Shamsul Huda Qasmi is an Islamic scholar, Editor of the Light English Magazine. He is author, writer, translator and social worker, working in the field of education since last 25 years, teaching English language since last 17 years. He has authored and translated several books in English and Urdu, worked on Al-Intebahatul Mufeedah authored by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, wrote several English and Urdu articles, got them published in various magazines and newspapers.
Written by Sheikh Ahmad Al-Risuni
Translated by : Shamsul Huda Qasmi
Ever since the decision to restore this magnificent mosque (known as "Aya Sofia" in Istanbul, Turkey) was made by the Turkish Supreme Court on the basis of all the evidences, there is a storm of grief and anger in the European countries and the Christian churches.There is a wave of grief and sorrow. They are mourning for this great decision and criticising it. Moreover, it is surprising that some Arab hypocrites and Several UNESCO organizations are also seen side by side in this unholy attitude.
The decision taken by the Turkish judiciary and the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is not to convert a church into a mosque, as some say, nor is it to convert a church into a museum, nor is it to close a church, but rather it is to transform a broken mosque into a functioning mosque, which was closed in 1935. What does it harm the Christians world and their churches in this case? What does it hurt them to convert the Aya Sophia building from a tourist facility to a place where Allah is worshiped and remembered? Do the heads of the Christian religion prefer the Aya Sophia to remain for tourism and entertainment, rather than opening it to the worship of Allah, Almighty and to the recitation of the Qur’an?
As for the conversion of Aya Sofia from a church to a mosque, it has passed more than five hundred years, and Sultan Muhammad, the Conqueror, conquered it, and offered a large sum of money in exchange for the land. Now the present Turkey and its President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, should not be criticized. He has only tried to restore the mosque. It is assumed that the anger today is directed towards the existing Turkey, and to the President, Erdogan, and not to the Ottoman Empire and Sultan Muhammad, the Conqueror. What happened today is nothing more than reopening the mosque and returning it to its job. This does not call for anger or objection from anyone, especially as it is a purely internal Turkish affair. So, why are there these advices, and this aggressive control of mentality?
Even if we assume for a moment that it is wrong to convert a church into a mosque, it too will be in our favour, because there are hundreds of mosques in Spain, Russia, Sicilia and Yugoslavia that have been converted into yards or cafes. All these (mosques) should be restored and announced the end of oppressive occupations. And there is no need to go too far. In France itself, more than 50 mosques have been locked and suspended in the recent years, not to speak of the plight of Burma, China, and India? Who is responsible for these happenings?
We ask protesters angry at the reopening of the Aya Sophia mosque: What if Turkey had turned the Aya Sophia from a museum into a theatre, a global cinema, an opera house, or a bullfighting field, would you have been angry? Or would you have kept quiet? Or would you have clapped?
As for those who cry over the "human heritage" that "people will lose it", they are told - and they know it - that the building will remain as it is, but it will become better than it is. As for the artistic, archaeological and historical exhibits in it, they will return to their appropriate places. As for the architectural heritage, most of it was built in the name of the mosque and thanks to the mosque, and what was built for the church, it is in the place of complete maintenance.
I would like to make it clear to the hypocrites, whose objections are misleading and deceitful, that they should now openly admit they are against Islam and support the Crusaders and Zionism. They are the enemies of prayer and fasting. They are against the recitation and the teachings of the glorious Qur'an.
Shamsul Huda Qasmi is an Islamic scholar, Editor of the Light English Magazine. He is author, writer, translator and social worker, working in the field of education since last 25 years, teaching English language since last 17 years. He has authored and translated several books in English and Urdu, worked on Al-Intebahatul Mufeedah authored by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, wrote several English and Urdu articles, got them published in various magazines and newspapers.
By: Shamsul Huda Qasmi
hudqasmi@gmail.com
Before we talk about
the Social Media and it use, we should know that there are four main categories
of communication styles.
1.
Verbal
2.
Nonverbal
3.
Written
4.
