Education  is incredibly important in Islam. The first words revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was “read” – a critical component in attaining knowledge.

Consider the blessings that comes with learning how to read the Qur’an, memorising it  and teaching it to others.   The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that: The best of you is the one who learns the Qur’an and teaches it

Seeking knowledge and placing importance on learning placed Muslims at the forefront of discovery and intellect above all others in the world. This knowledge then spurred on the age of the renaissance.  The West and the modern world today stand on the shoulders of our predecessors from Algorithms and Algebra to Astrolabes and exploration.

In order to understand Islam, to find that connection with Allah, you must prioritise learning the Qur’an and the Hadith. Living in a non-Muslim society this can be tough sometimes, because that knowledge is not as readily available.  It requires exerting effort to seek it out. It’s also much more difficult to practice that knowledge when surrounded by those who live such different lifestyles based on a vastly different set of morals, so it takes more striving and effort.

Studying Islam and all its teachings is a crucial practice for all Muslims in non-Muslim countries because without that knowledge we cannot live our lives in a way that is in line with what Allah created us for – His worship.   Additionally we will not have the knowledge to teach our children, the future generations of muslims.  We must also endeavour to achieve high levels of education in worldly subjects too so that our families, society and specifically the Muslim youth, are influenced by seeing muslims who are successful role models who manage to balance both their Deen with their the Dunya. 

Another important aspect of learning is to reach a solid level of emotional intelligence. Muslims should cultivate a growth mindset, seeking to learn from their own experiences and the experiences of others.  Learning is essential for personal and spiritual development.  Without learning, one can neither study the islamic texts, nor  be aware of the history of humanity. Therefore, learning is an essential component of Islam and it is vital for this learning process to continue throughout our lives. It does not stop when we finish college, it is the beginning of the journey.

Allah says:

"None will comprehend them except those who have knowledge." (Surah al-‘Ankaboot verse 43)

“We verily, have made it a Quran in Arabic, that you may be able to understand (its meanings and its admonitions).” (43:3) [Hilali & Khan]

The Quran not only appeals to reason, but it nourishes and develops it. Allah says that We have made the Quran unambiguous (2:2; 4:82) and absolutely clear (16:89) showing the truth, so that humans can understand it by using their intellect; so that they can use reason and logic to understand it (47:24). This will develop and nourish their intellectual abilities. The Quran addresses realities of life; it provides real solutions to real problems of life facing humanity (16:64). Its teaching is a guiding light (5:15) of truth and therefore it illuminates the path of humanity (6:122). This is the essence and reality of the Quran. When people asked the Prophet (PBUH) for miracle he said the Quran itself is the miracle that I am presenting to you (17:88; 2:23-24).

The Quran was sent down to the Prophet (PBUH) so that, he may, in accordance with Allah’s directives, bring humankind out of darkness into light (14:1). And history is witness that the Prophet (PBUH) indeed did it.

Allah tells the Prophet (PBUH) to declare:

قُلْ هَـٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّـهِ ۚ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي

(12:108) – Tell them that this is my way which is very clear and straight. My call is based on firm conviction, reason, knowledge, and understanding – mine as well as that of my followers.

Therefore, this is the way of the Prophet (PBUH) that he himself declares that he follows; and the Prophet (PBUH) also declares that those who claim to obey his way (Sunnah) must follow as well. But what is the reality in practice? Listen to any sermon by those who proclaim Prophet’s Sunnah? The preachers in their sermons recite a verse of the Quran and then what follows after is weaving together of narrations after narrations describing miracles of the Prophet (PBUH) that mesmerizes the audience and turns off their intellect and thought. These kinds of sermons have nothing to do with the Prophet (PBUH).

When people get emotionally and psychologically attached to listening to stories of miracles and supernatural feats attributed to the Prophet (PBUH) then they lose their ability to think. This was a great conspiracy that was hatched against Islam so that religious clergy in collusion with kings could keep the masses ignorant; so that the masses never could question their illegitimate existence in Islam. In this age the light of knowledge is spreading fast and people are awakening from their religiously induced deep slumber. But the world’s Pharaohs (hegemonic powers) cannot let the Muslim masses become independent thinkers again because they know that if that happens then the world will once again see the shining results of Islam as it once did; because then Islam’s true picture of universal brotherhood of humankind will emerge and engulf the whole world; and their hegemony over the world will disappear. So, what did they do to avoid this scenario from happening and make sure Muslims as a whole don’t come even close to adopting critical thinking? Iqbal put it succinctly and cogently in few words:

Make Muslims remain engrossed in prayers and rituals

Habituated to monastic way of life and worship ancestors

And:

If they ever happen to wake up from their daydreams

Let the magic of rulers and priests put them to sleep

Hegemonic powers are fully behind promoting and propagating this kind of Islam. Because they know that if this Ummah ever wakes up then the true Islam’s universal sublime sunshine will remove their manufactured mental darkness. The Quran’s verdict is that if Muslims become Momin, then no nation on earth will be able to dominate them (3:139). This message of the Quran may not be in front of us, but it definitely is in front of them.

