\r\n
\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n| \r\n QURAN \r\n |
Translation:
\r\nSurah \r\n al-Maidah
\r\nThe \r\n Table Spread (5) - Ayahs 101,102
\r\nIn \r\n the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
\r\n \r\n\"Believers! \r\n Do not ask about the things which, if made \r\n clear to you, would vex you; for, if you ask \r\n about them while the Quran is being revealed, \r\n they will be made manifest to you. Allah \r\n has pardoned whatever happened in the past. \r\n He is All-Forgiving, All-Forbearing. Indeed \r\n some people before you had asked such questions \r\n and in consequence fell into unbelief.\" \r\n
\r\nCommentary:
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Many secrets \r\n are wisely hidden from us. If the future \r\n were known to us, we would not necessarily \r\n be happy. If the inner meaning of some \r\n of the things we see before our eyes were \r\n disclosed to us, it might cause a lot \r\n of mischief.
\r\n \r\n
Examples \r\n of Unnecessary and Irrelevant Inquiries
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People \r\n used to ask the Prophet (salla Allahu \r\n 'alayhi wa sallam) many questions \r\n which were of no practical relevance to \r\n either religious or day-to-day affairs. \r\n Once, for instance, a person asked the \r\n Prophet (saw) in the presence of \r\n a crowd: \"Who is my real father?\"
\r\n - \r\n
Likewise, \r\n many people used to ask unnecessary questions \r\n about legal matters. In the Quran, for \r\n example, Hajj had been declared \r\n obligatory. A person who became aware \r\n of this, came to the Prophet (saw) \r\n and inquired: \"Has it been made obligatory \r\n to perform it every year?\" To this, the \r\n Prophet (saw) made no reply. On \r\n being asked for the third time, the Prophet \r\n (saw) said, \"Woe to you! Had I \r\n uttered 'Yes' in response to your question, \r\n it would have become obligatory to perform \r\n it every year. And then you would not \r\n have been able to observe it and would \r\n have been guilty of disobedience.\" [al-Bukhari, \r\n Ahmad, Malik]
\r\n \r\n
Prophet's \r\n Warning and its Implications
\r\n- \r\n
- \r\n The \r\n Prophet (saw) once said, \"God has \r\n imposed upon you certain obligations, \r\n do not neglect them; He has imposed certain \r\n prohibitions, do not violate them; He \r\n has imposed certain limits, do not even \r\n approach them; and He has remained silent \r\n about certain matters - and has not done \r\n so out of forgetfulness - so do not pursue \r\n them.\" In this Hadith an important fact \r\n has been called to our attention. In matters \r\n where Allah has chosen to lay down certain \r\n injunctions only broadly, without any \r\n elaborate details, or quantitative specifications, \r\n He has done so not because of neglect \r\n or forgetfulness, but allows us latitude \r\n and ease in following His commandments. \r\n\r\n \r\n
Purpose \r\n of the Verse and Its Neglect Today
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The people referred to \r\n in this verse are the Jews, and the Muslims \r\n who followed in their footsteps and left \r\n no stone unturned, despite the warnings \r\n contained in the Quran and in the sayings \r\n of Prophet (saw).
\r\n - \r\n
Now there are some people \r\n who make unnecessary inquiries, cause \r\n elaborately prescribed, inflexibly determined \r\n and restrictive regulations to be added \r\n to the Law. Some others, in cases where \r\n such details are in no way deducible from \r\n the text, resort to analogical reasoning, \r\n thereby turning a broad general rule into \r\n an elaborate law, full of restrictive \r\n details. Both sorts of people put Muslims \r\n in great danger, especially in the area \r\n of 'Aqeedah (belief).
\r\n - \r\n
That \r\n is exactly why it would be foolish to \r\n pry into things too deep for us to understand, \r\n either individually or collectively. When \r\n foolish questions are asked by people \r\n with a weak faith, and no answer is available, \r\n it further weakens their faith with all \r\n sorts of doubts.
\r\n \r\n
[compiled \r\n from \"Towards Understanding the Qur'an\", by \r\n Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi, Vol. II, p. 197-8]
\r\n
\r\n
| \r\n JIHAD \r\n OF THE EYES \r\n |
Protecting \r\n Your Eyes This Summer
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As \r\n temperatures soar and sweat pours down our \r\n faces this summer, it is essential to remember \r\n this: protect your eyes, and I am not talking \r\n about wearing sunglasses. I’m \r\n talking about lowering our gazes.
\r\n - \r\n
In \r\n our culture today, as the temperature increases, \r\n so does the amount of exposed skin on people’s \r\n bodies. Although this is very distressing \r\n and disturbing, it has become a fact of \r\n life. In fact, those of us, especially \r\n our sisters wearing Hijab, who \r\n cover to guard our modesty are seen as strange!
