Radiant Reality July 2013

Regd. Ao.
: 1KEAG/2/4174
Published From Srinagar.
1uly. 213. Jol.14, Ao: 171.
EditoriaI-ControI That Everyday Scourge-Irritation
Question Answer
Lesson from the Qur'an
Lesson from Sahih aI-Bukhari
Preparing for the Month of Mercy
The Fasting of Ramadan
Common Mistakes in Ramadan
Tsunami
Ramadan
Be MindfuI of AIIah
On the Path of the BeIoved - The BattIe of Badr
What is Ramadan
Reverts
DeaIing With Grief-I
The Sunnah as per the Qur'an
Praiseworthy MoraIs-Shouq
2
3
5
7
10
13
17
19
22
24
26
30
32
35
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Srinagar, Kashmir, 190 001 India.
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Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org 1uly. 213
2 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
All thanks for Almighty, the most Merciful and Exalted

EDITORIAL
8rothers ln lslam! lear Allah and be-
ware ol wastlng your llle away ln useless
matters. Make use ol your tlme by dolng
posltlve thlngs, lor lt ls by dolng so that you
can achleve the pleasure ol Allah.
lellow Musllms! ln the mldst ol the
hustle and bustle ol thls worldly llle and the
severe struggle that people are golng through
to acqulre lts treasures, man stlll reallses that
he ls desperately ln need ol a sanctuary ln
whlch he can seek reluge and under whose
shade he can unwlnd ln order to be able to
relresh hlmsell and strengthen hls determl-
natlon to move lorward ln hls [ourney to suc-
cess.
Strength ls an lndlspensable provl-
slon lor a Musllm because lt helps hlm to at-
taln the truth and establlsh lt, helps hlm to
galn authorlty on the earth, asslsts hlm to be
vlctorlous and subsequently leads hlm to the
love ol Allah and Pls pleasure. 1hat was why
the Messenger ol Allah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wa
sallam) sald: 1he strong bellever ls better
and more beloved to Allah than the weak
bellever, 8ut there ls good ln both." 1here-
lore, all reasonable people wlll agree that
one must seek lor and explolt all means that
can lead to the pleasure ol Allah and Pls la-
vours.
lt ls a manllestatlon ol Allah's bountl-
lul blesslngs on Pls slaves that Pe provldes a
llletlme ol opportunltles lor them by whlch
they can they attaln thls alm. lastlng and the
blessed month ol 8amadan are at the lore-
lront ol these opportunltles.
8amadan ls a wlde and expanslve
avenue lor developlng one's strength ln all
areas, abstentlon lrom lood, drlnk and marl-
tal-relatlons durlng the day, belng patlent on
that, waklng up ln the nlght lor prayers and
remalnlng steadlast on these are some ol the
apparent means ol strengthenlng one's wlll.
1hls ls ln lact an lmmense opportunlty and
could be a turnlng polnt whlch ls an ob[ect ol
cravlng lor the people who have vlslon, those
who humble themselves belore thelr Lord
and seek the way ol approach to Plm. lt ls a
translormatlon towards a better way ol llle, a
change lrom the lgnomlny ol slns to the glory
ol obedlence, lrom weakness and lazlness to
strength and vlgour, lrom bad customs and
detestable hablts to rlghteousness and up-
rlght conduct.
8rothers ln lalth! lastlng contalns
elements ol strength, resoluteness and
strong wlll that are lndlspensable tools lor
one who wants to attaln hlgh degrees and
prosperlty ln thls world and the Perealter.
Allah says, C you who have belleved, de-
creed upon you ls lastlng as lt was decreed
upon those belore you so that you may be-
come rlghteous." (Al-8aqarah: 183).
lellow Musllms! 1he days ol thls
blessed month are drawlng near. 1herelore,
let those who were negllgent hasten to re-
cover what has been mlssed ol good deeds.
Let them work ln thls blessed month lor thelr
luture, lor the doomed ls the one who ls de-
prlved ol the Mercy ol Allah ln thls month.
1uly. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 3
uest|on:
My husband has many lemale con-
tacts on lacebook, 88M, and 1wltter. Pe ls
olten on the phone tlll past mld-nlght. Cnce l
happened to see the content on hls phone,
lncludlng some smses to women he was lllrt-
lng wlth. Lver slnce, he has locked hls phone
wlth a password. l am extremely hurt and
becomlng despondent. lease advlse what l
should do?
Answer:
?our sltuatlon ls lndeed traglc and
heartbreaklng. Chattlng wlth non-mahram
lemales ls also a lorm ol zlna. Lvery lorm ol
zlna ls a serlous and ma[or sln. Allah declares
And do not go close to zlna, verlly lt ls lm-
moral and a path ol devlatlon." May Allah
grant your husband hldayat and enable hlm
to totally relraln lrom these haraam acts.
?ou obvlously wlsh to resolve the
lssue ln such a manner that your marrlage ls
not destroyed. ll you conlront hlm dlrectly on
the lssue, due to the lntoxlcatlon" ol the
haraam he ls lnvolved ln, he may react ln a
way that may break the marrlage. An lntoxl-
cated person ls not able to thlnk loglcally. Pe
cannot see the glarlng harm and destructlon
ln the evll that he ls engaged ln. Pe cannot
see the tears ol those crylng around hlm. Pe
ls obllvlous to the paln and trauma that hls
lamlly ls sullerlng due to hls actlons. lmmoral
and llllclt actlvltles ol any sort gradually ln-
toxlcate a person more than alcohol and
drugs. Pe then slnks lnto such loollsh and
reckless behavlour whlch he too wlll later
deeply regret, but by then lt wlll be too late
to undo the damage. May Allah keeps one
and all ln Pls protectlon.
CNL kLAL SCLU1ICN
1herelore the only real solutlon ls to
develop the consclousness ol Allah ln hls
heart. ually lor at least ten mlnutes read the
book lazaalle-A'amaal wlth the lamlly. Ln-
courage hlm to partlclpate ln the ellorts ol
ueen and to [oln the company ol the plous.
Also create an atmosphere ol ueen at home.
Lnsure that salaah ls perlormed on tlme, eve-
ryone ln the lamlly ls recltlng the Curaan
Shareel, engaglng ln the recltatlon ol
tasbheehaat and zlkr, etc. lt ls also extremely
lmportant to dally engage ln dua wlth great
humlllty and very earnestly.
1ogether wlth the above, lt ls vltally
lmportant to remove all the tools ol vlce lrom
the home, such as the 1.v., vldeos, muslc,
magazlnes, etc. May Allah gulde us all to the
stralght path and save us lrom the path ol
lollowlng haraam deslres and destructlon.
Aameen.
uest|on:
Pow can one generate the true natu-
ral love lor 8asulullah (sallallahu alalhl wasal-
lam) wlthln onesell?
Answer:
4 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
Cne ol the companlons ol 8asulullah
(sallallahu alalhl wasallam) was Pazrath Anas
(8.A.). Pe was only ten years old when hls
mother lelt hlm ln the servlce ol 8asulullah
(sallallahu alalhl wasallam). Pe served 8asu-
lullah (sallallahu alalhl wasallam) lor ten
years. Pe loved hls master dearly and Allah
1a'ala's 8asul (sallallahu alalhl wasallam) also
loved hlm dearly.
Cnce 8asulullah (sallallahu alalhl wa-
sallam) sald to hlm: "C my beloved son! ll lt ls
posslble that you could commence the day or
nlght ln such a condltlon that your heart ls
lree ol mallce lor anyone, then do so!" (l.e.
you should dellnltely try to acqulre thls).
1herealter 8asulullah (sallallahu alalhl wasal-
lam) sald: "1hls (keeplng the heart clean ol
any mallce) ls lrom my Sunnah. 1he one who
loves my Sunnah has lndeed loved me. 1he
one who loves me wlll be wlth me ln !annah."
1hls clearly lndlcates to us how to
acqulre the true love ol 8asulullah (sallallahu
alalhl wasallam). 8y lovlng the Sunnats ol
8asulullah (sallallahu alalhl wasallam) and
practlclng upon them one's love lor hlm wlll
lncrease.
uest|on:
l do not have the enthuslasm and
eagerness to do any work (and to complete
my 1asbeehs, 1llaawat, etc.). l am lorever ln a
state ol uneaslness. Shaltaanl thoughts and
lncllnatlons contlnue to bother me. lease
advlse me how to overcome thls sltuatlon.
Answer:
Cenerally there are three reasons lor
such a condltlon overcomlng a person:
1. lnapproprlate company - 1he
condltlon descrlbed could be as a result ol
adoptlng the company ol such people who
themselves are not lncllned towards Zlkr,
lslaah, etc.
2. Consumlng Paraam - Clten due
to a person consumlng what was acqulred ln
a Paraam manner, he ls allllcted wlth thls
condltlon.
3. Slns - A person ls sometlmes
overcome by thls problem due to havlng
slnned.
uest|on:
l was very attached to someone. l am
now shattered by hls dlsloyalty. As a result l
cannot even sleep at nlght. l contlnuously
perlorm Salaat-ut-1aubah and make dua, yet
my condltlon contlnues to deterlorate. lease
help me to overcome thls problem.
Answer:
1hls world ls a temporary place. lt ls
also very dlsloyal. lt keeps a person lor a lew
days untll he llves and then pushes hlm away
(to the next world). All the thlngs that one
regarded as hls own ls also snatched away by
the world.
Slmllar ls the condltlon ol the worldly
people. 1hey have no concept ol loyalty. Cnly
those who regard thls world merely as a
guest house (whlch one wlll shortly leave and
contlnue upon one's [ourney), or those who
regard lt as a [all, nelther get decelved by lt,
nor do they decelve others.
When maklng zlkr ol Laa llaaha lllAl-
lah, lmaglne that you have removed all other
love lrom your heart and thrown lt behlnd
you. 1hen medltate that only the love ol Allah
has been llrmly embedded ln your heart. ln
thls world Pe ls wlth us. ln the Perealter also,
Pe alone wlll be wlth us. Pe wlll never sepa-
rate lrom us.
1ry to embed thls thought ln your
heart as much as posslble (lnsha Allah your
dlstress wlll be removed).
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 5
Commentary: 1afsir Division, Darul Uloom Ilahiya.
Surah Al-Imran (67-71)
1rad|t|on of Sayy|duna Ibrah|m (AS)
lo otJet to Jlssoclote lbtoblm ftom tbe clolm of tbe leople of tbe 8ook, Allob solJ. lbrohim wos
neither o lew nor o christion, but he wos upriqht
1
Mus/im (wbo loclloeJ owoy ftom oll otbet
tellqloos towotJs tbe uptlqbt ooe), ond wos not of those who ossociote portners with 4//oh.
2
{7) 1he c/osest of peop/e to lbrohim (lo polot of foltb) ore those who fo//owed him (lo bls
tlme), ond this Prophet (MubommoJ) ond those who be/ieve
l
(l.e., tbe Musllms). 4nd 4//oh is
the 6uordion of o// be/ievers
4
(wbo belps tbem ooJ qlves tbem qooJ tecompeose fot tbelt
foltb lo bellevloq lo oll tbe ltopbets wltbout Jlsctlmlootloo). {8)
1. noolf (uprlght) means a person who holds last to the one true path and abandons the lalse
ones, and Musllm ls he who ls obedlent to Allah's decrees. Cne should hlmsell ponder as to
who has held last to the way ol Allah and uprlghtly surrendered belore Plm, he ls the one who
ls close to the lbrahlmlc (AS) tradltlon. (utbmool)
2. Pe was the llrst who had the courage to proclalm Allah as the sole Creator ol the unlverse,
to Whose Wlll all heavenly bodles are sub[ect. (MojlJl)
lslam and polythelsm are two dlametrlcally opposed doctrlnes. lslam means the abso-
lute oneness ol Allah wlth everythlng that thls oneness entalls. Pence, lt can have no common
ground wlth any lorm ol polythelsm. (lo tbe 5boJe of tbe Outoo)
3. lbn Abl Patlm (8A) has reported that the rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) addressed hls
own trlbe thus: C Curaysh, eople closest to lbrahlm (AS) are those who lear Allah. lollow
thls path, and lt should not happen that people come to me (on the day ol !udgement) bearlng
good deeds and you come to me loaded wlth thls world so that l dlvert my looks lrom you."
1hen he reclted thls verse. Pasan al-8usrl (ra) has added: Lvery bellevet ls lbrahlm's (AS)
lrlend: both lrom the past natlons as well as those who wlll lollow (untll the end ol the world).
(Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
(Alloomo 5bowkool,- .f. lsbto ol-Moool )
4. 'And Allah ls the atron ol the bellevers' - atronage between lndlvlduals, communltles and
generatlons can only be based on foltb. lt ls lalth whlch unltes one bellevet wlth another, one
Musllm communlty wlth another, and one generatlon ol bellevets who surrender themselves
to Allah and all other generatlons, bypasslng the llmltatlons ol tlme and place, blood and llne-
age, race and natlonallty. 1hey are all unlted by thelr bellel ln Allah Who ls the Curardlan ol all
the bellevers. (lo tbe 5boJe of tbe Outoo)
M|sgu|ded eop|e of the 8ook
wbeo tbe Iews colleJ some of tbe compooloos to jolo tbelt tellqloo, tbe followloq wos te-
veoleJ. 4 qroup from omonq the Peop/e of the 8ook /oves to mis/eod you (ftom yout tellqloo -
lslom), whi/e they mis/eod none but themse/ves (becouse tbe slo fot tbelt leoJloq (otbets)
osttoy folls upoo tbem), ond they do not reo/ise
1
(tbot Allob lofotms nls ptopbet of tbls). {9) O
Peop/e of the 8ook! why do you disbe/ieve
2
in the verses of 4//oh (teveoleJ lo tbe fotmet
5ctlptutes to fotetell obout tbe oJveot of tbe noly ltopbet?), whi/e you ore yourse/f witnesses
l
(tbot tbose texts ote tbe tevelotloos of Allob)? {70) O Peop/e of the 8ook! why do you con-
found the 1ruth with fo/sehood (by Jlstottloq ooJ folslfyloq tbe sctlptute) ond conceo/ the
1ruth
l
(- tbe mlssloo of MubommoJ, ooJ tbe Jesctlptloo of blm) when you know (tbe teollty)?
{71)
1. lrom the tlme ol 8asulullah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam), the lnlldels always had thls deslre
ol mlsleadlng others and kept devlslng schemes to reallze thls, but thls only serves to lncrease
thelr lnlldellty. nowadays also, they do no cease ln thelr ellorts to act agalnst the Musllms and
they stlll do not percelve that lt ls only enhanclng the dark vell upon thelr hearts. (lllumlootloq
ulscoutses oo tbe noly Outoo)
2. 1he Poly Cur'an has broadened the meanlng ol many words and has lntroduced them as
concepts. lor thls reason, lt ls almost lmposslble to render them ln other languages wlth only
one word. Such words requlre explanatlon or descrlptlon when translated. 1he orlgl-nal ol
unbellel ls kuft. lt means conceallng a truth and re[ectlng lt wllllully. ln most cases, lt orlgl-
nates ln valnglory and egotlsm, obstlnacy, mental and splrltual devlatlon, wrongdo-lng, havlng
an lncorrect vlewpolnt, seeklng sell-lnterest, and gratllylng one's ambltlons. (1be Outoo wltb Ao-
oototeJ lotetptetotloos)
1here ls prool ln thls verse that Allah conslders the denlal ol the truth by deceptlon an
evll act. (uowot-ul-Outoo)
3. 'Plde the truth', there are many ways ol preventlng the access ol people to the truth. Cne ls
to temper wlth lt, or trlck lt out ln colour ol lalsehood: hall-truths are olten more dangerous
than obvlous lalsehoods. Another ls to conceal lt altogether. 1hose who are [ealous ol a
prophet ol Allah, whom they actually see belore them, do not allow hls credentlals or vlrtues
to be known, or vlllly hlm, or conceal lacts whlch would attract people to hlm. When people
do thls ol set purpose, agalnst thelr own llght (wblle you koow lt), they are descendlng to the
lowest depths ol degradatlon, and they are dolng more harm to themselves than to anyone
else. (usuf All)
lrom these verses we come to know that !ews and Chrlstlans are [ealous ol Musllms
and they wlll keep on resortlng to dlllerent methods to drlve them away lrom the rlght path.
