Ramadhan Khulasa-e-Quran

   

Allahu Akbar! We entered the blessed month

See how Allah ﷻ has granted us the month of spring. SubhanAllah! SubhanAllah! SubhanAllah! Certainly it seems that the marquee of mercy of Allah ﷻ has been set up with illuminating surrounding and illuminating breeze. Let Allah ﷻ make us be grateful for granting us such a beautiful chance and granted us Ramadhan once again in our life. The Prophet ﷺ said, “If my ummat could assess the blessings of Ramadhan, then they would wish Allah ﷻ makes the whole year as Ramadhan”. What sort of things that Allah ﷻ does not grant this mankind in this blessed month of Ramadhan! The Muslims’ faces become cheerful, peaceful and get the shine of noor maashaaAllah. O honorable ones! Be grateful for this and make every single moment of this month precious. I am speaking the truth that this sitting of you and me in this majlis (gathering) and hearing the Quran cannot happen without Allah’s ﷻ mercy. If you ask someone to spend time with you for five minutes and the person sits for an hour, then you happily express, “I asked only for five minutes and he sat for a whole 1 hr”. And so if you come to Allah’s ﷻ house for few minutes and Allah ﷻ made you sit for long, then what a great thing it is! The dearer the guest is, longer and more does Allah ﷻ makes him sit.

The summary of the Quran

O honorable ones! Praise to Allah ﷻ that He ﷻ granted us Ramadhan and also granted us the Quran. There is a very special connection between Ramadhan and the Quran. Alhamdulillah! Today we recited the first juzz of Quran where first came the Surah Fatiha . It is very difficult to give a summary of the whole Quran in a very short time but the beauty of Quran is that one could give the summary of the Quran in two minutes when he cannot narrate the tafsir (commentary) of the Quran in the whole of his lifetime. Such a great wealth! One of the great mufassir (commentator) of Quran, Hazrat Ahmed Ali Roohaani (RA) says that if any person asks him, “O Ahmed Ali tell me the summary of the tafsir of the Quran” and the whistle was already blown for the train to start and one of my legs is inside the train and the other outside, then even in this very short time, he can tell him the summary of the tafsir of the whole Quran that the summary of the whole Quran is to worship Allah ﷻ, to obey the Prophet ﷺ and to serve the creations of Allah ﷻ. This is the summary of the whole Quran: to worship Allah ﷻ, to obey the Prophet ﷺ and to serve the creations of Allah ﷻ. The summary of the whole Quran is in Surah Fatiha. The mention of Allah’s ﷻ oneness and His ﷻ greatness, the risaalat (the finality of the Prophethood) of the Prophet ﷺ, the mention of life after death; the beautiful end of those who followed the commands of Allah ﷻ and the humiliating and disgraceful end of those who clashed against the nizaam (governance) of Allah ﷻ, all these are summarized in Surah Fatiha which has been presented in the whole of the Quran. The whole Quran is comprised in the above five things whose summary is in the Surah Fatiha. Perhaps this is why Allah ﷻ made this to be heard and read repeatedly in every salah for the Muslims so the summary of the Quran remain afresh in their hearts and minds. When the summary of the whole Quran is in the Surah Fatiha, the summary of the Surah Fatiha is in the “Ba” of the “Bismillaah”. The Arabic meaning of “Ba” is to connect, which means the summary of the Quran is to connect the slave with his Allah ﷻ.

