An interesting story I found on the BBC's website: the king of Saudi Arabia offering to do much-needed repairs to the Jama Mosque in Delhi. The imam has advised the Saudis to approach the government, and the king's desire to "fund education in India" is likely to attract the attention of the security services - and, I would imagine, a large section of the Indian Islamic scholarly community.
BBC NEWS - Saudi offer to fix Delhi mosque
I wonder what the Saudis would think of this bit of what the imam says needs doing to the mosque:
Imam [Ahmed] Bukhari said the minarets of the 17th century mosque needed to be repaired.
"We also need to polish the tombs and repair other parts of the structure."
(Incidentally, Jama Mosque, however it's spelt, does not mean "Grand Mosque", but rather congregational or Friday mosque.)
polish the tombs?!!
...they'll never get a penny of Saudi money now.
Beware the strings that come attatched to Saudi money. Yes, polish tombs? Hum......do people pray at these tombs? I think the Saudis might take issue with that.
As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatouh,
Brother Yusuf,
Would it be okay to do some publicity for the Al-Ghazali Weekend 2006 on your blog?
Shaykh Abd-Hakim is doing it in Rosales in June/July and I thought it's something most Muslim visitors to this blog would be interested in, well, maybe not Bikhair but the rest of us.
Link:
http://al-madrasa.com/content/view/17/34/
Salaam Warahmatullah.
Sister Saggal.
As salamu alaikum
Have we now forgotten the principle of husn dhann - forming good opinions of our fellow Muslims and their intentions. Simply because the Imam of Delhi's Jumma Masjid would like money to repair the masjid, and the graves of people buried within its compound, does not mean he is condoning bidah.
Does it really matter what the Indians call the masjid - Jumma or Jame - there is no denying that the Mosque has a long and rich history, and to date remains Delhi’s main Masjid (or Grand or Central, if you like to get hung up on words).
As salamu alaikum,
"Simply because the Imam of Delhi's Jumma Masjid would like money to repair the masjid, and the graves of people buried within its compound, does not mean he is condoning bidah."
Surely no one is saying that the Imam is condoning bida, but I think that people are surprised that the Saudis are willing to help out a mosque which contains tombs since they themselves believe it is bida. As for the Saudi Royalty, I am not sure that they are pure wahhabis, maybe someone else could comment since I don't really know too much about them.
well why not let them pay.
Salaam sister Saggal,
Do you have any more info. about the al-Ghazali weekend? The websites all in spanish and I'm not really understanding. Please email me: amatullaah@gmail.com
JazakAllah khayr
WS Bro. Zubair,
*does not mean he is condoning bidah.*
...I didn't mean the Imam was condoning bidah, not at all, I am sorry if I gave that impression. I simply meant the Saudis will panic and run a mile on hearing "cleaning tombs" . I really do hope they fix the mosque.
WS Farah,
I will email you details and email addresses of who to contact in sha Allah later on today.
If anyone else would like the same info please post your request on this blog.
JazakAllah khayr.
In our locality some mosque at the time of "Fajar" AAJAN not started, They Announce to stopped eat “SEHERI” and given AAJAN after 5 / 7 minutes . Is it write or wrong.?? Please answer !!
Molla: Here in Singapore, we stop eating and drinking ten minutes prior to Fajr. This allows any remaining water or food particles in the mouth to be swallowed or removed before the start of the fast, at Fajr. So it's "right," from my perspective.
Yes, the structure of the grand Mosque of Delhi must be repaired. I will be in Delhi to discuss with the officials of the mosque and possibly raise money in USA for repairs.
Zahir Ahmed
the exact link for the retreat at the madrasa is:
www.al-madrasa.com