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Compiled by: Azeem Ayub |
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Reflections |
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The Lesson I
Learned Much as I wish to live a happy life I am compelled to live a miserable one. My aspirations are shattered and my dreams are eroded beyond repair. The peace and serenity I plan to bring to my life is somehow impeded by the irony of fate. One after the other obstacles keep popping up, eventually leaving me weary and tired. Paradoxically, the more perseverance I demonstrate, the more trying circumstances I am put through. Increased patience, instead of attracting the favors of Heaven, adds to my misery and grief. So much so, the friends and the relations I trust and hold dear seem to have little time for my recurring problems. The earth appears to be narrow despite all its spaciousness while the Almighty seems to be so apathetic to inequity. As I deliberate, this hum of complaints turns into a full-blown pandemonium engendering in me feelings of hopelessness and confusion. My desperation reaches to the extent that I clutch my head between my fists to stop the echo when suddenly a voice whispers in my ears and says:
‘This is so typical of humans. They jump so quickly to conclusions no matter if it is their Creator and Cherisher they are going to pronounce a judgment against. How could it be that their Master would be ignorant of their circumstances? It is He who places some in difficulty and some in prosperity according to His own ordained scheme. The underlying objective, however remains to test them to see which one of them is best in deeds. The truth is that nothing can ever escape the watchful eye of the omnipresent and no notion passes through a person’s heart but He is aware of it. The fact that must be appreciated is that He is completely devoid of the hastiness that man is brimful with. He neither rushes to punish the wrongdoers nor does He hurry to reward the pious. His scheme is firm and His strategy is based on an all-embracing wisdom and sagacity. He has indeed laid down many objectives for the pains and agonies that a person has to suffer in this world:
a) To shield him from greater misery (18:74, 18:79), b) b) To give him the opportunity to earn reward by showing patience (3:142, 76:12), c) To make him mend his ways (30:41), d) To punish him for his misdoings (42:30).
Hence, if it is not to prevent him from attracting more problems then it is for affording him a chance to show perseverance in order to win fabulous rewards. If it is not for cleansing him of his sins, it is for him to suffer punishment in this very world to avoid the greater one in the Hereafter. In a nutshell, as one test fulfills the first objective, the next begins to achieve the second one. Thus move on the wheel of life always in favor of the rider provided he understands and appreciates the scheme of the Almighty by surrendering to His will in all circumstances.
Another fact that a believer must keep in mind is that the Almighty has ordained that relief shall immediately follow hardships (94:5-6). He should be hopeful that ease would replace difficulty when the appointed time comes. The virtue of patience if adhered to will illuminate his path to help him cruise through difficulties to his destination. No doubt, there come times in a person’s life when the flame of this virtue flickers and a sudden upsurge of emotional weariness endeavors to extinguish it for good. Then the Almighty has provided him with another weapon to protect and nourish it. A prayer rekindles the flame of hope and gives the seeker strength and courage to better combat the tough circumstances. He should place all his feelings and emotions in his stretched hands and present them humbly before his Master. The Ever Merciful would surely accept the ‘gift’ and always return the seeker with a better one…’
You who have done great things, O God, who is like You? You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth You will bring me up again. You will increase my honor, and comfort me once again. (Psalms, 71:20-1)
Author: Jhangeer Hanif
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Reflections |
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Read & Reflect
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Debate & Discuss * Discussion Forum: The Religion of Islam | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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* General Discussion Forum: Prayer Keeps away from Indecency & Evil
Participants
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Read and Reflect |
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Ma‘rūf and Munkar: Good and Evil
Author Imam Hamiduddin Farahi (Tr. by: Tariq Hashmi)
The Qur’ānic term ma‘rūf refers to what was
welcomed as virtuous by the Arabs of the time of the Prophet (sws) and its
opposite munkar signifies what they detested as evil. The Arabs of pre-Islamic
age were not animals living in a jungle destitute of any sense of good and evil.
Their literature outshines the literature produced by the Romans and the Indians
in their most enlightened periods. To have an unbiased understanding of what
good moral values the Arabs cherished, one has to make an impartial study of
their literature. We must discard the wrongs of those of the Muslim historians
who have transgressed against history and have depicted a very distorted picture
of the Arabs of the time. The importance the pre-Islamic Arabia attached to
moral values and moral uprightness in a person is best depicted in the fact that
they gave ’Imru’ al-Qays – owing to drunkenness and lewdness in his poetry – the
appellation of al-malik al dalīl (the errant king) in spite of his status as a
great poet and chief of his tribe.
At this point, I intend to present a specimen of
their poetry in an appendix,1
to make it clear that they recognized as good and virtuous what is universally
recognized as such. The Holy Qur’ān only complemented their moral values; it did
not fundamentally change them. This is the reason the virtuous among them were
immediately attracted to the Holy Qur’ān. The opponents of the Messenger were of
two kinds: (i) evil, recalcitrant factions of the society and (ii) those who saw
him threatening their political and religious leadership. Just as the Jews,
owing to their obstinacy and envy for Jesus (sws), opposed him, Umayyah Ibn Abī
al-Salat and others obstinately opposed the Prophet Muhammad (sws) even though
they claimed that they followed the creed of Abraham (sws).
