Bismillah


As Salam alykom


I received this in Arabic on an email, was very touched and saw to share it with my brothers and sisters


It might be good


One of the kings had a wise minister who served on his advisers. The king always had him close by taking him everywhere he went to. Whenever the king endured a problem, the minister would just tell him "it might be good', the king would immediately become calm and content. Till at a time the king had a finger cut off. Still the minister commented, it might be good. But this time, the king became very furious and ordered for the Minister to be prisoned. While the minister was taken to jail, he still said, it might be good. The minister spent a long time in jail. One day the King went out hunting, he went after his hunt, which took him far from the gaurds. While going after his hunt, he passed by a group of people worshiping and idol. They captured him in order to present it as a sacrifice to the idol. Only when they found his missing finger, that they released him. Immediately the king realized the Wisdom of Allah, had he not have a missing finger, he would have been slaughtered under the feet of an idol which own no harm or benefit. First thing he did after returing back is to release the minister and apologize to him. He also told him he now realized the Wisdom of Allah, but more importantly he showed gratitude to Allah for this. But then he asked the minister how did he perceive his imprisonment as good? The Minister said, if I was not imprisoned, he would have accompanied him during his hunting trip, people would have saw him with full 5 fingers and presented him instead. Therefore, Allah's Decree had much good in it.


Sobhan Allah very thoughtful and true.

Assalلmu `alaykum,


With the end 1425 Hijri and Muharram in a few days let us look foward


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News Stories Emerge From Fallujah


By Dahr Jamail


2-9-5


These are the stories that will continue to emerge from the rubble of Fallujah for years. No, for generations


Speaking on condition of anonymity, the doctor sits with me in a hotel room in Amman, where he is now a refugee. He'd spoken about what he saw in Fallujah in the UK, and now is under threat by the US military if he returns to Iraq.


"I started speaking about what happened in Fallujah during both sieges in order to raise awareness, and the Americans raided my house three times," he says, talking so fast I can barely keep up. He is driven to tell what he's witnessed, and as a doctor working inside Fallujah, he has video and photographic proof of all that he tells me.


"I entered Fallujah with a British medical and humanitarian convoy at the end of December, and stayed until the end of January," he explains, "But I was in Fallujah before that to work with people and see what their needs were, so I was in there since the beginning of December."


When I ask him to explain what he saw when he first entered Fallujah in December he says it was like a tsunami struck the city.


"Fallujah is surrounded by refugee camps where people are living in tents and old cars," he explains, "It reminded me of Palestinian refugees. I saw children coughing because of the cold, and there are no medicines. Most everyone left their houses with nothing, and no money, so how can they live depending only on humanitarian aid?"


The doctors says that in one refugee camp in the northern area of Fallujah there were 1,200 students living in seven tents.


"The disaster caused by this siege is so much worse than the first one, which I witnessed first hand," he says, and then tells me he'll use one story as an example.


"One story is of a young girl who is 16 years old," he says of one of the testimonies he video taped recently, "She stayed for three days with the bodies of her family who were killed in their home. When the soldiers entered she was in her home with her father, mother, 12 year-old brother and two sisters. She watched the soldiers enter and shoot her mother and father directly, without saying anything."


The girl managed to hide behind the refrigerator with her brother and witnessed the war crimes first-hand.


"They beat her two sisters, then shot them in the head," he said. After this her brother was enraged and ran at the soldiers while shouting at them, so they shot him dead.


"She continued hiding after the soldiers left and stayed with her sisters because they were bleeding, but still alive. She was too afraid to call for help because she feared the soldiers would come back and kill her as well. She stayed for three days, with no water and no food. Eventually one of the American snipers saw her and took her to the hospital," he added before reminding me again that he had all of her testimony documented on film.


He briefly told me of another story he documented of a mother who was in her home during the siege. "On the fifth day of the siege her home was bombed, and the roof fell on her son, cutting his legs off," he says while using his hands to make cutting motions on his legs, "For hours she couldn't go outside because they announced that anyone going in the street would be shot. So all she could do was wrap his legs and watch him die before her eyes."


He pauses for a few deep breaths, then continues, "All I can say is that Fallujah is like it was struck by a tsunami. There weren't many families in there after the siege, but they had absolutely nothing. The suffering was beyond what you can imagine. When the Americans finally let us in people were fighting just for a blanket."


"One of my colleagues, Dr. Saleh Alsawi, he was speaking so angrily about them. He was in the main hospital when they raided it at the beginning of the seige. They entered the theater room when they were working on a patienthe was there because he's an anesthesiologist. They entered with their boots on, beat the doctors and took them out, leaving the patient on the table to die."


This story has already been reported in the Arab media.


The doctor tells me of the bombing of the Hay Nazal clinic during the first week of the siege.


"This contained all the foreign aid and medical instruments we had. All the US military commanders knew this, because we told them about it so they wouldn't bomb it. But this was one of the clinics bombed, and in the first week of the siege they bombed it two times."


He then adds, "Of course they targeted all our ambulances and doctors. Everyone knows this."


The doctor tells me he and some other doctors are trying to sue the US military for the following incident, for which he has the testimonial evidence on tape.


It is a story I was told by several refugees in Baghdad as wellat the end of last November while the siege was still in progress.


"During the second week of the siege they entered and announced that all the families have to leave their homes and meet at an intersection in the street while carrying a white flag. They gave them 72 hours to leave and after that they would be considered an enemy," he says.


