Radiant Reality May 2014

Regd. No.
: JKENG/2000/4174,
Publi shed From Sri nagar. May. 2014. Vol. 15, No: 05.
EditorialEmploying Personal Reasoning in Religious Mat-
ters, and Unconditional Submission
Question Answer
Lesson from the Quran
Lesson from Sahih al-Bukhari
Prophets Character
Why Irreligiousness Succeeds
Who Are We, Who Defines Us
Why Not Give Face a Chance
Studying Islam
In Pursuit of Ikhlas
Learning From the West
Detaching From The Dunya, Thinking Of The Hereafter
Implications of Tawheed
Ulema are the heirs of Prophets
Islamic Metaphysics of the Future
Muslims Must Live by Quran
Happenings
Blameworthy MoralsDarogh & Hasad
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11
14
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20
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24
27
29
32
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40
43
47
Editor, Printer & Publisher:
Mawlana
Hamidullah Lone

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*Published articles do not
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Radiant Reality.

*Articles may be repro-
duced free of charge with
due acknowledgement.
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Contents
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Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org May. 2014
2. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)

((

All thanks for Almighty, the most Merciful and Exalted
EDITORIAL
Many a tmes when a person tries to
explain something of deen using his own rea-
soning it turns out to be wrong. If you do not
know something then say that you do not
know. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)
himself said that he does not know when he
was asked what was the greatest spot on
earth. The malaaikah themselves announced
that there they have no knowledge except for
that which Allah had blessed them with.
Imaam Maalik (ra) was such a great imaam,
yet it is reported that at tmes in a single
sitng in reply to 30 to 40 questons he would
say, I do not know. If they could say it, then
why is so hard for us to say the same? If we
adopt this approach then 70 to 80 percent of
our problems would be solved.
Every person looks for justfcaton in
the Quran and hadeeth, but this is not the
way to go about doing things. This was the
way of the Jews and Christans. Each one cre-
ated a standard of success for themselves. The
Jews would say that you have to be Jew to en-
ter Jannah and you can only be a Jew if you
are born a Jew. They made natonality a base.
The Christans said that you can only enter Jan-
nah if you are a Christan. But Allah has also
laid down a standard of success:
balaa man aslama wajhahu lillaah
the one who submits and surrenders himself to
Allah alone.
Mans reasoning is fawed and can al-
ways be answered. Hence, the simple answer
for people who seek the reasons for the com-
mands of Allah is that this is the command of
Allah and nothing further. Dont use your rea-
soning against the commands of Allah. For a
small consttuton of the country, will you go
to the consttutonal court and ofer your sug-
gestons? No. But when it comes to the com-
mand of Allah you wish to ofer your sugges-
tons and thoughts. The reason for this at-
tude is that we cannot see Allah and we do not
understand the majesty of Allah.
If something is permissible in essence
but it then leads to haraam then the means
will also be regarded as haraam. Look at digital
photography. Despite the diferences that may
exist, it is leading others to think that all types
of photography is permissible which, however,
is not the case in essence.
Submitng should be for the sake of
Allah and not due to pressure. It should be
unconditonal and not for any convenience.
When there is unconditonal submission then
ones beliefs will be right, and it allow him en-
try into Jannah. However, it is not a guarantee
that you will get direct entry into Jannah. No-
body wants a delay. So the conditon for direct
entry, if Allah wills so, is to conform to the
commands and decrees of the Shariah. So the
base is to set your beliefs right and then your
actons, your character and dealings. This will
InshaAllah pave the way for direct entry into
Jannah without any delay.
In this world, shaytaan tries to put stray
thoughts into your mind. So dont entertain
Contd on page 46
May. 2014 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 3.
Queston. If you were given a loan by a Muslim
to purchase an asset ( A Home ) and no spe-
cifc repayment date was agreed . The asset
has appreciated in value , Should the repay-
ment of the loan be the Principal loan amount
or should the Amount be re-calculated rela-
tve to the Gain in value of the Home.
If the later would that be considered
as usury/ interest ?

Answer. Only the principal of the loan should
be paid back regardless of the increase in val-
ue of the house. Any amount more than the
principal (original amount of the loan) will be
Riba (interest) which is prohibited. Mufi Suhail
Sahib

Queston. I have a store where I sell goods for
cash and on credit. The goods that I sell on
credit are sold at a 10% markup due to the
difered payment. Is this permissible?

Answer. It is permissible to sell items at a
higher price if sold on credit. This will be on
conditon that the price is fxed at the tme of
the transacton; for example, the cash price of
an item is R500 but on credit, it is for R600
payable over six months at R100 per month.(al
-Hidaya, Fatawa Mahmudiyyah,) Mufi Suhail Sahib
Queston. It is permissible to use a tasbih or
subhah in order to aid oneself in performing
dhikr. A tasbih helps in performing dhikr in
two ways:
By holding it in the hand or seeing it,
one is encouraged and reminded to perform
dhikr. This is why it is also known as a
mudhakkir (reminder).
It also helps one keep count.

Answer. Using beads or stones to help one
with dhikr is supported by hadiths. Imams Abu
Dawud and al-Tirmidhi narrated in their collec-
tons on the authority of Sad ibn Abi Waqqas
(radiyAllahu anh) that together with
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) he
came upon a woman with date stones or peb-
bles before her, with which she was recitng
tasbih. The narraton contnued, but does not
state Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)
reprimanded her or disapproved of what she
was doing. Imam al-Tirmidhi and Hafz Ibn
Hajar al-Asqalani graded the chain of narra-
ton hasan. This ofers proof that taking assis-
tance from something to help one to keep
count of his dhikr is permissible.
Hence, if one uses tasbih for this pur-
pose it will not be bidah. However, there
should be no belief atached to the tasbih that
it has intrinsic virtue or the one who recites
dhikr using it is superior to one who does not.
4. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
The great scholars, Jalal al-Din al-
Suyut (d. 911 H) and Abd al-Hayy al-Laknawi
(d. 1304 H), have both authored treatses
showing the permissibility of using a tasbih.
It is permissible to give a tasbih as
hadiyyah. Zameelur Rahman

Queston. Is it advisable or allowed to partake
from fastood outlets that advertse halal but
are in casino complexes.jazakAllah

Answer. No. It is not permissible to partake of
meals at such places. Rasulullah (Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam) has prohibited a Muslim from
going to a venue of vice and said "Whoever
adds to the crowd of a people is counted as
part of them." (Kanzul Ummaal, Musnad Abi
Yala). Mufi Suhail Sahib

Queston. Can cook take lefover food from
the work, because this food will be thrown
away.

Answer. If the management at work allows the
cook to take the food home or it is an estab-
lished fact that if he does not take it home, the
food will be discarded and wasted, it will be
permissible for the cook to take the food
home. Mufi Suhail Sahib

Queston. Is drinking rain water recommended
or Sunnah in Islam? Sometmes we collect rain
water and drink it, so I wanted to know if this
is just for health or some Islamic reason be-
hind it.

Answer. Drinking rain water specifcally is not
Sunnah. In fact, one should exercise precau-
ton from drinking rain water directly due to
possible health hazards. Consider the follow-
ing from Argonne Natonal Laboratory:
Normally you could drink rainwater
without becoming ill. However, rainwater con-
tains pollutants, soil, plant parts, insect parts,
bacteria, algae, and sometmes radioactve
materials that the rain/snow has washed out
of the air. If fltered with one of the fltering
systems that you can buy in stores nowadays,
and then boiled, you could probably drink the
water safely. However, it is safer yet to get
your water from municipal water supplies or
from wells that are frequently tested.
Nevertheless, rain is a sign of Allahs
mercy, providence and grace. The following
Ahadith explain the Sunnah of Rasulullah Salla-
hu Alayhi Wasallam during rain:
It is recommended (Sunnah) to allow
the rain to fall down upon us. It is mentoned
in the Hadith:
Translaton: We were with Nabi Salla-
hu Alayhi Wasallam when rain fell upon us.
Nabi Sallahu Alayhi Wasallam opened his gar-
ment a bit so that the rain could touch his skin.
We asked O Rasulullah Sallahu Alayhi
Wasallam, why do you do this? He replied,
Because it has just recently come from Al-
lah. (Sahih Muslim Vol.3 Pg.442 #898 Darul
Fawaid)
We should recite the following Dua:
Allahumma Sayyiban Naafa
O Allah! Make it a copious, benefcial rain.
(Sahih Bukhari Vol.2 Pg.675 #1032 Darul Ba-
shairil Islaamiyya)
During heavy rain recite the following
Dua:
Allahumma Hawa Layna Wa La Alayna.
Translaton: O Allah! Make it rain around us
and not upon us. O Allah! Upon the mountains
and the hills, down the valleys, and to the
roots of the trees.
(Sahih Bukhari Vol.2 Pg.656 #1014 Darul Ba-
shairil Islamiyya) Immad Bin Arshad

Queston. While growing up I atended a reli-
gious school and was taught that when a fe-
male reads Salaah, in the positon of sajdah
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 5.
her elbows need to be on the foor. Recently I
was informed that this was wrong and that a
females elbows need to be high when she is in
sajdah positon.

Answer. The Salaah of a female is diferent
from the Salaah of a male in the sense that her
movements should be as least revealing as
possible. This is why in Ruku she will only bend
slightly and in Sujood, she will lower her body
to the ground including her elbows. In the
Hadith, Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)
advised the females of this and therefore, the
correct procedure for a female is to lower her
elbows to the ground. (Bayhaqi, Hadith #:
3201, narrated by Yazid bin Abi Habib)
Males are instructed to keep their el-
bows of the ground and there is a Hadith that
condemns men from lowering their elbows to
the ground. (Abu Dawood, Hadith #: 897) Mufi
Suhail Sahib

Queston. My husband insists on having oral
sex. He says that he wont ejaculate and I
wont be swallowing anything napaak
(impure). If I refuse to do so, I fear that he will
seek pleasure elsewhere or fle for divorce. For
him, that is the main form of pleasure. I have
heard some fatwas that say it is makrooh and
others that say it is haraam. What does a fe-
male do in the event that her husband insists
on it? Please advise.

Answer. The tongue is a great gif of Allah.
Imagine what kind of life one will have to live if
one suddenly became totally dumb. What a
difcult life it would be? Apart from being able
to speak in general, we use the tongue to take
the most pure and great name of Allah, to re-
cite His Quraan, to recite durood on Rasulullah
(sallallahu alaihi wasallam), etc.
Shaikh Sadi (ra) has mentoned a
beautful Persian couplet, the meaning of
which is: If I wash my mouth a hundred tmes
with musk and amber (ambergris), then too it
will not be clean enough to recite durood.
This is not meant to discourage from
recitng durood. Instead, it is an eloquent and
efectve encouragement and strong emphasis
on always keeping the mouth very pure and
clean from all dirt and impurites.
Therefore, how can a believer soil the
mouth in this disgustng manner? The private
area is a place of impurity. A person who has
any degree of sensibility, and more so a believ-
er who has the high concept of tahaarah
(purity) that the deen of Islam teaches us, will
never apply the tongue or mouth to a place of
impurity, even if it is outwardly clean at that
moment.
Let alone a place of impurity, such a
person will not even apply the mouth and
tongue to a place of dirt, even though not najis
and impure. For instance, the husband/wife
rinses his/her nostrils completely and dries it
in such a way that no mucus remains therein.
The spouse is then asked to lick the inside of
the nostril. Would this be regarded as fne?
Does even the thought of doing this not make
one cringe? Besides being a place of impurity,
impure fuids are emited from the private part
during intmacy much before climax. It is total-
ly haraam to ingest anything that is impure.
You should advise your husband to
himself write and seek advice, or he should
consult an experienced senior Aalim. You
should also commence taleem of the Fazaail-e
-Aamaal daily in the home. When the con-
sciousness of Allah develops in his heart, nei-
ther will he subject you to such actons nor will
he look for pleasure elsewhere insha-Allah.
Uswatul Muslimah Panel of Ulama

Queston. Is it permissible for a woman to
wear jewellery in Ihram?

Answer. It is permissible though it is beter
6. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
that she avoids wearing jewellery. (Muallimul
Hujjaj, Pg: 110)
The spirit of Ihraam is simplicity and it
best that a female avoids adornment with jew-
ellery whilst in Ihraam. Mufi Suhail Sahib

Queston. There were a few playstaton com-
pettons that took place recently, where you
pay a fee to enter the competton and you
compete against each other in a game, and the
winner gets prize money, is this permissible ?

Answer. It is not permissible for Muslims to
partcipate in such compettons due to the
element of gambling. In these types of compe-
ttons, a sum of money is paid in lieu of an
unknown return which is tantamount to gam-
bling. Mufi Suhail Sahib

Queston. Is it true that afer praying on the
Musalla, you should fold it and not leave it
open. If it is lef open, Shaitaan comes to read
namaz on the Musalla

Answer. There is no truth to this. Shaitaan
does not pray Salaah. The Musalla (prayer
mat) may be lef open afer praying or it may
be folded. Yes, as a mark of respect, if it is
feared that the Musalla will be soiled due to
being lef open, it should rather be folded and
kept away respectully. Mufi Suhail Sahib

Queston. My son wants a new car but does
not have the fnance to purchase it. I want to
provide him the fnance as I have the funds to
purchase this car but I also want some return
whilst I give him a few years to pay. How do I
make this Shariah compliant without taking
Riba?

Answer. In order to fnance this vehicle for
him in a Shariah compliant manner, you
should purchase the car for yourself and as-
sume ownership of it including all risks. As
long as you remain the owner of the car, you
will be responsible for the vehicle. Once you
obtain possession of the car, you may make an
ofer to your son to purchase this car for a cer-
tain amount over a fxed period of tme. The
total amount (installments) must be fxed at
the tme of the sale.
For example, if you purchased the car
for R150 000, you may sell it to your son for
R175 000 payable over 5 years (R2916.66 X 60
months) subject to his agreement to purchase
the vehicle. Mufi Suhail Sahib

Queston. I gave my wife 1 talaaq. The talaaq I
gave her was verbally over the phone and I
sms it to her. I said to her i issued my 1st ta-
laaq to you and I sent a sms with the same
message to her. A few months later I sms her
the 2nd talaaq and my concern is that she is
pregnant and i want to retract my 2 talaaqs

Answer. If you had issued your wife one Ta-
laaq over the phone and thereafer confrmed
the same by SMS, this will be counted as one
Talaaq. If this Talaaq was issued whilst she was
pregnant, her Iddah is tll childbirth. If the sec-
ond Talaaq was issued to her whilst she was
stll in Iddah or you had reconciled with her,
this will be counted as the second Talaaq.
Since the Iddah is stll ongoing, you can take
her back into your Nikah without renewing the
Nikah. You should take her back by telling her
that you have taken her back and this should
be done in the presence of two witnesses
(preferably). If you issue one more Talaaq,
both of you will become Haraam upon each
other and reconciliaton will not be permissi-
ble even by renewing the Nikah. Mufi Suhail Sahib

Queston. The holy Prophet Mohammad
(SalallaAllahu Alehi Wasallam) said, stop doing
everything during the Azan even reading the
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 7.
Quran, (and repeat the Azaan with the Mo-
azzin.) The person who talks during the Azaan
will not be able to say the Kalma-e-shahadat
on his/her death bed. Is this correct?

