3] The ahaadeeth about the Mahdi and the descent of the Messiah (peace be upon him) areno excuse not to strive and do good deeds

3]Some people understand from the ahaadeeth aboutthe Mahdi and the
descentof the Messiah 'Eesa ibn Maryam (Jesus the son of Mary, peace
be upon him) that these are an excuse not to strive for Islam, so they
should sit and wait until the Mahdi appears orthe Messiah descends for
the glory of Islam and theMuslims to be restored. What is your opinion
on this understanding?.
Praise be to Allaah.
This miserable state that the Muslim ummah is in nowadays is very
shameful. All the Muslims are responsible for settingthings straight,
but some Muslims fail to strive, relying on their hopes andavoiding
correcting the sorry state of the ummah on the grounds that this was
caused by those who came before us and will be set right by those who
come after us. So they do not strive to support the religion of
Allaah, on the grounds that the Mahdi is the one who will do that.
This is escaping into hopes whilst failing to putinto effect the means
prescribed in sharee'ah. Allaah says (interpretationof the meaning):
"It will not be in accordance with your desires (Muslims), nor those
of the people of theScripture (Jews and Christians), whosoever works
evil, will have the recompense thereof, and he will not find any
protector or helper besides Allaah"
[al-Nisa' 4:123]
This negativity which some of the Muslims are suffering from nowadays
can have no basis in the texts of sharee'ah; rather it is due to
misunderstanding, helplessness and laziness, and evasion of
responsibility.
Allaah has commanded the Muslims to strive and work for this religion,
to call people to Allaah, to debate with the kuffaar and call them
with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and to fight them until there
will no longer be any shirk on earth. Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and
polytheism, i.e. worshipping others besides Allaah), and the religion
(worship) will all be for Allaah Alone [in thewhole of the world]. But
ifthey cease (worshipping others besides Allaah), then certainly,
Allaah is All-Seer of what they do"
[al-Anfaal 8:39]
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Here Allaah commands us to fight the kuffaar until there is no more
fitnah i.e.shirk, and the religion (worship) is all for Allaah, i.e.,
until the religion of Allaah prevails over all other religions.
This command does not apply only to some times and not others, rather
the Muslims of all times and places are commanded to do this.
Undoubtedly working for Islam and to establish it on earth requires
the Muslims to strive hard andpursue the means that lead to that.
Some people misunderstand the ahaadeeth that have beennarrated about
the emergence of the Mahdi and the descent of the Messiah 'Eesa ibn
Maryam (peace be upon him), so they are passive and do not strive, and
they sit and wait for the Mahdi to appear or the Messiah to come down,
and they do not call people to Allaah or strive to make the word of
Allaah supreme. But Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) have commanded us to take the appropriate means
and strive hard on earth.
Allaah says (interpretationof the meaning):
"O you who believe! Take your precautions, and either go forth (on an
expedition) in parties, or go forth all together"
[al-Nisa' 4:71]
"And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds
ofwar (tanks, planes, missiles, artillery) to threaten the enemy of
Allaah and your enemy"
[al-Anfaal 8:60]
"He it is Who has made the earth subservient to you (i.e. easy for you
to walk, to live and to do agriculture on it); so walk in the path
thereof and eat of His provision. And to Him will be the Resurrection"
[al-Mulk 67:15]
"and for this let (all) thosestrive who want to strive"
[al-Mutaffifeen 83:26]
"For the like of this let theworkers work"
[al-Saaffaat 37:61]
"And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it, with the
necessary effort due for it (i.e. does righteous deeds of Allaah's
obedience) while he is a believer (in the Oneness of Allaah Islamic
Monotheism) — then suchare the ones whose striving shall be
appreciated, (thanked andrewarded by Allaah)"
[al-Isra' 17:19]
"And take a provision (with you) for the journey,but the best
provision is At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness)"
[al-Baqarah 2:197]
Allaah commanded Maryam to take the appropriate means when she was at
her weakest, as He said (interpretation of the meaning):
"And shake the trunk of date palm towards you, it will let fall fresh
ripe dates upon you"
[Maryam 19:25]
:->

mulla nasurudin

Once Nasruddin took his students tohis house and insisted they should
have lunch with him. Moment later, he called his wife and ordered her
to cook Palaw for the guests as soon as possible. His wife said, "You
order so simply as ifyou have rice and ghee in the house."
Nasruddinbecame very angry and said: "Can't you at least bring empty
plates? His wife accepted and a few minutes later brought the plates
to Nasruddin. He took the empty platesand placed them in front of the
guests. "Friends!" he said, "If I had bought rice and ghee, I would
have brought you an oilyPalaw in these plates."
Nasruddin was looking at the image of the moon in a well. He thought
it was a recompense to take out the moon from the well. Therefore, he
threw a rope inside the well and swung it a few times. Incidentally,
the tip of the rope got caught to a big stone. Hetried to take the
rope out. Hence he pulled it with a lot of force. The rope tore off
and he fell on his back to the ground. When he looked at the sky, he
saw the moon and said, "Doesn't matter. My efforts were not wasted.
Though I faced a lot of difficulties, I finally succeeded to rescue
the moon."
Once Nasruddin went to a hair dresser to get his head shaved.
Incidentally, the barber was inexperienced. The moment he cut a part
of his scalp, he would put apiece of cotton on the wound. Finally
Nasruddin became angryand told the barber, "Youplanted cotton on half
of my head. I would like to grow flax in the remaimng half."

