Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Contentment in the Remembrance of Allah


Islam is the religion with Allah and the followers of Islam are called Muslim - meaning those who submit to Allah, the Most High.
Allah says in Quran 2:156 (interpretation of the meaning)
“ … Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return."
Living with the knowledge we were created only to worship Him and that we will return to Him is key to be obedient to Him. In this obedience, we look at the factors influences on our lives: Time, money/wealth, eating. We often forget the “small” things in life like the air we breath, our sight, etc. Had we remembered it more then we will show more gratitude and bring greater contentment to our lives.
Yet it is time what we either waste or are careless with while time is a creation of Allah. It must be respected and be used for beneficial means. We look for wealth, which is permissible in general, but when we miss the fine line in that understanding we end up being inclined to this world. Again, the word contentment plays a role. It must be stated, however, that acquiring wealth is not sinful and is encouraged while you live with the full understanding that wealth comes from Allah, Ar-Razzaaq. We eat that which is halaal and that is good. It must be borne in mind that Allah tells us to eat from the good things as Allah says in Quran 2:168 (interpretation of the meaning)
“O mankind, eat from whatever is on earth [that is] lawful and good and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy.”
Thus, what you do with the resources with which Allah has blessed you, is a start to understanding your relationship with Allah. In it you develop a relationship better than a love story in which you are patient with your spouse. You seek time with Him, you learn his rulings and get a better understanding of His deen - for is not His deen a way of life?
And in it that patience or rather “sabr” has many meanings including “perseverance”. And Allah says in Quran 2:153 (interpretation of the meaning)
“O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.”
Prayer and patience are partners like no other. Through prayer you build patience but true prayer is built on patience in that you have sincerity in front of Allah. Prayer is the first step to patience and then you increase in good deeds and your patience in doing that, for His sake only, will bring contentment.
Verily, in the remembrance of Allah does the heart find contentment - Quran 13:28.
Pray for us too.

Saturday, June 13, 2020

Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) burial place

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) died in Madinah and lay buried there. He was buried in his house which was adjacent to the mosque. Over time the mosque was extended resulting in the “house” and therefor burial place of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) now being inside the mosque on the left hand side of the mosque. Millions of people visit his grave annually.
While his grave is fenced off. The grave itself is level with the ground and now structure is in or around the immediate area of the grave.

Which surah contains two basmallah

Surah Naml starts with the basmallah and later Allah tells us about the letter the Prophet Sulayman (peace upon him) wrote to Bilqees, the queen of Sheba. He starts the letter with “Bismillah ..”
Surah Naml has the two basmallah

Monday, October 16, 2017

Is only the consumption of wine prohibited



The question of alcohol, as it relates to Muslims, is something that is misunderstood by many and certain points need clarification. It is for the reader to ponder these and to learn more and avoid taking a position on a matter based on ignorance or misunderstanding.

Allah says: 

يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ادْخُلُواْ فِي السِّلْمِ كَآفَّةً وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَتِ الشَّيْطَـنِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ

"O you who believe! Enter Islam completely, and follow not the footsteps of Shaytan (Satan). Verily, he is to you a plain enemy" [Quran 2:208]

This is a clear instruction from Allah that, upon accepting Islam, the Laws of Islam has to be adhered to, i.e. the instructions of Allah and His Messenger, Muhammad has to be accepted and followed. The laws of Allah must be obeyed in totality. It is in human nature that we falter and commit sin, but a Muslim is one who realises this and repents. The Muslim does not deny the laws of Allah or changes it to suit his whims and fancies. He may commit wrong out of ignorance or it may be out of weakness.

يَسْـئَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ قُلْ فِيهِمَآ إِثْمٌ كَبِيرٌ وَمَنَـفِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَإِثْمُهُمَآ أَكْبَرُ مِن نَّفْعِهِمَا

"They ask you (O Muhammad ) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: "In them is a great sin, and (some) benefits for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit.'' " [Quran 2:219]

يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالاٌّنصَابُ وَالاٌّزْلاَمُ رِجْسٌ مِّنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَـنِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ - إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَـنُ أَن يُوقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَآءَ فِى الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ وَيَصُدَّكُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلَوةِ فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُّنتَهُونَ - وَأَطِيعُواْ اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ

"O you who believe! Indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah ], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful. Satan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not desist? And obey Allah and obey the Messenger and beware..." [Quran 5:90-92]

