بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
We say بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم (BismillahirRahmanirRahim) before we start our actions. We say بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم before we eat, before we cook, before we enter the bathroom, before we put our clothes on, before we comb our hair, before we step out of the house, before we turn the car ignition, before we write, before we turn on the computer, before we take the exam, before an important job interview, before we make wudu', before we enter the masjid, before praying, before reading the Qur'an, before so many things that we do. Allah knows how many times we say Bismillah everyday. He does not miss it. May Allah accept our Bismillah as good deeds. Ameen.
But what is it that we are really saying when we say بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ?
When you say بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم you are intending to perform the action in the Name of Allah alone, not in the name of yourself, your friends, your teacher, your boss, your spouse, your children, the person next to you or anyone or anything else.
So at the outset, it reminds us of Allah. It reminds us to make our intentions purely for Allah. Our focus now is towards Allah. We are doing this action for His sake alone and with His help alone. He is the One who gives us the tawfiq to do this. And if He does not will this to happen, even this piece of fish that I am about to chew can fall out of my mouth and be picked up by the cat, or even what I am about to write, will not happen or flow the way I want it, if Allah does not give me the tawfiq.
It is meant for us not to have this feeling of self-consequence or pride, rather to have this feeling of gratitude towards Allah, Lord of the Worlds, who nourishes and benefits us. So we will use what He gives us for the purpose He has created them for us and in the manner He wants us to use them.
Take this simple example, when you put your clothes on your body, it is not to show to people how rich or beautiful you are, but simply to cover your nakedness to please Allah. You feel grateful that He provided you with the means to have this beautiful clothes and a beautiful body to put it on, so you stay away from disobedience of Allah by showing off or looking down upon the less fortunate, for example, and do more good deeds by helping the less fortunate by giving away some of your nice clothes which you haven't worn for many years! And you can think of the many examples that apply to you and take the action. InshaAllah.
And we seek His Mercy and Compassion to give us the blessings and acceptance in what we are about to do.
This is what we should have in our minds and in our hearts when we say بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim, and we follow it with the good action and more good actions with the tawfiq from Allah.
So, pause a little bit after you say Bismillah, and reflect on the blessings. Don't rush your Bismillah (or neglect to say the Basmalah) to get to the action without a moment of reflection.
Teach and remind your children this. InshaAllah.
And Allah knows best.
May Allah brings us closer to Him and gives us tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
If You Want More, You Give More
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Generosity is one of the highest virtues of Islam. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the most generous of people. Generosity is an expression of gratitude to Allah, the Generous One (Al-Karim,) the Provider of all wealth and provision (Ar-Razzaq). If you are grateful to Allah, He swears that He will give you more.
If we claim we are grateful to Allah for His blessings, we should be generous to His creations. If you are not a generous person, you pretend to be one by forcing your hand to give even though your heart refused. One day, inshaAllah, your hand and your heart will work together in harmony in spending Allah's blessings for His sake only.
If it is still difficult to give in charity or pay zakat, remember death will take you and move you on one day. And when that happens, all your possessions will stay behind for others to spend or fight over, while you are facing the trials of the grave alone. May Allah saves us from the trials of the grave. Ameen.
Ali, Allah be pleased with him, said, "The worst person is the miser. In this world he is deprived of his own wealth, and in the Hereafter he is punished."
A miser is constantly worried about money and would not spend his money even on himself or his family for fear of poverty or fear of not having enough. No one like the miser. Even misers loathe each other. This should be enough to turn you away from being one.
"For those who give in Charity, men and women, and loan to Allah a Beautiful Loan, it shall be increased manifold (to their credit) and they shall have (besides) a liberal reward." Qur'an Al-Hadid 57:18
"The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the Way of Allah, is as the likeness of a grain (of corn); it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower." Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:261
"And the likeness of those who spend their wealth seeking Allah's Pleasure while they in their ownselves are sure and certain that Allah will reward them (for their spending in His Cause), is the likeness of a garden on a height; heavy rain falls on it and it doubles its yield of harvest. And if it does not receive heavy rain, light rain suffices it. And Allah is All-Seer of (knows well) what you do. Qur'an al-Baqarah 2:265
May Allah makes us among His generous servants and protect us from miserliness. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Generosity is one of the highest virtues of Islam. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the most generous of people. Generosity is an expression of gratitude to Allah, the Generous One (Al-Karim,) the Provider of all wealth and provision (Ar-Razzaq). If you are grateful to Allah, He swears that He will give you more.
