General
From Issue: 308 [Read full issue]
| Living the Quran |
Al-Rad (The
Thunder)
The interpreter of the Quran, Ibn Abbas, has explained that the word Al-Mu'aqqibat (translated here as "angels in succession") refers to the angels whom Allah appoints to guard a person from before and from behind. Then when the decree of Allah comes, which Allah wills should befall him, they withdraw from him. Mujahid said: "There is no person who does not have an angel appointed to protect him when he is asleep and when he is awake, from the jinn, other men and savage beasts. None of these come to him, but the angel tells it, 'Keep away!' except for that which Allah has given permission to befall him." A man said to Ali ibn Abu Talib, "A group from Murad want to kill you." He said, "With every man there are angels guarding him from whatever has not been decreed for him. When the decree comes, they move away from him and let it reach him. Your fixed lifespan (decreed by Allah) is a protection for you." Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| Training the Officials The Prophet, peace be upon him, was so sensitive about financial irregularities that it is reported that he berated one of his officers in public, for receiving a gift from the public. It is likely that the people offered the gifts out of love of the Prophet and their gratitude to the officer. But if this was allowed once, this could bind the people to offer presents to the officers and open the door to corruption. The Prophet in order to nip this evil in the bud condemned the practice in the strongest possible tone: “What an officer! I send him and then on his return he says: This is for you and this has been presented to me. Why did he not sit in his father’s house or in his mother’s house to see if he is still offered presents. By Him in Whose control is Muhammad’s life! Everyone of you who gets anything in this way shall be brought on doomsday with his (gift of) camel, cow or sheep, loaded on his neck and making noise.” [Muslim] Another hadith curses the giver and taker of bribes [Ibn Majah]. It is reported that the Prophet followed a policy of not appointing as his officials those who wished to be appointed. [Bukhari] All of the hadith quoted above base the training of the officials on morals. The underlying force is the sense of answerability to God. It is this sense that protects the functionaries of the government from corruption, indiscipline and irresponsible behavior even though they may be underpaid and over-loaded with work. This approach discards the offensive theory that implies that underpayment automatically leads to corruption. While moral training of functionaries of the state was of basic importance, the matter was not left entirely up to personal correctness. Since the time of the Prophet strict vigilance was exercised over the performance of the officer appointed for a particular job. Khalifa Umar and his followers used to specify clearly the duties, powers and functions of these functionaries. Circulars were also sent to these officers, reminding them of their duties and reiterating the importance of leniency, good behavior, justice and benevolence. Umar used to prepare a statement of the assets of his officers to check the rate of increase during the tenure of their office. The story of confiscation of half the properties of more than a hundred officers is well-known. Source: |
| Muslim Women in History |
Arwa bint Abdul Muttalib The aunt of the Prophet. She married twice and two children. She became Muslim at the urging of her son Tulayb. When she heard, that he had become Muslim, she said that if women were able to do what men can do, then they would also follow and defend the Prophet. He asked her what prevented her from following the Prophet and she said she would do what her sisters are doing. Later, when Abu Jahl attacked the Prophet, Tulayb went to Abu Jahl and hit him. Quraysh put Tulayb in chains and Abu Lahab went to Arwa abd asked her if she knew what her son had done. She replied that she too was following the Prophet and that Abu Lahab should do so as well. She later migrated to Madina. Source: |
| A Father's Advice |
Avoiding Foolish Waste My dear son, How many nights have you remained awake seeking knowledge and reading books, forbidding yourself the pleasure of sleep! I do not know for what purpose [you did this]. If it was for attaining worldly benefits and securing its vanities, its status and position and asserting your superiority over your peers and brothers, then woe to you and again woe; but if your purpose was to revive the Shari’ah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and to train your character, and break the nafs al-ammara [the soul commanding to evil], then blessed are you and again blessed. The poet spoke truly when he said, “To spend the night awake and weeping for other than Allah is a foolish waste.” Source: |
