DEVOTED TO ALLAH

The Purpose Of A Believer's Life: The Approval Of Allah
… Allah will guide to the ways ofpeace those who follow what pleases
Him. He will bring them by His will from darkness to the light, and
will guide them to a straight path. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 16)
What makes a Muslim different from other people? Non-Muslimsmay answer
this question in a number of ways; They may talk about cultural and
moral differences, about "different outlooks on the world" or
valueswhich they deny outright. Alternatively, some may say the
difference has its roots in the different ideologies which Muslims
embrace. However, all these answers relate to "visible" differences
that appear to be theconsequences of a more fundamental one. Often,
they failto grasp the reasons underlying this difference. (In fact, if
they are not Muslims, it is because they have failed to grasp this
very difference.)
There is one point to be stressedbefore proceeding to explain thebasic
attribute that makes a Muslim different: When we talk about a
"Muslim," we are not referring to someone whose ID card has the word
"Muslim" written on it. Muslim is actually the name Allah gives to
those who adhere to His religion. The basic attribute, referred to in
theQur'an, that distinguishes Muslims from other people is their being
aware of Allah's infinite might. Awareness of Allah's infinite might
does not inall cases mean affirmation of theexistence of a Creator,
however. The Qur'an underlines this fact as follows:
Say: "Who provides for you out of heaven and earth? Who controls
hearing and sight? Whobrings forth the living from the dead and the
dead from the living? Who ordains all things?" They will reply,
"Allah." Say, "Then will you not fear Allah? Such is Allah, your Lord,
the Truth, and what is there after truth except misguidance? How then
can you turn away from Him?" (Surah Yunus: 31-32)
In the verse above, the questions are put to somebody who acknowledges
the existence of Allah, accepts His attributes yet, despite all these
attributes, has no fear of Allah and thus turns away from Him. (In
fact, Satan does not reject the existence of Allah either.)
Grasping Allah's might is not only a matter of verbal confirmation.
Believers are thosewho recognise Allah's existence and His greatness,
"are steadfastin their duty" to Him and re-orient all their deeds and
conduct in the light of this reality which has become apparent to
them. Others, on the other hand, are either those who deny Allah, or,
as in the case of the people depicted in the above verse, those who do
not perform their duty to Allah, despite their awareness of His
existence.
Throughout their lives, such people remain entirely oblivious of
Allah, the Creator of man. To whom they owe their life and how and why
they were granteda lifetime on earth are questionswith which they do
not care to concern themselves. They envision a kind of life entirely
separate from Allah and His religion. However, the following
comparison in the Qur'an makes it clear that such a life rests upon
vain and rotten bases and is doomed to destruction:
Who is better: someone who founds his building on fear of Allah and
His approval; or someone who founds his building on the brink of a
crumbling precipice, so that it collapses with him into the Fire of
Hell? Allah does not love wrongdoers. (Surat at Tawba: 109)
As the above verse also informs us, the lives of those who lack faith,
as described in the Qur'an, are founded on the brink of a "crumbling
precipice." The major goal to which unbelievers are committed is the
attainmentof happiness and peace "in this world." In this sense, what
they most want is to become rich. They do their best to achieve this
goal, making all-out physicaland mental efforts. For others, on the
other hand, becoming a respected and well-known person is the purpose
of life; they will do anything and make any sacrifices to earn public
respect. However, these are nothing but worldly goals that will vanish
once death comes upon them. Some of them may even elude their grasp
right herein this world.
A believer, however, is fully aware of Allah's existence and might. He
knows why Allah has created him and what His expectations are of him.
For this reason, his basic aim in life is to be a servant with whom
Allah is pleased. He employs all means to try to reach his goal, and
strives to do so. This being the case, he resolves the mystery of
death: for many it means nothing but the ultimate end but for him,
death is not extinction, but a phase of transition to the real life.
