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About the Noble Quran - Muslimah - 04-17-2011
Praise be to Allah, The All Knowing, All Seer, adequate praise to His endless bounties and blessings that we can never count or identify, blessings and peace be upon his final Messenger our beloved teacher and leader Mohammad, his household, wives, and all other prophets and Messengers
I was reciting Surat Al Emran (Quran 3), and I stopped at the following noble Ayah, pondering deeply about and trying to extract insight:
"As to those who disbelieve, I will punish them with a severe torment in this world and in the Hereafter, and they will have no helpers." (Quran 3:56).
The part that mainly drew my attention was the underlined. Why? Because in many occasions you will meet a Muslim who tells you, look at the non believers who had it all. They are living a very outstanding life style, comfortable, convenient, attaining all necessary aspects of good life including medical care, education, money, resources, ..etc. The Muslim would say, how can this Ayah resolve with this situation. They are not tormented at all. On the contrary, they are enjoying themselves to the full, to an extend that they do not even feel they are at wrong. In other words, simply, they do not feel they are being punished because of a major fault which is the non belief in a Creator, their Creator who Provided all of this. So how can both situations match??
Alright, let us take a deeper look. What is the suicide rate in such societies?, what is the rate of using anti depressants? Seeking psychological consultancies? What is the crime rate? What is the homosexuality rate (wait I will tell you how this is a stark sign of punishment)? What is the divorce rate? What is the run away from home rate? Drug use? And the list goes on. Leave alone the natural disasters, among others, hurricanes which are quite frequent in the USA, flush floods, earthquakes..etc. One would say, but Muslim countries are equally exposed to such crisis. Yes, but not with the same frequency. Just take hurricanes in the USA for example.
The punishment is that mostly you find non believers are suffering discontent, despite of all the success they attain, all the glory they have, they feel empty, have nothing. Homosexuality is another form of dissatisfaction, they can not attain the happiness they are seeking in whatever they do, the illusive fascinating feeling they are searching for, so they resort to new forms of pleasure in an effort to reach this desired and far away inner satisfaction. But they still do not. Some of them indulge in excessive sex, others, seek pleasure in monetary gain through any type of practice, gambling..etc. And they still can not. At the end, they just feel that they can not cope, they resort to drugs looking for a fake pleasure and happiness, do they attain it?? No. That is when it comes to the climax and they just commit suicide. Is not this enough torment? They are not enjoying all the pleasures Allah Gave them, in spite of how advanced their countries are to the extend that such countries had become an attractive destination to Many Muslims who are looking for the worldly comfort. They do not feel it. Or they feel it and perceive it as a source of pride. But are still unable to feel it, enjoy it, depend on it for happiness, the real true and sustainable inner satisfaction. They might attain false satisfaction after taking a drug dose, drink of alcohol, sexual intercourse without marriage or even an abnormal sexual relation (between the same sex) thinking that this would really give them the ultimate desired satisfaction. But on the contrary they continue on the same condition. This is enough of a torment. Leave alone that they live their whole life serving the wrong purpose, which is a waste of time and effort. Is not this a clear and explicit manifestation of this noble Ayah. But the hardest torment, is their non believe per se. Because actually realizing that you have a Creator, believing in this Creator, worshiping this Creator and Him alone, lends you an incomparable sense of security, safety, satisfaction and pleasure. Walelahi Alhamd for being a Muslim.
About the Noble Quran - Muslimah - 04-17-2011
Bismillah
Praise be to Allah One Who Assumes all, Sustains all, Provides for all regardless of their belief, One Who Does not need, or wait for anything from anyone, blessings and peace be upon His final Messenger, our beloved leader Mohammad, his household, companions and those who followed his footsteps,
In completion to the previous insight, and as we know that the amazing Quran explains itself in different positions, and out of our duty to help one another to further ponder deeply in Quran and attempt seriously to understand it. Again I stopped at this Ayah:
“Whosoever desires the life of the world and its glitter; to them We shall pay in full (the wages of) their deeds therein, and they will have no diminution therein.” (Quran 11:15)
This very explicit Ayah openly tells us that we need to define our goal in this life and it also tells us or let us say explains many situations that may seem confusing to us. For example-mind you this Ayah does not explain situation of a non Muslim only-when we observe Muslims who are not practicing, those who are oblivious, who are not aware or more to say pretend to ignore that Allah Is watching and constantly aware of us, we observe in some cases elements of this category who attained best positions, secure smooth life, no serious problems, they are missing nothing, they endure no suffering..etc. Does not this happen, do not we observe this in many and several cases?? We certainly do. In addition, we usually comment saying la hawla wala qowata ila billah, look at this person who is not even informed about Zakat, leave alone paying it, who does not perform Salat..etc, but they are leading perfect life. On the contrary of so and so, who is constantly under pressure and stress in many aspects. The former had sat his /her goal, he/she desires the life of the world and its glitter, Allah Grants them what they want, expands their offering, provides them with what they desire, as this is Allah’s Attribute (responsibility). They get what they ask for. Further Allah Promises that He Shall not underpay, or underestimate their deeds. This even brings a more insightful point here. Allah Say that those who desire this life, but for example work hard, observe proper values, even if they are not doing it because of Allah, Allah Shall properly compensate them by empowering them in this life. They will be completely and fully rewarded in this life which they chose. But then, nothing in the Hereafter.
I think this explains a lot to us, assist us to make a choice for a perfect goal. This does not mean though that those believers who strive in this life shall lead an obstacle-oriented life, we are allowed to ask Allah to facilitate our matters and even lead a comfortable life, and receive a sound way of death, and a revival that shall not bring to us shame or scandal.
However, again and again, we need to define the proper and correct goal in order to cross safely.
Alhamdulelah Rubel a`lameen, and blessing and peace be upon his Messenger Mohammad.
About the Noble Quran - Muslimah - 12-18-2011
Praise be to Allah, abundant praise that is adequate to His incomparable bounties and blessings which we can never fully identify, Alhamdulelah for being Muslims, Alhamdulelah for being able to recite the Quran, Alhamdulelah for being one of the Ummah of our beloved Messenger Mohamed much prayer and peace be upon him, his household and companions.
Just wanting to share my very humble thoughts about the following amazing Ayahs of Quran, Sobhan Allah.
" Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, and the ships which sail through the sea with that which is of use to mankind, and the water (rain) which Allâh sends down from the sky and makes the earth alive therewith after its death, and the moving (living) creatures of all kinds that He has scattered therein, and in the veering of winds and clouds which are held between the sky and the earth, are indeed Ayât (proofs, evidence, signs, etc.) for people of understanding." (Quran 2:164)
Just look at the items Allah brought forth in this Ayah, please take note of the variety between creation of skies and earth, to alternation of night and day, then moving to ships which we mankind manufacture but can only sail and operate with Allah's Will, then back again to Allah's Creation of sending rain, Allah then compiles all living creation that walk on earth and so forth.
Allah clearly states that all of this are signs, proofs and evidence for His existence, but to who, only for those who can understand, those who can use their brains which are also a major bounty from Allah may He be Glorified.
Because if you use your brain for a fraction of a second, you will realize that creating skies and earth in this fashion, keeping skies up there without falling, keeping earth fixed without shaking, cracking or dumping for us to be able to walk on and take shade under the skies, can never be the fruit of a mere chance, can never be the work of any body but a True One Powerful Deity.
