Monday, April 6, 2009
We Will Stand Alone
On sunday at a tafseer lesson we came across this ayat in Surah Ta-Ha.
95. And everyone of them will come to Him alone on the Day of Resurrection (without any helper, or protector or defender).
All muslims must strive to learn this by heart and ponder over it day and night. It is an awe-aspiring ayat which if understood properly and kept in mind will make the righteous of most men.
Imagine you have just got a blood test as prescribed by a doctor and you go to show him the report. You are all alone in a room waiting for him to come. Usually at such hours one takes a loved one to console and keep distract and later on support. But imagine being alone, the fear, the anticipation, the dread, the distraction of dwindling fingers, the gloom...
This is something similar but much more serious. So there will be no one to turn to, no one to keep company and no one to intercede.
95. And everyone of them will come to Him alone on the Day of Resurrection (without any helper, or protector or defender).
All muslims must strive to learn this by heart and ponder over it day and night. It is an awe-aspiring ayat which if understood properly and kept in mind will make the righteous of most men.
Imagine you have just got a blood test as prescribed by a doctor and you go to show him the report. You are all alone in a room waiting for him to come. Usually at such hours one takes a loved one to console and keep distract and later on support. But imagine being alone, the fear, the anticipation, the dread, the distraction of dwindling fingers, the gloom...
This is something similar but much more serious. So there will be no one to turn to, no one to keep company and no one to intercede.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Media and 3 Evils
There are three verses in the quran which carry a great argument against modern media.
We dont rule that all media is bad, media has its great role as information dispenser and if used with the right attitude it can lead to great good. Sadly this is not the case.
Here are the following three verses from Surah Hujuraat
6. O you who believe! If a rebellious evil person comes to you with a news, verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful to what you have done.
11. O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former; nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former, nor defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. How bad is it, to insult one's brother after having Faith [i.e. to call your Muslim brother (a faithful believer) as: "O sinner", or "O wicked", etc.]. And whosoever does not repent, then such are indeed Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.).
12. O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions, indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting) . And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who accepts repentance, Most Merciful.
There basic rules
1. Research your facts carefully before attacking someone
2. Do not jest and make fun of people and call them by bad names
3. Do not be suspicious of people and do not back bite
These rules are for everyone but I thought they were well placed on media in the modern world.
But every man should contemplate on these verses.
May Allah give us the strength to walk on the right path.
We dont rule that all media is bad, media has its great role as information dispenser and if used with the right attitude it can lead to great good. Sadly this is not the case.
Here are the following three verses from Surah Hujuraat
6. O you who believe! If a rebellious evil person comes to you with a news, verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful to what you have done.
11. O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former; nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former, nor defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. How bad is it, to insult one's brother after having Faith [i.e. to call your Muslim brother (a faithful believer) as: "O sinner", or "O wicked", etc.]. And whosoever does not repent, then such are indeed Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.).
12. O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions, indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting) . And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who accepts repentance, Most Merciful.
There basic rules
1. Research your facts carefully before attacking someone
2. Do not jest and make fun of people and call them by bad names
3. Do not be suspicious of people and do not back bite
These rules are for everyone but I thought they were well placed on media in the modern world.
But every man should contemplate on these verses.
May Allah give us the strength to walk on the right path.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
How to pack for your travels
Countless articles are written in travel magazines on how to pack for vacations. Pack light they say and only take essentails. Do research on what the climate will be like.
If someone is going to Paris we wont advice them to buy a house there beforehand, or buy a car when one could easily cab or metro. Similarly we advice to pack light find out if its cold or warm, always take an umbrella incase it rains, always keep a holdall incase your suitcase is lost.
Similar is the case with this world, we are only here for a brief moment, 60 years is a flash and when man will asked how much did you stay in the world he will say for a very little time. Ones life will flash before his eyes in seconds, just like when in dreams we travel far and wide and when we wake up only 5 hours have elapsed or so. Such is the life of this world.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that prepare for your destination as long as you are to reside there. In light of this he meant that the everlasting life is in the hereafter so we should be concentrating on preparing for that life. Do not concentrate too much on the worldly life as its only transitory.
I cant remember names and places but once a man was travelling with a group and as was custom in those days people sent their servants with tents and supplies beforehand. He forgot or his servants were delayed and when they got to their destination everyone had a tent but he. So people found him weeping under a tree and they asked him not to be sad as he can share with someone but he said "Iám crying because similar is the case with the hereafter and I remembered the day of judgement that if i dont send anything beforehand i will be tentless there and without any supplies!"
