General
From Issue: 314 [Read full issue]
| Living the Quran |
Al-Imran
(The House of Imran)
Despite their personal experiences in every day dealings, with the Muslims, the non-Muslims level the charge against them that their religion is intolerant and unaccommodating. The present verse is cited as an example. The verse in question is speaking of wilayah (for which 'allies', 'friendship' are inadequate equivalent). Wilayah is to take someone close to what is in one's bosom, sharing all the secrets therein, and trusting him to the fullest degree, as one would trust his own self, and finally, to love him. It is in this sense that the Muslims have been ordered not to take the non-Muslims as their awliya (sing. waliyy). The verse does not disapprove of friendship in the ordinary sense. Islam does not bar the Muslims from that kind of friendship at the individual or state level. The term wilayah is quite alien to non-Muslims. It manifests itself among the Muslims alone, by way of complete faith, trust and love for the sake of Allah, between two individuals otherwise totally strangers to each other. It can exist between two Muslims that do not even speak each other's language and might have run across each other only a moment earlier. They might not be friends to each other, yet, they can be awliya to each other. In contrast, friendship requires sharing of certain opinions, language, culture, long companionship, and proving true under some trying circumstances. Morever, friendships can break off. Two non-Muslims, for instance, can be good friends for a very long spell, but may break off forever. That is not possible with two awliya. Islam encourages its adherents to be friendly with everyone around. Indeed, it goes one step forward; it expects them to be good toward them. If they happen to be neighbours, Islam disapproves that Muslims sleep well fed, while they go hungry. The Prophet himself, when there was famine, sent across food to the Makkans although they were at war with him. There are four kinds of relationships with the unbelievers:
One should not be overwhelmed by the fear of other human beings to the extent of losing the fear of God. Human beings can harm a man but the most they can do is to ruin his transient, earthly life. God, on the other hand, can subject him to everlasting torment. If one is constrained in extraordinary circumstances to resort to a prudent concealment of faith (taqiyah) in order to save one's life, this concealment should remain within reasonable limits. The most one is permitted to do is to protect one's life and property without jeopardizing either the interests of Islam or of the Muslim community as a whole, and without causing loss of life and property to other Muslims. One must never allow saving one's own life to lead to the propagation of unbelief at the expense of Islam and to the dominance of unbelievers over Muslims. Here the believers are warned that, no matter how dangerous the circumstances surrounding them, they cannot escape God's reproach if they give substantial aid to those rebelling against Him, and cause any harm to God's chosen religion, to the community of believers or to any individual believer. For, it is to God that one will ultimately return for reckoning. There are lots of things over which the two, Islam and non-Islam, differ with each other. But, they are not sufficient causes for a permanent state of war between them. So long as both are just, equitable, do not interfere in each other's affairs, and are ready to resolve their issues peacefully, they can co-exist and meet on many platforms for interaction and mutual benefit. Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| Redefining War The Prophet (peace be upon him) has altered the standards and aims of pre-Islamic wars. The pre-Islamic wars were nothing more than robbing, killing, plundering, tyranny and aggression-oriented wars. Those wars focused on winning victory, oppressing the weak people and demolishing their houses and constructions. For them, war was a means by which they could rape or unveil women, practice cruelty against the weak elders, children and the babies, and spoil tillage and animals, and spread corruption on the Earth. War in Islam is a Jihad for the purification of the land of Allah from deception, treachery, sinful deeds, cruelty, oppression and aggression. It is a sacred war that aims at spreading security, safety, mercy and compassion as well as observation of rights and fairness. Allah's Messenger issued honourable and strict rules about war and ordered his soldiers and leaders to obey them. They were forbidden from breaking those rules under any circumstances. Whenever Allah's Messenger appointed a leader for an army or a battalion, he used to say to him: "Let your invasion be in the Name of Allah and for His sake. Fight those who disbelieve in Allah. Invade but do not plunder nor conceal booty. Never deform the corpse of a dead person or kill an infant child." Allah's Messenger asked people to facilitate but he forbade them to bear down hard on others or constrain. "Pacify", he said, "and do not punish." When it happened that he arrived at the battlefield at night, he would never invade the enemy till it was morning. He utterly forbade burning (i.e. torturing people) in fire, killing children and women or even beating them. He also forbade theft and robbery and proceeded so far as to say gains acquired through plundering are not less forbidden than the flesh of a corpse. Corruption of tillage, killing of the animals and cutting down of trees were all forbidden unless they were badly needed and there was no other substitute. He said: "Do not kill a wounded person nor run after a fleeing one or kill a captive." He decreed that envoys cannot be killed. He also strictly prohibited the killing of those who made covenants. He even said: "Whoever kills one who is under pledge to a covenant, shall not smell paradise, though its smell could be experienced at a forty-year distance from it." Source: |
| Blindspot! |
Intricacies of Sin Walking out of the masjid (mosque), I observe an old man crying. Praying in a dark corner he asks of his Lord for forgiveness. Looking at this man, I remember that I too must have sinned today. I turn back and have a seat. I ask Allah for His forgiveness, for He says in the Qur'an: "…and whosoever does not repent, then such are indeed zaalimoon (wrongful oppressors)" [al-Hujuraat 49:11]. I do not wish to be amongst the zaalimoon. In today's society, people can be classified into two categories: those who sin and repent, and those who merely sin. It is the latter of the two that tend to lead a life of misery. In my opinion, the western society we live in leaves us no choice but to sin on a daily basis. Going to University and being present in such an environment exposes us to situations in which we inadvertently sin. Nevertheless, it is important to realize our mistakes and repent rather than isolate ourselves from such a society. Note however, I am not saying that it is justified to sin just as long as we repent. We should sincerely attempt to avoid displeasing Allah, and when having recognized that we have displeased Him, ask Him for His forgiveness. The act of repentance is based upon an important premise: that we realize when we have made a mistake. Quite often, we take sin lightly; this is the trap of the Shaytaan. We degrade our sins to being sagheer (minor) when they may not necessarily be. We claim: "How bad can it be to look at pictures of the opposite gender in magazines? So what if I smoke once in a while?" However, two narrations by Imam al-Bukhari clarify the dangers of such an attitude: Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "You do things which in your eyes are less significant than a hair, but at the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), we used to count them as things that could destroy a man". And Ibn Mas'ood (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The believer regards his sin as if he were sitting beneath a mountain which he fears may fall on him, whereas the sinner regards his sin as if a fly lands on his nose and he swipes it away". Source: |
