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Reflections |
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In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious,
the Ever
Merciful
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Closed Doors
We need to thank the Lord for closed
doors, as we do for an open door. The reason God closes doors is because He has
not prepared anything through them for us. If he didn't close the wrong door we
would never find our way to the right one. Even when we don't realize it, God
directs our path through the closing and opening doors.
When our door closes, it forces us to change our course. When another door
closes, it forces us to change our course yet again. Then finally we find the
open door and walk right into our blesing. But instead of praising God for the
closed doors,(which kept us out of trouble) we get upset because we judge by our
appearances. And, in our own arrogance or ignorance, we insist that we know what
is right.
We have a very present help in the time of need. He is always standing Guard.
Because He walks ahead of us, He can see trouble down the road and sets up road
blocks and detours accordingly.
But through our lack of wisdom we try to tear down the road blocks or push aside
the detour signs. Then the minute we get into trouble, we start crying "Lord!
How could that happen to me ?"
We have got to realize that the closed door was a blessing. Did He not say "No
good thing will He with hold from them that love Him?"
If you get terminated from your job, don't be down for too long. Thank God for
the new opportunities that will manifest themselves- it might be a better job,
where you could use your skills in a much better way, or an opportunity to go to
school .
If that woman or man won't return your call, it might not be them. It might be
Lord setting up a road block(just let it go)
Your request for loan from a bank was turned down. Wait! It may not be the money
you have to have.
I'm so greatful for the times God closed doors for me, just to open others in
the most unexpected places.
The steps of good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Psalm
37:23
The mountain top is glorious, but it is in the Valley that I will grow!
Always remember God gives you
*Enough Happiness to keep you Sweet
*Enough Trials to keep you Strong
*Enough Sorrows to keep you Human
*Enough hope to keep you happy
*Enough Failure to keep you Humble
*Enough Success to keep you Eager
*Enough Friends to give you Comfort
*Enough Wealth to meet your Needs
*Enough Enthusiasm to make you Look Forward
*Enough Faith to banish Depression
*Enough Determination to make each Day a better day than the last
_________________
Author:
Annonymous
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In this
Issue |
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Reflections
* Closed Doors
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Read & Reflect
* The Essence of
Faith
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Debate & Discuss
* Discussion Forum:
Understanding
the
Sunnah
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Express & Explain
*
General Discussion
Forum:
The Qur'an
and the Sunnah
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Pause & Ponder
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Listening to the
Qur'an
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Read and Reflect : |
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The Essence
of Faith
Iman (faith) is an ancient religious term. The root امن is also found in
Hebrew and means considering something to be true and relying on it. The word امين (amen) is made from
this word and through it we corroborate something. In the Qur’an iman has been
used in this meaning. Thus if something is accepted with the certitude of the
heart then this is called iman. The foundation of this word is iman (faith) in
God. If a person accepts the Almighty such that he submits his heart and mind
to Him to the utmost, then in the terminology of the Qur’an, he is a mu’min
(believer). Imam Farahi writes:
Thus the conviction which exists with all the conditions
and corollaries of humility, trust and acknowledgment is called faith. And a
person who professes faith in God, in His signs, in His directives, submits
all that he has to Him and is happy on all His decisions is called a mu’min.
It is this very essence of faith on account of which the
Qur’an demands from a person that besides substantiation from the heart, his
words and deeds should also testify to it. Thus it calls every act of virtue
emanating from iman and an essential quality of a believer. Narratives which
say that a Muslim is he from whose hands and tongues other Muslims are secure,
and faith has a little over seventy branches, one of which is modesty,
and he who has faith in God and the Hereafter should show kindness to his
neighbours, respect his guests and say kind words or remain silent,
refer to this very essence of faith. It is evident from this discussion that
righteous deeds are mentioned after belief in the Qur’an as an explanation and
in reality it is like mentioning a specific category after a general one. Imam
Farahi writes:
Faith resides in the heart and in the intellect and in
matters of heart and intellect a person cannot only deceive others, but at
times even deceive himself. He thinks that he is a believer, whereas he is
not. For this reason, two witnesses have been appointed over faith: words and
deeds. And since words uttered can be untrue, therefore a person who merely
professes faith through his words has not been regarded as a believer; it is
essential that a person’s deeds should testify to his faith.
