Madina Arabic Books and Audio

I found a site which includes all the books , audio and the corresponding english keys for the popular Madina Arabic Course. Click here if you want to check it out.

The site gives the following introduction:

Use the below resources for studying and mastering the Books 1,2 and 3 of “Lessons in Arabic language” 
[as taught at the Islaamic University of Madeenah]
written by Shaykh Dr. V. ‘Abdur-Raheem

The ARABIC COURSE for English-Speaking students is a comprehensive and popular course for the teaching of the Qura’anic and Traditional Arabic, originally devised and taught at the renowned Madinah Islamic University catering for the non-Arabic speaking students from all over the world. Over the years, this course has enabled students to become competent in their use of the Arabic language and to participate and benefit from scholarly pursuits such as Qur’anic exegesis, hadith, fiqh, serah, history, and classical and modern Arabic literature.

* It is concise (consisting of only three books, reasonably short) but extensive in their coverage.
* It combines modern Arabic vocabulary with Islamic terminology used in the Qur’an and Sunnah.
* It helps acquire an understanding of hundreds of Qur’anic verses, ahadith, Arabic parables and poetry.

 

Examining ‘Judeo-Christian’ Morals and Ethics

A friend of mine named “Abdullah” wrote a thought-provoking article which I would like to share:

Examining Judeo-Christian Morals and Ethics

Many times we hear the phrase “Judeo-Christian” morals and ethics, however are the

teachings that Jesus had different from the teachings of the Rabbinical sages and Judaism?

Many may find it shocking to discovery the truth that Jesus did not practice Judaism. Jesus

through divine revelation knew that the foundation of the true religion was not the Torah, but

the foundation of the true religion is God himself. The Torah was but one of the means in

which God conveyed his messages; yet even when the Torah became corrupted we were left

with a sure uncorrupted foundation, which is God. The Jews had the Torah yet chose to

corrupt it, they chose to leave the true foundation of religion by turning from the incorruptible

foundation(God) to the corruptible passions and whims of the Rabbis. In Judaism the Oral

Torah (The Talmud) is how one interprets the meaning of the written Torah ( the first five

books of the Old Testament). The Religion that Abraham and Moses preached was twisted so

that even the clearest of teachings and moral precepts were perverted. This led to the birth of

Judaism, a new religion not of God nor the patriarchs; a religion foreign to both Moses and

Abraham. Jewish exegesis was not focused on understanding God’s message but trying to

find a loophole and exception around his commands; and in some cases taking the verse so

out of context as to make the verse say something completely opposite of its intended

purpose. The authority of the rabbi over, and at times even above, God is most evident in the

Talmudic passage found in Baba Mezia (folio 59a&b). In this passage a great debate ensues

and God intervenes in order to settle the dispute, after proclaiming that one of the positions

were proper, however the rabbis rebuke God and say he has no grounds to interpret Torah

and it is the opinion of the majority consensus of rabbis that matters. To this God admits that

he had been out debated and defeated! When one steps back after being enraged by the

obvious blasphemy of the rabbis, one notices that in the story the idea of the majority is used

as some kind basis for determining the proper understanding of scripture, but where do they

get this idea? Believe it or not we are told by the various translations of the Talmud that are

footnoted as well as from Talmudic scholars that this is taken straight from the Torah itself!

Lets look at how they cite the verse:

Thou hast long since written in the Torah at Mount Sinai, After

the majority must one incline

Turn to your own Bibles and look at this verse yourself found in exodus 23:2 you will see it

says do not be inclined to follow the majority! We are told that if the majority is wrong then do

not follow them to do evil! Yet they make it an imperative to follow the majority of rabbis in all

matters.

In Islam one follows the Sunnah of the prophet Muhammed, and the same exists in

Judaism. Yet again we see a beautiful concept of following the example of God’s enlightened

messengers twisted and perverted just as the Torah is! In Judaism it is the Sunnah of the

rabbis, infact– if one begins studying this subject one will find that stories persist of students

being discovered by there rabbis hiding under their beds in order to observe their rabbis

engaging in sexual relations with their wife so that they follow the rabbinical Sunnah properly.

Lets take one final example to see If there is such a thing as Judeo-Christian morals and

ethics. Jesus Taught that we are to do unto others as we would want done unto us. Yet no

where in the Torah is this found! The Talmud which would not apply such a teach this to

gentiles, but only to Jews dealing with other Jews, has something similar. In the Talmud it is

stated:

What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow men.(note Talmud teaches that gentiles are not

fellow men but are regarded as animals) That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.

(Shab. 31a)

It is only Muhammed’s teachings that seem to actually echo the core message of Jesus in this

instance in the following quote:

No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother

that which he desires for himself.

While the Jews say not to do what it hateful to other Jews, Both Jesus and Muahmmed say

do not just refrain from doing what is hateful but go further than that and do what is good for

your fellow man! It is clear that Muhammed and Jesus take a superior,positive, pro-active

approach!

