surah an Nisa verse 15-25

Translation:

15. And those of your women who commit illegal sexual intercourse, take the evidence of four witnesses from amongst you against them; and if they testify, confine them (i.e. women) to houses until death comes to them or Allah ordains for them some (other) way.
16. And the two persons (man and woman) among you who commit illegal sexual intercourse, punish them both. And if they repent (promise Allah that they will never repeat, i.e. commit illegal sexual intercourse and other similar sins) and do righteous good deeds, leave them alone. Surely, Allah is Ever the One Who accepts repentance, (and He is) Most Merciful.
17. Allah accepts only the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and foolishness and repent soon afterwards; it is they to whom Allah will forgive and Allah is Ever All-Knower, All-Wise.
18. And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil deeds until death faces one of them and he says: "Now I repent;" nor of those who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful torment.
19. O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will, and you should not treat them with harshness, that you may take away part of the Mahr you have given them, unless they commit open illegal sexual intercourse. And live with them honourably. If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike a thing and Allah brings through it a great deal of good.
20. But if you intend to replace a wife by another and you have given one of them a Cantar (of gold i.e. a great amount) as Mahr, take not the least bit of it back; would you take it wrongfully without a right and (with) a manifest sin?
21. And how could you take it (back) while you have gone in unto each other, and they have taken from you a firm and strong covenant?
22. And marry not women whom your fathers married, except what has already passed; indeed it was shameful and most hateful, and an evil way.
23. Forbidden to you (for marriage) are: your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your father's sisters, your mother's sisters, your brother's daughters, your sister's daughters, your foster mother who gave you suck, your foster milk suckling sisters, your wives' mothers, your step daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom you have gone in - but there is no sin on you if you have not gone in them (to marry their daughters), - the wives of your sons who (spring) from your own loins, and two sisters in wedlock at the same time, except for what has already passed; verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
24. Also (forbidden are) women already married, except those (captives and slaves) whom your right hands possess. Thus has Allah ordained for you. All others are lawful, provided you seek (them in marriage) with Mahr (bridal money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage) from your property, desiring chastity, not committing illegal sexual intercourse, so with those of whom you have enjoyed sexual relations, give them their Mahr as prescribed; but if after a Mahr is prescribed, you agree mutually (to give more), there is no sin on you. Surely, Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise.
25. And whoever of you have not the means wherewith to wed free, believing women, they may wed believing girls from among those (captives and slaves) whom your right hands possess, and Allah has full knowledge about your Faith, you are one from another. Wed them with the permission of their own folk (guardians, Auliya' or masters) and give them their Mahr according to what is reasonable; they (the above said captive and slave-girls) should be chaste, not adulterous, nor taking boy-friends. And after they have been taken in wedlock, if they commit illegal sexual intercourse, their punishment is half that for free (unmarried) women. This is for him among you who is afraid of being harmed in his religion or in his body; but it is better for you that you practise self-restraint, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Explanation:

If Muslim women are involved in shameful acts (Zinah)  then their guardians should find 4 Muslim witnesses (4 reliable, sensible, mature and free men) who have seen the act with their own eyes. And if the witnesses testify to the act done by the woman then she should be locked up in the house until she dies or until Allah opens another path for her. In Surah Noor verse 2, this commandment is taken a step forward (since every commandment of Allah came in gradual stages rather than all at once) after which the earlier commandment is no longer valid.
VERSE 2 SURAH NOOR:
“The woman and the man guilty of illegal sexual intercourse, flog each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a party of the believers witness their punishment. (This punishment is for unmarried persons guilty of the above crime but if married persons commit it, the punishment is to stone them to death, according to Allah's Law).”
If a man and woman are caught in a shameful act then both of them should be punished. But if they repent (before being caught) and correct their mistake and vow never to indulge in such acts again then let them be and do not punish them because Allah is very Merciful and He accepts sincere repentance. Whoever commits wrong deeds because of their foolishness or lack of knowledge and then repents soon after, then Allah accepts their repentance. Those who keep doing wrong deeds till the time of death and then as death approaches they repent, such repentance is not accepted nor is the repentance of those who die as disbelievers. For such people there is severe torment in the Hereafter. Repentance that has the following characteristics is accepted:

·         Repentance done out of fear of Allah only

·         Repentance with shame at what one has done

·         Repentance with a vow to never repeat that wrong doing again.

