AE

Although the “selling out” of Muslims is not something new in our history, despite how angry we get at the antics of media-darlings like the Quilliam Foundation or Hasan Butt (media-hated?) and a plethora of other “progressives” and “moderates”, I always wondered whether the orthodoxy were doing something wrong. Where are we failing? What can we do to stop the rot?

But then I realised something today: “selling out” is a plague afflicting the entire world regardless of religion, political affiliation or culture.

Have you seen what the Liberals of the Anglicans have done to the Anglican Church?

Have you not seen how Labour have sold the working-classes up the creek without a paddle?

What of Aragones selling out the entire Spanish Nation every time Spain play? Pulling off Torres?! Pulling off Fabregas?! And so what if they won?

What about Referee Alfredo Garcia selling all of Boxing out by his trying to throw this fight with our boy Danny?

What about like every footballer with a “contract” and how they leave their clubs? (Do I sound bitter?)

I’m sure you’ve all got plenty more examples, but enough was enough when Jay-Z sold all of Hip-Hop out at Glastonbury with Wonderwall and a guitar?

I’ve had it with all these jokers. Let’s make takfeer of the lot.

‘Cos I certainly am.

And that’s not just because of last night’s debacle at the Oval where Paul Collingwood dropped right out of sight in my respect league by asking for Elliott to be ruled “run-out” after they took him out with a body slam in the middle of the track! And what’s with the empty apology afterwards?

Actually, have you noticed how amazing world sport seems to be when the English national team aren’t involved? This is coming from an (embarrasingly) loyal England supporter in all forms of sport from the rugby, to tennis to athletics to whatever else takes your fancy. Note the following:

- The IPL was incredible stuff. No English teams involved.

- The English Twenty20 Cup is lame. Only a few minor exceptions of Englishmen (well done Napier for your moment of fame).

- The English ODI and Test scene is boring, dull and depressing. And cheating with a lack of sportsmanship to boot. And any exciting or innovative play will come from those who have been assimilated into Englishness: Pietersen, Mascharenas, Shah etc!

- World cricket has been invigorating, fast, and to the point. Wherever the English are, you’ll find all the moaning going on, whereas everyone else just gets on with it. Well, minus the Aussies sometimes.

- The Euros Football Championship has been mesmerising. Ooh suprise surprise, no England national team.

- The Premier League is great thanks mostly to our foreign imports of Ronaldo, Torres, Tevez, Drogba, Fabregas, Adebayor, Ballack, Berbatov, Santa Cruz et al.

- The Ryder Cup is great. Only a few English players involved. The Americans bring the jazz.

- We blagged it to the Rugby Union World Cup Final and were put in our place by the Springboks.

- Lewis Hamilton is worshipped at the altar. Well they had to choose another loser after all previous English has-beens.

- Watching and even listening to Andrew Murray is sporting torture. Where would Wimbledon be but for the quality and character of Federer and Nadal?

To be honest I might have been a bit general and unfair here but you can’t deny that this year’s sporting thrills have been provided by anyone but the English. And then last night’s humiliation of Collingwood was the last straw, especially for someone like myself who was so supportive of his recall to the Test team a few years back.

Perhaps its time to ditch the our Blighty loyalties for greener pastures. To hell with Tebbit.

Turkey anyone?

This is dedicated to all you good Springboks out there. It made me laugh out loud in my hotel, so no wonder it came to mind during the conference.

Disclaimer: I’m not to be held responsible for General Saab’s (music-accompanied) dabkah right at the end of the advert, which is pretty poor. I think he needs some tips from our man on the scene Sheikh Obeikan…

The Qur’ān and Us – Part II

Something which the Muslims and indeed the non-Muslims have come to realise is the immense power of the Qur’ān – once tasted, never forgotten.

Muslims throughout history dream about it day and night, wondering how incredible it would be if they could memorise it.

Others dream how great it would be to recite like the masters of old, being able to capture the hearts of those listening in an intense and indeed overpowering moment of feeling, enchanted by His Words and Wisdom; didn’t he (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) say, “Hasbuk! Hasbuk!” (Enough! Enough!) unable to continue with the power of His words upon him.

Students of knowledge and scholars alike wonder how it would be if they knew the true meanings of His Verses ‘azza wa jall; a gift that very few will ever have the pleasure and satisfaction of achieving.

Then we have the general Muslims who might have given up on trying to commit this miracle to heart but are willing to sacrifice everything they have in order that their children will become the next generation of preservers – they wait patiently in order to receive their promised crowns of light in the next life, at the hands of the intercession of their offspring.

And what of the non-Muslims? There are those who have wondered all their lives what all the fuss was about and there are others who have entire departments working for them in order to destroy its message and power.

Others have already given up and realised that as long as the Qur’ān exists amongst the Muslim nation, it will never be overcome. It is of little surprise then to see that after the failed efforts to fabricate, deviate and destroy its message, new attempts centre on banning the book entirely from public access.

This would be laughable if it wasn’t something already alluded to by Islamic practice and tradition. The way of our early fathers was to commit the Qur’ān to personal memory, with the physical book (mush-haf) version being a luxury. To this effect, the Prophetic injunctions to memorise the Qur’ān and the excellence and honour of such an action in addition to the rewards promised by Allah ‘azza wa jall, make this a clear priority in the life of the practising Muslim.

Add to this the declaration of the Creator, “Hence, indeed, we have made this Qur’ān easy to bear in mind; who, then, is willing to take it to heart.” (al-Qamr, 17) and thus we should try and investigate as much as possible how to memorise as much of this blessed book as we can.

