You got my back?

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You got my back?
se7en
05/10/01 at 12:29:06
as salaamu alaykum wa rahmatAllahi wa barakatuh,

Sister serena's post has got me thinking about a lot of things... (one of them: don't mess with abu khaled)

I know of one incident in which a sister was almost in a physical altercation with some freak, and there were some Muslim brothers who saw this take place and didn't do jack... she's from the city and one of the things she said was that that would *never* happen in the city... the brothers would have been all over that freak because you don't mess with muslim sisters ever, period. that's the law in the city, and brothers will make sure it's maintained.

One thing I also notice is that if there is a brother with you when you're walking down the street, guys will not mess with you.  But if you're alone.. even if you're the toughest looking sister you'll still be harassed.. whassup with that?  is it an alpha male thing or somethin?

Anyway, this is my question... do you think it's necessary for brothers to do that? to defend their sisters when they are getting harassed, mistreated, disrespected?  Especially at night or in places that may be deemed unsafe?  Or do we have this "good sisters should be in by maghrib" mentality, and all sisters who don't do that don't deserve your help?  Or do you fear that you're getting involved in something that's not your concern?

I'm very curious..


Re: You got my back?
BroHanif
05/10/01 at 10:31:12
A.W.W.

I don't know whether its a male thing or not, I think its more related to the mentality of the person, is s/he on drink and drugs, is is premeditated, racist, islamophobic, anit-islam etc etc.
Strangly enough where I live there was an incident that took place where a fight took place with two women, one had a hijab(full from head to toe) the other I think(may Allah forgive me if I'm wrong was a non muslim). However, it took place in the local town and there were enough muslims to intervene but sadly nobody did(even her husband had problems).

As for sisters and brothers getting harrased well isn't that the duty of evey muslim to protect another muslim, wherever they are in the world. The question can not be even raised as to should muslim sisters be protected becuase if you are not going to protect your own muslim folk are you really going to strive for other more noble things, I guess not, you'd be more of a coward than anything.

You've also got to raise the question that forget getting sisters in by Magrib, sr Serena was in a park in the morning when the loony came. So whatever time of the day they would need protecting, unsafe areas or not, otherwise you might as well shackle the women in the house and not let them drop the kids off at school, go to the supermarket or even go outside to put the washed clothes outside...!!!

As for brothers then they should protect each other also, train in physical fitness, not just going to the gym but stuff like wrestling, martial arts, boxing etc etc. So brothers become strong and can actually hammer a punch to those looneys who disrespect our elders, youngsters and those who are weak and show em what real Muslim Muscle is about.

The time is coming very soon where we will have to defend each other. Who knows the fitnah of Dajjal may arrive in our time, may Allah save us all from the one eyed imposter.
Re: You got my back?
jehad
05/10/01 at 10:54:40
When Muslims don't defend it each other leads to people leaving Islam and not entering it. Almost every body/every body who learns about Islam knows for certain it is the truth. One of the main things preventing them from becoming Muslim is fear.
If we protect each other, it will eliminate this fear.

I heard about a girl who was about to become Muslim in East London University, but she decided not to when the sikhs started Frettenning to kill her.
That uni is full of Muslims, why wasn't any thing done?
I got your back
AbuKhaled
05/10/01 at 11:49:58
Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem.

Dear Sister Se7en et al,

Wa-alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu, and assalam alaikum wa rahmatullah.

I just wanted to firstly make some remarks about my post in that thread.

When I read what happened to our dear Sister Serena, I was livid, fuming. Nonetheless, if anyone feels my post was irresponsible or inappropriate, given the public nature of this Board, I can remove it. But allow me to say a few words about that, and that which Sister Se7en has raised, for indeed it is an issue close to me.