"We documented this story with video-a family of 12, including a relative and his oldest child who was 7 years old. They heard this instruction, so they left with all their food and money they could carry, and white flags. When they reached the intersection where the families were accumulating, they heard someone shouting 'Now!' in English, and shooting started everywhere."


The family was all carrying white flags, as instructed, according to the young man who gave his testimony. Yet he watched his mother and father shot by snipers-his mother in the head and his father shot in the heart. His two aunts were shot, then his brother was shot in the neck. The man stated that when he raised himself from the ground to shout for help, he was shot in the side.


"After some hours he raised his arm for help and they shot his arm," continues the doctor, "So after awhile he raised his hand and they shot his hand."


A six year-old boy of the family was standing over the bodies of his parents, crying, and he too was then shot.


"Anyone who raised up was shot," adds the doctor, then added again that he had photographs of the dead as well as photos of the gunshot wounds of the survivors.


"Once it grew dark some of them along with this man who spoke with me, with his child and sister-in-law and sister managed to crawl away after it got dark. They crawled to a building and stayed for 8 days. They had one cup of water and gave it to the child. They used cooking oil to put on their wounds which were of course infected, and found some roots and dates to eat."


He stops here. His eyes look around the room as cars pass by outside on wet streetswater hissing under their tires.


He left Fallujah at the end of January, so I ask him what it was like when he left recently.


"Now maybe 25% of the people have returned, but there are still no doctors. The hatred now of Fallujans against every American is incredible, and you cannot blame them. The humiliation at the checkpoints is only making people even angrier," he tells me.


"I've been there, and I saw that anyone who even turns their head is threatened and hit by both American and Iraqi soldiers alikeone man did this, and when the Iraqi soldier tried to humiliate him, the man took a gun of a nearby soldier and killed two ING, so then of course he was shot."


The doctor tells me they are keeping people in the line for several hours at a time, in addition to the US military making propaganda films of the situation.


"And I've seen them use the media-and on January 2nd at the north checkpoint in the north part of Fallujah, they were giving people $200 per family to return to Fallujah so they can film them in the linewhen actually, at that time, nobody was returning to Fallujah," he says. It reminds me of the story my colleague told me of what he saw in January. At that time a CNN crew was escorted in by the military to film street cleaners that were brought in as props, and soldiers handing out candy to children.


"You must understand the hatred that has been causedit has gotten more difficult for Iraqis, including myself, to make the distinction between the American government and the American people," he tells me.


His story is like countless others.


"My cousin was a poor man in Fallujah," he explains, "He walked from his house to work and back, while living with his wife and five daughters. In July of 2003, American soldiers entered his house and woke them all up. They drug them into the main room of the house, and executed my cousin in front of his family. Then they simply left."


He pauses then holds up his hands and asks, "Now, how are these people going to feel about Americans?"

Our Children


<b> This is the story of a Muslim named Mo. </b>


It's a symbolic story that many of us may know.


He was born in a Muslim family but they were weak in the deen.


He was a lovely child, he was more precious then anything you've seen.


He grew up so quick; it was just a flash before his parent's eyes.


They didn't get to teach him about Islam. You know how the time just flies.


Before they knew it, they were sending him off to school.


They were so happy; he shined like a precious little jewel.


He was taught that he was a Muslim, but that's about all he knew.


He wanted to know more but his dad had way too many things to do.


He had cute little cheeks; they turned rosy as he got tired.


He was a handsome little guy, he was always admired.


But with his parents so busy, he never got to learn about Allah.


The days past by and his parents never taught him how to do Salah.


Some more years past by, and by now his voice began to change.


He felt new emotions, and he liked them, even though they felt strange.


His dad finally took him one day to some Islamic Sunday school.


But he had already learned from his friends that religion just wasn't cool.


Time past by and the little man grew older.


With the passage of time his temper became bolder.


His mother was getting worried, he was found to be ditching school.


But she didn't say anything, or else his temper would flare up like fuel.


He would go to parties and come home all drunk.


And in some of his classes he was now beginning to flunk.


Her cute little rosy-cheeked child had become a wild young man.


She cried every night because teaching him Islam was never in her plan.


He meet a pretty girl named Rose, he thought he loved her for sure.


She noticed how he felt, so she asked him to go out with her.


He thought it was love at first sight, she kissed him on the first date.


But she just wanted to sleep with him, yet to that he had no debate.


He would go out all night with her, sometimes without even saying good-bye.


"Why didn't I show him the deen?" His father could only cry.


He kept on partying while his family kept on weeping.


And he meet other girls, and with them too he was also sleeping.


He started to look sick, and he wasn't really felling so good.


His mother just had to cry, he didn't look like the way he should.


He went to the doctor for what he thought was a cold.


"Young man, you got AIDS," is what he was told.


When his mom found out she just couldn't take the pain.


For not teaching him his deen, she knew she was to blame.


Mo got sicker and you could see him getting weaker day by day.


And he didn't know Allah, so to Him he never prayed.


What could she do now for her once precious little guy?


She knew he needed the deen, but now she could only cry.


His time came one day so the Angel came for his spirit.


His dad told him to say la ilaha illalah, but Mo didn't hear it.


"What's that dad? I can't seem to hear you, everything's going dull."


But before Mo ever heard it, the Angel was off with his soul.


His father fell to his knees and cried like he never did before.


He knew he should have taught him the deen, so he felt guilty to the core.


