|
|
|
|
|
|
Compiled by: Azeem Ayub |
|
|
Reflections | |
|
In the Name of Allah, |
The Ailment of Self-Righteousness
Humility is the key to scholarship and self-righteousness is perhaps the greatest impediment to it. In the study of religion, contemporary Muslims scholars have generally adopted the latter approach. It is the opinion of this writer that this approach has contributed significantly in promoting sectarianism and dogmatism.
A student admitted to a conventional Madrasah is indoctrinated with the notion of self-righteousness throughout the years he studies there. From the very first day, he is labeled as an orthodox follower of a particular sect. His destiny seems to be carved out beforehand as one of a devout denouncer of every other sect and an ardent acclaimer of his own. He is made to believe that only his brand of beliefs is in direct conformity with the Qur’ān and Sunnah. An inference attributed to a highly revered scholar of his sect stands supreme till the Day of Judgement. That it can be challenged by cannot be dared thought of.
The time has come to realize how wrong this attitude is. As Muslims, we must understand that self-righteousness is actually a declaration of the infallibility of human intellect. Obviously, no human being can make such a claim. So if Muslim scholars want to become men of scholarship and erudition, they must abandon this approach. They should instead reflect, deliberate and then humbly submit their inferences to criticism. They must always think that the religious opinions they present are not the last word.
No scholar can ever be totally sure that he has stumbled upon the final truth in matters that require interpretation of the scripture. So he must be keep his eyes and ears open and his intellect tuned to change for the better.
Author: Shehzad Saleem
Topic URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=405
| |
|
In this Issue | ||
|
Reflections | ||
|
Read & Reflect
| ||
|
Debate & Discuss * Discussion Forum: Introduction to Hadith | ||
|
* General Discussion Forum: Prayer keeps away from Indecency and Evil | ||
|
Pause & Ponder | ||
|
*
Successful
Recent Additions
|
||
|
The Signs and Events of the Day of Judgement
Author Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (Tr. by Shehzad Saleem)
The Signs
When will the Day of Judgement come? The Qur’ān has made it clear that no one except God has knowledge of this. Only He knows when it will come and He has not disclosed this matter even to any of His prophets and angels (7:187, 20:15, 41:47). However, the signs and portents which will signal its advent are mentioned in the Qur’ān and the Hadīth and also in previous divine scriptures. Some of these signs are very general and others are in the form of specific incidents and happenings. The signs of this first category are not mentioned in the Qur’ān. Only the Hadīth literature mentions them. Of the signs of the second category too, only one is mentioned in the Qur’ān: the onslaught of Gog and Magog. Therefore, this only is the certain sign. Other signs which are generally known in this regard are found in narratives which the scholars of Hadīth technically regard as sahih. Some of these signs have already manifested themselves and others, if their ascription towards the Prophet (sws) is correct, shall definitely manifest themselves in future.
The signs of the first category relate to the moral degradation that will appear in the whole world before the Day of Judgement. Thus it is reported that knowledge will be lifted, ignorance will increase, fornication, drinking and killings and lootings would become rampant so much so that innocent people would be killed; women will outnumber men to the extent that the affairs of fifty women will be entrusted to one man; only evil people will exist in this world and it will become devoid of people who take God’s name. 1
Of the signs of the second category, the most important is the onslaught of Gog and Magog. The Qur’ān says:
حَتَّى إِذَا فُتِحَتْ يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ وَهُم مِّن كُلِّ حَدَبٍ يَنسِلُونَ وَاقْتَرَبَ الْوَعْدُ الْحَقُّ فَإِذَا هِيَ شَاخِصَةٌ أَبْصَارُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا قَدْ كُنَّا فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِّنْ هَذَا بَلْ كُنَّا ظَالِمِينَ (٢١: ٩٦-٩٧ )Until the time arrives that Gog and Magog are let loose and they launch an onslaught from every hill and the certain promise of the Day of Judgement nears its fulfillment then behold that the disbelievers shall stare in amazement; At that time, they will say: “Woe betide us! We remained indifferent to it; in fact, we have wronged our souls.” (21:96-97)
Gog and Magog are from the descendents of Noah’s son Japeth who inhabited the northern areas of Asia. Later, some of their tribes reached Europe and after that settled in America and Australia. In the book of Ezekiel, they are called the leaders of Russia, Moscow and Tobalsac (Rush, Meshech and Tubal are present day Russia, Moscow and Tubalsac):
The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him. (Ezekiel, 38:1-2)
Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north. (Ezekiel, 39:1-2)
Read URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=712
__________________ |
||
|
|
Discussion Forum:
Introduction to Hadith
Tariq
Hashmi (Topic Author, Moderator)
| |
|
rimsoo:
[29: 45]:
Surely prayer keeps (one) away from indecency and evil.
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
See: http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=2599&lang=&forumid=1
| ||
|
|
Origin of Prophet Teachings
Question asked by
Anonymous.
Question I have been told by a critic of Islam that the Prophet Muhammad (sws) did not receive any revelation from the Almighty rather he would make things up. The following tradition is quoted to prove that the Prophet (sws) would copy things from others and present it as divined decrees.
'Aishah (rta) narrates that Judama bint Wahb al-Asadiyyah informed her that she heard the Messenger of Allah (sws) say, 'I intended to prohibit ghila but I remembered that the Greeks and Persians do that without it causing any injury to their children.' Malik explained: 'Ghila is that a man has intercourse with his wife while she is suckling [her offspring]'. (Mu'atta, No: 16)
Answer: We very well know that the Holy Prophet (sws) lived in a particular culture in a particular period of history. He did not claim that all he uttered was sanctioned from the Almighty. He must have also expressed his views based on his own observations of the matters, inherited knowledge of that time and self-inclinations. The referred to incident does not tell us that he received a revelation about the ill-effects of a certain act which he did not promulgate merely on the information that some people were doing the same without being harmed. This in fact tells us that the Holy Prophet (sws) thought that the act could have caused some harmful effects upon the infants; therefore, he intended to stop the Muslims from that. On being informed that it was not the case, he refrained from stopping others from doing the same but expressed his own tendency. How does this prove that the teachings of the Holy Prophet (sws) were borrowed from others? A man in his practical life depends a lot upon the available information and the knowledge of the people of the past and the present. Why should the Holy Prophet (sws) be denied this right? If somebody claims that since the Holy Prophet (sws) did not come up with a parallel method of growing crops and did not use his own invented weapons of war and relied upon the discoveries of other people, it proves that he was an imposter. Should he be paid heed to? The only thing that has a potential to mislead one is the use of the word 'prohibition' in the tradition. This confusion also is a result of lack of knowledge. The tradition does not transmit the actual words spoken by the Holy Prophet (sws). Even if we suppose that in this instance it did, it could have been a decree as an administrator or merely an expression of his own tendency towards a matter in the same wording. He would sometimes suggest the traditional medicines known in Arabia and this does not fall within the purview of religion. Certainly he did not make these things mandatory for his followers because they do not form part of the Din (religion) revealed to him. Once he expressed his disapproval of a certain method of fertilization of dates at that time, it resulted in substantial decrease in the production that season. On hearing this he said: I am a human being like you. When I give you any religious command, accept it. When I express my personal opinion, remember that I am nothing but a human being. (Sahih Muslim, No: 2362) Regards, Tariq Mahmood Hashmi Research Assistant, Studying Islam See: http://www.studying-islam.org/querytext.aspx?id=692
| |