Answer. Remaining silent and paying aten-
ton to the Azaan has been advised in the Had-
ith. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has
said: When you hear the Azaan, repeat what
the Muazzin says (Sahih Muslim).
Based on this Hadith, the Ulama ad-
vise that a person should refrain from all con-
versaton and actvites during the Azaan.
Atenton should be paid to the Azaan and the
words of the Muazzin should be repeated by
the listener.
Upon hearing the Muazzin saying
Hayya Alas Salah and Hayya Alal Falaah, the
listener should say La Hawla wa La Quwwata
illa Billah as indicated in the Hadith recorded
in Sahih Muslim.
It is more rewarding for a person to
pause his religious actvites and reply to the
Azaan even if he is engaged in the recitaton of
the Quran.
With regards to the narraton in ques-
ton: The holy Prophet Mohammad
(SalallaAllahu Alehi Wasallam) said, stop doing
everything during the Azan even reading the
Quran, (and repeat the Azaan with the Mo-
azzin.) The person who talks during the Azaan
will not be able to say the Kalma-e-shahadat
on his/her death bed, we have not found an
authentc source for this. Mufi Suhail Sahib

Queston. My husband has given me talaaq
over the phone is this valid he has it 3 tmes?

Answer. Although this in inappropriate way of
giving Talaaq, Talaaq issued over the phone is
valid and efectve. If it is established that your
husband had issued you three Talaaqs over
the phone, all three Talaaqs will be valid and
efectve thereby terminatng the Nikah irre-
trievably and rendering you and your husband
Haraam upon each other. Mufi Suhail Sahib

Queston. I would like to know if I will receive
rewards for reading the English translaton of
the Quran to understand it?

Answer. Defnitely, there are great rewards in
reading the translaton of the Quran to gain a
beter understanding of the Quran. The point
to be noted is that the reward for recitng the
Arabic text of the Quran is separate from the
reward of reading the English translaton of
the Quran. For the recitaton of the Arabic
texts of the Quran, Rasulullah (Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam) has promised ten hasanaat
(rewards) for every leter recited and this re-
ward is reserved solely for the recitaton of the
Arabic text.
However, this does not mean that one
should neglect the meanings of the Quran.
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and the
Sahabah (Radiyallahu Anhum) had also placed
a lot of emphasis on understanding and prac-
tsing on the laws of the Quran. Afer all the
Quran is Allahs message to mankind and as
such we should make all efort to understand
it.
It is recorded that the Sahabah (RAA)
used to learn a few verses at a tme and they
would then understand it thoroughly and put
it to practce before memorizing further vers-
es.
A good and easy to read English trans-
laton of the Quran is the translaton by Mufi
Muhammed Taqi Uthmani ttled The Noble
Quran. Mufi Suhail Sahib
8. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
Surah Al-Imran - Verse 130-145
Apparently the following verses from 130-136
seem to have no connecton with the foregoing
ones and that is why, according to some schol-
ars, these verses hold an independent render-
ing wherein Allah has brought together per-
missions, prohibitons, admonitons and mot-
vatons, and also conveyed noble morals and
good deeds. However, some scholars have
linked them by saying that in the preceding
verses adopton of patence and God-
fearfulness, and prohibiton of building friend-
ship and taking unbelievers as insiders was
mentoned and now there is repetton of what
really Sabr (patence) and Taqwa (God-
fearfulness) is? Who are truly Patent and God-
fearing people and what are their atributes?
In this regard the frst issue being mentoned is
that of Riba (interest), because that persons
Taqwa is unacceptable whose body has
groomed on food earned through unlawful
means like usury etc.
Also, it is highly signifcant that an admoniton
is given while war is being discussed. It should
be stressed, before everything else, that the
Quran takes a holistc, not a fragmentary,
view of life and the universe. It does not con-
sider the maters relatng to individuals as be-
ing separate from social maters, nor does it
see social maters as being apart from the
economy, nor the economy from other internal
maters, such as educaton, security, and for-
eign relatons. None of these can be viewed or
treated as being separate from the others. In
view of this, the use of interest is no longer
only an economic mater; it is also deeply con-
nected with the life of the society and the indi-
vidual. It afects both the spiritual and moral
nature of the individual, and their partcipaton
in the social and economic life of the society.
Therefore, interest will have a signifcant efect
on a persons attude to war, which requires
them to take away egotsm and worldliness
from their heart. Interest destroys social soli-
darity, and the desire to help one another, as
well as undermining confdence within a socie-
ty; these are all important factors if a naton
wants to succeed in a war. So, this verse,
which, when viewed superfcially, may seem to
be out of place, is actually just where it should
be. It warns us that, instead of making our lim-
Note: Text in bold letters is the literal translation of the meaning of the Quran by
M. Taqi Usmani and the normal text is the brief explanation compiled by
Institute of Islamic Research, Darul Uloom Ilahiya.
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 9.
ited minds or reason the criterion or judge
when approaching the Quran, we should de-
sign our thinking system according to the
Quran. (QAI)

O you, who believe, do not eat i.e., take up
the amounts acquired through Rib (interest),
doubled and multplied i.e., more than the
basic amount. Fear Allah, so that you may be
successful i.e., enter Jannah for which you
have to leave the practce of taking interest,
(3:130)
and fear the Fire that has been actually pre-
pared for the disbelievers and the way to
evade it is to leave prohibitons like interest
etc; (3:131)
Obey Allah and the Messenger who prohibit
you against Riba, so that you may be blessed -
for if you lend interest free money to the
needy Allah will bless you in the world and the
next. (3:132)
Race with one another towards Forgiveness
destned from your Lord and rush towards a
paradise - the width of which spans the heav-
ens and the earth, by the executon of good
deeds and noble morals. It has been prepared
for the God-fearing i.e., Muslims, (3:133)
among whom the highest ranking are the ones
who spend for Allahs sake in prosperity and
adversity i.e., all circumstances and those who
control anger and forgive people for their
faults in a kindhearted manner. And Allah
loves those who are good in their deeds
those who subject their drive of passion and
anger to their spiritual and intellectual power,
(3:134)
and the second are those who, when they
happen to commit a shameful act or wrong
themselves, immediately remember the pun-
ishment and Exaltedness of Allah, then, seek
forgiveness for their sins, __and certainly who
is there to forgive sins except Allah?..... And
they do not persist in what they have done -
knowingly but remain humble and repentant.
(3:135)
Their reward is forgiveness from their Lord
and gardens of Paradise beneath the trees
and houses of which rivers fow where they
shall live forever. And excellent is the reward
of those who work the toil of repentance and
true beliefs. (3:136)

Onwards Muslims are again consoled apropos
the batle of Uhud that it has always been the
practce of Allah to make the disbelievers un-
successful.
Though, at this juncture, you have been subju-
gated due to your own faults but if you estab-
lish yourselves on to the demands of God-
fearing and steadfastness then the disbelievers
will ultmately succumb.

Indeed people with many paterns of behav-
ior have passed before you comprising believ-
ers and disbelievers who difered, confronted
and fought with each other but, in the end, it
were the disbelievers who sufered. So, if you
want to perceive the signs, traverse the land
and see what the fate of those i.e., disbeliev-
ers, who rejected the prophets was. Thus, the
signs of their destructon are stll lef to this
tme (refer to verse (27:52) and (28:58) (3:137)
This theme is a declaraton for mankind;
therefore, if they ponder they can extract mes-
sage from it, and in it there is guidance, and a
lesson for the God-fearing; the guidance - to
comprehend the truth and falsehood, and the
lesson to act according to the demands of
guidance. (3:138)
Do not lose heart at your accidental failure
this tme and do not grieve at your martyrs,
and you are the upper-most if you are believ-
ers and remain frm on to the demands of
Faith and show obedience to the Prophet.
(3:139)
Dont worry if you have received a wound in
10. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
this batle of Uhud because, behind it, there
are a number of reasons viz., (i) they - the dis-
believers, have received a similar wound in
the batle of Badr and such days of victory and
defeat We rotate among the people, (ii) so
that Allah may demonstrably know those who
believe for, it is at the tme of distress when
sincere and kind are tested, (iii) and let some
of you be positoned as martyrs and Allah
does not like the unjust so, at certain tmes
their dominaton over you is no indicaton that
He loves them., (3:140)
(iv) and so that Allah may purify from sins
those who believe because distress is a
cleanser for deeds and morals, (v) and eradi-
cate the disbelievers, this is twofold one
gaining an upper hand will boost their courage
and they will again turn up to fght and thus
get killed, two by commitng atrocites on
Muslims they will invite Allahs wrath upon
themselves and perish. (3:141)

In the succeeding verses Allah disapproves as
well as advises His loved and sincere slaves.
Their act of giving in during the batle of Uhud
wherein they had the opportunity of ataining
martyrdom, like the Badr-fghters, which they
were yearing for is being disapproved. The ad-
vice being that without Jihad and steadfast-
ness, honourability in the Hereafer is not pos-
sible.

Do you think that merely on being Muslims
you shall enter Paradise and atain its decent
and lofy stages even before Allah demonstra-
bly knows those of you who carry out Jihd
and those who are steadfast segregatng
them from those who remain behind and
those who are impatent. (3:142)
You had longed for martyrs death before you
faced it; you were those who, in longing for
martyrdom, opined at the onset of the batle
of Uhud to fght the enemy outside the city of
Madinah. Now, you have seen it i.e., death
with your eyes wide open why then do you
succumb and show weakness. (3:143)
And Muhammad is but a messenger not a
never dying god; there have been messengers
before him and just like them he will also de-
part. So, if he dies or is killed, would you, by
renouncing Islam and Jihad, turn back on your
heels - the way some of you did by running
away from the batlefeld? Whoever turns
back on his heels from Jihad or Islam can nev-
er harm Allah in the least but only lose some-
thing their own. Allah shall soon suitably re-
ward the grateful who remain steadfast, at
such junctures, while remembering His re-
wards. (3:144)
Fearing death is useless frstly because it is not
the choice of a person to die, whether natu-
rally or accidentally, without the will of Allah;
secondly death being a tme-bound destny is
neither infuenced by advance nor delay.
Therefore, what is the reason behind running
away due to fear other than the wish to live
few days more in this world, if so, listen to the
efect of this contrivance - whoever seeks a
reward in this world, We shall subject to our
will - give him out of it but in the Hereafer his
will be no share, and whoever seeks a reward
for his deeds and eforts in the Hereafer e.g.,
remains steadfast in Jihad with the intenton
of receiving reward in the Hereafer, We shall
take it as Our duty to - give him out of it. We
shall soon generously reward the grateful
who yearn for the blessings in the Hereafer.
(3:145)
Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (RA) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said:
"You cannot turn to Allah and gain nearness to Him with anything superior to that which di-
rectly heralds from Him (i.e. the Quran). (Tirmizi)
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 11.
Dr. Rafiq Ahmad
The Book of Ablution
Jaabir bin Abdullah said to me, "Your cousin
(Hasan bin Muhammad bin Al-Hanafya) came
to me and asked about the bath of Janaba. I
replied, 'The Prophet used to take three hand-
fuls of water, pour them on his head and then
pour more water over his body.' Al-Hasan said
to me, 'I am a hairy man.' I replied, 'The Proph-
et had more hair than you'.

Comments
Bukhari and Abu Dawood have men-
toned this Hadith briefy and Muslim has nar-
rated it in detail. As per the narraton of Mus-
lim, one day Sahaaba were discussing about
the Gusul of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam). Someone said that he pours water
so many tmes, other said something else.
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) told
them that it is his routne to pour the water
thrice on his blessed head.

Chapter 5 : To wash the body (parts) only
once.

Purpose of Tarjamatul Baab
Imam Bukhari (RA) wants to say that
to pour water on body during Gusul is obliga-
tory only once as in Wudu and to pour it three
Chapter 4 : One who poured water thrice on
his head.

Sheikh-ul-Hadith Hadhrat Mawlana
Zakariya says that here Imam Bukhari (RA) is
pointng towards a controversial issue. Imam
Maalik is of the opinion that Dhalak i.e., to
scrub the body with hands is obligatory in
Gusul, whereas the rest of the jurists say that
it is not obligatory and only pouring the water
is enough. By establishing this ttle, Imam Bu-
khari is supportng the view of majority and
not that of Imam Maalik.

Hadith No. 250
Narrated Jubair bin Mutm (RA)
Allah's Apostle said, "As for me, I pour water
three tmes on my head." And he pointed with
both his hands.

Hadith No. 251
Narrated Jaabir bin 'Abdullah (RA)
The Prophet used to pour water three tmes
on his head.

Hadith No. 252
Narrated Abu Ja'far (RA)
12. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
tmes is Mustahab (preferable).

Hadith No. 253
Narrated Maimuna (RA)
I placed water for the bath of the
Prophet. He washed his hands twice or thrice
and then poured water on his lef hand and
washed his private parts. He rubbed his hands
over the earth (and cleaned them), rinsed his
mouth, washed his nose by putng water in it
and blowing it out, washed his face and both
forearms and then poured water over his
body. Then he withdrew from that place and
washed his feet.

Comments
Abu Dawood has narrated a Hadith on
the authority of Abdullah bin Umar (RA):
Salaah was made obligatory ffy tmes and
Gusul seven tmes (per day).
Salaah was reduced to fve tmes a day
from ffy tmes and Gusul was reduced to one
tme from seven tmes. Imam Bukhari has not
quoted this Hadith in his book as it was not
fulflling his criterion. (Nasrul Bari)

Chapter 6 : One who started Gusul by
scentng himself with Hilab or some other
perfume.

This Tarjamatul Baab is considered
one of the most difcult chapters of Bukhari
Sharief. The commentators of Hadith have
been at loss to know why Imam Bukhari added
the word )(perfume with )(Hilab,
when only Hilaab is mentoned and not per-
fume.

Hadith No. 254
Narrated 'Aisha (RA)
Whenever the Prophet took the bath of Ja-
naba (sexual relaton or wet dream) he asked
for the Hilab or some other scent. He used to
take it in his hand, rub it frst over the right
side of his head and then over the lef and then
rub the middle of his head with both hands.

Comments
What is Hilab?
It is a pot in which a she camel, goat or
cow is milked. Hadhrat Ayesha (RA) says that
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) used to
ask for water in a pot called Hilab to perform
Gusul which was being used for milking the
she camel. Allaama Kashmiri says that some
milk that used to get stuck to the pot would
mix up with the water.
Here the purpose of Imam Bukhari
(RA) is to convey that if a Taahir or clean thing
like milk or perfume gets mixed up with the
water, it is permissible to perform Gusul with
such a water. Ibn Hajr has given similar expla-
naton to this but in a diferent way.

Chapter 7 : To rinse the mouth and snif the
nose while taking the bath of ritual impurity.

As per Imam Abu Haniefa (RA) and
Imam Ahmad bin Hambal, Madhmadah
(rinsing the mouth) and Istnshaaq (snifng the
nose) is obligatory while taking the bath of
ritual impurity. Imam Shafaee and Imam Maa-
lik consider it a Sunnah. By establishing this
chapter separately Imam Bukhari (RA) seems
to agree with Hanafte and Hanbalite schools
of thought.

Hadith No. 255
I placed water for the bath of the Prophet and
he poured water with his right hand on his lef
and washed them. Then he washed his private
parts and rubbed his hands on the ground,
washed them with water, rinsed his mouth and
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 13.
washed his nose by putng water in it and
blowing it out, washed his face and poured
water on his head. He withdrew from that
place and washed his feet. A piece of cloth
(towel) was given to him but he did not use it.

