Al-hamdu li-llah! StraightWay Ethical Advisory, a consulting partnership focusing on Islamic financial ethics has been launched. Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and I are the Group's Principals. May Allah bless it and its fruits. More on this later in sha'Allah!

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani (Toronto) visited Boston this past weekend. It was a blessing to spend some time with him and his gracious host, Shaykh Sami` ul-Ihsan Khan (who is a student at the Harvard Law School) and the newly minted Doctor of Philosophy, Dr. Harun Spevack, Director of the Bukhari Institute. The Bukhari Institue coordinated Shaykh Faraz's trip, along with the MSAs at BU and Northeastern (may Allah reward them all).

Recently, an op-ed by appeared in the Harvard Crimson that criticized the University for allowing the Harvard Islamic Society to perform the adhan (lit. announcement, the traditional Muslim call to prayer) in the Tercentenary Theater. Members of the Islamic Society shared the adhan with the University community in the early afternoon of each days throughout Islam Awareness Week. The issue--along with the other recent Muslim-related controversy at Harvard, i.e. the University's decision to set up womens' hours at one of its many gyms--was mentioned in a short but fair piece that was recently published in the NY Times. While the authors of the Crimson Op-Ed appear to raise reasonable questions about the nature and limits of tolerance and pluralism at Harvard, on closer inspection, their objection to the Islamic Society's performance of the adhan for the University community appears to rest on a rather tenuous definition of the limits of public religious expression.

I will not attempt to deal with the problems raised in the Op-Ed comprehensively here. One of our major contentions with the article's authors argument, however, is that, although they attempt to do so, they in fact fail to convincingly explain why performing the adhan on campus differs from other religious expressions that are allowed to be performed in public on campus. They argue that performing the adhan in public, since it contains the Two Testifications (shahadatyn) "I bear witness that there is no god but God; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God (in Arabic)" and the Statement, "There is no god but God (again in Arabic)," is 1) an act of proselytization and 2) offensive to those who believe that that God does not exist, that there are gods other than God or that Muhammad (upon whom be peace and blessing) is not the Messenger of God. They argue that other expressions, such as the public lighting of the menorah or the ringing of church bells from Memorial Church (which is a steady feature of the sonic landscape here at Harvard) do not share this proselytizing and offensive aspect and therefore should not be supressed by the University (as they call for it to do with the adhan). The question that I leave the reader with however, is the following: Is it in fact the case that other religious rituals do not convey their performers' affirmation of core principles of the religions with which they are associated? More on this later in sha'Allah...

An excellent post from Ustadh Abu Eesa Ni`matullah on his occassionally humorous blog about the current revival of the practice of holding intense, marathon recitations of major hadith collections. My teacher, Shaykh Nizam Yaquby, told Shaykh Suheil Laher (MIT) and me, when he visited us at Harvard last year, about several blessed recitations of this type that he has attended. He mentioned, for example, a recitation of the entire Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal under the supervision of the "Shaykh of the Hanbalis", Shaykh Abdullah Ibn `Aqil (may Allah preserve him!), in his home in Eastern Arabia! In fact, Shaykh Nizam will be attending a serial recitation of this type, in the Grand Mosque of Kuwait, from April 17 to 25. Private sessions start every morning and public sessions last from `Asr to 10pm at night!

On Fri., March 14, I participated, along with our dear friend `Abdur-Rahman Syed, in an evening discussion of Islam and Violence at Northeastern, the first event of the Islamic Society of Northeastern's Islam Awareness Week. The title of my presentation was "Does Islam Have a 'Violence' Problem?: Theological, Ethical and Strategic Considerations." The strategic consideration including personal and public policy suggestions, and were quite interesting--if I must say so myself!:)

Even a fairly casual observer of the mainstream media and blogosphere will have noticed that the Harvard University administration's decision to provide women-only hours at the QRAC, one of the University's many gymnasiums, has attracted a significant amount of attention. Regrettably, a great deal of confusion, hostility, ignorance and inaccuracy has characterized the treatment of this issue, not only on anti-Muslim, Islamophobic blogs and talk radio, but also in the mainstream media, even the campus paper! As Chaplain at the Harvard Islamic Society (the primary Muslim students' organization at Harvard University), I support the University's decision to provide this opportunity to women who do not wish to workout in front of men and would encourage people--even those who, for one reason of another, find themselves violently opposed to all things Islamic--to make a good faith effort to get the facts right! A good place to start would be with the Harvard Islamic Society press release and other helpful statements, such as this or even this.

