Sunday, October 26, 2008, Imam Al-Khoei Islamic Center witnessed a large gathering of ulamaa and muminin from all ethnic backgrounds and walks of life to pay homage to a great ‘Aalim, Ayatullah Sheikh Muhammad Jawaad Al-Sahlani, the father of our Sheikh Fadhel Al-Sahlani and grandfather of our Sheikh Ma’an Al-Sahlani.

After the recitation of Surat Yaasin by Br Abu Husein, Mawlana Anwer Ali recounted the erudite and pious life of the Sheikh and how despite difficulties he never desisted serving the cause of Al-Islam, Al-Tashayyu’ and the Iraqi people at home in Iraq and while in exile in Syria. Mawlana said he met the elderly Sheikh here in New York briefly in 2003 and those few minutes made a lasting impression on his mind witnessing the Sheikh’s erudition, humility and piety. To this Sheikh Ma’an asked: if only few minutes had such an impact on Mawlana Anwer Ali, what about those who spent years with gleaning knowledge, love and care from Sheikh Jawad Al-Sahlani?

Sheikh Muhammad Jawaad Al-Sahlani was born in Najaf, Iraq in 1911, lost his father at the age of five, was brought up and guided by his grandfather to attain Darsul Kharij. Ayatullah Syed Abulhassan Isfahani was concerned about young Muslims during the era of communism in Iraq and he chose Sheikh Muhammad Jawad Al-Sahlani to counsel Muslim youths so that they did not get lured to the false promises of communism in Iraq that Ayatullah Syed Muhsin Al-Hakim later declared as “kufr” and saved many a youth’s faith. Repression by the brutal Iraqi regimes forced Ayatullah Al-Sahlani to move to Kuwait thence Syria. However, during his time in Iraq he established a mosque in Basra and he would always inquire about the upkeep and attendance of the mosque before he would ask about his relatives in Iraq. Thus, as Syed Baqir Kashmiri stated in the Arabic Majlis for the Sheikh, he had fulfilled all the three types of sadaqatul jariyah i.e. reward for deeds even after death, viz. building a mosque, writing books and leaving behind worthy sons, of whom Sheikh Fadhel Al-Sahlani was one. Sheikh Al-Sahlani was entrusted with wikala of several maraji’ since the days of Seyyid Abulhassan Isfahani to Seyyid Al-Hakeem, Seyyid Al-Khoei and Seyyid Al-Sistani and others.

Seyyid Baqir alluded to Sheikh Jawaad’s gatherings of the wiladah of Imam Ali Ibni Abi Talib AS and Sheikh Ma’an recited extracts from the qasida that the elderly sheikh composed on Imam Ali AS. Seyyid Baqir related how Imamayn Hassan and Hussain AS returning from the burial of Imam Ali ibni Abi Talib AS on 21st Ramadhaan heard the lamentation of a poor man who longed for the man who came to feed him and look after him every night but had not appeared for the past three nights. The man, this poor man said, had never given his name and the only utterances from his tongue were the tasbeeh of ALLAH SWT. When the poor man heard it was Imam Ali AS and that he had been killed his grief and shame knew no bounds. Similarly, Sheikh Jawaad would climb stairs despite his frail health to fulfill the needs of people irrespective of who they were.

The world, Al-Islam, Al-Tashayyu’ and Iraq has lost a great man, a scholar, a poet and a writer in the demise of Sheikh Muhammad Jawaad Al-Sahlani on October 12, 2008 in Syria and was buried in Najaf Al-Ashraf. Imam Al-Khoei Islamic Center, New York and AL-HUDA offer condolences to Imam Al-Hujjah AFS, the Maraji’, Hawzaat al-Ilmiyyah, mumineen and to the Al-Sahlani clan and family on this great loss that is irreplaceable. “Mawtul ‘Aalim Mawtul ‘Alam.”. www.alsahlani.org has further details. Go to Top

On October 7th, 2008 the senior class of Al-Iman school was invited to The Hall of Science for the Crime Scene Information Technology (CSIT) Competition where over 500 students from 39 public schools and one Islamic school were in attendance.

