Constructive Positivism

Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) said, "If the Hour (the dayof Resurrection)
is about to be established and one of you was holding apalm shoot, let
him take advantage of even one second before the Hour isestablished to
plant it."
The spirit of constructive positivism and active endeavor is one of
the principles stressed by Sunnah. This spirit shouldcontrol the
Muslim's mind, senses, thought, and conduct. It symbolizes interest in
deeds rather than verbal eloquence and rhetoric. It lays great
importance on construction rather than destruction, and in lighting
candles rather than cursing darkness.
This positive orientation is quite evident in the above hadith, that
calls for exerting one's utmostuntil the very last moment of one's
life even though the Last Hour is established or is about to be. Now,
why should a Muslim use this precious moment in planting a palm shoot?
Why should he busy himself with it, when the Last Hour is established
or is about to be, notwithstanding the fact that neither he nor anyone
else is going to benefit from it? How come he wastes that invaluable
second of the establishment of the Hour in planting a palm shoot that
will not yield before years to come?
This tiny shoot is a symbol of the value of activity per se. A Muslim
worships Allah through his work in constructing and developing the
land. He is to keep on working until his last breath.
This positive orientation is evident in elevating the mastery of one's
work to the level of obligation and worship. Encouraging Muslims to
attain the highest degreeof quality and perfection in their work, the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told us that Allah likes one
to perfect one's work, no matter how bigor small this work.
This principle appears in many hadiths that prohibit cursing and
swearing. Even with regard to Satan, the open enemy to humans, we are
ordered not to waste a moment in cursing him; rather, we should busy
ourselves with more useful and fruitful acts such as remembering Allah
and seeking His support and help. Abu Hurairah reported that the
Prophet said, "Do not abuse Satan, but seek Allah's Refuge from his
evil" (Sahih al-Jami` as-Saghir).
Cursing Satan is futile. Instead, one should remember Allah the
Exalted and seek His refuge from the evils of Satan. One of the most
famous hadiths concerning this matter is as follows: Abu Tamimah
Al-Hujaimi reported: One day as I was riding behind the Prophet on a
donkey, it stumbled and Ishouted, "Let Satan perish!" The Prophet
said, "Do not say 'let Satan perish,' for if you say so he will feel
important and haughty and he will say, 'I thwarted him with my power!'
Instead say, 'In the name of Allah,' so that he will (feel humiliated
and) be smaller than a fly" (Sahih at-Targhib wat-Tarhib).
This means that the devil becomes puffed up with pride whenever one
curses him or invokes Allah against him. However, when one remembers
Allah and ignores Satan, then Satanfeels dwarfish and grovels.
Certainly, pronouncing "in the name of Allah" is a positive act
because it means that one is remembering Allah and seeking His refuge;
whereas saying "let Satan perish" is a negative act, as it does not
offer solutions nor achieve anything; thus Satan rejoices on
hearingit.

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Do Not Expect Gratitude From Anyone

Almighty Allah has created His servants so that they may worship and
remember Him, and He has provided sustenance for them so that they may
be gratefulto Him. Nevertheless, many have worshipped other than Him,
and the majority of people are thankful not to Him, but to others.
Indeed, the characteristic of ingratitude is widespread among human
beings. So, do notbe dismayed when you find that others forget your
favors or disregard your kind acts. Some people might even despise you
and make you an enemy for no other reason than that you have shown
them kindness.
Almighty Allah says:
(And they could not find any cause to bear a grudge, except that Allah
and His Messenger had enriched them of His Bounty.] (ِAt-Tawbah 9:74)
From among the ever-repeating pages of history is a story of a father
and his son: The father raised his son, fed him, clothed him, and
taught him; he would stay up nights so that his son could sleep, stay
hungry so that his son could eat, and toil so thathis son could feel
comfort. And when the son became older and stronger, he rewarded his
father with disobedience, disrespect,and contempt.
So, be at peace if you arerequited with ungratefulness for the good
you have done. Rejoice in your knowledge that you will be rewarded
from the One Who has unlimited treasures at His disposal. This is not
to say that youshould refrain from performing acts of kindness toward
others; the point is that you should be mentally prepared for
ingratitude.
Perform acts of charity seeking solely Allah's pleasure, because with
this attitude you will assuredly be successful. The ungrateful person
cannot really harm you. Praise Allah that that person is the
transgressor and that you are the obedient servant. Also, remember
that the hand that gives is better than the hand that receives.
Allah, the Most-High, says:
[We feed you seeking Allah's Countenance only.We wish for neither
reward nor thanks from you.] (Al-Insan 76:9)
Many people are shockedat the nature of ingratitude in others, as
though they had never come across this verse and others like it, such
as:
[And when harm touches a person, he invokes Us [Allah], lying down on
hisside or sitting or standing. But when We have removed his harm from
him, he passes on his way as if he had never invoked Us for a harm
that touched him.] (Yunus 10:12)
Hence, do not be in a state of agitation if you give someone a pen as
a gift and he or she uses it to satirize you, or if you give someone a
walking stick to lean upon and hestrikes you with it. As pointed out
earlier, most human beings are ungrateful to their Lord, so what kind
of treatment should you and I expect?

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Red Fort Complex India

The Red Fort Complex was built as the palace fort of Shahjahanabad –
the new capital of the fifth Mughal Emperor of India, Shah Jahan.
Named for its massive enclosing walls of red sandstone, it is adjacent
to an older fort, the Salimgarh, built byIslam Shah Suri in 1546, with
which it forms the Red Fort Complex. The private apartments consist of
a row of pavilions connected by a continuous waterchannel, known as
the Nahr-i-Behisht (Stream of Paradise). The Red Fort is considered to
represent the zenith of Mughal creativity which, under the Shah Jahan,
was brought to a new level of refinement. The planning of the palace
is based on Islamic prototypes, but each pavilion reveals
architectural elements typical of Mughal building, reflecting a fusion
of Persian, Timurid and Hindu traditions The Red Fort's innovative
planning and architectural style, including the garden design,
strongly influenced later buildings and gardens in Rajasthan, Delhi,
Agra and further afield. (© UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

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Signs of Allah in Honey Bees

The bactericide (bacteria-killing) property of honey is named "the
inhibition effect". Experiments conducted on honey show that its
bactericideproperties increase twofold when diluted with water. It is
very interesting to note that newly born bees in the colony are
nourished with diluted honey by the bees responsible for their
supervision - as if they know this feature of the honey.
When a flower has already been visited, thehoneybee can understand
that anotherbee has earlier consumed the nectar of that flower, and
leave the flower immediately. This way, it saves both time and energy.
Well, how does the bee understand, without checking the flower, that
the nectar has earlier been consumed? This is made possible because
the bees which visited the flower earliermarked it by leaving a drop
on it with a special scent. Whenever a new bee looks in on the
sameflower, it smells the scent and understands that the flower is of
no use and so goes on towards another flower. Thus, bees do not waste
time on the same flower.
Honeybees are one of science's great mysteriesbecause they have
remained unchanged for20 million years. That is abig blow to the
evolutionists.

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