroom and mother scowled at me till I told her she was getting

wrinkles.

So spending the entire Sunday with her seemed more than one short girl should

have to face. I would rather make hot soup for the abominable snowman but I

didn’t dare tell father that. “But….but I’ll miss Sunday school and that’s bad isn’t

it” I said desperate to find a way to go. Father looked at me over his glasses and

said, “Taking care of your sick aunt is better than Sunday school. Doing something

to help someone is even better than learning. Think of it as a field trip,” and he

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smiled at me and patted me on the head. I do not like being patted on the head. I

think it makes it harder for me to grow taller when people pat me on the head,

but no one understands. I sighed and rushed to mother. She loved me, I was sure,

and would not let me be sacrificed in this way.

“Naseem, this is your chance to get to know Bushra,” said mother while (sigh)

patting me on the head, “she really is a nice person but somehow likes to give too

much advice. Um……I think with those medicines she is going to sleep most of the

day. You can just um, ah, play around.” Play, I thought, in that house, where

things leap off shelves as soon as they see me, just to get

me into trouble.

Sunday morning came and father dropped what he calls

his “sulky sweetie” (me) off at Aunty Bushra’s house. I

dumped my stuff in the front hall and considered hiding

behind the piano till father came to pick me up. I

wondered why she even had a piano, since someone like

her would never be interested in music. I sat down at it

and began strumming out a tune I often hum in my head. I was just warming up

when a sudden croaky voice almost scared my ears off.

“Naseem, come here to me child”. I looked around me. Aunty Bushra was lying on

the sofa across from the piano. She was hidden by a gigantic plant and so I had no

idea she was there. I inched towards her preparing myself for a lecture on

something or the other. She looked at me for a while, in a tired way, and then

patted me on the head and asked me to get her some soup and her medicine

from the kitchen. I am not always a klutz but Aunty Bushra makes me so nervous

that I dropped her pills in the soup on the way there. Once again she gave me a

“look” but she didn’t say much. Maybe her throat hurt because of the flu and that

was why she was so quiet today. I was just glad.

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But I didn’t have to be glad for long because Aunty Bushra started pointing and

writing to make up for her talking. She made me do

a basket of laundry, load the dishwasher and water

all her plants. She has about ten million plants in

her sun room in the back. I like plants and I felt like

just lying in the swing seat and day dreaming, but

then I would hear the dreaded jing-a-ling of a bell

used by my dear aunty to call me. The only good

time was lunch. She told me to have anything I

could find, so I made myself some extra-cheesy

Mac and cheese and savored it in the sun room.

By evening my legs and back were aching. Usually I

don’t help mother out that much at home. Actually

Laila is the more helpful one. I get too dreamy and mess things up. I thought I

would try to play a bit on the piano since Aunty Bushra was snoozing but the

doorbell rang. Father had finally come to pick me up. I hugged him like he had

been away for years. Aunty Bushra woke up and smiled at father a bit. I don’t

know why I was waiting for her to say something nice about me, like I had been a

good helper. And I had, except for a few minor mishaps. I didn’t want her to

complain to mother and father so I tried to do my best at being helpful. But being

the opposite of her name, she didn’t say anything nice, just smiled at father,

nodded grimly at me with those x-ray eyes of hers and closed her eyes. I was

disappointed but happy to be going home.

I must have been very quiet in the car, so father

asked me how my day was. So I told him.

“I had been very helpful and well-behaved today

father, but it all went wasted”, I sighed.

Father chuckled and asked me why it was

wasted.

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“Because, SHE didn’t appreciate anything I did. She didn’t

even say thank you to me. What’s the use of trying to be good

when no one notices?” I asked.

Father asked if I was absolutely sure no one had noticed. He

said there had been someone watching me all the time. I suddenly felt spooked.

Did Aunty Bushra have a pet ghost? It seemed to be the kind of pet she would

have.

“Who was watching me father?” I asked anxiously.

Father said one word. “Allah”.

Oops, I had forgotten that Allah was always watching. I silently went over my day

in my mind, as if checking what I did and how it might have seemed to Allah.

Suddenly I had an awful thought.

“Father” I said, “Remember you told me that Allah even knows our hidden

thoughts. My hands were helping Aunty Bushra today but my thoughts were

sometimes thinking weird things about her. Will that make Allah upset with me?”

Father told me that Allah judged us by our actions and not our thoughts.

Sometimes we could not help the way we felt, but if we still tried to do good

things, Allah would be pleased with those deeds.

I relaxed and sat back happily. It felt good to know that Allah must have been

pleased with me today. Allah was much bigger and more important that any old

Aunty Bushra. He might even make me grow taller as a prize. I couldn’t wait to get

home and measure myself behind my bedroom door.

Guess what? I did measure myself and I had not grown

taller, but the funny thing is that Aunty Bushra called

father the next day when she got her voice back. She

said I really helped her a lot AND if I was interested in

learning how to play the piano, she would be happy to

teach me on the weekends AND I could come over to

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her house and practice anytime I wanted. I whooped with joy and danced all over

the living room. (Bushra means good news after all.) This was even better than

growing two inches!!