|
|
|
|
|
|
Compiled by: Azeem Ayub |
|
|
Reflections | |
|
In the Name of Allah, |
…
And the List is Unending! We often become thankless to our Creator even though His favours abound. Even a very partial list of these favours would outdo a loss or deprivation we may be experiencing. It is just a question of opening our eyes to the world around us. We need to look at the shimmering sun whose warmth is so vital for life, the glittering stars which light up the heavens to show us the way, the towering mountains which maintain the balance of this earth, the rain which enlivens desolate terrains; the bustling day which dawns to herald new opportunities in life, the serene night which alights to provide us with peaceful slumber, and still closer … the selfless mother who is an embodiment of affection for her children, the tireless father who sweats for the family and dutiful children who are a bliss for their parents … and the list is unending!
And if this is not enough, we need to think of the mishaps we have been shielded from; tales of sorrow and sadness are writ large in our surroundings: every now and then we hear of a young lady becoming a widow, a child being born handicapped, robbers looting the dowry of a poor girl, a sole bread runner of a family being murdered on a trivial issue … and the list is unending!
Our souls should thus be drenched with gratitude and return favours we must in whatever form we can: remembering God in solitude to thank Him for His blessings, being kind to parents for love which is matchless and which cannot be repaid, spending on the indigent who are too shy to ask, bearing ourselves with humility which is not pretentious, controlling anger over the subservient who are too weak to speak out and … and … and even meeting others with a smiling face … and, of course, the list is unending!
Topic URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=44
| |
|
In this Issue | ||
|
Reflections | ||
|
Read & Reflect
| ||
|
Debate & Discuss * Discussion Forum: Understanding the Sunnah | ||
|
* General Discussion Forum: Jin | ||
|
Pause & Ponder | ||
|
"Supplications of Muhammad (sws)
*
Successful
Recent
Additions
|
||
|
Some Issues pertaining to Prophethood
Author Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (Tr. by Shehzad Saleem)
Superiority of the Prophets
Prophets hold a general degree of superiority over all human beings. Consequently, the Qur’ān, at one place, after mentioning some prophets has said: (وَكُلاًّ فَضَّلْنَا عَلَى العَالَمِيْنَ (٦: ٨٦ (And to each We bestowed superiority over mankind, (6:86)). However, at another place, the Qur’ān has clarified that these prophets amongst themselves – specially, the messengers (rusul) among them also hold relative superiority over one another in some aspect:
تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ مِّنْهُم مَّنْ كَلَّمَ اللّهُ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ (٢: ٢٥٣) Among these messengers We have exalted some above others such that to some God spoke directly, others He raised to a lofty status [in some other capacity] and [at the end] gave Jesus, son of Mary, manifest signs and helped him through the Holy Spirit. (2:253)
It is evident from this that God conversed with Moses (sws). In this particular aspect, he was superior to other prophets. Jesus (sws) was given manifest signs and was helped through the Holy Spirit and in this aspect was superior to others. In a similar manner, other prophets were blessed with some aspects of relative superiority. About himself, Muhammad (sws) is reported to have said:
فضلت على الأنبياء بست أعطيت جوامع الكلم ونصرت بالرعب وأحلت لي الغنائم وجعلت لي الأرض طهورا ومسجدا وأرسلت إلى الخلق كافة وختم بي النبيون (مسلم ، رقم: ٥٢٣) “I have been given superiority over other prophets in six things: (1) I have the ability to say what is comprehensive and concise; (2) I have been helped by means of striking awe [in my enemies]; (3) Spoils of war have been allowed to me; (4) The earth has been made a mosque for me and a means to obtain purity also1; (5) I have been sent as a prophet to all mankind; (5) The chain of prophethood has culminated on me.” (Muslim, No: 523)
This then is the correct attitude in expressing superiority of the prophets. At times, the Prophet (sws) has also reminded people about it. Once a Companion addressed him as: يَا خَيْرُ البَرِيَّة (O the best of mankind!). At this, he replied: “Such is Abraham.”2 Once, someone asked him: “Who is the most honourable of men?” He replied: “Joseph, the prophet, who is son of a prophet who is the son of another prophet who is the son of Abraham.”3 Once when a Muslim mentioned in his oath the superiority of Muhammad (sws) over the rest of the world, a Jew responded: “I swear by the Being who blessed superiority to Moses over the rest of the world.” When the Muslim heard these words, he got infuriated and slapped the Jew. When the Jew complained to the Prophet (sws), the latter said: “Do not regard Moses to be inferior to me. At the Day of Judgement, when I will come out of the state of unconsciousness, he will be holding one corner of the throne. He would perhaps not be unconscious or would come to senses before me.”4
So clear is the guidance of religion on this issue; however, followers of prophets have seldom adhered to it; in fact, they adopted an entirely wrong attitude in place of it because of which biases and prejudices estranged them from one another. So much so, severe animosity developed between them which resulted in clashes and conflicts.