The above verses establishes the fact that all intoxicants, including alcohol and drugs, are prohibited. Allah further exhorts us to obey Him and His messenger, Muhammad .
The gravity (of the sin) of the association with alcohol is further explained in the hadith of Prophet Muhammad 

إِنَّ رَجُلًا أَهْدَى لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَاوِيَةَ خَمْرٍ، فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : هَلْ عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ حَرَّمَهَا ؟ قَالَ : لَا . فَسَارَّ إِنْسَانًا ، فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : بِمَ سَارَرْتَهُ ؟ فَقَالَ : أَمَرْتُهُ بِبَيْعِهَا . فَقَالَ : إِنَّ الَّذِي حَرَّمَ شُرْبَهَا حَرَّمَ بَيْعَهَا

A man gave the Messenger of Allaah (S) a small skin full of wine, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: “Do you know that Allaah, may He be exalted, has forbidden it?” He said, No, then he whispered to another man. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “What are you whispering about?” He said: I told him to sell it. He said: “The One Who has forbidden drinking it has also forbidden selling it.” [Muslim]

This then clearly establishes that trading in alcohol is prohibited.

عن عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه قال : قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : " من كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر : فلا يقعد على مائدة يشرب عليها الخمر " .

It was narrated that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever believes in Allaah and the Last Day, let him not sit at a table where wine is being drunk.” [Ahmad, 126; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 7/6]

Attending places where wine is consumed makes it very likely that one will come into contact with the drinker or the alcohol itself (spillage, etc). Worse, of course, is for wine to be consumed at the table one is sitting because that is clearly in contravention of the hadith of Prophet Muhammad , whom Allah has instructed us to obey. Allah has prohibited wine - its manufacture, its trading, its consumption and being in the company of those who consume it at that time.

People will wish to see things in a way that suits them, forgetting what Allah wants and the ways to draw closer to him. We must ponder on the laws of Allah and get some understanding. The aim is to please Allah as certainly we were only created for the worship of Allah. Thus everything we do must be in the obedience of Allah. Obedience is worshipping Allah. Worshipping Allah is not restricted to rituals but is totality of our actions and speech.

We find that there are Muslims consuming alcohol claiming it to be permissible. They have no proof but they follow their whims and fancies.

We find that there are Muslims who attend functions and socialise with people who consume alcohol in their presence claiming that it (this socialisation) is permissible. Nothing prevents Muslim from socialising with non-Muslims except that which specifically makes it prohibitive, like being in the presence of those who consume during that socialisation. The rule would equally apply to a situation where Muslims consume alcohol or take drugs.

Islam is a complete way of life. Allah is our Creator and Lord. We were created only to worship Him and thus being obedient to Him. We say "we hear and we obey" when Allah commands us with anything or He prohibit us from anything.

We pray for His guidance and protection


Friday, June 16, 2017

The Muslim and Correct Pronunciation




Speech is the ability to communicate. We use language as a specific means of this speech. Every language has its own vocabulary, sounds, symbols and grammar. The ability to speak is enhanced by language of both the speaker and listener. This requires that both share a language (be it reading, writing or normal conversation) and that the correct elocution and pronunciation is used. Grammar can sometimes be overlooked but incorrect words make understanding almost impossible.


Muslims are required to have some appreciation of the Arabic language since the two main sources of knowledge, i.e. Quran and hadith, were transmitted in Arabic.


It is understandable that for non-Arabs there are many common mistakes being made in pronunciation. In every day speech these may be overlooked except, of course, if you are an Arab and cannot understand the word that is being mispronounced. Then there are issues of tajweed. Tajweed, as it relates to Quran is rather important in its recitation.  Unfortunately, in trying to rectify our pronunciation of everyday words and also names, these have now been mispronounced by becoming extreme in the tajweed application.


The biggest mistakes, relating to pronunciation, that are being made are fundamental to us as Muslims.

The lesser mistakes are words like صف
sof - row/ line pronounced incorrectly as "shaaf".


A similar one is مسافر    - Musaafir (traveller) pronounced incorrectly as "mushaafir".


Other words are;
بركه   "barakah" incorrected pronounced incorrectly as برقه   "Baraqah.


and  مبارك "Mubarak" incorrectly pronounced incorrectly    مبارق  "Mubaraq"


Then just before we get onto the main point of this note, the letter ض  "ḍād" has become such a tongue twister that some words have ended up having another letter added, e.g


رمضان "Ramadan" has become incorrectly رملدان  "Ramaldaan" (at least in parts of Cape Town)

There are also many names being mispronounced, but let's leave that for another post.