Surat-ud-Duaa
 

O honorable ones! Let the good thing happen that we get to hear some tafsir of Quran that we hear and recite and let Allah ﷻ so make it happen that this season becomes a means of our connection with Allah ﷻ. And the one who gets connected to Allah ﷻ will be protected from the arrows of all the distress, trials, worries and restlessness of this world. One of the names of the Surah Fatiha is also Surat-ud-Duaa in which Allah ﷻ has showed the slave the method of requesting. Praise Allah ﷻ, exalt Allah ﷻ, place your humility in the presence of Allah ﷻ and then present your maqsood (purpose) in the court of Allah ﷻ. And what is that maqsood? Ya Allah! Grant me the guidance. If an employer tells you to bring a letter of request when you ask him for leave, then it means that the employer is willing to grant you leave and that is why he is giving you the instruction. Similarly Allah ﷻ is showing the slave the method of request which means Allah ﷻ is willing to offer His ﷻ slave. O honorable ones! When a slave makes duaa to Allah ﷻ with firm belief in his heart and placing trust in Allah ﷻ, then Allah ﷻ doesn’t reject the duaa. Yes but Allah ﷻ is Hakeem (wise). Even when a child asks the mother for ice cream, in place of ice cream she gives an apple. Allah ﷻ too does like that. A slave asks for something and Allah ﷻ grants him some other thing because Allah ﷻ has more ilm (knowledge), wisdom and affection than the mother. A slave asks something from his point of view and Allah ﷻ grants him something from His ﷻ own grandeur. O honorable ones! But there is one thing in the whole world which has no replacement to be given in Jannah or in the form of reward. If the slave asks for that thing with the real quest to Allah ﷻ, then he will be definitely granted. If a person asks for a son, maybe he will get a replacement in Jannah, if he asks for wealth, maybe he will get a replacement in Jannah, is he asks for health, maybe he will get a replacement in Jannah, if he asks for his own house, maybe he will get a replacement in Jannah and if there is one thing that will be granted right in this world if a slave asks with true quest is hidaayat (guidance) from Allah ﷻ because its replacement is only in dunya and not in the akhirat. So if anyone seeks guidance from Allah ﷻ with true quest, then Allah ﷻ will definitely grant him the guidance. Thus the other name of the Surah is Surat-ud-Duaa. Plead to Allah ﷻ by praising Him ﷻ, exalting Him ﷻ, placing your inability, dependency and neediness before Allah ﷻ. “ihdinas siraatal mustaqeem” –Guide me to the straight path.

Allah ﷻ then shows the guidance. Siraatal-laziina ‘an-‘amta ‘alay him “Do you need guidance, then embrace the path of those who are on the straight path, upon whom is the inaam (favor) of Allah ﷻ and those were the Prophets, siddiqeen, martyrs and the righteous” Embrace them and Allah ﷻ will guide you to the straight path. Gayril-magdhuubi ‘alay him wa laz-zaaalliin. Who is maghdhuub (those who angered Allah ﷻ)? Maghdhood are those who had the ilm but no righteous deeds. Zaalleen are of that group who out of ignorance became astray. And saalih (righteous) is the one who is fortunate to have correct knowledge and also the amal (righteous deeds). If you got such people on the earth, then it is blessed for you got the guide, the path to paradise, the property and target of guidance. So just hold on to them, you will find it useful. When Allah ﷻ has made them the means of guidance, Allah ﷻ has also made the Allah’s Book as the means of guidance in addition to the people of Allah ﷻ. Then comes Surah Baqarah, where in is the mention of the Book, the guide to those who fear Allah ﷻ.

The three groups of people 

In the start of the Surah Baqarah, three groups have been mentioned. The first group is of those who are successful, the group of Muslims whose characteristics are that they believe in the unseen. Without seeing they believe in Allah ﷻ, without seeing they believe in Jannah, without seeing they believe in jahannam, without seeing they believe in the life after death, without seeing they believe in the life of Qabr, without seeing they believe in angels and without seeing they believe in the Books descended from the heaven. When this is one quality of a Muslim believing in unseen, the other quality is that he will worship Allah ﷻ physically, that is he will pray salah and he pleases Allah ﷻ through his wealth. Allah ﷻ mentions that these are the successful ones. Let Allah ﷻ make the standard of the Muslims’ success in the light of the Quran. Our standard of success is that if a person’s wishes are fulfilled more, then he has become successful. O honorable ones! This is not so, the one who got the property of eemaan has become successful. Living in a hut or a palace, it is he who got the victory who got the wealth of hidaayat.

The second group is that of the Kuffar who out of adamancy and arrogance got deprived of the wealth of hidaayat. After a certain time when he himself finishes all the qualities of hidaayat, Allah ﷻ sealed his heart when once such people used to be wise. Abu Jahl was once called Abul Hakam, the one who makes wise decisions, had far sightedness, sharp in judgment but when his heart got sealed, then he couldn’t understand the miracle sent to the Prophet ﷺ, the Quran and became deprived of hidaayat. And the third group is that of the munaafiqeen (hypocrites) who have always become snakes in sleeves of the Muslims. Outwardly they accept Islam but have only hatred for Muslims in their hearts. They wage war against the Muslims in a hidden way. This is the group that makes fun of the deen and the people of Allah ﷻ saying they are fools and of backward when thinking themselves to be very intelligent and far sighted. This is the group whose religion and path tend to be the worldly benefits. If he gets worldly benefit through Islam, he raises the flag of Islam and whenever his worldly benefits fall in danger, he renounces Islam. The mention of these munaafiqeen is in many verses. After mentioning those, Allah ﷻ gives couple of similitude regarding them that these people are blind, deaf and dumb and they remain in the darkness, and they cannot see or hear.