The only problem is to decide on which method to use in memorising the Noble Book and thus enter the company of that exclusive honoured group: the Preservers of the Scripture.

This series was written based on the author’s experiences of the ultra-traditional method of the Shanqiti tribe in North West Africa yet one should be quick to realise the immense difficulty of trying to apply this blessed method with our present situation in the West.

The problem becomes clearer when we look at the basic Shanqiti method: arising early at Fajr time, utilising that blessed morning period for a few hours to read the chosen pages to one’s Shaykh, and then after having it corrected, proceeding to write out the chosen verses a number of times and then repeated continuously for often as much as a couple of hundred times to commit it to memory. The rest of the day is spent in revision, in tandem with other students to check each other and the valuable teaching of other younger children to further cement previous memorised portions. After the Maghrib prayer, there will be a further revision period of the day’s appointed portion as well as the revision of yesterday’s pages. An early night would be encouraged and thus we have a general outline of what happens in a traditional mahdhara such as found amongst the tribes of the Shanqitis, with a few minor variations to suit specific schools.

So what’s wrong with trying to apply that here in the West or more specifically the UK?

Firstly, one should always be realistic about ones ability and logistically prepare themselves for what they are able to do. Those who are truly serious about their desire to memorise the Qur’ān will often take a few years out to travel to a specialist centre in the Muslim world to be able to dedicate themselves to this most noble of tasks. The sheer silence and pristine environment of the Saharah Desert or the mountains of the North West Frontier in Pakistan has its own blessing in trying to pursue this aim, out of sight of mobile phones and internet connections and the other numerous distractions that day-to-day life bring.

Unfortunately, the above scenario will remain just a dream to many, especially those who are married, something which invariably proves to destroy ones crack at serious study despite all the time and effort expended in choosing a partner “who will want to go abroad and study seriously with me”, only to find parents, pregnancy and a new home suddenly appear out of nowhere to change one’s life direction.

For those who are willing to try and implement some form of classical system into their daily routines living in the West, unfortunately come across many hurdles which de-motivate the individual which perhaps a clearer picture of the task ahead might help to avoid. Part of that clarity would be to be realistic about one’s working day in the UK.

The tremendous variation in the length of the night is probably one of the single most key factors. During the summer, one is unable to go to sleep until very late, often 11-11:30 pm but yet will have to arise before 4am for the Fajr prayer. With no siesta in the working day, it is very difficult to expect to work on just four hours sleep for a full twenty four hour working day to allow oneself to revise after Fajr when the majority of people will utilise the post-Fajr period to prepare sleep-wise for the working day. Although there will be a further period for study available later on in the day during these long days, it is a time of noise, business and family and hence not conducive to memorisation as are the early Fajr hours.

This extreme then flips to very long nights in the Winter which brings its own problems of late Fajr prayer times (hence not allowing any time post-Fajr because the working day has begun) which require students to rise early in the dark of Tahajjud and stay awake, something which is more difficult to do in terms of memorisation.

Throw into this the lack of qualified scholars to revise with, the constant distractions of modern day life in a developed country and most importantly, the fact that our hearts collectively are too dark with mistakes and sin to allow space for the light of the knowledge of God and we really have a problem on our hands. All this, and when we remember that the Qur’ān itself has been made easy and joyous to recite and memorise, we recognise that it is our own merry selves that have made it so difficult!

One details these issues only to bring a sense of realism to our endeavours to become Preservers of the Holy Scripture. Although we want to encourage everyone to become closer to the amazing miracle that is the Qur’ān, we shouldn’t kid ourselves that the rewards promised by Allah for the memorisers are something achieved in a flash without utter dedication. Did anyone expect the Qur’ān to intercede for us on the Final Day just based upon our mere good intentions?

What this means is that we have to be dynamic in our approach to becoming closer to the Qur’ān, and in particular when it comes to memorisation. Muslims will continue to live the lifestyles they currently do and the Qur’ān will need memorising as it always has. As times evolve, we can adapt without having to betray our heritage and culture.

The Muslim Arab world in particular has been studying many modern-day memorisation techniques that have been developed by leading thinkers and academics from the West, modified to fit the religious context Muslims desire and are claiming good results already due to their suitability to the Western lifestyle. This can be seen as similar to the boom in online-based Islamic learning systems as well as intensive weekend seminars and case-based learning models which have only become popular due to the scholars that have endorsed them as the replacement to classical learning for those unable to pursue the normal route in the West.

Also it should be noted that some will still be able to derive the principles of the classical methods of numerous repetitions and utilise times more conducive to their working day, and then cleverly make use of opportunities with their Shaykh a few times a week and depend on high quality digital recordings of the Qurrā’ to maintain discipline and authenticity on the other days. This has been witnessed widely by this author in the West, and alongside a greater concern from parents to use their children’s free early years to memorise the Qur’ān whilst young with parental supervision and other modern media aids, has proved to be a real solution for those who are willing to confront the challenges of modernity face-on with a sincere, patient and dynamic attitude.

And with Allah is all success. It is He we ask to grant us ability – indeed, He is All-Capable of that.

