The Muslims were forced out of their land because of the persecution of the polytheist Arabs, who tortured them because they said, “our Lord is one”. The Prophet Muhammad (صلي الله عليه وسلم) commanded the Muslims to migrate to Abysynnia, to live under the Negus, a just ruler. The Polytheists refused to let them leave peacefully, and confronted the king to demand the return of the Muslims. Jafar was chosen as the spokesperson for the Muslims to the king.

We praise someone under two circumstances: for the excellent attributes they possess, or for the deeds they perform towards us, such that we feel gratitude towards them. [1] The only one who deserves praise in all these levels is the Creator of excellence, the Perfect Being who showers us with abundant favors again and again! الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ Translation: All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds. [Surah Al-Fatiha, verse 2]

Every specific Islamic rule originates from a law maker. Here, we investigate who can say, in Islam, that something is the law. Allah is the Law Maker! Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), Lord of the Worlds, is the law maker. None can dispute His laws. What’s the proof? In Surah Yusuf Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلاَّ لِلّهِ أَمَرَ أَلاَّ تَعْبُدُواْ إِلاَّ إِيَّاهُ ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ Translation: the command is for none but Allah: He hath commanded that ye worship none but Him: that is the right deen, but most men understand not.

Last month before summer ends, we let the days go by or wrap up summer courses before it all starts over again! To get that degree, we consistently keep up with projects, homework, study for tests, etc. And sure enough, most of us accomplish this ‘goal’ within the time we aimed for. But do we have similar goals for learning the deen? It might be something we admired–and perhaps desired–but never really worked for.

In English, we have words like “from”, “to”, “with”, etc. These are called prepositions. They exist in Arabic, too–“huruful jaar” (حُرُوقُ الجَرّ). Huruwful jarr modify the words immediately after them, which are called “majruwr” (مَجرُور). In Arabic Grammar, majurwr words always take kasra (either single or double). (The one exception is feminine names, which take fatha.) So for example, if we have a book (kitaabun), then we add the preposition with (bi), it becomes “bi kitaabin” (بِ كِتَابٍ).

In Arabic grammar, the default harakaat that goes on all words is dumma (ُ or ٌ, the “oo” or “oon” sound). When you don’t know the vowel, apply dumma. Other harakaat are for other cases–for example, posessive case takes kasra (ِ or ٍ, the “ee” or “een” sound). Harakaat are two types–short (aa, ee, and oo) and long (aan, een, and oon). The second point to remember is definitivity. A definitive object means a specific object, not just any old object.

On the authority of Abu al-‘Abbas Sahl bin Sa’d al-Sa’idi (رضي الله عنه) who said: A man came to the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an act which if I do it, [will cause] Allah to love me and people to love me.” He (صلي الله عليه وسلم) answered: “Be indifferent to the world and Allah will love you; be indifferent to what people possess and they will love you.

Masculine and Feminine In Arabic, all words are one of two genders: masculine, or feminine. There is no “it”, no third, gender-neutral gender like English has. The main thing to remember is that when you don’t know the gender, the default is the masculine gender. You also use the masculine gender for mixed groups (eg. if you’re talking to a group of men and women). The main sign of a word being feminine (remember, if you don’t know, the default is masculine) is a specific form of the letter ta, called ta-marbuta (التَّأ المَربُوطَة), or “tied-up ta”, which looks like this:

Arabic Grammar consists almost entirely of putting harakaat on letters. Arabic writing is typically written without the harakaat. How is it possible to read? One must learn slowly, piece by piece, and read with understanding. Arabic is not like English–you have to actively read and consciously think while you read about what it means. (At least, when you start out.) Why are harakaat important? Harakaat determine the meaning of words and sentences entirely.

Learning Arabic? Trying to memorize the Qur’an? Then inshaAllah you’ll find this Yahoo Groups beneficial: Qur’anic Word of the Day. Every day, the administrator sends out a word–Arabic and english–as well as references to two ayat in the Qur’an that contain the word (transliteration and translation). Very beneficial mashaAllah. Also, for those new to Yahoo! Groups, they’re like public mailing lists. You can configure your settings so you receive an email daily, or a digest weekly, or no email (and you browse from the site).