This is the story of little Mo. Lets not let it be the story of our kid's


situation.


So please, my dear brothers and sisters, take this deen to the next generation with seriousness and its totality


and we must show it to them from our action inshaAllah.


May Allah azza wa jaal guide us all to The Truth Of Al-Islam, protect us from all evils and make us the carriers of Islam to the next generation and the rest of humanity Ameen.

Last week I began my class called History and Development of Islamic Thought at the university and I am VERY excited! My professor is Dr. Siddiqi.


In our first meeting I learned that that the Arabic Qur'an is the word of Allah, and that the english translation is inferior and not divine. I regret to tell you that I don't know Arabic or how to read it, and so am forced to find an english translationof the Qur'an.


I asked Dr. Siddiqi which english translation was the most faithful to the original Arabic, and he recommended the translation by Yusef Ali, and so I plan to go get that one. Would you recommend this one as well?


I was just wondering. Thanks for your input.


Sincerely,


Student

I am increasingly dismayed by the Bush Administration's bellicose rhetoric toward Iran. Although I don't know the full content, I read on AP that apparently Homeland in-Security advisor Frances Townsend was or is attempting to lecture the Islamic world in general -- and Iran in particular -- on "what has to be done about terrorism" at a so-called "terror conference" in Arabia.


For me this is exceedingly offensive, arrogant, and foolish. U.S. conduct is and has been for some time that of an aspiring hegemon and globo-thug, and in my view one blinded by hubris. Presently I don't see how this can end in anything but disaster for America, but between now and the American public's realization that policy-making elites in Washington have betrayed them, many innocent people will suffer needlessly.


I am appalled that Ms. Townsend and her neo-conservative taskmasters actually believe their agenda will be tolerated, much less respected. Truly it staggers the mind (at least it does mine). To me, she seems like a pompous, over-educated fool and a lackey for people more ignorant than she is.


I am of the opinion that any U.S. attempt to attack Iran directly or indirectly will NOT go as things have in Iraq (and that hasn't gone well), and that Washington will get its teeth handed to it (figuratively speaking,) in some form. My best guess is that Iran will, if attacked, stomp on Israel, certain Gulf states, and the EU itself in retaliation, and widen any U.S.-led war.


That's what I think. What do you think?


Final question: is there any way U.S. military action against Iran can be halted before it begins, or have the elites in D.C. gone off the deep end already? Is it too late?


Thanks in advance for any responses...


Student

Did You Know:


The Origins of Valentine’s Day


Courtesy of the Dawah Center of Houston, TX


St. Valentine’s Day: 5th Century Rome


“...The Catholic Church’s attempt to paper over a popular pagan fertility rite with the clubbing death and decapitation of one of its own martyrs is the origin of this lovers’ holiday.


As early as the fourth century BC, the Romans engaged in an annual young man’s rite of passage to the god Lupercus. The names of teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion, for their mutual entertainment and pleasure (most often sexual), for the duration of a year, after which another lottery was staged.


Determined to put an end to this 800-year-old practice, the early church fathers sought a “lovers” saint to replace the deity Lupercus. They found a likely candidate in Valentine, a bishop who had been martyred some two hundred years earlier.


In Rome in AD 270, Valentine had enraged the mad emperor Claudius II, who had issued an edict forbidding marriage. Claudius felt that married men made poor soldiers, because they were loath to leave their families for battle. The empire needed soldiers, so Claudius, never one to fear unpopularity, abolished marriage.


Valentine, bishop of Interamna, invited young lovers to come to him in secret, where he joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. Claudius learned of this “friend of lovers,” and had the bishop brought to the palace. The emperor impressed with the young priest’s dignity and conviction, attempted to convert him to the Roman gods, to save him from otherwise certain execution. Valentine refused to renounce Christianity and imprudently attempted to convert the emperor. On February 24, 270, Valentine was clubbed, stoned, then beheaded.


History also claims that while Valentine was in prison awaiting execution, he fell in love with the blind daughter of the jailer, Asterius. Through his unswerving faith, he miraculously restored her sight. He signed a farewell message to her “From Your Valentine,” a phrase that would live long after its author died.


From the Church’s standpoint, Valentine seemed to be the ideal candidate to usurp the popularity of Lupercus. So in AD 496, a stern Pope Gelasius outlawed the mid-February Lupercian festival. But he was clever enough to retain the lottery, aware of Romans’ love for games of chance. Now into the box that had once held the names of available and willing single women were placed the names of saints. Both men and women extracted slips of paper, and in the ensuing year they were expected to emulate the life of the saint whose name they had drawn. Admittedly, it was a different game, with different incentives; to expect a woman and draw a saint must have disappointed many a Roman male. The spiritual overseer of the entire affair was its patron saint, Valentine. With reluctance, and the passage of time, more and more Romans relinquished their pagan festival and replaced it with the Church’s holy day.


Cupid


Cupid is the most famous of Valentine symbols. He is known as mischievous Jinn disguised as a winged child armed with bow and arrows. In western culture he shot darts of desire into the bosoms of both pretend gods and humans causing them to all deeply in love. Cupid has always played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers. In ancient Greece he was know as Eros the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. To the Roman’s he was Cupid, and his mother was Venus.


Heart


A long time ago, people in Europe believed that all the emotions were found in the heart. In later years, they thought only the emotion of love was connected with the heart. The heart is still a symbol of love for Valentine’s Day.


