Humanity has bourne no greater loss than the loss of Prophet Muhammad SAW. No Muslim will
ever lose anything more than what he has with the passing of our Prophet. Why am i saying this, you ask... almost 1400 years have gone by afterall.I remember while reading the seerah, i started feeling so close to the Prophet SAW - his physical attributes and his personality both became so vivid to me. So strong was this feeling, that i could not bring myself to read chapters about his passing. I felt i was loosing him and i know his seerah and sunnah live on; so i forced myself to go through the final part.
And it was painful, just as it is painful for me to write about it even now. And one can only feel this loss, if they have felt the connection.. else its just a superfacial emotion. If one wants to feel that connection, the ideal way is to follow the Sunnah and read the seerah. I have mentioned about loving the prophet in one of my earlier posts (For the Love of Prophet SAW). I wish we could all embody the Sunnah, and feel this connection even better than we already do - for our Iman is incomplete
without this love.
When you will love him, you will feel his loss truly. When you feel his loss, no other loss will ever compare .. SubhanAllah!
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
To go “back” or not to go “back”… In the light of Surat Yusuf
The gems from Surat Yusuf are too many and much too deep to ever be condensed into one tafsir, let alone one article; but a recent study of the surat drew light on a burning issue – Should I go back (to my homeland) or should I stay? SubhanAllah, Surat Yusuf has many parallels to our lives in this society and Inshallah in this article I will point to a few.
So, when they took him away, they all agreed to throw him down to the bottom of the well, and We inspired in him:"Indeed, you shall (one day) inform them of this their affair, when they know (you) not." (v15)
To begin with, let’s look at Yusuf AS’s forced transfer to Egypt. It wasn’t what he wanted or what his father has thought out for him; but Allah’s plan for him was different – so they both submitted and exhibited sabr. Similarly, the decision to come here or live here may not be ours entirely but Allah has willed us to be here so we should be thankful and see what our purpose here could be. We should make du’a that Allah takes from us the work he put us here to do.
And when he [Yusuf] attained his full manhood, We gave him wisdom and knowledge (the Prophethood), thus We reward the Muhsinun (doers of good) (v22)
Secondly, although Yusuf AS was not kept as a slave (in its full meaning), he however had no free will. He had suddenly been pulled out of a pious home, a pious land into people who were idol-worshippers. Just imagine his situation, he was the only “Muslim” in all of Egypt! Yet, he did not give up his deen. He accepted his situation as the will of Allah, but he did not assimilate. Alhamdolillah, we are blessed to be living here WITH free will and a healthy community of Muslims; yet we find ourselves complacent and trying our best to “fit in” even at the cost of our Iman.
And she, in whose house he was, sought to seduce him (to do an evil act), she closed the doors and said: "Come on, O you." He said: "I seek refuge in Allah (or Allah forbid)! Truly, he (your husband) is my master! He made my stay agreeable! (So I will never betray him). Verily, the Zalimun (wrong and evil-doers) will never be successful." (v23)
Yusuf AS was harassed (by Aziz’s wife) and wrongfully accused, and spent many years in prison. He said:"O my Lord! Prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me..” (v33)He spoke up to defend his honor, yet he preferred to be imprisoned than displease Allah SWT.
(They said): "Inform us of the interpretation of this. Verily, we think you are one of the Muhsinun (doers of good )(v36)
Did he become bitter and vengeful? We see from the comments of his fellow cellmates that on the contrary not only did he keep his ikhlaq, he had earned their trust and had continued da’wah behind bars. "O two companions of the prison! Are many different lords (gods) better or Allah, the One, the Irresistible? (v39).Living as a minority group can be challenging but if we have our goal in mind; if we are striving to fulfill our purpose, Allah’s help will be with us. We will only be tried as much as we can bear. We must always think of this when we have been wronged.
Upon being set free, Yusuf AS was invited to become the King’s consort. So not only was he a free man, he also had the financial means to go “back” to his family. Yet, not only did he choose a harder job (as minister of agriculture), he chose to stay in Egypt. He chose to help the same people who had enslaved him, harassed him, accused him and imprisoned him. Now that’s goodwill! He had khair in his heart for the people and could not leave knowing, they would perish without his help. SubhanAllah! How Allah made this very decision of his a means to re-unite with his family.
