For children, - Hereafter Preparation: Clever King Story, a Real Life Story

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There was a country long time ago where the people would change a king every year. The person who would become the king had to agree to a contract that he would be sent to an island after his one year of being a king.
One king finished his term and it was time for him to go to the island and live there. The people dressed him up in expensive clothes and put him on an elephant and took him around the cities to say goodbye to all the people. This was the moment of sadness for all the kings who ruled for one year. After saying farewell, the people took the king with a boat to the remote island and left him there.
On their way back, they discovered a ship that had sunk just recently. They saw a young man who survived by holding on to a floating piece of wood. As they needed a new king, they picked up the young man and took him to their country. They requested him to be a king for a year. First he refused but later he agreed to be a king. People told him about all the rules and regulations and that how he will be sent to an island after one year.
After three days of being a king, he asked the ministers if they could show him the island where all the other kings were sent. They agreed and took him to the island. The island was covered with thick jungles and sounds of vicious animals were heard coming out of them. The king went little bit inside to check. Soon he discovered the dead bodies of all the past kings. He understood that as soon as they were left in the island, the animals came and killed them.
The king went back to the country and collected 100 strong workers. He took them to the island and instructed them to clean the jungle, remove all the deadly animals and cut down all the excess trees. He would visit the island every month to see how the work was progressing. In the first month, all the animals were removed and many trees were cut down. In the second month, the whole island was cleaned out. The king then told the workers to plant gardens in various parts of the island. He also took with himself useful animals like chickens, ducks, birds, goats, cows etc. In the third month, he ordered the workers to build big houses and docking stations for ships. Over the months, the island turned into a beautiful place.
The young king would wear simple clothes and spend very little from his earnings as a king. He sent all the earnings to the island for storage. When nine months passed like this, the king called the ministers and told them:
"I know that I have to go the island after one year, but I would like to go there right now." But the ministers didn't agree to this and said that he has to wait for another 3 months to complete the year.
3 months passed and now it was a full year. The people dressed up the young king and put him on an elephant to take him around the country to say goodbye to others. However, this king is unusually happy to leave the kingdom.
People asked him, "All the other kings would cry at this moment and why are you laughing?"
He replied, "Don't you know what the wise people say? They say that when you came to this world as a baby, you were crying and everyone was smiling. Live such a life that when you are die, you will be smiling and everyone around you will be crying. I have lived that life. While all the other kings were lost into the luxuries of the kingdom, I always thought about the future and planned for it. I turned the deadly island into a beautiful abode for me where I can stay peacefully."
The moral lesson from this story is about how we should live our life. The life of this world is to prepare for the life hereafter. In this life, we shouldn't get lost into the deceiving and attractive things of this world and forget about what is to come in the afterlife. Rather, even if we are kings, we should live a simple life like our beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad (saww) and save all our enjoyments for the hereafter. May Allah make it easy for us all. Amin.
Noble Qur'anSays: Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with Allah (alone). It is He Who sends down rain, and He Who knows what is in the wombs. Nor does any one know what it is that he will earn on the morrow: Nor does any one know in what land he is to die. Verily with Allah is full knowledge and He is acquainted (with all things). (31:34)
Noble Qur'an urges us to prepare for tomorrow: O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and let every soul look to what (provision) He has sent forth for the morrow. Yea, fear Allah: for Allah is well-acquainted with (all) that ye do. (59:18)

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Welcome to Islam, - Islam: a religion of peace and justice

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Islam is a religion of peace in the fullest sense of the word. The Quran calls its way"…The ways of peace…"]Quran: 5:16[ It describes reconciliation as the best policy ]Quran: 4:128[, and states that God abhors any disturbance of peace ]Quran: 2:205[
The root word of Islam is 'Silm', which means peace. So the spirit of Islam is the spirit of peace. The first verse of the Quran breathes the spirit of peace; it reads:"In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate."
