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From Ismailism to Sunni Islam

In the name of Allah (Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem)

This is my understanding of the Ismaili religion and my story of how I came to Islam.

All Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, The one who we seek help from, and the one we worship. Whoever Allah guides, nobody can misguide. And whoever Allah allows to be misguided, nobody can guide. I bear witness that Allah is my Lord, and that Prophet Muhammad (SAllahu alaiyhi wa salam) is the last and final messenger in the line of messengers and prophets beginning from Adam alaihis salam. I was born as an Ismaili (sometimes referred to as Aga Khani).

We will start with a bit of background explanation!

Who/what is an Ismaili (sometimes known as Aga Khanis)

They call themselves Shia Ismaili Muslims. They believe in One God, that Muhammad is the last Prophet, and that he appointed Ali as his spiritual leader and that leadership falls to their family until the end of time. The current living Aga Khan (a formal title of the Ismaili leader), known as Shah Karim Al-Husayni (referred to as Hazir Imam (the manifest imam) by Ismailis) is the 49th in the line of imams which began with Ali (RadiAllahu Anh, May Allah be pleased with him)

What is the role of Quran in an Ismaili’s life?

Ismailis do sometimes read the Quran, you may find it in their houses. They believe it is outdated (was revealed for a specific time, place, and situation) do not believe it is universally valid and relevant for all times and peoples.

What is Aga Khan’s role?

Aga Khan is the spiritual leader and advisor of the Ismailis. His rule is the law for them. For example, looking at history, there was a time where the Aga Khan of the time decided that Hijab (women’s outer garment that covers the hair) was no longer necessary and was not needed to be worn. Thus Aga Khan (being the current representative of God on Earth) can nullify the rulings stated in the Quran or taught by the last Messenger of Allah.

Weren’t you a Muslim?

I used to consider myself an Ismaili Muslim, yes. However, I later found out that the Islam that Ismailis are taught is not the true deen (way of life) that was sent by God.

How did you come to Islam

I had a good friend in high school that used to chat with me about religion and life. He invited me to come and pray namaz (Persian word for salaah – the ritual prayer of Muslims which is performed five times a day) after school and also invited me to come for the jumuah khutba (Friday prayers and sermon). I had been exposed to the prayer before and my father had always taught me that there is nothing wrong with praying however you liked, and thus I felt very at home coming to pray with the other Muslims. Nobody attacked me or my beliefs, or denied that I was a Muslim, and I felt quite welcome and happy to find a way to pray to God. In fact even though Sunnis prayed differently I felt that this was still a way for me to pray to God and I was very happy about this opportunity and I even told my younger brother to come join us.

What next?

As time passed, my friends alhamdullilah (All praise is due to Allah) continued to take me to the mosque and to different Islamic lectures, conferences, and events. It was amazing to have such good friends who really cared about me and my hereafter in order to involve me. They also gave me audio tapes and video tapes to watch. All this time I never felt that they were preaching to me or trying to convert me, infact the whole time I felt I was Muslim and I did not feel threatened in the least. Actually in the future when people used to ask me how I converted I used to get very upset and say that I never converted, but later I got over this phase and I accepted that I did convert/revert to another way of life.

What are the differences between Ismailism and Islam?

Just at a glance (and I am no expert), in general, Ismailis do not pray salah (their prayer is different), fast in Ramadan (some might), pay zakah (they pay something else), go for hajj (maybe some do), wear hijab (they do not believe in it), avoid interest (they believe interest is okay)

Whydid you convert?

In conclusion, as I began to see both sides of the fence, and I began to read the Quran, lots of questions began to appear in my mind. I always felt from a young age that it wasn’t necessary to ask Aga Khan for help when we could always talk to Allah, and this confused me. Questions began to appear such as: What is the worst unforgivable sin? Why do we (Ismailis) pray to Aga Khan when we can pray to Allah directly? and so on..

