|
|
|
|
|
|
Compiled by: Azeem Ayub |
|
|
Reflections |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
In the Name of Allah, |
All is Well …!
Not always do our plans materialize; not always do our expectations fetch congruous results; not always do our efforts bear fruit. And then, at times we are faced with staggering circumstances: a handicapped child is born, a person dies in the prime of his youth, a flourishing business suddenly runs into great losses, a young lady becomes a widow, cruel relatives deprive their blood relations from even the basic necessities of life. The list of course is unending.
The result of all this more often than not is quite predictable: depression, continued sorrow and sometimes severe anger and rage. The unexpected brings out from within us reactions which cross limits.
The Qur’ān says that there may be various reasons for such untoward circumstances. While explaining one of them it says:
And sometimes you dislike a thing and [in reality] there is great welfare for you in it and sometimes you like a thing and [in reality] there is great harm for you in it. Allah knows and you know not. (2:216)
It is thus expected of a Muslim to submit to the Almighty in all circumstances with the belief that whatever has happened was best for him. We cannot always grasp the profundity of the Almighty’s wisdom. Time, however, often tells how the ‘untoward’ happening actually positively influences the course of our life. So instead of becoming upset and frustrated we must resign to his will and wait to see how things ultimately take shape.
In short, ‘all is well even if does not seem to end well’.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
In this Issue |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Reflections |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Read & Reflect
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Debate & Discuss * Discussion Forum: Family & Marriage: Core Issues | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
* General Discussion Forum: InWomen Issues Dr Afia Siddiqi's Case
|
Read and Reflect |
|
Mankind seems to be divided by religious categorisation. Some religious groups are more exclusive in their approach than others. However, the approach of condemning people belonging to other faiths, although it has become a much less pronounced problem in recent times, has not vanished completely. There have been many approaches adopted by religious scholars belonging to different faiths to check the tendency of growing bigotry amongst religious people. The Vatican adopted the policy of Religious Inclusivism through its decree of 1967 which expressed sentiments of cordiality for other important world religions. Words of sympathy were also reserved in the decree for those who have chosen to follow the approach of atheism.
There are, however, some Christians scholars who believe that Religious Inclusivism, even though it is a welcome improvement on Religious Exclusivism, still falls short of being fully convincing. What has been presented by William Rowland, John Hick, and Paul Badham is an approach to justify what they describe as Religious Pluralism. According to this approach, all important religions are genuine human responses to the same Transcendental Reality, even though influenced by the respective cultural environments of the religious leaders. Thus all of them are simultaneously correct, and all offer important insights into the understanding of the Ultimate.
Both Religious Inclusivism and Religious Pluralism promise more religious tolerance amongst those who choose to adopt these points of view, although the latter seems to be more capable of engendering true respect in the hearts of believers of one faith for the believers in the other faiths. Muslims have normally been considered Religious Exclusivists, who would not hold people of other faiths worthy of being offered respect for their religious commitments. There is, therefore, felt a need to present an Islamic point of view on how Islamic teachings propose to tackle the issue of religious plurality.
Islam, on the one hand takes a firm position in confirming the unquestionable authenticity of its teachings, on the other hand it also calls for genuine respect for all non-Muslims. Even though there seems to be apparently a contradiction in the approach, a better understanding of the various verses of the Qur’ān on the subject would suggest that it is not necessarily so.
The correct Islamic approach towards the non-Muslims is to assume that all of them have, as yet, not been properly convinced about the authenticity of the divine origins of the teachings of Islam. It is for the Muslims to help the non-Muslims to appreciate the truthfulness of the Islamic teachings. That would require not only intelligent preaching on their part but, perhaps more importantly, a behaviour of respect for the fellow human beings, irrespective of their faith. The absence of that behaviour on the part of some Muslims has been an important reason for their failure to present Islam as a message which is worthy of being taken seriously by the non-Muslims. Thus true religious tolerance is at the heart of a proper Islamic behaviour. Thus it will be shown that all Muslims are required to be extremely tolerant of other faiths and to continue their struggle to convince them politely.
This approach is neither Religious Inclusivism of the sort adopted by the Vatican, nor Religious Pluralism as proposed by Rowland Williams, John Hick, and Paul Badham. It is, in fact, a call for religious tolerance because of the possibility of lack of proper communication of the true message of God. Since no body knows whether the other individual has been communicated the message of Islam properly, therefore, no Muslim has the right to condemn any non-Muslim on grounds of religious differences.
URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=572
|
|
|
When do the children have the right to disobey the parents? saba2 Well can you please be more specific about the age of children. ibrahim Of course adult and mature children. saba2 If they are adult and mature then their is no question of disobedience is there? They are free to make their own choices which can also differ from their parents. I feel there is a very thin line between disobedience and making different choices. I think teenagers who can distinguish between right from wrong may come under the category of being disobedient adult and mature children cannot come under the category of being disobedient. A child can be disobedient when he is being asked to do what is considered gunnah or wrong in Islam and when he feels physically threatened sexually. ibrahim Well, we are bound to follow parents (and all others too) in the limits of Islam. So such disobedience has no value. You are right that there may be a very thin line between the two but one can still differentiate. I give you an example: Parents want to marry a child at one place but he/she want to marry at another. This is a choice difference. However when they ask the child to do any useful thing that he/she must do or ask not to do a harmful thing that he/she must avoid then this will surely be a disobedience. for example two mature kids are fighting with eachother (may be verbally) & when a parent ask them to stop. If they do not, they are disobeying. I hope I'm able to clear the point. Moreover you as a senior MOM can yourself give many examples of both cases. Don't You? It'll need just a deep thinking. saba2 So in the eyes of Allah disobedience is allowed when there is shirk committed and parents expect the children to join in or be a part of it. Is going to shrines and peers and asking them of favors from God considered Shirk? The example you gave of choice differences is the one parents have the most difficulty excepting. You hear all sorts of stories and maximum blackmail when it comes to marriage of choice. “Moreover you as a senior MOM” how can u tell if I am a senior mom? Hmm I like it, it gives me a lot of clout. Can some one please answer the question ibrahim Your described act is a shirk act but one may not be doing it as a shirk. That's a big difference. In Marriage case parents should have the courage to accept the choice of their kids in case of no settlement between them just because kids have been given the last right to choose their life partner. We as a parent can only try our best to guide them the best and in the best possible way. Read on: http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=2058&lang=&forumid=44
|
|
|
General Discussion Forum:
Women Issues
Hkhan (Moderator)
Dear Clare
StudyingIslamUK
We have
organised a meeting regarding Dr Afia Siddiqi at 6.45 pm Committee Room 4
, the House of Lords tomorrow 9th Feb
Hkhan (Moderator)
The meeting
was very productive alhamdulillah . room was full & wide media coverage
was available from the local and Pakistan reporters. Lord Ahmed said that
if he believed there was a factor of terrorism in this case, he would
never organize this in support of Afia. a Univ. student suggested that
instead of stressing on Pakistani and Muslim we must talk about 'human
rights' to gain more voices and support in Britain. Imran Khan's message
was also read out. a joint letter has been sent to the president of united
states directly from the house of lords.
I think best option is go to website and
email them or send them a message, what I did. regards,
student1
The case of
Dr. Afia, I think has been finalized and I don't think the Court will
change its decision. But inshallah hopefully things might get better and
if Muslims all over the world especially those living in USA, UK, Canada
and other parts of the world start their protest on the streets and
directly pressurize the US embassies in those countries, then maybe
inshallah things will get better.
|
Pause
and Ponder |
|
Question: I have a question regarding drinking alcohol. Is it not allowed in Islam to sit and serve in company of the people who are drinking alcohol even when you are not drinking yourself? This situation is faced by many of the Muslims living abroad in non-Islamic countries.
Answer:
We must know that Islam sees a crime and support in carrying out the crime as
equal. There is virtually no difference if you drink or if you only serve to
your friend to drink. To my mind, the latter crime is more heinous and
despicable since it sets the other person at ease and makes him comfortable with
his crime. It is for this reason that the Holy Qur’an has warned us not to help
each other with evil but what is good and righteous.
URL: http://www.studying-islam.org/querytext.aspx?id=900
|
Announcements: |
|
"Quran for All" Series: Surah Layl Uploaded Tuesday, February 09, 2010
After Surah Mulk, Surah Qalam, Surah
Haaqqah,Surah Ma'aarij, Surah Nuh, Surah Jinn, Surah Muzzammil, Surah
Muddaththir, Surah Qiyamah, Surah Dahr, Surah Mursalat, Surah Naba, Surah
Nazi'aat, Surah Abas, Surah Takweer, Surah Infitar, Surah Mutaffifin, Surah
Inshiqaq, Surah Buruj, Surah Tariq, Surah A'laa, Surah Ghashiyah, Surah Fajr,
Surah Balad and Surah Shams, we have uploaded Surah Layl in the "Quran for All"
series.
Successful Participants
|
Recent
Additions: |
|
Youtube
Videos
Urdu Articles English
Urdu QnA English
Urdu
|
|
|
Muslim Spain
|
|
|
Please give us your valued feedback on our guestbook:
Studying Islam |