If we claim we are grateful to Allah for His blessings, we should be generous to His creations. If you are not a generous person, you pretend to be one by forcing your hand to give even though your heart refused. One day, inshaAllah, your hand and your heart will work together in harmony in spending Allah's blessings for His sake only.
If it is still difficult to give in charity or pay zakat, remember death will take you and move you on one day. And when that happens, all your possessions will stay behind for others to spend or fight over, while you are facing the trials of the grave alone. May Allah saves us from the trials of the grave. Ameen.
Ali, Allah be pleased with him, said, "The worst person is the miser. In this world he is deprived of his own wealth, and in the Hereafter he is punished."
A miser is constantly worried about money and would not spend his money even on himself or his family for fear of poverty or fear of not having enough. No one like the miser. Even misers loathe each other. This should be enough to turn you away from being one.
"For those who give in Charity, men and women, and loan to Allah a Beautiful Loan, it shall be increased manifold (to their credit) and they shall have (besides) a liberal reward." Qur'an Al-Hadid 57:18
"The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the Way of Allah, is as the likeness of a grain (of corn); it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower." Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:261
"And the likeness of those who spend their wealth seeking Allah's Pleasure while they in their ownselves are sure and certain that Allah will reward them (for their spending in His Cause), is the likeness of a garden on a height; heavy rain falls on it and it doubles its yield of harvest. And if it does not receive heavy rain, light rain suffices it. And Allah is All-Seer of (knows well) what you do. Qur'an al-Baqarah 2:265
May Allah makes us among His generous servants and protect us from miserliness. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Relationship
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Remember all your close friends from grade/elementary school or high/secondary school or college/university? You used to share a lot of things with each other--good days and bad days, good news and bad news, you laugh and cry together. You used to see each other everyday and when school was out, you called or wrote to each other. But where are they now? If you are like me, I don't know where most of them are.
At the very core of every relationship is commitment. If you are not committed to a relationship, you have no reason to keep contact, and the relationship will fade away or die. Most can be revived if you want to put the effort into doing so.
Our relationship with Allah is similar to relationships between people except that Allah does not need us but we need Him in every breath we take. It is said that if you want to speak to Allah, make du'a, and if you want Allah to speak to you, read the Qur'an.
So, it is important that we pray and read Qur'an, not once in a while, once a year, but everyday much, to establish and maintain a close relationship with Allah. InshaAllah.
"Verily, those who recite the Book of Allah (this Qur'an), and establish regular Prayer, and spend (in charity) out of what We have provided for them, secretly and openly, they hope for a (sure) trade-gain that will never perish. That He may pay them their wages in full, and give them (even) more, out of His Grace. Verily! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Ready to appreciate (good deeds and to recompense)." Qur'an Fatir 35:29-30
May Allah bring us closer to Him. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Remember all your close friends from grade/elementary school or high/secondary school or college/university? You used to share a lot of things with each other--good days and bad days, good news and bad news, you laugh and cry together. You used to see each other everyday and when school was out, you called or wrote to each other. But where are they now? If you are like me, I don't know where most of them are.
At the very core of every relationship is commitment. If you are not committed to a relationship, you have no reason to keep contact, and the relationship will fade away or die. Most can be revived if you want to put the effort into doing so.
Our relationship with Allah is similar to relationships between people except that Allah does not need us but we need Him in every breath we take. It is said that if you want to speak to Allah, make du'a, and if you want Allah to speak to you, read the Qur'an.
So, it is important that we pray and read Qur'an, not once in a while, once a year, but everyday much, to establish and maintain a close relationship with Allah. InshaAllah.