The Messenger said: "The sun and moon are two of God's signs. They are not eclipsed because of the death or life of anyone. So when you see that [i.e. an eclipse], pray and supplicate until that which you are experiencing [i.e. the eclipse of the sun or moon] is uncovered."(Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Subhanallah. In the Boston area, we just experienced a very visible, truly spectacular total lunar eclipse (the totality lasted about 1 hour!), during which we were blessed with the opportunity to engage in the Prayer of the Lunar Eclipse (salat khusuf al-qamar), a confirmed practice of the Prophet Muhammad (salla llahu `alayhi wa-sallam). Al-hamdu li-llah. The students at Harvard gathered for prayer during the Eclipse. I regrettably missed the opportunity to be with them and prayed by myself at home.

I came across an interesting article in Forbes that was published two days ago. The article was essentially about the need for more fuqaha'. Although this piece--and others like it that have appeared in the press recently--stress the need for more traditional Islamic ethicists within the context of one particualr field (i.e. contemporary finance) it should be noted that the need actually pressing in several areas of human activity--including (but not limited to) the following:

bioethics
military ethics
intellectual property ethics
environmental ethics
medical ethics

A precious study by Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah on the well-known issue of qiyam jama`at maqam al-qadi, i.e. a community of Muslims collectively fulfilling the role-function of the Islamic judiciary in the absence of a qualified magistrate. This issue is of obvious importance to Muslim communities living outside locales in which there is an Islamic judiciary, as medium to advanced students of fiqh, can recognize. Enjoy. More comments to follow later, in sha'Allah!

The following are notes from my recent appearance on "The Family Tree," a local Boston radio program on WRBB 104.9 hosted by local activist, Ms. Latifa Ziyad Turner.

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

May peace be upon you.

I testify that there is no god but Allah, alone without partner. I testify that Muhammad is Messenger of God and His Servant.

Today I want to speak to you about speaking truth to power.

Speaking truth to power is an expression that one can hear on people's tongues a great deal nowadays. It means to point out a flaw, to say that something is wrong, to note that all is not right, in the presence of authority, of the wealthy, of those in command. Many think of it as a political act: Speaking out against a war, for example. This is speaking truth to power. This is important. However, speaking truth to power is more: it is a comprehensive practice that applies to the external, the internal, the personal and the social.

God says: "O you who have believed, fear God and say a word that hits goes to the points (qawlan sadidan)." The commentators notes that this 'word that goes to the point' refers to the Statment "there is no god but Allah." The statement really does "hit home": all other truths flows from it. A person who lives this truth is drawn, pulled by the demands of basic consistency, to live true in every area of his/her life.

The Prophet Muhammad (may peace and upon whom) taught that the best struggle, the best jihad, is a word of truth in the presence of a tyrannical leader. This is speaking truth to power.

The Prophet Muhammad (may peace and upon whom) taught the believers to speak truth even if it is difficult. And speaking truth can be difficult. When every one around you, for example, says that making money is what life is about--and the truth is that making money in itself can not save any one--then speaking and living truth can feel like swimming against the current.

Faith is intricately linked with speaking truth to power. We bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the One, the Only, the Lord of all that exists, the All-knowing, All-powerful. This means that we know that only God can benefit us or harm us. Not our boss, our leaders. A person that internalizes this is freed from the paralysis of fear of every would-be tyrant.

Speaking truth to power means being ready to hear the truth when in position of responsibility. As husbands, are we ready to hear truth from our wives? As parents, our we ready to hear truth from our children?

It means pointing out what is wrong with ourselves. God tells us in the Qur'an to stand up as witnesses even if against our relatives and own folk. This requires us to be real with ourselves.

The Prophet (may peace and upon whom) taught that speaking truth to power can be an expresion of loyalty: "'Religion is loyalty.' They said 'To whom.' He said 'To God, His Book, His Messenger, to the leaders of Muslims and Muslims in general'"

May god makes us people who speak truth to power in the comprehensive sense of the expression and illuminate our hearts.

