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Reflections |
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In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious,
the Ever
Merciful
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The Importance of Hajj
Hajj occupies
a very important position in the various forms of Islamic worship. The Holy
Prophet (sws) once, answering a question placed it among the basics of
Islam. He defined Islam in the following words:
الْإِسْلَامُ
أَنْ تَشْهَدَ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ
اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَتُقِيمَ الصَّلَاةَ وَتُؤْتِيَ
الزَّكَاةَ وَتَصُومَ رَمَضَانَ وَتَحُجَّ الْبَيْتَ إِنْ اسْتَطَعْتَ إِلَيْهِ
سَبِيلًا (مسلم , رقم:
٨)
Islam means
that you openly state that there is no god except Allah, and Muhammad (sws)
is the Messenger of Allah; establish the prayer, pay Zakah; fast during the
month of Ramadan and offer the Hajj of the House of Allah if you are able to
afford journey to it. (Muslim, No: 8)
According to
another narrative, the Prophet (sws) acknowledged it as one of the pillars
of Islam:
بُنِيَ
الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ
مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ
وَالْحَجِّ وَصَوْمِ رَمَضَانَ (بخاري : رقم
٧)
Islam is based on five
fundamentals: to proclaim that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad (sws)
is the Messenger of Allah, and to establish the prayer, and pay Zakah, to
offer pilgrimage of the House [of God] and to fast during Ramadan. (Bukhari,
No: 7)
Abu Hurayrah (rta) narrates:
أَنَّ
رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سُئِلَ أَيُّ الْعَمَلِ
أَفْضَلُ فَقَالَ إِيمَانٌ بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ قِيلَ ثُمَّ مَاذَا قَالَ
الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ قِيلَ ثُمَّ مَاذَا قَالَ حَجٌّ مَبْرُورٌ
(بخاري , رقم:٢٥)
The prophet was once asked:
‘Which deed is the most superior?’ He replied: ‘Belief in God and His
Messengers’. ‘After that?’ he was asked. ‘Jihad in His way’, was the answer.
It was then asked: ‘After that’. He replied: ‘the Hajj offered with all its
requirements’. (Bukhari, No: 25)
At another place, the Prophet (sws)
is reported to have said:
مَنْ
حَجَّ لِلَّهِ فَلَمْ يَرْفُثْ وَلَمْ يَفْسُقْ رَجَعَ كَيَوْمِ وَلَدَتْهُ
أُمُّهُ (بخاري , رقم:
١٤٢١)
One who offers Hajj in His way
and doesn’t speak obscene language, and doesn’t commit sins, will come back
[purified] as he was at the time of his birth. (Bukhari, No: 1421)
At yet another place, he said:
الْعُمْرَةُ
إِلَى الْعُمْرَةِ كَفَّارَةٌ لِمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَالْحَجُّ الْمَبْرُورُ
لَيْسَ لَهُ جَزَاءٌ إِلَّا الْجَنَّةُ (مسلم , رقم:
١٣٤٩)
An ‘Umrah after the other stands
for the atonement of the sins committed in between. Hajj offered with all
its requirements is rewarded with Paradise. (Muslim, No: 1349)
The importance of Hajj is also
manifest in the Hadith in which the Prophet (sws) warned those people who do
not perform Hajj, even when they do not have any obstacle in their way. Abu
Amamah narrates:
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَنْ لَمْ يَمْنَعْهُ
عَنْ الْحَجِّ حَاجَةٌ ظَاهِرَةٌ أَوْ سُلْطَانٌ جَائِرٌ أَوْ مَرَضٌ حَابِسٌ
فَمَاتَ وَلَمْ يَحُجَّ فَلْيَمُتْ إِنْ شَاءَ يَهُودِيًّا وَإِنْ شَاءَ
نَصْرَانِيًّا (دارمي , رقم: ١٧٩٢)
The Holy Prophet said: ‘If a man
unhindered by a compelling necessity, or a tyrant ruler, or a disabling
disease dies without offering Hajj, God doesn’t care if he dies the death of
a Jew or a Christian’. (Darmi, No: 1792)
Hajj, in fact, is an Abrahamic
worship which the Prophet (sws) introduced and promulgated among his progeny
and directed it to keep it in practice. We find the pagan Arabs who, in
spite of having forgotten most of the teachings of the Abrahamic religion,
practicing Hajj throughout their history, regarding it a great duty. They
indeed regarded it a great religious service. With the passage of time like
the other teachings of religion, they lost the true form of this worship and
excluded many of its rituals and introduced some new practices that they
deemed appropriate. The Qur’an re-established this Abrahamic worship in its
original form and said:
وَللَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً
وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ الله غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ (٩٧:٣)
And whosoever can afford should
visit the House on pilgrimage as duty to God. Whosoever denies should
remember that God is above heed of the world. (3:97)
__________
We have dedicated this issue of
the journal to the rituals of Hajj and Umrah for the benefit of the pilgrims
who are going to offer Hajj this month. Presented in this issue is the
research of Javed Ahmad Ghamidi on these rituals.