Comments
Allaama Ayni (RA) says:
There is no doubt in it that Rasulullah
(Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) never lef these
two (i.e., Madhmadah and Istnshaaq), so it
shows regularity which points towards the ob-
ligatory status of these two.
A Hadith says:
The efect of sexual act reaches underneath
every hair of the body. (Abu Dawood)
So, to wash every single hair in Gusul
became mandatory. The Hanafte scholars say
that since the nose has also some hair inside, it
is obligatory to wash it (i.e., to perform
Istnshaaq) while taking the bath of ritual im-
purity.
It is forbidden for a person to recite
the Holy Quran if he is in ritual impurity (i.e.,
afer sexual intercourse, wet dream etc). Some
Ulema say that it shows that the efect of sex-
ual act reaches the tongue, so Madhmadah is
also obligatory when one has to take the bath
of ritual impurity.
The Pocket Game
Money which was in someones pocket yesterday is in our pocket today. It will be
in someone elses pocket tomorrow. This is the reality of money. It belongs to no
one. It simply moves from pocket to pocket, only by the will of Allah. What is
destined to come into our pocket, will never go into someone elses pocket. Like-
wise that which goes into the pockets of others was never meant for our pocket.
The one that has forgotten the object of his life gets caught up in the pocket-game.
Day and night he is plotting and planning on how to empty the pockets of others.
He has forgotten that his white kafan is pocket-less.
To use a towel
It is permissible to use as well as not
to use a towel afer Gusul for wiping the water
on body. In this Hadith, it is mentoned that
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) did not
use the towel.

Chapter 8 : The rubbing of hand with clay to
make it more clean.

The rubbing of hand with clay afer
Istnja is preferable and not a must.

Hadith No. 256
The Prophet took the bath of Janaba. (sexual
relaton or wet dream). He frst cleaned his
private parts with his hand, and then rubbed it
(that hand) on the wall (earth) and washed it.
Then he performed abluton like that for the
prayer, and afer the bath he washed his feet.

Comments
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)
rubbed his blessed hand on the wall afer do-
ing Istnja to make it more clean. This could be
basis of using soap nowadays to get more
cleanliness. (And Allah knows the best).
14. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
This is a short piece translated from
Ibn Qudamah's Mukhtasar Minhaj al-
Qasidin. It distlls a picture the Quran and
ahadeeth build up of the Prophet's (S) virtues
and character, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam: in-
tegrity, honesty, steadfastness, courage, kind-
ness, compassion, courtesy, and other quali-
tes too numerous to list. To say the Prophet's
(S) is a life well documented is an understate-
ment. There is hardly an aspect of his life
which did not come under the scrutny of his
close companions, who lef for posterity all
that they saw him do or hear him say. The rea-
son: to know what the Prophet (S), did, is to
know what we all should do. The Qur'an de-
scribes him as a beautful example:
There has certainly been for you in the Mes-
senger of Allah an excellent patern for anyone
whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and
[who] remembers Allah ofen. [Surah Al-Ahzab:
21]
So the Prophet's (S) sunnah, Qur'an
aside, is the very noton of Islam itself emula-
ton of which becomes the life work of a be-
liever in his or her journey to God and the
Aferlife.
'God's Messenger (S), was the mildest
of people and also the warmest and most gen-
erous of them. He would mend his own san-
dals, patch his own clothes and help his family
with the daily errands. He was very shy; shyer
than a virgin in her chamber.
He would respond to the invitaton of
slaves, visit the sick, walk alone [without
guards or fanfare], allow others to saddle-up
with him on his mount, accept gifs, eat food
that was sent as a gif; though he never con-
sumed anything that had been given as chari-
ty. He did not have enough dates with which
to be sated, nor was he sated with barley-
bread for more than three consecutve days.
He would eat whatever food was readily avail-
able and he never critcised food. He never ate
reclining, and ate from what was nearest to
him.
He loved perfumes and disliked foul
odours. He honoured people of virtue, and
kept afectonate tes with nobles and dignitar-
ies. He never snubbed anyone and would ac-
cept the excuse of those who presented excus-
es.
He would joke, but never would he
uter anything untrue. He laughed, but not
loudly. He would not let any tme pass without
being in the service of God, exalted is He, or
being engaged in whatever was essental for
Abu Aaliyah
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 15.
his own self-development.
He never cursed women, nor abused servants.
Nor did he strike anyone, except for in jihad in God's
cause. He did not exact revenge for his own sake, but did
so when God's limits had been transgressed. If he was
presented with two optons he took the easier of the
two, unless it entailed disobedience or the severing of
tes in which case he would be the furthest away from
it.
Sayyidna Anas (RA) remarked:
I served him for ten years and he never once rebuked
me in the least; nor did he say about anything I had
done, 'Why did you do it?' or anything I had not done,
'Why did you not do it?'
His descripton in the Torah is:
Muammad, the Messenger of God and My Chosen
Servant. He is neither harsh nor severe. He does not
shout in the market places, nor repay evil with evil, but
instead he pardons and forgives
He would sit in an assembly wherever it was
convenient and would mingle among his Companions as
one of them, such that when strangers came they could-
n't distnguish him from others, save afer inquiring as to
who he was. He would take to long periods of silence,
but when he did speak he did so measurably and clearly,
repeatng himself so that he would be understood. He
used to pardon, even when he was in a positon to pun-
ish, and he would not confront anyone with what they
did not like.
He was the most truthful of men, one who most
fulflled his trusts and commitments; the easiest going of
people, the most afable, and the most generous in
friendship. Whoever gazed upon him unexpectedly, was
awe-stricken by him; whoever knew him, loved him. His
Companions, whenever they spoke about worldly afairs,
he would join in with them; and when, in recollectng
their pre-Islamic days, they would laughed, he would
simply smile. He was also the bravest of men. One Com-
panion recalled: When the fghtng became intense, we
would seek shelter behind God's Messenger, Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam.'
1

1. Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasidin (Damascus: Maktabah Dar al-Bayan,
1999), 157-8
SO beautiful!
This is love
Once the Prophet (Salla-
llahu Alaihi Wasallam) was
sitting in a room with Aisha
(RA) and fixing his shoes. It
was very warm, and Aisha
looked to his blessed forehead
and noticed that there were
beads of sweat on it. She be-
came overwhelmed by the majes-
ty of that sight was staring at
him long enough for him to no-
tice.
He said, Whats the
matter? She replied, If Abu
Bukair Al-Huthali, the poet,
saw you, he would know that
his poem was written for you.
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam) asked, What did
he say? She replied, Abu
Bukair said that if you looked
to the majesty of the moon, it
twinkles and lights up the world
for everybody to see. So the
Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam) got up, walked to
Aisha, kissed her between the
eyes, and said, Wallahi ya Ai-
sha, you are like that to me and
more.
16. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
Why Irreligiousness Succeeds: But how
did this new faith infltrate the Islamic World?
How did it come to acquire the strength to
engulf Muslims within their own homes; what
can explain the mighty hold it enjoys over the
hearts and minds of men? All these questons
require careful examinaton.
In the nineteenth century, Islam had
begun to show signs of fatgue and decay. In
maters of faith, religious endeavour,
knowledge and learning it had indeed reached
a nadir. Islam, in fact, knows no old age and no
decline. Like the sun, it is every young, ever
new. It was the Muslims, themselves, who had
fallen prey to senility and degeneraton. They
had become narrow of in outlook, their think-
ing had become stereotyped it had lost orig-
inality their minds had grown fossilised, they
had lost enthusiasm for Religion, and, excep-
tons apart, the ability to present it in an efec-
tve manner.
In additon to this, no atempt was
made to establish contact with the young edu-
cated classes and to infuence their minds alt-
hough the future belonged to them. It oc-
curred to no one to impress upon them the
basic truths that Islam was an eternal, ever-
green Faith, the Faith of humanity, that the
Quran was a miracle of a Book, permanent,
unchanging, deathless, whose wonders knew
no limit and whose treasures were boundless,
that the Holy Prophet (S) was the prophet for
all tmes and the leader of all men, that the
Islamic Shariah was a marvel of legislaton,
endowed with the ability to march hand in
hand with life and answer all the demands it
may make upon jurisprudence. Faith, morality
and spiritual values are the only foundatons
on which a civilised, enlightened society can
be built. Modern civilisaton, however, has
only the means and the channels. The ends
and the real springheads are contained in the
teachings of the prophets. And a healthy and
balanced system of civilisaton can come into
being only when there is a harmony between
ends and means.
This was the thing and situaton when
the West made its assault on the Islamic
World. An assault which contained its whole
armoury of thoughts and ideas, designed and
hammered into shape in the minds of the fore-
most thinkers and philosophers of the tme
Mawlana Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi (ra)
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 17.
and garbed in such philosophical phraseology
that they gave the impression of being the
very essence of human wisdom and learning,
although quite a good deal was purely empiri-
cal and had no basis in fact. Western thinkers
took a lot for granted and drew conclusions
that were in a measure just hypothetcal. The
systems of thought they had built up were an
amalgamaton of fact and fcton, of
knowledge and ignorance, and of frm reality
and poetc imaginaton yes, poetry, for you
must not imagine that poetry is confned only
to verse and rhyme; it is practsed also in the
realms of philosophy and the social sciences.
These ideologies came under the
shadow of politcal conquest by the West, and
the people of the East bowed down them both
emotonally and intellectually. Eastern intellec-
tuals welcomed them with open arms. Some
of them, of course, accepted them intelligently
and consciously, but their number was few.
With the majority, it was a case of unthinking
acceptance, dazzled as they were by the mate-
rial superiority of alien rulers. They saw and
they surrendered. Their minds were hypno-
tsed and belief in Western ideas became syn-
onymous with progress and enlightenment
and the most important criterion of learning
and wisdom.
Thus it was that this new apostasy
spread its wings over the Muslim East without
any hitch or oppositon. Neither the father ob-
jected to the downfall of the son nor the
teacher to that of the student. Religious lead-
ers also felt no qualms about it. It was a silent
revoluton.
The apostates did not make their way
to any Church or Temple; they did not pros-
trate themselves before any idol nor make any
sacrifcial oferings at any polytheistc altar
signs which, in the past, indicated spiritual
metamorphosis. The apostates of old used to
walk openly out of Muslim society and associ-
ated themselves freely with the society of
those whose Religion they had accepted. They
used to declare boldly their change of Faith
and submit cheerfully to what they had to
bear as a result. They did not insist upon cling-
ing to the benefts accruing from membership
of the society they had in fact forsaken. But
present-day apostates who turn their backs on
Islam do not at the same tme also walk out of
Islamic society in spite of the fact that of all
societes it is only an Islamic society which is
based entrely on spiritual beliefs since it can-
not come into being without the presence of a
partcular set of religious doctrines. These
modern apostates contnue to avail them-
selves of all the possible advantages of mem-
bership of the Islamic society. This is a unique
situaton for Islam.
As they have turned and twisted moral
and spiritual values, so also have these ideolo-
gies sown the seeds of paganism sentment
and feeling in the Muslim World upon which
Islam has declared an open war. For instance,
take paganish factonalism which is founded
on race, country and naton. It is currently be-
ing venerated with fanatcal enthusiasm and
reverence. The human family is cut into pieces
in its name. It has been raised to the status of
a religion and given complete control over
peoples thoughts and emotons. it is indeed
the most powerful rival to Religion judged by
the extensiveness and intensity of its infu-
ence. It gains ascendancy over ones entre
existence. When it sweeps over a society it
pushes the work of the Prophets into oblivion
and reduces Religion into a soulless pro-
gramme of rituals and ceremonies; the organic
unity of mankind about which God had de-
clared; Lo! This your religion, is one religion,
and I am your Lord, so worship Me, is de-
stroyed and the human race is divided into a
number of warring camps.
18. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
their proponents say that "moderate" or
"progressive" Islam opposes violence, accepts
the universal charter of human rights, pro-
motes gender equality and recognizes the idea
of pluralism.
Dialectcally, what they are saying is
that there is an Islam that does not recognize
the value of non-violence, that rejects univer-
sal charter of human rights and that opposes
the idea of gender equality and pluralism. If
this is the basis of redefning Islam, then it is a
weak premise.
Islam is a faith given to human beings
to live their lives according to certain values
originally defned by the Divine. People have a
choice to reject them or accept them because
they are responsible for their own actons. Is-
lam does not advocate violence. Those who
use violence as a means to achieve their goals,
however noble their goals may be, are essen-
tally in violaton of their faith. They are the
ones who are deviatng from the path of Islam.
Why should their deviaton cause
some Muslims to redefne Islam and form a
separate category of moderate or progressive
Islam in order to make a distncton between
the two? There are always people and groups
who use their faith to promote their own po-
A debate has been going on within
certain circles of the Muslim community about
defning or redefning Islam and its followers.
Several terms have been designed to
make a distncton among Muslims' various
politcal schools of thoughts. These terms
sometmes appear atractve, especially in the
state of confusion in which we live. They pro-
vide us with a diferent approach to identfy
ourselves.
However, when we look at these
terms deeply, we begin to realize that they are
meant to defne us in the mold of our thinking
infuenced by our social and politcal milieu.
Terms that are in fashion currently are
moderate Islam, progressive Islam, enlight-
ened Islam, modern Islam, extremist Islam,
liberal Islam, conservatve Islam, reformed Is-
lam, orthodox Islam, fundamentalist Islam,
medieval Islam, and obscurantst Islam, etc.
What is interestng is that these terms
emerge from the limitatons of our own read-
ings of Islam controlled by our own social-
politcal experiences. For instance, in the con-
text of the U.S. and the West, it is now fash-
ionable to use terms such as progressive Islam
and moderate Islam.
When asked to defne these terms,
Dr. Aslam Abdullah
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 19.
litcal and economic agenda. This is true with
all religions. The most efectve way to con-
front such people is to develop a sound argu-
ment on the basis of a comprehensive under-
standing of the divine values and prophetc
teachings.
This is a struggle that we all have to
carry on within ourselves and in the society at
large. Creatng further divisions and categoriz-
ing ourselves in terms that refer to our own
politcal expediencies will not serve the real
purpose of the faith. Islam, afer all, demands
from every Muslim to be a witness to the
truth.
The truth is clear in Islam. We cannot
change it for our politcal purposes. Thus, the
coinage of these terms is primarily a weak
strategy that defeats the very purpose of the
faith.
The questons that ought to be raised,
then, are: what is this truth and how do we
discern it from the falsehood? The truth will
emerge from our quest of knowledge, experi-
ences, wisdom and guidance from the Divine.
The truth will not be dictated by a few sound
bites of President Bush or Daniel Pipes or peo-
ple like them.
In the case of Islam, the truth, as per-
ceived by Muslims based on their general
readings of the Quran, is that Islam is a divine-
ly revealed faith that commands its adherents
to follow the principles of monotheism, jus-
tce, equality, and peace in all aspects of their
life.
We have to understand our world in
the context of these divinely revealed truths
and develop suitable instruments to ensure
Hazrat Aisha (RA) relates that the Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi
Wasallam) said, The two Rakaats of (the Sunnah of) Fajr are better
than the world and all it contains. [Muslim]
that they are shared with the rest of the
world.
Thus, our struggle is to be a witness to
these truths and to challenge all those who are
in violaton of these regardless of what label
they assume.
In the Quran, the Divine tells us of
people who would call themselves Muslims,
yet, would do everything that is contrary to
the teachings of Islam. It is not a prudent strat-
egy to say that because of the deviatons of
others, we are changing our self defniton and
coining a new term to describe our relaton
with our faith. Our commitment to our faith is
based on the criterion of right and wrong.
The propagaton of new terminologies
by various Muslims is leading our community
into a bewilderment of confusing ideas with-
out realizing that the principles of faith cannot
be compromised for our understanding or lack
of understanding of politcal realites.
Thus, we have two tasks at hand. First,
internally--we have to challenge those who are
deviatng from the foundaton of Islam, and
second we have to communicate to the rest of
the world the real foundaton on which our
faith stands.
It is beter that we spend our tme and
resources in these areas rather than wastng
our energy in coining and re-coining terms
that confuse us and others as well.
When we do what is expected of us in
Islam, we will notce qualitatve change in our
own attude as well as the attude of the peo-
ple in our faith.
Dr. Aslam Abdullah is editor of the Muslim Observer, director of
the Islamic Society of Nevada and the director of the Muslim
Electorates' Council of America.
20. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
Afer searching nearly all religions of
the world, Islam appeared to be the only pure
and pristne religion that pointed humans di-
rectly to God.
One would wonder if all the questons
of a skeptc were answered, the road paved to
come steps closer to the Creator, logical issues
were addressed and doubts were removed,
would there be any reason for one not to sur-
render to his/her Creator and see religion as a
positve step to achieve this goal?
We discuss various elements about
religion that the skeptc used as a barrier to
surrender to God. We also assume that he/she
is a believer in the existence of God and that
atheism was not an issue.
The most prominent point of emphasis
is urging the skeptc to try to understand that
God provided guidance to mankind through a
succession of messengers, some of whom had
scriptures. The last messenger was Muham-
mad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and the last
scripture The Quran.
We also urged everyone to investgate
the authentcity of the Quran.
This is a manual for every believer to
use in order to fush out man-made ideas and
falsehood from Divine.
Once this is established, the skeptc is
transformed into a diligent seeker of divine
guidance.
One may realize with gladness that
they pulled themselves out of the fock of peo-
ple who have inappropriate and suspicious
thoughts about Allah, and realize those who
did not make an efort to understand the
truth, brought destructon upon themselves.
Allah explains: And that thought of yours
(suspicion) which you thought about your
Lord, has brought you to destructon (in the
Day of Judgment), and you have become (this
Day) of those uterly lost! (Quran, 41:23)
Unless there is certainty in the heart
about the Quran, all other eforts will fail. One
will strive to reach to this point by diligent
study of this Scripture. Allah assures us here
about the Quran: A revelaton from (Allah)
the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. A Book
whereof the Verses are explained in detail a
Quran in Arabic for people who
know. (Quran, 41:2-3)
Of course translatons are available in
nearly all languages. But what is the merit of
understanding the Quran?
Here, Allah gives us hope and encour-
ages us to also have the right kind of fear as to
avoid falling into corrupton and denial of the
Divine commandments.
Some skeptcs demand miracles in or-
der to believe and think that the Revelaton of
Raya Shokatfard
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 21.
Allah given of Prophet Muhammad was not
enough.
Perhaps it is not surprising to know
that even when the Prophet lived among his
own people, the same demands were put up-
on him. Allah responds on his behalf: Say (O
Muhammad): I am only a human being like
you. It is revealed to me that your Ilah (God) is
One Ilah (God - Allah), therefore take Straight
Path to Him (with true Faith Islamic Mono-
theism) and obedience to Him, and seek for-
giveness of Him. And woe to Al-Mushrikun
(the polytheists, idolaters, disbelievers in the
Oneness of Allah). (Quran, 41:6)
Can a sincere seeker fnd any com-
mandments and laws brought forth by Mu-
hammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) that was
diferent than the main message of the Proph-
ets of the past? Here, we are not talking about
rituals, but the essence of the message! Allah
confrms this by the following verse: Nothing
is said to you (O Muhammad) except what was
said to the Messengers before you. Verily,
your Lord is the Possessor of forgiveness, and
(also) the Possessor of painful punish-
ment. (Quran, 41:43)
If, by now, the hearts and minds are
calm and the seeker fnds the urge to move
forward, then he begins to study and put to
practce the manual for happiness, spiritual
fulfllment and confict-free life.
It is very common that those who
come to Islam, for my own case, return to Is-
lam, would have a strong zest to reach out and
make Islam known to others. They fully believe
Allahs word when He says: And who is beter
in speech than he who says: My Lord is Allah
(believes in His Oneness), and then stands
frm (acts upon His Order), and invites (men)
to Allahs (Islamic Monotheism), and does
righteous deeds, and says: I am one of the
Muslims. (Quran, 41:33)
There are no words that can explain
my awe when I held the Quran in my hands.
Afer searching nearly all religions of
the world and fnding various shades of poly-
theism in most, Islam appeared to be the only
pure and pristne religion that pointed humans
directly to God and not any humans no mater
how elevated their status was.
Afer thorough research about compi-
laton of the Quran and comparing with other
scriptures, it became evident that what I was
looking at were Gods own words right in front
of me.
There are no words that can explain
my awe when I held the Quran in my hands.
This feeling has not changed for 25 years and
is only getng stronger.
I was a skeptc like many, but I did not
live with my skeptcism. I made diligent efort
to know the truth. I went from one religion to
another tll I fnally found what I was looking
for.
Living in Los Angeles with all its good
and not so good merits and being a single
mother, I felt that I had to handle all the bur-
dens of life upon my own shoulders. This put
me right with most other over-stressed moth-
ers who were aficted with many health is-
sues.
Embracing Islam and understanding
human inclinatons as well as understanding
how to funnel these inclinatons, desires and
life selecton processes in a healthy and divine-
ly guided avenues, rid me of feeling of desper-
aton and hopelessness and into a completely
new realm and way of thinking and approach
in life.
I moved from relying upon myself, to
rely upon Allah who says: So rely upon Allah;
indeed, you are upon the clear truth. (Quran,
27:79)
Year afer year, I found more inner
peace , emotonal stability and serenity.
Contd on page 46
22. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
To challenge the simplistc noton that
Islam is stll in its medieval period, we must
engage it academically for its own sake - not
simply out of self-interest
Interest in Islamic studies has expand-
ed in recent years, but not always for the best
of reasons. In the late 19th and early 20th cen-
turies, the powers of the day needed to under-
stand the religious motvatons of their colo-
nized subjects. The rule, for decades, was the
self-interested study of Islam; objectve aca-
demic discipline was the excepton.
How much further have we come to-
day?
"Islamic studies" now seem equally
driven by non-academic motves.
Western societes are grappling with
three distnct Islam-related factors: a new, visi-
ble generaton of Western Muslims, acceler-
atng migratory fows and terrorism, seen as a
threat to both the West and the Islamic world.
Internatonal politcs- the Israeli-
Palestnian confict, war in Afghanistan and
Iraq, threats against Iran, eventual Turkish
membership in the European Union - also im-
pinge on the feld, as scholars atempt to un-
derstand, to prevent and even to mobilize
against the perceived danger of violent Islam-
ism. Key questons are ofen framed in binary
terms, as a clash of civilizatons. In each of
these instances, Islamic studies are directly or
indirectly involved in the atempt to under-
stand and to prevent, to protect, to dominate
or even to fght the adversary of violent Islam-
ism.
It comes as no surprise that sociolo-
gists, politcal scientsts and terrorism experts
produce reams of research on Islam, Muslims,
identty, immigraton, Islamism, radicalizaton,
violence and terrorism. Much of their work is
funded or commissioned by government agen-
cies or major corporatons. Today, like yester-
day, non-academic criteria propel and justfy
research.
But this carefully orchestrated infatua-
ton with Islamic studies reduces several cen-
turies of Islam's legal heritage, philosophy,
mystcal thought, and social and politcal vitali-
ty to a subsidiary positon. Ratonalist philoso-
phers such as Averroes are cited as examples
of "reasonableness," while the thought of Is-
lam's many eminent theologians and thinkers
is ignored.
The tme has come for universites in
the West to reconcile themselves with an ap-
proach to other civilizatons and cultures - par-
tcularly that of Islam - driven neither by ideo-
logical agendas nor collectve fears.
The "global war" against" radicaliza-
ton and terrorism," that would make contem-
Tariq Ramadan
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 23.
porary Islamic studies a discipline besieged by
dangerously utlitarian politcal consideratons
must give way to a holistc vision.
If we are serious about respectng the
diversity of civilizatons, about the need for
dialogue, about promotng common values,
we must urgently rethink the content of our
curricula. The courses of study ofered in our
universites must embrace the study of reli-
gion, of theology and theological scholarship,
of the teaching of Islamic law and jurispru-
dence.
It is generally accepted that practcing
Jews, Christans, Hindus or Buddhists can per-
form their academic dutes objectvely. Muslim
faculty members, however, face serious obsta-
cles. Practcing Muslims may see their objec-
tvity questoned and be expected to espouse
"pro-Western" views.
The commonplaces of violence and
terrorism and the insistence that "Islamic au-
thorites" denounce these abuses conceal
from us a world caught up in intellectual fer-
ment. From Morocco to Indonesia, from the
United States to Australia by way of Europe
and Turkey, a body of fresh and audacious Is-
lamic thought is emerging. It is not only the
work of thinkers known to and recognized by
the West.
Today, an evolutonary process is
sweeping through every Islamic society. Any
Islamic studies curriculum must turn serious
atenton to this intellectual efervescence,
which in turn implies mastery of Arabic, Farsi,
Urdu and other languages.
Only then can Islamic studies chal-
lenge the simplistc noton that Islam is stll in
its medieval period, that it must evolve and
experience its own renaissance before it can
catch up with the West and modernity. For
when such academic preconditons become a
prerequisite, the study of a religion or civiliza-
ton ceases to be academic or objectve. It
feeds into ideology and justfes dominaton.
If contemporary Islamic studies are to
evolve in a meaningful way, we must distn-
guish between Islam and Muslims on the one
hand, and politcal Islam, Islamism and Islam-
ists on the other. Even if this has been done,
there remains room for serious critcal reap-
praisal of the instructon on ofer in many of
our universites.
How else to explain why certain vio-
lent groups are lent an interpretatve authority
based on litle more than either willful negli-
gence ... or ignorance? Perhaps the outstand-
ing example of this treatment is Ibn Taymiyya,
the 13th-century scholar who some consider
the quintessental extremist thinker. The
speech and actons of today's violent Islamists
become windows through which the Islamic
heritage, and Islamic scholars themselves, are
interpreted and judged.
Contemporary Islamic studies face
another major challenge: that of reconciling
students drawn to the feld with this complex,
multlayered and multdimensional world.
Knowledge of languages, cultures, memories
and histories, of social dynamics and evoluton
are the essental parameters if we are to study
the other as he actually is, and not as a demo-
graphic, cultural or politcal threat.
As more and more Western Muslims
enroll in Islamic studies programs, they bring
with them their "insider's" knowledge and sen-
sibilites.
Meanwhile, professors and instructors
have begun to queston the old paradigms
more insistently, to objectfy "Islam," to trans-
form it into a more coherent, more complete
and ultmately more academic discipline.
Islamic studies must be taken serious-
ly. Politcians, university administrators, facul-
ty and students must say so; they must make a
frm commitment to re-evaluate critcally and
constructvely what our academic insttutons
ofer today.

24. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
Sizing up Sincerity
As one prepares their luggage to meet
the Lord of the worlds, there is nothing more
vital to check for than ikhlas (sincerity). The
Most High says:
So whoever is hopeful for the Meetng with
his Lord let him do righteous work and not
associate in the worship of his Lord any-
one. [Surah Al-Kahf, Verse 110]
This verse embodies the two pillars of
acceptance. Whoever hopes to be accepted by
his Maker and Master, and hopes to live for
eternity in His Company, must ensure these
two ingredients are available:
Sincerity: namely that none is associat-
ed alongside Allah, in our motves.
Righteous Work: namely what has
been defned as correct and righteous by the
Messenger, Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam).
Upon refecton, these are realized as
the summary of Islam, and the essence behind
its 1st pillar: None is worthy of worship but
Allah (sincerity), and Muhammad (Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam) is the Messenger of Allah
(righteousness defned).
However, the more important of these
two pillars is Ikhlas, for it can sometmes com-
pensate for other things, but nothing can com-
pensate for it. As a scholar said, Allah may
accept from you half an acton, but will not
accept from you half an intenton. Others il-
lustrated the disparity by saying, An imper-
fect acton that was done with sincerity is like
a fsherman who brings a fawed net to a pond
of fsh. As for the perfect acton what was per-
formed without sincerity, it is like a fsherman
who brings a perfect net to a pond without
fsh. The frst may possibly catch some fsh,
despite the fawed apparatus, whereas there is
no chance for the second to catch any, regard-
less of how fawless his equipment is.
Surely this does not imply undermin-
ing the second pillar whatsoever, but simply
aims to size things up correctly. In fact, true
sincerity will necessitate that one follow the
Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).If a per-
son is genuinely seeking the pleasure of Allah,
he/she will inquire as to what actually pleases
Him, and will in turn discover that it is nothing
but the perfect path of His messenger, Mu-
hammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).

Sincerity Defned
Linguistcally, ikhlas means to separate
and distnguish. Thus, Yahya ibn Mu'adh ar-
Razi said, Ikhlas is to flter the actons from
every faw, just as milk is fltered out from be-
Abu Abbaad
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 25.
tween blood and dung. In that, he was refer-
ring to the words of the Most High:
We give you drink from what is in their bel-
lies from between excretons and blood
milk that is khalis (pure), palatable to the
drinkers. [Surah An-Nahl, Verse 66]
The beneft of knowing the origins of
this term, and not setling for just the transla-
ton sincerity, lies in realizing that ikhlas is an
actve process, a laborious task, and an uphill
climb. It literally means to strip our motves of
anything but the pleasure of Allah, and frankly,
that is unnatural! The original, raw nature of
the human being is that he pursues his person-
al interests, and loves to be recognized, and
enjoys nothing more than the menton of his
own name. Therefore, extractng that egotst-
cal drive is comparable to pulling out a wisdom
tooth which is naturally, originally there. Thus,
one of the salaf used to say, Nothing is more
difcult on the inner-self than ikhlas, for it has
no share of it. In other words, the inner self
sees that it gets nothing out of it (at frst
glance!), so why agree to it?

Realizing its Difculty
Hence, the frst step towards sincerity
is coming to terms with its difculty, and ac-
knowledging that acquiring, keeping, and re-
trieving ikhlas, is a life-long mission that ends
with your last breath. This was the vigilant ap-
proach of the best generatons. Consider how
Sufyan ath-Thawri, who flled this planet with
his knowledge, devoton, and piety, has said, I
never remedied anything more difcult on me
than my intenton, and it's constantly over-
turning on me. Similarly, when Imam Ahmad
ibn Hanbal was asked regarding his countless
journeys and trials in pursuit and defense of
the religious sciences, he said, As for it being
all for Allah, that is a difcult claim. Another
of the salaf said, A moment of ikhlas entails
an eternity of salvaton, but ikhlas is indeed
difcult.