This verse is repeated in the Quran no less than 114 times. It shows the great importance Islam attaches to such values as Mercy and Compassion. One of God's names, according to the Quran, is As-Salaam, which means Peace. Moreover, the Quran states that the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam )may Allaah exalt his mention( was sent to the world as a mercy to mankind. ]Quran: 21:107[
A perusal of the Quran shows that most verses of the Quran )and also the Hadeeth( are based on peace and kindness, either directly or indirectly. The ideal society, according to the Quran is Dar As-Salaam, that is, the house of peace ]Quran: 10:25[
The Quran presents the universe as a model, which is characterised by harmony and peace ]Quran: 36:40[ When God created heaven and earth, He so ordered things that each part might perform its function peacefully without clashing with any other. The Quran tells us that"It is not allowable ]i.e., possible[ for the sun to reach the moon, nor does the night overtake the day, but each, in an orbit, is swimming."]Quran: 36:40[ For billions of years, therefore, the entire universe has been fulfilling its function in total harmony with His divine plan.
According to Islam, peace is not simply an absence of war. Peace opens doors to all kinds of opportunities which are present in any given situation. It is only in a peaceful situation that planned activities are possible. It is for this reason that the Quran says:"…And settlement is best…"]Quran: 4:128[ Similarly, Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam has observed: "God grants to gentleness )Rifq( what He does not grant to violence )'Unf(.]Abu Daawood[
According to Islam, peace is the rule and war is only an exception. Even in defensive war we have to analyse its result; if the result is doubtful, Muslims should avoid war. Stray acts of aggression are not enough for Muslims to rush into war. They have to assess the whole situation and adopt a policy of avoidance when war is not certain to achieve a positive result.
In actual fact, the mission of all the Prophets from Aadam )Adam( to 'Eesaa )Jesus(, may Allaah exalt their mention, was one and the same - of establishing the ideology of monotheism in the world, so that man might worship the One God alone. As we know, there came a large number of Prophets in ancient times but the message of monotheism remained at the initial stage; it could not culminate in revolution.
In ancient times, the system of monarchy was entrenched throughout the world. The kings, in order to secure their political interests, adopted the course of religious persecution. These kings suppressed all religious movements that were different from the state religion. They would nip all 'apostasy' in the bud since they saw religion as a matter of affirming one's loyalty to the state. If a person adhered to a religion other than the state religion, he was regarded as a rebel.
That is why in ancient times, prophetic movements could go no further than the state of Da'wah, or invitation to Islam. No sooner would a movement based on monotheism arise than the coercive political system would be activated to pull it out by its roots. The reason for the absence of any historical record of Prophets )besides the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam( in antiquity is traceable to the intense opposition of these coercive political systems.
All the Prophets of ancient times, historically speaking, were like mythical beings, rather than real human beings accepted as historical figures. Prophet 'Eesaa )Jesus(, may Allaah exalt his mention, was the last link in the chain of these persecutions faced by the preachers of monotheism. Then God decreed the abolition of this coercive political system, even if it entailed the use of force in order that the age of religious persecution might be brought to an end forever, and replaced by the age of religious freedom. This Divine plan was brought to completion through the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and his companions, may Allaah be pleased with them all. This is the command given in the Quran:"Fight them until there be no fitnah ]i.e., persecution[ and ]until[ the religion ]i.e., worship[, all of it, is for Allaah…"]Quran: 8:39[
Therefore, Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam received special divine succour in the form of a powerful team consisting of one hundred thousand individuals. Equipped with this team, the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam waged war to end this coercive system of religious persecution, and it was inArabiathat it was first of all overthrown. Then within a very short span of time, they advanced to abolish the coercive system established by the Sassanid and Byzantine empires.
In the wake of this Islamic action, the coercive system was abolished forever in the major part of the inhabited world of the time. This war waged by Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and his companions was not a war as is commonly understood, but rather a divine operation, which was carried out by people who possessed a high standard of moral character.
However, this operation was certainly only temporary in nature. Its goal was to put an end to the age of religious persecution and usher in the age of religious freedom. This end was fully achieved during the early period of Islam, the age of the pious Caliphs. Afterwards the time came to keep the sword in its sheath and engage in Da'wah work, that is, the call to God, which was the real and permanent goal of Islam.