Topic URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=470
__________________ 2. Muslim, No: 2369. 3. Bukhārī, No: 3383. 4. Bukhārī, No: 3408. |
||
|
|
yasir_khan: How do you distinguish between sunnah and culture? Who makes this distinction? Is keeping beard sunnah or part of the arabian culture - I couldn't find this listed in the course PDF.
affan:
yasir_khan: Who decides what is sunnah? Since it is not written anywhere, how do you separate culture from sunnah? Why is shaving moustache sunnah, but keeping a beard not part of it?
affan:
There are
certain characteristics/distinguishing features that a Sunnah must have. If an
act lacks any, it cannot be termed as a Sunnah. So, these features, in fact, are
the deciding factors.
yasir_khan: Thanks Affan. That makes sense. Where can I find characteristics that define a Sunnah listed in detail?
ibrahim
Sources of
Islam
snakelegs:
the article
on the link
Mujahid:
Prohibition
of pork, blood, meat of dead animals and animals slaughtered in the name of
someone other than Allah have always been part of deen practiced by all the
prophets of God.Hence these are all established sunnahs of deen e Ibraheemi also
mentioned in the Bible.
affan:
Well, take it
in this way: You knew since the very beginning that the Muslims slaughter
animals. You didn’t get to know it AFTER reading Qur’an. You just knew it. The
basis of your knowledge was the general practice of all Muslims around you. You
witnessed it on Eid-ul-Adha every year. You witnessed slaughtering, you
witnessed the butcher invoking God’s name. Then you became able to read and
Qur’an confirmed your knowledge. Similar was the case with all the Muslims
around you. Each of them learned it from the general practice of the Muslims
around them. That’s how Sunnah perpetuates.
snakelegs: thanks for your answers!
| |
|
kitz_786: What steps can you take if one is possessed by Jin via black magic? How can you protect yourself?
Hkhan (Moderator):
hmm..we shall try 'n make a
course on it soon 'Understanding Jinns' sorry K; did'nt mean to tease you. You may be asking for a serious problem. Let's wait for some other posts/replies from experts in this matter and we'll come in again if required
ibrahim (Moderator):
Question:
Hello I'm trying two find out what the powers of Jinns are and how two get rid
of them when someone is possessed with one thank you
See: http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=2918&lang=&forumid=1
| ||
|
|
Women can't become Heads of State
Question
Abū Bakrah reports: Allah has given me the benefit of a word – which I heard
from the Messenger of Allah – during the days of [the battle of] al-Jamal, when
I was about to join the people of al-Jamal and fight alongside them: When the
Messenger of Allah heard that the people of Persia had appointed the daughter of
Chosroe (Qisra), he said: "People who appoint a woman as their leader will never
succeed." (Būkhārī, No: 4163) Please elaborate.
Answer: This Hadīth suffers from the following flaws: 1. It is evident from the very text of the narrative that it was never known until the battle of Jamal took place in 36 AH. It was brought forward only after 'Ā'ishah (rta) faced 'Alī (rta) in battle. Before that it was never heard of – which of course is quite strange. 2. One of the narrators is 'Awf Ibn Abī Jamīlah about whom scholars of rijāl know that he used to give preference to 'Alī (rta) over 'Uthmān (rta) and it is also known that since Ā'ishah (rta) sided with 'Uthmān (rta), a group of the followers of 'Alī (rta) targeted her to besmear her character. Moreover, the Hadīth can never be applied to the case of 'Ā'ishah (rta) since she never claimed to be the ruler of the Muslims. 3. It is a gharīb Hadīth. In Hadīth parlance, a narrative which has just one narrator in any section of its chain is called gharīb. It makes the narrative quite weak. It is only Abū Bakrah who is reporting this narrative at the top of this chain. The nature of the narrative is such that other companions too should have reported it from the Prophet (sws) but we find none. 4. If the content of the Hadīth is analyzed, one can easily conclude that the Prophet (sws) could never have uttered these words. After all, success in this world was attained by many nations who had women rulers until the time of the Prophet (sws) and even after him. 5. Last but not the least, this Hadīth is against the Qur'ān. It is the purport of the Qur'ān (42:38) that anyone who enjoys the confidence of the majority is eligible to become the ruler of the Muslims: (وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَى بَيْنَهُمْ (38:42 And their system is based on their consultation. (42:38) Nowhere does the Qur'ān exclude women from this general principle. Regards Shehzad Saleem
| |