The Qur’ān and Us – Part I

One of the results of living in our post-modern societies in the West is our increased cynicism with all that which is classical, holy, blessed, miraculous, supernatural etc. This has been a direct side-effect from growing up and living in a community which is purely secular in nature, where God has no significance, and where anything that can not be directly observed and proved is immediately rubbished. Call it the Age of Empiricism or call it the Age of Ignorance, what can not be doubted is how it has affected the mindset of millions of Muslims in the “developed” world, and worse even, now starting to play its way down into the Muslim (often synonymous with the) “developing” world.

It’s unfortunate that many Muslims hesitate to act freely in certain issues, afraid that others surrounding them might consider such actions or beliefs as backward or strange. Hence for example, we find some Muslims whilst still having an internal theoretical faith in the subject, are unwilling to express their belief in the supernatural or as the Qur’ān describes it, al-‘Ālam’l-Ghayb or the “Unseen Realm”.

Consequently, we find great difficulty in having a serious discussion about Angels or the Jinn. We find it complicated to talk about al-Hajr’l-Aswad (the Black Stone) or al-Rukn al-Yamāni (the Yemeni Corner of the Ka‘bah) etc. Likewise, to freely extol the blessings of a certain act, or a certain day or a certain night such as Laylat’l-Qadr becomes strained, especially if questioned on the rationale or logic. Naturally, the Believer recognises the basis of such belief in the Unseen and is strong upon that but yet must still recognise the threat. If the prevailing environment still hasn’t shaken the internal belief, it seems apparent from ones observations that the frequency and intensity of religious devotional practice of the external is very much in danger.

Add to this the incredibly fast-paced way we live our lives with the further problem of materialism and secularist ideology insisting that religion be practised and expressed on the “down-low” and then we can recognise a real problem facing our Muslims today.

Couple this modern problem with the ever-existent ikhtilāf or difference of opinion that exists amongst scholars with respect to certain spiritual acts and rituals and one might not be blamed for believing that deep spirituality and emotions such as esteem and sanctity are under attack.

As this section is dealing with the Qur’ān, one can observe specific problems of a similar nature with respect to our direct relationship with the Holy Book.

It is a sad fact that people are not reflecting and benefiting from this great gift to humanity: a deep spiritual message and yet expansive code of conduct for life itself. It is a shame that so many people, whilst recognising its internal beauty and melody, its healing power and the way it invokes ones strongest emotions and yet logically clarifies ones senses, still find difficulty in connecting to this holiest and most sanctified of words – indeed the words of our Creator, Allah, the Mighty and Exalted.

Maybe one of the starting points to re-establishing our relationship with the Qur’ān is to recognise its status and thereby allow it to gain our utter respect and reverence. Hence, adab with the Qur’ān is a vital beginning point.

Rediscovering our Adab

The Muslim recognises from the very fundamental precept of faith that the Qur’ān is not just some created book but actually the real spoken words of Allah ‘azza wa jall Himself, gifted to mankind as a whole yet directed to us specifically as individuals. If one was to internalise this fact for the briefest of moments, its sheer profoundness manifests itself.

This is enough to shake the Believer to his core when dealing with the Qur’ān. Hence, all such scenarios that involve disrespect to the Qur’ān in any way possible such as to intentionally throw it, step on it, tear it up, deny its rulings etc are tantamount to disbelief. Likewise, the Islamic rulings concerning the obligation of purity before the Qur’ān such as being in a state of ablution or free from sexual and menstrual impurity are well known and indeed ‘religiously’ followed.

Indeed, many scholars of the Qur’ān have advocated going much further and established a recommended code of conduct with the Qur’ān in order for Believers to further express their awe in which they view the Words of Allah, with the hope that such sanctification and wonder will further increase the effect of the Qur’ān upon their respective beliefs and actions. Hence, albeit without much technical evidence from the Prophetic period, scholars recommended Muslims that before they read the Qur’ān to perfume themselves, to wear pure and clean clothes, to face the Qiblah, to ensure sufficient previous rest and many other points.

Yet some scholars throughout history have argued that such recommendations cannot be justified without Prophetic sanctioning and also put the case forward that such ‘codes of conduct’, albeit for the sake of argument only ‘recommended’ and hence voluntary, were actually acting as barriers for millions of Muslims who just wanted to discover and reflect upon the true meanings of His Words, at all times and places, at every single opportunity. And still the debate goes on.

It is in the opinion of this author that there does not need to be a contradiction between both approaches. It is of no doubt that the most important relationship and indeed obligation with the Qur’ān is for its followers to act upon it and not to read it or venerate it in a physical sense.

Yet, especially in the age that we live in where Muslims are losing touching with the physical sanctity of the Qur’ān as previously mentioned alongside the growing “progressive” lobby which increasingly views such “ritualistic actions of insignificance” as defunct, there is a real need for Muslims to get back into an intense adab relationship with the physical Qur’ān itself whilst at the same time recognising that to concentrate on reflecting upon its spiritual depths at the same time is the key objective.

Scholars have always suggested in their classical texts a possible approach to increasing adab with a person – such as explaining how one should present themselves in their daily prayers in front of Allah ‘azza wa jall as one would do if presenting themselves to the King of the land but of course recognising the infinitely greater and more perfect nature of the Creator of the Universe. Using such examples with the Qur’ān itself are not out of place – treating the Qur’ān like a very precious object such as a priceless diamond can help focus the Believer on its sanctity and help us on the way to further our relationship with the Qur’ān.

Hence to keep the Qur’ān in a high position, to keep the Qur’ān on top of other books and never below other books, to never rest anything upon the Qur’ān be it paper, or pens or even using it as a pillow as mentioned in the books of fiqh – simply treating the Book as if it were something else very rarely helps us to internalise the importance.

