General
From Issue: 257 [Read full issue]
| Living the Quran |
Al-Hijr
(The Rock)
For three years, or perhaps a little longer, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, continued his efforts to propagate Islam, maintaining secrecy as he was commanded by God, but it was now time to move into a new phase. He was given the order to go public, and his response was soon forthcoming. As he was to show throughout his years of prophethood, Muhammad was never to hesitate in carrying out, in letter and spirit, every commandment he received from God. He therefore stood on al-Safa, a small hill in the centre of Makkah, close to the Kaba, and called out as loudly as he could every Arab clan of Makkah, mentioning them by name and asking them to come over to him. At that particular time and in that particular city, this was the surest way of getting the news to everyone. In no time, the word spread all over Makkah that Muhammad had something important to announce. People were rushing to him from all quarters of the city. When they gathered around the hill, Muhammad put to them this question: "If I were to tell you that armed horsemen are beyond this valley heading towards Makkah to attack you, would you believe me?" "You are trustworthy, and we have never known you to tell lies," they answered. "Well, then," he said, "I am sent to you to warn you against grievous suffering." Commenting on the Prophet's statement that he is a warner of a grievous suffering, Shaykh Nadwi says that it outlines the position of a prophet who knows the truth which lies beyond what ordinary people can see or understand. It was a warning which combined perfect intelligence with maximum lucidity and clarity of purpose. It was the shortest way to address the minds of the Prophet's audience. The Prophet continued his warning, addressing each clan of the Quraysh by name. Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
Feelings of Hope and Fear Anas bin Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, once visited a man who was sick. Messenger of Allah said to him, "How do you feel, my brother?" He replied, "O Messenger of Allah! My state is that I am hopeful of Divine Mercy, but, at the same time, there is fear of punishment for the sins I have committed." Messenger of Allah remarked, "Be sure, in whose heart the feelings of hope and fear are present together, Allah will surely bless him with Paradise." [Tirmidhi] A Muslim is asked to call upon Allah with fear and hope. This means that humans should fear Allah alone, and to Him alone should we look for the fulfillment of our wishes. While calling upon Allah, we should realize that we are totally dependent on His favour and can attain success only if He helps and guides us to it. Similarly, we should also bear in mind that we cannot succeed without Allah's support. If a person is always hopeful of Divine Mercy, and has no fear of Allah, he is likely to slip and commit mistakes. He will be careless and negligent. On the other hand, if he is simply afraid of punishment for the sins he committed he will be disappointed of Allah's Mercy. He will not perform any good or virtuous acts, thinking that he has already been doomed and cursed. Thus we see that the only proper combination in our hearts is the balance of fear and hope. Source: |
| Blindspot |
The Compulsory Nature of Islamic Activism Working for Islam means to reform oneself so that one's life teaches others true belief and Islamic behaviour. Working for Islam equally means to form a society that is committed to the Islamic way of thinking and Islamic way of life, which means to form a government that implements principles of justice embodied in the shariah to guard the rights of every person and community, and establish truth and justice, and at the same time call others toward Islam - truth, peace, and justice. These three responsibilities are obligatory not merely for the entire Muslim community but for every individual Muslim until we have established a system of governance adequate to the task. Until the nations of the world have functionally Islamic governments, every individual who is careless or lazy in working for Islam is sinful. These sins of omission will not be forgiven until they take a quick action to carry out all their responsibilities and Islamic duties. Source: |
| Cool Bits! |
The other names of the Kaba Literally, Kaba in Arabic means a high place with respect and prestige. The word Kaba may also be derivative of a word meaning a cube. Some of these other names include: Bait ul Ateeq - which means, according to one meaning, the earliest and ancient. According to the second meaning, it means independent and liberating. Both meanings could be taken Bait ul Haram - the honorable house Source: |
