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Gracious Patience, Exploiting Spare-Time, One-on-one with Allah!

Issue 332 » June 24, 2005 - Jumada-al-Awwal 17, 1426

General

Living the Quran

Yusuf (Joseph)
Chapter 12: Verse 18

Gracious Patience
"And they brought Joseph's shirt, stained with false blood. Seeing this their father exclaimed: 'Nay (this is not true); rather your evil souls have made it easy for you to commit a heinous act. So I will bear this patiently, and in good grace. It is Allah's help alone that I seek against your fabrication."

The text has the words 'Sabrun Jameel'. Literally that may be translated as 'gracious patience'. This signifies a patience which is devoid of complaint, of pitiable plea, of frothing and fuming; a patience which consists of enduring suffering with calm and dignity.

In the Quranic narration Jacob, peace be upon him, stands out head and shoulders above ordinary humans. He appears as an embodiment of forbearance and patience. Nor does he lose his poise on hearing the shocking news about his son. Moreover, thanks to his unusual intelligence, when Joseph's stepbrothers come forth with a made-up story, Jacob saw through the whole matter. He instantly grasped that his jealous sons had fabricated the account. Despite the grievous nature of the incident, Jacob maintains his grace and dignity, patiently endures what has befallen him, and places his full faith in God.

Source:
"Towards Understanding the Quran" - Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi, Vol 4, pp. 157-158
Understanding the Prophet's Life

Exploiting Spare-Time

Spare-time is a blessing which many people undervalue, take for granted, and thus fail to utilise properly.

Imam Al-Bukhari reports from the Prophet, peace be upon him, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, that: "Good health and spare-time are two of the blessings of Allah in respect of which many people are duped."

Spare-time is defined as the time during which one is free from the worldly engagements, which normally hinder one from otherwise eminently religious pursuits. This definition does not oppose the many injunctions which encourage man to acquire wealth and earn his livelihood, so long as doing so does not drown him in the deep ocean of earthly life and material pursuits, and so long as it does not prevent him from discharging his obligations to Allah, the Most High.

In the above hadith, the Prophet, peace be upon him, mentioned 'duping'. Duping primarily takes place in business transactions of buying and selling. However, in our context, as Allamah Al-Munawi explains, the adult person has been likened to a trader, and good wealth and spare-time to business capital which are both necessary for profit and success. This implies that whoever transacts with Allah by observing His commandments shall prosper; and whoever transacts with the Shaytan by following him shall lose their business capital.

Source:
"Time in the Life of a Muslim" - Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, pp. 21-22
Teens' Deen
Salat: One-on-One with Allah!
 
It is not easy to be true witnesses to our Faith in Allah and Islam. Practice of Islam takes time and effort.
 
We all have many chores and different tasks to do. Adults must work. Children must go to school and learn new lessons. It takes a lot of thought and energy.
 
The trouble is that when we become "busy" like this and concentrate on our everyday tasks from morning till night, we are likely to forget Allah! And it is when we forget Allah and His guidance that we are likely to disobey Him.
 
That is why we need to be trained and disciplined so that we are able to follow His guidance in every situation. This is the purpose of Salat (Prayer or Namaz), the second pillar of Islam! Salat has been designed to help us remember Allah. It brings us closer to Him.
 
When we begin Salat, we set aside everything else in our lives. We stand before Him. We recite from His Book which contains His guidance for us. We bow and kneel before Him. We talk to Him. We thank Him and praise Him. We pray to Him and  ask for His help.
 
Without Salat there can be no Islam! If we were to give up offering Salat, we would no longer be proper Muslims. We would become like those who reject Islam. If we destroy the pillar of Salat, we are likely to destroy the entire building of Islam!
 
Following are 9 benefits of Salat:
  1. It keeps us on the Right Path.
  2. It reminds us that we are the servants (Abd) of Allah.
  3. It makes us God-fearing and makes us ashamed and afraid of doing something He dislikes.
  4. It helps us build a good character, to develop a sound personality and to lead a disciplined life.
  5. It makes us responsible people.
  6. It makes us clean and healthy.
  7. It makes us sincere Muslims and kind to all human beings.
  8. It makes us happy and thankful!
If you haven`t been praying Salat regularly, you don`t know what you are missing!

Source:
"The Children's Book Islam: Part Two" - M. M. Ahsan