COMPASSION, PATIENCE AND FORBEARANCE ARE REQUIRED IN ENJOINING RIGHT

These things must be done with compassion. The Prophet (sas) said:
"Compassion does not enter into anything without beautifying it, and
is not removed from anything without making it ugly." (Muslim and
others)
And, he (sas) said:
"O, Aisha: Verily Allah is Compassionate, and He loves compassion. He
gives based on compassion that which is not given based on force, and
is not given based on any other cause." (Muslim and others)
At the same time, the practitioner of enjoining right and forbidding
wrong must be forbearing and patient in the faceof adversity and
persecution. Persecution must, of necessity, confront the true
practitioner of enjoining right. If he is not patient, forbearing and
wise in the face of this, he will cause more corruption than reform.
Allah tells us of Luqman saying tohis son:
[And enjoin all that is right, and forbid all that is wrong, and be
patient in the face of that which afflicts you, verily, that is the
most upright of positions.] Qur'an 31/17.
Thus, Allah ordered His prophets, and they are the imam 's of
enjoining right and forbidding wrong, to have patience, just as He
ordered the seal of the Prophets Muhammad (sas). The order to have
patience came along with the order to deliver the message of Islam.
When the Prophet (sas) was first ordered todeliver the message to the
people, Allah sent Sura Al-Mudaththir , which followed after the
revelation of the first five verses of Sura Iqraa' which announced the
beginning of the prophethood. Allah said in Al-Mudaththir :
[O, you covered in a blanket * Stand up and warn * And praise the
greatness of your Lord * And purify your garments * And keep yourself
well away from false gods and other forms of foolishness * And do not
do all of this hoping for gain or payment *And for the sake of your
Lord maintain patience. ] Qur`an 74/1-7.
Allah began these seven ayas, with which He commissioned theProphet
(sas) to deliver the message to His creation, by ordering the Prophet
to warn , and concluded them with the order to have patience . Warning
people of Allah's punishment is of course enjoining them to do right
and forbidding them the doing of wrong, so we see that patience is
obligatory after undertaking the enjoining of right. In this vein,
Allah said:
[And be patient for the decree of your Lord, verily you are in our
Eyes] Qur'an 52/48
[And be patient with that which they say, and remove yourself from
them in a gracious manner.]Qur`an 73/10
[And so be patient, as the firmly-intentioned prophets were patient.]
Qur`an 46/35.
[So be patient for the decree of your Lord, and do not be as the man
in the Whale (i.e. Jonah)] Qur`an 68/48
[And be patient, and your patience is none other than by the leave of
Allah.] Qur'an 16/127.
[And have patience since, verily Allah does neglect the reward of the
good-doers.] Qur'an 11/115.
Thus, three things are absolutely essential: knowledge, compassion,
and patience. Knowledge is required before enjoining right and
forbidding wrong, compassion is required during its practice, and
patience is required after it. This separation is not to negate the
fact that these three qualities need to be present at all times. This
is similar to a statement narrated from the early generations of
scholars and which has been attributed by some to the Prophet. Abu
Ya'la mentioned it in his book entitled Al-Mu'tamad as follows:
"None should enjoin right and forbid wrong except one who is
knowledgeable in that which he enjoins, knowledgeable in that which he
forbids, compassionate in that which he enjoins, compassionate in that
which he forbids, forbearing in that which he enjoins, and forbearing
in thatwhich he forbids."

ACTION IS NOT POSSIBLE EXCEPT WITH KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

There can be no righteous deed in the absence of knowledge ( 'ilm )
and understanding of the law ( fiqh ), as 'Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz (the
grandson of 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab, and a righteous Khalifa) used to
say:
"Whoever worships Allah withoutknowledge corrupts more than he benefits."
And, as in the statement of Mu'adh ibn Jabal (a companion ofthe Prophet):
"Knowledge is the imam of action, and action is a corollary toit."
This is obvious: intentions and actions which are not based on
knowledge are ignorance and going astray, and following of hawaa , as
we have said before. This is the difference between the people of
Jahiliya , and the people of Islam. Thus, knowledgeof the Ma'ruf and
the Munkar are absolute necessities as are the ability to distinguish
between them, and knowledge of the condition of those to be ordered
and forbidden is also essential.
For optimum benefit, enjoining and forbidding should be performed on
the Straight Path. The Straight Path is the shortest route, and the
one which leads tothe attainment of the sought-after goal.

WHAT ARE "GOOD WORKS"?

In the final analysis, enjoining right and forbidding wrong is one of
the most obligatory of actions and one of the best and most
praiseworthy acts. Allah said:
[And He will test you, which of you are best in actions.] Qur'an 67/2.
Al-Fadheel ibn Ayaadh (A great Makkan scholar of the second century)
said about the "good actions" mentioned in this aya:
"(i.e.) The most sincere, and the most correct. Verily any action if
it is done in complete sincerity, but is not correct, it is rejected,
and if it is completely correct, butis not done with total sincerity,
itis rejected. Only that which is done with complete sincerity to
Allah and correctness according to Allah's law is acceptable. The
sincere action is that which is purely for the sake of Allah, and the
correct action that which is inthe tradition ( Sunnah ).
It is a requirement of righteous deeds that they be done solely for
the Face of Allah ta'ala, for Allah does not accept any actions except
for those with which His Face alone was sought. This is as in the
sahih hadith narrated by Abu Huraira that the Prophet said:
"Allah ta'ala says: I am the partner least in need of any partner.
Whenever someone doesan act, partly for me and partly for an imagined
partner, I am completely free of that action, and it is wholly for the
partner which was associated with me."
This is the essence of Tauhid which is the basis of Islam. It is the
deen of Allah with which He sent all of the Prophets. For its sake, He
created the creation, andit is His right over all of His slaves: that
they worship Him alone , andnot associate with Him anything.
The righteous deeds which Allah and His Prophet have enjoined are
simply obedience . Every act ofobedience is a righteous deed, and it
is the work dictated by the shari'a and the Sunnah. They are
everything which has been enjoined upon us either as obligations or as
commendable acts. This then is righteous deeds( Al-'amal As-saalih ),
and it is what is good ( hassan ), and it is righteousness ( Al-Birr
), and it is all that is good ( Al-khair ). Its opposite is
disobedience ( Ma'siya ), and corrupt action ( Al-'amal Al-faasid ),
bad deeds ( As-Sayyi'aat ), rebellion ( Al-fujuur ), oppression (
Adh-dhulm ), and transgression ( Al-baghyu ).
Every action must contain two thing: intention, and movement (action).
Thus, the Prophet said:
"The most truthful names are Harith (i.e. he who tills the earth) and
Hammaam (one who ever sets objectives and seeks their fulfillment)."
Everyone is a tiller and a seeker ofobjectives he has actions, and he
has intentions. However, the onlypraiseworthy intention which Allah
accepts and rewards, is the intentions of doing an action solely for
the sake of Allah.
The praiseworthy deed is the righteous deed, and it is the the deed
with which we have been ordered. For this reason, Umar ibn Al-Khattab
used to say in his du'a :
"O, Allah make all of my deeds righteous, and make all of them purely
for your Face, and do not make therein any share at all for anyone
else."
This being the case for all righteous deeds, it is also the case for
enjoining right and forbidding wrong, and it is necessary for it to be
so (i.e. the act of ordering or forbidding must be good and
praiseworthy which as we have seen means that it is correct and solely
for thesake of Allah, is obedience to Allah, and is done for no
ulterior motive.) This is in reference to the one who enjoins and
forbids others.

WHAT A PERSON LOVES AND HATES MUST BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ORDER OF ALLAH AND HIS PROPHET (SAS)

The obligation upon every slave of Allah, then, is to look very
closely into his or her likes and dislikes, and the intensity of his
love for that which he loves and his hate for that which he hates: is
it in harmony with the order ofAllah and His Prophet (sas)? This, then
is the guidance of Allah which He sent down upon His Prophet such that
he was ordered to have these loves and hates. In this way, a slave of
Allahwill avoid putting himself ahead of Allah and His Prophet (sas),
because Allah said:
O you who believe, do not put forth (anything) in front of Allah and
His Prophet] Qur'an 49/1. i.e. Do not decide your position in any
action or issue without first knowing the position of Allah and His
Prophet therein.
Anyone who loves or hates before Allah and His Prophet haveordered him
to do so, has entered the area of putting something forth in front of
Allah and His Prophet (sas). Simple loves and hates are hawaa, but the
hawaa which is forbidden to the Muslim is the following of these
inclinations without guidance from Allah. This is why Allah said to
His Prophet:
[And do not follow your hawaa such that it leads you astray fromthe
path of Allah. For those who go astray from the path of Allah there
awaits a terrible punishment.] Qur'an 38/26.
Here Allah informs us that the following of one's hawaa will leadone
astray from the path of Allah.The path of Allah is the guidance and
the program with which He sent His Prophet (sas), and it is the path
to Allah.

