Why I’m Not Going To The MAS Youth Outlandish Concert
Disclaimer: This is not a post against MAS Youth, Shaykh Qaradawi, Imam Suhaib Webb, Outlandish or Sami Yusuf. It is a discussion about the environment and atmosphere of Muslim concerts. I love MAS and support them in all events that I feel comfortable with.
Outlandish, a European Muslim-pop band, is coming to Chicago on June 7th to perform a concert for MAS Youth. While I love MAS Youth and what they do in different areas of dawah, I’m going to have to question this event and it’s effects on the Muslim youth, particularly in the west. While there is a big issue of debate on the legitimacy of music, specifically musical instruments, being used during the concert, I find discomfort in a different aspect of the event: the environment and mindset it is encouraging.
Is Your Heart Thirsty? Drink From The Qur’an
Okay so the title to this post sounds way smoother in Arabic. While we may stand in prayer and do our best to concentrate, there’s no way around the fact that it is hard to develop efficient concentration and focus on Allah without knowing the meaning of the words you are reciting, or are hearing the imam recite. Below is an excerpt from the Qur’an being recited. Underneath the clip is the translation, written in the plainest of English that I could find.
The part after Surat al-Fatiha is the ending of Surah Yasîn (chapter 36), verses 77-83. Click the play button to hear the clip, and read along with the amazingly beautiful recitation masha Allah.
I’m Just Joking!
With the great American holiday of April Fool’s having just passed us, the permissibility of exaggeration and stretching the truth in joking has been a hot issue. Is it okay to be sarcastic? Why can’t we stretch the truth a bit? Isn’t it okay if we’re just joking?
In our efforts to follow the hadith of Muhammad [saw], some of us have become insta-scholars, proclaiming rulings on the issue without really thinking it through (trust me, myself included). Below, Shaykh Salman gives us another balanced view of the issue with his awesome wisdom, masha Allah. Reading this fatwa puts a whole new spin on what it means to be “just kidding.”
Every Son Of Adam Is A Sinner
While going through the daily grind, living out our lives day in and day out, there is absolutely no doubt that we do things that we regret. It can be anything from forgetting to lower our gaze, to backbiting about another person, to talking back to our parents - the opportunities to sin are endless.
With all of these evil instances guaranteed to happen to us at one point or another, is their any point to go on? It seems as if we’re just set up to fail. If you’ve ever felt distressed or depressed about the transgressions of your soul, Allah has got answers for you that you will not want to miss.
Falling In Love…Online
A big Jazak Allahu khayr to Saqib for finding this. “Never in my years of seeing Islamic websites on this topic have I seen this good of a fatwa, mashaAllah,” he commented as, he showed me the link.
Question: Two people fall in love after getting to know each other online. Will their marriage be a success or a failure?
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Be Easy
I’m not gonna to lie, one of my side-intentions for going to Michigan to attend the MMYC Conference last weekend was to finally get some Tim Horton’s after such a long time.
Putting that aside, I was legitimately excited for the experience of meeting new brothers and seeing what this weekend was all about. Little did I know that it’d seriously change my life, no joke.
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