My less than rudimentary understanding of fiqh makes me wonder about some of the courses of actions advocated in reply to Sister Serena. In particular the notion of bringing in the heavies might be problematic from a fiqh perspective. You see it is incorrect to equate a reaction on the spot with a pre-meditated reaction built upon forethought. Islamically, at least one factor in the reality that one is dealing with has changed. Namely, that we are now addressing what to do *after* the incident, as opposed to *during* it. Any scholar worth his/her salt would tell you that one cannot assume that the same reaction is ja’iz [allowed] post-event. It *may* be, but the issue is that one should not *presume* that it is. So, to make this less abstract, let us look to a possible incident. Say I’m walking along and someone jumps me. I fight back, and we get into a scuffle. In the rush of the moment, the blur of time, not having the chance to think things through because I’m in the middle of a situation *now* so I *have to* act, then in defending myself I may severely beat the guy up. That is one thing, and Allah knows best the degree of responsibility one assumes in such a situation, for many factors combine which could lift the takleef [legal responsibility] that exists in a normal scenario. You are denied the opportunity for thought, since the situation demands an immediate response. You may legitimately - in the surprise of the attack - fear for your life, and thus what is excusable in the eyes of the Shar’iah differs given the extremity of the circumstance. Wallahu ta’ala a’lam.

However, say you just broke free and ran off, and reached safety. Then what? To assume that you can later bring in the heavies to sort this person out and give them some kind of message, is not the correct approach, for you have bypassed the fiqh that relates to the matter. For now there is no immediacy of danger, no fear for your life. Rather, such a course of action would be pre-meditated, vigilante, with forethought, and dispensing your own punishment in reciprocity. This is not Islam. In Islam you *first* need to know if such a course of action is halal. I’m not saying it isn’t, or it is, but that one must make sure of the hukm. The situation now is not equivalent to acting in the spur of the moment of the incident. So, we need to understand how Islam considers the reality before we begin dispensing advice like this, and know that we will be asked about that which we suggested by Allah ta’ala, the Reckoner of all affairs.

Myself, I was not thinking about what was halal when I confronted these jerks. I was consumed by rage. The extent of what Islam might have allowed me to do was not at that point at the forefront of my mind, and this is dangerous, both for me and for my loved ones, and for society at large. Even for the Ummah, for the Ummah has a right upon us too. Islam deserves that we don’t do a disservice to it. This is why this knowledge must be sought *now* so it is second nature when – ma’adallah -  such situations arise. For me though I had anticipated something was about to kick off, and that anticipation had me psyched. It fuelled my confrontational demeanour, for, rightly or wrongly, I had been expecting some lame comment. In this case my expectation was borne out.

However, when we ask what should be done when on is confronted by such a situation we need to know – from the Deen - that it is okay to have a plurality of responses, for people differ in their capacities, each situation differs in it’s ingredients, and there are simply too many variables to enable a single proper answer. For example, an attacker who seems threatening to one brother may seem harmless to another. Some people get fazed by a group of  intimidating kids, others don’t. Someone may be in a frail state of health when something erupts, and someone else may be a mujahid who lost a hand who finds it laughable that someone is trying it on. On one occasion a brother might be alone when something happens, and another time he might have his child with him when the same thing happens. And the list goes on, so one needs to be careful not to think that what Islam might allow one person the latitude to do, it might not grant to another in the exact same scenario. Or that two different people facing the same situation need to react the same way, no. There are some situations that are like this, and others that aren’t. This is one of the remarkable aspects of this wondrous Deen, that it caters for every eventuality, all human types, individual levels of knowledge and ignorance, each situation, and all possible outcomes. Subhan’Allah.

Around two weeks back, a young Sister had taken her kids to her local park, and was playing with them, minding her own business not troubling anyone. It was broad daylight and there were plenty of people around. She had been there many many times, as it was her local park.

A short distance away a young guy was speaking on a mobile, for some time. She didn’t know him, or he her. A while later, after he finished, he walked up to her and without warning, insult, or word, dropkicked her in the head. She fell to the ground, and he kicked her twice (I think) in the face. :o

Then he ran off, and no one did anything, or came to her aid.