Then when you even look at the alternation of night and day specially when night is being inserted into day as eloquently described in the Ayah:" That is because Allâh merges the night into the day, and He merges the day into the night. And verily, Allâh is All-Hearer, All-Seer." (Quran 22:61). It certainly looks like merging or inserting night into day, while on the other hand when u look at how Allah brings day from night as described in:" And a sign for them is the night. We withdraw therefrom the day" (Quran 36:37) matter of fact the word in Arabic is literally We skin therefrom, which if you stay up after Fajr really ponder, if you look at the sky to watch the day light coming up, you will really feel how Allah is Physically skinning it from darkness Sobhan Allah. But only people who use their brains can see this as evidence.* post 33
Post 34
While looking at the ships that weigh thousands of tons carrying either people or cargo with all the equipment, engines, and other, how they are simply floating over the water? Some may say it is human brain that manufactured, human brain manufactured it yes, but who carries it over the over? Who prevents it sinking? Who keeps it floating? Who keeps it from missing the direction? Only Allah, and only those who use their brain can come to this conclusion.
Allah then made a note about sending the rain, it sure is a major sign, Sobhan Allah, water coming from the sky. Yes we are all aware of the scientific reason behind it, but can any of us make this happen? What do we do if it stops? Wow if it stops, it means rivers will also become dry, humanity is in major trouble. Sobhan Allah and praise be to Allah Who Sends down rain for us to live.
In this position Allah may He be Glorified brings forth an amazing sign, not only in the sense of its creation, function, position in the Ayah, but also in the sense of the accurate description which should attract the attention of any one who has brains, that Mohamed (PAPBUH) the illiterate, or any one else, could have never had knowledge about this 1400 years ago. Allah then Talks about the clouds, Sobhan Allah, describing their exact location as held between skies and earth. We look at them we think they are close so close to skies, however, when we fly in an aero plane we realize that they are under the skies with quite a distance between them. Matter of fact the exact word Allah used in Arabic is “musakhar” which literally translates as forced to be in this location and move. So it is not only held but most importantly are forced to be there. Sobhan Allah for the precise explanation, but Who would explain more precise than the Creator.
If u think about it, clouds are forced to be in this position, they have no choice but to be there. Sobhan Allah, if u refer this to the Ayah of the Amanah, you will have a better understanding as that only mankind accepted the trust while mountains and skies refused it.
Order wise, Allah mentioned the clouds after the wind, which is usually let us say the engine that moves the clouds. Sobhan Allah and true Says Allah the Mighty. (sadaq Allah Al Azeem). Who can deny that this is a sign that Allah Sobhanhu wa Ta`ala is there and that Quran is the true word of Allah.
No wonder Allah on another Ayah Say:
" (To) those whose eyes had been under a covering from My Reminder (this Qur’ân)," (Quran 18:101). I can see the translation making the reminder as reciting the Quran, however, in my humble opinion it carries more than that. Of course using the eyes to read the Quran is certainly dhikr (remembrance), but can’t you also see how using the eyes to look into all the above mentioned sings can lead you at the end of saying Sobhan Allah, which is of course one of the forms of dhikr, how can it lead you to realize and recognize the Existence of Allah then appreciate His work, appreciate His blessing He bestowed over us, appreciate the facilities He granted mankind to be able to spend this short journey on earth.
Brothers and sisters, practice this deserted worship of pondering upon Allah’s Creation and say Sobhan Allah.
Praise be to Allah Who Created Heavens and Earths, Who Created the universe, King of the Kings, and prayer and peace be upon our leader, teacher, and final Messenger of Allah Mohamed, his household and companions.
As usual, one recited Quran as much as one can, yet each time, u feel it is the first time u read this Ayah or that one. U simply stop astonished on how just one word conveys huge meaning that would need like books to highlight their deep implications Sobhan Allah.
“ whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness, and, in the worship of his Lord, admit no one as partner."(Quran 18:110).
In this Ayah Allah Sobhanhu wa Ta`la Is giving us a gift, yes a gift that if we succeed in adopting shall really be in a much better position. The underlined word in Arabic is yarju. The word is derived from the root Raja-a. Raja-a means hope, request in a very kind style. I mean when someone needs something from another and wants to be very polite and kind he/she would use Arjou. So in this Ayah Allah Is not using the word yarju haphazardly, but rather in a very correct position. But the Raja here or the request is not for something, but rather for meeting the Lord. What would this mean?
It means one who expects, desires, hopes, waiting for, anxious for, one who is aware of the consequences of the meeting, is aware of the One to be met, is certain about the meeting, is concerned about the meeting, has no doubt it is coming, I can go on more. What is the required attitude of this person? And why Allah started by man kan which translates best as one who was, in other words it conveys a sense of from among u one who was, because not all will adopt such attitude or think in this manner.
What is the prescribed solution? It is to carry out good deeds, righteous deeds and finally as an overall position, should not associate any one with the worship of Allah. Here Allah Used not to associate anybody, not anything, which is totally different. Simply because one may love parents, children, spouse, friends to an extend that one goes O I can not live without this or that person, this is when the red light should go on. This is when the danger lies. Because we can live without anybody but the Eternal Allah. And here Allah Didn’t include the worshiping of things, because people may be so much taken by their wealth, position, fame or knowledge that they ascribe their success or derive their being from that thing. It possesses them so much that it becomes their source of dignity, value, …etc. The items we just listed are all things that would be referred to by something. Rather here Allah Made it very clear saying not to take anyone as partner with Allah in worship.
We can conclude that the prescription for one who is waiting for, hoping for, anxious for, expecting, having no doubt …etc about the meeting with the Lord (since not all will be in this position) must carry out righteous deeds and take no partners (human partners) with Allah..
May Allah Grant us all sincerity of worship, allow us to avoid minor and major shirk, Grant us a good end ameen.
Bismillah
Praise be to Allah, Maintainer of the skies and earth, Owner of the universe and all what is therein, prayer and peace be upon His Messenger, household and companions.
May Allah Inspire me with the correct words and evidence in what I am about to present here.
For many years I stopped on the following Ayahs, each time I read them I do stop at the same position and contemplate over an important issue in our life. Talking. What to say and what not to say:
1. Successful indeed are the believers.
2. Those who offer their prayers with all solemnity and full submissiveness.
3. And those who turn away from evil, vain talk.
4. And those who pay the Zakat.
5. And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private parts, from illegal sexual acts)
6. Except from their wives or (the captives and slaves) that their right hands possess, for then, they are free from blame;
7. But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors;
8. Those who are faithfully true to their responsibilities and trusts and to their covenants;
9. And those who strictly guard their (five compulsory congregational) Salawat (prayers) (at their fixed stated hours).
10. These are indeed the inheritors.
11. Who shall inherit the Firdaus (Paradise). They shall dwell therein forever.
Insh a Allah I will try my best with Allah’s Guidance to present the point.
The Ayahs start with stating a fact about the success of the believers, although the word aflah in Arabic means more than just success. It is the utmost success, the best success one can attain. Falah which is the root of the verb used in the Ayah is the success but here it also takes the sense of win. The Ayahs start with the particle Qad, which is a confirmation particle.
