Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

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Fatir (The Creator) - Chapter 35: Verse 32

"Then we bequeathed the Book to those of Our servants that We chose. Now, some of them wrong themselves and some follow the medium course; and some, by Allah's leave, vie with each other in acts of goodness. That is the great bounty."

The Book of God, the Quran, was presented before all mankind and those who stepped forward and accepted it (the Muslims) were chosen to become its standard-bearers after the Prophet, peace be upon him.

These Muslims, however, are not all alike; rather, they belong to the following three categories:

1. "Those who wrong themselves". These Muslims sincerely believe in the Quran as God's Book and in Muhammad as God's Messenger. However, in their practical lives they fail to follow the Book of God and the way of His Prophet to the extent they should. Despite being believers they still commit sin. While such people might be iniquitous, they are not rebels. Their belief might be a bit feeble, yet they are neither hypocrites nor wilful unbelievers. In recognition of this, the Quran brands them as God's chosen servants to whom His Book has been bequeathed. Among the believers of all the three categories, they are the first to be mentioned for they constitute the majority of Muslims.

2. Then comes those "who follow the medium course". That is, they are the ones who fulfil, though partially, the requirements ensuing from the bequest of God's book on them. They represent a mixture of obedience and disobedience. Such people, however, do not give an altogether free rein to their desires; rather, they try to control them. Nevertheless, at times they let their desires loose a bit which leads to sinful behaviour. Such people are less in number than the people of the first category but outnumber those of the third category mentioned below.

3. Then comes those "who view with one another in acts of goodness". Among the believers, they occupy the forefront. They stand out as the true trustees of the Book of God. They outstrip others as they are exceedingly active in following the Book of God and the way of the Prophet, in communicating God's Message to His servants, in offering sacrifices for the cause of faith, and in doing acts of goodness. They are not the ones who would deliberately commit a sin; but if they happen to fall into sin, they repent as soon as they realise this. In number, these are less than the two groups mentioned above. Although they are mentioned after those groups, they are in fact well ahead of them in acquitting themselves of the trusteeship of the Quran.

Compiled From:
"Towards Understanding the Quran" - Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi, Vol. 9, pp. 228-230

From Issue: 614 [Read original issue]

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Injustices

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "When the believers pass safely over (the bridge across) Hell, they will be stopped at an arched bridge in between Hell and Paradise where they will retaliate upon each other for the injustices (dhulm) done among them in the world. When they are then purified of their sins, they will be admitted into Paradise." [Bukhari]

The Prophet also stated: "Whoever has wronged another concerning his reputation or anything else should beg him to forgive him before the Day of Resurrection when there will be no money [to compensate for wrong deeds], but if he has good deeds, those good deeds will be taken from him according to the wrong he has done. And if he has no good deeds, the sins of the oppressed person will be loaded on him." [Bukhari]

Any kind of harm that a person does to another is a form of dhulm and is forbidden. A Muslim may not harm another's honour, wealth or life. If a person strikes, abuses, curses, cheats, backbites or harms another person or if he helps another wrongly against someone, falsely accuses someone, lies about someone, and so forth, then he is committing dhulm. In fact, if a person prevents another from getting his due rights, he has committed dhulm. Dhulm is also inclusive of the misuse of power by people in positions of authority.

Compiled From:
"Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi" - Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, pp. 922-924

From Issue: 743 [Read original issue]

Blindspot!

Silence of Minds

When Muslims speak among themselves, they are inexhaustible in criticism of their co-religionists and, more broadly, of the catastrophic state in which the Ummah finds itself. Complaints and rejections are the rule. The least that can be noticed, from Morocco to Indonesia, is a feeling of bitterness, malaise and deep disenchantment that is shared by a large majority of the people. The affective inventory is negative.

We can certainly understand this, for there is nothing delightful in that which we can observe today. Yet, what is more vexing is the fact that the affect takes precedence over a real, precise, in-depth, critical and uncompromising analysis of the causes of these fractures. The Muslim World, for the one who can see, is still lacking intellectual exactness. Very limited in number are those voices that go to the limits of honest analysis, that refuse to say something and then keep quiet when they see its contrary being applied, that denounce events, governmental policies or silent conspiracies.

We are in a state of emergency. It would be too difficult to emerge from the actual upheaval without making a precise analysis of the causes and responsibilities: from the illiteracy of people to the betrayals of the powers in place whose hypocritical policies one must denounce at the cost of one's life perhaps – but this is the passage obligated by reform. Keeping silent is tantamount to being an accomplice, it is "betraying God, His Prophet and all the Believers," according to the exacting expression of the Prophet (peace be upon him). On the geo-strategic level and at the level of economic policies, some Muslim countries participate and collaborate in an immoral management of the world and are implicated in some of the most dubious dealings and trades. All this must be analysed, rigorously described, stated and then denounced. It should, of course, be denounced in a constructive manner, but also loudly, clearly and intelligibly.

Compiled From:
"Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity" - Tariq Ramadan, pp. 288, 289

From Issue: 771 [Read original issue]