(uots-e-Outoo)
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 7
Dr. Rafiq Ahmad
1he Book of Ablution
Narrated Abu Musa (kA)
Ooce tbe ltopbet oskeJ fot o tumblet coo-
tololoq wotet. ne wosbeJ bls booJs ooJ foce
lo lt ooJ olso tbtew o moutbful of wotet lo lt.
nad|th No. 192
Narrated 'Abdu||ah b|n 2a|d (kA)
Ooce Allob's Apostle come to us ooJ we
btouqbt out wotet fot blm lo o btoss pot. ne
petfotmeJ oblutloo tbus. ne wosbeJ bls foce
tbtlce, ooJ bls foteotms to tbe elbows twlce,
tbeo posseJ bls wet booJs llqbtly ovet tbe
beoJ ftom ftoot to teot ooJ btouqbt tbem to
ftoot oqolo ooJ wosbeJ bls feet (up to tbe
ookles).
nad|th No. 193
Narrated 'A|sha (kA)
wbeo tbe ollmeot of tbe ltopbet become
oqqtovoteJ ooJ bls Jlseose become sevete,
be oskeJ bls wlves to petmlt blm to be outseJ
(tteoteJ) lo my bouse. 5o tbey qove blm tbe
petmlssloo. 1beo tbe ltopbet come (to my
bouse) wltb tbe suppott of two meo, ooJ bls
leqs wete Jtoqqloq oo tbe qtouoJ, betweeo
'Abbos, ooJ oootbet moo." 'ubolJ-ullob (tbe
sub oottotot) solJ, "l lofotmeJ 'AbJullob blo
'Abbos of wbot 'Alsbo solJ. lbo 'Abbos solJ.
Chapter 47 : 1o perform Gusu| and Wudu
from a M|khdab (utens||), a cup, or a
wooden or stone pot.
urpose of 1ar[amatu| 8aab
Pere lmam 8ukharl wants to convey
that two thlngs are lmportant lor Wudu, vlz.,
1. 1he water should be 1aahlr.
2. 1he water contalner should also be clean
whether lt ls a cooklng utensll or cup
made ol copper, wood stone etc.
nad|th No. 190
Narrated Anas (kA)
lt wos tbe tlme fot ptoyet, ooJ tbose wbose
bouses wete oeot qot up ooJ weot to tbelt
people (to petfotm oblutloo), ooJ tbete te-
moloeJ some people (slttloq). 1beo o poloteJ
stove pot (MlkbJob) cootololoq wotet wos
btouqbt to Allob's Apostles 1be pot wos smoll,
oot btooJ eoouqb fot ooe to spteoJ ooe's
booJ lo, yet oll tbe people petfotmeJ oblu-
tloo. (1be sub oottotot solJ, "we oskeJ Aoos,
'now mooy petsoos wete you?' Aoos teplleJ
'we wete elqbty ot mote"). (lt wos ooe of tbe
mltocles of Allob's Apostle)".
nad|th No. 191
8 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
'uo you koow wbo wos tbe otbet moo?' l te-
plleJ lo tbe oeqotlve. lbo 'Abbos solJ, 'ne wos
'All (blo Abl 1ollb)." 'Alsbo futtbet solJ, "wbeo
tbe ltopbet come to my bouse ooJ bls slck-
oess become oqqtovoteJ be otJeteJ us to
pout seveo sklos full of wotet oo blm, so tbot
be mlqbt qlve some oJvlce to tbe people. 5o
be wos seoteJ lo o MlkbJob (btoss tub) be-
looqloq to nofso, tbe wlfe of tbe ltopbet.
1beo, oll of us stotteJ poutloq wotet oo blm
ftom tbe wotet sklos tlll be beckooeJ to us to
stop ooJ tbot we bove Jooe (wbot be wooteJ
us to Jo). Aftet tbot be weot out to tbe peo-
ple."
Comments
Padhrat Anas (8A) says that one day
lt so happened that the tlme ol Salaah came
nearer. 1he Sahaaba who were resldlng
nearby went to thelr houses to perlorm
Wudu. 1he other Sahaaba nearly about
elghty remalned behlnd. 1here was very llttle
water lor them to perlorm Wudu. 1hls llttle
water was brought ln a stone pot so small
that lt was not posslble to lreely lnsert even a
slngle hand lnto lt. 8asulullah (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) placed hls blessed hand lnto
lt and wlth the 8arakah ol Allah water started
llowlng lrom the blessed llngers ol 8asulullah
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) and all the Sa-
haaba made Wudu wlth lt.
ln the second Padlth lt ls mentloned
that water was brought ln a cup. At that tlme
the cups were usually ol wood materlal.
ln the thlrd Padlth, lt ls mentloned
that the partlcular cup was made ol copper.
ln the lourth Padlth, Padhrat Ayesha
(8A) says that when the termlnal lllness ol
8asulullah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) got
severe, he sought permlsslon lrom all hls
wlves to stay wlth Padhrat Ayesha (8A),
whlch they granted gladly. When hls lllness
got severe, 8asulullah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wa-
sallam) asked the people to sprlnkle seven
bags ol water over hlm whlch was collected
lrom the seven wells ol Madlhah. 1hese
seven wells are stlll lamous ln Madlna and
people take water lrom them to get bless-
lngs.
Chapter 48 : 1o perform Wudu from an
earthen-[ar.
nad|th No. 194
Narrated 'Amr b|n ahya (kA)
(oo tbe outbotlty of bls fotbet) My uocle
useJ to petfotm oblutloo exttovoqootly ooJ
ooce be oskeJ 'AbJullob blo 2olJ to tell blm
bow be boJ seeo tbe ltopbet petfotmloq ob-
lutloo. ne oskeJ fot oo eottbeo-wote pot coo-
tololoq wotet, ooJ pouteJ wotet ftom lt oo
bls booJs ooJ wosbeJ tbem tbtlce, ooJ tbeo
put bls booJ lo tbe eottbeo-wote pot ooJ
tloseJ bls moutb ooJ wosbeJ bls oose by put-
tloq wotet lo lt ooJ tbeo blowloq lt Out tbtlce
wltb ooe booJful of wotet, be oqolo put bls
booJ lo tbe wotet ooJ took o booJful of wo-
tet ooJ wosbeJ bls foce tbtlce, tbeo wosbeJ
bls booJs up to tbe elbows twlce, ooJ took
wotet wltb bls booJ, ooJ posseJ lt ovet bls
beoJ ftom ftoot to bock ooJ tbeo ftom bock
to ftoot, ooJ tbeo wosbeJ bls feet (up to tbe
ookles) ooJ solJ, "l sow tbe ltopbet petfotm-
loq oblutloo lo tbot woy."
nad|th No. 19S
Narrated 1hab|t (kA)
Aoos solJ, "1be ltopbet oskeJ fot wotet ooJ
o tumblet wltb o btooJ bose ooJ oot so Jeep,
cootololoq o smoll uootlty of wotet, wos
btouqbt to blm wbeteby be put bls floqets lo
lt." Aoos futtbet solJ, ' ootlceJ tbe wotet
sptloqloq out ftom omooqst bls floqets." Aoos
oJJeJ, ' estlmoteJ tbot tbe people wbo pet-
fotmeJ oblutloo wltb lt oumbeteJ betweeo
seveoty to elqbty."
Comments
1hese thlngs have been dlscussed ln
earller chapters.
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 9
Chapter 49 : 1o perform
Wudu w|th one Mudh of
water. (Mudh |s 2]3 of a
k||o).
urpose of 1ar[amatu| 8aab
ln earller chapters
lmam 8ukhalr (8A) was dls-
cusslng the nature ol water
and water contalners. now
he talks about the quantlty ol
water.
nad|th No. 196
Narrated Anas (kA)
1be ltopbet useJ to toke o
botb wltb ooe 5o up to flve
MuJbs (1 5o'= 4 MuJbs) of
wotet ooJ useJ to petfotm
oblutloo wltb ooe MuJb of
wotet.
Comments
lslam does not llke
the wastage ol water. ln lact,
lt tells upon the hablt ol a
person ll he wastes a thlng
whlch may be ol a trlvlal lm-
portance. Pe carrles on wlth
thls hablt and a stage reaches
when he starts wastlng those
thlngs also whlch are lmpor-
tant or costly. 1he water ls
usually lreely avallable and
one usually over spends lt
unnecessarlly. We have been
taught not to waste water
even ll we are perlormlng
Wudu on a rlver bank. Pere
ln thls Padlth, lt ls mentloned
that 8asulullah (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) used to take
hls Cusul (bath) wlth not
more than llve Mudhs. ln
some Ahaadlth even three
Mudhs are mentloned.
A Good Neighhour
vtaivav biv ]abv .t.v.aari ;ra) ovce offerea to
.ett bi. bov.e iv ecbavge for a bvvarea tbov.ava
airbav.. !bev tbo.e rbo rere ivtere.tea a
roacbea biv, be a./ea tbev: 1be bov.e i. for .ate
iv ecbavge of a bvvarea tbov.ava airbav., bvt
bor vvcb ritt ,ov a, for beivg tbe veigbbovr of
aeea biv .a. ;ra). 1be, retiea: . tbat .ove
tbivg av,ove erer a,. a rice for. e .aia:
1bev iv tbat ca.e, catt tbi. aeat off! , .ttab,
cav verer teare .vcb a veigbbovr rbo, rbeverer be
aoe. vot .ee ve be evqvire. abovt ve ava rbeverer
be .ee. ve, be i. vo.t rarv ava retcovivg torara.
ve. f teare bove for av, errava tbev be ta/e.
.eciat care of rbaterer betovgivg. `re teft bebiva.
f av at bove tbev be atra,. va/e. biv.etf
araitabte to a..i.t ve. f bare to a./ biv for av,
tbivg tbev be gravt. it to ve vo.t rittivgt,. .va
rbev aov`t a./ tbev be aroacbe. ve evqvirivg
rbetber tbere i. av,tbivg veea. f av, catavit,
befatt. ve tbev be i. fir.t to cove to v, aia.
!bev tbi. reacbea aèea ;ra) be .evt a bvvarea
tbov.ava airbav. a. a gift to biv. ;Ri.aatatvt Mv.
tar.biaeev g. 1)
Lesson: Cova..iov ava /ivave.. are rer, great
qvatitie.. 1be.e qvatitie. earv tbe tea.vre of .ttab
ava are at.o a veav. of great bte..ivg. iv tbi. rorta
ava tbe bereafter. qvatt, ivortavt i. to ac/vort
eage ava areciate tbe farovr. of otber.. vtaivav
biv ]abv ;ra) areciatea tbe.e farovr. ava rbote
bearteat, ere..ea bi. areciatiov b, rai.ivg tbe
gooa qvatitie. of bi. veigbbovr. 1bi. gratitvae be
cave tbe veav. of erev vore farovr. .borerivg
vov biv. 1berefore, atra,. be gratefvt.
1 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
enormous, extra-speclal thlng that needs to
be done at a certaln tlme ol the day. Many ol
your dally actlons can be turned lnto 8ama-
dan preparatlon actlons wlth a slncere lnten-
tlon lnsha'Allah.
Do these Lasy-to-keap-keward Act|ons
1. Ask Allah to lorglve your brothers
and slsters. Whoever seeks lorglveness lor
bellevlng men and bellevlng women, Allah
wlll wrlte lor hlm a good deed lor each be-
llevlng man and bellevlng woman." [1abaranl]
2. lt was narrated that Abu Purayrah
8A) sald 1he Messenger ol Allah (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) sald: 'Whoever says subhan
Allah wa bl hamdlh (pralse and glory be to
Allah) 100 tlmes, mornlng and evenlng, hls
slns wlll be erased even ll they are llke the
loam on the sea." [8ukharl, Musllm]
3. ll a person says, Subhan Allah
(glory be to Allah)," 100 tlmes, a thousand
good deeds are recorded lor hlm and a thou-
sand bad deeds are wlped away. [Musllm]
4. 8emember Allah (swt) when you
go shopplng. Whoever enters a market and
says: Laa llaha lllallah wahdahu la shareeka
lah, lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu yuhyl wa
yumeetu wa huwa hayyun laa yamoot, bl
yadlhll khalr, wa huwa 'ala kulll shayln qad-
Sister Maryam
A lot ol us yearn to prepare lor
8amadan, but we have no ldea how to start.
8elow are a lew tlps to lnsha'Allah (Allah wlll-
lng) help prepare our mlnds and hearts lor
thls upcomlng Month ol Mercy.
Make the Intent|on
Slmple to do, wlth a powerlul lm-
pact. Maybe you want to prepare lor 8ama-
dan, but between school, work, lamlly, and
your other actlvltles, you [ust have no ldea
how to llt ln 'prepare lor 8amadan' tlme. ln-
stead ol separatlng 'prepare lor 8amadan'
lrom your dally actlvltles, make your dally
actlvltles a MLAnS ol preparatlon lor 8ama-
dan.
lor example, perhaps your mom
asked you to plck up your brother lrom
school on the day you llnally had tlme to read
a lew extra pages ol Cur'an. lnstead ol leel-
lng upset as ll you have lost a great opportu-
nlty to prepare lor 8amadan, make the lnten-
tlon that you are plcklng up your brother to
please Allah (exalted ls Pe) and prepare lor
8amadan by obeylng your mother, helplng
your lamlly members, bulldlng tles ol kln-
shlp.and the llst contlnues.
1he polnt ls that preparlng lor 8ama-
dan does not have to be some magnlllcent,
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 11
eer." [1here ls nothlng worthy ol worshlp
except Allah, alone wlthout partner, to Plm
belongs domlnlon and pralse, Pe causes llle
and death and Pe ls the Llvlng and does not
dle, ln Pls Pand ls all the good, and Pe ls over
all thlngs competent] Allah wlll wrlte lor
them a mllllon good deeds and erase a mll-
llon bad deeds and ralse hlm a mllllon lev-
els." [at-1lrmldhl, classed as hasan by al-
Albanl]
Up our Worsh|p
1o help condltlon your heart lor thls
blessed month, lntenslly your worshlp belore
8amadan beglns. !ust a small, conslstent
amount ls enough. 1he rophet (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) told us: 1he deeds most
loved by Allah are those done regularly, even
ll they are small." (8ukharl, Musllm)
lor example, say l always pray 2
rakàt (unlts) ol sunnah (compulsory prayer)
alter lshaa' (the nlght prayer) lrom thls day
untll 8amadan beglns-and even through
8amadan, let me make the lntentlon that l
wlll now pray 2 extra rakàt ol sunnah alter
lshaa'. And every tlme l pray these extra 2
rakàt, whlch are more than what l normally
pray, let me remember that l am dolng these
wlth the lntentlon ol asklng Allah (swt) to
help me be prepared to strlve and exert my
utmost ellort durlng 8amadan.
Make a Duà' (prayer) L|st 1oday
1hls ls 1PL MCn1P to ask lor LvL8?-
1PlnC, both related to thls llle and the next.
Let us not walt untll the last 10 nlghts to
make speclal duà', and then once `Lld passes
reallze that we completely lorgot about lllty
other thlngs we needed to make duà' lor.
Let's start maklng our llsts now, and add to lt
as more thlngs come our way. lnsha'Allah thls
should help us remember to make constant
duà' ln thls month where duaà' ls accepted,
and help our hearts pour out to the Cne Who
can make those duà' happen, subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
Wr|te out our Cb[ect|ves for kamadan
raylng all ol your lard (obllgatory)
prayers? raylng all ol your sunnahs? 8eadlng
the entlre Cur'an? Clvlng $1 ln charlty a day?
Maklng ltlkaal (a tlme lor rellectlon and
prayer ln secluslon) ln the mas[ld? Leavlng
one serlous sln that you've been trylng to get
away lrom lor some tlme now? Slncerely
turnlng back to Allah (swt)? Wrlte out a llst,
put lt somewhere you wlll see lt, and make
duà' lor your success ln lullllllng your ob[ec-
tlves.
Make a |an!
Look at your ob[ectlves and try to
plan out how to reallze them ln thls month.
lor example, perhaps you are really strug-
gllng to pray your sunnah prayers. ln thls
month, reallze the enormlty ol the a[r
(reward) ol praylng the sunnah prayers. 1hlnk
that perhaps these sunnah wlll be the deeds
that wlll be heavy on your scale ol good
deeds when you are lntensely ln need ol
them-on ?awm al-Clyamah, the uay ol
!udgment. 1herelore, llght to keep dolng
them all throughout 8amadan. ll you can't
pray your 2 rakàt alter dhuhr (the alternoon
prayer) rlght away, make sure to do them as
soon as you get the chance.
our p|an m|ght |ook someth|ng ||ke th|s:
Cb[ect|ve: ray all ol my lardh prayers.
Method: Lnvlslon mysell on the uay ol !udg-
ment seelng the welght ol praylng my sunnah
conslstently durlng thls month. Make sure to
pray sunnah lmmedlately alter salah (prayer).
ll l cannot, do lt as soon as the opportunlty
arlses-don't let mysell put lt oll!
Another example ls that ol llnlshlng
the Cur'an:
Cb[ect|ve: llnlsh the entlre Cur'an ln thls
month.
Method: 8ead 4 pages ol the Cur'an alter
12 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
every salah. 3
prayers x 4 pages =
20 pages. 20
pages= about 1 [uz.