Visual
1. Verbal
Verbal communication
is the use of language to transfer information through speaking or sign
language. It is one of the most common types, often used during presentations,
video conferences and phone calls, meetings and one-on-one conversations.
Verbal communication is important because it is efficient.
2. Nonverbal
Nonverbal communication is the use of
body language, gestures and facial expressions to convey information to others.
It can be used both intentionally and unintentionally. For example, you might
smile unintentionally when you hear a pleasing or enjoyable idea or piece of
information. Nonverbal communication is helpful when trying to understand
others’ thoughts and feelings.
3. Written
Written communication
is the act of writing, typing or printing to convey information. It is helpful
because it provides a record of information for reference. Writing is commonly
used to share information through books, pamphlets, blogs, letters, memos and
more. Emails and chats are a common form of written communication in the
workplace.
4. Visual
Visual communication
is the act of using photographs, art, drawings, sketches, charts and graphs to
convey information. Visuals are often used as an aid during presentations to
provide helpful context alongside written and/or verbal communication. Because
people have different learning styles, visual communication might be more
helpful for some to consume ideas and information.
Islamic Point of View:
When we see it as
Islamic point of view, we find that Allah Almighty sent approximately one
hundred and twenty four thousand prophets to this world to convey His message
to the people. We see that all the prophets used verbal and nonverbal means of
communication to convey the message of Allah to people. We find an example of
written communication as well in the Quran. Hazrat Sulaiman (AS) had written a
letter to the Queen of Saba, Bilqis, and a bird was used as a medium to carry
out the responsibility of delivering it.
It is Sunnah of our
Prophet (saw) to use a medium which can cause a message to reach maximum number
of people. When our beloved prophet Muhammad (saw) was blessed with the
prophet-hood, he climbed the mount of Safa to call the people of Makkah towards
the worship of Allah alone. Our prophet Muhammad (SAW) used written
communication also and sent several letters to many kings of their times.
Now the world is
progressing rapidly a tremendous progress has been seen especially in the field
of communication. Since last 25 years, various platforms of communication have
emerged and people are highly attracted to it. The popular among them are
Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and WhatsApp. We can apply these
platforms to communicate the true message of Islam using our verbal, written
and visual means of communication.
First of all, we take Facebook:
Facebook was founded
in the year 2004 and it came to India in 2006. With over 2.6 billion monthly
active users, Facebook is the biggest social network worldwide. There are
over 280 million Facebook users in India alone, making it
the leading country in terms of Facebook audience size.
Facebook is big
platform to share and receive information and all types of people are using it for
their different purposes. Common people even our Ulama, in search of news,
views and true teachings of Islam are falling prey of various propagandas on
social media. Therefore, it becomes our responsibility to effectively use this
impressive social medium to convey the true message, news and views.
We personally post our
messages on our timeline occasionally and enjoy few likes and forwards, but it
is time to prepare a sincere and capable team of five to ten people who can
write in Urdu, Hindi and English. The team should create a brand name to make a
Facebook page. How the page would be made effective and useful to the readers
can be discussed further.
YouTube:
YouTube is an
American online video-sharing platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim created the service in February 2005. Google bought the site
in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion.
Over 2
Billion users visit YouTube each month and every day people
watch over a billion hours of video and generate billions of views. More than
70% of YouTube watch-time comes from mobile devices. YouTube
has 265 million active users in India.
It is also a very popular
and highly used platform by our young generation. Our team, as suggested above,
should crate YouTube channel and make short Islamic clips, interviews and
documentaries on Islamic events. For children we can make a separate channel to
teach them Islamic teachings, culture, etiquette and give them informative and
interesting videos through short stories of the prophets, companions of the
prophets and our forefathers. It would require a sincere and dedicated team but
really would be a great service to the Ummah. People are really in search of
true knowledge of Islam.
Twitter:
Twitter is an
American social networking service on which users post and
interact with messages known as "tweets". It was created in 2006
and launched in the same year. There are 330 million monthly
active users and 145 million daily
active users on Twitter. 63 percent of all Twitter
users worldwide are between 35 to 65.
