Self-Lover, Women & Congregation, Jews in the Quran
Issue 318 » March 18, 2005 - Safar 7, 1426
General
| Living the Quran |
Al-Adiyat
(The Courses)
It is a fact that man reacts with ingratitude to all the bounties of his Lord. He denies the favours which God confers on him. His thanklessness and ingratitude is reflected in a host of actions and verbal statements which will serve as witness against him. Or perhaps, on the Day of Judgement, he may testify against himself, admitting his ingratitude: "and to this he himself bears witness." (Verse 7) For on the Day of Judgement he will speak the plain truth even against himself, without contention or excuse. "And truly, he is passionate in his love for wealth." (Verse 8) Man is a passionate self-lover. But he loves only what he imagines to be good for himself: wealth, power and the pleasures of this world. This is his nature unless he has faith which changes his concepts, values and even his concerns. Faith changes his ingratitude to humble thankfulness. It changes his greed and miserliness to benevolence and compassion. It makes him aware of the proper values which are worthy of being the object of ambition and hard competition. Indeed these are much more exalted than money, power and mundane pleasures. Man without faith is an ignoble creature having only trivial ambitions and petty concerns. However large his desires, however strong his ambitions and high his objectives may seem, he remains sunk in the cesspool of this earth, confined within the limits of this life, imprisoned in self. He cannot be freed or elevated except by an attachment to a world superior to this earth, extending beyond this life; a world which originates from God who is the First Being and returning to God the Eternal; a world into which this life and the life hereafter converge and which has no end. Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| Women Praying in Congregation It is a well-known principle established by the well attested and authentic traditions reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that praying in congregation is far superior to praying individually. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Prayer in congregation is twenty-seven degrees better than praying individually.” It is equally agreed upon among scholars and jurists that all general statements shall be interpreted as general unless there is evidence to indicate otherwise. Since there is nothing in the sources to suggest that the above rule about superiority of congregational Prayer is applicable to men only, there is no reason to exclude women from such rewards. It is one thing to say that Islam does not compel women to go to mosques for praying in congregation burdened as they are with the duties of providing nurturing care and love for their family; it is another to say that they are not supposed to make use of the opportunity to reap the rewards of congregational prayer whenever and wherever an opportunity arises for them to avail of such rewards. We are confirmed in the above reasoning when we know from the practice of the Mothers of the Believers that they availed themselves of the opportunity of praying in congregation whenever they had an opportunity to do so. Thus, aside from the fact that the women during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed in congregation in the mosque, they also used to pray in congregation at other times whenever they were all by themselves. We read in the sources that both Aishah and Umm Salamah, the most knowledgeable among the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), used to lead women in congregational Prayers. We also read in the sources that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed Umm Waraqah to lead the members of her household in Prayers. Based on the above, we can safely conclude that women never deprive themselves of the opportunity to pray in congregation whenever they have an opportunity to do so: either praying in congregation in a mosque or by themselves by appointing one of them based on her superior knowledge to lead. Isn’t it humbler on our part to assume that the beloved wives of the Prophet such as Aishah and Umm Salamah are more knowledgeable of such issues than men themselves, no matter how knowledgeable they may be? Source: |
| Blindspot! |
Jews in the Quran Why does the Quran deal with Jews and at such great length? Let us now reflect upon this important question. Is it because of the Jewish presence in Madinah? No doubt there were Jews in Madinah, they had to be invited to Islam, and the Quran had to deal with the state they were in and with their behaviour towards the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his message. So this certainly was one of the 'occasions' or reasons for these revelations. But this is not sufficient to explain the length, content and context of this discourse. Is it because of the Prophet's disappointment and anger at the Jews' stubborn refusal to accept him, and their vehement opposition to him, as many Orientalists often contend? There is no textual or historical evidence to support this contention. The Quran is not the type of discourse whose objective would be to vent anger against its enemies, and then put it at its very beginning for all of its readers to observe for all times to come. There is no anger or condemnation such as we find in the Old and New Testaments. The Prophet went to great lengths to accommodate the Jews, and they were very well treated by Muslims throughout history. The primary purpose does not seem to be to condemn the Jews of the Prophet's time. Rather it is to provide a 'mirror' for the Muslims of all times, to hold up to themselves, to see a faithful reflection of their own conditions and destiny. The discourses also deliver judgement upon the Bani Israel because of their failure to discharge their mission, and thus provide the basis to replace them with the new Ummah, the Muslim Ummah, raised under the leadership of Prophet Muhammad, to continue Allah's mission. For, in the Quran, history is not for history's sake. Though particular nations have been named, names are mere labels. Their accounts are in fact case studies of communities to show what goes wrong with them and why. From these examples other people should learn lessons. Source: |