Motive? None apparent. No provocation, no discernible reason, no nothing. Just a mindless, senseless, brutal attack. :(

This is *my* world. The world I inhabit. The world I must rail against when needs be, bi’ithnillah ta’ala. If you want to step to, then we will step for. The price of life should be nothing short of jannah, and the good pleasure of the One who will determine our fate, jallathana’u. If I must die so that my Sister might live, then so be it, alhamdulillah. I pray that Allah (swt) grants me the iman to accompany such bold words, for until the moment, that is all they remain. I’m just an ordinary brother, wishing to do right by you. Nothing extraordinary in that.

So you can now understand why on the previous occasion that I wrote about in our dearest Sister Serena’s thread, I was willing to break his face. Not to justify myself, but to explain what explodes within when I learn, witness or experience such things sometimes. May Allah ta’ala guide me, and protect our beloved Sisters, wherever they may be, and whenever they may be.

My biggest single weakness in this regard is that when such things kick off – be it an off the cuff jokey remark at the expense of a Sister, or full blown assault -  my reaction might be unislamic rather than Islamic.  That is what I need to keep in check, but as you all know, in the heat of the moment it is hard. Please pray for me, for my istiqama. We just want to protect and be there, for our Sisters, and let not such situations become a case against rather than for us, in the akhira, wal iyadhubillah.

One of the aspects which kick into play when we’re discussing such issues is that of Maqasid ash-Shari’ah [objectives/purposes of the Shari’ah]. Incidentally, this is one of the most cutting-edge (not *new*, before I hear someone shout “bid’ah!”) areas of Islam, in which I predict much pioneering work will be done over the forthcoming decades, in dealing with contemporary and novel matters that are arising as humanity forges ahead with it’s discoveries, and the ethical, moral, legal, etc., implications to the Ummah that these yield. Those of you interested in making some contribution to the cause of Islam, and making a mark, should seriously look into the science of maqasid, which falls within usul al-fiqh.

Maqasidi considerations can be complex, but they are useful in understanding what are the parameters of our action on both a macro-Islamic level and micro. Classical scholars like the Spanish faqih Imam Shatibi (ra) did much astonishing work and ijtihad in this domain (e.g. in his seminal Al-Muwafaqaat), and many of today’s Ulema have taken up this baton, spearheaded new initiatives, and will break new ground in the future through utilising this amazing tool in deriving ahkam concerning uncharted territory. Let me reign myself in from this tangent though. ;-)

One of the matters we understand through a study of Maqasid ash-Shar’iah is that Islam came to preserve certain fundamentals, such as life, religion, and others, as explained by Hujjat al-Islam Imam Al-Ghazali (ra). The manner in which these are preserved, and the extent to which one can go in trying to preserve them is delineated finely in the Shar’iah. Some of the most outstanding Ulema who best understand the complexities of life, and our massively varying individualities, our concerns and capabilities, are the ones who have a good grasp on maqasid. And if you ask a reputable ‘Alim about the situation Sister Serena encountered, s/he will no doubt touch upon the maqasadi aspect in answering her about what can and should be done. But Allahu a’lam, what do I know, lol.

<do you think it's necessary for brothers to do that? to defend their sisters when they are getting harassed, mistreated, disrespected?>

I don’t think it is it a matter of choice or preference, cowardice or courage. We should do what Allah ta’ala enjoins upon us, to the extent we can. Anyone who harasses, mistreats, or disrespects one of my Sisters, has done the same to me, for she is of me, and we are of one, and that is of those who submit to La ilaha ilallah. She is to me as my mother, my daughter, my wife and my (blood) sister in terms of the length I would go for her. I would be ashamed of myself if I could only offer her anything less. To me that indicates a deficiency in me.

