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From Issue: 284 [Read full issue]

Living the Quran

Al-Shuara (The Poets)
Chapter 26: Verses 78-82

Simplicity of the Divine Guidance
 "He is the One who created me and He gives me guidance. When I am sick He restores my good health; He will cause me to die and He will bring me back to life. I also hope that, on the Day of Judgement, He will forgive me my misdemeanours."

As we read the above statement of Prophet Abraham, we can clearly see how simple and straightforward were the teachings imparted to him by God. The more one reads the philosophers' attempt in trying to explain and understand life and existence, the more one is struck and impressed by the simplicity of divinely-revealed religious belief.

Out of all the beings worshipped in the world, there was only One being in whose worship Abraham saw his own good - worshipping his own Lord, God, the Lord of the Universe. Abrahams explains in a few sentence the reasons why only God, the Lord of the Universe, ought to be worshipped:

1. Abraham's first argument was that he considered no one other than His Creator to be worthy of worship. How could any other being who had nothing to do with creating him, said Abraham, have any claim on his devotion and worship?

2. Had God left man to himself, after creating him, and had He not been concerned with his needs, there could have been some reason for turning to someone else for support. But along with creating man God took upon Himself the responsibility of guiding, rearing, caring, and protecting him and tending to the fulfilment of all of his needs. Then what can be an act of greater ignorance, folly and thanklessness than to bow one's head in devotion before others than God and to call upon any others than God to relieve distress and provide aid?

3. Man's relationship with God is not confined to this world alone. It does not start at birth nor does it end when he breathes his last. For what happens after death is also entirely in God's Hand. Hence, those who worship anyone other than God are inviting their own doom. What could be more unfortunate than to turn to others than God for support and help when it is God alone Who decides what treatment will be meted out to each person?

Source:
"Towards Understanding the Quran" - Abul Ala Mawdudi, Vol 7, pp 76-78
"A Thematic Commentary on the Quran" - Muhammad al-Ghazali, p 398
Understanding the Prophet's Life

Avoiding Sedition on the Earth

It is required of the father to choose for his daughter a good man who makes her happy and who finds happiness in her company. The father should concentrate on the man's morals and faith, not on materialistic and earthly matters. He should not put obstacles in the way of the marriage if a suitable man proposes. The Hadith says, "If the person who satisfies you in morals and faith comes to you, let him marry (your daughter). If you do not, you will create sedition on the earth and widespread corruption". [Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah]

Thus, Islam has taught the father that his daughter is a "human being" before anything else. She is not a "commodity" to be offered and given to the one who pays more, as in the case of many ignorant and greedy fathers continue this practice until today.

Source:
"The Status of Women In Islam" - Yusuf Al-Qaradawi
Blindspot

Islam: A Path of Struggle

Why must Islam be so emphatically linked with the idea of struggle? What has the one to do with the other? Cannot a person become a good Muslim without involving himself in a struggle that necessarily requires sacrifices? The answer is: No. And for very obvious reasons.

Islam is not merely the confession of a faith which is made once in a lifetime. The faith is of cosmic dimensions. It requires a radical reorientation of entire life and the world. The confession is not merely verbal; it is an act of witnessing which must transform life into a living and continuing testimony of faith. You enter Islam by saying shahadah (bearing witness). But you can live in Islam only by constantly doing shahadah (al-Baqarah 2:143, al_hajj 22:28). Doing shahadah will bring you in ceaseless confrontation with false gods inside you, and with those outside you. It will also require a ceaseless striving to reshape self and society so as to attest to your witnessing.

Being Muslim thus requires becoming Muslim. Becoming Muslim, after the seed of Iman has been sown in the heart, is a two-fold process: to summon one's own self and to summon mankind, to live under the sovereignty of One God alone. Both are inextricably linked together, both are to be taken up simultaneously.

Summoning mankind is not a passive call. It is an active, dynamic process, a movement. It must wage Jihad with all available resources so that all false claimants to absolute rule are dethroned, oppression and corruption are over powered, and justice is established among mankind.

Source:
"Sacrifice: The Making of a Muslim" - Khurram Murad, pp. 5-6

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