‘Where is Sheikh Bin Baz?’
By Dr. Muhammad Bin Sa’d Ash-Shuway’ir
DURING the Haj of 1406H (1986CE), the first official group of pilgrims from China came to Saudi Arabia. Along with this group were some scholars who wanted to visit Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Baz to convey their greetings to him. The head of the group – about seven scholars in all – was a very old man who had studied at Al-Azhar university.
After the group conveyed their greetings to the gathering of people (that included Sheikh Bin Baz), the old man turned to me and asked:
“Where is Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Baz, and when will he arrive?”
So I said to him: “There, he is the one you just conveyed your greetings to now.”
But this old man did not believe me, and speaking in fluent Arabic he demanded: “I want to see him now.”
So I said to him: “There he is,” firmly pointing him out. So he stood up from his gathering and presented himself before Sheikh Bin Baz for a second time to greet him. I then informed the Sheikh about the eagerness of this old man, so the Sheikh stood to embrace him. I saw the old Chinese man affectionately cling to the Sheikh’s chest and cry, saying:
“All Praise be to the One Who has enable me to see you. We used to hear about you in China that you give hope to the Muslims and support them.”
Then one of his companions said (to Sheikh Bin Baz): “Pray to Allah, Sheikh that He takes 10 years of my life and adds it to yours because of what you have benefited Islam and its people. As for me, then I am just a (simple) human being like others from among the children of Islam.”
The old Chinese man began crying profusely turning again to embrace Sheikh Bin Baz and repeating:
“All Praise be to the One Who has enabled me to see you before my death, since I used to long for this (opportunity) all my life.”
– Mawaqif Madhi’ah fee Hayat Al-Imam Abdul Aziz Bin Baz; pg. 8-9, translated by Fatwa-online.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2009052238661
Monday, June 1, 2009
Indonesian imams OK Facebook - but no flirting!
Indonesian imams OK Facebook - but no flirting!
By INDRA HARSAPUTRA – May 22, 2009
SURABAYA, Indonesia (AP) — Muslim clerics debating the exploding popularity of Facebook in Indonesia said Friday that followers could use the networking site to connect with friends or for work — but not to gossip or flirt.
The nonbinding ruling followed a two-day meeting of clerics in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
Around 700 clerics, or imams, agreed to draft up guidelines on surfing the Web after receiving complaints about Facebook and other sites, including concerns they encourage illicit sex, said Nabil Haroen, a spokesman for the organizers.
They decided "Facebook is haram (or forbidden) if it is used for gossiping and spreading lies," he said, and that users also could not ask overtly intimate questions or in anyway encourage "vulgar behavior."
But the clerics noted, too, there were many upsides to Facebook and other trendy, new forms of communication, from mobile phone text messaging to video conferencing.
It has become easier today for the young to connect, the imams' 300-word edict said, "erasing space and time constraints" and making it possible for couples to get to know — before they get married — if they really are well-suited.
Facebook had no immediate comment Friday, but said ahead of the ruling that people typically use the site to connect with their friends, family or learn about local and world issues and events.
"We have seen many people and organizations use Facebook to advance a positive agenda," said Debbie Frost, a Facebook spokeswoman.
Indonesia is a secular nation of 235 million people, 90 percent of whom are Muslim, and Facebook is the top-ranked site in the country, beating out even search engines Yahoo and Google.
Though an edict by the clerics does not carry any legal weight, it could be endorsed by the influential Ulema Council, which recently issued rulings against smoking and yoga. Some devout Muslims adhere to the council's rulings because ignoring a fatwa, or religious decree, is considered a sin.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jVKz1vrKgxjEwyiWuW3NeEkn31uQD98B59K00
By INDRA HARSAPUTRA – May 22, 2009
SURABAYA, Indonesia (AP) — Muslim clerics debating the exploding popularity of Facebook in Indonesia said Friday that followers could use the networking site to connect with friends or for work — but not to gossip or flirt.
The nonbinding ruling followed a two-day meeting of clerics in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
Around 700 clerics, or imams, agreed to draft up guidelines on surfing the Web after receiving complaints about Facebook and other sites, including concerns they encourage illicit sex, said Nabil Haroen, a spokesman for the organizers.
