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\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n| \r\n Living the Quran \r\n |
\r\n\r\nTranslation:\r\n
Surah al-Fajr (The Early Morning)
\r\n Chapter 89: Verses 15, 16
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\"As \r\n for man, whenever his Lord tries him with honor and tests \r\n him with His favors, he says: My Lord has honored me! But \r\n whenever He tries him by restricting his means, then he says: \r\n My Lord has left me humiliated!\"
\r\nCommentary
\r\nSuch is man's thinking about the various forms \r\n of trial Allah may set for him, be it comfort or hardship, \r\n wealth or scarcity.
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\r\n- \r\n
Allah may test him with comforts, honor, wealth or position, \r\n but he does not realize the probationary nature of what \r\n he is given.\r\n- \r\n
Rather he \r\n considers the gesture as proof that he deserves to be honored \r\n by Allah and as evidence that He has chosen him for a special \r\n honor.\r\n- \r\n
It is a \r\n line of thinking which mistakes trial for reward and test \r\n for result. It imagines honor in the sight of Allah to be \r\n measured by the amount of worldly comforts given to a certain \r\n person.\r\n- \r\n
\r\nAllah \r\n also tries man by stinting his means, and man again mistakes \r\n trial for reward and imagines the test to be a retribution. \r\n He feels that Allah has made him poor in order to humiliate \r\n him.\r\nIn both situations the human concept \r\n is faulty. Wealth and poverty are two forms of a test Allah \r\n sets for His servants.
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\r\n- \r\n
A \r\n test with abundance reveals whether a man is humble and \r\n thankful to his Lord or arrogant and haughty, while a trial \r\n of the opposite kind reveals his patient acceptance or his \r\n irritability and fretfulness. A \r\n man's reward is given according to what he proves himself \r\n to be.\r\n- \r\n
What he \r\n is given or denied of worldly comforts is not his reward, \r\n and a man's standing in the sight of Allah is in no way \r\n related to his possessions, for He gives and denies worldly \r\n comforts regardless of whether a man is good or bad. \r\n\r\n- \r\n
A \r\n man devoid of faith cannot comprehend the wisdom behind \r\n Allah's action of giving worldly comforts or denying them. \r\n But when his mind is enlightened with faith and truth becomes \r\n apparent to him, he realizes the triviality of worldly riches. \r\n\r\n- \r\n
\r\nAs he \r\n disregards the hollow considerations of wealth and poverty, \r\n he feels reassured about his fate and his position in the \r\n sight of Allah.\r\nAt the time of its revelation, \r\n the Qur'an was addressing a kind of people, common to all ignorant \r\n societies, who lost all their relations with a world beyond \r\n our present life. Such people adopt this mistaken view about \r\n Allah's granting or denial of wealth, and apply a set of values \r\n which reverse all honor to money and social standing. Hence, \r\n their craving for wealth is irresistible. It makes them covetous, \r\n greedy, and stingy. The Qur'an reveals their true feelings and \r\n states that their greed and stinginess are responsible for their \r\n inability to understand the true significance of a divine trial \r\n by granting wealth or denying it.
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n[compiled from \"Fi Zilaal al-Qur'an (In the Shade of the \r\n Quran)\" by Sayyid Qutb]
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| \r\n Prophetic \r\n Guidance \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\nNo \"Special\" \r\n or \"Preferred\" 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\nDuring the time of the Prophet Muhammad (sall \r\n Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam), a woman from the powerful tribe \r\n of Makhzum stole jewelry and confessed to the crime when the case \r\n was brought before the Prophet. Her tribesmen wanted to avoid \r\n the shame of having the Qur'anic punishment applied to her, so \r\n they asked Usamah ibn Zayd who was close to the Prophet to intercede \r\n on her behalf.
\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\nWhen Usamah approached the Messenger of God, he \r\n became very angry with him and said: \"Do you dare to intercede \r\n in one of Allah's fixed punishments?\" He then called the people \r\n together and delivered a sermon in which he said,
\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 people before you \r\n were destroyed because they let the nobles go when they stole, \r\n but applied Allah's punishment on the weak when they stole. By \r\n Allah, if my own daughter Fatimah stole, I would cut off her hand!\"
\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[reported \r\n in Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud]
\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\nThe Prophet showed us how universal justice \r\n can be realized in society: when no preferrential treatment \r\n or disproportionate leniency in shown to the rich, powerful or \r\n influential especially in matters of upholding Law, and at the \r\n same time the poor, simple-minded, and weak are exploited by fake \r\n expressions of 'justice' and 'due process'.
\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\nIslam considers all humans the same with regards \r\n to their obligation to submit to divine laws and in their responsibility \r\n for breaking them. No government, Muslim or otherwise, should \r\n pretend to be upholding God's laws, the Shari'ah, or claim \r\n piety for themselves while they are selectively applying His commandments \r\n for their own benefit or their 'royal families' or to gain credibility \r\n while clinging to power. A society is truly just, and hence \r\n Islamic, when those most likely to be wronged - the poor, lower \r\n class, disenfranchised, foreigners, and non-Muslims - can testify \r\n to their fair treatment, not the rich and well-connected!
\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[parts from \"The Evolution of Fiqh\" by Shaykh Abu Ameenah \r\n Bilal Philps]
\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 \r\n\r\n
| \r\n Quotes \r\n to Ponder Upon \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\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\nIslam did not come to obliterate \r\n the personalities of men and turn people into clones of one another, \r\n or to make them as if they were all cast from the same mold. \r\n Islam came to develop the unique and special characteristics of \r\n each individual Muslim so that they can be employed in the service \r\n of Islam.
\r\nIslam does not seek to turn everyone \r\n into a scholar or to make everyone into soldier who brandishes \r\n his sword in Allah’s cause. Nor does it seek to turn everyone \r\n into devotees who pray all night and fast all day. Quite the contrary, \r\n Islam addresses people with what suits their individual temperaments. \r\n
\r\nSomeone who is strong in the time \r\n of ignorance remains strong after accepting Islam. A person who \r\n is naturally very devout and strongly emotional will find fulfillment \r\n in Islam and become engaged in worship and devotion. A man who \r\n is brave and strong will find in Islam the duties of jihad. A \r\n person with an active mind will find that Islam encourages people \r\n to think and to seek knowledge. Perhaps the Prophet (peace be \r\n upon him) was alluding to this fact when he said: \"Everyone \r\n will find easy what he is created for.\"
\r\n[from \"Personality \r\n Development in Islam\" by Shaykh Salman al-Oudah]
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| \r\n Community \r\n & Society \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\nHow do we keep the bonds of Islamic brother/sisterhood \r\n intact to fulfill our goals as an Ummah, especially in North America, \r\n where our diversity is even more marked than in other parts of \r\n the world? In the continuing series, we will present ten practical \r\n ways you and your community can build unity.
\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\n5) \r\n Avoid taking a strong position on smaller points
\r\nThere is what's called a \"Fiqh of priorities\" \r\n (fiqh al-awaliyaat) and this essentially means that there \r\n are some aspects of Islam that are more important than others. \r\n For instance, it's more important to emphasize that \r\n Muslims establish prayer than whether or not there should be a \r\n curtain between men and women in mosques.
\r\nKnowing what our priorities are will help us avoid making \r\n secondary issues of the faith factors of division in our communities. \r\n Muslim leaders, especially, must not only understand \r\n this, but implement it in their communities across North America \r\n so that small differences do not kill Muslim unity.
\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\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\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n[compiled from an article by Abdul Malik Mujahid, available \r\n in full at http://soundvision.com/info/muslims/10thingsforunity.asp]\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\r\n\r\n\r\n
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