Newsletter (1st June'11 - 15th June'11)
(6/16/2011)

 

Fortnightly Newsletter
 (1st June '11 - 15th June`11)
 

www.studying-islam.org

Compiled by: Azeem Ayub
  Reflection

 

In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious,
the Ever Merciful
 

 

Propagation of the Truth

 

The propagation of the truth has remained the mission of the Prophets, for it is the prerogative of every truth to be disseminated far and wide. Islam requires of a Muslim to propagate the truth according to his ability, position and status. It says that every person is the shepherd of his herd about which he shall be held accountable on the Day of Judgement. It directs each person to strive to save himself and his family from the flames of Hell. It defines each person's sphere of authority in which it is his responsibility to propagate and implement the truth.

It says that:

It is the duty of the common man to urge every person of his family and, indeed, every person present in his immediate surroundings to the three basic requirements which will ensure their salvation in the Hereafter. These three requirements have been spelled out in Surah Asr:

"Time bears evidence that man, verily, is in a loss save those who accept faith, do virtuous deeds and invite each other to the right path and urge each other to remain steadfast on it." (103:1-3)

It is the duty of the head of state and all his representatives to implement the Shariah at the state level. Keeping in view the expediency of a society, they must enforce the directives of Islam. While pointing out the objectives of an Islamic State, the Quran says:

"[These believers are those who], if We grant them authority in this land, will establish regular prayers and pay zakat and enjoin what is virtuous and forbid what is evil." (22:41)

It is the duty of the Muslim Ummah in its collective capacity to bear witness to the religion of truth upon other nations of the world. This can only be done when Muslims in their individual and collective capacity become the standard-bearers of the final Shariah which has been given to them, and thereby re-establish the society on the lines of the Rightly Guided Caliphate. In the words of the Quran:

"And similarly, we made you the best Ummah that you may bear witness [to the religion of truth] upon other nations of the world and the Prophet may be a witness over yourselves." (2:143)

It is the duty of the ulema to warn the people about their obligations as common Muslims, as rulers of an Islamic State and as members of the Ummah of the dreadful fate that awaits them if they do not fulfil them. The Quran says:

"It was not possible for all the believers to undertake [this job]. So why did not a few from every group among them come forward to gain sound knowledge in religion and warn the people of their [respective] nations, when they returned to them that they may also take heed." (9:122)

 

 

Author: Shehzad Saleem

 

 

In this Issue

Reflections
 * Propagation of the
    Truth!

 

Read & Reflect

* The Right to Punish
   a Wife

 

Debate & Discuss
* Discussion Forum:
    Belief in God

 

Express & Explain
 * General Discussion
   Forum:  Prayer keeps
   away from Indecency
   & Evil

 

Pause & Ponder:
* Significance of the
   Worldly Life

 

 

Announcements

*  Successful
    Participants

\

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Read and Reflect:


The Right to Punish a Wife
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
(Tr. by Shehzad Saleem)

 

Marriage is a contract in which it is the responsibility of the husband to generously provide for the expenses of his wife and children. He is required to deal with them in a way which is in accordance with the norms of decency and those of sense and reason, and which is based on graciousness and courtesy, and in which the requisites of justice and fairness are fulfilled. Similarly, it is required of a wife that she should adopt an attitude of harmony and obedience towards the husband and protect his secrets as well as his honour and integrity.

 

Like other contracts, this nature of the contract also requires that if any of the parties violates it and in spite of counsel and advice, rebuke and reproach is not prepared to mend its ways, then it should be punished. This punishment can be meted out by a court and by the elders of the family. The Qur’ān has given this right to the husband also. It says that if a wife becomes rebellious by defying his authority, then he can resort to three options to save the family from dismembering:

 

First, he should urge his wife to mend her ways. The word used by the Qur’ān is وَعَظ which means that she can be admonished and also scolded to some extent in this regard.

 

Second, intimate marital relations with her should be suspended in order to communicate to her that if she does not mend her ways, she might have to face severe repercussions.

 

Third, she can be punished physically.

 

A question arises about this last option: with a change in society and civilization, if exercising the first two options does not bear results and a husband is left with no alternative but to adopt the third option, can a state bind him to not take this step himself and consign this matter to a court of law?

 

The opinion of this writer is in the affirmative. This is because this alternative is merely another way of following the directive of God and does not annul the directive. It does not make a difference if to reform the wife the punishment is meted out by the husband, the elders of the family or a court of law. It is the will of God that if to save a family, a wife needs to be punished, then she should be punished. It is only a reformatory measure and nothing more.

 

(Translated from Maqāmāt by Shehzad Saleem)


URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=1274

 

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  Debate and Discuss:


Discussion Forum: Belief in God

 Topic: Human Wisdom Leads to deception


 Faysal99
 It also happens that human's intellect and wisdom misguides them, While we believe in God based on our intellect and wisdom, how we can ascertain that our wisdom has not deceived us?

 ibrahim (Moderator)
 We do need to be certain because we are not asked by God to be certain in this matter. To strive with competence and sincerity is what is required even if one ends up on a wrong conclusion. This is what is called human error.

That's why our Prophet (sws) has told us that when one reaches a correct conclusion by using his/her intellect one get's double reward. On the contrary one reward is given even if the reached conclusion was wrong.

 faysal99
 Can we extend this human error and Ijtihad results (of reward) to Karl Marx, Charles Darwin or Nietzsche and other highly influential philosophers who used their intellect at best and gave their theories about Evolution, communism or post modernism or its only specific for Muslims (For example, contemporary Muslim Scholars gave political interpretation of Islam, which has resulted in chaos and gave rise to several Jihadi movements, but we reference above Hadith to defend or safeguard their ideologies?

 ibrahim (Moderator)
 Well, Human error part can surely be extended. The too may be right in some of their theories and may be wrong in some. However reward from God is something else and that looks to be related to Muslims only.