The answer to the first question is: 4:116 Allah forgiveth not (The sin of) joining other gods with Him; but He forgiveth whom He pleaseth other sins than this: one who joins other gods with Allah, Hath strayed far, far away (from the right).1

This answer was really scary to me. Because an Ismaili fellow told me that this is what Sunnis accuse us of. I did not want to risk my eternity in hell forever, so I decided that I did not want to practice Islam in this manner. I decided I would practice Islam as according to the way Allah wanted me to, not the way my parents or my culture taught me. I decided that I would read the Quran and find out what my Lord and Creator wanted from me.

…And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam)) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it) , and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is severe in punishment.” [Qur’aan 59:7]2

What is your advice to other Muslims?

First my advice to all the Muslims is to learn your deen (way of life) and practice it. Don’t take this amazing blessing of Islam for granted. You never know when you will die. Also, become friends with Ismailis, and invite them to come pray with you. DON’T DEBATE (but instead DISCUSS) with them, but be gentle, be kind, and pray for Allah to open their heart to Islam. Also keep in mind that you cannot convert anybody, all you can do is balagh (convey) the message, and then leave the rest to Allah. If they convert, All praise is due to Allah, and if they don’t, still the decision belongs to Allah and He guides whom He wills (period).

What is the Ismaili prayer like?

The Ismaili prayer is known as the “Holy Dua”, it is 6 parts, and it is compiled by Aga Khan. It is partly written by him and has some parts of Quran in it.

You mean Qadiani or “Ahmedy” when you say Ismaili, right?

Oh no, not again. This is a common mix-up. Qadianis and Ahmediyyas are a totally different group that have nothing whatsoever to do with Ismailism.

More details on this at another time. Any questions? I am sure you have tons!

Where are you now?
I have now left Islam

Why I left Islam

Please see my new site, Why I Left Islam.

Ansar Housing (ACHC) Review

Ansar Housing Review (Islamic Housing Mortgage Company)

How Islamic Financing Works (Video)

If you don’t know how Islamic Financing works, please watch this video first on another company (Guidance Financial) that does a similar scheme.

About Ansar Housing

According to my understanding, Ansar Housing is the prominent and most easily available islamic financing instrument in the Toronto Area for home purchases.  I have not used them to buy a house yet, and I may in the future.  Most of this information was obtained from discussing with Tahir Qureshi at Ansar Housing.  . I confirmed the details with Mr Naqvi at ISNA Housing Cooperating

 

Islamic Cooperative has been around 33 years, Ansar Housing 12 years, and have successfully financed several homes. Ansar Housing 189 homes currently financed, and Islamic Coop 582 homes.  They use funds from direct investment from individuals, paying between 4% to 6% per year.

 

Who are ACHC, ICHC, and ISNA?

They are not a very straight forward or transparent company, and do not provide most of this information easily.  Apparently there are two different companies in one, ACHC (ansar housing cooperative) and ICHC (IsnaHousing.Ca). (islamic housing cooperative). Confusingly, their site calls it “ISNA Housing”, yet the actual ISNA housing site has an almost identical website url (see next paragraph). Both of these companies share a common membership/shares form, but they have slightly different rules in terms of share ownership (not sure about the details how they differ, details to be filled in)

Link to: ACHC Financial Report 2014, ICHC Financial Report 2014. ISNA has not released an annual report as of 2015.

ISNA financing

There is a seperate and distinct company known as ISNA Housing, which will offer upto $500k in financing apparently. As set out on their Eligibility Criteria page

I spoke with Naqvi, Manager there to confirm the following details. The details are very similar, you need to put a deposit down (say 20-30%), and then there is a waiting period before you can purchase a home. Currently (as of March 2015) this waiting period is 1 year, but you can call them to confirm this if and when you are interested. They offer upto $500k towards a home purchase, so you could put down $120k to get this. The same rule applies towards transferring an existing mortgage, he said 20-30% would be needed, and it has to sit there for 1 year before you can buy a home. ISNA started in is 2008 when they split from Ansar Housing. They have 69 houses currently, 8-10 fully paid.

