|
|
|
|
|
|
Compiled by: Azeem Ayub |
|
|
Reflections |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Are God’s expectations from humans easy to fulfil? If they are, should we not let others do what they are doing and not get involved in unnecessarily disturbing them by declaring what they are doing as un-Islamic? Also, should we not let non-Muslims remain what they are? Isn’t it an unnatural expectation from them to convert to a completely new religion? If we are expecting non-Muslims to convert, why shouldn’t Muslims be expected to conform to the truth within their own faith? Is changing from one religious view to another not difficult? If it is, how then is Islam easy to follow? Why can’t we follow the Keep-It-Simple rule in Islam?
God Almighty wants us to make things easy for us. This is what He has to say: “Allah desires ease for you; He does not desire hardship for you.” (2:185) The Prophet (sws) strongly urged his followers to “make things easy and don’t make them difficult. Give them good news and don’t scare them away.”1 However, easiness in religion has to be done in the way the Almighty wants us to do it. It should not be mistaken for casualness. Here are the outlines of the easy way, as I understand, the Almighty wants us to follow:
i) One has always got to remain open to truth. It is only in that way that one acquires true faith. Laziness in matters of truth is an offence, though hopefully a minor one, but unjustifiable stubbornness in the matter of truth is an inexcusable crime. By the latter what I mean is that you refuse to take interest in the truth simply because you are already attached to some other ideology and you don’t want a new one to disturb you. In the process of comparing the contestants for truth, if I am confused, the Almighty would accept it as a valid excuse, inshā Allah. Ignoring the truth, however, can never be a part of the otherwise desirable keep-It-simple formula.
ii) There is no Muslim vs non-Muslim divide in the eyes of God. No one is at a disadvantage in this trial of life. Muslims are expected to be open to truth quite as much as the non-Muslims are. Those non-Muslims who know that the message of Islam is from God and are still spurning it out of arrogance are criminal kāfir (the condemned disbelievers) in the eyes of their Creator. Likewise is the case of Muslims who are guilty of a similar crime in any aspect of the truth that comes from God. So long as a person is confused about whether a certain message is from God or not, he is not guilty. The ultimate decision on all such matters will be taken, thankfully, by the All-Knowing God Himself.
iii) In matters of practice, the rule is that you are expected to follow the truth as much as is possible. God has promised that His expectations are simple. However, we need to understand them in order to follow them. That strategy would ensure that things are kept simple.
iv) In matters of new findings on religion, science, or any other discipline, we again need to remain open. Of course, not everyone is interested in everything, but if someone tells me that what I am doing right now is not acceptable to my God, then I cannot take it lightly. Even in non-religious matters, once we jump into a discussion, we have to behave like truth-seeking believers and not like truth-spurning kāfirs.
v) God Almighty has promised that He is not going to make any soul accountable for anything more than what his potential is. He has also promised that He will forgive people who repent after realizing that what they were doing was wrong and that He will only punish those who were insisting on a wrong, criminal attitude knowingly. What better keep-it-simple approach could there be than this? vi) One of the things I am expected to do as a good believer is to get involved in the process of correcting those who are closely linked with me. Likewise, I should allow others to influence me positively whenever I am going wrong. Such an attitude of mutual correction is a demonstration of the believers’ concern for the welfare of each other. In no way does it demonstrate an unnecessary interference in the affairs of others. In fact, not doing so would be indicative of a lack of interest in the spiritual and moral welfare of the other person.
Author: Dr Khalid Zaheer
URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=294
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
In this Issue |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Reflections |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Read & Reflect | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Debate & Discuss * Discussion Forum: Islamic Punishments: Basic Directives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
* General Discussion Forum: Iqamat-e -Din
Participants
|
Read and Reflect |
|
Characteristic Values of Muslim Culture
The successful prophetic mission of Muḥammad (sws) gave rise to a culture which was based on and dominated by the value of ‘ubūdiyyah.1 It implies that the whole society centred on belief in God and servant-Lord relationship. This centre was the only criterion of validity of all human thought and action. Freedom was no doubt valued, yet dominated by the value of ‘ubūdiyyah. The Muslim culture was not unclear on the question of its moral and ethical foundations. These were authenticated by divine revelations. Poets, litterateurs, philosophers, sages, scientists and rulers, all were clear on this issue and recognized this reality in their views and thoughts. The Muslim culture, founded on this clear and uniform model of thinking, governed the collective body of Muslims for more than a decade. hifẓ-i furūj, ḥifẓ-i marātib and ’amr bi al-ma‘rūf and nahī ‘an al-munkar constituted characteristic values of the Muslim culture.