Disbelievers assume death, which they take to be an incident that puts
an end to their lives, to be a "self-generated accident," just as
theyassume life to have emerged coincidentally and spontaneously. The
fact is, however, that Allah creates life and likewise takes it away.
Death, which is by no means a coincidence or an accident, is an
incident that takes place by the law of Allah at a predestined moment
and place.
A Muslim is a person who graspsthat Allah has power over all things
and that death is not an end but a transition to the real abode of man
(the hereafter). Aware of these facts, he carefullyavoids building his
life on a "crumbling precipice." He turns to Allah, aware that He is
the real Owner and Creator of life, death and what lies beyond. In
this system created by Allah, he comprehends that wealth, socialstatus
or good looks are not the means that lead man to success;they are only
"causes" operatingunder the rules laid down by Allah, which are
effective for only a brief period of time.
The key to the system that Allah has created is the consent of Allah.
That is because Allah guides only those who seek His approval.
…Allah will guide to the ways of peace those who follow what pleases
Him. He will bring them by His will from darkness to the light, and
will guide them to a straight path. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 16)
A Muslim is a Muslim because he seeks Allah's approval. This is the
most important trait that makes a Muslim different from all other
people. Muslims see religion as a way to earn Allah's approval,
whereas the majority of people consider it to be a system of beliefs
which occupiesan insignificant portion of their lives.
Indeed, at this very point there emerges the distinction between real
Muslims and those who imitate them (hypocrites). Muslims embrace
religion as a path of guidance to the approvalof Allah. For
hypocrites, however, it is something from which they derive benefits.
That is why a hypocrite's prayers are of a "pretentious" nature (Surat
al-Ma'un: 6) while Muslims pray in humility (Surat al-Mu'minun: 1-2).
Similarly, while Muslims spend their money in Allah's cause,
hypocrites spend to impress people rather than to earn Allah's
approval.
You who believe! Do not nullify your almsgiving by demands for
gratitude or insulting words, like him who spends his wealth,showing
off to people and not having faith in Allah and the LastDay. He is
like a smooth rock coated with soil, which, when heavy rain falls on
it, is left stripped bare. They shall have no power over anything they
have earned. Allah does not guide the unbelievers. (Surat al-Baqara:
264

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Justice: Islam’s ultimate value

Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:"And the heaven He raised and
imposed the balance. That you not transgress within the balance. And
establish weightin justice and do not make deficient the
balance."]Quran 55:7-9[
These verses of the Quran, which are mentioned in the
chapterAr-Rahmaan, or")God( the All-Merciful" stand out in their
emphasis of the importance of justice because they unite justice with
the important theological principle of Allaah'sKhalqandAmror His
"Creation and Command." These verses make justice both the basis of
the creation and its source of continuity )by commanding justice(.
This is true because, in essence, the balance is the symbol of justice
and its means of realization at the same time.
Heavens and earth were originallycreated with justice in a balancedway
and they can only )or were meant to( continue with it. Muslims
accepted this magnificent guidance and ultimate value of life, more
than 1400 years ago. The great Commentator of the Quran, Imaam Abu
Ja'far At-Tabari )d. 310 AH( expounded the aforementioned verses,
saying,"Allaah created Heavens and Earth by )and in( justice so that
all things in them exist )and interact( by )and in( justice."
And there is not a single nation, past or present, but that it has
asserted its claims of honoring justice and being just. Yet, the
justice they claimed, at times, meant nothing more than what the
"powers that be" wanted. Or sometimes justice represented what is
recognized and utilized by a majority or a certain religion or
ethnicity. What humans mean by justice, in other words, may differ in
its meaning and means from one nation to another. It is interesting to
note that Socrates )killed in 339 BC( defined justice as the, "Will of
the powerful," and it is also interesting that this applies the vast
majority of the time in situations when religious values are absent or
weak. It is even more interesting that some of the theories man has,
overtime, developed using 'rationality' and empiricism, and which
exceedingly tilt the balance of justice in favor of the powerful or
the rich, still flourish in modern times and continue to find
advocates or even unabashed supporters who will kill or die for them.