The very philosophy of the teachings of Jesus are either superior or in contrast to

Judaism, when Judaism says an eye for an eye both Jesus and Muhammed say refrain from

retaliation and just turn the other cheek ( 40 Hadiths of An-Nawawi number 32 and Matthew

5.38-41) Judaism teaches to destroy anyone they deem an enemy and even gleefully

exclaiming that “even the best of the gentiles deserves death Yer. id. 66c; Massek. Soferim

xv. 10; Mek., Beshal-la , 27a; Tan., Wayera, ed. Buber, 20) .” Islam and Christianity teach

show love to your enemy that they might be won over to the truth and become the best of

friends (Matthew 5:44 and Quran 41:34) It is clear more than ever that Jews no longer

worship God but their rabbis they have exchanged God for their rabbis and that there is no

such thing as Judeo-Christian ethics but rather the proper term is Islamo-Christian ethics and

morals.

Examining Judeo-Christian Morals and Ethics

Many times we hear the phrase “Judeo-Christian” morals and ethics, however are the teachings that Jesus had different from the teachings of the Rabbinical sages and Judaism?

 

Mecca Taraweeh 2009

Ramadan Mubarak. Here are some links to check out if you want to see Live or Recorded Taraweeh:

Live:  http://www.islamchannel.tv/

Recordings: http://taraweeh1430.blogspot.com/

Live and Recordings:  http://www.aswatalislam.net/

Also here is a video from a youtube channel,  the quality is pretty good:

 

US Guantanamo guard converts to Islam

As the US government moves to shutdown its detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, stories are emerging of the way it affected those inside.

Former inmates have talked about the deprivation and pressures they faced.

But Terry Holdbrooks was on the other side. He was a US soldier and he says he saw something in the behaviour of the inmates that changed him. He tells his story to Al Jazeera in his own words.

 

Debunking a YouTube Hit

Debunking a YouTube hit

By Richard Knight

A big YouTube hit makes startling predictions about the Islamification of Europe over the next few decades and has been viewed more than 10 million times. But can you believe what it says?

This seven-and-a-half minute video “Muslim Demographics” uses slick graphics, punctuated with dramatic music, to make some surprising claims, asserting that much of Europe will be majority Muslim in just a few decades. It says that in the past two decades, 90% of all population growth in Europe has been Muslim immigration.

Debunking a YouTube hit (BBC World News)

By Richard Knight

A big YouTube hit makes startling predictions about the Islamification of Europe over the next few decades and has been viewed more than 10 million times. But can you believe what it says?

 

Is Ahmadinejad Jewish?

The title is not a joke, news  taken from Israel National News:

Charge: Ahmadinejad Rants to Hide His Jewish Roots

by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) The son of a leading Iranian authority accuses the Iranian President of changing his Jewish name.

Several Iranian media sources are quoting Mahdi Khazali – the son of a leading supporter of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – as having written in a blog that the president has Jewish roots. So reports the Hebrew-language Omedia website and Radio Free Europe.

 

Halal Pork?

Interesting article I found on Arab News:

Point to ponder: How genuine is halal stamp? Sarah Abdullah | Arab News

JEDDAH: Exhibitors at the recent Halal Expo 2008 reportedly closed more than SR41.2 million ($11 million) worth of deals over the course of the three-day event and successfully ushered in a number of international players into the region’s Halal market, which is already worth an estimated SR7.8 trillion.

 

Hadith about Imam Malik

Taken from Abdusamad Clarke’s blog:

Qadi Iyad wrote in Tartib al-Madarik:

Know, may Allah grant you success, that the preponderance of the madhhab of Malik over others and the loftiness of his rank and his exalted degree by way of transmission and tradition is only denied by the obstinate or the shortsighted whom knowledge of that did not reach even though it is famously widespread in the books both of opponents and friends. Here we will affirm that in two proofs, the first of which is the well known sahih tradition transmitted about that from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, by way of hadith from trustworthy narrators, of them Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah from Ibn Jurayj from Abu az-Zubayr from Abu Salih from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “It is probable that people will strike the livers of camels seeking knowledge,” and in a narration, yaltamisuna (seek) knowledge, but they will not find a knowledgeable man more knowledgeable,” and in a narration, “than the knowledgeable man of Madinah,” and in some of them, “the armpits of camels,” which is the place of the camels’s livers.

 

The Fly Hadith: Scientific Support for Muhammad’s(SAW) Prophethood

Many non-muslims claim that the Prophet Muhammad(SAW) was not a prophet and that he performed no miracles. However they are unaware that the Prophet(SAW) had knowledge about microbiology which was beyond his time and could only have come from the creator of microbiology, Allah(swt).

 

“Jesus killed Mohammed”: The crusade for a Christian military

A friend of mine refereed me to  an article  in Harper’s Magazine,  which is the the second-oldest, continuously-published monthly magazine (Scientific American is the oldest) in the U.S (Ref).

The article questions whether America is fighting for Democracy or Christianity in Afghanistan and Iraq based on the tactics and actions of American soldiers.