Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Inner Resources
Al-Baqara (The Cow) - Chapter 2: Verse 109

"Among the followers of the Book, many would wish that they could turn you back to infidelity after you have believed - because of their envy after the truth is manifest to them. But forgive and overlook until God accomplishes His purpose; for Allah has power over all things."

The instruction in this Medinan verse clearly advises the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the early community to develop their inner resources through patience and resilience. It teaches that the success of Islam had naturally made the disbelievers insecure and envious, and that under such circumstances a punitive approach would not produce the desired result.

Ibn Taymiyyah cited the above verse on the virtue of forgiveness, and informs us that after migrating to Medina, the Prophet turned his attention to propagating the faith among its residents. It was not uncommon at that time for a man to embrace Islam while his father and relatives remained disbelievers, which led to resentment and discontent on the part of the non-Muslim relatives. Hence the Jews and polytheists of Medina used to insult and annoy the Prophet and his Companions. But God Most High commanded the Prophet and the believers to exercise patience and forgiveness. This was the occasion of the revelation of the verse cited above.

Compiled From:
"Freedom of Expression in Islam" - Mohammad Hashim Kamali, pp. 245, 246

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Backbone of the Umma

Kibr or pride represents the antithesis of humility and is a devastating moral ailment. The efforts which we make for tazkiya (purification), it is hoped, will make us successful. But if one is successful, the greatest cancer that can eat everything away, is Kibr. The Messenger of Allah said:

"No one will be admitted into Paradise who has even a tiny grain of pride in his heart." A man asked him: "But what if someone likes to dress well and put on good sandals?" He replied: "Truly Allah is beautiful, and He loves beauty. Pride is to disdain the truth, and to belittle and despise other people." (Muslim.)

Know that the ideal for you to emulate is the uswa of the Prophet. His example is so high and exalted. One of the reasons the 'ideal' standard is so high, is to ensure that we always strive to better ourselves. If the ideal is easily reachable, then once a person has attained it, he will feel content, and contentment will set him off on a downward slide. Because our ideal is high, we are always in a state of aspiration. We are perpetually in a state of effort, striving and spiritual development. Should Kibr arise in this state, it can only be an act of Shaytan, who is there just to test whatever one has achieved in the field of knowledge or action. Kibr will destroy whatever you have achieved, so protect yourself against it. Remember that it comes in very attractive, very concealed and very deceptive channels and forms. So, be ever vigilant.

You should thus strive to become like one who doggedly keeps on working for the cause of Allah. You may not necessarily read details of him in newspaper columns, nor does he appear on television screens, nor does he win applause by making beautiful speeches in large gatherings and commendations for writing good pieces. He is not plagued by doubts. He does not waver in the face of defeat and failure. He does not calculate the chances of success but he knows very well that the only chance of success for him is to do his duty, and do it to the best of his ability. He is the backbone of the Islamic work and the Muslim Umma.

Compiled From:
"In The Early Hours" - Khurram Murad, pp. 75, 76

Blindspot!

Wonders of the Secrets

The great synthesizer of traditional Sunnism and Sufism, Imam al-Ghazali, argued that the goal of those who read the Quran should be to rid themselves of obstacles that prevent a deeper understanding of its "wonders of the secrets." Among those obstacles, al-Ghazali says, is the belief "that Quranic verses only have those meanings which have been transmitted by tradition from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and other exegetes, and that meanings going beyond them are interpretations of the Quran by personal opinion." Al-Ghazali refers to a statement of Ali which indicates that God gives some people an understanding of the meanings of the Quran that are not accessible to others. Al-Ghazali asserts that the great early Quran commentators like Ibn Abbas and Mujahid offered their own understanding of many words and verses, the proof of this being the fact that they often gave different explanations and presented multiple interpretations for the same word or verse.

Al-Ghazali agrees that proffering one's personal opinion of the Quran is not permitted, but what he understands by this is that it is sinful to deliberately interpret the Quran in a way one knows to be in contradiction to its true meaning. Further, it is not permitted for one ignorant of the external meaning of the Quran to offer his own opinion about what it means. He says, "One who claims to possess understanding of the deep meanings of the Quran, without being prudent of its outward exegesis, is comparable to a man who claims to reach the upper part of a house without crossing its door, or claims to understand the meaning of the Turks when they speak, although he does not understand the Turkish language."

Al-Ghazali explains that another obstacle to reaching a deep understanding of the Quran is rigid adherence to a particular school of thought. This rigidity leads one who is reading the Quran to reject flashes of insight that could allow him to reach a deeper understanding of the meaning of the Quran.

Compiled From:
"The Story of The Quran: Its History and Place in Muslim Life" - Ingrid Mattson, p. 223