1 [uz x 30= the en-
tlre Cur'an.
So many
Musllms have
passed away slnce
last month. So
many people have
not made lt to
8amadan thls year.
Last year was thelr
very last 8amadan.
Wlll you make lt to
thls 8amadan? Wlll
thls be your last
8amadan?
Alm to
strlve thls 8ama-
dan. Wlth a very
small amount ol
ellort, such as [ust
maklng a small ln-
tentlon or addlng a
lew extra acts ol
worshlp, we pray
that Allah (swt) wlll
help our hearts
solten and honor
us wlth maklng lt
easy to turn to Plm
and open up to
Plm.
May Allah
(swt) make us ol
the successlul ln
8amadan, and
make lt easy lor us
to turn to Plm
completely and
p e r p e t u a l l y .
Ameen.
Suhmit to Onlg One
aabrat .i.ba ;R.) reort. tbat Ra.vtvttab ;attattabv .ta,bi !a
.attav) .aia, !boerer .ee/. tbe tea.vre of .ttab ;b, activg ov rbat i.
correct) tbovgb be va, be ai.tea.ivg eote, .ttab ritt .are biv frov
tbeir trovbte. .va rboerer too/. for tbe tea.vre of eote ;, aoivg rbat
tbe, ravt) rberea. .ttab i. ai.tea.ea ritb biv, .ttab ritt a..igv biv
to tbev
Advice: The most Treacherous Attack of Shaytaan.
!bev ba,taav ra. re;ectea ava tbrorv ovt of tbe bearev. be .aia to
.ttab: .rear tbat .ivce ,ov bare .evt ve a.tra,, ritt tie iv rait for
tbev ov tbe .traigbt atb. 1bev ritt .roacb tbev ;to vi.teaa tbev)
frov tbe frovt, frov bebiva tbev, frov tbeir rigbt ava frov tbeir teft.
1be vo.t treacberov. attac/ of .ba,taav i. tbat be re.evt. av irretigiov.
aeea a. a retigiov. ove, .o tbat ove evgage. iv it a. av act of rigbteov.ve..
ava boe. to get reraraea for it. ivce tbe er.ov erforv. it a. a retigiov.
act, tbere i. vo ti/etibooa of biv va/ivg 1arba. f .oveove i. aaaictea to
obriov. .iv. ti/e aavtter, ava tbeft tbere i. a o..ibitit, tbat be va,
va/e 1arba ava gire tbev v. orerer, if .oveove i. aoivg .ovetbivg
rrovg vvaer tbe ivre..iov tbat it i. a retigiov. avt,, tbev tbe qve.tiov of
biv va/ivg 1arba aoe. vot ari.e. Ratber be ritt get vore ivrotrea iv it
aa, b, aa,. 1bi. etaiv. tbe rora. of .ba,taav: ivrotrea tbev iv .iv.
bvt tbe, frv.tratea v, effort. tbrovgb Zi/r, 1arba ava .tigbfaar, tbere
vov covfv.ea tbev iv .vcb a vavver tbat it ra. tbev ivo..ibte for
tbev to e.cae.
vav Cbaati ;ra) ba. reortea frov a.av a.ri ;ra) tbat .ba,taav
.a,.: re.evtea .ivfvt aeea. iv av attractire forv to tbe vv.tiv. bvt
tbe, vvttifiea v, effort. tbrovgb .tigbfaar, tbev re.evtea before tbev
rice. iv tbe garb. of rirtve., tbv. tearivg vo cbavce for .tigbfaar.
Lesson: t i. e..evtiat tbat iv att vatter. of Deev, gviaavce be .ovgbt
frov tbe ra, of ife of Ra.vtvttab ;attattabv .ta,bi !a.attav) ava of
i. ababab ;R.). .ctivg covtrar, to tbe ra, of Ra.vtvttab
;attattabv .ta,bi !a.attav) ivrotre. a er.ov iv .iv. aabrat .ai.ba
;R.) reort. tbat Ra.vtvttab ;attattabv .ta,bi !a.attav) .aia,
!boerer .ee/. tbe tea.vre of .ttab ;b, activg ov rbat i. correct)
tbovgb be va, be ai.tea.ivg eote, .ttab ritt .are biv frov tbeir trov
bte. .va rboerer too/. for tbe tea.vre of eote ;, aoivg rbat tbe,
ravt) rberea. .ttab i. ai.tea.ea ritb biv, .ttab ritt a..igv biv to
tbev
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 13
"lastlng ln 8amadan develops ln a
person the real splrlt ol soclal belonglng, ol
unlty and brotherhood, and ol equallty be-
lore Allah. 1hls splrlt ls the natural product ol
the lact that when people last they leel that
they are [olnlng the whole Musllm soclety
(whlch makes up more than one lllth ol
world's populatlon) ln observlng the same
duty, ln the same manner, at the same tlme,
lor the same motlves, and lor the same end.
no soclologlst or hlstorlan can say that there
has been at any perlod ol hlstory anythlng
comparable to thls powerlul lnstltutlon ol
lslam: lastlng ln the month ol 8amadan. eo-
ple have been crylng throughout the ages lor
acceptable 'belonglng', lor unlty, lor brother-
hood, lor equallty, but how echoless thelr
volces have been, and how very llttle success
they have met..." says Pammudah Abdalatl,
ln lslam ln locus.
"What ls lastlng?" "Pow does the
lastlng ol Musllms ln 8amadan dlller lrom
the lastlng ol other lalths?" "Why should one
'torture' one's body ln the llrst place?" "What
do you really galn lrom lastlng ln the
end?"...1hese are a lew questlons that a
number ol non-Musllm lrlends and col-
leagues olten ask us, usually out ol lasclna-
tlon wlth thls splrltually-upllltlng practlce ol
lslamlc lalth, and at tlmes out ol plty and
sympathy lor us, thlnklng, why should anyone
suller lrom hunger and thlrst llke Musllms? l
wouldn't be surprlsed ll many ol us shared
the same negatlve perceptlon ol lastlng.
lt ls lmportant to note that lastlng ln
Arablc ls called, "Sawm", whlch llterally
means 'to be at rest'. lastlng ln the month ol
8amadan (the 9th month ol the lslamlc lunar
calendar) ls one ol the llve lllars upon whlch
the "house" ol lslam ls bullt. uurlng thls
month, every able-bodled Musllm, ls requlred
to last, everyday lrom dawn untll dusk
12 keasons 1o Iast!
1. lastlng ls an lnstltutlon lor the
lmprovement ol moral and splrltual character
1he institution of fostinq is both unique ond o shored experience in humon history. lrom the
very beqinninq of time, humons hove struqq/ed to moster their physico/ ond psycho/oqico/
se/ves: their bodies ond their emotions.
1aha Ghayyur and 1aha Ghaznavi
14 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
such a trylng tlme as 8amadan that we can
rellect on the condltlon ol those ln thls world
who may not be as lortunate as us.
4. lastlng ln 8amadan enables us to
master the art ol mature adaptablllty and
1lme-Management. We can easlly under-
stand thls polnt when we reallze that lastlng
makes people change the entlre course ol
thelr dally llle. When they make the change,
they naturally adapt themselves to a new
system and schedule, and move along to sat-
lsly the rules. 1hls, ln the long run, develops
ln them a wlse sense ol adaptablllty and sell-
created power to overcome the unpredlct-
able hardshlps ol llle! A person who values
constructlve adaptablllty, tlme-management,
and courage wlll appreclate the ellects ol
lastlng ln thls respect as well.
3. lt cultlvates ln us the prlnclple ol
slncere Love, because when we observe last-
lng, we do lt out ol deep love lor Allah. And a
person, who loves Allah, truly ls a person who
knows what love ls and why everyone on thls
Larth should be loved and treated [ustly, lor
the sake ol Allah.
6. lastlng elevates the human splrlt
and lncreases our awareness ol Allah. lt
strengthens our wlll-power as we learn to rlse
above our lower deslres. 1he lnstltutlon ol
lastlng ls both unlque and a shared experl-
ence ln human hlstory. lrom the very begln-
nlng ol tlme, humans have struggled to mas-
ter thelr physlcal and psychologlcal selves:
thelr bodles and thelr emotlons. Punger ls
one the most powerlul urges that we experl-
ence. Many, through over- or under-eatlng or
consumptlon ol unhealthy loods, abuse thls
urge. 1hus, when a person purposelully de-
nles somethlng to thelr own sell that lt
craves, they are elevatlng thelr mlnd above
thelr body, and thelr reason and wlll above
thelr carnal passlons. "A lastlng person emp-
tles hls stomach ol all the materlal thlngs: to
llll hls soul wlth peace and blesslngs, to llll hls
heart wlth love and sympathy, to llll hls splrlt
ol human belng. 1he purpose ol the last ls to
help develop sell-restralnt, sell-purlllcatlon,
Allah-consclousness, compasslon, the splrlt ol
carlng and sharlng, the love ol humanlty and
the love ol Allah. lastlng ls a unlversal cus-
tom and ls advocated by all the rellglons ol
the world, wlth more restrlctlons ln some
than ln others. 1he lslamlc last, as opposed
to mere starvatlon or sell-denlal, ls an act ol
worshlp and obedlence to Allah, thanksglv-
lng, lorglveness, splrltual tralnlng, and sell-
examlnatlon.
2. 8amadan glves us a break and pro-
vldes us wlth a rare opportunlty to thlnk
about our own selves, our luture, and our
lamllles. lt ls a tlme to glve our selves a men-
tal break and to temporarlly lorget about the
hundreds ol worrles and stresses we are con-
stantly bombarded wlth. ln hectlc tlmes, such
as ours, and ln places llke the West, thls valu-
able tlme to thlnk about our llves, on lndlvld-
ual basls, ls a luxury and ls desperately
needed! lt ls a unlque month ol sell-analysls,
and ol taklng stock ol one's moral and splrl-
tual 'assets and llabllltles'.
3. lastlng lndoctrlnates us ln pa-
tlence, unselllshness, and gratltude. When
we last we leel the palns ol deprlvatlon and
hunger, and learn how to endure lt patlently.
1he meanlng ol thls powerlul experlence ln a
soclal and humanltarlan context ls that we
are much qulcker than anybody else ln sym-
pathlzlng wlth the oppressed and needy
around the world, and respondlng to thelr
needs. "lt ls the month to vlslt the poor, the
slck, and the needy to share thelr sorrows. lt
ls the month where the lood, sustenance and
the earnlngs ol a bellevlng Musllm lncreases
and they are blessed," says the llnal rophet
ol Allah, Muhammad (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasal-
lam), a man who was known lor hls noble
humanltarlan causes, lor soclal [ustlce, and
lor belng the llrst to respond to other's
needs, desplte the lact that he hlmsell llved a
very slmple and humble llle. lt ls only durlng
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 15
wlth plety and lalth, to llll hls mlnd wlth wls-
dom and resolutlon," says P. Abdalatl ln lslam
ln locus. 1he person who can rule thelr de-
slres and make them work, as they llke, has
attalned true moral excellence.
7. Wlth the clarlty ol mlnd and ab-
sence ol dlstractlons, also comes a greater
locus. As students, the perlod ol lastlng, es-
peclally early durlng the day, serves as a tool
to locus our mlnds on our academlcs. ln the
month ol 8amadan, many Musllms try to
avold watchlng 1v, llstenlng to muslc, and
some other lelsure actlvltles, whlch spares
them more tlme and energy to be spent on
more productlve actlvltles such as academlcs,
lntense study ol lslam, voluntary prayers,
soclal and humanltarlan causes, and a quallty
tlme wlth the lamlly, to name a lew. lt ls a
remlnder ol our duty to Allah, our purpose
and hlgher values ln llle, as Allah Plmsell de-
scrlbes the purpose ol lastlng as lollows, "C
you who 8elleve! lastlng has been prescrlbed
lor you as lt was prescrlbed lor those belore
you, so that you may develop consclousness
ol Allah" (Curan 2:183).
8. lastlng has numerous, sclentlll-
cally proven, benellts lor our physlcal health
and mental well-belng. 1he tlme, length and
nature ol the lslamlc last all contrlbute to lts
overall posltlve ellect. Cne ol the medlcal
benellts ls a much-needed rest to the dlges-
tlve system. 1he reduced lood lntake durlng
the day allows the body to concentrate on
gettlng rld ol harmlul dletary toxlns accumu-
lated as natural by-products ol lood dlgestlon
throughout the year. 1he length ol the ls-
lamlc last ltsell (around 12-14 hours) ls ln
sync wlth the 'translt tlme' ol lood lrom the
mouth to the colon ol the large lntestlne,
ensurlng that no stlmulus reaches the stom-
ach or dlgestlve system whlle lt remalns ln
homeostasls. 1herelore, lor the vast ma[orlty
ol healthy lndlvlduals lastlng poses no medl-
cal rlsks but ln lact provldes many health
benellts, such as: an lncrease ln serum Mag-
neslum, essentlal lor cardlo-vascular health
and preventlon ol heart compllcatlons, lm-
provement ln the quallty and depth ol sleep,
lmprovement ln memory and slower skln ag-
lng over tlme, lncreased productlon ol
growth hormone, etc. Also, as a general note,
lt has been observed that underled anlmals
llve longer than thelr heavlly led counterparts
and suller lewer lllnesses durlng thelr llves.
9. 1he month ol 8amadan provldes
us wlth a sort ol "8oot camp." lt ls a month ol
lntense moral tralnlng. Slnce we know that
lastlng ls a speclal duty prescrlbed by Allah,
we learn that any slns may spoll our record ol
lastlng wlth Allah, so we go through great
lengths maklng sure we are on our best be-
havlor. Many people who experlence lastlng
ln thls month, leel the lmpact that thls ln-
tense tralnlng has on thelr hablts, and reallze
the power ol thls translormatlve tool de-
slgned to make us better human belngs- the
ultlmate goal ol any splrltual exerclse. 1he
entlre 8amadan atmosphere provldes the
drlvlng lorce lor thls posltlve change.
10. lt makes us reallze the reallty ol
llle and death. lastlng makes us reallze how
dependant our llves are on thlngs that we
olten take lor granted, such as lood and wa-
ter. lt makes us thlnk about our dependence
on Allah and Allah's mercy and [ustlce. More-
over, lt remlnds us ol the llle alter death,
whlch ltsell has a great lmpact on our charac-
ter and our world-vlew.
11. 8amadan ls a blessed month lor a
speclal reason: lt ls actually the month ln
whlch Allah llrst revealed Pls llnal message
and guldance lor manklnd to our beloved
rophet Muhammad. 1hls message has been
perlectly preserved both orally and textually
ln the lorm ol a 8ook, called the Cur'an (1he
8eadlng/8ecltal). 1herelore, Musllms try to
do an lntense study ol the Curan ln thls
month especlally, and evaluate thelr llves
accordlng to the standards and guldance con-
talned ln lt.
1 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
Rules of e uslim home
3eeking Permission
/ nome |s a p|ace unere one l|nos peace. /||an l|mse|l oec|ares |n
rne lo|y 0uran rnar le nas creareo nomes lor us ro acqu|re peace
ano comlorr. Dne can on|y enoy rn|s peace ano comlorr |l one |s
sale lrom unnecessary |nrerlerences ano o|sruroances. ls|am nas
raugnr us a very |mporranr er|querre |n rn|s regaro un|cn |s ca||eo
"|sr|zaan" {ro seek perm|ss|on oelore enrer|ng a nomej. Tn|s u|||
ensure rnar rne pr|vacy ol rne |nmares ol rne nome |s nor v|o|areo.
Tne lo||ou|ng are some |mporranr po|nrs regaro|ng seek|ng
perm|ss|on.
'. lr |s oo||garory on every person ro seek perm|ss|on oelore enrer-
|ng anorner persons nome. Tn|s |s app||cao|e even unen v|s|r|ng
ones manram.
2. ll a nusoano ano u|le are ||v|ng a|one, even rnen |r |s prelerao|e
ro make some sorr ol souno oelore enrer|ng ro make ones arr|va|
knoun.
J. wnen seek|ng perm|ss|on ro enrer, one snou|o c|ear|y menr|on
ones name |n sucn a manner rnar rne |nmares uou|o unoersrano
uno ne/sne |s u|rnour any o|ll|cu|ry. ll neeo oe, ne/sne snou|o a|so
menr|on n|s/ner surname ano rne p|ace unere ne/sne comes lrom.
Tn|s |s ro ne|p rne nosr recogn|se uno rne v|s|ror |s ano respono
|mmeo|are|y.
4. wnen knock|ng ar rne ooor or r|ng|ng rne oe||, one snou|o nor
knock so naro or r|ng so mucn rnar rne |nmares ol rne nome ger
upser. lr snou|o oe oone m||o|y u|rn rne so|e purpose ol |err|ng rne
|nmares knou rnar rnere |s someone ar rne ooor. ll alrer knock|ng or
r|ng|ng rnere |s no ansuer rnen one snou|o knock or r|ng a secono
ano a rn|ro r|me. ll alrer rne rn|ro r|me rnere |s no ansuer, one
snou|o |eave.