Red Rose


The rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Red is a color that stands for strong feelings. This is why the red rose is a flower for Valentine’s.


Lace


Hundreds of years ago, women in Europe carried lace handkerchiefs. If a woman dropped her handkerchief, a man nearby might pick it up and return it to her. Sometimes a woman might see a man she wanted to flirt and meet. She might drop her lace handkerchief on purpose to encourage romance. Soon people thought of romance when they thought of lace. They began using paper lace to decorate chocolate boxes and Valentine cards.


Gloves


Years ago in western countries when a man proposed marriage to a woman, he “asked for her hand.” The hand became symbol of marriage and love. Soon gloves also became a symbol of love at Valentines.


Rings


In most European countries, men and women exchange rings when they become engaged or marry. Two or three hundred years ago, Valentine’s Day was a popular day for giving an engagement ring. An engagement ring usually had a stone or jewel set in it. Diamonds are common in today’s engagement rings following closely behind these ancient pagan rituals.


Lovebirds & Doves


Lovebirds are colorful parrots found in most stores imported from Africa. Most have red bills. They are called lovebirds because they sit closely together in pairs. Doves were thought to be favorite birds of Venus. They remain with the same mates all their lives. The males and females both care for their babies. Because these birds are symbols of loyalty and love, they were adopted as symbols for Valentine’s Day.


Valentine Cards


Traditionally, mid-February was a Roman time to meet and court prospective mates. The Lupercian lottery (under penalty of mortal sin), Roman young men did institute the custom of offering women they admired and wished to court handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The cards acquired St. Valentine’s name…


As Christianity spread, so did the Valentine’s Day card. Charles, duke of Orleans sent the earliest extant card in 1415, to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. It is now in the British Museum. In the sixteenth century, St. Francis de Sales, bishop of Geneva, attempted to expunge the custom of cards and reinstate the lottery of saints’ names. He felt that Christians had become wayward and needed models to emulate. However, this lottery was less successful and shorter-lived than Pope Gelasius’s was. And rather than disappearing, cards proliferated and became more decorative. Cupid, the naked cherub armed with arrows dipped in love potion, became a popular valentine image. He was associated with the holiday because in Roman mythology he is the son of Venus, goddess of love and beauty.


By the seventeenth century, handmade cards were oversized and elaborate, while store-bought ones were smaller and costly. In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man’s Valentine Writer, which contained scores of suggested sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose his own. Printers had already begun producing a limited number of cards with verses and sketches, called “mechanical valentines,” and a reduction in postal rates in the next century ushered in the less personal but easier practice of mailing valentines. That, in turn, made it possible for the first time to exchange cards anonymously, which is taken as the reason for the sudden appearance of racy verse in an era otherwise prudishly Victorian. The burgeoning number of obscene valentines caused several countries to ban the practice of exchanging cards. In Chicago, for instance, late in the nineteenth century, the post office rejected some twenty-five thousand cards on the ground that they were not fit to be carried through the U.S. mail. The first American publisher of valentines was printer and artist Esther Howland. Her elaborate lace cards of the 1870’s cost from five to ten dollars, with some selling for as much as thirty-five dollars. Since that time, the valentine card business has flourished. With the exception of Christmas, Americans exchange more cards on Valentine’s Day than at any other time of the year...” (Charles Panati, Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things , New York, NY: Harper & Row Publishers, 1987), 50-52


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Endnotes


Charles Panati, Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things (New York, NY: Harper & Row Publishers, 1987), 50-52.


The above stories are quoted from Panati’s Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, Charles Panati, Harper & Row Publishers, New York, NY 1987 PP 50-52 It is extremely important for Muslim parents, grand parents and teachers to understand and explain the real motives and cultural roots of current so-called modern celebrations. The explanation is due to our beloved youth and our selves whenever the subject is brought up. It is quit evident that the western culture we converted from was and is totally engulfed in modified paganism. Compared to the Hadith about the Virtues of the Muslim months we can no longer allow our children and grandchildren to accept these seminally joyous holidays. We must fully embrace as much Fard, Sunnah, Mustahab and Nafl as expression of our love and commitment to our Rabb. The root of all of western holidays (HOLY DAYS) and festivals are dependent not on the Torah or the Injil but on the concoction of Paul’s usurpation of Nabi Isa’s (alaihis-salaam) teachings. Logically when the reasoning people of western culture saw through the antics of the Catholic Church they rejected religion totally. Now we see the results in today’s Neo-pagan life style. May Allah continue to allow us to follow His beloved Nabi (Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam).

Dr. Stephen Greer's book "Disclosure: Military and Government Witnesses Reveal the Greatest Secrets in Modern History." Says that he had been collecting video and written testimony from some 400 retired members of the US military, intelligence and aeronautics industry including Presidential advisors, generals, pilots and two astronauts many of whom had Top-Secret clearance – And he has overwhelming evidence is that every year we have thousands of visits from UFO's, which are tracked on radar at speeds ranging from 5000 to 20,000 mph. There are also thousands of signals reaching the earth from outer space.


According to his book - Over the last 60 years many UFO's have crashed or have been shot down by missiles or laser beams. The US has recovered these spaceships and replicated some of the technology. It has recovered aliens both dead and alive.


I do not know why these UFO witnesses are ridiculed or mass-media portray these incidents as fake and imagination, but if I had to guess, I'd venture it is controlled by Freemasonry through their Zionist network, which I understand is well represented in these areas.


