Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

No Compromise
Al-Qalam (The Pen) Sura 68: Verses 8-9

"So pay no heed to those who deny the truth. They would love that you compromise with them, so that they will also compromise."

A person with faith will not abandon any of its beliefs or values, because its minor points are the same as its major ones. Indeed, in faith there is nothing minor and nothing major: both are the same. A faith is single unity with parts complementing each other. Its advocate will never discard any part of it in order to please someone else.

Islam and Jahiliyyah can never meet halfway or indeed in any way. This is true of Islam everywhere and across all generations. All states of ignorance, or jahiliyyah, are the same: past, present or future. The gulf that separates the two states is unbridgeable and admits no compromise. The two are diametrically opposed.

Several reports speak of what the unbelievers in Makkah tried to achieve by way of compromise with the Prophet so that they would stop criticizing their worship methods. They hoped that he would give them something that would save their faces if they were to follow him. The Prophet, however, maintained a decisive firmness, refusing to give up even a small part of his faith. Additionally, he was extremely well mannered, kind and benevolent towards his tribesmen, eager to make things easy for them. With regard to faith, he was committed, obedient to God's instructions.

The Prophet did not compromise any iota of his faith even during the direst period of his life in Makkah, where he and his few followers were under siege, suffering immense persecution. He never withheld a word that needed to be uttered in the face of such tyrants. He never sought to soften their stance or to avoid their persecution by such compromise. Nor did he ever hesitate to clarify any point that was closely or remotely relevant to his faith.

Compiled From:
"In the Shade of the Quran" - Sayyid Qutb, Vol 17, pp. 185-186

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Firm Heart

A person always strives to protect the valuables that he has, and takes every precaution that they are not taken away from him. And without a doubt, the greatest blessing that a Muslim has been given is the blessing of Iman (faith), and hence why he should continually ask Allah to protect his Iman.

Umm Salamah once asked the Prophet, peace be upon him: "O Messenger of Allah! Why is it that most of your dua is (the phrase), 'O He who turns the hearts! Make my heart firm upon your religion (Deen)'?" So the Prophet responded:

O Umm Salamah! There is not a single person of the Children of Adam except that his heart is between two of the Fingers from the Fingers of Allah. So whoever Allah wishes, He establishes and makes firm (the heart on His obedience), and whoever He wishes, He leads astray. [Tirmidhi]

Compiled From:
"Dua: The Weapon of the Believer"- Yasir Qadhi, p. 220

Blindspot!

True Forgiveness

There is no doubt that forgiveness frees us. Forgiveness has the power to heal our bodies, our minds, and our spirits - our very lives. But we need to make sure we aren't forgiving just because we think it is the right thing to do or because we are giving in to pressure from others. And we need to make sure that we are not just using forgiveness as another form of denial.

True forgiveness occurs only when we allow ourselves to face the truth and to feel and release our emotions, including our anger, about what was done to us. It is completely premature to forgive if you haven't even acknowledged that you were harmed. When children are asked to forgive abusive parents without first experiencing their emotions and their personal pain, the forgiveness process becomes another weapon of silencing. The same is true of adults who rush to forgiveness. Many people have been brainwashed into submission by those who insist that they are "less than" if they don't forgive.

Many people think that forgiving someone who hurt them is the same as saying that what happened to them was okay or that it didn't hurt them. But forgiveness doesn't mean that what happened was okay. It simply means that we are no longer willing to allow that experience to adversely affect our lives. Ultimately, forgiveness is something we do for ourselves.

Compiled From:
"Healing Your Emotional Self" - Beverly Engel, pp. 113, 114