Witness, Nihilistic Levelling, Prom Tips for Teens
Issue 330 » June 10, 2005 - Jumada-al-Awwal 3, 1426
General
| Living the Quran |
Al-Nisa
(The Women)
Man has been made accountable for his conduct and will be rewarded and punished in the Hereafter under the Divine Law. God is All-wise, All-merciful, and All just. His mercy, justice and wisdom are not such that He should punish people for living against His will while they had no knowledge of it, that He should take people to task for deviating from the right path of which they were ignorant, that He should hold people accountable for things of which they were unaware. It was as a provision against this that the first man He created was a Messenger, and that after him many more were sent from time to time. They were all to be witnesses to mankind, to make it understand and remember the will of God. They were all to teach human beings the proper way of conducting their lives, the code of behaviour that they should adopt to win God's favour, the acts that they should perform, the acts that they should avoid, and the things for which they will be brought to account. This witness was given by Allah's Messengers so that the people may not be in a position to say to God: How can we be punished for things of which we were not warned? In this manner God made His Messengers bear the crucial responsibility for guiding man on His behalf. They were thus charged with a very delicate and grave responsibility: if they bore witness to the Truth properly, the people would be accountable for their own actions, but if they failed in their duty, they themselves would be called to account for their people going astray. That is why all the Messengers always remained acutely conscious of the burden of this responsibility, and that is why they endeavoured so hard to bear witness before the people to the Truth entrusted to them. All those who were led by the Messengers to the knowledge of the Truth and Divine guidance were formed into a community, an Ummah. Every Ummah was charged with the same mission as the Messengers of witnessing to the Truth. As successors to the Messengers, every Ummah has the same crucial role and responsibility as they had. Thus, if an Ummah properly fulfils its duty of witnessing to the Truth and yet the people do not pay heed, it will be rewarded and the people will be brought to account. However, if the Ummah neglects its duty, or if it gives false witness, it will deserve to be punished more severely than the people. The Ummah shall be accountable not only for its own misdeeds, but also for the misdeeds of those who went astray or turned to error and wickedness because the testimony given to them by the Ummah was misleading or false. Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| The Age of Nihilistic Levelling We now live in a time when “hierarchy” is a tabooed word. The idea of one being over another is an anathema to modern man; but to ancients, this was a sign of good breeding. After all, how could a pious scholar be equated with an ignorant man? The Quran asks, “Are they the same – those who know and those who do not know?” (39:9) An answer is not given in the verse; according to the rhetoricians, none is needed because the answer is obvious. Our Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “I was commanded to treat people according to their stature.” This in no way negates the statement of the Prophet that “people are equal like the teeth of a comb.” Before the sacred law, all people are equal, but in their accomplishments and divine success (tawfiq), they differ markedly. And should such differences ever cease, then humanity is endangered: “You will continue to be healthy as a society as long as you have degrees of excellence, but should you all become the same, you will be destroyed,” said the Prophet. This profound hadith implies that the levelling of accomplishments, knowledge, and talents in a society, by its very nature, is a sign that excellence is removed from human works. This is the modern age of nihilistic levelling. Excellence is removed from our schools by dumbing down the students and lev'eling them to functional illiterates. It is removed from our politics because those chosen to lead are mainly those who covet it and not those who are morally, intellectually, and spiritually qualified for office. Source: |
| Cool Tips! |
Prom Tips for Teens Okay, okay, you know it's Haram to go to the Prom. You've resigned yourself to the fact. It took a lot of heated discussion with your parents and practicing Muslim friends, self-searching and emotional wrestling, but you've finally made that decision: you're not going. If only it were that easy. Now, your non-Muslim school friends are having a fit, and can't understand why in the world you wouldn't want to be part of the biggest, best, and wildest bash of the century (at least that's what your friend on the Prom committee said it's going to be). Even though they know you don't date, drink, do drugs, etc. they are still trying to push you to come. Below are some tips and suggestions about how to deal with the Prom: BE FIRM “I had to be very firm and have a very forward opinion on it,” says Amber Rehman, 20, about telling her friends she was not going to participate. “If I let myself, I could have been persuaded.” “You have to keep in perspective that you're a servant of Allah and Allah has placed great nobility, if you protect yourself from these things,” she adds. Your strength and clarity about not going will take some time to sink in, but it will eventually give your friends a clear message: nothing they say or do will change your mind, period. It should also be made clear that this is not a personal insult aimed at them. You are simply trying to maintain your Islamic principles, and you would not be able to do that in a Prom environment, that's all. You and they can still play baseball, go fishing, or hiking, but the Prom is just one activity which you'll have to skip. PLAN AN ALTERNATIVE “We need to see Islam as a cool alternative, not a loser alternative,” says Shaema Imam, 21. After getting over the initial shock and disappointment of not going to the Prom, go to Plan B. Plan B? How can you have a Plan B? Easy. Get a couple of your Muslim friends together (hopefully they aren't going either, reluctantly or not) and plan to do something wild, crazy, fun. And of course, Halal. The possibilities are endless. “For the brothers if you have hockey they'll come,” says Ali Shayan, 20, of the Muslim brothers in his community in Montreal, Canada. Sports are almost always a favorite for brothers. Think about it: while the guys at the Prom are sweating it out in uncomfortable, expensive tuxedos, and making almost complete fools of themselves on the dance floor, you could be skillfully ice skating in comfortable, cotton, hockey clothes with your non-Prom friends, scoring goals and looking really dignified. For sisters, you could throw a totally wild and crazy all-sisters party at your place. Kick out the men of your house (nicely, of course, maybe request they visit their friends for the night) and have a party where you can wear all the make-up you want and be as crazy and insane as you want without having to “impress” the opposite sex in a too-expensive, revealing dress, uncomfortable heels and putting on a fake act . It's important to note that these alternatives are not meant to be “celebrations” technically. They are primarily a way to have Halal fun and to keep away from the Haram. HOOK UP WITH THE MSAs Muslim Students' Associations (MSAs) play a very important role. They should be one of key institutions in the community organizing activities. And since they are made up of young people, they should be involved with organizing something for the Prom. The advantage of hooking up with the MSAs is that you have better access to funds and spaces to hold activities. As well, you would have the guidance of brothers and sisters who may have, in most cases if they grew up in North America, gone through the Prom experience themselves. They should be sympathetic to the idea of youth carving out a Halal alternative to Prom night. HANG OUT WITH YOUR FAMILY Yes. Hang out with your family. It may sound strange to do this when the Prom is about being with your friends. But think about it. For many, this could be one of the last happy occasions you have with your family before moving away to another city or state or province for college or university. Prom night isn't just about you finishing high school. It should also be a tribute to your parents for helping you through the experience, whether it was by taking care of your basic necessities, helping you with homework, or paying for expenses. Use the money you were going to spend on a limo, dress/tuxedo, or tickets to the Prom and spend it on your family, just to spend time with them. While the Prom may seem hard to beat, there are alternatives out there. It requires creativity and intelligence. If we start to see Islam's rules about Halal and Haram as challenges instead of obstacles in our lives, we can surely find ways of having “good, clean, fun” without feeling left out or having to sacrifice our Islamic principles. Source: |
