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  • Ulamas Divided Over The Celebrating Of Mother’s Day, But Stresses Importance Of The Mother In The Quran and Sunnah

    Ulamas Divided Over The Celebrating Of Mother’s Day, But Stresses Importance Of The Mother In The Quran and Sunnah

    In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

    All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

    First of all, it goes without saying that every committed Muslim is supposed to pay his parents, especially his mother, due respect. One should try to show dutifulness to one’s parents, even if they happened to be non-Muslims, let alone being Muslims. What Islam goes against is to imitate non-Muslims by marking a special occasion such as celebrating the Mother’s Day in a way that shows that mothers do not deserve due respect and care save on this very day. If we are going to make the whole year a Mother’s Day, then Islam welcomes celebrating the occasion with open arms.

    Indeed, Muslim scholars have maintained various opinions regarding the issue. Here below we will attempt to furnish you with Juristic views as regard this issue:

    First of all, Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi, deputy chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, states:

    Dutifulness to parents, especially the mother, and treating them kindly is an act of worship enjoined in both the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Being dutiful to parents is not confined to a specific time. It is an obligation that should be observed every time, as all people commonly know.

    Yet, the Mother’s Day, as it’s known nowadays is a Western habit. The Westerners specified a day and called it the Mother’s Day. On that day sons and daughters show gratefulness to their mothers and offer them presents. It has become part of important feasts in the West, whereas we Muslims have no other festivals except the Lesser and the Greater Bairams. Any other celebrations are deemed mere occasions or anniversaries; and this is applied to the Mother’s Day.

    The Mother’s Day implies paying more attention and exerting more effort in expressing gratitude to mothers. So there is nothing wrong in that.

    However, there are two reservations worth mentioning; first, considering the Mother’s Day a feast; second, confining the task of showing dutifulness to mothers to that specific day, giving implication that throughout the whole year, just only one day is for showing love to parents. If such two anomalous points are addressed, then there is nothing wrong in considering the Mother’s Day a chance to give more care to mothers.

    Thus, we may take the Mother’s Day as a chance to lay more emphasis on our duty towards our mothers, as Islam enjoins us, because dutifulness to parents is a genuine Islamic teaching. But Muslims, in doing that, should never deviate from the Islamic teachings, they should do things in Islamic manners, not in Western manners. Hence, they would not be imitating the non-Islamic habits of the West.

    Hence, viewed in juristic perspective, we can say that celebrating the Mother’s day is controversial among the contemporary scholars. While a group of them consider it haram (unlawful) as a kind of blind imitation of the Western non-Islamic habits, which have no benefit for Muslims, another group see it halal(lawful) on condition that showing gratitude and dutifulness to parents should not be confined to that day only.

    Moreover, the well-known erudite scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi states:

    The Arabs tend to blindly follow the Western in their celebration of the Mother’s Day, without trying to understand the wisdom behind inventing such an occasion.

    When the European found that children do not deal properly towards their parents nor give them their due right, they resorted to specifying an annual occasion for children to remedy the situation. But in Islam, mothers are to be given due respect and love every time, not only one day a year. For example, when one goes out, he kisses one’s mother’s hand seeking her pleasure and blessing.

    A Muslim must not allow any gap between him and his mother, he must offer her presents every time. This indicates that Muslims can dispense with such an occasion, the Mother’s Day. Unlike the case in the West, where it’s a vogue for some children to show indifference to their mothers’ feelings, and, what’s more, it is so common to see some parents being dragged to infirmaries (as their kids have no time for them), dutifulness to parents in Islam, alongside with worshipping Allah, is a sacred duty.

    In this concern, Almighty Allah says: (And We have commended unto man kindness toward parents. His mother beareth him with reluctance, and bringeth him forth with reluctance, and the bearing of him and the weaning of him is thirty months, till, when he attaineth full strength and reacheth forty years, he saith: My Lord! Arouse me that I may give thanks for the favor wherewith Thou hast favored me and my parents, and that I may do right acceptable unto Thee. And be gracious unto me In the matter of my seed. Lo! I have turned unto Thee repentant, and lo! I am of those who surrender (unto Thee).) (Al-Ahqaf 46:15)

    Reflecting on the aforementioned Qur’anic verse, we find it stressing both parents’ right, but reviewing the following verses we find them paying special care to the mother and tackling the hardships she suffers in pregnancy, fosterage and rearing children.

