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Tarek Mehanna

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    Tarek Mehanna

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    Asalamualykum dear brothers & sisters,

    This thread is solely dedicated to our dear brother Tarek Mehanna who has like many others been wrongly framed and imprisoned for speaking the truth.

    Please feel free to post old or new articles written by our dearest brother whilst spending time in prison.

    May Allah swt raise his status and provide him and his family with much happiness and peace Ameen.

    I feel we can gain a lot of wisdom from our brother so please spread the word and take heed of his advice insha Allah.

    Please also remember our dear brother in your duas insha Allah.

    New article by our brother Tariq:


    The Greatest Miracle

    An article I recently read discusses how television affects our minds. It states that "what happens to the brain is the frontal lobe - our brain's most sophisticated control system, responsible for organizing, planning, and sequencing behavior for self-control, moral judgment, and attention - is completely subdued when watching television. This is the same mechanism involved in hypnosis, and like hypnosis, TV reduces our ability to analyze critically what we are being told and what we see."

    Because we live in an era when even the news is laced with fiction, this leads to a more fatal effect. Without you realizing it, television wires you to become more comfortable with fantasy & illusion. This, in turn, wires you to put less value on authenticity & truth.

    But even when interacting with children, the Prophet (sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) forbade the most benign forms of falsehood:

    "If any of you tells a child 'Come here, take this' only to not give him anything, this is a lie." So, as 'A'ishah said, "there was no characteristic the Sahabah hated more than dishonesty. A man would tell a lie in the presence of Allah's Messenger, and he'd hold it against him until he knew that he'd repented from it."

    This attitude was carried over to the Tabi'in, as al-Qadi Shurayk an-Nakha'i was asked: "I heard a man intentionally lying. Can I pray behind him?" He replied: "No." And it was carried over to the next generation, as whenever Imam Ahmad would see one of the People of the Book, he'd shut his eyes and explain that

    "I can't stand looking at someone who has lied against Allah." In fact, he reported in his 'Musnad' that the Prophet commanded us to flee from lying du'at, as Hudhayfah said that "the Sahabah used to ask Allah's Messenger about good, and I used to ask him about evil. So I asked him: "Messenger of Allah, will there be evil after this good?"


    He replied: "Yes."


    I asked: "What will protect us from it?"


    He replied: "The sword."


    I asked: "What will happen next?"


    He replied: "There will be an uneasy calm."


    I asked: "Then what?"


    He replied: "Then there will emerge callers to misguidance (du'at ad-dalalah). So if you see a khalifah on Earth, stick to him even if he beats you and takes your wealth. If you don't see
    him, flee throughout the land even if you must die while biting onto a tree stump."


    I asked: "Then what?"


    He replied: "Then the Dajjal will emerge...""


    This narration was declared authentic by al-Albani. Imam Ahmad reported another authentic hadith instructing us on how to deal with the Dajjal himself: "Whoever hears that the Dajjal has emerged should stay away from him (the Prophet said this three times), because someone will approach him thinking him to be a believer, then stick to him due to his deceptive arguments, then end up following him."


    Indeed, one of the signs of the end of time is that the wrong people are followed while the wrong people are demonized, as the Prophet said that
    "before the Hour are years of deception. In them, the truthful is belied, the liar is believed, the trustworthy is considered treacherous, and the treacherous is trusted."

    In particular, people will become increasingly comfortable with the munafiqin, as Imam Ahmad said that "a time will come upon people when a believer is like a corpse amongst them, and they instead point to the munafiq with their fingers (i.e., out of respect)."

    And with time, the munafiqun themselves become increasingly comfortable displaying their nifaq, as Hudhayfah once said that "the munafiqun today are worse than they were in the Prophet's days. Back then, they hid their nifaq. Today, they openly display it." And he said that "during the days of Allah's Messenger, a man would utter a single statement that would turn him into a munafiq. Today, I hear one of you repeating it ten times in a single sitting."

    Hudhayfah said this while addressing the Tabi'in, roughly 1,400 years ago. If he were to hear some of the munafiqin today, he'd probably wish for a quick death.

    Part of the reason nifaq has become so common & widely accepted over the past two years is that many hearts are too overwhelmed by it to see it for what it is. Like the effect of hypnosis or television on your ability to critically analyze, the Prophet confirmed that your heart can reach the point where "it doesn't recognize any good or repel any evil."

    Only a person who genuinely tries to cling to the Shari'ah in the midst of this will be protected from confusion, as Allah said that {"if you have taqwa of Allah, He will give you a furqan."} (8:29) Commenting on this ayah, ash-Shawkani wrote that "taqwa is to beware of violating His commands and falling into His prohibitions, while the furqan is what's used to distinguish truth from falsehood. This means that He will strengthen your heart, sharpen your perception, and perfect your guidance so that you can distinguish between the two when there's confusion."

    Imam Malik was perceptive enough to point out that "the last of this ummah won't be corrected by anything other than what corrected the first of it." This means adopting a Sahabah-like attitude, viewing the world as they did, and defining terms as they did. Because of the prevalence of confusion, learning this is more crucial for us than it was for those before us. Ibn Mas'ud once told his students that

    "you live in a time when deeds are more incumbent than seeking knowledge. But a time will come when seeking knowledge is more incumbent than deeds." This knowledge is gained by studying, and the most crucial matters to study are: how did the Salaf define Iman? Kufr? Nifaq? Riddah? Their understanding of the Din is what the Prophet was referring to when he said that all of the Muslim sects will be in Hell "and one will be in Paradise, and they are the Jama'ah."

    Imam Abu Shamah said that "whenever you come across the command to stick to the Jama'ah, it means to stick to the truth & its followers, even if those clinging to it are few and their opponents are many. This is because the truth is defined as what the first jama'ah - the generation of the Prophet & the Sahabah - were following. Don't look to the fact that many people after them follow bid'ah." He then mentioned that Ibn Mas'ud asked 'Amr bin Maymun:

    "Do you know what the Jama'ah is?" 'Amr replied: "No." Ibn Mas'ud explained that "the majority of people have left the Jama'ah. The Jama'ah is whatever complies with obedience to Allah." Nu'aym bin Hammad explained that "this means that if the Jama'ah becomes corrupt, stick to what it followed before it became corrupt, even if you find yourself all alone. This is because in such a case, you are the Jama'ah."

    Our concern, therefore, is the purity of belief rather than how many people approve of it. The mushrikun asked the Prophet for one concession in exchange for the sought-after goal of them worshipping Allah, but Allah Himself revealed that {"they were about to tempt you away from what I revealed to you so that you'd fabricate something against Me instead. In that case, they would've certainly taken you as a close friend! Had I not kept you firm, you would've nearly inclined to them slightly."} (17:73-74) Ibn 'Abbas explained that "the Prophet was protected from this. But this is a lesson for the Ummah that none of us should compromise with the mushrikin in any of the rulings of the Shari'ah."

    Commenting on the same ayat - which, by the way, were revealed during the Makkan period - Sayyid Qutb wrote that "these attempts from which Allah protected His Messenger are the same attempts always made by the authorities with those involved in da'wah. They try to trick them into deviating - even if slightly - from the solidity of the da'wah into a compromise in exchange for the promise of a great reward. There are some du'at who are tempted away from their da'wah because they don't consider this to be a big deal. The authorities don't ask that he totally abandon his da'wah. Rather, they request minor adjustments so that both sides can meet in the middle of the road. From this opening, the Shaytan enters on the da'i, convincing him that the interests of the da'wah necessitate winning over those in authority - even if this involves compromising on some of it! The da'i who agrees to surrender even a sliver of it won't stop there... His willingness to compromise will only increase whenever he's forced to take a step back. Thus, the authorities gradually entrap the du'at."