Author: Tariq Hashmi
Topic URL:
http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=150
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In this
Issue |
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Reflections
* The Importance of
Hajj
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Read & Reflect
* The Rituals of Hajj
& 'Umrah
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Debate & Discuss
* Discussion Forum:
Interpreting the
Qur'an
return
to the top ^
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Express & Explain
* General Discussion
Forum: Profile of a
True Muslim
return
to the top ^
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Pause & Ponder
* Any
Age-Limits for
Performing Hajj?
return
to the top ^
Announcements
*
Successful
Participants
Recent
Additions
* Articles
* Q n As
return
to the top ^
Spot on Site
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to the top ^
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Read and Reflect |
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The Rituals
of Hajj and 'Umrah
Author
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
(Tr. by Shehzad Saleem)
وَأَذِّن فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَأْتُوكَ رِجَالًا وَعَلَى كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ
يَأْتِينَ مِن كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ لِيَشْهَدُوا مَنَافِعَ لَهُمْ وَيَذْكُرُوا
اسْمَ اللَّهِ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْلُومَاتٍ عَلَى مَا رَزَقَهُم مِّن بَهِيمَةِ
الْأَنْعَامِ فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا الْبَائِسَ الْفَقِيرَ ثُمَّ
لْيَقْضُوا تَفَثَهُمْ وَلْيُوفُوا نُذُورَهُمْ وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا بِالْبَيْتِ
الْعَتِيقِ (٢٢: ٢٧-٢٩)
And proclaim the pilgrimage among
the people. They will come to you on foot and on the backs of lean camels from
distant mountainous ways so that they are able to reach places of benefit and on
a few appointed days invoke the name of God over their cattle which He has
bestowed them. [So when you slaughter them] eat of their flesh, and feed the
deprived beggar. Then let the pilgrims cleanse themselves of their dirt and
fulfill their vows, and circle the Ancient House. (22:27-29)
It is this proclamation which was
made centuries ago and it is in response to it that while uttering
‘لَبَّيْك لَبَّيْك’
we travel to Bayt Al-Haram, the Mosque built by Abraham (sws) in Makkah. It is
this ancient mosque which in the words of Imam Farahi was the first house of God
in this valley of Batha and about which it had been decided from the very
beginning that it would fend off all those who would deviate from Tawhid.
Consequently, when its inhabitants took to polytheism and left it, they took
away some of its stones in order to worship them. When Abraham (sws) after
migrating from Babylon while trying to find this ancient mosque reached this
location, he could only discover a shining stone from its previous construction.
After he attempted to sacrifice Ishmael (sws), the Almighty directed him to
rebuild this place of worship. So both father and son started digging the earth
beneath this very memorable stone. Once the ancient foundations became visible
after some labour, they raised them and implanted this stone in one part of the
erected structure. Ishmael (sws) was offered and devoted to this very house and
thus regarded as its attendant and it was proclaimed in the name of the Almighty
that people should come here to ceremonially devote themselves and revive their
commitment to the belief of Tawhid. In religious parlance, these rituals are
called Hajj and ‘Umrah. In the religion of Abraham (sws), these two rituals are
the pinnacle of worship. The Qur’an has declared that Islam is in fact a
contract of sale and purchase with the Almighty: We sell our lives and wealth
for the Paradise the Almighty has prepared for us:
‘إِنَّ اللّهَ اشْتَرَى
مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الجَنَّة’
(God has purchased from the faithful their lives and worldly goods, and in
return has promised them the Garden (9:111)). Consequently, right after it is
said:
‘فَاسْتَبْشِرُواْ بِبَيْعِكُمُ الَّذِي بَايَعْتُم بِهِ وَذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ
الْعَظِيمُ’ (Rejoice then in
the bargain you have made. That is the supreme triumph (9:111)).