So we can easily say that Allah starts the Ayah with a confirmation of the winning and success of the believer. This style of beginning is not haphazard, but rather it is important to attract full attention of the reader in order to focus on the following items one by one.
Now as Allah already made a statement of the certainty of the believers to win, Allah Shall move to define those believers. Note that Allah here Didn’t say the Muslims, but the believers since being a Muslim does not necessarily mean that one is a believer. Believing is another rank.
Now again to the definition. Certainly the believers win, but the believers who do what?
1. The first item which would definitly bring about success and wining is to be fully submissive, humble, full heartedly focused during prayer (develop khushou). Khushu is an Arabic word that is very hard to translate. It is a state when u actually develop a sense of being physically standing before Allah. Remember prayer is a meeting with Allah.
With this Allah Made it very clear how prayer is important, but the point here is not just to keep prayer. No to attain this success, to attain this winning, you must develop this state of full sense with Allah’s presence with you during prayer. To be able to keep your heart fully focused on the prayer.
2. To the surprise of the reader, one may expect that the second item could be for example keeping the fast, or the other obligatory worships. But no Allah Surprised the reader and placed here in the second item to walk away from vain pointless talk.
This is actually the point I like to stress.
But first let us continue. Why did Allah Put it here even before the 3rd item which is paying Zaka followed by refraining from Zina (illegal sexual intercourse)?
Is it for no reason? No it is for an important reason.
Allah Never establishes the order of deeds (or better say put priorities) without a wisdom. Much wisdom is inherent in this important advice if only we listen to it.
One who indulges in much pointless talk shall never be able to pay Zakah. In such case one will probably seek arguments like O why do I have to pay 2.5%, cannt I just make a good sum of money without this exact rate? I have children who can make much use of this money. I will still give out money but it does not have to be the 2.5%. And you can go on listening to such arguments. Isn’t this typically vain talk?
This is just an example.
Talking is of 3 types:
a. A type that must be said and encouraged to be said: Quran, dhikr, passing useful knowledge, encouraging others for good, enjoining good and forbidding evil, reconciling between conflicted parties etc.
b. A type which must not to be said: calling others for kufr, talking ill about Allah, Quran, the Messenger salla Allah a`lyhee wa sallam, encouraging others for sin, decorating the sins for others, ghayba, transmitting ill talking between two parties, creating fitnah between people, etc.
c. A type which if not said will have no consequent harm, like O I did this yesterday, I met so and so, my boss did this, my boss is unjust towards me, my co workers did this and that, I bought so and so.
I know I am actually trying to bring about what any friends may talk about.
But just think to yourselves. How many times you went back home from work, uni or school feeling sooooo tired, yet when you think you actually didn’t do that much of work or study that makes you so tired?
Actually your body is the manufacture of Allah, and only Allah Knows how it may function best. Thus, Allah Made it clear how important it is to avoid pointless talk. Allah Placed it second after being humble in prayer and before paying zakat and guarding private parts.
Now more on the issue, if u don’t try to avoid it, how can one talk another person from abstaining from approaching any situations which may lead to zina? I mean I can for example start advising a young sister of not watching movies with hard scenes in order to protect her eyes and her mind from sulking away with such scenes. If she does not observe this rule, this golden rule of abstaining from pointless talk, she will start, O but it is ok, I know how to control myself. And of course you know how this can go on.
You tell a co worker for example (who appears to be devout), why don’t u try and be more reserved with this sister lest you fall in the trap of shaytan? He would reply O but she does not mind the way I talk to her, matter of fact she likes it. It all starts with the desire to prove one’s point, to satisfy the self.
At the end you can clearly see how those who are inflicted with the vice of pointless talk feel. When you tell them resort to prayer, Quran or dhikr to overcome a difficulty, they will prefer to talk about their problems no matter how many times they relate it.
Of course I am not saying here that we must totally stop talking to each other, certainly not, lest people may take it on that sense. But we have rules and regulations to follow in terms of talking which is actually an essential issue in Islam that is not receiving adequate attention. For example, during a meeting at work, one may present the issue in a brief yet comprehensive form or may elaborate and go on just to remain more in the scene.
We can all start observing this golden rule which Allah gave it second priority for us to attain a position with the winning team.
After that Allah Covered a number of other deeds including keeping promises and then ended up with the mention of prayer again, but at this time, it is those who maintain their prayers their 5 obligatory prayers.
Brothers and sisters look at the fruit of such attitude it is really worth trying hard to attain it. It is to be among those who inherit the Firdaus.
Brothers and sisters, start trying to exercise refraining from vain talk. Just think before u speak and see if you will just hold on what you are about to say, will this have any harmful effect? If not then just don’t say it. Think about the words you are about to say, and see how much they will satisfy Allah, if they will then say them.
It just takes practice. Start now.
May Allah accept, whatever is correct is from Allah and may Allah Forgive any shortcomings in introducing this important point.
Praise be to Allah, Sustainer and Creator of the Universe and all what is within, prayer and peace be upon His Messenger Mohamed Ibn Abdullah, his household and companions
Still on the issue of pointless talking, actually due to the major importance of this issue as well as the harm which may arise from falling into it, I like to stress it more and tap on further aspects.
Allah Say in Quran:" There is no good in most of their secret talks save (in) him who orders Sadaqah (charity in Allah's Cause), or Ma'roof (Islamic Monotheism and all the good and righteous deeds which Allah has ordained), or conciliation between humankind, and he who does this, seeking the good Pleasure of Allah, We shall give him a great reward." (Quran 4:114)
In this Ayah Allah Gave us examples of what kind of topics people are encouraged to talk about, with all due respect to the translator, the underlined word is not restricted on secret talk, but rather extends to cover talking in general. It means talking among people in general. According to the Ayah, the topics that are recommended are to order each other or in other words to encourage each other for sadaqa. Like I may come and suggest it to a co worker, a friend when a chance (such a case of someone who needs sadaqa) appears to me on an effort to allow others a chance to do good deeds. The other area is to enjoin good, like suggest to others new areas of righteous deeds, discuss how to get closer to Allah, pass knowledge, inform others on how to improve the relation with Allah and so on. The third option is to reconcile between parties who are in conflict. Like trying to bring viewpoints together, help parties get over their disagreements, and help in conflict resolution.
On another position Allah Say:
"Help one another in righteousness and piety; but do not help one another in sin and transgression" (Quran 5:2). When Allah says help, the help will not be achieved except through talking to communicate the action. Thus if you think about it, you can say this Ayah also in an indirect manner is leading towards the same approach about what to say and not say.
Now back to the pointless talking which may occur much specially between friends, when those friends develop a kind of relation that they call it so close. The closeness they describe is usually associated with for example talking to each other on the phone every day, telling each other everything, like even what did they do, where did they go on a daily basis.
They usually praise their relation as O she knows everything about me. In your opinion, what does the other party gain from this type of talking? Practically nothing, I mean if what has been told was not told, the listener wouldn’t have missed anything crucial. On the contrary, the dialogue in such case might involve other people, that without intention it might lead to ghayba. As when one party is complaining about a harmful situation. In addition that in such case, both parties are occupied with the creation (people) rather than the Creator.