    Those who refuse the offer can sometimes literally be counted on one hand. Ibn Kathir wrote that out of all the scholars subjected to the Mihnah, "those who stayed firm, completely refusing to affirm, were five: Ahmad bin Hambal, who was their leader; Muhammad bin Nuh al-Jundaysaburi, who died when he & Ahmad were being taken to al-Ma'mun; Nu'aym bin Hammad al-Khuza'i, who died in prison; Abu Ya'qub al-Buwayti, who died shackled in prison, and requested in his will that he be buried in his shackles; and Ahmad bin Nasr al-Khuza'i (who was executed in prison)..."

    These were the radicals of their time. In fact, their mihnah wasn't much different from ours: Western ideas (back then, it was Greek philosophy) are used to castrate Islam through re-interpretation of its texts (back then, those concerning Allah's names & attributes). Everyone has a choice to make. Those who sell out keep their jobs and get a pat on the back. Those who hold out pay the price. Regarding the latter, Ibn al-Qayyim wrote in his 'Nuniyyah':

    And Allah won't let the difficulties suffered for His sake go to waste;

    The lone servant's contentment despite the flood of enemies and few allies indicates true certainty, love, and real understanding;

    It's enough weakness & loneliness that he has few allies amidst the troops of Shaytan;

    Everyday, one group attacks. When it retreats, another takes its place;

    Ask this lone stranger what he experiences at the hands of countless enemies;

    It seems like it'll never end, and it's been so long after the era of goodness;

    This is why he's like a man holding a burning coal. So ask about the heat of this fire that he feels inside;

    Allah knows what he feels in his heart. It's enough that He knows;


    There's something in the heart that none can estimate except the One who gives it to the human being;

    Goodness, Tawhid, patience, contentment, gratitude, and implementation of the Qur'an...

    This "flood of enemies" was promised by Shaytan: {"Then I'll come at them from in front of them, from behind them, from their right, and from their left...} (7:17) But as Ibn 'Abbas said, "he couldn't say 'and from above them' because he knew that Allah is above them." Indeed, one of the miracles of our time is that the forces of the world - even the most bitter of historical enemies - have all set aside their differences and joined forces in an unprecedented manner to wipe out a simple principle, yet their opponents won't budge from this principle, instead giving the response Imam Ahmad gave as he regained consciousness from each bloody beating: "Give me something from the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger, and I'll affirm it." In fact, this is the greatest miracle possible, as Ibn Taymiyyah said that "the greatest miracle is to maintain istiqamah."

    Just as people today are inspired by Imam Ahmad, he was likewise inspired by those before him who loved the truth more than their own lives. Describing an incident during the Mihnah when Imam Ahmad was in ar-Raqqah (may Allah protect it), Muhammad bin Ibrahim al-Bushanji said that "when they were in ar-Raqqah, they began to remind Abu 'Abdillah of narrations proving that he could verbally affirm in order to save himself. So he replied: "What will you do with the hadith of Khabbab which says that from those who came before you was a man who was sawn in half, but he still wouldn't abandon his din?" So we lost hope in being able to convince him."

    The fact that Imam Ahmad ended up surviving the savage beatings he was made to endure in prison is besides the point, as Ibn al-Jawzi wrote that "his beautiful reputation didn't spread randomly, and people didn't make their way to his grave except for something amazing. What praise that filled the horizons, and what beauty that beautified existence, and what honor that wiped out dishonor! All of this was in this life, while the later reward is indescribable. On the other hand, reflect on the graves of most scholars: unknown & ignored. They took the easy way out, clung to convenient interpretations, and associated with the authorities. So the blessing of their knowledge vanished, their dignity was erased, and they drank from the fountain of regret on their deathbeds..."

    Written by: Tariq Mehanna

    Thursday, the 25th of Rabi' ath-Thani 1437 (4th of February 2016)

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    Tarek Mehanna

    Pain and hardships allow you to grow spiritually Alhamdulilah so smile when a so called calamity befalls upon you.
    Alhamdulilah Allah swt is the greatest.
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    Re: Tarek Mehanna



    In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful


    You would likely find the prison environment to be boring.



    The color scheme of the place - an exotic array of grays and off-whites - itself does wonders in dulling the mind. Most people cannot live without entertainment, and entertainment options are limited in here. Prisoners typically opt for TV. Since I don't watch much TV, I thus spend quite a bit of time in my cell reading.



    My reading is all over the place (history, sociology, astronomy, medicine, and plenty of newspapers), but the field most enjoyable to me is that of Hadith. Its academic merit is obvious and foremost, but it also provides a more personal benefit. It is related that the great scholar and Mujahid, 'Abdullah bin al-Mubarak, used to spend a lot of time alone. He was once asked: "Aren't you lonely, sitting by yourself?" He replied: "How can I be lonely while sitting with the Prophet (peace be upon him), the Sahabah, and the Tabi'in?" He was referring to the books he was surrounded with that contained their life stories and narrated statements. Each time such a book is opened, the reader is indeed reaching back through time, to another part of the Earth, to meet the Prophet and the thousands of people who comprised the best generations of human history, and to learn from their wisdom.



    You reach out to their time, and you find that they reach out right back to you. You'll find that some of the Prophet's most affecting words are those in which he described the believers who live near the end of time (may Allah include us among them). For example:



    * He described us as being his brothers. Abu Hurayrah related that Allah's Messenger once went out to visit the graveyard, and when he arrived, he greeted the dead by saying: "Peace be upon you, O group of believing people, and if Allah wills, we will join you." He then added: "I wish that we could see our brothers." The Sahabah asked: "Messenger of Allah, aren't we your brothers?" He replied: "You are my companions. Our brothers are those who will come later."



    * He described us as having the best Iman, due to the fact that we believe in him without having even seen him. 'Umar bin al-Khattab related that while a group was sitting with him, the Prophet asked them: "Tell me who of the believers you think is best in Iman." After a few people gave their answers, he settled the matter: "They are people who haven't yet been born and will come after me, will believe in me without seeing me, and will affirm what I say without seeing me. They will find pages bound together (i.e., into a book), and will implement what they find written on those pages. Those are the believers who are best in Iman." (Alhamdulilah) In another authentic hadith, he said: "Glad tidings once for those who see me and believe in me. Glad tidings seven times for those who believe in me without seeing me."



    * He described our reward as being greater than that of the Sahabah, as Abu Tha'labah related that Allah's Messenger said to a group of them: "After you, there will be days in which patience will be as difficult as grasping tightly to a burning coal. The one who does good during those days will get the reward of fifty people who perform the likes of your deeds." He was asked: "O Messenger of Allah! Fifty of us, or fifty of them?" He replied: "Indeed, they will get the reward of fifty of you. You are able to find those who assist you in doing good, while they will find nobody to help them."



    Some scholars used ahadith like these to show that there will be people at the end of time who reach such a degree of virtue so as to actually surpass that of an individual Sahabi (as opposed to from a collective perspective, from which there is no dispute that they were the best generation). This is why just as we come across mention of the Sahabah and attempt to visualize them and their utopia in awe, they - being a people who took the Prophet's words seriously - also attempted to visualize us and our world in awe when he described us to them.

    What would they think if they visited our world?


