Archive
Do you want to stay away from Sins?
A man came to Imam Hossein (a.s.) and said, “I frequently disobey Allah and cannot prevent myself from sins; therefore, please, give me an advice O son of the Prophet so that I may keep away from sins.”
Imam Hossein (a.s.): “Do five things and then commit sins as much as you want.”
Sinner: “Please tell me what those five things are.”
Imam Hossein (a.s.): “(1) Do not eat from the provisions of Allah, and then do whatever you like.”
Sinner: “Then what will I be able to eat because whatever there is in his universe is from Allah!”
Imam Hossein (a.s.): “(2) Then leave the earth of Allah, and then do whatever you like.”
Sinner: “O Imam, this is even more difficult than the first! If I leave the earth, then where would I live-all belongs to Allah.”
Imam Hossein (a.s.): “(3) Then find a place where Allah cannot see you, and then do whatever you like.”
Sinner: “But, O Imam, nothing is hidden from Allah.”
Imam Hossein (a.s.): (4) Then do one thing, when the angel of death comes to you, keep him away from yourself, and then do whatever you like.
And if you cannot do that, then lastly, (5) do not enter the Hell when God sends you into it.
If you can do that, then go and commit whatever sins you like.”
Sinner: “That’s it, O son of the Prophet! From today, Allah will not find me in a situation which He dislikes.”
Want to have a perfect New Year?
Here’s a recipe that tells you how….
“Take 12 fine,full-grown months; see that these are thoroughly
cleansed of old memories of bitterness, rancour, hate and jealousy.
Cut these months into 30 or 31 equal parts.(This batch will keep for
one year. Do not attempt to make more than one batch at a time. Many
people spoil the entire lot in this way.)
Prepare one day at a time as follows:
Into each day, put 12 parts of faith,
11 of patience,
10 of courage,
9 of work (some people omit his ingredient and spoil the flavour of the rest),
8 of hope,
7 of fidelity,
6 of open-mindedness,
5 of kindness,
4 of rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad),
3 of prayer,
2 of meditation, and
1 of well-selected resolution.
If you have no conscientious scruples, add a teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun,a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humour.
STRUGGLE FOR DIGNITY
Among the myriad Iraqi refugee families who have sunk into poverty are many determined to get by without dishonor.”We don’t think of our future, only of our children’s future,” said Rukkaya Fadhil, a 34-year-old woman in a green headscarf who keeps smiling despite the grim reality around her.
She has to care for her husband Fallah Jaheel, paralyzed from the waist down after being shot several times in his mobile telephone shop in Babil, south of Baghdad, three years ago.
The couple sold their house to pay for Jaheel’s first seven months in hospital and eventually fled to Syria with their two children, aged 11 and 7. They have lived for a year in the poor Damascus district of Sayyida Zeinab, crowded with Iraqis.
Their savings gone, they depend on charity and whatever help they can get from foreign relief agencies, hoping they will one day be given funds to go abroad so that Jaheel can get advanced treatment for his paralysis — and perhaps walk again.
The UNHCR and partner agencies are handing out food and cash to the neediest Iraqi refugee families they can identify.
They plan to give food packages to at least 200,000 people in the next two months, compared to 51,000 now. About 7,000 families will be getting $100 a month by the end of December.
Bushra, 39, who would not give her family name, sometimes despairs at the indignities of life as a refugee and the struggle to look after her family in a foreign land.
Her troubles began, she explains, when her three brothers were killed at the behest of Iraq’s former leader Saddam Hussein. That prompted her husband to leave her, and the wives of the two married brothers to abandon their children.
Bushra was left to care for nine children, only one of them her own, as well as her ailing mother. One of the boys was killed by Shi’ite militia in Iraq. Sufyan, the oldest at 21, was tortured and cannot work. He sits staring at the television.
“I’m so tired, God, I’m tired,” the usually feisty Bushra wept in the damp, unheated room where the family sleeps. “What’s this life? We knew no life under Saddam and no life after him.”
Her mother, a black scarf around her face, recalled their once-comfortable life in Baghdad, saying their flat in Damascus would have fitted into a corridor of the villa they once owned.
“Just take me back to Iraq so I can die there,” she pleaded.