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Eid prayer for women isSunnah

Is Eid prayer obligatory for women? If it is obligatory, should they
pray at home or in the musalla (prayer place)?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is not obligatory for women, but it is Sunnah.Women should offer
this prayer in the prayer-placewith the Muslims, becausethe Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined them to do that.
In al-Saheehayn and elsewhere it is narrated that Umm 'Atiyah (may
Allaah be pleased with her) said: "We were commanded (and in one
report it says, he commanded us – meaning the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)) to bring out to the Eid prayers the
adolescent girls and the women in seclusion, andhe commanded the
menstruating women to avoid the prayer-place of the Muslims." Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 1/93; Muslim,890. According toanotherreport: "We were
commanded to come outand to bring out the adolescent girls and
thosein seclusion."
According to a report narrated by al-Tirmidhi: The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to bring out the
virgins, adolescent girls, women in seclusion and menstruating women
on the two Eids, but the menstruating women were to keep away fromthe
prayer place and witnessthe gathering of the Muslims. One of them
said, "O Messenger of Allaah, what if she does not have a jilbaab?" He
said, "Then let her sister lend her one of her jilbaabs." (Agreed
upon).
According to a report narrated by al-Nasaa'i, Hafsah bint Sireen said:
Umm 'Atiyyah hardly evermentioned the Messengerof Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) but she would say, "May my father be
sacrificed for him." I said, "Did you hear the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say such and such," and
she said, "Yes, may my father be sacrificed for him, and he said, 'Let
the adolescent girls, women in seclusion and menstruating women come
out to attend Eid and witness the gatheringof the Muslims, but let
themenstruating womenavoid the prayer place.'" Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 1/84
Based on the above, it is clear that for women to go out and attend
the Eid prayers is a confirmed Sunnah, but that is subjectto the
condition that they do not go out unveiled or making a wanton display
of themselves, as is known from other evidence.
With regard to boys whohave reached the age of discretion going out
to Eidprayer, Jumu'ah prayers, etc., this is something which is well
known and is prescribedin Islam, because there isa great deal of
evidence to that effect.
And Allaah is the Source ofstrength.

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Signs of Allah in Body Growth

Our eyelashes, eyebrows,bones and teeth stop growing when they reach a
certain length. However, hair does not stop growing. In other words,
whereas those body parts the growth of which will be disadvantageous
and unsightly stop growing, hair, the growth of which is aesthetically
pleasing, keeps on growing. Besides that, there is perfect harmonyand
proportion in the growth of bones. For example the bones of the upper
human limbs do not grow unnecessarily long leaving the body relatively
undersized. Their growth comes to a halt just in time as if each knows
how long it should grow. Who placed just as much as is necessary of
hormones and enzymes in the bodythus determining the growth of
everything?

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Ask Allah, He WILL HelpYou

If you ask Allah for guidance sincerely, believing in Him and trusting
in Him, he WILL guide you. If you approach Him with humility and faith
and ask Him for help, He WILL help you. "And your Lord says: "Call on
Me; I will answer you." (Quran 40:60). I personally have experienced
this in my life again and again. Allah is real and miracles do happen.
I remember one time when I was deeply confused about something that
mattered very much to me. I prayed to Allah late at night, and began
crying. After my prayer, I laid down right there on the musalla
(prayer rug), andfell asleep, and BAM, herecomes one of the most
powerful dreams I have ever had, with a very clear answer to my
problem. Then the next night I'm outside and feeling some doubts
again, and all of a sudden I see a tremendous meteor go flaming across
the sky right in front of me. I wasamazed and I laughed out loud
because Allah could not have made it any clearer.
I'm not promising you a dream and a meteor (smile). But Allah's
promise is true. He WILL answer you, maybe in ways that you see
clearly,or in ways that you don't.The answer might be to protect you
from harm, or to give you something better than what you requested. Or
the answer might only be a feeling of faith and tranquility inyour
heart that allows you to move forward confidently. He WILL help you.

Inspirational Islamic Sayings and Short Poems

1
The Prophet Muhammad (s) said: "Be kind, for whenever kindness becomes
part of something, it beautifies it. Whenever it is taken from
something, it leavesit tarnished." – Imam Bukhari's Book of Muslim
Manners.
2
Abdullah bin Al-Haarith said, "I didn't see anyone who smiled more
than the Messenger of Allah (s)." – (At-Tirmithee, 3641).
3
"Allah. It all starts with Him – the universe, humanity, and our own
conception – and it all comes back to Him in the end. There's no
victory without Him, no progress, no peace. Strengthen your
relationship with Him in the easy times, and you will find Him beside
you in the hard times." – WaelAbdelgawad
4
"Allah (God) is an exponential word." – Imam Zaid Shakir
5
"Keep your head up, forge forward fee-sabeel-illah, keep praying,
learning, thinking, following your dreams, and loving the people in
your life. It's all worth it, it all matters and makes a difference.
Every single thing you do is meaningful, even when you don't see it.
You are my brothers, my sisters, my heroes." – Wael Abdelgawad
6
"When you're out of ideas, that's when faith comes in. Let Allah show
you the way." – Wael Abdelgawad
7
"No one should ever be depressed by his or her worldly situation as
long as he or she is walking on the path leading to Paradise.
Attaining Paradise is the great objective of this life, and the person
who gains it is victorious, regardless of what he achieved in the
world." – Imam Zaid Shakir
8
Allah has a beautiful plan
for every woman and man.
Trust Allah and pray
and He will light the way.
- Wael Abdelgawad
9
"When I am feeling low and downtrodden I just find a quiet place and
sit alone with my favorite book (the Quran)! When Iturn each of its
miraculous pages my heart begins to feel lighter and the world around
me brighter! The love, warmth and security of each word sets in and it
is in these very moments that I know for sure in my heart how much
Allah really loves me! Alhamdulillah! Subhanallah! Allahu Akbar!" –
Asmaa Deanna-Dee
10
"'Oh, but what's the use of trying to be a good Muslim when I end up
sinning again and again?'… Well, what's theuse of bathing when you get
dirty again and again? Salat (prayer) is a purifier. Though you sin
again and again, keep returning to Allah for purification. Fasting is
a purifier, Zakat is a purifier, Hajj is a purifier… We can use the
same analogy for hope and motivation. We have to keep finding them
again and again. That's the nature of life." – WaelAbdelgawad
11
"Try to become an embodiment of compassion and mercy inyour daily
life. Do not wait for a situation to occur that will call out these
virtues in you. Rather, seek out opportunities where you can manifest
them along with all of the other prophetic virtues. Do not live your
life passively waiting to be used, roused or stimulated intoaction by
events. Live an active life wherein you become the one who is
initiating acts of goodness and kindness in all that you do. Be an
embodiment of the truth you represent. Let your words and comportment
convey the dignity of the believer to all that you meet." – Imam Zaid
Shakir
12
"Wash your heart every morning with salat, then warm it up with dhikr.
Approach life with hope and faith. Every day do your best, Allah will
do the rest." – Wael Abdelgawad
13
"God is truly AWESOME! I see the POWER of GOD moving in MY LIFE, in my
families' lives, in the world….GOD has GREAT things in store for us.
All we have to do is submit and accept GOD's direction for our lives.
I accept!" – Hanan K. Bilal
14
"I believe in Allah because He believes in me… and in you too. He made
us Muslim, didn't He? That is a gift and a blessing. So believe in
Hisplan for you, because He believes in you, He has faith in you, He
has a purpose for you." – Wael Abdelgawad
15
"Is not the help of God close by? Certainly it is. God says "Call upon
Me and I will respond." Don'ttire on calling on Him. Don't despair
from receiving His Mercy. Despair is a sign of disbelief." – Imam Zaid
Shakir
16
"It's okay to feel sad, anxious, lonely, frustrated, and confused.
Feeling these emotions doesn't make you less of a believer. The
differencebetween the believer and non-believer is that the believer
remains patient and turns to Allahfor help." – Wael Abdelgawad
17
"Sharpen the mind, harden the body, soften the heart, and be of
service to others." – a motto for the believer, byAbdelMalik Ali.
18
"When we're out of ideas, surrounded by problems, and feeling totally
alone… we're not alone. Allah is with us. If we pray sincerely and
strive to the best of our capacity, He will put light in our minds and
hearts and help us from directions we did not expect." – Wael
Abdelgawad
19
"We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to
see an imperfect person perfectly. Let's all practicehaving a lot more
love for self and others… LOVE is a verb… it's an action in constant
motion…. we are either loving or unloving… love starts at home with
our family." – Hanan Bilal
20
"If Allah brings you to it, He will bring you through it." – Unknown author
21
"If we let Taqwa – Allah-consciousness – become our guide then it
leads usto self-awareness and sincerity. A person who cultivates Taqwa
can never be a terrorist, an oppressor, or a hypocrite.A person with
true Taqwa must shed compassion as the sun sheds light." – Wael
Abdelgawad
22
"You will not believe until you are merciful to each other. Your faith
is not complete until you are merciful to each other." – Imam Zaid
Shakir
23
"Even when we think we have nothing, we have Allah, and Allah is
everything." – Wael Abdelgawad
24
Let love be selfless
and truth fearless;
Let our breasts be flooded with light -
Make our hearts clear as crystal.
– Muhammad Iqbal
25
"One of Allah's names is Al-Wadood, The Most Loving, and this is
appropriate because a Creator must have love inorder to create works
of beauty and power. Allah created you out of love. He created you
with intent. He created you to succeed, not to fail, and He gave you
all the tools that you need to thrive. Open your eyes and see what a
miracle you are, what a thing of beauty, what a gift to the world.
Isee that in every person I know. Do you see it in yourself?" – Wael
Abdelgawad
26
"True religion shines from the face of the believer and impresses
itself on others without words. It is subsequently followed by words
that are uplifting and beneficial." – Imam Zaid Shakir
27
It's okay if you're not freefrom sin;
Allah will forgive you, and let you in.
Just turn to Him, and from your soul
ask forgiveness, and make Him your goal.
- Wael Abdelgawad
28
"I asked Allah for strength and Allah gave me difficulties to make me
strong. I asked Allah for wisdom and Allah gave me problems to solve.
I asked Allah for courage and Allah gave me obstacles to overcome. I
asked Allah for love and Allah gave me troubled people to help. I
asked Allah for favors and Allah gave me opportunities. Maybe I
received nothing I wanted, but I received everything I needed –
Alhamdulillah." – Anonymous
29
"Forgiveness is not for the weak. Being able to forgive those who have
wronged you is a mark ofspiritual strength and confidence. When you
forgive, you grow, your heart begins to heal, your back straightens
up,your eyes clear so that you can see the road ahead. Anger is a
spiritual sickness; but when you forgive you live." – Wael Abdelgawad
30
"You are all my family. I know that you are human and imperfect. Some
are confused, somestruggling, some tired, needing a moment's
rest.Tired of the rain and needing the rainbow. I love you all
fee-sabeel-illah. Have no fear. Allah is with you and will not abandon
you for a single heartbeat. The rainbow is coming, or maybe it's
already here and all you need to do is look up. "