\r\n - \r\n
Yet, \r\n covering, not exposing the skin, is an advice \r\n currently being given by the United States \r\n Department of Health And Human Services \r\n (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control \r\n and Prevention. They have sponsored \r\n a campaign called \"Choose Your Cover\", \r\n encouraging people to protect themselves \r\n from skin cancer.
\r\n - \r\n
One \r\n of the recommended methods is wearing clothing \r\n that covers skin and protects against the \r\n sun's UV rays. The campaign’s \r\n section on clothing notes that \"a long-sleeved \r\n shirt and long pants with a thick weave \r\n provide the best protection.\"
\r\n - \r\n
And \r\n lest we forget, before global warming and \r\n skin cancer warnings were ever issued, most \r\n of the Muslim and non-Muslim men \r\n and women living in the scorching deserts \r\n or cities and villages of Africa and Asia, \r\n which experience tremendous heat in the \r\n summers [if not most of the year] did NOT \r\n emerge from their homes virtually naked!
\r\n - \r\n
In \r\n fact, they covered themselves more \r\n to protect themselves from the sun.
\r\n \r\n
... \r\n to be continued ...
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[by \r\n Dr. Hesham Abdullah from http://www.soundvision.com/misc/summer/summer.shtml
\r\nThank \r\n you Sr. Aisha Islam for the suggestion!] \r\n
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\r\n
| \r\n GETTING \r\n BEYOND PRIVATE ISLAM \r\n |
:!: \r\n Importance of Collective Work and Effort \r\n :!:
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It \r\n is not enough for Islam's well-being that \r\n volunteering individuals should work separately \r\n in scattered areas, though their effort \r\n and work will be rewarded on the Day of \r\n Judgment by Allah, for Allah does not disregard \r\n the effort of anyone, man or woman. Every \r\n individual will be rewarded for his actions \r\n according to his intention and perfection \r\n of his work. \"So whosoever does good equal \r\n to the weight of an atom, shall see it.\" \r\n [Surah al-Zalzalah:7]
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In the contemporary circumstances \r\n of the Muslim Ummah, individual work will \r\n not be enough for bridging the gap and realizing \r\n our aspired hope. Collective work is a must, \r\n as it is ordained by Islam and necessitated \r\n by reality.
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Islam calls for \r\n jama'ah (organized and collective work) and opposes isolation and \r\n straying as Allah's hand is with the jama'ah \r\n and he who strays will stray into Hell. \r\n Remember, it is only the stray and isolated \r\n sheep that the wolf attacks. A prayer is \r\n not valid if the worshipper performs it \r\n separately from the congregation or stands \r\n ahead of the line. A believer to another \r\n believer is like one firm building, one \r\n strengthening and supporting the other.
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Cooperation in righteousness \r\n and piety is one of the obligations of the \r\n Deen, and the mutual teaching of \r\n truth and patience is one of the preconditions \r\n of saving oneself from loss in this world \r\n and the Hereafter [Surah al-'Asr].
\r\n - \r\n
Great achievements are \r\n only made through concerted efforts, and \r\n decisive battles are won only through the \r\n unity of hands, as the Quran says: \"Allah \r\n loves those who fight in His Cause in rows \r\n (ranks), as if they were a solid structure.\" \r\n [Surah al-Saff: 4]
\r\n \r\n
[compiled from \r\n \"Priorities of the Islamic Movement\" by Shaykh \r\n Yusuf al-Qaradawi, p.28]
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\r\n| \r\n THOSE \r\n PROMISED PARADISE \r\n |
Once \r\n a group of Muslims came across Hussayn ibn \r\n 'Ali (radhi Allahu 'anh), the grandson \r\n of the Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu \r\n 'alayhi wasallam), and found him crying. \r\n He was a very young child at the time so \r\n the people inquired: \"Ya \r\n Hussayn, why are you crying? You are so \r\n young!\" Hussayn (ra) replied:
\r\n\r\n
\"I \r\n started to ponder on the fire that the people \r\n build. And I came to the realization that \r\n in order to start a fire, you need the smaller, \r\n weaker pieces of wood. So I started to think \r\n about the Fire of Allah (the hell-fire), \r\n and I became scared that if I die as a young \r\n man, not having lived a righteous life, \r\n then Allah will use ME to start the fire \r\n of hell, just as the small pieces of wood \r\n are used to start the fire in this dunya! \r\n Hence, I started crying.\"
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[related \r\n by Imam Suhaib Webb in his talk \"Zina \r\n - the disease with a thousand faces\" at \r\n Young Muslims, now available for viewing \r\n online in RealMedia video format http://www.saimum.net/ym/zina.rm \r\n ]
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