What you think?

<b>MURDER:</b> Every day four women die in this country as a result of domestic violence, the euphemism for murders and assaults by husbands and boyfriends. That's approximately 1,400 women a year, according to the FBI. The number of women who have been murdered by their intimate partners is greater than the number of soldiers killed in the Vietnam War.


<b>BATTERING:</b> Although only 572,000 reports of assault by intimates are officially reported to federal officials each year, the most conservative estimates indicate two to four million women of all races and classes are battered each year. At least 170,000 of those violent incidents are serious enough to require hospitalization, emergency room care or a doctor's attention.


<b>SEXUAL ASSAULT:</b> Every year approximately 132,000 women report that they have been victims of rape or attempted rape, and more than half of them knew their attackers. It's estimated that two to six times that many women are raped, but do not report it. Every year 1.2 million women are forcibly raped by their current or former male partners, some more than once.


<b>THE TARGETS:</b> Women are 10 times more likely than men to be victimized by an intimate. Young women, women who are separated, divorced or single, low- income women and African-American women are disproportionately victims of assault and rape. Domestic violence rates are five times higher among families below poverty levels, and severe spouse abuse is twice as likely to be committed by unemployed men as by those working full time.


<b>IMPACT ON CHILDREN:</b> Violent juvenile offenders are four times more likely to have grown up in homes where they saw violence. Children who have witnessed violence at home are also five times more likely to commit or suffer violence when they become adults.


<b>IMPACT ON HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES:</b> Women who are battered have more than twice the health care needs and costs than those who are never battered. Approximately 17 percent of pregnant women report having been battered, and the results include miscarriages, stillbirths and a two to four times greater likelihood of bearing a low birth weight baby. Abused women are disproportionately represented among the homeless and suicide victims. Victims of domestic violence are being denied insurance in some states because they are considered to have a "pre-existing condition."


(Source - "Violence Against Women: A National Crime Victimization Survey Report")

FROM THE BOOK CALLED "Quick Grasp Of Faith"


http://www.harunyahya.com/quick01.php


QUESTİON 1


How do we realize the existence of Allah?


The plants, animals, seas, mountains, and people we see when we look around, and everything else in the micro universe - living or non-living - which we cannot see, are all obvious evidence of a superior wisdom which has brought them into being. Similarly, the equilibrium, order, and perfect creation present in the entire universe also prove the existence of a supreme possessor of knowledge who has designed them perfectly. The possessor of this wisdom and knowledge is Allah.


We realize the existence of Allah from the perfect systemsHe created and the awesome qualities of living or non-living entities. This perfection is highlighted in the Qur'an:


He created the seven heavens one above the other. You will not find any flaw in the creation of the All-Merciful. Look again-do you see any gaps? Then look again and again. Your eyes will become dazzled and exhausted! (Surat al-Mulk: 3-4)


QUESTİON 2


How do we know Allah?


It is again the perfect creation throughout the universe that introduces to us the supreme power of Allah. However, Allah has principally introduced Himself to us in the Qur'an, which He has sent down to people as a guide to right living. In the Qur'an, all the supreme qualities of Allah, His wisdom, knowledge, compassion, mercy, justice, omnipresence, His seeing and hearing everything, His being the sole owner and sole God of the Heavens, the Earth and all that lies between and His being the sole sovereign of the kingdom are conveyed to us.


He is Allah - there is no god but Him. He is the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible. He is the Compassionate and Most Merciful. He is Allah - there is no god but Him. He is the King, the Most Pure, the Perfect Giver of Peace, the Trustworthy, the Safeguarder, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Supremely Great. May Allah be exalted above all they associate with Him. He is Allah - the Creator, the Maker, the Giver of Form. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Everything in the heavens and earth glorifies Him. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise. (Surat al-Hashr: 22-24)


QUESTİON 3


What is the purpose of our creation?


Allah tells us the purpose for our creation as follows:


I only created jinn and man to worship Me. (Surat adh-Dhariyat: 56)


As stated in this verse, the purpose of man's existence on Earth is his being just a servant of Allah, worshipping Him and gaining His approval. Man is tested on this subject as long as he is on this Earth.


QUESTİON 4


Why are we tested?


Allah tests people in the world to distinguish the ones who believe in Him from those who don't, and to determine which of the believers are best in their behaviour. Therefore, it is not enough for an individual to say "I believe". As long as one lives, his faith and devotion to Allah, his perseverance in religion, in short, his steadfastness in being a servant of Allah are tested in specially created conditions and environments. Allah states this truth in the following verse:


He created death and life to test which of you acquitted himself best. He is the Almighty, the Ever-Forgiving. (Surat al-Mulk: 2)


QUESTİON 5


How are we to be servant of Allah?


To be a servant of Allah means leading one's whole life for the purpose of gaining Allah's pleasure and approval. It means trying to carry out all actions in the best possible manner so as to gain Allah's approval, fearing Allah alone and orienting all one's ideas, words, and deeds to this purpose. Allah has brought it to our attention in the Qur'an that being a servant to Him covers the whole life of the individual:


Say: 'My salat (prayers) and my devotions, my living and my dying, are for Allah alone, the Lord of all the worlds.' (Surat al-An'am: 162)


QUESTİON 6


Why is religion necessary?