This is the highest position a
person can attain in his zeal for worshiping the Almighty: he is ready to offer
his life and wealth for Him when he is called for this. Hajj and ‘Umrah are
symbolic manifestations of this offering. Both are an embodiment of the same
reality. The only difference is that the latter is compact and the former more
comprehensive in which the objective for which life and wealth are offered
becomes very evident.
The Almighty has informed us that
Satan has declared war on the scheme according to which He has created Adam in
this world since the very first day:
‘قَالَ فَبِمَا
أَغْوَيْتَنِي لأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ثُمَّ لآتِيَنَّهُم
مِّن بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَعَنْ أَيْمَانِهِمْ وَعَن
شَمَآئِلِهِمْ وَلاَ تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَاكِرِينَ’
(Because You have led me into sin’,
he declared, ‘I will waylay Your servants who are on Your straight path, then
spring upon them from the front and from the rear, from their right and from
their left. Then You will find the greater part of them ungrateful (7:16-17)).
The Qur’an (7:13-14) says that this
challenge from Iblis was accepted and His servants are now at war with their
foremost enemy till the Day of Judgement. This is the very test on which this
world has been made and our future depends on success or failure in it. It is
for this war that we dedicate our life and devote our wealth. It is for this
objective that many a time the prophets of God have called out:
‘يَااَيُّهَا الَّذِيْن
أمَنُوا كُوْنُوا أنْصَارَ اللهَ’
(Believers! Be the helpers of God
(61:14)). This war against Iblis has been symbolized in the ritual of Hajj. The
manner in which this symbolization has been done is as follows:
At the behest of Allah, His servants
take time out from the pleasures and involvements of life and leave aside their
goods and possessions, then proceed to the battlefield with the words
‘لَبَّيْك لَبَّيْك’
and just like warriors encamp
in a valley.
The next day they reach an open
field seeking the forgiveness of the Almighty, praying and beseeching Him to
grant them success in this war and listening to the sermon of the imam.
Giving due consideration to the
symbolism of waging war against Iblis they shorten and combine their prayers and
then after a short stay on the way back reach their camps.
Afterwards they fling stones on
Satan and symbolically offer themselves to God by sacrificing animals. They then
shave their heads and to offer the rounds of vows come to the real place of
worship and sacrifice.
Then they return to their camps
again and in the next two or three days fling stones on Satan in the manner they
had done earlier.
Viewed thus, the Ihram worn in Hajj
and ‘Umrah symbolizes the fact that a believer has withdrawn from the amusement,
attractions and involvements of this world and like a monk wearing two
unstitched robes, bare-headed and to some extent bare-footed too has resolved to
reach the presence of the Almighty.
Topic URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=151
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Debate and Discuss: |
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Discussion Forum: Interpreting the Qur'an
Module 4:
Regarding the definition of
Kafir
simam7f42
What are
the basic differences among the Mushrikin, Kafirs and the People of the book?
As the module repeatedly defines kafirs as those
who deny the truth knowingly (denial not due to the ignorance), then the
following question arises. How those Kafirs know about the truth in the first
place that they deny deliberately?
As for the Mushrikin, they simply deny the truth
because of their ignorance and perhaps for their family traditions. They CAN
NOT know the truth because there is no way for them to verify the truth. At
best, they can be convinced about the truth but not with certainty. So, their
denial does not fall into the category of Kuffar.
As for the kafir, there has to be a source for
the truth which he denies. What this source could be if it not the Divine book
that he received? In other words, People of the book knew from their
scriptures about the arrival of the last Prophet (swallellahu Alihe Wassalam).
So, whoever amongst them deny this falls into the category of Kuffar and
becomes kafir.
So, can it be deduced safely that the Kafirs are
a sub set of the People of the book?
Please comment on my reasoning.
assalaam o alaikum
I believe that it has been adequately explained
in the modules that no ordinary human or even the Messenger can understand and
determine when a groups has become open kaafir by deliberately denying the
truth. The addressees of the Messenger are not declared kaafir on the basis of
their rejection of the truth manifest to them beforehand either through
rational thinking or received knowledge. The Messengers do their utmost in
explaining to them the truth under the direct guidance of the Almighty Allah.
