Posted on March 17th, 2013 · Filed under International News
Everything occurs according to preordainment and according to what has been decreed. Such is the belief of Muslims, the followers of Muhammad (Blessings and Peace be upon him). And nothing happens in the Universe except through Allah’s Knowledge, Permission, and Divine Plan.
No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees [Al-Lauh al-Mahfuz], before we bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah. (Qur’an 57: 22)
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Posted on March 16th, 2013 · Filed under UK News
Shaykh Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi is offering a free course on ‘Your guide to Islamic Finance’ at the MYF on Sunday the 17th of March.
From managing your zakat to banking and mortgages, this course will run from 9.00am to 6.00pm and is highly recommend by the myf as a very useful and financially import course to attend for brothers and sisters.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Posted on March 10th, 2013 · Filed under International News
The Event [the Hour or the punishment of disbelievers and polytheists or the Islamic laws or commandments], ordained by Allah will come to pass, so seek not to hasten it. (Qur’an 16: 1)
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Posted on February 20th, 2013 · Filed under International News
Waiting eagerly for the call to prayer, arriving at the mosque before the commencement of prayer, bearing no personal grudges against others, leaving alone other people’s private affairs, being content with the basic necessities of life, studying the Qur’an and the Sunnah, feeling concern for the pains of other Muslims, and being charitable with one’s wealth – these are all qualities of a righteous person.
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Posted on February 18th, 2013 · Filed under International News
And indeed we have destroyed towns [populations] round about you. (Qur’an 46:27)
There is the tragic example of the Barmak family, a family that lived a life of opulence, comfort, and extravagance. Their end, however, has served as a lesson and example for all Arabs who came after them. Haroon ar-Rasheed, the ruler during their period, ordered an unexpected attack on the Barmak family and on their possessions. Allah’s decree came to pass over them in the morning at the hands of the closest person to them: he destroyed their homes, took possession of their slaves, and shed their blood. Their loved ones and children wept at their disgrace. There is none worthy of worship except Allah; those who know the story should especially appreciate the transitory nature of power and wealth in this world:
Then take admonition, O’ you with eyes [to see]. (Qur’an 59: 2)
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Posted on February 12th, 2013 · Filed under International News
Wealth, appearance, children, house, and talents you must be content with your share in these things:
So hold that which I have given you and be of the grateful. (Qur’an 7: 144)
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Posted on February 3rd, 2013 · Filed under International News
It is said: “Whoever acts by what he knows, God will bequeath to him knowledge that he does not know.”1 Thus, as a person practices what they know, they are guided to a deepening of faith, a sharpening of the spiritual faculty, and an intensifying of taqwa. The Qurʾān insists:
While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance, and bestows on them their piety. [Surah Muḥammad,17]
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Posted on January 30th, 2013 · Filed under International News
Concerning His remembrance, Allah, the All-Glorious, says:
Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. (Qur’an 13: 28)
Therefore remember me [by praying, glorifying etc.] and I will remember you…
(Qur’an 2: 152)
And the men and the women who remember Allah much with their hearts and tongues, Allah has prepared for them. Forgiveness and a Great reward [i.e. Paradise]. (Qur’an 33: 35)
You who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance. And glorify His Praises morning and afternoon [the early morning (fajr) and ASR prayers. (Qur ‘an 33: 41-42)
You who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. (Qur ‘an 63: 9)
Aild remember your Lord when you fbrget… (Qur’an 18: 24)
And glory’s’ the Praises of your Lord when you get up from sleep. And in the night-time also, glorify His Praises, -and at the setting of the stars. (Qur ‘an 52: 48-49)
You who believe! When you meet [an enemy] force, take a firm stand against them and remember the Name of Allah much [both with tongue and mind], so that you may be successful. (Qur’an 8: 45)
In an authentic hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) said:
“The example of one who remembers his Lord in relation to one who does not remember his Lord is that of the living and the dead.”
The Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him) also said:
“The mufarridoon outstrip others.” His Companions asked. “Who are the mufarridoon, O’ Messenger of Allah.” He said, “The men who remember Allah often and the women who remember Allah often.”
And in another authentic hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) said:
“Shall I not inform you of the best of deeds, and the purest of them with your Lord? The deed which is better for you than spending gold and silver (for a good cause). And which is better for you than to meet your enemy. And you cut their throats and they cut yours?” They said, “Yes_ O’ Messenger of Allah.” He said, “The remembrance of Allah.”