Another source of determining ma‘rūf and munkar
is the pure soul of the person of the Prophet (sws) who, by the dint of his
position as a divine guide, clarifies to the followers the status of issues not
discussed in the divine revelation. This is part of his duty as a messenger and
prophet. God commands him to teach people the ma‘rūf and to stop them from the
munkar. His ummah is required to follow whatever ma‘rūf he commands them and
refrain from whatever munkar he forbids them. Remnants of the earlier
revelations also served as a guide. Examples of such remnants of the sharī‘ah of
Abraham (sws) include hajj, ritual sacrifice and salāh. These practices were not
introduced by the People of the Book in pre-Islamic Arabia.2
Another worth considering point is that, in the
beginning, the Almighty Allah did not reveal the specifics and details of the
religious practices. Only well-known and established religious teachings were
required to be followed, for example, salāh, zakāh, dhikr (remembering God),
showing compassion to orphans and maintaining excellent moral behavior. However,
once details of a prescribed matter were revealed, this fresh divine guidance
assumed the status of original source in that particular matter and the previous
concept of ma‘rūf was abandoned.
Sometimes the Almighty commanded to follow ma‘rūf
in a particular matter. Later on some part of that particular matter was
detailed in a fresh revelation. The part this divine explanation covered was
then to be followed abandoning the previous concept of ma‘rūf in that regard.
The rest, which the revelation did not take up, was still governed by the
previous concept of ma‘rūf. An example of a matter partly qualified by the
divine revelation and partly by the existing concept of ma‘rūf is the case of
bequeathing wealth to parents and other relations. The right to leave a will in
favor of one’s parents was later on abrogated, whereas one could still leave
testamentary will in favor of the relations, which have not been granted any
share in the fresh ruling.
The principle guidance in this regard can be
reduced to the fact that the details and applications of matters, which human
intellect can penetrate and come to the right conclusion, have been left to the
prevailing human concepts of ma‘rūf. Had the Almighty revealed cumbersome
details where human intellect could suffice as a guide, it would have caused the
God-consciousness and virtue of the people to fade and die out. Therefore, in
many verses such matters have been left upon the human intellect to decide. Thus
by establishing the existent concepts of ma‘rūf and exhorting the adherents of
the faith upon following it, the Holy Prophet (sws) has indeed added to the
respect commanded by the national laws and good customs of the society. He did
not aim at revolutionizing the society and toppling the existing setup. He,
rather, adopted the method of gradual improvement, complementing the existing
concepts of good and virtue. This is because he had to confirm the previous
religious traditions in a specific way and to remove what wrong and unfounded
things were mixed with them. He purified the religion of all human manipulations
and brought the people on the path of God’s guidance, initially implanted in
human nature (fitrah). (Translated from Farāhī’s Majmū‘ah Tafāsīr by Tariq Hashmi)
Topic URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=1031
2. Sayyid
Ahmad Khān has wrongly concluded that, prior to the advent of Islam, the Arabs
borrowed their religious ideals from the Jews, and Islam itself received most of
the religious contents from them. He says this because he believes that the
religion of Abraham (sws) did not survive till then except for the concept of
tawhīd and the practice of circumcision and leaving the beard to grow. (Author)
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Zakiyah
Difference between
Nabī and Rasūl
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rimsoo:
[29: 45]:
Surely prayer keeps (one) away from indecency and evil.
ibrahim (Moderator):
No, it does
not mean. This Verse Just means that the Prayer has the Potential to do So
Provided it is offered in the best possible way. rimsoo: I am very much grateful to brother ibrahim for your kind reply!
waseem:
023.1-5
See: http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=2599&lang=&forumid=1
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Pause
and Ponder |
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Transfer of Reward to a Dead Person Posted on: Tuesday, February 15, 2011 - Hits: 2
I understand that reward cannot be transferred to the deceased because this is against the Qur’ān. However, those who believe in it say that the Prophet (sws) has the authority to change the Qur’ānic rules e.g. in the Qur’ān prayers are due at specific times but the Prophet (sws) changed the same rule for some prayers of Hajj. So reward can be transferred to a deceased since its justification is available in Hadīth as per the powers of the Prophet (sws). Please explain in detail.
Answer: The basic source left among us by the Holy Prophet (sws) is the Holy Qur’ān. It is the origin of religious authority and is the Mīzān (Balance) (42:17) and the Furqān (Criterion) (25:1) which decides the validity of any religious matter. The Prophet (sws) had no authority to render any Qur’ānic directive ineffective. Moreover, Scholars of the science of Hadīth have set the principles of accepting a Hadīth. A Hadīth can in no way be accepted when it is against the purport of the Qur’ān and established Sunnah. Therefore, such a view is not acceptable since it deprives the ultimate and final authority – the Holy Qur’ān – of its true place and renders the whole corpus of Islamic beliefs in jeopardy because the Hadīth literature contains conflicting things. The sayings of the Prophet (sws) which are usually cited to prove that the Prophet (sws) abrogated certain Qur’ānic directives are often misconstrued. As regards the matter of timing of prayer, it originated from the Sunnah and not from the Holy Qur’ān. The Sunnah we know is an independent source of Islam. wassalam Tariq Haashmi
see: http://www.studying-islam.org/querytext.aspx?id=991
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"Quran for All" Series: Surah 'Adiyat Uploaded
After Surah Mulk, Surah Qalam, Surah
Haaqqah,Surah Ma'aarij, Surah Nuh, Surah Jinn, Surah Muzzammil, Surah
Muddaththir, Surah Qiyamah, Surah Dahr, Surah Mursalat, Surah Naba, Surah
Nazi'aat, Surah Abas, Surah Takweer, Surah Infitar, Surah Mutaffifin, Surah
Inshiqaq, Surah Buruj, Surah Tariq, Surah A'laa, Surah Ghashiyah, Surah Fajr,
Surah Balad, Surah Shams, Surah Layl, Surah Duha, Surah Alam Nashrah, Surah
Teen, Surah Alaq, Surah Qadr
Surah Bayyinah
and Surah Zilzal
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