Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Rejected Repentance
Al-e-Imran (The House of Imran) Sura 3: Verses 90-91

"But those who disbelieve after having believed, and then increase in their unbelief - their repentance shall not be accepted. They are the ones utterly astray. As to those who disbelieve, and die while they are disbelievers, there shall not be accepted from any of them even the earth full of gold, though they should offer it in ransom. For them, there shall be a painful punishment, and they shall have no helpers."

These verses refer to the people whose repentance shall not be accepted. They are the ones who were guilty of all the above-mentioned crimes: they believed and then went back and disbelieved, and then went on adding layers upon layers of disbelief. When their final moment came, they professed repentance verbally, without making amends for their crimes, nor openly confessing their concealment of the truth before the Prophet and the believers. Also, they did not spend in the cause of Allah and in support of the Prophet in order to wipe off their sins. They died, in the words of the Quran, falsely hoping that "Allah shall forgive us - sa-yughfiru lana". The Quran clearly warns all such people who thus delude themselves that their verbal repentance is no real repentance, nor will Allah accept it from them.

Similar is the case of those people who recognised the truth and believed in it and then reverted to kufr or unbelief and died in this state. Such people, even if they were to offer the earth full of gold in ransom to save themselves from the chastisement, it shall not be accepted from them. The style used here is meant to emphasise the impossibility of their salvation in the hereafter, for surely no one will possess anything in the hereafter to be able to offer it to anyone else, nor is the life hereafter a place for wheeling and dealing. The conclusion - Wa ma la-hum min nasirin - and they shall have no helpers - lays bare the false hopes of those who expected to be saved by the intercession of their forefathers on their behalf.

Compiled From:
"Pondering Over The Qur'an: Surah Ali Imran" - Amin Ahsan Islahi

From Issue: 989 [Read original issue]

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Good Morals

Abu Dharr, Jundub Bin Junadah, and Abu Abd Al-Rahman, Muadh Bin Jabal, may the Sublime God be pleased with them, said that God’s Messenger, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said, “Fear God wherever you are. Follow a bad deed with a good deed—it will erase it. And treat people kindly and with good morals.” [Al-Tirmidhi]

The virtues of Abu-Dharr are plenty. He embraced Islam when God’s Messenger, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, was in Mecca and the Messenger told him to go back to his people. When the Messenger saw that Abu-Dharr wanted to stay with him and couldn’t leave, he told him, “Fear God wherever you are and follow a bad deed with a good deed—it will erase it.”

The statement of the Prophet, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, “treat people kindly and with good morals,” means treat people the way you’d like to be treated and be aware that the thing that counts the most is good morals. The Prophet, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The one I like the most of you and the one that will sit next to me on the day of Resurrection is the one with the best morals.” Good morals are the attributes of the Prophets, the Messengers, and the best believers. They do not treat people badly who treat them badly. They forgive, pardon, and act graciously.

Compiled From:
"Ibn-Daqiq's Commentary on the Nawawi Forty Hadiths" - Ibn Daqiq

From Issue: 869 [Read original issue]

Cool Tips!

Ramadan Family Time

“Ramadan is family time,” one Muslim mother said recently in discussion about plans for the upcoming blessed month. She described how her busy household was usually scattered in different places throughout the year, with school and extracurricular activities taking precedence. But in Ramadan, everyone gathered to at least eat Iftar together.

While this may be true for some families, it is not for all. For many, there are scheduling conflicts. But hours on the job can be readjusted, classes can be rescheduled, and other activities can take a back seat.

If even this is not possible, you can still make time, as impossible as that may seem. If you and your family can commit to a daily Ramadan ritual of 20 minutes or less, it will go far in strengthening not just personal faith, but family bonds as well. Here are some ideas that offer ways to do that.

Set the timer to 10 minutes. Everyone gather in the same room in their pajamas. Take turns sharing or reading short Islamic stories. Suggestions for Islamic include "Treasury of Islamic Tales," "Companions of the Prophet," "Stories from Islamic History," among others. If the story is long, read only 10 minutes of it. Continue the following day. Be, and encourage all readers to be, as dramatic as possible in his or her presentation to retain audience interest.

Most prayers easily take 20 minutes or less, in fact 10 minutes or less if you are praying only the required Rakat. Choose which prayer can be offered together and encourage all to participate.

Some of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "We eat but are not satisfied." He said, "Perhaps you eat separately." The Companions replied yes. The Prophet then said, "Eat together and mention the Name of Allah over your food. It will be blessed for you” (Abu Dawud).

Eating together is about so much more than food, as this Hadith makes clear. It is about satisfaction not just of our physical appetites, but our spiritual and emotional need for companionship as well. And who better to build that companionship with than our families?

Arts and crafts can be fun and therapeutic. But you don’t need hours in front of an easel to enjoy them. Google “fast and easy crafts” to come up with some great ideas that you can adopt and adapt for Ramadan. Make sure older kids in the house also participate. Also, have all of the materials and preparations done beforehand so the actual craft work really does take 10 minutes or less.

This can be done right after the family has prayed together, or if that is not possible, at any other point in the day that everyone is in the same place, be it the home or the car. Begin by praising Allah, and then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. After this, each person takes turns making one Dua. It could be for better health for a family member, a pet, or a gift wish for Eid. Make sure to set a timer and to remind participants to keep their duas short and meaningful so that everyone gets a chance to share.

Compiled From:
"Reconnect with family this Ramadan- in 20 minutes or less" - Samana Siddiqui

From Issue: 795 [Read original issue]