The following is an authentic hadith:
“A man came to the Prophet and said, Messenger of Allah, the commandments of Islam have become too much for me, and I am old in age; so inform of something that I can adhere to.’ He said, `That your tongue (continually) remains moist with the remembrance of Allah.”‘
Posted on January 26th, 2013 · Filed under International News
Many passages in the Qurʾān extol the significance of the soul or nafs. In one celebrated passage, it says:
By the soul and Him that formed it, then inspired it with its wickedness and God-fearingness. He is truly successful who purifies it, and he is indeed ruined who corrupts it. [Surah Ash-Shams, 7-10]
The Qur’ān also offers this glad-tiding:
But those who feared the standing before their Lord and curbed their soul’s desires, the Garden is their abode. [Surah An-Nazi’aat, 40-41]
The idea of curbing the soul’s passions and of seeking to purify it is reiterated in the following hadith: ‘There are three acts that, whoever does them will experience the sweetness of faith: one who worships God alone, for there is no true god but Him; one who pays his yearly zakat on his wealth with an agreeable soul – not giving a weak, decrepit nor diseased animal, but giving from his middle wealth, for God does not ask for the best of your wealth and nor orders to give the worst of it; and one who purifies his soul.’ A man inquired: What is purification of the soul (tazkiyat al-nafs)? He replied: ‘To know that God is with him wherever he may be.’1
The Qurʾān describes the human soul (nafs) as possessing three potentials or degrees which are present within it simultaneously.2
The first and the lowest degree is al-nafs al-ammarah bi’l-su’ – “the soul that constantly incites to evil”. The Qurʾān says:
…The soul does indeed incite to evil… [Surah Yusuf, 53]
This untamed, unweaned soul is the abode of a multitude of incessant cravings and passions: be it for wealth, fame, power, physical gratification, exploiting others – that is, anything which deflects one away from God and to the lower possibilities of the human condition. Al-Jurjani (d.816H/1413CE) defined the nafs al-ammarah as: ‘It is that which inclines to the bodily nature, ordering [the pursuit of] physical pleasures and carnal appetites, pulling the heart to debasement. It is the abode of evil, giving birth to all reprehensible traits.’3 So, this nafs, equivalent to the English word “ego”, refers to the reprehensible aspects of our actions and character – actions in respect to our sins of omission or commission; character in terms of pride, envy, vanity, greed, impatience, ostentation, and the like.
As the believer strives to purge his soul of blameworthy traits (radha’il) and labours to replace them by their praiseworthy opposites (fada’il), the nafs al-ammarah is gradually weaned away from heedlessness and disobedience to God, and thus begins to give way to al-nafs al-lawwamah – “the reproachful soul.” The Qurʾān declares:
No! I swear by the reproachful soul. [Surah Al-Qiyamah, 2]
This soul is man’s active conscience that is afflicted with regret, remorse and self-reproach whenever the Divine Will is disobeyed and elements of the lower, evil-inciting soul resurface. Al-Jurjani writes of the nafs al-lawwamah: ‘It is that which is illumined with the light of the heart, according to the measure of how much it has become awakened from habitual heedlessness. As soon as it commits a sin due to its natural oppressive disposition, it takes to blaming itself and repenting from it.’4
After much inward striving and discipline, the nafs al-lawwamah is further purified of any opposition to God’s will or shari’ah, and is ever receptive to heavenly outpourings. Here the nafs al-mutma’innah – “the soul at peace” or “the tranquil soul” then begins to predominate. It is this soul that is most worthy of divine assistance and acceptance. It is about this that the Qurʾān says:
O tranquil soul! Return to your Lord, pleased and well-pleasing. Enter among My servants. Enter My Paradise. [Surah Al-Fajr, 27-30]
Having established His obedience and internalized it, it is intimate with God, at peace with God’s decree (rida bi’l-qada’), tasting the sweetness of faith. Al-Jurjani defines the nafs al-mutma’innah in the following manner: ‘It is that whose illumination is completed by the heart’s light, such that is has been purged of its blameworthy traits and adorned with praiseworthy ones.’5
In all of this, four factors are crucial and have a significant bearing in purification of the soul: (i) one’s inborn nature; (ii) his upbringing; (iii) spiritual striving (mujahadah) and self-discipline (riyadah) in adulthood; and, of course, (iv) God’s tawfiq or enabling grace.
Concerning spiritual struggle or mujahadah, the Prophet 
, said: al-mujahid man jahada nafsahu fi ta’ati’Llah – ‘The warrior is the one who strives against his lower soul in obedience to God.’6
So let us roll-up our sleeves and let the work begin.
Our Lord! Grant piety to our souls and purify them.
You are the Best of those who purify;
You are their Guardian
and Master.
āmīn!
References:
1. Al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubra, no.7275. Its chain is sahih – as per al-Albani, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Ma’arif, 1987), no.1046.
2. Cf. T.J. Winter (trans.), al-Ghazali, Disciplining the Soul and Breaking the Two Desires(Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society, 1995), xxviii-xxix.
3. Al-Jurjani, al-Ta’rifat (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2000), 239; no.1931.
4. ibid., 239.
5. ibid., 239.
6. Ibn Hibban, Sahih, no.4707; al-Tirmidhi, Sunan, no.1671, who said the hadith ishasan sahih.
Posted on January 24th, 2013 · Filed under International News
Do not be sad, because sadness causes you to regret the past, to have misgivings concerning the future, and to make you waste away you’re present.
Do not be sad, because it causes the heart to contract, the face to frown, the spirit to weaken, and hope to vanish.
Do not be sad, because your sadness pleases your enemy, angers your friend, and makes the jealous rejoice.
Do not be sad, because by being sad, you are complaining against the divine decree and showing vexation at what is written for you.
Do not be sad, because grief cannot return to you the one that is lost or is gone away. It cannot resurrect the dead; it cannot change fate, or bring any benefit whatsoever.
Do not be sad, because sadness is often from the devil and is a kind of hopelessness.
Have we not opened your breast for you [O’ Muhammad]? And removed from you your burden, which weighed down on your back? And raised high your fame? So verily, with the hardship, there is relief, Verily, with the hardship, there is relief [i.e. there is one hardship with two reliefs, so one hardship cannot overcome two reliefs]. So when you have finished [from your occupation], then stand up for Allah’s lvorship [i.e. stand up for prayer]. And to your Lord [Alone] turn [all your intentions and hopes and] your invocations. (Qur ‘an 94: 1-8)
