Suffering in the path of Da'wah

Suffering is well nigh an inescapable phenomenon for the Islamic
movement of old and new, the reason being that Islam is a call to
rebel against the institutions, thoughts and customs of ignorance
(pre-Islamic era) in all its forms and shapes. This characteristic
which distinguishes Islam has made the Islamic movement more
susceptible to suffering.
Suffering is one of the most important factors of character-building
and selection in Islam. Theoretic training may have no value as long
as hardship and trial do not accompany it. Even faith is in need of
suffering to probe its depths and measure its extents. Allaah, the
Most Exalted, Says in the Quran (what means):
"And of the people are some whosay, "We believe in Allaah," but when
one [of them] is harmed for [the cause of] Allaah, they consider the
trial [i.e. harm] of the people as [if it were] the punishment of
Allaah. But if victory comes from your Lord, they say, "Indeed, We
were with you." Is not Allaah most knowingof what is within the
breasts of the worlds [i.e. all creatures]? And Allaah will surely
make evident those who believe, and He will surely make evident the
hypocrites." [Quran 29:10-11]
Thus, every claim must have its proof, and faith is a claim which
needs proof. Steadfastness in times of hardship is a manifestation of
faith and it is also the proof of its existence and its firmness.
Almighty Allaah Says (what means): "Do the people think that they will
be leftto say, We believe and they will not be tried? But We have
certainly tried those before them,and Allaah will surely make evident
those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars.…."
[Quran 29:2-3]
Thus was the decree of Allaah: that the truth should be in eternal
conflict with falsehood, and every time a ray of light emerges, the
forces of darkness gather to extinguish it. Allaah, The Exalted Says
(what means): "They want to extinguish the light of Allaah with their
mouths,but Allaah will perfect His light, although the disbelievers
dislike it." [Quran 61:8]
Since the beginning of the creation and the first of Prophets (may
Allaah exalt their mention), since the birth of good and evil, the
struggle between the two has been violent and frightful. But the
reality which keeps on recurring and which appears clear is that truth
is always victorious and falsehood ever fading. Allaah Almighty Says
(what means):
"And Our word [i.e. decree] has already preceded for Our servants, the
messengers. [That] indeed, they would be those given victory. And
[that] indeed, Our soldiers [i.e. the believers] will be those who
overcome." [Quran 37:171-173]
Some of the people may come to the Daa'iyah (caller to Islam) and say,
"You're doing tremendous work, persisting day and night. But the end
result is little and thepeople are abandoning you. Yet you see the
reasons that devastation and destruction overwhelm the majority of
them." This begins to ruin in an hour what the Daa'iyah builds in a
year!
Such talk may influence many who are not used to steep roads. Here
lies the role of patience. Being hasty in picking the fruit of Da'wah
is not conformable to patience which must be a characteristic of the
Daai`yah. TheDaa'iyah may be in a certain place, a school or
institute, he is forbidding the forbidden, spreading the Da'wah (call
to Islam) and speaking to many people, but he won't notice the change
himself, because it is coming gradually. Just as the father does not
notice the growth of his child whom he sees every morning and evening!
He is growing gradually! How many Du'aat (pl. of Daa'iyah) deserted a
certain place thinking that he'd had no influence, but after he left,
his absence became noticeable, and his influence thenappeared.
So, the Daa'iyah should not rush the results and the fruits of the
Da'wah, but he should strive and depend upon Allaah, The Exalted, and
realize that according to the logical settled experience from the
historical aspect, and the realistic aspect, that any truthful effort
expended will yield fruit. Because it hasn't happened that when a
person gave Da'wah, nobody at all responded to him, or when he
advised, nobody at alltook his advice, or when a scholar sat down
teaching, nobody at all came to learn. EveryDaa'iyah will find a
respondent. For things have not yet reached what Prophet Muhammad
warned us of concerning submissiveness to greed (stinginess), pursuit
of desires, influence of the worldly life, and admiration of one's
opinion. This has not yet happened to the entire Muslim nation. It may
be soon an individual level or in a specific region, but there remain
many who respond and accept the Da'wah, or listen to the advice of the
advisor, provided that he speaks with knowledge and wisdom.