Bushra, who has worked in Iraq as a photographer and a hairdresser, cannot find a job in Damascus — officially Iraqi refugees are not allowed to work in Syria. One grown-up son is a casual laborer on building sites, earning about $3 a day.
Somehow Bushra has held her family together, but it is easy to see how refugees in similar straits might send their children to work or beg, or cast aside social and religious taboos and push their womenfolk into night clubs or dubious marriages.
Should we worry??
Is there a magic cutoff period when
Offspring become accountable for their own
Actions? Is there a wonderful moment when
Parents can become detached spectators in
The lives of their children and shrug, ‘It’s
Their life,’ and feel nothing?
When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital
Corridor waiting for doctors to put a few
Stitches in my daughter’s head. I asked, ‘When do
You stop worrying?’ The nurse said,
‘When they get out of the accident stage.’ My
Dad just smiled faintly and said nothing.
When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little
Chair in a classroom and heard how one of my
Children talked incessantly, disrupted the class,
And was headed for a career making
License plates. As if to read my mind, a teacher
Said, ‘Don’t worry, they all go through
This stage and then you can sit back, relax and
Enjoy them.’ My dad just smiled
Faintly and said nothing.
When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime
Waiting for the phone to ring, the cars to come
Home, the front door to open. A friend said,
‘They’re trying to find themselves. Don’t worry,
In a few years, you can stop worrying. They’ll be
Adults.’ My dad just smiled faintly
And said nothing.
By the time I was 50, I was sick & tired of being
Vul nerable. I was still worrying over my
Children, but there was a new wrinkle. There
Was nothing I could do about it. My
Dad just smiled faintly and said nothing. I
Continued to anguish over their failures, be
Tormented by their frustrations and absorbed in
Their disappointments.
My friends said that when my kids got married I
Could stop worrying and lead my own
Life. I wanted to believe that, but I was
Haunted by my dad’s warm smile and his
Occasional, ‘You look pale. Are you all right?
Call me the minute you get home. Are
You depressed about something?’
Can it be that parents are sentenced to a
Lifetime of worry? Is concern for one another
Handed down like a torch to blaze the trail of
Human frailties and the fears of the
Unknown? Is concern a curse or is it a virtue
That elevates us to the highest form of life?
One of my children became quite irritable
Recently, saying to me, ‘Where were you? I’ve been
Calling for 3 days, and no one answered I was worried.’
I smiled a warm smile.
The torch has been passed.
Conversation with God
Another apt response to Zakir Naik's ignorance or arrogance!!!
FOR THE LOVE OF YAZID IBN MU’AWIYAH
By Zakir-e-Hussayn, M Abdullah.
(This is an expository article. Therefore, you may like to read it in stages and not all in one go).
When Dr. Zakir Naik said publicly on Peace TV, “Yazid, may Allah be pleased with him”, he meant exactly what he said. What was in his subconscious emerged on his tongue. In his speeches and Q&As posted on Youtube, he indulges into the Wahhabi indoctrinated rant against whom they brand as “grave worshippers” who seek the “intercession of the dead”. They know very well that there are no Muslims who worship graves. What type of Da’awah (calling people towards the path of God) is this, where the Da’ee (the caller) resorts to misrepresenting the faith and beliefs of others because of political motives and rivalries?
The graduates from the School of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Abdul Wahhab have caused mayhem on international arena, with suicide bombings and indiscriminate killing of innocent men, women and children, including disabled and infants, all in the name of Jihad and Islam. One hardly hears a word of condemnation from the so-called Da’ees against the cowardly acts of the terrorists who committed the atrocities of 9/11, 7/7, Madrid bombing and the daily suicide bombings in Iraq, just because those who are massacred are not from their ilk. What one hears at the most on the pulpits, is half-hearted, illegible, face-saving, vague condemnation or sheer double talk. Is this behaviour of the scholars according to Islamic teachings?
In a question posed from the audience, shown on Peace TV, Dr. Naik claimed under flimsy excuses, that he is a “pakka Hanafi” and a “pakka Shafa’ee”. In reply to another question he said, to divide oneself into Sunni or Shia is against the Quran. His Q&As (permanently chaired by none other than his own brother) did not get an opportunity to point out to him that if being divided into Sunni or Shia is against Islam, then there is no question of being Hanafi or Shafa’ee because both of them took pride in calling themselves Sunnis. These contradictory rhetoric can only work in an audience which is unaware, uninformed and cannot contest on the basis of knowledge.