Likewise to read the Qur’ān sitting in an upright position and facing the Qiblah, to not point our feet towards the Qur’ān or even intentionally turn our back to it; such recommendations have been gleaned from the later generations of the Companions and Salaf or the early founding fathers of Islam.

Unsurprisingly, without actual legal evidence, certain scholars were more prudent in their advising of Muslims to enter in to such practices fearing that they would be seen as necessary parts of religious practice and hence become blameworthy innovations.

Of course, the various suggested points of adab have only been religious advice and much of it simply subjective opinion of what respect actually is. What might be seen as disrespectful to one group of people could be seen as totally normal to another culture and so on. Take the case of pointing the feet towards a copy of the Qur’ān upon its holder. Some said that there was not a single piece of evidence to suggest this was blameworthy. The reply of course was that there are many cultures that hold it incredibly disrespectful to sit in front of them with their feet pointing towards them. It just wouldn’t be done. So how can one not do an action out of fear of offence to a normal person and yet do it so lackadaisically to the Book of Allah?

Here, certain Usūli scholars mentioned a principle concerning the Qur’ān which this author feels would be applicable for our study:

“Every action that has not been prohibited by the Sharī‘ah and is intended to make takrīm and ta‘dhīm (honour and veneration) of the Mus-haf (a written copy of the Qur’ān), then this is good and acceptable. This is because all actions which are permissible in principle, when used to arrive at something legislated, become ‘legislated’ themselves in that specific restricted sense as long as the person does not belief as a result of this that said action is recommended (Sunnah) by itself or necessarily required – this is out of fear that something be added to the religion of Islam that which is not from it. ” (1)

The support for honouring the Qur’ān as such comes from the statement of Allah, “As for those who honour Allah’s sacred rites, that comes from the taqwa in their hearts.” (al-Hajj, 32) which is general in all that which Allah has shown and taught his servants with respect to the religion. A general evidence is really all that is required here since the Mus-haf as we have today wasn’t really around at the time of the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam); thus, any permissible action used in relation to the Qur’ān out of respect and honour is considered permissible except that this often leaves the door open to people exaggerating and going to extremes in their behaviour. Therefore, it is necessary to have some sort of guidelines to reign in peoples’ subjectivity in this issue and those guidelines are seen to be the actions of the Companions and their Successors (Sahābah and Tābi‘īn). Note that these generations are not being used in a legislative sense, rather simply as a standard to avoid any mistakes and exaggeration since they were the closest of all people in history to the Qur’ān and most in awe and respect of it.

Using this principle helps us to achieve that balance one feels is required in our times, avoiding fallacious concepts such as standing for the Qur’ān when it is brought into the room or walking out of a room backwards that contains a Qur’ān in it, yet protecting age-old practices of ‘urf (culture) that our elders and predecessors have used to maintain their love of the Qur’ān.

However despite this principle, other points of adab still remain contentious with scholars who were either critical of the above principle in their attempt to safeguard the pure religion or they were in doubt over the existence of early generational ‘support’ for such actions such as the kissing of the Qur’ān, even though it is seen as a perfectly natural way of expressing love and respect for something which is incredibly precious and dear to the hearts.

This action has been established on the authority of the Companion ‘Ikrimah b. Abi Jahl (radhy Allāhu ‘anhu) who would take the Mus-haf whilst reciting and hold it against his face whilst crying, saying, “The Book of my Lord! The Book of my Lord!” (2)

Therefore we can say that actions such as this, showing fondness and connection to the Mus-haf and/or kissing it and all that in the same meaning as the above is permissible and good, but cannot be classified as the Sunnah as mentioned previously.

Likewise the debate still continues on whether the Qur’ān should ever be placed on the floor especially with many scholars declaring that to be permissible as long as the floor is clean enough to be prayed on. In fact, some weren’t even so stringent, supporting their position with the narration of ‘Atā’ b. Abi Rabāh that a man came to ibn Abbas (radhy Allāhu ‘anhumā) and said to him, “Can I place the Mus-haf on a floor that I have intercourse on, that I have wet dreams on and that I sweat all over?” “Yes,” replied ibn ‘Abbās. (3)

It is important to try and restrain emotion in such discussions in order to reach the correct position and many scholars disliked the idea that the Qur’ān be placed on the floor, even extending such dislike to the normal books of religion such as in law or theology for example.

The basis for this was the action of the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) himself as narrated in the hadith of ‘Abdullāh b. ‘Umar (radhy Allāhu ‘anhumā) when the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was invited by a Jewish tribe to judge on a Jew who was accused of adultery. When he arrived, they called for a cushion upon which the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) sat upon, whom then asked for the Torah to be brought. When they arrived with it, the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) withdrew the cushion from underneath him and placed the Torah upon it and said, “I have believed in you and the One who sent you,” and the judgement continued. (4)

What this hadith shows other than the supreme conduct of the Messenger of Allah, particularly to non-Muslims, is that there is an understanding of respecting the Holy Books and one such way is to raise them from the ground as one does to other people or precious objects – if this was with the Torah, then what of the Qur’ān?

It is important to note that this does not mean it is an obligation to raise the Qur’ān above the floor rather it is an excellent action of respect; nevertheless one mustn’t accuse the one who doesn’t do it of being an ‘evil person’ who disrespects the Qur’ān, as can be understood above in the athar of ibn ‘Abbās.