5. wn||sr srano|ng ar someones ooor, ua|r|ng lor perm|ss|on ro
enrer, one snou|o nor peep |nro rne nome. Tne naoeern very
srrong|y pron|o|rs one lrom peep|ng |nro rne nomes ol orners.
$ome |ssues re|ar|ng ro rne re|epnone.
Tne scno|ars nave ur|rren rnar some ol rne |aus ol
"|sr|zaan" {seek|ng perm|ss|onj a|so app|y unen one person
pnones anorner, s|nce one |s encroacn|ng on n|s/ner pr|vacy.
Tnerelore rne lo||ou|ng po|nrs neeo ro oe aonereo ro.
'. 0o nor pnone someone ar a r|me unen ne/sne |s resr|ng or ousy
u|rn some uork.
2. ll a person neeos ro speak lor a |engrny per|oo, ne/sne snou|o
l|rsr make rn|s knoun ano requesr a conven|enr r|me unen ne/sne
cou|o oe conracreo, u|rnour any o|sruroances ano |mpos|ng on rne
orner person.
12. Alter the
month ol 8amadan ls
over, Musllms celebrate
one ol the two most lm-
portant holldays ln the
lslamlc year: Llu-uL-ll18,
or the lestlval ol the last
8reaklng. lt ls a day to
thank Allah lor the bless-
lng and tralnlng that Pe
provldes us wlth through-
out the month ol 8ama-
dan. Llu-uL-ll18 ls
marked by praylng ln a
huge congregatlon at an
lslamlc center or mosque,
and by glvlng a small do-
natlon to the poor ln the
communlty. 1he adults
glve the donatlon on be-
hall ol thelr chlldren as
well. ulnner partles, lam-
lly outlngs, lalrs, carnlvals,
and great [oyous celebra-
tlons lollow the prayer
and charlty.
ln a nutshell,
even though the real pur-
pose ol the dynamlc lnstl-
tutlon ol lastlng ls to dls-
clpllne our soul and moral
behavlor, and to develop
sympathy lor the less lor-
tunate, lt ls a multl-
lunctlonal and a compre-
henslve tool ol change ln
varlous spheres ol our
llves, lncludlng: soclal and
economlc, lntellectual
and humanltarlan, splrl-
tual and physlcal, prlvate
and publlc, personal and
common, lnner and outer
---all ln one!
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 17
contlnue lastlng and do not need to make up
the day.
Some people take the oplnlon that ll
they see someone eatlng or drlnklng they
should not remlnd the person that he/she ls
lastlng. 1hls lncorrect and lt ls an order lrom
Allah lor us to ordaln the good and lorbld the
evll. 1hus we tell the person, because we are
lorblddlng the evll thls way.
Many slsters belleve they cannot use
Pennah whlle lastlng. 1hls ls lncorrect, they
are allowed to use lt durlng 8amadan.
Some slsters belleve when you are
cooklng you cannot taste the lood to see ll lt
has the rlght splces/llavors. 1hls ls lalse, and
allowed ln lslam as long as the person cook-
lng ls not eatlng the lood. 8ather they can
taste lt to see ll lt needs salt, or more splces.
Powever, thls ls ln case ll the lamlly head ls
short tempered and get lrked by tasteless
lood.
Many people thlnk you cannot use a
Mlswak durlng 8amadan. 1hls ls lalse, lor the
rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) used to
use a mlswak durlng 8amadan. Powever,
people should remaln carelul wlth regard to
toothpaste.
Some people make the la[r Adhan
early. 1hey do thls so people wlll stop eatlng
locuslng on lood, to the extent that
people begln to worry about eatlng more
then actually lastlng. 1hls also goes along
wlth spendlng tons ol money on lltaars even
though a person does not need to eat that
much lood.
Maklng Suhoor way belore la[r.
Some people eat Suhoor a lew hours alter
1araweeh or lsha Salah, thls ls wrong. lt
should be eaten closer to the tlme ol la[r.
eople don't make nlyyah
(lntentlons) to last lor 8amadan. 1hls ls
somethlng ln the heart and does not need to
be verbal. Also lt only needs to be done once,
at the beglnnlng ol 8amadan and not every
slngle day.
ll you llnd out late that 8amadan
started, you should stop eatlng and last lor
that day, maklng that day up alter 8amadan/
Lld ends.
Many people don't thlnk you pray
1araweeh on the llrst nlght ol 8amadan (such
as tonlght). 1hey belleve you pray lt alter the
llrst day you actually last. 1hey lorget that
the lslamlc calendar runs on the moon,
maghrlb ls the start ol the new day.
Many people belleve ll you eat or
drlnk on accldent thls breaks your last. 1hls ls
lncorrect, ll you do thls on accldent then you
By Sheikh Ahmad Musa
18 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
belore la[r and not lnvalldate thelr last. 1hls
ls wrong and somethlng we should not do.
Some people make the Maghrlb Ad-
han late. 1hey do thls so people wlll start eat-
lng late, [ust lncase Maghrlb has not come ln
yet. 1hls too ls wrong and we should not do
thls.
Many people belleve you cannot
have lntercourse wlth your spouse durlng the
whole month ol 8amadan. 1hls ls lalse, you
cannot do thls only durlng the tlmes when
you are lastlng. 8etween Maghrlb and la[r lt
ls permlsslble to do.
Many women belleve that ll thelr
perlod has [ust ended and they dld not make
ghusl, they cannot last that day (conslderlng
thelr perlod ended at nlght, and they went to
bed wlthout Chusl, waklng up wlthout havlng
a chance to make lt). 1hls ls lncorrect, ll a
women has not made Chusl she can stlll last.
Many men belleve that ll he has had
lntercourse wlth hls wlle and dld not make
ghusl (slmllar to the above) then he cannot
last the next mornlng. 1hls ls also lncorrect,
lor he can last even ll he has not made Chusl.
Some people pray uhur and Asr
prayers together durlng 8amadan. (malnly ln
Arab countrles) 1hls ls lncorrect and should
be avolded.
Some people belleve you cannot eat
untll the Muadthln ls done calllng the Magh-
rlb Adthan. 1hls ls lncorrect, as soon as he
starts a person can break thelr last.
Many people don't take advantage ol
maklng dua belore they break thelr last. 1hls
ls one ol the three tlmes when Allah accepts
a person dua.
Many people make the mlstake ol
spendlng the later part ol 8amadan preparlng
lor Lld, neglectlng 8amadan. 1hls ls lncorrect
and these people lose the concept ol what
8amadan ls about.
Many parents do not let thelr chll-
dren last durlng 8amadan (young chlldren).
1hls ls somethlng counter productlve to a
chlld. 8y allowlng hlm to last he wlll grow up
to know he must do thls act.
Many people thlnk 8amadan ls [ust
about not eatlng and lorget about controlllng
thelr tempers and watchlng what they say. ln
actuallty we are supposed to control our tem-
pers and mouths even more durlng 8amadan.
eople olten waste thelr tlme durlng
8amadan. 1hey go to sleep durlng the day
and get nothlng done. We should be taklng
advantage ol thls blessed month by dolng
extra lbaadat.
Some people don't travel durlng
8amadan. 1hey thlnk they have to break thelr
last when travellng. 1hls ls actually optlonal,
ll you want to break your last whlle travellng
you can (wlth maklng lt up later), and ll you
don't you can contlnue lastlng.
Many people who are able don't
make ltlkaal at the mas[ld. We should take
advantage ol our good health and spend lots
ol tlme at the Mas[ld, especlally the last 10
days ol 8amadan.
Some people belleve they cannot cut
thelr halr or nalls durlng 8amadan. 1hls ls also
lalse.
Some people say you cannot swallow
your splt durlng 8amadan. 1hls too ls lalse.
Powever you cannot swallow mucus that has
entered your mouth.
Some people say you cannot use
scented olls or perlumes durlng 8amadan.
1hls too ls lalse.
Some people belleve bleedlng breaks
the last. 1hls ls not true.
Some people belleve ll you throw up
on accldent lt breaks your last. 1hls ls not
true, however ll you do lt lntentlonally lt
does.
Some people thlnk you cannot put
water ln your nose and mouth durlng wuduh
ln 8amadan. 1hls too ls lncorrect.
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 19
A tsunaml ls a large tldal wave whlch
reaches helghts ol approxlmately 30 meters
and travels at a speed ol up to 803 km an
hour. 1hey olten come ln a serles ol waves
called a wave traln".
Pence the destructlve lorce ls greatly
lncreased as every successlve wave crashes
on the shore.
1sunamls cause wldespread destruc-
tlon and havoc and serlously allect the llves
ol thousands ol people.
Whlle the tsunamls that come lrom
the ocean cause dlsaster on earth, there are
tsunamls ol a dlllerent lorm that crash on the
hearts ol people. ln the termlnology ol the
Cur'an and Sunnah, these tsunamls are called
lltna". 1hese lltna tsunamls overturn hearts
and cause havoc and destructlon to people's
ueen and lmaan.
1nL II1NA WILL GkA8 nIM
lndeed lltnas are very dangerous and
extremely destructlve. Allah Plmsell warns ol
the severe consequences ol lltnas ln the lol-
lowlng verse: And lear such a lltna (trlal),
the consequences ol whlch wlll not allect
only the wrongdoers" (Al-Anlaal : 24). 1hus
those around the wrongdoers wlll also be
engulled ln the worldly destructlon, though
they wlll be saved lrom any punlshment ln
the Perealter ll they dld what was ln thelr
capaclty to stop the lltna.
8asulullah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasal-
lam) also clearly warned hls ummah that
there wlll be such lltnas ln the luture that
even the one who peeks at lt, the lltna wlll
grab hlm."
Among the most wldespread lltnas
ol the tlme ls the lltna ol the mlsuse ol tech-
nology. 1he greatest manllestatlon ol thls
lltna ls through the cellular phone. uesplte lts
many benellts, perhaps no other devlce has
caused as much harm and destructlon as the
cellular phone. Pow many mllllons ol hearts
has lt engulled ln severe darkness by means
ol the haraam that lt provldes at the press ol
a button? Pas not the sanctlty ol the Mus[ld
been trampled by cellular phones rlnglng,
especlally wlth the slnlul muslcal tones? Pas
not the serenlty ol l'tlkaal been severely dls-
rupted by thls phone? Pow many marrlages
have collapsed and resulted ln dlvorce, prl-
marlly due to mlsuse ol the cell phone? Pow
many young and old have become lnvolved ln
numerous vlces through the cell phone? . ln
numerous hands, the cell phone has become
a tlcket to !ahannum.. lt has become a PLLL-
PCnL.
Among the varlous vlces commltted
through the hell-phone, vlewlng porn and
llllclt chattlng have become a pandemlc.
Many parents happlly glve thelr young an-
gels" hlghly advanced phones. not my chlld,
he ls very responslble," ls the general answer
and attltude. May Allah make every chlld very
responslble and a shlnlng example ol taqwa.
Powever, there ls also somethlng whlch scl-
entlsts call the curloslty lactor." When
somethlng ls there", and especlally ll lt ls
easlly accesslble, curloslty propels most peo-
2 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
ple to [ust check lt out". very olten the end
result ol such curloslty ls descrlbed ln the
well-known saylng - curloslty kllled the cat.
Most people who are addlcted to thls evll
lnltlally merely peeked at lt out ol curloslty.
1he lltna then grabbed them ln lts vlce-grlp.
S1A1IS1ICS
Conslder some ol the latest statlstlcs:
1he average age that most chlldren llrst see
pornographlc materlal ls 11. 1he largest con-
sumers ol lnternet porn are 12 to 17 year
olds. 1here are dally 68 mllllon search englne
requests lor x-rated materlal. 37 ol lnternet
users vlewed unsollclted pornographlc mate-
rlal vla pop-up adds, mlxed
llnks, etc. 1here are many more
heartbreaklng and terrllylng
statlstlcs wlth regard to the
dlsaster wreaked by the lnter-
net, malnly vla the hell-phone.
Can one be complacent about
onesell or one's chlldren ln the
mlddle ol such a tsunaml?
uue to becomlng ln-
volved ln such lllth lrom a
young age, many youngsters
are carrylng thls lllth along lnto
thelr marrlages. ulama and
soclal organlzatlons are recelv-
lng an lncreaslng number ol e-
malls and calls lrom women
complalnlng that thelr husbands are watchlng
the nauseatlng lllth ol porn. Some have be-
come so utterly shameless that they lndulge
ln thls extremely obscene lllth ln the pres-
ence ol thelr wlves. La hawla wa la quwwata
llla blllah - we seek Allah's protectlon lrom
every lltna - especlally the lltna ol technol-
ogy.
Merely dlscusslng the above llke a
news ltem wlll not solve anythlng. 1he reason
lor hlghllghtlng some ol the statlstlcs ls solely
to consclentlse those who are ol the mlscon-
ceptlon that everythlng ls Ck. or that lts
not too bad." 1he cruclal aspect though ls the
remedy.
1he llrst step ol the treatment, and
lnsha Allah cure, ls to acknowledge that one
has a serlous lllness. ll one mls-dlagnoses a
cancer as a common llu and treats lt wlth
ordlnary antl-blotlcs, ln a short tlme the can-
cer wlll spread and result ln the person's
death. 1herelore, llrst accept that one ls
deallng wlth a cancer. Pence emergency
treatment must be undertaken.
CnLMC1nLkA
Cancers are generally treated wlth
chemotherapy or radlum therapy. 1hese are
very harsh lorms ol treatment
and cause much paln and dls-
comlort. Powever, the one who
ls serlously seeklng cure lrom a
cancer undertakes such harsh
treatment. 1herelore, wlthout
procrastlnatlng, lmmedlately
adopt the lollowlng steps:
CnANGL CUk nCNL
ll you have mlsused
your phone, do not take any
more chances. Curloslty may klll
the cat agaln. lt may klll your
shame, marrlage, lamlly llle
and, worst ol all, could even
destroy your lmaan. Pence
change your phone to a baslc model whlch
does not have any lnternet or multl-medla
capablllty.
ll you cannot brlng yoursell to
change your phone, make a pledge wlth Allah
that ll you ever mlsuse the phone agaln, you
wlll 88LAk lt lnto llttle blts and pleces!! Llke-
wlse, ll you mlsuse the computer or any
other devlce, pledge to Allah that you wlll
break lt.
8emember death. Slt lor a lew mln-
utes and lmaglne that whlle watchlng some-
thlng on the phone, you suddenly sullered a
1be arerage age tbat vo.t
cbitarev fir.t .ee orvo
grabic vateriat i. 11.
1be targe.t cov.vver. of
ivtervet orv are 12 to
1 ,ear ota.. 1bere are
aait, vittiov .earcb
evgive reqve.t. for ratea
vateriat. of ivtervet
v.er. rierea vv.oticitea
orvograbic vateriat ria
ov aaa., viea
tiv/., etc.
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 21
masslve heart attack and
dropped dead. ?our par-
ents, spouse and chll-
dren all came at the
same tlme to llnd you
dead wlth the phone ln
your hand stlll dlsplaylng
the lllth you were watch-
lng!!! 1here ls an excel-
lent sectlon on death ln
the book lazaall-e-
Sadaqaat (pg. 363). 8ead
thls lor a lew mlnutes
dally. 8y constantly do-
lng thls uAlL?, lt wlll de-
velop the consclousness
ol death and become a
barrler agalnst slns.
8eclte a portlon
ol the Cur'an LvL8?
uA?. Also reclte lstlgh-
laar and uarud 100
tlmes each.
Spend some
tlme dally to ponder and
rellect: 8emlnd yoursell
that you have to lace
Allah and that lnvolve-
ment ln thls lllth wlll
destroy you, your mar-
rlage and your chlldren.
onder about the utter
shame and embarrass-
ment ll you are exposed.
Most lmpor-
tantly, develop a close
bond wlth the rlghteous
and plous. !oln the gath-
erlngs ol ueen, where
the greatness ol Allah ls
constantly dlscussed.
May Allah pro-
tect us lrom every evll
and make us Pls true
servants. Aameen.
lnslratlona| Adtlce
Hlghua Robber becones the Salnt of the Tlne
|unai| oin |qaan (RA) uas a grca| sain| an
scnc|ar cf nis |inc. His ini|ia| qcars ucrc spcn| in nign-
uaq rcooing. Tnc incicn| cf nis rcpcn|ancc is as fc|-
|cus.
Onc nign|, as nc uas c|inoing a ua|| |c ncc| a
gir| |na| nc uas infa|ua|c ui|n, nc ncar scnccnc rc-
ci|ing |nc tcrsc.
