From editors desk

All praise is to Allah the most Kind, the piece of paper you have in hand; by the name of Unity, is in fact a concern, a conscious effort, a craving and a yearning for a better understanding and cooperation between the members of our community and the society as a whole. Unity is a continuum from the humble efforts that have been put in by a group of people since the early 1990s. In order to enhance the intellectual, moral, spiritual, political and economic understanding and development of our society various efforts were gelled together to help. A monthly tabloid by the name of The RevIvAl & then As sAbeel were published regularly up until now, in addition a media outlet by the name of NeTwoRK oF IslAmIc edUcATIoN (NIe), network of Islamic education was also started to help the same cause. NIe was a pioneering idea at that time as it helped in converting all the Islamic material that was available in those large and bulky video cassettes over to cds. The cable network was very helpful in playing the cds and a new chapter of Islamic education through the cable media was introduced. Alhumdulillah this was achieved much before the current Islamic channels came into being. All along we have tried to keep pace with the developments around us and we feel that the need of the hour is to unite all sections of the society & do away with discord and dislike. we aim to create an intellectual environment that leads to tolerance and respect for each others opinions and paves the way for a true development of our society- in accordance with the divine principles of truth and justice. we need people, especially the younger generation, to come out of the trap of feeling constrained by following one or the other sects or opinions and take up the vastness and magnanimity of the Islamic heritage as a whole to enhance and enrich their understanding and practice of our deen. we hope to get full cooperation from all sections of the society as we will work with every sect, section and group to create harmony and acceptance as opposed to discord and hatred InshaAllah.

Vol 1: No 1 : For Private Circulation only

Approach of Quran towards Unity

by dr. Irfan Jahangir Quran teaches us the oneness of Creator, oneness His message and the oneness of humanity. Following verses give an excellent proof of how Islam views unity as a fundamental aspect of human existence. Oneness of Allah Say: He is Allah, the One and Unique; Allah, Who is in need of none and of Whom all are in need; He neither begot any nor was He begotten; and none is comparable to Him. (112) Oneness of Message The Messenger has believed in the Guidance which has been sent down to him from his Lord, and those who believe in the Messenger have also sincerely accepted the same. They all believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books and Messengers. And they say, "We do not discriminate against any of His Messengers. We have heard the Message and submitted to it. Our Lord, we look up to You for forgiveness, for to You we shall all return (2:285) Oneness of Humanity O mankind! Indeed, We have created you male and female, and have made you into nations and tribes; that you may know one another (not to divide). Indeed, the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Indeed, Allah is All Knowing, All Aware (49:13) The message of Islam is so powerful and all-encompassing that when accepted it completely transforms the individual and the social fabric. If you try to take out any of the aspects of the unity taught by Islam you would end up missing the mark and therefore fail to reap the desired fruits. The current turmoil and misery that the Ummah is suffering is a direct result of giving up these gold standards of ourdeen and thus we fall a prey to division and discord. Delivering the whole mankind from the slavery of other men to the obedience of Allah and expanding their horizon from the narrowness of material life to the vastness of hereafter is what we can achieve by implementing the concept of Islamic unity.

Islamic social ethics

by dr. Irfan Jahangir

Prophet (SAW) said, shall I not tell you who among you is most beloved to me & will be closest to me on day of judgement, he repeated it three times, people said yes, he then replied; Those who are down to earth & humble, who get along with others In the middle of the last century there was a long & with whom others feel comfortable. (Ahmed) hiatus in the development of normative ethics during which philosophers largely turned away from Social ethics is a major branch of philosophy, normative questions towards meta-ethics. Even those encompassing right conduct and good life. It is philosophers during this period who maintained an significantly broader than the common conception of interest in prescriptive morality, such as R. M. Hare, analyzing right and wrong. A central aspect of ethics attempted to arrive at normative is "the good life", the life worth conclusions via meta-ethical living or life that is simply reflection. This focus on metasatisfying, which is held by ethics was in part caused by many philosophers to be more the intense linguistic turn in important than moral conduct. analytic philosophy and in part by the pervasiveness of Traditionally, normative ethics logical positivism. In 1971, (also known as moral theory) John Rawls bucked the trend was the study of what makes against normative theory in actions right and wrong. publishing A Theory of Justice. Classical theories in this This work was revolutionary, vein include utilitarianism, in part because it paid almost Kantianism, and some forms no attention to meta-ethics of contractarianism. These and instead pursued moral theories offered an overarching arguments directly. In the wake moral principle to which one of A Theory of Justice and could appeal in resolving other major works of normative difficult moral decisions. theory published in the 1970s, In the 20th century, moral the field has witnessed an theories have become more complex and are no longer extraordinary renaissance that continues to the present concerned solely with rightness and wrongness, but day. are interested in many different kinds of moral status. This trend may have begun in 1930 with W.D. Rosss As against all these arguments, counterarguments book, The Right and the Good. Here Ross argues and the subsequent confusion is the most natural and that moral theories cannot say in general whether satisfying approach of Islam wherein the Prophet an action is right or wrong but only whether it tends (SAW) said; to be right or wrong according to a certain kind of Nothing will weigh heavier in the balance of the moral duty such as beneficence, fidelity, or justice (he believing servant on the day of judgement than a good called this concept of partial rightness prima facie attitude (towards other).verily Allah hates those who duty). Subsequently, philosophers have questioned utter vile words & obscene speech. (Tirmidhi)

