13 Reasons Why Adebayor Convert to Islam

That Togolese footballer, Emmanuel Adebayor converted to Islam is no longer news. The news had gone viral and the Aston Villa bound striker had also confirmed it.

Adebayor has now come out to fully address the issue by giving reasons why he converted to Islam. He justified his new found faith by saying Muslims are like Jesus and also described them as” truer followers of Christ”.

Read below (Source: The Herald):

1. Jesus (pbuh) taught that there is only One God and Only God should be worshipped as taught in Deut 6:4, Mark 12:29. Muslims also believe this as taught in the Qur’an verse 4:171.

2. Jesus (pbuh) didn’t eat pork as taught in Leviticus 11:7 , and neither do Muslims as taught in the Qur’an verse 6:145.

3. Jesus (pbuh) greeted with the words “as salaamu alaikum” (Peace be with you) in John 20:21. Muslims also greet each other this way.

4. Jesus (pbuh) always said “God Willing” (inshallah), Muslims say this too before doing anything as taught in the Qur’an verses 18:23-24.

5. Jesus (pbuh) washed his face, hands, and feet before praying. The Muslims do the same.

6. Jesus (pbuh) and other prophets of the Bible prayed with their head to the ground (see Matthew26:39). Muslims do too as taught in the Qur’an verse 3:43.

7. Jesus (pbuh) had a beard and wore a throbe. It is Sunnah for Muslim men to do the same.

8. Jesus (pbuh) followed the law and believed in all the prophets, (see Matthew 5:17). Muslims do too as taught in the Qur’an verses 3:84, and 2:285.

9. Jesus’ mother Maryam (pbut) dressed modestly by fully covering her body and wearing a headscarf (hijab) as found in 1 Timothy 2:9, Genesis 24:64-65, and Corinthians 11:6. Muslim women modestly dress the same as taught in the Qur’an verse 33:59.

10. Jesus (pbuh) and other prophets of the Bible fasted up to 40 days (see Exodus 34:28, Daniel 10:2-6. 1Kings 19:8, and Matthew 4:1-Muslims do so also during the month of Ramadan. Muslims are required to fast the full obligatory 30 days (see Qur’an 2:183), and others take it a step further by fasting an additional 6 days to increase their rewards.

11. Jesus (pbuh) taught to say “Peace to this house” when entering it (see Luke 10:5), and to also greet the people in the house with “peace be unto you”. Muslims do exactly what Jesus did and taught. When we enter our homes and the homes of others we say “Bismillah” and also greet with “as salaamu alaikum” (peace be upon you) as taught in the Qur’an verse 24:61.

12. Jesus (pbuh) was circumcised. Circumcision is 1 of the 5 fitrah in Islam, so Muslim men are required to be circumcised. According to the Bible in Luke 2:21, Jesus was eight days old when he was circumcised. In the Torah, Allah/God stated to the Prophet Abraham (pbuh) that it is an “Everlasting covenant” (see Genesis 17:13). In the Qur’an verse 16:123 Muslims are required to follow the religion of Abraham. The Prophet Muhammad (saws) said, “The Prophet Abraham circumcised himself when he was eighty years old.” (see Sahih hadith Bukhari, Muslim, and Ahmad).

13. Jesus (pbuh) spoke aramaic and called God”Elah”, which is pronounced the same as “Allah”. Aramaic is an ancient, Biblical language. It is one of the Semitic languages that also include Hebrew, Arabic, Ethiopic and the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian language of Akkadian.
The Aramaic”Elah” and the Arabic “Allah” are the same.

Recently, through his instagram page, Adebayor wished everyone a happy Eid Mubarak along with a photo of himself wearing the popular Arabian white thaw and an ankle-length white shirt.

Source : Naij

Islam in Bahrain

Islam is the state religion in Bahrain where nearly all citizens are Muslims. However, due to an influx of immigrants and guest workers from non-Muslim countries, such as India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, the overall percentage of Muslims in the country has declined since the late 20th century. The country's 2010 census indicated that 70.2% of Bahrain's population was Muslim.[1] The ruling al-Khalifa monarchy however are Sunni.[2]

History

Prior to Islam, the inhabitants of Qatar and Bahrain practiced Arabian paganism, worshipping idols. Islam swept the entire Arabian region in the 7th century. Muhammad sent his first envoy Al-Ala'a Al-Hadrami to Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi, the ruler of the historical region of Bahrain, which extended the coast from Kuwait to the south of Qatar including Al-Hasa, Qatif, and the Bahrain Islands, in the year 628 AD, inviting him to Islam. Munzir announced his conversion to Islam and all the Arab inhabitants of Bahrain and Qatar including some Persians living in Qatar also became Muslim, heralding the beginning of the Islamic era in Bahrain.

