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“It's a big world, and I really like it.”
― George Saunders, The Braindead Megaphone

“Praise be to Allah, who revealed the Book, controls the clouds, defeats factionalism, and says in His Book: 'But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)'; and peace be upon our Prophet, Muhammad Bin-'Abdallah, who said: I have been sent with the sword between my hands to ensure that no one but Allah is worshipped, Allah who put my livelihood under the shadow of my spear and who inflicts humiliation and scorn on those who disobey my orders.

...All these crimes and sins committed by the Americans are a clear declaration of war on Allah, his messenger, and Muslims. And ulema have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries. This was revealed by Imam Bin-Qadamah in 'Al- Mughni,' Imam al-Kisa'i in 'Al-Bada'i,' al-Qurtubi in his interpretation, and the shaykh of al-Islam in his books, where he said: 'As for the fighting to repulse [an enemy], it is aimed at defending sanctity and religion, and it is a duty as agreed [by the ulema]. Nothing is more sacred than belief except repulsing an enemy who is attacking religion and life.'

On that basis, and in compliance with Allah's order, we issue the following fatwa to all Muslims:

The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies -- civilians and military -- is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque [Mecca] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty Allah, 'and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together,' and 'fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah.'

...We -- with Allah's help -- call on every Muslim who believes in Allah and wishes to be rewarded to comply with Allah's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's U.S. troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson.

...Almighty Allah also says: 'O ye who believe, what is the matter with you, that when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, ye cling so heavily to the earth! Do ye prefer the life of this world to the hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the hereafter. Unless ye go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place; but Him ye would not harm in the least. For Allah hath power over all things.'

Almighty Allah also says: 'So lose no heart, nor fall into despair. For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in faith.'

[World Islamic Front Statement, 23 February 1998]”
― Osama bin Laden

“Ansar is an Arabic term that means helpers or supporters. They were the citizens of Medina who helped Prophet Mohammed upon His arrival to the Holy city. While 'Hussain' is a derivation of 'Hassan' that means 'GOOD' (I also owe this one to Khaled Hosseini).
That's how my favorite character in my debut novel 'When Strangers meet..' gets his name... HUSSAIN ANSARI, because he is the one who helps Jai realize the truth in the story and inspires his son, Arshad, to have FAITH in Allah.”
― K. Hari Kumar, When Strangers meet..

“The jealous and the foolish ones thought that they won after Prophet Muhammad [S.A.W.] had gone from Mecca to Medina! In history, they are only known as the evil conspirators but Hazrat Muhammad [S.A.W.] is the last prophet and the greatest human being!”
― Md. Ziaul Haque

“It’s funny how you doubt yourself through & through, when the sun & the moon are parabolically on a pilgrimage, encircling the mecca of you.”
― Curtis Tyrone Jones, Mirrors Of The Sun: Finding Reflections Of Light In The Shittiness Of Life

“Every king had tried to put his imprint on the city and the mosque; some were worse than others. King Faisal had been a parsimonious man and the expansion works reflected as much—measured and reasonable, nothing too ostentatious. The current ruler, King Fahd, was a spender who disliked all that was old. He loved glitz and gold. More ancient neighborhoods were being torn down, and Mecca’s classical Islamic architecture was vanishing rapidly. Ugly modern buildings were rising, and more chain hotels were being built to accommodate yet more pilgrims.”
― Kim Ghattas, Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East

“within minutes, the entire village was in the water, splashing about, falling over, getting up, moving steadily forwards towards the horizon; never looking back to shore ... "come back," he beseeched his wife: "nothing is happening. come back!”
― Salman Rushdie

“Un autre exemple de fausse psychologie de nos « bureaux arabes ». Nous avons, pour les élections en Algérie, recours à l'influence des congrégations musulmanes sur la masse des électeurs illettrés. Cette politique de corruption est publique et compromet à la longue certaines vedettes précieuses.
L'administration se dit alors dans sa sollicitude : il y a un moyen, pour les musulmans, d'être absous de leurs péchés, c'est d'aller à La Mecque. Nous leur paierons le voyage. Ils rempliront leurs devoirs coraniques ; ils nous reviendront absous, la conscience blanche comme neige. Ils pourront recommencer à notre service ; nous aurons donc double bénéfice.

Mais un des derniers bénéficiaires de ce système ingénieux vient de le gâcher et nous a forcés, en revenant de La Mecque, à payer la scolarité d'un de ses fils à al-Azhar « pour se racheter » aux yeux de l'Islam anticolonialiste. Cet homme nous aura coûté fort cher pour aboutir au mépris réciproque et définitif.
[L'Occident devant l'Orient. Primauté d'une solution culturelle. In: Politique étrangère, n°2 - 1952 - 17ᵉannée. pp. 13-28]”
― Louis Massignon

“পরিস্থিতির স্বার্থে হযরত মোহাম্মদ [সা.] মক্ক�� ছেড়ে মদিনায় যাবা�� পর হিংসুট�� বোকারা ভেবেছি�� তাদে�� জয় হয়েছ��! ইতিহাস�� তাদে�� স্থা�� শুধু�� ষড়যন্ত্রকারী শয়তা�� হিসেবে কিন্তু হযরত মোহাম্মদ [সা.] সর্বশে�� নবী �� সর্বশ্রেষ্�� মহামান��!”
― Md. Ziaul Haque

“Sami was nostalgic for the old Mecca, for the simpler times when the mizan, the balance, between modernity and tradition was easier to attain and maintain. His eternal quest for spiritual harmony was constantly disrupted by construction cranes, bulldozers, generators, and loudspeakers, Sami believed in an evolution that respected the continuity, but Mecca’s connections with the past were being physically severed. The future of the sanctuary of Islam was in danger. The aim of his research center was to make further expansions to the mosque and its surroundings more in tune with history, more respectful of tradition. It was a Sisyphean battle.”
― Kim Ghattas, Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East

“Many Christians imagine that God is dwelling in the Vatican, Muslims in Mecca, and Jews in Jerusalem. All of these places are too limiting for God.”
― Mwanandeke Kindembo

“A hundred hajj won't make you holy, if your heart is ever cold and dead.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervis Vadisi: 100 Promissory Sonnets

“Mind begins at the wake of chains,
Life begins at the wake of sect.
A hundred hajj won't make you holy,
If your heart is ever cold and dead.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervis Vadisi: 100 Promissory Sonnets