The excellence of mankind
 

After this is the mention of oneness of Allah ﷻ and truthfulness of the Book of Allah ﷻ. It is mentioned that even if the whole of the mankind gathers, they cannot bring a Surah like in the Quran and not just the Surah, they cannot even bring an aayat like in the Quran. Allah ﷻ then gives example of smallest of the smallest creatures like a mosquito in the ayat. When a similitude is made, it is made only in accordance with the thing compared. Based on wisdom, this world is worth comparable only to a mosquito and only in accordance to this, Allah ﷻ presented the similitude. Allah ﷻ then mentions about the creation of mankind. Allah ﷻ gave the mankind the Khilafat in this world and granted him the responsibility. Then Allah ﷻ made the man as a masjood (a thing of prostration) for the angels. Allah ﷻ gave this honor to the man because he has in him the ability to gain knowledge. Allah ﷻ then mentions about Bani Israel who were favored with countless blessings. They were also blessed with blessings in an unnatural way. But the nation was such an ungrateful nation that they repeatedly made promise to Allah ﷻ and His Prophet (AS) but repeatedly falsified the aayats and broke the promise. Allah ﷻ then debased this nation from the status of honor and put them in humiliation and disgrace. Allah ﷻ mentions that the Jews and Christians can never be the well wishers of the Muslims and in fact they have worst hatred towards Muslims in their hearts and have worst racist attitude towards them in their hearts and they never want the Muslims to progress, to flourish, ascent and gain any honor. They have lots of things in their hearts which they may not express openly but they only wish the Muslims become Jews and Christians.

The standard of success
 

Allah ﷻ asks the people of eemaan to establish salah and turn towards Allah ﷻ all the time. These Jews and Christians do not have unity even among them and call each other irreligious. Allah ﷻ mentions about Hazrat Ibrahim  who became the leader of the mankind. Allah ﷻ put him in different trials and tribulations but he came out from every trial victorious. Allah ﷻ granted him the rank of leader of the mankind. Through the hands of Hazrat Ibrahim , Allah ﷻ built the kaaba and by the result of his prayer brought the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to this world and even the existence of this ummah is the result of the duaa of the Prophet Ibrahim . Allah ﷻ then brings out the task of the Prophet ﷺ that he teaches people Quran, its tafsir and purifies people. The success of the followers of the Prophet ﷺ was mentioned for whoever abandons his  way will go astray. Allah ﷻ says if we believe like Sahabahs believed then our eemaan too will become reliable. The Sahabahs are standards when it comes to eemaan and truth. Only those who bring eemaan like them and who tread their path will become successful. Allah ﷻ then mentions about one of the propagandas of the Jews about the change of qiblah of the Muslims from Bait-ul-Muqaddas to Bait-ul-Allah towards which the Muslims started praying salah. The Jews started the propaganda that what sort of strange deen is that where people sometimes turn to that side and this side. Allah ﷻ replied that there is nothing in Bait-ul-Muqaddas or Bait-ul-Allah but it is mainly the command of Allah ﷻ that matters. The command was first to turn towards Bait-ul-Muqaddas and turning towards it was the ibaadat (worship) and now the command is to turn towards Bait-ul-Allah and turning now towards it was the ibaadat (worship). So the real thing is about the following the command of Allah ﷻ and His ﷻ obedience is the worship and this is calledthe servitude.

Seek Allah’s ﷻ help through patience and salah
 

The Rabbul Aalameen tells the people of eemaan that if they need His ﷻ help then seek through patience and prayer through which He ﷻ grants His ﷻ help. Allah ﷻ says not to call those who die in His ﷻ path and sacrificed their lives for His ﷻ deen as dead for they are having an excellent life with Him ﷻ for which thousand lives can be sacrificed. Allah ﷻ tests one by taking something from him or granting something to him and whoever exercise patience, he attains the goal and say “inna lillaahi wa inna ilaihi raajioon”. We and everything of us belong to Allah ﷻ and He ﷻ has the right to take away anything from us and when we return to Him ﷻ we will get the reward from Him ﷻ. Whoever has such patience, on him will be the shower of Allah’s ﷻ mercy. It is mentioned that safa and marwaa are from the signs of Allah ﷻ. There used to be idols here before the advent of Islam after which they became the signs of Allah ﷻ where in Muslims used to made duaa during “sai”.

