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From Issue: 402 [Read full issue]

Living the Quran

Al-Nisa (The Women)
Chapter 4: Verse 123

Hopeless Pursuit
"It is not by your own wishful thinking, nor by the wishful thinking of the People of the Book. Whoever does evil shall be requited for it, and shall find none, other than God, to protect and support him."

Boasting about one's religion or beliefs is a hopeless pursuit. Sincere actions and sensible behaviour shall be the final criterion. Today we meet people who are so eager to express their pride in Islam, bragging about its superiority, integrity, and justice. However, when these same individuals are asked what contributions or sacrifices they have made for Islam, or what distinguishes them from followers of other religions in the world, they become dumbfounded. In response to these people Allah has revealed this verse.

Compiled From:
“A Thematic Commentary on the Quran” - Muhammad al Ghazali, Vol 1, p. 78

Understanding the Prophet's Life

The Greatest Educator

The Prophet, peace be upon him, was the greatest educator of all time. He fulfilled his job as an educator along with other tasks assigned to him by Allah. Let us consider here two examples of his greatness as an educator.

Firstly, take the term used by the Prophet to call his followers Sahabah or ‘Companions’. To what extent did it affect his adherents to call them ‘companions’ rather than ‘disciples’, or simply ‘followers’? It was certainly an intended process to raise those adherents to the high standard of their Prophet and it produced the desired results.

Secondly, consider what those Companions related about the behaviour of the Prophet towards them. They all said that the Prophet treated them with such love that each of them thought that he was the Prophet’s favoured one, the nearest to his heart. There was an Abyssinian slave who lived at the Masjid an-Nabi (in Madinah). He used to sweep the Masjid every day. When he passed away, people thought they should not bother the Prophet to pray the prayer for his funeral or accompany the funeral to the graveyard. The next day Prophet inquired about the slave. He was told that the slave had died the day before. Prophet was annoyed. He said, "Why didn't anyone inform me of his death?" Someone said, "We thought it was not worth it to bother you for the death of such an unimportant person." Prophet did not agree. He said, "Where is the man buried?" Some people led Prophet to the grave of the dead slave. Prophet then offered a special prayer for the man. [Bukhari]

To estimate this behaviour, let every one of us try to treat his friends – indeed, his family members – such that everyone of them may feel that he or she is the most favoured.

Compiled From:
“The Way Of The Prophet” – Muhammad Qutb

Blindspot

Personal Expenditure

Beyond the obligation of zakat, we find in Islamic teaching a large number of recommendations about the moral significance of personal expenditure. The management of one’s possessions can never be thought of as outside the meaning of being a Muslim. We may distinguish in the Quran at least four aspects of the moral meaning of expenditure:

1. To please God and make gifts along the way He sets us. Faith is that intimate conviction that God sees what we do and knows the intention behind the way we dispose of our possessions. Maintaining this link with the Creator means directing all our financial activity toward goodness, transparency, and justice. It is to give and give again from our plenty, over and above zakat, in order to live with our rights in harmony with those of others.

2. Giving fair measure. It is not necessary to live like a hermit and to give everything without any sort of account. It cannot be right that we should make ourselves poor in order to achieve justice. A true gift is one that is motivated by moderation and awareness of limitations, as well as by responsibility. Our spirit, our body, those close to us – all have rightful claims upon us to which we must respond, and out of this response is born the true gift of oneself to the other and to society as a whole: fair measure makes it possible to maintain what we need to sustain our own centre in order to be [in solidarity] with other people.

3. The struggle against egoism and acquisitiveness. To neglect giving and to protect one’s possessions to the point of burying them is to forget God and to treat one’s possessions like an idol. It means that one is preoccupied with counting, when what is needed is prayer and purifying oneself form this natural tendency to egoism. The revelation has some harsh words for acquisitive people. The image of a hereafter of suffering is meant to awaken the conscience to the seriousness of an attitude that borders on idolatry and whose consequences we see every day.

4. Learning discretion. Humankind is asked to find the measure in which it will give and to remain discreet and respectful of others. Indeed, one’s way of giving is in itself a testimony of faith: if you have no need to be seen by others, it is a sign that you know God is always with you. Discretion also safeguards the dignity of those you help. The aim is to prevent evil, to give before the poor need to beg, and to try to avoid being seen by anyone so that no one has to be embarrassed or look the other way for no reason.

Compiled From:
“Western Muslims And The Future Of Islam” – Tariq Ramadan, pp. 179-181

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