Users can post, like, and re-tweet tweets. Tweets were
originally restricted to 140 characters but now doubled to 280.
Twitter is popular
among those who are educated and qualified. They reach a large number of people
quickly through tweets and re-tweets. They promote their news items, research
work, articles, stories and business. Experts believe that there is no better
platform than Twitter to know the happenings around the world.
Twitter occupies great
importance because world leaders like US president Indian prime minister, its
cabinets, Chief Ministers, MPs, MLAs, Media houses, journalist, police
officers, railways, airlines and all major organizations use it to spread their
words.
Twitter has an
exclusive feature called Trend. When people on twitter start discussing on a
topic and certain words become important and frequent use in their tweet, it
becomes trend on twitter. People attach hash (#) with certain words to make it a
topic and launch a twitter trend. Trend easily catches eyes of the news
channels and journalists and it finds place in news papers and news channels if
the topic is really important. It is very effective means to spread the message
among the people. Daily we see that some political IT cells using Twitter to spread
propagandas and misinformation for political interests. Even they go on to distort
the face of our Muslim community. It was really painful to see that many a
times Twitter trends were launched against the prophet Muhammad (saw) and Islam.
The communal hatred and disharmony in the country is the result of the fake
news, propagandas and misinformation spread by the political IT cells.
We do use Social Media
but in a limited way. We enjoy WhatsApp discussions in our respective groups
and do not dare to go out on bigger platforms like twitter as it requires
polished language, knowledge, intellect and insightfulness. If we train our
MMERC friends and make a twitter team, it would be a good job in the age of
social media. We would be able to launch Twitter Trends to counter the
propagandas and fake news. We can change the perception of the people about the
Muslim community if we make a list of important topics which can be trended on
twitter from time to time.
Finally, I would
advocate to make a dedicated research team to use the social platforms in an
effective manner because social media has its physical and mental negative
impact too. People get addicted to it which may reduce the workplace
productivity. If you are a student, it may reduce the learning and
concentration in class. Therefore we should prepare a team of writers that will
ensure to provide good piece of information, articles and community related
news, educational stuffs.
I would finish it now
with the verse of the holy Quran: "Invite all to the way of your Lord with
wisdom and beautiful preaching and argue with them in a way that is the
best." (16/125)
May Allah enable us to
make these social media platforms useful for the community and the humanity as
a whole! Aameen
Shamsul Huda Qasmi is an Islamic scholar, Editor of the Light English Magazine. He is author, writer, translator and social worker, working in the field of education since last 25 years, teaching English language since last 17 years. He has authored and translated several books in English and Urdu, worked on Al-Intebahatul Mufeedah authored by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, wrote several English and Urdu articles, got them published in various magazines and newspapers.
Achievements of reformists in Turkey
By Mufti Abu-Lubaba Shah Mansoor
translated by Shamsul Huda Qasmi
End of Islamic rites
End of Islamic law
Turkey could not extract Mineral Reserves
Nor could they collect maritime taxes
There was so much oppression in the time of Mustafa Kamal that a doctor who went there for education 40 years ago said: "If anyone was seen praying Salah there, secular people would come into action. When I wanted to pray, my friends advised me to keep a towel with me. Go to the bathroom and perform ablution, then hide there and offer prayers because Turkish bathrooms were masterpieces of beauty, cleanliness and architectural magnificence. In those days, if a person had a calendar of Islamic year out of his pocket, he would be imprisoned. During the Ottoman Caliphate, there were six academic degrees: Sheikh, Khatib, Waiz, Alim, Mufti, Qazi. Mustafa Kamal terminated all these degrees.
During that time, people kept lighted the candles of faith. Muslims set up teaching circles at places apparently visible as bars. There would be a Qur'an class from 2 pm to 6 am. They would book cabins in trains, take tickets from one station to another, would close the door and continue teaching and learning. The Qur'anic classes would be set up in farming fields. There were Qur'an classes in the basements to escape the oppression of those secularists who taught the world moderation, gentleness and love.