The lowly act of hiding the truth
 

Those people are the most unfortunate ones who for few worthless pennies hide the truth and they have the curse of Allah ﷻ. Allah’s ﷻ tawheed (oneness) is then mentioned that Allah ﷻ is one and unique in His being and having the characteristics. See the governance of the world which is run solely by Allah ﷻ and see Whose command runs in the wind and breeze of this world and see Who pegged the mountains on the earth and Who brought forth the fruits and grains from the earth. Everything invites towards Allah’s ﷻ tawheed and Power. Allah ﷻ says, “O people eat that is pure”. Allah ﷻ calls us towards righteousness while shaitaan calls towards evil. Allah ﷻ then mentions about the forbidden things that pig is haram, the meat that is slaughtered in the name of other than Allah ﷻ is haram, the flowing blood is haram and animals that are dead are haram to consume. Allah ﷻ repeatedly mentions not to hide the truth for it is such a lowly act to buy the misguidance in place of few worthless pennies. It is a thing of great courage to have patience over the punishment of Allah ﷻ for hiding the truth for worldly benefits. This is how Allah ﷻ disapproves the act of hiding the truth for worldly benefits and this is the summary of the first juzz of Quran.
Let Allah ﷻ help us to act on what we hear, write and read. Ameen

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Introduction to Methodology for Study of the Quran

 

Methodology for the Study of Dajjāl in the Qur’ān was meant to be included as a chapter of my book on Dajjāl. However I realized that it was too long to function as a chapter, and hence I had to remove the material that was specific to Dajjāl, and then publish it as a separate book altogether. I have no regrets in doing so since it was my desire that this be my last effort at teaching basic methodology for the study of the Qur’ān. I have done no more than offer an introduction to that methodology. Those who wish to do so, can search for books which teach the subject comprehensivel.

The ‘Introduction’ to the religious thought of the distinguished Islamic scholar, Maulānā Dr. Muhammad Fazlur Rahmān Ansārī (1914-1974) contains important information and analysis on methodology which complement the text of this book. Readers are advised to read that ‘Introduction’ to his religious thought in order to enhance their understanding of the subject of this book. It is located in Appendix 1 of the book. Indeed most of what is explained in the text itself on methodology has come from him, and it is he who should have written this book. 

I wish I had an introductory book such as this to study when I was his student just beginning my study of Tafsīr al- Qur’ān. Had he written it, I have no doubt that it would have spurred me on to a faster and more productive effort of study of the Holy Qur’ān.Allah Most High declared that He sent down the Qur’ān in the Arabic language in order that it might provoke a people to think (Qur’ān, Yūsuf, 12:2), and hence to study the Book with the rational faculty. Most translators of the Qur’ān admit that it cannot be translated to another language. (See Muhammad Asad’s essay entitled: Can the Qur’ān be translated? Published by the Centre Islamique, Geneva. 1964) Rather, the most that can be achieved in a translation is an approximate rendering of the meaning of the miraculous Arabic text. For this reason we always quote in this book, the actual Arabic text of the Qur’ān which has been preserved unaltered for close to fifteen hundred years, and having done so, we then offer an explanatory translation with our explanatory comments (always carefully enclosed in brackets). 

We have done so in order to facilitate the proper study of the Qur’ān.References for quotations from the Qur’ān are always provided below the translation of the Arabic text as follows: first the name of the Sūrah, then the number of the Sūrah, followed by the verse number; e.g., (Qur’ān, al-Baqarah, 2:21; Qur’ān, Yūsuf, 12:2; etc.). We sometimes quote only a relevant part of the text of a long verse of the Qur’ān since, to do otherwise would unduly increase the size of the book. Readers can access the entire text of such verses if they log on to the Finally, I wrote most of this book in Rabī al-Thānī 1437,  visit to the city of Geneva in Switzerland, in order to participate in a seminar on ‘Preparing for Nuclear War’.

 I gratefully acknowledge the kind assistance provided by Mushtaq’s Food Machinery of UK which made my travel to Geneva, as well as my stay in Geneva, possible. May Allah bless them for their kind assistance. Āmīn!

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Quran As the Ultimate Source of History

 

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the final messenger of Allah to mankind. His honorary and the operative title was the Seal of the Prophets. The Qur’an, which was given to him, was likewise the final revealed guidance of Allah to people.

As such, the Qur’an looks as much to the present and the future, as to the past. While it aims to diagnose the present, providing answers for it and paving the way for the future, it also, in equal measure, amends and remedies the past.This is so on account of the principle that one has to know his past in order to understand his present and to be able to build up his future. The past is the foundation of the future. The present brings the two poles together and gives each one life as well as a sense of purpose.

