Radiant Reality September 2013

Regd. Ao.
: 1KEAG/2/4174
Published From Srinagar.
Sept. 213. Jol.14, Ao: 173.
EditoriaI-ControI That Everyday Scourge-Irritation
Question Answer
Lesson from the Qur'an
Lesson from Sahih aI-Bukhari
Think Twice Before You Speak Once
What is this MusIim Rage
TechnoIogy: The Latest Babysitter
The Purpose of Life
Women of Paradise-I
Our EnvironmentaI ResponsibiIities
DeaIing With Grief-III
The Debauchery of American Womanhood
Qur'an on HomosexuaIity
9 Hot Tips for Winter SouIs
Attitude-During Times of DifficuIties and CaIamities
Praiseworthy MoraIs-Rajaa and Zuhd
2
3
5
8
11
13
15
17
20
23
27
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32
35
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Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Sept. 213
2 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
All thanks for Almighty, the most Merciful and Exalted

EDITORIAL
1 he l l t e r a l me a nl ng of
'Shadl' (marrlage) ls happlness. Slnce nlkaah
ls consldered the moment of utmost happl-
ness so thls ceremony ls called 'Shadl'. Sev-
eral tlmes you must have had the opportunlty
to partlclpate ln such ceremonles of your
close ones, you must have wltnessed a num-
ber of marrlage processlons, also, posslbly,
you yourself have had been at the helm ln
organlzlng these functlons. ls your heart at
peace wlth all that takes place at such ln-
stances? 1he flrst stage l.e., engagement
ceremony throws open the door of extrava-
gance when sweets, glfts and other materlal-
lstlc entltles from the groom's slde are ac-
knowledged by the brlde's famlly wlth much
more than what ls recelved. At every oppor-
tunlty and each stage rlght from the onset of
engagement untll and even after nlkaah, the
show of trounclng one another ln lavlsh
spendlng ls wltnessed wlth great lnterest and
pleasure. An unendlng eplsode of functlons
gets establlshed once the engagement ls
over. 1he fulflllment of every slngle custom
coupled wlth partlcular observance, and the
accompllshment of each functlon wlth full
extravagance ls consldered necessary or else
soclal dlsgrace and lnfamy of whole dynasty
ls thought lnevltable.
Cn such functlons, ls lt permlsslble to
expend on falry llghts? uo you support the
unrestrlcted wastage of money on glltterlng
costumes? uo you conslder the stupendous
spendlng on klngly feasts, falr? ls lt rlght for
both hosts and guests to remaln awake for
nlghts together? ls there some sort of per-
mlsslblllty wlth regard to almost lndlspensa-
ble unpleasantness between the ln-laws?
uoes the act of lnstlgatlng sleepless nlghts to
nelghbours caused by the nolse and uproar of
slngers, have admlsslblllty? uon't you see any
harm ln the fact that noble men, women,
boys, glrls etc., [oln such lmmoral entertaln-
ers? ls there any [ustlflcatlon for the custom
of donnlng un-lslamlc, lgnoble, uneasy and
extravagant dresses that shackle one and all,
partlcularly the brlde and the groom, on such
occaslons? uo the argumentatlons, whlch
often turn unpleasant, on the occaslon of
flxlng the Mahr, demonstrate even a mlnute
amlablllty? Also, ln the ma[orlty of the cases,
the amount of Mahr that ls flxed ls beyond
the flnanclal capaclty of the lndlvldual - do
you see any permlsslblllty ln lt? uoes thls, and
the endless customs, practlces, tradltlons
etc., whlch you percelve, carry any sanctlon
from Allah or from Pls Messenger (SAW)? Are
any of these accordlng to the decrees of
Sharlah? uoes your moral code support any
of these actlons? Leavlng aslde the Sharlah or
moral constralnts, can you put forward any
proof based on slmple loglc? ls any worldly or
rellglous proflt extracted from them?
not to make a dellberate mentlonlng
about the shameless and antl-Sharlah cus-
toms of muslc and danclng - acts totally and
unamblguously forbldden, whlch take place
on these occaslons wlthout any notlon of
lmpermlsslblllty now, but, what ls your take
about the practlces whlch have gone global
and have permeated lnto every Musllm
cootJ oo poqe J1
Sept. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 3
uest|on:
ls lt permlsslble to l use a telephone
recordlng devlce to protect others agalnst
wrongdolng and mlschlef.
Answer:
1hls ls a klnd of spylng and lt ls not
permlsslble for anyone to spy on anyone else,
because we have no rlght the [udge anybody
except by what ls apparent. lf we start spylng
on people we wlll have a lot of headaches
because of thls spylng and we wlll be upset
by what we hear and see.
Allah says And spy not" [al-Pu[uraat
49:12] after saylng (lnterpretatlon of the
meanlng), C you who belleve! Avold much
susplclon, lndeed some susplclons are slns.
And spy not" [al-Pu[uraat 49:12].
8ut lf the head of a household sees
lndlcatlons of these evll telephone calls, then
there ls nothlng wrong wlth settlng up a re-
cordlng devlce wlthout thelr knowledge, but
once he reallzes that there ls somethlng go-
lng on, he should not keep qulet and con-
tlnue llstenlng, rather he should rebuke them
stralghtaway, because lf he communltles to
llsten he may hear somethlng that wlll upset
hlm even more. lor example, lf he comes
across a bad telephone conversatlon, he
must rebuke the one who ls dolng lt stralght
away, and not delay lt untll the next tlme, he
must put a stop to lt at the flrst lnstance.
8ut wlth regard to mere susplclon
based on waswaas (lnslnuatlng whlspers of
the Shaytaan), lt ls not permltted to set up
thls klnd of devlce, but one ls sure that the
matter ls serlous and that lt ls actually hap-
penlng, then lt ls Ck to set up a recorder so
as to flnd out what ls golng on and stop the
happenlngs.
uest|on
Cn the day of [udgment one of the
flrst thlngs counted wlll be prayers, as they
have to be complete. Salah and fastlng are
compulsory. l understand there ls a part ln
the Mas[ld of nabl Sallallahu Alalhl Wa Sallam
where lf you happen to pray, lt ls equlvalent
to praylng for some months. l also [ust re-
cently learnt that fastlng on the flrst ten days
of the month of Pa[[ ls llke fastlng for a year.
eople tend to mlss prayers etc. when they
are stlll young when lt ls compulsory. Acqulr-
lng knowledge ls very lmportant as lt ls the
tool we can use to help secure akhlrah. And l
belleve nabl Sallallahu Alalhl Wa Sallam left
us wlth paths to help. My questlon ls that
can these types of speclal Salats and fasts
count as replacements for the ones we have
mlssed ln the past or are they slmply lnvalld
wlth or wlthout our knowledge? lt ls sald
that lf our prayers are lncomplete, Allah out
of Pls Mercy accepts voluntary Salats to com-
plete the mlsslng or lnvalld compulsory ones.
Can the same be sald for fastlng?
Answer
Allah through Pls lnflnlte mercy and
4 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
love has created manklnd ln the best of forms
and arranged for hls needs throughout the
varlous stages of llfe. 1he blesslngs of Allah
are en[oyed by Pls creatlon at all tlmes. 1he
one who acknowledges the bountles of Allah
and submlts hlmself to Allah's commands has
lndeed succeeded.
Allah has ordalned upon the bellev-
lng men and women certaln commands such
as Salah. Pence, the performance of flve
tlmes dally Salah on tlme ls an obllgatlon on
every Musllm commenclng from the tlme of
puberty, the falllng of whlch ls a great sln and
open lngratltude. Powever, ln a sltuatlon
where one prayer or many prayers were not
performed ln thelr respectlve tlmes, lt ls com-
pulsory to compensate by performlng them
later, regardless of whether the prayers were
mlssed lntentlonally or unlntentlonally. [1]
ln the books of Ahadlth, there are
narratlons that lndlcate Salah ln certaln
places ls more vlrtuous then ln others. nabl
Sallallahu Alalhl Wa Sallam has stated:
5olob lo my MosjlJ (MosjlJ Ao-Nobowl) ls
bettet tboo ooe tbousooJ 5olots petfotmeJ
ooywbete else except MosjlJ Al-notom"
(5oblb Al-8ukbotl)
Wlth regards to the meanlng of such
Ahadlth whereln the multlpllcatlon of re-
wards for each Salah ls mentloned, the schol-
ars agree that thls ls ln relatlon to the re-
wards of Salah and not the obllgatlon of
Salah. ln other words, lf an lndlvldual has to
make up mlssed prayers, the performance of
only one Salah ln Mas[ld An-nabawl wlll not
sufflce.
lurthermore, lt ls also mentloned ln
narratlons that nawafll (optlonal prayers)
make up for the deflclencles ln laraldh
(obllgatory prayers). lt ls stated ln a narra-
tlon:
1be Jeflcleocles of tbe lotJb (mooJototy)
ptoyets ote completeJ tbtouqb optloool
ptoyets" (5uooo At-1ltmlJbl)
Wlth regards to the meanlngs of thls
Padlth, the scholars have varlous oplnlons. A
famous oplnlon ls that the nawafll wlll com-
pensate for the quallty of the laraldh and not
the mlssed laraldh themselves. Powever,
there ls another oplnlon that the nawafll wlll
sufflce for the mlssed laraldh. nevertheless,
even lf we conslder the nawafll to be suffl-
clent for the mlssed laraldh, we don't know
how many nawafll wlll compensate for one
lardh. osslbly lt wlll take seven hundred
nawafll to equal one lardh. 1herefore the
scholors have not permltted negllgence ln
maklng up the mlssed laraldh, relylng solely
on nawafll. Powever, we should be partlcular
ln performlng nawafll as Allah's mercy knows
no bounds.
1he same law applles ln regards to
other commandments such as fastlng etc.
ce..ire 1at/
bv |var ;R.) reortea: 1be Me..evger of .ttab ;attattabv .taibi !a.attav) .aia, Do
vot ivavtge iv ece..ire tat/ ecet rbev revevberivg .ttab. ce..ire tat/ivg ritbovt tbe
Revevbravce of .ttab baraev. tbe beart; ava tbo.e rbo are tbe fartbe.t frov .ttab are tbo.e
rbo.e beart. are bara. .t1irviabi
Covvevtar,: 1be baraevivg of tbe beart i. a covaitiov rbere ove veitber tearv. av, te..ov frov
.ttab. igv. vor aoe. ove accet av,ove. gooa aarice ava retigiov. reacbivg. f ove ivavtge. iv
iate tat/ ratber tbav tbe revevbravce of .ttab, bi. beart becove. baraevea, rbicb i. a .igv of
beivg far frov .ttab. Merc,. Ove .bovta tberefore occv, biv.etf ritb tbe revevbravce of .t
tab.
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 5
Commentary: 1afsir Division, Darul Uloom Ilahiya.
Surah Al-Imran - Verse 77-78
un|shment to Greedy
1be followloq wos teveoleJ wltb teqotJ to tbe Iews wbeo tbey JlstotteJ tbe Jesctlptloos of tbe
ltopbet (5ollollobu Alolbl wosollom) ooJ Allobs coveooot wltb tbem lo tbe 1otob, ooJ teqotJ-
loq ooe tbot sweots oo ootb to o folsebooJ wbeo beotloq wltoess ot wbeo sellloq metcbooJlse.
5ure/y those who toke (l.e., excbooqe) o smo// price
1
(of tbls wotlJ) by (bteokloq) the covenont
of 4//oh (wltb tbem tbot tbey belleve lo tbe ltopbet ooJ tetuto foltbfully wbot bos beeo eo-
ttusteJ to tbem) ond their ooths (l.e., tbelt lovokloq Allobs oome lo meoJoclty), for them
there is no shore in the nereofter,
2
ond 4//oh wi// neither speok to them (out of wtotb oqolost
tbem) nor wi// ne /ook towords them (wltb metcy) on the uoy of ludqement, nor sho// ne pu-
rify them (ftom motol flltb ooJ spltltuol lmputlty). lor them there is o poinfu/ punishment
l
(l.e., o sevete polo wblcb wlll spteoJ to tbelt beotts). {l:77)
1. 1hls explalns the general lslamlc theory of morallty whlch ls appllcable to the fulflllment of
pledges and to other moral conslderatlons. We deal ln the flrst place wlth Allah, and we are,
therefore, keen to please Plm and to avold Pls anger. Pence our moral lncentlve ls not our self
-lnterest. nor ls lt the tradltlon of the communlty, nor lts partlcular clrcumstance. A commu-
nlty may go astray and lt may have false standards. lt ls lmportant, therefore, to have a con-
stant standard whlch ls appllcable to both the communlty and the lndlvldual. ln addltlon, thls
standard must derlve lts strength from a hlgher source whlch ls unlversally valued as taklng
prlorlty over what people may declde for themselves or what thelr changlng clrcumstances
may requlre of them. ln other words, values and standards must be derlved from Allah. We
must try to determlne what moral practlces and values are acceptable to Plm and lmplement
these ln the hope that we earn Pls pleasure and remaln rlghteous. lt ls ln thls way that lslam
nurtures man's asplratlon to a more subllme horlzon. (lo tbe 5boJe of tbe Outoo)
All our dutles to our fellow creatures are referred to the servlce and falth we owe to
(Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
Allah. 8ut ln the matter of truth an appeal ls made to our self-respect as responslble belngs: ls
lt becomlng that we should be false to our own word, to ourselves? And then we are remlnded
that the utmost we can galn by falslfylng Allah's word or belng untrue to ourselves ls but a
mlserable prlce. We get at best somethlng very paltry as the prlce for selllng our very souls.
(usuf All)
2. lbn kathlr (ra) wrltes: Several hadlths have come down to us ln connectlon wlth thls verse.
We shall quote a couple here.
lt ls reported ln Musnad of Ahmad (ra) by Sayyldna Abu uharr (8A) that the rophet
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) sald, 1hree there are to whom Allah wlll not speak, wlll
not look at and wlll not purlfy them. lnstead for them wlll be a palnful chastlsement:
'the one who let hang hls trousers, he who sells hls goods wlth false oaths and he who
remlnds of hls favours".
Agaln, accordlng to another hadlth reported by Abu Puralra (8A) and preserved by lmam
Ahmad and 1lrmldhl, who has termed lt a sahlh report, the rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl
Wasallam) sald: 1here are three to whom Allah wlll not speak on the uay of !udge-
ment, nor look at them, nor purlfy them. 8ather for them wlll be a palnful chastlse-
ment: 1he man who refused to glve a drlnk to a traveler from the extra water that he
had, the man who falsely swore for hls merchandlse and the man who gave alleglance
to a ruler and then broke the alleglance at convenlence."
Sayyldna Sald bln Musayylb (8A) has sald that false oath ls a ma[or sln. And Sayyldna
lbn Mas'ud (8A) says, uurlng the llfe of the rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) we used to
conslder false oath an unforglvable sln. (lbo Iotlt - .f. lsbto ol-Moool)
3. 'Affllctlve torment' - lt should be notlced that although drlnklng, gambllng, usury, and mls-
treatlng the parents have been declared ma[or slns, the commltment of none of them prom-
lses the punlshment as severe as those promlsed to those who do not keep the trusts. 1hls ls
because untrustworthlness and falth do not comblne together ln a slngle lndlvldual. Allah or-
dered the bellevers to wage war agalnst the leaders of the unbellevers on grounds that they
are dlshonest.
