Fortnightly Newsletter (1st December '11 - 15th December`11)
	www.studying-islam.org	Compiled by: Azeem Ayub
	Reflection
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful	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   URL: http://www.studying-islam.org/articletext.aspx?id=1100
In this Issue
Reflections * The Lesson I Learned
Read & Reflect * Various types of the     Prayer
Debate & Discuss * Discussion Forum:     Understanding the     Sunnah   Express & Explain *  General Discussion     Forum:  Prayer keeps     away from     Indecency & Evil   Pause & Ponder: *  Un-Answered      Prayers   Announcements *  "Quran for All"      Series: Surah      Kawthar      Uploaded   *  Successful     Participants
	Read and Reflect:
	Various types of the Prayer Author: Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Tr. Shehzad Saleem   The Friday Prayer   On Fridays, it has been made incumbent upon Muslims to pray in congregation at the time of zuhr prayer and in place of it. The way prescribed by the shari‘ah for this prayer is the following:   1. There are two rak‘at of this prayer. 2. In contrast with the zuhr prayer, the recital shall not be silent. 3. The takbir shall be said before the prayer. 4. Before the prayer, the imam shall deliver two sermons to remind and urge people about various teachings of Islam. He shall deliver these sermons while standing. The imam shall sit for a short while after he ends the first sermon and then stand up to deliver the second one. 5. The adhan for the prayer shall be recited when the imam reaches the place where he is to deliver the sermon.   As soon as the adhan is said, it is incumbent upon all Muslim men to leave all their involvements and come to the mosque if they have no legitimate excuse.   The sermon shall be delivered and the prayer shall be led by the rulers of the Muslims and this prayer shall only be offered at places which have been specified by them or where a representative of theirs is present to lead the prayer.   The Qur’an has mentioned this prayer in the following words:   يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُودِي لِلصَّلَاةِ مِن يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إِلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَذَرُوا الْبَيْعَ ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ  فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَانتَشِرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَابْتَغُوا مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ (٦٢: ٩-١٠) Believers, when you are summoned to Friday prayers, hasten to the remembrance of God and cease your trading. That would be best for you, if you but knew it. Then, when the prayers end, disperse and go your ways in quest of God’s bounty. Remember God greatly so that you may prosper. (62:9-10)     For more URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=209  return to the top ^
	Debate and Discuss:
	Discussion Forum: Understanding the Sunnah Topic: Hajj & Fast Institute by Sunnah shah_625 After finishing the course there are some doubts in my mind which need to be cleared. Firstly, Sunnah is an independent source of Islam. Things initiated by the Quran cannot be termed as Sunnah. Now the confusion that I have is that Quran clearly mentions the method and details of hajj and fasting. Then how is it that details of these two worships are regarded as Sunnah, when they are already explained in the Quran? Secondly, there is repeated mention in the course that not all sunan are mandatory, however there is no explanation to this. Can you please clarify which sunan are mandatory and which are not? ibrahim (Moderator) Dear Shah, 1st of all congratulations on completing the course. Thanks a lot for your Post. Here are our response to your Qs: 1) At first it must be noted that Quran has not given all details about Hajj. However about Fasting one can say that as it has v little details. But as a rule one should keep this in mind that whenever such details come in Quran, they do not come to teach that sunnah. In fact they come either to remind any important thing about it or clarify any point about it. 2) "not all sunan are mandatory" means that those are not obligatory for everyone. For example Namaz is one of the sunans. Daily five prayers are mandatory but Janazah, a form of the prayer is not mandatory for everyone. We all know that if some people of a certain area participate in Janazah Prayer then it'll be enough to raise the burden of obligation from all people of that area. I hope this clarification helps. Pl feel free to write again if needed. shah_625 Thank you for your reply ibrahim. The details regarding hajj are mentioned in Surah Baqarah. Are these not teaching the method? Secondly I do not understand that why Quran had to clear things regarding hajj and fast. Why didn't our beloved Prophet (sws) deal with it? ibrahim (Moderator) 1) When you'll complete this course you'll know that why Quran has mentioned these details. If you know the whole procedure of performing Hajj then you can decide yourself that this is not teaching the method. 2) In many cases Prophet (sws) deals with such matters but he too do so in the light of God's guidance that is not mentioned in Quran. But according to the importance of the matter many times this is done in Quran by God himself. So in either way it's dealt by God only. Sometimes in Quran & sometimes without it. I hope it helps. Topic URL : http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=3602&lang=&forumid=14     return to the top ^