The Qur’an speaks not only about some of the critical episodes of mankind’s history, but also about the history of life in general, and even about some aspects of the history of the universe. It intends to provide man with a complete spiritual, together with intellectual, framework concerning existence as a whole. It knows that only such can give a man a firm foothold to deal with the present and confidently look forward to the future.What is special about the Qur’an is that its author is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and life in it. Allah vows in addition that He will preserve its integrity and authenticity until the end. It follows that everything in the Qur’an is accurate, trustworthy, undisputable, and normative.Hence, a historical dimension is one of the many dimensions of the Qur’an as the permanent miracle. 

It was given to the unlettered Prophet (pbuh), who in no way could have been familiar beforehand with the Qur’an’s content.For example, in various contexts and with diverse degrees of attention, the Qur’an speaks about the creation of the universe and life, the creation of man, the commencement and earliest episodes of man’s vicegerency mission on the earth, various Prophets and their holy missions, various nations and their civilizational successes and failures, etc.

The Qur’an also evidences and preserves some of the most significant chapters of Prophet Muhammad’s mission, which was destined to forever change the course of human history and civilization.The Qur’an does so by turning frequently its attention to extraordinary facts and minutest details. It occasionally addresses the Prophet (pbuh) to the effect that he was not around to witness a historical occurrence, and that neither he nor his people had any knowledge about it, implying thereby that the divine revelation was the only source of the knowledge in question.To the Qur’an, history is a compendium of infinite signs, lessons, admonitions, and approvals. History is a book, so to speak, to be read and a “school” to be “attended.” Islam’s greatest enemies, it can be inferred, are myths, forgeries, legends, and superstitions, i.e., untruths.

The case of the Ka’bahThe instance of the Ka’bah (al-Masjid al-Haram or the Holy Mosque) in Makkah serves as a perfect example of how serious Islam’s treatment of history is.The Ka’bah was first built by Prophet Adam and then rebuilt by Prophets Ibrahim and Isma’il. It was the first House of worship (House of God) appointed for mankind, “blessed and a guidance for the worlds” (Alu ‘Imran, 96).The structure and the metaphysical message it exemplified stood for the divine truth, the intent, and the story of existence, and for the human honourable destiny. It was a representation of micro-and macro-history. However, prior to the Prophet’s liberation (opening to Islam or fath) of Makkah, the Ka’bah was under the control of the polytheists of Makkah. As such, it was immersed in falsehood, darkness, fabrications, and other sorts of spiritual and physical impurities.It was filled and surrounded with 360 idols, symbolizing 360 wrong visions, ideas, and interpretations relating to myriads of historical and current things and events. Moreover, on the pillars and walls of the Ka’bah there were depictions of the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus (as Son of God) seated on his mother’s lap, of Prophets Ibrahim and Isma’il holding divination arrows, and of angels as beautiful women.

These were extra confirmations that people either deliberately distorted, or simply misconstrued, history.  In the midst of both monotheistic and polytheistic tendencies, the Ka’bah’s status and role were meant to be universal. Before the Prophet’s purification of it, it testified that people’s worldviews and life standards were faulty and that their fundamental aspects of history were erroneously articulated.There was virtually no hope for optimism, and no faith left to fall back on. People lived in the darkness and ignorance of the present time because of the historical ubiquitous darkness-es and ignorance-s. The former was the effect, the latter the cause.

The mere presence of Christianity, Judaism, polytheism, and the primitive forms of hedonism and agnosticism, was proof of such spiritual, moral, and intellectual conundrums humanity had to put up with. The lack of their historicity was as debilitating as the lack of their ideological assurance.Thus, while he was ordering that those misrepresentations be obliterated, and the truth about history and Heaven restored, the Prophet (pbuh) said about Prophet Ibrahim and Isma’il: “By Allah, neither Ibrahim nor Isma’il practiced divination by arrows.”He additionally said about Ibrahim, the father of Prophets: “Accursed be the Makkans! They have made our ancestors an idolater and a diviner.

What does Ibrahim have to do with divination arrows? He was neither a Jew nor a Christian nor yet an associationist, but a hanif, and a Muslim.”The Prophet (pbuh) similarly denied that angels had any bodily forms as depicted in the pictures of the Ka’bah walls and that they were either male or female.While cleansing the Ka’bah and restoring it to its original purpose and character, the Prophet (pbuh) recited these Allah’s words: “Truth has (now) arrived, and falsehood perished, for falsehood is (by its nature) bound to perish” (al-Isra’, 81).It was only after the past had been rectified - both theoretically and practically - that the present was able to be duly served and the future planned.History and the biggest problems people face todayThose who decline to follow the message of Islam, decline the prospect of knowing and following the historical truths as well. Their most consequential theories and assumptions are based – as the Qur’an verifies – on sheer conjectures and what their own souls desire, which however avail nothing against the truth (al-Najm, 28).Ignorance about history begets confusion about the present and uncertainty about the future. That spells a perfect storm for creating and then perpetuating some of the biggest predicaments of man. For instance, the painful scourges of modern times, such as racism, endless conflicts, nationalism, environmental destruction, and spiritual and moral decadence, are mainly due to the engrained ignorance of history – as well as the truth - of mankind, religion, life, and the earth as the home.