Author:
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (Tr. by Shehzad Saleem)
Topic URL:
http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=22
_______________________
Farahi, Majmu‘ah Tafasir, 1st ed. (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1991), 347.
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Debate and Discuss: |
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Discussion Forum:
Understanding the Sunnah
Topic: Mark Muslim men with a Permanent Sign
In the second module it is
mentioned "Circumcision of all male children for hygiene as well as to
mark Muslim men with a permanent sign on their bodies to denote their
membership of the
Ummah"
I do not understand the permanent sign on the body, can it be done by a
tattoo or there is a way of doing this ?
Circumcision is itself a
permanent sign on the body.
What is the point of having
permanent sign on such a place where no one can see it. Further more now a
days people who follow others faith also do it, would they also be
considered a member of Ummah. Just a comment.
That is what happened when you
find an engineer to do your surgery.
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Express and Explain: |
General Discussion Forum:
The Qur'an and the Sunnah
Salam Mujahid,
Q:- In the following lines I will explain why I disagree with your line of
thinking.
Reply:- I don’t mind brother, Those who are idolaters will never obey the
Qur’an or will never be satisfied with the Only Qur’an. So what??? The truth
will not change. The Only Truth regarding Islam (for us) is Qur’an.
Q:- As is very clear from these Qur'anic verses that anyone who wants to
translate and interpret the Quran must have knowledge of the Arabic which was
spoken by the prophet sws during his time. I think no one even with an average
IQ would disagree with this notion.
Reply:- What a childish opinion??? If any one wants to translate English then
he should have the knowledge of English. It is not any new thing!
Q:- This Quran is not in the Arabic spoken in Saudi Arab, Syria or Jordan of
today. It is absolutely mandatory for a scholar of Quran to be master of the
Arabic spoken in the tribe of Quraysh. How can anyone learn that Arabic
without knowing the Arab literature of that era?
Reply:- You people never appreciate the fact that to God belongs all the
languages of the world, He created them, just like He created us, See 49:13
and 11:118-119. God, the Almighty, the Knower, the Cognizant knows that the
majority of the Muslims in the world will not be reading , speaking or
understanding Arabic. About 80% of the Muslims in this world cannot read,
understand or speak Arabic. Quran is a book of a message and not a book of
entertainment. God knows that HIS MESSAGE can be and will be translated to all
the languages of the world and that the true believer will get His message in
any place that was destined to be. God would not send a message that cannot be
given to everyone clear and unambiguous. God would not send a message in a
language that the people cannot read, speak or understand then punish them for
not knowing what His message is.
God clearly told us in the Quran that He does not want any hardship in His
religion. God did not put any hardship on these millions (or billions) of
non-Arabs to master the Arabic language before getting His message. See 22:78
Getting the message and enjoying the literature excellence of the Quran are
two different matters.
The contemporary Arabs of Muhammed listened to the Quran and appreciated its
literature excellence but many of them did not believe then, e.g. Abu Jahl and
Abu Lahab, Muhammed's own uncles. Many of the contemporary Arabs of today read
the Quran in Arabic but do not appreciate the message of the Quran, they
belong to the same group as Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab.
Many deceived Arabic speaking people put too much emphasis on their ability to
appreciate the literature excellence of the Quran while missing the point of
the need to appreciate the message itself, by following it.