The Conspiracies of the Inner-Self
What illustrates the difculty of ikhlas,
are the layers of false motves conspired by
the inner-self; many of which are almost unde-
tectable. Our scholars have mentoned I be-
lieve this was Abu Hamid al-Ghazali how
most people presume that insincerity only lies
in seeking praise from the people, while this is
only the simplest, most obvious form of
showing of. He argues that, in reality, ri-
ya' (showing of) comes in four degrees, each
uglier and stealthier than the one before it:
Actng in front of people, in order to earn
their praise. An example of this is beautfying
the prayer due to the presence of onlookers.
A sign of this form of riya' is that the acton
stops or changes when such an audience is
absent.
Actng in private, while hoping to be seen by
the people. An example of this is a person
performing night prayers in seclusion, while
wishing that someone discovers his dedica-
ton. A sign of this form of riya' is that s/he
becomes happy when they are stumbled up-
on, or quit the act when they are not
acknowledged for it.
Actng in private, in order to feel self-
righteous. An example of this is a person
lengthening their prayer in private, so as not
to feel guilty and hypocritcal when beautfy-
ing his prayers for the onlookers. A sign of
this form of riya' is that a person is only dili-
gent with the acts of worship that have a
public counterpart.
Actng in private, to acquire status in the
hearts. An example of this is a person praying
at night, so that Allah would turn the people
towards him in veneraton by day. A sign of
this form of riya' is that a person becomes
angry when not distnguished, for his conceit-
ed heart feels enttled to the utmost rever-
26. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
ence because of how near
it is to Allah.
None of these are
ikhlas, for the frst three
sought to impress the people
or themselves, and the fourth
sought Allah as the means and
the people as the goal (making
it the most pitful form!).

Ruined without ar-Rahman
(the Most Merciful)
Afer considering
these stealthy insinuatons
that fow through the veins of
the human being, one now
understands the importance of
this Prophetc supplicaton:
Allahumma inny a'oodhu bika
un ushrika bika wa ana a'lam,
wa astaghfruka li ma la a'lam
O Allah! I seek refuge in You
from associatng [others] with
You while I know, and I seek
Your forgiveness for when I
don't know. [Bukhari; al-Adab
al-Mufrad (551)]
This brilliant hadith
contains two gems that must
be picked up for our quest in
pursuit of ikhlas:
Fear: Via remembering that
there are tmes when we do in
fact associate others with Al-
lah without realizing it.
Hope: Via remembering that
by earnestly calling upon Allah
with this du'a', those barely
discernible poisons can be for-
given.
So let that be our sec-
ond step towards sincerity,
relying upon Allah to rescue us

The Bigger Piece of the Cake

Abu Abdullah Waaqidi says: Once, while I was suffering
from some financial constraints, the occasion of Eid arrived.
My slave girl came to me and said: Eid has arrived and we
dont have any money. So I went up to a friend who was a
businessman, explained to him my situation and requested a
loan from him.
He took out a bag of 1200 silver coins and gave it to me. I
had hardly reached home when a Hashimite friend came to me
expressing his need for a loan due to a delay in his returns. I
went to my wife and told her what has happened. She asked
me: What have you decided? I replied: I will share the bag
of coins between the two of us.
She said to me: That is nothing great. An ordinary person
gave you 1200 silver coins and now you want to give half of
that to a man who is closely related to Rasulullah (sallallahu
alaihi wasallam). Give him the whole bag. So I gave the
entire bag to him.
After a little while my businessman friend went to the Hash-
imite who was his friend as well asking him for a loan.
The Hashimite brought out exactly the same bag. When the
businessman saw it, he recognized it and came to relate the
incident to me.
Thereafter, the governor Yahya bin Khaalid Al-Barmaki
summoned me. When I met him and related this incident to
him, he ordered his slave to bring 10 000 silver coins which he
gave to me saying: 2000 is for you, 2000 for your friend,
2000 for the Hashimite and 4000 for your wife since she was
the most generous from all of you.
(Taareekhu Baghdad, vol. 4, pg. 30)
Lesson: When one gives preference over oneself especially
when one is also experiencing some difficulty it may seem
that one is being deprived. In actual fact, Allah blesses him/
her with far greater returns, often in this world as well. Let us
give preference to others in small issues and allow them to have
the bigger piece of the cake, and see how Allah Ta ala will
grant us an entire bakery in return.
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 27.
braces mankind as a whole. Every scientst
builds on the foundatons supplied by his pre-
decessors, be they of his own naton or of
another; and this process of building, cor-
rectng and improving goes on and on,
from man to man, from age to age, from
civilizaton to civilizaton: so that the scien-
tfc achievements of a partcular age or
civilizaton can never be said to 'belong' to
that age or civilizaton. At various tmes one
naton, more vigorous than others, is able to
contribute more to the general fund of
knowledge; but in the long run the process is
shared, and legitmately so, by all. There was a
tme when the civilizaton of the Muslims was
more vigorous than the civilizaton of Eu-
rope. It transmited to Europe many tech-
nological inventons of a revolutonary na-
ture, and more than that: the very principles
of that 'scientfc method' on which modern
science and civilizaton are built. Nevertheless,
Jabir ibn Hayyan's fundamental discoveries
in chemistry did not make chemistry an
'Arabian' science; nor can algebra and trig-
onometry be described as 'Muslim' sciences,
although the one was evolved by Al-
Khwarizmi and the other by Al-Batani, both of
whom were Muslims: just as one cannot
speak of an 'English' Theory of Gravity, alt-
hough the man who formulated it was an Eng-
Never before, I refected, have the
worlds of Islam and the West come so close
to one another as today. This closeness is a
struggle, visible and invisible. Under the
impact of Western cultural i.Jluences, the
souls of many Muslim men and women are
slowly shrivelling. They are letng themselves
be led away from iheir erstwhile belief that an
improvement of living stan dards should be
but a means to improving man's spiritual per
ceptons ; they are falling into the same
idolatry of 'progress' into which the Western
world fell afer it reduced religion to a mere
melodious tnkling somewhere in the back-
ground of happening; and are thereby
growing smaller in stature, not greater: for
all cultural imitaton, opposed as it is to
creatveness, is bound to make a people
small...
Not that the Muslims could not
learn much from the West, especially in
the felds of science and technology. But,
then, acquisiton of scientfc notons and
methods is not really 'imitaton': and cer-
tainly not in the case of a people whose faith
commands them to search for knowledge
wherever it is to be found. Science is nei-
ther Western nor Eastern, for all scientfc dis-
coveries are only links in an unending
chain of intellectual endeavour which em-
Muhammad Asad
28. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
lishman. All such achieve-
ments are the common
property of the human
race. If, therefore, the
Muslims adopt, as adopt
they must, modern meth-
ods in science and tech-
nology, they will do not
more than follow the evo-
lutonary instnct which
causes men to avail
themselves of other
men's experiences. But if
they adopt - as there is
no need for them to do
- Western forms of life,
Western manners and
customs and social con-
cepts, they will not gain
thereby: for what the
West can give them in this
respect will not be superi-
or to what their own cul-
ture has given them and to
what their own faith
points the way.
If the Muslims
keep their heads cool and
accept progress as a
means and not as an end
in itself, they may not only
retain their own inner
freedom but also, per-
haps, pass on to West-
ern man the lost secret of
life's sweetness ...
Taken from: The Road to Mecca
Muhammad Asad was a Jewish-
born Austro-Hungarian born
journalist, traveler, writer, lin-
guist, thinker, politcal theorist,
diplomat and Islamic scholar.
Asad was one of the most infu-
ental European Muslims of the
20th century .

Who should I Follow?
With the abundance of Islamic literature and schol-
ars, the question that regularly arises is: Who
should I follow and whose lectures should I listen to?

The great Maaliki scholar, Imaam Shaatbi
(rahimahullah) (d. 790 A.H.) gives three simple
signs by means of which one can recognize a true and
reliable scholar of deen:
1. He practises on his knowledge and his actions con-
form to his words. If his actions contradict his words,
then he is not worthy of being a teacher and of being
followed.
2. He was nurtured by the experts of that field,
studying under them and holding firmly to them, un-
til a time came when he became worthy of the same
titles as them. This was in reality the noble practice
of our pious predecessors.
3. He follows in the footsteps of his teachers, and
adopts their conduct and mannerisms as was the
practice of the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu anhum) in
following Nabi (sallallahu alaihi wasallam), and
the Taabieen in following the Sahaabah and this
process continued from generation to generation.
When this quality was ignored and overlooked, inno-
vations began creeping into deen, because choosing not
to follow ones elders is due to some new factor, the
root cause of which is the following of ones desires.
(Al-Muwaafaqaat vol. 1, pgs. 83 85)

