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Page 2 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 10 Page 3 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 10
Dear Editor:
Periodica Islamica is a quarterly
journal produced by Berita Pub-
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Bulletin, has been selected for
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I, therefore, request that you please add us to your mailing list.
We welcome rush copies of your issues and would be happy to
accommodate any specific request that you may have.
We already have added you to our mailing list. Upon publication,
you will receive each issue of Periodica Islamica carrying contents
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I thank you for your cooperation in this matter and look forward
to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Dr. Munawar A. Anees
Editor-in-Chief
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Dear Editor:
I am extremely happy with your newsletter because it has helped
me in many ways. It is a guide for me and I look forward to every
issue. This is one of the best newsletters I have read so far. I read
every article. I am a young man who has repented to Allah, a
sincere repentance Inshallah. But, I committed a sin prior to my
repentance. I stole some money from one of my relatives and now
I feel ashamed to give him back the money. What should I do?
(Name and address withheld)
Response:
Dear Brother,
First, I pray to Allah that He accepts your repentance, and that He
keeps all of us firm in our repentance until the day we meet Him.
Letters To T he Editor
Inshallah, Allah will forgive you for the sins which you committed
prior to your repentance. Allah says in the Holy Quran:
Say: “O my servants who have transgressed against their souls!
Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for
He is oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
“Turn ye to your Lord (in repentance) and submit to Him, be-
fore the chastisement comes on you: after that ye shall not be
helped.” (Quran 39:53-54)
“He is the One that accepts repentance from His servants and
forgives sins: and He knows all that ye do.” (Quran 42:25)
On the authority of Anas (R.A.A.), who said: I heard the Messenger of
Allah (pbuh) saying: “Allah the Almighty has said: O son of Adam, so
long as you call uponMe and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what
you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins
to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness
of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to
Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face
Me, believing inMe, and not associating anybody withMe, I would
bring you forgiveness nearly as great as the earth is.” (Tirmizi)
You should realize that Allah is Most Generous and Most Merciful
and that He forgives our sins and is happy of our repentance. Yet,
Allah is not harmed by one’s wrongdoing nor from one’s good
deeds, but Allah loves those of us who ask for forgiveness. It is
mentioned in the following hadith that Hazrat Anas bin Malik
(R.A.A.), an attendant of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.), reports that
the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) has said:
“Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than
would be one of you who were to lose his riding camel, which
carries his food and drink, in barren desert and then find it
suddenly.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
It is also mentioned in the following hadith that Abu Musa Ash’ari
(R.A.A.) relates that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) has said:
“Allah will continue to hold out His hand at night so that he who
has sinned during the day might repent, and to hold out His
hand during the day so that one who has sinned at night might
repent, and Allah will continue to do so till the sun rises from
the West, i.e. till the Day of Resurrection.” (Muslim)
After your repentance, you should make your intention not to do it
again. And as for the money, you have to find some way to return
it to your relative.
1) You can go directly to your relative and tell him what happened.
You can then explain to him that you have repented and you are
returning the money. Your relative would be very happy and most
likely say, “JezakAllah (May Allah reward you) and forgive you.”
Or, if you are ashamed to go directly, then:
2) Put the money in an envelope. Then give the envelope to a
young child and ask that child to hand it to your relative. You could
include a note with it explaining what happened; that you took
the money from him in the past but are now returning it. You need
not include your name.
And Allah knows best.
Dear Editor:
I was hospitalized in the San Francisco Heart Institute two weeks
ago. On my way back from the hospital to the Holiday Inn, a Muslim
Brother cab driver gave me a copy of your Islamic Bulletin. I must
be grateful to Allah and to all the Muslim brothers and sisters in San
Francisco for having been able to establish the Center. May God
bless you and this establishment towards a better development of
Islamic society around the world.
As a token of my appreciation towards your effort, enclosed please
find two volumes of my “Collection of Sermons”, which may be
useful to the Center.
My family and I are vacationing now in Seattle for recuperation of
my heart treatment.
Also, please enter my subscription for my daughters who are living
in Seattle. May God Bless You Always!
Sincerely yours,
A.G. Nasutien
Manila, Philippines
Need to contact us?
Web Address:
E-Mail:
Editor, Islamic Bulletin
P.O. Box 410186
San Francisco, CA 94141-0186, USA
Also, please enter my subscription for my daughters who are living
in Seattle. May God Bless You Always!
Sincerely yours,
A.G. Nasutien
Manila, Philippines
Dear Editor:
My name is Zack Waldman and I am thirteen years old. We have
been studying world religion in school. We all picked religions to
do a project on, and since I liked it best, I chose Islam. I have been
very interested in Islam, reading the Koran and studying about Allah
and Mohammed. I would appreciate it very much if you could send
me some materials on Islam. Please do it ASAP, as I have a deadline.
Thank you very much. I will be happy to pay the postage.
Zack Waldman
Lahaska, Pennsylvania
Response:
Dear Zack,
If you are searching for the Truth, Allah will guide you. God does
not look at our wealth, position, or race but scans our hearts. Take
time to read about Islam. I hope these books, tapes, and pamphlets
are helpful in informing you more about Islam. I have also enclosed
our issues of “The Islamic Bulletin”. If you have any other questions,
please write me or give me a call.
