| Living \r\n the Quran |
Al-Adiyat \r\n (The Courses)
It is a fact that man reacts with ingratitude \r\n to all the bounties of his Lord. He denies the favours \r\n which God confers on him. His thanklessness and ingratitude is reflected \r\n in a host of actions and verbal statements which will serve as witness \r\n against him. Or perhaps, on the Day of Judgement, he may testify against \r\n himself, admitting his ingratitude: \"and to this he himself bears \r\n witness.\" (Verse 7) For on the Day of Judgement he will speak \r\n the plain truth even against himself, without contention or excuse. \"And \r\n truly, he is passionate in his love for wealth.\" (Verse 8) \r\nMan is a passionate self-lover. \r\n But he loves only what he imagines to be good for himself: wealth, power \r\n and the pleasures of this world. This is his nature unless he has faith \r\n which changes his concepts, values and even his concerns. Faith changes \r\n his ingratitude to humble thankfulness. It changes his greed and miserliness \r\n to benevolence and compassion. It makes him aware of the proper values \r\n which are worthy of being the object of ambition and hard competition. \r\n Indeed these are much more exalted than money, power and mundane pleasures. \r\n \r\nMan without faith is an ignoble creature \r\n having only trivial ambitions and petty concerns. However \r\n large his desires, however strong his ambitions and high his objectives \r\n may seem, he remains sunk in the cesspool of this earth, confined within \r\n the limits of this life, imprisoned in self. He cannot be freed or elevated \r\n except by an attachment to a world superior to this earth, extending beyond \r\n this life; a world which originates from God who is the First Being and \r\n returning to God the Eternal; a world into which this life and the life \r\n hereafter converge and which has no end. \r\nSource: |
| \r\n Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| \r\n \r\n Women Praying in Congregation \r\nIt is a well-known principle established by the well attested and authentic \r\n traditions reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) \r\n that praying in congregation is far superior to praying individually. \r\n The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Prayer \r\n in congregation is twenty-seven degrees better than praying individually.” \r\n \r\nIt is equally agreed upon among scholars and jurists that all general \r\n statements shall be interpreted as general unless there is evidence \r\n to indicate otherwise. Since there is nothing in the sources to suggest \r\n that the above rule about superiority of congregational Prayer is applicable \r\n to men only, there is no reason to exclude women from such rewards. \r\n \r\nIt is one thing to say that Islam does \r\n not compel women to go to mosques for praying in congregation burdened \r\n as they are with the duties of providing nurturing care and love for \r\n their family; it is another to say that they are not supposed to make \r\n use of the opportunity to reap the rewards of congregational prayer \r\n whenever and wherever an opportunity arises for them to avail of such \r\n rewards. \r\nWe are confirmed in the above reasoning when we know from the practice \r\n of the Mothers of the Believers that they availed themselves of the \r\n opportunity of praying in congregation whenever they had an opportunity \r\n to do so. Thus, aside from the fact that the women during the time of \r\n the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed in congregation \r\n in the mosque, they also used to pray in congregation at other times \r\n whenever they were all by themselves. We read in the sources that both \r\n Aishah and Umm Salamah, the most knowledgeable among the wives of the \r\n Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), used to lead women in congregational \r\n Prayers. We also read in the sources that the Prophet (peace and blessings \r\n be upon him) appointed Umm Waraqah to lead the members of her household \r\n in Prayers. \r\nBased on the above, we can safely conclude that women never deprive \r\n themselves of the opportunity to pray in congregation whenever they \r\n have an opportunity to do so: either praying in congregation in a mosque \r\n or by themselves by appointing one of them based on her superior knowledge \r\n to lead. Isn’t it humbler on our part to assume that the beloved \r\n wives of the Prophet such as Aishah and Umm Salamah are more knowledgeable \r\n of such issues than men themselves, no matter how knowledgeable they \r\n may be? \r\n \r\n Source: |
| Blindspot! \r\n |
\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Jews in the Quran \r\nWhy does the Quran deal with Jews and at such great length? Let \r\n us now reflect upon this important question. \r\nIs it because of the Jewish presence in Madinah? No doubt there \r\n were Jews in Madinah, they had to be invited to Islam, and the Quran \r\n had to deal with the state they were in and with their behaviour \r\n towards the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his message. So this \r\n certainly was one of the 'occasions' or reasons for these revelations. \r\n But this is not sufficient to explain the length, content and context \r\n of this discourse. \r\nIs it because of the Prophet's disappointment and anger at the \r\n Jews' stubborn refusal to accept him, and their vehement opposition \r\n to him, as many Orientalists often contend? There is no textual \r\n or historical evidence to support this contention. The \r\n Quran is not the type of discourse whose objective would be to vent \r\n anger against its enemies, and then put it at its \r\n very beginning for all of its readers to observe for all times to \r\n come. There is no anger or condemnation such as we find in the Old \r\n and New Testaments. The Prophet went to great lengths to accommodate \r\n the Jews, and they were very well treated by Muslims throughout \r\n history. \r\nThe primary purpose does not seem to be to condemn the Jews of \r\n the Prophet's time. Rather it is to \r\n provide a 'mirror' for the Muslims of all times, to hold up to themselves, \r\n to see a faithful reflection of their own conditions and destiny. \r\n The discourses also deliver judgement upon the Bani Israel because \r\n of their failure to discharge their mission, and thus provide the \r\n basis to replace them with the new Ummah, the Muslim Ummah, raised \r\n under the leadership of Prophet Muhammad, to continue Allah's mission. \r\nFor, in the Quran, history is not for history's sake. Though particular \r\n nations have been named, names are mere labels. Their accounts are \r\n in fact case studies of communities to show what goes wrong with \r\n them and why. From these examples \r\n other people should learn lessons. \r\nSource: \r\n \r\n |
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