The letter sent by Muhammad to Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi, the governor of Bahrain at the time.

The Ismaili Shia sect known at the Qarmatians seized Bahrain in 899 CE, making it their stronghold and base of operations. They raided Baghdad and in 930 sacked Mecca and Medina, desecrating the Zamzam Well with the bodies of Hajj pilgrim and taking the Black Stone with them back to Bahrain where it remained for twenty years. The Qarmatians were eventually defeated by their Ismaili counterparts, the Abbasids in 976 and afterwards their power waned.

The defeat of the Qarmatian state saw the gradual wane of their revolutionary brand of Ismaili Islam. Instead, under a process encouraged by Sunni rulers over the next four hundred years, Twelver Shia Islam became entrenched. According to historian Juan Cole, Sunnis favoured the quietist Twelver branch of Shi'ism over the Qarmatians and promoted its development in Bahrain.[3] In the 13th Century, there arose what was termed the 'Bahrain School', which integrated themes of philosophy and mysticism into orthodox Twelver practise. The school produced theologians such as Sheikh Kamal al-Din Ibn Sa’adah al Bahrani (d. 1242), Sheikh Jamal al-Din ‘Ali ibn Sulayman al-Bahrani (d. 1271), and perhaps most famously Sheikh Maitham Al Bahrani (d. 1280).[4]

Today

There are no official figures, but it is estimated that 60-70% of the Bahrainis follow Shia Jafari (Twelver) school, with the remaining third following different schools of Sunni Islam. The Al Khalifa ruling family and its supporting tribes adhere to the Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence which was spread by the Uyunid dynasty, which came by the command of Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Uyuni, while the Huwala Sunnis follow the Shafi'i school. There is also a large population of the South Asian Sunni Muslim residents who follow the Hanafi school and also some following the Shia Jafari school from South Asia.
The country observes the Muslim feasts of Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr, the Prophet Muhammad's birthday (Mawlid), and the Islamic New Year as national holidays.

Political liberalisation under King Hamad has seen Islamist parties contest Bahrain's elections and become a dominant force in parliament. Sunni Islamist parties, the salafist Asalah and the Muslim Brotherhood affiliated Al-Menbar Islamic Society are two of the largest parties in parliament, while the Shia Islamist Al Wefaq was expected to become the dominating party after 2006's general election having boycotted the 2002 poll. In the 2006 election Wefaq received the backing of the Islamic Scholars Council which helped it seventeen of the eighteen seats it contested. In the 2010 election, they increased their representation by one seat, winning all the constituencies they contested, to take 18 of the 40 available parliamentary seats.[5]

Source : Wikipedia

The Disbelievers will someday wish that They had been Muslims

We have already discussed the letters which appear at the beginning of some Surahs. Allah said:

﴿رُّبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ﴾

(How much would those who disbelieved wish) Here Allah tells us that they will regret having lived in disbelief, and will wish that they had been Muslims in this world. Regarding Allah's saying,

﴿رُّبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَوْ كَانُواْ مُسْلِمِينَ ﴾

(How much would those who disbelieved wish that they had been Muslims.) Sufyan Ath-Thawri reported from Salamah bin Kuhayl, who reported from Abi Az-Za`ra', from `Abdullah, who said: "This is about the Jahannamiyyun (the sinners among the believers who will stay in Hell for some time), when they ﴿the disbelievers﴾ see them being brought out of Hell.''

﴿رُّبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَوْ كَانُواْ مُسْلِمِينَ ﴾

(How much would those who disbelieved wish that they had been Muslims.) Ibn Jarir reported that Ibn `Abbas and Anas bin Malik explained that this Ayah refers to the Day when Allah will detain the sinful Muslims in Hell along with the idolators. He said: "The idolators will say to them, `What you used to worship on earth has not helped you.' Then by virtue of His mercy, Allah will be angry for their sake, and He will remove them ﴿from it﴾. That is when

﴿رُّبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَوْ كَانُواْ مُسْلِمِينَ ﴾

(How much would those who disbelieved wish that they had been Muslims).''