Four types of people:

·         Those who repent immediately

·         Those who keep delaying the repentance

·         Those who repent at the time of death

·         And those who die before repentance

During the days of ignorance, women and orphans were also distributed like the inheritance of wealth of property. For instance if a man died leaving behind his widow then his male children would take their step mother as part of their inheritance either through Nikah or any other means. This verse strongly prohibits such doings and commands men to treat women respectfully and with kindness and to not take back the mehr they had given her at the time of nikah. Men cannot force their wives to return the mehr they gave neither can they forcefully devour her wealth and property. If the wife commits shameful acts with other men only then is the husband allowed to take back the mehr he gave her. Men are being told to spend their lives peacefully and honorably with their wives and if for some reason they don’t like their wife then they are being told to be patient because it is possible that through that same wife Allah may be bestowing a lot of good on him and Allah knows what is best for His creation. So try to focus on the good points of your wife rather than emphasizing on what you don’t like about her. And if the man intends to marry another woman and divorce his first wife then he is not allowed to take back the meher, gifts and any other wealth he may have given her(this mehr may be of a huge amount signifying that there is no limit on the amount of mehr to be given to the wife). That would not only be unjust and unfair but a major sin as well. After the contract of nikah, as a result of which there is a strong promise and bond between the husband and wife, the men cannot take back whatever they gave their wives.
Men cannot marry the wives of their father (father here refers to paternal and maternal grandfather as well). and do not justify this wrong doing by recalling the past( this practice of marrying the wives of the father was observed in the days of ignorance) because they were shameful deeds and should not be repeated in the future.
Men are also forbidden to marry their birth mothers (include maternal and paternal grandmothers as well)and also the mothers who fed them their milk,  daughters (include granddaughters as well), step sisters and blood sisters, aunts, nieces, mother in law and step daughters. If the husband divorces his wife before they have had any sort of marital relation (in today’s time it would mean divorce after nikah but before the ‘rukhsati’) then it is permissible for the man to marry that woman’s daughter. But if they have had a marital relation then that woman’s daughter is forbidden for the man. The wives of the son are forbidden for the man and two sisters being married to the same man at the same time is also forbidden. However, it is permissible for the man to marry the sister of his first wife only if he divorces the first one or she dies.
Men are forbidden to wed already married women unless they get divorced or their husband dies in which case they are allowed to marry another man after fulfilling their grievance period. However, this does not apply to captives and slaves because as soon as women are taken prisoners their previous nikah becomes void thus, making it permissible for men to marry these slave and prisoner women. All other women are permissible and Halaal for men to marry given that they are given Mehr at the time of nikah with the intention of a chaste marriage. This ayat hence speaks against prostitution and forbids it strongly. And after deciding on the mehr, if by mutual agreement between the wife and husband a change is brought about in the amount of mehr then it’s permissible, given than mutual agreement exists.
It is permissible for a man to marry a slave or a prisoner girl in the following circumstances:

·         He is unable to give mehr to a free,reputable woman (the mehr of a slave girl will be less than that of a free woman)

·         The men fears that if he does not get married soon then he might be inclined towards haraam (illegal and illicit relations with women).

But even in either of these two scenarios the condition is that the slave girl he marries should be a believer (Momin). Towards the end of the verse Allah says that even though it’s permissible but still it is better to be patient and wait for the time when the man can pay the mehr for a free woman rather than marry a slave girl. And if after marrying them, they (slave girl) commits shameful acts then their punishment is half that of free unmarried women which is being whipped with 100 stripes. So for the married slave girls the punishment becomes 50 stripes.

surah an nisa verse 7-14

Translation:


7. There is a share for men and a share for women from what is left by parents and those nearest related, whether, the property be small or large - a legal share.
8. And when the relatives and the orphans and Al-Masakin (the poor) are present at the time of division, give them out of the property, and speak to them words of kindness and justice.
9. And let those (executors and guardians) have the same fear in their minds as they would have for their own, if they had left weak offspring behind. So let them fear Allah and speak right words.
10. Verily, those who unjustly eat up the property of orphans, they eat up only a fire into their bellies, and they will be burnt in the blazing Fire!
11. Allah commands you as regards your children's (inheritance); to the male, a portion equal to that of two females; if (there are) only daughters, two or more, their share is two thirds of the inheritance; if only one, her share is half. For parents, a sixth share of inheritance to each if the deceased left children; if no children, and the parents are the (only) heirs, the mother has a third; if the deceased left brothers or (sisters), the mother has a sixth. (The distribution in all cases is) after the payment of legacies he may have bequeathed or debts. You know not which of them, whether your parents or your children, are nearest to you in benefit, (these fixed shares) are ordained by Allah. And Allah is Ever All-Knower, All-Wise.
12. In that which your wives leave, your share is a half if they have no child; but if they leave a child, you get a fourth of that which they leave after payment of legacies that they may have bequeathed or debts. In that which you leave, their (your wives) share is a fourth if you leave no child; but if you leave a child, they get an eighth of that which you leave after payment of legacies that you may have bequeathed or debts. If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question has left neither ascendants nor descendants, but has left a brother or a sister, each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third; after payment of lagacies he (or she) may have bequeathed or debts, so that no loss is caused (to anyone). This is a Commandment from Allah; and Allah is Ever All-Knowing, Most-Forbearing.
13. These are the limits (set by) Allah (or ordainments as regards laws of inheritance), and whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad ) will be admitted to Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise), to abide therein, and that will be the great success.
14. And whosoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad ), and transgresses His limits, He will cast him into the Fire, to abide therein; and he shall have a disgraceful torment.

Tafseer :

Allah has laid down the principles of the rights of inheritance and has fixed the shares of the wealth and property that will be inherited by the male and female relatives of the deceased parents and close relatives. No matter the amount, size and quantity of the wealth and property left by the dead, it will all be divided amongst the heirs as per the Islamic laws of inheritance. At the time of division of wealth and property, the relatives, orphans and the poor who are present at the time of division but are not legal heirs, they should be given a share from the wealth. And this responsibility falls on the shoulders of the heirs who should first honor the will of the dead and then by mutual consensus among the heirs, should give a share to the other relatives and the poor present at the time of division. Apart from this we are also commanded to be kind and gentle towards them rather than neglecting them or being rude with them. Allah has laid down the rules on how to divide the wealth of the dead but if the dead have left behind young kids then there could be a clause in their will regarding the guardianship of their kids in the case of the death of the parents. In such situation the guardians are being told to fear Allah in their dealings and attitude with these orphan kids and to put themselves in the place of the dead and imagine the fear they would have felt in leaving their small kids behind. So the guardians are being told to be kind, gentle and just in their attitude and behavior with these kids. Then a harsh punishment of Hell fire is being conveyed for those who unjustly devour the property and wealth of the orphan kids of the deceased. If a man dies and his wife is expecting then the wealth and property cannot be divided until the birth of the child because the inheritance depends on the gender of the kid. The will can be made for only 1/3^rd of the wealth and property and this will cannot be made for the legal heirs. 2/3^rd of the wealth and property will be divided among the legal heirs as per the division rules defined by Allah in verse 11 and 12. And the division among the heirs will be done after the honoring of the will(if any) left by the deceased and any debts that were pending on the deceased need to be paid off even before honoring the will.
If the deceased left behind children then:

·         The male child gets a share equivalent to that of 2 girls. (This is because males have a financial responsibility while women don’t. Infact not only do the women get their parents inheritance but at the time of nikah they also get mehr.so this argument that this division is unfair to women is totally invalid and baseless because Allah knows best.)

·         And if there is no male child and only daughters (2 or more) then their share will be 2/3^rd of the inheritance.

·         If there is just one daughter and no sons then she will get half of the inheritance.

·         For parents, each get 1/6^th of the inheritance

If the deceased did not leave behind any children:

·         The mother gets 1/3^rd of the inheritance and the father gets 2/3^rd

·         If the deceased had brothers and sisters then the mother gets 1/6^th of the inheritance.