Sheikh Mahmood Affandi is a very great and famous Naqshbandi Sheikh there. He called people for 18 years but did not find a single worshiper. 18 years later, a man named Musa Amja sent his children to learn. Today, he has 300 schools and Madrassas all over Turkey.
After the Tartars, the second revival of Islam in the history of Islam was made by the Sofia, who produced guards of the Ka'bah from the idol houses. According to our research, the pioneer of this battle of faith and materialism was the Imam of a Mosque, Sikandar Pasha, Sheikh Zahid Kotko (may Allah have mercy on him). He started working on the youth in the tea house in front of the mosque. No one was allowed to teach and preach in the mosque. He made it his hobby to go and sit in the tea house and give tea to the intelligent boys. He would work on them and prepare them for religious education. In the same effort, he got a diamond in his hand. His student was an engineer. When this student started studying, he got higher education from Germany. When he came to the country, he gave Turkey a motor for the tank that would keep the engine warm even in the coldest weather. When he stepped into politics, he became the Prime Minister of the country. The student's name was Najmuddin Erbakan. Erbakan made many disciples in his life. The political disciple was called Tayyib Erdogan, and Buland Yildirim in the welfare field, etc.
Regular hard work:
Wisdom and Insight:
Najmuddin Erbakan formed political parties under different names, but each time the secular army banned them for one or the other reason. Tayyib Erdogan was watching the whole situation that the Saadat Party was banned at first, then Fazilat Party was banned, then Millat Party was also banned. Tayyib Erdogan said no matter how many names we have, every name will be banned. Erdogan said that we should not have a name that anyone can doubt it. That is why the "Justice and Development Party" should be named. When he made this suggestion to his teacher, Erbakan said to his promising student: "You must keep this name, but get separated from me and from my imprint." Thus visibly Erdogan and Erbokan got separated but were actually the passengers of the same destination.
Spending for the sake of Allah:
The most prominent attribute of the Turks is to spend relentlessly in the way of Allah. When there was an earthquake in Pakistan, they were the first to arrive. When there was a catastrophe in Mexico, the Turks were the first to go there. There we noticed that the Turks donate their extra wealth to charity. They have the vision: “There is a right in your wealth apart from Zakah” and in the same way, “And they ask you what they should spend. Say, "The excess (beyond needs)." (The Quran)
Public service:
Tayyib Erdogan paid off all debts in 12 years. He is making the world's three largest debt-free projects: the world's largest airport, the world's third artificial canal connecting the two seas "Bosporus Canal" and another major bridge over the Bosporus Bay.
Hostels:
He built hostels near universities. The best accommodation is provided there for a very reasonable fee. There are no restrictions on students coming there. The only restriction is not to go out after ten o'clock at night. They are instructed to listen to Kulliyat-Al-noor twice a day; the teachings of Sayyid al-Zaman Nursi.
Maulvi Houses:
There is also an important work of Maulvi houses. It is said these are ancient monasteries, but calligraphy and decoration are taught in this building. There is Qur'anic teaching in one room and Hadith in the other.
Door of the World:
He created several institutions under the name of Bab-ul-Alam (Door of the World). These institutions provide all kinds of facilities to students coming from all over the world for education. These students are honored from the airport until they leave the airport back. Turks say these students are their ambassadors to the world. Also, Allah says, “Indeed this, your Ummah, is one Ummah.”
Tuition Centers:
An important institution is also the tuition centers. Young man goes to a neighborhood and tells the people in the neighborhood that he was free in the evening and asks for a sitting room of a house; there he teaches the children of the neighborhood for free. In this way, he gives free education to the children of the neighborhood, as well as makes them members of the reform and renewal movement.
There is such a well-organized network of these regular activities that in the last 20 years, whatever in the field of administration, legislature, judiciary and journalism has been done, it had been somehow associated with these institutions. That is why when there was a revolt against Tayyib Erdogan, the same students and people crushed it with the help of Allah.
Some unorganized and irregular works:
At the same time, there are some unorganized and irregular activities of this reform movement in Turkey.