Another example of what is construed as bad adab is the fact that many Muslims wet their fingers with spittle in order to help them turn the pages of the Qur’ān easier. Many scholars found no problem with such an action, as found in the books of Hanafi and Shāfi‘ī fiqh. (5)

The Mālikiyyah on the other hand were very strict against such an action, in particular the great ibn ‘Arabi and ibn al-Hāj who almost took the touching of the Mus-haf with spittle to that of prohibition. (6)

One of the world’s leading Fuqahā’, Shaykh Muhammad Mukhtar al-Shanqiti, was asked about such a person who wetted his finger to turn a page of the Qur’ān. He replied after explaining that this was something that the people of knowledge differed over..:

“A student of knowledge who believed strongly that this was permissible would argue with my father (who gave a fatwa instructing people to stay away from such a practice) about this. My father then said, “Ok, fine.” He then placed his finger in his mouth and approaching the face of the student, said, “What do you think if I rub this on your face?” The student took a step back and my father said, “So if this is with you then what of these blessed pages (al-suhuf al-mukarramah) which have a greater right to be preserved??”

…anyway, these are from the issues concerning honouring the Book of Allah, and it is more complete (in veneration) and excellent to avoid such actions as much as one possibly can.”

This author, in keeping with the series on the Qur’ān with its main objective to increase ones connection to His Words and reflect more upon it and eventually memorise more of His eternal guidance, shall be predominantly keeping to the Māliki school in approach to this subject, not merely out of whim but rather greater experience of that school and their unique skill in the Qur’ān and indeed memorisation as expressed by the inimitable Shanqiti tribe.

There are many ways for the Muslims to rediscover the Qur’ān and realise its intense impact that is stored within. One feels that by allowing the Muslims to feel comfortable and indeed proud of respecting the adab of the Qur’ān in ways similar to the various permissible ‘urf practices they have grown up with, coupled with a serious and authentic study of its deep meanings via memorisation will be a successful approach, particularly at these times where spiritual veneration is on the wane.

Allah knows best. And with Allah alone is success.

(1) ‘Ulūm’l-Qur’ān, al-Juday’ P. 562 (Mu’assasat’l-Rayyān)
(2) Narrated by al-Dārimi (322/ 8 with an authentic chain, despite many scholars declaring there to be a hidden fault. And Allah knows best.
(3) Narrated by ‘Abd al-Razzāq (1331) on the authority of ibn Jurayj with an authentic chain.
(4) Authentic. Narrated by Abu Dāwūd (4449) with a good chain, via ibn Wahb.
(5) Al-Durr al-Mukhtār (322/1)
(6) ‘Āridhat’l-Ahwadhi (240/10) and al-Madkhal (318/2)

Received today by email, a nice video from al-Jazeera with the Muhaddith Shaykh Muhammad ‘Awwāmah discussing hadith and various attacks on the Sunnah. Nice to see some honesty from the Shaykh as well, clearly not used to being under the camera, and admitting that he might not have all the answers there and then. If only we could all be so forthright at times of pressure instead of taking on more than we can chew…

This is a great article for everyone, especially our youth, to read and reflect upon. Nice one Jai.

This is no way to be a man
Lennie James, The Observer, Sunday June 8 2008

Barely a week goes by without another young Briton being brutally killed in a knife attack. Acclaimed actor and writer Lennie James, who will star in Fallout, the TV version of Roy Williams’s play about teenage violence, has watched in horror as the death toll mounts. Here, in an open letter to the knife carriers, he draws on his own difficult upbringing to make an impassioned plea to the lost generation of young boys who visit random savagery on their victims

Next month Channel 4 will show Fallout by Roy Williams, the screen version of his critically acclaimed stage play. Beautifully directed by Ian Rickson, Fallout is the enthralling story of the murder of a 16-year-old boy, Kwame, and the consequences that befall the four boys involved in the killing, the two girls connected to it and the police officers investigating the case.

I play one of the police officers, DS Joe Stephens, who is returning for the first time to the estate where he grew up to help in the investigation. He identifies greatly with the victim. Like Joe, Kwame had ambitions outside the confines and dictates of his estate and his background. Joe takes Kwame’s death very personally, as if the killers had murdered Joe’s younger self. This leads him to pursue the suspects with a zeal that alarms his colleagues, and to bend the rules to breaking point.

First and foremost, as it was on stage, Fallout is a wonderfully written, engrossing and entertaining story about belonging, escape, revenge and love. It is also a story that attempts to make sense of the seemingly senseless killing of a 16-year-old boy, stabbed to death for his trainers.

The issue of knife and gun crime among the young is firmly on the agenda at the moment, and rightly so. Since we premiered Roy’s play at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2003 some 350 teenagers have been shot or stabbed to death by other teenagers or young adults, and that may be a conservative estimate. Twenty-six teenagers were shot or stabbed in London alone in 2007. So far this year more than 100 have been attacked using knives. The number of dead is already at 13 and likely to rise.

Much has been written on the subject of this seeming spike in teen-on-teen violence over the past year or so. Columnists, commentators, politicians, child psychologists, law-makers, police officers, religious and community leaders, bereaved parents, gang members and ex-teenage killers have all expressed their opinions, apportioned blame and offered solutions. I myself was intent on writing a comparison between the war in Iraq and Afghanistan with the so-called ‘war on street crime’ announced by Boris Johnson, and others before him, and the relative collateral damage and loss of young lives. It was to be an investigation into whether the best response to our young people killing our young people is to declare war on them.

