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Reflections |
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In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious,
the Ever
Merciful
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Education in the Hope of Revival
Section I:
Introduction
Charity begins at home. And Muslims today are in much need of
charity. They need to give and receive within their own circles.
The current state of affairs in the world reveals how miserable Muslims, as
a nation, are today. They are not united, they are not progressing well, and
they are attracting bad impressions from others. As a result, not many
people are willing to acknowledge Islam as a religion that promotes peace,
prosperity, development, advancement or a plausible means of governance and
economic activity. The onlookers think that following the Shari‘ah
amounts to stagnation, and strict adherence to faith results in either
fatalism or fanaticism. The Ummah is in need of changing these
views – not to prove a point, but to help themselves, because, indeed, the
Muslim world is stagnating and the common man is in ignorance.
In addition to the Muslim
intelligentsia, the average Muslim too has his work cut out for him. To toil
in that direction requires us to determine ways in which we can go about
achieving our aims and objectives as members of the Islamic world. We have
to analyze the causes behind the contemporary circumstances engulfing the
Muslims.
In section II, we will start off by bringing to notice the exemplary ways in
which the Muslim world, in general, and the common Muslim, in particular,
acquired success and prosperity, and then they let it all slip away. Section
III decides upon the reasons behind our current state of affairs and Section
IV suggests what needs to be done. Section V will conclude the discussion.
Section
II: Tracing the Rise and Fall of Muslim Prosperity
The Muslim World
When our dear Prophet Muhammad (sws) established an Islamic state
in Madinah, it was a miracle of sorts. Here was a man, simple and
straight, with no ulterior motives than to please his Lord, in power and
yet, bowed in humbleness. He was an example for all around him – in matters
of faith as well as in matters of everyday significance. His companions took
plenty of notes from his book and undoubtedly followed suit. Once light had
been shown to them, they had the eagerness to learn. Indeed, in the words of
the Qur’an, they found in Prophet Muhammad (sws) ‘the best example’.
He was the symbol of piety, love, righteousness and everything good. They
put aside their biases to learn and they brought in their arguments to
debate and to arrive at the most sensible and honorable conclusions. They
were not easily riddled by strategic incitements instigated by circles
hostile to Islam. Rather, they were insightful regarding all that they were
confronted with. In short, there was confidence in the leader, because he
was exemplary, honest and truthful. He was utmost concerned about them, and
they themselves were united and dependable, sharing a common concern.
Indeed, their true strength was not to be found in numbers, but in the
intensity of faith in Allah as well as in each other, coupled with sincerity
in commitment. Quite the opposite, the Muslim world today is heading towards
disaster. The emphasis amongst Muslims has shifted in a way that faith is
unable to transcend the physical realm of our existence and enter our minds
and souls. We are now indeed much greater in number than we were ever before
but totally devoid of faith. Unlike our honourable ancestors, we have chosen
a different path – that of ignorance – both in terms of religious as well as
worldly knowledge. The Qur’an clearly seems to suggest that the two
are bound together almost as if one without the other is incomplete.
The knowledge of religion inspires knowledge of worldly sciences.
Indeed, the Qur’an refers to the ‘men of understanding’ as those who
acknowledge the signs of Allah. They would clearly benefit thus. Firstly, by
striving in accordance with the workings of the universe for a prosperous
and illuminated worldly life; and secondly, by establishing strong faith in
Allah such that their afterlife will be prosperous as well. The Holy
Qur’an says:
It is He Who sends down rain
from the sky. From it, you drink, and out of it [grows] the vegetation on
which you feed your cattle. With it He produces for you corn, olives, date
palms, grapes, and every kind of fruit: verily in this is a sign for those
who give thought. He has made subject to you the night and the day; the
Sun and the Moon; and the stars are in subjection by His Command: verily
in this are signs for men who are wise. And the things on this earth which
He has multiplied in varying colours [and qualities]: verily in this is a
sign for men who celebrate the praises of Allah [in gratitude]. It is He
Who has made the sea subject, that you may eat thereof flesh that is fresh
and tender, and that you may extract there from ornaments to wear, and you
see the ships therein that plough the waves, that you may seek [thus] of
the bounty of Allah and that you may be grateful. And He has set up on the
earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you and rivers
and roads that you may guide yourselves. And marks and signposts and by
the stars [men] guide themselves. (16:10-16)
Reinforcing the points
mentioned above, it would be helpful to ask: How are the praises of Allah
celebrated, and how is gratitude addressed to him? Certainly, by
acknowledging the Almighty on the one hand and by extracting the best out of
the earth that is at man’s disposal, on the other. Nonetheless, in that
pursuit, a Muslim must not lose sight of the ultimate objective – seeking
the pleasure of Allah. Abu Hurayrah narrates:
The Prophet (sws) said: ‘if
anyone acquires knowledge of things by which Allah’s good pleasure is
sought, but acquires it only to get some worldly advantage, he will not
experience the fragrance of Paradise. (Abu Da’ud, No: 3179)
Author:
Sadia Malik
URL:
http://www.studying-islam.org/articletext.aspx?id=1123
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In this
Issue |
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Reflections
* Education in the
Hope of Revival
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Read & Reflect
*
The Dealings &
Practices of God
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Debate & Discuss
* Discussion Forum:
Islamic Customs
& Etiquette
return
to the top ^
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Express & Explain
*General Discussion
Forum: Verification
of Source of
Passage
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Pause & Ponder
* Invoking
God's
Help
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Announcements
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English Course
"The Prayer"
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Spot on Site
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Read and Reflect : |
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The Dealings and Practices of God
The dealings of God with His servants
and the manner in which He deals with them are called sunnatullah by the Qur’an.