Purchase minimum shares of aggregate price equal to twenty per cent (20%) of the anticipated purchase price up to $300,000; thirty per cent (30%) of the anticipated purchase price between $300,001 – $500,000, and hundred per cent (100%) of the anticipated purchase price above $500,000.

 

Now back to Ansar Housing (ACHC)….

 

SAMPLE mortgage contract (Also attached) – apparently its slightly older and is missing some conditions from the one they use now. 

 

How their financing works

 

Case 1 – No existing mortgage, finance directly with Ansar.

You require a downpayment between 20-30% or more according to this formula.

20% of first 100k, 20% of second 100k, 30% of third 100k, and 100% after that.

The maximum they provide $300k minus $75k deposit, resulting in $225k.  You also need to keep the money there for 6 months.  While its there, they will pay you profit on your investment/deposit.  So if you need say $450k, you will require $75k for the first 300k, then everything on top of that, so $150k+$75k = $225k down

 

Case 2 – preexisting mortgage or house.

Lets say you already have some good collateral, In this case I was told you need to provide approximately 10% of the loan, so if you need $225k, you simply give $22.5k for approximately 3 months.  This case applies if you take Conservatory Group's 0% mortgage for 3 years deal for example and then you need to get a mortgage with ansar after the 3 years.

 

Rent Calculation

Ansar housing uses a declining partnership model where they give you a rental amount that represents their portion of the house, say $1000, for a house of say $500,000 (numbers purely for illustration purposes).  If you pay off half of the house and buy shares worth $250k, your rent drops by 50% to $500 a month.  Month is recalculated each time you buy more shares towards owning the house.  This is the most shady part of the business, there is no transparency and the rates you get are obtained by filling out a 'housing information form'

I filled out the form for two units.  Finally after not getting a response, I called them up and Tahir called me back.  He said they do not have time to respond to each and every single request for calculating rental fee that I send them, and that I should only be doing this once I have actually decided on which home to purchase, and have already made the offer and what not.  Eventually he called me back and provided me the details "since they had already calculated it"/ They claim that the rent they come up with is based on the location and unit.  Part of the problem is they charge different amounts to different people.  And from 1 person I know, there is no room for negotiation. Take it or leave it.

 

The real numbers I got

For a 1300sq ft unit at 3700 Kaneff Cres in Mississauga, that was listed on MLS for $216,000 (also attached) the total rent would be $1300 (plus $15/month admin fee).  

 

Thus, with the mandatory $49,800 deposit, this would bring down the rent to approx $1030 a month.  I reverse engineered this to be 7.5% interest (but i dont know if this is exactly correct), based on the first month interest charge of $1300

 

 

 

Inline image 1

Figure 1: RBC Mortgage Calculator Month 1 at 7.5% interest on $216k

 

Also see attached image

Keep in mind that RBC's posted 25 year fixed mortgage rate is essentially 8.750%

You can cinsider this a 45 year FIXED mortgage, so the rate, compared to the above, is not that bad

 

Length of mortgage

The length of mortgage is not limited but the minimum shares you have to buy is $5k per year.  That means for a $225k house you could pay it off in 45 years.  This would bring your total rental charge to a ridiculous $500k estimated on top of the $225k capital.

Additional Special Share

With Ansar Housing, there is an additional special share you have to buy, which costs 10% or 20% of the increase in house price. If you financed more than 50% of the home (i.e. home was $300k and you borrowed more than $150k), this special share is 20%, otherwise it’s 10%

 

CHMC Fee

By law in Ontario (or Canada?) there is mandatory mortgage insurance if the buyer puts less than 20% down. There is no mandatory CMHC mortgage insurance because the mortgage is more than 20%, so they can avoid this issue.  

Double Tax

Details to be filled in. You may be hit with a double tax when the corporation first buys the home, then sells the home to you.

