“Lack of Trust Damages Love”

"People not loving one another is one of the worst problems of our
day. Without trust, people regard one another as threats. They
regard one another as dangerous. For example, they can easily attack
one another on the streets. Their anger can explode at any moment.
But love happens when there is trust. Love happens when people are
valued and when there is compassion and when there is forgiveness .
If everything about someone makes you angry, if you look for
defects in everything, then you cannot love anyone. One must seek
beauty in everything and see the best in everything. Then we can
love very much. We must look for the best in everything."

Peace And Love Are The Essence Of Islam

The Qur'an is the true Book revealed to people as a guide to the
true path and in this Book, Allah commands man to adopt moral
perfection in the light of Islamic tenets. This morality is based
upon concepts such as love, compassion, understanding and mercy.
The word "Islam" is derived from the word meaning "peace" in Arabic.
Islam is a religion revealed to mankind with the intention of
presenting a peaceful life through which the infinite compassion and
mercy of Allah manifest on earth. Allah calls all people to Islamic
morals through which compassion, mercy, peace and love can be
experienced all over the world. Allah addresses believers as
follows:
O You who believe! Enter absolutely into peace (Islam ). Do not
follow in the footsteps of satan. He is an outright enemy to you.
(Surat al-Baqara, 208)
As the verse above suggests, Islam is a religion purely based on
love and compassion. The Qur'an emphasizes a love that stems from
faith and has a profound effect on the soul. Altruism, fortitude,
generosity, care and protection all fall within the scope of the
concept of love revealed in the Qur'an. This being the case, Islam
intrinsically calls for peace and fosters a life in absolute
sincerity and honesty before Allah. Therefore it is vitally important
for an individual to live by the religion of Islam to be a Muslim
with his own will and aspiration and observe Allah's commands and
advise from heart and soul through personal conscientious
contentment.
This tenet is the basis of Islam which is described by the verse:
There is no compulsion where the religion is concerned. (Surat al-Baqara: 256)
As stated in the verse, no-one can be compelled to live by Islamic
morals. Conveying the existence of Allah and the morals of the
Qur'an to other people is a duty that believers are charged with.
Muslims who desire to perform their duty spread the message of
religion in order to guide other people. They instruct goodness and
rule out evil as to Allah's provision to " command what is good and
forbid what is wrong " and call people to the path of Allah with
words of purity. Meanwhile they never force them, for they know
that it is only Allah Who guides people to the right way. This is
related in the following verse:
You cannot guide those you would like to but Allah guides those He
wills. He has best knowledge of the guided. (Surat al-Qasas, 56)
The Qur'an also provides an environment where people can fully enjoy
freedom of thought and freedom of religion and allows people to
live by the faith and values they believe in. According to Islam,
everyone has the right to live freely by his beliefs, whatever they
may be. Anyone who wants to found a church, a synagogue or a mosque
must be free to do so. In this sense, freedom of religion, or
freedom of belief, is one of the basic tenets of Islam. There is
always freedom of religion wherever the moral values of the Qur'an
prevail.
Indeed, freedom of thought, belief and expression are at the heart