Twelve of us from Al-Iman School were split up into two teams of six each, called Team “Phoenix” and Team “Eagle”. After being treated to a full breakfast we witnessed a reenactment of a hijacking of a plane for ransom and were then given clues and equipment to help solve it. We were given a laptop, a digital camera, magnifying glass, measuring tape, flashlight, etc. Students worked collectively and were required to use our scientific skills including fingerprinting identification, DNA electrophoresis, microscopy skills, molding, and flame tests. We were also required to make a Power Point presentation for the judges at the end of the competition.

When all was said and done Al-Iman School nailed the culprits and walked away with all the top four positions in the competition. Al-Iman’s winning team was awarded with iPods and Digital Cameras.

Since October 2006 two of our teachers, Sr. Fahmida and Sr. Marziya, have been attending the Crime Scene Investigation Team workshops. The crime scene labs were brought to the school twice, in 2006 and in 2007, for the students to better their knowledge of Forensics. Students were required to perform investigations in solving the crimes with the help of technology and other chemical equipment. Go to Top

On October 2nd, 2008, Al-Iman School held its annual in-school celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Sr. Marziya and her team of seniors sold food, with the main attraction being the chocolate fondue machine, which all of us enjoyed. Both the younger and older students had plenty of fun with face painting and henna tattooing attractions.

After prayers, students were given the opportunity to share with their schoolmates what they had done for Eid. Finally, at the end of the day, Sr. Iman announced the winner of the Classroom Decoration Contest. Students had worked hard in beautifully decorating their homerooms. All in all, it was a fun day for both the students and the faculty – a day spent not only in having fun, but remembering everything they had learned during the month of Ramadan. Go to Top

Al Huda Monthly Magazine
Imam Al-Khoei Islamic Center
89-89 Van Wyck Exp Way
Jamaica, NY 11435
Fax: (718) 658-5530
Ask Online: http://www.al-khoei.org/question.asp

HAJJAN MABRURAN WA SA’YUKUM MASHKURA

Q: What does the Hajj entail?

A:  The Hajj, Hajjatul Islam, means performing certain prescribed and recommended acts of worship willingly in Makkah and its surrounds during Month of Dhulhijjatil Haraam, the twelfth month of the Islamic lunar calendar year. Visiting The Prophet SAWW’s Mosque and shrine and those of his holy progeny in Madinatul Munawwarah  before or after the Hajj is a highly recommended act that ensure acceptance of the Hajj.

Q: What are these acts of worship?

A:  The Obligatory acts are divided into two phases: Umra al-Tamattu and Hajj al-Tamattu respectively. Umra al-Tamattu is the prerequisite to Hajj al-Tamattu and it can be performed any time between the months of Shawwal, Dhulq’ada to 8th of Dhulhijatil Haraam. Hajj al-Tamattu commences on 8th to 13th of Dhilhijjatil Haraam. There are common rites performed in both the Umrah and the Hajj and others are specifically for the Hajj only. In all these performances the niyyah (intention) is very essential.

Q: What are the obligatory acts of Umra al-Tamattu?

A:  1. Ihram:  donning of two pieces of unsewn cloth for men, ordinary clothes for women and staying away from 25 forbidden acts during ihram until step 5 is complete.

The ihram requires niyyah (stated intention) and the Talbiyah.

2.Tawaaf: seven circumambulations of the Ka’ba in Masjidul Haraam in Makkah.

3. Salaatul Tawaaf: two cycles of prayer (similar to Salaatul Fajr) immediately after finishing the tawaaf, to be prayed near Maqam Ibrahim. 4. Sa’ee: seven walks between the hillocks of Safa and Marwa situated in the vicinity of the Ka’ba. 5. Taqseer: clipping of some hairs from the head or mustache or clipping the nails to come out of the state of ihram (i.e. step 1) i.e. relieved of some of the forbidden acts, except the permanent act of uprooting any vegetation or hunting.  Don ordinary clothes and perform recommended tawaaf and salaat and recitation of The Qur’an etc. One cannot leave Makkah, though.

Q: And Hajj al-Tamattu for Hajjatul Islam?

A: 1. Hajj al-Tamattu begins with ihram i.e. putting on the unsewn clothes for men, ordinary clothes for women, making the niyyah and reciting the Talbiyah on 8th Dhulhijjah and all the forbidden things apply as in Umra al-Tamattu.