(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 29.
In detaching oneself from this dunya
and thinking of the hereafer I feel that one
would have to be knowledgeable of what is
waitng for him in the next life. Why we are
living this life, our main purpose; what we
should be doing here and why, importantly
how. In order to know this, we should learn
Islam. This way we are not blindly following
our forefathers but we are confdent in our
religion and how to act and therefore think.
Islam is for those who think, refect and pon-
der; as Allah Subhaana wa taaala has men-
toned many tmes in the Quran
Do you not think (37:138)
Do they not refect? (7:184)
Verily, in it are signs for people who think
deeply. (45:13)
In order for you to detach yourself from this
dunya you would have to believe in the akhirah
(hereafer).
And who believe in what has been revealed to
you, [O Muhammad], and what was revealed
before you, and of the Hereafer they are cer-
tain [in faith]. (2:4)
As a Muslim we believe in the here-
afer but we tend to get so atached to this
dunya that we forget about it. Focusing on
pleasing Allah is one of the most important
aspects one should consider. In this life we get
caught up on pleasing others; whether it is our
parents, children, teachers, bosses, etc. Even
just being a Good Samaritan makes us think
that we are doing enough. Here is the million
dollar queston, Isnt all the good I do in this
life also good in the hereafer? Well that de-
pends on you.
Whoever desires the reward of the
Hereafer, We give him increase in his reward,
and whosoever desires the reward of this
world, We give him something thereof and he
has no porton in the Hereafer. (42:20)
If you are doing it for Allahs pleasure
and Allahs pleasure alone, then yes. You will
receive your reward from Allah, but if it is
done to please these individuals then no, un-
less youre just doing it again to be a good per-
son, then Allah is all Kind and Just. If Allah
wills, you will receive that which you deserve.
Acts of good for this life will result in rewards
in this life, plain and simple.
A Muslim once told me that Christans
are much beter Samaritans than any Muslim
he has ever met. He stated that they have
more respect and are kind, caring, etc. I told
him that if the Muslims he had met were prac-
tcing Islam correctly, then it would be quite
the opposite. However, the people you met
unfortunately may have had low tolerance or
Sister Asrar bint Husain
30. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
who knows what and you shouldnt judge Is-
lam (aka Practcing Muslims) on Muslims by
name. These other individuals you claim to be
beter are only beter because they are busy
pleasing you instead of their Lord!
My personal opinion in the mater was
as follows, If a person died with only kind act
for this life then his life would have been a
waste, which means all the good he has done
is now gone, as if he has never done it.
Why? Because, if you are doing good
deeds for this dunya then you will get rewards
for this dunya which will eventually end;
therefore so will the rewards of this life. Now
if you are a non Muslim this would be fne be-
cause non Muslims do not all believe in the
hereafer. So they are covered (supposedly).
As for the Muslim who knows what is waitng
for him and does not act wisely will result in
failure and this is something we all should pray
we dont achieve. The non Muslim is an indi-
vidual who pleased him (the Muslim) but re-
fused to please Allah and from this, I can only
assume that he loved himself more than he
loved Allah. I said this to the Muslim only to let
him see the bigger picture. Allah is always the
bigger picture that unfortunately is always be-
ing pushed back into our subconscious. He saw
a non Muslim to be beter because he was nic-
er than most Muslims he came across, but this
is an unfortunate event that has happened,
and very minor compared to the sin they are
commitng when not worshiping Allah. He
saw acts of kindness towards him but did not
see acts of Kufur (disbelief) to Allah Subhaana
wa Taaala. One shouldnt judge Islam through
the people they meet. Acts of kindness are
encouraged to be done by all but unfortunate-
ly not all do it.
Whoever desires the reward of this world
then with Allah is the reward of this world and
the Hereafer. And ever is Allah Hearing and
Seeing.(4:134)
Now acts done for the hereafer, well
lets just say they are much higher in value
because the hereafer is a much longer period
than this life and the reward is much more.
These hold your passport to Jannah. These
acts are:
a) Prayer,
b) Zakat,
c) Fastng,
d) And Hajj.
These are the major acts done as a
Muslim which Allah will reward us for insha
Allah. Other act for the hereafer would be:
a) Jihad (fghtng for Allahs cause),
b) Sadaqa (charity),
c) Dawah (preaching or teaching Islam) are
among few.
d) Also anything done to please Allah alone.
When taught in the professional feld
we learn in order to achieve anything in this
life we must keep our eye on the goal, never
give up, and face difcultes. Focus is a major
issue here because we are living in a world
that is moving in a fast pace. Everything is
rushed. We dont have any more tme. We
refuse to admit that Allah is in control of tme,
Allah give the Baraka (blessing) in tme. If Allah
wills he will make sure you have tme if you
truly are using that tme wisely; in other
words, in pleasing Allah. If all I do is waste
tme, do you think I deserve any blessing from
Allah that he lengthen my tme to do nothing?
Let me rephrase that because who really does
nothing; instead lets say if all I do is concen-
trate on this dunya.
I will use myself as an example; lets
say, I wake up, get ready (make up, nicely
fted clothes) take my kids to school, head out
to work, come home, make dinner, sit with the
family and watch some television, get ready
for bed and then do it all over again. Any spare
tme I have in between, I may do things that
interest me, go online, and enroll in a class/
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 31.
The Mindset of a Believer
Hazrat Moulana Ashraf Ali
Thaanwi (ra) mentioned:
"The spirit one needs to constantly
have is how can one be of service to the
creation and how can ones actions be a
means of preserving deen. We should
not do things to earn popularity among
people. As far as popularity is con-
cerned, we should hope and desire that
people do not even come to know of
our good works carried out during our
lifetime and nor should the people
speak of our good deeds after our de-
mise."
(Malfoozaat-e-Hakeemul Ummat 10/19)
school, whatever. There could be a million sce-
narios, but the point here is I didnt think
about the hereafer.
Now lets say I was a person who
thinks of the hereafer; I wake up, make wudu,
pray fajr(morning prayer), read Quran, go
back to sleep, wake up, make breakfast for the
family, start my children in their homeschool-
ing, pray dhur (noon prayer), make lunch, etc.,
fnish the day with all 5 prayers done (extra
would be praying sunnah prayers as well), feed
my family, if I am in school, I go with proper
dress of Hijab (Islamic wear), If I work, which I
encourage work be done at home but if done,
then same appeal applies. Before I go to bed I
read Quran and then sleep. Some may wake
up for salat at tahajud (3rd part of the night
prayer) Usually 2 or 3 hours before fajr, but
again this is among the extra prayers.
This would be a person who is working
hard for the hereafer, and I am not implying
that if you dont do as Ive writen, you are not
among this group. This is just an example.
There are those who do more and there are
those who do less. The point here is to do
something!
Trust is another key word. Do you
have taqwa (trust)? Do you believe if you work
hard at something for Allahs cause, (this could
mean anything from raising your children to
be good pious Muslims, or being a good wife
and struggling to make ends meet in order
that all is done for your family, working on
dawah speeches, papers, or just volunteering
for the mosque or anywhere in order to please
Allah in anyway) He Subhaana wa Taaala
would not help you in it?
Let me just say, what you believe Allah
is capable of doing, Allah can do. But if you
dont believe Allah Subhaana wa Taaala can
do it for you, then he wont. If you believe in
the hereafer, it truly exists, then you would
be smart to prepare for it. We need to remem-
ber the goal here is that our life doesnt just
end when we die, rather it just begins. Take
from this life to be just a mere journey, we are
just passing through. Dont stop and get com-
fortable in a place that you are going to be
leaving soon.
We all can agree that tme is fying by
way faster than we could ever image. Lets not
let it go without packing some supplies for the
hereafer, and remember the supplies are on
this life, once we reach the next life, it will be
too late. Ask yourself what have you done that
will be credited for the next life? Then see
which one outweighs the other. Or are you
procrastnatng, unfortunately this may work
with other things but not when it comes to our
life and a clock that you never know when will
stop! Reminder for myself as well as others,
may Allah help us through this journey.
Ameen!
32. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
erful enough through their Lords Power to
resist the whole world. They are virtuous and
altruistc, for their purpose is to gain Gods ap-
proval by working for His good pleasure. Bois-
terous pride in power and wealth can have no
room in their hearts, for they know that what-
ever they possess is bestowed by God, and that
God can take away as easily as He can give.
Monotheists know that the only way to
success and salvaton is to acquire a pure soul
and righteous behavior. They have perfect faith
in God, Who is above all need, related to none,
absolutely just, and without partner in His ex-
ercise of Divine Power. Given this belief, they
understand that they can succeed only through
right living and just acton, for no infuence or
underhanded actvity can save them from ruin.
Monotheists do not become hopeless
and disappointed. Their frm faith in God, Mas-
ter of all treasures of the earth and the heav-
ens, and Possessor of limitless grace and boun-
ty and infnite power, imparts to their hearts
extraordinary consolaton, flls them with sats-
facton, and keeps them flled with hope. In
this world they might meet with rejecton at all
doors, nothing might serve their ends, and all
means might desert them. But faith in and de-
pendence on God, which never leave them,
give them the strength to go on struggling.
Monotheists, those who maintain tawhid, can-
not be narrow-minded. Their belief in One
God, creator of the heaven and the earth, Mas-
ter of the east and the west, and Sustainer of
the universe, leads them to view everything as
belonging to the same Lord, to Whom they
belong as well. Thus they consider nothing as
alien. Their sympathy, love, and service are not
confned to any partcular race, color, or group,
and they come to understand the Prophetc
saying: O servants of God, be brothers/sisters
as God orders you! (Bukhari)
Monotheism produces the highest de-
gree of self-respect and self-esteem in people.
Monotheists know that only God has true pow-
er, can beneft to harm them, fulfl their needs,
cause them to die, or wield authority and infu-
ence. This convicton makes them indiferent to
and independent and fearless of all powers
other than those of God. They never bow in
homage to any of Gods creatures.
Monotheists, although humble and
mild, never abase themselves by bowing be-
fore anyone or anything except God. They nev-
er aim at any worldly advantage by their wor-
ship. They seek only to please God and obtain
His approval.
Monotheists, although naturally weak
and powerless as human beings, become pow-
Ali Unal
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 33.
Such profound confdence can come only from
belief in the One God. Such belief produces
great determinaton, patent perseverance,
and trust in God. When they decide to devote
their resources to fulflling the Divine Com-
mands to secure Gods good pleasure and ap-
proval, they are sure that they have the Lord of
the Universes support and backing.
Many polytheists and atheists, on the
other hand, have small hearts and depend on
limited powers. Thus their troubles and the
resultng despair soon overwhelm them and,
frequently, they commit suicide. Professor
Joads testmony is explicit on this point:
For the frst tme in history there is coming to ma-
turity a generaton of men and women [in the West
of the 1950s] who have no religion, and feel no need
for one. They are content to ignore it. Also they are
very happy, the suicide rate is abnormally
high. (The Present and Future of Religion)
As opposed to this, a non-Muslim his-
torian who is not sympathetc to Islam, writes
about tawhid:
In this uncompromising monotheism, with its sim-
ple, enthusiastc faith in the supreme rule of a tran-
scendental being, lies the chief strength of Islam. Its
adherents enjoy a consciousness of contentment
and resignaton unknown among followers of most
creeds. Suicide is rare in Muslim lands. (History of
the Arabs)
Monotheism inspires bravery, for it
defeats the two factors that make people cow-
ards: fear of death and love of safety, and the
belief that someone other than God can some-
how be bribed into forgiving their sins. Belief in
the Islamic creedal statement that there is no
deity but God purges the mind of these ideas.
The frst idea looses its infuence when people
realize that their lives, property, and every-
thing else really belong to God, for this makes
them willing to sacrifce whatever they have
for Gods approval. The second idea is defeat-
ed when people realize that there is no pwer
other than God that creates, causes to die, re-
wards, punishes, and forgives. Alsi, no one can
die before his or her appointed tme, even if all
of the worlds forces were to combine to make
it so. Nothing can bring death forward or push
it backward even one instance. This frm belief
in One God and dependence upon Him makes
monotheists the bravest of people.
Monotheism creates an attude of
peace and contentment, purges the mind of
subtle passions and jealousy, envy and greed,
and prevents one from resortng to base and
unfair means to achieve success. Monotheists
understand that God holds their wealth; that
He bestows honor, power, reputaton, and au-
thority as He wills and subjects them to His
will; and that their duty is only to endeavor and
struggle fairly. They know that success and fail-
ure depend upon His Grace, for no power can
block His will to give or not to give. They also
know that they must strive to deserve His
Grace. But many of those who do not believe
in God consider success and failure to be the
result of their own eforts or by the help of
earthly powers, and do not take Gods Grace
and will into consideraton. Therefore, they
remain slaves to cupidity and envy, and use
bribery, fatery, conspiracy, and other base
and unfair means to achieve success.
Monotheists know that God is aware
of everything, whether hidden or open, and is
nearer to them than their jugular vein. If they
sin in secret even under the cover of night, God
knows it. He knows our unformed thoughts
and intentons, even those of which we our-
selves are unaware. We can hide things from
people, but not from God. We can evade eve-
ryone, but not Gods grasp. The frmer our be-
lief in this respect, the more observant we will
be of His commands. This is why the frst and
most important conditon for being a Muslim is
to have frm and sincere faith in fods Oneness.
Contd on page 39
Contd from page 33
34. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
ISLAM reveres Ulema because they
are heirs to the Prophets (AS) who follow their
way. In fact, it is in respect to their dignity and
merit that Allah mentons them along with His
Name and that of His Angels when He says:
Allah bears witness that La ilaha illa Huwa
(none has the right to be worshipped but He),
and the angels, and those having knowledge
(also give witness); (He is always) maintaining
His creaton in justce. (Quran, 3:18)
It is a distncton for the Aalim that
Allah sends blessings to him; and His angels
and the inhabitants of the heavens and the
earth also beseech Allah to bless him.
The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam) said:
Verily, Allah do send His blessings to him who
teaches people good. Also, the inhabitants of
the heavens and the earth, even ants in their
holes and fshes do ask Allah to bless him. (At-
Tirmidhi)
Ulema are the friends of Allah; they
are the ones who really fear Allah.
It is only those who have knowledge among
His slaves that fear Allah. (Quran, 35:28)
They bear the knowledge with the fear
of Allah, He then compensate them with great
reward. Allah says:
Their reward with their Lord is (Eden) Para-
dise (Gardens of Eternity), underneath which
rivers fow, they will abide therein forever, Al-
lah Well-Pleased with them, and they with
Him. This for him who fears his Lord. (Quran,
98:8)
Ibn Al-Qayyim said: Scholars of Islam
and those around whose sayings revolves Fat-
wa (religious counseling) among people; those
who are endowed with the ability to derive
rulings from the (the Quranic and Hadith)
texts and whose preoccupaton is the regula-
ton of the lawful and unlawful things are to
the earth what the stars are to the heaven. It
is through them that the confused get guid-
ance and peoples need of them is greater
than their need of food and drink. Allah
makes obeying them greater than obeying par-
ents when He says:
O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the
Messenger (Muhammad), and those of you
(Muslims) who are in authority. (Quran, 4:59)
The Ulema are the peoples refuge
during calamites. Many a blind people have
seen through them; many a Sunnah have been
spread through them and many an innovaton
have been efaced through them.
God-conscious Ulema are leaders in
piety; if they had wanted beautes and high
positons of this world, it would have come to
S. Abdul Bari At-Thubaythi
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 35.
them submissively, but they live with their
knowledge and meritorious deeds in a happi-
ness that is far beter than that of the people
of worldly positons; that is because, their
whole life revolves around no more than what
Allah and His Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam) say. They do not learn knowledge
for adornment purpose but to beneft from it.
Their impact is so strong that, if they walk on a
barren land it becomes fertle and if they step
their feet on a territory full of darkness it be-
comes illuminated.
An Aalim in the real sense of the word
is not the holder of higher certfcates and aca-
demic ttles. He is rather the one who has a
combinaton of knowledge, strong and deep
Imaan, obedience to his Lord and a lot of Iba-
dat (acts of worship). These are the people of
knowledge whom Allah describes as incompa-
rable to others when He says:
Are those who know equal to those who know
not. (Quran, 39:9)
Ibn Al-Mubarak was asked: How can a
true knowledgeable man be recognized? He
replied: He is the one who is ascetc in this
world and occupies himself with the afairs of
the Hereafer.
Nevertheless, Ulema should not be
regarded as perfect beings who are immunized
against any defects, errors or mistakes; for,
this is quite impossible. However, one should
not be looking for the mistakes of a knowl-
edgeable man because he may have an excuse
that is unknown to that or us, this mistake may
have a reason, which cannot be perceived by
us.
If the Prophets (peace be on them)
have the right to be honored and revered,
their inheritors should also have a share of
that. The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam) said:
The Ulema are indeed the heirs of the Proph-
ets. (Abu Dawood and others)
It is therefore incumbent on us to love
them, to obey them in good, to defend them
and ask for Allahs Mercy for those who are
deceased among them. Ibn Abbas (RA) said
whoever annoys a knowledgeable man has
annoyed the Messenger of Allah; and whoever
annoys the Messenger of Allah has annoyed
Allah.
Death of Ulema is an irreparable loss
to this Ummah. We beseech Allah to forgive
the deceased among them and to beneft us
with the knowledge of the living ones.
Yes! Eyes do shed tears and hearts do
get saddened, but if all of us shed our tears,
that cannot change the situaton nor prevent
any harm. Actually, reacton of people of weak
minds afer the death of Ulema do not
go beyond shedding tears and mere wailings
and lamentatons; but people of lofy aims and
enlightened minds do go beyond that for, they
know that sincere love for those scholars
means to live according to their way; to die on
their path; to be good example in knowledge
and good deeds; to be leaders in piety and
humbleness; to be models in patence and per-
severance and to be pace-seters in generosity
and sacrifce. Such are the characteristcs of
the Ulema and such should be the characteris-
tcs of those who love them.
The Ulema are not personalites
whose virtues should merely be sung or
writen on pages without beneftng from their
light. Ibrahim ibn Habib said: My father told
me: My son! Go to the Ulema, take
knowledge from them and learn from their
manners, characters and guidance; that is
dearer to me than your learning of many Had-
iths (without manners).
(The writer is preacher of Masjide Nabawi, Madinah)
36. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
In the lives of devout Muslims, a day
never passes by without them using the Arabic
phrase, Insha-Allah (God So Willing), at the
end of the conversaton when they refer to
future events. Without an understanding of
the meaning of this Arabic phrase, God's rela-
tonship with His creatures, the concept of cre-
aton, and the role of free will cannot bring
into human comprehension. It is also not pos-
sible to counter materialists with a ratonal
internally consistent argument against their
exclusion of God in the evoluton of life and
the universe. Materialist scientsts argue that
biological evoluton is an "inherently mindless
purposeless process.[Darwins Dangerous Idea] They
preach that impersonal laws rule the universe
and atoms are at work in the operaton of life.
Biologist Richard Dawkins, ant-God
extremist, insists that contngency and natural
selecton, operatng over a long period of tme,
account for evoluton. Dawkins assumes that
blind forces of physics and natural selecton
are sufcient to explain the origin and expan-
sion of life. [The Blind Watchmaker & River out of Eden] He
asserts that the unfolding of life is the result of
selfsh desires of genes to increase their op-
portunites for survival and reproducton. Simi-
lar fanatcism prevails among other practton-
ers and admirers of science, who argue that
there is no reason to include God in the evolu-
ton of life.
Another extremist states,
"...materialism is absolute [and] we cannot
allow a Divine Foot in the door."[The Demon-
Haunted World]
Such fanatcism stems from an abso-
lute faith in the law of causality, which most
people acknowledge. A given cause always
produces the same efect--gravity always pulls
an apple down to the earth; spring season