Has nc| |nc |inc ccnc fcr |nc pccp|c cf inaan |na|
|ncir ncar|s surrcncr |c |nc rcncnorancc cf A||an
lncn nc ncar |nis, nc inncia|c|q rcp|ic.
Uncuo|c|q O nq |cr, |nc |inc nas ccnc, an nc
rc|urnc. On nis uaq oac| nc |cc| snc||cr fcr |nc nign|
a| a ccr|ain p|acc uncrc |ncrc ucrc c|ncr |ratc||crs as
uc||. Hc ctcrncar |ncir ccntcrsa|icn uncrc in scnc-
cnc na suggcs|c. |c| us ccn|inuc ui|n cur jcur-
ncq. Upcn |nis scncocq rcp|ic. Nc| ocfcrc |nc
ncrning, occausc |unai| ui|| rco us cn |nc rca.
Hc saqs. Tnis |cf| nc |nin|ing. Hcu oa arc
qcu? Ycu arc spcning qcur nign| in ticc, uni|s| c|ncr
Mus|ins arc fcaring qcu? || sccns |i|c A||an nas scn|
|ncn fcr nc |c |a|c ncc. O A||an! | rcpcn| |c Ycu, an
as par| cf nq rcpcn|ancc, | ucu| pass |nc rcs| cf nq
|ifc in |nc prccinc|s cf |nc Kaoan in ioaaa|. (Siqaru
Aa|aanin Nuoa|aa tc|. 8, pg. 423)
Lesson: Scnc|incs |ncrc arc |nings |na| rca||q
|ug a| cur ncar| an na|c us uan| |c |urn |c A||an
Taa|a. || naq oc scnc|ning uc pcrnaps ncar in a |a||,
cr rca in a occ| cr jus| scnc|ning |na| uas atisc oq
a fricn. Tncsc ncncn|s arc spccia| cppcr|uni|ics
unicn uc sncu| grao ui|n oc|n cur nans an innc-
ia|c|q sinccrc|q |urn |c A||an. Tna| ncncn| naq
cnangc cur |itcs fcrctcr.
22 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
lt ls approprlate that every Musllm
should recelve the blessed month ol 8ama-
dan wlth repentance, slncerlty, resoluteness
and earnestness. Pe/she should make the
lntentlon to perlorm extra acts ol devotlon
and worshlp thereln, lncludlng the nlght
rayer (qlyam), recltatlon ol Cur'an, and
abundant charlty to the poor and needy.
Cn the authorlty ol Anas (8A): 1he
Messenger ol Allah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasal-
lam), used to say the lollowlng when the
month ol 8a[ab began. "Ch Allah! 8less us ln
8a[ab and Sha`ban, and brlng us, oh Allah, to
8amadan." [1abaranl, Ahmad]
1he Messenger ol Allah (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) addressed hls companlons
on the last day ol Sha`ban, saylng, "Ch peo-
ple! A great month has come over you, a
blessed month, a month ln whlch ls a nlght
better than a thousand months, month ln
whlch Allah has made lt compulsory upon
you to last by day, and voluntary to pray by
nlght. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by
perlormlng any ol the (optlonal) good deeds
ln (thls month) shall recelve the same reward
as perlormlng an obllgatory deed at any
other tlme, and whoever dlscharges an
obllgatory deed ln (thls month) shall recelve
the reward ol perlormlng seventy obllgatlons
at any other tlme. lt ls the month ol patlence,
and the reward ol patlence ls Peaven. lt ls
the month ol charlty, and a month ln whlch a
bellever's sustenance ls lncreased. Whoever
glves lood to a lastlng person to break hls
last, shall have hls slns lorglven, and he wlll
be saved lrom the llre ol Pell, and he shall
have the same reward as the lastlng person,
wlthout hls reward belng dlmlnlshed at
all." [lbn khuzaymah]
ln another hadlth, the Messenger ol
Allah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) says,
"8amadan has come to you. (lt ls) a month ol
blesslng, ln whlch Allah covers you wlth bless-
lng, lor Pe sends down Mercy, decreases slns
and answers prayers. ln lt, Allah looks at your
competltlon (ln good deeds), and boasts
about you to Pls angels. So show Allah good-
ness lrom yourselves, lor the unlortunate
one ls he who ls deprlved ln (thls month) ol
the mercy ol Allah, the Mlghty, the Lx-
alted." [1abaranl]
1he precedlng hadlths brlng atten-
tlon to readlness and preparatlon lor recelv-
lng 8amadan. 1hls ls achleved by havlng a
clear understandlng ol thls month ln one's
mlnd, and greetlng 8amadan wlth love and
yearnlng. Also, one should have the determl-
natlon and lntentlon to perlorm good deeds
1he month of komodon is the month in which the uron wos sent down, o
quidonce for the peop/e, ond c/eor verses of quidonce ond criterion. [2:18l]
By: Suheil Laher
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 23
and worshlp, and one should lay down a pro-
gram to accompllsh thls ln the days ol the
blessed month.
lt ls communally obllgatory upon the
Musllms to seek the crescent at the tlme ol
sunset on the 29th day ol Sha`ban, and the
29th day ol 8amadan, ln order to verlly the
status ol the start and end ol thelr lastlng.
When seelng the crescent, lt ls sunnah lor the
Musllm to suppllcate wlth the lollowlng sup-
pllcatlon, whlch has been reported lrom the
Messenger ol Allah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasal-
lam).
Cn the authorlty ol 1alhah lbn ubay-
dullah (8A): when the rophet (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) saw the crescent, he used to
say, "Ch Allah! Cause lt to appear over us
wlth prosperlty, lalth (lman), securlty and
lslam. (1hen to the moon:) My Lord and your
Lord ls Allah." [1lrmldhl.]
Catadah sald that he was lnlormed
that the rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam)
used to say, when seelng the crescent, "A
crescent ol goodness and orlentatlon, a cres-
cent ol goodness and orlentatlon, a crescent
ol goodness and orlentatlon. (1o the moon:) l
belleve ln Allah who created you." (1hree
tlmes), and then he would say, "ralse be to
Allah who has taken away such- and-such
month and brought such-and-such
month." [Abu uawud]
1he month ol 8amadan has excel-
lences over the other months, as ls testllled
to by the Cur'an and Sunnah, and out ol
these we wlll brlng to attentlon the lollowlng
vlrtues:
1. lt ls the month ol the Cur'an, wlth
regards to revelatlon and study. ("1he month
ol 8amadan ls that ln whlch was revealed the
Cur'an." [Cur'an, 2:183]). Cn the authorlty ol
lbn Àbbas: Angel Cabrlel used to meet the
rophet every nlght ln 8amadan and used to
study Cur'an wlth hlm.
2. lt ls the month ol secluslon. lbn
ùmar sald, "1he Messenger ol Allah
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) used to seclude
hlmsell lor the last ten days ol the month ol
8amadan."
3. lt ls the month ol generoslty. lbn
Àbbas sald, "1he Messenger ol Allah
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) used to be at hls
most generous ln 8amadan."
4. lt ls the month ol standlng (ln vol-
untary nlght prayer). Cn the authorlty ol Abu
Purayrah: 1he Messenger ol Allah (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) sald, "Whoever stands (ln
voluntary nlght prayer) durlng 8amadan, wlth
lalth and ln expectancy ol reward, hls prevl-
ous slns are lorglven hlm."
3. lt ls the month ol the compulsory
last, because ol Allah's saylng, "So, whoever
among you wltnesses the month should
last." [2:183] A terrlble error prevalent
among people ls to talk about 8amadan [ust
as they talk about the obllgatlon ol lastlng, as
ll 8amadan and lastlng are synonymous, each
carrylng the meanlng ol the other and not
anythlng more nor less. ?et, lastlng ls one ol
many acts ol worshlp ln 8amadan.
Many reports have been narrated
lrom the Messenger ol Allah (Sallallahu Alalhl
Wasallam) explalnlng the dlstlnctlon ol 8ama-
dan, ol whlch we have selected the lollowlng.
"1he month ol 8amadan has come to
you, a month ol goodness and blesslng." [lbn
khuzaymah]
"1he Master ol the Months ls 8ama-
dan, and the Master ol the days ls lrl-
day." [lbn khuzaymah]
"Whoever lasted 8amadan wlth lalth
and ln expectancy ol reward, hls prevlous slns
are lorglven hlm." [8ukharl and Musllm]
"When 8amadan comes, the gates ol
Peaven are opened, the gates ol Pell are
closed, and the devlls are chalned." And ln a
narratlon lrom nasa'l, the lollowlng words
are added: "and a caller calls out every nlght:
'Ch seeker ol Cood, draw near! Ch seeker ol
Lvll, deslst!' "
24 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
And know that vlctory comes wlth patlence,
rellel wlth allllctlon, and ease wlth hardshlp."
Lxp|anat|on of the nad|th
1he vlrtues and outstandlng tralts ol
Abdullah lbn Abbas (8A) are more than what
can be enumerated, and the rophet
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) suppllcated lor
hlm and sald: "Ch Allah! Crant hlm under-
standlng (llqh) ol the rellglon and teach hlm
the lnterpretatlon", and he also suppllcated
lor hlm that he be glven wlsdom twlce over.
lt has been narrated that he [lbn Abbas (8A)]
sald that he "saw !lbrll (AS) twlce", though
thls narratlon ls mursal and ls not estab-
llshed. lbn Abbas (8A) ls the ocean ol knowl-
edge ol thls ummah, and lts learned scholar.
1he Messenger ol Allah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wa-
sallam) consldered hlm to be worthy ol carry-
lng a legacy/advlce lrom hlm desplte hls small
age, and so he sald to hlm: "8e Mlndlul ol
Allah and Allah wlll protect you, and lts
meanlng ls "be obedlent to your Lord, order-
lng whatever Pe has ordered and lorblddlng
whatever Pe has lorbldden".
Also the rophet's (Sallallahu Alalhl
Wasallam) statement : "8e M|ndfu| of A||ah
and you w||| f|nd n|m |n front of you" means
"perform your act|ons for n|s sake out of
Cn the authorlty ol Abu Abbas Ab-
dullah lbn Abbas (8A) who sald: Cne day l
was behlnd the rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl Wa-
sallam) [rldlng on the same mount] and he
sald: C young man, l shall teach you some
words [ol advlce]: 8e Mlndlul ol Allah and
Allah wlll protect you. 8e Mlndlul ol Allah and
you wlll llnd Plm ln lront ol you. ll you ask,
then ask Allah [alone], and ll you seek help,
then seek help lrom Allah [alone]. And know
that ll the natlon were to gather together to
benellt you wlth anythlng, they would not
benellt you except wlth what Allah had al-
ready prescrlbed lor you. And ll they were to
gather together to harm you wlth anythlng,
they would not harm you except wlth what
Allah had already prescrlbed agalnst you. 1he
ens have been lllted and the ages have
drled." (1lrmldhl)
Another narratlon, other than that ol
At-1lrmldhl, reads: 8e Mlndlul ol Allah, and
you wlll llnd Plm ln lront ol you. 8ecognlze
and acknowledge Allah ln tlmes ol ease and
prosperlty, and Pe wlll remember you ln
tlmes ol adverslty. And know that what has
passed you by [and you have lalled to attaln]
was not golng to belall you, and what has
belallen you was not golng to pass you by.
Ibn Daqiq Al-Ìd
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 25
tlon (yaqln) ln thls then he sees no benellt ln
asklng lrom others than Allah or seeklng help
lrom them. Slmllar to thls ls the answer ol al-
khalll, prophet lbrahlm (AS), to the questlon
ol !lbrll (AS) when he was ln the alr havlng
been thrown towards the Creat llre : "uo
you have any need?" to whlch he replled: "As
lor lrom you, then no. As lor lrom Allah, then
dellnltely."
As lor the rophet's (Sallallahu Alalhl
Wasallam) statement "the ens have been
lllted and the ages have drled", lt lurther
emphaslses what has preceeded, and there ls
no contradlctlon wlth that by way ol abroga-
tlon or change.
1he next statement "and know that
v|ctory comes w|th pat|ence, re||ef w|th af-
f||ct|on, and ease w|th hardsh|p" lnlorms hlm
(lbn Abbas (8A)) to conslder that man ln thls
world wlll be presented wlth trlals and mls-
lortunes, especlally the plous, due to the
statement ol Allah Almlghty: {And certalnly,
We shall test you wlth somethlng ol lear,
hunger, loss ol wealth, llves and lrults, but
glve glad tldlngs to As-Sablreen (the patlent
ones), who, when allllcted wlth calamlty, say:
"1ruly! 1o Allah we belong and truly to Plm
we shall return". 1hey are those on whom are
the salawat (blesslngs) lrom thelr Lord, and
(they are those who) recelve Pls Mercy, and
lt ls they who are the gulded-ones"}. (2:133-
137)
Allah Almlghty also says: {lndeed, the
patlent wlll be glven thelr reward wlthout
account}. (39: 10)
Summary
lt ls allowed lor two people to be seated on
a mount ll lt does not over-burden the anl-
mal.
ll one takes care about Allah's rlghts, then
Pe takes care ol hlm.
ll one takes care ol Allah's rlghts, then Pe
helps hlm.
cootJ oo poqe J1
obed|ence to n|m, and |et yourse|f not be
seen to oppose or d|sobey n|m, then you
w||| f|nd A||ah w|th you |n t|mes of d|ff|-
cu|ty", as happened to the three men who
lled to a cave to seek shelter lrom torrentlal
raln, whereupon a huge rock descended upon
the entrance to the cave and sealed lt. So
they sald to one another: "Look to the plous
actlons that you have perlormed [ln the past]
and ask Allah Almlghty by them, lor verlly Pe
ls the only Cne who can save us lrom thls."
So each one ol them mentloned a good ac-
tlon that they had perlormed prevlously,
purely lor the sake ol thelr Lord, so Allah re-
moved the rock that was blocklng the en-
trance to the cave, and they were lree lrom
thelr lmprlsonment, and thelr story ls well
known lrom the Sahlh [ol Musllm].
As lor the rophet's (Sallallahu Alalhl
Wasallam) statement "ll you ask, then ask
Allah [alone], and ll you seek help, then seek
help lrom Allah [alone]", lt guldes us to hav-
lng trust and rellance upon our rotector, and
that we should not take any delty except
Plm, and that we should not depend upon or
be attached to anyone other than Plm ln all
our allalrs, no matter how small they may be.
Allah Almlghty says: {And whosoever puts hls
trust ln Allah, then Pe wlll sulllce hlm}. (At-
1alaaq 63: 3)
So accordlng to the degree by whlch
a person relles upon others than Allah ln hls
deslres and by hls heart, or ln hls hopes, then
proportlonately he has turned away lrom hls
Lord to those who cannot hurt nor benellt
hlm. Moreover, one should not lear others
than Allah, as the rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl
Wasallam) emphaslsed: "And know that ll the
natlon were to gather together to benellt you
wlth anythlng, they would not benellt you
except wlth what Allah had already pre-
scrlbed lor you". And thls ls the essence ol
lman ln qadr (dlvlne wlll and destlny), and
havlng lman ln lt ls obllgatory, the good ol lt
and the evll ol lt. Cnce a bellever has convlc-
2 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
Cont'd from prev|ous |ssue
1he Cur'an talks about the battle ln
what can be translated as, "As you were on
the closer embankment, and they were on
the remotest embankment" (8: 42). 1he Mus-
llm army stood ln udwat dunlya (the closer
embankment) and the Curaysh army stood ln
udwat al-Cuswa (the larthest embankment).
1he two armles could not see each other, and
the area between them would become the
battlelleld. 1he caravan ol Abu-Sulyan was
now lar away lrom the battlelleld."...and the
cavalcade (ol rlders) was below you" (8: 42).
"...and ll you had made a mutual ap-
polntment, you would lndeed have dlllered
about the promlsed appolntment, but that
Allah mlght decree a Command that was to
be perlormed" (8: 42).
What ls the slgnlllcance ol the places
ol the two armles? Look at thls mlracle! Allah
ls golng to make lt raln. 1he nature ol the
land ol the larthest embankment ls that
when lt ralns lt becomes muddy. 1hus, the
movement ol the llghters would become
hard leadlng the army to be exhausted,
whereas the land ln the closer embankment
ls solld, so lt would become easler to walk on
when lt ralns. All thanks be to Allah! notlce,
the tlmlng ol thls mlracle! When the Musllms
demonstrated thelr bellel and strength, so
they became worthy ol the support ol Allah.
"Surely Pls Command, ll Pe wllls a thlng, ls
only to say to lt, "8e!" and lt ls" (36: 82). lsn't
thls natlon humlllated nowadays? lt could be
tomorrow the greatest among natlons. lt's
very easy and Allah ls capable ol that, but do
we deserve lt? Allah has Pls own enactment
ln the unlverse. Pe does not lavor anyone.