It is no exaggeration to say that Islam and violence are contradictory to each other. The concept of Islamic violence is so obviously unfounded that, prima facie it stands rejected. The fact that violence is not sustainable in the present world is enough to convince one that violence, as a principle, is quite alien to the scheme of things in Islam. Islam claims to be an eternal religion and such a religion cannot afford a principle in its scheme which will not be sustainable in later periods of human history. An attempt to bracket violence with Islam amounts to casting doubts upon the very eternity of the Islamic religion.
No wonder then that the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam so earnestly used to entreat his Lord in his daily prayer:"O God, you are the original source of Peace; from You is all Peace, and to You returns all Peace. So, make us live with Peace; and let us enter paradise: the House of Peace. Blessed be You, our Lord, to whom belongs all Majesty and Honour!"

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Welcome to Islam, - Islam and the aim of life

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People answer these questions in different ways. Some people believe the purpose of life is getting wealthy. However, what will be the purpose of their life after collecting millions of dollars? If the purpose of life is to become wealthy, there will be no purpose after becoming wealthy.
In fact, here lies the problem of some people in the last stages of their lives. After they have collected the money which they dreamt of, their life loses its purpose and they live in tension, restlessness and suffer from the panic of nothingness.
Can attaining wealth be an aim?
We often hear of wealthy people committing suicide; sometimes, it is not the wealthy person himself but members of his family – his wife or children. The question is: Can aiming for wealth bring happiness to the individual? In most cases, the answer is 'No'. Is the purpose of collecting wealth a long-standing purpose?
As we know, a five-year-old child does not look for wealth: he prefers a toy to a million dollars. An 18-year-old adolescent does not dream of wealth because he is busy with things that are more important. A 90-year-old does not care for money; he is more worried about his health. This proves that wealth cannot be a long-standing purpose in all the stages of an individual's life.
Wealth can do a little to bring happiness to a disbeliever, because he is not sure about his end or his fate. A disbeliever does not know the purpose of life, and if he has a purpose, this purpose is doomed to be temporary or self-destructive.
What is the use of wealth to a disbeliever if he feels scared of the end and skeptical of everything? A disbeliever may gain a lot of money, but surely loses himself.
Worshipping Allaah as an aim:
On the other hand, faith in Allaah gives the believer the purpose of life he needs. In Islam, the purpose of life is to worship Allaah. The term "worship" covers all acts of obedience to Allaah. The Islamic purpose of life can withstand the test of time. The true Muslim sticks to this purpose through all the stages of his life, whether he is a child, adolescent, adult or an old man.
Worshipping Allaah makes life purposeful and meaningful, especially within the framework of Islam. According to Islam, this worldly life is just a short stage of our lives. After this, there is the other life -- the Hereafter. The position of the person in the Hereafter depends on his deeds in this first life. At the end of the death, stage comes the Day of Judgment. On this day, Allaah will reward or punish people according to their deeds.
The first life as an examination:
Hence, Islam looks at the first life as an examination or a test of man. The Day of Judgment is similar to the day of announcing the results of the examinees. The second life )the Hereafter( is the time when each examinee enjoys or suffers from the outcome of his behavior during the test period.
In Islam, the line of life is clear, simple and logical: the first life, death then the Day of Judgment, and then the second life. With this clear line of life, a Muslim has a clear purpose in life.
A Muslim knows that he has been created by Allaah. He also knows that he is going to spend some years in this first life, during which he has to obey Allaah, because Allaah will question him and hold him responsible for his public and private deeds, because Allaah knows all deeds of all people. A Muslim knows that his deeds in this life will determine his second life. He knows that his life is a very short one -- a hundred years, more or less, whereas the second life is eternal.
The eternity of the second life:
This concept of eternal nature of the second life has a tremendous effect on the Muslim during his first life, because the Muslim believes that his first life determines the shape of his second life. In addition, this will be decided through the Judgment of Allaah, the Just and Almighty.
With this belief in the Hereafter and the Day of Judgment, a Muslim's life becomes as purposeful and meaningful as possible. A Muslim's long-standing purpose is to go toParadiseby pleasing his Creator.
