MasudBlog

Making sense of Woolwich…

Mas'ud Ahmed Khan — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:33:01 +0000

After the senseless and barbaric slaying of a young British Serviceman by two, supposed “Muslims”, we are getting news of Mosques being attacked and firebombed, Muslim women being harassed, spat at, abused and having their headscarves ripped off. The senseless actions of these murderous idiots have placed Muslims under threat and danger here in Britain. I fail to understand why they carried this act out? There is no sanction and justification for it in our religion, none whatsoever. “They do it to us, so we do it to them” is not a valid principle in our religion. They have not helped “our women and children” in “our lands” by this act. They have not furthered any cause, Islamic or otherwise. They have made matters decidedly and emphatically worse for Muslims. They have only acted out of some disease deep down in their soul and psyche, it’s a discourse of anger, it’s reactionary emotionalism, it’s psychopathic.

Fighting a war on a battlefield is one thing, face to face with a well prepared opponent, but to run down an unsuspecting innocent person in the street and then butcher him is a psychopathic and cold blooded murder. One does not take the life of an animal without apprehension, but this was a human being, a husband, a father, a son.

I am reminded of the story of Sayyidina Ali, the Prophet’s cousin who, when on the battlefield he had an enemy combatant at the point of his sword and was about to finish him off in the heat of battle when the soldier spat on him. Just as Sayyidna Ali was about to run his sword through for the kill, he hesitated. The thought occurred to him as to whether he was going to finish him off in anger for the sake of himself, having been spat at or for the sake of God. Sayyidna Ali, decided it was the former and spared the soldier. When the soldier later asked him for an explanation he became Muslim due to the example set by this noble and righteous man. What example do these murderers set? They are poles apart, I am not sure what religion these guys are following but it certainly not the path the Sayyidna Ali was on.

The only sense I can make of this act and those like it are that there are some deep rooted mental issues that the perpetrators have. Deluded psychopaths, that’s the only thing that makes any kind of sense to me.

The Market Place of Ideas…

Mas'ud Ahmed Khan — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:31:22 +0000

The marketplace of ideas is rather like the marketplace of food; most people prefer junk food and nutritionally poor food over healthy and nutritious food. Usually, the things that “win” in the marketplace are not always the best things. Sometimes it is down to how well the seller markets his product, other times it is the disposition of the buyer in the marketplace. Sometimes a good product sold by a bad person taints the product. Sometimes a bad product sold by a “good” person makes it seem like a good product. The only people who truly benefit from the marketplace are those savvy enough to know the reality of the marketplace.

In the past I used to sell handmade Afghani prayer rugs [http://www.mihrabi.com (out of stock at the moment)]. These were very beautiful, natural dye and natural fibre rugs, very hard wearing and durable and they usually last a lifetime. They were priced between £120 and £180; they were not cheap. Some people would look at them and dismissively say “why would I spend that much on a prayer mat when I can get one for a tenner?” alluding to the fact that they could purchase a soulless, machine-made, Chinese mass-produced one for much less. It was clear that I was not going to get rich selling these rugs. Those who bought them just knew, they got the idea behind them; they understood and they appreciated. They saw the rugs as a work of art, a human endeavour and craft, made with the intention that someone will perform an act of worship on them. The purchaser saw it as more than just a simple prayer mat and that is the value they saw in the rug. Every person who bought one thought they got a bargain.

Just as food tastes are subjective and dependent upon the palate, preference for certain ideas over others are filtered through the palate of the ego. Sometimes we just don’t know what is good for us.

Ad: Love Haribos?

Mas'ud Ahmed Khan — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:24:31 +0000

You can now buy Halal Haribos from Halal HariboHeaven.co.uk

Flavours available:

Cola Bottles, Fizzy Cola Bottles, Gold Bears, Worms, Chamallows, Teeth, Sour Pommes, Droppys, Happy Cherries, Crocos, Peaches and more!

10% discount for the first 20 customers using the code:

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Free postage on orders over £15!

New Book by Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi

Mas'ud Ahmed Khan — Fri, 10 May 2013 22:34:59 +0000

A Blessed Valley – Wadi Hadramawt & the Alawai Tradition by Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi

A Blessed Valley – Wadi Hadramawt & the Alawai Tradition

available from Hu Books £10.99

masud.co.uk – advertisting partnership

Mas'ud Ahmed Khan — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:06:48 +0000

masud.co.uk is looking for product and service providers to partner with. If you are a provider of outstanding products and services, we would like to help you get that message out to people via an endorsement by masud.co.uk.

The new site will feature advertising and will also feature a “shop window” in which businesses can showcase their products and services. The details of this feature are still being worked out. We are also considering hosting a business directory, where you can list your company. People who have used your business and/or service will then have a chance to rate and review your service.

If you think any of these features may be of interest to your business do get in touch here.

Appeal: redevelopment of masud.co.uk

Mas'ud Ahmed Khan — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:19:37 +0000

Contentions 18 out now!