The Almighty says that these practices are permanent and unalterable.
Consequently, for a true comprehension of God, just as knowledge of His
attributes is essential, knowledge of His dealings with His creation is also
essential. We shall now present the details of these dealings; however, before
we do this, it is essential that certain premises remain clear in our mind at
the very outset.
Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi writes:
1. The
Almighty has created each person with a noble nature and has blessed him with
the ability to discriminate good from evil and has given him the freedom to
choose whichever of them he wants to. After that, his becoming a good or a bad
person is dependent on his attitude and on the Almighty’s grace. If he tries to
adhere to virtue, the Almighty’s grace impels him to virtue and if he adopts
evil, the Almighty, if He wants to, leaves him to tread the path of evil.
2. Issues on
which the Almighty will hold a person accountable are those in which he has the
freedom to choose and exercise his free will. People who do not have this
freedom will not be held accountable by Him. This freedom to exercise one’s will
has been granted by the Almighty and not something which a person possesses.
Thus a person exercises his will while remaining subservient to the will of God.
The Almighty, on the basis of His own will and wisdom, may not allow man to
achieve what he intends; however, because of some reason which only His wisdom
can encompass, if He does not allow a virtuous intention of a person to
materialize, He does not deprive him of its reward; similarly, if He allows evil
intent to materialize, then this does not mean that He will necessarily acquit a
person in the Hereafter.
3. Wherever
the will of God has been mentioned in the Qur’an, it only means that except for
God Himself no one has the power to stop Him from materializing it or to alter
it in any way. It does not mean that His will is not subservient to justice and
wisdom. The Almighty is wise and just and nothing that He does is devoid of
justice and wisdom. Hence wherever His will is stated in the Qur’an, it must be
considered to be subservient to the wisdom and justice according to which He is
running the affairs of this world. It would not be correct to assume that He
would act contrarily to whatever practice He has initiated for Himself and to
the justice and wisdom He has chosen for Himself. For example, the Qur’an says
that God guides whomsoever He wills and leads astray whomsoever He wills. This
statement does not mean that He does not adhere to any principle of justice and
wisdom in giving guidance to someone or leading him astray; it only means that
giving guidance to someone or leading him astray materializes in accordance with
the practice He has set for it and no one has the power to change or break it.
4. In the
Qur’an, we find certain acts being attributed to God; however, the real
objective in this regard, as referred to earlier, is not the attribution of
these acts, it is their attribution to certain laws and principles on the basis
of which these acts materialize. Because these laws and principles have been set
by the Almighty, He has attributed the acts which emanate on the basis of these
laws and principles to Himself at certain places in the Qur’an. For example,
فَلَمَّا زَاغُوا أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ (٥:٦١)
(And when they deviated [from the truth], God led away their hearts [from the
truth], (61:5)) and
وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ
وَأَبْصَارَهُمْ (١١٠:٦) (We will turn away their
hearts and eyes [from the truth], (6:110)). On such instances, the Qur’an also
refers to the principle on the basis of which a certain act emanates. For
example, words such as: “God only leads astray the defiant.” These insinuations
are meant to direct the attention of the reader on the factual reality so that
the apparent meaning of the words does not create any misconception in his mind.