Opposite to the situation when this type of talking is really cut down, or more so geared towards sharing useful experience. Of course you may share harmful situations, provided you observe the limits of not bringing other people’s name, tell others how you benefited of the situation in order to get closer to Allah, how you saw it as elimination of sins, how you perceived it for example as suffering an unjust situation which makes one benefit of Allah’s Promise to grant one’s dua and provide victory. All this could be shared that will be classified as encouraging good and righteous deeds.
How many times two really close friends had a major conflict that had a terrible effect on their relation? How many times at such situations both parties grew really concerned about their secrets that they shared?
Let us take another approach to this really crucial topic. Why we should be really careful of what we say? Why we must think twice before saying any word? Why we must choose our words very carefully?
What does Allah Say also in Quran?
“(Remember!) that the two receivers (recording angels) receive (each human being after he or she has attained the age of puberty), one sitting on the right and one on the left (to note his or her actions).* Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it) * And the stupor of death will come in truth: "This is what you have been avoiding!"” (Quran 50:19)
Just think for a while about this ayah, ponder on the meaning, and contemplate.
Let us take one aspect at the time:
Imagine if you are preparing a report for your boss, the higher the rank of this boss is, the more careful, precise and meticulous you are on your report. You will start observing every tiny detail, from language to format to accuracy of data…etc.
You will also make sure to submit it well covered with proper binding. Now why do we not care enough for our report that we submit daily to our Creator? How can we take it so lightly and don’t care what it contains of pointless talk, vulgar jokes, ghayba (backbiting), or the like…Why just why? Or more so how can we do that?
Shouldn’t we be aware that the two angels are recording every word we say, our report, I mean the record the two angles prepare every day, is taken up to Allah at the end of the day, after Asr and before Maghreb. Why would I want Allah to Look at my record when it is not really impressing? Not only that it is not impressing but also might not be up to the standard that is adequate to the Glory of Allah. How can I do this to myself?
Brothers and sisters it does not take much, it just needs training to think before you say something. Will it really matter if it is not said? If the answer is yes, which is most of the time, then just don’t say it.
Insh a Allah the effect on your soul and body is amazing
Alhamdulelah Who Guided us to this and if it was not for Him we wouldn’t have been guided. Whatever is correct is from Allah and whatever is wrong is from me and shaytan.
Bismillah
Praise be to Allah, Sustainer and Creator of the Universe and all what is within, prayer and peace be upon His Messenger Mohamed Ibn Abdullah, his household and companions
Still on the issue of pointless talking, actually due to the major importance of this issue as well as the harm which may arise from falling into it, I like to stress it more and tap on further aspects.
To continue on the issue of talking, since it is really an issue that occupies a major part of our day to day life. I mean no one can deny that verbal interaction constitutes a fundamental aspect of everyone’s whole life on many levels. And since Allah in His noble book, Did Mention it in several positions coupled with certain instruction, this makes us even more prone to be careful and meticulous about it. From the previous post, one can clearly see how talking can have a direct impact on even our bodies, leave alone our relation with Allah as well as our level and grade in Allah’s Eyes.
How did the Messenger salla Allah a`lyhee wa sallam instruct us in this regard? Which type of talking did he encourage us to adopt?
Let us delve into this subject step by step till we try Insh a Allah to cover it as much as possible. May Allah Assist us in this effort and overlook any shortcomings ameen.
The Messenger in one of his hadeeth: “Narrated Mu`adh ibn jabal that the Messenger salla Allah a`lyhee wa sallam said: one whose last words were la Ilaha ila Allah Shall enter jannah” (reported by Sunan Abi Daoud).
Reviewing this hadeeth, one may say, O that is very easy, this is an opportunity that is hardly can be missed. I will just say this while I m suffering the stupors of death. Well, sounds easy yes, but in practice, one can never guarantee to be able of saying it. Unless one really lives for only la ilaha ila Allah, when I say live, I mean that la ilaha ila Allah must be part and parcel of his/her life. When one devotes his/her whole life to la ilaha ila Allah in the sense of not doing anything except with the intention of doing it only for Allah’s Sake rather than showing off, seeking people’s attention or praise, seeking others evaluation and compliments, seeking other’s reward. When one focuses his/her aim to only get closer to Allah. For instance, when one calls a family member who never calls just to satisfy Allah, when one goes to visit an ill person who does not him/her or any of the family member has any authority over the visitor just to please Allah, when one checks on the misbehaving neighbour just to please Allah, when one does not return the harmful behaviour received from others or even mentions it or complains about it waiting for Allah to Handle the matter. These are just examples of how the person lives for la ilaha ila Allah. When one uses vocabulary that encourages the remembrance of Allah in situations as needed. Like when one encounters a crisis, even for example a flat tire, and then say inna lilalahe wa inna elayhee raj`oun, or la hawla wala qowata ila billah when one is in a dire situation not knowing what to do. When one thinks before saying any word, in case a problem occurs. More importantly as mentioned at the beginning, doing nothing except for Allah which actually confirms one’s belief in the Oneness of Allah. This is the whole idea. To constantly confirm your belief in the Oneness of Allah, not only by saying so, but also by action, by intention, by behaviour.
That is when it becomes Insh aAllah easy to utter the kalimah as the last words before one dies.
Bismillah
For more explanation, Allah Sobhanhu wa Ta`laa Say in Quran:
“And follow not (O man i.e., say not, or do not or witness not, etc.) that of which you have no knowledge (e.g. one's saying: "I have seen," while in fact he has not seen, or "I have heard," while he has not heard). Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned (by Allah).” (Quran 17:36)
Still on the talking issue, if we connect the previous context with this noble Ayah, mankind is held accountable – by virtue of the above Ayah – through the hearing, sight, and heart. In order to pass this accountability as safe as possible, it becomes essential to evade pointless talk that stands as basis of course for what is heard, seen or kept in the heart. Come to think about it, pointless talk does have a major impact on the heart, it makes the heart turn heavy, inattentive, difficult to maintain dhikr, and filled with darkness. This influence extends to affect the whole body. But where does it start? It starts with indulging in or listening to pointless talk.
إن السمع والبصر والفؤاد كل ذلك كان عنه مسئولا
الحب فى القرآن وذكر المودة والرحمة بين الأزواج وليس الحب وذكر الحب فى حالة تأنيب المسلمين
Acronym
إن من أولادكم وأزواجكم عدوا لكم فاحذروهم
Bismillah
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, King of the Kings and prayer and peace be upon His Messenger Mohamed, his household and companions and all other prophets and Messengers ameen.
I seek close guidance of Allah to Assist me in putting this part together Insh a Allah.
And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your Lord, and for Paradise as wide as are the heavens and the earth, prepared for the pious.* Those who spend [in Allah's Cause - deeds of charity, alms, etc.] in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger, and who pardon men; verily, Allah loves the good-doers.
