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From Issue: 396 [Read full issue]

Living the Quran

Al-Nahl (The Bee)
Chapter 16: Verse 51

Fallacy of Dualism
“And Allah said, "Take not (for worship) two gods. He is the One and only God. So, stand in awe of Me, Me alone.”

This verse renounces 'dualism' in all its forms and shades, especially the Zoroastrian doctrine of two gods or two ultimate principles, Ahriman and Ormazd: 'At the beginning of things there existed the two spirits who represented good and evil. Both spirits possess creative power, which manifests itself positively in the one and negatively in the other.' (Ebr. XXII, p. 98)

Dualism, however, is not confined to the Zoroastrian religion. Its rudimentary forms, the rivalry of a Good and Evil deity, are well known among the earlier ages of mankind. Good and evil, as we know them in experience, mind and matter, the world of moral purpose and the world of material things, are not the product of two separate original forces. They are knit into one another as phases in one whole, results of one force, one system of interconnected law. (Gore, Belief in God, p. 53)

In the same vein, one might add that the physicists are now of opinion that the four forces of nature, the electro-magnetic, the gravitational, the weak and the strong nuclear forces, are manifestations of a single, Super force. They believe a theory of physics is possible (called as Grand Unification Theory, or GUT) which will express the various forces in one formula. Some advances have already been made. Weinberg-Salam theory demonstrates that electromagnetic and the weak force are in fact two parts of a single force. Thus, we will arrive at the "oneness" of physical laws that rule the world.

Compiled From:
"Tafsir Ishraq Al-Ma'ani" - Syed Iqbal Zaheer, Vol. 6, pp. 230-231

Understanding the Prophet's Life

Allah Has Pardoned

On the authority of ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them): The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him) said, "On my behalf, Allah has pardoned for my Nation [what is done] mistakenly, out of forgetfulness or under duress." [Ibn Majag, al-Baihaqi]

Pardoning those aspects [that is, the sin of unintentional acts, acts done out of forgetfulness or coercion] is the requirement of wisdom, even though if Allah were to hold one to account for those acts He would be just [since they are the person's acts]. However, the benefit of responsibility and its goal is to distinguish between the obedient one and the sinner. Any act of obedience or disobedience needs an intention for it to be tied to reward and punishment. The Three cases described in this hadith are devoid of such intention. The first two cases are clear. As for the third case, the intention is from the one doing the coercing and not the coerced himself.

Compiled From:
"Fath" - Al-Haitami, pp. 274-275

Blindspot

Tahajjud (The Night Prayer)

Its excellence and merit from the Quran:

Allah praised and complemented the deeds of those who perform the late-night prayers. "The slaves of the Beneficent are they … who spend the night prostrating before their Lord and standing" [al-Furqan: 63-64].

Hadith regarding Tahajjud:

Abdullah ibn as-Salam reports: "When the Prophet, peace be upon him, came to Madinah, the people gathered around him and I was one of them. I looked at his face and understood that it was not the face of a liar. The first words I heard him say were: 'O people, spread the salutations, feed the people, keep the ties of kinship, and pray during the night while the others sleep and you will enter paradise in peace."' This is related by al-Hakim, Ibn Majah, and at-Tirmizhi.

Sahl ibn Sad reports: "Gabriel came to the Prophet sallallahu alehi wasallam and said: 'The honour of the believer is in the night prayer."'

Compiled From:
"Fiqh-us-Sunnah" - Sayyid Saabiq, Vol. 2

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