We must learn from this story that if we constantly question our life here; not only are we ungrateful we are also unproductive. We can never do effective da’wah till we have real concern for the people; we must not harbor hate and resentment – hate the sin, not the sinner. Allah has chosen us from millions of people to be here, to propagate the true path. Are we refusing this opportunity?
Indeed in their stories, there is a lesson for men of understanding. It (the Qur'an) is not a forged statement but a confirmation of the Allah's existing Books [the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel) and other Scriptures of Allah] and a detailed explanation of everything and a guide and a Mercy for the people who believe.(v111)
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Hadith 101
We all read and forward hadith all the time, so here is some basic information on what is a hadith. A great deal of work went into reporting and classifying a hadith; which cannot and must not be discounted at any cost! There is actually a science to the study of hadith, this alone should convince one its intricacies and validity.
I am attending a course on the subject and there will Inshallah be a part 2 to this entry. May Allah forgive me if i make any mistakes in typing this information; not because my source is not credible but because i am human and prone to error.
Hadith comes from the root Ha Da Tha; which means coming into a new situation, or something new which has occurred. Hence, it is used for the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad SAW which were something new for the people of the time (changing their current situation). The word muhdith (from the same root) is used to define Bid'aa for the same reason; as its an innovation which didnt exist.
A hadith can refer to any:
1) saying of the prophet saw (qawl)
2) action of the prophet saw (F'ayl)
3) His agreement in a matter i.e. he didnt do a particular act/ or say a particular thing himself but agreed with it when someone else performed it (taqreer)
What can entail a hadith:
1) Sunnah - the root of which means creating a way so as to make it easy for the followers. According to the fuqaha (scholars of jurisprudence), sunnah is an act that is highly ranked/rated and preferred but not performing the act, is not a sin. On the other hand, a sunnah which becomes a symbol of Islam has a greater weightage and highly recommended for Muslims to adhere to it. For eg, the minarets on a mosque are not an obligatory part of building a mosque but have increasingly become a sign of a Muslim prayer house; hence its a recommended sunnah. Since we believe the Sahaba were the closest people to the prophet also in practice, their acts too are part of Sunnah. eg: 20 rakahs of tarawih prayer initiated by Hazrat Umar RA.
2) Khabr - any narrative of which news is received to be associated with the Prophet SAW. A more general term than hadith.
3) As (th) ar - of which evidence is found to be associated with the Prophet SAW
4) Wahi - that which was revealed to the Prophet through divine intervention. Wahi is further divided into 2: Jalli and Khafi
Sciences:
There are 2 types of hadith study/sciences. Please dont take these as official terms, rather as english terms.
1) Rivayah - Hadith which is memorised by muhadditheen and related to us
2) Dirayat - Scholarly deductions of ahkam (commandments) or lessons from the hadith.
A hadith has 2 parts:
1) Sanad - the chain of revelation. i.e. who heard it from whom all the way to the Prophet SAW
2) Matan - the actual words of the Prophet SAW
Some Extra Info:
1) one who has memorized over 300,000 hadith - Muhaafizh
2) one who knows more than Muhaafiz - Imam al hujjat (h)
3) one who knows even more than that (close to 600,000) - Ameer ul mo'mineen fil hadith
This post is open to your comments. Please feel free to correct me. May Allah guide me and you.
I am attending a course on the subject and there will Inshallah be a part 2 to this entry. May Allah forgive me if i make any mistakes in typing this information; not because my source is not credible but because i am human and prone to error.
Hadith comes from the root Ha Da Tha; which means coming into a new situation, or something new which has occurred. Hence, it is used for the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad SAW which were something new for the people of the time (changing their current situation). The word muhdith (from the same root) is used to define Bid'aa for the same reason; as its an innovation which didnt exist.
A hadith can refer to any:
1) saying of the prophet saw (qawl)
2) action of the prophet saw (F'ayl)
3) His agreement in a matter i.e. he didnt do a particular act/ or say a particular thing himself but agreed with it when someone else performed it (taqreer)
What can entail a hadith:
1) Sunnah - the root of which means creating a way so as to make it easy for the followers. According to the fuqaha (scholars of jurisprudence), sunnah is an act that is highly ranked/rated and preferred but not performing the act, is not a sin. On the other hand, a sunnah which becomes a symbol of Islam has a greater weightage and highly recommended for Muslims to adhere to it. For eg, the minarets on a mosque are not an obligatory part of building a mosque but have increasingly become a sign of a Muslim prayer house; hence its a recommended sunnah. Since we believe the Sahaba were the closest people to the prophet also in practice, their acts too are part of Sunnah. eg: 20 rakahs of tarawih prayer initiated by Hazrat Umar RA.