1he rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) has sald: 1here are three slgns of a hypo-
crlte (and accordlng to the report ln Musllm, even lf he prayed and fasted): When he speaks he
lles, when he promlses he breaks lt and when he ls trusted he does not keep lt". And Ahmad,
8azzar and 1abranl ln hls Awsat have reported Sayyldna Anas (8A) as saylng that lt rarely hap-
pened that the prophet (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) gave a sermon ln whlch he dld not say:
1here ls no falth ln hlm who cannot be trusted, and there ls no rellglon of hlm who does not
keep hls promlses". (Mooot - .f. lsbto ol-Moool)
Dece|t of the eop|e of the 8ook
4monq them (tbe people of sctlptute) there is indeed o qroup who twist their
tonques whi/e (teoJloq) the 8ook,
1
(oltetloq lt by tecltloq lt oot occotJloq to tbe woy lo wblcb
lt wos teveoleJ, but occotJloq to tbe woy lo wblcb tbey bove JlstotteJ lt, os lo tbe cose of Je-
sctlptloos of tbe ltopbet ooJ otbet slmllot mottets), so thot you miqht deem it (sucb Jlstot-
tloo) to be from the 8ook (tbot Allob teveoleJ), whi/e it is not from the 8ook
2
. 1hey soy, lt is
from 4//oh, whi/e it is not from 4//oh, ond they te// /ies
l
oqoinst 4//oh (by osctlbloq to nlm
cettolo wotJs ot tbelt putpott), knowinq/y (tbot tbey ote llots). {l:78)
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 7
1. A book whlch ls changed and fllled wlth forged addltlons and credlted wlth omlsslons can-
not be consldered a real dlvlne book. 1he Cospels now prevalent ln the world do not tally wlth
each other. (utbmool)
2. 1he rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) has warned agalnst dlstortlng the revealed mes-
sage ln the followlng words: "Whoever says somethlng ln lnterpretlng the Cur'an based on hls
own oplnlon should flnd hls place ln the llre." (1ltmlzl) - uul.
Cur'an ls a trust glven to us by Allah - the words and well as the meanlng of whlch we
are supposed to safeguard and avold asslgnlng such a word wlth Allah that ls not ln lt or ls ln
contrast to lts motlves. (uots-e-Outoo)
3. When rellglous men are corrupt they allow themselves to be used as a tool for the falslflca-
tlon of facts. ln thls manner, they take advantage of thelr gulse as men of rellglon. 1he exam-
ple employed by the Cur'an ln relatlon to the people of earller revelatlons ls well known to us
today. 1hey lmpose, on the verses and statements of thelr own revelatlons, arbltrary lnterpre-
tatlons and concluslons, clalmlng that these represent the preclse meanlng lntended and that,
as such, they constltute Allah's message. ln actual fact, however, thelr concluslons are ln sharp
confllct wlth the very essence of ulvlne falth. 1hey are able to achleve thls contortlon because
ma[orlty of people cannot dlfferentlate between the true essence of falth and the true mean-
lng of these statements on the one hand, and the fabrlcated concluslons they arbltrarlly lm-
pose on these same statements on the other. (lo tbe 5boJe of tbe Outoo)
Prearea ovvtie.
.bavttab biv Ma.va ;R.) reortea: 1be Me..evger of .ttab ;attattabv .taibi
!a.attav) .aia, /vor of tbe ta.t of tbe ivbabitavt. of tbe ett to be ta/ev ovt
frov tbere ava tbe ta.t ove to evter ]avvab. e i. a vav rbo ritt cove ovt of tbe
ire, crartivg ov att fovr.. .ttab, tbe Rvbb of gtor, ava bovovr ritt .a, to biv:
Co ava evter ]avvab. e ritt go to it ava tbiv/ tbat it i. fvtt v. e ritt tbev
cove bac/ ava .a,: O v, Rvbb, it i. fvtt v. .ttab ritt .a, to biv: Co ava evter
]avvab. e ritt agaiv go to it ava tbiv/ tbat it i. fvtt v. o be ritt tvrv bac/. .t
tab ritt agaiv .a,: Co ava evter ]avvab. or ,ov bare rbat i. eqvat to tev tive. tbe
rorta. e ritt .a,: .re Yov va/ivg fvv of ve rbite Yov are tbe Kivg. .t tbi.
;i.e., tbe varrator) .ar tbe Me..evger of .ttab ;attattabv .taibi !a.attav)
tavgb titt bi. revotar. rere ri.ibte ava be .aia, vcb vav ritt be tbe ta.t aretter
of ]avvab iv it. tore.t rav/. .tv/bari ava Mv.tiv.
Covvevtar,: 1be geverat babit of tbe Probet ;attattabv .taibi !a.attav) ra.
;v.t to .vite. vt rbite tettivg abovt tbe gift. ava bovovr. abovt av oraivar, er.ov
iv ]avvab, be covta vot bet tavgbivg iv a vavver tbat bi. votar. becave ri.ibte.
1be er.ov ov tbe tore.t eae.tat iv ]avvab ritt be girev tev tive. better tbivg. ava
gift. tbat covta be baa ov tbi. eartb. Ma, .ttab aavit v. ivto ]avvab iv i. Merc,.
.viv.
8 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
Dr. Rafiq Ahmad
1he Book of Ablution
there ls no need to do so.
Chapter SS : Wudu after s|eep. And that who
d|d not cons|der |t necessary to repeat
Wudu after doz|ng or after nodd|ng |n s|um-
ber.
urpose of 1ar[amatu| 8aab
lt ls qulte clear that lmam 8ukharl
(8A) belleves that deep sleep breaks Wudu
whereas llght sleep does not.
nad|th No. 207
Narrated 'A|sha (kA)
Allob's Apostle solJ, "lf ooyooe of you feels
Jtowsy wblle ptoyloq be sboulJ qo to beJ
(sleep) tlll bls slumbet ls ovet becouse lo ptoy-
loq wblle Jtowsy ooe Joes oot koow wbetbet
ooe ls oskloq fot fotqlveoess ot fot o boJ
tbloq fot ooeself."
nad|th No. 208
Narrated Anas (kA)
1be ltopbet solJ, "lf ooyooe of you feels
Jtowsy wblle ptoyloq, be sboulJ sleep tlll be
uoJetstooJs wbot be ls soyloq (tecltloq)."
Comments
Sleep ln ltself does not break Wudu.
Chapter S4 : Shou|d one r|nse h|s mouth af-
ter dr|nk|ng the m||k.
Pere lmam 8ukharl (8A) makes an
lnterrogatlve remark whether one should
rlnse hls mouth wlth water after consumlng
mllk or not.
nad|th No. 206
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas (kA)
Allob's Apostle Jtook mllk, tloseJ bls moutb
ooJ solJ, "lt bos fot."
Comments
ln thls Padlth lt ls mentloned that
8asulullah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) took
mllk and then rlnsed hls mouth wlth water
and also stated the reason for that as well
l.e., the mllk contalns fats whlch stlck to the
mouth. 1o clean lt one should rlnse hls mouth
properly.
1here ls a Padlth ln Abu uawood on
the authorlty of Anas bln Maallk that 8asulul-
lah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) took mllk and
dld not rlnse hls mouth after that. 1here ls no
contradlctlon between these two Ahaadlth. lf
the mllk has hlgh fat content then lt ls better
to rlnse one's mouth and lf otherwlse, then
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 9
uurlng deep sleep wlth a support, the gut
sphlncters get loosened and there ls every
chance that the flatus wlll come out durlng
such a sleep and that ls why deep sleep wlth
a support ls sald to break Wudu. Slnce there
ls no such chance of loosenlng of sphlncters
ln llght sleep wlthout a support, so such a
sleep does not break Wudu. 1here ls a Padlth
ln 1lrmldhl that says:
loJeeJ, wuJu Joes oot become mooJototy
except oo tbot petsoo wbo sleeps lo lyloq
Jowo posltloo, becouse lyloq Jowo posltloo
opeos up tbe spbloctet".
urpose of Sa|aah |s to remember A||ah
Allah tells Padhrat Musa (AS) as
quoted ln the Cur'an:
stobllsb 5oloob to temembet Me".
So, the maln purpose of Salaah ls to
remember Allah. 1hls purpose cannot be
achleved lf one ls feellng drowsy. 1hat ls why
8asulullah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) ad-
vlsed such a person to go to sleep and then
after gettlng fresh, offer Salaah.
Chapter S6 : 1o perform Wudu w|thout get-
t|ng nadath (faeces etc).
Some people belleve that the Wudu
ls a must for every Salaah and some people
say that lt ls not permlsslble to repeat Wudu
when one ls already wlth Wudu. lmam 8uk-
harl (8A) whlle agreelng wlth the oplnlon of
the ma[orlty says that lt ls not a must to per-
form Wudu before every Salaah and one can
repeat hls Wudu lf he ls already wlth Wudu.
nad|th No. 209
Narrated 'Amr b|n 'Am|r (kA)
Aoos solJ, "1be ltopbet useJ to petfotm ob-
lutloo fot evety ptoyet." l oskeJ Aoos, "wbot
you useJ to Jo?' Aoos teplleJ, "we useJ to
ptoy wltb tbe some oblutloo uotll we bteok lt
wltb noJotb."
nad|th No. 210
Narrated Suwa|d b|n Nu'man (kA)
lo tbe yeot of tbe coouest of kbolbot l weot
wltb Allob's Apostle tlll we teocbeJ As-5obbo'
wbete Allob's Apostle leJ tbe 'Ast ptoyet ooJ
oskeJ fot tbe fooJ. Notbloq but 5owl wos
btouqbt ooJ we ote lt ooJ Jtook (wotet). 1be
ltopbet qot up fot tbe (Moqbtlb) ltoyet,
tloseJ bls moutb wltb wotet ooJ tbeo leJ tbe
ptoyet wltbout tepeotloq tbe oblutloo".
Comments
Some people llke Shla are of the
oplnlon that Wudu ls must before every Sa-
laah for a Muqeem (resldents) and there ls
relaxatlon only durlng travelllng.
lbn umar and Abu Musa say that ls a
must for every Salaah whether one ls a Mu-
qeem (resldent) or Musaaflr (traveller).
Pere lmam 8ukharl (8A) has quoted
two Ahaadlth, one of these supportlng Wudu
before every Salaah and other one saylng
that fresh Wudu ls not a must before every
Salaah as 8asulullah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasal-
lam) dld not perform Wudu before Magrlb
Salaah. When Padhrat Anas (8A) was asked
what they (Sahaaba) used to do, he sald that
they used to offer multlple Salaah untll they
broke lt wlth Padath.
Chapter S7 : Cne of the grave s|ns |s not to
protect onese|f (c|othes and body) from
one's ur|ne.
Pere lmam 8ukharl wants to say that
passlng of urlne not only breaks Wudu but
the urlne ltself ls na[as (rltually lmpure).
nad|th No. 211
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas (kA)
Ooce tbe ltopbet, wblle possloq tbtouqb ooe
of tbe qtove-yotJs of MoJloo ot Mokkob
beotJ tbe volces of two petsoos wbo wete
beloq tottuteJ lo tbelt qtoves. 1be ltopbet
1 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
solJ, "1bese two petsoos ote beloq tottuteJ
oot fot o mojot slo (to ovolJ)." 1be ltopbet
tbeo oJJeJ, "es! (tbey ote beloq tottuteJ fot
o mojot slo). loJeeJ, ooe of tbem oevet soveJ
blmself ftom beloq solleJ wltb bls utloe wblle
tbe otbet useJ to qo obout wltb columoles (to
moke eomlty betweeo ftleoJs). 1be ltopbet
tbeo oskeJ fot o qteeo leof of o Jote-polm
ttee, btoke lt loto two pleces ooJ put ooe oo
eocb qtove. Oo beloq oskeJ wby be boJ Jooe
so, be teplleJ, "l bope tbot tbelt tottute mlqbt
be lesseoeJ, tlll tbese qet JtleJ."
Comments
1hls lncldent took place ln Madlna
and as per uhar-l-Cutnl, thls land belonged to
a woman from Ansaar namely umm-
Mubashlr. 8oth these graves were of Musllms
as reported ln lbn Ma[ah and both were of
recent orlgln. 8asulullah (Sallallahu Alalhl
Wasallam) heard the crylng of two persons
from these graves who were belng punlshed
ln there for apparently mlnor slns. 1he sln of
one of these was that he was not savlng hls
body and clothes from urlne droplets and the
other used to be lnvolved ln calumnles.
ueflnltlon of a grave sln
Allaama Sayutl (8A) says that a grave
sln ls that sln for whlch chastlsement or curse
has been mentloned ln the Cur'an. Allaama
lbn nayeem has mentloned ln 8ahr-ur-
8aqalq, vol. 1, that the flrst thlng whlch wlll
be accounted for on the day of Clyaamah ls
Salaah. 1he way ablutlon precedes Salaah,
slmllarly the grave perlod precedes the day of
Clyaamah, the flrst thlng whlch one has to
account for ln the grave ls about 1ahaarah
(purlty and cleanllness) and avoldance of
urlne droplets from falllng on one's body or
clothes, slmllarly, the flrst thlng whlch one
has to account for on the day of Clyaamah ls
about Salaah.
1he putt|ng of branches of a green tree on
each grave by kasu|u||ah (Sa||a||ahu A|a|h|
Wasa||am)
8asulullah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasal-
lam) asked for two small branches of a green
tree and put them on each grave and sald
that thelr punlshment wlll be relaxed as long
as these branches remaln green. 8asulullah
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) came to know
about the ordeal of these two persons
through Wahy. 1o derlve the concluslon of
permlsslblllty of showerlng flowers on the
graves ls rldlculous, lt ls a non-Musllm custom
and has no place ln lslam.
Probibitiov of Deriaivg ove. iveage
.bv vrairab ;R.) .aia: 1be Me..evger of .ttab ;attattabv .taibi !a.attav) .aia,
1ro vatter. are .igv. of ai.betief ov tbe art of tbo.e rbo ivavtge iv tbev: Defavivg ava
.ea/ivg erit of a er.ov. tiveage, ava raitivg orer tbe aeaa. Mv.tiv.
Covvevtar,: otb tbe .iv. vevtiovea iv tbi. aaitb are .vcb tbat if a Mv.tiv tbiv/. tbev
tarfvt ava .titt covvit. tbev be ritt becove a Kafir. 1o aefave .oveove. tiveage veav. to
ai.grace or bvvitiate .oveboa, b, .a,ivg to biv or to ber: Yovr fatber betovg. to .vcb ava
.vcb rofe..iov or Yovr votber i. .vcb ava .vcb , .oava.o or Yov are a rearer,
btac/.vitb, tavvarer, cobbter, etc.
Movrvivg ava raitivg veav. ere..ivg qvatitie. of a aecea.ea er.ov tbrovgb reeivg, cr,ivg
ava tavevtivg tovat,. vav .v^arari .aia tbat .vcb qvatitie. are attribvte. ava act. of
tbe ai.betierer. ava ractice. of tbe re.tavic erioa, or ]abiti,,ab.
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 11
Speaklng exlsts long before wrltlng. Actually
speaklng ls the second oldest thlng after
thlnklng. So manklnd has been thlnklng for a
very long tlme. 1houghts were there long
before the speech was dlscovered and for a
very long tlme man had been thlnklng wlth a
complete sllence untll the speech came.
Speaklng ls a means of ex-
presslng our ldeas, thoughts. lt ls the most
wldely used type of communlcatlon. 8ut
sometlmes lt may also lead to dlsasters and
destructlons slnce there ls a saylng: Words
cut more than swords." whlch ls a very good
saylng because sometlmes one can hurt an-
other so much uslng words. A person can
even murder some other wlth words, ln thls
case the murder weapon ls a word. 8ecause
the sword can be used ln destructlon, but
words can both lead to the destructlon and
also heal the deepest wounds. So, lt ls very
lmportant how we use words. lf we hurt
someone wlth a sword the paln ls physlcal
and lt dlmlnlshes ln long run but lf we hurt a
person wlth words the paln ls always lntact
there. An arrow cannot come back once lt
left. Llkewlse, we cannot take back the words
we have spoken. We glve so much trouble to
ourselves wlth our exlstlng knowledge and
lnformatlonal background that thls knowl-
edge and lnformatlonal background ls not
enough to solve these problems and ellml-
nate that trouble we have got ourselves ln.
