Asalam alaikum, I pray that this timely reminder reaches you in the highest state of Iman and Health.

Brothers/Sisters, A scandal has recently taken place in our Mosques and it’s about time it was addressed. Lies have been spread in our mosques, right under our noses, and we as an Ummah failed to address it as we should have. Are we as Muslims, encouraged by the Quran, by the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw) to spread lies? The obvious answer is No. Am I correct, or not?

So why is it that every year, the same rumours are recycled? For example "Coke is Haram because it contains alcohol" "Coke is Haram because it contains bacteria from the stomach of a pig" "Coke is Haram because it contains cocaine" "If you turn the Logo "Coke cola" around it says "La Mecca la Muhammed” which means "NO MECCA NO MUHAMMED"

I am sure you have all come across one of those at least once or twice, if not all. These rumours have been around since before 1991, sadly though it seems we have become none the wiser.

Its nothing to smile about, or laugh about. As I've heard Shaykh Hamza Yusuf quote in 1 of his lectures "It is the worst of things that make us laugh"

People think "I will be doing the Ummah a favour by spreading this information,
I will be doing my duty as a Muslim". I am sure those brothers and sisters are being SINCERE when spreading such emails. But being sincere isn’t everything at times, especially in this time and age when you have SHAYKH GOOGLE. By punching in keywords such as "Coke Pork Haram" "Coke Alcohol Haram" you can find refutations of such claims all over the internet.

There are those out there who will spread such emails and end it with a 'Cheering support for Mecca Cola'. How different is 'Mecca Cola' to all those other Drinks? If you drop a nail in a glass of coke, it will rust, Right? If you drop a nail in a glass of Mecca cola, will it turn to gold?

If someone emails you “Coke is bad for your health”, there is nothing to argue with. But those out there, who pass around lies such as those I have stated above, it is OUR responsibility to correct them.

To SPREAD the TRUTH by slapping a LIE on top of the TRUTH does the truth no Justice. Remember that next time, Insha'allah.

Do not get me wrong Brothers and Sisters, this post is not in any support of Coke or Pepsi or any other American Product. Before anyone starts emailing me hate mails calling me a "Zionist", please think twice. My point is pretty clear.

We, as an Ummah, cannot afford to sit around toasting marshmallow over ashes. Stop posting rubbish in forums. Stop emailing such rubbish to others. Stop promising them that if they pass the message on to "Twenty people, Allah will answer your prayers in Two hours", while you may think you are doing your bit for the Ummah, you are stepping into a "NO ENTRY" zone, which is Allahs Qa'da and Qa'dar, which Allah (swt) has knowledge over, not you or I.

Coke isn't the only victim, there is a rumour out there that 'Pepsi' means "Pay every penny (to the) State (of) Israel" and also “Pay Every Penny, Save Israel”.

Why are we wasting our time spreading lies? Join a Sufi tariqa, learn about Purification of the heart, how to control ones Naffs. Join your local Tabligh Jamat brothers and engage in Active Dawah. Do something useful with your time, Insha’allah. Do something which will benefit the Ummah. Go plant some trees. Help your parents around the house. Go clean the local mosque - clean the windows, brush the car park, vacuum the mosque carpet.

"Unity based on falsehood" is a message that our Prophet (saw) didn't convey to us. For us to be conveying lies to our friends, family, random people (by posting such lies in places such as our MOSQUES) is a disgrace, it is a stain on the pure whiteness that our Religion is founded on. We are sinking to an all time low by spreading lies inside our mosques. Insha’allah lets refrain from such tactics in the future.

When all else fails, use your AQL. “Will you not use your intellect?” (Surat al-Anbiya': 65-67)

Islam is a RELIGION of TRUTH and JUSTICE, Islam is not a TRIBE. We, as MUSLIMS have to RE-LEARN the basics of our Religion it seems, if we have a hard time telling the truth. Speak the truth always, otherwise we are Hypocrites when we recite "Guide us on the straight path" (Quran 1:6)

Insha'allah, All that I have said above is a reminder for myself before anyone else. If you sensed any self righteousness in the above post, please forgive me and also remember me in your prayers. Prayer is the weapon of the believer.

Insha’allah I pray that All who have read this article benefit from it, and those who you fwd it to will insha’allah benefit from it. Ameen.

Jazakallah/Jazakillah for your time brothers/sisters.

Wa'salaam.

- Zuber Mohammed

dear bro
i soooooooo agree with you..

lolllllll loved the shaykh google one... funny!!!
love google its my best friend never fails to help me out finding things.

i know what you mean about those forward emails, they annoy the hell out of me, the endings was always the killer!
if you dont send it to so many people you'll have bad luck for 7 years,
if you say this or that your prayer will be answered.

how can these people that start these emails and write them even put such an absurd thing like that in the end,
i mean one good thing they are doing as a brother or sister spreading the message around and reminding us, then they go and ruin it in the end by claiming to have Godly powers to know what will happen if we dont do what they ask s or do what they ask us.

why cant the just instead write: dear brothers and sisters please help us spread this message and reminder around to the fellow brothers and sisters of our ummah, and i pray that Insha'Allah Allah swt multiplies your rewards for doing so.

In all honesty, i think most of those who Spread such emails (not those that START such emails..) don't even read what they Fwd. They just see keywords such as "Haram" "Islam" "Kaffir" "Jews" and straightaway jump onto the "Fwd" button to fullfill their 'Islamic Duty' of spreading the 'knowledge'.

Kheir, we can all do our bit. Spread the message out in your mosques, or simply copy/paste the article and fwd it to others, insha'allah.

people mocking you on your dakwah or explaination about coke...! called u a zionist...are they mAd?

Just read the article bro..

Ooh lala, I guess your point has been proven Zubair..
I used to get so many forwards before..The thing that thoroughly annoyed me was the fact that the forwards were most likely to be from people I knew who weren't so religioucly inclined..and yeah the ending was always something about passing it on otherwise I'd rot you know where..
What annoyed me even more, was the fact that because it had already been forwarded by so many other people it was assumed to be absolutely 100% accurate AND true..Arrghh

Still..I doubt this article'll stop people spreading 4wards..
HEY! How about forwarding THIS article of yours? Surely it'll get around like wildfire coz of the keywords?

yh can't stand that kind of crap, emails saying i'll die in ten days if i don't forward this ****

Alhumdulilah!

The First/Oldest mosque in NewZealand (Ponsonby Mosque) now displays my article on their notice board. "Do not remove this article off the board - By order of Feroz Patel" it says, from what i've been told. Alhumdulilah.

Finally, a mosque which is willing to display my article and remove the lies that someone had originally posted on the board. Now i am waiting for the other 20+ Mosques throughout Nz to do the same.

Insha'allah 1 day..

Yes Totally Agree...