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| Interesting Article on April Fools Day |
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| gift |
| 04/01/05 at 04:03:28 |
| [slm] As children we were taught that April Fools Day was a celebration of the overthrow of Muslim Spain. So I found this article by Sheiku Yusuf Estes very interesting [color=Black]Yusuf Estes http://www.islamtoday.com sheikyusuf@aol.com National Chaplain to World Assembly of Muslim Youth [i]It Appears That Muslims Are the Fools[/i] Now as regards the incorrect story circulating amongst the Muslims on the Internet saying that April Fool's Day is the celebration of the kufar over the conquest of Muslim Spain. I felt that it was necessary to clarify a few points in the interest of truth, inshallah. Bismillah Al Hamdulilah was Salat wa Salam ala rasoolulah. Allahu Alim. In the Name of Allah, I praise Allah and ask for His Peace upon Muhammad, ameen. Allah Alone is The All-Knower. To continue: Once again, Muslims are circulating a fabrication on the Internet trying to claim things which can easily be proven incorrect by Christians and non-Muslims who rejoice in watching us play the part of Everyday Fools. The most recent story says that Christians could not conquer the Muslims there and sent spies to discover why. According to the story, they found that the Muslims there were on the 'Taqwah' (God Fearing and Pious) of Islam. Then the story says the Christians sent in alcohol and cigarettes which the Muslims used and lost their 'Taqwah' and then the Christians defeated the Muslims on April first and began celebrating 'April Fool's Day' ever since. This story is not correct in many aspects. 1.) First, let us consider the historic fact that Muslim Spain ended on the 12th of January in the Christian year of 1492 A.D. yet 'April Fool's Day was not heard of until over fifty years later. Once upon a time, back in 16th-century France, before computers, people celebrated New Year's Day on March 25, the advent of spring. It was a festive time. They partied steadily until April 1. In 1564, when the calendar reformed and became Gregorian, under the influence of Pope Gregory, King Charles IX proclaimed, perhaps pompously, that New Year's Day should be celebrated on January 1st instead of in the spring. Diehard conservatives resisted the change (or perhaps didn't hear about it due to the absence of e-mail) and continued to celebrate New Year's from March 25 to April 1. During this period of spring festivity, the more flexible French mocked the rigid revelers by sending them foolish gifts and invitations to nonexistent parties. The victim of an April Fools' Day prank was called a "poisson d'avril," or an "April fish," because at that time of year, the sun was leaving the zodiacal sign of Pisces. April Fools' Day hit its stride (avoiding the banana peel) in England in the 18th century, and was brought to colonial America by the English, Scottish, and French. 2.) Second, we should know that cigarettes were not even invented until AFTER the time of the fall of Muslim Spain (January 1492). According to the State College in Framingham, the Human Biology course by Dr. Roger Morrrissette, Ph.D., smoking of any kind did not exist in Spain until after it was brought back from the New World AFTER King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella had come to rule Spain. This is from their website: Introduction to Human Biology Framingham State College Roger N. Morrissette, Ph.D. I. The History of Smoking. 900: smoking is referred to on a Mayan stone carving. 1492: Columbus notes the natives of the New World smoke leaves. 1550: Spaniards begin cultivating tobacco in the West Indies to export to Europe. 1880: Tobacco use is widespread but people only use small amounts. 3.) Muslim Spain began to deteriorate at the time of Ibn Seenah and others who were beginning to use their logic in place of Divine Revelation of Allah. Some were very interested in the Greek and Roman philosophies and concepts and began to try to 'rethink' Islam much the same as some 'modernists' are doing today. It was right after this that Muslim Spain began to divide up into small kingdoms and fight against each other for control and gold. They employed mercenaries from amongst the Christians and killed and destroyed each other for a number of years. When the Christians came against them the first time, they appealed to the ruler of Maghrib (Morocco) across the Mediterranean Sea who sent troops to quell the attacks. He stipulated that the Muslims must stop fighting each other and go back to the Islamic system of rule under one leader. They did not do it. When they began fighting each other again, the Christians came in very strong against them and this time the ruler of Morocco refused to help them. They lost battle after battle against the Roman Christians and finally the last stronghold of Islam fell to the Christian King, Ferdinand, in January of 1492. [for details order the video "Muslim Spain"] So regarding the email claiming that April Fools Day is a celebration of the take over of Muslim Spain, it is clear the whole thing is a made up lie. This is totally unacceptable and should be brought to the attention of the one who sent you this lie in the first place. A good Muslim would never accept to repeat lies and fabrications especially in presenting facts about the history of Islam. If you have received such a letter it is your duty in front of Allah to write back to those who also received it and ask them to contact all of those on their lists and email the truth about this issue. And we should all fear a Day when we will stand in front of Allah and be asked about these matters. If we don't do something about correcting the education of our beloved brothers and sisters in Islam, then everyday on the internet is MUSLIM FOOLS DAY. Again, it is only Allah who has All Knowledge. May He forgive me my mistakes and guide us all to the right way, ameen.[/color] |