In other words, a Muslim's continuous purpose is to obey Allaah, to submit to Him, to carry out His orders, and to keep in continuous touch with Him through prayer )five times a day(, through fasting )one month a year(, through charity )either obligatory or voluntary as often as possible(, and through pilgrimage )once in one's life if he is able(.
The need for a permanent purpose:
People have different purposes at different stages in their lives such as collecting money and property, indulging in sex, eating and dancing. However, all these purposes are temporary, they come and go. Money comes and goes. Health comes and goes. Sexual activities cannot continue forever. All these lusts for money, food and sex cannot answer the individual's question to himself: what next?
Then what?
However, Islam saves those who follow it sincerely from the troubling question: what is the aim of life? Islam makes it clear to the Muslim, from the very beginning, that the permanent purpose of life is to worship Allaah. We should know that the only way for our salvation in this life and in the Hereafter is to know the Lord who created us, believe in Him, and worship Him alone.
What is the purpose of my life? What is the purpose of your life? What is the purpose of our lives?
Such questions occur frequently to thinking people.

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Welcome to Islam, - Why the world needs Islam today

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These are some of the distinct features of Islam, which make it necessary for modern man to seek his salvation through this ideology:
First, it must be well understood that Islam is not a mere ideological vision. It is a practical system of life that fully appreciates all the genuine needs of humankind and tries to realize them.
Second, in trying to meet the genuine requirements of man, Islam effects perfect balance between all areas of life and activity. It starts with the individual maintaining a balance between the requirements of body and soul, reason and spirit and in no case allows one side to dominate the other. It does not suppress the human instincts in order to make the soul ascend the higher planes, nor does it allow man, in his efforts to fulfill his bodily desires, to stoop down to the low level of animalism and hedonism. On the contrary, it makes them both meet on a single higher plane, doing away with all the internal psychological conflicts that threaten the human soul or set a part of it against the other parts.
In the social sphere, it proceeds to achieve equilibrium between the needs of the individual and those of the community. It does not allow an individual to transgress against other individuals, or against the community. Nor does it allow the community to commit transgression against individuals. It also does not approve of one class or group of people to enslave another class or group of people. Islam exercises a beneficent constraint on all these mutually opposed forces, prevents them from coming into collision with one another, and harnesses them all to co-operate for the general good of humankind as a whole.
Thus, Islam strikes a balance between different sectors of society and between different aspects of existence, spiritual as well as material. Unlike Communism, it does not believe that economic factors, i.e. the material aspect alone, dominate human existence. Nor does it contribute to what the pure spiritualists or idealists say, claiming that spiritual factors or high ideals alone are sufficient to organize human life. Rather, Islam holds that all these diverse elements put together, form what is called human society; and that the best code of life is that which takes note of all these, making full allowance for body as well as reason and spirit, arranging them all in the framework of a harmonious whole.
Third, it must always be kept in mind that Islam has an altogether independent existence of its own as a social philosophy and an economic system. Some of its outward manifestations may on the surface appear to resemble those of Capitalism or Socialism, but in fact, it is far from being the one or the other. It retains all the good characteristics of these systems, yet is free from their shortcomings and perversions. It does not extol individualism to that loathful extent which is the characteristic of the modern West. It was from this germ that modern Capitalism sprang and institutionalized that concept of individual freedom, where man is allowed to exploit other individuals and the community only to serve his personal gain. Islam guarantees personal freedom and provides opportunities for individual enterprise, but not at the cost of society or ideals of social justice.
The reaction to Capitalism has appeared in the form of Socialism. It idolizes the social basis to an extent that the individual is reduced to an insignificant part of the social machine with no existence of his own. Therefore, the community alone enjoys freedom as well as power, the individual has no right to question its authority or demand his rights. The tragedy of Socialism and its variants is that they assign to the State absolute powers to shape the lives of the individuals.