1he ldle one who does not have a message to
carry to the world does not deserve Allah's
help.
Cn the nlght ol the battle, lt began to
raln, and Curaysh got soaked. 1helr great
number turned out to be a dlsadvantage as
they could not move lreely, whereas the
small number ol the Musllms turned out to
1he battle of Badr was the first battle between Muslims and Quraysh, and the first
victory for Islam and the truth against Quraysh and falsehood.
Amr Khalid
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 27
be an advantage as they were llght and they
moved easlly.
1he Musllms were alrald and lelt
apprehenslve lor the non-compatlble battle.
Allah says what can be translated as, "As also
as your Lord brought you (1he prophet (S))
out ol your home wlth the truth, and surely a
group ol the bellevers lndeed are hatlng that.
ulsputlng wlth you concernlng the truth, alter
lt had become evldent, as though they were
belng drlven to death whlle looklng (at lt)" (8:
3-6). lt was Allah who declded the tlme and
place ol the battle. lt was as ll the battle ol
8adr was led by heaven, angels are even go-
lng to descend alter a llttle whlle ln order to
help the Musllms.
8elng anxlous, the Musllms could not
sleep at nlght. Allah sends another mlracle
and descrlbes lt ln what can be translated as,
"As Pe was maklng drowslness to envelop
you as secure (reassurance) lrom Plm, and
sendlng down on you water lrom the heaven
to purlly you thereby, and to put away lrom
you the chastlsement ol Ash-Shaytan, (1he all
-vlclous: one", l.e., the uevll) and to brace
your hearts, and to make llrm (your) leet
thereby (1MC, 8: 11).
ln the battlelleld, the Musllm army
stood behlnd water wells so that the wells
were between them and Curaysh. Cne ol the
companlons, Al-Pobab lbn Al-Mundher,
asked the rophet (SAWS), "Pas Allah or-
dered you to choose thls place lor the battle?
Cr ls lt a war plan?" 1he rophet (SAWS) re-
plled that lt was a war plan. Al-Pobab then
sald, "1he cholce ol thls place ls lnapproprl-
ate." 1he rophet (SAWS) asked hlm, "So,
what do you suggest, Pobab?"" Pe replled, "l
thlnk we should llll up all the wells but one,
and place our army ln lront ol lt. 1hus, we
can drlnk whlle they cannot. 8elng thlrsty,
they are golng to llght us lor water, whlle we
are golng to llght lor our cause." 1he prophet
llked hls suggestlon and lmplemented lt. Pave
you seen anywhere where the lndlvldual's
oplnlon ls respected thus? Cne ol the maln
causes ol the passlveness ol people ls that
they know that thelr oplnlon ls not golng to
be heard or taken lnto conslderatlon. Pow
great ls our rophet ln each and every as-
pect!
As the prophet (SAWS) prepared the
army, he addressed them concernlng !lhad
and lts vlrtues. Any country on the verge ol
war encourages lts llghters to be brave and
courageous. 1here ls nothlng to be ashamed
ol ln relatlng the saylngs ol the rophet
(SAWS) concernlng !lhad and martyrdom ln
lts approprlate place. As long as lt ls not clted
to encourage destructlon ln our land. 1hls ls
the llrst Padlth talklng about !lhad, "vle
swlltly lor a garden whose breadth ls the
heavens and the earth." Meanlng that who-
soever dles today ln the battle wlll be admlt-
ted to paradlse. 1here comes the Ahadlth ol
!lhad, ln thelr due tlme. 1hus, we conclude
that the rellglous dlscourse should be ln the
approprlate tlme and place, not anythlng can
be sald at any tlme. We should not make use
ol the enthuslasm ol youths by the Ahadlth
ol !lhad when sald ln a wrong tlmlng.
umalr lbn-Al-Plmam, one ol the
rophet's companlons, wondered, "Pow
wonderlul!" l wlsh l could be one ol the ln-
habltants ol paradlse today." 1he rophet
(SAWS) told hlm, "?ou shall be one ol lts ln-
habltants." When umalr sald these words, he
was eatlng some dates belore golng to battle.
Pe threw them lmmedlately as to not waste
any more tlme and went llghtlng untll he dled
as a martyr. Pe was one ol the very llrst mar-
tyrs ol 8adr.
Cther martyrs lncluded Parltha. Pe
was an elghteen-year-old young man who
was a devoted worshlpper to Allah. Pe used
to pray Clyam (nlght prayer). 8elore the bat-
tle, he was mlstakenly shot by an arrow. Pls
mother came to the rophet (SAWS) crylng
and asked hlm, "C, rophet ol Allah, ls my
son ln paradlse so that l can re[olce? Cr ls he
28 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
elsewhere so that l have rlght to lament
hlm?" 1he rophet replled, "Mother ol
Parltha, lt ls not one paradlse that your son
got lnto but many, your son ls ln the hlghest
level ol paradlse." An elghteen-year-old
young man ls ln the hlghest level ol paradlse!
1hls ls because he lrequently prayed Clyam
durlng 8amadan and prostrated hlmsell to
Pls Lord. Such people are the ones who de-
serve the hlghest level ol paradlse.
1he battle began when three llghters
lrom Curaysh stepped lorward lor man-to-
man combat: Ctba lbn-8abl'a, Shalba lbn-
8abl'a and Al-Walld lbn-Ctba. 1hree Musllms
lrom al-Ansaar stepped lorward to llght
them, but they relused and demanded to
llght thelr peers (lrom the mlgrants). 1he
rophet (SAWS) chose the lollowlng three: All
lbn-Abu-1allb, Pamza lbn-Abd-Al-Muttallb
and Abu-ubalda lbn-Al-Parlth lbn-Abd-Al-
Muttallb. note that whenever sacrlllce was
requlred, the rophet (SAWS) sacrlllced hls
own lamlly, not strangers. Are you convlnced
now that there ls no one ln the whole world
who ls great ln every aspect except our
rophet (SAWS)? 1he result ol the llght was
the death ol Al-Walld and Shalba by the
hands ol All and Pamza, respectlvely. Pow-
ever, Ctba and Abu-ubalda kept llghtlng untll
Abu-ubalda's leg was cut. When he was ln hls
last breath, he looked at the rophet (SAWS)
asklng hlm, "Pave l done my duty, rophet ol
Allah?" uo you see the extent ol love and
loyalty? 1he rophet (SAWS) then sald, "C,
Allah. l call ?ou to wltness that Abu-ubalda
has done hls duty." Pave you done your duty
towards the rophet? All thls sacrlllce hap-
pened so that lslam, truth, and relorm are
spread, have we done our duty towards hlm?
1hen a lull-lledge battle began, and
the leaders ol Curaysh lell one alter another.
A great surprlse happened lrom two boys.
1he rlght wlng ol the Musllms, was led by
Abdul-8ahman lbn-Awl (8A), and conslsted ol
only 13-20 people. Pe saw among hls soldlers
a lllteen-year-old boy called Mu'adh and hls
cousln, a lourteen-year-old boy, called
Mu'awwedh. Cne ol the two boys tugged at
hls clothes and asked hlm, "C uncle, where ls
Abu-!ahl?" Abdul-8ahman lbn-Awl was sur-
prlsed and asked hlm about the reason lor hls
questlon. Pe told hlm that hls mother told
hlm not to return home unless he kllled Abu-
!ahl. 1hen the other boy asked hlm the same
questlon and told hlm the reason he was
looklng lor Abu-!ahl, "l heard that he abused
the rophet (SAWS), whlch ls somethlng l
cannot bear. l swear that l am golng to take
revenge lor the rophet (SAWS)." Abdul-
8ahman lbn-Awl sald, "1hey lllted my splrlts.
l have never experlenced such a leellng ol
admlratlon as l lelt towards these two young
men".
1he Sunnah ol the rophet (SAWS) ls
lorsaken nowadays. Who ls golng to delend
the rophet nowadays? 1hls ls not a call lor
murder or commlttlng sulclde, lt ls a call lor
relormlng our country lor the sake ol the
rophet, so that we deserve to be part ol hls
natlon.
Cn a slde note, the prophet dld not
allow chlldren to partlclpate ln wars, ln re-
spect lor the chlldren's rlghts. Powever, he
allowed these two boys alter thelr lnslstence
and alter they proved to hlm that they can
handle belng ln the battlelleld. 1he two boys
ran llke two swllt arrows. 1hey tled the
swords around thelr arms as they could not
carry them ln the normal way, belng very
young. 1hey agreed on a plan. Mu'adh told
Mu'awwedh, "?ou stab the horse so that the
man lalls and l am golng to stab hlm." 1hey
lmplemented thelr plan as they lntended lt.
Powever, lkrlma lbn-Abu-!ahl ran
alter them and cut the arm ol Mu'adh so that
lt was lelt barely hanglng lrom hls shoulder.
Mu'adh sald, "l lound that my cousln was
golng to reach the rophet belore me, l
wanted to dellver the good news to the
rophet belore hlm. l put my arm under my
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 29
leg and l took lt oll so that lt would not be an
obstacle ln my way to the rophet. 1hen, l
ran to the rophet telllng hlm the good news
ol the death ol Abu-!ahl." Abdullah lbn-
Mas'oud, the weakest among the compan-
lons ol the rophet, went to verlly the truth
ol thls plece ol news. Pe lound Abu-!ahl ln hls
last breath, so he kllled hlm. 1he lrony ls that
the death ol Abu-!ahl took place at the hands
ol two teenagers and the weakest man lrom
the companlons ol the rophet.
1he rophet announced to the army
not to klll Abul-8ukhturl lbn-Plsham, as a slgn
ol gratltude to hlm lor hls attltude wlth the
Musllms on the days ol the slege. note the
mllltary ethlcs ol the rophet (SAWS), these
ethlcs whlch the world has only known alter
World War 1wo. When one ol the compan-
lons ol the rophet saw the man, he avolded
hlm lnstead ol llghtlng wlth hlm. 1he man
was amazed, and he asked the companlon ol
the rophet, "Why don't you llght me?" 1he
companlon replled, "1he rophet ordered us
not to llght you." 1he man was amazed and
he wondered why. 1he companlon replled,
"ln order to show our gratltude lor what you
dld wlth us on the days ol the slege." Pow-
ever, he ruthlessly asked hlm, "What ll l
started the llght wlth you?" 1he companlon
answered, "l'm golng to llee lrom you, ln
obedlence to the rophet's order." 1he man
kept chaslng hlm untll the companlon was
lorced to klll hlm to delend hls llle. Pe went
to the rophet alterwards crylng and apolo-
glzed that he was lorced to do so ln order to
delend hlmsell. 1he rophet (SAWS) replled,
"1ake lt easy. l [ust wanted to show them that
we have gratltude."
Angels descend at the end, not ln the
beglnnlng, ol the battle. 1hls ls because the
rophet (SAWS) ln the beglnnlng ol the battle
prayed and suppllcated to Allah lor a very
long tlme. "C, Allah, ll thls group ol bellevers
are deleated, ?ou shall not be worshlpped on
earth anymore." lt was not a matter ol vlc-
tory lor the rophet (SAWS), hls maln con-
cern was the message, and he was crylng.
1hls ls the meanlng ol "...lndeed Allah readlly
granted you vlctory at 8adr, and you were
humble" (3: 123). ?ou should be humbled to
Allah ln 8amadan so that Pe grants you vlc-
tory alter 8amadan. !lbrll (AS) (Cabrlel) de-
scended wlth a thousand ol angels ln order to
stand by the bellevers. "As ?our Lord was
reveallng to the Angels, (saylng), "l am wlth
you, so make the ones who belleve stand
llrm. l wlll soon cast lnto the hearts ol the
ones who have dlsbelleved horror, so strlke
above the necks, and strlke every llnger-tlp ol
them" (8: 12).
1hls ls a very lmportant lesson lor
you, Musllms, to learn. ?ou should put your
trust ln Allah, however, at the same tlme, you
should exert your maxlmum ellorts. 8adr ls a
very lmportant lesson - well plannlng then a
mlracle lrom Allah, the battle was lead by
heaven and at the same tlme there was a lot
ol ellort exerted on earth. Courage and serl-
ousness on the part ol the Musllms, and at
the same tlme raln and angels lrom heaven.
1he result was a crushlng vlctory lor Musllms.
Lveryone who harmed the Musllms ln the
past was taken revenge lrom. Seventy ol the
leaders ol Curaysh were kllled. even Abu-
Lahab, who relused to [oln the army dled ln
Makkah ln a horrlble way. 1he rophet
(SAWS) dug a plt called Al-Culayb, ln whlch
the bodles ol the 70 dead people lrom
Curaysh were burled. Pe stood ln lront ol the
grave and asked, "Pave you lound what your
Lord promlsed to be true?"
1he battle resulted ln the death ol
lourteen ol the rophet's companlons, 13 ol
whlch are lrom al-Ansar and only one lrom
the mlgrants, thelr pledge wlth the rophet
(SAWS) was a deal on sacrlllce untll the last
breath.
Are you golng to dedlcate your llves
to the message ol the rophet (SAWS)?
cootJ oo poqe J1
3 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
8amadan. A once ln a year opportu-
nlty ol soul cleanslng. A month ln whlch we
are sell deprlved lrom lood lrom dawn to
evenlng, ln order to be one wlth the poor,
and the hungry. A month ln whlch we enrlch
ourselves wlth rellglousness and rld ourselves
ol the world's poorness. not materlal poor-
ness. ln lact, lnner poorness ls lar more perll-
ous than materlal poorness. lt ls the unavall-
ablllty ol compasslon, sensltlvlty, tolerance,
acceptance, patlence, and most lmportantly,
love ln our hearts. oorness ol the soul ls
caused by greed, selllshness and the love ol
money.
now shou|d |t be spent?
Lach and every aspect ol our llves ls
controlled by Allah's wlll. Pence, we are ln no
knowledge ol whether we wlll llve to experl-
ence another 8amadan, let alone another
day. 1herelore, we should lnvest all the
power and energy ln us, and waste no tlme ln
the process to rebulld our personalltles, to be
better people, to be closer to Allah. Cood
deeds, when practlced regularly, become
hablts, whlch are lnculcated ln our souls.
1herelore, ll we attempt to relraln lrom com-
mlttlng slns durlng thls sacred month, lt wlll
be part ol our nature to abstaln lrom perpe-
tratlng slns, once the Poly month ends. ln thls
month, shall our prayers be ln thelr most sln-
cere lorm as Allah wlll respond to our hearts'
deepest requests and relleve us lrom sadness
and depresslon. lastlng doesn't necessarlly
mean to excluslvely relraln lrom eatlng, last-
lng means to relraln lrom practlclng all lm-
moral acts, such as lylng, backstabblng, slan-
der, greed, etc. Shall they be practlced, then
lt ls the equlvalent ol braklng our lasts. 1o
commlt such acts throughout the year ls as
sln as well, but lt holds a graver consequence
durlng 8amadan. Cur tlme durlng thls holy
month should be occupled by our regular
prayers to Allah on thelr preclse tlmlngs,
along wlth 1araweeh and Ceyam Al Lell
prayers and the recltatlon and the studylng ol
the Poly Curan once, twlce and maybe even
thrlce, along wlth donatlng our money, lood
and tlme to the unlortunate.
Lxp|o|tat|on of the consumers
8ecently, multlple consumer product
companles, advertlslng agencles and televl-
slon companles have tremendously explolted
Omar Al Owais
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 31
the consumers durlng thls holy month. Pow
you may ask? llrstly, productlon companles
release thelr best" serles durlng 8amadan
and undergo extenslve marketlng campalgns
months ln advance. Secondly, lood produc-
tlon companles lntroduce new ltems as well
durlng 8amadan and undergo extenslve ad-
vertlslng campalgns, whlch olten deplct con-
sumers enterlng supermarkets ln hoards pur-
chaslng lood ltems ln bulk amounts prlor to
8amadan, whlch ls the unlortunate truth. Cut
ol all the months ol the year, thls ls the least
month whlch should be characterlzed wlth
over eatlng or excesslvely spendlng money.
8amadan ls an opportunlty to detoxlly our
bodles, not latten them. We should allow
ourselves to exhlblt patlence, tolerance,
moderatlon, and sell restralnt durlng 8ama-
dan, not the complete opposlte.