    The Sahabah emerged during the era of Jahiliyyah. That was a time when the previous religions had been distorted from their pure, original forms through changes that infected them over the centuries. Such innovations stuck because rather than fulfill their responsibility to combat them, the scholars of those religions who knew the truth instead stayed quiet or went into hiding to escape persecution. The truth thus died along with them, resulting in the distorted versions of Judaism and Christianity people follow until today. By the time the Prophet was sent to correct this, nobody remained on Earth who knew the truth except for a handful of outcasts, as he himself described: "Allah looked to the people of the Earth, and He despised them all - Arabs and non-Arabs - except some remnants of the People of the Book."


    Were the Sahabah to visit our world, they would be walking into a repeat of this. Just as they saw the Makkans having invented for themselves a religion containing mere remnants of the teachings of Ibrahim, the Sahabah would see the 'Western Islam' the people have invented for themselves today and recognize nothing but remnants of what they were taught by the Prophet in Madinah. Of all things, they would be most saddened to see many claimants to Islam still clueless about what he taught is the very tightest bond of Iman itself: Wala' & Bara' - this despite the untold amount of material that has been authored and translated into every imaginable language on the topic, and despite us living in an era where the enemy has done away with all pretense. The Sahabah would wince at the fact that while the hypocrites they faced in Madinah at least were opportunists who sided with the believers when they had the upper hand, today's hypocrites unconditionally side with the enemy through thick and thin.



    In the oft-cited hadith, the Prophet said: "Islam began as something strange, and it will revert to being something strange. So, glad tidings to the strangers." Explaining this, al-Qadi 'Iyad wrote that "Islam began among a few individuals. It then spread and became strong. This will be followed by a decline until it reverts to existing among a few individuals, just as it began." One version of this hadith provides a detail about these strangers: "They are those who withdraw from their tribes," and al-Harawi explained that the Prophet here was "referring to the Muhajirin who migrate from their homelands to Allah, the Exalted." The Sahabah would today recognize these strangers that the Prophet had described to them - men & women who believe in him and affirm what he said without seeing him, who found his words in the pages of books and were inspired to implement what they found, and who have nobody to help them in this except Allah. They would immediately recognize these outcasts - men & women who flee to the Dawlah as they once did, thereby incurring the wrath of every taghut as they once did - and look at them in awe.



    Seven centuries ago, not too long after their first defeat there, the Mongols invaded Sham for a second time. During those years, Ibn Taymiyyah composed an essay in which he wrote that "from the greatest gifts that Allah bestowed upon the one He wants good for is that He allowed him to live in this era in which He is renewing His Din, and resurrecting the slogans of the Muslims and the power of the believers and the Mujahidin such that they resemble the forerunners from the Muhajirin and the Ansar. Whoever is a part of this today is considered to be from those who followed them in good, with whom Allah is pleased and who are pleased with Him, and for whom He has prepared gardens underneath which rivers flow in which they will live eternally. That is the supreme success. So, the believers should thank Allah for this difficulty which is actually a gift of generosity from Him, and this tribulation which contains a great blessing." He then wrote: "And I swear by Allah that if the early forerunners from the Muhajirin and Ansar - like Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, 'Ali, and others - were alive today, from their best deeds would be their striving against these criminals (i.e., the Mongols)."



    Of the blessings Ibn Taymiyyah was referring to - and one which exists today - is the fact that, as the Prophet said (in a lesser-known wording of a well-known hadith): "Worship in times of tribulation is equivalent to a migration to me." Another scholar, Ibn Rajab, wrote that "the reason for this is that during the times of tribulation, people tend to follow their desires and abandon the Din. Their condition thus resembles that of the era of Jahiliyyah. So, if there emerge from between such people individuals who hold firm to the Din and worship their Lord, doing what pleases Him and avoiding what angers Him, such individuals will be equal in status to those who migrated away from the people of Jahiliyyah to Allah's Messenger while believing in him, following his orders, and avoiding his prohibitions."



    It is thus a group within the Ummah which clings to the truth during such days, while the rest of it strays. In that same essay, Ibn Taymiyyah also wrote that "it has been authentically reported through numerous chains of narration that the Prophet said: "There will always be a group of my ummah that is victoriously upon the truth until the Hour comes, and they will not be harmed by those who abandon or oppose them," and it has been authentically reported that they are in Sham. So, this test has divided people into three categories: i) the victorious group, and they are the Mujahidun against these spreaders of evil; ii) the group opposing them, and they are the sowers of corruption, along with these confused claimants to Islam who hide behind them; and iii) the group that has abandoned them, and they - even if still Muslims - are those who refrain from striving against the corrupters. Every man should look to whether he is from the victorious group, the group that has abandoned them, or the group opposing them. There is no fourth group." The full text of this essay can be found in the 28th volume of 'Majmu' al-Fatawa.'



    Commenting on that same hadith, an-Nawawi wrote: "It could be said that this group is dispersed between the various categories of believers. Some of them are courageous warriors, some are experts in Fiqh, some are experts in Hadith, some are ascetics, some are those who enjoin what is good and forbid what is wrong, and some are known for other forms of good. And they are not necessarily concentrated in one location. Rather, they could be scattered throughout the Earth."



    I read this in a book of Hadith written nearly eight centuries ago, but I'm told the matter is nowadays being discussed on TV. Indeed, as an-Nawawi concluded, "this hadith contains a clear miracle, in that what is described here has existed - praise is due to Allah - from the era of the Prophet until today, and will continue to exist until the Hour." (Allah Hu Akbar!)



    Written by: Tariq Mehanna

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    Tarek Mehanna

    Pain and hardships allow you to grow spiritually Alhamdulilah so smile when a so called calamity befalls upon you.
    Alhamdulilah Allah swt is the greatest.
    chat Quote

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    Re: Tarek Mehanna

    Tarek Mehanna’s statement, read to Judge O’Toole during his sentencing, April 12, 2012

    In the name of God the most gracious the most merciful,

    Exactly four years ago this month I was finishing my work shift at a local hospital. As I was walking to my car I was approached by two federal agents. They said that I had a choice to make: I could do things the easy way, or I could do them the hard way. The “easy“ way, as they explained, was that I would become an informant for the government, and if I did so I would never see the inside of a courtroom or a prison cell. As for the hard way, this is it. Here I am, having spent the majority of the four years since then in a solitary cell the size of a small closet, in which I am locked down for 23 hours each day. The FBI and these prosecutors worked very hard — and the government spent millions of tax dollars — to put me in that cell, keep me there, put me on trial, and finally to have me stand here before you today to be sentenced to even more time in a cell.

    In the weeks leading up to this moment, many people have offered suggestions as to what I should say to you. Some said I should plead for mercy in hopes of a light sentence, while others suggested I would be hit hard either way. But what I want to do is just talk about myself for a few minutes.

    When I refused to become an informant, the government responded by charging me with the “crime” of supporting the mujahideen fighting the occupation of Muslim countries around the world. Or as they like to call them, “terrorists.” I wasn’t born in a Muslim country, though. I was born and raised right here in America and this angers many people: how is it that I can be an American and believe the things I believe, take the positions I take? Everything a man is exposed to in his environment becomes an ingredient that shapes his outlook, and I’m no different. So, in more ways than one, it’s because of America that I am who I am.

    When I was six, I began putting together a massive collection of comic books. Batman implanted a concept in my mind, introduced me to a paradigm as to how the world is set up: that there are oppressors, there are the oppressed, and there are those who step up to defend the oppressed. This resonated with me so much that throughout the rest of my childhood, I gravitated towards any book that reflected that paradigm — Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and I even saw an ethical dimension to The Catcher in the Rye.