of Qur'anic moral values. Therefore, true freedom of belief can
prevail only when the moral values of the Qur'an are followed.
Islam is a religion that offers freedom of thought, worship and
expression, protects people's all kinds of rights and brings with it
true freedom.
That is why Muslims also treat Jews and Christians, described in
the Qur'an as "the People of the Book," with great justice, love
and compassion. Allah says in the Qur'an:
"Allah does not forbid you from being good to those who have not
fought you in the religion or driven you from your homes, or from
being just towards them. Allah loves those who are just." (Surat
al-Mumtahana, 8)
Muslims who share the same basic values believe in the need to act
together with Christians and Jews. They therefore strive to
eliminate prejudices stemming from provocations by unbelievers and
fanatics. Jews, Christians and Muslims strive together to spread
moral virtues across the world. They base themselves on the
principles of love, respect, toleration, understanding, harmony and
collaboration with the People of the Book.
Allah also provides Muslims the rationale of this approach in the
Qur'an. Allah explicitly states that the existence of people from
different faiths and dissenting opinions is something that we have
to acknowledge and welcome heartily, for this is how He created
and predestined humankind in this world:
We have appointed a law and a practice for every one of you. Had
Allah willed, He would have made you a single community, but He
wanted to test you regarding what has come to you. So compete with
each other in doing good. Every one of you will return to Allah and
He will inform you regarding the things about which you differed.
(Surat al-Ma'ida, 48)
In acknowledgment of this fact, Muslims have an inner love and
compassion for people of all faiths, races and nations, for they
consider them as the manifestations of Allah in this world and treat
them with an heartfelt respect and love. This is the very basis of
communities administered by Islamic morality.
While talking about a peaceful society, "security" is a vital
concept to focus on. Unless security prevails, peace can never be
attained. In this sense, Islam again brings about the preconditions
for peace, and the only way to ensure security is "entering into
Islam", that is, as stated above, living by the values of the
Qur'an. This fact is related in the verse Surat al-Baqara, 208:
O You who believe! Enter absolutely into peace (Islam). Do not follow
in the footsteps of satan. He is an outright enemy to you.
The values of the Qur'an hold a Muslim responsible for treating all
people, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, kindly and justly, protecting
the needy and the innocent and "preventing the dissemination of
mischief". Mischief comprises all forms of anarchy and terror that
remove security, comfort and peace. As Allah says in a verse, "Allah
does not love corruption". (Surat al-Baqara, 205)
The concept of love as revealed in the Qur'an is much different from
what people generally understand as love. The love taught in the
Qur'an is the true love based on love of Allah and on His approval.
It is never weakened despite being tested on many times and can
withstand time, difficulties, deficiencies and errors.
There is one aspect of love that people are unaware of: It is Allah
Who bestows love on hearts. One can only attain true and lasting
love by striving to earn the approval of Allah, Who inspires love in
people's hearts. Only people who love Allah above all else and who
make no concessions in exhibiting the moral character that He
desires love one another with genuine respect and love.

