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Issue 118 » May 18, 2001 -

General

QURAN

Translation:

"And Proclaim: The Truth (Haqq) has come, and falsehood (Baatil) has vanished. Surely, falsehood is ever bound to vanish."
 
[Al-Quran, Sura Al-Israa 17:81]
 
Tafseer:
 
Background
  • This declaration came at a time when a large number of Muslims had forsaken their homes in Makkah and taken refuge in Abyssinia (the first migration of Muslims). As for the rest of the Muslims, they were living a miserable life in and around Makkah, suffering from harsh persecutions under the disbelievers of Makkan Quraish. Even the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was constantly in danger.
  • The forces of falsehood (Baatil) seemed preponderant. There was no sign promising the success of the Truth (Haqq) even in the distant future.
  • Against this backdrop, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked by Allah to proclaim to the disbelievers that the Truth had come and the falsehood had perished.
  • Given the situation pertaining at the time, his proclamation appeared to many people at best a tall claim, and the disbelievers simply laughed it away.
Conquest of Makkah: Sign of Truth
  • Within nine years of that declaration, however, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) entered Makkah as its humble conqueror, destroying falsehood, symbolized by the more than 360 idols which lay in the precincts of the Kabah (The Holy Sanctuary).
  • According to Abdullah ibn Masud (May Allah be pleased with him), on the day of the Conquest of Makkah, as the Prophet struck the idols in the Kabah, he repeatedly recited this verse: "The Truth has come and falsehood has perished. Indeed falsehood was destined to perish (17:81). The Truth has come and falsehood shall neither make its appearance, nor return (39:41)." Before and after destroying these idols, the Prophet performed prostrations and prayers to thank Allah for this splendid victory and honour, and went around proclaiming the Oneness and Majesty of Allah.
The Declaration of Hope
This verse of the Quran should serve as a source and ray of hope to all the Believers today, just as it did to the Companions of the Prophet, who suffered  at length for the sake of Islam. This verse should remind us, especially if we are being ridiculed and oppressed due to our message and Deen of Truth, that falsehood will at last disappear and the end of those of oppress us and laugh at the sincere Believers will be humilating in both worlds. It shall be a sign of hope and optimism in a Believer's life- the fact that if we are on Truth, we should not be afraid of anyone in this world.
 
[Compiled from "Towards Understanding the Quran" by S. Abul Ala Maududi, pp. 67-68]
Know Your Islamic Vocab.

'ALIM: One who knows; a learned person. Commonly used for someone who has a thorough knowledge of Islam and its sources, the Quran and the Sunnah. An important characteristic of an `Alim according to the Quran, is that he is deeply conscious of God and stands in awe of Him.

'Alimah is the feminine of 'Alim, and used for female scholars of Islam.

[Contributed by Br. Junaid Sohail, University of Toronto, Erindale Campus]

DAWA - Time to Come Out of our Boxes!  
  • We should practice what we preach, as Allah says, "O you who (claim) to believe! Why do you say things that do not practice?" [Quran 61:2]. Thus, the least we can do is try our best to avoid acts which we are not supposed to do!
  • At the same time, perfection is not the pre-requisite for Dawa, because, had this been the case, then the Prophets (peace be upon them all) would be the only ones allowed to do Dawa. Life is an ever-growing circle of study, practice, and improvement! Some companions of the Prophet once asked him, "O Messenger of Allah, shouldn't we refrain from calling others to goodness if we don't practice ALL good things ourselves, and shouldn't we refrain from forbidding wrong things until we ourselves have abstained from ALL the bad." "No," he replied, "You should call others to goodness even if you don't do all good, and you should forbid bad things even if you don't abstain from all of them yourselves" [Tabarani]..... [To be continued in the next issue]

[Taken from the article "DAWA: Time To Come Out of Our Boxes" @ www.youngmuslims.ca]

Modesty [Haya] in Islam and Manners of Dressing

~ "When you do not have Haya, you may do whatever you please" ~

All sorts of crimes and evils in the society, such as adultery, theft, lying, drugs, AIDS, to name a few, run counter to a person's human nature, because these evil acts are committed under the impulse of his or her animalistic desires. All such acts have been described by the Quran using a comprehensive word "Munkar", which literally means "that which is unknown or little known". These acts have been called Munkar because they are supposed to be unknown and repugnant to the human nature. Obviously, when they are against human nature and man commits them under the impulse of his animality, there must be in the human nature itself some system or measure which prevents man from approaching these sins. And the Divine Law-Giver, Allah, has also specified this thing, known as Haya.
 
Literally, Haya means shyness or modesty. As an Islamic term, Haya implies that shyness which a wrongdoer feels before his own nature and before his Lord and Creator, Allah. This shyness is the force which prevents a person from indulging in indecency and obscenity. If, however, the person commits a sin under his or her animalistic nature (Nafs), the same shyness (Haya) makes him or her feel the pangs of conscience. The moral teachings of Islam aim at awakening this dormant feeling of shyness in human nature and try to develop it as a part of human being's mental make-up. This exactly is the explanation of the following Hadith: "Every religion has a morality, and the morality of Islam is Haya"
 
Another Hadith touches on the same subject as follows: "When you do not have Haya, you may do whatever you please." That's because when you do not have the weapon of Haya in yourself, your desires, which spring from your animal instincts, will lay complete hold of you, and you will not hesitate to indulge in any sin.
 
It is should be understood that the feeling of Haya is inherent in man's Fitrah (in-born nature), though in a crude form. It abhors all sins by nature, but lacks knowledge. Therefore, it does not know exactly why it abhors a particular sin. This lack of sharpness and knowledge gradually weakens its feeling of guilt and abhorrence, with the result that man begins committing sin under the impulse of his animality, and the repeated acts of sins at last destroy his sense of modesty altogether. The moral teachings of Islam aim to educate and sharpen our Haya. It not only acquaints it with the manifest sins, but also lays bare before man all the evils of desire and intention hidden in the innermost heart of man.
 
The sphere of Haya in the Islamic morality is so vast that it encompasses all aspects of human life. Thus, the aspect of a person's social life which is related to sex has also been reformed by Islam by means of Haya. Islam detects even the slightest lapses of human self in sexual affairs and warns Haya of their presence and exhorts it to be vigilant.
 
[Taken from "Al-Hijab and the Status of Woman in Islam", by S. Abul Ala Maududi (Rahimahullah) , pp. 165-166]
Quiz Yourself!

Last week's Answer: Why is the woman’s share of inheritance half that of a man (according to 4:11)? c) Because women have less financial responsibility compared to the men

This week's Question: The Revelation of the Quran was a gradual process over a period of 23 years. Revelation (Wahee) sometimes came as individual verses (Ayaat), at other times a few passages, and on some occasions complete chapters (Suras) of the Quran were revealed in one sitting.  What was the first complete Sura of the Quran that was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)?

a) Al-Alaq        b) Al-Khalaq        c) Al-Faatiha        d) Al-Baqara

[The correct answer will be provided in the next issue]

[Taken from Online Quiz @ www.youngmuslims.ca]

Friday Nasiha