    In this verse, Almighty Allah informs man of the debt he owes his mother since he was a fetus, passing by the process of childbirth, infancy, childhood until he comes of age. A child normally forgets the hardship which his mother underwent during pregnancy. Hence Almighty Allah draws his attention to such hardships, laying emphasis on her great status in Islam.

    Finally, Dr. `Abdul Fattah `Ashoor, professor of Qur’an Exegisis at Al-Azhar University, concludes,

    Holding celebrations in honoring others and commemorating anniversaries are neither feasts nor Islamic. But one may seize any chance to express gratitude to those who deserve it. This is how we should consider the Mother’s Day. The mother has a special place in the Islamic culture, and all other civilized cultures. So it is something good to do anything to please her and show gratefulness to her.

    So dedicating a day to showing good feelings towards parents, especially the mother, is by no means blameworthy as it does not contradict the Islamic teachings, nor can it be merely considered a form of joining the Western vogue of making celebrations. Conversely, it is a kind of devotion to Allah’s orders that we should be dutiful to our parents.

    Allah Almighty knows best.

     

    Source: www.onislam.net

  • By-Election The Latest Stop In Political Journey, Says Chee

    By-Election The Latest Stop In Political Journey, Says Chee

    Eight months after contesting his first election in 14 years last September, Dr Chee Soon Juan, 53, finds himself contesting his second.

    While some political pundits had suggested that the Bukit Batok by-election was effectively last chance saloon for Dr Chee and as good an opportunity as it gets for him to enter Parliament, the man himself disagrees — opting to see the latest contest as simply one stop in the ongoing political process.

    “It’s like an MRT station. You come to one stop, it doesn’t end there. You go on. I don’t think it’s ever an end goal in that sense. I’ve always seen it as a journey and not just for me personally — for the party, for the country as well,” said Dr Chee, who has parked himself at the MRT station many mornings and evenings leading up to the Bukit Batok by-election this Saturday, cycled and walked with his team around the Single-Member Constituency, and shaken hands with numerous patrons of the coffee shops there.

    Political analysts have weighed in on what is at stake this time for Dr Chee, who first entered politics in 1992. They said that the by-election offered Dr Chee the best shot at winning a parliamentary seat in his colourful political career so far — due to factors such as the by-election effect and the ignominy of former People’s Action Party Member of Parliament David Ong’s resignation over an alleged extramarital affair.

    Any result lower than 35 per cent would raise questions on his electability, an analyst said.

    In response, Dr Chee pointed to the lack of a democratic system and media freedom here.

    “Let’s put that in context and then we can start talking about electability … We don’t analyse the system first. Before you do that, let’s not start throwing words like you would in a democratic system,” Dr Chee told TODAY in an interview last Saturday.

    When reminded of how opposition parties have made breakthroughs in the current system, Dr Chee called for “even-handed” media coverage and said his team would just have to continue to appeal to voters.

    The tentative and sometimes tetchy relationship between the SDP and the mainstream media came to the fore in the past week as several speakers at its rallies criticised a front-page headline used by Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao after an interview with him, which the newspaper later corrected online.

    SDP central executive committee member Dr Paul Tambyah also disagreed that this by-election spells the best opportunity for Dr Chee to get elected. Many in the opposition believe Bukit Batok SMC was carved out of Jurong Group Representation Constituency in the 2015 General Election because it was a PAP stronghold, said Dr Tambyah.

    Other challenges include what Dr Tambyah called attempts by the ruling party to smear the SDP and Dr Chee, and distortion of statements they made.

    Dr Tambyah — who was part of the SDP Holland-Bukit Timah team with Dr Chee and two others that won 33.4 per cent of the vote last September — also took a longer-term view of the SDP’s efforts to get into Parliament.

    “We hope that by running a clean and fair campaign and focusing on the issues, we have moved the cause of democracy forward so hopefully Dr Chee will be in Parliament, if not this time, perhaps in the next GE,” he said.

    Dr Chee said the response from Bukit Batok residents has been encouraging.

