Laura Stuart: Muslims Behaving Badly

by Sheikha Laura Stuart

In here comment on breaking the headstones in two war grave cemeteries with more than two hundred headstones broken or damaged, sister Laura is stormed her brain to justify the deed of her Libyan brothers in Benghazi which according to her "considered by people all around the world of every faith and none an act of disrespect very offensive."

"I need to point out that it is the stones only that have been broken the graves themselves have not been touched" she wrote. It's just the stones,"

Though she said Muslims behaving badly, she, indirectly tried to justify the bad behavior by claiming that "In Islam it is forbidden to have large gravestones or to spend money on ostentatious graves. This is common sense really as spending money on the dead will benefit no one, better to spend on the living."

In fact it is forbidden in Wahabism not in Islam. Prohibting large gravestones or spending money on ostentatious graves, have no basis in Quran, it is based on Hadeeth (if true),
"خير القبور الدوارس" which could be translated as "graves with simple gravestones are preferred".

According to Islamists those graves are close to "Islamic" Graves (not very Islamic, its too high)

Not very "Islamic" High with imported gravel

I can't see any prohibition in Hadeath.

"What is absolutely forbidden in Islam is going to the graves of the dead and praying to them believing they can benefit anyone. The only One who can benefit us is Allah s.w.t."

I wonder, what's the wisdom of putting a gravestone on my mother's or father's grave, if it's absolutely "fordodden to there graves and read Surat Al-Fateha for their souls??

As far as far as I know Muslims, all Muslims, pray only to God not to the dead. I am sure Laura instead of smearing her Libyan brothers used the event to smear her enemy the"deviant sect", the Shea,
Sunni schoolars, smear Shea the"deviant sect" for building shrines on Immams graves and preying to them. I wonder if Laura knows that visting scoolar's shrines is not a Shae trademark, in Sunni Egypt, Sufis do it also. I wonder if she heard about Sidi Bihr, Sidi Almursi abu-alabbas, Sidi Dosouki, Sidi Yaqout..

While reading Laura I recalled our great Arabic Poet, Abu Al-Alaa' Al-Maa'ri and his lament poem, considered as one of the greatest lament poems in the Arab heritage Ancient and modern.

Abu Al-Alaa strarts his peom pointing differences between death and life considering, the life as death, singing as the crying.

I shall translate with my poor english three lines only deeling with the whole earth as a graveyard

صاحِ ! هذي قبورُنا تملأُ الرّحــ...ـبَ ، فأينَ القبورُ من عهدِ عادِ ؟
خفِّفِ الوَطْءَ ! ما أظنُّ أديمَ الـ ...أرضِ إلا من هذهِ الأجسادِ !!
ربَّ لحدٍ قد صارَ لحدًا مرارًا ... ضاحكًا من تزاحُمِ الأضدادِ !

The poet is saying wherever, you walk you are walking on a grave, otherwise, where is the graves since the old ages of AAD (ADD an old people in Arabia).

Walk gently and humbly the soil under your feet were men like you

Every grave who has been repeatedly a grave, is smiling for being a gave for odds, rich and poor, smart amd stupid, good and bad.

Back to Laura's claim, its good that she said that "It is forbidden" and not "Its HARAM". I am asuming that recognize the difference between the two terms in Islam. The authority may fordid "large gravestones" but such rules has nothing to do with Islam and Halal and Haram. As far as I know, in the west people, including Muslims, buy land for their graves. A muslim comunity in Canada, stupidly decided to make Muslim graves different not only by directing the grave towards Qila, and layed the gravetile flat on the ground to be burried by snow during winter, with the minimum details of the dead.

Finally, I would ask Laura to look at the following pictures of the grave of our Prohet and the pictures of the graves of our Chaliphs, and some of out prophet's Sahaba