﴿ذَرْهُمْ يَأْكُلُواْ وَيَتَمَتَّعُواْ﴾

(Leave them to eat and enjoy) this is a stern and definitive threat for them, like His saying,

﴿قُلْ تَمَتَّعُواْ فَإِنَّ مَصِيرَكُمْ إِلَى النَّارِ﴾

(Say: "Enjoy your brief life! But certainly, your destination is the Fire!'') ﴿14:30﴾

﴿كُلُواْ وَتَمَتَّعُواْ قَلِيلاً إِنَّكُمْ مُّجْرِمُونَ ﴾

((O disbelievers!) Eat and enjoy yourselves (in this worldly life) for a little while. Verily, you are the guilty.)﴿77:46﴾ Allah says:

﴿وَيُلْهِهِمُ الاٌّمَلُ﴾

(let them be preoccupied with false hope.) i.e., distracted from repentance and turning to Allah, for

﴿فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ﴾

(They will soon come to know!) that is, their punishment.

﴿وَمَآ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَرْيَةٍ إِلاَّ وَلَهَا كِتَـبٌ مَّعْلُومٌ - مَّا تَسْبِقُ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلَهَا وَمَا يَسْتَـْخِرُونَ ﴾

(4. And never did We destroy a township but there was a known decree for it.) (5. No nation can advance its term, nor delay it.)

Source : Quran Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Hadith about Kindness

Aishah RA the wife of Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him), reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him said: Aishah, verily Allah is kind and He loves kindness and confers upon kindness which he does not confer upon severity and does not confer upon anything else besides it (kindness).
(Muslim)

Source : Hadith of The Day

Hadith about Dua after Prayer

Mu’adh RA reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) took hold of my hand and said, “O Mu’adh! By Allah I love you, so I advise you to never forget to recite after every prayer: “Allahumma a’inni ala dhikrika, wa shukrika, wa husni ‘ibadatika (O Allah, help me remember You, to be grateful to You, and to worship You in an excellent manner).”
(Dawoud)

Source : Hadith of the Day

There is no Doubt in the Qur'an

The Book, is the Qur'an, and Rayb means doubt. As-Suddi said that Abu Malik and Abu Salih narrated from Ibn `Abbas, and Murrah Al-Hamadani narrated from Ibn Mas`ud and several other Companions of the Messenger of Allah that,

﴿لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ﴾

(In which there is no Rayb), means about which there is no doubt. Abu Ad-Darda', Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Abu Malik, Nafi` `Ata', Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas, Muqatil bin Hayyan, As-Suddi, Qatadah and Isma`il bin Abi Khalid said similarly. In addition, Ibn Abi Hatim said, "I do not know of any disagreement over this explanation.'' The meaning of this is that the Book, the Qur'an, is without a doubt revealed from Allah. Similarly, Allah said in Surat As- Sajdah,

﴿الم - ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ ﴾

(Alif Lam Mim). The revelation of the Book (this Qur'an) in which there is no doubt, is from the Lord of all that exists) (2:1-2).

Some scholars stated that this Ayah - 2:2 - contains a prohibition meaning, "Do not doubt the Qur'an.'' Furthermore, some of the reciters of the Qur'an pause upon reading,

﴿لاَ رَيْبَ﴾

(there is no doubt) and they then continue;

﴿فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ﴾

(in which there is guidance for the Muttaqin (the pious and righteous persons)). However, it is better to pause at,

﴿لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ﴾

(in which there is no doubt) because in this case,

﴿هُدًى﴾

(guidance) becomes an attribute of the Qur'an and carries a better meaning than,

﴿فِيهِ هُدًى﴾

(in which there is guidance).

Source : Quran Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Islam in Brazil

Islam in Brazil was first practiced by African slaves. The early Brazilian Muslims led the largest slave revolt in Brazil and Latin America, which then had the largest slave population of the world.[1] The next significant migration of Muslims was by Arabs from Syria and Lebanon. The number of Muslims in Brazil, according to the 2010 Brazilian census, was of 35,207.[2]

History

African immigration

The history of Muslims in Brazil begins with the importation of African slave labor to the country. Brazil obtained 37% of all African slaves traded, and more than 3 million slaves were sent to this one country. Starting around 1550, the Portuguese began to trade African slaves to work the sugar plantations once the native Tupi people deteriorated. Scholars claim that Brazil received more enslaved Muslims than anywhere else in the Americas.[3]

During the days of the Barbary Wars, some native Brazilians came into interaction with Muslim lands. It was noted by Dr. Antonio Sosa, a Portuguese cleric held captive in North Africa in the 1570s, that the infamous port of Algiers maintained one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world including Amerindians from Iberian colonies in the New World.[4] Barbary corsairs were known to attack shipping and take prisoners coming from the Americas. In 1673, 140 prisoners were taken from a Rio de Janeiro fleet while a 1674 capture of a Brazilian ship contributed in the decision to increase naval protection.[5]