A Muslim perspective on Christmas

Of course, there is also the problem of the children. They are
bombarded with numerous advertisements for toys and are essentially
brainwashed so that they should expect something"under the tree" on
Christmas Day. One must admit that the brightly lit, multicolored
Christmas tree is an attractive sight, made even more tempting when
there are numerous wrapped presents underneath it.
To Muslims, each and every thing we do is a part of our worship of the
One, Supreme God - nothing is excluded. We do not make any distinction
between the secular and the religious. Actually, the English term
religion does not convey the all-encompassing nature of the Arabic
term Deen. We might be branded as"Fundamentalists," but is there
anything else more basic (or"fundamental") than applying our absolute
moral code too consistently to everything we do?Isn't that the highest
standard?
The basis of our moral code is theQuran, the only intact Revelation,
and the strict authenticated observation of those who observed the
Prophet Muhammad known as the Hadeeth. In other words, we Muslims
follow the example of the Prophet Muhammad uponwhich we base our daily
life practices.
Strictly speaking, for Muslims there are two holidays, the two 'Eeds:
Namely, 'Eed al-Fitr - the festival of fast-breaking immediately after
the end of Ramadhaan, and 'Eed al-Ad'haa - the festival of sacrifice
during themajor pilgrimage time. I emphasize that we do not celebrate
birthdays (despite all the Western conventions to the contrary) - not
even the births of the prophets - including Muhammad, may Allaah exalt
their mention.
Muslims hold Jesus, in great respect as one of the greatest prophets.
However, they do not celebrate his birth or the birth of any other of
the prophets. Although it may seem intolerant to Christians that
Muslims do not celebrate or wish them well on their Christmas holiday,
it is out of respect to Jesus that we refuse to participate in its
practices. We cannot condone practices that in our view misrepresent
Jesus and help make him the focus of worship as a god figure. In
addition, the above evidence has shown that many of these practices
have no relationship whatsoever to Jesus and instead have pagan
origins.
We ask! Do we need to celebrate the winter solstice? Are we afraidthat
the sun will not come back to us in this cold, dark wintry period? Are
the pagan customs ofgift giving or the symbols of renewal (such as the
evergreens) a necessary reminder for us that spring will come again?
Is the materialism in this season, so evident in the West, something
worthy of emulation?
The Quran explains the most important things to celebrate. Allaah Says
(what means): "So be patient over what they say and exalt [Allaah]
with praise of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its
setting; and duringperiods of the night [exalt Him] and at the ends of
the day, that you may be stisfied. And do not extend your eyes toward
that by which We have given enjoyment to [some] categories of them,
[itsbeing but] the splendor of worldly life by which We test them. And
the provision of your Lord is better and more enduring." [Quran 20:
130-131]
To Muslims, Jesus is one of a series of prophets [25 of whom are
mentioned specifically in the Quran with the final one, or the seal of
them, being Muhammad ]. These prophets and messengers were sent to
specific groups of people, with the exemption of Muhammad whose
message was the final onesent (in the form of a revelation) for the
benefit of all mankind. Jesus was one such messenger sent to a
particular people, the Jews. Unfortunately, with the exception of the
Quran, none of these previous messages were preserved intact. More
specifically, we do not have the Gospel or Injeel according to Jesus :
Rather, we have a series of writings, most of which were fabricated
after the passing of Jesus and principally influenced by Paul.
Many Christian scholars, themselves, would concede that these writings
are historically of questionable accuracy and do notrepresent the
views of the early adherents of Jesus . In contrast, the Final
Revelation, theQuran, is precisely preserved and consists only of the
original Arabic text. Unlike the Christian Bibles (and I emphasize the
plurality of versions and differences between them), thereare no
revisions nor are there versions in other languages of the Quran.
Simply put, all Muslimshave the same original Arabic text as the
Quran.
When I was the Director of Da'wah (religious propagation) activities
at one of the Islamic centers in Chicago , I had the opportunity of
meeting with many visitors to our center, including missionary
students from the nearby Billy Graham headquarters in Wheaton ,
Illinois . Once, one of their students asked one of the Muslims who
had come to Friday prayer, "Do you accept the true teachings of
Jesus?" His reply (as all knowledgeable Muslims must answer) was
"definitely." The student then asked, "Then you accepted that he died
for your sins?" The Muslim replied, "Of course not!" He was not trying
to ridicule or goad the student on. On the contrary, he was showing
respect to the prophet Jesus as we know him from the Quran itself.
This can be very frustrating to a Christian, since he may not be aware
of the Islamic perspective of the life and role of Jesus . I want to
emphasize that Muslims deeply respect Jesus and his mother, the Virgin
Mary (may Allah be pleased with her), and hold them in high esteem.
There is nothing disparaging in this Revelation about them.
It is indeed unfortunate that a similar degree of respect is often not
shown towards Muslims and the final Prophet Muhammad . Since Muslims
respect them so highly, they naturally do not want to perform any
acts, which misrepresent them or their purpose or past life. The
Christianbeliefs have distorted their roles, thus, we as Muslims
cannot condone nor should we participate in those practices. I
emphasize, it is not out of disrespect to our Christian colleagues
that this is done, rather, it is out of respect and love to Jesus and
Mary and God Himself that we must refuse!
In conclusion, I pray that we remember what we are really supposed to
celebrate (i.e. the praises of The Supreme God) as stated in the Quran
(what means): " Do you not see that Allaah is exalted by whomever is
within the heavens and the earth and [by] the birds with wings spread
[in flight]? Each [of them] has known his [means of] prayer and
exalting [Him], and Allaah is Knowing of what they do. And to Allaah
belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and toAllaah is the
destination." [Quran 24: 41-42]

