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From Issue: 112 [Read full issue]

QURAN

Translation:

"And when they tasted of the tree, their shame became visible to them, and both began to cover themselves with leaves from the Garden."

[Al-Quran- Sura Al-Araf 7:22]

Tafseer:

MODESTY AND BASHFULNESS ARE INHERENT IN HUMAN NATURE

  • The primary manifestation of this instinct is seen in the sense of shame that one feels when one is required to expose the private parts of one's body in the presence of others.
  • According to the Quran, this bashfulness is not artificial, nor an outcome of advancement in human culture and civilization. Nor is it something acquired as some misguided thinkers contend. On the contrary, modesty has been an integral part of human nature from the very beginning.
SATAN'S FIRST STRATAGEM
  • The sexual instincts of humans were taken by Satan as the most vulnerable aspect of human nature. Accordingly, he sought to weaken human's natural instincts of modesty and bashfulness.
  • This devilish stratagem is still followed by the disciples of Satan in our time. For them, progress is inconceivable without exposing woman to the gaze of all and making her strip before others in one form or another.
IT WAS NOT THE TREE...
  • It was not any extraordinary qualities of the forbidden tree that had lead to the downfall of humans from their original state, rather it was human's disobedience to God.
  • This was a way of conveying to humankind of all time that humans will enjoy God's support and protection only so long as they remain obedient to Him.
 [Compiled from "Toward Understanding the Quran" by Abul Ala Maududi, vol. III, p. 12]
 
HADITH- To Soften our Hearts [Ar-Riqaaq]
"Allah will not accept the excuse...."
<*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>
 
Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Allah will not accept the excuse of any person whose instant of death is delayed till he (or she) reaches the age of sixty years."
 
[Collected by Al-Bukhari, vol. 8, #428]
 
[Explanation: "I will start praying Salah and will do the Hajj (pilgrimage) when I get old," is a statement made by our parents and the adults, in probably every Muslim family today. Subhan-Allah! Does anyone of us know whether we will be able to live long enough in the first place? And even if we do live up to the age of sixty, what guarentee is there that all our previous sins will be forgiven by then, if we don't start practicing Islam now? That's why the Prophet (pbuh) warned us in this Hadith that such a person will not have the right to say on the Day of Judgment, "If Allah had given me another lease of life, I would have done good deeds," because he or she has been given a life long enough for him or her to do righteous deeds.]
 
Thought-provoking Bits from Islamic Literature
 
Bringing Islam to the West and the West to Islam- Do we have any other choice?
 

"Indeed, you (Muslims in the West) have only THREE possible futures. First, to be assimilated and absorbed in the secular culture here (in the West), receiving in return, a niche where you can practice your private customs and festivals. Second, to face genocide or extermin-ation, like the Muslims in Spain and Bosnia, and the Jews in Germany. And Third, to bring Islam to the West and the West to Islam. Again, the choice is yours!...

Being Muslims, desiring to live as Muslims, do you really have a choice? Certainly not. There is only one choice for you and it is quite obvious.
Make a resolve today... to cry out and carry on the message of the
Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wasallam, from every home and market square, to every man, woman and child, so that they may live in true submission to their Lord..."

 
~ Ustadh Khurram Murad [Rahimahullah] (1932-96) ~
[Quoted in "Building a New Society" by Zahid Parvez]
 
 
Etiquettes & Importance of Celebrations in Islam
~~ Celebrating the Weddings ~~
 
You should celebrate the weddings with jubilation and associate your relatives and friends in these festivities. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) has permitted singing of some songs and playing of cymbals* on such occasions. This facilitates the expression of happy sentiments and also publicizes the marriage.
 
Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) married a lady of her family to an Ansar (people of Madina). When she was being sent to her husband's house, Holy Prophet (pbuh) remarked, "Why wasn't a slave girl sent to beat the cymbals and to sing some songs, in order to accompany the bride?" (Al-Bukhari).
 
When Rabi bint Muawwidh (may Allah be pleased with her) was being married, some girls sitting around her were playing the cymbals. They were singing verses praising their relatives who had sacrificed their lives in the Battle of Badr. A girl sang the following verse, "We have among us a Prophet who knows what is going to take place tomorrow."
 
Upon hearing this, and knowing that this wasn't true, the Prophet (pbuh) corrected her by saying, "Leave this. Sing what you were singing earlier." (Al-Bukhari)
 
* Cymbal is a concave plate of brass that produces a sharp sound of ringing when struck
 
[Taken from "Discipline For Muslim Youth", by S. M. Madni Abbasi, Vol. II,  p. 71-72]

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