A week or so ago, I literally stumbled across some complaints that have apparently been made by workers at an Indianapolis-based real estate group against their employer. The employer is poised to act as the manager of an aspiring shari`a-compliant real estate fund (see below for use of the term "aspiring"). Since I am a member of the fund's shari`a consultant committee, I am very interested in these claims. I have not verfied the claims and therefore can not comment on them or their consequence, should they be verified, for the shari`a compliance of the fund once it comes up for review. In sha'Allah, I will update this space as more information becomes available to me. I have contacted an individual, mentioned in several press reports and blogs, who is apparently familiar with the details of the complaints. I am waiting for more information from this individual.

For now, I would like to make a few quick remarks:

* In traditional Islamic ethics (fiqh), treating one's workers fairly is an obligation (wajib). This obligation is indicated by the general signification of multiple passages (ayat) of the Qur'an and multiple, explicit Prophetic traditions (ahadith). As such, this obligation has been transmitted--and related issues discussed--in detail by master ethicist-jurists across centuries of Islamic intellectual history.

* The fund has not yet been launched. Therefore, of course, the fund has not been reviewed by the committee for shari`a compliance. To repeat: the committee has not opined as to the whether the fund is shari`a-compliant. (Hence the use of the phrase "aspiring shari`a compliant fund.")

* The committees known in the shari`a compliant finance sector (aka the "Islamic finance" sector) as "shari`a supervisory boards" are, in essence, ethical compliance review boards. I therefore strongly encourage any party that is aware of possible ethical violations to bring these issues to the attention of the ethical boards of the shari`a compliant financial entities in question. This is why such boards exist. This tactic has been effective on numerous occassions in the past.

Q: How can one become more sincere?

A: You become more sincere by realizing (i.e. deepening and concretizing) your awareness of the One who is the only worthy target of your actions, Allah (God). This is done in many ways. Among them are the following:

* Reflecting on Creation (e.g. the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, the water cycle, vegetation, animals, human beings themselves, your own body, etc) in order to comprehend what they indicate of Allah's Beauty and Majesty

* Reflecting on the afterlife (e.g. the Tribulations of the Grave, the Questioning by the Two Angels, the Resurrection, the Gathering, the Accounting, Crossing the Bridge)

* Performing your obligations

* Striving for mindfulness in your prayer

* Shunning bad deeds

* Mentioning Allah frequently

* Reciting and reflecting on the Qur'an

* Monitoring yourself scrupulously, both inwardly and outwardly

* Taking yourself to task

May Allah make us all servants of His who single Him out as the target of all our deeds and states.

A typically beneficial post from Imam Zaid (may Allah preserve him) on "Islam and Honor Kilings"

By Imam Zaid Shakir

Posted Jan 5, 2008

For that reason, we ordained for the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul for other than murder or spreading corruption in the land, it is as if he has killed the whole of humanity… Qur’an 5:35

One of the gravest charges levied against Islam, in terms of its alleged antipathy towards women, is the claim that it encourages a phenomenon known as honor killings. This un-Islamic practice consists of the murder of female family members who are seen as dishonoring their families through real or perceived acts of indiscretion, such as premarital sexual relations or unapproved dating. This charge has been intensified recently due to the tragic murder of a Pakistani Canadian teenage girl, Aqsa Parvez.

The practice of honor killings has absolutely no sanction in the Qur’an, the Prophetic practice, or in the evolved systems of Islamic law. In the case of fornication or adultery, the only way a charge can be levied against an individual, male or female, is through confession, which is discouraged, or by four people actually witnessing the male organ penetrating the female. Even if four people witnessed a naked man engaged with a naked woman, but could not actually testify that they witnessed penetration, their testimony would be rejected.

In a somewhat related issue, it should be noted that in three of the four Sunni schools of law, as is the case with all of the major Shiite schools, pregnancy is not a proof of fornication, as the possibility of rape exists in such a case. Therefore, if a single woman were to become pregnant, according to the overwhelming majority of Islamic jurists, there is no basis for punishing her. In the few well-publicized instances where a pregnant woman has been threatened with death, the minority opinion of the Maliki School of law was unjustly evoked, as occurred in Nigeria, or criminal malfeasance occurred as is the case in Pakistan.