Supplementary resources

Khan Academy Rent Vs Own Detailed Analysis

Khan Academy Rent Vs Own Spreadsheet

 

Otherwise as of now, with a traditional mortgage, with 10% down on a $225k mortgage its $4000, and for 10% down on a $435,000k mortgage its approximately $11k  – CMHC fee calculator

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

Fatwa on Bitcoin (by Monzer Kahf)

Summary and analysis: Bitcoin is a currency and you should follow the same islamic rules that apply to other currencies. His concern is that if it is being traded in small quantities it can be manipulated.

Read the rest of this entry »

Seventy Ways To Jannah Part 2

Seventy Ways to Jannah
Part 2 (Part 1 I will be posted later inshaAllah)
This is really beautiful and shows you the nature of our deen, its about community and caring


36. Cheering up Muslims:

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will cheer up (by His forgiveness) He who cheers up his fellow Muslim.” (Tabarani)

 

37. Easing matters for those in hardship:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah will make matters easy in the Hereafter for he who eases hardship for a Muslim.” (Muslim)

 

38. Being kind and merciful to the weak:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah will be merciful with those who are merciful with others; be merciful with those on the earth, and the One above the heavens will be merciful with you.” (Tirmidhi)

 

39. Reconciling between people:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Should I not tell you of a deed that is a rank higher than fasting, praying and spending in charity?” People replied: “Indeed, O messenger of Allah” He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: “Reconciling between people.” (Abu Dawood)

 

40. Having good manners:
When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about which act leads people to enter Paradise the most, he replied: “Piety and good manners.” (Tirmidhi)

 

41. Being bashful:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Bashfulness is a part of faith, and faith leads to Paradise.” (Ahmad)

 

42. Truthfulness:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Be truthful, as truthfulness leads to virtue, and virtue leads to Paradise.” (Bukhari)

 

43. Forgiveness and controlling anger:
Allah says what means: “And march forth in the way (which leads) to forgiveness from your Lord and Paradise as wide as are the Heavens and the Earth, prepared for the pious. Those who spend (in Allah’s cause) in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger and who pardon men; verily, Allah loves the good- doers.” (ali-‘Imran:133-134)

 

44. Shaking hands:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Never do two Muslims shake hands except that their sins are forgiven before they depart.” (Abu Dawood)

 

45. Having a cheerful face:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Do not undermine any kind deed, even if it is to meet your Muslim brother with a cheerful face.” (Muslim)

 

46. Leniency during trade:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “May Allah have mercy upon the one who is easy when he buys and easy when he disputes (i.e., forgives easily).” (Bukhari)

 

47. Lowering one’s gaze:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that Allah says: “A lustful look is like a poisoned arrow of Satan; whoever refrains from it out of fear from Me, I will replace it with belief whose sweetness he will find in his heart.” (Tabarani)

 

48. Enjoining good and forbidding evil:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever sees an evil should stop it with his hands; if he is unable to do so, then with his tongue; if he is unable to do that, then with his heart (by hating it), and this is the lowest level of belief.” (Bukhari)

 

49. Attending virtuous gatherings:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Never do a group of people gather to mention Allah the Almighty, except that they will be surrounded with angels; the mercy of Allah will descend upon them, tranquillity will shade them and Allah will mention them (with pride) in front of the angels.” (Muslim)

 

50. Guarding one’s tongue:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever guarantees (i.e., restrains) what is between his two jaws (i.e., the tongue), and what is between his legs (i.e., the private parts), I will guarantee him Paradise.” (Muslim)

 

51. Guiding people to virtue:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Every good done to others is a charity, and the one who guides to a good deed gets the same reward as the one who performs the good deed.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

 

52. Calling people to the religion of Allah:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “One who calls people towards guidance gains the same reward (from Allah) as those who follow him, without their reward being reduced.” (Muslim)

 

53. Concealing people’s faults:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever conceals others’ faults in this life; Allah will conceal his faults on the Day of Resurrection.” (Muslim)

 

