\r\n
\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n| \r\n QURAN \r\n |
\r\n\r\nTranslation:\r\n
\r\n\r\nSurah al-An'aam (The Livestock)
\r\n
\r\n Chapter 6: Verses 40, 41\"Say: 'What do you think if some calamity of Allah or the Hour \r\n suddenly strikes you: Do you cry to any one other than Allah? Answer, \r\n if you speak the truth!'
\r\nSurely, it is to Him alone that you cry and then, if He so wills, \r\n He removes the distress for which you had cried to Him, and you forget \r\n the partners (false gods) you had set up with Allah.\"
\r\n@ Commentary @
\r\nThe Reality
\r\n\"O my God!\", \"Lord, please help \r\n me!\", \"God, I know you won't leave me in this state!\"... \r\n These and similar statements are uttered by us almost every day in \r\n times of hardship, distress, and shock. However, often as Muslims \r\n and non-Muslims we fail to realize the implications of these expressions.
\r\nIn these verses God is drawing our attention \r\n to one of His signs observable even in the lives of those who deny \r\n the Truth. When either some great affliction befalls a person or \r\n when death starkly stares him or her in the face, it is only to God \r\n that he or she turns in refuge! On such occasions even the staunchest \r\n polytheists forget their false gods and cry out to the One True God \r\n (Allah). Similarly, even the most rabid atheists stretch out their \r\n hands in prayer to Him in such circumstances.
\r\nReturn to God: The \r\n Natural Way
\r\nThis phenomenon shows us that devotion \r\n to God and monotheism are inherent and natural in human soul. No \r\n matter how overlaid this truth might be, some day it shakes off human's \r\n heedlessness and ignorance and manifests itself fully. This leads \r\n to an important question: Once we realize the truth and the reality \r\n of this life, why don't we truly repent to Allah, worship Him sincerely, \r\n and serve His creation on this earth? It's perhaps due to our \r\n over indulgence with the luxuries and comforts of this superficial \r\n world of passing fads and entertainment that we forget our true purpose \r\n in life and the harsh reality of this world!
\r\nIt is Surprising...
\r\nWhen Abu Dhar al-Ghifari asked the Prophet \r\n (peace and blessings be upon him) about the message of Prophet Moses \r\n (Musa), may Allah's peace be upon him, he replied: \"The books revealed to Moses were a reminder. It is \r\n surprising to see people who believe in death \r\n but still feel happy, people who believe in hellfire but still laugh, people who believe in Allah's \r\n assurance but still feel unsatisfied, people \r\n who notice how the world treats those who live in it and still \r\n desire it, and people who believe in the Day of \r\n Judgment and still do not do good actions.\" [Hadith]
\r\nRevolution in Ikramah's life
\r\nIt was the observation of Allah's sign \r\n mentioned in these verses that had led Ikramah, the son Abu Jahal \r\n (who was the leader of non-Muslim oppressors of Muslims in Makkah), \r\n to the true faith in Allah. When Makkah was peacefully conquered \r\n at the hands of the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam), \r\n Ikramah fled to a nearby city, Jeddah, and sailed from there towards \r\n Abyssinia. During the voyage the boat ran into a severe storm which \r\n threatened to capsize it. At first people began calling on their gods \r\n and goddesses. Later on, when the storm grew worse and the passengers \r\n were sure that the boat would definitely sink, they inherently turned \r\n in unison to the One True God alone, for He alone could save them.
\r\nThis opened the eyes of Ikramah, whose \r\n heart cried out to him that if there was none of these 'gods' were \r\n of any help to him in that situation, how could they be of any help \r\n to him elsewhere? He also recalled that this was precisely what \r\n the Prophet (peace be upon him) had constantly reminded people of, \r\n and that it was precisely because of this preaching that they had \r\n engaged in unnecessary violent conflict with him. This was a turning-point \r\n in Ikramah's life. He instantly made up his mind that if he survived \r\n the storm, he would go straight to the Prophet and submit to the truth. \r\n Thereafter, Ikramah not only remained true to this word by becoming \r\n a Muslim, but spent the rest of his life struggling in the cause of \r\n Islam.