In the case of dating, there is no Islamically-mandated punishment for a male or a female seeing a member of the opposite sex against the wishes of their families. Such situations should be handled with counseling, compassion and a healthy dose of common sense. Muslim immigrants who have migrated to the West should realize that they have placed their children in an environment where there is a tremendous amount of anti-Islamic peer pressure. This is especially true if they have placed their children, as was the case of the young lady who was recently murdered in Canada, in public schools. Children who succumb to that pressure should not be seen as “bad” kids, for by the standards of the society that has shaped them, no matter how strong their home environment is, they are normal. To kill a female guilty of an offense such as dating or dressing like her peers under such circumstances is nothing short of cold-blooded murder, and no Islamic authority can argue otherwise. < /P>

The overwhelming majority of Muslim societies are free from the practice of honor killing, although it does endure in some parts of the Middle East and South Asia. According to statistics released by the United Nations in 2000 there are approximately 5,000 deaths annually from “honor” killings. Even if one killing occurred due to such barbarity, it would be one too many, as the Qur’an emphasizes.

However, to use the existence of such killings to smear Islam shows the desperation and misplaced priorities of many of those levying such attacks. Most of those deaths are the pathetic acts of sick individuals, who are far removed from the letter, as we have shown above, and the spirit of Islam. An example of such an individual is Muhammad Riaz, a British Muslim of South Asian descent who died as a result of a fire he set to burn to death his wife and four daughters, allegedly because his wife resisted his attempt to arrange marriages for his daughters. His wife and daughters did perish in that fire. To present Riaz, whose daughters had neither fornicated nor dated, as anything other than a sick individual is a sad attempt to defame Islam.

To attack Islam from this angle is a case of misplaced priorities because it can distract attention from far graver abuses of women that demand immediate redress. For example, the State Department estimates that approximately 800,000 women and girls are trafficked as sexual slaves annually. The overwhelming majority of these females are taken from and sent to nominally Christian countries.

Over the last five years well over one thousand women have been kidnapped and then gruesomely murdered in Guatemala. Their bodies usually turn up after a few days, mutilated and in some instances with messages such as “death to bitches” written on them. To date only three men have been incarcerated in connection with those attacks. Would it be proper to thereby conclude that the “Christians” of Guatemala, an overwhelmingly Christian nation, have no regard for the suffering of their women? Of course it would not.

At the end of the day, attacks such as the one that resulted in the death of Aqsa Parvez are acts of domestic violence resulting from rage that emanates from a total neglect of Islamic teachings. Ms. Parvez lost her life due to such violence and perhaps there are a few other instances where Muslims women in Canada or here in the United States, have been similarly victimized. However, these instances should be kept in perspective. In the United States there are approximately 1,200 women killed every year by their husbands or intimate partners. There are other “Christian” nations where murders of this type are even higher.

The United States, Guatemala, and other countries we could mention where similar abuses occur are Christian nations. However, it would be disingenuous to use such statistics as an indictment against Christianity. These issues are an affront to humanity and require our collective attention. Until we all view the problem this way, we are in jeopardizing the health and integrity of our society.

Saying this is not to minimize the gravity of so-called honor killings to the extent that they do occur in Muslim societies. As Muslims, we are commanded to be committed to justice. That commitment entails that as a community we oppose in the strongest terms “honor” killings and take immediate action to end such a practice in our communities.

Practical steps include the following:

1. Emphasize that such killings have no sanction in the Qur’an, the Prophetic practice, or in Islamic law.
2. Declare anyone guilty of involvement in honor killings to be a cold-blooded murderer.
3. Encourage judicial authorities to enact the harshest penalties possible for anyone accused of involvement in such killings.
4. Educate our Muslim communities, especially in the West, about the un-Islamic nature of honor killings, and the pressures, nuances, challenges and complications facing young Muslims, male and female in the West.
5. Work to eliminate the double standards, and to expose the hypocrisy that exist in our communities, generally, concerning attitudes and standards relating to the indiscretions of males as opposed to females.