There sole duty is to preach, explain, respond to the objections clarify their
questions. It is only the Almighty Allah who knows and then determines for the
Messenger when they have preached to the extant that the addressees are not
left with any excuse to deny it. It is at this point the Messenger is
commanded by the Almighty Allah to migrate from the land of the rejectors. If
the Messenger has enough support to establish a rule somewhere else he does so
and prepares the believers to strike the rejecters otherwise divine punishment
is meted out to the rejecters through natural calamities.
This rejection is rejection of the message of the
Messenger (the source of truth) which of course correspond to their innate
guidance and earlier revelations but their status as kaafir is not determined
on these forms of prior knowledge.
The polytheists, in the case of the Prophet
Muhammad were considered and declared the rejecters of the first order. They
were meted out the severest form of punishment. The reason was that the
Messenger was raised among themselves who spoke their tongue, lived among
them, preached to them for a long time and could communicate to them more
easily and his character was more clear to them any other party.
We believe that the rejecters could be among any
of the groups among the addressees of the Messengers. The polytheists of
Makkah were declared kaafir earlier than the other groups like the Jews and
the Christians.
Your definition of "Kafir" is different than what
is common among Muslims?
Can you please give the source of your definition
of "Kafir" and its authenticity?
One more thing that it is mentioned in module 4
that not all the kafirs will go to hell. I want to ask that the "kafirs"
who'll go to hell, will they abide there forever?
Also Will all the Muslims go to heaven (either
directly or via jahannum). Will there be any Muslim who ll live in jahannum
forever?
Muslims and non-Muslims involved in different
sins like killing, theft, etc which are related to society and not with "eeman",
do they both receive the equal punishment. After receiving that punishment,
will they (both Muslims and non-Muslims) go to heaven?
ibrahim (Moderator)
Source of our
defination of Kafir is Quran itself. According to it all Deniers of Messengers
(Rasool) are declared as Kafir & their punishment is death.
In the sentence "not all the kafirs will go to
hell" Kafir is in the meaning of non-Muslim & yes they will abide there
forever.
Yes two type of Muslims may live in jahannum
forever:
one are those who were known as Muslims in this
world but their faith or status of Muslim will be rejected by Allah.
the others are those who has done such an act
whose punishment is Jahannam forever like Murdering deliberately.
Lastly, The case of Muslims is clear. If the need
to get any punishment of their crimes, they'll go to Heaven after getting it &
same case will be of those non-Muslims who will be declared eligible of
entering the Heaven. The others will be living in the Hell forever.
I hope this will help you.
URL :
http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=2456&lang=&forumid=8
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Express and Explain: |
General
Discussion Forum:
Profile of a True Muslim
I see the current
discussions on Qur'an Sunnah and hadith and then ask myself, among all these
diversifications where lies the true Islam and the true Muslim. I confess that
my knowledge is very limited, but the desire runs high to learn and to serve.
I ask myself, what does religion mean to me and
what is its importance ? why is it necessary? I think of it as a beacon, energy
and force of guidance to succeed. For me According to religion, the purpose of
our lives is to please God; which leads us to Paradise. To attain this we need
to develop purification. This encompasses positive enhancement and moulding of
the good in our soul, and purification and purging of the bad. The purpose of
religion is to help us attain purification; both in our individual and
collective lives. In the Qur'an, God states, successful is he, who has cleansed
himself (87:14). Simply cut out the bad and enhance the good.
I ask myself how did Islam spread at the time of
Prophet (sws) and sahabha? By dialogue, lengthy debates or discussions,
munaazarah, by sword, by force? I look at the personality of prophet
(sws) the
Qur'an addresses him as 'We sent you thee not, but as a mercy for all creations"
21:107.As I understand the sahabha were not the biggest scholars of religion but
believed in "sameena wa attanah" listened and obeyed. Whatever they learned the
practically applied and demonstrated in their lives. The Qur'an was completed in
over 20 years and we must remember they did not have e-mails, computers to
spread it. The prophet
(sws)
was called sadiq and ameen by the non believers.
In Qur'an I have the guidance and in prophet's
(sws)
life I have the practical demonstration to succeed. How did the prophet react
with the nasranees in Madinah, allowing them to pray on Sunday in Masjid i Nabwi.