In one of the 100 or so verses which deal with theessentials of
justice and fairness, the Quran tells us of this perversion of justice
that sometimes occurs in the course of human events. Verse 25 of the
chapter )57(Al-Hadeed,"the Iron," pregnant with meanings and profusely
poignant, lay bear the reality about the roots of injustice among
people. Many people mention being motivated by hearing this verse
recited just once. Allaah Says )what means(:"We have already sent Our
messengers with clear evidences and sent down with them the Scripture
and the balance that the people may maintain ]their affairs[ in
justice. And We sent down iron, wherein is great military might and
benefits for the people, and so that Allaah may make evident those who
support Him and His messengers unseen. Indeed, Allaah is Powerful and
Exalted in Might."]Quran 57:25[ So many points of benefit, so much to
learn and liveby. For one, the balance of justiceis mentioned along
with the Books, guidance from Allaah, to indicate that true justice
needs a compass to save itself from relativism and free judgment from
personal drive. This also means that the interpretation of Allaah's
Guidance must be free from whims and ignorance, and this effort to
free one's self from whims and ignorance is what Muslim scholars—who
are the interpreters of Allaah's Final Message— termIjtihaad. Thepoint
is that Allaah's Guidance entails that only people of knowledge who
are able and honest may interpret Divine texts. Ignoring this
prerequisite has led—in many times and places—to gross justifications
and evil consequences. Without this guidance, man has done enough to
give Socrates' definition of justice precedence over any other.
Another point worthy of our attention here is the fact that Allaah is
reminding us that He has provided the messengers with iron to go along
with the guidance and the command to establish justice. Man has
known,for untold centuries, that he cannot institute justice in almost
any walk of life, or protect justicewhenever needed, without the power
of iron.
But the intent of the message of this verse is unambiguous.
Allmessengers from Allaah, who were sent to various nations throughout
history, came with the very same message.
The implication of this is so profound, especially for today's Muslims.
We must acknowledge and respect that loving and establishing justice
is a human trait, not an attribute of the Muslim Ummahalone. In fact,
our scholars have long asserted, based on the aforementioned verses
among many others, that Allaah grants supremacy to a justgovernment or
nation even though it may be disbelieving, and He takes away supremacy
from an unjust government or nation even though it may be believing.
This is how just the Islamic worldview is.
And a Muslim would not be completely truthful to his belief without
accepting this view. Muslims should support justice and those who seek
it and they should feel happy every time justice triumphs.
But judging by the current situation of most Muslim countries and
communities around the world, itis not difficult to see that we have
strayed from justice.
To lure itback home, we need to mend our ways and make them coincide
with the guidance of ourKitaab)the Quran( first.

Slavery and freedom

The only option for man is to choose between two slaveries: slavery of
his Creator, or slavery of all else. The prevalent Western thought
today is essentially atheistic in nature, for it traces its origins to
a reaction against the Church authority in medievalEurope, which
subsequently became a reaction against religion in general. The effort
wasreally to formulate a philosophical basis independent of religion,
which was to becomethe foundation of the new scientific, political,
economic, social and psychological thought.
This does not imply that all the details of knowledge thus produced
are false, but that in essence, the foundation of all such knowledge
is frail.
Often we mistakenly isolate the Western thought from its original
environment and its secular and atheistic roots, considering it sound
human thought valid for all times and places. Quite often, we even
naively go on to claim, about one or another aspect of this thought,
that our own Deen )religion( asserts precisely the same, or at least
there is no contradiction.
In this article, I give an example of the concept of freedom, that
ismore or less agreed upon in the contemporary world that illustrates
my point.