| 04/01/05 at 04:04:07 |
| gift |
| Re: Interesting Article on April Fools Day |
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| Anonymous |
| 04/01/05 at 14:39:20 |
| i got this in an email. . is this true? Most of us celebrate April fool day every year and fool each other. But how many of us know the bitter facts hidden behind it. It was around a thousand years ago that Spain was ruled by Muslims. And the Muslim power in Spain was so strong that it couldn't be destroyed. The Christians of the west wished to wipe out Islam from all parts of the world and they did succeed to quite an extent. But when they tried to eliminate Islam in Spain and conquer it, they failed. They tried several times but never succeeded. The unbelievers then sent their spies in Spain to study the Muslims there and find out what was the power they possessed and they found that their power was TAQWA . The Muslims of Spain were not just Muslims but they were practicing Muslims. They not only read the Quran but also acted upon it. When the Christians found the power of the Muslims they started thinking of strategies to break this power. So they started sending alcohol and cigarettes to Spain free of cost. This technique of the west worked out and it started weakening the faith of the Muslims in particular the young generation of Spain. The result was that the Catholics of the west wiped out Islam and conquered the entire Spain bringing an end to the EIGHT HUNDRED LONG YEARS' RULE OF THE MUSLIMS in Spain. The last fort of the Muslims to fall was Grenada (Gharnatah), which was on the 1st of April. From that year onwards, every year they celebrate April fools day on the 1st of April, celebrating the day, they made a fool of the Muslims. They did not make a fool of the Muslim army at Gharnatah only, but of the whole Muslim Ummah. We, the Muslims, were fooled by the unbelievers. They have a reason to celebrate April fool day, to keep up the spirit. Dear brothers and sisters, when we join in this celebration, we do so out of ignorance. If we had known about it, we would never have celebrated our own downfall. So now, that we are aware of it, and now let us promise that we shall never celebrate this day. We should learn our lesson from the people of Spain, and shall try to become practicing Muslims, never to let anybody weaken our faith. Please forward this message to as many people you know. The more people you forward it to the greater will be the reward from your Lord in this world and the hereafter. Please try to do it before the 1st of April, to create awareness that WE ARE NOT FOOLS ANYMORE. |
| Re: Interesting Article on April Fools Day |
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| Saffiya |
| 04/01/05 at 16:26:48 |
| [slm] Regardless of what the orgin of April Fools Day is, we should not be imitating the disbelievers and following their traditions. If we look at the celebrations that the non muslims have, we will discover they have an occasion to celebrate for absolutley everything throughout the year, i.e. Christmas, New Years Day, Valentines Day, Mothers Day, St. Patricks Day, Easter, April Fools Day, May Day, Fathers Day, etc. There is barely a month without a specific occasion to celebrate. All this is from their innovation as each of these occasions is a ritual in respect of their deen - way of life and we should try our best to stay away from this practice. Allah the Exalted has said: "But the monasticism which they invented for themselves We did not prescribe for them." (Al-Hadid 57:27) and for this reason the dates of the occasions have changed through the years according to political and social desires, and they are accompanied with more rituals, habits and types of amusement such as Grandparents Day, International Womens Day etc. Allah the Exalted has said: "This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion" (Al-Maida 5:3). All celebratory occasions that the other nations have are innovation and misguidance, in addition to their disbelief in Allah. Allah the Exalted has said: "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good)." (Al-Imran 3:85) I pray that Allah SWT protects us all from innovation. Ameen. [wlm] :-) |
| Re: Interesting Article on April Fools Day |
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| jannah |
| 04/01/05 at 16:45:37 |
| slm, every year someone posts about this... and then every year someone posts how its a hoax... so just check on its authenticity and stuff before passing it on |
| Re: Interesting Article on April Fools Day |
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| momineqbal |
| 04/02/05 at 15:50:59 |
| [slm], [quote] every year someone posts about this... and then every year someone posts how its a hoax...[/quote] Only this time the order was reveresed. I mean how come the post from anonymous was posted after the first article? It should've been the other way around, first the hoax then its rebuttal!!! |
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