Among the Sunnis, there are two major Schools in the IndoPak subcontinent. The Deobandis categorically undermine and neglect the role played by the noble progeny of the Prophet in reviving and protecting Islam and the Qur’anic knowledge. They are the IndoPak version of the Wahhabis who would rather blot all the Hadiths that have appeared in their own Sihah in favour of Ahl ul Bayt. But they refer to the Sihah (their six books of collection of Hadiths) by picking and choosing whatever suits their interest. Then there are the Brailvies, who are in vast majority, and they proclaim their love for Ahl ul Bayt (the family of the Prophet). They also curse publicly Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah, the confirmed Nasibi (the enemy and dispiser of the Prophet’s family). The best example can be seen and heard in the speeches of the celebrated Hanafi Sufi scholar, Professor Muhammad Tahir al-Qadri, who attracts four times as much crowd as Dr. Naik does.
When Dr. Naik said that the “war of Karbala” (it was a battle, not a war) was a political war and not for Islam, and that the best thing is to follow Islam and the example of Prophet Muhammad, he absolved his Caliph, Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah, from every inhuman and barbaric atrocities he had committed against the innocent, pious, noblest, righteous men and the nearest and dearest members of the Prophet’s family. If it has escaped the attention of any Da’ee that the Qur’an speaks in more than 500 verses against all types of oppression and oppressors, then this so-called Da’ee is spreading crippled and half-baked information about the Qur’an and Islam.
Islam has adopted an uncompromising attitude against the oppressors in favour of the oppressed. And what Dr. Naik did was to turn the tables in favour of Mu’awiyah and Yazid, according to the Sunnah of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Abdul Wahhab.
Yazid, who was illegally imposed by his father as a hereditary ruler of the Muslims, against the teachings of the Qur’an and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (saww), was a declared debaucherer, tyrant, atrocious man who had no religious scruples and had breached the religious morals publicly. Hence, by invoking the pleasure of God for Yazid, Dr. Naik in fact blasphemed the teachings of Islam. But the political motivation converts even the learned people into obstinacy.
Even the six books of Hadiths speak about the oppression and injustices of Banu Umayyah. The history, except the distorted version of the opportunists, who lived on the stipends of Banu Umayyah, are full of events portraying the evil of Banu Umayyah. Hence, when Dr. Naik calls for following the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (saww), has he himself understood what the teachings of the Prophet were? The Prophet had strictly prohibited mutilation of the dead bodies, even if they be the bodies of mad dogs. But his Caliph’s forces trampled under the hooves of the horses, the corpses of the most pious and learned members of the Prophet’s family. It cannot have escaped his attention that in the six collection of the Hadiths, many sayings of the Prophet have been narrated in favour of Imam Hassan and Imam Hussayn and Amirul Mo’mineen Ali ( a.s.). In contrast, how many Hadiths can the advocates of Wahhabism produce in favour of Yazid or his father? The answer is double zero.
When Dr. Naik talks about following the example of Prophet Muhammad, and then goes on to support what Yazid did, declaring Karbala to be a political “war” and not for religion, then he has blasphemed the Prophet. Yazid assembled the entire force of his evil empire to besiege the small entourage of 72, headed by the grandson of the Prophet, whom the Prophet himself loved very dearly. Yazid’s forces on the orders from Yazid and Ibn Ziyad, kept them hungry and thirsty, and then massacred them in the most savage way imaginable. What type of Muslim can defend the killer of the family members of his own Prophet? What type of Muslim can find excuses for a Caliph who revived all the practices of Jahiliyyah (the Era of Ignorance) by captivating the ladies of the Prophet’s family, severing the heads of the most righteous men and displaying them from one city to another? What type of Muslim can excuse the Caliph whose forces ripped apart the throat of an infant with an arrow over a demand to quench his thirst? No wonder they cannot see any evil and bestiality in the suicide bombings and massacre of innocent people.