The main purposes of this post was to ensure we are aware of certain mispronunciations and its impact on us and perhaps even our deen. At the head of our confirmation, as Muslims, is that we declare the Shahadah (the testimony). We say this in our prayers, during the call to prayers and many other times. This needs to be said correctly because we stand to lose the meaning of the shahadah. It cannot be enough that we say we are Muslim but, after years of being Muslim and most actually being born Muslim, we cannot say the shahadah correctly. Certainly, this is one aspect that we cannot neglect - the actual words - pronounced correctly, and then knowing both the basic translation and, further, a correct understanding of this testimony.

The first major mispronunciation is related to our testimony of faith, our shahadah.


اشْهَدُ انْ لّآ اِلهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ وَ اَشْهَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّدً اعَبْدُه وَرَسُولُه



Transliteration
Ašhadu an la ilaha illa-llah, wa ašhadu anna Muhammadun Aabduhu wa rasuluh.



Translation


I bear witness that there is no Allah but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is Allahs servant and His Messenger



People (Mu-athin    مأّذّن    ) giving the call to prayer and many of us uttering the shahadah daily, in trying to apply tajweed, become excessive and the following is being said:



اشْهَدُ الله اِلهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ وَ اَشْهَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّدً اعَبْدُه وَرَسُولُه



The "an-laa" انْ لّآ  was replaced with "Allah" الله .This  pronunciation has effectively replaced the words "that there is no" with the name of Allah and has rendered the sentence incorrect, thus making our shahadah incorrect.



There are mistakes being made in the call to prayer. There are also other mistakes being made in general recitation , athkaar, and general deeni-related vocabulary but we will leave that for another time. On a direct point of the "call to prayer, people who are qualified in pronunciation should be performing these duties.


Pronunciation must trump melody because the correct words are key to the correctness of the call to prayer. For non-Arabic speaking people, melody seems to be important and often people are complimented for the "beautiful way" they did the call to prayer. However, at times the melody is good but the call to prayer in itself was done an injustice.



We are non-Arabs and Arabic is not even a spoken language for the vast majority of us. The Quran is in Arabic, we say our Shahadah in Arabic, our Salah (prayer) is in Arabic and much more. The onus is therefore on us to learn to read Quran correctly, we need to learn the correct pronunciation of many of the words we use in our daily lives. Our gratitude to Allah Almighty for this religion, this deen of ours and for the Quran, is shown by at least reciting Quran correctly - the correct pronunciation of the letters.

And Allah knows best


We pray that Allah guides and protects us - We pray that Allah grants us ease and increase us in our love for Him, His Prophet (Muhammad ), His deen and His Book (which is in Arabic).


Monday, May 22, 2017

Killing the child, saving the Faith



Killing the child, saving the Faith

The Limits set by Allah
Allah has set limits and boundaries for us as Muslims. Every person who has reached the age of puberty and is sane is required to follow these laws. Parents and teachers play a crucial role in the upbringing, development and education of the child. Parents play a greater role, especially these days, in that they choose (and/or pay fees towards) the schools and other recreational activities. In making these decisions, do parents abdicate responsibility or are the accessories to their children breaking the laws of Allah and, in turn, themselves breaking the law. How do our children impact us and our relationship with Allah.


Allah sparing the parents

فَانْطَلَقَا حَتَّى إِذَا لَقِيَا غُلاَمًا فَقَتَلَهُ قَالَ أَقَتَلْتَ نَفْسًا زَكِيَّةً بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ لَّقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْئاً نُّكْراً
Then they both proceeded till they met a boy, and he (Khidr) killed him. Musa said: "Have you killed an innocent person without Nafs Verily, you have committed a thing Nukr!'' [Quran 18:74]

Ibn Katheer tafsir: Then they both proceeded,) means, after the first incident, (till they met a boy, and he (Khidr) killed him.) It has been stated previously that this boy was playing with other boys in one of the towns, and that Al-Khidr deliberately singled him out. He was the finest and most handsome of them all, and Al-Khidr killed him. When Musa, peace be upon him, saw that he denounced him even more fervently than in the first case, and said hastily:
(Have you killed an innocent person) meaning, a young person who had not yet committed any sin or done anything wrong, yet you killed him (without Nafs) with no reason for killing him. (Verily, you have committed a thing Nukr!) meaning, something that is clearly evil.  


