Brooklyn Bedouin

Weatherproof Obama

So, I do not think that President Obama signed off on nor did he get a penny from this ad for the brand Weatherproof. Still, it is a pretty striking advertisement showing our esteemed president standing at the Great Wall of China. This is on the corner of 41^st and 7^th Avenue. The photo is from the AP.

 
  

'And do not backbite one another.' (Al-Hujurat: 12)

In light of recent events i searched the internet to find a islamic position/essay on backbiting. here is one of the results of this search. 

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. 

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. 

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger. 

Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the prominent Muslim scholar, states: 

“Islam prohibits backbiting (ghibah): 'And do not backbite one another.' (Al-Hujurat: 12) 

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to drive home the meaning of backbiting to his Companions through questions and answers. He asked them, 'Do you know what backbiting is?' They replied, 'Allah and His Messenger know best'. He said, 'It is saying something about your brother which he would dislike'. Someone asked, 'What if I say something about my brother which is true?' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, 'If what you say of him is true, it is backbiting and if it is not true you have slandered him.' (Reported by Muslim, Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, and An-Nasa’i) 

When a person dislikes someone, he is likely to find faults in his appearance, behavior, lineage, and anything else which pertains to him. `A’ishah narrated that she said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), 'Do you see that Safiyyah (another wife of the Prophet) is such and such?', meaning that she was short. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, 'You have spoken a word such that, if it were mixed in the water of the ocean, it would darken it.'(Reported by Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, and Al-Bayhaqi) 

Backbiting is nothing but a desire to belittle people, to slander their honor, and to deride their accomplishments in their absence. Since this is stabbing in the back, it is an expression of narrow-mindedness and cowardice. Backbiting is a negative trait, and only those engage in it who themselves are not achievers. It is a tool of destruction, for one who is addicted to it leaves no one without throwing a dart at him and wounding him. 

It is no wonder then, that the Qur'an paints such a repulsive picture of this vile habit as would make people shrink from it in horror: 'And do not backbite one anther; would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would abhor that.' (Al-Hujurat: 12) 

Since one feels sick at the very thought of eating human flesh, how much more revolting it is to think of eating the flesh of one's dead brother? 

Whenever an opportunity arose, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stressed this Qur’anic imagery in order to imprint it on peoples’ hearts and minds. Ibn Mas`ud narrated, 'We were sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Then a man got up and left. Whereupon another person spoke ill of him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told him, 'Pick your teeth.' The man replied, 'Why? I haven't eaten any meat.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, 'You have eaten your brother's flesh.'(Reported by At-Tabarani) 

Allah the Almighty says: 'Allah does not like the announcing of evil in public speech except by one who has been wronged; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.' (An-Nisa': 148) 

The general rule concerning the permissibility of speaking about someone in his absence is governed by two considerations: (1) the need and (2) the intention. 

(1) When there is no compelling need to mention the third person in a manner in which he would dislike, one must refrain from violating the sanctity of his personality and honor. If there is a need to mention him but the need can be met by an indirect reference, one must not be explicit. If a general discussion is sufficient, the mentioning of specific persons must be avoided. For example, in seeking a juristic opinion, one can phrase the question as, 'What would your opinion be if someone did such and such a thing?' rather than, 'This person is doing such and such. What do you think about it?' Again, if one must identify the person, he must mention only what is true, since ascribing anything false to him is prohibited. 

(2) In any event, the intention is the decisive factor. The speaker knows his own motives better than anyone else —whether it constitutes a genuine complaint against wrongdoing or mere spite, an inquiry concerning an issue or a slander, a scholarly criticism or envious backbiting, piece of good advice or the spreading of a rumor. It is said in this connection that the Believer is a sterner judge of himself than a tyrannical ruler or a greedy partner could be. 

Islam has decreed that the listener is the partner of the one who is absent, and he must defend his absent brother by repudiating the slander being spoken. 

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'If anyone defends his brother who is slandered in his absence, it will be (his) due from Allah to set him free from the Fire.' (Reported by Ahmad) 

And again, 'If anyone defends his brother’s honor in this world, Allah will shield his face from the Fire on the Day of Resurrection.' (Reported by At-Tirmidhi) 

If a person does not have the courage to speak out in defense of his brother against malicious tongues, the least he can do is to withdraw from such company until they turn to some other topic; otherwise, the verse, 'Truly, you would then be like them.' (An-Nisa': 140) would apply to him." 

My Favorite Things - MFT - April 28, 2009 @ APT

My Favorite Things, Feb 24 Style @ APT

www.thestudiobooth.com

We are here right now.

Green For All gathers Core group for conference

It is day two of this conference. I am now sitting in a session about Appalacia's potential for developing a viable wind industry. The speaker is discussing the challenges including poverty, education, am the political realities on the ground. First step is that strip mining must end and mining companies need to be held accountable for their land use from a sustainable devlopment perspective.

More to come!

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Jesse A. Hofrichter is a lawyer!

JBlizzard surveys the court house where he was sworn in lawyer. Sworn to uphold the U.S.A and N.Y.C constitutions

The Harder You Look, The Harder You Look

New York State or Illinois Senator?

YOU GOTTA PAY TO PLAY SUN!

"i don't wanna bore you with.. my trouble.."

I am sitting in a coffee shop that will quickly become a phase of the past.

Looking at an automobile that has become incongruent with the present

Staring at the etched line in shifting sands

Quickly, and deadly, and with a halo of remorse

Saying ta-ta, too-de-loo!

 

You have always known. You can always say:

Goodbye

yet when the wind and sun and sky collide

Staring down at the crinkled leaves you pass, stepping to hear.

 a sound that will surely pass leaving bare concrete and rubbery soul.

 

Liberation Lounge -- April 5th

DJ Laylo & The Zol Lab bring ya another nite of Liberation... Thursday, April 5th 8pm-1am Carlito's Cafe 1701 Lexington Ave. bet. 106 & 107 6 Train to 103rd or 110th On the decks we will have very special guest: DJ LEIDIS from Cuba Leidis Freire Pena, a Poet/DJ/Performer, from Camaguey, Cuba. She became involved in the Cuban Hip Hop movement during it's inception in Havana and helped organize events, community shows, and the Omega Kilay collective. Leidis created the first all-female DJ mixtape and has performed across Cuba as a talented spoken word artist. She has also appeared in such critically acclaimed documentaries as, Inventos: Hip Hop Cubano, Jovenes Rebeldes y Mi Revolution, and continues to be an articulate contributor to Cuban Hip Hop culture. Having recently moved to the United States, she currently resides in the Bay Area in San Francisco.