Stop and Think – Prophet’s (PBUH) Plea

The Prophet (PBUH) constantly appealed to his people to stop and think:

قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَعِظُكُم بِوَاحِدَةٍ ۖ أَن تَقُومُوا لِلَّـهِ مَثْنَىٰ وَفُرَادَىٰ ثُمَّ تَتَفَكَّرُوا

(34:46) – Tell them O Messenger: I neither want to enter into unnecessary lengthy discussions with you, nor do I want to give you a long lecture. All I ask of you is, whether in pairs or alone, that you stop for a while and think!  If you use your intellect and reason only then you will realize that the divine message I am presenting to you is for your own true benefit; it is for your own self-development.

The Quran emphasizes this point further. It is surprising to them that a warner has come from among them:

بَلْ عَجِبُوا أَن جَاءَهُم مُّنذِرٌ مِّنْهُمْ

(50:2) – These people are surprised that the person who has been bestowed with the Quran is an ordinary human being like them. We see the same thing today. One changes one’s demeanor and looks when one becomes religiously inclined. He does not want to look like a regular person. Why do they change their outward appearance? It is because the looks and the dress are their special religious identities. Why would they look like ordinary people; why would they be from among them? Because if they did they will become like them. Then they will have to work hard like common folks; and then they will have to talk about the Quran’s equity. That is why they want to keep their separate special identities and the freeloading that goes with it.

There is another important pointworth noting here about why it sounds strange to them that the Messenger is an ordinary person. And that is being held accountable. The Quran’s entire foundation, the essence of our Deen is based on accountability of one’s action. In fact, it is based on accountability of even one’s thought. However, we see that there is no accountability for those who are committing transgression and are enjoying all the material benefits of life – and they are not paying the price for their crime.

The Quran says that life is not only the life of this world; that life continues after death. Leave aside the physical form and appearance that death consumes. The internal entity which is the source of human action is the one that moves forward after death. The Quran calls it “nafs” which modern psychology calls it “self” or “personality” and which Allama Iqbal calls it “khudi.”

Human “Self” Inside Human Body

Getting into the abstract philosophy of “self” or “personality” is complex and time consuming. But some simple examples will illustrate the point. When I pick up a book I do not say that my hand picked it up. I say that “I” picked it up although my hand picked it. When I walk to the masjid I don’t say that my feet walked. I say that “I” walked although my feet walked. When I say something, I don’t say that my tongue said it. But I say that “I” said this although actually my tongue said it. So, what is this “I” that is doing all this? In fact, it is this “I” that is accountable. A criminal is told that “you” stole that watch. He is not told that your hand stole the watch. That is, there is something else inside human being that makes him do an act. It is not his hand, it is not his feet, it is not his tongue that decided to act but that it is the inside entity that is invisible which made the decision and these organs acted only as its tool. If someone wanted to steal something but could not get the chance to do it then in the eyes of the law he didn’t commit any crime. But in the eyes of Allah, he not only committed the crime, but that thought-crime was registered against his internal entity “self” in the divine registry – and it is this entity that moves forward after this life ends. This is the foundation of Islam. This is the essence of Deen – that no thought or action remains unaccountable in divine registry.

Islam is the conviction on this very fact that I will be asked about everything that I did or said or thought and that I will be held accountable after I die. This is called Iman in the Hereafter. But this conviction is missing from the Muslim society today. We seek every opportunity for short-cuts. In fact, we have invented short-cuts even in the Quran – for earning easy rewards. We think we can get away by flouting the laws of Allah. But we cannot escape accountability for our actions – not even for our thoughts – in the Hereafter. How we can escape accountability if not even our Prophet (PBUH) could!