    By the time I began high school and took a real history class, I was learning just how real that paradigm is in the world. I learned about the Native Americans and what befell them at the hands of European settlers. I learned about how the descendants of those European settlers were in turn oppressed under the tyranny of King George III. I read about Paul Revere, Tom Paine, and how Americans began an armed insurgency against British forces — an insurgency we now celebrate as the American revolutionary war. As a kid I even went on school field trips just blocks away from where we sit now. I learned about Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, John Brown, and the fight against slavery in this country. I learned about Emma Goldman, Eugene Debs, and the struggles of the labor unions, working class, and poor. I learned about Anne Frank, the Nazis, and how they persecuted minorities and imprisoned dissidents. I learned about Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and the civil rights struggle. I learned about Ho Chi Minh, and how the Vietnamese fought for decades to liberate themselves from one invader after another. I learned about Nelson Mandela and the fight against apartheid in South Africa.

    Everything I learned in those years confirmed what I was beginning to learn when I was six: that throughout history, there has been a constant struggle between the oppressed and their oppressors. With each struggle I learned about, I found myself consistently siding with the oppressed, and consistently respecting those who stepped up to defend them — regardless of nationality, regardless of religion. And I never threw my class notes away. As I stand here speaking, they are in a neat pile in my bedroom closet at home.

    From all the historical figures I learned about, one stood out above the rest. I was impressed by many things about Malcolm X, but above all, I was fascinated by the idea of transformation, his transformation. I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie “X” by Spike Lee, it’s over three and a half hours long, and the Malcolm at the beginning is different from the Malcolm at the end. He starts off as an illiterate criminal, but ends up a husband, a father, a protective and eloquent leader for his people, a disciplined Muslim performing the Hajj in Makkah, and finally, a martyr.

    Malcolm’s life taught me that Islam is not something inherited; it’s not a culture or ethnicity. It’s a way of life, a state of mind anyone can choose no matter where they come from or how they were raised. This led me to look deeper into Islam, and I was hooked. I was just a teenager, but Islam answered the question that the greatest scientific minds were clueless about, the question that drives the rich & famous to depression and suicide from being unable to answer: what is the purpose of life? Why do we exist in this Universe? But it also answered the question of how we’re supposed to exist. And since there’s no hierarchy or priesthood, I could directly and immediately begin digging into the texts of the Qur’an and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, to begin the journey of understanding what this was all about, the implications of Islam for me as a human being, as an individual, for the people around me, for the world; and the more I learned, the more I valued Islam like a piece of gold. This was when I was a teen, but even today, despite the pressures of the last few years, I stand here before you, and everyone else in this courtroom, as a very proud Muslim.

    With that, my attention turned to what was happening to other Muslims in different parts of the world. And everywhere I looked, I saw the powers that be trying to destroy what I loved. I learned what the Soviets had done to the Muslims of Afghanistan. I learned what the Serbs had done to the Muslims of Bosnia. I learned what the Russians were doing to the Muslims of Chechnya. I learned what Israel had done in Lebanon — and what it continues to do in Palestine — with the full backing of the United States. And I learned what America itself was doing to Muslims.

    I learned about the Gulf War, and the depleted uranium bombs that killed thousands and caused cancer rates to skyrocket across Iraq. I learned about the American-led sanctions that prevented food, medicine, and medical equipment from entering Iraq, and how — according to the United Nations — over half a million children perished as a result. I remember a clip from a ‘60 Minutes’ interview of Madeline Albright where she expressed her view that these dead children were “worth it.” I watched on September 11th as a group of people felt driven to hijack airplanes and fly them into buildings from their outrage at the deaths of these children. I watched as America then attacked and invaded Iraq directly. I saw the effects of ‘Shock & Awe’ in the opening day of the invasion — the children in hospital wards with shrapnel from American missiles sticking out of their foreheads (of course, none of this was shown on CNN). I learned about the town of Haditha, where 24 Muslims — including a 76-year old man in a wheelchair, women, and even toddlers — were shot up and blown up in their bedclothes as they slept by US Marines. I learned about Abeer al-Janabi, a fourteen-year old Iraqi girl gang-raped by five American soldiers, who then shot her and her family in the head, then set fire to their corpses.

    I just want to point out, as you can see, Muslim women don’t even show their hair to unrelated men. So try to imagine this young girl from a conservative village with her dress torn off, being sexually assaulted by not one, not two, not three, not four, but five soldiers. Even today, as I sit in my jail cell, I read about the drone strikes which continue to kill Muslims daily in places like Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen. Just last month, we all heard about the seventeen Afghan Muslims — mostly mothers and their kids — shot to death by an American soldier, who also set fire to their corpses. These are just the stories that make it to the headlines, but one of the first concepts I learned in Islam is that of loyalty, of brotherhood — that each Muslim woman is my sister, each man is my brother, and together, we are one large body who must protect each other. In other words, I couldn’t see these things beings done to my brothers & sisters — including by America — and remain neutral. My sympathy for the oppressed continued, but was now more personal, as was my respect for those defending them.

    I mentioned Paul Revere — when he went on his midnight ride, it was for the purpose of warning the people that the British were marching to Lexington to arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock, then on to Concord to confiscate the weapons stored there by the Minuteman. By the time they got to Concord, they found the Minuteman waiting for them, weapons in hand. They fired at the British, fought them, and beat them. From that battle came the American Revolution. There’s an Arabic word to describe what those Minutemen did that day. That word is: JIHAD, and this is what my trial was about.

    All those videos and translations and childish bickering over ‘Oh, he translated this paragraph’ and ‘Oh, he edited that sentence,’ and all those exhibits revolved around a single issue: Muslims who were defending themselves against American soldiers doing to them exactly what the British did to America. It was made crystal clear at trial that I never, ever plotted to “kill Americans” at shopping malls or whatever the story was. The government’s own witnesses contradicted this claim, and we put expert after expert up on that stand, who spent hours dissecting my every written word, who explained my beliefs. Further, when I was free, the government sent an undercover agent to prod me into one of their little “terror plots,” but I refused to participate. Mysteriously, however, the jury never heard this.

    So, this trial was not about my position on Muslims killing American civilians. It was about my position on Americans killing Muslim civilians, which is that Muslims should defend their lands from foreign invaders — Soviets, Americans, or Martians. This is what I believe. It’s what I’ve always believed, and what I will always believe. This is not terrorism, and it’s not extremism. It’s the simple logic of self-defense. It’s what the arrows on that seal above your head represent: defense of the homeland. So, I disagree with my lawyers when they say that you don’t have to agree with my beliefs — no. Anyone with common sense and humanity has no choice but to agree with me. If someone breaks into your home to rob you and harm your family, logic dictates that you do whatever it takes to expel that invader from your home. But when that home is a Muslim land, and that invader is the US military, for some reason the standards suddenly change. Common sense is renamed “terrorism” and the people defending themselves against those who come to kill them from across the ocean become “the terrorists” who are “killing Americans.”

    The mentality that America was victimized with when British soldiers walked these streets 2 ½ centuries ago is the same mentality Muslims are victimized by as American soldiers walk their streets today. It’s the mentality of colonialism. When Sgt. Bales shot those Afghans to death last month, all of the focus in the media was on him — his life, his stress, his PTSD, the mortgage on his home — as if he was the victim. Very little sympathy was expressed for the people he actually killed, as if they’re not real, they’re not humans. Unfortunately, this mentality trickles down to everyone in society, whether or not they realize it. Even with my lawyers, it took nearly two years of discussing, explaining, and clarifying before they were finally able to think outside the box and at least ostensibly accept the logic in what I was saying. Two years! If it took that long for people so intelligent, whose job it is to defend me, to de-program themselves, then to throw me in front of a randomly selected jury under the premise that they’re my “impartial peers,” I mean, come on. I wasn’t tried before a jury of my peers because with the mentality gripping America today, I have no peers. Counting on this fact, the government prosecuted me — not because they needed to, but simply because they could.