In conclusion, Islam honors the female, and values femininity. It is up to every Muslim to translate teachings in that regard into a beautiful reality that helps to elevate the status of women in all societies. Honor killings, domestic violence in general, murders of the type terrorizing women in Guatemala, female sexual slavery and trafficking, pornography, especially its more violent manifestations, are all crimes against humanity that we should oppose in the strongest terms and work strenuously to eliminate. If our women are not safe, physically, emotionally, spiritually, or psychologically we are all at risk, for without women men are incomplete, and without men women are incomplete. Our Prophet, peace and blessings of God upon him alluded to this complementariness when he said, peace upon him, “Women are the complimenting halves of men.” Let us all work harder to make our societies whole.

The resolutions of the most recent session of the OIC Fiqh Academy include some very important fatawa. They range from a robust, considered statement on the rules governing consideration of the objectives of the shari`a in ethico-legal reasoning to a statment on the rules governing the impermissibility and permissibility of various types of cosmetic surgery. May Allah reward the `ulama for their efforts.

I recently came across Ibrahim Amin's Islamic Finance Blog. According to Ustadh Ibrahim, he founded the blog to bring together several fellow `ulama' and students of Islamic ethics (talabat al-`ilm) who met in 2006 for a week long course on the AAOIFI Shari`a Standards. I was pleased to see this blog, since 1) IFP held a one day course on the AAOIFI Shari`a Standards, led by Shaykh Nizam Ya`qubi, at the Harvard Law School this summer and 2) several fellow students of Islamic ethics in the US want to expand on this course and set up a similar training program here.

Shaykh Suhaib Webb visited Boston and gave the Sermon of the Feast of the Fast-Breaking (khutbat `id al-fitr) on Oct. 13, 2007. Regrettably, I was travelling, so I could not meet him!

May Allah accept our deeds! Blessed `Id.

On Thursday night, based on its evaluation of reports of the sighting of the crescent moon, the New England Council of Imams announced that Ramadan 1428 will complete 30 days and therefore Oct 13, 2007 would be of Shawwal 1, 1428 i.e. `Id al-Fitr (The Feast of the Fast-Breaking)!

A pledge of great importance posted by Shaykh Zaid, Shaykh Suhaib Webb and others.

Pledge of Mutual Respect and Cooperation Between Sunni Muslim Scholars, Organizations, and Students

Hold fast to the Rope of Allah, all together, and be not divided. (Qur’an, 3:103)

Surely, those who have made divisions in their religion and turned into factions, you have nothing to do with them. Their case rests with Allah; then He will inform them of what they used to do. (Qur’an, 6:159)

In light of the Divine Word, we recognize that the historical nature of Sunni Islam is a broad one that proceeds from a shared respect for the Qur’an and Sunnah, a shared dependence on the interpretations and derivations of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and a shared respect for the writings of a vast array of scholars who have been identified by their support for and affiliation with the Sunni Muslims and have been accepted as the luminaries of Sunni Islam - as broadly defined.

Likewise, detailed discussions in matters of theology are the specific domain of trained specialists, and proceed on the basis of well-defined principles and methodologies, which are beyond the knowledge of the generality of Muslims.

Our forebears in faith, with all the dedication, brilliance and sincerity clearly manifested in their works, have debated and discussed abstruse and complex issues of creed and practice, and have failed in most instances to convince their opponents of the veracity and accuracy of their positions.

The average Muslim is only responsible for knowing the basics of creed as they relate to a simple belief in Allah, His Angels, Scriptures, the Prophets and Messengers, the Last Day, and the Divine Decree.

Recognizing that the specter of sectarianism threatens to further weaken and debilitate our struggling Muslim community at this critical time in human affairs, and recognizing that Allah, Exalted is He, has given the Muslim community in the West a unique historical opportunity to advance the cause of peace, cooperation, and goodwill amongst the people of the world, we the undersigned respectfully:

- Urge Muslims to categorically cease all attacks on individual Muslims and organizations whose varying positions can be substantiated based on the broad scholarly tradition of the Sunni Muslims. We especially urge the immediate cessation of all implicit or explicit charges of disbelief;

- Urge Muslim scholars and students of sacred knowledge to take the lead in working to end ad hominem attacks on other scholars and students; to cease unproductive, overly polemical writings and oral discourse; and to work to stimulate greater understanding and cooperation between Muslims, at both the level of the leadership and the general community;