In a previous post, we addressed how important it is to spend in the name of Allah during either good or bad times. Allah Followed the act of spending during good and bad times with another essential, yet, hard manner for the human being to observe. Repressing anger, this is the first stage. To repress one’s anger during situations that may trigger anger, then the second stage The second stage is to pardon, it is to derive of Allah’s Name and Attribute the All Pardon. To be capable of reminding oneself during pressuring situations and say if Allah Is the All Pardon and Allah Is the One Who Created us, why couldn’t I pardon xyz who did this or that? And the last stage, which if the person succeeded to attain shall qualify to be among those who hasten and march forth towards the previously described incomparable Jannah and we all should strive to attain - it is hard though brothers and sisters - is to do good, be kind, to the one who hurt us. The translator may Allah Reward him much called it good doers. Actually, the word is Muhsineen. I will try my best to convey the meaning. For example muhsin is derived from the verb yuhsin which is to do something for Allah but it also carries the meaning of do it in a perfect manner, in a good way, excel. You can say he/she yuhisn cooking, drawing, typing, ..etc. It means he/she is capable of doing this thing well enough. It can be also used as to give others extra. Thus, to attain this invaluable reward, you need to accomplish two acts on two totally different levels, however, both together make two aspects of the hardest process in a human life. Spending money, that is really dear to the human being, specially during hard times, this is when the real test is. And on the other hand, anger and handling anger related situations. Both issues are considered criteria of how far a human being is willing to institute Quran and certainly Allah in his/her life. Note that Allah Placed the money aspect first, then followed it with the temper aspect. If you can spend in happy, comfortable, and good times, Insh a Allah you will be able to repress anger, pardon and then be good to the one who caused the harm. Just exactly as you give charity to needy people. It is the same sense. To further clarify it, it is when you do good to someone without expecting any return from the person. Come to think about the order of encouraged acts, you will see that those aspects form the two wings of a good human society, a society that spends money in the name of Allah, helping others, lifting problems, mitigating suffering, then this same society would be supported with the trend of repressing anger, pardoning and helping, supporting, assisting even the one who harmed and hurt the individual.
Bismillah
Praise be to Allah the All Knowing, The Merciful, The Creator of All Creation, prayer and peace be upon Mohamed, and all Prophets and Messengers.
How many time you read this amazing book the Quran, you still discover certain points as if you never read them before, as if it is your first time, and you become amazed, astonished and really taken by the deepest of deep meanings and styles that Allah The All Knowing Put just in few words. Just with very few words Allah may He be Glorified and Exalted Challenges mankind through this book and shall continue to Challenge till the Day After.
Reading Surat ArRahman, which I don’t know how many times I read it, I stopped at a certain Ayah and thought to myself Sobhan Allah:
He created man (Adam) from sounding clay like the clay of pottery.
In different positions of Quran, Allah explained how Allah Created Adam, I mean stages, material, etc. Allah in different positions used different terms. Non believers take this against Quran claiming that this stands as contradiction. Sobhan Allah, if only they open their minds rather than trying to pick in an illogical manner. Although many of those non believers who tried to criticize Quran, due to which, they had to read it, ended up embracing Islam.
Any way, let us stay on topic.
Allah Stated in other positions that Allah Created Adam from clay, mud, black smooth mud and other. But in this Ayah Allah Specified that Allah Created mankind from sounding clay like the clay used to make pottery. Why? Why pottery specially. Simply because pottery is the only kind of clay made items that has pores. Those pored that are similar to human skin pores even in the role they serve. Pottery pores allow the pot to sweat, ventilate..just like human skin allows us to perspire and sweat. Just in this Ayah only that Allah Brought the word fakhar which is pottery. It is not that Allah (astaghferullah) Is confused or uncertain or changes words, no but rather Allah Is the Creator of all Knowledge and Allah Knows best how and when to give this knowledge. I m sure at the time this Ayah was revealed, Muslims then were not aware of the reason why this similarity was made.
Bismillah
Praise be to Allah the All Pardon and prayer and peace be upon His final Messenger Mohamed Ibn Abdullah and all Prophets and Messengers.
As usual brothers and sisters, I was reciting the Quran a week ago, I stopped at any Ayah that I read Alhamdulelah numerous times, and as if it was the first time. It touched me deeply and triggered an incomparable interaction with the insightful phrasing. Sobaha Allah, I was very affected that the deep sense remained in my heart, unable to put it into words, either verbally or in writing for about 2 days, till a relevant chance came that I discussed it with someone.
The Ayah in Question is:
“They ask you (O Muhammad) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: "In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit." And they ask you what they ought to spend. Say: "That which is beyond your needs." Thus Allah makes clear to you His Laws in order that you may give thought." (Quran 2:219)
In a previous Ayah of the same Surah another question was posed to the Messenger salla Allah a`lyhee wa sallam – we are aware that such Ayahs that start with they ask you are questions from Muslims and Allah Commands the Messenger to respond saying Qol (say). “They ask you (O Muhammad) what they should spend. Say: Whatever you spend of good must be for parents and kindred and orphans and the poor and the wayfarers, and whatever you do of good deeds, truly, Allah knows it well.” (Quran 2: 215).
Thus in the first question when the question was general regarding areas where one must spend money, the reply came listing down the categories put in a priority order. I mean it must be given out first to parents, then close relatives, orphans and so forth till the end of the categories. This was a direct classification to where we should spend our money. This is a mere money spending issue being explained here.
Then Allah Moved on with the sequence of the Ayahs explaining about Qital and the sacred months. Then came another question regarding drinking of alcohol and gambling. Both items involve money, one to buy and the other to fund the game in which one may win or loose money. The practice of gambling involves making revenue or spending money, so is the alcohol drink that involves spending. Allah Aimed at gradually prohibiting both items, thus explained how they both carry sin and benefit with the sin greater than the benefit. But the amazing part is after being told that one should not spend money in either activities, again the question comes alright where should we spend? In other words, advice us of a recommended channel where we can allocate our money. Allah Sobhanhu wa Ta`al in an incomparable wording Tells us say Al A`fow. The translator translated it as what is beyond the need. Yes this is of course one meaning, however, because Quran is a coherent text that no matter how much you dig still Allah Enlightens you with more meanings, Afo means pardon. Allah gave the act of pardoning others a monetary value. Like Allah Is also telling those who cannt physically spend money, if you practice pardon, this will be counted as spending money. That is why Allah succeeded it with Thus Allah makes clear to you His Laws in order that you may give thought. Actually, you can also say so that you may ponder and reflect. Indeed this Ayah and deep meaning is worth pondering and reflection. Pardoning those who hurt you is not an easy task. If we check this with other Ayahs, you will find for example:
“And let not those among you who are blessed with graces and wealth swear not to give (any sort of help) to their kinsmen, the poor, and those who left their homes for Allah's Cause. Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Quran 24:22). Just think for a moment, this Ayah was revealed to Abu Bakr encouraging him to pardon the one who came up with the false accusation against his own daughter Aisha may Allah be pleased with her. The man came to him asking for financial help and he was reluctant to do so. The Ayah came directly telling him let them pardon and forgive, don’t they wish that Allah Forgives their sins?
How hard this is? That is why Allah gave it a monetary value. This is an option, an alternative for those who are financially incapable to practice Afow (pardon) which is highly rewarded since Allah also describes those who do saying:
“The good deed and the evil deed cannot be equal. Repel (the evil) with one which is better (i.e. Allah ordered the faithful believers to be patient at the time of anger, and to excuse those who treat them badly): then verily he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend.
35.
