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Living \r\n the Quran

Al-Rad \r\n (The Thunder)
\r\n Chapter 13: Verse 20 (partial)

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Fulfilling \r\n The Covenant
\r\n \"Those who fulfill Allah's covenant.” \r\n

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Allah's covenant! What is it? Following explanations can be offered \r\n in connection with this verse:

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First, as Ibn Abbas has said, the \r\n allusion is to the covenant taken by Allah from the human souls \r\n before their creation while they were yet in Adam's loins, asking \r\n them, \"Am I not your Lord?\"

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Second, the term \"Allah's \r\n covenant\" includes every right thing (that \r\n the human ought to be doing) following the demands of reason and \r\n good sense. Of this second kind, there are two types:

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1) Those things \r\n that are so proved through intellectual reasoning.
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2) Those things \r\n that are so proved by Divine Revelation.
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Allah's covenant covers everything that has clear evidence in \r\n its favour: either rational or divine. In fact, the word covenant \r\n is synonymous to evidence. And there \r\n is no covenant stronger than evidential proofs \r\n (that the humans are shown as Allah's signs). In short, anything \r\n that an irrefutable evidence indicates as the right thing to do, \r\n is something the humans are bound to do. This is the covenant \r\n of Allah in its fullest sense.

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Source:
\r\n \"Ishraq Al-Ma'ani\" - Syed Iqbal Zaheer, Vol. 6, p. 97

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\r\n Understanding the Prophet's Life
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Ties of Kinship

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Ibn Jurayj reported, \"We have been told that the Prophet, \r\n peace be upon him, said, 'If you \r\n didn't walk with your feet to your kinsfolk, and did not share \r\n your wealth with them, then, you snapped ties with them.'\" \r\n (Ibn Jarir)

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This refers to all ties arising from human relationships -e.g, \r\n the bonds of the family, responsibility for the orphans and the \r\n poor, the mutual rights and duties of neighbours - as well as \r\n the spiritual and practical bonds which should exist between all \r\n who belong to the brotherhood of Islam.

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In its widest sense, the spiritual obligation is to remain conscious \r\n of the unity of purpose underlying God's creation, and hence man's \r\n moral duty to treat all living beings with love and compassion. \r\n In practical term it would imply helping the needy, preventing \r\n harms that threaten to strike them: such as those that are within \r\n one's means, visiting the sick, attending the funerals, spreading \r\n the Salam among the Muslims, smiling in their faces, and being \r\n good to the animals.

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Fudayl bin Ayad once said, \"Remember, \r\n if a man was good towards everyone to the extreme limits, but \r\n didn't treat well the chickens that he has, he will not be counted \r\n as those who do good.\"

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Source:
\r\n \"Tafsir al Fakhr al Razi\" - Muhammad al-Razi Fakhr
\r\n \"The Message of the Quran\" - Muhammad Asad

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Blindspot!
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Islam is not Complex

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Islam is not a way of life that is complex or difficult. Rather \r\n it is the human being who practises Islam who often makes it \r\n difficult and then, complexity overtakes him so that eventually \r\n he is unable to cope with even the simplest of tasks. The fact \r\n that It is possible for every person to understand and practice \r\n Islam is assured by the following three principles:

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Firstly, the basic beliefs contain \r\n no mystery and are therefore easy to comprehend. \r\n Every tenet in Islam is subject to analysis and inquiry. Moreover, \r\n Islam does not present stumbling blocks to the mind. Islam does \r\n not present concepts or ideas which the intellect cannot grasp. \r\n Even the simplest of minds can understand its basic beliefs. \r\n It is therefore not surprising that its beliefs are universal. \r\n

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Secondly, the most important \r\n and stringent obligations ordained upon Muslims are easy to \r\n undertake. That is, the duties and obligations \r\n laid down by Allah have been graded. And, it is the wisdom of \r\n Allah that the greater the importance He has attached to any \r\n act, the easier it is for everyone to accomplish it. Thus, for \r\n example, the five daily Salat (Prayers) and Sawm \r\n (fasting) during the month of Ramadan are compulsory upon everyone, \r\n since they are within everyone’s reach to accomplish. \r\n Zakat (almsgiving) and Hajj (pilgrimage), \r\n on the other hand, though fundamental pillars of Islam, are \r\n not compulsory upon everyone. If it were made compulsory upon \r\n everyone, then those who did not possess the financial means \r\n would be unable to carry out these duties.

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Thirdly, there are provisions \r\n for exemption when it is genuinely not possible for someone \r\n to fulfil an obligation. For instance, if a \r\n person is genuinely unable to stand up and pray, then he is \r\n permitted to sit down or even lie down and pray. Similarly, \r\n if there is no water available to perform the wudu or ablution \r\n before prayer, then one can make tayammum, which is \r\n a simple dry ablution, performed by using clean earth or dust. \r\n Therefore, even when there appear to be difficulties, if one \r\n looks closely at the Shariah or Islamic legal code \r\n as a whole, one will find so many rules relating to exemption \r\n that enable one to practice Islam very easily and this is the \r\n case regardless of the problem: political, economic or simply \r\n personal.

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Therefore, as long as one possesses the basic tools, a sound \r\n knowledge of what is stated in the Shariah regarding \r\n a particular matter and an awareness of the responsibility for \r\n ones own actions, a person may \r\n decide for himself when to deviate from the standard. \r\n

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Source:
\r\n \"Islam: The Easy Way\" - Khurram Murad

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