Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Debt
Al Baqara (The Cow) - Chapter 2: Verse 282 (partial)

"Believers! Whenever you contract a debt from one another for a known term, commit it to writing. Let a scribe write it down between you justly, and the scribe may not refuse to write it down according to what Allah has taught him; so let him write, and let the debtor dictate; and let him fear Allah, his Lord, and curtail no part of it..."

Borrow only if necessary

You should try to relate your consumption to your income remembering the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him), "May God prevent me from sin and borrowing." You are not supposed to borrow unless it is necessary.

Borrow for a Fixed Time Period & Record It

When friends and relatives borrow from one another it is generally considered unseemly either to commit these loans to writing, or to have them attested by witnesses. Such an act is considered a sign of distrust. However, God enjoins that whenever loans or business transactions take place, their conditions should be recorded in black and white and should be attested by witnesses so that there remains no ground for misunderstanding or dispute. In times such as ours, when every action, whether at personal, social, political, or economic level is recorded and computerized, we may be able to appreciate the practicality, wisdom, and sophistication of the commandments of Allah and the Prophet (peace be upon him), given to us as a blessing, over 1400 years ago!

Three Kinds of People whose Du'a will not be Accepted

In a Hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned that there are three kinds of people whose grievances and Dua will not be accepted or heeded by Allah. One of them is a person who loans out his money to a person without making anyone a witness to that transaction. [at-Tabari]

Compiled From:
"Islam - The Natural Way" - Abdul Wahid Hamid, p. 67
"Towards Understanding the Quran" - Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi, Vol. I, pp. 221-223

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Riya

Abu Saeed reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came to us while we were discussing about Dajjal and said, "Should I not inform you of that which I fear for you even more than the dangers of Dajjal? It is the hidden Shirk (Riya); A person stands to pray, and he beautifies his prayer because he sees the people looking at him." (Sunan Ibn Majah vol. 2, #3389)

The primary cause of riya is a weakness in Iman (Faith). When a person does not have strong faith in Allah, he will prefer the admiration of people over the pleasure of Allah.

There are three symptoms that are indicative of riya, and it is essential that a believer avoid all of them.

1. The love of Praise - As mentioned in a hadith of the first three people being thrown into the hellfire; the scholar (who taught for fame), the martyr (who fought for fame), and the person who gave his money in charity (so people would say he is generous). All three of these people desired the pleasure of people over the pleasure of Allah. The person who desires the praise of people must feel some pride in himself, for he feels himself worthy of being praised. There is a danger, therefore, of him becoming arrogant and boastful.

2. Fear Of Criticism - No one likes to be criticised. The dislike of criticism regarding religious practices may be divided into two categories:

a) The first category is that of a person who neglects a commandment of Allah in order to avoid the criticism of his peers.
b) The second category is that of a person who obeys certain commandments of Islam, not for the sake of Allah, but because he fears people will look down on him and criticise him if he does not do it. For example, a man may perform his formal prayers in the mosque because he does not want people to criticise him for praying at home, or to think that he is not praying at all.

3. Greed for people's possessions - If a person covets what other people possess, whether it is rank, money or power, then he will wish them to envy him similarly. For example, if he is jealous of a position of a certain person in society, he will try by every possible means to attain the same position. Such desires lead people to spend their lives putting on a show for other people so that they will admire their rank, money, or power.

Compiled From:
"Riyaa: Hidden Shirk" - Abu Ammar Yasir al-Qathi

Blindspot!

Celebration

It is good to celebrate festive occasions, which is a human urge and a natural requirement. Islam, being the religion of nature, realizes the desirability of the celebration of joyous occasions with certain conditions. Islam does not desire that we should impose upon ourselves an artificial reserve and seriousness not warranted by the occasion, and wear a pensive look all the time, killing all the attractiveness in our personality. Islam gives us full permission to celebrate all legitimate festive occasions so as to enable us to remain fresh with ambitious desires, new and fresh hopes, and ever newer paths to tread. It is our ignorance of Islamic knowledge to assume that the celebration of certain occasions runs counter to the tenets of Islam.

If you have been privileged to fulfill some religious mission, i.e. Hajj; you or one of your close relatives has achieved a high position in learning; you have been blessed with success in business or achieved some monetary gains; you have distinguished guests visiting your home; you have a marriage or birth in your home; you have heard the news of the recovery of a relative from long illness; it is your natural right to celebrate such occasions, provided you remain within the social limits prescribed by Islam, and that you thank Allah for this happy occasion in your life. Islam not only permits merry-making, but it considers it quite in conformity with it.

Ka'b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says, when Allah accepted his repentance (i.e. Tawba for staying back from a Muslim military expedition) and he heard the good news, he immediately presented himself before the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and greeted him. The face of the Holy Prophet was at that time glowing with cheer, and whenever he used to be happy, his face glowed like the moon, and the companions would then understand from the glow of his countenance that he was in an extremely joyous mood.

Compiled From:
"Discipline For Muslim Youth" - S. M. Madni Abbasi, Vol. II