But as I sat down to complete the article, to add some statistics to bolster my argument and to clarify my misgivings as to whether Boris had an exit strategy for his war, I read of the death of Robert Knox. Robert, 18, was allegedly stabbed to death by a 21-year-old who was carrying two knives. So I scrolled up my article to change ‘13 [dead] and likely to rise’ to 14 and likely to… As I did so I wondered how many more times I would have to scroll up and change that number before the article was printed. Would I have to change 16 to 17 and 18 and 19 and so on, and would it still be ‘likely to rise’?

Suddenly the article I’d thought would be an interesting and insightful take on the subject became little more than another voice added to the collective hand-wringing and navel-gazing that seems to have characterised the response to this issue. It is all well intentioned and absolutely necessary if we are to find solutions. The problem is that we are so very adept at exploring our own deficiencies but so very slow to improve on them or to learn from them.

Like a huge tanker turning 180 degrees, it takes for ever for our sentiment to be made into decisive action. In the meantime, should the current trend continue, a teenager or two will be stabbed, possibly killed, every week for the rest of this year, like last, by someone no older than themselves.

So instead I have written an open letter to the knife-carriers, to the murderers-in-waiting and their potential victims. I don’t know how many of them might be Observer readers, but in this www. world, where this is written may not be where it is read.

Since this article was written, two more teenagers have been killed in London, bringing the total to 16.

Fallout, part of Disarming Britain, Channel 4’s season on gun and knife crime, is to be screened at 10pm on Thursday 3 July

To whom it may concern,

My name is Lennie James. I am a 42-year-old father of three. I grew up in south-west London. I was brought up by a single mother. I was orphaned at 10, lived in a kids’ home until I was 15 and was then fostered. I tell you this not to claim any special knowledge of how you’ve grown, but to explain how I have, and from where I draw my understanding.

I want to talk to you about the knife you’re carrying in your belt or pocket or shoe. The one you got from your mum’s kitchen or ordered online or robbed out of the camping shop. The knife you tell yourself you carry for protection, because you never know who else has got one.

I want to talk to you about what that knife will do for you. If you carry it, the chances are you will be called on to use it. It is a deadly weapon, so if you use it the chances are you will kill with it. So after you’ve killed with it, after you’ve seen how little force it takes for sharpened steel to puncture flesh. After your mates have run away from the boy you’ve left bleeding. When you’re looking for somewhere to dash the blade, and lighter fluid to burn your clothes. When your blood is burning in your veins and your heart is beating out of your chest to where you want to puke or cry, but can’t coz you’re toughing it out for your boyz. When you are bang smack in the middle of ‘Did you see that!’ and ‘Oh, Jesus Christ!’ here’s who to blame…

Blame the boy you just left for dead. Blame him for not believing you when you told him you were a bigger man than him. Blame him for not backing down when you made your chest broad, bounced into him and told him about your knife and how you would use it. Blame him for calling you on and making you prove yourself. Tell yourself if he had just freed up his phone or not cut his eyes at you like he did, he wouldn’t be choking on his blood and crying for his mum.

Then blame your mum. When the police are banging down her door looking for you, or she hears the whispers behind the ‘wall of silence’, tell her it’s all her fault for being worthless. Cuss her out for having kids when she was nothing but a kid herself, or for picking some drug or some man over you again and again. Even if she only had you and devoted herself to you, even if she is a great mum, blame her anyway. Blame her for not being around more to make sure you took the chances she was out working her fingers to the bone to give you.

When you’re done with her, blame the man she picked to make you with. Blame him for being less than half the man he should have been. When he comes to bail you out and starts running you down for the terrible thing you’ve done, tell him straight: ‘I did what I did coz you didn’t do what you should have done.’ Even if he did right; respected your mother, worked to provide for his family financially and spiritually, taught you right from wrong and drummed it home everyday… Even if he nurtured you as best he could, blame him for the generation of men he comes from.

The one that allowed an adolescent definition of manhood to become so dominant. The one that measures a man by how many babymothers he has wrangling his offspring, or by how ‘bad’ his reputation is on the streets of whatever couple of square miles he chooses to call his ‘ends’.

Damn them for letting you believe that respect is to be found with gun in hand or knife in pocket. Damn them and everyone who feeds the myth of these gangsters, villains, thieves and hustlers. Anyone who makes them heroes while damning hard-working, educated, honest men as weak, sell-outs or pussies.

If you are black, blame white people for the history of indignities they heaped on you and yours. For the humiliation of having to go cap-in-hand or get down on bended knee or having to burn shit down before you are afforded something so basically fundamental as equality. If you are white, blame black folk and Muslims for taking all your excuses. Failing that, blame a class system that keeps you poor and ignorant so the ‘uppers’ and ‘middles’ can feel better about themselves.

You have good reason to blame them all. I wouldn’t be you growing up now for love nor money. Your generation has so little room to manoeuvre. We had more space to step around the bullshit. We weren’t excluded at the rate you lot are. Teachers hadn’t given up or lost their authority over us. They still tried to protect and guide us even through our most disruptive years.

The police stopped and searched us, but we fought that right out of their hands – we hoped into extinction. But they want to bring back that abusive practice. They are still hooked on punishment rather than prevention. They seem ignorant to the fact that they are feeding you acceptance of an already prevalent gang mentality. As far as you can see, the police are not protecting and serving you, they are coming at you like just another street gang trying to boss your postcode.