So lets get our travel packing right, light for this world and heavy for the hereafter!
If someone is going to Paris we wont advice them to buy a house there beforehand, or buy a car when one could easily cab or metro. Similarly we advice to pack light find out if its cold or warm, always take an umbrella incase it rains, always keep a holdall incase your suitcase is lost.
Similar is the case with this world, we are only here for a brief moment, 60 years is a flash and when man will asked how much did you stay in the world he will say for a very little time. Ones life will flash before his eyes in seconds, just like when in dreams we travel far and wide and when we wake up only 5 hours have elapsed or so. Such is the life of this world.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that prepare for your destination as long as you are to reside there. In light of this he meant that the everlasting life is in the hereafter so we should be concentrating on preparing for that life. Do not concentrate too much on the worldly life as its only transitory.
I cant remember names and places but once a man was travelling with a group and as was custom in those days people sent their servants with tents and supplies beforehand. He forgot or his servants were delayed and when they got to their destination everyone had a tent but he. So people found him weeping under a tree and they asked him not to be sad as he can share with someone but he said "Iám crying because similar is the case with the hereafter and I remembered the day of judgement that if i dont send anything beforehand i will be tentless there and without any supplies!"
So lets get our travel packing right, light for this world and heavy for the hereafter!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Story of a Handmaid
Once upon a time, Hadrat Malik B. Dinar (Mercy Be Upon Him) was walking in the streets of Basra. On the way, he happened to see a female servant walking with such pomp and show as the maidservants of king’s generally do. Hadrat Malik (Mercy Be Upon Him) after witnessing the manner in which she walked, called her and said: "O handmaid! Would your master like to sell you?" She was surprised to hear this voice. She said "What? Repeat it again." Hadrat Malik did accordingly. She said to him "Would a beggar like you, be able to purchase me if my master agrees to sell at all?" He replied in the affirmative and added that he could purchase a better one than she.
On hearing this reply she laughed and ordered her servants to take this beggar along with them (just for making fun of him). On reaching home she narrated this whole story to her master, who laughed boisterously and ordered to bring him (Hadrat Malik) before him When he was brought before him, he (the master) asked him: "What do you want?" In reply, he advised him to sell his handmaid to him. He asked him “Can you pay her price?" Hadrat Malik replied "For me, her price is not more than two stones of dates." On hearing this whole audience began to laugh. The master asked him "What prompted you to fix this price for her?" He replied that there were many shortcomings in her. The master asked him to let him know of the shortcomings. Hadrat Malik enumerated them thus:
“In case she applies not perfume, her body emits a foul smell. If she cleanses not her teeth, these begin to putrefy. If she combs not her hair, the disheveled and untidy hair is infested with lice. She on becoming a bit old would bear the appearance of an old woman, not worthy to be loved. She menstruates. She makes water and relieves herself. In other words, she emits all sorts of filths (spittle, mucus, saliva). She suffers from agonies and hardships. She, being much greedy, shows her love to you merely for her self interests. She shows her love to you only for her material benefits. Today, if any loss is incurred by her because of you, the whole edifice of her love will within no time crumble down. She is absolutely faithless and fulfills not her promise. Her love is based on falsehood. As soon as you breathe your last, she will sit by the side of another person and sing the song of her permanent and everlasting love for him, in the same way as did for you. On the contrary, said Hadrat Malik, I have a handmaid; her price is much less than. She is made of camphor's essence; she has been fashioned out of musk and saffron. She has played amidst the branches of ruby and coral. Her abode is a place of great blessings. She drinks water from Tasnim (a fountain in paradise). She never backs out to her words. Her love is constant.”
Hadrat Malik then asked the master to let him know what handmaid, according to price, was more beneficial to him. All said unanimously that the latter was more valuable. He added: "Everyone can afford to buy her at any time and in every age."
The people asked Hadrat Malik her price. He replied "If they want to purchase such an important and valuable thing, they will have to spare some time at night and observe two rakah's of Tahajjud prayer in order to seek the pleasure of Almighty Allah; they shall have to invite some poor and the needy to meals at the time of eating; they shall have to give preference to Allah's pleasure to their own wishes; they shall have to remove any troublesome thing lying in the way; they shall have to lead simple lives and they will have to be more anxious for their eternal abode than this mortal world."
