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From Issue: 414 [Read full issue]

Living the Quran

Al Baqarah (The Cow)
Chapter 2: Verse 266

The life of a materialist
"Would any of you desire that he should have a garden of palms and vines with rivers flowing beneath - a garden in which he has every type of fruit - while the old age overtakes him and his offspring are too young or weak to look after themselves- and that it (the garden) should then be struck by a fiery whirlwind and be utterly burnt down? Thus does Allah make His Signs clear to you that you may reflect."

This parable, along with the three parables that immediately precede, opens the eyes of readers to the reality of life, emphasizes the need to spending our wealth in beneficial causes, and warns us against the dangers of greedy attitude of consumer lifestyle.

This is a life of a materialist person, in a nutshell. We see many such examples among our family and community members. It makes us think further: How is it, then, that we can contemplate stepping into the realm of the Hereafter and finding suddenly that we are empty-handed; that we have sown nothing permanent and productive in this World so that we can reap the fruit in the Hereafter? In the Next Life there will be no opportunity to begin earning anew! Whatever we can do towards ensuring our well-being in the Hereafter, must be done now, when we are healthy, wealthy, and young. Charity and righteousness are the only sources of true happiness in both worlds. Otherwise, in the Hereafter, our situation would be as pitiable as that of the age-stricken person whose life's worth of labour is reduced to ashes, too late for him to a produce a new one!

Compiled From:
"Towards Understanding the Quran" - S. Abul Ala Mawdudi
"The Holy Quran" - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Understanding the Prophet's Life
It is Our Business

How many of us have looked to our brothers and sisters in Islam and have seen them straying from the path of Allah, and have turned our faces away? How many of us have seen our brothers erring and said to ourselves, it is none of my business? Well, it is our business for the Prophet (peace be upon him) has made it our business. In the hadith related by Tamim ad-Dari, the Prophet said, "The religion is nasiha." The people asked, "To whom?" The Prophet replied, "To Allah and to His Book and to His Messenger and to the leaders of the Muslims and the common folk." [Collected by Bukhari, Muslim]

[continued from previous issue]

How is Nasiha given to the Book of Allah?

  • By firmly believing in the heart that it is the Speech of Allah and His revelation; it is not like the words of the creation; and none of His creation is capable of producing something similar to it.
  • By respecting it.
  • By learning and teaching it; reading, reciting, and writing it properly; understanding its meaning; staying within its bounds; acting upon what is contained in it.

How is Nasiha to the Prophet (peace be upon him) given?

  • By affirming his prophethood.
  • By firmly believing in the heart in everything he came with; obeying him in what he commanded and what he forbade.
  • By aiding him while he was alive and after his death; taking his enemies as one's enemies, and befriending those who take him as a friend.
  • By realising the greatness of his right upon us, honouring him, and reviving his way of life (Sunnah).
  • By practising his Sunnah by spreading and affirming it; refuting those who cast doubts upon it; spreading its knowledge and its understanding; not arguing about it without knowledge; calling others toward it; teaching it with gentleness; showing its greatness and the greatness of those who adhere to it by attaching oneself to them; and showing it its due respect when studying it.
  • By loving the Ahl-ul-Bait (his family) and his companions; turning away from those who belittle his family or revile his companions.

[to be continued in the coming issues]

Compiled From:
"Directions to Giving Naseehah" - Kamil Mufti, Al Jumuah Magazine

Cool Facts!

East-European Muslims

East European countries are ex-communist countries. In the past, they were part of the Islamic Caliphate, which collapsed in 1928. Muslim communities in these countries were imprisoned behind the wall of communism for years, until the winds of freedom arose in the late eighties, returning them once more to the light.

Below are the numbers of Muslims in these countries:

Russia = 21 million
Ukraine = 2 million
Romania = 120000
Bulgaria = 2.5 million
Albania = 3 million
Bosnia = 2.2 million
Kosova = 2 million
Macedonia = 0.5 million
Croatia = 0.4 million
Serbia = 0.8 million
Poland = 20,000
Hungary = 80,000
Belarus = 80,000
Moldova = 25,000
Baltic States = 35,000
Slovenia = 0.25 million

Of these numbers, only 50,000 are immigrants. The rest are indigenous!

Compiled From:
"Islam and the World" - Ayman Ali, Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE)

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