Much more learned than Dr. Naik can ever be was Allamah Jalaluddin al-Sayyuti, a Sunni scholar, who was an exegete of the Qur’an, a historian and a jurist. in his Tarikh al-Khulafa (History of the Caliphs) he writes that two Companions of the Prophet created mischief in the affairs of the people: (i) Amr ibn al-Aas for raising the Qur’an on the lances and (ii) Mughira bin Shu’aba for advising Mu’awiyah to nominate his son Yazid to the Islamic Caliphate (p. 229). Al-Sayyuti also writes, “May Allah curse Ibn Ziyad and the murderers of Hussayn and Yazid also” (p. 231). He narrates that Nofal bin Abi Furat referred to Yazid in the presence of Umar bin Abdul Aziz as “Amirul Mo’mineen Yazid”. Umar bin Abdul Aziz reacted by punishing him with 20 lashes (p. 232) for dignifying Yazid.
Al-Suyuti writes that in the year 63 H. Yazid was involved in sacking Madinat al-Rasool, in killing a generation of the Companions, and in desecrating and robbing Madinah. His troopers rapped 1000 virgin daughters of the Companions of the Prophet. Al-Suyuti continues that the Prophet had said, whoever terrifies the people of Madinah, upon him is the curse of Allah, that of His angels and that of all the people of the world, quoting Sahih Muslim. After creating carnage in Madinah in the incident of Harrah, the army of Yazid proceeded to Makkah to confront Abdullah ibn al-Zubair, a self-declared Caliph in Hijaz. In the process, they set fire to the holy Ka’aba (p. 232).
It follows that those who hold any grudge for the progeny of the Prophet, do not care at all about the sanctity of Makkah and Madinah either. Dr. Naik will be well advised to free his soul from prejudice and to read how some of the most learned personalities in history have assessed the battle of Karbala, between Hussayn – the product of the noblest blood in human existence – and Yazid, the product of Shajaratal Mal’oonah (the cursed tree, mentioned in the Qur’an). Dr. Naik could have referred to the unbiased views of his own national hero, Mahatma Ghandi, whose verdict on the battle Karbala is expressed eloquently. He wrote in 1924 in Young India: “I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind…I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of Hussayn, the regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission to save Islam.” It seems, Mahatma Ghandi understood Islam better than these so-called Da’ees these days.
One of the most prominent Muslim saints in India, Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti says: Imam Hussayn gave his head, but did not put his hand into the hands of Yazid. Verily, Hussayn is the foundation of la ilaha illa Allah. Hussayn is the leader and the leader of the leader. Hussayn himself is Islam and the shield of Islam. He gave his head (for Islam) but never pledged to Yazid. Truly Hussayn is the founder of “La ilaha illa Allah” (“There is no God but Allah”). Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti further says: Hussayn is the Prince, Hussayn is the King; He is faith and faith’s defender most daring; He preferred death to Yazid’s allegiance; With his blood, Islam has verily been living.
Allama Muhammad Iqbal says: Hussayn uprooted despotism forever till the Day of Resurrection. He watered the dry garden of freedom with the surging wave of his blood, and indeed he awakened the sleeping Muslim nation. He depicts beautifully the status of Imam Hussayn in the sight of the true believers (not Munafiqeen): “Hussayn’s unique position in the Muslim community is like the honoured place occupied by the verse Qul ho wa’Allah in the Qur’an; Moses and Pharoah, Hussayn and Yazid, they are but the conflicting forces of life”. He continues in his poetry The secret of Karbala Event, “Truth survives and triumphs because of Hussayn. Falsehood is destined to meet with failure and grief.”
Charles Dickens says: If Hussayn fought to quench his worldly desires, then I do not understand why his sisters, wives and children accompanied him. It stands to reason therefore, that he sacrificed purely for Islam. Thomas Carlyle writes: The best lesson which we get from the tragedy of Karbala is that Hussayn and his Companions were the rigid believers of God. They illustrated that numerical superiority does not count when it comes to truth and falsehood. The victory of Hussayn despite his minority marvels me.
Brown writes in A Literary History of Persia: As a reminder, the blood-stained field of Karbala where the grandson of the Apostle of God fell at length, tortured by thirst and surrounded by the bodies of his murdered kinsmen, has been at any time since then sufficient to evoke even in the most lukewarm and heedless, the deepest emotion, the most frantic grief and the exaltation of spirit before which pain, danger and death shrink to unconsidered trifles.