Most of the tlme, we cause all these troubles
wlth our own tongue and words.
Cmar lbn al-khattab (r.a) came
upon Abu 8akr as-Slddlq pulllng hls tongue
Cmar (r.a) sald to hlm, Stop, may Allah for-
glve you!" Abu 8akr replled, 1hls has
brought me to dangerous places.(whlle dolng
thls he was pulllng hls tongue.)" (Mallk)
Cur rophet (s.a.w) says: uo you
know the thlng whlch most commonly brlngs
people lnto aradlse? lt ls fear of Allah and
good character. uo you know what most
commonly brlngs people lnto Pell? lt ls the
two hollow thlngs: the mouth and the prlvate
parts." (narrated by Abu Puralrah, 1lrmldhl
and lbn Ma[ah.)
?ou can change other's mlnds wlth
words by persuadlng them ln the klndest
ways whlch ls more lmportant and much
more successful than constralnlng other's wlll
by force. 8ut wlth your words also one
should be so careful ln order not to hurt any
feellngs or make false accusatlons about ln-
nocent people.
12 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
lt ls narrated on the authorlty of
!ablr that he heard the (Poly rophet) say: A
Musllm ls he from whose hand and tongue
the Musllm's are safe." (Musllm)
'Abdullah b. Amr b. al-As ls reported
to have sald: verlly a person asked the Mes-
senger of Allah (may Sallallahu Alalhl Wasal-
lam) who amongst the Musllms was better.
upon thls (the Poly rophet) remarked: lrom
whose hand and tongue the Musllms are
safe." (Musllm)
narrated 'Abdullah bln 'Amr: 1he
rophet sald: A Musllm ls the one who
avolds harmlng Musllms wlth hls tongue or
hls hands." (8ukharl)
Cur tongue ls a blesslng from Allah
(s.w.t). lf you observe the anlmals and human
bables who are unable to speak, we reallze
the lmportance of thls great tool of commu-
nlcatlon. We should be thankful to Allah for
thls nl'mah. 1he gratltude we should show
for thls exceptlonal blesslng lncludes uslng lt
for the sake of Allah, ln obedlence to Allah,
for seeklng knowledge, for recltlng the
Cur'an and to en[oln good and forblddlng
evll. 1hls also lncludes some llmltatlons. Llm-
ltlng the tongue ls to restraln from telllng lles,
slanderlng, abuslng others by your tongue,
backbltlng and uslng foul language.
Allah says: Successful lndeed are the
bellevers. Who are humble (ln khushu) ln
thelr prayers. And who shun valn conversa-
tlon. (23:1-3)
An effectlve way to attaln khushu ln
prayers ls to talk less. Allah (s.w.t) mentlons
about valn conversatlon, valn talk here ls be-
cause the more conversatlons and talks ln
our llves get empty the more we get empty.
And valn conversatlons hardens our hearth
and we lose the deslre to worshlp, unless we
refraln our tongue from slnful talks, lt gets
more lmposslble to reach the khushu -fear of
Allah- and each word comlng out of our
mouth ls recorded ln the very second we ut-
ter lt.
Allah says ln the Curan: Pe utters
no word but there ls wlth hlm an observer
ready." (30:18)
1hls ls why Cur rophet glves the
glad tldlngs that whoever ls careful uslng
thelr tongue ln thelr llves they guarantee the
aradlse.
narrated Sahl bln Sa'd: 1he rophet
sald, Whoever guarantees me (the chastlty
of) what ls between hls legs (l.e. hls prlvate
parts), and what ls between hls [aws (l.e., hls
tongue), l guarantee hlm aradlse." (8ukharl,
8ook 8,volume 82, Padlth 799)
Cne should elther speak a useful and
good word or be sllent whlch ls better for hlm
than speaklng evll words. Cur rophet says:
Whoever belleves ln Allah and the uay of
!udgment should speak what ls good or keep
sllent." (Sahlh al-8ukharl, Sahlh al-Musllm)
Moreover there ls a very good saylng
of lmam Shafl: lf you wlsh to speak then lt ls
upon you to thlnk before you speak. lf you
thlnk there ls good ln lt then speak and lf not
then do not speak."
lt ls among the best characterlstlcs of
a Musllm to speak only the words of good-
ness and reconclllatlon. As our prophet says lt
ls much better to remaln sllent lf one cannot
speak the word of truth and goodness. Who-
ever does not keep a check on hls tongue wlll
regret lt slnce lt ls only us who ls responslble
of our actlons and face the consequences of
what we have done.
llnally, as the hadlth says Cuard
your tongue." 1he reward of thls guardlng
our tongue ls huge both ln thls world and ln
the hereafter.
Wlth the dua to guard our tongues
and thlnk twlce before we speak once."
Amln.
couttesy. tbepeomoqozloe
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 13
llnes and these tlred old narratlves? Agaln?
lt's lazy and reductlonlst and slmplls-
tlc and sensatlonal.
And, frankly, lt's not good [ournal-
lsm, although l suppose lt gets people talklng.
8ut [ournallsm should be better than that.
!ournallsm ls, ldeally, about the dlffu-
slon of lnformatlon, about ensurlng an elec-
torate ls educated, about maklng sure people
are lnformed about the world they llve ln.
And, too, lt's about glvlng volce to people
who generally aren't allowed to speak.
l know. l know. l sald thls ls ldeally
what [ournallsm ls. What lt should be. What lt
should strlve for.
lt's easy, l know, to lay what's been
sweeplng through the Mlddle Last at the feet
of rellglon. lt makes the story so much tldler
and easler to dlgest. So much easler to wrlte
and to communlcate.
8ut lt's [ust not the truth, or, at least,
lt's not the whole truth.
1here's a whole hlstory of colonlal-
lsm - flrst by Luropeans then by Amerlcans
backlng dlctators to conslder. As so many
other people have polnted out, there's also
the fact that those same dlctators that were
l seldom wrlte for the blog, prefer-
rlng to showcase others ln thls space. 8ut l
felt, glven that l study the news lndustry and
have been ln the news lndustry, l had to wrlte
thls week.
l've been seelng the headllnes for
days - you probably have too - headllnes
toutlng the thlngs you must know about
'Musllm rage' or how 'Musllm rage' ls sweep-
lng across the 'Musllm world' or what some
of the causes of 'Musllm rage' are.
1hen there ls, of course, the lncendl-
ary newsweek cover featurlng a plece from
Ayaan Plrsl All on how she, ln fact, survlved
'Musllm rage.' 1hls ls the same person who
clalmed lslam needs to be 'defeated' and
that, once lt ls, Musllms can move onto
somethlng 'peaceful.' As 1hlnkrogress
polnted out, Plrsl All even expressed some
sympathy for one of norweglan mass-shooter
Anders 8relvlk's [ustlflcatlons for hls kllllng
spree, clalmlng to understand why he mlght
have needed to resort to vlolence.
l see these thlngs - the headllnes
and news storles and photos and byllnes -
and my frustratlon rlses. l mean, really?
We're golng to settle on these tlred old head-
Rosemary Pennington
14 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
about people untll l'm blue ln the face be-
cause l belleve ln the law.
8ut because lt ls legal does not mean
lt's ethlcal.
!ust because [ournallsts can wrlte
headllnes about 'Musllm rage' that perpetu-
ate centurles old Crlentallst and lslamopho-
blc dlscourses, does not mean that, ethlcally,
they should.
What ls ethlcal and what ls legal ls
not always the same thlng when lt comes to
news medla. lt's a lesson we should have
learned durlng the Clvll 8lghts Movement.
lf there's any dellghtful thlng to
come out of the newsweek mess lt's what
happened on 1wltter. 1he magazlne asked
people to dlscuss the lnflammatory cover
uslng the hashtag #Musllm8age. (Pashtags
allow readers to follow conversatlons on
1wltter and other soclal medla.)
Musllm 1weeters 'hl[acked' (a term
one person used purposefully) the hashtag -
tweetlng [okes about the 'long llne to get a
camel,'how 'beef bacon tastes llke a broken
promlse' and how one 1weeter 'mlght have
#Musllm8age, but [her] nlqab ls hldlng lt.'
lnstead of engaglng wlth the maga-
zlne on lts terms and valldatlng newsweek's
ldeas about 'Musllm rage,' the 1wltter users
chose lnstead to use humor to show [ust how
rldlculous the whole thlng was.
And, really, contlnues to be.
!okes aslde, the propagatlon of such
narratlves does llttle except reduce dlverse
groups (yes, groups, plural) to carlcature and
stereotype.
And what those schoolyard bullles
told you was wrong, words can, and wlll, hurt
you. Words accumulated over centurles.
Words used to clrcumscrlbe people and dl-
mlnlsh who they are and who they are al-
lowed to be - those words hurt. 1hey create
envlronments where people are to be feared
because of the clothes they wear, because of
thelr accents, because of the name they use
to descrlbe Allah.
propped up, often as part of Cold War strat-
egy, fanned the flames of antl-Amerlcanlsm
ln order to keep thelr people from turnlng on
them.
1hese are [ust two of the many
threads that have helped create thls current
moment. lt seems llke news medla are slowly
beglnnlng to plck up those threads but, [ust
as l feel llke l can breath and my frustratlon
beglns to dle down, l see another story about
'Musllm rage' or another plece wrltten by a
non-Musllm about [ust what lt ls Musllms
must do or a story about amela Celler belng
allowed to post antl-lslam ads deplctlng Mus-
llms as savages ln new ?ork subways and l
feel my hackles rlse agaln.
Are we ever golng to be better than
thls? 8etter than thls contlnual tug and pull
between dlchotomles?
l've seen a lot, too, ln my readlng on
what's happened the last several weeks on
the ldea of freedom of speech and expres-
slon. Wrlters asklng what the llmlts are, oth-
ers saylng one should not capltulate to the
vlolent and we should have the rlght to say
whatever lt ls we want.
l have only one thlng to add, a re-
mlnder, really. ln the unlted States the free-
dom of speech and expresslon that ls guaran-
teed to all Amerlcans ls freedom from gov-
ernment lntruslon lnto speech. We can say
and wrlte and palnt what we want and,
unless we are purposefully lncltlng to vlo-
lence, the government wlll leave us alone.
nowhere ls there a rlght to stereo-
type. nowhere ls there a rlght to carlcature.
nowhere ls there a rlght to reduce dlverse
groups of lndlvlduals to llttle more than the
crayon drawlngs of a flve-year-old.
Cllver Wendell Polmes once sald,
'1he rlght to swlng my flst ends where the
other man's nose beglns.'
l'm lncredlbly antl-censorshlp and
lncredlbly pro-freedom of expresslon. l wlll
argue the legallty of saylng awful thlngs
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 15
Assalamu Alalkum my dear readers. l
read an artlcle thls mornlng that saddened
my heart. unfortunately lt's become very
common all around us and ln the best of
homes. 1he artlcle l read thls mornlng was
tltled ' 1oddlers 8ecomlng so Addlcted to
lads 1hey 8equlre 1herapy'. lt ls dlshearten-
lng to read headllnes such as these, because
they reflect the lack of concern for our chll-
dren ln our effort to 'get away' from them.
What l'm referrlng to, ls how parents are al-
lowlng thelr preclous llttle ones, to be baby-
sat by electronlc devlces for long perlods of
tlme.
?es, l know that as exhausted par-
ents, there are tlmes that we [ust wanna
break away from the nagglng, whlnlng and
the need for constant attentlon from our
klds, and you know what, that's okay! lt's
actually healthy for moms to take a break and
unwlnd now and then. Powever, lt should not
be at the expense of your klds belng 'plugged'
lnto your 1v, tablet, phone, laptop, game
console or handheld devlce all the tlme. lf
you leave your klds wlth someone, lt means
that the people you trust to watch your chll-
dren, should not be keeplng thelr mlnds oc-
cupled ln a vlrtual world elther. Chlldren need
more actlve partlclpatlon and lmaglnatlve
play.
?ou see, what actually happens
when you thlnk you are gettlng a 'break' from
your klds when they are ln thls artlflclal world
for long perlods of tlme, ls thelr lack of atten-
tlveness, lrrltablllty and eye straln. !ust do a
Coogle search to see the long-term effects of
'screen tlme' for klds, and you wlll be
shocked by the studles and thelr results. 1he
temporary satlsfactlon you get when your
chlldren quletly play on these devlces, wlll
come back to haunt you, because the nega-
tlve symptoms may only be seen later ln thelr
llfe. At flrst glance, all the apps and such
seem so wonderfully entertalnlng and educa-
tlonal, that you convlnce yourself that you
are dolng the rlght thlng, because your klds
can now say thelr A8C's faster or learn to
spell a word backwards. l'm not denylng that
electronlc devlces can be educatlonal, but
that depends on the length of tlme a chlld
uses lt, and the programs that they are belng
exposed to.
l also know about the pressure that
parents feel when thelr klds beg them to use
Sister Zaikyya
1 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
cievce c aitb
b, .ttabva qbat
Ovce cievce .aia to aitb:
M, e,e cav .ee att tbat i. iv tbi.
rorta;
1be vtire rorta i. ritbiv v,
vet.
av ovt, covcervea ritb vate
riat tbivg.,
!bat bare to ao ritb .iritvat
vatter..
cav .tri/e a tbov.ava vetoaie.,
.va oevt, roctaiv att tbe .e
cret. tbat tearv.
aitb .aia:
!itb ,ovr vagic erev tbe rare.
iv tbe .ea are .et abtae,
Yov cav ottvte tbe atvo.bere
ritb fovt, oi.ovov. ga.e..
!bev ,ov a..ociatea ritb ve,
,ov rere tigbt,
!bev ,ov bro/e off frov ve,
,ovr tigbt becave fire.
Yov rere of Dirive origiv,
vt ,ov bare beev cavgbt iv tbe
ctvtcbe. of ba,tav.
Cove, va/e tbi. ra.tetava a
garaev ovce agaiv.
orror frov ve a tittte of v,
ec.ta.,,
.va iv tbe rorta .et v a ara
ai.e.
rov tbe aa, of creatiov re bare
beev a..ociate.,
!e are tbe tor ava bigb tvve. of
tbe .ave vetoa,.
thelr tablet, cell phone, laptop or to buy them the latest
handheld devlce or game console. We want to please our
chlldren, and we thlnk that we are showlng them love when
we glve-ln to thelr demands for these devlces. lnstead, show
your love to your chlldren by researchlng about the harmful
effects of uslng these devlces over long perlods of tlme and
then settlng a llmlt on thelr screen tlme, and avoldlng lt al-
most completely wlth the very young of age, 8LCAuSL you
love them!
lf you flnd lt [ust too hard to llve wlth your klds,
unless they are often plugged lnto some devlce, then maybe
you should take a look at your llfe and your relatlonshlp wlth
your klds. Maybe lt ls tlme to formulate closer bonds wlth
them, to declutter your llfe a blt, to let go of some lesser
commltments, or to relleve the unlmportant thlngs that
cause you straln and stress and make you so super busy.
?our klds need your lnteractlon, and most of all, they need to
learn to play and keep themselves busy wlthout electronlc
devlces all the tlme. 1hey need to read books, play outslde,
use thelr lmaglnatlon, bulld thlngs, help others and do chores
to name a few. l am not saylng that l never allow my klds to
use electronlc devlces, because l do, but l do lt very responsl-
bly by:
Settlng a strlct llmlt on the tlme and the place that
they use electronlc devlces.