One more thing in this regard is that what should be our behaviour to such things practically because the final decision of being right or wrong be taken by God and will be declared on the Last day. We must accept or even reject any opinion on the strong basis of Quran and Sunnah. This way it's possible that one thing that is right in my opinion may be wrong in yours. We'll have to act upon our opinions but must keep our ears open for others always and must carry on analysing our's and other's reasoning.


Read on: http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=3607&lang=&forumid=63

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  Express and Explain:

 

General Discussion Forum:
Prayer keeps away from Indecency and Evil
 

rimsoo:

[29: 45]: Surely prayer keeps (one) away from indecency and evil.

Does it also mean that ‘despite offering prayers, anyone who is indecent and does the evil deeds, his/her prayers is not being accepted by Allah’?

Thanking in anticipations!

 

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
Successful indeed are the believers, Who are humble and content in their prayers, And who shun vain conversation, Who are active in deeds of charity; And who guard their modesty -


023.8-11
And those who are keepers of their trusts and their covenant, And who (strictly) guard their prayers;- These are the heirs ,Who will inherit Paradise: they will dwell therein (for ever).

Amin Ahsan Islahi writes in Tadabur ul Qur'an The success mentioned here is the eternal and everlasting success, that is the only true success and should be the goal of every true believer. In the second verse the word " khusooh" is used for namaz. This is in reference to the true spirit of namaz. When a person bows in namaz in front of Allah, not only should his physical being bows but his heart should too. In the namaz of a true believer, every action of namaz should vow for the humbleness of the person towards Allah.

Islahi states that a namaz that is performed with "Khusooh" , has a profound effect on that person.. It protects that person from indulging in useless conversations and activities. It is a constant reminder 5 times a day of his obligations towards his Creator and the Day of Judgment In surah Ankaboot Allah has said " Namaz stops a person from vulgar and unpleasant things".

Islahi states that in the start the Qur;an delinates the effects of "Khusooh" of namaz on a believer and the verses 8-11 highlight the advantages of guarding the namaz. Namaz is a flower of Paradise, it truely is the guardian of the entire Faith.. It is through namaz that all good deeds under divine guidance progress, without namaz our religion is like a tree stem devoid of any greenary or signs of life.

He further adds, it is one of the essential pre requisites for entering the ultimate Paradise. i.e Jannat ul Firdaus.

 

 

See: http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=2599&lang=&forumid=1


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  Pause and Ponder:

 

Significance of the Worldly Life
 Posted on: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 - Hits: 78

 

Question:
 

Actually, I heard a preacher quoting a Hadith of the Holy Prophet (sws) saying, “You should strive in the world according to the proportion you have to live here, and strive for the hereafter according to the proportion you have to live there”.

While well knowing the amount of time there, when one day would be equal to thousands of days on this earth one can easily infer that the infinite life over there would be greater than million years on the earth. This implies that we should completely forget/ignore this world as it would have infinitesimal value as compared to the hereafter and pass our whole life only in worrying about the life after death.

I personally believe that there should be a balance. I remember an author quoting the daily schedule of the Holy Prophet (sws) that he had divided his day into three (3) portions, i.e., one for worship, one for the people/trade and one for his family. But I’m not sure how far are these Ahadith quoted properly. I need your guidance in this regard.

 

Answer:
 

The statement you have quoted in your question is correct, but the meanings sometimes construed from it are misleading. Indeed we should devote time for the worldly affairs proportionate to its significance and likewise for the Hereafter. However, that doesn’t imply that we should say goodbye to the worldly obligations completely. Had that been Islam’s ideal, we would have found the Prophet (sws) not participating in any worldly activity at all. The fact that he fully participated in the worldly affairs is enough reason for us to reject this understanding.

The truth of the matter is that we are expected to earn our rewards for the Hereafter from this very life. That would require us to get involved not only in ibadat but also in ‘‘mundane worldly affairs’’. However, in the case of the latter activities, we are expected to abide by the rules laid down by Islam. Thus if we carry out our worldly obligations in accordance with the injunctions and the spirit of Islamic shari‘ah, we will be leading a fully akhirah-oriented life.

As for the question of how an individual should allocate his time for various possible engagements that would enable him to get the best results (from the point of view of the afterlife), there can be no one answer for everyone. It depends on many factors: one’s circumstances, abilities, and natural inclinations. However, whatever one does, one should be obsessed with the concerns of the life hereafter. Allah Almighty, it is hoped, will be kind in forgiving our minor blemishes.

wassalam


Dr Khalid Zaheer

 

 

 URL: http://www.studying-islam.org/querytext.aspx?id=998

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ID Course Country Grade
13618 Belief in God Italy D
13679 Belief in God USA B
13672 Belief in God India B+
13364 Belief in the Hereafter USA D
13672 Belief in the Hereafter India B
13642 Family and Marriage: Core Issues Norway B+
13704 Family and Marriage: Core Issues Singapore C
13642 Family and Marriage: Related Issues Norway B
13364 Hajj and 'Umrah USA B
13616 Introduction to the Hadith Kuwait D
13646 Introduction to the Hadith UK D
8876 Islamic Customs and Etiquette India B+
13218 Islamic Punishments: Misconceptions UK B
10313 Norms of Gender Interaction USA A+
13364 Norms of Gender Interaction UK B
13646 Understanding the Sunnah USA D
13639 Understanding the Sunnah USA A

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