"Verily, those who recite the Book of Allah (this Qur'an), and establish regular Prayer, and spend (in charity) out of what We have provided for them, secretly and openly, they hope for a (sure) trade-gain that will never perish. That He may pay them their wages in full, and give them (even) more, out of His Grace. Verily! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Ready to appreciate (good deeds and to recompense)." Qur'an Fatir 35:29-30
May Allah bring us closer to Him. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Friday, October 1, 2010
Guide To Prosperity
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Communication from God does not happen to every individual. It only happened to Prophets who inform people of Allah's intent. People are not responsible for their actions until a Prophet is sent. Allah says, "We never punish until We have sent a messenger." This means that the purpose of our lives is tied with finding the true prophet and following his teachings. Our job finding them is the purpose of our lives.
We know someone is true in his claim to Prophethood through the miracles given to them by Allah. A miracle is a breaking of the normal observed order at the hands of a Prophet conjoined with a challenge to meet it. The miracle is as if Allah is telling us that this man is true in what he conveys and they are from Allah. If one cannot match it then one should realize that he cannot do it himself but through the Will of Allah.
Allah has created this universe in certain order. Every single day we see things working the same way. When a man comes and says he represents Allah and the proof is that the stick he is carrying will become a snake when he throws it, and that is what happens, this is a sign that Allah is lifting the norms of nature for this man and telling the people this man is truthful and he should be followed.
This is the case of Prophet Musa, Allah grants him peace. There are other miracles that manifested in his hands mentioned in the Qur'an, for example, the splitting of the sea. In the case of Prophet Isa, Allah grants him peace, among the miracles which were manifested in his hands were bringing the dead to life, curing leper, and creating a bird from a clay and then breathed life into it.
In the case of our Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, he had many miracles. The Qur'an was the greatest miracle. He lived for 40 years among his people and was known for his honesty. He was not able to read or write. At the age of 40, he made a claim to Prophethood and started reciting verses of the most astounding beauty and depth. These verses that he recited had magical effects on the audience.
The Arabs were people of language who were proud of their poetry and literature. They were people whose pride and dominant art form was beautiful language, who would vie in beautiful poetry. When they heard the Qur'an it was altogether a different experience. They were hearing something which really gripped them. It had them wondering and decided to call it magic and woo the Arabs to stay away from this man.
The verses that were recited to them show depth in language and absolute beauty in them. It is a miraculous eloquence. Eloquence is not about being flowery, but about being effective, using the best words to portray the best meaning ordered together in the best way that suits the needs and dictates of the circumstance. Human eloquence has a limit in which it is able to control the audience--perhaps with flashes of brilliance but Allah's speech is all brilliance--every word and every theme. The One who knows what people need and able to offer it, He is the One whose speech is mesmerized. All of it control the heartbeat, all are relevant, all the meanings are majestic, all of it keep one standing on end going through subtle transition from topic to topic. This was a powerful experience for the Arabs.
As an alternative to the charges of being a soothsayer or a madman or a disgruntled poet, there is the charge of a forger or fabricator applied to the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he produced the Message. This implies that there can be no revelation or inspiration from God. But if this is so, can they produce a work of man that can compare with the inspired Word of God? They cannot.
'Or they say, "He (Prophet Muhammad SAW) forged it (the Qur'an)." Say: "Bring you then ten forged Surahs (chapters) like unto it, and call whomsoever you can, other than Allah (to your help), if you speak the truth!" If then they answer you not, know then that it [the Revelation (this Qur'an)] is sent down with the Knowledge of Allah and that La ilaha illa Huwa: (none has the right to be worshiped but He)! Will you then be Muslims (those who submit to Islam)? Whosoever desires the life of the world and its glitter; to them We shall pay in full (the wages of) their deeds therein, and they will have no diminution therein. They are those for whom there is nothing in the Hereafter but Fire; and vain are the deeds they did therein. And of no effect is that which they used to do.' Qur'an Hud 11-13-16
"Or say they: He has invented it? Nay, but they will not believe! Then let them produce speech the like thereof, if they are truthful." Qur'an The Mount 52:33-34
The Arabs fought battles and died but they did not meet the challenge. Their inability to meet the challenge has been transmitted by mass transmission, which means there is no doubt that they did not meet the challenge.