Malê Revolt

The Muslim uprising of 1835 in Bahia illustrates the condition and legacy of resistance among the community of Malês, as African Muslims were known in 19th-century Bahia. The majority of the participants were Nago, the local designation for ethnic Yoruba. Many of the "Malês" had been soldiers and captives in the wars between Oyo, Ilorin and other Yoruba city-states in the early part of the 19th century. Other participants included Hausa and Nupe clerics, along with Jeje or Dahomean soldiers who had converted to Islam or fought in alliance with Muslims.[6]"

Beginning on the night of January 24, 1835, and continuing the following morning, a group of African born slaves occupied the streets of Salvador and for more than three hours they confronted soldiers and armed civilians.[7][8]

Even though it was short lived, the revolt was the largest slave revolt in Brazil and the largest urban slave revolt in the Americas.[9] About 300 Africans took part and the estimated death toll ranges from fifty to a hundred, although exact numbers are unknown. This number increases even more if the wounded who died in prisons or hospitals are included.[8] Many participants were sentenced to death, prison, whippings, or deportation. The rebellion had nationwide repercussions. Fearing the example might be followed, the Brazilian authorities began to watch the malês very carefully and in subsequent years intensive efforts were made to force conversions to Catholicism and erase the popular memory of and affection towards Islam.[10] However, the African Muslim community was not erased overnight, and as late as 1910 it is estimated there were still some 100,000 African Muslims living in Brazil.[11]

Muslim immigrants in Brazil

Following the revolt of the Afro-Brazilian Muslim community, the next period of Islam in the country was primarily the result of Muslim immigration from the Middle East and South East Asia. Some 11 million Syrian and Lebanese (mostly Maronite Christians) immigrants live throughout Brazil.[12] The biggest concentration of Muslims is found in the greater São Paulo region.

Architecture and cuisine also bear the trademarks of the culture brought to the hemisphere by the Arabs. As an example, the second largest fast food chain in Brazil is Habib's, which serves Arab food. The diversity of influence also stretches to businesses such as the textile industry, which is mostly run by merchants of Syrian-Lebanese origin (mainly of Christian faith). The São Paulo city council has a Muslim Councillor by the name of Mohammad Murad, a lawyer.[13] A number of mosques dot the greater São Paulo area, the oldest and most popular of these being found on Av. Do Estado. Since its establishment, the mosque has added a Quranic school, library, kitchen and meeting hall for various functions.


Today

Mosque in Cuiabá, Brazil.

Population

According to the Brazilian census of 2010[14] there were 35,167 Muslims living in the country, primarily concentrated in the states of São Paulo and Paraná, compared to 22,450 Muslims in 1990 and 27,239 in 2000.[15] There are significant Muslim communities in the industrial suburbs of the city of São Paulo and in the port city of Santos, as well as in smaller communities in Paraná State in the coastal region and in Curitiba and Foz do Iguaçu in the Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay triborder area. The community is overwhelmingly Sunni; the Sunnis are almost completely assimilated into broader society. The recent Shi'ite immigrants gravitate to small insular communities in São Paulo, Curitiba, and Foz do Iguaçu.

A recent trend has been the increase in conversions to Islam among non-Arab citizens.[16] A recent Muslim source estimated that there are close to 10,000 Muslim converts living in Brazil.[12] During the past 30 years, Islam has become increasingly noticeable in Brazilian society by building not only mosques, but also libraries, arts centres, and schools and also by funding newspapers.[17] The growth of Islam within Brazil is demonstrated in the fact that 2 of the 3 existing Portuguese translations of the Qur'an were created by Muslim translators in São Paulo.[12]


Infrastructure

As has been the case in many of the larger metropolitan mosques in South America, foreign assistance and individual effort have played major roles in the sustainability of the mosques in the greater São Paulo area. For example the Imam of the Av. Do Estado Mosque is from the Middle East and often Imams are chosen jointly by the Mosques' management committees and the Arab governments that pay for the Imam's services. Ismail Hatia, a South African who came to Brazil in 1956, built a mosque in Campinas many years ago. Hatia, who also runs a language school, felt that the approximately 50 Muslim families in Campinas were in dire need of some community organization to help provide cohesion and direction for the Muslims. The Campinas mosque now holds regular Friday juma'at prayers.

Source : Wikipedia