melts snow; drought brings destructon of
crops. Chemical reactons in any organism,
amoeba or human, are explainable by the
same laws of physics and chemistry that gov-
ern the universe.
Based on causality, scientsts maintain
that the future is predetermined and can be
predictable through accurate knowledge of
past causes. The laws of nature, they argue,
are invariant and scientfc observaton of the
past is the product of those laws. Consequent-
ly, any natural event that departs from the
antcipated efect of a uniform cause is classi-
fed as an "accident." However, scientfc pre-
dictons, based on observaton of mater and
invariant laws of nature, are limited by their
own earlier conclusions and experiences.
John F. Haught's novel and outstanding trea-
Inshah Allah (Allah-So-Willing) - The Islamic Metaphysics of the Future
T. O. Shanawaz
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 37.
tse, God Afer Darwin, helped me develop a
beter understanding of Islam and the concept
of creaton described in the Quran.[God Afer Dar-
win] Since I view his mode of thought as much
Islamic as his belief system, I shall apply his
metaphysics to an Islamic context. Science
peers into nature to gather data from atoms to
stars, amoeba to man, fungus to maple tree or
from any other phenomena of our universe.
Science has separately cataloged the collected
data using terminology such as paleontology,
comparatve anatomy, biogeography, embry-
ology, molecular genetcs and others such
names. The materialist claim, that the unfold-
ing of life as a "purposeless mindless process,"
is based upon inferences from catalogued ex-
trapolatons of past experiences. John F.
Haught called materialistc metaphysics
"metaphysics of the past."[ibid]
With unfinching and, on the surface
contradictory faith that God created every-
thing, many Muslims also believe that the past
determines the future. In the Islamic universe,
unlike that catalogued by materialist science,
the past and the present are not the creators
of the future and neither can humans or any
other creatures because "...Allah is the creator
of everything, ... (13:16)."
Even creatons that we boast are our
own emanated from Allah. The Quran states,
"And God created you and what you make
(37:96)." Allah created everything--computers,
airplanes, cars and even the atom. A few im-
portant questons Muslims might ask are: If
Allah is the creator of what humans make, is
He not also the creator of their good and bad
deeds? Why should there be reward for the
pious and retributon for the impious if Allah is
the source of our actons? If Allah has sealed
the hearts of disbelievers from receiving His
guidance, (2:7) why does He hold them ac-
countable for their actons on the Day of Judg-
ment? We will answer those questons a litle
later.
The experienced past is irretrievable,
the present is only a feetng moment that we
cannot get a hold of; on the other hand, we
experience the contnuous coming of the fu-
ture. Future is not simply the birth of a mo-
ment.
Future means the yet to be born or
created moment packed with contrastng or
diametrically opposite possibilites. Each mo-
ment brings each of us hope or fear, success or
failure, pain or pleasure, and routne or sur-
prise events. Each moment presents itself to
us as diferent kinds of informaton simultane-
ously. Islamic faith decrees that Allah is the
source of all informaton. Therefore, Muslims
pray, "...My Lord, augment me in knowledge
(20:114)." Its teachings regarding the coming
of future events is grounded in the phrase,
Insha Allah (God so willing) and the verse "And
never say about anything 'Behold, I shall do
this tomorrow,' without [adding] 'if God so
wills.'...(18:23)." So, Muslims say Insha Allah
afer every statement pertaining to the future,
even for simple tasks such as meetng a friend
at 4 P.M. tomorrow. Muslims believe that the
future is not simply born without cause, but
that it will occur only if Allah creates it. Our
planning and our desires may or may not be
what Allah has is going to present us with in
our future. Allah states: "and they contrived,
and God contrived, but God is the greatest of
contrivers (Quran3: 54)."
Islamic theology tells us that all living
creatures partcipate in the actualizaton of the
possibilites contained within future moments
into visible monuments of God. The present is
the pivotal moment between past and future.
Allah tests us by asking us to make moral
choices out of possibilites-the good, bad, and
neutral, the moral and the immoral-that are
contained in each approaching moment. Each
moment is diferent for each individual and
38. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
the lessons of the past and present are tools
that help one make the right choices. Allah
revealed his words to the prophets and provid-
ed holy books to both humans and Jinn ex-
plaining what is right or wrong, moral or im-
moral, preferred or not preferred, and what is
rewarding or punishable. Allah narrates the
histories of the past in the Quran in order to
help humans and Jinn use lessons from the
history in conjuncton with His revelatons to
make the right choices.
If a future moment arrives, lacking in
novel possibilites, humans and other crea-
tures cannot change their present conditon,
which then becomes stagnant and could re-
main so for an unlimited period of tme. Even
when Allah sends our way moments with nov-
el possibilites, creatures will remain un-
changed if they do not accept His revelaton.
Thus, living creatures have the freedom only
to actualize possibilites contained as infor-
maton in each moments of future arriving
from God. To label the above belief, we shall
borrow John F.Haught's ttle "metaphysics of
the future" and modify it to read "the meta-
physics of future of Islam."
In Islamic metaphysics of the future,
the universe is always within Allah's provi-
dence. Allah is the creator of all things and the
one who brings each moment with possibilites
as informaton. Nothing comes into being
without the informaton about it initally avail-
able. Scientsts provide informaton to various
sectors of society, such as presidents, heads of
corporatons, assembly workers and others,
guiding them to the scientfc basis for manag-
ing their vocatons. Those who receive such
informaton can then actualize it into cars, air-
planes, natons etc. For instance, the ordinary
assembly-line worker can choose the manufac-
turing plant in which he wishes to be em-
ployed. In the work place workers have no
freedom to manufacture any products of their
choice but to assemble a product using com-
ponents coming through the conveyer belt of
the factory.
The physical and spiritual universe is
the manufacturing plant of Islam where crea-
tures at large, and mankind in partcular, are
like assembly-line workers. The chain of fow-
ing moments of the coming future are the con-
veyer belt, which delivers the raw materials
(possibilites as informaton) necessary for the
making of many products. However, in this
factory there are components for many prod-
uct lines or possibilites and the worker is free
to select any of the components from convey-
er belt (arriving future) and actualizing those
possibilites into visible monuments of Allah's
creaton. If there is no fow of informaton
from scientsts, the assembly line worker is
unable to produce any anything. Even the fac-
tory would not exist. Similarly, human or any
other creatures cannot produce or act upon
untl the future moment arrives with possibili-
tes as informaton from Allah.
Belief and disbelief in God also come
as possibilites in the fow of moments from
the future. If human beings choose and accept
disbelief in God, their minds become unrecep-
tve to divine revelatons untl they are willing
to give up their disbelief. Therefore, individu-
als opt to receive reward or retributon in the
hereafer universe (al-Akhirah) based upon
their earthy choices. Allah, the Merciful and
Benevolent, bestowed his creatures with free
will. He does not interfere or force us into
making choices and voluntarily limits His Abso-
lute Power as stated in the Quranic verse:
"And had your Lord willed, whoever in the
earth would have believed altogether. Will you
then coerce the people to become believers?
(10:99)".
Therefore, we are free to choose and
actualize any one of the worldly possibilites
available to us, such as atomic power, comput-
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 39.
er technology, etc., but our future is limited by
what possibilites that God has in store for us.
Based upon the far-reaching meaning
of the phrase, Insha Allah (God willing) and the
concept of "metaphysics of future," the acci-
dents or contngencies are noveltes coming
from Allah even though these noveltes appear
random for human mind fxed in the
"metaphysics of the past" of the materialists.
For example, God created for Hind d. Utba,
one of the foremost enemies of Prophet , the
possibility of joining the distnguished compa-
ny of Prophet , as Hamzah did, or the decision
to kill and mutlate Hamzah. Allah did not com-
pel Hind to choose any one of the paths. Allah
created good and bad choices in her arriving
future and she decided to actualize the bad
choice to kill and cannibalize. [The Life of muham-
mad] The Quran supports the above when it
states: "Surely God does not wrong anyone,
they wrong themselves. (10:44)." So, there is
no confict between the belief that Allah is the
creator of the world and all the creatures and
the belief that human beings and other crea-
tures are endowed with free will within the
bounds of possibilites that come through the
fow of moments from the future. Such a con-
structon of the universe and with free will
distances God as a tyrant.
If we take a global picture of all earthly
creatures, we witness a universe flled with a
mixture of pain and sufering, as well as happi-
ness and peace. Universe is like a musical play
where actors (God's creatures), at their indi-
vidual hierarchical ranks, freely choose their
roles from possible scenarios presented to
them by the choreographer (Allah). Chance
and unpredictability are inevitable and in fact
built into such an atmosphere. However, in
real life, the pain and sufering, that we experi-
ence as a result of the free choices of all crea-
tures for their selfsh benefts, are God's way
of testng, perfectng and preparing us for the
eternal world of absolute happiness and
peace. Suf poet, Rumi, describes this universe
as a batlefeld where atom struggles with at-
om like faith against infdelity. He states in this
struggle, some beneft and others sufer. Final-
ly, the "metaphysics of future of Islam" blends
chance, unpredictability, and creatures with
free will altogether to form our universe with-
in the context of the existence of a Most Com-
passionate, Most Just, Omnipotent God, Allah.
Dr. T. O. Shanawaz is Vice President, Islamic Research Founda-
ton Internatonal, Inc.
This is also most important and fun-
damental principle of the Prophets teachings,
as well as Islams bedrock and the mainspring
of its power. All other beliefs, commands, and
laws of Islam stand frm on this foundaton.
Lastly, we quote the remarks of Dr. Laura Vec-
cia Vaglieri, a famous Italian Orientalist, con-
cerning the universal spirit of Islamic monothe-
ism:
The Prophet, with a voice which was in-
spired by a deep communion with his Maker,
preached the purest monotheism to the worshipper
of fetsh and the followers of a corrupted Christani-
ty and Judaism. He put himself in open confict with
those regressive tendencies of mankind which lead
to the associaton of other beings with the Creator.
In order to lead men to a belief in one God,
he did not delude them with happenings which devi-
ate from the normal course of nature. Rather, he
simply invited them, without asking them to leave
the realm of reality, to consider the Universe and its
laws. Being confdent of the resultant belief in the
one and indispensable God, he simply let men read
to the book of life.
Thanks to Islam, paganism in its various
forms was defeated. The concept of the Universe,
the practces of religion, and the customs of social
life were each liberated from all the monstrosites
which had degraded them, and human minds were
made free of prejudice. Man fnally realized his dig-
nity.
40. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
It happened at an internatonal inter-
faith conference. The organizers decided to
end the conference with readings from the
scriptures of major religions, done by follow-
ers of other religions. An Arab Christan turned
out to be a very good reciter of the Quran, as
he read few verses from the Holy Book.
Every one seemed to be moved by his
heart-rending reading, including the reciter
himself. Later, a prominent Indian Muslim
thinker and writer, who narrated this story,
asked him: Do you think Quran is the Word
of God? In a moment of truth, he said: Yes.
But, then, he had second thoughts, so he add-
ed: But only for the Arabs.
The Quran has arguably been the only
Book that kept moving millions to the message
of Allah all through the ages and all across the
world. Its Words strred up souls of many peo-
ple who might not know even a word of the
Arabic language.
Famous Egyptan reciter Qari Abdul
Basit reportedly once accompanied then Presi-
dent Gamal Abdul Nasser to a meetng with
the Soviet leaders. During a break in the
meetng, Nasser asked him to recite the
Quran before the top Soviet leaders. When he
fnished the recitaton, Qari Abdul Basit saw at
least four of them shedding tears.
We dont know what it was, they
later explained. But there was some thing
touching in those Words!
Ironically at that tme Quran was the
forbidden tree for the Muslims in the Soviet
Union. Reading, teaching, or even possessing a
copy of the Quran resulted in the most severe
punishments. The KGB was always on the look-
out. Its agents could enter any house, any
tme, if they suspected anyone inside of read-
ing Quran or ofering prayers. Religious lead-
ers were drafed for compulsory labor.
Mosques and Islamic schools were closed
down and turned into cinema houses, facto-
ries and ofces. One could not fnd a copy of
the Quran anywhere.
The ruthless state machinery did eve-
rything within its power to extnguish the
fame of Quran in the empire. Yet during
those 70 dark years, Muslims kept the fame
burning. They developed elaborate camou-
fage mechanisms, at tremendous risks, to
teach Quran to their children. Litle children
had to stay away from their parents for
months at a tme as they retred to secret
hujras (rooms) where they memorized Quran
and received religious instructons without
ever having looked at a printed page. Their
stories remain a neglected but extremely
bright part of our recent history.
What kind of book can command such
devoton and sacrifces? Only the Book that
begins by assertng:
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 41.
This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without
doubt, to those who fear Allah. (Quran, 2:2)
And then each and every line of it
atests to that asserton. It declares:
The Most Gracious! It is He Who has taught
the Quran. (Quran, 55:1-2)
It challenges:
Say If the whole of mankind and Jinn were to
gather together to produce the like of this
Quran, they could not produce the like there-
of, even if they backed up each other with help
and support. (Quran, 17:88)
It says:
Verily it is We Who revealed the Remem-
brance and verily We are its guardi-
ans. (Quran, 15:9)
Quran is the frst document in the
Arabic language. There is no other language of
the world that has withstood a tme span of
1400 years. Over the centuries, rivers change
courses, civilizatons rise and fall, and lan-
guages become extnct making way for the
new ones. Consider the expression faeder ure
on heofonum in a Bible of 900 CE (Mathew,
6)
The writng from that tme cannot be
read by an English-knowing person today. But
anyone having the knowledge of Arabic can
read the Quran and understand its message.
As did all the people in the intervening centu-
ries!
Prominent scholar Dr. Hamidullah tells
of an efort in Germany by the Christan schol-
ars to gather all the Greek manuscripts of Bible
as the original Bible in Aramaic is extnct.
They gathered all manuscripts in the
world and afer having examined all of them,
reported: Some 200,000 contradictory narra-
tons have been found... of these one-eighth
are of an important nature. Following the
publicaton of the report, an Insttute for
Quranic Research was established too in Mu-
nich with the similar goal of examining the
Book as it was done in case of the Bible.
A gigantc research project was started
that contnued for three generatons. By 1933
CE, 43,000 photocopies of Quranic manu-
scripts were collected. A report published
shortly before World War II that showed the
results of the examinaton of these manu-
scripts. While some minor mistakes of calligra-
phy were found, not a single discrepancy in
the text could be discovered!
Of course the love, devoton and care
that Muslim showed toward the Quran, and
that became the immediate cause of its mirac-
ulous preservaton, was inspired by the Proph-
et Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). On
one occasion he asked the companions in
Sufa: Which of you would like to go out every
morning to Buthan or Al-Aqiq (two markets
near Madinah) and bring two large she-camels
without being guilty of sin or without severing
the tes of kinship? Camels were the valuable
commodity of the tme, she-camels even more
so. As they showed their interest, Prophet Mu-
hammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) ex-
plained: To teach or recite two verses of the
Quran is beter than getng two she-camels.
And three verses are beter than three she-
camels. (Muslim).
And so, for centuries this ummah dis-
played an unprecedented love and devoton
for the Book of Allah Almighty. It began the
educaton of its children by teaching them
how to read Quran. It began its day by recitng
from the Quran, which was divided into seven
parts, each called a manzil, so it could be read
completely every week. It was divided into 30
parts, each called a juz, so it could be read
completely every month. Quran is the most
read and memorized book in the world!
Today, though, we see a change.
Thanks to the twin scourges of a colonial edu-
caton system and the television, today we
fnd millions of Muslim children for whom
42. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
Nothing Serious
When Aaisha (RA) was mistakenly left behind from the caravan on
one journey, she thought to herself that Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi
wasallam) will realise that she is missing and will send someone to
search for her. So she lay down in the spot where she had camped and
sleep overpowered her.
Safwaan bin Muattal (RA) was appointed by Rasulullah (sallallahu
alaihi wasallam) to travel behind the caravan so that if anything was
forgotten or had fallen behind, he can pick it up and bring it along. As
he passes by, he sees somebody in the distance. When he comes closer,
he recognises Aaisha (RA) since he had seen her prior to the laws of
hijaab. As soon as he realized it is her, he recitedinnaa lillaahi wa
innaa ilaihi raajioon aloud. Upon hearing this Aaisha (RA) imme-
diately woke up and covered her face with her jilbaab (outer covering).
She further says: I take an oath on Allah, we never spoke a word,
nor did I hear a single word from him besides innaa lillaahi wa innaa
ilaihi raajioon. (Saheeh Bukhaari)
Lesson: Look at the level of modesty! Safwaan (RA) was so cautious,
that even in a situation of dire necessity he did not address Aaisha
(RA) directly. Instead he used this expression to alert her of his pres-
ence without having to engage in any type of conversation with her.
Furthermore, despite their high level of piety, the purity of their hearts
and the deep consciousness of Allah, and despite the fact that Aaisha
(RA) had just experienced the trauma of being left all alone in the
wilderness at a young age, she still immediately covered her face and
didnt even speak a word. In stark contrast to this noble example, we
have become so bold that notwithstanding the great possibility of sin
and in fact at times the certainty of lust and temptation, we justify our
casual chats via social networks by saying: Our hearts are clean and
there is nothing serious going on.
Many marriages have broken up in this way, many children have been
affected and many homes have been ruined. We need to stop NOW, so
that our marriage, children and home are not the next victim.
learning to read the
Quran is not part of
their educaton. We
fnd millions of Muslim
homes where Quran is
read only on special
occasions, when some-
one dies, for example.
This despite the fact
that in most parts of
the world today, unlike
the Soviet Union of yes-
terday, reading the
Quran is no longer a
high risk propositon.
How unfortu-
nate is the person who
dies of thirst while
holding the refreshing
glass of water in his
hands! How unfortu-
nate is the person who
dies of disease while
holding the perfect
medicine in his hands!
We must read
it, understand it, and
put it into practce. But
we must also remem-
ber that reading with
full deference and
proper etquetes is a
pre-requisite for under-
standing the Quran,
just as understanding
its message is a pre-
requisite for practcing
it. Our goal must be to
live by the Quran. For
only then we truly live.
Otherwise we only pre-
tend to live.
Courtesy: ummah.com
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 43.
New organizaton unites US Muslims in one
coaliton
WASHINGTON Seeking to make a
bigger impact in American politcs and to
beter protect their civil rights, 10 Muslim
groups have banded together under a new
umbrella group: the U.S. Council of Muslim
Organizatons.
Many of the leaders of the new organ-
izaton called the campaign for increased unity
among Muslims an unprecedented step for
the community, and one that could help
weave Muslims more tghtly into the fabric of
American life.
This is the dream of every American
Muslim, to unify the approach, agenda and
vision of the Muslim community, said Nihad
Awad, executve director of the Council on
American-Islamic Relatons, at a Wednesday
(March 12) announcement at the Natonal
Press Club.
In the past, many people have tried
to unite on a limited agenda, but this is a
broad agenda for the American Muslim com-
munity.
The council plans to advocate for is-
sues important to American Muslims and to
boost their voter registraton. The idea is to
give Muslims a bigger politcal platorm in elec-
tons and society, and to leverage the commu-
nitys purchasing power.
The organizatons in the council in-
clude some of the most actve in Muslim-
American life, including CAIR, the Islamic Circle
of North America and the Muslim American
Society.
Council members say their frst charge
is to conduct a census of Muslims in the U.S. to
get a beter handle on what issues Muslims
care about most. They hope to complete it
within two years, to help shape their agenda in
the 2016 electons.
Muslim voters have the potental to
be swing voters in 2016, said Awad. We are
aiming at that electon to bring more partcipa-
ton from the Muslim community.
Washington Post