Ruling on leaving the Mushaf open when one has finished reading from it.Dought clear - ,

What is the ruling on leaving the Mushaf open?
Praise be to Allaah.
There is nothing wrong with leaving the Mushaf open if you want to
come back to read from it, unless that will lead toit being treated in
a disrespectful manner or getting dirt or dust or the like on it. In
that case it should be closed so as to protect it. However it is
better to close the Mushaf when you have finished reading from it, so
as to protect it from dust and the like. If there is no reason to
leave it open, then closing it is undoubtedly better.
Al-Hakeem at-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Another aspect of the sanctity of the Mushaf is that if it is put
down, it should not be left open and no other book should be placed on
top of it, so that it will always be above other books. End quote from
Nawaadir al-Usool, 3/254
Shaykh Sulaymaan al-Maajid (may Allah preserve him) was asked:
Is there any report to suggest that it is not allowed to leave the
Mushaf open when one goes and leaves it?
He replied:
We do not know of anything in Islam to suggest that it is not allowed
to leave the Mushaf open; similarly we do not know of anything in
custom to suggest that this is disrespectful towards it. Based on
that, there is nothing wrong with it, although it is preferable,in
order to be more careful with it, to close itso as to protect it from
any liquid or dust. And Allah knows best.

Greeting Christians on the occasion of their festivals.Dought clear - ,

What is the ruling on greeting Christians on the occasion of their
festivals by saying Kul sanah wa antum tayyibeen (roughly equivalent
to "many happy returns"), wishingthem well and hoping that they will
be good, i.e., that they will not annoy us with regard to our
religion, and not with the aim of congratulating them on their shirk,
as some shaykhs think?.
Praise be to Allaah.
What is forbidden with regard to congratulatingthe Christians on the
occasion of their festivals is expressing joyto them, being overly
polite and showing approval of their actions, even if that is only
expressed outwardly without feeling it inwardly.
The prohibition concerns those who show any kind of participation or
approval, such as giving gifts, verbal greetings, taking time off
work, making food, going to places of leisure, and other customs of
celebration. Having any intention other than what is said (when
congratulating them) does not make it permissible. The outward
appearance of these actions is sufficientto say that it is prohibited.
It is well known that most of those who take a lenient attitude
towards such matters donot intend to join the Christians in their
shirk; rather what motivates them in some cases is showing politeness,
and in other cases it is shyness, but politeness with regard to
falsehoodis not permissible; ratherwhat is required is to denounce the
evil and strive to change it.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in
Majmoo' al-Fataawa (2/488):
It is not permissible for the Muslims to imitate them in any way that
is unique to their festivals, whether it be food, clothes, bathing,
lightingfires or refraining from usual work or worship, and so on. And
it is not permissible to give a feast or to exchange gifts or to sell
things thathelp them to celebrate their festivals, or to let children
and others play the games that are played on their festivals, or to
adorn oneself or put up decorations.
In general, (Muslims) are not allowed to single outthe festivals of
the kuffaar for any of these rituals or customs. Rather the day of