Racism, ceaseless and fluid forms of colonialism, and conflicts are rampant because some people think they have been created superior to others, and that they should rule over them either by a divine or an acquired right. Religious degeneracy is prevalent because the Prophets have been rejected and their teachings deformed, resulting in good being bartered for evil, and honesty for deceit.This is obviously an upshot of certain people’s misreading and outright distortions of history. The Qur’an, as an instance, brings the Jews and Christians to task over their tampering with and altering of Holy Scriptures and of the terms of their ancient covenants with Allah, “changing and displacing words from their right places.”Darwinism, as especially Western modernity’s state creed, is also a big culprit. Its main ideas that man evolved from apes (with Stephen Hawking saying that man is nothing more than an advanced breed of monkeys); that natural selection processes govern not only plants and animals but also individuals, groups, and societies; that only the fittest and strongest will survive, while the rest will grow weaker and will eventually go extinct – caused irreparable damage to human civilization.The fault of Darwinism was two-fold. 

It negated and blurred the true history, while, at the same time, helping inscribe a fraudulent one.Darwinism promoted imperialism, racism, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. It cemented the principle that might is – and makes - right. The powerful ones can do whatever they want unchallenged, even if what they do is unjustified. Such people believed that by virtue of being powerful (fittest), they have been mandated (selected) by the laws and forces of life (and history) to do what they do.Moreover, the bio-capacity of the earth is abused to the point that mankind is steadily approaching an environmental crisis of global proportions. The culprit, unsurprisingly, is a being – man – which is still in the dark about its origins, significance, purpose, and destiny (history), and which not only turned its back on spirituality and morality but as well declared war against them.As long as man does not show respect to himself and his authentic past, he will never be able to show genuine respect to anything else in the present as well as in the future. All the fancy talk about sustainability and conservation is only a cover-up. It is but a sign of panic rooted in embarrassing ignorance. 

The chickens are coming home to roost. All of a sudden, the fact that man’s whole existence is in jeopardy started to emerge. It is finally dawning upon man that for the sake of his venal, greedy, and muddled ends he will not be able to devour ad infinitum the capacities of the natural world. It is very little that is sincere in the sustainable development discourses. It is all about that confused and avaricious being that is trying to save his own skin.Clearly, those problems will refuse to go away. People do not have what it takes to properly diagnose - much less cure - them. As consequence, they will persist as long as the historical causes that produced and sustain them remain alive.Equally true is the verity that if man knew his existential history, and if he held on to it, things would be different. Such knowledge of history is a precondition for effectively tackling any menace that may rear its ugly head and trouble humanity. 

Things would be definitely different, furthermore, if man knew and subscribed to the truths that he was created by the Creator with a noble purpose and that he was fully accountable to Him; that the earth was created for man to be Allah’s vicegerent on it; that everything in the heavens and the earth has been subjected to man and his noble mission; that the natural world has been created as a realm of Allah’s faithful servants, boons and blessings to man, enlightening signs, and as part of a universal equilibrium and harmony; that Allah deliberately created people different in every way, and made the nations and tribes so that they could know and learn from each other (“Indeed, the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct” (al-Hujurat, 13)); and that Allah continuously sent His Prophets so as to make sure that mankind stayed the course and did not deviate into the abyss of ignorance and falsehood, etc.

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Zakat

 

The expression "in the cause of Allah" or fi Sabil Allah was generally interpreted "Jihad fi Sabil Allah" and so many jurists restricted this Zakah expense for this purpose.Muslim jurists also say that in the Qur'an Allah used the word "Lil fuqara' wa Al-masakin or 'for the poor and the needy' and the 'lam' or (for)" here means 'tamlik' or possession. 