<Or do we have this "good sisters should be in by maghrib" mentality,>

I would not assume that a Sister who is out after maghrib is not good, or that she who is in by maghrib is, or vice versa. It is not my place to make judgements when I am not the one who is capable of judging. Sisters need to know what it means to act responsibly – and honestly, I know of no *practicing* Sister who has found herself in a situation due to complacency, neglect or sheer foolishness – with due precaution and reasonable foresight. That is not to say that non-practicing Sisters are complacent or neglect their safety, but because of their involvement in spurious activity (e.g. clubbing, dating, free-mixing, drinking, taking spliff, etc.) they tend to be the ones who are subjected to avoidable situations. But my limited experience of practicing Sisters who face uncomfortable situations is that they do *nothing* to bring it upon themselves. They take every precaution, act responsibly, and are careful, masha’Allah.  It is normally someone just taking a liberty, creating a scenario for the sake of a laugh, a grievance against “Moslems” in general, ignorance, that which they don’t understand, unfamiliarity breeding contempt, or some suchlike. But never provoked, or justifiable.

It is important to note too that we are addressing the phenomena whereby a Sister is maligned for some aspect of *Islam*, so, for example, de jure that would exclude Sisters who don’t wear khimar from what our Sister Serena had to undergo, and similar experiences. If your appearance isn’t associated with Islam, you won’t be confronted by chumps who have some axe to grind about how Muslim women dress.  

And of course the issue of being out late may not be confined to hassles based on someone knowing you are a Muslim woman. But, if it is, then often it is because associated with that is some notion that she is a timid creature, defenceless and docile, followed by an attempt to exploit that misperception.

<and all sisters who don't do that don't deserve your help?>

Ma’adallah, may Allah (awj) protect us from such a vile, repugnant and ugly belief! Undeserving?? A’uzubillah. By virtue of *being my Sister*, that alone is enough that I step in to help her, protect her, and ensure her safety, bi’ithnillah. We don’t hold to this reprehensible “she deserved it” crud.

<Or do you fear thap you're getting involved in something that's not your concern?>

Maintaining her honour, her dignity, her respect in the face of unashamed and unabashed transgression, cannot not be my concern.

May Allah ta’ala grant us the honour of honouring our Sisters, one and all.

I ask the forgiveness of the One who Forgives (awj), for stepping outside of His (awj) bounds if I have,

Abu Khaled


Re: You got my back?
proudtobemuslim
05/10/01 at 11:50:46
Assalam-u-Alaikum,

First of all I'd just like to say Al-Hamdulillah that I never have witnessed such a thing as happened to sister serena or the story which you mention ... and i don't think i've heard of such harassments either except in the awful and totally abhorrant context of karo kari.  But that's for another thread isn't it?

[quote]whassup with that?  is it an alpha male thing or somethin?[/quote]

I dunno... maybe its a stigma that gives an image of brothers knowing all these terrorists who they can call on for help or something... lol, Wallahu 'Alam.  I guess its like what bro AbuK said regarding the perception that women in hijab are just weak and easy...

[quote]do you think it's necessary for brothers to do that? to defend their sisters when they are getting harassed, mistreated, disrespected?  Especially at night or in places that may be deemed unsafe?  [/quote]

Most definitely... country or city, campus or the park, hijab or no hijab, even Muslim or non-Muslim.

But that makes me ask:  Many unis expel those who get into fights and, I have heard, without listening to any excuses... what would you do if something flared up on such a campus?  I'd like to think that I'd ask the guy to step outside...

[quote]Or do we have this "good sisters should be in by maghrib" mentality, and all sisters who don't do that don't deserve your help?  Or do you fear that you're getting involved in something that's not your concern? [/quote]

No I dont think so... as AbuK said again I'd think that it would be rare to find practicing sisters outside in a problematic place without good reason and without adequate preparations.  And, no my Sister is definitely my concern because I am her brother... we are the offspring of Adam and our hearts are joined by the beauty of Tawheed... what more could bring us closer?

But the reality is the reality and I'm sure that if you ask most brothers they would say similar things... but when it comes to actually carrying out the act... Allahu 'Alam.  Would I get kicked out of college?  Would he beat me up... look at his size!  Is he important?  Does he know anybody in the police force? etc.