وَأَمَّا الْغُلَـمُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤْمِنَيْنِ فَخَشِينَآ أَن يُرْهِقَهُمَا طُغْيَـناً وَكُفْراً - فَأَرَدْنَآ أَن يُبْدِلَهُمَا
 رَبُّهُمَا خَيْراً مِّنْهُ زَكَـوةً وَأَقْرَبَ رُحْماً

"And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared he would oppress them by rebellion and disbelief.''.. "So we intended that their Lord should exchange him for them for one better in righteousness and nearer to mercy.' [Quran 18:80-81]

The general understanding is that this boy would have been the reason his parents were doomed. His death was a means to save his parents and this boy was replaced with a son who was righteous.

Allah mercy on us
Many of us read Quran and especially Surah Kahf on a Friday. How many of us ponder on its meaning and relate it to our own lives? Crime, vice, promiscuity and general decline in morals have become the order of the day. There is no doubt that this situation has not come about overnight. There has been a steady decline until about when we became parents or just before then.

Our parents and us are fortunate that, right at this moment, Allah has not removed His mercy from us and thus we are still Muslim, we still have eemaan (faith). While we are alive, we have not yet completed our test on this earth and so we need to continue to strive in His path in order to gain His love and Mercy. We have become parents now and we must leave a legacy that will count for us or against us in the Hereafter - May Allah protect us and guide us always.

Children make huge demands on parents, with peer pressure, non-stop advertising, social media and society in general. It is a time when parents are seeking ways to keep the family happy. Parents, both mothers and fathers, work long hours and undergo huge stress to give their families a comfortable life. Taking all of this into consideration, not much focus, if any, is on the hereafter. So what will be our state on the Day of Reckoning? Nay, what will be our state when we die or even while we are actually still living? Children have been given virtually free reign to do as they please with little or no emphasis on religion and, sadly, when religion does play a role, it likely has  shortcomings because neither parent nor child has sufficient knowledge of the religion. Thus, are we sinning by raising kids and/or are our kids leading us to sin because of their demands and lifestyle and the huge pressures under which they are being put? Is there a chance they may apostate and/or lead us that way - We pray Allah protects them and ourselves. But the door to our destruction has been opened. Will we allow Sayyidina Khidr (as per the story in Surah Kahf) to kill our child because that child may lead us to our doom?

Until we meet Allah
We ought to live with the maxim and understanding that "from Allah do we come and to Him we shall return" and pray that that will be a constant reminder of our meeting with Allah. Surely we wish to meet Him while He is satisfied with us. His satisfaction is premised on our love for Him and that love must surpass all else, even that of our children. Thus, instead of our love being fixated only on them and this love being short-term, let us draw them close to Allah while we ourselves are drawing closer to Allah. Do not let our love for them make us losers. Do not let our love for them be such that only their physical death (at a young age) can make us return to Allah. We must be strong in teaching, in guiding, in persevering for the sake of Allah. We do not know what tomorrow holds.  


وَأَمَّا الْغُلَـمُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤْمِنَيْنِ فَخَشِينَآ أَن يُرْهِقَهُمَا طُغْيَـناً وَكُفْراً

"And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared he would oppress them by rebellion and disbelief.'' [Quran 18:80]

We encourage our children, or we allow them, giving them free licence to commit sin - be it dress-code, negligence of prayer, social circles, etc. We often say things like "what can we do, all the kids are doing it" and  "they are still kids ....". One wonders whether we can believe these words because it smacks of arrogance - arrogance because we have forgotten that Allah is the Giver and Taker of life, that Allah is the One who guides. 

Our responsibility
The following words of our illustrious leader, Muhammad serves as a reminder of our responsibility.

It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock. The ruler is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. A man is the shepherd of his family and is responsible for his flock. A woman is the shepherd of her husband’s household and is responsible for her flock. A servant is the shepherd of his master’s wealth and is responsible for his flock.” He said: and I think he said, “A man is the shepherd of his father’s wealth and is responsible for his flock. Each of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 583; Muslim, 1829.

The child, mentioned in Surah Kahf, was on a bad path, a path of doom and he was likely to take his parents on that path. Allah Almighty saved them, and after the boy's death, Allah blessed the parents with a pious child. What dua are we making for our children? Are we making a dua for destruction because we have effectively given them a loaded gun or are we making dua for guidance and placing the Quran in their hands and hearts. It is our responsibility! It is our responsibility.

We pray Allah showers us with His mercy and guides and protects us all and our children.




#justinbieber #music #alcohol #drugs  #dancing #rave