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Tawhid : Faith in the Unity of God

The most fundamental and the most important teaching of Prophet
Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) is faith in the
unity of God. This is expressed in the primary Kalimah of Islam as
"There is no deity but Allah" ( La ilaha illallah ). This beautiful
phrase is the bedrock of Islam, its foundation and its essence. It is
the expression of this belief which differentiates a true Muslim from
a kafir (unbeliever), mushrik (one who associates others with God in
His Divinity) or dahriyah (an atheist).
The acceptance or denial of this phrase produces a world of difference
between man and man. The believers in it become one single community
and those who do not believe in it form an opposing group. For the
believers there is unhampered progress and success in this world and
in the hereafter, while failure and ignominy are the ultimate lot of
those whorefuse to believe in it.
But the difference between the believers and the unbelievers does not
result from the mere chanting of a few words. Obviously, the mere
utterance of a phrase or two is not in itself important. The real
difference lies in the conscious acceptance of this doctrine and
complete adherence to it in practical life. Mere repetition of the
word 'food' cannot dull hunger; mere chanting ofa medical prescription
cannot heal the disease.
In the same way, if the Kalimah is repeated without any understanding,
it cannot work the revolution which it is meant to bring about. This
can occur only if a person grasps the full meaning of the doctrine and
accepts and follows it in letter and spirit. We avoid fire because we
know that it burns; we keep away from poison because we know that it
can kill. Similarly, if the real meanings of Tawhid are fully grasped,
we avoid, in belief as well as in action, every form of disbelief,
atheism and polytheism. This is the natural consequence of belief in
the Unity of God.
The Meaning of the Kalimah
In Arabic the word ilah means 'one who is worshipped', that is, a
being which on account of its greatness and power is considered worthy
to be worshipped: to be bowed to in humility andsubmission. Anything
or any being possessing power too great to be comprehended by man
isalso called ilah . The concept ilah also includes the possession of
infinite powers and conveys the sense that others are dependent on
ilah and that he is not dependent on anyone else. The word ilah
carries, too, a sense of concealment and mystery. The word Khuda in
Persian, Deva in Hindi and God in English have similar connotations.
Other languages also contain words with a similar meaning. 1
The word Allah , on the other hand, is the essential personal name of
God. La ilaha illallah literally means "There is no ilah other than
the One Great Being known by the name Allah ." It means that in the
whole of the universe, there is absolutely no being worthy to be
worshippedother than Allah, that it isonly to Him that heads should
bow in submission and adoration, that He is the only Being possessing
all powers, that we are all inneed of His favor, and that we are all
obliged toseek His help. He is concealed from our senses, and our
intellect cannot perceive what He is.
Now we know the meaning of these words, let us look more closely
attheir real significance.
From the earliest known history of man as well as from the oldest
relics of antiquity that we have been able to obtain, it appears that
in every ageman recognized some deity or deities and worshipped them.
Even today every nation, from the most primitive to the most advanced,
believes in and worships some deity. Having a deity and worshipping
him is ingrained in human nature. There is something within man's soul
which forces him to do so.
But the question is: what is that thing and why does man feel impelled
to do so? The answer to this question can be discovered if we look at
the position of man in this huge universe. Neither man nor his nature
is omnipotent. He is neither self-sufficient nor self-existing; nor
are his powers limitless. In fact, he is weak, frail, needy and
destitute.
He is dependent on a multitude of forces to maintain his existence,
but all of them are not essentially and totally within his powers.
Sometimes they come into his possession in a simple and natural way,
and at times he finds himself deprived of them.There are many
important and valuable things which he endeavors to get, but sometimes
he succeeds ingetting them, while sometimes he does not, for it is not
completely in his own power to obtain them. There are many things
injurious to him; accidents destroy his life's work in a single
moment; chance brings his hopes to a sudden end; illness, worries and
calamities are always threatening him and marring his way to
happiness. He attempts toget rid of them, and meets with both success
and failure.
There are many things whose greatness and grandeur overawe him:
mountains and rivers, gigantic animals and ferocious beasts. He
experiences earthquakes,storms and other natural disasters. He
observes clouds over his head and sees them becoming thick and dark,
with peals of thunder, flashes of lightning and heavy rain. He sees
the sun, the moon and the stars in their constant motions. He reflects
how great, powerful and grand these bodies are, and, in contrast to
them, how frail and insignificant he himself is!
These vast phenomena, on the one hand, and theconsciousness of his own
frailty, on the other, impress him with a deep sense of his own
weakness, humbleness and helplessness. And it isquite natural that a
primitive idea of divinity should coincide with this sense. He thinks
of the hands which are wielding these great forces. The sense of their
greatness makes him bow in humility. The sense of their powerfulness
makes him seek their help. He tries to please them so that they may be
beneficial tohim, and he fears them and tries to escape their wrath so
that he may not be destroyed by them.
In the most primitive stage of ignorance, man thinks that the great
objects of nature whose grandeur and glory are visible, and which
appearto be injurious or beneficial to him, hold in themselves the
real power and authority, and, therefore, are divine. Thus he worships
trees, animals, rivers, mountains, fire, rain, air, heavenly bodies
and numerous other objects. This is the worst form of ignorance.
When his ignorance dissipates to some extent and some glimmers of
light and knowledge appear on his intellectualhorizon, he comes to
know that these great and powerful objects are in themselves as
helpless and dependent, or rather, they are still moredependent and
helpless. The biggest and the strongest animal dies likea tiny germ,
and loses all his power; great rivers rise and fall and become dry;
the highest mountains are blasted and shattered by man himself; the
productiveness of the earth is not under the earth's control - water
makes it prosperous and lack of water makes it barren. Even water is
not independent. It depends on air which brings the clouds. Air, too,
is powerless and its usefulness depends on other causes. The moon, the
sun, and the stars are also bound by a powerfullaw outside whose
dictates they cannot make the slightest movement.
After these considerations man's mind turns to the possibility of some
great mysterious power of divine nature which controls the objects he
sees and which may be the repository of all authority. These
reflections give rise to belief in mysterious powers behind natural
phenomena, with innumerable gods governing various parts and aspects
of nature such as air, light and water. Material forms or symbols are
constructed to represent them and man begins to worship these forms
and symbols. This, too, is a form of ignorance, and reality remains
hidden to the human eye even at this stage of man's intellectual and
cultural pilgrimage.
As man progresses still further in knowledge and learning, and as he
reflects more and more deeply on the fundamental problems ofexistence,
he finds an all-powerful law and all-encompassing control in the
universe. What a complete regularity is observed in sunrise and
sunset, in winds and rains, in the motions of stars and the changes of
seasons! With what a wonderful harmony countless different forcesare
working jointly. And what a highly effective and supremely wise law it
is according to which all the various causes in the universe are made
to work together at an appointed time to produce an appointed event!
Observing this uniformity, regularity and complete obedience to one
great law in all fields of Nature, even a polytheist finds himself
obliged to believe that there must be a deity greater than all the
others, exercising supreme authority. For, ifthere were separate,
independent deities, the whole machinery of the universe would be
upset.
He calls this greatest deity by different names, such as Allah ,
Permeshwar , God , Khuda-i-Khuda'igan . But as the darkness of
ignorance still persists, he continues worshipping minor deities along
with the Supreme One. He imagines that the Divine Kingdom of God may
not be different from earthly kingdoms. Just as a ruler has many
ministers, trusted associates, governors and other responsible
officers, so the minor deities are like so many responsible officers
under the Great God Who cannot be approached without winning the favor
of the officers under Him. So they must also be worshipped and
appealed to for help, andshould in no case be offended. They are taken
as agents through whom an approach can be made to the Great God.
The more a man increases his knowledge, the greater becomes his
dissatisfaction with the multiplicity of deities. So the number of
minor deities begins to decrease. More enlightened men bring each one
of them under the searchlight of scrutiny and ultimately find that
none of these man-made deities has any divine character; they
themselves are creatures like man, though rather more helpless. They
are thus eliminated one by one until only one God remains.
But the concept of one God still contains some remnants of the
elementsof ignorance. Some people imagine that He has a body as men
have, and is in a particular place. Some believe that God came down to
earth in human form; others think that God, after settling the affairs
of the universe, retired and is now resting. Some believe that it is
necessary to approach God through the media of saints and spirits, and
that nothing can be achieved without their intercession. Some imagine
God to have a certain form or image, and they believe it necessary to
keep that image before them for the purposes of worship.
Such distorted notions of godhead have persisted and lingered, and
many of them are prevalent among different people even today.
Tawhid is the highest conception of godhead, the knowledge of which
God has sent mankind in all ages through His Prophets. It was this
knowledge with which, in the beginning, Adam was sent down to earth;
it was the same knowledge that was revealed to Noah, Abraham, Moses
and Jesus (God's blessings be upon them all). It was this knowledge
which Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) brought to
mankind. It is Knowledge, pure and absolute, without the least shade
of ignorance. Man became guilty of shirk , idol-worship and kufr only
because he turned away from the teachings of the Prophetsand depended
on his own faulty reasoning, false perceptions or biased
interpretations. Tawhid dispels all the clouds of ignorance and
illuminates the horizon with the light of reality.
Let us see what significant realities the concept of Tawhid - this
little phrase: la ilaha illallah - embraces: what truth it conveys and
whatbeliefs it fosters.
First, we are faced with the question of the universe. We are face to
face with a grand, limitless universe. Man's mind cannot discern its
beginning or visualize its end. It has been moving along its chartered
course from time immemorial and is continuing its journey in the vast
vista of the future. Creatures beyond number have appeared in it - and
go on appearing every day. It isso bewildering that a thinking mind
finds itself wonderstruck. Man is unable to understand and grasp its
reality by his unaided vision. He cannot believe that all this has
appeared just by chance or accident. The universe is not a fortuitous
mass of matter. It is not a jumble of uncoordinated objects. It is not
a conglomeration of chaotic and meaningless things. All this cannot be
without a Creator, a Designer, a Controller, a Governor.
But who can create and control this majestic universe? Only He can do
so Who is Master of all; Who is Infinite and Eternal; Who is
All-Powerful, All- Wise, Omnipotent and Omniscient; Who is All-Knowing
and All-Seeing. He must have supreme authority over all that exists in
the universe. He must possesslimitless powers, must be Lord of the
universe and all that it contains, must be free from every flaw and
weakness and none may have the power to interfere with His work. Only
such a Being can be the Creator, the Controller and the Governor of
the universe.
Second, it is essential thatall these divine attributesand powers must
be vested in One Being: it is impossible for two or more personalities
having equal powers andattributes to co-exist. They are bound to
collide. Therefore, there must be one and only one Supreme Being
having control over all others. You cannot think of two governors for
the same province or two supreme commanders of the army! Similarly,
the distribution of these powers among different deities, so that, for
instance, one of them is all- knowledge, the otherall-providence and
still another life-giver - and each having an independent domain - is
also unthinkable. The universe is an indivisible whole and each one of
such deities will be dependent upon others in the execution of his
task. Lack of co-ordination is bound tooccur. And if this happened,
the world would fall to pieces. These attributes are also
untransferable. It is not possible that a certain attribute might be
present in a certain deity at one time and at another time be found
inanother deity. A divine being who is incapable of remaining alive
himself cannot give life to others. The one who cannot protect his own
divine power cannot be suited to govern the vast limitless universe.
The more you reflect on the problem, the firmer must your conviction
be that all these divine powers and attributes must exist in one and
the same Being alone. Thus, polytheism is a form of ignorance that
cannot stand rational scrutiny. It is a practical impossibility. The
facts of life and nature do not fit in with it. They automatically
bring men to Reality, that is Tawhid , the Unity of God.
Now, keeping in mind this concept of God, look closely at this vast
universe. Exert yourself to the utmost and say if you find among all
the objects that you see, among all the things that you perceive,
among all that you can think, feel or imagine - all that your
knowledge can comprehend - anyone possessing these attributes. The
sun, the moon, the stars, animals, birds or fishes, matter, money, any
man or a group of men - does any of them possess these attributes?
Most certainly not! For everything in theuniverse is created,
controlled and regulated,is dependent on others, is mortal and
transitory; its slightest movements are controlled by an inexorable
law from which there can be no deviation. Their helpless condition
proves that theattire of divinity cannot fit their body. They do not
possess the slightest trace of divinity and haveabsolutely nothing to
do with it. It is a travesty of truth and a folly of the highest
magnitude to attribute divine status to them.

