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Fortnightly Newsletter |
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Compiled by: Azeem Ayub |
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In the Name of Allah, |
… And the List is Unending!
We often become thankless to our Creator even though His favours abound. Even a very partial list of these favours would outdo a loss or deprivation we may be experiencing. It is just a question of opening our eyes to the world around us. We need to look at the shimmering sun whose warmth is so vital for life, the glittering stars which light up the heavens to show us the way, the towering mountains which maintain the balance of this earth, the rain which enlivens desolate terrains; the bustling day which dawns to herald new opportunities in life, the serene night which alights to provide us with peaceful slumber, and still closer … the selfless mother who is an embodiment of affection for her children, the tireless father who sweats for the family and dutiful children who are a bliss for their parents … and the list is unending! And if this is not enough, we need to think of the mishaps we have been shielded from; tales of sorrow and sadness are writ large in our surroundings: every now and then, we hear of a young lady becoming a widow, a child being born handicapped, robbers looting the dowry of a poor girl, a sole bread-runner of a family being murdered on a trivial issue … and the list is unending! Our souls should thus be drenched with gratitude and return favours we must in whatever form we can: remembering God in solitude to thank Him for His blessings, being kind to parents for love which is matchless and which cannot be repaid, spending on the indigent who are too shy to ask, bearing ourselves with humility which is not pretentious, controlling anger over the subservient who are too weak to speak out and … and … and even meeting others with a smiling face … and, of course, the list is unending!
Author:
Shehzad Saleem
URL:
http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=1215 |
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In this Issue |
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Reflections
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Read & Reflect * Religious Tolerance: The Islamic Perspective
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Pause & Ponder:
Debate & Discuss
Express & Explain
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Announcements
* "Qur'an for All"
* Successful |
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Mankind seems to be divided by religious categorisation. Some religious groups are more exclusive in their approach than others. However, the approach of condemning people belonging to other faiths, although it has become a much less pronounced problem in recent times, has not vanished completely. There have been many approaches adopted by religious scholars belonging to different faiths to check the tendency of growing bigotry amongst religious people. The Vatican adopted the policy of Religious Inclusivism through its decree of 1967 which expressed sentiments of cordiality for other important world religions. Words of sympathy were also reserved in the decree for those who have chosen to follow the approach of atheism.
There are, however, some Christians scholars who believe that Religious Inclusivism, even though it is a welcome improvement on Religious Exclusivism, still falls short of being fully convincing. What has been presented by William Rowland, John Hick, and Paul Badham is an approach to justify what they describe as Religious Pluralism. According to this approach, all important religions are genuine human responses to the same Transcendental Reality, even though influenced by the respective cultural environments of the religious leaders. Thus all of them are simultaneously correct, and all offer important insights into the understanding of the Ultimate.
Both Religious Inclusivism and Religious Pluralism promise more religious tolerance amongst those who choose to adopt these points of view, although the latter seems to be more capable of engendering true respect in the hearts of believers of one faith for the believers in the other faiths. Muslims have normally been considered Religious Exclusivists, who would not hold people of other faiths worthy of being offered respect for their religious commitments. There is, therefore, felt a need to present an Islamic point of view on how Islamic teachings propose to tackle the issue of religious plurality.
Islam, on the one hand takes a firm position in confirming the unquestionable authenticity of its teachings, on the other hand it also calls for genuine respect for all non-Muslims. Even though there seems to be apparently a contradiction in the approach, a better understanding of the various verses of the Qur’ān on the subject would suggest that it is not necessarily so.
The correct Islamic approach towards the non-Muslims is to assume that all of them have, as yet, not been properly convinced about the authenticity of the divine origins of the teachings of Islam. It is for the Muslims to help the non-Muslims to appreciate the truthfulness of the Islamic teachings. That would require not only intelligent preaching on their part but, perhaps more importantly, a behaviour of respect for the fellow human beings, irrespective of their faith. The absence of that behaviour on the part of some Muslims has been an important reason for their failure to present Islam as a message which is worthy of being taken seriously by the non-Muslims. Thus true religious tolerance is at the heart of a proper Islamic behaviour. Thus it will be shown that all Muslims are required to be extremely tolerant of other faiths and to continue their struggle to convince them politely.
This approach is neither Religious Inclusivism of the sort adopted by the Vatican, nor Religious Pluralism as proposed by Rowland Williams, John Hick, and Paul Badham. It is, in fact, a call for religious tolerance because of the possibility of lack of proper communication of the true message of God. Since no body knows whether the other individual has been communicated the message of Islam properly, therefore, no Muslim has the right to condemn any non-Muslim on grounds of religious differences.
URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=572
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When do the children have the right to disobey the parents? saba2 Well can you please be more specific about the age of children. ibrahim Of course adult and mature children. saba2 If they are adult and mature then their is no question of disobedience is there? They are free to make their own choices which can also differ from their parents. I feel there is a very thin line between disobedience and making different choices. I think teenagers who can distinguish between right from wrong may come under the category of being disobedient adult and mature children cannot come under the category of being disobedient. A child can be disobedient when he is being asked to do what is considered gunnah or wrong in Islam and when he feels physically threatened sexually. ibrahim Well, we are bound to follow parents (and all others too) in the limits of Islam. So such disobedience has no value. You are right that there may be a very thin line between the two but one can still differentiate. I give you an example: Parents want to marry a child at one place but he/she want to marry at another. This is a choice difference. However when they ask the child to do any useful thing that he/she must do or ask not to do a harmful thing that he/she must avoid then this will surely be a disobedience. for example two mature kids are fighting with eachother (may be verbally) & when a parent ask them to stop. If they do not, they are disobeying. I hope I'm able to clear the point. Moreover you as a senior MOM can yourself give many examples of both cases. Don't You? It'll need just a deep thinking. saba2 So in the eyes of Allah disobedience is allowed when there is shirk committed and parents expect the children to join in or be a part of it. Is going to shrines and peers and asking them of favors from God considered Shirk? The example you gave of choice differences is the one parents have the most difficulty excepting. You hear all sorts of stories and maximum blackmail when it comes to marriage of choice. “Moreover you as a senior MOM” how can u tell if I am a senior mom? Hmm I like it, it gives me a lot of clout. Can some one please answer the question ibrahim Your described act is a shirk act but one may not be doing it as a shirk. That's a big difference. In Marriage case parents should have the courage to accept the choice of their kids in case of no settlement between them just because kids have been given the last right to choose their life partner. We as a parent can only try our best to guide them the best and in the best possible way. Read on: http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=2058&lang=&forumid=44
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General Discussion Forum
Topic: Namaz
Nuttynum I would like to now if we can read small namaz, meaning can we shorten it. If we can, wot can we read. Also when reading kiza namaz can we read kiza namaz with any namaz.
Also do we have to wake up for sehri, when we are keeping a fast? I would really appreciate it if my questions are answered.
Tweety You can shorten your namaz by praying fard and leaving out the Sunnah if you have to but if your outside a radius of 40miles**different opinions about distance and time but its more about how convenient it is for you really** from your home then u can do qasar **in a journey**
and you can pray
kaza salah if u have missed it but try not 2 make it a habit
oh and you don’t have to wake up 4 serhi...sumtyms i can’t be bothered either but the prophet (saw) encouraged sahur and sed thers a blessing in it- medically and spiritually advised
Jhangeer Hanif (Moderator) If any Salah has been missed for some reason, it must be offered and we should also seek forgiveness from Allah.
It is better that we say the missed prayer first and then go on to offer the other Salah.
xxbasxx yeah thats what I do, if I have been a daft nut and prayed Asr after the Maghrib Azaan, I pray Asr before Maghrib. This isn't happening to regularly Alhamdullillah.
Loveall What are the explanations of the followings?
1. Salahtal wusta [Middle Salah (Namaz)]- Al-Quran.
2. La Salahta illa be hazooril qalab [No Salah (Namaz) without present heart]- Hadith
oosman So what happens if a Muslim intentionally does not do salat (namaz)? Does he/she get punished for it?
Ibrahim (Moderator) Here are the answers of your Questions according to my little knowledge:
1. Surely the literal meaning of "Salaat ul Wusta" is Middle Prayer (Namaz) & "Asar" Prayer is The "Salaat ul Wusta" as it Comes in the MIDDLE of the Day & Work.
2. the Hadith "La Salahta illa be hazooril qalab [No Salah (Namaz) without present heart]" means that One should try to be attentive TOWARDS Allah in one's prayer as Much as Possible.
and
Dear Brother
OOSMAN
I hope this Helps
Topic URL : http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=1100&lang=&forumid=1 |
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| Pause and Ponder: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Human Intellect and Knowledge of Good and Evil Posted on: Friday, April 01, 2011 - Hits: 37
Question:
Answer:
Thus the Qur’ān while alluding to this innate ability of man says:
وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ دَسَّاهَا (٩١: ٧-١٠) And the soul bears witness and the perfection given to it, then [God] inspired it with its evil and its good that he succeeded who purified it and he failed who corrupted it. (91:7-10)
The Prophet (sws) is reported to have said: “Virtue is professing high morals and sin is that which pricks your heart and you would not like others to come to know of it.” (Muslim, no. 6516) It is this part of a person that the Qur’ān has termed as nafs-i lawwāmah (the reproaching soul) and has unequivocally stated:
بَلْ الْإِنسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ وَلَوْ أَلْقَى مَعَاذِيرَهُ (٧٥: ١٤-١٥) In fact, man himself is a witness upon his own self however much he may put up excuses. (75:14-15)
wassalam
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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, Surah Zilzal Surah ‘Adiyat and Surah Qariah we have uploaded Surah Takathur in the “Quran for All” series.
The “Quran for All” Series is a software for understanding the meanings of the Quran for those who do not have any knowledge of Arabic but are able to read the Quran.
Remember in order to study Surah Takathur one must first study Surah Mulk and then other surahs in the sequence that they occur in the Quran and are also provided in the software in this sequence.
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