Friday Nasiha 29 June 2007

Friday Nasiha - Issue # 432

Jumada al Thani 14, 1428, A.H. - June 29, 2007, C.E.

Living the Quran

Saba (Sheba) Chapter 34: Verse 46 (Partial) Awakening Say: "I do admonish you on one point: that ye do stand up before Allah, - (it may be) in pairs, or (it may be) singly - and reflect (within yourselves). The first of the ranks of the journey of servitude (ubudiyah) is awakening, which is alarming and stirring up of the heart from the sleep of heedlessness. By Allah, how priceless is that revitalising alarm! How valuable and indispensable for the journey! Whoever experiences it he has indeed experienced the breeze of success. Without experiencing it, everyone is lost in heedlessness. His hearing is asleep while his eyes appear awake. It is this blessed alarm that wakes one up and makes him a seeker of Allah. The seeker now rolls up his sleeves and musters up his courage to set out on the journey to Allah, station by station. The first realization that illuminates the seeker upon this awakening is the immensity of the gifts of Allah upon him. The believer's heart glances at the gifts and bounties of Allah and is overwhelmed by his own sense of inability to even count them, let alone thank Allah for them all. The second realisation is the realisation of the inadequacy of his gratitude and worship to Allah. These realisations are in fact both the cause and the effect of the first station of awakening. As the believer advances on his journey and as his heart is sharpened by these two realisations, it becomes incumbent upon him to notice more and more the innumerable inner and outer, open and hidden gifts of Allah and recognise his own shortcoming in thanking the Giver adequately. The believer, therefore, realises that he must be ever mindful of Allah's bounties and his own shortcomings. Source: "Madarij as-Salikin" - Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

Understanding the Prophet's Life

Needs of the household When we think of a young religious person, too often we think of someone who spends all his time with other Muslims, going to the Islamic centre, or attending religious classes. When he is not outside engaged in these activities, we think of him devoting all his time to personal devotions like reading Islamic books, reciting the Quran, or listening to recorded lectures. Sadly, we do not think of this young person having anything to do with the rest of the household. This is, in fact, a grave mistake that many religious young people make. The worldly needs of the household must be met. If the “pious” person fails to carry out his proper role at home someone else will have to be the one to carry it out. That someone else may be deficient in his religion, but because he is the one taking care of the needs of the household, he is going to be the one to have the greatest influence. His words will be heeded and his commands obeyed. His opinions will carry weight. As for the religious young person, his word will carry no weight whatsoever, since he never does anything to benefit anyone else. Some of our religious young men and women seek to excuse themselves from their household chores with excuses like reading the Quran or listening to a taped lecture! Then they wonder how they can have a positive affect on the other members of their household who are engaged in sinful activities. In order to be able to counteract the sinful behaviour that goes on in the home and bring about positive change, we must first build up our own position within your household by serving our family and catering to their needs. Some of our young, religious people flee from their homes in one way or another after becoming religious. They feel that they cannot bear staying at home surrounded by what they regard as sinful behaviour or as their family’s casual religious attitudes. Some seek to escape the temptations at home by going overseas to study or by simply moving away from home. There are often clear signs in their behaviour that they are merely running away. Some of them even leave home without their parents’ permission. They forget that when a man asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) if he could go to war, the Prophet (peace be upon him) immediately asked him if his parents were alive. When he said that they were, the Prophet said: “Your jihad is to take care of your parents!” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (2728) and Sahîh Muslim (4623)] They also forget that when another young man approached the Prophet (peace be upon him) to go and fight, the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked him if his mother was alive. When he found out that she was, he told the man: “Woe unto you! Attend her at her feet and you will attain Paradise.” [Sunan Ibn Mâjah (2771). The hadîth is authentic (sahîh)] Source: "Taking Care of Things at Home" - Salman al Audah

Blindspot!

Ribaa and Interest An argument often presented by many Muslims is that ribaa mentioned in the Quran is actually different from what we call ‘interest’ nowadays. It is important, therefore, to look at what qualified as ribaa in the pre-Islamic times (Ribaa al-Jahiliyyah). We find various kinds of situations where ribaa comes into play. A brief look at these reveals that there is no difference between the pre-Islamic ribaa and the present-day notion of interest. “Qatadah narrates that the ribaa of pre-Islamic times was that where one person bought property from another with a promise to pay at a later time. If the buyer could not pay the agreed upon amount on the settlement date, the seller would extend the payment period and the amount owed.” According to this example by Qatadah, the Arabs of the pre-Islamic times considered as ribaa the increase in the amount owed from the original settlement date to the revised settlement date. “Mujahid held the opinion that the ribaa of the pre-Islamic times was that where the borrower would agree to pay more than the borrowed sum if given a specific time horizon to pay.” This is increase in amount owed due to failure to pay or additional time is precisely what we call interest in the present-day economic system. In both cases, we see the debt being swapped for a larger amount based on the passage of time. “According to Imam Razi the norm of the pre-Islamic days was that the borrower of monies would agree to pay an agreed upon amount on a monthly basis for an agreed upon period of time. At the expiration of that period, the borrower would return the original sum. However, if he could not pay, he would be given more time in return for higher monthly payments.” These monthly payments were also called ribaa by the pre-Islamic Arabs. Adapted by Junaid Mirza from: "Muashiat-e-Islam" - Abul Ala Mawdudi, p. 232 "Islamic Financial Services" - Mohammed Obaidullah, p. 24