When I was where you are now, generations of state agencies, social services, policy-makers and politicians had not abdicated all responsibility for me. We weren’t left to our own devices like you have been. Is it any wonder that you end up expressing yourself in such a violently pathetic way?

We should be ashamed. I am. You have shamed us into a desperate need to do something about ourselves. We have collectively failed you and we should take all the blame that is ours for that… but so should you.

I blame you. I blame you because as a generation you are selfish, self-centred and have little or no empathy for anyone but yourselves. You are politically stunted and socially irresponsible and… you scare us. What scares us most is that you would rather die than learn. Your only salvation may be that still most of you aren’t playing it out dirty. The vast majority of young men, even with all that is stacked against them, are finding their way around the crap. The boy you will kill, should you continue to carry that knife, almost certainly had the same collective failures testing him. He probably felt no less abandoned and no less scared. He also, almost certainly, wasn’t carrying a knife.

Whatever it seems like, whatever you’ve read, whatever you tell yourself about protection being your reason, statistics show the life you take will be that of an unarmed person. That is what that knife will do for you. It will make you escalate a situation to where it is needed. It will give you a misguided sense of confidence. It will make you the aggressor. That knife will make you use it. It will bring you nothing worth having. There is no respect there. The street may give you some passing recognition, but any name you think you might make will soon be forgotten.

Your victim will be remembered long after you. Name me one of the boys who killed Stephen Lawrence. Once you’ve bloodied that knife you may as well be dead because you’ll be buried for 10 to 20 years. Banged up for that long, only a fool would look back and think it was worth it. You’ll be nothing more than a sad, unwanted, unnecessary statistic.

If you were mine, this is what I would tell you. I would make myself a big enough man to beg. I’d get down on bended knees if I had to. I would beg you to take that knife out of your pocket and leave it at home. I would tell you that I know you are scared and lost and that I know the risks involved in what I’m asking you to do. I know that what we could step around, you have to walk through, and that there is always some fool who isn’t going to make it any other way but the wrong way. I’m just begging you not to be that fool.

Be a better man than that. Let the story they tell of you be that you exceeded expectations… that you didn’t drown. Don’t spend your days looking to be a ‘bad-man’ – try to be a good one. Our biggest failure is that our actions have left you not knowing how precious you are. We have left you unaware of your worth to us. You are precious to us. Give yourself the chance to grow enough to understand why.

Be safe.

Lennie James

Knives, young people and the law: The roller coaster of tragedy

24 January 2007 Jevon Henry, 18, is stabbed to death in St John’s Wood, north London – the first in a spate of teen-on-teen stabbings and shootings at the start of the year.

1 February 2007 Maximum sentence for carrying a knife is increased from two to four years.

22 February Church and community group leaders attend a Downing Street summit on knife crime. Tony Blair and Home Secretary John Reid promise tougher legislation, but Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says: ‘This is the fourth summit on gun crimes and gangsters Tony Blair has had and at every turn the problem has got worse.’

Speaking on the same day in Manchester, David Cameron says the solution to teenage gun and knife crime is to strengthen the family: ‘Gangs are crowded with boys who have never been part of an intact family, where people belonged with and to each other. The same boys may never have known the innate respect which flows from having access to a father’s love and direction. They cannot survive in an emotional vacuum and their absent fathers know it.’

March 2007 Five teen-on-teen stabbings in the UK in under three weeks. Odwayne Anthony Barnes, 16, in Birmingham; Jason Spencer, 17, in Nottingham; Kodjo Yenga, 16, in Hammersmith, west London; Adam Regis, 15, in Plaistow, east London; Michael Metcalfe, 19, in Garston, near Liverpool.

19 March John Reid announces that police will now be required to record whether an incident involved a knife, telling Parliament: ‘It has to involve personal and parental responsibility as well as the local community.’

27 March A one-off select committee inquiry into knife crime takes place. Martin Salter MP advises: ‘We need to cut through all this nonsense and bring all the legislation together in an overarching knives and offensive weapons bill to simplify the process.’

April 2007 Blair claims that teen violence is a problem of black culture and cannot be solved ‘by pretending it is not young black kids doing it’. Lee Jasper, senior adviser on equality to London Mayor Ken Livingstone says: ‘The government has failed to respond to… a clear demand for additional resources to tackle youth alienation and disaffection.’

1 October 2007 The Violent Crime Reduction Act comes into force, making it illegal to sell a knife or any item with a blade or point to a person under the age of 18. Previously the age limit was 16.

1 January 2008 Henry Bolombi, 18, becomes the first teen-on-teen violence fatality of 2008; stabbed after he gets off a bus in Edmonton, north London on the way home from New Year’s Eve celebrations.

February 2008 Government publishes Violent Crime Action Plan, a three-year strategy to tackle gun and knife crime including a £20m investment for interventions and information sharing between police and communities.

May 2008 A survey of 355 people aged 16 to 24 in London, Manchester and Bristol found 30 per cent said it was acceptable sometimes to carry a knife while 23 per cent would use one. One in 10 claimed to have had access to a gun.

5 May London Mayor Boris Johnson appoints Ray Lewis as his deputy for young people. Speaking at a knife crime summit in City Hall Lewis said ‘We need to offer them [teenagers] outlets and guidance that will respond to their aspirations and divert them away from gangs and antisocial behaviour, whether it is sporting activities, after-school clubs or mentoring.’