For those who might say "I don't know Arabic, and so how could this be verified?", the answer to them as well that all our knowledge with respect to layman are based on what expert agreed upon. For example, what we know about the solar system to be true is because the experts agree to the facts. We accept them as facts even though we never been to the solar system. Similarly, if all of the scientist in the world discovered that toothpaste is deadly, you would accept this as true and not use toothpaste anymore. All of our knowledge, with respect to layman, work like that.
It is sufficient to say that the people who were contemporary to Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, were the greatest experts of the Arabic language and they all concurred that this Qur'an is miraculous. They concurred by their actions and refusal to meet the challenge despite the repetition and despite the ease of what they have been asked about.
In fact the inability or the non performance of the Arabs to match this revelation is stronger than following the experts about science. Why? Because they were enemies. If enemies bear witness you are on the truth then you are on the truth. The witness of enemies is stronger than witness of friends because they have an interest to disprove you. The Arabs, in laying down their lives and refusing to indicate that this is a crazy challenge, that it doesn't make sense, that everyone can do this, that we have done that, all of that is the witness of enemies to the truthfulness of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace.
Like fire burns is a conventional norm, if we deny conventional norms, then we have to deny all our knowledge. The Arabs whose ways and religion are being insulted, who hated the Prophet and his message, who tried to kill him and his companions would want to put an end to Islam. The Arabs whose pride and dominant art form was beautiful language, who would vie in beautiful poetry, would stand up to a challenge in their own art. Had they felt that they could have done it, they would have done it and shown the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, to be a liar. Had they shown him to be a liar, he would not repeat the challenge, and people would not flock to him. We know this through mass transmission. This gives us knowledge that the Qur'an is miraculous in its language even if we do not know the language.
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, had other miracles, for example, the splitting of the moon, water coming out from his fingers, hearing inanimate objects and his prayers were answered. The sum total of these miracles have come through mass transmission. So we know him to be true in his claim to Prophethood, which means that he is true and trustworthy in what he conveys from His Lord, which is a book of direct speech from Allah, the Qur'an, and his own sayings, the Sunna.
Every word of the Qur'an has reached us through mass transmission. Extreme effort was put into memorizing the Qur'an from the time of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and in every generation after that. People were preferred over others through their memorization. There were huge efforts to memorize in each city the companions and their students went to. There were huge efforts to document the Qur'an in writing and transmit throughout the lands (Kufa, Damascus, etc). All the sects that have appeared in Islam who denied this and that, but no sect have denied that the Qur'an has not been transmitted.
We have no doubt that the Qur'an "...is the Book, whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqun [the pious and righteous persons who fear Allah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden) and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)]" Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:2
May Allah guides us, grants us tawfiq and makes us among His righteous slaves. Ameen. Please don't forget me in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Communication from God does not happen to every individual. It only happened to Prophets who inform people of Allah's intent. People are not responsible for their actions until a Prophet is sent. Allah says, "We never punish until We have sent a messenger." This means that the purpose of our lives is tied with finding the true prophet and following his teachings. Our job finding them is the purpose of our lives.
We know someone is true in his claim to Prophethood through the miracles given to them by Allah. A miracle is a breaking of the normal observed order at the hands of a Prophet conjoined with a challenge to meet it. The miracle is as if Allah is telling us that this man is true in what he conveys and they are from Allah. If one cannot match it then one should realize that he cannot do it himself but through the Will of Allah.
Allah has created this universe in certain order. Every single day we see things working the same way. When a man comes and says he represents Allah and the proof is that the stick he is carrying will become a snake when he throws it, and that is what happens, this is a sign that Allah is lifting the norms of nature for this man and telling the people this man is truthful and he should be followed.
