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\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-Nisaa (The Women)
\r\n
\r\n Chapter 4: Verses 82\"Do they not ponder the Quran? Had it been from anyone other than \r\n Allah, they would surely have found in it much inconsistency.\" \r\n
\r\n@ Commentary @
\r\nDisbelief & Hypocrisy: Due to Lack of Reflection
\r\nThe main reason for the attitude of the \r\n hypocrites and non-believers was their lack of conviction that \r\n Quran came from God alone. They did not believe that the Prophet \r\n (peace be upon him) had received the revelations that he preached \r\n from God Himself. Here God reminds them of \r\n one factor behind their hypocritical conduct: that they do not ponder \r\n the message of the Quran.
\r\nDivine Origin of the \r\n Quran: Why is it Inconceivable to have a Man as its Author?
\r\nThe Quran itself is a strong, persuasive \r\n testimony to its divine origin! The unity of the Quran and uniformity \r\n of its messages is admittedly greater than that of any sacred scripture \r\n in the world. From a mere human point of view, had this Quran been \r\n authored by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as some people \r\n used to and continue to claim today, we should have expected much \r\n contradiction in its message, because
\r\n1) the \r\n Messenger (pbuh) who preached it was not a learned or even a literate \r\n man, nor was he a philosopher;
\r\n
\r\n 2) it is inconceivable that any human being, \r\n like Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), could compose discourses on different \r\n subjects under different circumstances, and on different occasions, \r\n without being inconsistent in its overall message and outlook.
\r\n 3) it is addressed to all grades of humanity.This is the Challenge \r\n of Allah!
\r\nHad the Quran been authored by a human, \r\n it would not have resulted in such a remarkably coherent, homogenous, \r\n and integrated work. It is also inconceivable that such a work would \r\n reflect a superb consistency in the mood and spirit of its Author, \r\n and a work too mature to ever need revision! Therefore, \r\n when properly studied and understood, its various pieces fit together \r\n well even when arranged without any regard to chronological order.
\r\nLet's Study and Live \r\n by what we Understand!
\r\nWhile Islam encourages intellectual debates \r\n and orders Muslims to use their mind and wisdom, in order to gain \r\n insights and enriching interpretations of the message of the Quran, \r\n it does not give people a free licence to have trivial arguments \r\n with one another using seemingly contradictory verses from the Quran, \r\n without resorting to interpretations offered by the Prophet Muhammad \r\n (pbuh), his sincere companions, or the pious and learned scholars.
\r\nA man reported to have \r\n said, \"Once I visited the Prophet (pbuh) at his house. I found some \r\n people sitting near his door. They were talking among themselves. \r\n Someone quoted a verse. But they disagreed over its meaning and began \r\n to argue. Voices rose high. At that, the Prophet (pbuh) emerged and \r\n his face turned red with anger. He threw a handful of dust at \r\n them (as a sign of disapproval) and said, 'Take it easy, my people, for this is what destroyed \r\n the nations before you: it was by (unnecessary) disagreeing with their \r\n prophets and misquoting parts of their books to counter other parts \r\n of it. The Quran has not been revealed for some parts of it \r\n to be refuted with the others, rather, its parts testify (support \r\n and explain) each other. Therefore, live by what you understand. And \r\n what you cannot, leave it to the learned.'\" [Ahmad and Ibn Kathir]
\r\n \r\n[compiled from \"Towards Understanding the Quran\", Vol II \r\n
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\r\n by Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi and \"Tafsir Ishraq Al-Ma'ani\" by Syed \r\n Iqbal Zaheer]
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| \r\n The Importance \r\n of Appearance \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*The Distinct \r\n Muslim Personality*\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe Muslim personality is \r\n a distinct one due to its unique code of behavior, as well \r\n as its manners and appearance. Your \r\n appearance, tastes, manners, and character reflect your personality. \r\n Our Master, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) directed \r\n his companions by saying, \"You are \r\n on your way to meet your brothers, so put on a nice dress \r\n and fix your saddles (place where a rider sits on the back \r\n of an animal), so that you appear distinct among people as \r\n a mole (on a face). Allah likes neither roughness, nor rough \r\n manners.\" [Muslim]\r\n\r\nThis Hadith indicates that the \r\n distinct look of Muslims in their beauty, their cleanliness, \r\n and their pleasant smell, coupled with excellent character, \r\n enhances their personality, just as a black mole enhances \r\n the beauty of an already nice face!\r\n\r\nOnce the Prophet (pbuh) said, \r\n \"He will not enter Paradise who has a grain of arrogance \r\n in his heart.\" Upon hearing this a man asked, \r\n \"(What about) a person who may like his dress to be nice \r\n and his shoes to be nice?\" The Prophet (pbuh) \r\n replied, \"Allah is beautiful and likes \r\n beauty. Arrogance is to deny the rights and look down upon people.\" \r\n [Abu Dawud, Ahmad & Al-Hakim]\r\n\r\nShaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (Rahimahullah) \r\n said that beauty that Allah likes includes nice clothes! Hence \r\n it could be said that Allah likes all nice things. Therefore, \r\n a Muslim ought to be recognized by neat dress, cleanliness and \r\n graceful manners. Unfortunately, today many Muslims have lost sight \r\n of this distinction and commit errors that blemish their 'Muslim \r\n personality' that is meant to be unique in its gracefulness \r\n and perfection.\r\n\r\n[Complied \r\n from \"Islamic Manners\" by Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghudda (Rahimahullah, \r\n 1917-1997)]\r\n
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| \r\n Thought-provoking \r\n Story! \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\n~ The Triple \r\n Filter ~
\r\nDuring the golden Abbasid period, one of \r\n the scholars in Baghdad, the capital of Muslim caliphate \r\n at that time, was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. \r\n One day an acquaintance met the great scholar and said, \r\n \"Do you know what I just heard about \r\n your friend?\"
\r\n\"Hold on a minute,\" \r\n the scholar replied. \"Before telling \r\n me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called \r\n the Triple Filter Test.\"
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\r\n
\r\n \"Triple filter?\"
\r\n
\r\n \"That's right,\" the scholar \r\n continued. \"Before you talk to me \r\n about my friend it might be a good idea to take a moment \r\n and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it \r\n the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Have \r\n you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell \r\n me is true?\"\"No,\" \r\n the man said, \"actually I just heard \r\n about it and...\"
\r\n\"All right,\" \r\n said the scholar. \"So you don't really \r\n know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, \r\n the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me \r\n about my friend something good?\" \"No, \r\n on the contrary......\"
\r\n\"So,\" \r\n the scholar continued, \"you want \r\n to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain \r\n it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's \r\n one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want \r\n to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?\" \r\n
\r\n\"No, not really.\" \r\n
\r\n\"Well,\" \r\n concluded the scholar, \"if what you \r\n want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, \r\n why tell it to me at all?\"
\r\n\"O \r\n ye who believe! Let not some men among you laugh at others: \r\n It may be that the (latter) are better than the (former): \r\n Nor let some women laugh at others: It may be that the (latter \r\n are better than the (former): Nor defame nor be sarcastic \r\n to each other, nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames: \r\n Ill-seeming is a name connoting wickedness, (to be used \r\n of one) after he has believed: And those who do not desist \r\n are (indeed) doing wrong.\" [Surah al-Hujurat \r\n 49.012 ]
\r\n[contributed by Sisters Naila Kibria and Faaizah Salahuddin \r\n from University of Toronto, Erindale campus]
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