Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Secrets exposed
Al-Haqqah (The Inevitable Truth) - Chapter 69: Verse 18

"On that day you shall be brought to judgement and none of your secrets will remain hidden."

All are exposed: bodies, souls, consciences, actions and destinies. All curtains that used to hide secrets are lifted, and souls are laid bare just like bodies. What used to be concealed is now in full view. Man is without any of his precautions, schemes and plans. What he was keen to conceal, even from himself, is there to be seen by all. Such disgrace and in front of everyone! As for God, He has always been fully aware of every little thing, even that which is most deeply hidden, but man, accustomed to all sorts of concealment on earth, does not appreciate this.

Man has a very complex nature. There are within his soul many corners and pathways where he hides his feelings, whims, yearnings, thoughts, secrets and private matters. Imagine how a snail quickly withdraws into its shell when it feels danger, hiding itself completely. Should man realize that an eye manages to see what he is keen to conceal, or that a glance exposes something he wants to remain hidden, he does much more than a snail sensing danger. He is deeply hurt when someone looks into his inner secrets. So how will man feel when he stands truly naked in body, heart, feeling and soul; when he has nothing to cover himself with, when he is under the throne of the Almighty and before this great assembly of creatures? This is the most painful of all situations.

Compiled From:
"In The Shade Of The Quran" - Sayyid Qutb, Volume 17, pp. 223, 224

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Hypocrisy

An evil that destroys all that the Believer has achieved, or is trying to achieve, is nifaq. Nifaq entails hypocrisy, showing off, and pretending to have what one does not possess. The Prophet, peace be upon him, condemned this in the strongest terms. He said:

Whoever prays to show off, he is [a sort of] idolater, for he makes a god beside Allah; whoever fasts to show off, he also makes a god beside Allah; and whoever gives charity to show off, he too makes a god beside Allah. [Ahmad]

He also said:

Three characteristics are the signs of a hypocrite, even if he fasts, performs the Prayer and claims that he is a Muslim: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is trusted, he betrays his trust. [Bukhari, Muslim]

Hypocrisy serves only to cloud your consciousness of Allah. It is a moral ailment which eats away one's character as a moth eats away cloth. We should therefore assess our motives and actions frequently.

Compiled From:
"In the Early Hours" - Khurram Murad, p. 77

Blindspot!

Purdah and Islam

Some Muslim cultures practice a form of female seclusion called purdah. This word originates from the Persian language and describes the system whereby women are not allowed to leave their homes except for the direst emergencies. This is not an Islamic custom but was picked up by some Muslim who settled in Iran and India where it was an established pre-Islamic tradition designed to showcase the wealth of a family (in other words, we're so rich our women don't have to leave the house and work in the fields). Many people in the West have the misconception that this practice is widespread. The fact is that most Muslim women in the world are not locked away in their homes. Purdah is practiced mostly in the Indian subcontinent and in Saudi Arabia.

Compiled From:
"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam, 2nd Edition" - Yahiya Emerick, p. 287