8elng very selectlve about the programs they use on
electronlc devlces and the beneflts lt has for thelr
mlnds.
Cnly allowlng them to use electronlc devlces after
they have completed more lmportant tasks such as
thelr chores and readlng books.
.uslng lt mostly durlng dlfflcult days such as when
there ls slckness, lmportant paperwork or phone calls
and there ls no other form of help from famlly or
frlends.
Most lmportantly, by not allowlng my klds to start us-
lng electronlc devlces from a very young age, ln order
to allow thelr mlnds to develop ln a healthy way.
Let's do what ls best for our klds and not what ls
convenlent for us as parents. 8emember our chlldren are our
Amaana (trust) and we wlll be answerable to Allah for how
we brlng them up. Let your chlldren be klds and learn to
really play, and ln turn thls wlll help them to grow-up lnto
healthy, confldent and lntelllgent adults, lnshallah!
couttesy. Musllmommy
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 17
Could the acqulsltlon of wealth guar-
antee happlness? Cf course not.
When we hear of mllllonalres or members of
thelr famllles commlttlng sulclde, how could
we conslder the purpose of llfe would be to
galn great wealth?
A chlld of 3 years would obvlously
prefer a new toy to a deposlt sllp for a mllllon
dollars.
A teenager does not conslder mll-
llons of dollars ln the bank a substltute for
movles, vldeos, plzza and hanglng out wlth
hls frlends.
A person ln thelr 80s or 90s would
never conslder holdlng on to thelr wealth ln
place of spendlng lt to hold on to or regaln
thelr health.
1hls proves that money ls not the
maln purpose at all the stages of one's llfe.
Wealth can do llttle or nothlng to
brlng happlness to one who ls a dlsbellever ln
Almlghty Allah, because regardless of what
he or she would galn ln thls llfe they would
always llve ln fear of what wlll happen to
them ln the end. 1hey would wonder what
would become of them and how they would
end up.
Wealth and lts accumulatlon as a
purpose would be doomed to a temporary
success at best and ln the end lt would only
spell out self destructlon.
Pave you ever asked yourself these
questlons?
"What ls the purpose of L l l L?"
"My llfe?"
"?our Llfe?"
eople everywhere are asklng the
questlons, "What ls the purpose of llfe?" and
"Why are we here?" ?ou mlght be amazed to
learn, that lslam ls provldlng clear and con-
clse answers for these questlons.
Most of those who reflect or thlnk
about llfe ln any detall wlll conslder and pon-
der these questlons. 1here are as many dlf-
ferent answers to these questlons as there
are people asklng the questlons. Some would
hold that the purpose of llfe was to acqulre
wealth. ?et suppose they were to acqulre
mllllons of dollars, what then would they
clalm ls thelr purpose after dolng so?
lf the purpose of llfe ls to become
wealthy, there would be no purpose after
becomlng wealthy.
1he fact ls that when people ap-
proach thelr purpose here ln thls llfe from the
aspect of only galnlng wealth, after collectlng
the money they have dreamed of thelr llves
loose purpose and then they llve ln restless
tenslon sufferlng from a feellng of worthless-
ness.
Pow could wealth then be consld-
ered as the alm of llfe?
18 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
So, what ls the use of wealth to a
person wlthout bellef? Pe would always fear
hls end and would always be skeptlcal of eve-
rythlng. Pe may galn a great materlal wealth
but he would only lose hlmself ln the end.
Worshlp of the Cne 1rue Almlghty
Allah of the unlverse [Allah ln Arablc] as a
prlmary goal or alm ln llfe provldes a bellever
wlth everythlng he needs to succeed ln both
thls llfe and the next Llfe.
1he word for total surrender, sub-
mlsslon, obedlence, purlty of heart and peace
ln the Arablc language ls "lslam". 1hose who
try to perform these actlons are called
"Musllms" .
1o a Musllm the whole purpose of
llfe ls "lbadah" or worshlp to the Cne 1rue
Almlghty Allah on 1erms and under Pls Con-
dltlons.
1he term "worshlp" to a Musllm ln-
cludes any and all acts of obedlence to Al-
mlghty Allah.
So hls purpose of llfe ls a standlng
purpose, Worshlpplng Allah by acceptlng Al-
lah's Wlll over hls own.
1hls act of lbadah [worshlpplng,
thanklng and extolllng the Creatness Al-
mlghty Allah on Pls 1erms and Condltlons] ls
for the Musllm, throughout hls whole llfe
regardless of the stage. Whether he ls a chlld,
adolescent, adult or aged person, he ls seek-
lng after the Wlll of the Almlghty ln all these
stages.
Pls llfe here on earth although short,
ls full of purpose and ls totally meanlngful
wlthln the complete framework of total sub-
mlsslon [lslam].
Slmllarly, ln the next Llfe as well, hls
falth, lntentlons, attltudes and good deeds
wlll all be welghed lnto hls account as favor-
able puttlng hlm ln hlgh esteem wlth hls
Creator and Sustalner.
8ecause lslam teaches that thls llfe ls
only a test or trlal for the lndlvldual to show
hlm hls true nature lt ls only natural that he
would accept death as not so much an endlng
to everythlng but more as a beglnnlng of the
flnal and lastlng llfe ln the Pereafter.
8efore enterlng lnto elther of the
flnal lodglng places l.e., Peaven or Pell, there
must needs be a uay of !udgment or showlng
of one's true self to make them aware of
thelr own nature and thereby understand
what they have sent on ahead durlng the llfe
here on the earth.
Lvery person wlll be rewarded [or
punlshed] accordlng to thelr attltude, appre-
clatlon and efforts durlng thls stay on earth.
none wlll be asked about the actlons and
bellefs of others, nor wlll anyone be asked
regardlng that whlch he was unaware of or
lncapable of dolng.
As the llfe here ls consldered as an
examlnatlon for the lndlvldual, the death
stage ls consldered as a restlng perlod after
the test. lt could be easy for those who were
falthful and dedlcated or lt could be gruellng
and horrlble for the wlcked.
8eward and punlshment wlll be ln
dlrect proportlon to each person and lt ls only
Allah, alone who wlll be the llnal !udge over
us all.
So ln the teachlngs of the 1rue Sur-
render, Submlsslon, Cbedlence, ln Slncerlty
and eace to the Almlghty Cne Cod [lslam],
the llne of llfe and lts purpose ls loglcal, clear
and slmple:
1he flrst llfe ls a test
1he llfe ln the grave ls a restlng or
waltlng place before the uay of !udgment
1he uay of !udgment brlngs about
the clear understandlng of what wlll now
happen to the lndlvldual based on hls own
deslres and actlons
1he ermanent or Afterllfe wlll elther
be spend ln luxurlous splendor or mlserable
punlshment .
lollowlng thls clear understandlng of
llfe, the Musllm's purpose ls clear.
llrst of all, he has no doubt ln hls
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 19
mlnd that:
he ls only created by Allah
he ls golng to spend a perlod of tlme ln
thls materlal world [called "Ad uunyah" ln
Arablc]
he knows he wlll dle
he knows he wlll spend tlme ln the grave,
elther pleasant or dlfflcult dependlng on
hls own cholce of attltude and actlons
he knows he wlll be resurrected for the
uay of !udgment
he knows he wlll be [udged accordlng to
the most falr of standards by Allah the
Almlghty, the All knowlng he reallzes hls
attltude and actlons are golng to come
under very close scrutlny
he knows that thls short llfe compared to
the Lternal Llfe was ln fact, only for a test
1hls llfe ls very meanlngful and pur-
poseful to the 8ellevlng Musllm, as he real-
lzes that lt wlll determlne ls outcome and
permanent posltlon ln the next Llfe.
1he Musllm's permanent purpose ls
to Surrender, Submlt, Cbey, ln urlty and
eace to Allah the Almlghty, carrylng out Pls
Crders and staylng ln some form of worshlp
to Plm as much as posslble everyday.
1hls lncludes the orders of Allah ln
Pls 8ook, the Poly Curan and Pls flnal Mes-
senger and rophet Muhammad, Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam as follows:
8ellevlng and declarlng that "1here ls
no god throughout all the Creatlon of Allah
that ls worthy of worshlp, all worshlp ls due
only to Allah, alone and Pe has no partners or
helpers nor does Pe share Pls Lordshlp wlth
any of Pls creatlons. And Muhammad, the
son of Abdullah lbn Abdul Mutalllb (1430
years ago) ls the last and flnal messenger and
servant of Almlghty Allah, and ls the culmlna-
tlon ln a long llne of prophets sent to man-
klnd throughout man's hlstory, lncludlng
Adam, noah, Abraham, Moses, uavld, Solo-
mon, !esus Chrlst, may Almlghty Allah's eace
and 8lesslngs be upon them all."
Lstabllshlng the regular flve tlmes rltualls-
tlc prayer [salat] ln the stated tlmes (ln the
mosques for the men when posslble)
aylng the charlty tax [Zakat = about 2.3
of one's holdlngs - not hls lncome, annu-
ally]
lastlng the month of 8amadhan [lunar
calendar]
llgrlmage to the Pouse of Allah ln Mecca
at least once ln the llfe of the person, pro-
vlded he has the ablllty and the way ls safe
lor a dlsbellever the purpose of thls llfe ls to
collect and amass great wealth, money,
power and posltlon. Cver lndulglng ln eatlng,
drlnklng, drugs, sex and gambllng are a hlgh
prlorlty to them. 8ut all of thls wlll not avall
them anythlng good ln the grave, on the uay
of !udgment or ln the next Llfe. Lventually he
wlll be faced wlth the questlon:
now what?
What's next?
Where am l golng?
What wlll happen to me?
Pe wlll come to know. lor sure he
wlll come to know. 8ut then what wlll the
knowledge avall hlm?
Look how lslam solves the mystery of
the puzzle of llfe. lt provldes the answers to
the questlons and concerns of the human
belngs on all levels and ln every aspect. lt ls
really qulte slmple.
1he purpose of llfe as understood by
the 8ellevlng Musllm can be slmply stated ln
only two (2) words: Cbey Allah.
Cur only purpose and salvatlon lle ln
these two words.
We must come to know our Creator,
Sustalner and ultlmate !udge. We must learn
to belleve ln Plm, thank Plm, pralse Plm,
honor Plm and worshlp Plm, alone wlthout
any partners from Pls Creatlon. We must
learn about Pls Messengers and rophets,
peace be upon them, and the message wlth
whlch they were all sent. We must learn the
cootJ oo poqe J4
2 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
We often hear speakers ln lrlday
prayer or ln admonltlons talklng about ara-
dlse and all of us flnd our hearts, mlnds and
thoughts tuned on to that 'frequency'. Pow-
ever, ma[orlty of the speakers talk about
aradlse as lf lt were a house for men only.
8eallty ls not llke that. aradlse ls for the be-
llevlng men and women. 1he only prlce for lt
ls sound bellef ln Allah, love of Allah and Pls
Messenger (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam), and
obedlence to Allah and Pls Messenger
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam).
ln what follows are the glad tldlngs
glven by the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam), to some of the women
among hls companlons.
narrated Alsha (8A): l dld not feel
[ealous of any of the wlves of the rophet as
much as l dld of khadl[ah (8A) (although) she
dled before he marrled me, for l often heard
hlm mentlonlng her, and Allah had told hlm
to glve her the good tldlngs that she would
have a palace of Casab (l.e. plpes of preclous
stones and pearls ln aradlse), and whenever
he slaughtered a sheep, he would send her
women-frlends a good share of lt. [8ukharl]
Anas (8A) reports that the Messen-
ger of Allah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam), sald:
'1he best women of manklnd are four:
Marlam daughter of 'lmran, Asslya wlfe of
haraoh, khadl[ah daughter of khuwallld, and
latlma the daughter of the Messenger of Al-
lah.' [8ukharl and Musllm]
narrated Abu Purayrah (8A): !lbrll
(Cabrlel) came to the rophet (S) and sald, 'C
Allah's Apostle! 1hls ls khadl[ah comlng to
you wlth a dlsh havlng meat soup (or some
food or drlnk). When she reaches you, greet
her on behalf of her Lord (l.e. Allah) and on
my behalf, and glve her the glad tldlngs of
havlng a Casab (palace ln aradlse) whereln
there wlll be nelther any nolse nor any fa-
tlgue (trouble).' [8ukharl]
narrated 'Ata bln Abl 8abah (ra): lbn
'Abbas (8A) sald to me, 'Shall l show you a
woman of the people of aradlse?' l sald,
'?es.' Pe sald, '1hls black woman came to the
rophet (S) and sald, 'l get attacks of epllepsy
and my body becomes uncovered, please
lnvoke Allah for me.' 1he rophet sald (to
her), 'lf you wlsh, be patlent and you wlll
have (enter) aradlse, and lf you wlsh, l wlll
lnvoke Allah to cure you.' She sald, 'l wlll re-
maln patlent,' and added, 'but l become un-
covered, so please lnvoke Allah for me that l
may not become uncovered.' So he lnvoked
Allah for her.' [8ukharl]
1he aforementloned ahadlth clearly
state the stature of some of the women glven
the glad tldlngs of !annah (aradlse). What
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 21
can the women of today do ln order to
achleve that plnnacle of success, aradlse?
1o do so one MuS1 learn how these
women llved, how they behaved, how they
spoke, how they dressed, how they walked,
etc. We wlll try to learn from the black
woman mentloned ln the last Padlth, ln-
sha'Allah. 1he black woman ls not even
known by her name, or her exact where-
abouts, rather she ls known by her deeds, her
falth, her modesty, her chastlty, and for her
belng an lnmate of aradlse. And, ln the end,
that ls what matters most. When Abdullah
lbn Abbas (8A) sald 'thls black woman', he dld
not mean to polnt at her race or to bellttle
her ln any way. lndeed, he but meant to
teach the people around hlm a great prlnclple
of lslam whlch ls mentloned ln the verse, [ln
the meanlng of]:
'O people! we bove cteoteJ you ftom o moo
ooJ o womoo ooJ moJe you loto peoples ooJ
ttlbes so tbot you moy koow eocb otbet, vetlly
tbe most boootoble omooq you lo tbe slqbt of
Allob ote tbe most plous.' j49.1J]
1he same prlnclple ls mentloned ln
the Padlth: 'Allah does not look at your plc-
tures (shapes) and bodles but Pe looks at
your hearts (and your deeds).' [Musllm]
She (the black woman) was physl-
cally slck, yet she sought cure ln the uu'a of
the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wa-
sallam). She knew that the one who cures,
ash-Shafl, ls Allah, and Allah would answer
the uu'a of Pls Messenger (Sallallahu Alalhl
Wasallam). We conclude from thls that uu'a
heals all dlseases be they of the body or of
the heart. When commentlng on thls Padlth,
al-Pafldh lbn Pa[ar (ra) sald: 'lt ls lnferred
from thls Padlth that the cure of dlseases
through uu'a and suppllcatlon to Allah (wa al-
lltl[a' lla Allah) ls the most successful way of
heallng, but thls cannot be fulfllled unless
two condltlons are satlsfled: pure lntentlon
and slncere trust ln the effectlveness of the
uu'a, and rlghteousness and rellance on Al-
lah.