Who is Allah?

It is a known fact that every language has one or more terms that are
used in reference to God and sometimes to lesser deities. This is not
the case with Allah. Allah is the personal name of the One true God.
Nothing else can be called Allah. The term has no plural or gender.
This shows its uniqueness when compared with the word god which can be
made plural, gods, or feminine, goddess. It is interesting to notice
that Allah is the personal name of God in Aramaic, the language of
Jesus and a sister language of Arabic.
The One true God is a reflection of the unique concept that Islam
associates with God. To a Muslim, Allah is the Almighty, Creator and
Sustainer of the universe,Who is similar to nothing and nothing is
comparable to Him. The Prophet Muhammad was asked by his
contemporaries about Allah; the answer came directly from God Himself
in the form of a short chapter of the Quran, which is considered the
essence of the unity or the motto of monotheism. This is chapter 112
which reads:
"In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Say (O Muhammad) He is God the One God, the Everlasting Refuge, who
has not begotten, nor hasbeen begotten, and equal to Him is not
anyone."
Some non-Muslims allege that God in Islam is a stern and cruel God who
demands to be obeyed fully. He is not loving and kind. Nothing can be
farther from truth than this allegation. It is enough to know that,
with the exception of one, each of the 114 chapters of the Quran
begins with the verse: "Inthe name of God, the Merciful, the
Compassionate." In one of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) we
are told that "God is more loving and kinder than a mother to her dear
child."
But God is also Just. Hence evildoers and sinners must have their
share of punishment and the virtuous, His bountiesand favors. Actually
God'sattribute of Mercy has fullmanifestation in His attribute of
Justice. People suffering throughout their lives forHis sake and
people oppressing and exploiting other people all their lives should
not receive similar treatment from their Lord. Expecting similar
treatment for them will amount to negating the very belief in the
accountability of man in the Hereafter and thereby negating all the
incentives for a moral and virtuous life in this world. The following
Quranic verses are very clear and straightforward in this respect:
"Verily, for the Righteous are gardens of Delight, inthe Presence of
their Lord. Shall We then treat the people of Faith like the people of
Sin? What is the matter with you? How judge you?" (68:34-36)
Islam rejects characterizing God in anyhuman form or depictingHim as
favoring certain individuals or nations on the basis of wealth, power
or race. He created the human beings as equals. They may distinguish
themselves and get His favor through virtue and piety only.
The concept that God rested in the seventh day of creation, that God
wrestled with one of His soldiers, that God is an envious plotter
against mankind, or that God is incarnate in any human being are
considered blasphemy from the Islamic point of view.
The unique usage of Allah as a personal name of God is a reflection of
Islam's emphasis on the purity of the belief in God which is the
essence of the message of all God's messengers. Because of this, Islam
considers associating anydeity or personality with God as a deadly sin
whichGod will never forgive, despite the fact He may forgive all other
sins.
[Note that what is meant above applies ONLY to those people who die in
a state wherein they are associating others with God. The repentance
of those who yet live is acceptable to God if He wills. - MSA of USC]
The Creator must be of a different nature from thethings created
because if he is of the same nature as they are, he will be temporal
and will therefore need a maker. It follows that nothing is like Him.
If the maker is not temporal, then he must be eternal. But if he is
eternal, he cannot be caused, and if nothing outside him causes him to
continue to exist, which means that he must be self-sufficient. And if
the does not depend on anything for the continuance of his own
existence, then this existence can have no end. The Creator is
therefore eternal and everlasting: "He is the First and the Last."
He is Self-Sufficient or Self-Subsistent or, to use a Quranic term,
Al-Qayyum. The Creator does not create only in the sense of bringing
things into being, He alsopreserves them and takesthem out of
existence and is the ultimate cause of whatever happens to them.
"God is the Creator of everything. He is the guardian over everything.
Unto Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth." (39:62, 63)
"No creature is there crawling on the earth, but its provision rests
on God. He knows its lodging place and it repository." (11:6)
God's Attributes
If the Creator is Eternal and Everlasting, then His attributes must
also be eternal and everlasting. He should not lose any of His
attributes nor acquirenew ones. If this is so, then His attributes are
absolute. Can there be more than one Creator with such absolute
attributes? Can there be for example, two absolutely powerful
Creators? A moment's thought shows that this is not feasible.
The Quran summarizes this argument in the following verses:
"God has not taken to Himself any son, nor is there any god with Him:
For then each god would have taken of that which he created and some
of them would have risen up over others." (23:91)
And Why, were there gods in earth and heavenother than God, they
(heaven and earth) would surely go to ruin." (21:22)
The Oneness of God
The Quran reminds us of the falsity of all alleged gods. To the
worshippersof man-made objects, it asks:
"Do you worship what you have carved yourself?" (37:95)
"Or have you taken unto you others beside Him to be your protectors,
even such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves?"
(13:16)
To the worshippers of heavenly bodies it cites the story of Abraham:
"When night outspread over him he saw a star and said, 'This is my
Lord.' But when it set he said, 'I love not the setters.' When he saw
themoon rising, he said, 'This is my Lord.' But when it set he said,
'If myLord does not guide me I shall surely be of the people gone
astray.' When he saw the sun rising, he said, 'This is my Lord; this
is greater.' But when it set he said, 'O mypeople, surely I quit that
which you associate, I have turned my face to Him Who originated the
heavens and the earth; a man of pure faith, I am not of the
idolaters.'" (6:76-79)
The Believer's Attitude
In order to be a Muslim, i.e., to surrender oneself to God, it is
necessary to believe in the oneness of God, in the sense of His being
the only Creator, Preserver, Nourisher, etc. But this belief - later
on called "Tawhid Ar-Rububiyyah" - is not enough. Many of the
idolaters knew and believed that only the Supreme God could do
allthis, but that was not enough to make them Muslims. To tawhid
ar-rububiyyah one must add tawhid al'uluhiyyah, i.e., one acknowledges
the fact that is God alone Who deserves to be worshipped, and thus
abstains from worshipping any other thing or being.
Having achieved this knowledge of the one true God, man should
constantly have faith in Him, and should allow nothing to induce him
to deny truth.
When faith enters a person's heart, it causes certain mental states
which result in certain actions. Taken together these mental states
and actions are the proof for the true faith. The Prophet said, "Faith
is that which resides firmly in the heart and which is proved by
deeds." Foremost among those mental states is the feeling of gratitude
towards God which couldbe said to be the essence of 'ibada' (worship).
The feeling of gratitude is so important that a non-believer is called
'kafir' which means 'one who denies a truth' and also 'one who is
ungrateful.'
A believer loves, and is grateful to God for the bounties He bestowed
upon him, but being aware of the fact that his good deeds, whether
mental or physical, are far from being commensurate with Divine
favors, he is always anxious lest God should punish him, here or in
the Hereafter. He, therefore, fears Him, surrenders himself to Himand
serves Him with great humility. One cannot be in such a mental state
without being almost all the time mindful of God. Remembering God is
thusthe life force of faith, without which it fades and withers away.
The Quran tries to promote this feeling of gratitude by repeating the
attributes of God veryfrequently. We find most of these attributes
mentioned together in the following verses of the Quran:
"He is God; there is no god but He, He is the Knower of the unseen and
the visible; He is the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate. He is God,
there is no God but He. He is the King, the All-Holy, the All-Peace,
theGuardian of Faith, the All-Preserver, the All-Mighty, the
All-Compeller, the All-Sublime. Glory be to God, above that they
associate! He is God the Creator, the Maker, the Shaper. To Him belong
the Names Most Beautiful. All that is in theheavens and the earth
magnifies Him; He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise." (59:22-24)
"There is no god but He, the Living, the Everlasting. Slumber seizes
Him not, neither sleep; to Him belongs all that is in the heavens
andthe earth. Who is there that shall intercede with Him save by His
leave? He knows what lies before them and what is after them, and they
comprehend not anything of His knowledge save such as He wills. His
throne comprises the heavens and earth; the preservingof them
oppresses Him not; He is the All-High, theAll-Glorious." (2:255)
"People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your religion, and
say not as to God but the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was
only theMessenger of God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, and
aSpirit from Him. So believe in God and His Messengers, and say not,
'Three.' Refrain; better is it for you. God is only oneGod. Glory be
to Him - (Heis) above having a son." (4:171)