    I learned one more thing in history class: America has historically supported the most unjust policies against its minorities — practices that were even protected by the law — only to look back later and ask: ‘what were we thinking?’ Slavery, Jim Crow, the internment of the Japanese during World War II — each was widely accepted by American society, each was defended by the Supreme Court. But as time passed and America changed, both people and courts looked back and asked ‘What were we thinking?’ Nelson Mandela was considered a terrorist by the South African government, and given a life sentence. But time passed, the world changed, they realized how oppressive their policies were, that it was not he who was the terrorist, and they released him from prison. He even became president. So, everything is subjective — even this whole business of “terrorism” and who is a “terrorist.” It all depends on the time and place and who the superpower happens to be at the moment.

    In your eyes, I’m a terrorist, I’m the only one standing here in an orange jumpsuit and it’s perfectly reasonable that I be standing here in an orange jumpsuit. But one day, America will change and people will recognize this day for what it is. They will look at how hundreds of thousands of Muslims were killed and maimed by the US military in foreign countries, yet somehow I’m the one going to prison for “conspiring to kill and maim” in those countries — because I support the Mujahidin defending those people. They will look back on how the government spent millions of dollars to imprison me as a “terrorist,” yet if we were to somehow bring Abeer al-Janabi back to life in the moment she was being gang-raped by your soldiers, to put her on that witness stand and ask her who the “terrorists” are, she sure wouldn’t be pointing at me.

    The government says that I was obsessed with violence, obsessed with “killing Americans.” But, as a Muslim living in these times, I can think of a lie no more ironic.

    Tarek Mehanna

    4/12/12

    Source: http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/201...harmed-no-one/
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    Pain and hardships allow you to grow spiritually Alhamdulilah so smile when a so called calamity befalls upon you.
    Alhamdulilah Allah swt is the greatest.
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    Re: Tarek Mehanna

    I request all Muslims to make dua for brother Tarek Mehanna and all the brothers and sisters who are unjustly locked up.

    May Allah grant them sabr and the highest jannat, Ameen.

    Scimi
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    Re: Tarek Mehanna

    Does anyone know what happened to brother Qatada?

    He used to be all over this effort then one day he just disappeared

    I miss him terribly.

    if you are reading this akhi, you are in my dua.

    Scimi
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    Re: Tarek Mehanna

    Ameen brother.

    May Allah swt take them to Jannah whilst they are sleeping Ameen.

    May Allah swt remove all the psychological & emotional pain they have experienced unjustly Ameen.

    May Allah swt comfort their families/loved ones with the hope of being reunited in this life or in jannah Ameen.

    The situation reminds me of Ali Al-Timimi words:


    Truth will prevail Insha Allah.
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    Pain and hardships allow you to grow spiritually Alhamdulilah so smile when a so called calamity befalls upon you.
    Alhamdulilah Allah swt is the greatest.
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    Re: Tarek Mehanna

    The Modern-Day Equivalent Of the Bubonic Plague


    "So, whatever you have been given is only the enjoyment of this worldly life. And what is with Allah is better and more lasting for those who believed and place their trust in their Lord / And those who avoid major sins and indecency, and when they become angry, they forgive / And those who answered the call of their Lord and properly performed the prayers, and consult each other in their affairs, and donate from what We have provided them...


    ...And those who, when they suffer tyranny, they avenge themselves." (42:39)

    Commenting on this last verse, ash-Shawkani said: "Allah mentioned those people who avenge themselves in the context of praise just as He mentioned forgiveness when angry in the context of praise. This is because bowing down to a tyrant is not a trait of those to whom Allah has granted honor... So, striking back against tyranny is a virtue, just as forgiveness when angry is a virtue. an-Nakha'i said: "They (the early Muslims) used to hate degrading themselves in order to prevent the insolent from being bold against them.""


    Naturally, the quality of defending oneself against a tyrant is a virtue in the eyes of all people - except the tyrant. The tyrant, of course, prefers a peaceful victim. When Moses returned to Egypt to emerge as a leader with a following, Pharaoh became horrified at the prospect of his subjects possessing actual strength, and thus revived his policy of killing each male newborn (40:25) in an attempt to deprive them of the manpower he assumed they needed to resist. Plantation owners in the South were able to keep black slaves under the whip for nearly three centuries due to their overall success in erasing from their minds the concept of resistance. When Western colonial powers exploited entire populations across Africa and Asia, they were able to pull it off for centuries primarily by erasing from their minds the concept of resistance. So, a tyrant's attempt to vilify or otherwise do away with the spirit of resistance in the minds of those under the whip is a timeless strategy. Continuing in this tradition, a panel of American judges recently likened Jihad to "the modern-day equivalent of the bubonic plague."


    This analogy got me thinking.


    Also known as Black Death, the bubonic plague is the most common form of plague. It "typically starts with shivering, then vomiting, headache, giddiness, intolerance to light; pain in the back and limbs; and insomnia, apathy, or delirium. Body temperature rises rapidly to 104 degrees or higher, and frequently falls slightly in the second or third day, with marked prostration. Constipation is usual; diarrhea is a grave sign. Most characteristic is the early appearance of buboes (swelling of the lymph nodes), which are usually distributed in the groin and armpits." The bubonic plague took the lives of entirely one quarter of the population of Europe during the great epidemic of the 14th century. The plague is, indeed, a terrible calamity.


    al-Bukhari reported that 'A'ishah asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) regarding the plague. He informed her that it was a punishment that Allah would send upon whom He willed, and that He had made it a mercy for the believers. Ibn Hajar mentioned another version of the hadith which states: "So, the plague is a form of martyrdom for the believers and a mercy for them, and a punishment for the kafir." He then commented: "This is explicit in showing that the plague is a mercy solely for the believers, and if it befalls the kuffar, it is a punishment upon them expedited in this world before the next." Interestingly, the description of Jihad in the Qur'an (9:14) is almost identical to this. From such a perspective, the analogy is correct. Perhaps this is what was intended by it.


    Or it could be that one of the dictionary definitions of plague is "any widespread affliction, calamity, or evil, esp. one regarded as a direct punishment from God."


    Or it could be that it was in Iraq, of all places, that Black Death originated in the 11th century before spreading to Europe.


    More likely, though, the judge's analogy is an example of what is known as psychological projection. Psychological projection is defined as "the tendency to ascribe to another person feelings, thoughts, or attitudes present in oneself, or to regard external reality as embodying such feelings, thoughts, etc. in some way," especially with "such an ascription relieving the ego of a sense of guilt or other intolerable feeling." Thus, for one to liken the means of repelling his government's tyranny to an infectious disease is an attempt to deflect our attention from a more appropriate analogy: The AIDS virus is one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases. But it doesn't kill the body by hurting it directly. Instead, it wipes out its immune system to leave it defenseless against attack from all other infections. The Muslim Ummah is like the human body. Jihad is its immune system. The US government is like the AIDS virus, doing all that it can to wipe out that immune system and leave us defenseless against its attacks. Despite the invasions and drone attacks and arrests and lengthy prison sentences, however, black flags are popping up everywhere from the Western Sahara to the farthest reaches of Southeast Asia, and with increasing frequency.