Dr. K. Sheldrake best summarises the after-effects of the supreme sacrifice. He writes: Hussayn marched with his little company not to glory, not to power or wealth, but to a supreme sacrifice and every member of that gallant band, male and female, knew that the foes were implacable, were not only ready to fight but to kill. Denied even water for the children, they remained parched under a burning sun, amid scorching sands yet no one faltered for a moment and bravely faced the greatest odds without flinching.
All the opportunism and distortion of truth will also melt away, and people will realise that siding with the tyrannical, oppressive rulers for whatever reasons, is nothing but a blasphemy against Islam and against the Prophet’s teachings.
May the Prophet Muhammad (saww) accept this little contribution for unfolding the truth about the Nasibis.
http://www.human-rights-in-islam.co.uk/
From: murtaza
Salaamun ‘Alaikum.
Yes, I too heard it. I had so much admiration for Zakir Naik for his photographic memory and for his knowledge of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and other religions. I normally watch Peace T.V. I just could not believe it when he so very conveniently dismissed the remark of the Hindu who touched upon the history of Husaini Brahmins and who appropriately named two infamous and evil characters, that is, Ravan and Yazid. The intention and exercise of Zakir Naik was to impress upon the public that this was just one political event in history and that it need not necessarily be deemed to be true. And how clever he was to mention about the feud between Aisha and Imam Ali( a.s.)
What was most shocking was when he gave an appelation to Yazid which they normally give to the Khulfaa Rashidin, that is, ‘May God be pleased with him’ (Radhiyallahu anhu). My suspicion of him as a Nasibi was thus confirmed by this shocking utterance.
I think we need to get the experts to send a fitting reply to him and to expose this man not just to our Shia brothers but also involve the Ahlu-s-Sunnah especially the Brelvis. We should also point out this outrageous, despicable, revolting utterance to DM TV, ARY, QTV and Noor TV, etc. and to Sheikh Tahirul Qadri, brother Liakat Ali of QTV and others who in the month of Muharram speak eloquently about the tragedy of Kerbala and the role of Imam Husein in saving the deen of Islam and who strongly condemn the evil Yazid. At least this will make everyone aware of the views of this Nasibi and it may also trigger a world wide condemnation of those who put Yazid in this pedestal.
There are numerous ahadith in Sunni literature and in the Sihah Sitta of Ahlus Sunnah condemning Yazid(la’natullahi ‘alayh) and I am sure Zakir Naik is well aware of it but does not want to know about it. Who finances Peace T.V.!!!!
Please circulate this to as many people as you can so that they know the true colour of this man, Zakir Naik.
Murtaza Bandali
Zakir Naik..Unapologetic..anyone surprised??
Row over Islamic preacher’s remarks
27 Dec 2007, 0424 hrs IST
,Mohammed Wajihuddin,TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Row_over_Islamic_preachers_remarks_/articleshow/2653996.cms
Islamic preacher Zakir Naik is in the eye of a storm for the laudatory remarks he made about a controversial Islamic figure during the recent peace conference in the city. Muslim scholars, both Shias and Sunnis, are threatening an agitation if Naik doesn’t apologise and retract his controversial utterances soon.
At the concluding session of the 10-day Islamic peace conference at Somaiya Ground in Sion on December 2, Naik shocked many in the audience when he addressed Yazid as “Raziallah tala anho”(May Allah be pleased with him). He also reportedly called the battle of Karbala a political battle. Yazid has been historically condemned for having killed 72 Muslims, including Prophet Mohammed’s grandson Imam Hussein and his close relatives, at the battle of Karbala in the 7th century on the banks of the Tigris (present day Iraq). The Shias consider it Yazid’s unpardonable sin and commemorate the martyrdom with a 10-day mourning, culminating into Ashura (10th day) in Muharram.
“Naik’s irresponsible remarks have hurt the sentiments of both the Shias and the Sunnis. The honorifics are reserved for the Prophet’s companions, not for someone like Yazid, the butcher of Karbala. And he can’t call Karbala a political battle as it was essentially a religious battle,”protested Shia scholar Maulana Zaheer Abbas Rizvi.
Naik, who returned from Haj on Wednesday, conveyed his reaction through his brother Mohammed Naik: “At the peace conference, while replying to a question, I neither condemned nor lauded Yazid. I did say ‘May Allah be pleased with him’ while mentioning Yazid. I can show the fatwas from seminaries like Darul Uloom Deoband supporting my stand.”