1b] Happiness?

1b]
is true. Islam encourages people to moderate in spending, being
neither excessive nor misers.
During times when a lot ofsocieties complain about cold heartedness,
materialism, selfishness and so on, we find that Islam has proven
remediesfor all of these problems.
This summarized introduction should make it clear that Islam is a
logical religion that can be easily understood by all people. The
doors to Islam are wide open and do not shut for anyone looking
toenter.
Understanding all of Islam's teachings in a shortarticle is
impossible. However, briefly discussingsome of its fundamental tenets
should assist in further clarifying the religion for those who are
interested.
All of Islam's regulations and teachings are important, but some have
precedence over others. There are six essential articles of faith that
one must believe in, and five pillars that one's faith must be built
upon./
Please remember us in your duas too.

1a] Happiness?

1a]
life - attaining prestigious ranks/positions and achieving the highest
academic degrees.
4. Among the merits of Islam is that it is a comprehensive religion.
Every aspect of a person's life is managed by Islam. There is not a
problem except that a solution for it lies in Islam, which makes it
possible to embrace and practice in every time and place. How can this
not be the case in such a well organized religion that has guidelines
and positive instruction for every aspect of life including: conflict
resolution, buying and selling, social and marital relations,
greetings, public etiquettes, and even how a person eats, sleeps and
dresses. These practices have not been addressed generally, but rather
in precise detail, causing the mind to wonder in amazement. Know that
Islam even provides direction on how to wear and remove footwear. It
encourages people to use their right hand when eating, drinking,
shaking hands, and when giving and receiving items. As for disliked
affairs such as using the bathroom, the left hand is to be used.
Islam also has wonderful instructions regarding going to sleep and
wakingup. When two Muslims meet, Islam directs them on how they should
greet each other; a rider should initiate greeting the pedestrian, the
youth should initiate greeting the elderly, and a small group should
initiate greeting a larger group. These are but a few of Islam's many
comprehensive guidelines for all aspects of life.
5. Another of Islam's meritsis that it establishes good for mankind in
all its regulations and safeguardsthem from evil. It is man himself
who benefits from these regulations. Islam's prohibition of alcohol
and drugs for example is only because of the great harm they cause to
a person's physical and mental health. You can witness the state of a
drunken man, no longer human except in appearance. A lotof murders,
disputes, traffic accidents and rapes would not have taken place were
it not for consuming these mind-altering products.
Islam's prohibition of premarital sex relieves societies of
destructive diseases (such as AIDS and other STDs), immoral behavior,
and the existence of a generation of illegitimate children. This
generation is often deprived of a mother's love and a father's
upbringing which can lead them to become burdensome on society. Islam
prohibits women from displaying themselves publicly. This isbecause
Islam considers women to be valued, preserved pearls; not somecheap
merchandise to be displayed for all to see. It does so to protect them
from the wolves of mankind - those who are only concerned with
satisfying their lusts, even if it is at the cost of a woman's honor,
nobility, status, and purity.
On the other hand, Islam permits all harmless and beneficial drinks.
It also permits married couples toenjoy one another within a happy
home.
In summary, Islam has not eliminated freedoms and desires. Rather, it
regulatesthem for the benefit of mankind and the society at large.
6. A radiant aspect of Islamis that it pays a great deal of attention
to values, character, and praiseworthy manners, while prohibiting
mankindfrom oppression, transgression and bad character. Islam is a
religion of love, unity and mercy. It defines an individual's
relationship with his parents, relatives, neighbors, friends and all
people. Islam embeds the best of manners in those who embrace it and
prevents them from living selfishly. It encourages its followers to
help others and take others' feelings into consideration - especially
the poor, orphans, elderly and widows. They all have rights in Islam
that must not be taken lightly by Muslims. Muslims shouldn'tfeel like
they are bestowing favors upon others when giving them their due
rights, rather these rights are obligations upon Muslims. It is
considered to be a great sin in Islam for one to go to sleep with a
full stomach knowing that his neighbor is hungry.
Islam even prohibits two people from whispering toeach other in the
presence of a third, taking his feelings into consideration.Islam goes
even further than that, obligating kind treatment to animals and
prohibiting harming them.More specifically, Islam prohibits
slaughtering an animal while another watches, or sharpening a knife
while it is watching, so that it is not tormented along with being
slaughtered.
Truthfulness, trustworthiness, bravery, generosity, humility, abiding
by promises, visiting the sick, attending funerals, being dutiful to
parents, visiting relatives and neighbors, and striving to help others
are all etiquettes that are encouraged by Islam.
On the other hand, Islam strictly prohibits oppression, lying,
conceitedness, envy, and insulting or betraying others. It is
impermissible in Islam to speak ill of a person in his absence, even
if what is being said is true.
:->