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 ﷺ), His deen and His Book (which is in Arabic).

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 ﷺ 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

A Great Day

These are but a few words to read
Please do complete before getting on your steed
One may want to stop, overcome by guilt
avoiding destruction, of poison we clean every hilt

There is much blessing in every great day
When we sow for what’s coming our way
what we reap is in the planted seed
of mutual love, sincerity, compassion and mercy indeed

Death will soon coming knocking on our door
then each will be laid on the floor
Regret too late for the living and dead
time’s passed for the truth to be said

Seeds we plant, is it poisonous and virtuous?
Were we to others kind, humble and gracious
A good game we talked but not played
Our lives go on as fond memories fade

Have we an agenda to spread mutual love
As we’re commanded to live by God above
Hatred and enmity can never accompany a greeting
Without love it’s only ourselves we are cheating

In our minds all we seek is paradise
But in our hearts all we do despise
Teaching through word and deed hatred and disrespect
Now is the time we need to reflect

We’re likely to fix cracks in the wall
The weak self is more in need overall
On a day Moses was saved from Pharoah
Time for us of our pride let go

Better that others privately point out our fault
Than the whole world share a public assault
If in advising there’s a thread of truth
Remain humble, there’s no need to be uncouth

Over many years we have experienced so much
If only in ageing wisdom do us touch
The heart to soften for love of God
Then we meet Him not as a fraud

A few frowns and raised eyebrows were observed
Was a message of such length really deserved
Death is less than a mere eyewink away
Shall we not make amends this great day

A day when God saved Moses from Pharaoh
So we commit to the straight and narrow
We set the ball in motion with reflection
Re-establishing with the Laws of Allah a connection

And now all that is left to say
We pray that the blessing of this day
Overtake our spirits and sets on His path
And desisting from a path incurring His wrath.

 

 

Quran - 06 - The Challenge

The Quran was revealed over 1400 years ago to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Those that accept and follow Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, accept Islam and the revelation, Quran, given to him by Allah Almighty. On the other hand, there are those who deny his prophethood and don't accept Quran for various reasons.

Allah, being the All-Wise and All-Knowing, introduces the book in the opening ayaat of the second chapter of Quran - Surah Baqarah.

الم - ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

Alif Lam Mim This is the Book (the Qur'an), wherein there is no doubt, a guidance for the God-conscious [Quran - Baqarah - 2:1-2]

The author, being the Majestic, the All-Knowing and All-Wise, makes it clear that this book, Quran, was not written by anyone but a superior being. Any human, had they been the author, will have had some doubt that there are errors or omissions in the Quran. Countless books have been written and then later we find 2nd editions and more to improve on the book. We can take a look at the Bible and, what we have of it at present, are many versions of it (that is a topic for another time - and for now we say - "Allah knows Best").  Quran has been unchanged and has remained in its pristine state because it is how Allah intended it to be, it being His Word and the final revelation revealed to the best of creation, Muhammad ﷺ. 

The ayah goes further to indicate that those people who are God-conscious will be able to get the best from this Book. Those who are sincere and inclined towards Allah, for them the understanding will become clear.

يُؤْتِى الْحِكْمَةَ مَن يَشَآءُ وَمَن يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِىَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلاَّ أُوْلُواْ الأَلْبَـبِ

He grants Hikmah (wisdom and understanding) to whom He wills, and he, to whom Hikmah is granted, is indeed granted abundant good. But none remember (will receive admonition) except men of understanding [Quran - Baqarah - 2:269]

كِتَـبٌ أَنزَلْنَـهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَـرَكٌ لِّيَدَّبَّرُواْ ءَايَـتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُوْلُو الاٌّلْبَـبِ

(This is) a Book which We have sent down to you, full of blessings, that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember. [Quran - Zumar 39:29]

Quran, from the outset, challenges man to use his intellect. We find in this Glorious Book, Quran that Allah would speak about those who reflect and are people of understanding.

اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَـباً مُّتَشَـبِهاً مَّثَانِيَ تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ هُدَى اللَّهِ يَهْدِى بِهِ مَن يَشَآءُ وَمَن
يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ هَادٍ

Allah has sent down the Best Statement, a Book, its parts resembling each other, (and) oft-repeated. The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it. Then their skin and their heart soften to the remembrance of Allah. That is the guidance of Allah. He guides therewith whom He wills; and whomever Allah sends astray, for him there is no guide [Quran - Zumar - 39:23]

Allah thus makes it clear that this is a Book revealed by Him as a guidance. The believer, having acknowledged that Allah is the Lord and Creator, takes time to study its ayaat . This invitation is extended to all of mankind and those who accepted Islam have taken the first step in drawing closer to Allah and have now adopted the Quran as his/her constitution, the ultimate guide.

There are much blessings in reading Quran and listening to its recitation. The highest level of our attachment to Quran is in studying it and practising on the knowledge  and understanding gained from it. As mentioned earlier, Allah, the Almighty, have from the first revelation challenged the intellect of man, exhorting him to study and to ponder. This command إقرأ   - Iqra' - is the foundation on which Quran is based, upon which Islam is based and is a means to understand our purpose in life and draw closer to Allah, Our Lord. In establishing this principle of reading, studying and pondering the self will be uplifted and with that humanity will benefit. A cursory look at the state of the Arabs at the time of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  then we find a nation in degradation. Islam came and transformed this nation to be leaders - indeed Quran is a guide for those who are God-conscious - there can be no doubt in it.

 

But alas, there will be those who doubt nevertheless yet they have no proof. Allah Almighty knew that there will always be people who will not accept and  find reason to attack Quran.

 

Allah challenges the disbelievers to produce the like of Quran:

قُل لَّئِنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى أَن يَأْتُواْ بِمِثْلِ هَـذَا الْقُرْءَانِ لاَ يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا - وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِى هَـذَا الْقُرْءَانِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ فَأَبَى أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ إِلاَّ كُفُورًا

Say: "If mankind and the Jinn were together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another.'') (89. And indeed We have fully explained to mankind, in this Qur'an, every kind of similitude, but most of mankind refuse (the truth and accept nothing) but disbelief. [Quran - Israa - 17:88]

This is an impossibility, but still Allah gives them a chance by reducing the challenge by asking for only ten chapters:

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ قُلْ فَأْتُواْ بِعَشْرِ سُوَرٍ مِّثْلِهِ مُفْتَرَيَاتٍ وَادْعُواْ مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـدِقِينَ

Or they say, "He forged it.'' Say: "Bring you then ten forged Surahs like unto it, and call whomsoever you can, other than Allah, if you speak the truth!'' [Quran - Hud - 11:13]

Still they cannot and Allah further reduces the challenge to only one chapter:

وَإِن كُنتُمْ فِى رَيْبٍ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُواْ بِسُورَةٍ مِّن مِّثْلِهِ وَادْعُواْ شُهَدَآءَكُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ
إِن كُنتُمْ صَـدِقِينَ

And if you (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down (i.e. the Qur'an) to Our servant (Muhammad ), then produce a Surah (chapter) of the like thereof and call your witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides Allah, if you are truthful). [Quran - Baqarah - 2:23]

Even this last challenge stands to this day and will stand forever for the author of Quran is Allah, the All-Knowing, and what He says cannot be doubted.

The challenge for the believers is to get the most benefit out of Quran. They already accept that Quran is the word of Allah and know that it is perfect. That in itself is a blessing but one can always strive for more when the treasures there for the taking. We do not have to convince the non-Muslim of the veracity of Quran, for Quran will do so by itself, but we have to present Quran to them in everything we do. The last statement clearly shows that we do good and abstain from wrong and correct ourselves where we have erred. We constantly seek for guidance from the Quran and through the Quran.

The challenge for the disbelievers is set out by Allah that they have to produce something like a chapter of Quran if they question the authenticity of Quran. The alternative to their failure should be the acceptance of Quran but that will only happen if they are sincere in the quest for the truth. They will see themselves in Quran much like we see ourselves in Quran - the question is what is the character of each of person who is exposed to Quran. We must all bear in mind that everyone has the ability to change for better or worse.

  And Allah knows Best