What did the prophet pbuh say to aal i Yasser when they were torchered in Makkah?
did he say he will resort to suicide bombing and avenge them? his response was,"
patience ! Allah has promised Paradise".
For Muslims of today, what has become important is
to say namaz and fast for a month and follow a particular sect and accumulate
knowledge as stipulated by that school of thought and negate all the other
views, sometimes accusing them of being misguided and also warning them of
serious consequences in their eternal future. Why do we forget that we are a
Muslim 24/7. We are a Muslim every time we say or do anything. Accountability is
for everything. Only Allah knows our eternal fate. The Qur'an says
Indeed, those who have believed [in this Prophet]
and those, who became Jews and the Nasaaraa and the Sabians, whoever [truly]
believes in God and the Day of Judgment and does good deeds; they shall have
their reward with their Lord and they shall neither have fear [for the future]
nor any remorse [for the past].
On one side the sunni's and shiat's are fighting on
the other side some negate hadith others make it a source of religion. So where
lies the deen i haq? I ask.
Is it just coincidence that Muslims everywhere are
being humiliated and are the laughing stock of the entire world. The word Muslim
has become almost synonymous with terror, anger , rage and disruption?
It is not about just knowledge but its practical
application. How we conduct ourselves, how we present our religion to other
Muslims and non Muslims. I find abundant knowledge and big scholars but alas! I
struggle to find a true Muslim Why?
assalamu alakyum.
Where on the net can I find the meaning of various Dua's used in Salaat.
I really appreciate
for a very thought provoking article trying to hit the root cause of all the
problems without being fooled by the symptoms.
Why do we need religion? Why should we be Muslims?
I guess this is the basic question that all the scholars must be focusing on.
Is religion an external thing being imposed by us
on ourselves? or its the sound of nature from within ourselves, as claimed by
the Muslims (they say that every child is born on his fitrah and hence is
Muslim). If religion is the answer or sound of our inner selves then we first
need to identify the basic questions that rise from within? We should not only
determine those but finding an answer of those questions must also hold a
significant place within our lives. This is described in Quran as Noor upon Noor.
If we don't feel any sound from within ourselves then this religion is just an
external thing and will merely be used for specific occasions, slogans, demands
from government etc etc etc, while the daily life will be empty from it.
Pakistan is a classic example of it.
The only thing religion does, in my humble and
extremely limited knowledge is that it makes the life after death an issue for
humans in a way that this issue not only encompasses his whole life but also
becomes the top most priority. (Quran says that Allah has sent his messengers as
Bashirs and Nazirs).
Secondly it tells us that purification is the only
way you can succeed in life hereafter. Thats what the whole philosophy of
religion revolves around. And while giving his Shariah Allah doesn't give a
comprehensive list of all the things that we need to do it only picks up a
handful of issues and gives his guidance. Why is that? If we had to be purified
then we of course need a long and big list of things we need to do to be
successful. From Quran we know that Allah hasn't created humans without any
guidance. Rather humans have built-in not only concept of good and bad but also
the details of them upon which the collective human history itself is the
biggest evidence.
So keeping above and the issues faced by Muslims in
mind, what we need to do is:
a) Get rid of the fancy and hallucinative glasses
of Islam that we use to betray ourselves and hide from the ground realities.
b) Just start thinking that we are a natural and
normal human beings and what should we do. This will not only help us look at
and accept the ground realities but will also help us understands the laws
governing the success of individuals and the rise/falls of nations. There will
be some question also to which the Islam has the answers.
May Allah show us the right path and give us the
courage to accept and follow it.
enclosed is a
response from another web site which in my opinion is the correct reflection of
Muslims
Just wanted to add an observation. We Muslims wail
for progress, talk about the glorious past of our ancestors. Wish there was a
scholar that would work to that end, salvage our past and lead us in a new
direction. We wait for messiahs, for Imams, for leaders.
But when we get some, we spend no time in ripping
that person to pieces.
It's the same when people were waiting for leaders
in the Age of Prophets, but as soon as a Prophet would reach them, they'd turn
around and persecute them.
It's like we have made up our minds already on what
Islam should be or should not be. We talk of women rights against a back drop of
honor killings, foul hudood laws on rape, and wish they were changed, Yet when
someone does aim at them, we critique those very scholars.