54. Perseverance:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Never is a Muslim is afflicted with a calamity, sadness, worry, harm, or hardship – even a prick of a thorn – except that Allah, will expiate his sins (due to this).” (Bukhari)

 

55. Expiation of a gathering:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever sits in a gathering and commits bad deeds (i.e., speech) in it; then says before he stands up to leave: ‘Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika, ash- hadu alla ilaha illa ant, astaghfiruka wa atoobu ilayk,’ Allah will forgive that which he committed during the gathering.” (Tirmidhi)

 

56. Rearing daughters:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “He who has three daughters, and he shelters them, provides for them and is merciful to them, will definitely be admitted into Paradise.” (Ahmad)

 

57. Kindness to animals:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “A man saw a dog panting and eating mud out of thirst; so the man used his shoe to give the dog some water from a well. Allah appreciated this action and admitted him into Paradise.” (Bukhari)

 

58. Not asking anything of people:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whosoever guarantees me that he will not ask people for anything, I can guarantee him Paradise.” (Bukhari)

 

59. Exalting Allah:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whosoever says: ‘Subhanallah wa bihamdih’ one hundred times a day, Allah will forgive his sins even if they were as great as the foam of the sea.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

 

60. Charity with continuous benefit:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When a son of Adam dies, he ceases to gain (additional) benefit from his deeds except from three: a charity that is continuous in benefit, beneficial knowledge and a righteous child that supplicates for him.” (Muslim)

 

61. Giving charity from the husband’s wealth:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If a woman spends from the wealth of her house without causing harm (to her family), she will get the reward of what she spent and her husband also gets a reward because he earned it. (Moreover) the one who is entrusted with money gets the same reward (of spending it), without any of them (the wife and the entrusted) decreasing the rewards of the others.” (Bukhari)

 

62. Honesty in trade:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When two people trade, they have the choice (to proceed with or stop the transaction), so if they are honest and clarify (e.g., defects in their merchandise) their trade will be blessed, but if they lie and conceal (defects) there will be no blessing in their trade.” (Bukhari)

 

63. Relieving Muslims:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whosoever relieves another Muslim of any hardship, Allah will relieve him from one of the hardships of the Day of Resurrection.” (Muslim)

 

64. Assisting people:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Every day, charity is due from each of your joints; assisting a man to mount his beast or helping him load his luggage on it is a charity.” (Bukhari)

 

65. Intercession to fulfil people’s needs:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Intercede (to fulfil people’s needs) and you will be rewarded.” (Bukhari)

 

66. Supplicating for parents:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah the Almighty and Exalted will raise the rank of the righteous slave in Paradise, then the slave will ask: ‘O Allah! How did I attain this rank?’ Allah will reply, ‘By virtue of your child’s supplication for your forgiveness.’ ” (Ahmad)

 

67. Supplicating for Muslims in their absence:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whenever a Muslim supplicates for his Muslim brother in his absence, an angel says: ‘You will get the same (as you supplicated for).’ ” (Muslim)

 

68. Immediately following up a sin with a good deed:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Fear Allah wherever you are, and follow up a sin with a good deed, it will eradicate it – and deal with people kindly.” (Ahmad)

 

69. Defending Muslims in their absence:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whosoever defends his Muslim brother in his absence, Allah will keep the Hellfire away from his face on the Day of Resurrection.” (Tirmidhi)

70. Being fair between people:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Every day that the sun rises, charity is due from each of your joints, and being fair between people is a charity.” (Bukhari)

Quaker Dipps Chocolate Chip Granola Bars – Halal/Haram?

I wouldn’t eat Quaker Dipps Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (187g box, 6x31g Granola Bars)
Manufactured by Pepsi-QTG Canada, Peterborough, ON
UPC 055577107508

Glycerin might comes from Pork/Beef/ source

Here is the official email from Quaker:

RE: Quaker Chocolate Chip Chewy Dipps REF.#

055556413A

Hi Sameer:

We’re always happy to answer questions about the ingredients of Quaker Chocolate Chip Chewy Dipps. Our suppliers state the source of glycerin can be both animal (beef or pork) and/or vegetable.

