WORLD CUP FEVER - A VIRUS OF SPIRITUAL DESTRUCTION

Just as the blessed, Noor-filled month of Ramadan was about to end in what should have been a sort of a spiritual climax of celestial Divine effulgence, and the special mercies of Allah Ta'aala, a carefully and painstakingly prepared virus was presented before us, disguised in the form of a colourful, delicious lollipop enticingly beckoning us to put it into our mouth. Sadly, the majority of Muslims did put it in, and were immediately afflicted by an intoxicating fever that was designed to rob them off every last drop of Noor and reward that they had gained in Ramadan. This lollipop virus is the World Cup which began on the 14th of June, the 29th day of Ramadan, and it means nothing but spiritual destruction.

The flagrant disobedience of Allah which accompanies the watching of this event is perhaps hidden to none, but is conveniently ignored due to the intoxicating nature of this fever. Similarly, the glaringly Satanic symbols that are found on everything connected to this fiasco, such as for example, the images in the logo of this world cup, are passed off as insignificant and irrelevant. The start date is also another big indicator - 14/6/2018. Satanism relies heavily on the concept of Numerology - the significance of numbers in affecting good or evil. The number 11 is considered to be very evil. W. Wynn Westcott writes in his book, 'The Occult Power of Numbers,' "So 11 is the essence of all that is sinful, harmful, and imperfect." Looking at the date, if we were to add up 1, 4, and 6, we get 11. Similarly, 2 plus 0 plus 1 plus 8 also totals 11. Important Satanic events such as this one, and many others like 9/11, are done on such dates so as to please Iblees. Unfortunately, even the release of a promotional world cup ball, that had the flag of Saudi Arabia containing the kalimah in Arabic printed on it, wasn't enough to convince passionate fans regarding the sinister nature of this event. Our eyes, our ears, our minds, our hearts, and our full focus is turned towards Russia in pure adoration - the same country that is slaughtering our Muslim brothers and sisters in Syria even as I type this.

I previously used to believe that the World Cup, The Olympics, and other such major sporting events, which are in reality nothing but Satanic rituals, were held to distract the world from atrocities being committed upon the Muslim world specifically during that time. However, I realised that the atrocities continue unabated even when there is no major international distraction. The reality is that the primary objective of these events is to distract Muslims from Allah, and from Deen, and to link them up to slavery of Shaytan and nafs. It is to make them forget why they came to this world, why they were created, what is required of them in this life, and where they are going. The results of this objective can be clearly seen in the Ummat at this time. We need to rebel against Iblees, we need to stand up to him, and refuse to continue being mere puppets. And that will start by us forgetting about the World Cup. Who wins and who loses will not make an iota of difference to our lives - not to our worldly lives, and not to our lives of Aakhirat.

This weak one had written a few simple verses just before the calamity of the 2010 World Cup befell South Africa, which are being reproduced below - (please forgive the childish, incoherent, and disjointed nature of the words, as this poem was composed at about 2 am in a state of paralysis, so this haphazard mix was all that could be managed)


A CUP FULL OF DECEIT

O my friends, listen loud and clear,
For what I will say will be very dear

In making effort for World Cup, we will tire,
But we make no effort to stay far from the fire

We follow the ball with careful contemplation,
But in our Salaah, we have no concentration

To learn each players life, it's as if we went to college,
But of our Nabi's (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) life, we have no knowledge

We rush to the stadium, all evils it does contain,
But to go to the masjid, we grumble and complain

Live match commentary we listen to with passion,
But commentary of the Quran is out of fashion

When will we recognise this obvious deception,
When will we come out of this distorted perception?

May Allah grant hidayat and understanding, to this sinful one firstly and specifically, and to all of us in general. May He save all of us from the traps of Iblees.

CRITERIA FOR A HAFIZ LEADING TARAWEEH

We find ourselves in a time in which rapid spiritual decline is being witnessed even in institutions of Deen. The great Sunnat of Salaatut Taraweeh is no exception. It has indeed become a magnanimously difficult and challenging task to locate a masjid where Taraweeh is taking place in the correct manner, according to the dictates of Shariat. One of the greatest factors, among others, which contributes to this decline, specifically in Taraweeh, is the incompetence of the Haafiz who is leading the salaah. This incompetence is more a spiritual one, than of memorisation, and the reason for it is lack of tarbiyat. Where there is ta'leem, tarbiyat must compulsorily accompany it, otherwise the ta'leem becomes a liability instead of an asset.

 Sadly today, most Huffaz suffice on learning and memorising the words of the Quran, while paying no attention towards trying to become a practical embodiment and a living example of the Speech of Allah. The reality is that a Hafiz of the Quran isn't the one who has just memorised the words of the Quran. Hafiz means protector - the protector of the Quran is he who, having memorised it, protects it in his heart and in his life through amal. A person who has memorised the Quran, but does not have it in his practical life, isn't truly a Hafiz of the Quran. Generally, Masjid committees are wholly unaware of this, and as a result are concerned only with the actual recitation. For this reason, some criteria are being listed below which a Hafiz should ideally meet, before being given the very weighty responsibility of leading the Taraweeh salaah -

1. He should be upon the way of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa'ah (Deoband), he should not be from the deviated sects (Salafi, Barelvi etc.)

2. At least outwardly, his life should be upon the commands of Shari'at, especially the following -

     A. He should not trim his beard to less than a fist length (all year round)
     B. His garment should always be above his ankles.
     C. He should not be involved in the sin of watching TV or movies.
     D. He should not be someone who indulges in the sin of photography.
     E. He performs all his salaah with jamaat in the masjid all year round.
     F. He should not be someone who attends a secular institution, like college and university.

3. His life should be upon the Sunnat of Nabi Sallallahu alaihi wasallam in every aspect. This will include his clothing - he should be in Sunnat clothing all year round, at no time should he wear jeans and t-shirt, or shirt and trouser.

4. When he recites in Taraweeh Salaah, he should follow all the rules of tajweed.

5. He should be aware of all the necessary masaail pertaining to Salaah, and to leading Salaah. He should have learnt these masaail from the Ulama.

6. He should give enough time for the Muqtadis (those following him in Taraweeh) to recite the Thanaa in the beginning of every two rakaats, and enough time to recite the Durood e Ibrahim at the end of every two rakaats.

The onus of producing Huffaz who possess all the above qualities lies upon the Madaris of Hifz. May Allah grant us the ability to fulfil the rights of the Quran.