1he fact that the rophet (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) sald: 'lf you wlsh, be patlent
and you wlll have (enter) aradlse' ls a proof
for the vlrtue and reward of patlence durlng
slckness. ln another Padlth, he (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam), says: 'Whenever a hardshlp
affects the Musllm, he wlll be forglven for lt
even when he ls plcked by a splke.' [Musllm]
And ln another Padlth, also narrated
by Musllm, ummu as-Sa'lb cursed fever, to
whlch the rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasal-
lam) told her: 'uo not curse fever, for lt takes
away the slns llke the blaze [flre] takes away
the lmpurltles of lron.' 1he black woman pre-
ferred the sufferlng of thls world to get the
eternal reward of aradlse! She suffered
from slckness, yet her paln and dlscomfort
dld not force her to forego pleaslng Allah!
And no matter who one ls, lf one ls ln the
path of Allah, one wlll encounter dlfflcultles,
because aradlse ls rounded by hardshlps. lf
thlngs are easy and llfe ls rosy, then one must
check oneself, are we followlng the true ls-
lam? Lspeclally ln present day envlronment lt
may be dlfflcult for a young woman to wear
the dress of modesty, the Pl[ab (even though
lt ls mandatory), not to talk to men and keep
away from them (whlch ls also mandatory),
except lf necessary.
All these may be dlfflcult to achleve
for some ln the beglnnlng, but when one
overcomes herself for the sake of Allah, then
all the other obstacles become baseless. So,
how to overcome oneself? 8y knowlng Allah
by Pls names and attrlbutes, by lovlng and
obeylng Allah and Pls Messenger (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam), and then the help of Allah
wlll come, lnsha'Allah. She (the black woman)
preferred belng patlent, but could not toler-
ate that her honor, her modesty and her
chastlty be damaged or even touched, nor
that any part of her body be uncovered,
though she had no control over lt. lndeed she
was a real slave and servant of Allah, she was
22 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
a falthful, a bellever, a Musllmah, a rlghteous
and plous woman, a truthful woman, and she
was loyal to Allah and Pls Messenger
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam). not only havlng
these awe-lnsplrlng qualltles, she was also a
wlse and a great woman, as her memorable
words rang ...: '... but l become uncovered, so
please lnvoke Allah for me that l may not be-
come uncovered.'
lf words are to be wrltten ln gold,
these words should be wrltten ln gold ... 8e-
member thls slmple equatlon:
Iman + Suffer|ng + at|ence = arad|se
lt can also be lnferred that the rlght-
eous Musllm woman lnherently loves to be
covered, loves modesty and chastlty and
hates reveallng her body and her beauty. 1he
black woman could sustaln belng so slck but
could not bear to be uncovered ln front of
people.
1he lssue, one must understand, ls
not of black or whlte or Arab or non-Arab,
rlch or poor, noble [wlth llneage] or not, lt ls
rather of a creed so deeply rooted ln the
hearts of Musllms llke blood flows ln the ar-
terles and velns of people. 1hey are those
who are totally commltted to lslam. lourteen
hundred years of hlstory showed that Musllm
women could sustaln hunger, poverty, slck-
ness but could never sustaln dlsobeylng Allah.
1he wlfe would tell her husband when leav-
lng for work: 'lear Allah ln us, for we can sus-
taln hunger and thlrst but we cannot sustaln
Pell flre [l.e. do not acqulre unlawful earn-
lng].'
uear slsters, ask yourself what made
khadl[ah (8A) be greeted by Allah and by !l-
brll (AS). Ask yourself what made khadl[ah
(8A) be rewarded a alace ln !annah as no
one can lmaglne. 8eadlng the blography of
khadl[ah and others llke her ln greatness, one
would wlsh to be at thelr servlce, to carry
thelr shoes, wash thelr clothes, to serve them
ln any posslble way and get uu'a from them.
lt ls sad that we [ust don't know the great
personalltles of thls ummah. lf only we strlve
to study the llves of the rlghteous that pre-
ceded us, we would flnd ln them lmmense
guldance for our exlstence, and lf we know
them and follow them we could be ln the
forefront of manklnd ...
lt ls sald, 'lman (falth) ls not by hope,
lt ls rather what occurs ln the heart and ls
proved by the deeds [maa waqa'a fll qalbl wa
saddaqahul-'amal].' We leave you to thlnk
about thls and pray to Allah to make us all
among the dwellers of aradlse and to be-
stow upon us the falth and the patlence that
lead us to aradlse. And to bless the present
Musllm ummah wlth many women llke the
black woman, who help us focus on the
stralght path .
cootJ ftom poqe J6
that ls the bltter cold, and lts breath ln the
summer ls the extreme heat."
Among the vlrtues of wlnter ls that lt
remlnds one of the extreme cold of Pell and
pushes one to seek refuge from lt and to do
such noble actlons that wlll ensure one ls pro-
tected from !ahannam (Pell)!
May Allah - Most Plgh, enable us all
to make best use of the approachlng wlnter.
Ameen.
cootJ ftom poqe J8
So, a true bellever can face hls dlffl-
cultles wlth a posltlve state of mlnd hoplng
for rewards from Allah and such an attltude
can provlde true rellef and happlness. 8e-
sldes, lf Allah llfts thls calamlty from the be-
llever and saves hlm from the torment, then
that can double the reward and happlness.
Allah says ln the Curan: . and glve glad tld-
lngs to As-Sablrun (the patlent)."
Who, when affllcted wlth calamlty,
say: 1ruly! 1o Allah we belong and truly, to
Plm we shall return."
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 23
Musllms have many scrlptural lm-
peratlves that demand we work for the pres-
ervatlon and health of our envlronment. As
we enter an era where the prospect of envl-
ronmental catastrophe ls perhaps greater
than the prospect of dlsaster from any other
source, lt ls especlally lmportant that we
make envlronmental protectlon one of our
most presslng prlorltles.
ln a talk l gave at the London School
of Lconomlcs on lslam and the envlronment, l
sald that when one conslders the dlsmal re-
cord of the Musllm natlon-states ln deallng
wlth envlronmental lssues, and the vlrtual
lack of any slgnlflcant grassroots envlron-
mental organlzatlons ln those countrles, one
may flnd lt strange that a Musllm should
speak about thls toplc.
1hls sentlment ls only relnforced by
the fact that the varlous lslamlc movements,
whlch have become the maln opponents of
the reglmes governlng those states, lack even
the semblance of an envlronmental agenda.
Powever, the lnformed Musllm can easlly
speak on lslam and the envlronment for a
number of reasons. llrst of all, lslam ls de-
scrlbed ln the Cur'an as the rellglon of na-
ture. Allah declares: "1herefore, orlent your-
self, wlth all due slncerlty and uprlghtness
towards the natural rellglon, thls ls conslstent
wlth the nature Pe (Allah) has created ln hu-
manklnd. never wlll there be any change ln
that nature, thls ls the stralght way. Powever,
most of humanlty reallzes lt not." (30:30)
Pavlng created us, and then through
the lnstltutlon of rellglon orlented us towards
Plm, our Creator then sltuated us ln a dell-
cate, lntrlcate system where our success, and
lndeed the perpetuatlon of that system, rests
ln malntalnlng a balance between all thlngs.
Pe says ln the Cur'an:
"1be Metclful. ne bos touqbt tbe Out'oo. ne
bos cteoteJ tbe bumoo beloq. ne bos touqbt
blm elocutloo. 1be suo ooJ mooo flow olooq
lo tbelt estobllsbeJ otblts. 1be stots ooJ ttees
teclloe tbemselves bumbly lo ptosttotloo. ne
bos tolseJ oloft tbe fltmomeot of tbe sky ooJ
estobllsbeJ tbe bolooce. 1betefote, cbeot oot
lo molotololoq tbe bolooce. stobllsb just
meosute ooJ Jo oot foll sbott lo molotololoq
tbe bolooce." (54.1-9)
ln thls group of verses, Allah enumer-
ates some of Pls 8lesslngs to humanlty. Pe
starts by mentlonlng the Ma[estlc Cur'an. As
Zaid Shakir
24 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
Musllms, we belleve that the Cur'an contalns
the endurlng message of Allah to humanlty.
lts guldance deflnes the worldvlew of the
consclentlous bellever. Allah remlnds us:
"8emember the blesslng of Allah upon you,
and the Scrlpture and Wlsdom that Pe has
revealed unto you, by way of admonltlon. 8e
mlndful of Allah, and be assured that Pe
knows all thlngs." (2:231)
Pe then mentlons Pls creatlon of the
human belng. 1hls creatlon ls mentloned af-
ter Pls teachlng the Cur'an. ln other words,
Allah has facllltated our success before our
actual creatlon. lrom thls we should under-
stand that Allah deslres that we succeed ln
thls llfe. 1hls ls conslstent wlth Pls saylng:
"Allah has made falth beloved to you, and
adorned lt ln your hearts. And Pe has caused
you to hate dlsbellef, corruptlon, and
sln." (49:7)
Pe then mentlons Pls teachlng hu-
manlty clear speech, elocutlon. Pe has glven
us the ablllty to express our thoughts, emo-
tlons, feellngs and sentlments. lmam al-
8aydawl says ln hls commentary on thls verse
that thls ls the greatest encouragement for
man to express hls gratltude to Allah for Pls
blesslngs. An lndlvldual may lack the means
to express hls appreclatlon for a favor wlth a
glft or some other materlal possesslon. Pow-
ever, he never lacks the means to express hls
thanks verbally. lt ls as lf Allah ls saylng to
humanlty, "l've created you, gulded you, and
facllltated the means for you to thank me."
After thls Pe enumerates some of Pls
blesslngs, all are to be found ln the world of
nature. Pe mentlons the "sun and moon
flowlng along ln thelr establlshed orblts." 1he
predlctablllty of thelr orblts lncrease thelr
beneflt to humanlty as slgns for guldance,
markers of tlme, and regulators of the tldes
and wlnds.
"1he stars and trees bow ln prostra-
tlon..." 1he stars prostrate by wllllngly ac-
ceptlng the ulvlne uecree governlng thelr
arrangement lnto constellatlons. 1hese con-
stellatlons are an adornment for the sky, and
a source of guldance for humanlty. 1he trees
do so by acceptlng the determlnatlon that
they dellver thelr frult conslstently and unl-
formly ln an appolnted season. 1hls regularlty
makes posslble the harvests, whlch provlde
repeated beneflt to humanlty. 1he trees also
absorb carbon dloxlde from the atmosphere
and help to replenlsh our supply of oxygen.
All of these processes are based on laws es-
tabllshed by Allah.
"We have ralsed aloft the flrmament
of the sky and establlshed the balance..." Al-
lah has crowned the beneflts Pe has be-
stowed upon us by ralslng over us the ml-
raculous canopy of the sky, whlch protects
us, the anlmals, the plants, and helps to pre-
serve the stored up reposltorles of water
found ln glaclers and the polar lce caps. Pe
then declares that Pe has "establlshed the
balance." 1he balance mentloned here ls a
symbol of the [ustlce that must characterlze
all of our transactlons. 1hose transactlons
must be based on a system of equltable re-
clproclty and they lnvolve our lnteractlons
wlth everythlng on earth. Lverythlng ln thls
creatlon glves and takes falrly: the plants,
anlmals, seas, wlnds and the Larth.
Pumans also glve and take. Powever,
we often take more than we glve. We
thereby oppress our fellow humans, the land,
the sea, the plants, and beasts. Cur Creator,
most knowledgeable of thls propenslty, ad-
vlses us: "1herefore, cheat not ln malntalnlng
the balance." ln other words, do not take
more than you glve! lor lf you cheat ln thls
great transactlon, you are denylng my bless-
lngs, and lf you deny my blesslngs, l wlll wlth-
draw them from you. ln thls regard, Allah
proclalms: "lf you glve thanks [for My bless-
lngs], l shall lncrease you ln them, and lf you
refuse [to thank Me], you should know that
my punlshment ls qulte severe." (7:167)
What we are wltnesslng ln our world
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 25
ls the fallure of humanlty to malntaln the bal-
ance, and that fallure has led to unfathom-
able consequences for the land, the sea, and
all of the creatures thereln. 1he Cur'an glves
us an lnslghtful descrlptlon of thls condltlon
when lt declares: "Corruptlon has appeared
on the land and ln the sea because of what
the hands of humans have wrought. 1hls ls ln
order that we glve them a taste of the conse-
quences of thelr destructlveness ln order that
they wlll return to the path of rlght guld-
ance." (30:41) Cur'anlc exegetes have de-
scrlbed thls corruptlon as the drylng up of the
ralns, the dlsappearance of the harvest of the
sea, and other ecologlcally relevant mean-
lngs.
Cne could well look at these and
slmllar lslamlc teachlngs and ask lf they had a
practlcal manlfestatlon ln lslamlc socletles.
1he answer ls yes. 1he protectlon of natural
habltat, the well-belng of anlmals, and re-
lated responslbllltles were often overseen by
appolnted offlclals, members of the world's
flrst envlronmental protectlon agencles. lor
example, lmam 1a[ al-uln al-Subkl, ln hls ln-
structlon manual to the appolnted offlclals ln
the lslamlc pollty, Mu'ld al-nl'am wa Mubld al
-nlqam, advlses the offlclal overseelng the
stuccolng of the clty walls: "1he person en-
trusted wlth stuccolng the walls must flrst
ascertaln that no anlmals are llvlng ln them.
Ctherwlse, he mlght lnadvertently cause the
death of anlmals that he has no rlght to klll,
small blrds and the llke. Were he to do so, he
would betray Allah by kllllng those anlmals."
Pe advlses the offlclal entrusted wlth
the overslght of the anlmals: "Among the
rlghts owed to these beasts ls that you are
slncere ln servlng them. ?ou must exerclse
the trust you have concernlng them fully.
1hey have no tongues wlth whlch to complaln
to you [concernlng abuses], they can only
complaln to Allah." Cfflclals charged wlth
overseelng the protectlon of the forests and
trees were also admonlshed to carefully
guard the rlghts of these llvlng creatures.
ln the past, Musllms were among the
leaders ln utlllzlng earth, wlnd, sun, water
and shade to develop ecologlcally frlendly
systems of alr condltlonlng, refrlgeratlon,
heatlng, energy generatlon, farmlng and con-
structlon. 1hese systems consldered well the
damage of human actlvlty to the ecosystem.
1he resultlng posltlve attltudes towards the
envlronment were not unlque among pre-
modern people.
1hls careful attltude towards the
envlronment ls countered contemporarlly by
one of avarlce, greed and neglect facllltated
by a global economlc cllmate that allows
gross corporate ecologlcal lrresponslblllty.
1hls shlft has led to unlmaglnable abuse of
the Larth's resources and people. At the
heart of thls abuse ls an economlc system
that ls predlcated on unllmlted growth, whlle
encouraglng unlmaglnable waste. Cur
planet's flnlte resource base and llmlted ab-
sorptlon capaclty cannot long endure such a
scheme. unless we change, perhaps the only
questlon left for us to answer wlll be, "Wlll
we meet our doom by exhaustlng our avall-
able resources or suffocatlng ln our waste?"
ln concluslon, the current economlc
arrangement falls on three counts. llrst of all,
as Perman ualey and others polnt out, lt falls
to meet the baslc needs of the planet's entlre
populatlon. Secondly, lt falls to malntaln an
acceptable level of blodlverslty. 1hlrdly, lt
does not ensure a sustalnable level of re-
sources for future generatlons. 1hese fallures
have thelr own ecologlcal consequences,
global warmlng belng only the most alarmlng.
Musllms have an lmportant part to
play ln addresslng the growlng ecologlcal crl-
sls. As we know, the overarchlng ob[ectlves of
lslamlc Law (Maqasld ash-Sharl'ah) determlne
that rellglon has been lnstltuted to preserve
slx thlngs: rellglon ltself, llfe, lntellect, wealth,
llneage and honor. lf the envlronment that
sustalns our llfe and ls the prlmary source of
2 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
1be Cota !itbiv
i bvvav. traea b, circvv.tavce.,
iv btea/ ava bitter cota.
acb ove o..e..ea a .tic/ of rooa,
or .o tbe .tor, tota.