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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OF HELL

Q1: What is hell?
A. Allah Almighty has created a dreadful place for the chastisement
andpunishment of infidels, disbelievers and sinners which is
called"Jahannam" (hell). It has seventy thousand dangerous and
horrendous valleys with each valley having seventy thousand
similarhorrid dells and pits. These valleys, dells and pits are
infested with innumerable frightful scorpions, serpents and dragons.
Q 2: What is in hell?
A. There are varied torments in hell. It is dreadful even to think
ofthe torments therein. In sum, it has the torments of fire, chilling
cold, snakes, scorpions, poisonous animals etc. The flames of its fire
rage high unabatedly and overtake the infidelswith violent force. The
fuel of hell is humanbeings and stones.
Q 3: How will a sinful believer be absolved?
A. A believer will ultimately be absolved irrespective of his myriad
sins and admitted into paradise either by the blessing of Allah
Almighty or the intercession of His Darling Elect Hadrat Muhammad
Mustafa (may Allah's choicest blessings and peace be upon him) or
having served his term of punishment in hell. Paradise is the last and
ultimate abode of believers wherein they will live eternally.
Q 4: Is there any absolution for infidels ornot?
A. The major sins of infidelity and polytheismwill never be absolved.
Infidels and polytheists will live eternally in hell and face
different sorts of torments. They will also be locked in boxes of fire
which will be encased in other fire boxes. Every infidel and
polytheist will think that it is the last chastisementbut they will
get no relief and keep sufferingtorments upon torments.

OF PARADISE

Q 1: What is paradise?
A. Paradise is an abode of endless bliss which Allah Almighty has
created for the believers.It is comprised of one hundred classes and
the distance between two classes is like that of the distance between
the earth and heavens. Each heaven is so vast and spacious that there
will remain enough room if the whole world with allits contents is
placed therein.
Q 2: What is in paradise?
A. Allah Almighty has created such paraphernalia of physical and
spiritual bliss and felicity in it thatis unseen, unheard, un-imagined
and undreamt of. Even an emperor and king can not enjoy such
pleasuresand facilities which will be available to the inmates of the
lowest class of the paradise.
Q 3: Which will be the greatest blessing in paradise?
A. The greatest favour with which the believerswill be graced in
heavens is the"vision(sight) of Allah". All divine boons, bounties and
favours will be eclipsed by Allah's vision. Once believers had it they
would get absorbed in its exquisite ecstasy for ever.
Q 4: How many believers will be entered into heavens?
A. The Holy Prophet said that of my bondslaves, seventy thousands
would be admitted into heavens without any"reckoning". Everyone ofthem
would take a group of seventy thousand believers with him into
paradise. Allah Almighty would yet grace them and three more
multitudes of believers would accompany them. The exact number of
believers who will be entered into heavens is known to Allah or His
Choicest Prophet whom Allah Almighty has endowed with such knowledge.

THE GIST OF ISLAMIC BELIEFS

1. Allah is the One indeed. He has absolutely no partner. He alone is
worthy of being worshipped. He is all Independent and depends on none.
All theworlds and creatures aresubservient to Him.
2. We believe in all Apostles, Messengers andProphets whom Allah
Almighty sent for the guidance of humanity. Itis obligatory upon every
believer to respect and revere all Messengers and consider them as
Allah's "loved ones". Our kind lord and master Hadrat Muhammad (may
the choicest blessings & peace of Allah be upon him) is the leader and
highest of all the Apostles, Messengers andProphets.
3. Allah Almighty has revealed books to some Messengers which
are"Kalaam Allah"(speech ofAllah). Belief in all the revealed books
and in their contents is essential. Of all the revealed books, the
Glorious Qur-aan which was gifted to the Beloved Prophet (Hadrat)
Muhammad is the best and Allah Almighty Himself has taken up the
responsibility of its protection.
4. Angels are "Noori"(ethereal, luminous) creature of Allah. They are
neither male nor female. They are innocent and obedient servants of
Allah. They do what Allah commandsthem. They subsist on worship and
remembrance of Allah.
5. Genies have been created of fire. They live and die like
humanbeings. There are believers, disbelievers, good and bad in them.
Disbelieving and mischievous genies are called devils.
6. One day everything (angels, mountains, animals, the earth, the sky)
will perish like humanbeings. There willremain nothing in existence
but Allah alone. Then all things will be re-created and dead ones
resurrected from their graves. All willbe made to gather in a
particular field that is called "Hashar" (resurrection). The Balance
will be installed and doings of all will be weighed therein. Everyone
will get the nemesis of his/her misdeeds and sins and reward of
virtuous acts. Believers will be enteredinto paradise and infidels and
disbelievers will be cast into Hell.
7. The Hell has a bridge over it which leads to heavens. It is
called"Siraat"(straight pathway). It is thinner than a hair and
sharper than a sword. All people will have to cross this"Siraat". It
is the only pathway to reach heavens.
8. What had to happen in the world and what one had to do Allah
Almighty wrote all that with His eternally infinite knowledge. And
whatever has been decreed will certainly happen sans the slightest
change. This is called "Taqdeer" (predestination).

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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The moral of the story is...