    In another dictionary definition, a plague is "any cause of trouble, annoyance, or vexation."


    When Pharaoh realized that his "fierce efforts" to subjugate Moses and his followers had failed, he made no secret of how this small gang of terrorists had enraged him (26:54-55). He was in a state of outward denial, while acknowledging inwardly (27:14) that those who just yesterday were living under his whip will tomorrow be the leaders who inherit his world (28:5).


    But before orphans receive their inheritance, they must first be tested (4:6). Someone else sitting at this desk may not see the connection between this promised future and an apparently cheerless life in prison for myself and my brothers. But Pharaoh's demise contains a valuable lesson for people like us inside prison and people like you outside of it. If you look at each individual piece of the story on its own, nothing seems to make sense. Whether you're looking at the circumstances surrounding the childhood of Moses, his escape from Egypt, his return to Egypt, his choosing of the time to confront Pharaoh's magicians, the various signs sent by Allah to Pharaoh, and so on - none of the details indicate exactly how the story would end. Only when Pharaoh and his army follow Moses and the other Muslims, and are finally standing at the seacoast - only when the last piece of the puzzle has fallen into place - does it all make sense. The series of events leading up to that single moment, as they stood looking at two mountains of seawater which would become their grave, had been set in motion decades earlier without anyone except Allah knowing what it would all culminate in. All the talk of victory, establishment, and freedom might have seemed misplaced before that moment to the Israelites living for years in captivity as imprisoned slaves, with no end in sight. Some might say that such talk is similarly misplaced for someone sitting where I'm sitting.


    But at that moment, Allah's promise came to life, and the seemingly disconnected events of the previous years suddenly fused together: "So, We took retribution from them, and We drowned them in the sea because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them. And We allowed the people who had been oppressed to inherit the east and west of the land which We had blessed. And the promise of your Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel due to their patience, and We destroyed all that Pharaoh and his people had produced and built." (7:136-137)


    A skim of daily news headlines indicates that our moment is gradually approaching, and after careful consideration of the massive record, the Qur'an's prolific arguments, and the controlling law, I affirm that history repeats itself (48:23).


    Written by: Tariq Mehanna


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    Alhamdulilah Allah swt is the greatest.
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    Re: Tarek Mehanna

    BUMP - request dua for brother Tarek Mehanna and all Muslims who are imprisoned without charge.

    Scimi
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    Re: Tarek Mehanna

    "Fitnah"


    It's my eighth autumn looking at the Sun through a cage.

    Though I'm looking directly at it, the fact that the part of the planet on which I'm standing is tilted away from the Sun at this time of year means that its light strikes it at a less direct angle, leaving its energy less concentrated, which is the reason we're feeling the biting cold here. We adapt to this cold, but we can't adjust the Earth's tilt or orbit to prevent it. It's a law of this particular time Allah has laid down that we can't change. Allah said: "I am time. I alternate its night & day, and if I want, I could withhold them both."
    Nor can we change the laws of time as it nears its end.

    We can't change the fact that, as the Prophet (sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, "time will become compressed." Explaining this, an-Nawawi wrote that "time being compressed is the disappearance of barakah from it. For example, an entire day will contain the barakah of just a single hour." Ibn Abi Jamrah wrote that "this has been the case for some time now. Those with religious knowledge, as well as the clever ones with worldly knowledge, know this very well. They find themselves unable to accomplish the same tasks they were able to before. They complain of this, and can't explain it." Ibn Hajar wrote that "we see the days go by much faster than they did before... In truth, this is describing the removal of barakah from everything, even time. This is from the signs of the Hour..."

    Nor can we change the fact that as time nears its end, barakah is removed from people. 'Abdullah bin al-Mubarak once wrote the following lines of poetry:
    Gone are the men whose actions are worth emulating * The men who oppose every evil,
    And I'm left behind with people deluded about each other * Such that one corrupt man emulates another...
    Before him, Abu ad-Darda' said that "people used to be leaves without thorns. But now, they're thorns without leaves."
    And before all of them, the Prophet said that "the righteous people will die, one after the other, until only useless people will remain."
    Centuries later, Ibn Kathir wrote that when the Crusaders advanced on al-Quds, the Khalifah pushed the scholars to mobilize the local governors to resist them. Instead, Muslims fled en masse from Sham to Iraq. One of the few scholars who pleaded with them to fight was Ibn 'Aqil, who summarized the attitude of the masses by writing that "one of the strangest things I've observed in people is how they grieve over deteriorating homes, dying relatives, and declining income by blaming the times they live in & the people living in them, and complaining of how miserable life is. All the while, they see the attempts to destroy Islam, the decay of religion, the disappearance of the Sunnah, the appearance of bid'ah, indulgence in sin, and time wasted in useless & harmful matters - yet I don't see any of them grieving over his religion or weeping with sadness over the wasted years of his life. The only reason I see for this is that they don't care about their religion, and are in awe of the dunya. This is exactly the opposite of how the righteous Salaf were..."

    So these people had it backwards, failing to understand that the most valuable thing you possess is Iman. To lose it is worse than to lose your life, as Allah said that {"fitnah is worse than killing..."} (2:191) ash-Shawkani explained this to mean that "being afflicted with any type of fitnah affecting the Din - no matter what form it takes - is worse than being killed."

    This fitnah is often subtle, and may even come from those who are sympathetic. For example, Muslims are today one of many communities expecting to suffer under Trump's rule. This means that we find ourselves being lumped together with homosexuals, transgenders, and so on. Because the Islamic position on homosexuality is offensive to many in the world who are sympathetic to us, some American Muslims adapted to this awkward situation by softening their stance on it. By doing so, they fell into a fitnah worse than the one they thought they were repelling. Jamal Zarabozo made the point in his book 'Purification of the Soul' that "the Muslim must realize that his very goal, purpose, and way in life is fundamentally different from everyone else in the world today. For example, today, in particular, those who have previous scriptures are, for the most part, secularized in their thinking, especially about social and political issues. The Muslim's life, on the other hand, is supposed to be based completely on the guidance that has come from Allah. No human opinion or view can ever take the place of what Allah or His Messenger have stated."

    He continued, writing that "in reality, non-Muslims are either of bad intentions or they are ignorant of the final revelation that has come from Allah via the Prophet Muhammad. Therefore, when it comes to spiritual knowledge, worship, and belief in God, ethics and morals, they have virtually nothing - if anything at all - to offer the Muslim. Indeed, they can only harm the Muslim. Since most non-Muslims do not understand Islam at all - and perhaps view it within the light of their own faiths that have been modernized - even those who seem sympathetic to Muslims want something from Muslims that is no more than an abandonment of Islam."

    Finally, he wrote that "Allah will judge such people who think themselves sincere and just. However, that does not change what the Muslim's attitude must be today: he must stick to his religion no matter how much these people strive, no matter how good their intentions are made to look, and no matter how many wonderful sounding slogans they give. In other words, in what they see as the best approach for Muslims, they want to see Islam changed. This is in reality nothing more than them taking the Muslim away from the path of purification. Even if one claims that their intentions are good but they are simply ignorant, the end result is the same for the Muslim: they are working to distort the path of purification. The result is clearly one: the Muslim must remain on the straight path and ignore any suggestions to do otherwise."