But none is granted it (the above quality) except those who are patient and none is granted it except the owner of the great portion (of happiness in the Hereafter i.e. Paradise and of a high moral character) in this world.” (Quran 41: 34-35)
In order to encourage us to strive hard to attain this level, Allah Gave it a monetary value. Because in other positions Allah encouraged the woman during divorce to pardon her rights either her or her wali, so the one who killed someone by mistake, in case the victim’s family decided to pardon the blood money. Thus, if you actually put all those Ayahs and meanings together and see how Allah in a very concise and to the point Commanded the Messenger to say instead of spending in buying alcohol drink and gambling, you might better spend by practicing pardoning, and this sign is worth pondering. It is really worth pondering in order to come up with how pardoning someone can have a monetary value. Sobhan Allah.
Alhamdulelah Who Has Guided for this and if it was not for Allah we wouldn’t have been guided.
Bismillah
Praise be to Allah the All Close and prayer and peace be upon His final Messenger Mohamed Ibn Abdullah and all Prophets and Messengers.
"Verily! We have seen the turning of your face (O Muhammad) towards the heavens. Surely, We shall turn you to a Qibla that shall please you, so turn your face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque. And wheresoever you people are, turn your faces (in prayer) in that direction. Certainly, the people who were given the Scriptures know well that that is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do." (2:144)
As usual, in many cases when I recite the Glorious Quran, certain Ayahs move and touché me deeply that I feel I interact on a different level.
When you recite the above mentioned noble Ayah, you see how carefully as usual Allah articulated the sentence to serve the desired meaning in incomparable manner. Using the verb Nara (translated as We have seen the turning of your face, I d rather use We See) in this present form is not haphazard, but rather it just derives from and builds on the Name Al Qareeb. It actually proves how Close Is Allah, it stresses the direct communication between Allah and His Messenger, but we shouldn’t take it as being restricted to the Messenger only. Allah Manifests - using this concise yet very accurate statement- how close and Knowing He can be. And yet we will never be able to realize how much is much. Please also note that responding to the wish and desire of his beloved Messenger to perform Salat facing Kaba`a, has an indication, since establishing this pre requisite became a focal point and a corener stone in Islam. Thus actually, responding to this wish had a long lasting effect and shall remain to have it till the Day After. But my core of interest here is the style of communication between Allah The Great and His Messenger salla Allah a`lyhee wa sallam and every other devotee in the same situation. Allah Willed to tell us how Close, Knowing, Aware, Seeing and Wise He is. How He Realizes all what is in our hearts, aware of our inner struggles and wishes, and certainly Most Capable in no time to just respond to it very easily without incurring any burden. In a faction of a second, during Salah Allah Commanded to switch to Ka`aba. I will not elaborate why was it changed to A`qsa at the first place. This will be a totally different issue. But just ponder on the prompt response. This is what we should really learn from this Ayah.
The lesson learnt is how we must struggle to obey Allah's Commands, strive continuously to maintain a direct one to one relation with Allah, and focus on how to enrich and further coin this relation. We should do all this while being confident of Allah's Awareness, Knowledge and mostly Mercy and Capacity to fulfill at any time. Allah Is so Close to exactly Know our struggles and grievances. Work on that relation in order to gain more and more.
Bismillah
Praise be to Allah Creator of the Worlds, Lord of the House (Ka`ba), One Who Holds my soul in His Hands, prayer and peace be upon his final Messenger, all prophets and messengers till the Day After.
In continuation to the Qibla issue, an issue of multifaceted aspects. On the superficial it merely refers to the direction where a Muslim must face as part of the Salat rituals. I mean if one does not face Qiblah, Salat is invalid. But it has another hidden aspect that requires an insightful approach to understand. First we need to understand what is the meaning of the word Qiblah. The word Qibla means the direction where one is heading to, it is derived from Iqbal. Iqbal is when you head towards something, anything, is when you walk towards something, when you are accepting and motivated to do something willingly. Thus, the word is not restricted on merely a direction to be applied during Salat, but rather has a more in depth connotation. No wonder Allah Used this word in particular to refer to where we must direct ourselves during Salat. Combining between those two actions, is really significant. As we know, Salat is our meeting, connection, communication means with Allah. To prove this, we face the Qibla, we accept doing Salat, we are willing to look to this direction which is the direction of Allah. In other words, we admit accepting Allah's law, commands, and renew our covenant with Allah. From this, we understand that Qibla is an approach, part of the attitude, and way of life, not just a direction during Salat. Facing the direction, is a symbol to obeying Allah, and accepting full content of Islam. Let us just go back a little bit to the beginning of the set of Ayahs addressing the Qiblah issue, it starts with an essential explanation saying:
"The fools (pagans, hypocrites, and Jews) among the people will say, "What has turned them (Muslims) from their Qiblah [prayer direction (towards Jerusalem)] to which they were used to face in prayer." Say, (O Muhammad ) "To Allah belong both, east and the west. He guides whom He wills to a Straight Way." (Quran 2:142). The superficial situation is that Muslims used to perform Salat facing Ka`ba (being the house of Allah that holds special sanctity position) which changed by a divine command to Al Aqsa. The Ayah is being sarcastic of those who are mocking Muslims for changing the direction. The mock because they adopt a shallow approach towards the divine commands, they fail to take an insightful look into the implied meaning. The meaning was to validate Muslims' level of faith. That is why Allah Say To Allah belong both, east and the west. The whole universe is His. Allah Is free to command us to direct towards where Allah Pleases. To those who don’t understand, they took it as abandoning a very important symbol by shifting away from Ka`ba. They adopted a shallow approach, failed to see the inner meaning. The whole point was to see who worships the Lord of the House rather than the house. Who created the house, who is the owner of the house, not only the house, who is the owner of the whole universe? Concurrently, the situation, meaning and in depth connotation, makes us realize that the Qiblah is a way of life, an approach, methodology..etc. No wonder Allah after two Ayahs including the one we highlighted above; ends this set of Ayahs with a harsh warning to His beloved Messenger (which is in turn a warning to all of us) saying: "Verily, if you follow their desires after that which you have received of knowledge (from Allah), then indeed you will be one of the wrong-doers". Precisely". This warning makes it very explicit what exactly is the role of a Qiblah. It is the compass, the direction of one's desires, orientation and trends. Being so, it is grave for a Muslim, leave alone the Messenger salla Allah a`lyhee wa sallam to follow the desires of the non Muslims. But before the warning there is an extremely deep statement.
The Ayah say: " And even if you were to bring to the People of the Scripture all the Signs, they would not follow your Qiblah (prayer direction), nor are you going to follow their Qiblah (prayer direction). And they will not follow each other's Qiblah (prayer direction). Verily, if you follow their desires after that which you have received of knowledge (from Allah), then indeed you will be one of the wrong-doers." (Quran 2:145).
It establishes a fact that is clear and evident till today. In this Ayah, Allah Is making a collective statement about people of scripture (Jews and Nazarenes), actually telling His Messenger that no matter what he does and introduces of evidences and proofs to those people that he is the Messenger and that they must follow Islam as was originally introduced to them before they corrupted their own religion (referred to here as Qiblah), still they will not accept or follow. But the statement is succeeded with stating another fact to the Messenger and certainly all Muslims then, that he will not also follow their Qiblah (trends). This makes it impossible for a Muslim to follow their suits. Again and for the 3rd time, Allah States that even among them, people of the book, will not follow each other's Qiblah (no need to re explain the meaning here). Sobhan Allah, you will not find today a Nazarene who follows Jewish approaches, trends, ..and vice versa, Jews will not follow, adopt or apply the Nazarenes way of life. If you are in a supermarket, you will simply find a Kosher corner catering for the Jewish community because they are not to follow the Nazarenes way of life concerning food. And this is just one example. Sobhan Allah, how eloquent the Quran language is, in just one word, Allah Explained a whole system of life that sustains till today. Truly, neither both groups do follow footsteps of each other. But the most important is for us to stay firm and keep this noble Ayah right in mind each and every moment. To stay firm on our Qiblah and never change direction. To observe our direction rather than running to follow their footstep.