A free person is one whose freedom is absolute with no bounds
whatsoever. He acts as hewills and does what he wills. However, any
act necessitates knowledge, motivation and ability. An absolutely free
man, thus, must possess absolute knowledge, perfect motivation and
limitless ability. This is outright impossible. No actor canpossess
absolute knowledge, motivation and ability unless he is totally
independent and self-sufficient of others and needs no knowledge or
skill fromothers, for that would violate absolute freedom.
Hence, the claim of the advocatesof democracy that man cannot befree
if he obeys a law that is not of his own making, is essentially
correct. However, they admit thatman must live in a society, and this
social life necessitates the existence of a State that commands,
prohibits and watches; and the laws whereby the State carries out all
these activities cannot be made by all the constituents of society.
Though the participation of individuals in a democratic system is
more, than in alternative systems, the enactment of laws is inevitably
the work of a minority of individuals who constitute the legislative
system. It follows that even in a democracy, the people are not really
free except to a small extent.
In fact, we argue that even participation in the enactment of laws is
not a guarantee, for individual freedom for the individuals will
invariably be dictated by the desires of their lower selves.
An individual who deprives himself of Divine guidance ends up doing
all that his lower desires demand or his lust dictates -- like
engaging in excessin food, drinking wine, drugs andobscenity. Such a
human being -- and the likes of this abound in the West today -- is
not free. True, he may not ostensibly be a slave of another human
being, but he is a slave of his own low desires.
What is the way out of this slavery? The kind of freedom demanded by
Western philosophies, in fact, is outright impossible. All people,
including the atheists, admit that man is not his own creator, or his
own sustainer; his knowledge is earned, not essential, and imperfect,
and that he must depend for his life on factors out of his control.
Sunlight comes from sun, water from rain, vegetation from the land,
and he needs all that, without controlling any of it. So how is
freedom possible? How can he beself-sufficient?
The faithful believe that Allaah is the Creator, the Omniscient and
Omnipotent, Who does as He pleases, and needs no one. Man, on the
other hand, is created, and by virtue of this, is owned by his
Creator. The one owned is a slave, not free. This essential fact of
creation points to man being aslave, not a free entity.
However, he is a slave of the Creator and not of creation like
himself. This slavery to his Creator is the very essence of his being,
whether he likes it or not. In all that he does, he is bound and
limited by the Will of his Creator.
True, man too has a will and freedom of action, but it is his Creator
who decided to give him this freedom of will. Man's will, therefore,
is not absolute, but limited by the Will of his Creator. If the
Creator has the absolute Will, man may will what does notactualize,
and may encounter what he does not like.
The Creator who made for His creation natural laws that are beyond the
domain of human will, also made the laws of Sharee'ah -- a code for a
life of willing submission to Allaah, without which true success --
worldly or heavenly -- is impossible.
Doing what you will against the will of Allaah even with your
ownproperty is a challenge to His authority, as mentioned in the Quran
)which means(:"They said: O Shu'ayb! Does your salaah )prayer( enjoin
you that we should forsake what our fathers worshipped or that we
should not do what we please with regard to our property?"]Quran
11:87[
Pharaoh also thought his opinionsuperior and dictated it to his
people, as mentioned in the Quran )which means(:"Pharaoh said: 'I do
only show you what I see, and I do but guide you to wise
policy'."]Quran 40:29[
But the Creator Lord says )what means(:"No just appraisal of Allaah do
they make when they say: 'Allaah sends down nothing to man )by way of
revelation(.'"]Quran 6:91[
And )what means(:"Does man think that he has been left aimless?"]Quran 75:38[
And )what means(:"Say: 'See what things Allaah has sent down to you
for sustenance? Yet you hold some things unlawful and others lawful
)without authority from Allaah(.' Say: 'Has Allaah indeed permitted
you, or do you attribute lies to Allaah?'"]Quran 10:59[
We conclude that the assertion that man is free or must be free, in
the absolute sense used widelyin the West, is utterly falsified by
reality. Furthermore, such an assertion negates belief that manis a
slave-servant to Allaah and must obey His decrees. Even some Christian
authors seem to have realized this, among them the famous English
author Lewis who said, roughly: 'I was not born to be free, rather to
listen and obey.'

