Friday Nasiha

Al-Zukhruf (The Ornament)
Chapter 43: Verses 20-21

Blaming God!
"("Ah!") they say, "If it had been the Will of (Allah) Most Gracious, we should not have worshipped such (deities)!" of that they have no knowledge! they do nothing but lie! What! Have We given them a Book before this, to which they are holding fast?”

Throughout the history the ignorant always blamed God's Will to cover up their deviation and error. They argued that their worshipping of idols and angels became possible only because Allah allowed them to do so. Had He not willed so they could not have done it; and then it had been a practice with them for centuries and no torment from Allah had descended on them, which meant that Allah did not disapprove of their practice.

This argument, however, is wrong. For it is not only shirk which is being committed in the world, but countless other crimes like stealing, robbery, murder, bribery, etc. also are taking place, which nobody likes. Then, can it be said by the same reasoning that all such acts are lawful and good only because Allah is letting them happen in His world, and when He allows them to happen, He must have approved of them also?

The means of knowing what Allah likes and what He hates are not the events that are happening in the world, but the Book of Allah, which comes through His Messenger and in which Allah Himself states as to what beliefs, what deeds and what morals He likes and what He dislikes. If these people have a Book, which came before the Quran, and which tells that Allah has appointed the angels and idols also as deities beside himself and that they should worship them also, they should cite it. The truth is that they have no authority of any divine book; the only authority they have is that it has been the practice since the time of their forefathers.

Source:
"The Meaning of The Quran" - By Syed Abul Ala Maududi, Vol. 4. pp. 576, 577

Longing To Meet Thee

Every one of us has to die. Death is not the end of everything, it is only a transition into the next phase. In that phase we will stand face to face with Allah.

None of us likes to die; it is only human. But die we must, and only after death will the doors open to eternal life and blessings. If you understand the nature and reality of this-worldly life, if you know that you can receive your full wages only upon meeting Allah, then you will develop two feelings:

One, a desire to meet Him, however you may fear Him on account of your own misdeeds.

Two, the preparedness to sacrifice everything that belongs to this-world for what you will earn in reward in the Hereafter.

One of the dua the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, used to make says:

Allah! Grant me the delight of looking at Thy noble face and a longing to meet Thee.
(Nasai, Ahmad, Hakim)

Source:
"Sacrifice: The Making of a Muslim" - By Khurram Murad, p. 32

First, it is a visible arabesque. It consists of a malleable line which the calligrapher undulates, stretches, bends, inclines, renders in strait, broken, angular, or cursive design, decorates, and floriates into rosettes, geometrical or other patterns, making of the writing an arabesque as beautiful as any other decoration.

Second, calligraphy has a discursive content. The words reproduced present something directly to the mind besides what is presented to sense. This is usually a verse from the Quran or a hadith of the Prophet. Making the word of God visible, beautifully visible, is the raison d'etre and ultimate purpose of the art. A verse of poetry, a proverb, or a common saying could also serve if its thought-content agrees with God's transcendence.