May Allah Assist us to stay so.
Alhamdulelah and prayer and peace be upon the Messenger.
Bismillah
Praise be to Allah, adequate praise to His endless bounties and blessings that we can never count or identify, blessings and peace be upon his final Messenger our beloved teacher and leader Mohammad, his household, wives, and all other prophets and Messengers
Few weeks ago I was discussing an issue with a colleague, he told me that he ran into a site dedicated to discrediting the Quran and he bumped into the Ayahs saying:
"Then We made the Nutfah into a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood), then We made the clot into a little lump of flesh, then We made out of that little lump of flesh bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh, and then We brought it forth as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators." (Quran 23:14)
And
" "Will you call upon Ba'l (a well- known idol of his nation whom they used to worship) and forsake the Best of creators," (Quran 37:125)
According to the site, how can Muslims claim to worship only one Deity who Is Allah The One Who Is not made of parts while their Quran clearly states otherwise. They based their argument on the word Best of creators mentioned in both Ayahs. This is where the problem lied as to how come we worship only One Allah when Quran explicitly states best of creators implying there are other creators?
Sobhan Allah, if one thinks for just a moment, this noble Ayah stands actually as a challenge, miracle and strong evidence of the divinity of Quran and the issue can be easily resolved.
In this Ayah, Allah Tells us there will come a time when mankind shall manufacture things, make sculpture and others, then becomes infatuated with his own manufacture calling it creation. Take for example, Michelangelo's infamous statue of David blessing and peace be upon him, after he completed the work, he became so much infatuated with his own hand made piece that he kept asking it to speak. He felt like a creator, similar examples are numerous. On the same theme, one who in involved in fine arts (paintings specially human portrays) they turn so much attached to their work with a sense of creation. In some cases, when one is highly commending the artists work, they would say, O I feel it will speak.
The term creation is even widely used nowadays in the IT field, create a file, folder, system…etc. Leave alone the cloning trend that is growing at the present time, taking mankind to a totally new era and direction. All this, whoever is involved with it, somehow or the other do give themselves the title of creator.
Allah The All Knowing, The All Knowledgeable, The All Seeing, Knew ahead that mankind will take this position. Thus Allah Is telling us, even those you are called creators, I shall remain the best of creators. Because simply, let one of those provide the main, basic, elementary and original ingredients to do manufacture or make any of such work. Let those who are involved in cloning bring an original version of what they clone. Can they??????? Certainly not, because there is only One real Creator.
Praise be to Allah The All Near and Close, All Knowing, All Spacious Who Accomodates everything, blessings and peace be upon our Messenger, teacher, leader and mentor Mohammad Ibn Abdullah, his companions and household members,
Pondering on the noble Ayah Quran 2:186:
"And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright." (Interpretation of the meaning by Quran nu.)
"When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way." (Interpretation of the meanings by Yusuf Ali)
Taking an insightful look at this Ayahs, we see how Allah Sobhanhu wa Ta`ala Is Instructing the Messenger blessings and peace be upon him on how to reply to Allah's servants question about Allah. Allah Tells him to explain that He is Close and near. Through this closeness and nearness, what does Allah Do? Allah responds to, which means fulfills or grants, in other words responds to the person calling on Allah, meaning the one who is speaking to Allah or requesting and asking his/her need, when the person asks his/her need from Allah and only Allah.
However, Allah Sobhanhu wa Ta`ala further explains that this action which is supplicating to Allah Sobhanhu wa Ta`ala is in fact initiated from the other Party. In other words, the Initiator here is Allah A`z wa Jal. To Allah all the praise.
Why are we saying this? Please take a close look at the Ayah in the part saying: listen to my call. This means that when a Muslim calls upon Allah, in fact, he/she is responding to Allah's initial calling him/her to single the enslavement to Allah and Submission to Allah Sobhanhu wa Ta`ala.
This makes our supplication and invocation to Allah a response to Allah's call for being closely linked and connected to Him and dealing with only Him. That is why Allah succeeds this part with the word and let them believe in me. In Arabic the word is wa lu`menoo. The Lam here serves as an assertion particle communicating the meaning of: one who does this action will certainly imply believing in Allah and only Allah Sobhanhu wa Ta`la. What will be the outcome? The devotee will be granted Rushd. Nevertheless, Allah made it conditional saying so that they may, or hoping they will be. In other words, I Wish for them Rushd. What is Rushd? Rushd is understanding, comprehending, realizing and recognizing most of the aspects of this world and the hereafter. Thus, Allah Sobhanhu wa Ta`la actually advantages us by calling us to Him, further, Allah Confirms that He is Near and readily available for immediate response, if and I reiterate, if we responded to His call.
To Allah is all the Praise and gratitude.
Praise be to Allah, The All Knowing, All Seer, adequate praise to His endless bounties and blessings that we can never count or identify, blessings and peace be upon his final Messenger our beloved teacher and leader Mohammad, his household, wives, and all other prophets and Messengers
I was reciting Surat Al Emran (Quran 3) yesterday, and I stopped at the following noble Ayah, pondering deeply about and trying to extract insight:
"As to those who disbelieve, I will punish them with a severe torment in this world and in the Hereafter, and they will have no helpers." (Quran 3:56).
The part that mainly drew my attention was the underlined. Why? Because in many occasions you will meet a Muslim who tells you, look at the non believers who had it all. They are living a very outstanding life style, comfortable, convenient, attaining all necessary aspects of good life including medical care, education, money, resources, ..etc. The Muslim would say, how can this Ayah resolve with this situation. They are not tormented at all. On the contrary, they are enjoying themselves to the full, to an extend that they do not even feel they are at wrong. In other words, simply, they do not feel they are being punished because of a major fault which is the non belief in a Creator, their Creator who Provided all of this. So how can both situations match??
Alright, let us take a deeper look. What is the suicide rate in such societies?, what is the rate of using anti depressants? Seeking psychological consultancies? What is the crime rate? What is the homosexuality rate (wait I will tell you how this is a stark sign of punishment)? What is the divorce rate? What is the run away from home rate? Drug use? And the list goes on. Leave alone the natural disasters, among others, hurricanes which are quite frequent in the USA, flush floods, earthquakes..etc. One would say, but Muslim countries are equally exposed to such crisis. Yes, but not with the same frequency. Just take hurricanes in the USA for example.