their festivals is just an ordinary day for the Muslims, and they
shouldnot single it out for any activity that is part of what the
kuffaar do on these days.
As for what the Muslims do deliberately, that wasregarded as makrooh
bya number of the earlier and later generations. Asfor singling out
(such days) for the things mentioned above, there is no dispute
concerningthat among the scholars;in fact some of the scholars are of
the view that the one who does these things is a kaafir, because it
involves venerating the symbols of kufr. And some of them said that
the one who slaughters a sheep on the day of their festival, it is as
if he slaughtered a pig.
'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Aas said: The one who follows the tradition
of non-Muslimsand observes their Nawrooz and Mahrajaan(festivals), and
imitates them until he dies like that, will be gathered with them on
the Day of Resurrection.
Ameer al-Mu'mineen 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab, the Sahaabah and all
theimams of the Muslims stipulated that they should not celebrate
their festivals openly in the lands of the Muslims; rather they should
do that privately in their houses.
One of the early generations said concerning the verse in which Allah,
may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): "And those
who do not witness falsehood" [al-Furqaan 25:72]: (This refers to) the
festivals of the kuffaar; if that has to do with witnessing them, and
not actually doing anything, then how about doing things that are
unique to those festivals? It was narratedfrom the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) in al-Musnad and as-Sunan that he
said: "Whoever imitates a people is one of them." According to another
version he said: "He is not one of us who imitates others." This is
ajayyid isnaad. If this is the case with regard to imitating them, and
if this has to do with customs, then how about imitating them in
matters that are more serious than that? The majority of imams regard
it as makrooh, either in the sense of it being prohibited or in the
sense of it being discouraged, to eat meatthat they slaughter at the
time of their festivalsand sacrifices, and they include that under the
heading of that which is sacrificed for something other than Allah and
thatwhich has been sacrificed on stone altars(for idols). Similarly
they also forbade helping them in their festivals bygiving gifts or
selling to them, and they said: It is not permissible for the Muslims
to sell to the Christians anything for the purpose of their festivals,
whether that be meat, blood or garments; they should not hire out any
mounts to them or help them with any of their religious affairs,
becausethat comes under the heading of venerating their shirk and
helping them in their kufr. Thosein positions of authority should
forbid the Muslims to do that, because Allah, may He beexalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning): "Help you oneanother in Al-Birr and
At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one
another in sin and transgression"[al-Maa'idah 5:2]. Moreover, it is
not permissible for the Muslim to help them in drinking alcohol by
pressing the juice and soon, so how about helping in that which is one
of the symbols of kufr?! If it is not permissible for him to help them
himself, then how about if he is the one who is actually doing that?!
End quote.
In several answers on our website we have discussed this matter and
explained the reason for the prohibition.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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