This is the case of Prophet Musa, Allah grants him peace. There are other miracles that manifested in his hands mentioned in the Qur'an, for example, the splitting of the sea. In the case of Prophet Isa, Allah grants him peace, among the miracles which were manifested in his hands were bringing the dead to life, curing leper, and creating a bird from a clay and then breathed life into it.
In the case of our Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, he had many miracles. The Qur'an was the greatest miracle. He lived for 40 years among his people and was known for his honesty. He was not able to read or write. At the age of 40, he made a claim to Prophethood and started reciting verses of the most astounding beauty and depth. These verses that he recited had magical effects on the audience.
The Arabs were people of language who were proud of their poetry and literature. They were people whose pride and dominant art form was beautiful language, who would vie in beautiful poetry. When they heard the Qur'an it was altogether a different experience. They were hearing something which really gripped them. It had them wondering and decided to call it magic and woo the Arabs to stay away from this man.
The verses that were recited to them show depth in language and absolute beauty in them. It is a miraculous eloquence. Eloquence is not about being flowery, but about being effective, using the best words to portray the best meaning ordered together in the best way that suits the needs and dictates of the circumstance. Human eloquence has a limit in which it is able to control the audience--perhaps with flashes of brilliance but Allah's speech is all brilliance--every word and every theme. The One who knows what people need and able to offer it, He is the One whose speech is mesmerized. All of it control the heartbeat, all are relevant, all the meanings are majestic, all of it keep one standing on end going through subtle transition from topic to topic. This was a powerful experience for the Arabs.
As an alternative to the charges of being a soothsayer or a madman or a disgruntled poet, there is the charge of a forger or fabricator applied to the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he produced the Message. This implies that there can be no revelation or inspiration from God. But if this is so, can they produce a work of man that can compare with the inspired Word of God? They cannot.
'Or they say, "He (Prophet Muhammad SAW) forged it (the Qur'an)." Say: "Bring you then ten forged Surahs (chapters) like unto it, and call whomsoever you can, other than Allah (to your help), if you speak the truth!" If then they answer you not, know then that it [the Revelation (this Qur'an)] is sent down with the Knowledge of Allah and that La ilaha illa Huwa: (none has the right to be worshiped but He)! Will you then be Muslims (those who submit to Islam)? Whosoever desires the life of the world and its glitter; to them We shall pay in full (the wages of) their deeds therein, and they will have no diminution therein. They are those for whom there is nothing in the Hereafter but Fire; and vain are the deeds they did therein. And of no effect is that which they used to do.' Qur'an Hud 11-13-16
"Or say they: He has invented it? Nay, but they will not believe! Then let them produce speech the like thereof, if they are truthful." Qur'an The Mount 52:33-34
The Arabs fought battles and died but they did not meet the challenge. Their inability to meet the challenge has been transmitted by mass transmission, which means there is no doubt that they did not meet the challenge.
For those who might say "I don't know Arabic, and so how could this be verified?", the answer to them as well that all our knowledge with respect to layman are based on what expert agreed upon. For example, what we know about the solar system to be true is because the experts agree to the facts. We accept them as facts even though we never been to the solar system. Similarly, if all of the scientist in the world discovered that toothpaste is deadly, you would accept this as true and not use toothpaste anymore. All of our knowledge, with respect to layman, work like that.
It is sufficient to say that the people who were contemporary to Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, were the greatest experts of the Arabic language and they all concurred that this Qur'an is miraculous. They concurred by their actions and refusal to meet the challenge despite the repetition and despite the ease of what they have been asked about.
In fact the inability or the non performance of the Arabs to match this revelation is stronger than following the experts about science. Why? Because they were enemies. If enemies bear witness you are on the truth then you are on the truth. The witness of enemies is stronger than witness of friends because they have an interest to disprove you. The Arabs, in laying down their lives and refusing to indicate that this is a crazy challenge, that it doesn't make sense, that everyone can do this, that we have done that, all of that is the witness of enemies to the truthfulness of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace.