Allah (swt) commands…."Lower Your Gaze"…..What does it mean?
It goes without saying that every Muslim should spare no pains in lowering his/her gaze and preserving his/her modesty. This should occur in compliance with the Divine command given in Surah An-Nur: “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and be modest. That is purer for them. Lo! Allah is Aware of what they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest.” (An-Nur: 30-31)
In a hadith, the Prophet (saww) is reported as having said: “And the eyes commit zina (adultery). Their zina is gazing.”
He (saw) commanded Ali (as) said: “Ali! Do not look once after another, for the first look is for you (since it happens accidentally) while the second is against you.”
********************************
How To Lower Our Gaze
“A big curtain is not my intention, but a big iman and befitting Islamic manners is “
“The ayats in Sura Nur about lowering our gazes doesn’t affect me anymore,” expressed another youth, talking about the intense temptations felt by today’s young. Difficulty in lowering the gaze by both the young and old is readily perceived on the street, weddings, parties and even in the mosques. What has gone wrong? How can Muslims, called by Allah, our Creator the model community, the custodians of Truth and the upholders of morality behave this way? Why are we adopting the attitudes and routes of the kuffar? How can we rectify ourselves? What follows is a series of practical, though graphic advises which can work for us and set us free from Satan’s stronghold, Insha`Allah.
When Allah created humans with all our desires and urges, he also revealed to us sufficient and complete guidance to properly channel these desires, both in the midst of Dar-ul-Kufr or Dar-ul-Islam. All we need to do is seek it, contemplate on it and pursue it. “This day I have perfected your deen for you, completed my favours upon you and chosen Islam as your deen.” (Maida).
When confronted with an alluring situation like passing by a non-mahram on the street, office or school, Satan is constantly tempting us to glare at her/him with evil thoughts. Satan is probably excitingly saying, with a big smile, ‘yes, yes, yes,’ when we steer into the bait he is setting. During these situations, immediately and consciously realize that when we give a second or following glances, we are obeying Satan. “O you who believe, follow not the footsteps of the devil”. (24:21). By immediately averting our gazes and disobeying Satan, we are giving him a one-two punch in the face and leaving him frustrated and accursed.
Satan rebelled and was expelled by Allah, so let’s all rebel against Satan and expel him from our hearts. Satan intends to fight a war against Muslims, so let’s gather our forces behind the Qur`an and the Sunnah and defeat him. Remember that even if no human eye is watching us, the Ever-Watchful Allah is constantly monitoring the innermost regions of our hearts. Our eyes, limbs, tongue and private parts will be witnesses on the Judgment Day and not an atom’s worth of deed will remain unexamined.
Our minds are conditioned to associate thoughts of stealing clothes from a store to being in handcuffs and hauled into a police van. Likewise we should condition our minds to bring the verses of Surah Nur in front of our eyes during any tempting situations and imagine that Allah is speaking to us directly “Say to the believing, men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty. O you believers! Turn you all together towards Allah that you may attain success” (24:30-31). If the Qur`an contained only these two ayats, it would be enough to convince me that it is the book of Allah.
With practice, these associations and the remembrance of Allah during tempting situations will prevent us from getting stuck by devilish arrows. Successfully controlling our gazes also deadens our avoidance of sinful situations. An Islamic idiom says, “Anything that leads to haram is haram in itself.” To do a pious deed is a reward; to avoid a sin is a reward too. One of the biggest culprits in this class is movies. In the name of entertainment, to please our peers and children and an excuse to do something together as a family, we astonishingly allow un-Islamic pictures and dialogues in front of our eyes and ears. Can we ever imagine the Prophet or our Imams (aozubillah) renting the latest hit from Blockbuster Videos, or listening to music with alluring lyrics at high volume?
In our wedding ceremonies and parties and even in many Islamic fundraising dinners, there is heavy free-mixing between brothers and sisters. Often the chairs of males and females are arranged facing each other, knowing that about 90 percent of our sisters do no wear proper Islamic hijab. Perfume, make-up, tight fitting clothes and much more is always around. It is often noticeable to see males and females peeking glances at each other from the opposite ends of the hall. A big curtain is not my intention, but a big and befitting Islamic manners is.