What a man who believes in the existence of Allah has to do first, is learn the orders of his Creator and the things that will please Him, Who gave him a soul when he was nothing, made him live, eat, and drink, and gave him health. Then he has to spend his whole life abiding by Allah’s orders and seeking Allah’s approval. It is religion that shows us the morals, behaviour, and way of life of which Allah will approve. Allah has made it clear in the Qur’an that people who abide by religion will be on the true path, whereas others will go astray.


He whose breast is opened to Islam is therefore illuminated by his Lord. Woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of Allah! Such people are clearly misguided. (Surat az-Zumar: 22)


QUESTİON 7


How does one live one’s religion (deen)?


People who believe in Allah, and who humbly obey Him, organize their lives in accordance with Allah’s recommendations in the Qur’an. He who lives the religion leads his life, complying with the right things his conscience inspires in him and abandoning everything bad that his self, the negative voice within him, orders. Allah states in the Qur’an that He created men with the predisposition to live their religion:


Therefore, stand firm in your devotion to the true Faith, the upright Faith which Allah created for man to embrace. There is no changing Allah’s creation. That is the true Faith, although most people may not know it. (Surat ar-Rum: 30)


QUESTİON 8


How can there be morals without religion?


In societies where there is no religion, people become predisposed to commit all kinds of immoral acts. For instance, a religious person would never take a bribe, gamble, feel envy, or lie because he would know that he would have to account for these actions in the hereafter. Yet, an irreligious person is prone to doing all these things. It is not enough for a man to say, “I am an atheist but I don’t take bribes”, or “I am an atheist but I don’t gamble”, because a man who does not fear Allah and who does not believe that he is going to give an account of himself in the hereafter may do any one of these things when the situation or conditions change. A person who says, “I am an atheist but I do not commit fornication” may do so at some place where fornication is considered normal. Or a person who says that he does not take bribes may say, “My son is sick and about to die, therefore I have to take the bribe”, if he has no fear of Allah. In a state of irreligiousness, even theft may be considered legitimate under certain conditions. For instance, people of no religion may not consider taking towels or decorative accessories from hotels and recreation centres as stealing to their own way of understanding.


However, a religious person does not display such immorality, because he fears Allah and does not forget that Allah knows his intentions as well as his thoughts. He acts sincerely and avoids sin.


A person who is distant from religion may say “I am an atheist but I am forgiving. I feel neither vengeance nor hate,” but one day some untoward event may cause him to lose his self-control and display the most unexpected behaviour. He may attempt to kill or injure someone, because the morality he adopts is one that changes according to the environment and conditions of the place in which he lives.


Yet, one who believes in Allah and in the hereafter never deviates from his good morals, whatever the conditions or the environment may be. His morality is not “variable” but immutable. Allah refers to the superior morals of religious people in His verses:


Those who keep faith with Allah and do not break their agreement; those who join what Allah has commanded to be joined and are afraid of their Lord and fear an evil Reckoning; those who are steadfast in seeking the face of their Lord, and attend to their salat (regular prayer) and give alms from what We have given them, secretly and openly, and stave off evil with good, it is they who will attain the Ultimate Abode (Surat ar-Ra’d: 20-22)


QUESTİON 9


What would happen to the social system without religion?


In an environment without religion, the first concept to be eliminated is that of the family. Values such as loyalty, fidelity, allegiance, love, and respect, which sustain the family, are totally abandoned. It must be remembered that the family is the foundation of society and if the family collapses, so does society. Even the state and the nation have no reason to exist, since all moral values that underpin the state and the nation have been obliterated.


Furthermore, in irreligious societies, there is no reason left for anyone to feel respect, love or compassion for anyone else. This leads to social anarchy. The rich hate the poor, the poor hate the rich. Anger develops against those who are handicapped or needy. Or aggression towards different nations rises. The workers become aggressive towards their employers and the employers towards their workers, fathers turn against their sons and the sons against their fathers.


The reason for continuous bloodshed and the “third page news” in the newspapers is irreligion. On these pages, every day, we see news coverage about people who heedlessly kill each other for very insignificant causes.


However, a man who knows that he is going to be accountable in the hereafter cannot point a gun at somebody else’s head and shoot him. He knows that Allah has forbidden men to commit crimes, and his fear of Allah ensures that he will avoid divine retribution.


Do not corrupt the earth after it has been purged of evil. Call on Him fearfully and eagerly. Allah’s mercy is within reach of the righteous. (Surat al-A’raf: 56)


The cause for suicides being so common is also irreligion. One who commits suicide in fact commits murder. For instance, someone who attempts to commit suicide because his girl friend has left him should ask himself these questions: Would he think of committing suicide for that girl, if she became disabled, or became old, or if her face had been badly burned? Of course, he would not; he overvalues her in his mind when he sees her as elegant and healthy and he ascribes her as a partner to Allah, thinking her to be more important than Allah, the hereafter, and religion. He risks dying for her.


But someone who is guided by the Qur’an would never do such a thing. He would not even give it a moment of thought. A believer lives only for Allah’s approval and exercises patience in the face of all the difficulties and problems Allah afflicts him within this world. And he does not forget that he is going to be rewarded for his patience both in this world and the hereafter many times over.


Stealing too is very common in irreligious societies. A man who steals does not think of how much trouble he causes to the person he steals from. He takes ten years of his victim’s earnings in a single night and doesn’t worry about how much he will suffer. As he inflicts pain on the other person, he may also feel pangs of conscience. But if he does not, this is an even worse state of affairs. It means that the thief has become hardened to committing all kinds of immoral acts.