The punishment is that mostly you find non believers are suffering discontent, despite of all the success they attain, all the glory they have, they feel empty, have nothing. Homosexuality is another form of dissatisfaction, they can not attain the happiness they are seeking in whatever they do, the illusive fascinating feeling they are searching for, so they resort to new forms of pleasure in an effort to reach this desired and far away inner satisfaction. But they still do not. Some of them indulge in excessive sex, others, seek pleasure in monetary gain through any type of practice, gambling..etc. And they still can not. At the end, they just feel that they can not cope, they resort to drugs looking for a fake pleasure and happiness, do they attain it?? No. That is when it comes to the climax and they just commit suicide. Is not this enough torment? They are not enjoying all the pleasures Allah Gave them, in spite of how advanced their countries are to the extend that such countries had become an attractive destination to Many Muslims who are looking for the worldly comfort. They do not feel it. Or they feel it and perceive it as a source of pride. But are still unable to feel it, enjoy it, depend on it for happiness, the real true and sustainable inner satisfaction. They might attain false satisfaction after taking a drug dose, drink of alcohol, sexual intercourse without marriage or even an abnormal sexual relation (between the same sex) thinking that this would really give them the ultimate desired satisfaction. But on the contrary they continue on the same condition. This is enough of a torment. Leave alone that they live their whole life serving the wrong purpose, which is a waste of time and effort. Is not this a clear and explicit manifestation of this noble Ayah. But the hardest torment, is their non believe per se. Because actually realizing that you have a Creator, believing in this Creator, worshiping this Creator and Him alone, lends you an incomparable sense of security, safety, satisfaction and pleasure. Walelahi Alhamd for being a Muslim.
Bismillah
Praise be to Allah One Who Assumes all, Sustains all, Provides for all regardless of their belief, One Who Does not need, or wait for anything from anyone, blessings and peace be upon His final Messenger, our beloved leader Mohammad, his household, companions and those who followed his footsteps,
In completion to the previous insight, and as we know that the amazing Quran explains itself in different positions, and out of our duty to help one another to further ponder deeply in Quran and attempt seriously to understand it. Again I stopped at this Ayah:
“Whosoever desires the life of the world and its glitter; to them We shall pay in full (the wages of) their deeds therein, and they will have no diminution therein.” (Quran 11:15)
This very explicit Ayah openly tells us that we need to define our goal in this life and it also tells us or let us say explains many situations that may seem confusing to us. For example-mind you this Ayah does not explain situation of a non Muslim only-when we observe Muslims who are not practicing, those who are oblivious, who are not aware or more to say pretend to ignore that Allah Is watching and constantly aware of us, we observe in some cases elements of this category who attained best positions, secure smooth life, no serious problems, they are missing nothing, they endure no suffering..etc. Does not this happen, do not we observe this in many and several cases?? We certainly do. In addition, we usually comment saying la hawla wala qowata ila billah, look at this person who is not even informed about Zakat, leave alone paying it, who does not perform Salat..etc, but they are leading perfect life. On the contrary of so and so, who is constantly under pressure and stress in many aspects. The former had sat his /her goal, he/she desires the life of the world and its glitter, Allah Grants them what they want, expands their offering, provides them with what they desire, as this is Allah’s Attribute (responsibility). They get what they ask for. Further Allah Promises that He Shall not underpay, or underestimate their deeds. This even brings a more insightful point here. Allah Say that those who desire this life, but for example work hard, observe proper values, even if they are not doing it because of Allah, Allah Shall properly compensate them by empowering them in this life. They will be completely and fully rewarded in this life which they chose. But then, nothing in the Hereafter.
I think this explains a lot to us, assist us to make a choice for a perfect goal. This does not mean though that those believers who strive in this life shall lead an obstacle-oriented life, we are allowed to ask Allah to facilitate our matters and even lead a comfortable life, and receive a sound way of death, and a revival that shall not bring to us shame or scandal.
However, again and again, we need to define the proper and correct goal in order to cross safely.
Alhamdulelah Rubel a`lameen, and blessing and peace be upon his Messenger Mohammad.
Bismillah
Praise be to Allah, Praise to One Who Created Skies and Earth, One Who raise skies without supporting pillars, prayer and blessings be upon the best of mankind Mohammad Ibn Abdullah, our Messenger, mentor, and leader.
I have been thinking lately on an important issue, sometimes, I get those ideas which may sound strange and odd to people. However, I thought of sharing them.
In most cases when someone escapes a definite death situation, like terminal disease, tragic accident..etc, people express sheer happiness and start communicating the story. Like imagine, xyz had terminal cancer, was fully cured, doctors were not expecting more than 3 months. But then he/she is totally cured and continue living. Xyz was in a car crash and came out intact. Anyone who sees the car expects no alive passengers. Well, if he /she didn’t die at this moment or that moment, eventually will die, after one more month, year, ten years. The end is death still. Why do people react in a such a manner to those situations? I m not really sure. I can not understand why should I be happy that someone escaped death which will eventually happen in some other time. He/she had not been granted pardon, no one will, the sentence had just been postponed. How should this be reacted to with stark happiness. On the contrary, we should think and ponder, what type of role Allah Still wants this person to play in life and the person should focus on this. It might be a message for many that Allah Is the All Capable, this incident might change the person's life, it might be a second chance from Allah for this person to reconsider. There is nothing to be happy about, but to think and ponder and reflect.
This is one point, the other point, and please bear with me. Why people react extremely to child birth. I am aware that Allah Called them "Zeenatul hayatu dunia" ornament of the world. But, just with a quick thinking. A child means responsibility to parent in terms of how will they bring up the child, they shall be asked before Allah on how they brought him/her up, what was the source of provision, what did they teach the child? Did they teach him/her how to place Allah First and foremost, or dunia. Were they able to face the challenges specially in light of our current time, leave alone that this child shall face tests and trials when they grow up, how will they handle it? will their approach be satisfactory to Allah or to themselves.?? will they be the righteous child any parent wishes to have after they depart this world? and at the end this child shall die.
If we apply the Ayah that say:
"In order that you may not be sad over matters that you fail to get, nor rejoice because of that which has been given to you. And Allah likes not prideful boasters." (Quran 57:23)
Take child birth for example, having a child is classified under which has been given to you. It is Allah's Giving. Since Allah Sobhanhu wa Ta`ala is the All Giver, having a child is part of this giving which we should not rejoice for, as we never know what is coming along with it. I mean which type of tests, trials and responsibilities. But we should rather think on how to invest Allah's Giving rather than being busy with the item that had been given by Allah. The focus should be on how to use this gift...
About the Noble Quran - Muslimah - 12-18-2011
Bismillah
Praise be to Allah, the All Knowing, the All Aware, blessing be upon His final Messenger Mohammad Ibn Abdullah, his household and companions,
The following noble Ayah manifests insightful deep fact of aged people who are inflicted with Alzheimer's disease, this is a clear description of the disease. In cases of infliction, the old person who is inflicted, originally, of course knows a lot including people, self, knowledge, places, food, etc. But after the infliction, we all seek refuge to Allah from all problematic diseases, knows nothing, confuses everything, looses concentration, looses even control on responding to call of nature in the proper places, astaghferuallah. Reading the Ayah and pondering about how Allah explained the diseases in just few words is really stunning. But what is new, this is the Noble Quran which shall continue to be valid till the Day After.
Quran.nu
"And Allah has created you and then He will cause you to die, and of you there are some who are
<span style="text-decoration:underline">sent back
</span>to senility,
so that they know nothing after having known (much).
Truly! Allah is All-Knowing, All-Powerful." (Quran 16:70)
However, I would translate the underlined red fonted part as turn to instead of sent back, as sent back is literal translation of the original Arabic text. The meaning is turning to senility though. May Allah Grant us useful knowledge.