Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Islam Will Endure
Al Rum (The Romans) - Chapter 30: Verse 56

"Those who have been given knowledge and faith will say, 'You [humankind] have lived, as God ordained, till the Day of Resurrection. Today is the Day of Resurrection, but you had no knowledge of it.'"

Muslims have been acting in contravention of the basic laws of human nature and society. They have all but lost their unity, civilized comportment, and self-confidence. In contrast to many other societies, Muslims appear more lethargic and backward. The solidarity brought about by Islam has been fading away and remains mostly superficial. Such a community would hardly merit promotion and support. In ancient history God scattered the Israelites and made them subservient to idolatrous communities. False and hollow faith does not earn God's succour, but things could change; the more the Muslims improver their lot the sooner they would meet with that elusive victory.

Muslim societies today are the archetype of political, economic, and social chaos and confusion. Success would not come to such a disorganized and fragmented nation. But Islam will endure.

This verse contains a most profound statement asserting that Islam will endure until the end of time, and that it would do so through a community of human beings who would uphold and defend it. The Muslim nation will endure for as long as mankind exists in this world. Its setbacks will be temporary. We ought to be certain that, as the nation upholding God's final message, we shall ultimately prevail, and this thought should spur us on to consolidate our resources, resume our prominent position in the world and restore our nation's former glory. That would be a most appropriate ending for humankind's existence on earth. Perseverance is required to sustain victory, and cultivate and nurture its dividends.

Compiled From:
"A Thematic Commentary on the Quran" - Muhammad Al-Ghazali, pp. 440, 441

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Heresies and Innovations

There is no question that heresies and innovations lead people away from the path of Allah - the only true path of spiritual purification. The Prophet (peace be upon him) made this point very clear when would state at the beginning of his speeches, "The worst actions are the invented ones. And every innovation is a going astray." [Muslim] In other narrations he would say, "And every going astray is in the hell fire." [Al-Nasai]. Furthermore, the Prophet also made it clear that heretical acts will never be accepted by Allah. He stated, "Whoever introduces anything into this affair of ours that does not belong to it will have it rejected." [Bukhari, Muslim]

Hence, by following innovations one is following a path that is, by definition, taking him away from the path of purification to a path that leads one to Hell. Thus, anyone sincerely interested in purifying his soul must take great pains to make sure that his beliefs and actions are free of any heresies or innovations. If he finds that he has some heretical beliefs or is practicing some innovations, he must leave them immediately, as they will never be pleasing to Allah and they are taking him away from his ultimate goal of worshipping Allah in the proper manner.

Compiled From:
"Purification of the Soul" - Jamal al-Din M. Zarabozo, pp. 401, 402

Blindspot!

Extremism

Extremism has become globalized not only in the Muslim lands but also in the West. Aggressive policies and unbridled militarism over Palestine and Iraq should stop pushing Muslims into extremism. This can also be said of oppressive totalitarian governments in the Muslim lands. Violence and tyranny cannot be expected to provide solutions; they are the problem. Obviously there is a disconnection between the West and Islam whereby misunderstanding finds new grounds on both sides. Suicide bombing is an extremely disturbing and totally unprecedented phenomenon. No one in the fourteen centuries of Islam has included it in the meaning of martyrdom or Jihad. It is wrong to violate innocent life whatever the rest of the argument may be. It is also true that anyone who resorts to suicide bombing does so in absolute despair, loss of faith in humanity and basic collapse of common reason. The crimes of 11 September 2001 were crimes of political protest, they were not something inexplicable. They represented a final collapse of the centuries-old cosmopolitan conversation with Islam.

Compiled From:
"Shariah Law - An Introduction" - Mohammad Hashim Kamali, p. 219