Rooh of the Hearts, Charity is Proof, Problems of Muslims
Issue 319 » March 25, 2005 - Safar 14, 1426
General
| Living the Quran |
Al-Shura
(The Counsel)
Quran is a rooh for the hearts. The rooh of the hearts is more specific than the rooh for the physical body. Allah has called it a rooh because it brings life to the hearts. When this Quran permeates the heart, it gives it life and enlightens it. It then knows its Lord and worships Allah upon guidance. It also fears Him, is aware of Him, loves Him, and extols Him. This is because this Quran is a rooh that moves the hearts like the rooh moves the bodies and forms. But if the hearts are void of the Quran, they die in the same way that if the body is void of the rooh it also dies. In reality, there are two types of deaths and two types of lives. As for the two deaths, they are the death of the body and death of the heart. As for the two lives, they are the life of the body and the life of the heart. But there is a life in the bodies of the believers, the disbelievers, the pious and the impious. In fact, there is the same biological life for humans and animals with no distinguishing feature between them. The distinguishing feature is found in the life of the heart. This is not obtained except by the believing, pious servants of Allah. As for the disbelievers and the animals, they are missing the life of the hearts even though they may possess a life of the physical body. Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| Charity is a Proof "Charity" or sadaqa is the giving of one's wealth to others for the sake of Allah. It includes giving to the poor and needy as well as giving to build mosques and so forth. The Prophet (peace be upon him) described charity, sadaqa, as a burhan. Burhan are the rays that are emitted by the sun. Part of their significance is that they clearly and unequivocally point to the existence of their source, the sun. That is why a "proof" or "definitive argument" is called a burhan. It unequivocally points to the truth of what it is being used to prove. One explanation of this hadith is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was alluding to the fact that sadaqa is a sign of one's true belief. By its nature, wealth is something beloved to a human being. Giving up part of one's wealth for the sake of Allah is a much greater sign of one's faith than mere lip service. In general, hypocrites are not willing to give in charity (unless to be seen) for they are not willing to part their wealth. A second explanation is that a person's sadaqa will be a proof for him on the Day of Judgment when he is asked about his wealth and how he used it in this life. He will rush to his charity and seek refuge in it in the same way that one rushed to a proof for support and help. Source: |
| Blindspot! |
Current Problems of Muslims In observing the map of the world, we realise that most Muslims live in the southern hemisphere in conditions, which are often dramatic. In effect, 85% of the 1.5 billion faithful are poor, and 60% are illiterate. It is a reality that we know intellectually but without really considering its more or less long-term consequences. Giving back life to an open Islam that is in tune with its time will require that we take on two of the greatest contemporary challenges: providing for basic needs in the matter of nourishment and dispensing basic education to all children, whether rich or poor. There is through this a response to the most elementary rights of men that everything, in the letter and spirit of the Quran and the Sunna, refers us to. It is a priority, and Muslims would do well not to reverse the order; a project of society cannot see the light of day if three-quarters of its members still receive help. The scope of the task requires a general mobilisation of all social players. It requires above all the manifestation of a firm political will from the governments in place. But, for the time being, one is obligated to notice that almost all countries with a Muslim majority are under the yoke of dictatorships or regimes which do not know the changeover of political power. As long as a door is not open so as to leave the aspirations of the people expressed, nothing can be hoped for from these dictatorships and horrors. Therefore this is the third expressed priority: to mobilise energies in order to free Muslim countries from their oppressors. This without violence and if possible by means of every legality. At the same time reminding the West that it will not be possible for it to continue to insist upon democratic ideals inside its own frontiers and associate itself, outside, with the most bloody regimes in order to preserve its interests. Denouncing these hypocrites must be the task of all persons who chose the exactness of justice, whether they are Muslim or not. Source: |