    He has come to know many residents, who are beginning to feel “very comfortable with us around”. But he said: “How can you tell until the final poll comes around (on) Saturday?”

    TODAY tagged along twice when Dr Chee was at Bukit Batok MRT Station and once as he walked around several coffee shops. Some commuters resolutely kept their earphones plugged in and refused to be distracted from their journey home, some politely smiled and accepted the brochures he gave out. Others stopped for a chat, wished him well and requested photos and autographs. One man stuffed a S$50 note into his hands.

    The SDP is trying a more nuanced and gradated approach in reaching out to voters this time around and has covered all the residential blocks in Bukit Batok, said Dr Chee, who has pledged to be a full-time MP.

    “For example, you come across a pro-PAP supporter or Residents’ Committee supporter, you say thank you and if they don’t want to support you, they don’t want to support you,” he said. “For those people who say, ‘I’d like to meet Dr Chee’, (my activists) will let me know and I’ll go visit them.”

    Whatever the outcome on May 7, Dr Chee said he will keep at his cause. “Life is a journey. That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. And change takes persistence, takes perseverance, but we’ll get there,” he said.

     

    Source: TODAY Online

  • PRC Foreign Minister: Palestinians Suffer More Than Refugees

    PRC Foreign Minister: Palestinians Suffer More Than Refugees

    Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said yesterday that Palestinian suffering is “larger than the refugee tragedy,” stressing the Palestinian issue is on top of the Chinese diplomatic agenda, the Anadolu Agency reported.

    Receiving his Palestinian counterpart Riad Al-Maliki in Beijing, Yi said: “A lot of people speak about the refugees and other hot issues, but the Palestinian brothers bear more than this. We express our extreme sympathy with them.”

    “The Palestinian issue occupies a very important place on the Chinese diplomatic agenda.”

    Both ministers met on the margin of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), which convenes in Beijing today.

    Al-Maliki said: “You know how much we appreciate your friendship and the old relationship which connects China with Palestine.”

    During the meeting, the ministers discussed mutual relations and ways to promote them. Al-Maliki told the Anadolu that he briefed Yi about the latest political developments, mainly the Israeli settlements and escalations in attacks against Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

     

    Source: www.palestinechronicle.com

  • Yaacob Ibrahim: Perkuat Silaturahim, Sepadu Elak Pecah-Belah

    Yaacob Ibrahim: Perkuat Silaturahim, Sepadu Elak Pecah-Belah

    SEMENTARA isu keselamatan negara ditangani oleh agensi relevan, warga Singapura boleh memainkan peranan secara peribadi bagi memastikan bahawa perpaduan masyarakat tidak berpecah-belah.

    Menteri Perhubungan dan Penerangan, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, berkata demikian sebagai mengulas penahanan lapan warga Bangladesh Selasa lepas kepada media selepas sesi perbincangan bersama golongan belia pada malam hari yang sama.

    “Di Singapura, sebagai masyarakat Melayu/Islam, kita harus pelihara perpaduan sosial yang ada di sini.

    “Kita lihat bagaimana kita boleh berganding bahu dengan masyarakat lain bagi menentukan bahawa apa pun yang telah berlaku tidak akan memecah-belahkan negara kita.

    “Ini salah satu perkara yang penting dan harus terus ditekankan,” ujar Dr Yaacob yang juga Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam.

    Lapan warga Bangladesh yang ditahan di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) itu telah merancang melakukan serangan pengganasan di negara mereka.

    Mereka berusia antara 26 dengan 34 tahun dan merupakan sebahagian daripada kumpulan yang dinamakan Negara Islam Bangladesh (ISB).

    Dr Yaacob menambah bahawa masyarakat Melayu/Islam perlu “terus memperkuat tali silaturahim dalam masyarakat dan memelihara perpaduan sosial yang kita telah capai buat bertahun-tahun lamanya”.

    Dalam pada itu, Ketua Pengajian Dasar, Sekolah Pengajian Antarabangsa S. Rajaratnam (RSIS), Universiti Teknologi Nanyang (NTU), Profesor Madya Dr Kumar Ramakrishna, menekankan bahawa masyarakat Singapura tidak harus memulau pekerja asing.