1beir a,ivg fire iv veea of tog.,
tbe fir.t vav beta bi. bac/,
for,of tbe face. arovva tbe fire,
be voticea ove vav btac/.
1be vet vav too/ivg acro.. tbe ra,,
.ar ove vot of bi. cbvrcb,
ava covtavt brivg biv.etf
to gire tbe fire bi. .tic/ of bircb.
1be tbira ove .at iv tatterea ctotbe.
be gare bi. coat a bitcb.
!b, .bovta bi. tog be vt to v.e,
to rarv tbe iate ricb.
1be ricb vav ;v.t .at bac/
ava tbovgbt of tbe reattb be baa iv .tore,
ava bor to /ee rbat be baa earvea
frov tbe ta,, .biftte.. oor.
1be btac/ vav. face be.o/e rerevge
a. tbe fire a..ea frov bi. .igbt,
for att be .ar iv bi. .tic/ of rooa,
ra. a cbavce to .ite tbe rbite.
1be ta.t vav of tbi. fortorv grov
aia vavgbt ecet for gaiv,
girivg ovt, to tbo.e rbo gare,
ra. bor be ta,ea tbe gave.
1beir tog. beta tigbt iv aeatb. .titt bava,
ra. roof of bvvav .iv.
1be, aiavt aie frov tbe cota ritbovt,
tbe, aiea frov tbe cota ritbiv.
Ka.bif Kbav
our wealth, ls destroyed, then rellg-
lon ls effectlvely volded as there
would be no llfe, llneage, or wealth
left for lt to safeguard. Lven lf we
were to llmp along, barely survlvlng
ln a toxlc, ecologlcally ravaged
wasteland, we would have lost our
honor, wlth our wealth and llves
llkely to follow ln short order.
Pow can we change? llrst
of all, as Musllms, we must reallze
that our rellglous teachlngs provlde
us wlth a valuable source of mean-
lngful ecologlcal consclousness. Cur
rlch hlstory provldes us wlth many
brllllant models, whlch can serve as
the basls for slgnlflcant strategles ln
developlng alternatlve energy
sources, organlzlng hollstlc commu-
nltles, as well as slgnlflcant dlrec-
tlon ln other vltal areas.
Secondly, we should know
that lt lsn't necessary for us to
"relnvent the wheel." 1here are
many non-Musllm groups that are
actlve ln addresslng a large varlety
of envlronmental lssues. We can
both learn from thelr experlences
and [oln wlth them to augment
thelr strength.
lf we act now, we can help
to avert many loomlng dlsasters,
such as global warmlng and the as-
soclated cllmate changes, whlch are
already beglnnlng to wreak havoc
on our world. lf we fall to act, we
are only hastenlng our collectlve
doom.
lmom 2olJ 5boklt ls omooqst tbe
most tespecteJ ooJ loflueotlol lslomlc scbol-
ots lo tbe west. As oo Ametlcoo Musllm wbo
come of oqe Jutloq tbe clvll tlqbts sttuqqles,
be bos btouqbt botb seosltlvlty obout toce
ooJ povetty lssues ooJ scbolotly Jlsclplloe to
bls foltb-boseJ wotk.
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 27
the golng got rough, they began showlng dls-
bellef, even after they had clalmed to belleve,
when a powerful enemy threatened to de-
stroy the fledgllng lslamlc clty-state, the
hypocrltes abandoned thelr falth. 1he ene-
mles of lslam persecuted the early Musllms,
torturlng them, boycottlng them, and even
kllllng them. 1hls really dlfferentlated the
true bellevers from the false ones, the true
bellevers would stay true to Allah, even ln the
tlme of great adverslty. 1herefore, Allah tests
the people, to dlfferentlate the true bellevers
from the hypocrltes. Allah says:
uo meo tblok tbot tbey wlll be left olooe oo
soyloq, we belleve, ooJ tbot tbey wlll oot be
put to tbe test? AoJ cettololy we testeJ
tbose befote tbem, so tbot Allob wlll Jlffeteo-
tlote tbose wbo ote ttue ftom tbose wbo ote
folse." (Outoo 29.2-J)
1hls ldea ls repeated ln numerous
verses ln the Curan, such as:
Allob wlll oot leove tbe bellevets lo tbe stote
lo wblcb you ote oow, uotll ne sboll sepotote
tbe wlckeJ ftom tbe qooJ." (Outoo J.179)
Allah's Messenger (S) promlsed hls
followers that by becomlng Musllm, they
would attaln success. When the powerful
Another reason why Allah sends
down trlals and affllctlons to people ls so that
they may be tested. 1he Curan declares:
uo meo tblok tbot tbey wlll be left olooe oo
soyloq, we belleve, ooJ tbot tbey wlll oot be
put to tbe test?" (Outoo 29.2)
1hls concept can be clearly under-
stood lf we take the analogy of marrlage. A
man mlght love and be loyal to hls wlfe dur-
lng good tlmes, but when thlngs become dlf-
flcult, he mlght abandon her. lor example, lf
she ls young and beautlful, he wlll adore her,
but lf she gets cancer and thereby loses her
physlcal beauty, the same man mlght aban-
don her. 1hls shows that ln reallty he dld not
really love her. Slmllarly, a man should love
Allah and obey Plm ln not only good tlmes,
but also trylng tlmes. Pypocrltes mlght call to
Allah's Way when the weather ls good, but as
soon as the storm brews, they abandon thelr
falth ln Allah.
lor example, durlng the tlme of
rophet Muhammad (S), there were many
hypocrltes who converted to lslam when lt
was beneflclal for them to do so. ln dolng so,
they were able to secure powerful posltlons
ln the lslamlc government. 8ut as soon as
1. Hashmi
28 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
enemy almost overwhelmed the Musllm de-
fenders, the hypocrltes began to questlon the
promlse of the Messenger of Allah (S), they
even began to questlon the All-owerful na-
ture of Allah. 1he Curan says:
8ebolJ! 1bey (tbe eoemy solJlets) come oo
you ftom obove you ooJ ftom below you, ooJ
bebolJ, tbe eyes (of tbe bypoctltes) qtew tet-
tlfleJ ooJ tbe beotts tose up to tbe tbtoots,
ooJ you beqoo to tblok uobeflttloq tbouqbts
coocetoloq Allob.AoJ bebolJ! 1be bypo-
ctltes ooJ tbose lo wbose beotts ls o Jlseose
beqoo to soy. Allob ooJ nls Messeoqet ptom-
lseJ us (vlctoty) ooly to Jecelve." (Outoo
JJ.10-12)
1he calamlty made the hypocrltes
expose thelr dlsbellef, whereas lt only made
the true bellevers even more absolute ln
thelr falth. 1he Curan says of them:
wbeo tbe bellevets sow tbe coofeJetote
fotces.lt ooly oJJeJ to tbelt foltb ooJ tbelt
zeol lo obeJleoce." (Outoo JJ.22)
1herefore, Allah puts people to the
test, to dlfferentlate between the true from
the false. lndeed, how can the worth of an
ob[ect be ascertalned unless lt ls put to the
test? An automoblle maker wlll test lts cars
to see how fast they can go and to see what
type of crash they can wlthstand. Llkewlse,
Allah puts Pls creatlons to the test, to see
how falthful they wlll be, and to see lf they
wlll remaln so when Pe causes them to crash.
Wlll they fold up llke a beat up lemon? Cr
wlll they be llke the hlgh-end car that can
wlthstand much? Allah says:
AoJ we sboll cettololy test you, uotll we
koow tbose of you wbo sttlve tbelt utmost
(fot Allob) ooJ wbo ote tbe steoJfost, ooJ we
sboll test yout tepotteJ mettle." (Outoo
47.J1)
Adverslty and affllctlons are actually
a heavenly mercy, because they glve the be-
llevers a chance to earn good deeds, by belng
patlent and loyal to Allah. 8y passlng the test
that Allah puts them through, these bellevers
open up the way for entrance lnto aradlse
(l.e. Peaven). Allah says:
Ot Jo you expect to eotet lotoJlse wltbout
focloq sucb ttlols os JlJ tbose befote
you?" (Outoo 2.214)
And so people are tested wlth varl-
ous trlals and affllctlons, poverty, hunger,
fear, etc. are all varlous forms of Allah's test.
Lven the loss of loved ones ls one such trlal.
When the ungrateful one loses a loved one,
he becomes bltter agalnst Allah, challenglng
Allah as to why Pe caused hls loved one to
dle. 8ut the grateful bellever wlll remaln pa-
tlent and submlt hls wlll totally to Allah, and
ln thls way, Allah dlfferentlates the true from
the false. Allah says:
we wlll sutely test you wltb sometbloq of
feot ooJ buqet, ooJ tbe loss of weoltb ooJ
llves ooJ tbe ftults (of yout toll), but qlve qloJ
tlJloqs to tbose wbo potleotly petsevete, wbo
soy-wbeo offllcteJ wltb colomlty-1o Allob
we belooq, ooJ to nlm we sboll tetuto!"
1bey ote oo tbose wbom JesceoJ blessloqs
ftom tbelt lotJ, ooJ Metcy. 5ucb ote tbe
tlqbtly qulJeJ." (Outoo 2.155-157)
lt ls not necessary that calamlty ls
the only way Allah tests us. Allah's testlng
may also be ln the form of blesslngs, wealth,
health, chlldren, famlly, and the llke. What
the people do wlth such blesslngs ls lndeed a
great test. Many celebrltles and rlch people
are glven great wealth, fame, and materlal
goods, but they are not grateful to Allah for
that, and lnstead llve thelr llves ln sln and
wlckedness. Allah says:
AoJ koow tbot yout (wotlJly) possessloos
ooJ yout cbllJteo ote but o test, ooJ tbot lt ls
wltb Allob wltb wbom lles yout blqbest te-
wotJ." (Outoo 8.28)
1herefore, we see that Allah tests
the people through both adverslty as well as
blesslng, but regardless of the type of test,
the bellevers are those who remaln grateful
to Allah. 1he Curan declares:
ou sboll cettololy be ttleJ ooJ testeJ lo yout
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 29
possessloos ooJ lo yout llves, ooJ you sboll
cettololy beot mucb tbot wlll qtleve you.8ut
lf you potleotly petsevete ooJ be plous, tbeo
sutely tbls wlll be of qteot tesolutloo." (Outoo
J.186)
ln concluslon, when calamlty befalls
a bellever, he should know that ln lt ls much
good, even lf lt ls not apparent at flrst.
1hrough affllctlon are slns explated and souls
purlfled, through trlals are the steadfast trled
by Allah, and only the resolute wlll be suc-
cessful. lt ls upon these that Allah wlll be-
stow goodness ln due tlme, elther ln thls llfe
or the llfe after death. Allah says:
AoJ oooe sboll be qtooteJ sucb qooJoess,
except tbose wbo ote steoJfost." (Outoo
41.J5)
Metboa of Reforvatiov
afi bvv Katbeer ;R.) ba. reortea ov tbe avtborit, of bvv .bi aativ
;R.) tbat a .trovg ava orerfvt er.ov frov ,ria v.ea to freqvevt tbe gatber
ivg of aabrat |var ;R.). !bev be aia vot cove for .ove tive, |var
;R.) evqvirea abovt biv. 1bo.e arovva retiea: O .veervtMv`viveev!
e i. aaaictea to rive. |var ;R.) .vvvovea bi. .cribe ava oraerea biv to
rrite ;tbe fottorivg tetter):
rov |var biv Kbattab to .o ava .o. Peace be vov ,ov. efore ,ov ao
rai.e .ttab rbov tbere i. vove rortb, of ror.bi be.iae. iv, tbe Ove rbo
forgire. .iv. ava accet. reevtavce, !bo i. .erere iv vvi.bvevt, tbe .tt
Migbt,. 1bere i. vove rortb, of ror.bi be.iae. iv. 1o iv i. tbe tace of
retvrv.
1bereafter, |var ;R.) iv.trvctea tbo.e iv bi. re.evce to cottectiret, va/e
avaa for biv tbat bi. beart accet. tbi. ve..age ava tbat .ttab 1aata accet.
bi. reevtavce.
!bev tbe tetter of |var ;R.) reacbea biv be reaa it vav, tive. orer ava
ovaerea it. covtevt.. e tbev aectarea tbat iv tbi. bare beev rarvea of vv
i.bvevt ava at tbe .ave tive rovi.ea of beivg forgirev. 1bereafter be ret
ava qvit ariv/ivg. e vaae .vcb tavbab tbat be verer retvrvea to ariv/ivg.
!bev |var ;R.) ra. ivforvea of tbi. be .aia to tbe eote: v .vcb .itva
tiov. ,ov att .bovta aaot tbe .ave roceavre. Yov .bovta be covcervea to re
forv biv rbev be i. ivrotrea iv av, rice. Ma/e biv boefvt of tbe verc, of
.ttab 1aata ava va/e avaa to .ttab 1aata for tbe accetavce of bi.
tavbab. Do vot a..i.t baitaav agaiv.t biv ;b, riaicvtivg ava evragivg biv,
tbereb, cav.ivg biv to go fvrtber ara, frov Deev). ;1af.eer bv Katbeer)
3 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
Cn my wall, l have a plcture of a
Musllm woman shrouded ln a burka.
8eslde lt ls a plcture of an Amerlcan
beauty contestant, wearlng nothlng but a
blklnl.
Cne woman ls totally hldden from
the publlc, the other ls totally exposed.
1hese two extremes say a great deal about
the clash of so-called clvlllzatlons."
1he role of woman ls at the heart of
any culture. Apart from steallng Arab oll, the
lmpendlng war ln the Mlddle Last ls about
strlpplng Arabs of thelr rellglon and culture,
exchanglng the burka for a blklnl.
l am not an expert on the condltlon
of Musllm women and l love femlnlne beauty
too much to advocate the burka here. 8ut l
am defendlng some of the values that the
burka represents for me.
lor me, the burka represents a
woman's consecratlon to her husband and
famlly. Cnly they see her.
lt afflrms the prlvacy, excluslvlty and
lmportance of the domestlc sphere.
1he Musllm woman's focus ls her
home, the nest" where her chlldren are born
and reared. She ls the home" maker, the
taproot that sustalns the splrltual llfe of the
famlly, nurturlng and tralnlng her chlldren,
provldlng refuge and support to her husband.
ln contrast, the blklnled Amerlcan
beauty queen struts practlcally naked ln front
of mllllons on 1v. A femlnlst, she belongs to
herself. ln practlce, paradoxlcally, she ls pub-
llc property. She belongs to no one and eve-
ryone. She shops her body to the hlghest
bldder. She ls auctlonlng herself all of the
tlme.
ln Amerlca, the cultural measure of a
woman's value ls her sex appeal. (As thls
asset depreclates qulckly, she ls neurotlcally
obsessed wlth appearance and plagued by
welght problems.)
As an adolescent, her role model ls
8rltney Spears, a slnger whose act approxl-
mates a strlp tease. lrom 8rltney, she learns
that she wlll be loved only lf she glves sex.
1hus, she learns to hook up" rather than to
demand patlent courtshlp and true love. As a
result, dozens of males know her before her
husband does. She loses her lnnocence,
whlch ls a part of her charm. She becomes
hardened and calculatlng. unable to love,
she ls unflt to recelve her husband's seed.