We hope this information is helpful, Sameer.

Kind Regards,

Michael
PepsiCo Canada
Consumer Relations

www.quakeroats.ca
===================================================
Original Email:

regardign this product http://www.quakeroats.com/products/oat-snacks/chewy-dipps/chocolate-chip.aspx what is the source of the glycerin. Is it animal based?

Theological discussion about the story of Ibrahim

Interesting theological discussion about the story of Ibrahim alaihis salam and how different groups interpret his story differently, by Yasir Qadhi. Starts with the explanation of the view of the people of kalam (ie philosophers :D) then followed by the view of the people of hadith (ahl’ hadith)

The correct understanding, wallahu Alem, is that Ibrahim alaihis salam, did not intend to worship the son or the moon, and he did not mean in his heart that they were real gods, rather that this was a form of debate with his people to show them the futility of their belief.

This is the opinion of Ibn Taymiyyah and the people of Hadith.

How did I pay off $30,000 in university loans without paying 1 cent of interest

Bismillah.

There is a lengthy series on personal financing (financing your education in a halal fashion) on Muslim Matters. It’s quite interesting to read.

There is a bit of a discussion first of all about whether it’s really even necessary to go to college or university. Well, I won’t debate that, but let me at least give you the real cost of education. In economics they call this “opportunity cost”. When you go to university for 3 or 4 years, that means you are losing that income. Say an entry level job with absolutely no post-highschool diploma education you can make $30,000 to $40,000. For the sake of argument, lets say you are more competent and you can get a decent job at $40,000 (say telemarketing, sales, construction, or whatever). You have to factor this into the cost of your education.

So really your education comes at a cost of 4 years of lost income or $160,000. Now, from a strictly financial perspective, you have to ask yourself, am I going to make up that $160,000 over my lifetime because I have a degree? That is a long discussion and I won’t get into it. But to summarize, it depends and that’s what you need to think about.

Lets say you have now decided you want to go to university. Great. But how to finance it.. ?? ??

  1. First of all you have to realize the seriousness of riba. Interest (paying it or receiving it) is one form of riba. So thats the first step.
  2. Second of all, you have to make sincere intention to avoid it at any costs and try your utmost to do this.
  3. This might require a lot of personal sacrifice. This starts with living frugally (i.e. living simple. No expensive cell phones, avoid eating out, try to get stuff used instead of brand new, and so on)
  4. Enrol in a CO-OP program (such as University of Waterloo Computer Science), and be practical about which programs lead to $$$. This might sound harsh but it’s good advice from a good brother and friend of mine. Alternatively you work part-time in the evenings or on weekends.
  5. Lastly, place your trust in Allah. After you did all that, you place your trust in Allah and leave it to him 🙂

Now lets say you did all of the above (or maybe its too late and you are about to graduate) and you need to pay off your loan without paying interest? Well if you have either personal loans from family members or friends and they are not interest bearing, great, this doesn’t apply to you. Otherwise, here is what you can do.

As a background note, before I explain, I live in Canada and received OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program which is basically an interest-free loan for the duration of your studies) but as soon as you graduate interest starts accumulating immediately. Update: Someone emailed me to ask if this is halal. I don’t think its halal to sign such a contract, please read the muslimmatters blog for a similar explanation about credit cards and why it’s best to avoid them.

How I personally avoided interest on my entire loan.

