HRH Haram

by Mary Jackson (May 2011)

I read Khilafah.com, a taqiyya-free website, to learn about Islam. It was there that I picked up the invaluable Hadith about the shoelace of fire:

1. Fardh (obligatory): The one who performs the action will be rewarded by Allah and the one who neglects it will be punished. Example: the five daily prayers, fasting in the month of Ramadan and paying the Zakat.

2. Mandoob (recommended): The one who does the action will be rewarded and the one who neglects it will not be punished. Example: praying the Sunnah before Dhuhr or fasting on Mondays and Thursdays.

3. Makrooh (undesirable): The one who refrains from the action will be rewarded and the one who does it will not be punished. Example: drinking water while standing and eating onion before coming to the masjid.

4. Mubah (permissible): An action that does not incur a punishment or earn a reward. It is neither encouraged, nor is it discouraged. Example: sitting, standing, walking, and so on.

5. Haram (prohibited): The one who performs the action will be punished and the one who refrains from doing it will be rewarded. Example: murder, dealing in riba (interest), adultery, drinking alcohol and gambling.


Jeddah?

Beauty. Westminster Abbey, full of crosses, statues, stained glass windows, dead poets and other haram horrors. Built to the glory of God, the Abbey gives man, especially the English kind, a fair bit of glory. It is also a Royal Peculiar, something that cannot possibly be halal. Then there was the beautiful bride, a grown woman, not a child, and not hidden in a niqab.
 

  • Christ. The service was unapologetically Christian, with no multi-faith muddying of holy waters. Dean and Chapter, Chapter and Verse, no Imam, no sura and no hint of an inshallah.
     
  • A kiss on the balcony, then another on the lips.
     
  • Joy, joy and more joy. There is no fun in Islam, as Khomeni said.
     
  • In a sermon that could not have been delivered at an Islamic wedding, the Bishop of London spoke of power and its abuse:

    Love is a thyng as any spirit free.
    Wommen, of kynde, desiren libertee,
    And nat to been constreyned as a thral;
    And so doon men, if I sooth seyen shal.

    Makrooh (undesirable). The one who refrains from the action will be rewarded and the one who does it will not be punished. Example: drinking water while standing and eating onion before coming to the masjid.

    And cartwheeling. He who cartwheels is not mindful of Allah. Verily he putteth the cartwheel before the horse. Curses upon his hands and feet, and a shoelace of fire to boot.

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