Thus they interpret the above verse to mean that the poor and needy should be made owners of this money or Tamlik Al-Zakah.Since in public and social welfare projects no one becomes the owner, so, according to their interpretation the Zakah should not be used for this purpose. Thus you will find in the books of Fiqh statements emphasizing that the money should not be used to build the Masajid, schools, hospitals, hostels etc. because this money belong to poor and it should be given to them. There are some jurists who still hold this strict opinion concerning Zakah.However, there are a number of jurists of this century, such as Sheikh Muhammad 'Abduh, Rashid Rida, Maulana Mawdudi, Amin Ahsan Islahi, Yusuf Al-Qaradawi and some Fatwa organizations in Kuwait and Egypt, they are of the opinion that the phrase 'in the cause of Allah' covers a broad category. 

It is a general term and it should be applied in all those situations where there is a need to serve Islam and Muslims.Those scholars consider it permissible to use the Zakah money to finance the Da'wah and public welfare programs. They say that the expression 'for the poor and needy' can also mean 'for the benefit of the poor and needy'.The modern jurists also argue that in the past Muslim governments used to build Mosques, schools and used to finance public welfare projects. Now many governments are negligent in this matter. 

Many Muslims are living in areas where there are no Muslim governments.Furthermore the financial needs of the people have become so enormous and diverse that earlier rules and restrictions cannot be fully applied and may not be very useful in every place.In his famous book Fiqh Az-Zakah, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, has thoroughly discussed this subject. His Fatwa is that in non-Muslim countries it is permissible to use Zakah funds to build the Masajid, Schools and hospitals.Muslims from all over the world go to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates etc. to solicit funds for the building of their Mosques and schools. Most of the business people in those countries give their Zakah for this purpose. Many people from all over the world use this money for building projects without any question.Now, there are many people who come to North America to solicit funds for their Mosques and schools in some poor countries. American Muslims are also giving their Zakah to build Masajid and schools in other countries.It is the concept of 'fi Sabil Allah' and helping the Islamic cause in many lands where it has made it possible to establish Islamic institutions and Mosques.

Zakah is basically for the poor and needy and most of it should be used to take care of their needs. I believe that for the Mosque constructions Muslims should make extra charity and should give from funds other than Zakah. However, it is not forbidden for Muslims to give their Zakah money for the building of Mosques and schools, especially in non-Muslim countries.Islamic centers should have a separate Zakah fund. Those who do not want their Zakah to be used in building projects, should give their money to the Zakah fund. But those who want to give their Zakah for the Masjid construction they should donate directly to that project."

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What is Islamic studies?

  Islam is practised not only from west to east in a line stretching from Morocco to Indonesia and across every country in between, but also in much of Africa and more recently in Europe and America. There are communities of Lebanese Muslims living in Brazil and Gaelic-speaking Pakistanis in north-west Scotland. And Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. One in five people on this planet are Muslims, so it seems reasonable to try to learn much more about them.

Islamic studies, as taught in the west, is a discipline that seeks to explain what the Islamic world has achieved in the past and what the future holds for it. Its past is indeed rich. In 732, a hundred years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the Arab conquests had created the greatest empire that the world had yet seen, stretching from central France to the borders of China. It was held together by the Islamic faith and by Arabic, the language of the Qur’an. The gilded world of the ninth-century Abbasid court – whose capital, Baghdad, rivalled Rome – is evoked in the stories of the Thousand and One Nights. Here the caliphs established an academy, the House of Wisdom, which served as a translation centre where Arabic versions (later produced also in Toledo, in Spain) were made of the masterpieces of Graeco-Roman, Persian and Indian culture in philosophy, literature, mathematics, astronomy, medicine and other fields of scientific learning. These works, saved from oblivion by the Arabs, reached the west, were translated into Latin and ultimately made the Renaissance possible. Muslim Spain, for example, was centuries ahead of the rest of Europe in its lifestyle; its capital, Cordoba, had street lighting, underground sewage, hot and cold running water, public baths and other amenities while other European cities were sunk in squalor. Moorish expertise in irrigation and agriculture made the gardens of Spain a byword for the arts of leisure.

At the heart of the discipline of Islamic studies are the languages of that world and the investigation of Islam as a faith and a practical guide for everyday life. This involves close study of the Qur’an and the sayings of Muhammad. Beyond that, wide perspectives beckon, such as the workings of Islamic law, Sufism (Islamic mysticism), political thought, the major divisions of the faith (Sunnis and Shi‘ites), Arab, Persian and Turkish literature and the role of women. Islamic art produced carpets, luxury ceramics, precious miniature paintings and buildings of world renown like the Alhambra and the Taj Mahal. The grand sweep of Islamic history ,told by its own chroniclers, takes students from the rise of Islam and the life of the Prophet Muhammad, through to the first Arab dynasties and then further afield; to the later interplay between Arabs, Turks and Persians, to the Crusades, in which Muslims (here Saladin is the charismatic figure) and Crusaders co-existed, often harmoniously, and learned from each other in unexpected ways, and to the gunpowder empires of the early modern period – the Turkish Ottomans, the Persian Safavids and the Indian Mughals. The story is taken into modern times by studying how Muslims responded to the military and cultural encroachment of the West, achieving independence, and the roles they play in today’s globally interconnected world.