Islam Condemns All Acts Of Terror and Violence, and So It Does With The Boston Attack

The recent terrorist attack on the Boston Marathon in the USA is
condemned by all true Muslims. We must first state that Islam
prohibits all violence and assaults. The Koran, the essential
reference point of Islam, contains several statements on the
subject.
This terrorist act, in which three people lost their lives and
hundreds were injured, was a savage act of misguided foolishness
designed to set the Western and Islamic worlds against one another.
Such ruthless acts have been used many times in different countries
to try and give the West the impression that Islam is a faith that
regards violence and terror as legitimate. The September 11 th
attacks, again carried out in the USA, were certainly the worst of
these assaults. Immediately after those attacks, numerous people –
including certain politicians and religious figures – issued
statements saying that Islam is a religion that supports terror;
some even encouraged a religious war against the Muslim world. So
it's safe to say that those acts were to some extent successful.
Today we are again hearing statements from various bigots,
extremists and some media organizations in the USA encouraging
violence against Muslims and their isolation from society. We hope
that the American people will be on their guard against such
incitement and will recognize them as crude acts of provocation and
demagoguery.
The word Islam means " peace and ease." It is inconceivable for a
faith that means that to encourage violence and hatred. In the
Koran, verse 32 of Surat al-Ma'ida states quite clearly that someone
who kills one person for no reason has committed a crime as awful
as if he had killed all mankind. The passage in question refers to
the killing of anyone, of whatever faith or race. In other words, a
Muslim will not kill a Christian or a Jew or an atheist. Only if a
Muslim's own life is in danger can he use force against someone
else, and then only in self-defense. The use of violence for any
other reason than self-defense violates the principles of faith of
Islam.
The Koran contains many passages encouraging love and affection.
The following words from verse 159 of Surah Al 'Imran, "… It is a
mercy from God that you were gentle with them …" makes it abundantly
clear that Islam is based on treating people with kindness.
Whoever claims to be a Muslim and says that the faith advocates acts
of terror or violence is either an agent provocateur claiming to
be a Muslim, or someone who is wholly ignorant of the faith. Someone
who says such things out of ignorance will mend his ways if told what
the Koran truly says. People can only be properly informed about
Islam if no credence is attached to provocation. If everyone knows
that Islam views violence and hatred as unacceptable there will be
no more issues for provocateurs or extremists to rage about.
There are people trying to incite hostility toward Islam in the
Christian and Jewish world, and there are also people trying to
incite hostility toward Christianity and Judaism in the Islamic
world. These people are bigoted fanatics who issue provocative
statements based not on the Koran, but on hadiths they fabricate
themselves. This is a very serious and a very real problem in the
Islamic world, and we cannot simply dismiss it. All true Muslims
are deeply uneasy at such people being regarded as members of the
Islamic world and representatives of the faith because these
people have nothing to do with the values espoused by Islam. They
have deprived themselves of fine feelings such as love, affection
and compassion. They are filled with hatred and rage, not only for
members of other faiths, but also for most Muslims from different
sects. They may hate someone they have never met solely because he
belongs to a different group. This is a perverse and unacceptable
perspective for Muslims.
Causing members of different faiths and/or ethnicities to fall out
and inciting conflict among them has been a technique successfully
employed by those wishing to spread war throughout the course of
history. Yet this world is wide and fertile enough for everyone to
live in happiness and peace and well-being. There is no real reason
for conflict or resorting to violence. All the supposed reasons for
war and conflict are hollow ruses.
It is much, much easier to live in peace and love than in conflict
and war. For example, it is unacceptable for either Palestinians or
Israelis to have to live behind walls in fear of bombs, rockets and
other weapons. This plight of these two peoples, one descended from
the Prophet Ishmael and the other from the Prophet Jacob (peace be
upon them both), is a disgrace on all mankind.
Our hope is that people with radical views will ultimately fade away
within the moderate, loving and respectful views held by rational
people – historically, radical movements inevitably burn out or
destroy themselves – but for that to happen it is absolutely
essential for sensible people in the Islamic, Christian and Judaic
worlds to act as one in a spirit of solidarity. An alliance of good
people is essential. Otherwise, neither terror nor acts of violence
can ever be entirely overcome.

Evening Duas 3

اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ ، خَلَقْتَنِي
وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ ، وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ
أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ
عَلَيَّ وَأَبُوءُ بِذَنْبِي ، فَاغْفِرْ لِي فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ
الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
Translation
The Prophet said "The master supplication (most superior way) to ask
for forgiveness from Allah is:
"O Allah, You are my Lord, none has the right to be worshipped except
You, You created me and I am Your slave and I abide to Your covenant
and promise as best as I can, I seek refuge with You from the evil of
which I have committed. I acknowledge Your favour upon me and I
acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for verily none can forgive sin
except You."
(The prophet then) said: "If somebody says it during the day with firm
faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be
from the people of Paradise; and if somebody says it at night with
firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be from the
people of Paradise."
Transliteration
allaahumma anta rabbiy laa ilaaha illaa anta, khalaqtanee wa ana
‛abduka, wa ana ‛alaa ‛ahdika wa wa‛dika masta-ṭa‛tu a‛oodhu bika min
sharri maa ṣana‛tu, aboo'u laka bi ni‛matika ‛alayya wa aboo'u bi
dhambee, faghfir lee fa innahu laa yaghfir-udh-dhunooba illaa ant
Sources: Bukhari No# 6306, 6323; Abu Dawud No# 5070; At-Tirmidhi
No# 3393; An-Nasa'i No# 5522; Ibn Majah No# 3872