There was this fish, and this fish was watching a fly, the fish wanted
the fly to drop six inches so he could jump and eat it.There was a
bear on the shore, he wanted the fly to drop six inches so the fish
would jump and the bear could swipe the fish for lunch.There was a
hunter in the woods, he wanted the fly to drop six inches so the fish
would jump, the bear would swipe and the fish and come out into plain
view.There was a mouse eyeing the hunters sandwhich, he wanted the fly
to drop six inches so the fish would jump,the bear would move into
plain view, the hunter would shoot the bear then the hunter would go
getthe bear and the mouse could get the sandwhich.There was a cat
waiting for the fly to drop six inches so the fish would jump, the
bear would move into plain view, the hunter would shoot the bear and
for the mouse to go for the sandwhich.So the flydrops six inches, the
fish jumps in the air,the bear catches the fish, the hunter shoots the
bear and the mouse swipes the sandwhich. The blast from the hunters
gun startled the cat, which jumped into the river.The moral of the
story is...When the fly drops six inches the pussy gets wet.

Flea jokes

What is the most faithful insect? A flea, once they find someone they
like they stick to them!What insect runs away from everything? A
flee!What is the difference between a flea and a wolf? One prowls on
the hairy and the other howls on the prairie!What to you call a
Russian flea? A Moscow-ito!Two fleas where running across the top of a
cereal packet? "Why are we running so fast? " said one Because it says
"Tearalong the dotted line" What do you call a flea that lives in an
idiots ear? A space invader!What do you get if you cross a rabbit and
a flea? Bugs Bunny!How do you start an insect race? One, two, flea -
go!How do you find where a flea has bitten you? Start from
scratch!What isa flea's favorite book? The itch-hikers guide to the
galaxy!
Kids Jokes
Share this funny joke to friends!

Story - A Prodigal Tale 2

After this he stole regularly. Though he ate infrequently it was
enough. He slept rough in abandoned houses, in the street, sometimes
outin the fields. His poverty depressed him and the dreams became more
frequent and intense. He began drinking wine of the cheapest and
roughest sort. He was now submerged in the underworld of the city.
Most of the people he spent time with were drunkards like himself,
living by stealing, the women by hustling. Each had his or her story,
elaborated and embellished over so many years the teller no longer
knew where the truth ended and the lies began. Though they banded
together out of need for each other, few confided the true reason for
his being there. Amongst this shifting group of outcasts he had no
real friends. He spent a lot of time on his own. Even when with others
he was withdrawn, alonein their midst, quietly brooding.
One particular eveninghe sat with a group under a tree drinking.
Hereached out for a jar of wine which stood to his right. His hand
found the earthenware jar and he dragged it towards him across the
ground. As he did so one of the girls leaned over him.
'No more,' she said. He tried to fend her off with his arm but
found he didn't have the strength. 'You've had enough, you'll be sick
again.' She took hold of the neck of the jar as he tried to raiseit to
his mouth. She was too strong for him and he lay back against the
stony earth, the girl's face appearing above him. She was young but
little of youthfulness remained to her. He closed his eyes, feeling
the tears wanting to come. He lay still, wishingthat she might release
him from the prison of his silence. If only she would ask him what the
matter was, and persist in asking until she had got an answer. But she
simply sat there watchinghim, perhaps angry at hisfoolishness, or
indifferent, not wanting to burden herself with his problems.
Thus he went on from day to day, finding ways to occupy himself
for hours at a stretch. He walked for miles around the city with his
head bowed, or simply sat, staring into the dust at his feet. Need of
money forced him to beg and to steal. If he was lucky someone would
take pityon him and buy him wine. His once smooth and youthful face
became sunken and dark,and his eyes, often jaundiced and
bloodshot,bulged in their sockets. His clothes were torn andstained,
his body thin and bruised.
< 5 >
The Feast of Passover came and thousands of pilgrims gathered,
filling the inns and camping in the environs of the city. He stayed
away from them, knowing his familywould be somewhere amidst the
throng. For safety he moved outside of the ritually clean areas. His
family could not wander here withoutrendering themselves unclean for
the ceremonies and this they would not do. He was secure in his own
uncleanness. On the few occasions when he did venture into the city it
was never to a place where someone might know him. He did not liketo
go into the busy thoroughfares. Most of the day he lay in the fields
watching. In the distance he could see the steady column of smoke
rising from the Temple area. White and blue figures moved in the haze,
the sun reflecting from whitewashed walls, the grey smoke rising and
dispersing in the clear sky. The noise of thegreat crowd carried
across to him, the sound of voices, of bells and cymbals, and
sometimes of chanting.
He was cut off from it all and the sense of dispossession
oppressed him. It was not that he was particularly religious. He had
never been fervent in his observance, or strong in his beliefs. What
troubledhim was not spiritual pain, but simply a sense of no longer
belonging. He left the fields and wandered for an hour through the
back streets and alleyways where he came on an itinerant preacher
proclaiming to anyone who would listen. The holy man was in his
mid-twenties, bearded and simply dressed. His face had a severe,
ascetic angularity,but his hands were long and slender and he gestured
as he spoke with great gentleness. 'A father always has room in his
heart to forgive a son who repents,' the preacher was saying. It was a
phrase caught in passing and barely registering in his mind. But the
words had found a place in his thoughts, like seeds in the crevice of
a wall. The encounter lasted a few minutes onlyand was soon forgotten.
In the following days his mental condition worsened. Secrets
contained for so long were now demanding audience. He had eaten
practically nothing for a week and had little appetite. Wine eased his
hunger. He had grown thinner, more lethargic, and found it
increasingly difficult to concentrate. On the last night of the Feast
he had the first of many visions. He was sitting in the corner of
aninn completely drunk. A woman he knew came over towards him, her
eyes heavily darkened with makeup. He smelled the sweetness of her
unwashed body as she placed the palm of her hand against his face.
< 6 >
'Why don't you stop drinking?' she asked. He heard someone
laughing,he felt nauseous. The woman stroked his cheek, and then his
hair, looking into his face. He bowed his head and moved slightly
aside. A triangle of light fell from a gap between the curtain and the
doorframe, highlighting the head and shoulders of a man across the
room. The man was laughing, his mouth wideopen and the lips drawn back
to reveal an irregular set of decaying teeth. As he tried to focushe
saw that there was noflesh on the head at all. The teeth jutted
straight out of bone, the lower jaw hanging slack, the eyes empty
sockets beneath the shadow of the brow.
The skull turned towards him grinning with the fixed expressionof
a mask. He closed his eyes to rid himself of the image, but when he
opened them again the skull was still there, staring at him. Then the
skull spoke: 'I could tell her all about you,' it said.'I could tell
her everything.' He closed hiseyes again and pressed his hands to his
ears and this time when he lookedagain the skull was gone.He rose
unsteadily, pushing the girl aside. People watched him uncertainly.
When he gotoutside he was shaking and was violently sick.
The effect of the visionon his subsequent conduct was marked. He
tried over the next few weeks to stay sober, wrestling with the
agonising need for drink.He tried to eat though it made him ill. Then
by a piece of sheer chance he was offered a job on a farm north of the
city. He worked in the dusty fields pruning vines and olive trees, the
rough branches cutting his hands. He earned enoughfor his keep, living
on vegetables and bread, which were cooked and served collectively to
the labourers.
He had now stopped drinking but his mental condition continued to
deteriorate. He had visions regularly. Often the birds would talk to
him, or devils in the form of birds, taunting him with their
accusations. On one occasion the roots of an olive tree he was tending
became a nest of vipers writhing around his feet. In the midst of the
snakes was awoman's brooch. He reached down to pick it up but as he
touched the glinting object it turned into a stone and the snakes
vanished. After a month of labouring in the fields he was moved to the
position of swineherd. He fed the pigs, cleaned out their enclosure
and herded them up the hillside where they rooted in the shade of the
olive groves.At night he slept with them for warmth.

