Prophet of Combat, Bad Neighbour, Crazy Ideals
Issue 219 » April 25, 2003 - Safar 23, 1424
General
Muhammad Commentary: Surah Muhammad, which is also known by the title "fighting", testifies to the fact that Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, was a Prophet of mercy as well as combat; he is with the oppressed against the oppressor, and with the victim against the wrongdoer. In order to appreciate the context of these verses one has to think how oppressed people, in Bosnia, Palestine or Iraq, feel towards the oppressors who have usurped their land, slaughtered their men, raped their women and/or trampled on their human rights. Muslims used to recite passages from this Surah during combat as it has a special pounding rhythm that aroused fear in the hearts of their enemy. Necessity of Obedience for Deeds to be Accepted For deeds to be beneficial and for them to yield good results, they would depend entirely on the person's obedience to Allah and His Messenger. After one has turned away from obedience, no deed remains a good deed and hence one does not deserve any reward for it. Imam Ibn Kathir indicates that disbelievers can never harm Allah in the least, and rather they only harm themselves and become losers on the Day of Resurrection. Allah will not reward them even the weight of a mosquito (i.e., the smallest thing) for any good that they did before their apostasy, but would instead totally invalidate and destroy it. Their apostasy wipes away their good deeds entirely, just as the good deeds would normally wipe away the evil deeds. Appealing for Peace ? One should bear in mind the context of this revelation. These Ayahs were revealed when only a handful of Muslims in the town of Medina were standing up for Islam, and they were up against not only the Quraish but also the rest of pagan Arabia. This was the condition, when they were asked "not to be faint-hearted and not to beg for peace,", but to make preperation for decisive conflict. This does not, however, mean that Muslims should never negotiate for peace. In a situation like the one detailed above, it is not right for Muslims to initiate peace negotiations, since it would be testament to the Muslim's weakness. This would further encourage the enemy. Hence, Muslims should first establish their superiority in power and strength; and then negotiate for peace. And all the while we need to remember that Allah is on our side and He would reward us for our deeds, and would not let it go to waste like in the case of the disbelievers. Sources: |
Bad Neighbours Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Sallam (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, "My neighbour is disturbing me." He said, "Have patience." He came back a second time and said, "My neighbour is disturbing me," and the Prophet again said "Have patience." He came back a third time and said "My neighbour is disturbing me." The Prophet told him: , "Go back and put all your good and chattels out in the street. If anyone comes along and asks you, tell him, 'My neightbour is disturbing me.' Then he will truly incur curses. Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him honour his neighbour..." An important aspect of the teachings of Islam is not to repay a bad neighbour with bad deeds, but to bear his disturbance with patience, in so far as he is able, hoping that the one who is doing wrong may stop his bad behaviour when he sees that his neighbour is not responding in kind. This is one of the noblest characteristics and one of the most effective ways of uprooting the evil that exists in some souls. Source: |
*Crazy Ideals of Teenagers*
Teenagers
are idealists-- they want to change the world, and make it a better
place. These are not bad ideals, and it is a great pity that adults have forgotten their own ideals in
a rat-race of daily life. You, the parent, may have
ended up as just a hard-working non-entity in some quiet niche in
life; a teenager who is a real idealist may end up as a famous person,
a reformer, a politician, an aid-worker-- who knows.
The future lies there before them.
It is
therefore a foolish parent who tries to ridicule and trample on
that young idealism. If it is consistent with Islam,
it should be fervently encouraged, and not set at nought. It
is parents who have retained their own standards, who take an active
interest in the teenager's idealism and wild dreams, and who are
able to talk about them freely, are most likely to be affective
against pernicious influences. There is plenty of
sad evidence that it is those teenagers who seriously feel disadvantaged,
or who believe that there is no hope for them in their future society,
who turn to delinquency. Hope and dreams
are precious things. Let no parent deliberately crush them.
Source:
"Living with Teenagers", Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood, pp. 55-56, Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd. |
