Today's Reminder
April 26, 2024 | Shawwal 17, 1445
Living The Quran
Weakness
Al-e-Imran (The House of Imran) Sura 3: Verse 139
"So lose not heart, nor feel distressed, for you shall gain mastery if you are true in faith."
Wahn means weakness, whether it concerns volition or action, or is of a physical or moral nature. In a hadith, we read that once the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to his companions that a time will come when Muslims will be reduced to 'froth and scum that rises above flood waters'. They asked about the reason for it whereupon he told them that they would have wahn in their hearts. 'What is wahn?' they asked him, and he replied, 'It is the love of the worldly life and the dislike of death' [Abu Dawud].
In the light of this hadith, we can say that wahn is the weakness in resolve and morale and the abject cowardice that leads to an abject failure of volition and action. This in turn stems from the love of worldly life and the fear of death that bars one from striving in the cause of truth. In the present verse, the phrase la tahinu (lose not heart) also has precisely this meaning. In other words, the defeat in the battle of Uhud should not demoralise you, break your spirit or disappoint you.
Compiled From:
"Pondering Over The Qur'an: Surah Ali Imran" - Amin Ahsan Islahi
From Issue: 995 [Read original issue]
Understanding The Prophet's Life
Best Candidate
The best candidate, at whatever political level, is the one who brings together the three most essential qualities when it comes to seeking a political mandate (which essentially consists of serving the community): integrity, ability, and willingness to serve. It is for every citizen to evaluate, consider, and finally decide, case by case, in favour of the best, or sometimes the "least bad."
We should not necessarily choose a candidate who is a member of "the community": one can be a Muslim and dishonest, politically incompetent, and more concerned with titles than with serving people. To choose such a person, for example, would be a betrayal of principles. Did not the Prophet (peace be upon him) say: "Anyone who appoints to a position an individual from a community when there is someone else more competent betrays God, his Prophet, and all Muslims"? [Hakim] The choice should be based on the balance between the three qualities referred to earlier and not on the religion or community membership of the person.
In the two situations, the act of electing and the hope of being elected, a civic ethic operates in the same way and makes the same demands: it calls upon responsible and independent individuals to know their principles, ethics, and environment, to decide on the ultimate aim of their commitment, and, in all circumstances, to be responsible for their actions.
Compiled From:
"Western Muslims and The Future of Islam" - Tariq Ramadan, pp. 170-171
From Issue: 833 [Read original issue]
Blindspot!
Family
It is true, as the old adage says, that charity begins at home. The family is a school of compassion because it is here that we learn to live with other people. Family life involves self-sacrifice, because daily we have to put ourselves to one side in order to accommodate the needs of other family members; nearly every day there is something to forgive. Instead of seeing this as an irritant, we should see these tensions as opportunities for growth and transformation.
Ask yourself what you really feel about your family. What makes you proud and happy about them? Make a list of the ways in which your family nourishes you. Perhaps you could write a letter to them outlining your history as a family, and your hopes and fears for each person in it. Does your family have a black sheep, and how has this situation come about? Can it be rectified? How do you conduct arguments and disagreements? What are your particular strengths in family life? Is there anything more you could do? What would make each member of the family feel supremely valued? How can you make your family a school for compassion, where children learn the value of treating all others with respect? What would life be like if all family members made a serious attempt to treat one another "all day and every day" as they would wish to be treated themselves? How would life be improved, for example, if everybody made a consistent effort to avoid speaking too hastily?
We know that people brought up in dysfunctional families find it difficult to make good relationships in later life; they can have psychological problems that cause them to increase the sum of pain in the world. Creating a compassionate family life is one of the ways in which we can all make a constructive contribution to a more empathetic society in the future.
Compiled From:
"Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life" - Karen Armstrong, pp. 69-71
From Issue: 762 [Read original issue]