Well I'm just praying that if such things do come into my mind I'd just think 'Yeah, well Allah (AWJ) supports only the truth and the right and I am in the right so what more support do I want after My Sustainer?'

Wassalam-u-Alaikum,
Uzer

back   II   back
princess
05/10/01 at 12:29:51
as'salaamualikum :)

ahh..maybe this is directed towards the brothas..but..ima give my 2 pesos :)

[quote]do you think it's necessary for brothers to do that? to defend their sisters when they are getting harassed, mistreated, disrespected?[/quote]

there's NO reason why a brother SHOULDN'T[/B] defend a sister..hello..? what kinda question is that? the time and place [B]DOESN'T/SHOULDN'T[/B] matter..

the reason why there's a "brother and sister" relationship, (if u will..) is because we're all suppose to be 1..1 um'mah, 1 union, 1 family..etc :) family is there for each other @ all times..(like, morning noon or night :))

[quote]Or do we have this "good sisters should be in by maghrib" mentality, and all sisters who don't do that don't deserve your help?[/quote]

that's bogusness..ppl who think like this r unaware of the life many muslim (girls) live..we go to work, to school, the store..ppl tend to forget things like this..like i said before, "time and place, DON'T/SHOULDN'T matter..EVER..

[quote]Maintaining her honour, her dignity, her respect in the face of unashamed and unabashed transgression, cannot not be my concern.[/quote]

that's awesome :) inshAllah, all the ppl of this um'mah will think like this :) it's good to know ppl muslims who don't let things like this slide..:) sorry if this doesn't make sense :) later langur ;-D
Re: You got my back?
Arsalan
05/10/01 at 17:56:14

[quote]Anyway, this is my question... do you think it's necessary for brothers to do that? to defend their sisters when they are getting harassed, mistreated, disrespected?  Especially at night or in places that may be deemed unsafe?  [/quote]Absolutely.  It's absolutely necessary that we look out for them.

Does anyone remember the incident that the Sahaabah had with the Jews in Madina al-Munawwarah?  When a Jew tied the upper part of the a Sahaabiyyah's clothing to the bottom part, while she was sitting down in the marketplace, so when she stood up, her entire body was exposed.  What happened after that?  

A Muslim from among the crowd, having seen what just happened, jumped on the Jew and killed him!  The result?  A fight between the Jews and the Muslims.  The consequence?  The Jews end up being kicked out of Madina al-Munawwarah.  

That's how we have to be.  Nobody messes with our sisters and gets away with it.

[quote]Or do we have this "good sisters should be in by maghrib" mentality, and all sisters who don't do that don't deserve your help?  Or do you fear that you're getting involved in something that's not your concern?[/quote]That's bull!  Sorry se7en, but that's the stupidest thing that I have ever heard ... and if someone seriously believes in that, then they have serious problems!

Wallahul musta3aan.

Wassalamu alaikum.
Re: You got my back?
se7en
05/16/01 at 14:36:18
[quote]Nobody messes with our sisters and gets away with it.[/quote]
Really?!  Because I know many sisters who have been messed with and cases in which brothers have done nothing at all.

The reason I asked these questions was to get brothers to think about the justifications they often times have for not defending a sister when it is their duty to do so.  All of you have agreed to this yourselves - that there are very few legitimate reasons for turning your back on seeing a Muslimah physically or verbally assaulted.  

So the next time any of you see something like this going down, and you are capable of defending this sister and know it is your obligation to do so... know that you have no excuse for turning your back on her... any "it's none of my business", "she can take care of it on her own", "she doesn't want/need my help", "she brought it upon herself", "it's not my place" that comes into your head when you have the capacity, both physically and mentally, to do something about this - are nothing more than justifications of you being a coward and making excuses for your cowardice...

this is something that you yourselves have witnessed to in this post... so next time you see something like this go down, keep what you've said in mind.
Please share more and more and....
Anonymous
05/11/01 at 00:11:45
Brother Abu Khaled:

May Allah swt bless you for sharing your profound and insightful understanding
of the deen. I occasionally read this board and I must say I look forward to
reading your posts as they always uplift me in one way or another. :)

Whoa!
AbuKhaled
05/11/01 at 06:37:17
Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem

Asslam alaikum wa rahmatullah.

