Issue 110 » March 23, 2001 -
General
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QURAN
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Translation:
"They were commanded only to serve God, making the religion sincerely for Him, men of pure faith, and to perform the prayer, and pay the alms."
[Al-Quran- Sura Al-Bayyina 98:5]
Tafseer:
SINCERITY (IKHLAS) IN WORSHIP
- One of the key characteristics of the Prophets is Sincerity (Ikhlas). Sincerity is purity of intention – to do everything solely for the sake of God.
- We must worship God only because we are His servants and He has commanded us to worship Him. By worshipping Him, we secure His approval and get the reward of our worship in the Hereafter.
- One of the great thinkers of our century, Said Nursi (Rahimahullah), said in this respect: "Do what you do only for God’s sake; start for God’s sake; work for God’s sake and act within the sphere of God’s good pleasure."
THE PROPHET (PBUH)- A MODEL
OF SINCERITY AND HUMILITY
- Allah's last Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, was also the foremost in sincere worship of Allah, so that a day would come when someone said of him: ‘No one can remain as humble as he was at the beginning of his career or quest after attaining its height. Muhammad was an exception to this.’
- Although his Companions respected him to the utmost degree, he deemed himself a poor servant of Allah. On the day when he conquered Makka, he was not different at all from the day when he humbly began his mission. At the outset of his mission, he would sit and eat with the poor and slaves. As he entered Makka as a victorious commander, he rode a mule in so deep submission and humility before Allah that he bent forward with his forehead touching the packsaddle of the beast. He was prostrating himself before Allah and taking refuge in Him from being a tyrannical, haughty conqueror.
- Allah's Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, had a single intention, namely, to please God and worship Him sincerely, as he himself stated in a famous Tradition: "Perfect goodness is to worship God as if you were seeing Him, and while you see Him not, yet truly He sees you."
- The Prophet lived every second of his life in complete consciousness of being supervised by God.
[Compiled from "Prophet
Muhammad- The Infinite Light", by Shk. Fethullah
Gulen]
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HADITH-
To Soften our Hearts [Ar-Riqaaq]
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"Hypocrites
of My Nation...."
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
The
Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Certainly, the majority
of the hypocrites (in their actions) from among my Nation
are its Quranic Reciters."
[Collected by
Ahmed and others]
[Explanation:
This Hadith is not in reference to complete hypocrites who
are hiding their disbelief and who, therefore, fall outside
the Nation of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Instead, it is referring to Muslims whose reading, memorizing
and learning of the Quran is sometimes tainted by the fact
that they are seeking the praise and adoration of the people.
This is because memorizing the Quran or reading it in a
beautiful voice is often an act for which one becomes well-known.
In other words, the word spreads quickly that a specific
person has a beautiful recitation or has memorized so much
of the Quran. Therefore, it is relatively easy for Satan
to come to such a person and affect his intention (Niyya).
In essence, this Hadith is a warning to those who wish to
learn, memorize, and recite the Quran. It is warning concerning
a dangerous disease that can creep up on such people. Even
though they put many, many hours into memorizing and reading
the Quran in the most beautiful manner, due to their improper
intention during some of that time, they may memorize the
entire Quran but they may not be blessed with a complete
and true understanding of the Quran.]
[Taken from "How
to Approach and Understand the Quran" by Jamaal
al-Din Zarabozo]
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Signs
Before the Hour- What have we prepared for it?
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In the Hadith
related by Imam Muslim, Gabriel (peace be upon
him) asks the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) about
the Hour and he responded: "The one being questioned
knows no more of it than the questioner." Therefore,
in this Hadith he indicated that no one, and even
the Prophet of Allah, has any idea when the Day of
Resurrection is supposed to occur. Imam As-Suyuti, considered
to be the greatest scholar of medieval Egypt, was concerned
about the expectations of many Muslims who were of the
opinion that 1000 Hijrah year would herald the
ultimate end of the world. He concluded in his short
book called 'Proof that this Ummah will survive
the Millennium' that after close examination
of the Hadith collections of the existence of this ummah,
there was no proof that the first millennium Hijrah
was the ultimate end of human history. However he
devised the signs that will pave the way for the final
return of Prophet Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus).
To be
continued in the next issue.....
[Written and Contributed
by Br. Muttakin Reza, T.L. Kennedy High
School, Mississauga]
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Etiquettes
& Importance of Celebrations in Islam
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Celebration
of Festive Occasions in Life
It
is good to celebrate festive occasions, which is a human
urge and a natural requirement. Islam, being the religion
of nature, realizes the desirability of the celebration
of joyous occasions with certain conditions. Islam does
not desire that we should impose upon ourselves an artificial
reserve and seriousness not warranted by the occasion, and
wear a pensive look all the time, killing all the attractiveness
in our personality. Islam gives us full permission to celebrate
all legitimate festive occasions so as to enable us to remain
fresh with ambitious desires, new and fresh hopes, and ever
newer paths to tread. It is our ignorance of Islamic knowledge
to assume that the celebration of certain occasions runs
counter to the tenets of Islam.
If
you have been privileged to fulfill some religious mission,
i.e. Hajj; you or one of your close relatives has achieved
a high position in learning; you have been blessed with
success in business or achieved some monetary gains; you
have distinguished guests visiting your home; you have a
marriage or birth in your home; you have heard the news
of the recovery of a relative from long illness; you have
heard the happy news of the triumph of the Muslims in a
battle- and if there may be a feast in any case, it is your
natural right to celebrate such occasions, provided you remain
within the social limits prescribed by Islam, and that you
thank Allah for this happy occasion in your life. Islam
not only permits merry-making, but it considers it quite
in conformity with it.
Ka'b
bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says, when Allah
accepted his repentance (i.e. Tawba for staying
back from a Muslim military expedition) and he heard the
good news, he immediately presented himself before the Holy
Prophet (peace be upon him) and greeted him. The face of
the Holy Prophet (pbuh) was at that time glowing with cheer,
and whenever he used to be happy, his face glowed like the
moon, and the companions would then understand from the
glow of his countenance that he was in an extremely joyous
mood.
[Taken from "Discipline
For Muslim Youth", Vol. II, by S. M. Madni
Abbasi]