whether even prima facie duties can be articulated at a theoretical level; some philosophers have urged a turn away from general theorizing altogether, while others have defended theory on the grounds that it need not be perfect in order to capture important moral insight.

Shall I tell you the person who is forbidden for hell & upon whom Hell-fire is forbidden? It is the one who is not harsh in behaviour, is polite & gentle, close to people & easy going. (Tirmidhi)

Islam has made this good attitude towards others an essential part of faith; those having the best attitude towards others are the most complete in faith. It is unfortunate that we seem to be stuck in unnecessary details but ignore the fundamentals & basics! Good behaviour and attitude goes a long way in making life easier for an individual as well as the whole society as at the end of the day its the attitude and behaviour that determines our relations with each other & hence the importance! Using foul language and shouting obscenities can only come from a man of very low moral stature & this type of talk or words are most disliked by Allah as well as by public.

Allah, can never afford to be harsh and hard for people. He has to be very easy going and has to make things easy and avoid making them hard and difficult for public, as advised in another hadith of Prophet (SAW); shall I tell you the person who is forbidden for hell & upon whom hell-fire is forbidden? It is the one who is not harsh in behaviour, is polite & gentle, close to people & easy going. (Tirmidhi) This hadith makes its amply clear that the Harshness, inflexibility, haughtiness, making things difficult & repelling people are characteristics of the people of Hell. On the other hand a polite, gentle, flexible, understanding & a peoples person deserves paradise, as a reward and recompense. People who have a very limited knowledge of deen become fixed on a single or a few aspects and thus become very rigid about those very aspects or rituals.

A true Muslim is very friendly & likeable. He has an attitude of humility & a noble character. He brings smiles on sad faces & cheers up the one in dole drums. He is closest to prophet & closest to God, Almighty. His attitude of getting along with everyone & making The more one learns about Quran and Sunnah and others feel at ease & comfortable makes him stand how Prophet (SAW) conducted himself in different situations the more one realises how close to nature right next to Prophet (SAW). the ways and teachings of Prophet are and how flexible Humility and politeness bring people together and a we must be in our approach! Muslim, who is entrusted with carrying the message of

It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher. Annie Besant,The Life and Teachings of Muhammad, Madras 1932, p.4.

Allah, the Exalted, says:

Truthfulness

"O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds)". (9:119) "...the men and women who are truthful (in their speech and deeds)..". (33:35) "...then if they had been true to Allah, it would have been better for them". (47:21) Our beloved Prophet (SAW) said: "Truth leads to piety and piety leads to Jannah. A man persists in speaking the truth till he is enrolled with Allah as a truthful. Falsehood leads to vice and vice leads to the Fire (Hell), and a person persists on telling lies until he is enrolled as a liar" (Agreed Upon) "Both parties in a business transaction have a right to annul it so long as they have not separated; and if they tell the truth and make everything clear to each other (i.e., the seller and the buyer speak the truth, the seller with regard to what is purchased, and the buyer with regard to the money) they will be blessed in their transaction, but if they conceal anything and lie, the blessing on their transaction will be eliminated.''(Bukhari and Muslim) "Give up what is doubtful to you for that which is not doubtful; for truth is peace of mind and falsehood is doubt".(Tirmidhi).

activity plan of the month at the Muslim Civilisation

SUNdAyS: 10:00 am to 01:00 pm Muslim Resource Development MONdAyS: 11:00am to 01:00pm Islamic Course for women (in collaboration with Jamia Islamia Mehdul Muslimat) EVEry dAy: 03:00 pm to 05:00 pm Islamic classes for Children MONtHly: The Unity,publication of the tabloid

darul Aman, Malaratta, Bohri Kadal,opposite City Medical Centre, near SSM School, Shahrikhas, Kashmir

MusliM Civilisation

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