Let us contemplate the above humble advices and constantly make the supplication, “O Allah help us control our sensual desires until we get married, and even after we marry, let our desires be only towards our spouses.”
By Sabeel Ahmed
How Mankind came into being
EXEGESIS OF SURAH BAQARAH, VERSE 213
AL-MIZAAN
Mankind, having been created with a natural urge to remain together and cooperate with each other, were in the beginning one single group. Then occurred’ differences about the acquisition of the necessities of life. These differences could ‘only be settled by creating laws to give each one his right and to make him respect the rights of others. Allah has ordained the law and sent it down as religion, accompanied by good tidings of reward for those who obey and a warning. of punishment for the offenders. This religion was made perfect by the institution of worship. All this was accomplished by sending the prophets and the apostles.
After that, people differed again ‑ this time about the knowledge of religion, or about matters concerning the beginning and end of mankind. Thus, religious unity was disrupted and various groups appeared on the scene, and their differences contaminated the other aspects of life.
These second differences only occurred because of the revolt of the very people who were given the book, after the fundamentals and characteristics of religion had been fully explained to them and the proof of Allah had been completed for them.
It is clear that there were two differences: First, the difference about worldly gains, which was but natural; second, the difference about matters of religion which was based, not on nature, but on the revolt of mischief‑makers. Then Allah guided the believers to the truth about which they differed; and this guidance was done by His Will; and Allah guides whomsoever He pleases to the straight path.
The divine religion is the only means of happiness and felicity for the human species, and it keeps life in order. It creates a balance between various human instincts and urges, and keeps them on the middle path, preventing them from going towards either extreme.
Thus, there appears the best system and the highest discipline in the human life both of this world and of the Hereafter, the material as well as the spiritual.
This is an outline of the social and religious history of human beings, as given in this verse. The details may be seen in various verses throughout the Qur’an.
How Mankind came into being.
It appears from various verses, found in various places in the Qur’an, that mankind did not develop from any other species – neither from any animal nor from any plant. It is a species which was created by Allah directly from the earth. There was a time when the sky existed and earth existed with the things of the earth; but there was no man. Then Allah created a couple, male and female, of this species, and all present human being are descended from that couple. Allah says: O men! Surely We created you of a male and female, and made you into tribes and families, so that you may recognize each other …. (49:13); and He says: He it is who created you from a single being and of the same (kind) did He make his mate. (7:189); again He says: as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust …… (3:59).
The theory of Scientists that one species changed into another, and that homo sapiens developed from some kind of ape or, going further back, originated from some water animal, is just a hypothesis. A hypothesis is not a definite fact; it is just a supposition made as a basis for reasoning, or as a starting point for academic investigation. There is no harm in treating it as a reality or as a possibility, because its only function is to provide a basis for scientific research, and to find out whether it can explain the causes and effects of a given matter. It has no more value than that. This subject is fully discussed under verse (3:59), Surely the likeness of ‘Isa is with Allah as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him ‘Be” and he became.
Science Vs God
An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem Science has with God, The Almighty.
He asks one of his new students to stand and…..
Prof: So you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.
Prof: Is God good?
Student: Sure.
Prof: Is God all-powerful?
Student: Yes.
Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him.
Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn’t. How is this God good then? Hmm? (Student is silent.)
Prof: You can’t answer, can you? Let’s start again, young fellow. Is God good?
Student: Yes.
Prof: Is Satan good ?
Student: No.
Prof: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From…God.. .
Prof: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student: Yes.
Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student: Yes.
Prof: So who created evil?
(Student does not answer. )
Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?
Student: Yes, sir.
Prof: So, who created them?
( Student has no answer.)
Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son…Have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.
Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student: No, sir.
Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?
Student: No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.
Prof: Yet you still believe in Him ?
Student: Yes.
Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.
Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.
Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof: Yes.
Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof: Yes.
Student: No sir. There isn’t.
(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events .)
Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat,
But we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold.
Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.
(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre .)
Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?
Student: You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light….But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t.
If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?
Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?
Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?
Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure.
Sir, science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.
To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)
Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavour, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?
(The class is in uproar .)
Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?
(The class breaks out into laughter.)
Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?
(The room is silent . The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable. )
Prof: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.
Student: That is it sir… The link between man & god is FAITH .
That is all that keeps things moving & alive……. ……… ..
Provoking Thoughts 