Then Hadrat Malik told them that if they would act on this advice, they would lead an honorable life and be blessed with honor both in this world and the hereafter. After that the master asked the maid-servant whether she had listened to the advice of the venerable old man. If so, what was her opinion? She confessed that the preaching’s of the venerable old man were true and were calculated to promote good and virtue. The master set the maid-servant free and gave her a portion of his property as gift. He donated the rest of his wealth to the poor. After casting off his elegant dress he covered his body with a thick cloth of a door's curtain. The maid-servant told her master that she could not live without him and after sacrificing her elegant dress and property she also accompanied her master. Malik B. Dinar prayed for them and departed. Both of them bade farewell to the worldly pleasures and dedicated themselves to the divine worship and died in that state. (May Allah bless them all and all of us.)
- Excerpt from "The Spectacle of Death including Glimpses of Life Beyond the Grave." by Khwaja Muhammad Islam.
-Contributed and edited by Zain Elias.
On hearing this reply she laughed and ordered her servants to take this beggar along with them (just for making fun of him). On reaching home she narrated this whole story to her master, who laughed boisterously and ordered to bring him (Hadrat Malik) before him When he was brought before him, he (the master) asked him: "What do you want?" In reply, he advised him to sell his handmaid to him. He asked him “Can you pay her price?" Hadrat Malik replied "For me, her price is not more than two stones of dates." On hearing this whole audience began to laugh. The master asked him "What prompted you to fix this price for her?" He replied that there were many shortcomings in her. The master asked him to let him know of the shortcomings. Hadrat Malik enumerated them thus:
“In case she applies not perfume, her body emits a foul smell. If she cleanses not her teeth, these begin to putrefy. If she combs not her hair, the disheveled and untidy hair is infested with lice. She on becoming a bit old would bear the appearance of an old woman, not worthy to be loved. She menstruates. She makes water and relieves herself. In other words, she emits all sorts of filths (spittle, mucus, saliva). She suffers from agonies and hardships. She, being much greedy, shows her love to you merely for her self interests. She shows her love to you only for her material benefits. Today, if any loss is incurred by her because of you, the whole edifice of her love will within no time crumble down. She is absolutely faithless and fulfills not her promise. Her love is based on falsehood. As soon as you breathe your last, she will sit by the side of another person and sing the song of her permanent and everlasting love for him, in the same way as did for you. On the contrary, said Hadrat Malik, I have a handmaid; her price is much less than. She is made of camphor's essence; she has been fashioned out of musk and saffron. She has played amidst the branches of ruby and coral. Her abode is a place of great blessings. She drinks water from Tasnim (a fountain in paradise). She never backs out to her words. Her love is constant.”
Hadrat Malik then asked the master to let him know what handmaid, according to price, was more beneficial to him. All said unanimously that the latter was more valuable. He added: "Everyone can afford to buy her at any time and in every age."
The people asked Hadrat Malik her price. He replied "If they want to purchase such an important and valuable thing, they will have to spare some time at night and observe two rakah's of Tahajjud prayer in order to seek the pleasure of Almighty Allah; they shall have to invite some poor and the needy to meals at the time of eating; they shall have to give preference to Allah's pleasure to their own wishes; they shall have to remove any troublesome thing lying in the way; they shall have to lead simple lives and they will have to be more anxious for their eternal abode than this mortal world."
Then Hadrat Malik told them that if they would act on this advice, they would lead an honorable life and be blessed with honor both in this world and the hereafter. After that the master asked the maid-servant whether she had listened to the advice of the venerable old man. If so, what was her opinion? She confessed that the preaching’s of the venerable old man were true and were calculated to promote good and virtue. The master set the maid-servant free and gave her a portion of his property as gift. He donated the rest of his wealth to the poor. After casting off his elegant dress he covered his body with a thick cloth of a door's curtain. The maid-servant told her master that she could not live without him and after sacrificing her elegant dress and property she also accompanied her master. Malik B. Dinar prayed for them and departed. Both of them bade farewell to the worldly pleasures and dedicated themselves to the divine worship and died in that state. (May Allah bless them all and all of us.)
- Excerpt from "The Spectacle of Death including Glimpses of Life Beyond the Grave." by Khwaja Muhammad Islam.