Mas'ud Ahmed Khan — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:18:27 +0000

Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad’s popular contentions series continues with the 18th instalment now available from http://www.masud.co.uk

Here are a few tasters:

28. Only in Islam is Christ at peace in the bosom of Abraham.

29. The effective way to strengthen liberalism or fundamentalism is to bring them into conversation.

30. Her tear commands you to stand up for her, not to stand up to her.

31. Secular lovers always use contraception.

32. If the culture is sick, then your ease with it is a sign of sickness.

33. Your capacity to rebel against the monoculture is in proportion to your capacity to fall in love.

34. The devil’s greatest enemy is the joy of the believer.

35. Family is jamal, work is jalal; in this her superiority is apparent.

36. Only when family is not equal to work will we worry if women are not equal to men.

37. Third World marriage: fiancés and fiancées are just finances and financees.

38. Because the moderns cannot be, they have attitude rather than beatitude.

Eye-Fi wi-fi enabled SD-HC memory card

Mas'ud Ahmed Khan — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 12:09:49 +0000

If you have a camera that takes SD-HC cards and have a smartphone and/or tablet, you can now preview your photographs instantly over wifi using these cards! I’ve just ordered mine as Amazon UK have these on at less than half price at the moment!

http://amzn.to/XXjl2C

If you are an Amazon US user here’s your link: http://amzn.to/XzcSIX

The app is free.

[Note: This is an associates link so I get a commission on your purchase!]

Here’s a short video of how you connect it up: http://youtu.be/iOSj4hxYBNM

Wishing a Merry Christmas?

Mas'ud Ahmed Khan — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 22:31:38 +0000

First things first. We are Muslims. We don’t believe that Christ is God, the very thought of this is abhorrent to us. We don’t believe that Christ is the literal and begotten Son of God. We do, however, believe that Jesus (may peace be upon him) was a Divinely inspired Prophet and Messenger of God, a devoted and absolute servant of a Just, Merciful and Loving Lord. Like most historians and Christian historians, we know that Jesus wasn’t born on 25th December. We know that celebrations on 25th December were originally a pagan festival upon which Christianity grafted the birthday of Christ on. So, we can safely assume that all of these things we reject out of hand. What we don’t reject is the actual event of the birth of Isa (Jesus) alayhi salam. For Muslims it is as joyous and blessed an occasion as it is for our Christian brethren. It does not matter to us what day it is celebrated upon because the event itself is momentous.

As Muslims, most of us celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) even though the exact date is not agreed upon, it is commonly assumed to be the 12th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal. What our scholars have said is that the Mawlid, the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, should be celebrated throughout the year as well as on the date commonly believed to be the day the Prophet was born. We find in many Muslim cultural traditions, spontaneous celebrations of the Mawlid on joyous occasions such as the birth of children, marriages or any event that was of good fortune. Islamic dates are based upon the lunar calendar so the Islamic months drift across the solar calendar and seasons, so for me, the argument over the date is a very minor issue.

So with this in mind we can proceed.

As a Muslim living in the West, I interact with people of all faiths and traditions. I also interact with people of no formal faith as well as atheists. In most cases our relationships are cordial and civil and many of my acquaintances respect my religious views. In other cases we make very meaningful friendships with people of other traditions and beliefs and share in each other’s occasions of happiness and grief. When Ramadan or Eid come around my neighbours, friends and colleagues go out of their way to wish me a happy Eid or Ramadan. Wishing someone a Merry Christmas no more makes me a believer in their ways than them wishing me a Happy Eid or Eid Mubarak makes them a believer in Islam, to suggest or think otherwise is ludicrous. It is common courtesy and good manners, is it not, that when my friends, colleagues and neighbours have their moments of joy and happiness that I reciprocate? Can you imagine the impression it would give of Muslims and Islam, if, when such occasions came around for them, I remained silent and mean spirited and not acknowledge their occasion of joy and happiness?

What occasion is more “religious” than a funeral? Did our Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) not stand out of respect for a funeral procession of a Jewish man and acknowledge it? Additionally, the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) adopted the fasting of Ashura when he observed that the Jews were fasting in order to commemorate the deliverance of Moses and the Children of Israel from the tyranny of the Pharaoh. He said that we had more right to this commemoration than the Jews did and the fasting of Ashura was instituted.

I can say that in my personal life, non-Muslims friends and acquaintances have always shown me and my faith respect, they have go out of their way to help me. When I was working for a large pharmaceutical company, I used to use a conference room for prayer. I asked the department secretary to block book 10 minute slots for me so that I could offer my prayers. She did this without hesitation and always notified me of any changes and would accommodate me. The conference room was later turned into offices and I lost my prayer space. I mentioned this to one of the managers, she was an atheist, and I also mentioned it to one of the directors in our building, he was a Christian. Both of these wonderful people went above and beyond the call of duty to find me an alternative space to pray in. They could have turned around and said “sorry Masud, we can’t help you” and that would have been that, but no, they considered it a duty to help me. They eventually found for me a very small area, just large enough to accommodate a prayer mat and they apologised profusely for not being able to find me a space a little larger and a little better. I was, and still am, utterly grateful to them for this incredible generosity of spirit and respect they showed me and my faith. How then can I not have a magnanimity of spirit to people of other faiths?

Many Muslims, in their religiosity, seem to dispense with common sense. This is not as big an issue that many make it out to be. Every year, come Christmas time, we get the usually sombre and stern messages from people warning us not to wish anyone a merry Christmas. In reality though, it boils down to manners and being civil with people and this does not mean that we accept their beliefs, rather, we accept that people have beliefs different to ours and we wish them happiness on their occasions of happiness.

FILM: Tears of Gaza [documentary]

Mas'ud Ahmed Khan — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:06:17 +0000

Tears of Gaza from Abdullah on Vimeo.