We want to return to pristine Islam, to the older
scholars, but we refuse to believe the allowance of the Prophet on women leading
prayers, we say to hell with Ibn Rushd who emphasized reason. We refuse to even
talk on controversial issues, while at the same time emphasize Islam's tradition
of dialogue.
We are mired with contradictions as a people.
In my humble
opinion, at every step of life when I encounter a scenario, I have two options,
to react like myself, or to think how my religion would expect me to react.
Not surprisingly my way is always different,
emotional, impulsive and reactive to situation. Whenever I have distanced myself
and thought about the Islamic way, it is invariably the correct way. Foe me the
journey of life is to try and make these two ways amalgamate somewhere.
usmani790
CHARACTERISTICS OF A
GOOD MUSLIM
Muslim is one who is willing to give up pleasure
for long-term gains (Aakhirah).
Muslim is one who has the ability to settle
differences without resentment or anger
Muslim is one who perseveres despite setbacks.
Muslim is one who knows life is too short to waste
in idle activities.
Muslim is one who has no prejudice, intolerance,
hatred or revenge.
Muslim is one who has the capacity to face
disappointments and adversity without becoming bitter.
Muslim is one who accepts his mistakes and who does
not complain that the rose bush has thorns but rejoices that it bears roses.
Muslim is one whose needs conform to the Qur'anic
commands and those of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Muslim is one who makes Jihad (struggle) to change
things, which he can and who lives in peace with things that he cannot change.
Muslim is one who gently and constantly questions
himself/herself "AM I A MUSLIM?"
A Muslim meets his brother with a smiling face (he
restrains from anger and is forgiving). The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Do not think
little of any good deed even if it is just greeting your brother with a cheerful
countenance [face] {MUSLIM}. The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Your smiling at your
brother is an act of charity {Sadaqah}" {al-TIRMIDHI who said it is Hasan gharib}.
The Muslim should always be pure of heart and
should have a cheerful and friendly face. He should meet his brother with warmth
and smiles. There's no excuse--Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) always had a warm smile
on his face even though he went through hardships, torture, and suffering in
this life.
"... [those] who restrain anger and pardon {all}
men- for Allah loves
those who do good." [Translation of the Qur'an-Al-Imran
3:134]
The true Muslim restrains his anger and is
forgiving. He does not see any shame in doing so, rather he sees it as a good
deed which will bring him closer to Allah (SWT).
He has a good attitude towards others and treats
them well. Anas (RA) said: "I served the Messenger of Allah (SAWS) for ten
years, and he never said to me 'UFF!'. If I did something, he never said, "Why
did you do that?" And if I did not do something, he never
said, "Why did you not do such-and-such? [Agreed
Upon]
The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Among the best of you are
those who have the best attitude (towards others)". [Agreed upon]
He (SAWS) also said: "Nothing will weigh more
heavily in the balance of the believing servant on the Day of Resurrection than
a good attitude (towards others). Verily Allah hates those who utter vile words
and obscene speech." [Al-Tirmidhi, Hasan Sahih hadith]
The true Muslim has a good attitude. He is humble
and soft and gentle in his speech. He does not use bad language or insult
others. He is patient, gentle, forgiving, tolerant, cheerful, and sincere
towards others.
A true Muslim
submits to the truth when revealed to him.
See:
http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=2558&lang=&forumid=1
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Pause
and Ponder: |
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Any Age-Limits for Performing Hajj?
Question asked by
Digisha Shukla.
Posted on: Monday, December 27, 2004 - Hits: 650
Question:
Is there any
age decided for a person to go for the Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca?
Answer:
No, there is no such
restriction. The Qur’an does not introduce any restriction for the young or the
old, and neither does the Sunnah. On the contrary, the Prophet (sws) is reported
to have explained to a woman that she could take her child with her in Hajj.
However, he added that the reward would go only to her. This is because the
child did not have any sense of what he was being made to do and it was only his
mother who actually carried all the rituals and made the child do the same with
her.
Ibn Abbas reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace
be upon him) met some riders at al-Rauha and asked who they were. They replied
that they were Muslims. They said: Who art thou? He said: (I am) Messenger of
Allah. A woman (then) lifted up a boy to him and said: Would this child be
credited with having performed the Hajj? Thereupon he said: Yes, but you will
have the reward.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Tariq Mahmood Hashmi
Research Assistant, Studying Islam
see: http://www.studying-islam.org/querytext.aspx?id=226
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