Henry Makow
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 31
1he femlnlne personallty ls founded
on the emotlonal relatlonshlp between
mother and baby. lt ls based on nurturlng
and self-sacrlflce. Mascullne nature ls
founded on the relatlonshlp between hunter
and prey. lt ls based on aggresslon and rea-
son.
lemlnlsm teaches woman that feml-
nlne nature has resulted ln oppresslon" and
that she should convert to male behavlor
lnstead. 1he result: a confused and aggres-
slve woman wlth a large chlp on her shoul-
der, unflt to become a wlfe or mother.
1hls, of course, ls the goal of the so-
clal englneers at the nWC: undermlne sexual
ldentlty and destroy the famlly, create soclal
and personal dysfunctlon, and reduce popula-
tlon. ln the brave new world," women are
not supposed to be nest" makers, or pro-
genltors of the race. 1hey are meant to be
neutered autonomous creatures that lndulge
ln sex for physlcal pleasure, not for love or
procreatlon.
At one of hls press conferences, uon-
ald 8umsfeld sald that lranlan women and
youth were restlve under the rule of the Mul-
lahs. Pe lmplled that the uS would soon llb-
erate them. 1o 8rltney Spears? 1o low-rlse
see-my-thong" pants? 1o the mutual mas-
turbatlon that passes for sexuallty ln Amer-
lca?
arenthood ls the plnnacle of human
development. lt ls the stage when we flnally
graduate from self-lndulgence and become
Allah's surrogates: creatlng and nurturlng
new llfe. 1he new World Crder does not
want us to reach thls level of maturlty. or-
nography ls the substltute for marrlage. We
are to remaln stunted: slngle, sex-starved and
self-obsessed.
We are not meant to have a perma-
nent prlvate" llfe. We are to remaln lonely
and lsolated, dependent on consumer prod-
ucts for our ldentlty, ln a state of perpetual
courtshlp.
1hls ls especlally destructlve for
woman. Per sexual attractlon ls a functlon of
her fertlllty. As fertlllty decllnes, so does her
sex appeal. lf a woman devotes her prlme
years to becomlng lndependent," she ls not
llkely to flnd a permanent mate.
Per long-term personal fulflllment
and happlness lles ln maklng marrlage and
famlly her flrst prlorlty.
lemlnlsm ls another cruel new
World Crder hoax that has debauched Amerl-
can women and despolled Western clvlllza-
tlon. lt has rulned mllllons of llves and repre-
sents a lethal threat to lslam.
l am not advocatlng the burka but
rather some of the values that lt represents,
speclflcally a woman's consecratlon to her
future husband and famlly, and the modesty
and dlgnlty thls entalls...[2]
neoty Mokow, ls tbe loveotot of tbe bootJ qome 5ctu-
ples, ooJ tbe outbot of A looq woy to qo fot o uote. ne
tecelveJ bls lb.u. lo oqllsb lltetotute ftom tbe uolvet-
slty of 1otooto.
cootJ ftom poqe 2
household, and the fulflllment of whlch ls
consldered to be based on noblllty? What
fatwa does your consclence glve for lt? Pow
does your lntellect gulde you wlth regard to
lt? uon't you know that countless famllles
have perlshed by taklng lnterest based loan
for occaslons of such marrlage ceremonles?
Aren't you aware of the fact that the seeds of
lndecency and lmmorallty get planted lnto
the hearts of thousands of youth prlmarlly ln
these marrlage partles? ?ou have seen lt and
keep on wltnesslng scores of examples per-
talnlng to worldly as well as rellglous devasta-
tlon such marrlages do. lsn't lt then obllga-
tory upon you to put a halt, as per your ca-
paclty and power, to thls ever approachlng
flood? lf not the fear of Allah, aren't worldly
conslderatlons enough to stlmulate you to
launch !lhad agalnst these evll customs?
32 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
ln the post colonlal world the
clvlllzlng mlsslon" contlnues and the crusade
for clvlllzlng the backward Musllms lnto em-
braclng the sexual mores of the clvlllzers ls
golng full speed ahead. Slnce openly declar-
lng that the Cur'an and lslam are plaln wrong
does not get you much mlleage wlth the tar-
get audlence, thelr challenge ls how to per-
form a perfect lnverslon of Cur'anlc teachlngs
and slmultaneously assure everyone that thls
lnverslon ls ln harmony wlth one's bellef ln
the Cur'an. Conslder homosexuallty. 1he
Cur'an condemns lt ln no uncertaln terms
and calls those who commltted lt as musrl-
foon (golng beyond llmlts) (7:81), Caumun
Aadoon (transgresslng bounds) (26:166),
Caumul Mufsldeen (mlschlevous people)
(29:30), and Zallmeen (evlldoers) (29:31). ln
other words they were extremlsts to the nth
degree. 1he clvlllzers' dllemma: Pow to de-
clare those who want to legltlmlze thls prac-
tlce ln the Musllm soclety as moderates and
those who questlon thls extremlsm as ex-
tremlsts and hardllners?
lt ls an lmposslble task but that has
not kept the darlng from trylng. no wonder
the new champlons cannot agree on what
thelr argument ls. Cne of them, Scott Slra[ al-
Paqq kugle says 1he koran does not con-
demn homosexuallty." Another pundlt, Arash
naraghl, an lranlan academlc ln the uS, says
that the Cur'an does condemn homosexual-
lty but lt ls okay anyway because reason says
so. verses decrylng homosexuallty.stem
from common bellefs at the tlme of wrltlng,
and should be re-examlned," he declares. 1he
Lconomlst, whlch ls searchlng for theologlcal
latltude," quotes both of them wlth satlsfac-
tlon and wlthout the smallest hlnt that they
are mutually contradlctory, as means of mak-
lng progress". (1he Lconomlst, leb 4th 2012
h t t p : / / w w w . e c o n o m l s t . c o m /
prlntedltlon/2012-02-04).
1he story of the people of rophet
Lut (Lot) (AS) ls mentloned ln more than ten
surahs ln the Cur'an. 1hls ls a story of crlme,
Khalid Baig
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 33
deflance, and punlshment: unprecedented
crlme, extremlsm ln lnslstlng on that crlme,
and exemplary punlshment. Anyone who
reads thls narratlve wlth an open mlnd can
have not the sllghtest confuslon about lslam's
attltude about homosexuallty. eople do
have a rlght to accept or refuse to accept ls-
lamlc teachlngs, values, and commandments.
8ut no one has a rlght to lle about them. un-
fortunately there are many who are wllllng to
do [ust that these days. 1hls account ls, there-
fore, offered to set the record stralght.
1he flrst thlng the Cur'an mentlons ls
that homosexual practlce was lnvented by
the people to whom rophet Lut (AS) was
sent as a messenger. Pe ls very emphatlc
about thls: And [remember] Lut, when he
sald unto hls people: 'uo you commlt aboml-
natlons such as none ln all the world has ever
done before you?'" (Al-A'raf 7:80) 1he
Cur'anlc word ls al-fahlsha, whlch means
lewdness, shameful act, lndecency. lornlca-
tlon and adultery (zlna) are also mentloned as
examples of fahlsha ln the Cur'an. (lsra
17:32). 8ut here the deflnlte artlcle ol ls
added to show the even more serlous nature
of thls act. Pomosexual act ls not fahlsha but
al-fahlsha. lt ls not [ust a shameful act but the
shameful act, the lewdness, the abomlnatlon.
Secondly ln telllng that no one be-
fore them commltted thls act, the Cur'an
uses the word mlo ln addltlon to oboJlo.
Wlthout thls, lt would stlll mean that no one
dld lt before you. 8ut wlth mlo emphasls ls
added. ln other words, no one whosoever
ever dld thls act among all the creatures. 1hls
ls an outrlght re[ectlon of the clalm that thls
tendency ls an lnborn and lngralned part of
nature for whlch no person should be held
accountable. rophet Lut (AS) accuses them
of havlng made thls cholce. And the Sodo-
mltes do not say that they are helpless be-
cause lt ls a call of nature. 8ather they say,
?ou know very well what we want." (Pud,
11:79). And that the rophet would be added
to the llst of people who have been expelled
from thelr clty for ob[ectlng to thelr practlces
lf he does not cease and deslst from crltlclz-
lng thelr way of llfe. (Al-Shu'ra 26:167). 1hey
are the lnventors of thls perverslon and fully
commltted to use of vlolence to defend lt.
1hls Cur'anlc account regardlng the
genesls of thls perverslon ls attested to not
only by the 8lble and the 1almud but also by
the terms used to descrlbe thls act ln lan-
guages around the world. lt ls sodomy ln Lng-
llsh, sodomle and sodomlser (the doer) ln
lrench, sodomla and sodomlzar ln Spanlsh
and sodoml ln norweglan. Sodomle ln Cer-
man and sodomla ln ollsh also refer to varl-
ant forms of sexual perverslon. All polntlng to
the fact that lt was lnvented ln Sodom, whlch
was the prlnclple clty of these people. ln Ara-
blc and languages lnfluenced by lt llke urdu
the term used ls llwotot or oml oum lut, re-
ferrlng to the practlce of the people of
rophet Lut (AS). Agaln lt ls polntlng to the
same date and place of lnventlon.
1he date ls about four thousand
years ago. lor thousands of years before that
no one ever felt the urge for thls perverslon.
Cbvlously lf lt was ln human nature then
some people ln earller tlmes should also have
expressed thls lncllnatlon. 1he place ls the
area now submerged under the uead Sea.
1hls was a very prosperous and rlch fertlle
land. 1hen the punlshment came ln the form
of a huge earthquake and raln of brlmstones
and flres that turned thelr world upslde
down. 1he area then became the lowest
polnt on the face of the earth, belng about
1300 feet below sea level. lt was submerged
under the ocean and turned lnto a desolate
place where llttle llfe exlsts. lts harsh envlron-
ment permlts nelther flsh or other sea anl-
mals nor aquatlc plants. lt was as the Cur'an
sald: And verlly of that We have left a clear
slgn for people who have sense." (Ankabut
29:33).
Sodomltes commltted other crlmes
34 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
as well llke hlghway robbery and performlng
shameful acts ln publlc as mentloned ln one
place ln the Cur'an (Ankabut 29:29). 8ut thelr
blggest crlme was homosexuallty, whlch ls
mentloned repeatedly. And then there was
deflance. When rophet Lut (AS) warned
them about dlvlne retrlbutlon, they chal-
lenged hlm to brlng lt on. (Ankabut 29:29).
1helr fate was thus sealed by thelr own de-
mand. 1hat was before the angels arrlved at
the scene. 1helr lnvaslon of the house of
rophet Lut (AS) for the expllclt purpose of
molestlng the angels who appeared ln the
gulse of beautlful young men was thus [ust
the last nall ln thelr coffln. lt was not the prl-
mary reason for thelr punlshment.
Some people have trled to dlstort
the Cur'anlc account by clalmlng that thelr
crlme was rape not homosexuallty. Cthers
have surmlsed that the problem was that
they were targetlng young chlldren, other-
wlse lt would be flne. 1he Cur'an does not
leave the sllghtest posslblllty of such lnterpre-
tatlon. lt says: verlly, wlth lust you approach
men lnstead of women." (Al-A'raf 7:81). lt ls
rl[al (men) not atfal (chlldren). lt ls for the act
ltself, wlthout any mentlon of compulslon,
that they are called as musrlfoon (golng be-
yond llmlts).
Also slgnlflcant ls the role of rophet
Lut's (AS) wlfe. Whlle ln the entlre town only
one house was saved, that of rophet Lut
(AS), even ln that house there was an excep-
tlon. lt was the wlfe of the rophet, who was
kllled wlth the rest of the people. Per fate ls
mentloned repeatedly so lt does not remaln
[ust a footnote to the story. Why was she
punlshed? not for commlttlng homosexual
acts but for betraylng her husband (1ahreem
66:10). She betrayed the cause of her hus-
band by belng an actlve sympathlzer wlth the
people and therefore shared thelr fate.
When the people lnvaded the house
of rophet Lut (AS), and he was at the polnt
of despalr, the people were bllnded by the
angels (Camar 34:33). We can see a flgura-
tlve bllndness ln the people who try to make
a case for approval of homosexuallty ln lslam.
A most blzarre argument that has been for-
warded by some of them ls that the Cur'an
mentlons the presence of young boys as ser-
vants ln aradlse. lnterestlngly lt ls the same
people who argue that the modern homosex-
ual affalr ls between consentlng adults and
that they also agree that sex wlth young boys
ls wrong. ?et that ls what comes to thelr lust-
ful mlnds when they read the accounts of the
servants ln the Cur'an. lf they had maln-
talned thelr senslbllltles, they would have
reallzed that thls Cur'anlc account actually
glves exactly the opposlte message. ln ara-
dlse women wlll not be ln the publlc places.
1hey wlll be ln the prlvate space, where they
wlll not face the attentlon of anyone except
thelr husbands (hourls, clolstered ln cool
pavlllons" 8ahman 33:72). ?oung boys wlll be
ln all the publlc places, because those who
enter aradlse wlll not look at them wlth any
sexual deslres. 1hey wlll have nothlng to
worry as those who could look at them wlth
deslre wlll not be ln aradlse at all. 1hey wlll
be ln the exact opposlte of aradlse, whose
small manlfestatlon was glven to the people
of rophet Lut (AS).
May Allah protect us all from the llre
and the acts that lead to lt.
cootJ ftom poqe 19
Word of Allah as was dlrectly revealed, pre-
served and memorlzed and passed down by
memory throughout all the generatlons of
Musllms to the present day.
1hose who are ln search of truth,
havlng open mlnds and hearts wlll recognlze
thls as a message ln truth and slncerlty. Cpen
your heart and your mlnd now and ask the
Almlghty Allah of the unlverse [Allah] to
gulde you now to Pls 1rue Way. And then be
ready to accept your true purpose ln llfe.
5outce. lslomtomottow
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 35
lt ls sald wlnter ls a tlme when peo-
ple suffer from so called wlnter blues. 8ut lt ls
lnterestlng to see how many people welcome
wlnter because they see lt ln a dlfferent llght.
lnstead of belng down and ln actlve you can
be pro actlve revlve your energy ln lbadah
(worshlp), lncrease your good deeds, take
care of your obllgatlons and earn the pleas-
ure of Allah all at the same tlme. Pere are
some tlps to beneflt from wlnter:
1. IAS1ING
Wlnter ls the best season for the be-
llever because Allah makes worshlp easy for
hlm. 1hls ls because ln wlnter, the bellever
can fast durlng the day wlth ease wlthout
sufferlng from hunger and thlrst. 1he days
are short and cold, and he therefore doesn't
feel the hardshlp of fastlng.
lt ls reported 1he 8eloved Messenger
of Allah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) sald:
"lastlng ln the wlnter ls the easy prlze'
'umar bln al-khattab (8A) sald:
"Wlnter ls the prlze of the worshlppers."
2. ADnA (m|ssed) IAS1S
We all know that maklng up the days
of mlssed fastlng ls fardh (compulsory) on
every adult Musllm man and woman and not
dolng so ls a sln. So lf we have mlssed a fast
for a valld reason (travel, slckness etc) we
need to "catch-up".
1hus, we should hasten to fast the
number of days we mlssed and what better
opportunlty than thls? Pow much easler
could lt get? 1he days are short and the
weather ls cool, so you don't really get thlrsty
or even feel hungry.
3. SALAA1
1he noble Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) ls reported to have sald:
"Wlnter ls the best season for the bellever. lts
nlghts are long for hlm to pray ln, and lts days
are short for hlm to fast ln." [Padlth-Ma[ma'
az-Zawa'ld' (3/203)]
As for praylng at nlght ln the wlnter
due to lts long nlghts, one can have hls share
of sleep and then get up to pray afterwards
and reclte all that he usually recltes of the
Cur'an whlle he has en[oyed enough rest.