They decided "Facebook is haram (or forbidden) if it is used for gossiping and spreading lies," he said, and that users also could not ask overtly intimate questions or in anyway encourage "vulgar behavior."
But the clerics noted, too, there were many upsides to Facebook and other trendy, new forms of communication, from mobile phone text messaging to video conferencing.
It has become easier today for the young to connect, the imams' 300-word edict said, "erasing space and time constraints" and making it possible for couples to get to know — before they get married — if they really are well-suited.
Facebook had no immediate comment Friday, but said ahead of the ruling that people typically use the site to connect with their friends, family or learn about local and world issues and events.
"We have seen many people and organizations use Facebook to advance a positive agenda," said Debbie Frost, a Facebook spokeswoman.
Indonesia is a secular nation of 235 million people, 90 percent of whom are Muslim, and Facebook is the top-ranked site in the country, beating out even search engines Yahoo and Google.
Though an edict by the clerics does not carry any legal weight, it could be endorsed by the influential Ulema Council, which recently issued rulings against smoking and yoga. Some devout Muslims adhere to the council's rulings because ignoring a fatwa, or religious decree, is considered a sin.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jVKz1vrKgxjEwyiWuW3NeEkn31uQD98B59K00
Indonesian Muslim clerics frown at Facebook
Indonesian Muslim clerics frown at Facebook
May 22, 2009
SURABAYA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian Islamic clerics warned Muslims on Friday not to use popular Internet networking sites like Facebook for flirting or gossiping.
A non-binding resolution issued after a meeting of hundreds of Islamic scholars from Java and Bali islands warns that using sites like Facebook can lead to pornography and "obscenity."
"We forbid the use of Facebook, Friendster and other social networking sites unless they are being used to foster Islamic teaching," a spokesman for the clerics, Abdul Muid Shohib, said.
"So spreading ill words about others, gossiping and other things that go against religious teaching on social networking sites in the virtual world are forbidden according to Islamic law."
Facebook is hugely popular in the world's most populous Muslim country, and while rulings from Islamic clerics are influential they are rarely followed to the letter.
Indonesia ranks fifth behind the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy and France in terms of Facebook use, according to Internet tracking website Alexa.com.
This is despite its crumbling or, in many areas, non-existent digital infrastructure, and the fact that the majority of the country's 234 million people have little or no access to computers.
Shohib acknowledged that the networking site, where people can set up their own profile pages and share comments and pictures with their friends, was also popular among students and imams at Indonesia's conservative Islamic schools.
"We realise that the virtual world is hard to control," he said.
"There are many senior imams who worry because pornographic images often pop out while they interact through Facebook," he added.
The clerics will monitor the use of such websites and will urge the government to close them down if they became a threat to Islamic teachings, he said.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jtjhtlZQ6rgnzDe005obQjIRbAnQ
May 22, 2009
SURABAYA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian Islamic clerics warned Muslims on Friday not to use popular Internet networking sites like Facebook for flirting or gossiping.
A non-binding resolution issued after a meeting of hundreds of Islamic scholars from Java and Bali islands warns that using sites like Facebook can lead to pornography and "obscenity."
"We forbid the use of Facebook, Friendster and other social networking sites unless they are being used to foster Islamic teaching," a spokesman for the clerics, Abdul Muid Shohib, said.
"So spreading ill words about others, gossiping and other things that go against religious teaching on social networking sites in the virtual world are forbidden according to Islamic law."
Facebook is hugely popular in the world's most populous Muslim country, and while rulings from Islamic clerics are influential they are rarely followed to the letter.
Indonesia ranks fifth behind the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy and France in terms of Facebook use, according to Internet tracking website Alexa.com.
This is despite its crumbling or, in many areas, non-existent digital infrastructure, and the fact that the majority of the country's 234 million people have little or no access to computers.
Shohib acknowledged that the networking site, where people can set up their own profile pages and share comments and pictures with their friends, was also popular among students and imams at Indonesia's conservative Islamic schools.
"We realise that the virtual world is hard to control," he said.
"There are many senior imams who worry because pornographic images often pop out while they interact through Facebook," he added.
The clerics will monitor the use of such websites and will urge the government to close them down if they became a threat to Islamic teachings, he said.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jtjhtlZQ6rgnzDe005obQjIRbAnQ
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