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Compiled by: Azeem Ayub |
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Reflections |
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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’.
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In this Issue |
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Reflections
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Read & Reflect
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Debate & Discuss * Discussion Forum: Family & Marriage: Core Issues | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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* General Discussion Forum: Namaz?
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Read and Reflect |
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Religious Tolerance: The Islamic Perspective
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
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Discussion Forum: Family and Marriage: Core Issues
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General Discussion Forum
Topic: Namaz
Nuttynum I would like to now if we can read small namaz, meaning can we shorten it. If we can, wot can we read. Also when reading kiza namaz can we read kiza namaz with any namaz.
Also do we have to wake up for sehri, when we are keeping a fast? I would really appreciate it if my questions are answered.
Tweety You can shorten your namaz by praying fard and leaving out the Sunnah if you have to but if your outside a radius of 40miles**different opinions about distance and time but its more about how convenient it is for you really** from your home then u can do qasar **in a journey**
and you can pray
kaza salah if u have missed it but try not 2 make it a habit
oh and you don’t have to wake up 4 serhi...sumtyms i can’t be bothered either but the prophet (saw) encouraged sahur and sed thers a blessing in it- medically and spiritually advised
Jhangeer Hanif (Moderator) If any Salah has been missed for some reason, it must be offered and we should also seek forgiveness from Allah.
It is better that we say the missed prayer first and then go on to offer the other Salah.
xxbasxx yeah thats what I do, if I have been a daft nut and prayed Asr after the Maghrib Azaan, I pray Asr before Maghrib. This isn't happening to regularly Alhamdullillah.
Loveall What are the explanations of the followings?
1. Salahtal wusta [Middle Salah (Namaz)]- Al-Quran.
2. La Salahta illa be hazooril qalab [No Salah (Namaz) without present heart]- Hadith
oosman So what happens if a Muslim intentionally does not do salat (namaz)? Does he/she get punished for it?
Ibrahim (Moderator) Here are the answers of your Questions according to my little knowledge:
1. Surely the literal meaning of "Salaat ul Wusta" is Middle Prayer (Namaz) & "Asar" Prayer is The "Salaat ul Wusta" as it Comes in the MIDDLE of the Day & Work.
2. the Hadith "La Salahta illa be hazooril qalab [No Salah (Namaz) without present heart]" means that One should try to be attentive TOWARDS Allah in one's prayer as Much as Possible.
and
Dear Brother
OOSMAN
I hope this Helps
Topic URL : http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=1100&lang=&forumid=1
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Pause
and Ponder |
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Question: My problem is that I feel hopeless all the time not just because I think too much but because whatever happens to me is against my will. It is okay if it happens once or twice but it seems to happen chronically. My second question is that I am not good in communication also. I want to become assertive but I think my fate doesn’t help me with this as well. Answer: As long as the wheel of life is destined to move on, problems and difficulties will keep popping up. The Almighty has sent us in this world in order to test and try us. The nature of this trial of life varies from person to person. Some people are placed in difficult times and others in prosperous ones, according to the just and wise scheme of the Almighty. The underlying objective, however, remains to test them which one of them is good in deeds. So, the befitting attitude is to submit to the scheme of Allah because it will lead us to the Garden of Paradise. The benefit, we shall reap, in this world because of this submission, is to be contented and satisfied. Try as hard as we may, we cannot undo whatever Allah has willed for us. However, if we learn to see our happiness in the failures that He has willed for us it will not only earn us entitlement to Paradise but also give us a contented heart.
The second question must also be understood in the perspective of the explanation delineated above. Allah has created people of varying skills and capabilities. Some people are awarded the ability of articulation as good as to become immortal orators and some are deprived of the very ability of speaking. While the former group of people is supposed to prostrate themselves in gratitude, the latter group is required to prostrate themselves in submission to God’s will. I think it is rather difficult to be a good Muslim when you are engulfed by God-gifted talents and skills. Our misery and deprivation remind us of Allah and help us to be closest to Him. So the deficiency that you have related is not to be feared. Moses (sws), the great Prophet of Allah, had problems with communicating the message of Allah to the people. What he did is that he prayed very sincerely to the Lord to compensate for the lack of it:
O Lord, relieve my mind, and
ease my task for me and loose the knot from my tongue that they may understand
my saying. (20:25-8) wassalam
Jhangeer Hanif
URL: http://www.studying-islam.org/querytext.aspx?id=912
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