Facts & misunderstandings aboutthe Bible

In the Quran Allaah informs us that He revealed a number of books,
including thepagesof Prophet Abraham )Ibraaheem(, thePsalmsof Prophet
David )Daawood(, theTorahof Prophet Moses )Moosaa(, theInjeel)Gospel(
of Prophet Jesus )'Eesaa(, and finally, theQuranof Prophet Muhammad.
Of these revealed texts only the Quran remains intact in its original
form. All of the others )ascomplete books( have been lost, their
remains have survived only as fragments or tampered with in some way
so as to make their authenticity doubtful. Nowhere in the Quran is the
Bible even mentioned, to say nothing of its being among the revealed
texts of Allah, or as Christian claim "The Word of God." Further, we
know from respected scholars that although some fragments ofthePsalms,
theTorah, and theInjeel)the teachings of Prophet Jesus( may be found
in the Bible, comprised of the Old and New Testaments, the Bible
cannot rightfully be called "The Word of God." Why is this so?
As one publisher )Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, llinois(
stated: "The Bible may look like one book, but it is actually
sixty-six books in one. Thirty-nine books make up what we call the Old
Testament, and twenty-seven make up the New Testament. It is possible
that more than forty writers were used by God to write all sixty-six
books." )Quoted from the "Holy Bible" – New Living Translation, Gift &
Award Edition, l997, p. vii(
So if the Bible is neither narrated by God nor written by Him, and, as
such, is not 'the word of God,' then what is it? By any objective
criteria, the Bible is a book containing a compilation of stories,
legends, folk tales, folk lore, myths, sagas, narratives, poetry,
fragments of scriptures )fragments from the Psalms, the Torah, and the
Injeel as already mentioned(, letters )esp. in New Testament(,
visions, dreams, accounts of events from doubtfulsources )not eye
witnesses(, editors' or scribes' notes, as well as human errors.
For those who believe in it, it is a book that has historical,
cultural, moral and ethical values, and a source of spiritual teaching
and guidance. It is a book held in highesteem, primarily by Christians
who see it as a divine book and the source of their religious beliefs.
But, in the final analysis it is only a book with many limitations
and imperfections which disqualify it from being called "The Word of
God." Whoever makes such a claim then the burden of proof rests with
him. On the contrary, the Glorious Quran is the Speech of Allaah and,
through the Angel Gabriel, was revealed to Prophet Muhammad; later
compiled into a book more than 14 centuries ago it remains preserved
in its original form until today.
Some common misunderstandings about the Bible include the following:
The Bible is one book, the Old Testament. The Bible contains sixty-six
books )or more depending upon the denomination one belongs to(.
The Old Testament )OT( is the Torah followed by the Jews. The OT
contains some fragments of the Torah which was lost and thePsalms, but
the Talmud is the book followed by the Jews and is totally unrelated
to the Bible.
The New Testament )NT( is the Gospel of Prophet Jesus, or the Injeel.
It is neither. It is made up of twenty-seven books, none of which was
narrated or written byProphet Jesus although the NT may contain
fragments of the Injeel )sayings and teachings of Prophet Jesus(. The
Injeel as revealed through Prophet Jesus has been lost. The fragments
which may be cited in the NT maynot be authentic or in their proper
context. So it is erroneousto equate the NT with the Injeel mentioned
in the Quran.
The Bible is a holy book, narrated,dictated by God and is infallible.
While this is a claim, this misconception has already been addressed.
Since the Bible is 'only' a book, there is no need to call it a
forgery, a corrupted text, etc. The Quran is the only authentic "Word
of God," His Speech, and Allah has promised to protect it from
distortion of any kind until the Day of Judgment and He has kept His
promise. Not one letter or syllable has been changed over the past l4
centuries.