General
From Issue: 307 [Read full issue]
| Living the Quran |
Al-Maidah
(The Table)
In this verse the believers are urged to solicit all means which might bring them close to God and enable them to please Him. The English imperative 'strive hard' does not do full justice to the actual word used in the Quran: jahidu. The verbal form mujahadah signifies and carries the nuance of doing something in defiance of, or in opposition to someone. The true sense of the Quranic injunction 'strive hard' in the way of Allah is that the Muslims ought to use all their strength and engage in vigorous struggle against those forces which either forcefully prevent them from living in obedience to God or force them to live in obedience to others than God. It is this struggle which is likely to lead man to his true success and bring him to a close relationship with God. This verse directs the believer to engage in a ceaseless, multifrontal struggle. On one side is the accursed Satan with his horde. Then comes the animal spirit of man, with its defiant and refractory desires. Then there are many men who have turned away from God, but with whom one is linked by social, cultural and economic ties. Then there are false religious, cultural and social systems which rest on rebellion against God and which force man to worship falsehood rather than Truth. These rebellious forces use different means to achieve their end, but those ends are always the same - to make men serve them rather than God. But man's true progress and his attainment of close communion with God depends entirely on his total obedience to God, on his serving God unreservedly in the inner as well as in the external aspects of his life. He cannot achieve this objective without engaging in simultaneous combat with all the forces which are defiant and rebellious towards God, carrying on an unceasing struggle against them and trampling down all obstructions to his advancement along God's path. Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| Perfecting Islam Through Generosity The Messenger, peace be upon him, never refused anyone and only said the word "no" when reciting the profession of faith while praying. Once, a bedouin came and asked the Messenger for something. The Messenger complied with his request. The bedouin continued to ask, and the Messenger continued to give until he had nothing left. When the bedouin asked again, he promised that he would give it to him when he had it. Angered by such rudeness, Umar said to the Messenger: "You were asked and you gave. Again you were asked and you gave, until you were asked once more and you promised!" Umar meant that the Messenger should not make things so difficult for himself. The Messenger did not approve of Umar's words. Abd Allah ibn Hudafa al-Sahmi stood up and said: "O Messenger, give without fear that the Owner of the Seat of Honour will make you poor!" Pleased with such words, the Messenger declared: "I was commanded to do so!" [Ibn Kathir 6:63] He never refused a request, for it was he who said: "The generous are near to God, Paradise and people, but distant from the Fire, The miserly are distant from God, Paradise, and people, but near to the Fire." [Tirmidhi, "Birr," 40] and: "O people! Surely God has chosen for you Islam as religion. Improve your practice of it through generosity and good manners." [Hindi, 6: 571] His mercifulness rose up as moisture into the sky, and then rained as generosity so that hardened hearts would be fertile enough to grow "good trees whose roots are firm and whose branches are in the Heavens, and which yield their fruits every season by the leave of their Master." Source: |
| Blindspot |
Turn off TV! Quality Family Time? Television is a big part of society today. 98 percent of homes in America contain at least one TV set, and a third of all homes contain two or more television sets. Parents come home after a hard day’s work and sit down in front of their TV, in lieu of sitting down with their families. Hour after hour, day after day, this endless cycle of “TV therapy” continues. Kids learn these habits from their parents. In a year, the average child spends 1023 hours in front of a TV—more than the 900 hours they spend in school! ‘Action-packed fun’ or Violence? The content of TV lends itself more and more towards violent shows and movies. Children who watch TV are more likely to be aggressive and commit violent acts. Many TV shows and movies encourage the use of violence to the exclusion of anything else. The heroes exalted after they annihilate the “bad guys”. The selective media coverage of murders and catastrophes leads us all to constantly fear that something bad will happen to us. Females who watched more than the average amount of violence tend to throw things at their husbands more often, and men who grew up watching violent TV shows are more likely to be violent with their wives. Obesity & Laziness. Extended periods in front of the television can be detrimental to your health. The time spent vegetating on the couch could be spent exercising or playing sports. While they’re watching TV, people tend not to notice how much they shovel down their mouths. Obesity, due to over-eating, affects one third of Canadians. Two hours of TV a day—just four TV shows—are linked to a 23 percent increase in obesity. Attention Span and Reading.
The seven-minute segments of TV content condition children
to such an extent that the children’s attention span drops to
seven minutes. Fuel for Lust. It is impossible to lower one’s gaze while watching Television. Channel after channel, program after program, and even during commercial breaks, TV bombards us with indecently dressed men and women and sexual innuendo, if not outright pornographic content. Even seemingly-innocent programs, such as news, have begun to follow this trend. Most television programming does not promote modesty (Haya) in men and women. A study shows that an astounding 55-65 percent of content contains sexual content in word or deed, yet only 10 percent of those make any reference to being faithful to one’s life partner. TV Abuse. TV obsession is no joke. Like substance abuse, TV can cause dependency and addiction. You may find yourself channel surfing when you’re bored, or watching TV for longer than you intended to. Ironically, watching more TV leads to enjoying TV less, yet many are unable to stop watching or even cut down on viewing hours. Source: |