2) Khabr - any narrative of which news is received to be associated with the Prophet SAW. A more general term than hadith.
3) As (th) ar - of which evidence is found to be associated with the Prophet SAW
4) Wahi - that which was revealed to the Prophet through divine intervention. Wahi is further divided into 2: Jalli and Khafi
Sciences:
There are 2 types of hadith study/sciences. Please dont take these as official terms, rather as english terms.
1) Rivayah - Hadith which is memorised by muhadditheen and related to us
2) Dirayat - Scholarly deductions of ahkam (commandments) or lessons from the hadith.
A hadith has 2 parts:
1) Sanad - the chain of revelation. i.e. who heard it from whom all the way to the Prophet SAW
2) Matan - the actual words of the Prophet SAW
Some Extra Info:
1) one who has memorized over 300,000 hadith - Muhaafizh
2) one who knows more than Muhaafiz - Imam al hujjat (h)
3) one who knows even more than that (close to 600,000) - Ameer ul mo'mineen fil hadith
This post is open to your comments. Please feel free to correct me. May Allah guide me and you.
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Abaya and Pink Heels...WHAT?!
The title is pretty self-explanatory, but here goes! One too many times i see women wearing an abaya only to pair it one really s*** stiletto, and it disturbs me more than seeing a girl with no hijab on. No! i dont think its better that atleast they are wearing an abaya. Dont get me wrong, i am not holding it against the person because they may not know it or havent reached "there" yet. I just want to address the issue.
There is nothing wrong with wearing a good-looking shoe; Im a sucker for high-heeled, fancy footwear too. Just dont wear it when you are going to a large crowd with men in it. Truly sister, it destroys the purpose of hijab. Lets consider for a moment, what the hijab must entail. To begin with, it should be a loose "outer-clothing" that is not see-through and covers your satr. Allah commands us to hide our adornments ie jewlery, hair, clothing, figure. With such strict commandments for hiding our adornments, how do you think wearing shiny clickety heels fits the bill when all it does is draw attention to you! Hijab is not only physical, rather its more behavioural and the physical part just reinforces the behaviour part. So one must observe haya and humility in speech, posture AND clothing. The same holds true for blingy abayas or shaylas that dont cover the chest or earrings peeking out of the scarf or skinny jeans and hijab or heavy make-up and hijab! Sisters, these are important details that complete our hijab and without which there really is not point of hiding our hair! I, too was like this but nobody guided me and i was ignorant enough to not have learned it myself. But i know better now and hopefully sisters you will think through your hijab too.
Would the prophet saw approve of your hijab? Would Allah be pleased with your appearance? As these 2 questions before you leave home. May Allah guide all of us on the straight path. Ameen
There is nothing wrong with wearing a good-looking shoe; Im a sucker for high-heeled, fancy footwear too. Just dont wear it when you are going to a large crowd with men in it. Truly sister, it destroys the purpose of hijab. Lets consider for a moment, what the hijab must entail. To begin with, it should be a loose "outer-clothing" that is not see-through and covers your satr. Allah commands us to hide our adornments ie jewlery, hair, clothing, figure. With such strict commandments for hiding our adornments, how do you think wearing shiny clickety heels fits the bill when all it does is draw attention to you! Hijab is not only physical, rather its more behavioural and the physical part just reinforces the behaviour part. So one must observe haya and humility in speech, posture AND clothing. The same holds true for blingy abayas or shaylas that dont cover the chest or earrings peeking out of the scarf or skinny jeans and hijab or heavy make-up and hijab! Sisters, these are important details that complete our hijab and without which there really is not point of hiding our hair! I, too was like this but nobody guided me and i was ignorant enough to not have learned it myself. But i know better now and hopefully sisters you will think through your hijab too.
Would the prophet saw approve of your hijab? Would Allah be pleased with your appearance? As these 2 questions before you leave home. May Allah guide all of us on the straight path. Ameen
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