Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Knowing Another
Al-Hujurat (The Chambers) Chapter 49: Verse 13 (partial)

"Behold, we have created you all out of a male and a female and have formed you into tribes and nations so that you may get to know one another."

The Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) greatest political achievement was to find a way of helping the Arabs to transcend the aggressive jahiliyyah that was tearing Arabia apart. Pluralisms and diversity are God's will; the evolution of human beings into national and tribal groups was meant to encourage them to appreciate and understand the essential unity and equality of the entire human family. But national and tribal chauvinism (asabiyyah), which regards one's own group as inherently superior to all others, is condemned as arrogant and divisive. Tribalism in this sense is still alive and well today. If we continue to make our national interest an absolute value, to see our cultural heritage and way of life as supreme, and to regard outsiders and foreigners with suspicion and neglect their interests, the interconnected global society we have created will not be viable. After the world wars, genocide, and terrorism of the twentieth century, the purpose of the tribe or the nation can no longer be to fight, dominate, exploit, conquer, colonize, occupy, kill, convert, or terrorize rival groups. We have a duty to get to know one another, and to cultivate a concern and responsibility for all our neighbours in the global village.

Compiled From:
"Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life" - Karen Armstrong, p. 144

From Issue: 788 [Read original issue]

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Flat Belly

The vast majority of diseases are related to our diet and the Islamic lifestyle as prescribed by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is an ideal course of prevention for many diseases, including those of the heart. The Prophet disliked excessive eating. He lived with a flat belly and he died with a flat belly. He is reported to have said:

"No man fills a vessel worse than his stomach. A few morsels are enough for the son of Adam (human being) to keep his back upright. But if he must eat more, then he should fill one-third of his stomach with food, one-third with drink and leave one third-empty for the air (for easy breathing)." [Al-Tirmidhi]

It is important to exercise moderation in our eating habits. Limiting the consumption of food results in a tender heart, a strong intellect, a humble self and it weakens desires. Excessive eating brings about the opposite of these praiseworthy qualities.

Two of the most important aspects of Islam are Salah and Dhikr and these are equally important as part of a healthy lifestyle as the Prophet advised:

"Dissolve and digest your food through the process of remembrance of Allah and offering of prayers." [Abu Nuaym]

It is for this reason that the five obligatory prayers are arranged as they are. Traditionally, the Dhuhr and Isha prayers are offered after a meal and these are longer, allowing us to gently exercise the body and prevent us from sleeping immediately after meals. The wisdom behind this was explained by the Prophet:

"Do not go to bed immediately after the meals; it will harden your heart. Avoid any hard or large quantum of exercise immediately after meals; it will also cause damage." [Abu Nuaym]

The quality of the food we eat affects both our physical and spiritual health. It is important to eat pure food that has been obtained using Halal income.

Part of the reason that the hearts of Muslims are destroyed is because we are no longer careful about choosing food that is pure. Instead of eating homemade food filled with barakah, we prefer fast food, which in the words of Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, is "made with haste and waste, two attributes of the devil."

It is important for us to be conscious of the purity of the food we are eating for the sake of the physical and spiritual health of our hearts.

Compiled From:
"The Intelligent Heart, the Pure Heart" - Gohar Mushtaq, pp. 40-42

From Issue: 817 [Read original issue]

Cool Tips!

Games that bring the family closer

Father's reading the newspaper, mother's on the telephone, brother's on the computer, sister's reading a book, and little Ahmad is playing with his toys. What do these people have in common?

Nothing. How can they be brought together?

Young and old, we all love games. What better way to share each other's company, learn about Islam and have fun at the same time than to play a game? Below are three games to play with the whole family.

1. 'Steps to Paradise' Board Game. This board game, made in England, has questions for different age or knowledge levels. Answer the questions on Islam as you move around the board. And if you have collected enough Sawab (reward) then you might be able to enter Paradise.

2. Question and Answer Cards. Pre-made cards with questions and answers on Islam are readily available. Split the family into two teams and compete with each other to see who has the most right answers. The 'losing' team can do something together for the 'winning' team, for example, cook dinner. (This may mean that dad and some of the children may be cooking dinner for mum!) If pre-made cards are not available, then get into your teams and design the questions for the other team to answer.

3. Treasure Hunting. Mum or Dad designs a treasure hunt for the rest of the family. The number of clues, in the form of questions, depends on how many letters the secret place that contains the prize has. For example, if a cake awaits them in the REFRIGERATOR then 13 questions are needed. The first question needs to have an answer starting with R. For example, "What is the name of Surah 13?" The answer is "Ra'd". Each first letter of the answers form the final word. Draw a map and place each question on a card at each location. Once the code is cracked all can share the prize.

An important note to keep in mind is that when teams are called for, make sure it's randomly selected. Also, for each game, team members will be different each time. If team members remain the same all the time, rivalry will be set up and not all members will have the chance to work with the others.

Compiled From:
"Saying it out loud - the easy way to teach children the daily Duas (supplications)" - Jameela Ho of Yagoona

From Issue: 527 [Read original issue]