<So the next time any of you see something like this going down, know that you have NO EXCUSE for turning your back on a sister... so any "it's none of my business", "she can take care of it on her own", "she doesn't want/need my help", "she brought it upon herself", "it's not my place" that come into your head are nothing more than justification of you being a coward and making excuses for your cowardice...>

Fascinating. :) Whilst I agree with the last part of the sentence from “so any…”, I don’t think it is consonant with the part that precedes it. That is, that no possible excuse could exist.

I can empathise with the forthrightness, but let us not allow ourselves to yet again fall into the common trap of over-simplification and generalisation. I’m not suggesting anyone has, but merely issuing a timely reminder that we should be alert to not doing so.

My words so far, in the two posts related to this thread (including the one in Sister Serena’s thread entitled “Ugh!!!”) don’t speak on behalf of all brothers, obviously. If anyone has echoed a sentiment, then alhamdulillah, but let’s place this example next to another example. The tired old and overused example of a Sister not wearing hijab. No, I’m not out to start a fight, so don’t bite me, y’hear? ;-)

Some recent threads concerning hijab, and those who aren’t yet ready to wear it, witnessed rising anger by those who felt that others who were insisting on there being no excuse, that it is fard, reminding of the sin, lacking compassion and gentility. Double standards?

Not every brother has reached a point of iman where he has the guts to step in. Does he need to have it shoved down his throat that he is a coward any more than a Sister who is struggling to wear hijab needs to have it flung at her that she is sinful? I think not. Dwell on that and remember that our virtues – like courage, strength, consideration, etc. - come by the favour of Allah (awj) upon us, and not because we are something special. Being noble for many people comes after self-preservation. To counter that for the one who is not predisposed to such behaviour takes a level of iman, an understanding of tawakkul, a sound grasp of what the relationship is between the qadr [predecree] of Allah ta’ala and what is required of us vis a vis that, to be able to have such a degree of taqwa that enables him to place his weakness second to his duty to Allah (awj) at that moment in time when his Sister has a right upon him, is not acquired so easily for all of us. If we confine our focus to what you deem inexcusable reasons for inaction, then know that some are naturally inclined towards placing the care of another before care for themselves, but many others are not so inclined. They look out for themselves first. For such Brothers, to reach the state of being what you think they should be, takes effort, striving and struggle. This is how they *are* from the factory ;-), and now they need tweaking so they can become what is necessary to become so that they can be the type of dependable Brothers that this Ummah needs to be able to rely upon, bi’ithnillah ta’ala.

More than this, maybe sometimes legitimate *reasons* - as opposed to excuses - exist. It could be that the Brother lacks some kind of capacity, and not that he is gutless, or doesn’t care. I don’t need to again list possible reasons, for we should have the largesse to grant the benefit of the doubt. If the reasons are as those you’ve cited then fair enough, this is deplorable, but those reasons alone don’t embody the plethora of possible reasons that might exist, wallahu a’lam.