2. Wuqoof Arafah: stop-over from noon of the 9th Day of Dhilhijjah to Maghrib on the plains of Arafah.

3. Wuqoof Muzdalifah: stop-over at Muzdalifah, on the eve of 10th Dhulhijjah from Fajr till sunrise. Here the Hujjaj collect 70 pebbles (actually only 49 are needed, but extras in case the pebbles go awry) for pelting the Shaitan over the next three days.

4. Mabiit Mina: staying for two nights and 2.5 days at Mina i.e. from 10th Dhulhijja morning to Dhuhr of 12th Dhulhijjah.

5. Rami’ul Jamarah Uqba: on tenth of Dhilhijja, pelt Jamaratul Uqba with 7 pebbles, then

6. udh.hiya : sacrifice an animal, and

7. tqaseer or halaq (halaq is shaving off the head).

8. Rami’ul Jamaraat: on 11th and 12th Dhulhijja pelt Jamaraatul Ula, Jamaraatul Wusta and Jamaraatul Uqba each with seven pebbles.

9. Tawaaful Hajj.

10. Salaatul Tawaaf

11. Sa’ee.

12. Tawafu Nnisaa

13. Salaatul Tawaafu Nnisaa. Recommended Tawaaf: Tawaaful Widaa. Go to Top

THE LIFE OF IMAM ZAYN AL-‘ABIDIN. Baqir Sharif al-Qarashi, translated by Jasim al-Rasheed. Ansariyan, Qum. Pp.708. $22.00 (+s&h).

Allamah Seyyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi in one of his articles on Imam Zaynul Abiding said that the illustrious period of Imam Al-Sajjad began in the most unique circumstances. The Imam AS assumed Imamah at Asr time when Jibraeel called out: “Qad Qutilal Husaynu bi Karbalaa”. Not only this, but also he is the Imam who is known as Ibnul Khiyaratayn who united the Arab and Ajam nobility in his person.

In this tome al-Qarashi, in his introduction says “there was no one like Imam Zayn al-Abiding in piety, devotion and intensity of attention to ALLAH SWT and traces the brilliant moves hat the Imam AS made to preserve Al-Islam after the atrocities heaped upon Al-Islam and The Prophet SAWW’s household by then Umayyads.

The biography of the Imam AS commences with the life-history of his mother, Shahzanan, which was one of her names, besides six others that includes the most popular of her appellations, Shaharbanawayh. She died when the Imam was still a child. The book then traces the Imam AS’ childhood and his impeccable behavior throughout his life in Madinah, Karbala and post-Karbala, illuminating his attributes and characteristics. This was the magnanimous Imam AS who gave sanctuary to the killer of his own brother and other enemies of The prophet SAWW’s household, showing them the differences between the treatment that Ahlul Bayt AS accord to others and to the treatment they received from the Umayyads.

Chapter V is devoted to the discussion of necessity of Imamah, its superior position and obligations to obey Imam Al-Ma’sum, mansus minaLLAH. Herein there is the episode of how Hajaril Aswad in the Ka’ba attested to the Imamate of Imam Zaynul Abiding when his brother, Muhammad Al-Hanafiyyah claimed it for himself. Chapter VII is devoted to the tragic events of Karbala and the post-Karbala events. Then the author describes the worship that earned the Imam Zainul Abiding and Seyyidu Ssajidiin. The Imam AS’ erudition and the great legacy of Sahifa Al-Sajjadiyyah and Risalatul Huqooq are reproduced in toto in this book. The Imam As’ rulings on some issues of Jurisprudence are also cited in the book.  Our Aimmah AS taught students some of whom became great companions. Imam Al-Sajjad’s students/companions number 164 whose brief biographies are also included in this book.