The Moonlight:
The Moonlight Club is open to the public. It has a large hall on one side and a tea house on the other. There are chairs on the third side, and there is also a TV to show match to the youngsters. There is also a children's gym. There is also an arrangement to teach karate. If you want to listen to a lecture, go to a certain hall. If you want to join tuition, go to such and such hall. Also go to such and such hall for gossip.
Crown and Sword:
As evening falls, a middle-aged man takes to the streets and gives balloons, making them crown and swords, to the children. When I met him, he said that he was a senior officer in the Turkish municipality. In the evening he makes the crown and the sword to tell the children that they left the sword, therefore the crown was taken away from them.
Reward for prayer (Salah):
To awaken the children’s desire for offering prayer (Salah), the campaign to reward them with bicycles was also very successful. That is why there are as many worshipers in the Fajr prayer as there are in the Friday prayer.
Education or Coach:
Cigarette box:
Every second young person in Turkey seems to be addicted to cigarettes. To end this addiction, Erdogan adopted a strategy. Whenever he comes across a smoker, he takes the pack of cigarettes from the smoker and empties it into a dustbin and then signs on the same box that he would not smoke in the future. This person then gets a call from the president's office asking him to come to the honorary ceremony if he had given up smoking. If he could not leave despite his best efforts, they were ready to give him psychological training.
Endowment of the Ummah:
A four-story building called Waqf al-Ummah has been given to the Palestinians, so that the educated Palestinians can come over there and consult as to how to liberate Al-Quds from the Israeli occupiers. The earnings from the two five-star hotels in Istanbul have been earmarked for the expenses of the same Waqf al-Ummah, so that there is no problem of its expenses.
Patronizing Orphans:
Turkish gentlemen treat the orphans well. They have built such orphanages that Bahria Town is no match for it. IHH is sponsoring one lakh, 30 thousand orphans all over the world. Turkish children do not have the same facilities as these orphans have been provided with.
Things to do:
Turkey, during the secular era, was a hotbed of smuggling, drugs, fraud and filth. Despite this fact, a few people came forward in the name of Allah and changed the condition of Turkey. If we also try to improve this country, many Tayyib Erdogan will come out of our ranks.
If you like it, don't forget to share it. Let's change ourselves and inspire others.
Shamsul Huda Qasmi is an Islamic scholar, Editor of the Light English Magazine. He is author, writer, translator and social worker, working in the field of education since last 25 years, teaching English language since last 17 years. He has authored and translated several books in English and Urdu, worked on Al-Intebahatul Mufeedah authored by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, wrote several English and Urdu articles, got them published in various magazines and newspapers.
Shamsul Huda Qasmi is an Islamic scholar, Editor of the Light English Magazine. He is author, writer, translator and social worker, working in the field of education since last 25 years, teaching English language since last 17 years. He has authored and translated several books in English and Urdu, worked on Al-Intebahatul Mufeedah authored by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, wrote several English and Urdu articles, got them published in various magazines and newspapers.
DID YOU PONDER OVER IT?
Translated from Urdu by Shamsul Huda Qasmi
Shamsul Huda Qasmi is an Islamic scholar, Editor of the Light English Magazine. He is author, writer, translator and social worker, working in the field of education since last 25 years, teaching English language since last 17 years. He has authored and translated several books in English and Urdu, worked on Al-Intebahatul Mufeedah authored by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, wrote several English and Urdu articles, got them published in various magazines and newspapers.
Shamsul Huda Qasmi is an Islamic scholar, Editor of the Light English Magazine. He is author, writer, translator and social worker, working in the field of education since last 25 years, teaching English language since last 17 years. He has authored and translated several books in English and Urdu, worked on Al-Intebahatul Mufeedah authored by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, wrote several English and Urdu articles, got them published in various magazines and newspapers.
Shamsul Huda Qasmi is an Islamic scholar, Editor of the Light English Magazine. He is author, writer, translator and social worker, working in the field of education since last 25 years, teaching English language since last 17 years. He has authored and translated several books in English and Urdu, worked on Al-Intebahatul Mufeedah authored by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, wrote several English and Urdu articles, got them published in various magazines and newspapers.
