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\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n| \r\n Living the Quran \r\n |
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nTranslation:\r\n\r\n\r\nSurah Luqman
\r\n
\r\n Chapter 13: Verse 13\"Verily, \r\n Shirk (leads to) the greatest oppression.\"
\r\nCommentary
\r\nShirk - The Root \r\n of Human Problems
\r\nThe Islamic Message suggests that the root of \r\n human anxieties and calamities is not nuclear weapons, environmental pollution \r\n and destruction, political corruption, oppression, genocide, civil wars, \r\n social inequalities, crime, drugs the breakdown of the family and so on. \r\n These are all, in actual fact, symptoms and the Quran identifies the root \r\n of human miseries to be shirk.
\r\nDefinition of Shirk
\r\nThe term refers to assigning or associating the \r\n attributes of Godhead to others besides the real God. In other words, \r\n shirk denies Allah an Exclusive Soveriegn role in human affairs.
\r\nArchetypal False Gods
\r\nThe Quran points our attention to four major \r\n archetypal false gods that appear in human society. These are:
\r\n1. Social and Political \r\n Elites
\r\nThis archetypal false god includes evil elite \r\n groups who endeavour to dominate people and effectively assume the role \r\n of gods. Examples include Nimrod, Pharaoh, corrupt kings, dictators, the \r\n ruling class or other forms of corrupt political and social leadership. \r\n Secret organisations, political groups and alliances, and business corporations \r\n can fall into this archetypal false gods if they have evil designs and \r\n are intent upon furthering their power and influence to the detriment \r\n of others. [Al-Quran 28:38, 26:29, 33:67]
\r\n2. Religious Elites
\r\nCorrupt organised religious figures and institutions \r\n are included in this second group of archetypal false gods. This archetype \r\n can also include those who adopt crooked religious views, or who have \r\n invented false beliefs and unnatural practices. [Al-Quran: 9:31]
\r\n3. Cultures and Ideologies \r\n not Sanctioned by Allah
\r\nBlind following of the popular customs, cultures \r\n and ideologies that are formed out of human reasoning and which conflict \r\n with what Allah has revealed. For example, secular-materialism, extravagant \r\n lifestyles, infanticide, nationalism, tribalism, secularism, materialism, \r\n capitalism, communism, and blind adherence to the way of forefathers. \r\n [Al-Quran 2:170, 42:21]
\r\n4. Slavery to the Ego
\r\nThis fourth archetypal false god implies extreme \r\n self-indulgence and slavery to selfish desires, greed, negative emotions, \r\n and slavery to one's own opinions. [Al-Quran 25:43]
\r\n\r\n\r\n[compiled from \"Building a New Society\" by Zahid Parvez,
\r\n
\r\n (Revival Publications, UK), pp. 114-123]
| Your \r\n Family | Your Community |
\r\n\r\n:: 12 \r\n Tips for Teens ::\r\n
\r\n How to Help the Poor and Needy\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\ncontinued \r\n from issue 177 ...
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n4. Talk about \r\n it in your youth group
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhat are the first steps in finding \r\n solutions to problems? Dua (supplication) then brainstorming \r\n and discussion.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAt your next youth group meeting, \r\n put the difficulties \r\n of the poor and needy in your community on the agenda. \r\n Simply discuss and brainstorm. You \r\n don't have to come up with a plan all at once. But \r\n discussing this will start the process and keep it \r\n in people's minds.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIf \r\n you don't have a youth group, get your friends together. \r\n Instead of having the usual hang out time one day, substitute \r\n this with a formal meeting. Now you have a youth group \r\n that can do this exercise.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n[a continuing series based on \"12 Tips for Teens on \r\n How to Help the Poor and Needy\r\n
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| \r\n Sin and Society \r\n |
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSins are of \r\n three kinds:
\r\n\r\n
\r\n- Those \r\n causing injury to others, such as the taking \r\n of property and the denial of rights, as well \r\n as envy, etc.
\r\n- Those \r\n causing injury to the sinner only, like wine \r\n drinking and adultery and fornication, if their \r\n harm is limited.
\r\n- Those \r\n combining both form of injury, e.g. where a \r\n public official seizes people's money and spends \r\n it on fornication or wine drinking. Or where \r\n somebody has unlawful sexual relations with \r\n another in order to gain promotion over people \r\n and do them harm, as sometimes happens with \r\n those who fancy women and boys.
\r\n[from "Public \r\n Duties in Islam", by Shaykh Ibn Taymiya (rahimahullah), \r\n p 94]
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