Islam strikes a balance between the two extremes of Capitalism and Socialism. Being appreciative of their role, Islam harmonizes the individuals and the State in such a way that individuals have the freedom necessary to develop their potentialities and not to encroach upon the rights of their fellowmen. It also gives the community and the State adequate powers to regulate and control the socio-economic relationships to guard and maintain this harmony in human life. The basis of this whole structure as visualized by Islam is the reciprocity of love between individuals and groups; it is not erected on the basis of hatred and class conflict, as is the case with Socialism.
It may also be pointed out here that this unique system of life as visualized by Islam, did not originate as a result of any economic pressure, nor was it an outcome of some mutually conflicting interests of antagonistic groups of people. It was revealed to the world as the ordained system of life, at a time when men attached no particular importance to economic factors, nor did they know anything about social justice in the sense we know it in modern times. Both Socialism and Capitalism are much later developments. Islam presented its scheme of social reform much before any of the social movements of our times. It guaranteed the basic needs of man – food, housing and sexual satisfaction – more than 1400 years ago. The Noble Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, )may Allaah exalt his mention( said:‘Whosoever acts as a public officer for us )i.e. the Islamic State( and has no wife, he shall have a wife; if he has no house, he shall be given a house to live in; if he has no servant, he shall have one; and if he has no animal )a conveyance(, he shall be provided with one. Anyone who takes more than this has exaggerated )i.e. taken more than he deserves(.’]Ahmad[
This historical announcement of fundamental human rights not only contains those rights voiced by many a revolutionary in our times, it adds to them some more as well, without necessitating any inter-class hatred, bloody revolutions, and without rejecting all those human elements in life that do not fall under the above three heads: food, housing and family.
These are some of the salient features of the Islamic code of life. They are sufficient to show that a religion with such laws and principles, that is comprehensive and includes the complete human existence, emotions, thoughts, actions, worship, economic dealings, social relationships, instructive urges and spiritual aspirations – all arranged in the framework of a single harmonious but unique system of life, can never lose its usefulness for mankind. Nor can such a religion ever become obsolete, as its objectives are the same as those of life itself and therefore, destined to live on so long as there is life on this planet.
Considering the existing state of affairs in the contemporary world, humankind cannot reasonably afford to turn its back upon Islam or reject its system of life. Humankind is still afflicted with the most savage and odious forms of racial prejudices. Surely, the world in the twentieth century has yet a great deal to learn from Islam. Long ago, Islam freed humanity from all racial prejudices. It did not content itself with the presentation of a beautiful vision of equality alone, but it achieved in practice an unprecedented state of equality between all people, black, white or yellow, declaring that none enjoyed any superiority over the others except in virtue and piety.
It not only freed the black from slavery, but also fully recognized their rights to aspire even to the highest seat of authority in the Islamic State. They could become the heads of the Islamic State. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Listen and obey even if a black slave be appointed as your superior, so long as he should enforce amongst you the Law of Allaah )God(.’
How can also the world of today ignore the message of Islam, stricken as it is with the evils of imperialism and tyranny with all their barbarous attributes? Islam alone can help humankind shake off these chains. It is opposed to imperialism and all forms of exploitation. The way Islam treated the people of the countries it conquered was so generous, just and sublime that the eyes of ‘civilized’ Europe can hardly penetrate those heights. We may in this regard cite the famous decision of the Caliph ’Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, to whip the son of ’Amr bin Al-‘Aas, the victorious general and honored governor of Egypt, as he had beaten an Egyptian Copt without any legal justification. This shows the social liberty and human rights that were enjoyed by the subjects of the Islamic State.
Then there is the evil of Capitalism that has poisoned all life. Its abolition and the need to rid humanity of its evil consequences again call for Islam.
Fourth, Islam prohibits usury and hoarding which, taken together, form the mainstay of the Capitalist economy. This, in other words, means that Islam alone can effectively check the evils of Capitalism as it did check them 1400 years ago.
Finally, the world with the shadows of war still hanging over it cannot but turn towards Islam – the only way to establish and maintain real peace on this earth. The era of Islam has in a way just started, not ended; it is not a spent force, but a living dynamic force, its future is as bright as its great historical past is glorious, when it illumined the face of earth at a time when Europe was still groping its way in the dark recesses of Medievalism.

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