5. The eternal
and all embracing knowledge of the Almighty does not negate any of the practices
and laws set by Him. Undoubtedly, He knows from the very beginning whether a
person will adopt the right path or go astray; however, besides this, He also
knows that a person will adopt or reject the right path in accordance with the
law of guidance prescribed by Him.
Author:
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (Tr. by Shehzad Saleem)
Topic URL:
http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=39
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Debate and Discuss: |
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Discussion Forum: Islamic
Customs and Etiquette
Topic: Doubt of Ceremonial Bath
What i read about this
subject it was past in time of the Prophet (saw). But now days this change, and
my doubt is when you have a bath in the shower is really necessary do all that
procedure, even in the end getting out of shower and wash the feet’s?
Because you are under the shower and the water is all of your body, so it cleans
you all
Thank for your attention.
Jhangeer
Hanif (Moderator)
You can wash your feet at
the end of taking the shower inside your shower. You do not need to wash them
after coming out.
Just pour water on your feet in the end.
So what your are saying is
that even be under the shower and the water is all over you, for the ceremonial
bath, it's necessary to take the bath like it's says in the "Module 2 - Islamic
Etiquette"?
Jhangeer
Hanif (Moderator)
No. I am not saying that it
is necessary. I was saying you could do this in order to follow the example of
the Holy Prophet (sws).
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Express and Explain: |
General Discussion Forum:
Verification of Source of Passage
Dear All, I have
got the following excerpt from someone and just wanted if any of you can
confirm it's authenticity as stated in it because I could not get access to
the Fatawa Ibn Tamiyyah due to lack of resources. Any help is appreciated.
Here is the excerpt:
Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah) said,
"Seek knowledge, because:
- seeking it for the sake of Allah is worship.
- and knowing it makes you more God-fearing.
- searching for it is jihad.
- teaching it to those who do not know is
charity.
- reviewing and learning it more is like tasbeeh.
- through knowledge Allah will be known and
worshipped.
With knowledge Allah will elevate people and make
them leaders and imams, who will in turn guide other people."
[Fatawa Ibn Taymiyyah, Vol. 10, p. 39]
oosnam
We can assess
importance of the knowledge from few of these verses of Koran. Directly or
indirectly these verses also carry answers of most of your questions.
2:247. He said: Surely Allah has chosen him in
preference to you, and He has increased him abundantly in knowledge and
physique, and Allah grants His kingdom to whom He pleases, and Allah is
Amplegiving, Knowing.
3: 7. And those who are firmly grounded in
knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and
none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.
3:18. There is no god but He: That is the witness
of Allah, His angels, and those endued with knowledge, standing firm on
justice. There is no god but He, the Exalted in Power, the Wise.
12:68. And when they entered in the manner their
father had enjoined, it did not profit them in the least against (the plan of)
Allah: It was but a necessity of Jacob's soul, which he discharged. For he
was, by our instruction, full of knowledge (and experience): but most men know
not.
16:25. Let them bear, on the Day of Judgment,
their own burdens in full, and also (something) of the burdens of those
without knowledge, whom they misled. Alas, how grievous the burdens they will
bear!
18: 5. No knowledge have they of such a thing,
nor had their fathers. It is a grievous thing that issues from their mouths as
a saying what they say is nothing but falsehood!
18:65. So they found one of Our servants, on whom
We had bestowed Mercy from Ourselves and whom We had taught knowledge from Our
own Presence.
19:43. "O my father! to me (Abraham) hath come
knowledge which hath not reached thee: so follow me: I will guide thee to a
way that is even and straight.
22: 3. And yet among men there are such as
dispute about Allah, without knowledge, and follow every evil one obstinate in
rebellion!
22: 8. Yet there is among men such a one as
disputes about Allah, without Knowledge, without Guidance, and without a Book
of Enlightenment,-
22:54. And that those on whom knowledge has been
bestowed may learn that the (Qur'an) is the Truth from thy Lord, and that they
may believe therein, and their hearts may be made humbly (open) to it: for
verily Allah is the Guide of those who believe, to the Straight Way.
22:71. Yet they worship, besides Allah, things
for which no authority has been sent down to them, and of which they have
(really) no knowledge: for those that do wrong there is no helper.
24:15. Behold, ye received it on your tongues,
and said out of your mouths things of which ye had no knowledge; and ye
thought it to be a light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of
Allah.
