Friday Nasiha 8 June 2007

Jumada al Awwal 22, 1428, A.H. - June 8, 2007, C.E.

Living the Quran

Qaf Chapter 50: Verse 18 Note Takers "Not a word does he utter but there is a sentinel by him, ready (to note it)." When man stand in the Court of Allah, in addition to the knowledge of Allah about a person’s worldly deeds, there will be two witnesses who will produce documented evidence of the person's actions and deeds. It is difficult for us to comprehend the true nature of the documentation. But from the facts that we are witnessing today, it seems certain that the voices and pictures and marks of man's actions and movements are being preserved and imprinted on every particle of the environment in which he lives and works, and each one of these can be reproduced in exactly the same form and voice. Man is doing this on a very limited scale with the help of his inventions, but the angels of God neither stand in need of these machines nor are bound by any limitation. Man's own body and everything around it is their tape and their film upon which they can record every voice and every image along with its minute and most delicate detail precisely and exactly, and can make man hear, on the Day of Resurrection, with his own ears, in his own voice, those very things which he talked about in the world, and can make him see, with his own eyes, the pictures of all his misdeeds, whose genuineness he would not possibly be able to deny. Here, one should also understand that in the Court of the Hereafter Allah will not punish anybody only on the basis of His own knowledge, but will punish him after fulfilling all the requirements of justice. That is why an exhaustive record is being prepared of every person's words and deeds in the world so that a complete proof with undeniable evidence becomes available of everyone's life-work and activity. Source: "Towards Understanding the Quran" - Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi

Understanding the Prophet's Life

We Are Not Angels The Prophet, peace be upon him, kept striving to soothe the consciences of believers who were afraid of their own weaknesses and failings. One day, the Companion Hanzalah al-Usaydi met Abu Bakr and confessed to him that he was convinced of his own deep hypocrisy because he felt divided between contradictory feelings: in the Prophet's presence, he almost saw paradise and hell, but when he was away from him his wife and children and daily affairs caused him to forget. Abu Bakr in his turn admitted that he experienced similar tensions. They both went to the Prophet to question him about the seemingly dismal state of their spirituality. Hanzalah explained the nature of his doubts, and Muhammad answered: "By He who holds my soul in His hands, if you were able to remain in the [spiritual] state in which you are when in my company, and remember God permanently, the angels would shake your hands in your beds and along your paths. But it is not so, Hanzalah: there is a time for this [devotion, remembrance] and a time for that [rest, amusement]." (Bukhari, Muslim) Their situation had nothing to do with hypocrisy: it was merely the reality of human nature, which remembers and forgets, and which needs to remember precisely because it forgets, because human beings are not angels. Source: "In The Footsteps of the Prophet" - Tariq Ramadan, p. 112

Blindspot!

Infinite Rewards Islam undoubtedly attaches great value to constancy in charity and giving alms to the poor and needy as a fundamental aspect of religion; however, Islam in no way restricts charitable deeds to the economic realm. Rather the concept of charity includes every imaginable act of kindness or contribution that one can possibly do for humans or any of God's creatures. Even as the concept of worship in Islam extends to all aspects of life, likewise, the definition of charity embraces all aspects of life. While emphasizing charity and alms-giving as an important aspect of religion, especially in case of those who are well to do, Islam simultaneously stresses the importance of good works in a general sense. In other words, it reckons every single word or deed one can possibly do with a view to improve the quality of life for God's creatures as a great act of charity meriting infinite rewards. There are numerous traditions that extend the concept of charity to include every imaginable act of virtue or kindness that humans are capable of performing. Imam Ibn Rajab sums up the Islamic teachings in this regard: "Human beings are obligated to give thanks to Allah every single day for His blessings on them by performing acts of virtue and charity on a daily basis. Among such acts that we ought to perform are those deeds or actions whose benefits extend to others. These include all acts of benevolence and compassion, helping those in distress or need, treating others compassionately, rendering acts of kindness towards them, protecting them against harm or injury, as well as any act of kindness towards each and every creature of God. Secondly, there are such works whose benefits affect only the person who is doing them. These include various kinds of dhikr (remembrance of Allah), saying benedictions on the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), reading the Quran, walking to mosque, simplicity in manners and conduct and attire, earning one's livelihood in lawful ways, engaging in introspection and self-examination, etc." It becomes abundantly clear from the above that if anyone volunteers time, money, or energy in whatever beneficial ways in order to improve the quality of life for those around us, it is undoubtedly considered as a noble act of charity in Islam, meriting infinite rewards.