Like fire burns is a conventional norm, if we deny conventional norms, then we have to deny all our knowledge. The Arabs whose ways and religion are being insulted, who hated the Prophet and his message, who tried to kill him and his companions would want to put an end to Islam. The Arabs whose pride and dominant art form was beautiful language, who would vie in beautiful poetry, would stand up to a challenge in their own art. Had they felt that they could have done it, they would have done it and shown the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, to be a liar. Had they shown him to be a liar, he would not repeat the challenge, and people would not flock to him. We know this through mass transmission. This gives us knowledge that the Qur'an is miraculous in its language even if we do not know the language.
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, had other miracles, for example, the splitting of the moon, water coming out from his fingers, hearing inanimate objects and his prayers were answered. The sum total of these miracles have come through mass transmission. So we know him to be true in his claim to Prophethood, which means that he is true and trustworthy in what he conveys from His Lord, which is a book of direct speech from Allah, the Qur'an, and his own sayings, the Sunna.
Every word of the Qur'an has reached us through mass transmission. Extreme effort was put into memorizing the Qur'an from the time of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and in every generation after that. People were preferred over others through their memorization. There were huge efforts to memorize in each city the companions and their students went to. There were huge efforts to document the Qur'an in writing and transmit throughout the lands (Kufa, Damascus, etc). All the sects that have appeared in Islam who denied this and that, but no sect have denied that the Qur'an has not been transmitted.
We have no doubt that the Qur'an "...is the Book, whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqun [the pious and righteous persons who fear Allah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden) and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)]" Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:2
May Allah guides us, grants us tawfiq and makes us among His righteous slaves. Ameen. Please don't forget me in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
What's Life All About?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Our life is about submission to the Will of Allah. We are expected to submit whether we know the "goodness" of the command or not. It is not acceptable for people to violate what Allah wants from them. Violating Allah's instructions is violating His purpose.
"I did not create man and jinn except to worship Me." Qur'an Zariyat 51:56
Intellect is able to tell right from wrong but this understanding is based on the assumption that matters are intrinsically right or wrong. Neither did God make them such nor the intellect. Rather the intellect discerns this innate goodness or badness in human acts. How can we be sure that what we feel good is good with Allah and what we feel bad is bad with Allah?
Good is that which is pleasing to Allah, that which results in an eternal rank with Allah. Bad is the opposite. There is a Truth that is behind Divine commands. Violating this Truth and acting contrary to Allah's commands has dreadful consequences like in the story of the People of Sabbath in the Qur'an.
We know that life is a blessing and taking it away is going against this. It is wrong to kill someone. Everyone knows that oppression is wrong. Denying one of his basic right to live is an oppression. So, we are sure that to kill someone is wrong. But Ibrahim, Allah grant him peace, was commanded by God to sacrifice his only son, Ismail, and he obeyed the command. It was a good act to offer his son in sacrifice. The Abrahamic way is complete surrender and submission. Whatever Allah wants, Ibrahim was there to surrender. This is the essence of religion--humble slavehood. His Lord rewarded him and made him a father of prophets.
We can understand the intent of God only through Allah telling us. The mind cannot know the intent of God. The mind is not the final source for right and wrong. It is a source of reasoning for the basis of religious belief.
People have values that they see to be universal and these values for them are so universal that they can't imagine not being right in everything. When they see to the contrary they do everything in their power to re-interpret the text. There is an essential problem because we need to know what Allah wants from us, not to know what we want Allah to be telling us about.
"It is not for any believer man or woman, when God and His Messenger have decreed a matter, to have the choice in the affair. Whosoever disobeys God and His Messenger has gone astray into manifest error." Qur'an Ahsab 33:36
If we interpret the law based on our own sense of right and wrong then where do we we draw the line?
"...And who is more astray than he who follow his caprice without any guidance from Allah..." Qur'an Qasas 28:50
Allah is All Wise. His commandments have wisdom. Some of these are discernible to us, some are not. Our feelings or sense of worth are meaningless. Look at where Iblis ended up because he wanted to follow his own sense instead of following Allah's command to prostrate to Adam.