Good Luck and may Allah guide you.
--Editor
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Assalamu Alaikum!
The Brothers here at Masjid Muhammad pray that all the Muslims
there are being blessed with good health and prosperity.
We are presently incarcerated, and writing to ask for your help
towards our dahwa efforts here.
We are seeking whatever help you may be able to offer, such as,
volunteers to come into this institution, books and literature, and
contacts with Muslims willing to correspond with Brothers here.
Our greatest need is that of volunteers to come in and help us in our
spiritual development. We have no Imam or any other Muslim free
person coming in. All praises due to Allah (SWT), we are doing the
best we can on our own, however, the presence of knowledgeable
and grounded Muslims would greatly enhance our efforts. We need
Muslims to teach at our Jumu’ah and taleem services, and guide us
in our strives to become good Muslims.
Our Ummah consists of about 35 Brothers. We have proper accom-
modations for our Masjid, Holy Qur’ans and Hadith, and a relaxed
environment. If someone was to volunteer, the conditions would be
conducive to teaching and learning, Inshallah. Anyone interested
should write us so we can discuss the necessary procedures, or call
our sponsor, Ms. Rohrbach, at (209) 984-5291 ext. 5205.
As mentioned, we are in need of any type of assistance you can offer.
If you can provide us with literature, or direct us to other possible
sources, we would greatly appreciate it. In any case, Inshallah, we
would like to maintain communication with you and any other
willing Muslims; just having contact with the world community
would be of great inspiration to the Brothers here.
Inshallah, we hope to hear from you soon, and we pray that Allah
(SWT) continues to bless us all.
Faithfully,
Anthony Faulk
Islamic Clerk, E-06583
Sierra Conservation Center
P.O. Box 497
Jamestown, CA 95327
Attn: N. Rohrbach, Islamic Sponsor
Oakland, CA
On the authority of Abu ‘Abd ar-Rahman ‘Abdullah ibn Masud (may
Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace
be upon him), narrated to us:
“Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in
his mother’s belly for forty days in the form of seed, then he is
a clot of blood for a like period, then a morsel of flesh for a like
period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows the breath
of life into him and who is commanded about four matters: to
write down his means of livelihood, his life span, his actions, and
whether happy or unhappy. By Allah, other than Whom there is
no God, verily one of you behaves like the people of Paradise
until there is but an arm’s length between him and it, and that
which has been written overtakes him and so he behaves like the
people of Hell-fire and thus he enters it; and one of you behaves
like the people of Hell-fire until there is but an arm’s length
between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes
him and so he behaves like the people of Paradise and thus he
enters it.” Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim
When one reads the above hadith and then the story below, one
will clearly see how the remarkable life story of Jacques Baston
is the perfect example of the above hadith and a time to ponder
about one’s life.
Jacques Baston was born on August 31, 1970 in Oakland, California
to John and Myrna Baston. His early education was nurtured and
developed in the parochial and public school systems in Oakland.
He attended junior high school at Wentworth Military academy in
Lexington, Missouri, where he graduated. After completing his high
school in Nevada, Jacques returned to Oakland where his life took
a turn for the worse. Although Jacques had good parents and was
raised a Christian, he began getting involved with the wrong crowd
and eventually started selling drugs.
Then in May of 1991, Jacques Baston was shot in the knees and
chest with a 9 millimeter handgun by some gang member. It was
during this time when Jacques was hospitalized that he began
reading the Holy Quran. A Muslim brother came to visit Jacques
in the hospital and brought him the Quran to read. It was from this
time that Jacques began to analyze his life and the purpose of it. He
realized that he was caught up with drugs and wanted a way out.
After his release from the hospital, Jacques would come to the
mosque. He attended Jumha prayers on a regular basis and it was
during this time that he learned how to make salat (prayer). And
although Jacques had not accepted Islam yet, he wanted to learn
how to pray. The shooting had left Jacques with a slight handicap
but he still insisted on praying, even though he felt slight pain when
bending to his knees.
Another Muslim brother, named Tashiri, used to speak to Jacques
about Islam. Tashiri used to give Dahwa (invitation to Islam) and
talk about the Akhira (after-life) and explain how this life was only
a temporary life. Jacques would exclaim that he believes in his
heart that he was a Muslim and that Islam was the true religion.
He used to say, “I know I am a Muslim. I know Islam is the truth.
Islam is real!” But he felt that he was too caught up in selling drugs
to become a Muslim. He believed that he had to give up selling
drugs before he could accept Islam. But it was during this time that
he began telling his friends that he wanted to quit selling drugs and
become a Muslim.
Also, it was after being shot that Jacques realized that it was no
coincidence that the Brother had visited him in the hospital and
gave him the Quran to read. He realized how Allah was giving
him a second chance to live, change his lifestyle, and become a
Muslim. He knew that Allah must be extremely Merciful to give
him another chance.
D rug Dealer A ccepts Islam