These can be explained as follows:
Ḥifẓ-i furūj implied that the members of the society would not be allowed to practice and promote sexual promiscuity. Men and women could not openly enter into sexual relations. They could not illicitly live together and were not allowed to reveal their bodies.
Ḥifẓ-i marātib meant that though all human beings are originally equal in the eyes of God, yet they are not equal in their family and social relations. The younger have to show respect to the older, the children to their parents, the students to their teachers, the wives to their husbands. Socially seniors were given the right to correct and censure the juniors in all social layers. The respect and honour of the elders and the seniors was always preferred over individual liberty.
‘amr bi al-ma‘rūf and nahī ‘an al-munkar entailed that the adherents of the Islamic faith would not, at the collective level, show indifference to the values of good and evil. All such values as accord to the human orientation (fiṭrah) and acknowledged by entire humanity as virtue and good would be promoted at all scales and all such actions, as abhorred by the human nature and termed evil and bad, would be prohibited in all circumstances.
Such was the Muslim culture, the beauty and crown of humanity. The downfall of this culture is nothing less than the downfall of humanity. Alas for man! If only he craved for re-establishing this great tradition as much as he yearns for democratic ideals and rule of law.
(Translated from Ghāmidī’s Maqāmāt by Tariq Mahmood Hashmi)
URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=1033
_____________________
|
|
|
Siddiq Bukhary (Moderator)
anajee You are absolutely right. But read fully what I said in the context of the whole passage."If he is found guilty a 3rd time, I believe that the death penalty could be instituded against him because of the adverse affect that his conduct has on society. By his continuation to engage in this type of conduct, it disrupts the order of society because it shows that he has no regard for society and the laws that Allah legislated."
abdullah099
I disagree with
you on this issue. I don't believe a drunkard should be killed no matter how
many times he drinks alcohol. The punishment of flogging them was instated by
the prophet, and he gave no other instructions for dealing with drunkards. And
certain people would be brought to him several times because they were drunk
and he would still command that they be lashed 40 times. And if this drunk
person is corrupting others with his drinking problem, then they should be
lashed as well. If they are weak enough in their faith to follow him in doing
something which everyone knows is against Islam. Then they deserve to be
punished alongside him. Eventually they will stop drinking. Or they might die
while the prescribed punishment is taking place.
You are right that
death penalty cannot be awarded to drukards but what if their conduct comes
under the purview of Fisad Fil Arad or Muharabah? Topic URL : http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=556&lang=&forumid=7
|
|
|
General Discussion Forum:
aslam
What is iqamat-e-Din?
aboosait .............Just as iqamat-e-Salah means to make Salah your routine, iqamat-e-Din means to stick to the religion in every sphere of life...........
blue]
iqamat-e-Salah is from the Qur'an "aqimis salaat"
Then please
answer my question
.............Just as iqamat-e-Salah means to make Salah your routine,
iqamat-e-Din means to stick to the religion in every sphere of
life...........
these words
are found in the Quran but their correct meanings are those that has been
described in by br. Jahangeer.
|
Pause
and Ponder |
|
Question:
I have come across the following
Hadīth: Answer: Drinking water while sitting down is part of the social etiquette Islam teaches its followers. One should try to observe this etiquette whenever it is possible for him. However, if a person does not do so, he will not be punished since this directive is not part of the Islamic Sharī‘ah. It is known that the Prophet (sws) drank water while standing up as well:
‘Umar Ibn Shu‘ayb reports from his grandfather: I saw that the Prophet (sws) used to drink water while standing as well as sitting. (Tirmadhī: Kitābu’l-Ashribah)
URL: http://www.studying-islam.org/querytext.aspx?id=928
|
Announcements: |
|
"Quran for All" Series: Surah Duha Uploaded
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, Surah Layl, we have uploaded Surah Duha in the "Quran
for All" series.
Successful Participants
|
Recent
Additions: |
|
Youtube
Videos
Urdu Articles English
Urdu QnA English
Urdu
|
|
|
The Muslim Woman
|
|
|
Please give us your valued feedback on our guestbook:
Studying Islam |