What’s My Future

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Whoever wants to know what Allah has prepared for him, should look to what he has prepared for Allah.” [Abu Nu’aym, al-Hilyah. Silsilah as-Saheehah]

What a beautiful, simple formula to calculate one’s future with! Match yourself against the Quran and the Sunnah to know who you are, and look what you have set aside for Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) to know what Allah the Almighty and Majestic has prepared for you.

It is imperative that a person take his soul to account and treat his deficiencies. Umar (radi Allahu anhu) said, “Take account of yourselves before you are taken to account, weigh your deeds before they are weighed.”

Hasan al Basri (rahimahu Allah) said about the ayah, “No. I do swear by the criticizing self…” [Surah Qiyamah: 2], “A believer will always be critical of himself in his food, his drink and his speech. A sinner will not criticize himself.” He also said “A believer is a guardian over himself: he takes account of himself for Allah. Those who take account of themselves in this world will be audited lightly in the Hereafter. Those who take this issue lightly will find their auditing very difficult.”

A movie, a musician and a needless controversy

By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net

On August 31st, Raza Academy, a Mumbai-based organization of Barelwi sect, had issued a statement asking Maharashtra and Central Government to ban an Iranian movie “Muhammad: The Messenger of God.” The movie was made by famous Iranian filmmaker Majid Majdi and released on August 27th. The statement got traction in the Indian media as the music in the movie is composed by famous Indian music director A. R. Rahman.

The Raza Academy’s statement suggested they had problem because an actor has been indicated as playing the role of the Prophet. “Nothwithstanding sectarian differences showing pictures of the Prophet is sacrilegious within all Islamic traditions,” statement issued by Mohammad Arif Razvi of Raza Academy noted even though it acknowledged that movie did not show frontal or full-face representation of the Prophet.

The statement seemed confusing as to what is the real reason for objection to the movie. Regardless, Mohammad Saeed Noori, General Secretary of the Raza Academy called for legal action against A.R. Rahman and asked Indian and Iranian governments to ban the movie. The lack of coherence in the statement is what made TwoCircles.net ignore the statement at the first place.

Later interacting with the media, Mr. Noori was a bit specific about his objection: “We are against the title, People may use it in a bad manner if they don’t like the film, which will mean an insult to the Prophet.”

They also managed to issue a fatwa which asked all Muslims who were associated with the movie to recite the kalima again to renew their faith.

No intention to offend anyone: A.R. Rahman on blasphemy controversy

Mumbai, Sep 14 : Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman said on Monday that his “decision” to compose the music for the movie “Muhammad: The Messenger of God”, “was in good faith” with no intentions to offend any religious group.

Reacting to fatwa being issued against him over the film the musician refrained from sharing his “spiritual experiences” of working on the film as it’s something “personal” to him.

“This letter is for all those people, who have been aware of the recent events concerning me. I’m not a scholar of Islam. I follow the middle path and am part of traditionalist and part rationalist.

“I live in the western and eastern worlds and try to love all people for what they are, without judging them. I didn’t direct or produce the movie ‘Muhammad (PBUH), Messenger Of God.’. I just did the music.

“My spiritual experiences of working on the film are very personal and I would prefer not to share these,” Rahman shared through a letter posted on his official Facebook account.