    “Sebahagian besar daripada mereka yang datang ke sini semata-mata mahu mendapat kerja dan menyara hidup mereka,” jelas Dr Kumar.

    Beliau berkata penahanan lapan pekerja Bangladesh itu menunjukkan kerjasama antara Singapura dan pihak berkuasa Bangladesh perlu dipertingkat, lebih-lebih lagi ini kali kedua penahanan dibuat.

    “Pendidikan mengenai cara mengesan sebarang kelakuan radikal boleh juga dianjurkan bagi pekerja asing agar mereka dapat berfungsi sebagai ‘mata’ dan ‘telinga’ tambahan’,” saran Dr Kumar.

    Pengasas kumpulan penjagaan susulan antara agensi, Aftercare Group (ACG), Encik Abdul Halim Kader, yang juga Presiden Taman Bacaan, akur dengan pandangan bahawa masyarakat Singapura, tidak kira bangsa, tidak harus meminggirkan pekerja asing.

    “Kita harus mendekati mereka terutama semasa waktu lapang mereka; jangan biarkan mereka terasing.

    “Saya telah merancang dengan beberapa pihak tertentu bagi memperkenalkan sukan sepak takraw dan bola tampar kepada pekerja asing terutama warga Bangladesh pada minggu-minggu akan datang,” ujar Encik Abdul Halim yang juga Presiden Persekutuan Sepak Takraw Singapura (Perses).

     

    Source: www.beritaharian.sg

  • ISA Arrests ‘Point To Need To Tighten Immigration’

    ISA Arrests ‘Point To Need To Tighten Immigration’

    The recent detention of eight radicalised Bangladeshis here under the Internal Security Act (ISA) points to the need to tighten the Republic’s immigration policy, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan said on Wednesday (May 4) morning.

    Speaking to reporters after a walkabout in Bukit Batok, where he is vying to become the ward’s Member of Parliament, Dr Chee called on the Government to deal with the problem at its “root cause” by preventing more of such radical elements, which endanger Singapore society, from entering the Republic’s shores.

    He was responding to questions from reporters about the Bangladeshis’ detention under the ISA, which he had spoken against previously on human rights grounds.

    On Tuesday, the Home Affairs Ministry revealed that the eight Bangladeshi workers had formed a terror cell here aimed at bringing their homeland under Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate. It is the second reported case involving radicalised individuals from the Bangladeshi community here.

    Responding, Dr Chee did not mention the SDP’s stance on the ISA, but said the Government has been “lax” in its immigration policy by taking in large numbers of foreigners. “You let in hundreds of thousands, millions … there must be people there who are not properly vetted,” he said.

    The Government must “get it at the root cause” and prevent such situations “even before they come in”, he said, adding that if he was elected, he would raise questions on the vetting process with Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.

    Asked about Dr Chee’s comments, Mr Shanmugam, who was speaking to reporters about the detentions on Wednesday afternoon, said they showed “a lack of understanding of the problem”.

    “So what does Dr Chee suggest? That we say no to all foreign workers? Or we say no to all foreign workers who are Muslim? I think (you) should clarify that. There are tens of thousands of Bangladeshi workers in Singapore, several tens of thousands. They are in our construction sector, working for our town councils, large numbers as cleaners … So what do we do? Send them all back? Who is going to do their jobs?” said Mr Shanmugam.

    “After (the attacks in) Paris, after Jakarta, after all these arrests, they still say abolish the ISA and that all of these are immigration issues … these are serious matters, security issues that require careful consideration and proper thought … We should stop taking cheap political shots and political opportunism.”

    When further queried about its stand on the ISA, SDP central executive committee member Paul Tambyah reiterated the need to address the “root of the problem” and the Government’s “unfettered immigration policy”.

    Meanwhile, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) corrected Dr Chee’s interpretation of employment data during his rally on Tuesday, calling it “alarmist”.

    Dr Chee had said only 100 jobs were created for locals last year. The MOM said the figures he referred to — local employment — did not refer to the total number of new jobs taken by locals.

    Local employment refers to the difference between total number of locals entering jobs and those leaving jobs, for example owing to retirement. They also pointed out that the difference was 700 last year, not 100.

     

    Source: TODAY Online