| Living \r\n the Quran |
Al-Maidah \r\n (The Table Spread)
Blood donation is considered an extremely meritorious and rewarding act \r\n of charity in Islam; since Islam exhorts \r\n us to be charitable to all of Allah’s creation, we cannot think \r\n of any charity greater than the gift of life. \r\nIt is a matter of common knowledge that in many cases persons injured \r\n in accidents, and so on, can only be saved from imminent death if they \r\n are given sufficient blood to replace what they have lost. So by giving \r\n blood, which is in short supply today, Muslims are helping people to live. \r\n By doing this they are, indeed, carrying out the order of Allah. \r\nThere is no distinction to be made between Muslims and non-Muslims in \r\n donating and receiving blood, as Islam encourages us to be charitable \r\n to all creatures regardless of differences of religion or race. There \r\n is no distinction to be made in giving or receiving blood, for there can \r\n be no greater gift of charity than blood, as it amounts to saving a life. \r\n The Quranic order for Muslims is to foster life and be engaged in activities \r\n that strengthen and maintain it in all forms. The opposite of this is \r\n destruction or fasad, which includes all activities that diminish \r\n or destroy life in various ways. \r\nIn other words, fostering and maintaining \r\n life in all forms, human and otherwise, is indeed one of the most meritorious \r\n acts entailing the greatest of rewards in the sight of Allah. \r\n How can it be otherwise, when humans are the trustees of the earth, and, \r\n as such, we are to enhance Allah’s work? \r\nBlood donation undoubtedly tops the list of charitable deeds; therefore \r\n every Muslim should not only participate in it but also take the initiative \r\n in their communities to organize blood banks. May Allah give us the honour \r\n of saving lives and thus receive rewards both here and in the Hereafter. \r\n \r\n \r\n Source: |
| \r\n Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Caring and Love \r\nThe Prophet, peace be upon him, hated to let his companions nurture \r\n a pointless feeling of guilt. He kept telling them that they must \r\n never stop conversing with the One, the Most Kind, the Most Merciful \r\n who welcomes everyone in His grace and benevolence and who loves \r\n the sincerity of hearts that regret and return to Him. This is \r\n the profound meaning of “at-tawbah” offered to every \r\n conscience: “sincerely returning to God” after a slip, \r\n a mistake, a sin. God loves that sincere return to Him and He \r\n forgives and purifies. \r\nThe Prophet himself exemplified that in many circumstances. Once, \r\n a Bedouin came and urinated in the mosque: the companions rushed \r\n on him and wanted to beat him up. The Prophet stopped them and \r\n said: “Leave him alone, and just throw a bucketful of water \r\n on his urine. God has only sent \r\n you to make obligations easy, and not to make them difficult.” \r\n [Bukhari] Again, `Aishah reports that once, a man came to the \r\n Prophet and told him: “I am lost!” The Prophet asked: \r\n “Why?” The man confessed: “I had intercourse \r\n with my wife during the fasting hours of Ramadan.” Muhammad \r\n answered: “Give charity!” The man replied: “I \r\n own nothing!” Then he sat down at a short distance from \r\n the Prophet. Some time later, a man arrived, bringing a dish of \r\n food. The Prophet called out: “Where is the man who is lost?” \r\n “Here”, he answered. Muhammad told him: “Take \r\n this food and give it away in charity.” “To one poorer \r\n than myself? My family has nothing to eat!” “Well \r\n then, eat it yourselves”, the Prophet replied with a smile. \r\n [Bukhari and Muslim] \r\nThat gentleness and kindness were the very essence of his teaching. \r\n He kept saying: “God is gentle \r\n (Rafîq) and he loves gentleness (ar-rifq) in everything.” \r\n [Bukhari and Muslim] He also said: “He \r\n gives for gentleness what He does not give for violence or anything \r\n else.” [Bukhari] He declared to one of his \r\n companions: “There are in \r\n you two qualities that God loves: clemency (al-hilm) and forbearance \r\n [nobleness, tolerance] (al-anâ). [Muslim] \r\n He invited all his companions to that constant effort of gentleness \r\n and forgiveness: “If you hear \r\n about your brother something of which you disapprove, seek from \r\n one to seventy excuses for him. If you cannot find any, convince \r\n yourselves that it is an excuse you do not know.” \r\n [Bayhaqi] \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Source: |
| Cool \r\n Concepts! |
\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n The Security of Personal Freedom \r\nIslam has laid down the principle that no \r\n citizen can be imprisoned unless his guilt has been proved in \r\n an open court. To arrest a man only on the basis \r\n of suspicion and to throw him into a prison without proper court \r\n proceedings and without providing him a reason- able opportunity \r\n to produce his defence is not permissible in Islam. This was \r\n the reason why the Caliph 'Umar said: \"In Islam no one \r\n can be imprisoned except in pursuance of justice.\" The \r\n words used here clearly indicate that justice means due process \r\n of law. What has been prohibited and condemned is that a man \r\n be arrested and imprisoned without proof of his guilt in an \r\n open court and without providing him an opportunity to defend \r\n himself against those charges. If the Government suspects that \r\n a particular individual has committed a crime or he is likely \r\n to commit an offence in the near future then they should give \r\n reasons for their suspicion before a court of law and the culprit \r\n or the suspect should be allowed to produce his defence in an \r\n open court, so that the court may decide whether the suspicion \r\n against him is based on sound grounds or not and if there is \r\n good reason for suspicion, then he should be informed of how \r\n long he will be in preventive detention. This decision should \r\n be taken under all circumstances in an open court, so that the \r\n public may hear the charges brought by the government, as well \r\n as the defence made by the accused and see that the due process \r\n of law is being applied to him and he is not being victimized. \r\nThe attitude and activities of the Kharijis in the days of \r\n the Caliph 'Ali are well-known to the students of Muslim history. \r\n They used to abuse the Caliph openly, and threaten him with \r\n murder. But whenever they were arrested for these offences, \r\n 'Ali would set them free and tell his officers \"As \r\n long as they do not actually perpetrate offences against the \r\n State, the mere use of abusive language or the threat of use \r\n of force are not such offences for which they can be imprisoned.\" \r\n The imam Abu Hanifah has recorded the following saying of the \r\n Caliph 'Ali (A): \"As long as they do not set out on armed \r\n rebellion, the Caliph of the Faithful will not interfere with \r\n them.\" On another occasion 'Ali was delivering a lecture \r\n in the mosque when the Kharijis raised their special slogan \r\n there. 'Ali said: \"We will not deny you the right to come \r\n to the mosques to worship God, nor will we stop to give your \r\n share from the wealth of the State, as long as you are with \r\n us (and support us in our wars with the unbelievers) and we \r\n shall never take military action against you as long as you \r\n do not fight with us.\" One can visualize the opposition \r\n which 'Ali was facing; more violent and abusive opposition cannot \r\n even be imagined in a present-day democratic State; but the \r\n freedom that he had allowed to the opposition was such that \r\n no government has ever been able to give to its opposition. \r\n He did not arrest even those who threatened him with murder \r\n nor did he imprison them. \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Source: |
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