    Nor can we change the fact that as time nears its end, doing this will get so tough that, as the Prophet said, "a time will come in which my ummah will wish for the Dajjal to appear." When asked why, he took hold of his ears, shook them, and then said: "Because of the fitan they'll be facing." These fitan are harsh in nature, as Lane's 'Lexicon' defines fitnah as "a burning with fire," and as "the melting of gold and of silver in order to separate or distinguish the bad from the good," and as "an affliction whereby one is tried, proved, or tested," and as "temptation," and even as "madness, insanity, or diabolical possession."

    Nor can we change the fact that as time nears its end, barakah is removed from places around the world to make way for this madness. Referring to these fitan, Ibn Hajar wrote that "these began to appear in the era of the Sahabah, then increased in some places in exclusion to others. It's when these aspects become dominant that the Hour will then occur... These aspects are now on the rise everywhere, although more so in some places than others. Whenever one generation passes, a lot of deficiency appears in the one following it."

    The door to the Khilafah has been re-opened, but this general decline will continue everywhere else until, as the Prophet said, "the world will be filled with injustice & tyranny" by the time the Mahdi appears to reverse it all. Even as he was swallowing large swaths of Persian & Roman territory into the Khilafah, Khalid bin al-Walid understood that there would be believers living in the future feeling that there's nowhere to go. So when asked about the fitan, he replied that "a man will look around and ask himself if there's a place where he hasn't been stricken with the same fitnah & evil he's been stricken with where he's standing, but he won't be able to find such a place."

    Regardless of where you live, what you've seen around the world lately confirms that the Prophet was saying what could only have come to him through revelation when he said that "no time will come except that the one after it is worse." This law was laid down for a reason. We can't change it, but we can adapt to it the way the Sahabah did when they saw his promise manifest before their eyes, as the Dawlah of Madinah was under attack by the largest coalition it had seen by that point:
    {"And when the believers saw the coalition, they said: "This is what Allah & His Messenger promised us, and they spoke the truth," and it increased them only in Iman & submission."} (33:22)

    Explaining the promise referred to in this ayah, al-Mawdudi wrote that "when they saw the storms of danger gathering, they remembered Allah's promise. But this promise wasn't that once they believed, they'd instantly take over the whole world without any effort and the Angels would come down to place crowns on their heads. Rather, the promise was that they'd pass through severe trials, endure extreme hardship & fitnah, and sacrifice a lot, after which Allah would bless them with His grace and give them that promised success in this world & the next."

    He continued: "On seeing fitnah approaching, they didn't waver in their Iman. Rather, they only became stronger in it. Rather than giving up on obeying Allah, they were ready to surrender to Him whatever they had with complete conviction. Here, you must fully understand that Iman & reliance are qualities of the soul which are tested with every command & demand. At every step in life, you come across situations where Iman either enjoins something, forbids it, or requires you to sacrifice yourself, your money, your time, and your desires. At every such occasion, the faith & conviction of one who deviates from obedience will decline, while the faith & conviction of one who submits to the commands & demands will be strengthened & enhanced."

    He finished: "Yes, you become a believer & a Muslim by uttering the Shahadatayn. But Iman doesn't remain static. It's open to both deterioration & development. Decline in sincerity & the spirit of obedience causes your Iman to deteriorate, such that constant regression will push you to the last limits of faith where the slightest move backwards will turn you from a believer into a munafiq. Conversely, the more sincere, obedient, and dedicated to Iman you are, the stronger you'll grow to the point that you can even attain the rank of a siddiq..."

    So Iman enables you to adapt to any season, as the Prophet said that "the believer is like a flexible plant, which the wind pushes left & right - knocking it over, only to raise it up again - until it dries..."

    And Iman transforms any situation into a good one, as he said that "I'm amazed at the situation of the believer. Indeed, every situation is good for him. He's thankful if he experiences something good, and that's good for him. And he's patient if he experiences something bad, and that's good for him. This doesn't happen for anyone but the believer."

    And Iman can be fulfilled in any condition you find yourself, as he told the Ansar: "Give me bay'ah that you'll listen & obey whether you're energized or lazy, and that you'll spend your money for Allah's sake in good times & bad, and that you'll enjoin the good & forbid the evil, and that you'll speak the truth for Allah's sake without fearing anyone's condemnation... If you do this, Jannah is yours."

    Written by: Tariq Mehanna
    Thursday, the 24th of Safar 1438 (24th of November 2016)
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    Re: Tarek Mehanna

    Asalamualykum,

    Jazahka Allah for sharing.

    May Allah swt help us all to change ourselves for the better Ameen.

    May we have emaan in good and bad times Ameen. That's our treasure.
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    Tarek Mehanna

    Pain and hardships allow you to grow spiritually Alhamdulilah so smile when a so called calamity befalls upon you.
    Alhamdulilah Allah swt is the greatest.
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    Re: Tarek Mehanna

    Wa alaykum salaam

    That's so very true ameen ya rabb!
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    Re: Tarek Mehanna

    The Flood Took Them By Surprise

    wwwislamicboardcom - Tarek Mehanna
    In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
    A new article written by Tarek:


    The flood took them by surprise.



    Lacking foresight, they used to mock him as he worked on his unfinished ship. But because he knew what was coming, he'd simply look up & reply: {"If you mock me, I likewise mock you."} (11:38)



    In the end, {"only a few believed with him."} (11:40) Even his wife turned on him, destined to drown with everyone else. Humanity survives today descended entirely from him.



    Prophet Nuh was a one-man ummah.



    But there were others, as {"indeed, Ibrahim was an ummah..."} (16:120) Ibrahim symbolized the dawn of a new era in the history of Tawhid. He propagated it with an aggression unmatched by any before him: {"And that was My hujjah which I gave Ibrahim. I elevate the ranks of whom I wish..."} (6:83) A hujjah is "that by which one rebuts an adversary in a litigation, dispute, or altercation; an argument; a proof; an evidence." Each time he confronted someone with a hujjah, they hated him for it. In fact, besides his wife & nephew, Ibrahim for years remained the sole Muslim on the planet. He further shocked & offended Babylonian society by physically smashing their idols to bits - knowing full well that they'd try to kill him for it.



    What Ibrahim did was bigger than himself. Tawhid survives today descended entirely from him.



    Thousands of years later, with again nearly no Muslims left on the planet, a man leaned against the Ka'bah Ibrahim had built and evoked the memory of Ibrahim's stand while making his own: "O Quraysh! I swear by Allah that none of you follows the din of Ibrahim except me." Zayd bin 'Amr bin Nufayl continued: "O Allah, if I knew how You want to be worshipped, I'd worship You that way. But I don't," and he then prostrated on his hands. They expelled him from Makkah. He decided to travel to Mawsil, where he'd dreamed of meeting others who rejected the tawaghit of the times and chose to follow Ibrahim. Instead, he was advised to return to Makkah to await the appearance of the final Prophet (sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam). Zayd complied, only to be subsequently attacked & killed upon his return. Just as Ibrahim was an ummah, the Prophet likewise said that Zayd "will be resurrected as an ummah unto himself."


    Ibn Rajab wrote that "if one worships & obeys Allah and pursues His pleasure in life through an act whose effects are naturally detested, he should know that such effects aren't detested by Allah. Rather, He loves them because they result from His obedience & the pursuit of His pleasure. He informed us of this to soothe our hearts so that we don't detest what we experience in this life."


    He also informed us of exactly what it is He wants: {"Allah wants to affirm the truth through His words..."} (8:7)



    And He informed us that He does this perpetually: {"He affirms the truth through His words..."} (10:82) As al-Qurtubi explained, this means that "He makes it clear."