8enef|ts of kamadan
1he month ol 8amadan contalns nu-
merous benellts, whlch wlll asslst us splrltu-
ally and health wlse. When lastlng, we are
taught to endure long perlods ol tlme wlth-
out lood, and ll done properly, wlll lmprove
our dlgestlve system. uue to our ever-
lncreaslng devotlon to Allah, we wlll be closer
to Plm, and Pe wlll gulde us ln llvlng a better
llle. Shall we be charltable, our money wlll be
blessed, as 1he rophet Muhammad (peace
be upon hlm) once sald, A man's wealth ls
never dlmlnlshed by charlty." Slnce commlt-
tlng slns ls lar worse durlng thls holy month
than lt ls durlng any tlme ln the year, shall we
abstaln lrom commlttlng lmmoral acts (lylng,
backstabblng, decelvlng, lmpollteness etc.)
then lt wlll be part ol our nature to not com-
mlt any lmmoral act even when 8amadan
ends. vlsltlng lrlends and lamllles durlng rell-
glous and cultural events ls a prlnclpal com-
ponent ol our culture, so we should take ad-
vantage ol thls holy month ln strengthenlng
the bonds and tles between us and the lellow
members ol our communlty.
May Allah accept our lastlng, lorglve
our slns, and gulde us all to the Stralght ath.
May Allah bless us all durlng 8amadan, and
throughout the year, wlth Pls lorglveness,
mercy, and peace, and brlng us all closer to
Plm and to each other.
cootJ ftom poqe 25
Cne must ask ol Allah only, and seek Pls
help only.
We cannot be harmed or benellted by any-
thlng or anyone, no matter how large they
are ln number or strong they appear, ex-
cept by the wlll ol Allah.
What Allah has allowed ln our destlny wlll
dellnltely occur.
Cne should remember and take care ol
Allah's rlghts ln tlmes ol ease, and Allah wlll
take care ol hlm ln tlmes ol dllllculty.
vlctory comes wlth patlence.
8ellel comes alter sullerlng.
Lase comes alter hardshlp.
cootJ ftom poqe 40
1nL NA1UkL CI UNS
uns ls a state ol dellght and pleasure
lnduced by true recognltlon ol certaln known
attrlbutes ol an ob[ect. ln thls state the ob[ect
ls known only partlally, part ol lt belng hld-
den. 1he known attrlbutes on whlch the gaze
ls locussed lnduce the condltlon ol uns.
uns ls also a necessary corollary ol
Muhabbat. lts acqulsltlon ls along wlth Mu-
habbat ol Allah.
cootJ ftom poqe 40
Are you golng to love the rophet
(SAWS)?
ls the rophet (SAWS) golng to be
satlslled wlth you?
Are you golng to tell hlm that you
have done your duty towards hlm ?
32 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
Moderat|on and temperance are keynote of
Is|am
1he slmpllclty ol lslam, the powerlul
appeal and compelllng atmosphere ol lts
mosques, the earnestness ol lts lalthlul ad-
herents, the conlldence lnsplrlng reallzatlon
ol the mllllons throughout the world who
answer the llve dally calls to prayer - these
lactors attracted me lrom the llrst.
1he broad-mlnded tolerance ol lslam
lor other rellglons recommends lt to all lovers
ol llberty. Muhammad admonlshed hls lol-
lowers to treat well the bellevers ln the Cld
and new 1estament, and Abraham, Moses,
!esus are acknowledged as co-rophets ol
the Cne Allah. Surely thls ls generous and lar
ln advance ol the attltude ol other rellglons.
Moderatlon and temperance ln all
thlngs, keynote ol lslam, won my unqualllled
approbatlon.
col. uooolJ 5. kockwell
u.5.
Is|am a|one can sat|sfy the needs of every
member of the human fam||y
Chrlstlanlty must go the way ol all
thlngs, and hencelorth perlsh and lorever to
make room lor the 1rue 8ellglon Allah to
manklnd, and that ls lslam, whlch ls 1ruth,
slncerlty, toleratlon, looklng to the lnterests
ol man and polntlng hlm to the 8lght Way.
lslam alone can satlsly the needs ol every
member ol the human lamlly, and Musllms
are the only people among whom can be
lound the "1rue 8ook ol 8rotherhood" ln re-
allty and not mere "make-bellel" as ln Chrlstl-
anlty.
5lt IololuJJlo louJet 8tuotoo
oqlooJ
Is|am a|one offers the so|ut|on of present-
day prob|ems
1o the Western mlnd, the chlel ap-
peal ol lslam must be lts slmpllclty. Admlt-
tedly, there are one or two other lalths whlch
are as easy ol approach but they sadly lack
the vltallty ol the lalth ol the rophet (may
Allah bless hlm), and the splrltual and moral
elevatlon whlch lt ollers.
lslam must also appeal by vlrtue ol
lts tolerance... Strangely Chrlstlan lntolerance
awakened my llrst lnterest ln lslam.
1he Churches are utterly lncapable ol
grappllng wlth present-day problems. lslam
alone, ollers the solutlon.
Iobo llsbet
Newcostle
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 33
wh|ch I had been seek|ng so |ong
l devoted a conslderable amount ol
my spare tlme to a thorough study ol an Lng-
llsh translatlon ol the Poly Cur'an, and as l
read over and over agaln, certaln ol the
words ol the rophet Muhammad (may Allah
exalt hls mentlon), l could not help but see
that here, at last, ln lslam l had lound the
true lalth lor whlch l had been seeklng so
long.
l would llke to say that l leel conll-
dent, that ll only people ln thls and other
Western countrles can be brought to apprecl-
ate the lull meanlng ol lslam, and what lt
stands lor, the ranks ol lslam wlll be dally
swelled, only unlortunately there ls a vast
amount ol mlsapprehenslon ln the mlnds ol
many 'lree 1hlnkers' and others who stlll
cllng to thelr old creed slmply because they
requlre the moral courage to abandon a lalth,
wlth the prlnclples ol whlch they are, at varl-
ance, and to embrace lslam.
wolket n. wlllloms
I have accepted Is|am because |t f|ts |n so
we|| w|th my own |deas
A man becomes a truer Chrlstlan or a
!ew by way ol lslam, than by any way advo-
cated by the Chrlstlan or !ewlsh people to-
day.
ln lslam, there ls tolerance and an
acknowledgement ol unlversal brotherhood.
So, l may say, that l have accepted lslam be-
cause lt llts ln so well wlth my own ldeas
about Allah and Pls beautllul plan. lt ls the
only lalth l really can understand. lndeed,
such ls lts slmpllclty and beauty that even a
llttle chlld can understand lt.
Amloo le llemloq
Is|am |s the re||g|on I have been seek|ng for
lslam ls the rellglon l have been seek-
lng lor slnce my school days. My mlnd was
dlssatlslled all along wlth the Chrlstlan teach-
lngs tlll l was old enough to have lndepend-
Is|am has a|ways attracted me both by |ts
s|mp||c|ty and by the devot|on of |ts fo||ow-
ers.
Slnce adoptlng lslam as my lalth l
leel that l have come to a turnlng polnt ln my
llle, and to account lor thls, to glve you some
ldea as to why l have become a Musllm. l
have sub[ected mysell to what l mlght call a
sell-psychologlcal analysls.
lslam had always attracted me both
by lts slmpllclty and by the devotlon ol lts
lollowers ... l was taught to regard all rellg-
lons other than Chrlstlanlty as blasphemous
and thelr adherents as heathens.
lslam has glven me a very practlcal
method ol breaklng down the barrler ol ma-
terlallsm ln one ol the llve lllars ol lalth,
namely `rayer.' 1he Musllm prayer keeps me
constantly aware ol my duty to Allah, to my
soul, and to my lellow creatures.
kbollJ u'lotoqet kemtof
1he pur|ty and s|mp||c|ty of the Is|am|c Ia|th
and |ts obv|ous 1ruth made a spec|a| appea|
to me!
1he purlty and slmpllclty ol the ls-
lamlc lalth, lts lreedom lrom dogma and sa-
credotallsm and lts obvlous 1ruth made a
speclal appeal to me. 1he honesty and slncer-
lty ol the Musllms, too, are greater than any-
thlng l have seen ln Chrlstlans.
Another beauty ol lslam ls lts equal-
lty. lt ls only lslam that has real equallty maln-
talned between man and man and no other
rellglon has anythlng llke lt. 1he lalth ol lslam
generates unlty.
1he ueen ol lslam ls also the cleanest
rellglon ln the world because Musllms have
to wash the exposed parts ol the body llve
tlmes a day, a practlce not lound ln any other
rellglon ol the world.
A. w.l. voo kuyleobutq (koowo os M.A. kob-
moo)
In Is|am I have found the true Ia|th for
34 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
Imaan The Recipe to Happiness and Joy
.tt act. of ibaaaat are bravcbe. of vaav. !itbovt ivaav, tbere i. vo rerara for av,
act irre.ectire of tbe qvavtit,. .vovg.t tbe.e ibaaaat. are tbo.e rbo.e rerara. are re
cvrrivg. or eavte, tbe grorivg of a beara. or a. tovg a. a er.ov ba. a beara, bi.
rerara ritt be recvrrivg at erer, vovevt of bi. tife. ivitar i. tbe ca.e of vi/aab. 1bv.,
rbev tbi. i. tbe .itvatiov ritb .ove of tbe bravcbe., tbev greater rovta be tbe ca.e ritb
vaav. t. rerara. are recvrrivg for a. tovg a. a er.ov ba. faitb ava ivaav.
f re ovt, reftect orer tbe aetait. of vaav tbev tbere rovta be vo rea.ov for av, er.ov to
griere ava be .orrorfvt. !itb vaav re betiere tbat .ttab i. tbe .b.otvte Covtrotter of
att affair.. evce, rbev re reati.e tbi. tbev tbi. i. tbe recie to baive... !e bare tbe
tevaevc, to too/ at tbivg. vegatiret, ava ovt, tbiv/ of tbe vi.fortvve. ava aifficvttie.
tbat orercove v.. v.teaa, forget tbe bara.bi. ava tbiv/ of tbe vav, bovvtie. ava fa
rovr. re ev;o,.
or erfectivg vaav, tbere are certaiv reqvi.ite.. 1be.e are ovttivea iv tbe Qvràav
rbere .ttab etaiv. tbree reqvi.ite.: ;1) âbi`. ;.attattabv ataibi ra .attav) aeci.iov
i. fivat iv att vatter.. ;2) 1bere .bovta vot be erev tbe .tigbte.t re.erratiov ritbiv ove`.
beart ava viva regaraivg tbe aeci.iov. ;) Ove .bovta rbotebearteat, accet tbe aeci.iov
irre.ectire of tbe circvv.tavce ava .itvatiov.
1berefore, for tbe re.erratiov of ovr ivaav, ove .ivte vetboa rovta be to va/e tbe
fottorivg avaa after erer, .ataab: 1araffavee vv.tivarra atbiqvee bi. .aati
beev ;O .ttab! Ma/e ve aie a. a Mv.tiv ava ;oiv ve iv tbe rav/. of tbe iov..)
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee
ence ol thought to shake them oll. l came ln
touch wlth the true rellglon ol lslam. l be-
came lnterested ln lslam, whose keynote ls
slmpllclty - lor lnstance, bellel ln the unlty
(unlty ls not the proper word to use, lnstead
the word 'Cneness' descrlbes Monothelsm ln
real sense - Ldltor) ol Allah. 1hls ls why lt ap-
peals to me.
1he rellglon ol lslam has glven me
peace and happlness such as l never had be-
lore.
Mlss Iooo lotlmo
If 8r|ta|n and Lurope were converted to Is-
|am, they wou|d aga|n be powerfu| forces
for good
1here ls no verslon ol Chrlstlanlty
whlch ls really satlslactory. Chrlstlans belleve
that because ol the lall ol Adam and Lve, all
human belngs are born ln a state ol orlglnal,
sln, and are unable by thelr own actlons to
merlt Peaven. Musllms, however, do not be-
lleve that people are punlshed lor the sln ol
Adam and Lve. 1hey belleve that all human
belngs are born ol lnnocence, and can only
lose thelr hope ol Peaven by thelr own slns
when they are old enough to be gullty ol de-
llberate wrong-dolng.
ll 8rltaln and Lurope were converted
to lslam, they would agaln be powerlul lorces
lor good. 8rltlsh and Luropean Musllms are
some ol the best.
kboJljo l.k. lezoul
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 35
1. Hashmi
War. lamlne. Sullerlng. not a day
goes by that the evenlng news does not re-
port horrlllc storles ol humanlty ln despalr,
and ol worldwlde mlsery. Cn a more per-
sonal level, many ol us have been strlcken
wlth grlel and depresslon ln our day to day
llves. A loved one passes away. A llnanclal
downturn. A cheatlng spouse. Why then
does Allah allow bad thlngs to happen to
good people? 1hls ls a questlon that people
ol many rellglous lalths have struggled wlth
lor hundreds ol years. lt ls one ol the great-
est stumbllng blocks to lalth and has led
countless people to dlsbelleve ln Allah alto-
gether.
1helsts have trled to reconclle Allah
and evll ln a number ol ways. Some pagans
clalmed that Allah hates evll, but Pe ls power-
less to prevent lt. 1hls ldea, however, ls re-
[ected ln the Curan, because lt questlons Al-
lah's status as 1he Almlghty (Al-Azeez), 1he
All-owerlul (Al-!abbaar), 1he All-Strong (Al-
Cawlyy), and 1he All Capable (Al-Cadeelr).
Cthers have clalmed that perhaps Allah ls
capable ol removlng evll, but Pe does not
know when or where evll wlll happen. 1hls
ldea relegates Allah to a llreman who only
comes to the scene ol a llre alter hall the
bulldlng has burned down. ?et, thls too ls an
unacceptable clalm, lor Allah's names ln the
Curan lnclude 1he All-knowlng (Al-Aallm),
1he All-Seelng (Al-8aseer), 1he All-Pearlng (Al
-Samee'), and 1he Constant Cwner and Con-
troller ol Lverythlng (Al-Maleek). ln lact, lt
would be consldered blasphemous to ques-
tlon Allah's ower: ll Allah wanted to remove
all evll on thls earth, then nothlng could pre-
vent Plm lrom that.
olythelstlc rellglons lurther another
hypothesls: Allah ls good, but there are other
evll Allahs who lrustrate Pls goodness and
spread corruptlon on thls earth. Allah ls
therelore locked ln a struggle wlth these
other deltles. erhaps Satan ls a counter-
Allah wlth whom Allah must constantly battle
wlth. ?et thls ldea-ol multlple Allahs-ls
categorlcally re[ected ln the Curan, whlch
calls Allah as 1he Cne (Al-Wahld), 1he Cne
and Cnly (Al-Ahad), 1he llrst (Al-Awwal), and
1he Last (Al-Akhlr). 1he Curan stresses that
there are no Allahs besldes Allah, lor exam-
ple, the Curan says:
out Allob ls but ooe Allob, tbete ls oo Allob
otbet tboo nlm!" (Outoo 2.16J)
Wlth over a thousand verses to thls
ellect, lt would be lmposslble to belleve ln
3 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
multlple deltles, rather, there ls one and only
one supreme Allah.
1he anclent Cnostlcs had such a
troubllng tlme reconclllng the evll ol thls
world wlth Allah that they concluded that
Allah Plmsell must be evll. eople who lur-
ther thls clalm argue that Allah cannot possl-
bly be All-owerlul and All-Lovlng at the
same tlme. ll Allah ls capable ol removlng
evll and does not do lt, Pe must therelore be
evll. ?et, thls ldea ls uncondltlonally re[ected
ln the Curan, whlch declares that Allah ls 1he
Most Lovlng (Al-Wadood), 1he Most klnd (Al-
8arr), and 1he Most Cenerous (Al-kareem).
1he Curan also relers to Allah as 1he Most
Mercllul (Al-8aheem), 1he Most 8enellcent
(Al-8ahmaan), 1he Most lorglvlng (Al-
Challaar), 1he Lord ol lnllnlte Crace (uhul
ladl al-Adtheem), and the ultlmate Source ol
eace and Salety (Al-Salaam).
1herelore, the Curan alllrms that
Allah ls both All-owerlul and Most Lovlng, so
how can these two qualltles be reconclled,
glven the lact that the world ls lull ol evll?
1he lslamlc perspectlve ls that Allah causes
bad" thlngs to happen ln order to achleve a
greater good. Allah allllcts Pls servants wlth
sullerlng ln order to mold them lnto the type
ol people Pe wants them to be. 1hrough
sullerlng, humans can develop qualltles that
last lorever: steadlastness and patlence ln
the lace ol great adverslty, as well as great
humlllty and meekness. Most lmportantly,
sullerlng causes people to turn towards Allah
lor help, lt establlshes and dlllerentlates the
true bellevers lrom the lalse ones.