At times people might be more inclined towards their parents as opposed to their children and that is why Allah has decided on fixed shares for each because Allah knows what is best.

·         If the wife dies then the husband gets half of the inheritance if she had no children.

·         If she had children then the husband gets 1/4^th share of the inheritance

·         If husband dies and leaves behind no children then the wife will get 1/4^th of the share of the inheritance.

·         If the husband leaves behind children then the wife will get 1/8^th of the share.

·         If a person who has no children and no parents, dies, then if such a deceased person has a brother or sister(from the mother's side) then each will get 1/6^th of the inheritance. And if there are more than 2 brothers or sisters than they will get their shares from 1/3^rd of the inheritance.

These are the limits and rules of inheritance set by Allah and whoever follows these rules will get the glad tidings of Heaven and whoever goes against the commands of Allah and His Prophet pbuh, they shall face a severe torment in the hereafter.

Surah An Nisa verse 1-6

Translation

1. O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawwa (Eve)], and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship) . Surely, Allah is Ever an All-Watcher over you.
2. And give unto orphans their property and do not exchange (your) bad things for (their) good ones; and devour not their substance (by adding it) to your substance. Surely, this is a great sin.
3. And if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan-girls, then marry (other) women of your choice, two or three, or four but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one or (the captives and the slaves) that your right hands possess. That is nearer to prevent you from doing injustice.
4. And give to the women (whom you marry) their Mahr (obligatory bridal money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage) with a good heart, but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, take it, and enjoy it without fear of any harm (as Allah has made it lawful).
5. And give not unto the foolish your property which Allah has made a means of support for you , but feed and clothe them therewith, and speak to them words of kindness and justice.
6. And try orphans (as regards their intelligence) until they reach the age of marriage; if then you find sound judgement in them, release their property to them, but consume it not wastefully, and hastily fearing that they should grow up, and whoever amongst guardians is rich, he should take no wages, but if he is poor, let him have for himself what is just and reasonable (according to his work). And when you release their property to them, take witness in their presence; and Allah is All-Sufficient in taking account.


Tafseer 

Allah created Hazrat Adam himself and created Hazrat Hawa from the rib of Hazrat Adam. From these two Allah continued all future generations of mankind. This ayat explicitly denies the evolution theory which states that man has evolved from apes. All humanity is one big family because the parents are the same for everyone – Hazrat Adam and Hazrat Hawa, so breaking ties with one other is like breaking ties with family which is strictly forbidden. The entire humanity is being commanded to obey Allah, the Lord Who created mankind and Who provides sustenance for all. So only Allah Almighty should be feared and no one else. When an orphan becomes mature then the guardian should hand over all his possessions, wealth and property to him and be honest in this i.e. should not devour any part of the wealth of the orphan, should not exchange the good quality possessions of the orphan with his low quality ones (example in those days possessions and wealth included animals so it was forbidden that an orphan’s good quality animals be replaced with sick and weak animals. The orphan should get his possessions in whatever original form they are), their possessions should not be mixed with your own with the intention of wrongfully devouring his rights (for instance if the orphan’s wealth is jointly invested in some business than the orphan should get his share of profit). Devouring the rights of an orphan is a great sin.
If a person believes that he cannot be fair to an orphan girl then he shoudnt marry her rather he should marry any other woman he likes and he can marry 4 women at the most, given that he is able to do justice to all 4. In case he feels he cannot be just to all 4 and might get inclined towards one of the 4, then he should marry just one woman. Being unjust to an orphan girl in terms of marriage can be :

·         Having no interest in the orphan girl but marrying her just for her wealth

·         Marrying an orphan girl with the intention that since you are already her guardian so you can evade paying the mehr.