-Urge Muslims in the West, especially our youth, to leave off unproductive and divisive discussions of involved theological issues that are the proper domain of trained specialists, and we especially discourage participation in those internet chat rooms, campus discussion groups, and other forums that only serve to create ill-will among many Muslims, while fostering a divisive, sectarian spirit;

-Urge all teachers to instruct their students, especially those attending intensive programs, to respect the diverse nature of our communities and to refrain from aggressive challenges to local scholars, especially those known for their learning and piety;

- Urge our brothers and sisters in faith to concentrate on enriching their lives by deepening their practice of Islam through properly learning the basics of the faith, adopting a consistent regimen of Qur’anic recitation, endeavoring to remember and invoke Allah in the morning and evening, learning the basics of jurisprudence, attempting to engage in voluntary fasting as much as possible, studying the Prophetic biography on a consistent basis, studying the etiquettes that guide our interactions with our fellow Muslims, and the performance of other beneficial religious acts, to the extent practical for their circumstances;

- Finally, we urge the Believers to attempt to undertake individual and collective actions that will help to counter the growing campaign of anti-Islamic misinformation and propaganda that attempts to portray our religion as a violence-prone relic of the past unsuitable for modern society, and by so doing justify indiscriminate wars against Muslim peoples, occupation of Muslim lands, and usurpation of their resources.

Saying this, we do not deny the reality of legitimate differences and approaches, nor the passionate advocacy of specific positions based on those differences. Such issues should be rightfully discussed observing established rules of debate. However, we urge the above measures to help prevent those differences from destroying the historical unity and integrity of the Muslim community, and creating irreparable divisions between our hearts. Further, we do not deny the urgency, especially in light of the situation in Iraq, of efforts to foster greater cooperation between diverse Muslim communities. Hence, this document should not be seen as negating any statements, or declarations designed to foster greater peace and harmony between diverse Muslim communities. However, we feel, as Sunni Muslims, a pressing need to first set our own affairs in order.

In conclusion, having called our brothers and sisters to act on these points, we, the undersigned, pledge to be the first to actively implement them in response to the Divine Word:

Do you enjoin righteousness on the people and refuse to follow it yourselves and all along you are reciting the scripture!? Will you not reflect? (Qur’an (2:44)

We ask Allah for the ability to do that which He loves. And Allah alone is the Grantor of Success.

Signed,

Abdelrahman Helbawi
Abdul Karim Khalil
Abdullah Adhami
Abdurraheem Green
Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera
Abu Aaliyah Surkheel Sharif
Abu Eesa Niamatullah
Aisha Faleh AlThani
Asma Mirza
Cheikhna B. Bayyah
Dawood Yasin
Ebadur Rahman
Faraz Rabbani
Fuad Nahdi
Gul Mohammad
Haitham al-Haddad
Hamza Yusuf
Hasan al-Banna
Ibrahim Osi-Efa
Jihad Hashim Brown
M. Abdul Latif Finch
M. Afifi al-Akiti
Mehdi Kader
Mokhtar Maghroui
Muhammad Alshareef
Muhammad Ash-Shaybani
Muhammad ibn Adam
Omar Qureshi
S. Abdal-Hakim Jackson
Shamira Chothia Ahmed
Siddique Abdullah
Suhaib Webb
Tahir Anwar
Talal Al-Azem
Tanveer Hussain
Tawfique Chowdhury
Usama Canon
Usama Hasan

*Note: New Islamic Directions Supports the Amman Initiative to encourage greater respect and cooperation between Sunni and Shi’i Muslims

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam,

As-salamu `alaykum wa-rahmatu llah.

In sha'Allah, Wednesday night (tomorrow) is the first night of Ramadan 1428 and Thursday, Sept. 13 (the following day) is the first day of fasting. In anticipation of our making the most of the beautiful occasion, I wanted to share a bit of advice that I pray will be helpful to students, and other members of the Muslim community at Harvard, who will be on campus for Ramadan soon, if they are not here already. In sha'Allah, we will have an opportunity to discuss Ramadan-related matters on other occasions in the near future.