Suffer|ng Causes eop|e to kemember A||ah
Puman belngs tend to lorget Allah
when they are prosperous and only remem-
ber Plm when allllcted wlth sullerlng. 1he
Curan glves the example ol a shlp: when the
shlp ls smooth salllng, then the occupants do
not remember Allah, but when the wlnd
threatens to capslze the shlp, suddenly the
occupants ol the shlp begln praylng slncerely
to Allah. 1he Curan says:
out lotJ ls ne tbot mokes tbe sblp qo
smootbly tbtouqb tbe seo fot you tbot you
moy seek of nls Ctoce, fot ne ls Most Metclful
to you. wbeo Jlsttess selzes you ot seo, you
cty to ooboJy sove nlm (Allob), but wbeo ne
btloqs you bock sofely to tbe looJ, you tuto
owoy (ftom nlm). Most uoqtoteful ls
moo!" (Outoo 17.66-67)
1hls example can be applled to our
day-to-day llves. A person may lorget Allah
when hls llnanclal sltuatlon ls good, but ll he
were lald oll lrom work, then suddenly he'd
be lnvoklng Allah lor help. When rophet
Muhammad declared Allah's Message, lt was
the poor and the slaves who made up the
bulk ol hls lollowers. 1he rlch and prosper-
ous leaders ol Mecca, on the other hand,
contlnued to llve a llle removed lrom Allah.
lt ls well-known that rlch people-such as
actors, slngers, and other celebrltles-llve the
most unAllahly ol llves. Meanwhlle, the
meek and needy cllng to Allah more. 1hls
means that sullerlng ls not necessarlly a bad
thlng, and prosperlty ls not necessarlly a good
thlng. Allah says ln the Curan:
8ut lt moy boppeo tbot you Jlsllke o tbloq
wblcb ls qooJ fot you, ooJ lt moy boppeo tbot
you love o tbloq wblcb ls boJ fot you. AoJ
Allob koows ooJ you Jo oot koow!" (Outoo
2.216)
1hls ls all a part ol human psychol-
ogy: we lorget Allah ln good tlmes, and we
remember Plm durlng tlmes ol dlstress. So
Allah allllcts us wlth trlals and trlbulatlons so
that we may turn to Plm and seek Pls Crace.
Pow many countless people have turned to
Allah and were gulded to lslam alter havlng
been allllcted wlth sullerlng upon sullerlng?
An example that comes to mlnd ls ol a well-
meanlng polltlclan who lntends to do good,
but once he comes to power, the system cor-
rupts hlm. Soon, he starts glvlng and taklng
brlbes, he beglns to llve the unAllahly llle ol a
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 37
rlch polltlclan, wastelul and extravagant.
1hen suddenly, Allah causes hlm to be ar-
rested, the man loses all ol hls wealth, hls
wlle leaves hlm, and he rots away ln [all. ll-
nally, alter havlng pondered over hls galns
and losses, the man turns to Allah. So bad
thlngs happened to thls man ln order that a
greater good could occur. When he was
prosperous, he was headlng towards Pell, but
when Allah allllcted hlm wlth dlstress, the
man changed hls course, the temporary sul-
lerlng ol [all ls lndeed a small prlce to pay lor
the Lternal 8llss ln aradlse. ln concluslon,
we see that Allah causes bad thlngs to hap-
pen to good people, ln order that a greater
good come to them ln the long run.
Naslhah
A|| praisc oc|cngs |c A||AH an pcacc an sa|u|a|icns oc upcn Rasu|u||an (S). Our
Naoi (S) nas sai, Tnc Dccn is Nasinan! |n c|ncr ucrs, |s|an ncans |c uisn uc||
fcr c|ncrs. Tnc crigin cf |nc Araoic ucr Nasinan is nasn unicn nas |uc ncanings.
Onc ncaning is puri|q an sinccri|q. || is sai in Araoic, nasana| as|a i.c. nc
c|canc an purific |nc ncncq cf a|| inpuri|ics an ir|. Tnc scccn ncaning cf
nasn is |c rcpair cr ncn as in Araoic nasanas sauoa i.c. |c ncn c|c|ning |na| nas
occcnc |crn.
Dccn in rca|i|q is |na| a Mus|in sncu| oc sinccrc an uisn gcc fcr c|ncrs. lncn
Rasu|u||an (S) sai |ncsc ucrs, Hc uas as|c, Tcuars uncn? Hc rcp|ic,
Tcuars A||AH, H|S 8cc|, H|S Mcsscngcr, |nc |cacrs cf |nc Mus|ins an |nc
gcncra| ocq cf |nc Mus|ins.
Sc, |c oc sinccrc an gcc |cuars A||AH ncans |c oc|ictc in H|M, |c ccnsicr
H|M as H| is ui|n a|| H|S a||riou|cs an |c |ctc H|M. || a|sc ncans ocing gra|cfu|
|c H|M fcr a|| |nc ocun|ics H| nas gran|c us, |c fcar H|M an nc| |c iscocq H|M.
An |nis is a|sc |nc ncaning cf Nasinan cr gccui|| |cuars Rasu|u||an (S) |na| uc
sncu| |ctc Hin, fc||cu His Sunnan, prcnc|c an prcpcga|c His uaq cf |ifc an
s|an up agains| |ncsc |na| cppcsc His Sunnan an |nc Snarian. Nasinan (i.c. sinccr-
i|q an gccncss) |cuars |nc 8cc| cf A||AH cn|ai|s oc|icting in i|, an prcnc|ing
an prcpaga|ing i| oq |nc ncans cf Ta|ccn an Tao|ign. lncn |nc |carnc an |nc
|cacrs cf |nc Mus|ins |a|c anq ncasurcs |c sprca cr suppcr| |nc Dccn, |ncq sncu|
oc assis|c, an if |ncq tccr cff |nc s|raign| pa|n, uaqs sncu| oc scugn| |c rcc|ifq
|ncn, uni|c |ccping in nin |ncir ncncur an rcspcc|. Tc ca| ui|n sinccri|q an oc
gcc |cuars |nc gcncra| ocq cf Mus|ins ncans |c prctic na|cria| an Dccni ocnc-
fi| |c |ncn. Tnis inc|ucs assis|ing |ncn an na|ing an cffcr| fcr |ncn |c prac|icc |nc
unc|c cf Dccn.
Tnis Hai|n is tcrq significan|. Tnc cn|irc Dccn can oc a||ainc oq ac|ing cn |nis
Hai|n a|cnc. Tnis is una| |naan Nauaui (Raninanu||an) nas ncn|icnc. Tnis pcri-
cica| nas occn ini|ia|c ui|n |nc sanc purpcsc in nin. Maq A||AH TAA|A ac-
ccp| i| an gran| i| ctcrq succcss an fu|fi||ncn| cf purpcsc, AAM||N!
Mau|ana |a|ur Rannaan Azani
38 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
Sunna. the Cur'an, belng ol a mlraculous ex-
posltlon, ls never otlose nor exceeds the
proper terms: as Wlsdom ln the verse comes
alter 8ook as a separate word, lt must reler
to somethlng dlllerent lrom the 8ook. the
8ook ls the Cur'an and the Wlsdom ls the
Sunna whlch expands on what ls brlel ln the
8ook and clarllles lts amblgultles, specllles
what ls uncondltlonal and general and vlce
versa, so that general prlnclples or speclllc
rullngs can be understood lrom what ls com-
manded ln the Cur'an.
1he Cur'an ln many verses en[olns
absolute obedlence to Allah's Messengers.
1hls obedlence ls not due to thelr person, but
because ol thelr mlsslon as the 'olllclals' ol
Allah ln guldlng people to truth both lndlvldu-
ally and soclally, materlally, lntellectually and
splrltually.
we bove oot seot o Messeoqet sove to be
obeyeJ by Allobs leove. (ol-Nlso, 4.64)
you wbo belleve! Obey Allob ooJ nls Messeo-
qet, ooJ Jo oot tuto owoy ftom blm. (ol-
Aofol, 8.20)
Cbedlence to Allah means uncondl-
tlonal obedlence to Pls Commandments ln
the Cur'an and Pls laws ln llle and ln the op-
eratlon ol the unlverse. Cbedlence to the
Messenger, upon hlm be peace and blesslngs,
ls lollowlng hls way ln all the aspects ol llle, ln
1he Sunna, the example ol the
rophet (S), ls the maln source ol our rell-
glous llle, promoted and encouraged by the
Cur'an. 1o clte a lew verses:
lt ls oot fot ooy bellevet, moo ot womoo,
wbeo Allob ooJ nls Messeoqet bove JecteeJ
o mottet, to bove tbe cbolce lo tbe offolt.
wbosoevet Jlsobeys Allob ooJ nls Messeoqet
bos qooe osttoy loto moolfest ettot. (ol-
Abzob, JJ.J6)
...1bose wbo loJeeJ belleve lo Out slqos,
tbose wbo follow tbe Messeoqet, tbe uolet-
teteJ ltopbet, wbom tbey floJ wtltteo Jowo
wltb tbem lo tbe 1otob ooJ tbe Cospel, eo-
jololoq oo tbem tbe qooJ, ooJ fotblJJloq
tbem tbe evll, mokloq lowful fot tbem tbe
qooJ tbloqs ooJ mokloq uolowful fot tbem
tbe cottupt tbloqs, ooJ tellevloq tbem of tbelt
looJs, ooJ tbe fettets tbot wete upoo tbem.
1bose wbo belleve lo blm ooJ succot blm ooJ
belp blm, ooJ follow tbe llqbt tbot bos beeo
seot Jowo wltb blm - tbey ote tbe ptospetets.
(ol-Atof, 7.156-7)
ne wbo tolseJ omooq tbe uoletteteJ ooes o
Messeoqet ftom tbem, tecltloq to tbem nls
slqos, putlfles tbem ooJ losttucts tbem lo tbe
8ook ooJ tbe wlsJom. (ol-Iumuo, 62.2)
What ls meant by the Wlsdom ln the
last verse ls, accordlng to most lnterpreters
ol the Cur'an and the 1radltlonlsts, the
Ali Unal
(Jol. 14, Ao: 171) 39
practlclng the Cur'an, and ln all the orders ol
the Messenger besldes the Cur'an. the Sunna
contalns all the orders and prohlbltlons,
warnlngs and encouragements ol Allah's
Messenger, who sald: 1ake care! l have been
glven the 8ook and lts llke together wlth lt.
verse 20 ol al-Anlal warns the Mus-
llms not to turn away lrom the Messenger.
1herelore, dlsobedlence to the Sunna, even
bellttllng and crltlclzlng lt, amounts to heresy,
even apostasy.
1here are many other verses whlch
emphaslze the lmportance ol the Sunna, or
lollowlng the example ol Allah's Messenger
(S):
O you wbo belleve! Obey Allob ooJ obey tbe
Messeoqet ooJ tbose lo outbotlty ftom
omooqst you. (ol-Nlso, 4.59)
1he verse stresses, besldes obedl-
ence to Allah, obedlence to Allah's Messen-
ger, and the repetltlon ol the verb obey ln
the lmperatlve mood polnts to the lact that
the Messenger has the authorlty to command
or lorbld, and that the Musllms must carry
out hls commands and relraln lrom hls prohl-
bltlons. 8esldes, where obedlence to those ln
authorlty who share the same lalth and leel-
lngs as the Musllms, ls ordered, the rophet
has a lar greater rlght to be obeyed. Another
verse:
Allob ooJ nls Messeoqet ooJ Jo oot Jlspute
wltb ooe oootbet, lest you sboulJ be JlssolveJ
(JlspetseJ) ooJ yout stteoqtb foJe owoy, ooJ
be steoJfost. (ol-Aofol, 8.46)
Accordlng to thls verse, the strength
and unlty ol the Musllms lle ln thelr submls-
slon to Allah and Pls Messenger. the Sunna ls
the unlque way or example set by Allah's
Messenger lor the Musllms to lollow. Also, lt
ls through the Sunna that a Musllm can llve
accordlng to the Cur'an. by puttlng the
Cur'an lnto practlce, Allah's Messenger (S),
establlshed the way whlch the Musllms must
lollow. lrom thls vlewpolnt, the Sunna ls
more comprehenslve than the Cur'an and,
wlthout lt, the Musllms cannot deslgn thelr
llle accordlng to the Cur'an. So, obedlence to
Allah ls posslble by obeylng the Messenger or
by lollowlng hls Sunna. 1hls ls expllcltly stated
ln the lollowlng verse:
5oy (O MubommoJ!). lf you love Allob, follow
me so tbot Allob loves you. (Al lmtoo, J.J1)
Love ol Allah ls lmposslble lor one to
acqulre wlthout lollowlng the rophet, upon
hlm be peace and blesslngs. no one can clalm
love ol Allah, nor can he be loved by Allah,
unless he lollows the Sunna. Another verse:
5utely tbete ls fot you lo Allobs Messeoqet oo
excelleot exomple fot blm wbo ospltes to Al-
lob ooJ tbe neteoftet, ooJ meotloos Allob oft.
(ol-Abzob, JJ.21)
ln order to secure hlmsell agalnst
any devlatlon and to lollow the Stralght ath
wlthout golng astray, a Musllm must cllng to
the Sunna ol the rophet (S).
Cne day a woman came to 'Abdullah
lbn Mas'ud (8A) and sald: 'l have heard that
you call down Allah's curse upon the women
who have tattoos on thelr bodles, who pluck
halrs on thelr laces, who lorce thelr teeth
apart ln order to look more beautllul, and
who change the creatlon ol Allah.' lbn
Mas'ud (8A) answered: '1hls ls to be lound ln
the Scrlpture ol Allah.' the woman ob[ected:
'l swear by Allah that l have read whatever ls
between the two covers ol the 8ook but
could not llnd anythlng ln lt related to thls
matter,' lbn Mas'ud (8A) concluded: 'Cur
rophet called Allah's curse upon the women
who wear wlgs, who [oln somebody's halr to
thelrs, and who have tattoos on thelr bodles.
And, have you not read ln the Cur'an: What-
ever the Messenger brlngs to you, adopt lt,
and whatever he lorblds you, relraln lrom lt
(al-Pashr, 39.7)?'2
1he Cur'an also declares:
Noy, by yout lotJ, tbey wlll oevet become
bellevets uotll tbey cboose you os juJqe to
settle the matters ln dlspute between them.
(al-nlsa', 4.63)
4 (Jol . 14, Ao: 171)
Allah says:
1bose wbo yeoto fot tbe meetloq wltb Allob
(sboulJ toke soloce lo tbe koowleJqe) tbot,
vetlly, tbe 1lme of Allob ls opptoocbloq."
8asulullah (saws) sald: l ask ol ?ou
(C Allah!) slght ol ?our lace and Shouq
(eagerness) lor meetlng ?ou."
1nL NA1UkL CI SnCU
1he condltlon ol natural deslre
(eagerness) whlch ls a physlcal state to be-
hold and lully comprehend a beloved ob[ect
whose perlectlon ls only partlally known ls
termed Shouq.
Shouq ls the lnltlal stage ol Muhab-
bat. At a later stage lt develops lnto uns
(allectlon). At thls stage the condltlons pre-
valllng durlng shouq do not remaln. Among
such condltlons are proluse crylng and ab-
sorptlon ln thought to such a degree that thls
condltlon asserts lts domlnance. Some (along
the [ourney) conslder such condltlons to be
the goal (ol the so[ourn), hence become de-
pressed when these are reduced ln the state
ol uns. Powever, there ls no need to be con-
cerned at thls reductlon ln such leellngs be-
cause the goal ls not the state ol shouq to be
perpetual - that one should at all tlmes be
engulled ln thls state. 1he purpose ls not to
ellmlnate natural deslres nelther ls the pur-
pose to create a constant throb ln the heart.
8asulullah (saws), explalned the llmlt ol
shouq ln the lollowlng way:
(O Allob!) l petltloo ou fot sbou fot meet-
loq ou, sucb sbou wblcb ls JevolJ of botJ-
sblp ooJ wblcb Joes oot botm, sucb sbou
wblcb ls oot o ttlol leoJloq osttoy."
Sometlmes excesslve allectlon and
love brlng about destructlon. lt brlngs about a
dlsturbance ln rlghteous acts (a'mal) whlch
are ln lact the medlum lor attalnlng ulvlne
roxlmlty. 1he true goal ls achleved vla the
agency ol executlng the ulvlne Commands.
Lxcesslve shouq (eagerness) and lshq (love)
lnterlere wlth thls means. At tlmes when
shouq ls overpowerlng, one transgresses the
llmlts ol respect and makes such statements
whlch are dlsrespectlul.
Most ush-shaq (those lmmersed and
lost ln love) are gullty ol dlsrespectlul state-
ments whlch they utter ln states ol ecstasy.
1hls dlsrespect ls harmlul although such dls-
respect uttered ln ecstasy ls lorglven. 8ut, lt
ls not a condltlon ol kamal (excellence). 8asu-
lullah (saws) was perlect ln obedlence, re-
spect and love, hence he made the du'a men-
tloned above.
ACUIkING SnCU
Shouq belng a necessary corollary ol
Muhabbat, lts acqulsltlon ls by lnculcatlng
Muhabbat ol Allah.
cootJ oo poqe J1
Maulana Maseeh-Ullah Khan (RA)

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