قُلْ إِنِّي أَخَافُ إِنْ عَصَيْتُ رَبِّي عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ

(6:15) – Say: “Behold, I would dread, were I [thus] to rebel against my Sustainer, the suffering [which would befall me] on that awesome Day [of Judgment].” [Asad]

Fourteen hundred years ago the Quran described this, and modern psychologist are finding its proof today through extensive research in psychoanalysis. They have concluded that there is something in humans that is neither the product of physical body nor is it subject to physical laws nor does it die with the death of the physical body. This is called human “personality” or “self.” The Quran calls it “nafs.” They have even come to the conclusion – that human “self” is immortal.  The Quran said this 1400 years ago:

قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا تَنقُصُ الْأَرْضُ مِنْهُمْ ۖ وَعِندَنَا كِتَابٌ حَفِيظٌ

(50:4) – Tell them We know what the earth consumes of them. It is only the physical body that disintegrates. It has neither any effect nor any control over human personality or self. Deeds affect human personality (self) and not the body. Therefore, through the preservation of human personality (self) all deeds of a person are fully preserved with Allah. The continuation of this process is called “the life hereafter.” And human “self” remains protected and moves on to the hereafter carrying along with it the records of all the deeds done in the world. The Quran says that this record remains fastened in everyone’s neck which is opened up for one to read one’s own life’s record of deeds:

وَكُلَّ إِنسَانٍ أَلْزَمْنَاهُ طَائِرَهُ فِي عُنُقِهِ ۖ وَنُخْرِجُ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كِتَابًا يَلْقَاهُ مَنشُورًا

(17:13) – The struggle between the Truth and Falsehood continues within man himself and the record of this is fastened around his neck. It is not anywhere outside but is within himself. During this life, there are many thoughts, feelings, and desires which remain hidden in the unconscious mind. On the Day of Judgement all these will be brought out. In other words, the record which had remained folded hitherto will be spread out at that time. Man will be told to read his own record and decide for himself the punishment he deserves for his wrong deeds (17:14):

اقْرَأْ كِتَابَكَ كَفَىٰ بِنَفْسِكَ الْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكَ حَسِيبً

What is the kind of society that results when even some people believe and have deep conviction that they will be held accountable in the Hereafter? Khalifa ‘Umar (R) used to go on night-watch to find out if everything was okay with the people. In one of his excursions he found an interesting episode. A mother (who used to sell milk) was telling her daughter to pour water in milk in order to make more profit. The daughter refused to do that. When the mother asked what happened to you now? You never objected before. The girl said that I listened to Khalifa that one should not cheat; that one should do honest business. The mother said that no one is watching us here, so go ahead and pour some water in the milk. The girl refused again and said to her mother that Khalifa also said that Allah is watching even if no one is watching. This is the result of Iman, which is sadly missing from our society.

We may put security guards everywhere, but it will not change our society. Our hearts need to change first like that girl’s heart did. Our mindset needs to change if we say that we have Iman in the Hereafter. This will be the real renaissance of Islam. The Quran says that unless and until people change their internal mindset there will be no change in the society:

إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ

(13:11) – Allah does not alter the condition of a people until they bring about a change in their inner selves. This is the law of Allah and there is no exception to this law.

A Texas man went next door with a rifle and fatally shot five of his neighbors, including an 8-year-old boy, after they asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard because they were trying to sleep, authorities said Saturday.

The suspect, identified as 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, remained at large more than 18 hours after the shooting and authorities warned that he might still be armed. The attack happened just before midnight Friday near the town of Cleveland, north of Houston, on a street where some residents say it is not uncommon to hear neighbors unwind by firing off guns.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said Oropeza used an AR-style rifle, and as the search for him dragged into Saturday evening, authorities had widened their efforts to as far as “10 to 20 miles” from the murder scene. He said Oropeza may still have a weapon but that he believes authorities have the rifle used in the shooting.

Capers said they found clothes and a phone while combing a rural area that includes dense layers of forest but that tracking dogs had lost the scent.

“He could be anywhere now,” Capers said.

Capers said the victims were between the ages of 8 and 31 years old and that all were believed to be from Honduras. All were shot “from the neck up,” he said.

The attack was the latest act of gun violence in what has been a record pace of mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, some of which have also involved semiautomatic rifles.

The mass killings have played out in a variety of places — a Nashville school, a Kentucky bank, a Southern California dance hall, and now a rural Texas neighborhood inside a single-story home.

Capers said there were 10 people in the house — some of whom had just moved there earlier in the week — but that that no one else was injured. He said two of the victims were found in a bedroom laying over two children in an apparent attempt to shield them.

A total of three children found covered in blood in the home were taken to a hospital but found to be uninjured, Capers said.

FBI spokesperson Christina Garza said investigators do not believe everyone at the home were members of a single family. The victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8.

The confrontation followed the neighbors walking up to the fence and asking the suspect to stop shooting rounds, Capers said. The suspect responded by telling them that it was his property, Capers said, and one person in the house got a video of the suspect walking up to the front door with the rifle.

The shooting took place on a rural pothole-riddled street where single-story homes sit on wide 1-acre lots and are surrounded by a thick canopy of trees. A horse could be seen behind the victim’s home, while in the front yard of Oropeza’s house a dog and chickens wandered.

Rene Arevalo Sr., who lives a few houses down, said he heard gunshots around midnight but didn’t think anything of it.