Ibn Khaldun says about the intellect, "Follow what the lawgiver has commanded you of beliefs and practices for He is more keen on your felicity than you, and more aware of what benefits you than you; because it is from a realm higher than yours, and a source more expansive than yours. There is not to detract from the intellect and its insights for the intellect is a true scale, its judgments are certain, no error in it, but you cannot hope to weigh in it...what is beyond its realm for that is hoping for the impossible. That is like the case of a man who saw a weighing scale that is used for weighing a gold and then hopes to weigh with it a mountain--this does not mean that the scale is wrong, but the intellect has a level that it cannot bypass."
The point is not that the mind can tell right or wrong but to bring revelation to the forefront and align ourselves to it.
May Allah guide us and all the Muslims. Ameen. Please keep us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Our life is about submission to the Will of Allah. We are expected to submit whether we know the "goodness" of the command or not. It is not acceptable for people to violate what Allah wants from them. Violating Allah's instructions is violating His purpose.
"I did not create man and jinn except to worship Me." Qur'an Zariyat 51:56
Intellect is able to tell right from wrong but this understanding is based on the assumption that matters are intrinsically right or wrong. Neither did God make them such nor the intellect. Rather the intellect discerns this innate goodness or badness in human acts. How can we be sure that what we feel good is good with Allah and what we feel bad is bad with Allah?
Good is that which is pleasing to Allah, that which results in an eternal rank with Allah. Bad is the opposite. There is a Truth that is behind Divine commands. Violating this Truth and acting contrary to Allah's commands has dreadful consequences like in the story of the People of Sabbath in the Qur'an.
We know that life is a blessing and taking it away is going against this. It is wrong to kill someone. Everyone knows that oppression is wrong. Denying one of his basic right to live is an oppression. So, we are sure that to kill someone is wrong. But Ibrahim, Allah grant him peace, was commanded by God to sacrifice his only son, Ismail, and he obeyed the command. It was a good act to offer his son in sacrifice. The Abrahamic way is complete surrender and submission. Whatever Allah wants, Ibrahim was there to surrender. This is the essence of religion--humble slavehood. His Lord rewarded him and made him a father of prophets.
We can understand the intent of God only through Allah telling us. The mind cannot know the intent of God. The mind is not the final source for right and wrong. It is a source of reasoning for the basis of religious belief.
People have values that they see to be universal and these values for them are so universal that they can't imagine not being right in everything. When they see to the contrary they do everything in their power to re-interpret the text. There is an essential problem because we need to know what Allah wants from us, not to know what we want Allah to be telling us about.
"It is not for any believer man or woman, when God and His Messenger have decreed a matter, to have the choice in the affair. Whosoever disobeys God and His Messenger has gone astray into manifest error." Qur'an Ahsab 33:36
If we interpret the law based on our own sense of right and wrong then where do we we draw the line?
"...And who is more astray than he who follow his caprice without any guidance from Allah..." Qur'an Qasas 28:50
Allah is All Wise. His commandments have wisdom. Some of these are discernible to us, some are not. Our feelings or sense of worth are meaningless. Look at where Iblis ended up because he wanted to follow his own sense instead of following Allah's command to prostrate to Adam.
Ibn Khaldun says about the intellect, "Follow what the lawgiver has commanded you of beliefs and practices for He is more keen on your felicity than you, and more aware of what benefits you than you; because it is from a realm higher than yours, and a source more expansive than yours. There is not to detract from the intellect and its insights for the intellect is a true scale, its judgments are certain, no error in it, but you cannot hope to weigh in it...what is beyond its realm for that is hoping for the impossible. That is like the case of a man who saw a weighing scale that is used for weighing a gold and then hopes to weigh with it a mountain--this does not mean that the scale is wrong, but the intellect has a level that it cannot bypass."
The point is not that the mind can tell right or wrong but to bring revelation to the forefront and align ourselves to it.
May Allah guide us and all the Muslims. Ameen. Please keep us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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