Understanding that God guarantees that the MESSAGE of the Quran will be given
to the whole world in any language in any place, means to understand that
having the Quran as an Arabic or non-Arabic book would not make the difference
and that is exactly what God is teaching us in 41:44
"If we made it a non-Arabic Quran they would have said, "Why did it come down
in that language?" Whether it is Arabic or non-Arabic, say, "For those who
believe, it is a guide and healing. As for those who disbelieve, they will be
deaf and blind to it, as if they are being addressed from faraway." 41:44
Mujahid
Brother Shamsher,
Now I know that why this thread has been going on since Dec 2004. It is sad
that you don’t answer simple questions and choose to go round and round and
round aimlessly. Anyway I would like to highlight TWO CONTRADICTIONS in your
above post. A philosophy based on weak grounds will always get exposed like it
has in your post.
You write;
Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab, Muhammad's own uncles. Many of the contemporary Arabs
of today read the Quran in Arabic but do not appreciate the message of the
Quran, they belong to the same group as Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab.
FIRST CONTRADICTION;
May I ask you where does Quran mention that Abu jahl did not appreciate the
message of Quran? You are not to seek any help from any source outside the
Quran.ABU JAHL’ s name is not mentioned in Quran at all.HOW CAN YOU MENTION
IT? It is eithet in Ahadith or in history.
SECOND CONTRADICTION;
Where does Quran say that Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab were Muhammad’s sws uncles?
It is again either in Ahadith or history.
I am not going to discuss this issue any further unless you admit to these two
very obvious contradictions in your last message. AND FOR GOD’S SAKE DON’T
SEND ME ANY OTHER OUT OF CONTEXT QURANIC REFERENCE. WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF
IT,ATLEAST I HAVE.
Hkhan (Moderator)
ur diagnosis is correct Dr. M  but
don't worry-the thread is continuing not necessarily in effort of satisfying the
posters; but for our other members and visitors to the site as well who surf in
quest of knowledge.
it's also sad that some of our senior site 'n forum members like sk-with us
since a while-havn't read any of our courses/studies yet. Whats the purpose of
joining educational sites whence we do not wish to read/learn-specially if one
is so confident that whatever he/she knows from before is the final Right! is
then best to initiate one's site and continue to post the 'Forever Understood'
facts there. Arguments without learning the facts being offered just wastes
self's and others'times.
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Pause
and Ponder: |
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Listening to the Quran
Question asked by
Wijadah Zareen Khan.
Posted on: Sunday, April 15, 2007 - Hits: 181
Question:
I have heard that reading
the Qur’an is optional while listening to it is obligatory. Is this true?
Moreover if a person is sleeping and another person starts reading the Qur’an
there with a loud voice such that the sleeping person gets disturbed, then what
should the sleeping person do because ignoring the Qur’an is not good. Is it
proper to read the Qur’an in such a way that it disturbs others? Please clarify.
Answer:
The Islamic Shari‘ah has not
classified listening and reading the Qur’an as two acts entailing two different
obligations. It has never held that reading it is optional and listing to it is
obligatory. Rather consulting the Qur’an for attaining guidance is necessary in
all circumstances no matter how we do this. The Holy Qur’an is the word of God
and is the last and final revelation sent down for the guidance of mankind
regarding religious affairs. Therefore it should be given due regard and used
for the purpose it has been revealed. We hope that God would reward those who
read consciously and seek guidance from it. But I do not understand that merely
reading it to accumulate reward does any good to us. For this is not the purpose
of the revelation of the Qur’an. The Almighty requires us to advance in
knowledge regarding his commandments and strive to act upon them to secure a
place in Paradise. Nowhere does it exhort the believers to read it just for the
sake of reading in order to earn reward. I understand that each and every book
when read out to you with the purpose of drawing your attention to the message
merits consideration. But that only relates to someone’s call to you regarding
understanding it and paying heed to it. It should not be related to the
recitation of the Qur’an one does for nothing other than getting reward. It is
not a befitting attitude to start reciting in a gathering where people are
engaged in their affairs or are taking rest. If someone does so, then he is the
one who needs to be taught the right approach. It not only causes disturbance
for others but also is disrespectful to the Book of God.
Regards
Tariq Mahmood Hashmi
Research Assistant, Studying Islam
see: http://www.studying-islam.org/querytext.aspx?id=599
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