27:15. We gave (in the past) knowledge to David
and Solomon: And they both said: "Praise be to Allah, Who has favoured us
above many of his servants who believe!"
31: 6. But there are, among men, those who
purchase idle tales, without knowledge (or meaning), to mislead (men) from the
Path of Allah and throw ridicule (on the Path): for such there will be a
Humiliating Penalty.
45:24. And they say: "What is there but our life
in this world? We shall die and we live, and nothing but time can destroy us."
But of that they have no knowledge: they merely conjecture:
moghazali
JazakAllah Khair...I
appreciate the answer above that even raised the level of my own knowledge.
However, I am still anxious to know if the
statement presented in my question still be verified as authentic to be from
Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah).
Thank you again for the efforts. WasSalaam.
Ibrahim
(Moderator)
You have all
information [Fatawa Ibn Taymiyyah, Vol. 10, p. 39] then WHY do you Want to
CROSS Check it? From where you Got this information that This Fatwa is Present
here [Fatawa Ibn Taymiyyah, Vol. 10, p. 39]? Do you have ANY Q regarding His
Fatwa???
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Pause
and Ponder: |
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Invoking God's Help
Question asked by
Naseem Khan.
Posted on: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - Hits: 1118
Question:
I have seen women
especiallyreciting verses from Holy Quran, part or complete surah, darood
(different kinds - Tanjeena , Taj , Ibraheemi etc etc ) , Ayat Kareema , or
reciting Allah's name etc etc. They recite these in specific numbers. And they
recite in group or singly to complete an x number of quantity. They do it to
pray and wish for specific objective which may be either: health recovery of
some one who is sick, suffering from a dangerous life threatening disease,
getting a job, selling a business or for any other purposes .
My question is : Is this right as per Islamic teachings? Doing this make one's
prayer being answered much faster ?What is the significance of doing all this -
gathering some women or children or men and reading as mentioned above for the
purpose of achieving some objective etc ??
Answer:
Invoking Allah's
blessing on the Prophet (sws) and reciting the Holy Qur'an are virtuous acts
sanctioned by the Qur'an itself. We can of course do this at any time any number
of times. However, one thing is clear that asking for Allah's help by uttering
any words considering them having magical powers and is not correct. We need to
pray to the Almighty with the truest of intent and with the fullest of
conviction. The prayers are not magical words which force the Almighty to
deliver us from an adversity. We need to express our humility and our
limitations and His powers and refer to His attributes of Mercy and Affection.
It is due to His mercy and our dependence on Him that He listens to our prayer
and not because of any sanctity of the words of the prayer expressed. Therefore
if a seeker does not have full trust and confidence in God and does not turn to
him with hope and relies mainly on the words learnt as chants and magic would
not win God's favor and blessings. I do not say that uttering such and such a
darood is not sanctioned by Islam but I strongly believe that turning to other
methods of solving our problems which have no basis in our religious sources nor
the practice of the Prophet (Sws) should always be avoided. The Prophet (sws)
only taught us to pray with complete trust in God and with the clear
understanding that God would deliver us from the problem if only it is in
accordance with His profound wisdom.
The Qur'an is not meant to be read basically for
reasons other than seeking guidance from it and warning ourselves regarding the
great realities. What other purposes can be added to these? People usually
believe that if we recite it we will be protected from the enemy or illness or
be blessed with some worldly favour. It should be appreciated that sufferings
like diseases and hardships come either as a test for us or as a warning by the
Creator. We can seek God's help and beseech His mercy but cannot force Him out
through any magical device.
Regards,
see: http://www.studying-islam.org/querytext.aspx?id=429
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Announcements: |
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English Course "The Prayer" Launched
A five
modular course "The Prayer" has just been launched.
It deals with the history of the prayer ritual, its objective, its
pre-requisites, its timings, rak'aat and other relevant details
Those interested may register.
Urdu Course "Namaz" Launched
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It deals with the history of the prayer ritual, its objective, its
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Those interested may register.
"Quran for All" Series: Surah Buruj
Uploaded
Friday, October 19, 2007
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
and Surah Inshiqaq, we have uploaded Surah Buruj 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
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Remember in order to study Surah Buruj one must first study Surah Mulk and then
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An Interfaith Exhibition
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Representing Muslim Faith and a part of their culture
Organized by Cultural
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where the club has contributed the academic section of the Exhibition promoting
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virtues of Islam as a religion.
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8316 |
Arrangement of the Qur'an |
UK |
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Etiquette |
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8273 |
Islamic Customs and
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