In irreligious societies, values like hospitality, making sacrifices for each other, solidarity, and generosity totally disappear. First of all, people do not value each other as the human beings they are, because they see each other as beings that have evolved from monkeys. No one wants to welcome, serve, honour or offer nice things to anyone he thinks has evolved from an ape. People sharing this thought do not value each other. Nobody thinks about the health, welfare, or comfort of others. They do not worry about anybody getting hurt nor do they try to prevent such a thing. For instance, in hospitals people who are about to die are left lying on stretchers for indefinite periods; nobody cares about them. Or the owner of a restaurant operating under extremely dirty, unhealthy conditions does not worry about the harm he may inflict on the health of the people who eat there. He only cares about the money he is making. These are a few examples that show up in our daily lives. Here, the main logic is that people are good to each other only if they can expect some profit in return. By the moral standards of the Qur’an, however, people value each other as servants of Allah. They do not expect anything in return for a favour; on the contrary, they try to gain Allah’s approval by continuously doing good deeds, and compete with each other in doing good.


QUESTİON 10


Which material and spiritual benefits does observance of the morals of the Qur’an bring to society?


We have to note that religion, as referred to here, is a moral way of life, pleasing to Allah and chosen by Him as being most appropriate to the nature of all mankind. It is a way of life which is free of all kinds of superstitions and myths, and is totally under the guidance of the Qur’an.


Religion creates a profoundly, spiritual, peaceful, and secure atmosphere of morality. The chaos of anarchy that causes great damage to the state and the nation definitely ends because for fear of Allah, people avoid unruliness and causing mischief. Also, people with moral values stand up for their state and nation and do not stop short of any kind of sacrifice. Such people always work for the welfare and security of their country.


In a society where the morals of the Qur’an are practiced, people are extremely respectful towards each other and everyone tries to ensure the comfort and security of one another because solidarity, unity, and cooperation are very important according to the tenets of Islam. Everyone has to put the comfort and interest of others before himself. The following is an example of the morality of believers:


Those who were already settled in Madinah, and had adopted the Faith, before they came, loved1 those who came to them for refuge and entertained no desire in their hearts for things given to the (latter), but gave them preference over themselves even if they themselves were needy. It is the people who are safeguarded from the avarice of their own selves who are successful. (Surat al-Hashr: 9)


In an environment where people go in fear of Allah, everyone works for the welfare of society. No one acts extravagantly; everyone cooperates and works in solidarity watching out for the interests of the other. The result is a rich society with a high level of welfare.


In such a society, moral richness as well as material richness prevails. The state of chaos where all kinds of rebellious attitudes are displayed totally disappears. Everyone behaves with restraint and every problem is solved in a logical manner. All issues are resolved calmly. Life is always lived in a peaceful atmosphere.


QUESTİON 11


What are the benefits which observance of the morals of the Qur’an brings to the family?


The morality of the Qur’an requires respect for the mother and the father. Allah says in the Qur’an:


We have enjoined man to be good to his parents, for his mother bore him with much pain and the period of his weaning took two years: ‘Give thanks to Me and to your parents. To Me shall all things return. (Surah Luqman: 14)


In a home where the morals of the Qur’an are practiced there are no fights, quarrels or conflicts. A highly respectful attitude is displayed towards the mother, the father, and the other family members. Everyone lives in a happy and joyful environment.


QUESTİON 12


What are the benefits which observance of the morals of the Qur’an brings to the state system?


Allah refers in the Qur’an to obedience as a positive attribute. One who has the morals of the Qur’an would be entirely obedient and respectful towards his state. In Islamic societies, everybody works for the welfare of the state and the nation, never rebelling against the state but giving it, on the contrary, spiritual and material support.


In societies formed by Allah-fearing people, judicial cases would almost never come to court. Not even a thousandth of the legal infractions that take place in today’s societies would be experienced.


Governing the state becomes much easier. Since the state does not have to deal with cases of anarchy, terrorism, mischief, and murder, all the power of the state is focused on the development and enhancement of the country, on the domestic front and abroad, which results in a very powerful state.


QUESTİON 13


What are the benefits which observance of the morals of the Qur’an brings to art?


People who comply with the morals of the Qur’an value each other and try to make it possible for each other to live in an environment that is agreeable and aesthetically beautiful in every respect. Because of the longing felt for heaven, worldly means are fully utilized to create the most pleasant and cleanest of atmospheres, which address the eye, the ear, and all senses in the most beautiful way. Therefore, art and aesthetics develop in all their aspects.


Moreover, a religious person has a clean conscience. Thus there is no pressure on his mind and he can produce beautiful, unique and original works of art. Also, people working with the desire to please and present beautiful things to other religious people, act sincerely and vigorously.


QUESTİON 14


What are the benefits which observance of the morals of the Qur’an brings to the school system?


First of all, living the morals of the Qur’an brings maturity and wisdom to children and youngsters. The insensitive, uncaring behaviour prevalent among young people is not present in those who abide by the Qur’an. The result is a good-natured, obedient, open minded, self-sacrificing and productive generation. The dynamism, excitement, and aggression of youth are all directed towards good deeds. A considerable assiduity and intellectual power develop. In such an environment, students give great importance to their education not only to pass examinations or escape punishment, but to contribute to their state and nation.