  1. Gather a list of all your friends and family members who might be able to help you with your loan. Be creative, your list should include the imam of the masjid you attend, the sheikh teaching the last seminar you attended, and so on.
  2. Contact them and ask them for assistance. Mention to them that you are in a difficult situation, maybe they were also in a similar situation and needed help. One brother who gave me some money as a loan mentioned that he was also in a similar situation and someone helped him, so he told himself that if ever someone asks him for help with student loans he will give him the money for that. The easiest way is to email them and ask them. I would recommend a personal email. Here is a draft:

    Dear So and So
    Assalam alaikum wa rahmatullah
    I am in the final year of my university program at UofXYZ.
    I am about to graduate and land my first job inshaAllah. The program I have studied in has given me an excellent background in this field and I feel confident about landing my first job shortly. I hope you can assist me so that I can avoid paying interest on my loans. I am looking for a 2-4 year loan that will be paid back entirely at the end of the term or sooner if required. JazakAllahu Khaira.
    Your name

    As an exercise, you can look up a few hadith and ayah on the reward of lending loans and the seriousness of riba.

By the way, It helps if you already have a job offer. It also helps if you are well known in the community (i.e. go to the masjid regularly, and so on).

Here is how it worked out for me.

  • An older brother (doctor) lent me $1000
  • A university friend (graduated before me) $500
  • My paternal uncle $1500
  • A close friend who was graduated and working $500
  • Another friend who lived with me at one time and graduated before me $2500
  • My brother undisclosed amount 😉
  • A brother who I only knew online but emailed him for help (lived in USA) $1000
  • Another brother whom I only met once before in the masjid – approximately $29000

Now you might be wondering why someone I met only once would lend me so much money? The simple reason is for the sake of Allah. He obviously did some reference checks on me from friends and others. The funny thing is I just asked him for $1000 but due to some circumstance I mentioned that I actually needed more and then he offered to lend me whatever was remaining (asked me to pay him back within 2 years if possible).

The surprising thing is that people I thought who had money didn’t, and where I least expected it, thats where it came from.

As a last note, if you are trying your best but not succeeding, keep in mind, its the effort that counts, not the result. Effort from you, results from Allah. Now sleep soundly knowing that you did whatever you could to please Allah.

Rejoice!
11:56 (listen)

Stand up for your favourite Islamic site now!

Vote for your favourite Islamic Site now

Isn’t it strange that when you search for Islam you end up with sites like submission.org which is a very deviant
site that does not conform to the teachings of Islam but rather they are a small group from among the muslims
that believe in this prophet who called himself “Rashid Khalifa” and they make a very big deal about the number 19
appearing in the Quran, and yet they also reject the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad and they still call themselves
Muslims?

When I was in University, at the start of Ramadan, they posted it on a bulletin web site that the Muslims
were starting fasting in this month called Ramadan and they said for more information on Islam see submission.org!

Incredible, but it was not surprising because it is one of the search results for Islam on Google.

How did they do it? How did they end up at the top?

Well to begin, Google uses a concept called PageRank, and to calculate how “useful” they think your page will be,
they look at the number of links to it. And then they look at how popular each one of those links is.

So what are we supposed to do about it?
Well, first of all, if you have an Islamic site or blog, LINK to other Islamic sites! That is considered
a “vote” by Google, and will increase the rank of the destination site. Also, use the correct keywords
when linking to the site. Don’t put a link that says for more Quran MP3s click here
but rather put Click here for more Quran MP3s.

Read Yusuf Estes’ article on Websites Against Islam – Don’t Promote Them AT ALL (a vote for Islamtomorrow.com)

By following these guidelines, every drop of water will result in an ocean.

The Wahhabi Bogeyman

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when someone says Wahhab? Allah’s beautiful name?? Nope… There is a common trend, especially in the media, and sometimes among Muslims to refer to other Muslims as Wahhabi, and to talk about ‘wahhabi fundamentalism’. Don’t ever call your Muslim brothers wahhabi, you are falling into the trick of using labels given to us by our enemies, and using divide and conquer.

The name Al-Wahhab, The Bestower of Blessings, is a very beautiful and honourable name, we shouldn’t be lowering it by using it in this manner, the same way we wouldnt call someone “Allahi”.

This article The Wahhabi Myth describes accurately how wahhabi this is a stinky label applied to us that we shouldn’t be using nor promoting.