And it has been made obligatory on men to pay the mehr to their wives at the time of the nikah and to do so whole-heartedly and if the wife relinquishes the mehr on her own accord without any force, then it’s the mutual decision between the husband and wife and if she on her own will gifts a part or whole of the mehr to her husband then he should take it willingly and gladly because Allah has made it lawful.
The word ‘foolish’ may refer to feeble minded people, people who are mentally unsound, to wives who are not sensible when it comes to spending money, relatives and others who do not have the sense to spend money sensibly and it may also refer to orphans who are not mature and sensible enough to put their money to good use. In such cases the men are being told to avoid handing over their money to them and rather to feed them good food, provide them with the necessities of life and fulfill their needs and if they complain about not being given any money then speak kindly to them. This ayat tells us that immature and insensible people should not be handed over money because they might waste it and this wastage is disliked by Allah because wealth and money is a source of fulfilling the needs of the world and religion both.
The last ayat explains that when an orphan has become mature enough to handle his wealth and possessions then it should be handed over to him after being sure of his level of intelligence and sensibility. This ayat is primarily for the guardians of the orphans where they are also being commanded to efficiently manage the orphan’s wealth and even while spending this wealth on the orphan’s daily needs,they should spend sensibly and not overspend and waste money. If the guardian is rich he should not take any compensation for his effort and work involved in managing the orphan’s wealth and looking after him. But in case he is poor he is allowed to take a just and fair compensation for his efforts. And when the guardian releases the orphan’s wealth and property to him, he should appoint 2 witnesses to avoid a conflict of any sort later on.

Bundle of mistakes makes up a human

We all make mistakes because we are supposed to learn from them. If we have never committed a mistake in life then we might have been angels and not humans. Humans default, commit sins, make mistakes, and simply mess up and that's a common characteristic between us all. The distinguishing factor arises on the basis of the misfortune of those who die before being able to realize and undo their mistake and the fortune of those who  realize it in their life and take corrective action. Hazrat Adam had been strictly instructed to not go near a certain tree, yet caught in the web of the devil, he went against the commands of Allah and disobeyed Him. But the beauty of Allah's mercy is that He taught Hazrat Adam how to repent , taught him the words of the prayer for repentance and forgave him. the prayer of repentance that Hazrat Adam was taught is given in Surah Al Araf of the Holy Quran verse 23:
"They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers."

the above incident makes it obvious that if Hazrat Adam could be led astray by the devil, then we are bound to be tempted by the devil's evil traps. It's terrifying to imagine what it would like if we die while in the state of committing that sin, that mistake which causes His displeasure,  what will we say to our Lord then? How will we face Him? As kids we would avoid facing our mothers if we broke something precious in the house then how can we even imagine facing the Lord of the entire universe after committing acts that trigger His displeasure? Unfortunate are the ones who die in a state of committing those sins and have to face the Lord before getting a chance to repent, regret and beg for His forgiveness. I and all those reading this are extremely fortunate to be alive today. We all have done something or the other in the past or maybe are still doing it, that may have earned the wrath and displeasure of our Lord, or we may have hurt our fellow brothers and sisters, we may realize our mistakes but we might be delaying the repentance part. And that one delay may cause us to lose out on a life of eternal bliss in the Hereafter. Let's all realize how lucky we are to be still alive to realize our mistakes, to undo them and to beg Allah to forgive us and to ask our brothers and sisters to forgive us as well for all those times we may have hurt them, intentionally or unintentionally. Allah is giving us one chance after another, hoping we would turn our backs to our wrong doings and go back to Him (as we made a covenant with Him before being sent to this earth - explained in surah baqarah).
It's not in our hands to judge whether our sin is worthy of being forgiven or not. That's a matter that only He knows best but Alhumdulilah His mercy encompasses every possible thing as long as the repentance is sincere. There are moments in our life when we may despair that it's too late to ask for repentance and we may not realize this but such thoughts are acts of the devil, cos despair in the Mercy of Allah is an act of Kufr itself.
Secondly, we may commit mistakes in our lives which may cause us to lose something or the other, something irreversible, something irreplaceable like self respect, dignity, values etc and when the realization sinks in, and even then if it doesn't take us crying and weeping our hearts out onto the prayer mat, then it definitely is not a good sign. the lost dignity and self respect may never come back but the hope that your Lord will forgive you on sincere repentance, will make life worth living again.
People tend to believe that once you have realized your mistake you should only worry about pleasing Allah and asking for His forgiveness and shouldn't care about whether the person you wronged forgave you or not. I choose to differ on this opinion because man needs to forgive first before expecting mercy from the Creator.