	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 delicates 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 truly 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    return to the top ^
	Pause and Ponder:
	Un-Answered Prayers Posted on: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - Hits: 795   Question: I feel that my prayers are going un-heard. If I stop making du'a for this particular reason, will it reflect that I have lost faith in the Almighty?   Answer: The acceptance of prayers is at times deferred and at times they do not bear fruit at all. All this is because of the all-embracing wisdom of the Almighty. Prayers are rejected or deferred because as per this wisdom, the realization of a certain prayer could be harmful to the overall scheme of the Almighty regarding a person and his or her circumstances. Also praying (ie making du'a) to the Almighty is the real essence of worship because while doing so, we regard Him to be Our only support and refuge. This is acknowledging His tawhid. Hence in no circumstances should a person give up making du'a. He or she should think that the Almighty is our greatest well-wisher and if a du'a is not being materialized, it is because of our own well-being. We have to trust Him in this and submit to Him even if things are not happening the way we want to because they are happening the way He wants to and in this is the well-being of all. wassalam Shehzad Saleem see: http://www.studying-islam.org/querytext.aspx?id=753    return to the top ^
	Announcements:
	"Quran for All" Series: Surah Kawthar 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, Surah Zilzal Surah ‘Adiyat, Surah Qariah and Surah Takathur, Surah Asr,  Surah Humazah,  Surah Feel, Surah Quraysh, Surah Ma'un  we have uploaded Surah Kawthar 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 Kawthar 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. Admn Off   Successful Participants   ID Course Country Grade 14281 Arrangement of the Qur'an India B 10069 Arrangement of the Qur'an USA C 14146 Belief in the Prophets Pakistan B+ 14173 Family and Marriage: Core Issues UAE B+ 14146 Family and Marriage: Related Issues Pakistan B 14173 Family and Marriage: Related Issues UAE A+ 14298 Islamic Customs and Etiquette USA C+ 14239 Islamic Customs and Etiquette Germany C 14280 Islamic Customs and Etiquette India E+ 14266 Understanding Islamic Dietary Laws USA B+ 14257 Adaab i Mu`asharat Pakistan C+ 14257 Islam maay Khanaay Peenay kaa Ikhmaat Pakistan D+ 14220 Islam ka Khandani Nizam: Bunyadi Mubahis Pakistan B 14220 Islam ka Khandani Nizaam: Muta'allaqah Mabaahis Pakistan B 14220 Quran Fahmi kay Usul Pakistan B   return to the top ^
	Recent Additions:
	Youtube Videos   English   Medicines prescribed by the Prophet (sws) (Some Misconceptions) Celebrating the Birthday of the Prophet (sws) (Some Misconceptions) Sphere of Obedience (Some Misconceptions) The Return of Jesus (sws) (Some Misconceptions) Seeing the Prophet (sws) in Dreams (Some Misconceptions)   Urdu طب نبوی (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) (چند غلط فہمیاں) نبی (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) کی سالگرہ منانا (چند غلط فہمیاں) دائرہ اطاعت (چند غلط فہمیاں) حضرت عیسی (علیہ السلام) کی آمد ثانی (چند غلط فہمیاں) نبی (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) کا خواب میں آنا (چند غلط فہمیاں) Articles   English Explanation of a Qur’anic Verse (4:159) A Citizen of Paradise (Written on the Martyrdom of Dr Habib ur Rahman) Islamic or a Secular State in Pakistan? Current great Game in South Asia: Its impact on AF-Pak and the Region Allah’s Mercy Operates in Strange Ways Urdu  محبوب کی محفل کو محبوب سجاتے ہیں  توہین رسالت کی سزا (٢) توہین رسالت کی سزا (١) (١) عورتوں کی تعلیم۔ (٢) کافر کی تعریف   QnA   English Doctors and the Punishment of Unintentional Murder Obligation to offer the Prayer in Congregation Mundane and Spiritual Activities Significance of the Worldly Life When Confronted with Differing Opinions   Urdu    نماز میں اختلافات  قبل از اسلام نماز نماز میں سلام اور تشہد میں انگلی اٹھانا موکدہ سنتیں  return to the top ^
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	Markaz Juma Al-Majid www.almajidcenter.org  return to the top ^
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