4.WAkM WCCLILS
1he noble Messenger of Allah
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) sald: "Whoever
feeds a hungry bellever wlll be fed by Allah
on the uay of !udgement from the frults of
aradlse, and whoever quenches hls thlrst
Umme Ammarah
3 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
wlll have hls thlrst quenched from the Sealed
nectar, and whoever clothes hlm wlll be
clothed from the green sllk of aradlse."
1ry and lnvolve our own famlly ln
these actlvltles. 8uy some blankets, gloves
and warm hats and take your klds along to
dlstrlbute lt to the needy. 1here ls so much
good we can do lf we [ust put ourselves for-
ward.
S. nC1 SCUS
We can prepare some nutrltlous
soups for our famlly and also hand out to the
poor ln and around our nelghbourhood. l'm
sure a hot cup of soup would deflnltely be
appreclated on a cold wlnter day.
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) sald: Worshlp
the Most Compasslonate, leed people and
spread salaam (greetlngs) and you wlll safely
enter paradlse." (Padlth -1lrmldhll)
6. CC2 IAMIL 1IML
Allah says ln the noble Cur'aan :"Ch
you who belleve save yourselves and famllles
from the flre." (Curan 66:6) .So plan such
actlvltles that wlll brlng us closer to Allah. 8e
lnnovatlve and have fun wlthln the conflne-
ments of Sharlah.
As lt ls cold, we can en[oy quallty
tlme lndoors wlth our famlly whlch we often
flnd dlfflcult because we are so "busy"! lan
and do such actlvltles that wlll bond the fam-
lly and brlng us closer to Allaah. Let the klds
be lnvolved ln what you plan. Ask them for
suggestlons so they feel they are part of lt. Slt
around the warm flre/heater and read some
storles of the Sahabah (8A) to the chlldren
and lntroduce them to the true heroes of the
world or engage them ln any such actlvltles
that wlll be beneflclal.
Mums and dads. use these long
nlghts to re-klndle that flame of love.
7. kNCWLLDGL AND WCkSnI
Allah says ln verse of Curaan: verlly,
ln the 8emembrance of Allah hearts flnd
peace and satlsfactlon." (Cur'aan 13:28)
use thls tlme lndoors to learn duas
(prayers) from the sunnah, ln recltatlon of
Cur'aan, make the Zlkr of Allah etc..1he no-
ble Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wa-
sallam) sald, everyday Allah showers klnd-
ness and charlty on hls slaves and no klnd-
ness ls better than lnsplratlon of Pls remem-
brance that Allah grants to hls slaves. (Padlth
-1abaranl)
Choose a good lslaamlc book and
lncrease your lslaamlc knowledge. A 8ellevers
thlrst for knowledge ls never quenched. Pe
contlnues to hear and learn untll he enters
aradlse Padlth-1lrmldhl. lt was narrated that
lbn Mas'ud (8A) sald: Welcome to wlnter!
8lesslngs descend ln lt, lts nlghts are long to
pray ln, and lts days are short to fast ln." 1hls
ls why Mu'adh (8A) wept on hls deathbed
and sald: l weep because l wlll mlss the
thlrst l felt when l fasted, praylng at nlght
durlng the wlnter, and slttlng knee to knee
wlth the scholars durlng the gatherlngs of
knowledge."
8. CNDLk CVLk ALLAn'S GkLA1NLSS &
1nANk nIM ICk nIS 8LLSSINGS
Actually, lf you thlnk about lt, wlnter
ls a blg blesslng from among the lnnumer-
able, uncountable blesslngs of Allah. Pe ls
honorlng us by the bounty of Pls Clvlng, Pls
Craclous 8lesslng and Pls Creat lavour, so
that we may be able to pray at nlght, fast
durlng the day and worshlp Plm
9. kLMLM8Lk kLALI1ILS CI nLLL
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) sald: Pell com-
plalned to lts Lord, saylng: arts of me have
consumed the other parts." So, Pe allowed lt
two breaths of exhalatlon: one ln wlnter and
one ln summer. As for lts breath ln wlnter,
cootJ oo poqe 22
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 37
"...So, one may wonder how to dls-
tlngulsh whether a person ls belng slmply
tested by Allah or belng punlshed for one's
slns..."
As part of our lslamlc falth, we be-
lleve that all matters are ln the hands of Al-
lah. Powever, for some of us our falth can get
shaken durlng tlmes of trlals and hardshlps. lt
ls durlng those tlmes though that we should
remlnd ourselves that a bellever's posltlon
and rank ls ralsed ln front of Allah and that
such a hardshlp may very well be a slgn of
Allah's love for the bellever. 1hls can help us
ln malntalnlng and even strengthenlng our
falth.
Great kewards Assoc|ated w|th Great Ca-
|am|t|es
lt was narrated from Anas lbn Mallk
(8A) that the rophet (Sallallaahu Alalhl Wa-
sallam) sald: Creat reward comes wlth great
trlals. When Allah loves a people, Pe tests
them, and whoever accepts lt attalns Pls
pleasure, whereas whoever shows dlscontent
wlth lt lncurs Pls wrath." (1lrmldhl).
ln thls hadlth, we flnd that the rophet
(Sallallaahu Alalhl Wasallam) has provlded a
message of rellef for those who endure dlffl-
cultles wlth patlence. Pe also assoclated
greatness of dlfflcultles and calamltles wlth
hlgher rewards. So, endurlng through llghter
problems and challenges has a smaller re-
ward than endurlng greater dlfflcultles and
challenges. Clven that thls llfe has lts share of
challenges and dlfflcultles for all, Allah has
provlded an opportunlty of hlgh rewards for
those who endure these challenges wlth pa-
tlence rather than wlth complalnts and ln-
gratltude. And for those who show dlspleas-
ure and dlscontent wlth Allah's decree end
up ln a lose-lose sltuatlon because not only
they have to llve through thelr current suffer-
lng but also lncur Allah's wrath for thelr dls-
pleasure and dlscontent wlth Pls decree.
We should also reallze that our pa-
tlence when faclng dlfflcultles ralses our
status ln front of Allah, and may lead to the
forglveness of our slns. Pe says ln the Curan:
.Cnly those who are patlent shall recelve
thelr reward ln full, wlthout reckonlng"
Curan (Surah Az-Zumar:10)"
1he rophet (Sallallaahu Alalhl Wa-
38 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
sallam) sald: nothlng befalls a bellever, a
(prlck of a) thorn or more than that, but Allah
wlll ralse hlm one degree ln status thereby, or
erase a bad deed." (8ukhaarl and Musllm.
1he Messenger (Sallallaahu Alalhl
Wasallam) sald ln a well known hadlth the
followlng: Pow wonderful ls the affalr of the
bellever, for hls affalrs are all good, and thls
applles to no one but the bellever. lf some-
thlng good happens to hlm, he ls thankful for
lt and that ls good for hlm. lf somethlng bad
happens to hlm, he bears lt wlth patlence and
that ls good for hlm." (Musllm).
We should also reallze that when
Allah puts Pls steadfast bellevers through
trlals and trlbulatlons, that ls a slgn of Pls
love for them. lt was narrated that Anas (may
Allah be pleased wlth hlm) sald: lf Allah wllls
good for Pls slave, Pe hastens hls punlshment
ln thls world, and lf Pe wllls bad for Pls slave,
Pe wlthholds from hlm (the punlshment for)
hls sln, untll Pe requltes hlm for lt on the uay
of 8esurrectlon." (1lrmldhl)
Al-Pasan al-8asrl (8A) sald: uo not
resent the calamltles that come and the dls-
asters that occur, for perhaps ln somethlng
that you dlsllke wlll be your salvatlon, and
perhaps ln somethlng that you prefer wlll be
your doom."
Al-ladl lbn Sahl sald: 1here ls a
blesslng ln calamlty that the wlse man should
not lgnore, for lt erases slns, glves one the
opportunlty to attaln the reward for pa-
tlence, dlspels negllgence, remlnds one of
blesslngs at the tlme of health, calls one to
repent and encourages one to glve charlty."
Ca|am|t|es and rob|ems - 1r|a|s or un|sh-
ment?
We also know that some who face
dlfflcultles are punlshed for thelr slns. So, one
may wonder how to dlstlngulsh whether a
person ls belng slmply tested by Allah or be-
lng punlshed for one's slns. ln thls context,
scholars have sald that (as Allah knows a
person beforehand), the slgn of calamlty by
way of punlshment shows as slgns of lmpa-
tlence and lngratltude ln a person when a
calamlty befalls, and the slgn of calamlty by
way of explatlon and eraslng of slns shows as
contentment, acceptance, and patlence ln
acceptlng the wlll of Allah untll rellef comes."
lurthermore, lf the one who ls af-
fected shows dlspleasure and panlc, then lt
cannot be thought that hls calamlty ls an
honor from Allah to ralse hlm ln status, be-
cause Allah, may Pe be glorlfled, knew that
he would not be patlent and accept lt wlth
contentment. So ln thls case lt ls most llkely
that lt ls a requltal and punlshment.
Also, lf the Musllm ls a devoted wor-
shlpper, obedlent and rlghteous, and there ls
nothlng between hlm and Allah but true
'uboodlyyah (servltude), gratltude, pralse,
repentance and submlsslon to Plm, may Pe
be glorlfled, then lt ls most llkely that thls
calamlty ls a klnd of honor and ralslng ln
status, and people are the wltnesses of Allah
on earth. lf they know hlm to be rlghteous,
then they may glve hlm the glad tldlngs of
ralsed status before Allah lf he ls patlent ln
bearlng the calamlty.
8egardlng dlfflcultles, ln the follow-
lng verse Allah compares the sltuatlon of the
one who ls steadfast ln hls falth and faclng
dlfflcultles wlth those who are evll doers and
are ln a slmllar sltuatlon: . lf you are suffer-
lng (hardshlps) then surely, they (too) are
sufferlng (hardshlps) as you are sufferlng, but
you have a hope from Allah (for the reward)
that for whlch they hope not, and Allah ls
Lver All-knowlng, All-Wlse" Curan (Surah An-
nlsa:104).
cootJ oo poqe 22
(Jol. 14, Ao: 173) 39
ka[aa
Allah says:
uo oot Jespolt of tbe kobmot of Allob..."
8asulullah (saws) sald:
lf eveo tbe kooflt teollses tbe exteot of Al-
lobs kobmot (metcy), be (too) wlll oot loose
bope of Ioooot."
Nature of ka[aa
8a[a ls the state of the heart's tran-
qullllty whlch develops as a result of one's
yearnlng for the deslrable ob[ects of fadhl
(ulvlne Crace), Maghflrat (forglveness),
nl'mat (8ounty) and !annat, whlle devlslng
ways and means for thelr attalnment. 1hus
one who remalns ln expectatlon of 8ahmat
and !annat, but does not adopt the means of
thelr acqulsltlon, vlz., amal sallh (rlghteous
deeds), taubah (repentance), etc., wlll not
attaln the goal of 8a[s. Pe remalns on the
contrary ln deceptlon. Pe ls llke the one who
lnsplte of not sowlng the seeds, expect s to
reap the crop. Pe dwells ln empty deslre.
1he manner of acqulrlng 8a[a ls to
reflect about the vastness of Allah's 8ahmat
and Pls Munlflcence.
2uhd
Allah states:
...5o tbot you Jo oot qtleve ovet wbot you
bove lost oot become ptouJ ovet wbot you
bove."
8asulullah (saws) sald:
1be fltst vlttue of tbls ummot ls yoeeo (fltm
foltb) ooJ zubJ, ooJ tbe fltst cottuptloo of
tbls ummot ls bukbl (olqqotJlloess) ooJ omol
(Jlstoot ooJ temote bopes)."
Nature of 2uhd
Zuhd ls to refraln from an ob[ect of
deslre ln the pursult of a nobler ob[ectlve,
e.g. refralnlng from the deslre of the world
and pursulng the deslre of the Akhlrat. 1hls ls
Zuhd. 1he basls of Zuhd ls the nur and llm
whlch Allah lnsplres lnto the heart of man. As
a result, hls breast expands and he reallses
wlth clarlty that the world wlth all lts belong-
lngs ls more contemptlble than the wlng of a
fly and that only Akhlrat ls noble and ever-
lastlng. When thls nur ls acqulred, the worth-
lessness of the world fully dawns upon man.
1he effect of Zuhd ls the attalnment of con-
tentment upon the obtalnal of the bare ne-
cessltles of llfe. 1hus the Zahld (the one who
has Zuhd) ls satlsfled wlth the bare necessl-
tles ln the same way as the traveller ls satls-
fled wlth the necessltles whlch he takes along
on hls so[ourn.
Zuhd ls not abstentlon from pleas-
ures. 8eductlon of pleasures ls sufflclent for
Maulana Maseeh-Ullah Khan (RA)
4 (Jol . 14, Ao: 173)
the attrlbute of Zuhd. ln other words, one
should not be engrossed ln pleasures. Con-
stantly hankerlng after luxurles ls negatory of
Zuhd. Cn the contrary, obtalnal of luxurles
wlthout undue effort and arrangement ls the
nl'mat of Allah, for whlch shukr (gratefulness)
has to be offered. Along wlth grantlng com-
fort to the nafs, effort too should be lmposed
on lt.
ln all truth, gold and sllver and the
world wlth all lts possesslons, ln the slght of
one whose gaze ls focussed on Allah, are of
no value. 8asulullah (saws) never preferred
the world for hlmself nor for those close to
hlm. Whatever creatlon possesses ls the ma-
terlal of the world. lt ls essentlal to sever
one's hope from all thlngs. Pe who ls success-
ful ln thls ob[ectlve, wlll attaln tranqullllty,
because both heart and body flnd rest and
peace ln Zuhd.
1he manner ln whlch to acqulre Zuhd
ls to medltate on the defects, harms and
ephemeral nature of the world, as well as to
reflect on the beneflts and the everlastlng
nature of the Akhlrat.
1be ]v.tice of a,,iavva .ti ;R.)
1ro frieva. rere .barivg .ove fooa ove baa iece. tbe otber : iece. of
roti ;breaa). . traretter a..ea b, ava tbe, a./ea biv to ;oiv iv tbe veat
ava tbe, .barea tbe breaa betreev tbe tbree of tbev. 1be vet aa, tbe
traretter teft ava be gare tbev airbav. for tbe breaa. Ove of tbe frieva.
.aia a. be baa roriaea : roti. be .bovta receire : airbav. ava tbe otber
. 1be otber frieva .aia tbat it rovta be fair to .tit tbe vove, :0,:0 i.e.
1 airbav. eacb.1be, covta vot reacb av agreevevt ava to reacb av agree
vevt ava va/e eace tbe, ri.itea barat .ti ;R.).
arat .ti R. aeciaea tbat tbe er.ov ritb : roti. .bovta receire
airbav. ava tbe otber er.ov ;v.t ove airbav. 1be eote rere a tittte
covfv.ea a. to rb, tbi. ra. tbe ca.e. it ra. etaivea to tbev tbat eacb
iece of breaa .bovta be airiaea iv to tbree tbv. ~ 21 iece. of
breaa. it rovta be a..vvea tbe fooa ra. .barea eqvatt, tbv. eacb rovta
eat of tbe.e iece.. 1bi. veavt tbatt be er.ov rbo roriaea roti.
rovta bare eatev biv.etf ovt of bi. iece. ava tbe gve.t rovta bare
eatev ;v.t ove of bi. iece.. 1be er.ov rbo roriaea : roti. rovta bare
eatev ovt of bi. 1: iece. ava iece. rovta bare beev eatev b, tbe
gve.t ava tbv. be .bovta receire iece.. vbbavattab rbat av aat b,
arat .ti R..

Radiant Reality September 2013

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Radiant Reality September 2013

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