Disciplinary incidents in schools become unheard of. A very peaceful, constructive, and productive educational environment is formed. Cooperation develops between teachers and students based on obedience, respect, and tolerance. Also, students become extremely respectful and obedient towards the state and the police. The student demonstrations that we often see today do not take place, because there is no necessity for them.


QUESTİON 15


What are the benefits which observance of the morals of the Qur’an brings to the work environment?


In societies where people lived by the morals of the Qur’an, there would be mutual understanding, cooperation, and justice in the work environment. Employers would care about the health of the employees and maintain the working environment at the most sanitary level. They would construct aesthetic and visually attractive work stations bearing in mind that employees would necessarily be working in the same environment over very long periods. They would pay them exactly what they deserve. They would not let any employee to be mistreated. They would keep themselves informed about the living conditions of the families of each employee. They would act conscientiously and ensure the protection of the employees. A situation where the powerful oppressed the weak would never develop. Also immoral behaviour like malicious gossiping, and attempts to prevent others being successful out of envy would never take place.


The relationship between the employees and the employer would be based not on self interest and cheating but on cooperation and trust. The employee would care about the interests of his company. He would not behave extravagantly, thinking, “The boss is paying for it anyway.” He would always do his best, and he would never be wronged because of his good morals, but would be protected by his boss.


QUESTİON 16


What is “ascribing a partner” to Allah, or idolatry?


Idolatry means considering a person or another being, or a concept as equal to or higher than Allah in terms of estimating, attributing significance, preference, and holding superior, and to act with this distorted point of view. Allah describes this situation as “associating with Allah any other God”. In other words, to claim that somebody or something else has any of the attributes of Allah means ascribing a partner to Allah. Allah has proclaimed in the Qur’an that idolatry will not be forgiven:


Allah does not forgive anything being associated with Him but He forgives whoever He wills for anything other than that. Anyone who serves gods other than Allah is guilty of a terrible crime. (Surat an-Nisa: 48)


QUESTİON 17


What is meant by “idolizing” something?


In conventional speech, “idolizing” only means worshipping certain things or beings. Yet, this concept has a much wider meaning and is not limited to past ages alone. In every age, there have been people who have ascribed partners to Allah, adopted other gods and worshipped idols or totem poles. It is not necessary for a person who idolizes something to say “this is a god, and I worship this” about the thing he idolizes, or to prostrate himself in front of it.


Idolatry is basically a person’s preference for something or someone over Allah. For instance, preferring someone’s approval to Allah’s approval, or fearing someone as one fears Allah or loving someone as one loves Allah can serve as some examples.


In the Qur’an, Allah states that the idols that people ascribe as partners to Allah will not be of any help to them.


Instead of Allah you worship only idols. You are inventing a lie. Those you worship besides Allah have no power to provide for you. So seek your provision from Allah and worship Him and give thanks to Him. It is to Him that you will be returned.’ (Surat al-Ankabut: 17)


QUESTİON 18


How is one saved from idolatry?


First of all, one has to confirm from his heart that Allah is the only god, all power belongs to Him, and no being other than Him can possess any power to provide help or cause harm. A person who affirms these truths conclusively serves Allah alone and never ascribes partners to Him. Allah advised people that they must turn completely to Him to be saved from idolatry.


It is Him alone you call on and, if He wills, He will relieve your affliction; then you will forget what you associated with Him (your idols). (Surat al-An’am: 41)


The radical change experienced by a person who is freed from ascribing partners to Allah and turns to Allah, first occurs in his heart. The person who is saved from ascribing a partner to Allah gains a totally different point of view and mindset. He now leads his life which, until then, he had pursued under the sway of certain ideas and rules of ignorance, as well as his own wishes and obsessions, for Allah’s approval and pleasure alone.


QUESTİON 19


What does it mean to seek Allah’s approval on the highest plane?


What would you do if the place you lived in suffered a flood disaster? Would you climb to the top floor and wait to be saved, or would you climb floor by floor as the waters arose? While climbing to the roof, would you use the stairs or the elevator? Obviously, the wisest thing to do at such a moment would be to choose out of all the alternatives that would save you, the one which would yield the fastest result. Any other course would be quite out of the question. The person in this situation would be considered to have done his best by reaching the top floor in the elevator. This is “choosing the best course.”


The believer makes use of all his material and spiritual means, every hour and even every second of his life in accordance with the will of Allah. In doing so, if he is required to make a choice among certain alternatives, he draws on his wisdom and listens to his conscience, thus behaving in a way which would please Allah. This means that he acts in compliance with Allah’s approval at the highest level.


QUESTİON 20


What does having implicit faith mean?


Any individual would know without doubt that he would be burned if he stuck his hand into a fire. He would never have to think whether it was really going to get burned or not. This means that this person has the implicit belief that the fire is going to burn his hand. In the Qur’an, “implicit belief” is referred to as follows:


This (the Qur’an) is a clear insight for mankind, and guidance and a mercy for people who believe with certainty. (Surat al-Jathiyyah: 20)


“Having implicit faith” means believing in Allah’s existence and uniqueness, the day of resurrection, heaven and hell with absolute certainty, without any doubt, with full confidence as to their truth. It is like believing in the existence of the beings around one, whom one sees and talks to, and the intuitive knowledge demonstrated by the example of the fire given above. Faith built on believing with certainty develops in the individual a conscience which will prod him into spending every moment of his life acting in a way that will please Allah.


...............continues