Story - A Prodigal Tale

He left at night, taking with him a changeof clothes, a blanket, and a
small bag of money which he found in his father's room. He travelled
until dawn and then all of the next day and well into the following
night, pursued by thoughts of his angry and vengeful father. His route
led south towards the holy city, following the roads he knew from the
yearly pilgrimage his family were rich enough to make. The land rose
around him in broken shadows, ragged heights of limestone, sparse
ground, uncultivated andsporadically populated, the occasional
shepherds'village buried in the valleys where goats roamed the scrub.
On the evening of the third day, exhausted and hungry, he stood
watching the sun slip beyond the horizon, casting its last rays over
the broad expanse of a lake. His sense of guilt had not left him but
thoughts of his angry father had ceased to torment him, diminishingin
intensity as the distance from home increased. A mist was rising off
the lake. Grass tufts, long and heavy with seeds, stood dry
andyellow-silvery in the fading light. Autumn flowers thrust their
crowns above the grass, including one of which he did not know the
name, a head of pale trumpets spread out on along stalk, its white
petals glowing faintly in the dusk. A tent flap clattered in the
rising wind and sand drifted across the clearing, driven in little
runs and gusts. He drew the edge of his cloak tighter acrosshis mouth.
The sounds of the caravan he had joined earlier that afternoon were to
his back. He could hear the mutter of conversation. Blue smoke coiled
away from a fire of camel dung. Some of the women were tending a stew
of meat and vegetables.
The sound of feet approaching awakened him. One of the men had
come over to ask if he would like some food. Hefollowed to where a
group of travellers sat in a circle around the fire and ate
gratefully. It was his first meal since leaving home. He watched the
others, theirfaces mostly in shadow, wondering what they thought of
him, a stranger who had come amongst them from the hills. Had they
believed his story about a religious obligation, a prayer answered?
They had accepted him easily enough. They could know nothing for
certain.
< 2 >
On the eighth day the caravan approached the walls of the city,
climbingthe steep slopes through small peasant fields and olive
groves, past square,flat-roofed, mud houses, the hills stretching away
into the distance. His firstthought on entering the gate was to find a
room. He approached a small inn in one of the unpaved lanes off the
main thoroughfare. The room he was offered wassmall, but he had little
money and did not yet know where more wouldcome from. He planned to
look for work, to live quietly for a while, until he had thought out
whatto do. The woman of the inn regarded him out of her round, black
eyes, her grey hair tied back from her darkly freckled face. He felt
suddenly fearful of her. It was almost as though she knew his reason
for being there, knew the whole story of how he came to be standing
before her with his cloak and few bundled possessions. Worse still,
she seemed complicit in his secret. He had thought to pass as a simple
traveller but suddenly confronting thiswoman's mocking gaze he knew he
was marked. A feeling of dread possessed him. He made an excuse about
having to change money and went out. She made no reply.
The shadows of the northern wall engulfed him, its bleak
battlementstowering above him. The memory of the old woman clung to
him like a horrible dream. It was agood hour before he could shake off
the sense of panic and fear. He wandered, drifting aboutthe city,
until tiredness overcame him. Now he rested on his haunches, his back
against a wall in a small street of fruit and vegetable stalls. Out of
the passing multitude appeared a dishevelled youth, a dirty blanket
around his shoulders. Theyouth sat beside him and they exchanged
hesitant greetings. The other had been longer on the road and his face
was thin andlined. They spent the night in a field on the outskirts of
the city, the earth uncultivated and full of weeds. His new companion
was to show him much in those first few days, opening to himthe
streets and alleys of the city.
< 3 >
That night he had the first of the dreams which for months
plagued his sleep; dreams filled with violent and erotic images. In
this first dream he was trying to save a child from a life of
prostitution and shame. He rode away with her on a mule but then lost
her in the darkness only to find her mutilated body lying naked in the
road. Many of these dreams were populated with dead women as wellas
with swords, snakes and flight; ciphers of his guilt. Because the
presence of these imageswas so shocking, he imagined that his secret
must be transparent to everyone around him. At night he slept lightly,
part of him always mindful lest he should give something away in his
mutterings, or wake screaming.
But at first the effect of these dreams was nothing compared to
the poverty. Destitution camehard to him having known only luxury all
his life. The small amount of money he had brought with him soon ran
out and he was forced to begin order to feed himself. Then one day he
found himself a party to theft. Standing by a butcher's stall, his
companion suddenly said to him, 'Quick, run'. Looking up he saw that
the boy had seized a chicken from beside the stall. He felt his
stomach tense as he broke into a run. They dived into the first
alleyway to the right, descending into the shadows, turning right
again through a low arch, across a courtyard and over a low wall.
Thenthey ran on down the adjoining lane. His companion must have
thought the route out beforehand. They kept running until they were
sure they were not beingfollowed. There had beenshouts and a
half-heartedattempt at pursuit but that seemed all.
When they eventually stopped it was because they could not run
any further. His side was doubled with a stitch, his lungs bursting,
his heart swelling as though it would explode. He felt sick and
vomited while his chest continued to heave painfully. His companion
lay sprawled in a doorway holding his sides. He was laughing and
pointing at the pool of vomit. 'Hell, what wereyou running from?' he
asked.

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She did not offer udhiya(qurbani) for years; should she make it up now?

Muslim femail who has been earning since a few years but recently came
to know that Qurbani is wajib on her because she is earning. How can
she compensiate for all those previous years for which she didnt offer
sacrifice.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The scholars (may Allah have mercy on him) differed with regard to the
ruling on udhiyah: is it obligatory or Sunnah mu'akkadah (a confirmed
Sunnah)? The correct view is that it is Sunnah mu'akkadah for the one
who can afford it, but there is no sin on the one who does not do it.
For more information, please see the answer toquestions number 36432 and 41696 .
Secondly:
If a person does not offer udhiyah although he can afford to do so, he
is missing out on a lotof reward that results from offering the
sacrifice, but he is not sinning, and he does nothave to make up what
he missed in years past, because udhiyah is Sunnah and the time for it
has gone. This is the case if he did not make avow to offer a
sacrifice, in which case it is obligatory for him to fulfil his vow
and offer udhiyah.
It says in al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (34/46): If a person does not
offer a sacrifice before the time has passed, if it was a voluntary
sacrifice he should not offer it; rather he has missed the opportunity
to offer a sacrifice this year. But if it was a vow, he has to offer a
sacrifice and make up what he was obliged to do. End quote.
Based on that, if she wants to offer udhiyah, then from now onwards
she has to prepare ahead of time, so that when the next Eid al-Adha
comes, in sha Allah, she will have prepared her sacrifice beforehand,
so she will not have missed the timefor udhiyah, as happened in the
past.
We ask Allah to help us and you to do that which He loves and which
pleases Him, and to accept righteous deeds from us and from you.
And Allah knows best.

If they have shares in a sacrifice, is it essential for each one to eat someof his sacrifice?

There is a charity in our country which organisesfor seven people to
share in a sacrifice, such as a calf or a cow, then the charity takes
care of slaughtering it and distributing the meat to the poor in each
village. Then each individual takes his share of the sacrifice after
the rest has been distributed. Please note that the value of each
person's share is 950 pounds. If we assume that we collect the money
for seven sacrifices and we have forty-nine people, and it is very
difficult to find a place to slaughter the sacrifices within a short
period of time so that each person may begiven something of his
sacrifice, my question is: is it possible to collect the share from,
for example, three sacrificesand distribute that to the people
involved, andthen leave the rest of thesacrificial meat to be
distributed to the poor? Or is it essential that each person take from
his own sacrifice?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It is permissible to share in a sacrifice if it is a camel or a cow.
It is permissible for seven people to share in one sacrifice of a cow
or a camel.
It is proven that the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) shared
in sacrifices (hadiy), seven sharing a camel or a cow, in Hajj and
'Umrah.
Muslim (1318) narrated that Jaabir ibn 'Abd-Allah(may Allah be pleased
with him) said: In the year of al-Hudaybiyah we offered the sacrifice
with the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him), a camel on behalf of seven and a cow on behalf of seven.
According to another report: We set out with the Messenger of Allaah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) entering ihraam for
Hajj,and the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) told us to share (in sacrificing) camels and cattle, every seven
of us sharing an animal.
For more information, please see the answer toquestion no. 45757 .
Secondly:
It is Sunnah to eat from the sacrifice but it is not obligatory
according to the majority of fuqaha'.
In Zaad al-Mustaqni' it says: It is Sunnah to eat one third, give one
thirdas gifts, and give one third in charity.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his
commentary: The words "It is Sunnah to eat one third, give one third
as gifts, and give one third in charity" mean it is prescribed, not in
the sense that it is obligatory, but that it is mustahabb to divide it
into thirds and eat one third, give one third as gifts, and give one
third in charity.
The difference between gifts and charity is that what is given as an
act of friendship is a gift, because of what it says in the hadeeth,
"Give one another gifts and you will love one another." And what is
given so as to draw closeto Allah is charity. Based on this, charity
is given to one who is in need and a gift is given to onewho is
independent of means.
Dividing it into thirds, i.e., one third for eating, one third for
giving as gifts and one third for giving in charity, is doneso that
people of all classes or levels will benefit from his sacrifice.
Eating it oneself is mentioned first because Allah mentioned it first
in the verse in which He said (interpretation of the meaning): "Then
eat thereof and feed therewith the poor having a hard time" [al-Hajj
22:28].
With regard to the words "It is Sunnah to eat", the apparent meaning
is that if he gives all of it in charity, there is nothing wrong with
that and he is not sinning. This is based on the fact that eating
fromone's sacrifice is Sunnah,as is the view of the majority of
scholars.
Some of the scholars said: Rather eating from it is obligatory and he
is sinning if he does not dothat, because Allah has enjoined it and
given it precedence over charity;and because the Prophet(blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him), during the Farewell Pilgrimage, enjoined
that a piece be taken from each sacrificial animal and placed in a pot
and cooked, then he ate some of its meat and drank some of its broth.
They said: To go to the effort of taking one hundred pieces from one
hundred camels andcooking them in a pot and eating from that indicates
that the command in the verse is given in the sense of it being
obligatory. And because this comes under the heading of enjoying the
blessings ofAllah, so it is included in the words of the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): "The days of al-Tashreeq
(the 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhu'l-Hijjah) are days of eating, drinking
and remembering Allah, may He be glorified and exalted."
Whatever the case, the individual should not refrain from eating
fromhis sacrifice.
End quote from al-Sharh al-Mumti', 7/481
If the matter is as you described, and it will be difficult to
slaughter seven cows in one day, and everyone wants to take meat on
the same day, there is nothing wrong with that. So you should
slaughter as many as you can, then everyone should take some of the
meat. For those whose cow could not be slaughtered on the first day,
they may take some of the meat, even if it is only a little, when it
is slaughtered on the second day. But you should pay attentionto two
matters:
1. It is essential to set aside some of the meat of each cow for
charity and it should not all be distributed to those whoare offering
the sacrifice, whether it is slaughtered on the first day or after
that.
2. It is essential to specify who has shared in the sacrifice at
the time of slaughter, so it should be intended that this cow is
offered on behalf of So and so, mentioning each of them by name. It is
not sufficient to slaughter allthe cows on behalf of all the
participants; rather it is essential to identify exactly on whose
behalf each cow is being sacrificed.
And Allah knows best.