* As in years past, we are announcing the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan on the Harvard Islamic Society website and over the community announcement list (his-list). There is also a post on the blog of your favorite HIS Muslim Chaplain . Note that, as in years past, in ascertaining the beginning of Ramadan, we are relying on regional Muslim organizations in the Greater Boston Area. Al-hamdu li-llah, the Imams of the Islamic Council of New England agreed at its recent meeting to continue following the methodology for ascertaining the beginning of the month that the New England Imams established several years ago. The New England Imams rely on acceptable reports of the sighting of the crescent moon of Ramadan by Muslim religious authorities from multiple locales around the world.

* Start fasting with your community wherever you are. Avoid disputes. Do not to get caught up in the wrangling about establishing the beginning of the blessed month that sometimes afflicts members of our community a day or so before Ramadan, the month of patience, begins.

* Do fix your intention (niyya) to fast during the night before fasting during the day. If you have questions about this or any of the other technical aspects fasting ask an `alim (religious scholar). Asking is a form of worship in itself. As in years past, there will be a "Ramadan Workshop" on the basics of fasting this Sunday, Sept 16, 1-3pm with Shaykh Suheil Laher (MIT Muslim Chaplain and PhD Student, Arabic and
Islamic Studies, NELC, Harvard University), Shaykh Sami ul-Ihsan Khan (JD candidate, Harvard Law School) and myself. The location will be announced soon in sha'Allah. Watch the HIS Event Calendar at the website.

* As a rule, try to make the days and nights of Ramadan different from what they are for you outside of Ramadan. Hadith: "Let not your day of fasting be like your day when not fasting."

* Try to spend a lot of time around your brothers and sisters in Islam this month. Try not to break your fast alone. Make a special effort to pray in congregation.

* Ask Allah for forgiveness a lot during the beginning of the month. Try to think of the sins with which you entered Ramadan and seek forgiveness and repent from them.

* Read the Qur'an. Recite the Qur'an. Listen to it being recited. Turn an ayah (passage) or two over of the Qur'an in your mind for a couple of minutes.

* If you normally watch TV, listening music, watch movies on DVD or the Web, give it up for the month. Try replacing it with listening to the Qur'an, reading from the Qur'an or making remembrance of Allah.

* Give a lot of sadaqa (charity). Remember that sadaqa includes saying
subhana llah ("How Perfect is Allah!"), al-hamdu li-llah ("Praise be to
Allah") and allah akbar (Allah is Greater!); smiling at your brother or
sister and helping him or her carry his stuff.

* Do not burn out. Increase your devotions as the month goes on. The
Messenger said the most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are
[done] consistently, even if they are small.

May Allah forgive all our sins; accept our fasting, bowing, prostration,
charity, supplications and other good deed; manumit us from the Hellfire
and admit the Paradise Gardens through the Rayyan Gate!

Your Brother and the Most Needy Slave of Allah
Taha bin Hasan Abdul-Basser

Shaykh Zaid Shakir has been translating portions of a work by the 10th/16th century Muslim religious scholar (`alim), Shaykh Abdul-Wahhab al-Sha`rani, in a series that is published on his website and entitled "Wisdoms." The series focuses on the core principle of religious sincerity (ikhlas) and the dangers of its opposite, ostentation (riya'), translated by Shaykh Zaid as "dissimulation.")

Here is taste of Imam Zaid's wonderful translation:

1. Wahb b. Munabbih would say: “Whoever seeks worldly advancement through his religious acts, God will invert his heart and record him amongst the people destined for Hell.”

2. Al-Hasan al-Basri relates that Jesus, Peace upon Him, said: “Whoever endeavors to implements his religious knowledge is a true friend of God.”

3. Sufyan b. Tahwri used to say: “My mother advised me: ‘My son! Only seek religious knowledge if you intend to implement it. Otherwise, it will be a source of torment for you on the Day of Resurrection.’”

4. Dhun-Nun al-Misri was asked: “When does the servant know that he is sincere in religion?” He replied: “When he asserts himself to the fullest in worship while desiring to gain no esteem with the people because of that.”

5. Muhammad b. al-Munkadir used to say: “I love to see the brothers being at their very best during the night [in humble devotion] for surely that is nobler than being at ones very best during the day. The reason for this is that during the day one is seen by people while during the night one is seen by the Lord of the Worlds."