Great Gift, Home of Dhikr, Don't Judge, Learn a Little
Issue 366 » February 17, 2006 - Muharram 18, 1427
General
| Living the Quran |
Al-Rahman
(The Merciful)
The tongue and the language are great gifts of Allah. These gifts that Allah has given him makes him superior to all other creatures. The greater the gift, the higher would be its re-payment. Being grateful for it is as necessary as being ungrateful is reprehensible. Before addressing others take a glance at yourself, and ask yourself whether this is an occasion which demands speaking. If the answer is in the affirmative, then speak, otherwise silence is much better. To avoid talking unnecessarily on appropriate occasions is a worship of great rewards. Abdullah Ibn Abbas says: "Five things are more valuable than the horses with the black-striped legs: 1. Do not indulge in senseless talk, because it is useless and absurd. 2. Talk purposefully when there is an occasion for it. 3. Do not indulge in hot discussion with an intelligent man or with a fool. If he is intelligent, he will be angry with you and will hate you, and if he is a fool and uneducated, he will try to harm you. 4. In the absence of your brother speak of him in the same words in which you would like him to speak of you in your absence, and consider him innocent of the thing which you would like him to consider you innocent of. 5. Act like a man who thinks that he will be rewarded for a good deed and will be punished on committing a crime." A Muslim can develop these attributes in himself only when he keeps his tongue in control, and is able to keep silent wherever necessary. He should be able to hold the reins of his tongue in his hand; wherever necessary he should speak, and wherever it is not necessary he should keep quiet. Those who are ruled by their tongue, they are pushed back, and in the fields of life they receive insults and disrepute. Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| Making the home a place for the remembrance of Allah The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The likeness of a house in which Allah is remembered and the house in which Allah is not remembered is that of the living and the dead, respectively.” We must make our homes places where Allah is remembered in all kinds of ways, whether in our hearts, verbally, during prayer, by reading Quran, by discussing Islamic issues, or by reading different kinds of Islamic books. How many Muslim homes nowadays are dead because there is no remembrance of Allah, as mentioned in the hadith. What must they be like when all that is heard therein is the music of Satan with instruments and singing, and backbiting, slander and gossip? What must they be like when they are filled with evil and sin, such as the haram mixing of the sexes and wanton display between relatives who are not mahram or with neighbours who enter the home? How can the angels enter a home like this? Revive your homes with all kinds of dhikr, may Allah have mercy on you! Source: |
| Learn! |
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. In the previous Friday Nasiha we have concluded some misconceptions that we need to unlearn before we move on to learning Islam. This is the conclusion of this series on 10 tips to enhance our Islamic knowledge. 10 Tips to Enhance Our Islamic Knowledge 8. Take Good from Everyone Stop using labels. No scholar has monopoly over Truth. As Ali bin Abi Talib used to say, “don’t judge the Truth by a scholar (i.e. who’s saying it). Know the Truth first and you will find the scholars that belong to it.” Don’t stop listening to a scholar because another scholar or a book says something bad about them. Be critical of everyone. Question the content and sources of your own scholar. When in doubt resort to the principles in the Quran and Sunnah. 9. Don’t Judge Scholars Based on Media Don’t believe media reports about a Muslim scholar or leader in our community. The media loves quoting scholars who are vocal or controversial. Very often journalists misquote or partially quote people. Just because a newspaper has a statement by someone, doesn’t mean they are either good or bad. Try to verify a controversial statement directly from the scholar or leader before launching your own criticism. 10. Learn a Little Every Day or Week Doing a little bit regularly is the real way of learning our Deen! For example by learning one Hadith per week at a Halaqah, you can memorize 52 hadiths a year! Source: |