    And He informed us that this clarity sometimes emerges through brief confrontations in which nearly every Muslim protagonist is wiped out by the antagonist. {"The truth became manifest"} (7:118) in the split second it took Musa to overcome the magicians, leading them to convert before Fir'awn captured them all, amputated their hands & legs, and crucified them on tree trunks (20:71). On another tree trunk, in another time & place, the truth become manifest in the split second it took an arrow to pierce a young boy's skull, leading every onlooker to convert before their king had them shoved into flaming pits to be burned alive. That we're even aware of these true stories & others proves that not even death can contain the power of a hujjah, as Yusuf al-'Uyayri wrote that "victory can take the form of a hujjah & clear proof... A victorious concept doesn't stop with the person upholding it. Rather, it transcends to others, even if he himself dies. What matters is that the hujjah is conveyed & convinces others, even if its original upholder is physically helpless."



    The Prophet himself learned while helpless in Makkah that whether he lived to personally witness victory was irrelevant because his job was to convey the hujjah: {"Whether I show you some of what I promised them or cause you to die, your duty is only to convey..."} (13:40) He lived long enough to establish a state, but he died when it was still confined to limited territory. He set the mawaqit for pilgrims, but they were future pilgrims who weren't yet Muslims. Why? Ibn 'Abd al-Barr wrote that "it was Allah's Messenger who set the miqat for the people of 'Iraq as Dhat 'Irq & 'Aqiq, just as he set Juhfah for the people of Sham. At the time, both Sham & 'Iraq were lands of kufr. But he set the mawaqit for their peoples because he knew that Allah would eventually open Sham, 'Iraq, and other territories to his ummah. Neither Sham nor 'Iraq were conquered in their entirety until the rule of 'Umar."


    In another book, Ibn 'Abd al-Barr related that Allah's Messenger once asked Suraqah bin Malik: "How would you feel wearing the bracelets of Kisra?" Years later, after both the Prophet & Abu Bakr had died and 'Iraq was conquered, Kisra's bracelets & treasures were brought to 'Umar. He called Suraqah over and placed the treasures on his head. Suraqah had long hair at the time. He then told him: "Raise your hands," and placed bracelets on each one. 'Umar then said: "Allahu Akbar. Praise be to Allah Who snatched these from Kisra bin Hurmuz, who used to tell people "I am your lord," and instead granted them to a bedouin named Suraqah bin Malik..."


    So not even Abu Bakr lived to see this dream fulfilled. But he was the one who made the dream possible, as 'Abdullah 'Azzam said that "the Ummah can sometimes consist of a single person who makes a stand by which Allah saves this din - just as Abu Bakr made a stand in the days of Riddah, and Ahmad bin Hambal made a stand the day the Earth shook from the innovated belief that the Qur'an is created, thereby saving the entire Ummah."



    He then said that "history informs us that twenty Muslims from Spain - the Muslims of Andalusia - departed Barcelona for a small piece of territory on the peak of a mountain called Frakshia, close to the French coast. Twenty individuals! They established a fortress atop this mountain, grew in number to a hundred, and gained control over the major ports between France & northern Italy, especially the well-known port of Bernar. They penetrated deep into the lands of the Bayamun, and all the Franks who crossed these ports paid them jizyah. They penetrated into Switzerland until they arrived at the province of Konstanz (which today lies near the Swiss-German border), and ruled over this territory for ninety years - ninety years!"



    Finally, "all of this began with just twenty Muslims, ruling central Europe and controlling its major trading ports for nearly a century. Eventually, all of Europe coalesced against this emirate until it fell after ninety years, as I said. On the day they suffered their final defeat, they numbered no more than 1,500 men!"



    It was this same number of men estimated to have made a stand in Mawsil - men who found what Zayd had sought when he set foot in the city over fourteen centuries earlier. Yusuf al-'Uyayri wrote that "though victory can materialize in the form of physical authority & a state, the least that can be said about the Ta'ifah al-Mansurah is that its victory is one of hujjah & clear proof. So it's always victorious in one way or another despite the Ummah abandoning it and its enemies coalescing against it."


    Indeed, Allah described the ta'ifah of Bani Isra'il which believed in 'Isa bin Maryam as being {"victorious"} (61:14) even though, as Qatadah explained, this victory took the form of "hujjah & clear proof." But even this victory can be attained only after you meet a demanding set of conditions, as {"I made some of them leaders guiding by My command when they had patience and were certain in My ayat."} (32:24) This is because, as Ibn al-Qayyim wrote, "yaqin totally illuminates the heart and cleanses it of all doubt, resentment, sadness, and worry."


    How do you attain yaqin? You attain it when you form an emotional attachment to the Shar'i texts, as as-Sa'di wrote that "they attained the rank of yaqin because they gained proper knowledge rooted in decisive proof. They persistently studied various matters & their many supporting proofs until they finally reached this rank."



    Seven centuries after 'Isa's ascent, an elderly Abu Hurayrah was sitting in a masjid in Kufah when a man approached him and asked: "You're the one who says that he'll pray with 'Isa bin Maryam?"



    He replied: "O people of 'Iraq, I knew that you wouldn't believe me. But this won't stop me from conveying what I heard from Allah's Messenger. Allah's Messenger, the truthful & believed one, told me that "the Dajjal will emerge from the East at a time when people are divided. He'll reach everywhere on Earth in forty days. During this time, the believers will suffer immensely. Then 'Isa bin Maryam will descend & lead them in salah. When he raises his head from ruku', Allah will destroy the Dajjal & those with him."



    As for my saying that it's the truth, then Allah's Messenger said: "And it's the truth."



    As for my saying that I wish to be there, then perhaps I'll be there despite my white hair, delicate skin, and old age. Perhaps Allah will have mercy on me and I'll be there to pray with him. Go tell your family what Abu Hurayrah told you."



    Reflect over Abu Hurayrah's incessant yaqin even in old age. And reflect over the fact that the best men had their yaqin exposed through mere tests of compliance, after which nothing materialized for them - just as those who helped prepare for Tabuk were promised Jannah despite having arrived to find no Romans there, and those who partook in Bay'at ar-Ridwan were "the best people on Earth" and "will never enter the Fire" despite the rumors of 'Uthman's death turning out to have been false, and Lut ended up with not a single convert, and Ibrahim's {"great test"} (37:106) ended at the last second without him slaughtering his son, and Nuh spent nearly a millennium confronting the world with his hujjah with the result that {"only a few believed with him."} (11:40)


    So life is but a brief window of time testing your yaqin, as Allah only {"created death and life to show which of you acts best..."} (67:2) Even if you don't live long enough to witness its results in this life, and even if those lacking foresight mock you for working on an unfinished ship, they will materialize. One way they'll materialize is you, as the Prophet said that Allah will ask Nuh on the Day of Resurrection: "Did you convey My message?"


    He'll reply: "Yes, my Lord."



    Allah will then ask Nuh's people: "Did he convey My message?"



    They'll lie: "No! No Prophet ever came to us."



    Allah will then ask Nuh: "Who will vouch for you?"



    Nuh will reply: "Muhammad & his ummah."



    The Prophet continued: "So we'll then testify that Nuh conveyed the message..."



    Written by: Tariq Mehanna Monday, the 27th of Dhu al-Hijjah 1438 (18th of September 2017)












    Tarek Mehanna

    Pain and hardships allow you to grow spiritually Alhamdulilah so smile when a so called calamity befalls upon you.
    Alhamdulilah Allah swt is the greatest.
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