24 May Harry Potter actor Robert Knox is stabbed to death outside a bar in Sidcup.

29 May A two-week campaign by police in London resulted in almost 200 knives being seized.

5 June 2008 A Downing Street summit results in the prosecution age for carrying a knife being lowered from 18 to 16.

Well, at least according to me. I was reading an unrelated article today and suddenly realised that I clearly remember the very first day the English Premiership Football League started. Of course, the memory floodgates are opened then aren’t they?

So, I thought to myself who are the top ten greatest footballers to have graced the Premiership? Therefore, based loosely upon a combination of skill, flair, fitness, stamina, loyalty, longevity and all-round star-quality, here are my ten suggestions. Please feel free to completely agree.

1. Ryan Giggs

He is Mr Premiership. ‘Nuff said.

2. Eric Cantona

If it wasn’t for the fact that Giggs had played since the first game all those years ago, “The King” would be there for all the well known reasons.

3. Thierry Henry

Maybe it’s the Man Utd in me that hasn’t put Henry as 2nd, but he was easily the greatest striker we ever witnessed.

4. Alan Shearer

A true great. A bit boring, but then remember that it’s all-round qualities.

5. Gianfranco Zola

It doesn’t matter who you supported, you loved it when he was on the ball. A true star.

6. Roy Keane

Love him or hate him, Keano belongs in the top ten, possibly even higher.

7. Peter Schmeichel

The only goalkeeper to get in to the top ten. Best ever? I’m trying not to make this a Man Utd sweep. Honest.

8. Dennis Bergkamp

Another legendary player of the Premiership. Skillfull, loyal, professional. Excellent.

9. Steven Gerrard

We had to have a scouser in here somewhere. Well deserved too.

10. Teddy Sheringham

The truth is that there were many better players than him, but few that kept it at the highest level for so many different clubs. Well done Teddy.

I’d like to include others of course; I can’t find space for some of the all-time classic defenders such as Pallister, Adams etc. Also, from the current crop of players, Ronaldo would be up there but he needs to prove it for a few more seasons as well as show loyalty and integrity, the same for Fabregas.

Ok, we can argue now.

We were reading the collection of Imām al-Tirmidhi (1069) when we came across the following authentic hadith:

‘Abdullāh b. Abi Qatādah (r) narrated from his father that the Prophet (sallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) was brought a deceased man to pray Janāzah for, but the Prophet (sallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) said, “Perform the prayer for your companion for he has a debt remaining.”

Abu Qatādah said, “I’ll take care of the debt.”

The Prophet (sallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) said, “(You’ll) pay it off?”

[He replied, “(I’ll) pay it off.”] So (the Prophet) performed the prayer for him.

It is well known that the Prophet (sallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) would not personally lead the Janāzah for the one who owed money to people and had not left arrangements to take care of that debt, due to the seriousness of not paying off ones debts and fulfilling ones promises and contracts during one’s lifetime. As a rebuke, he wouldn’t pray the Janāzah but rather got one of the Companions to do so instead. This is in line with the other hasan hadith narrated by Tirmidhi (1079) on the seriousness of not paying off one’s debts, where the Prophet (sallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) said, “The Believer’s soul is suspended by his debt until it is paid for him.”

After reading this narration, Shaykh Kehlan told us that a friend had informed him that recently in Egypt, there was a Janāzah announced in one of the mosques there. When all the people had eventually gathered and the family of the deceased were lined up at the front, the Imam announced (on the family’s request) if there were any people who had been owed any money by the deceased then please see the family for they will be happy to take care of it afterwards.

There was silence and then suddenly there was some commotion at the back and some kind of argument, and then a man shouted out, “I will not wait until afterwards, for I have waited long enough! This man owed me x thousands, and I refuse to wait any more. I insist on payment now!”

The attendees and even the family who were waiting to pray were shocked by the argumentation and pleaded with the man to remain silent so that they could pray and send off their companion in peace; the man refused and started to quote the above narrations warning the congregation of the consequences for the deceased, as well as showing proof to the family of the debt.

The argumentation continued and the family of the deceased were distraught for they didn’t have any money with them at that moment. They asked the Imam for help, who decided that the quickest and most peaceful solution was to try and get a collection there and then from the attendees to pray over and bury the deceased in peace. The attendees were only too happy to oblige, shocked by the proceedings, and x thousands were collected immediately, and the man was paid off with the immense gratitude of the family, and the prayer was completed for the deceased.

Isn’t that just so ajeeb eh?

The End.

Except…that when the prayer finished and the people were gathering around the coffin to assess the route out of the Masjid to the graveyard, the Imam looked around to ask the close family members to lift the coffin but he couldn’t see them and thus thought they must be busy greeting their visitors; he thus asked some of the regulars to lift the coffin and take it out. But when they lifted the coffin it was surprisingly light and they put it down to tell the Imam who opened the lid to look inside only to find it empty!

And thus we have another classic case of fraud by the Muslims, the world leaders in all things weird and wonderful – no sign of the family, no sign of the one who was “owed the money” and definitely no sign of a dead bloke. This is a true story by the way.

Now that’s ajeeb.

The only thing to add from my side is that I heard that the Pakistanis and the Nigerians were arguing over the originator of this classic scam. At time of going to press, the Pakistanis were boasting that they were the founders and that their version was far more sophisticated: they used a dummy body weighted with heavy stones in order to give more time for the “family” to get away before the scam was uncovered at the grave itself. The Nigerians were silenced. The Egyptians refused to comment.