UCF students fast to help batered women
ORLANDO A group of University of
Central Florida students fasted for one day to
help raise money for batered women.
The Muslim Student Associaton at
UCF organized the event, called a Fast-A-Thon.
The group said they were using the traditons
of their culture to help women at ICNA Relief
Orlando Womens Shelter.
They said one dollar is donated for
every person who pledges to fast.
When all you can focus on is that you
are hungry and that you are thirsty, said Alya
Kutk, president of the MSA. You dont have
tme to lie, you dont really have tme to gossip
about people, you dont have tme to worry
about things because you are so focused on
44. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
that base drive that we all have.
UCF student Ben West was part of the
group of about 300 people who didnt eat or
drink anything for a day.
West said eventually was happy to
break the fast, but says a few meals was worth
an efort to help women and learn more about
another culture.
I could give up a few meals for that,
West said.
The MSA said they raised $1,690 dur-
ing the Fast-A-Thon.
This is a really cool way to help the
community, West said.
News 13

Syrian refugees in Lebanon hit million mark
BEIRUT: A teenager from central Syria
became the one millionth Syrian refugee to
register in Lebanon on Thursday, a
devastatng milestone for the tny Arab
country with about 4.5 million people of its
own, the UN refugee agency said.
Signing up for aid, 19-year-old Yahya
recounted his long ordeal. Afer being trapped
by the fghtng for more than two years in his
natve city of Homs, he was evacuated earlier
this year and traveled to Yabroud, a fghter
held town near the Lebanese border that soon
came under a crushing government ofensive.
When staying there was no longer an
opton, he crossed into Lebanon with his
mother and two sisters on March 8. Yahyas
father was not with them he died from
sniper fre in Homs in September 2011.
In April 2014, Yahya registered at the
UNHCR center in the northern Lebanese city of
Tripoli.
We didnt know where to go. We just
wanted to get away from all the shelling and
fghtng, he said, giving only his frst name for
fear that his relatves back in Syria would be
targeted.
The confict in Syria, a country with a pre-war
populaton of 23 million, has killed more than
150,000 people, according to the Britan-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which
documents the fghtng through a network of
actvists on the ground.
ArabNews

Three Saudis to face trial for spreading sedi-
ton on social media
The Control and Investgaton Board
(CIB) has referred three Saudis to the summary
court in Riyadh to be tried on charges of agita-
ton, spreading sediton on Twiter and diso-
beying the ruler, business daily Al-Eqtsadiah
reported on Tuesday quotng a judicial source.
The source said the accusatons against the
three defendants were supported by a number
of tweets they had posted on the website.
"These will be the frst people to be tried in
Saudi Arabia for commitng crimes on social
media," he said. The source said the three de-
fendants were on the list of the terrorists re-
cently published by the Interior Ministry. Any-
one on the list who calls for jihad in areas of
confict in other countries, supports terrorist
groups, advocates extremism on the Internet
and shows any sign of sympathy for terrorist
organizatons will considered a terrorist and
tried.
SaudiGazete

New group aims to conduct census of Ameri-
can Muslims
A newly-formed umbrella group of
American Muslim organizatons is planning to
conduct a census as a means to help promote
the rights and goals of its members.
The new U.S. Council of Muslim Or-
ganizatons includes the Council on American-
Islamic Relatons, the Muslim Legal Fund of
America, the Muslim American Society, Ameri-
can Muslims for Palestne, the Islamic Circle of
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 45.
North America, the Muslim Alliance in North
America, the Muslim Ummah of North Ameri-
ca, and The Mosque Cares.
This census will create a database
that will be used to enhance politcal partcipa-
ton in upcoming electons, council Secretary
General Oussama Jammal said Wednesday
during a news conference. Hopefully, this will
give inspiraton to American Muslims who are
interested in public service to know they have
the votes behind them.
Talib Abur-Rashid, deputy amir with
the Muslim Alliance in North America, said the
census can provide a practcal step toward
the exercising of our faith communitys civil
and humans rights in American society.
Over the last century, the passing of
civil rights, votng rights and immigraton laws
were major steps for the country, he said.
The politcal landscape of the naton
is one in which issues ted to these very same
pieces of legislaton are hot-buton topics of
discussion and sources of politcal controversy
and struggle, Mr. Abur-Rashid said. As Mus-
lims we are just as concerned about these is-
sues as any other American.
No ofcial start date has been set for
the census, as the resources and materials
need to be assembled, Mr. Jammal said, but
the goal is to have the database completed in
tme for the 2016 presidental electon.
The U.S. Census Bureau does not in-
clude questons about religious afliaton and
practce. According to the Pew Research Cen-
ter, various studies estmate that 6 million to 7
million Muslims are in the U.S.
Mr. Jammal noted that a growing
number of Muslim Americans have been elect-
ed to various leadership positons throughout
the country. Two members of Congress are
Muslim Reps. Keith Ellison of Minnesota
and Andre Carson of Indiana, both Democrats.
The Muslim community is one of the
most diverse communites, if not the most di-
verse religious community in America, said
Khalil Meek, executve director of the Muslim
Legal Fund of America. We have a vast
amount of resources and educaton and princi-
ples and values that we want to share with
this great country. We want to contribute and
we hope this platorm is the beginning of that
opportunity to beter serve and unite our
voice for the beneft of all.
We we want to fully partcipate and
engage in the civic process, said Osama Abu
Irshaid, of the American Muslims for Palestne.
We also want to ward of the evils of bigotry
and Islamophobia, and begin to defne our-
selves instead of allowing others who dont
understand us [but] fear us tell us how to
live and how to worship in this country.
Any Muslim organizaton can apply for
membership to the council. Votng and non-
votng membership opportunites are availa-
ble.
Among the eight organizatons repre-
sented at Wednesdays announcement at the
Natonal Press Club, no women were present.
Mr. Jammal said the hope is to have female
leaders step forward as their organizatons
become members of the council.
Nihad Awad, executve director for
CAIR, said his organizaton would likely take
the lead in advocatng for civil rights for Mus-
lim Americans.
This is the dream for every American
Muslim, which is to unify the approach, the
agenda, the aspiratons and the vision of the
Muslim community, he said. American Mus-
lims, through this platorm, are going to tell
their own story, are going to defne them-
selves through their own reality. A platorm
like this, we believe, is going to be representa-
tve of the reality of the Muslim community.
Washington Times

46. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)
Fresh quarantne rules for pilgrims
The Ministry of Health has announced
quarantne measures for Haj and Umrah pil-
grims who are coming from countries that
have a high rate of infectous diseases.
The ministry had sent out the circular
to the Foreign Ministry that would be circulat-
ed among overseas missions spelling out the
requirements for visa issuance for various
countries.
Ziad Al-Memish, undersecretary to the
Ministry of Health, said the Kingdom has been
carefully monitoring developments through-
out the globe in the feld of infectous diseas-
es.
He said the requirements stpulated in
the new circular are in line with the require-
ments set by the World Health Organizaton
(WHO) to control the spread of infectous dis-
eases worldwide.
This year, Al-Memish said the Kingdom
had focused on diseases such as yellow fever,
meningits, seasonal infuenza, polio and food
poisoning.
He said that the vaccines should be
given 10 days before pilgrims commence their
journey.
We have also advised elderly pilgrims
and others who sufer from chronic diseases
such as cardiac conditons, diabetes, renal and
respiratory maladies to postpone their pilgrim-
age, he said.
We have prescribed specifc vaccines
considering the incidence of disease in these
countries.
In additon, ships and aircraf carrying
pilgrims should also produce a certfcate
statng that the carriers are free of mosqui-
toes, he said.
Besides these vaccinatons, the
spokesman advised pilgrims to take precau-
tons against infuenza to prevent a fu atack
during their stay in the Kingdom.
The fu vaccine is not mandatory, but
is desirable considering present weather con-
ditons and the susceptbility of pilgrims to in-
fuenza, he said.
He advised high-risk patents with
chronic ailments such as diabetes, hyperten-
sion and renal diseases to take the fu vaccine
in the event they decide to embark on the Haj
or Umrah pilgrimage.
Al-Memish also reminded pilgrims to
pack food in sealed containers.
ArabNews
Contd from page 2
them and dont pay atenton to them. Imaan
is like the road and shaytaan is like a dog or a
donkeys barking or braying on the side. If you
pay atenton to him, it will encourage him. So,
the focus should be to tread the path and not
pay atenton towards the sides. This way you
will get the assistance of Allah, and sometmes
the assistance will be by the means of a
blessed dream or experiencing a noor etc. But
here again dont get stuck with that. Focus
ahead and focus on your goal which is Allah.
Contd from page 21
Twenty fve years have passed and now re-
fectng on my life before Islam and wondered
how I survived without actve relatonship with
Allah and practcing Islam.
At the very moment that I returned to
Islam with full submission, my life changed
totally and it has been beter each year. In re-
turn, I have been reaching out to show others
how to achieve the inner peace they so badly
want.
What about you? Are you ready to give faith a
sincere chance?
Your life will never be the same! And why
should we not rely upon Allah while He has
guided us to our [good] ways. (Quran, 14:12)
(Vol. 15, Issue: 05) 47.
DAROGH (FALSEHOOD)
Allah says:
Refrain from false statements.
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam) said:
Make truth incumbent on you and beware
of falsehood.
Falsehood is to speak contrary to
facts. For a person to be regarded as a liar
it will sufce that he narrates every ru-
mour without investgatng whether it is a
fact or not. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam) ordered abstenton from lies
because falsehood and immorality are
complementary partners and both will be
in Jahannum. Nabi (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam) said that false evidence is
equivalent to shirk.
In a vision Rasulullah (Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam) was shown a man whose
cheeks were being repeatedly slit from ear
to throat. The cheeks would heal immedi-
ately upon having been slit and the pro-
cess of slitng would be repeated. Upon
enquiring, Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam) was informed by Jibraeel
(alayhis salaam) that the one who was be-
ing thus punished was a liar and this pun-
ishment will contnue in the grave untl
Qiyaamah.
In another hadith it is narrated that
a woman called her child. To entce the
child in coming to her she indicated to the
child that if he came, she would give him
something. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam) asked her that if the child
came, what would she give him? She re-
plied that she would give dates. Rasulullah
(Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) then com-
mented that if she had no intenton of giv-
ing the child anything, her statement
merely being to lure the child to her, then
such statement is also a lie.

THE REMEDY
When speaking, be careful. Do not
speak without thinking. Ponder before you
speak and be frm in confrontng and curb-
ing the urge to speak what is false. If false-
hood was spoken then compensate this
error by means of istghfaar. Should any
word contrary to the Shariah slip from
your mouth, resort to Taubah in abun-
dance.
Mawlana Maseeh-Ullah Khan (RA)
48. (Vol . 15, Issue: 05)

Its Only a Sunnah

Once Imaam Abu Dawood (ra), whos
Sunan is one of the six classical books of
hadeeth, was on board a ship. He heard a person
on t he s hor e s ne e zi ng and s ayi ng
Alhamdulillah (all praise is due to Allah). So
he hired a rowing boat for one dirham (silver coin)
and went to shore to reply to this person by saying
Yarhamukallah (may Allah have mercy on you),
as is the sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi
wasallam). When he was asked about this action of
his, he replied: It is possible that this person who
sneezed is a person whose supplication is accepted by
Allah Taala. When the people on board the ship
fell asleep, they heard someone calling out: O peo-
ple of the ship! Surely Abu Dawood purchased
paradise from Allah Taala for one dir-
ham. (Risaalatul Mustarshideen pg. 157)

Lesson: Despite the great services which he ren-
dered to Islam, a small sunnah like this became
the means of his entry into Jannah. We cannot re-
gard any good deed as small or any sin as trivial.
Every good deed has the potential of securing us a
place in Jannah, while every sin has the possibility
of landing us into eternal ruin and misery.

HASAD (JEALOUSY ENVY)
Allah says:
(Say) I seek refuge with the Rabb of the
morning from the evil of the haasid
(jealous person) when he envies.
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam) said: Do not be jealous among
yourselves.
To be displeased with anothers
good positon and to wish for its eliminaton
is hasad. Hasad has three stages.
1. The natural human quality. In
this degree of hasad, man is excused and is
not at fault.
2. Actng according to the demands
of hasad. In this degree of commission,
man is a sinner.
3. Opposing the demands of hasad.
In this degree, man is laudable and will be
rewarded.
Generally the basis of hasad is
takabbur (pride) and ghuroor (falsehood).
Without any valid reason man seeks to
withhold the bountes of Allah. He desires
(at tmes consciously and at tmes subcon-
sciously) that like himself, Allah too should
restrict His bountes. Hasad is a malady of
the heart. It is harmful to both ones spir-
itual life and worldly life. The harm to
mans Deen (spiritual life) is the elimina-
ton of his good deeds and he becomes the
victm of Allahs Wrath. Rasulullah
(Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:
Jealousy devours good deeds like Fire de-
vours wood.
The harm to his worldly life
(dunyaa) is the frustraton and worry
which perpetually aficts the envious per-
son. He is consumed by frustraton caused
by hasad for another whose disgrace and
fall he always antcipates. In this way the
haasid destroys his Aakhirat in additon to
eliminatng his worldly comfort and peace
of mind.

THE REMEDY
The disease of hasad is remedied
by praising much the person against whom
jealousy is directed. Praise him no mater
how difcult this may seem. Honour him

Radiant Reality May 2014

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