Mumin & Muslim, Ihsan, Madrasas
Issue 360 » January 6, 2006 - Zul-Hijja 5, 1426
General
| Living the Quran |
Al-Dhariyat
(The Dust-Scattering Winds)
Background: Among the whole nation of Prophet Lot there was only one house that shone with the light of Islam, and it was no other but the house of Prophet Lot (peace be upon him) himself. The rest of the entire nation was sunk deep in sin and wickedness and was brimming over with filth and immorality. Therefore Allah rescued the people of that one house (except for Prophet Lot’s wife) and then sent down the torment on the land, which did not spare any one of the wicked people. In this verse three important themes have been discussed: Lessons: 1. That Allah's law of retribution does not decree the total destruction of a nation as long as there remains a considerable element of good in it. Against the majority of the bad people if a nation still contains a small element of those who continue to invite others to the right way, Allah gives it an opportunity to work, and goes on increasing the respite of the nation which is not yet wholly devoid of goodness. But in case there remains no element of goodness at all in the nation, Allah's law is that He somehow rescues by His power and grace some of the good people, who might have become weary and helpless fighting evil in its settlements, and deals with the rest as every sensible master would deal with his rotten fruit. 2. That "Muslim" is not the name only of the people who are the followers of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) but of all the Prophets before him and their followers. Their religions were not mutually exclusive that one might be the religion of the Prophet Abraham, another of the Prophet Moses and still another of the Prophet Jesus, but they all were Muslims and their religion was this same Islam. This truth has been explained at several places in the Quran and there is no room for ambiguity in this regard. For instance, see Al-Baqarah: 128, 131-132; Al-Imran: 67: Al-Maidah: 44, 111; Yunus: 72,84; Yusuf: 101; Al-Araf: 126; An-Naml: 31, 42, 44. 3. That the words “Mumin" and “Muslim" have been used as synonyms in this verse. If this verse is read with verse 14 of Al-Hujurat, the error of the thinking of those people becomes obvious, who regard Mumin and Muslim as two independent terms of the Quran, and think Muslim is necessarily used for the person who might have entered the fold of Islam by professing the Faith only verbally, without true faith. Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| Ihsan No relationship can be established on measuring constantly whether one has fulfilled one's obligations. One should not be very particular about one's own rights, with a view to ensuring that one gets all that is one's due. Rather, one should be ever-ready to do favours for others. A strictly business-like relationship may work. However, this would be lacking in mutual love, gratitude, sacrifice, sincerity and warmth, which are so important in life. Doing good stands for excellent conduct, generous dealings, a sympathetic attitude, good manners, forgiveness and making allowances. One should be prepared to accept less than one's due and give others more than what they deserve. This point is eloquently made in the following hadith:
In other words, this character trait demands that one should give others over and above what is their due. More importantly, one should do good to him who wrongs one. For true believers are those who repulse evil with their good deeds. Source: |
| Unlearn! |
In the attempt to extinguish a burning desire for ‘learning Islam or Deen’, many practicing Muslims, often take extreme approaches to the study of Islam that are devoid of practicality and spirituality. In order to overcome this problem we need to unlearn, before we learn. This section is covering some misconceptions that we need to unlearn before we move on to learning Islam. Madrasas and Traditional Islamic Universities A few centuries after the time of Sahabas, came the idea of official Islamic educational institutes/schools, known as Madrasas. This concept of institution served to organize the Islamic teachings and sciences and provided a central place where people would go and learn. It also helped tremendously in preservation and further development of Islamic sciences. However, according to Dr. Ingrid Mattson , there were a few major problems with the concept of Madrasas:
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