Imam Al-Sajjad As lived in the times of different caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty and besides the Karbala atrocities, Imam Al-Sajjad had to endure the gratuitous abuses and maltreatment of the khulafaa like Marwan al-Hakam and his son Malik ibn Marwan and Hajjaj ibni Yusuf,  all of whom shed blood and bad-mouthed The Prophet SAWW no end. Abdulmalik ibni Marwan witnessed the dignity and respect that people accorded to the real Imam in the Ka’ba by the way he himself was barred from reaching Hajr al-Aswad. Walid ibni Abdulmalik the son of the tyrant father was no better. Al-Mas’udi described him as” a stubborn, unjust and malicious tyrant”. Those Muslims who revere him and consider him a hero had better heed Masu’di’s words. Abdul malik did not even know the basic rules of Arabic grammar and made blunders in his sermons, so much so that his own father criticized him and said: “None can be a ruler over the Arabs except he who speaks their language well.” His successor Umar b. Abd al-Aziz said of him:” Al-Walid was one of those who filled the earth with tyranny.” Such are the rulers whom The Imam AS had to endure during his lifetime. Besides the atrocities wreaked upon his person, the Imam AS had to witness the desecration of the Al-Madinah Mosque of The Prophet SAWW and the attempted sacking of the Ka’ba by Yazidite forces. Yet, today the whole world remembers and eulogizes him and curses the tyrants. It is a good book to read. Go to Top

AL-JUMU’AH: IMAM ALI AL-RIDHAA AS And IMAM MUHAMMAD AL-TAQI AL-JAWAAD AS

On 11th Dhulq’ada in the year 148 AH in Madinatul Munawwarah was born our Eighth Imam Ali ibni Musa Al-Ridhaa AS in the house of Imam Musa ibni Ja’far AS and Seyyidah Toktam, Najmah also addressed as Tahirah by Imam Al-Kadhim AS.

Imam Al-Ridhaa AS was given the appellation of Al-Ridhaa because ALLAH SWT and His Apostle SAWW were pleased with him and this Imam AS was highly respected by people of all faiths in his time. 

When Ma’mun Al-Rasheed, the Abbasid Caliph of the time brought the Imam AS from Madinah to Marv, the Imam AS dazzled everyone with his divine knowledge, scholarly discourses and answers against Christian, Jewish, Sabean arguments. The Imam AS by asking the question “Who did Isa AS pray to?” to a Catholic priest refuted the argument that Isa AS was god.  The Imam AS debating the Sunnis had Ma’mun admit to the irrefutable right of Immediate Khilafah of Amirul Mumineen Ali ibni TAlib AS and the Infallible Imams who succeeded Imam Ali AS. The veracity of intercession was proven when in the time of acute drought the Caliph Ma’mun turned to Imam Al-Ridhaa AS to supplicate to ALLAH SWT for rain. The Imam AS ordered people to fast for three days and then on the third day with a huge multitude of people he went to an open field on the outskirts of Merv and invoked The Beneficent ALLAH SWT to ease the drought. No sooner had the Imam AS completed his Du’a in which he mentioned how people seek the intercession of the Ahlul Bayt of The Prophet SAWW to relieve them of their calamities, a heavy downpour ensued.

Similarly, his son Imam Muhammad Taqi Al-Jawaad AS, ibnul Ridhaa came to the rescue of the Caliph and the ummah at critical junctures and proved that adherence to The Qur’an and Ahlul Bayt of The Prophet SAWW together was real Islam. The 29th of the month of Dhulq’adah 229 AH marked the shahadah of Imam Al-Jawad AS, our Ninth Infallible Imam AS. The Imam AS was poisoned by the Caliph of the time.

Imam Al-Jawaad AS became Imam at the young age of nine years and detractors questioned that. They were silenced by Qur’anic facts: Nabi Isa AS and Nabi Yahya AS became prophets at much younger age. The detractors were still not satisfied so they tested the Imam AS’ knowledge and tried to pit his Divinely-bestowed knowledge against the acquired knowledge of the Qadhiul Quddhat, Yahya ibni Aktham who was silenced by a series of questions the Imam AS posed regards the person committing a forbidden act in ihram. One of the questions posed to Imam AS was the riwayah that the angel Jibraeel once came to The Prophet SAWW to tell The Prophet SAWW to ask Abu Bakr if he was satisfied with ALLAH SWT Who was satisfied with him. The Imam AS quoting The Prophet SAWW said that many false ahadith would be conveyed after him. So, to check the veracity of any hadith one had to see if The Qur’an bore it out.  The Imam AS quoted The Qur’an 50:16 wherein ALLAH SWT says that He is closer to a person than a person’s own jugular vein. So, why did He have to use the agency of The Prophet SAWW to ask this question when He could have asked it directly of Abu Bakr? Obviously, this was a concocted riwayah to boost Abu Bakr. s. Go to Top