And if no excuses can be made for Brothers on this question *before* knowing why he didn’t step in, purely on the grounds that nothing could justify his inaction, and it is maintained that such harshness is justified, then let us not tut when others also lack the same softness on the example I gave of hijab, or similar parallels. Such an attitude reflects a lack of understanding of psychology, and this is something we absolutely cannot afford to be remiss in, or naive about any longer. Too many Muslims are cowered into shying away from realising their potential as Muslims, due to the persistent insistence of their "more practicing" peers, and constant reminders of how short they fall of the required mark, which translates to them (i.e. the ones being vilified) to being condemned instead of understood. The consequence? They turn away from the Muslims. Is that what we want ikhwa? And know that if we are of such a type of Muslim where we keep bearing down on others who are less than what think they should be, then ironically, that act of sanctimony itself undoes our achievements in our own Islam, and makes us less than what we arrogantly portray ourselves as being, which after all, are only by the Grace of our Creator (awj) upon us, so who then are we to lord it over others, huh? As one of our mashayikh mentioned on the authority of Imam Malik (ra), as related in the reported hadith of our Beloved Messenger [saw] where he [saw] is reported to have said, that we should not look to the sins of others as if we are Lords, but to look to our own sins as if we are slaves [aw qama qal].

Now, before anyone protests that the two examples I’ve chosen to sit side by side, are not the same in essence, I *know* that. One example involves the possible presence of harm, and this goes directly to one of the fundamental purposes behind the Shari’ah, namely the preservation of life, which ties into that which is common to every human. Whereas the hijab issue does not link back to that which is natural, meaning a need or an instinct, so it is less fundamental in it’s origin as a problem we confront. What explains the existence of it as a problem for some is a different *type* of phenomenon. Wallahu a’lam really. But that’s not the point of me bringing the two examples together. The point is that we extend the benefit of the doubt *always* UNTIL we know that no possible reason exists that could have excused the inaction. Let us not condemn outright before we know why. Yes, many times it may be inexcusable, but not always, and we mustn’t let experience – or a few answers by a few individuals on a single Message Board in one corner of the world - dictate response and attitude, for that is not the way. The way is that *each* and *every* time we return to the principle of husn al-thann [benefit of the doubt & holding onto a good opinion of the other] and try our utmost to find excuses.

Take the example of butchers. Maybe in my experience I have found that some butchers that claim to sell halal meat, actually have been selling meat not properly slaughtered, or not slaughtered at all, just because it is cheaper for them, and results in a greater monetary profit. Does the precedent of my  experience justify me doubting all butchers I go to in the future? No. Why? Because Islam does not mandate this. Why should Y be viewed with suspicion when no evidence exists against him of wrongdoing? The proof against X is not a proof against Y Islamically. So, whilst I have due cause to ask X – the next time I’m in his shop – if the meat is halal, because he has undoubtedly manifested that he has being doing something unislamic with no excuse, I am *not* justified in asking Y, for to do so means I have not exercised that which is required of me from Islam, namely, to grant him the husn al-thann. And as of yet he has not given me any reason to raise an eyebrow, much less assume some degree of doubt. Fair enough, if I see that he also sells pork in his shop, and can establish that no excuse for that exists, now I have a reason by which to doubt him.

So, returning to the main point, whilst there may not exist excuses, there may sometimes exists reasons.

May Allah (awj) allow us all to be merciful and posses hilm [compassion] towards one another,

Abu Khaled

Re: You got my back?
Kathy
05/11/01 at 08:30:43
slm

What did Prophet Muhammad pbuh do when they threw poop on him?

So many have said they will come to the defence of a Sister- why don't you- when they have been hit by their husband?
BroHanif
AbuKhaled
05/15/01 at 13:35:33
Dear BroHanif,

Assalam alaikum wa rahmatullah.

Could you please *email* me? Hayak'Allah.

Abu "I'm-so-happy-at-being-a-Geek-now" Khaled

P.S. Not!
Re: You got my back?
meraj
05/16/01 at 02:31:27
slm,

im all for defending and stickin up for sisters, as well as brothers too... alhamdulillah i've never been in a serious situation before, but if one should occur, i have already made up my mind to do what i know i have to to defend my fellow brothers and sisters.

and if i [i]ever[/i] see someone harass a sister, i will seriously mess that punk up... i pity da foo ;)
Re: You got my back?
se7en
05/16/01 at 14:38:11

as salaamu alaykum wa rahmatAllah,

ok.  Jazak Allahu khayran brother Abu Khaled.  I changed my previous post.


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