-Contributed and edited by Zain Elias.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Good Example to Follow
I came across this following verse in the Quran today. Such a short verse but so rich in meaning and so deep in subject that several books can be written on it.
21. Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow, for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much. (Surah Al-Ahzab Ayat 21)
I mean to get a scholar to prepare a questionnaire whereby we can assess ourselves in the light of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) sunnah. I think it is vital that we do such a rigourous assessment because from the above verse it is clear that our success lies in it.
p.s. please send your thoughts and comments to sowebelieved@gmail.com
21. Indeed in the Messenger of Allah
I mean to get a scholar to prepare a questionnaire whereby we can assess ourselves in the light of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) sunnah. I think it is vital that we do such a rigourous assessment because from the above verse it is clear that our success lies in it.
p.s. please send your thoughts and comments to sowebelieved@gmail.com
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Changing Faces
I have recently picked up a book recommended by a tutor of mine "Maisharati Bigar Ka Sad-e-bab" by Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Ludhanwi (Shaheed) (trans: Reasons of Societal Decay)
The book has some very strange and some equally haunting essays. Particularly eerie is the report on Ebola/Hog Virus that struck large parts of South America, Phillpines and Africa. The Ebola virus has proved more deadlier then AIDS and has a spookier side; the faces of victims are greatly altered, their skin becomes extremely thick and prickly etc... Even in AIDS the face is altered greatly and victims can hardly be recognized in a years time. But in Ebola things are much worse and patients are often abandoned by families in distress.
Maulana Sahib ties these viruses with the wrath of Allah on how Allah punished past nations with the curse of changing of faces. In Quran we find the story of a group of Bani Israel (Jews) who did not listen to Hazrat Daud (PBUH) and consequentaly Allah transformed them into monkeys and they perished after 3 days. He summarizes that Allah changed the faces of people whose sins can be categorized as follows:
1. Doing things prohibited by Allah
2. Making unlawful things lawful by way of words or corruption
3. Mocking and ignoring those who try to reform society
4. Lastly even ignoring the warnings and teaching of the Prophet.
He writes that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) warned people that in the future this wrath of changing faces may fall upon people again. He listed things which people would make lawful like illicit sex, alcohol, silk, instruments of music. The companions asked that how will they make the unlawful lawful to which the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) replied "by giving it new names!"
This is the point where I shuddered thinking of all the things which we Muslims are making lawful by giving it new names i.e
1. Its not gambling its Insurance
2. Its not interest its bank profit
3. Its not wine its vodka.
We must all pray hard and fast that Allah guides us in such troubled times and keep us well away from the unlawful and give us the strength and the intelligence to rightly distinguish between good and bad.
22 Safar, 1430 A.H
The book has some very strange and some equally haunting essays. Particularly eerie is the report on Ebola/Hog Virus that struck large parts of South America, Phillpines and Africa. The Ebola virus has proved more deadlier then AIDS and has a spookier side; the faces of victims are greatly altered, their skin becomes extremely thick and prickly etc... Even in AIDS the face is altered greatly and victims can hardly be recognized in a years time. But in Ebola things are much worse and patients are often abandoned by families in distress.
Maulana Sahib ties these viruses with the wrath of Allah on how Allah punished past nations with the curse of changing of faces. In Quran we find the story of a group of Bani Israel (Jews) who did not listen to Hazrat Daud (PBUH) and consequentaly Allah transformed them into monkeys and they perished after 3 days. He summarizes that Allah changed the faces of people whose sins can be categorized as follows:
1. Doing things prohibited by Allah
2. Making unlawful things lawful by way of words or corruption
3. Mocking and ignoring those who try to reform society
4. Lastly even ignoring the warnings and teaching of the Prophet.
He writes that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) warned people that in the future this wrath of changing faces may fall upon people again. He listed things which people would make lawful like illicit sex, alcohol, silk, instruments of music. The companions asked that how will they make the unlawful lawful to which the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) replied "by giving it new names!"
This is the point where I shuddered thinking of all the things which we Muslims are making lawful by giving it new names i.e
1. Its not gambling its Insurance
2. Its not interest its bank profit
3. Its not wine its vodka.
We must all pray hard and fast that Allah guides us in such troubled times and keep us well away from the unlawful and give us the strength and the intelligence to rightly distinguish between good and bad.
22 Safar, 1430 A.H
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