\r\n \r\n[compiled from \"Towards Understanding the Quran\", Vol II \r\n
\r\n
\r\n by Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi and \"To Be A Muslim\" by Fathi Yakun]
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| \r\n DEALING \r\n WITH TEENAGERS: TIPS FOR PARENTS \r\n |
Conclusion of series from Issue #158
\r\nTip 8) We should try \r\n to channel their teenage zeal
\r\n into constructive avenues
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSometimes, teenagers begin to criticize the way \r\n of life of their parents and society, and parents are often angered \r\n by this. However, we must keep in mind that sometimes they may \r\n be right. Our lives and our society are not perfect, and teenagers \r\n may have fresh insight into how to improve them. In Living \r\n With Teenagers: A Guide for Muslim Parents, sister Ruqaiyyah \r\n Waris Maqsood writes:
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\"Teenagers are idealists - they want to change the world, \r\n and make it a better place. These are not bad ideals, and it is \r\n a great pity that adults have forgotten their own ideals in the \r\n rat-race of daily life. You, the parent, may have ended up as \r\n just a hard-working nonentity in some quiet niche in life; a teenager \r\n who is a real idealist may end up as a famous person, a reformer, \r\n a politician, an aid-worker... who knows. The future lies there \r\n before them. It \r\n is therefore a foolish parent who tries to ridicule and trample \r\n on that young idealism. If it is consistent with Islam, it should \r\n be fervently encouraged, and not set at nought!\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\nIf a teenager is idealistic and \r\n wants to improve the world, we should encourage him and help him. \r\n If he or she is full of zeal but lacks the proper direction, we \r\n should help him to use that zeal constructively. If we get teenagers \r\n involved in helping those in need and in working for important causes, \r\n their zeal could make a tremendous impact.\r\n
[compiled from \"8 Tips for Dealing With Your Child's Teenage \r\n Years\"]
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nTo learn \r\n more on the topic of Islamic parenting \r\n and the development of healthy, vibrant Muslim \r\n families in the North American context, bookmark and visit \r\n often:\r\n
SoundVision's Parenting Page http://www.soundvision.com/Info/parenting/
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| \r\n SHARIAH: THE \r\n WAY OF JUSTICE \r\n |
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nConclusion of series from Issue #158
\r\nSex Outside Marriage
\r\nSex, in Islam, is not a taboo \r\n to feel guilty about. It is a natural and creative urge, \r\n a God-given gift. But the bond of marriage must be tied \r\n before enjoying the pleasures of sex, which are the rewards \r\n for the responsibilities that the man and woman bear in \r\n rearing a family; these joys lighten the burden and cement \r\n and bind the relationship. To seek sex outside the limits \r\n set by God is a sin, to seek it within these limits is therefore \r\n an act of worship ('ibadah).
\r\nIf sex inside and outside marriage were equally \r\n legitimate or easily available, the sacred institution of \r\n the family would be gradually destroyed. Islam therefore \r\n not only completely prohibits all forms of sexual deviation \r\n and pre and extra-marital sex; it arranges to make them \r\n highly inaccessible and also severely punishable. Hence \r\n the regulations about covering various parts of the body \r\n and the social mixing of the sexes.
\r\nPolygamy
\r\nPolygamy is permitted by the Qur'an; \r\n though it is not enjoined, as some people apparently believed. \r\n Justice is enjoined, as far as is humanly possible, otherwise \r\n one should remain monogamous. Thus, disadvantages of \r\n a polygamous marriage are recognized, but not to the extent \r\n of prohibiting it legally. This legal provision can \r\n be properly understood only in the context of Islam's position \r\n on two important issues, as already explained. Firstly, \r\n that the family is the cornerstone of human society and \r\n any extra-marital sex is completely prohibited. Married \r\n life is the most desirable way of life - Islam wants a woman \r\n to be a wife, honoured and elevated, and never a mistress. \r\n Both man and woman have to make some sacrifice to make a \r\n success of family life. Secondly, Islam's law is for \r\n all times to come and should therefore, as far as is practical, \r\n cater for all possible social and individual situations. \r\n Legal provision, like a total ban on divorce or polygamy \r\n may indeed result in far more serious consequences than \r\n they may solve. Even in countries where polygamy is illegal, \r\n it may be argued, monogamy is fairly rare, so sex outside \r\n marriage is considered as polygamy, as it should be.
\r\nIt is left to the societies and individuals, \r\n within the freedoms and prohibitions laid down by Islam, \r\n to regulate their conduct as they may desire. What is \r\n important to note is that it takes a woman, in addition \r\n to a man, to make a polygamous marriage; for no marriage \r\n in Islam can never take place without her consent. And the \r\n first wife can also claim a divorce if she cannot live with \r\n the situation. Hence it is entirely within the power \r\n of individuals, if need be, to virtually eliminate polygamy \r\n without recourse to law.
\r\n \r\n[compiled from \"Shari'ah: \r\n The Way of Justice\" by Ustadh Khurram Murad (rahimahullah)]
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\r\nWe hope you benefitted from the insights and arguments presented \r\n in these brief excerpts. This is by no means an exhaustive \r\n study of the role of men and women in Islamic Law or the wisdom \r\n behind Islamic rulings of marriage, divorce, and family life. \r\n
\r\n
\r\n For a more detailed study, you may wish to refer to the following:\"Women \r\n in the Shade of Islam\" by \r\n Abdur-Rahman al-Sheeha
\r\n
\r\n \"The \r\n Status of Women in Islam\" by Yusuf al-Qaradawi
\r\n \"Gender Equity in Islam\" \r\n by Jamal al-Badawi