This post goes out to all the people out there who regret their past mistakes, who regret being a part of something that is forbidden and who regret displeasing their Lord because nothing good can ever come out of displeasing Him.   It's not too late to repent and it's not too late to undo our mistakes. May Allah have mercy on us and guide us to the right path. Ameen.

Halloween

Unfortunately, I wasn’t really surprised to see Halloween decorations and event invitations being handed out today at a local mall in Karachi. The lack of my surprise primarily, because I have been witnessing the ‘western bug’ corroding our society for like the past few years now. The influence of the west is not declining but the values and beliefs of our society definitely are. It’s the ‘in’ thing of today; Halloween parties are not only ‘cool’ but are extremely fun as well.  Let’s take a quick look at the origins of this festival and then decide for ourselves if we are on the right track or not.

The origins of Halloween lie in the ancient Scottish festival of Samhain, celebrated as the beginning of the winters and the first day of the New Year, when it was believed that spirits of the people who had died during the year were allowed to visit the earth and roam around freely. Hence this festival was celebrated in honour of the Sun god (thanking the Sun for providing them with a good harvest) and the god of the dead. The ritual of putting out food on the patio and doorsteps took birth from the belief that if food wasn’t provided to these dead spirits, they would cast a wicked spell. Additionally, it was believed that the spirits of the good people were sent to heaven, but those of the bad ones hovered somewhere between this world and the next. And on this particular day of Samhain, they came to earth expecting to be honoured with food, sacrifices and offerings that would satisfy them and thus, feel no need to cast an evil spell on the living.

The christians, however, celebrated the All Saints’ Day (All Hallows’ Eve) which was in honour of all martyrs, known or unknown and with time this festival went on to include the honoring of saints’ as well. On this Day, the God was glorified for all the saints’ , known or unknown.  It was originally celebrated on May 13^th, but the Pope Gregory IV moved it to 1^st November(Evening of October 31^st), to coincide with Samhain.  When Christianity came to the British Isles , thus started the festival of Halloween which ultimately became a blend of the Samhain festival and the Saints’ day festival. The blend however, was very peculiar since one honors the evil spirits while the other honours the ‘saints’. The Christian church was unsuccessful in to stopping the people from celebrating the Samhain event of worshipping the Satan. Hence, they simply modified the traditions a little in accordance to their own beliefs and gave it the new name of Halloween. The Samhain traditions however survived and became entwined with the Christian festival.  Some Christians rejected this festival once they realized that all the activities of Halloween (trick or treat, skulls and skeleton, images of witches and black cats, lighting of bonfires etc) were acts of worship for the devil and the evil spirits. They, thus, rejected the customs associated with Halloween and distanced themselves from this pagan festival. While many others like us enticed by the attractive activities of this festival began celebrating it with increased zeal and enthusiasm forgetting the significance of this event.

All of the Halloween traditions have been carried down from ancient pagan beliefs and customs and are a form of Idolatry (Shirk), the biggest sin of all.  We got involved in the celebrations of this event because our friends are doing it without even understanding the origins of this festival. Our religion gives us amazingly beautiful festivals to celebrate which allow for fun and celebrations while at the same time keeping the spiritual and religious significance intact. The Halloween celebrations are at the peak this year as well, with private parties being held at different places and celebrations and events being held at certain malls. Before being tempted to join in these festivities let’s just spend a moment to ponder over the origins of these celebrations and ask Allah to give us the strength to abstain from all such activities which negate our Islamic beliefs especially activities that involve associating any other being to His worship.

The Quran says:

"Has not the time arrived for the believers, that their hearts in all humility should engage in the remembrance of Allah and of the Truth which has been revealed to them? That they should not become like those to whom was given the Book aforetime, but long ages passed over them and their hearts grew hard? For many among them are rebellious transgressors." (Qur'an 57:16)

I tried to keep the history of Halloween brief and to the point to get my point across while at the same time keeping the interest of the readers alive.  May Allah guide us to the right path and enable us to use our intelligence to distinguish right from wrong, true from false. May He forgive us for the sins we committed knowingly and unknowingly. Ameen.