Should he offer a sacrifice (udhiya/qurbaani) or give the price of the sacrifice to his poor sick relative so that he can get treatment?

Can one not give qurbani and give that amount of money to a sick close
relaive for treatment? zakat money given to him which is not
sufficient for treatment.
Praise be to Allaah.
The basic principle is that offering the sacrifice is better than
giving its price in charity, because of what results from that of
drawing close to Allah byoffering a sacrifice and giving charity, and
performing this ritual in front of one's family andchildren, and
keeping this ritual alive among the people, because the sacrifice is
one of the symbols of Islam.
Ibn al-Qayyim said in Tuhfat al-Mawdood (p. 65):
Sacrifice at the appropriate time, such as during Hajj and on
Eidal-Adha, is better than giving its price in charityeven if one
gives more, because offering a sacrifice and shedding blood is what is
required, and it is an act of worship that is mentioned alongside
prayer, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only)"
[al-Kawthar: 108:2]
"Say (O Muhammad): Verily, my salaah (prayer), my sacrifice, myliving,
and my dying are for Allâh, the Lord of the 'Alameen (mankind, jinn
and all that exists)"
[al-An'aam 6:162].
In every religion there is prayer and sacrifice and no other acts of
worship could take their place. Hence if you give charityequivalent to
many times the price of the sacrifice offered in Hajj, it can never
take its place. The same is true of udhiyah (qurbaani). End quote.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said:
Offering the udhiyah (qurbaani) on the Muslim's behalf and on behalf
of the (living) members of his family is a confirmed Sunnah (Sunnah
mu'akkadah) for the one who is able to do it, and offering it isbetter
than giving its price in charity.
End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah, 11/419
If this relative is sick and in urgent need of treatment and
medicine,then helping him in his sickness and striving to find
treatment for him takes precedence over udhiyah, especially if his
sickness is severe and heis in urgent need of help, and there is no
oneamong his relatives or friends who can help him.
'Abd al-Razzaaq narratedin al-Musannaf (8156) from al-Thawri, from
'Imraan ibn Muslim, fromSuwayd ibn Ghaflah thathe said: I heard Bilaal
say: To give its price (i.e.,the price of the udhiyah)in charity to an
orphan or a debtor is dearer to me than sacrificing it. He(the
narrator) said: I do not know whether Suwayd said it by himself or it
is the wordsof Bilaal.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Hajj (i.e., voluntary Hajj) done in the prescribed manner is better
than charity that is not obligatory. But if he has relatives who are
in need, then giving charity to them is better,who need his charity
for his maintenance. But if both actions are voluntary, then Hajj is
better, because it is an act of worship that is both physical and
financial. By the same token, offering a sacrifice for 'aqeeqah or
udhiyah is better than giving its price in charity. End quote from
al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 5/382
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If it is a matter of choice between udhiyah and paying off debt on
behalf of a poor person, then paying off the debt is better,
especially if thedebtor is a relative.
End quote from Majmoo'Fataawa wa Rasaa'il Ibn 'Uthaymeen, 13/1496
And Allah knows best.

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THE LOVE OF GOOD SHOULD BE IN HARMONY WITH WHAT ALLAH LOVES

This principle is that the love of a believer for what is good, and
hishatred for what is evil, and his desire for the accomplishment of
the good and his desire for the avoidance and prevention of evil
should be in harmony with what Allah loves and hates. Allah loves all
that He has enjoined upon us in His shari'a , and dislikes all thatHe
has forbidden us in His shari'a . Furthermore, the action of the
believer in that which he loves (the good), and his avoidance
andopposition to that which he hates (the evil), must be to the extent
of his ability and his strength, for verily, Allah does not demand
from any of us more than what is within our ability. Allah says:
[Fear Allah (have taqwa of Allah) as much as you are able] Qur'an 64/16.
THE LOVE AND HATE OF THE HEART
What is upon the believer in terms of his actions must not be confused
with his obligations in terms of the actions of the heart. It is
obligatory upon the believer for his hatred of evil and his love of
good, and his desire to do good and his desire to oppose and avoid
evil to be perfect, complete, and without doubt or hesitation. Any
lack in this area is none other than a lack in faith ( imaan ). This
is in contrast with the actions of his body which is only within the
bounds of his ability.
When the will of the heart, its likes and dislikes are complete and
perfect (i.e. in harmony with the love and hate of Allah ta'ala) and
then the believer does of that all that is within his ability, he will
be given the reward of one who carried out the orders of Allah
perfectly. Some of the people have loves and hates which are not in
harmony with the love of Allah and His Prophet and the hates of Allah
and His Prophet, and this is a type of hawaa (the inclinations, lusts,
or tendencies of the self). If he follows them, then he is a follower
of hawaa. Allah said:
[And who is more astray than theone who follows his hawaa without any
guidance from Allah?] Qur'an 28/50
The origin of hawaa is that which the self loves, and that which the
self hates is a corollary of it.
WHAT EXACTLY IS HAWAA
The meaning of hawaa is the loving and the loathing which is in the
self. It is not in and of itselfblameworthy, since it is not under the
control of the person, rather what is blameworthy is the following if
these likes, desires and dislikes. Allah said to Dawood:
[O Dawood, we have made you a successor on the Earth, so rule between
the people with the truth, and do not follow hawaa lest it lead you
astray from the path of Allah.] Qur'an 38/26
And Allah said in another aya:
[And who is more astray than theone who follows his hawaa without
guidance from Allah?] Qur'an 28/50
The Prophet (sas) tells us in the hadith:
"Three things which save: fear of Allah in public and private,
moderation in poverty and in wealth, and speaking the truth when angry
and when contented.And three things which lead to destruction:
obedience to greed, following of hawaa , and a person's being pleased
with himself."
The love and the hate of which we are speaking brings about certain
"tastes" and feelings and desires in the presence of the loved or
hated thing. Whoever follows these desires and feelingswithout an
order from Allah and His Prophet, is the one described as the follower
of his hawaa . In fact, this may even reach the levelof shirk wherein
he takes as his god his own hawaa! (See Qur`an 43/25)
THE FOLLOWING OF HAWAA IN THE PREVIOUS RELIGIONS
The following of hawaa in matters pertaining to religion and worship
is more grievous and serious than the following of hawaa in matters of
ordinary worldly desires. The first of these is the condition of those
who became kuffar from the Christiansand the Jews and the
polytheists,as Allah said about them:
[And so, if they do not answer your call, know that they only follow
their own hawaa , and who is more astray than the one who follows his
own hawaa without guidance from Allah, andAllah does not guide those
who oppress.] Qur'an 28/50
And, in another verse, Allah said:
[(Allah) gives to you an analogy from your own selves: Do you have,
among that which your right hands possess (i.e. slaves) any partners
in that which Allah has given you such that they are equal to you. You
fear them as you fear one another. Thus, we explain the signs to a
people whounderstand. No, those who oppress follow their hawaa without
knowledge. Then, who will guide the one who Allah sends astray, and
they have no helpers.] Qur'an 30/28-29
And Allah said in another verse:
[(Allah) has explained for you thatwhich you have been forbidden inall
except cases of absolute necessity. Verily, many go astray via
(following) their own hawaa and without knowledge, and verily Allah is
most knowledgeable of the violators.] Qur'an 6/119.
And, in another verse, Allah said:
[Say: O, people of the book, do not introduce excesses into your deen
which are not of the truth. And do not follow the hawaa of apeople who
have already gone astray. They have led many people astray, and have
themselves become lost from thestraight path.] Qur'an 5/77.
And, Allah said:
[The Jews and the Christians will never be satisfied with you until
you follow their traditions and ways. Say: verily, the guidance of
Allah, that is the guidance. And if you follow their hawaa even
afterthe knowledge which has come to you, you will have no
protectornor any helper against Allah.] Qur'an 2/120.``
And, again in Sura Al-Baqarah, Allah said:
[And, if you follow their hawaa after the knowledge which has come to
you, verily, you are of theoppressors.] Qur'an 2/145.
Allah said:
[And judge between them with what Allah has sent down, and do not
follow their hawaa and beware of them lest they tempt you away from
some of what Allah has sent down to you.] Qur'an 5/49.
Thus whoever goes outside the dictates of the Qur'an and the Sunnah -
among those who are called "scholars" or"worshippers" are known as the
people of hawaa , just as the salaf , may Allah have mercy on them,
used to refer to them as " Ahlu -l-hawaa ) i.e. the people of hawaa .
This is because anyone who has not followed the knowledge has followed
his hawaa . What's more, knowledge of the deen (way, or religion) does
not come about except through the guidance of Allah with which He sent
His Prophet (sas). Thus, Allahsaid:
[And, verily many of them go astray by (following) their own hawaa and
without knowledge.] Qur'an 6/119.