“It’s a normal thing people do around here, especially on Fridays after work,” Arevalo said. “They get home and start drinking in their backyards and shooting out there.”

Capers said his deputies had been to Oropeza’s home at least once before and spoken with him about “shooting his gun in the yard.” It was not clear whether any action was taken at the time. At a news conference Saturday evening, the sheriff said firing a gun on your own property can be illegal, but he did not say whether Oropeza had previously broken the law.

Capers said the new arrivals in the home had moved from Houston earlier in the week, but he said he did not know whether they were planning to stay there.

Across the U.S. since Jan. 1, there have been at least 18 shootings that left four or more people dead, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today, in partnership with Northeastern University. The violence is sparked by a range of motives: murder-suicides and domestic violence; gang retaliation; school shootings; and workplace vendettas.

Texas has confronted multiple mass shootings in recent years, including last year’s attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde; a racist attack at an El Paso Walmart in 2019; and a gunman opening fire at a church in the tiny town of Sutherland Springs in 2017.

Republican leaders in Texas have continually rejected calls for new firearm restrictions, including this year over the protests of several families whose children were killed in Uvalde.

A few months ago, Arevalo said Oropeza threatened to kill his dog after it got loose in the neighborhood and chased the pit bull in his truck.

“I tell my wife all the time, ‘Stay away from the neighbors. Don’t argue with them. You never know how they’re going to react,’” Arevalo said. “I tell her that because Texas is a state where you don’t know who has a gun and who is going to react that way.”

China is “waging a war" on Islam in East Turkistan and “committing genocide" against Uyghur Muslims, said a report by the Center for Uyghur Studies (CUS).

The report, titled “Islamophobia in China and Attitudes of Muslim Countries”, highlighted the state-sponsored Islamophobia by the Chinese regime with a particular focus on China’s Islamophobic policies in East Turkistan.

The report also examined China’s “disinformation” campaigns in the Islamic World and the attitudes of Muslim-majority countries on China’s “war" on Islam. It analyzed the “systemic and historic Islamophobic policies" of the Chinese Communist Party that seek to “sinicize” Islam and Muslims under its rule since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

“Today, the Chinese regime is waging a war on Islam in East Turkistan and committing genocide against Uyghur Muslims. However, the Islamic World is yet to recognize the real nature of the Chinese regime due to the mass disinformation campaign the Chinese regime is carrying out among Muslim countries,” said Abdulhakim Idris, Executive Director of Center for Uyghur Studies.

The report also documents the various aspects of China’s “war on Islam” in East Turkistan throughout the last seven decades, and most recently since 2017. It also examines China’s “disinformation” campaigns in the Islamic World and various propaganda practices the Chinese regime deploys to prevent Muslims from voicing getting alarmed by China’s religious persecution of Muslims.

The report ends with a chapter on the failure of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on the Uyghurs and the attitudes of Muslim-majority countries towards the Uyghur Genocide.
With the release of this report, Idris said the CUS hopes to shed light on China’s Islamophobic policies and educate Muslims to see the real face of the Chinese regime. “We have also examined China’s propaganda attempts in the Islamic World and exposed them with facts. We hope more Muslims will be educated on China’s religious persecution of the Uyghur Muslims and stand up to the most Islamophobic regime in the world today,” he said.

Zionist occupation authorities have started plans to confiscate 70 Palestinian homes in the Old City of the southern occupied West Bank governorate of Hebron.

Director of the Hebron Construction Committee Imad Hamdan said the Zionist occupation plans to hand over the Palestinian homes to Zionist settlers.

Hamdan added: "The "Israeli" raid of Nasreddine Building is the start of the implementation of the "Israeli" plan," reiterating that the Palestinians "are the genuine owners of these homes and shops."

At the same time, he stressed that Palestinian ownership of these buildings is protected by local and international laws, which guarantee the safe and secure residence of citizens and prevent forced expulsion.

Meanwhile, Palestinian activist in Hebron Issa Amro criticised the Construction Committee's "weak response" to the Zionist occupation plans, stressing: "The start of the implementation of the Zionist plan, disclosed early this year, sounds a dangerous alarm."

Amro stated: "The forced expulsion of Palestinians out of Nasreddine Building, which is located in the most sensitive places in the Old City, is not an incident to pass without any official action."

Amro accused the Hebron Construction Committee, a Palestinian government body, of coordinating the theft of Palestinian property with the Zionist occupation authorities.

The activist condemned the silence of the Hebron Construction Committee over the demolition of six Palestinian shops by Zionist settlers in the heart of the city a couple of days ago, stating that the committee has a large budget and is able to do much more for the protection of Palestinian property in the city.