The British Academy sponsors research wherever it is carried out – in universities, museums and other institutions – into all of the topics mentioned above and many more. This Muslim culture left its imprint on the languages of Europe, with words of Arabic origin like admiral, mattress, alcohol, coffee, sugar, oranges and lemons, algebra, logarithm, cotton, magazine, kebab. There are over a hundred stars in the sky with Arabic names. We urgently need to get to know Muslims, including their faith and their civilisation, better.

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Importance And Major Events Of Dhu al-Qidah Islamic Month

 

 Dul al-Qudah is also known as Zulqida is the 11th month in the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months in Islam during which War is prohibited.

The Islamic calendar is known as a Luna Calendar and months starts when the first crescent of the new moon is being sighted. Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 or 12 days shorter than the tropical year, Dhu Al-Qidah moves throughout the season.

Dhu al-Qidah Important Dates

• 1st Dhu al-Qidah: Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.
• 8th Dhu al-Qidah: Hajj was made mandatory on Muslims (at least once in a lifetime).
• 11th Dhu al-Qidah: Birth of Ali al-Ridha.
• 18th Dhu al-Qidah: The event of Ghadir Khumm (10 A.H.)
• 25th Dhu al-Qidah: Birth of Ibrahim (AS) and Isa (AS) also known as Jesus.
• 25th Dhu al-Qidah: It was the day when the earth was laid beneath the Kaaba.

Other mentions includes;

• 5 AH: Muslims fought the Battle of the Trench.
• 6 AH: Pledge of the Tree.
• 7 AH: The First Umrah was performed by Prophet Muhammad PBUH with his companions.

All information in this article is sited from Sahih Muslim.

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Science Proves Prophet Muhammad’s Sunnah Prevents Brain Damage in New Borns

 As we have discussed previously, the scientifically proven sunnah of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, the sunnah of Tahnik, has also been proven by science to prevent brain damage in newborns.

What is Tahnik?

Prophet Muhammad PBUH made Tahnik a mandatory sunnah for newborns. Tahnik is the process of putting a piece of Data in your mouth until it gets soft and then rubs it onto the upper part of the mouth of the newborn.

After 1,400 years, Science proves Tahnik Sunnah Prevents Brain Damage in NewBorns

Experts say that a dose of sugar given as a gel to babies is rubbed inside the cheek of premature babies to protect them in an effective and cheap way to provide protection against brain damage.

Low blood sugar dangerously affects one in 10 babies which are born early. It can cause permanent harm if it is not treated.

The gel therapy was tested in 242 babies under the researchers and it is said that now it should be the first-line treatment, According to researchers from New Zealand. Their work is published in the lancet. 

SUGAR DOSE

It is said by Prof Jane and her team at the University of Auckland that per baby, the cost of dextrose gel treatment is over £1, and it is simpler to administer than glucose through a drip.Currently, the treatment includes more feeding and continuous blood tests to measure the levels of blood sugar.

Most of the babies are admitted to extra and intensive care. They are provided intravenous glucose because their blood sugar is low, and doctors Often call it hypoglycemia.The study estimated if treatment with dextrose gel was more beneficial than feeding alone at reversing hypoglycemia.

These procedures suggested that it should be considered a treatment even though Dextrose gel had fallen into disuse, as Neil Marlow said from the institute for Women’s health at University College of London.

He also said that he had high-quality proof that it was valuable.According to new research, it is an exciting piece. The researchers welcome everything that can provide better outcomes and results for sick and premature born babies. As said by the chief executive of a premature baby charity called Andy Cole.

This is a cost-effective treatment and could lessen the admissions towards high care services that are working at high capacity levels.There is yet more research to be done for the implementation of this treatment. However still, its early results show advantages to premature babies who have low blood sugar by birth.

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7 Hadiths About Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain (RA)

 

 Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain (RA) were brothers and sons of Ali Ibn Abi Talib (RA) and Fatima Bint Muhammad (RA) and the grandsons of Prophet Muhammad PBUH.

Prophet’s Love for Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain (RA)

The great and excessive attention from Prophet (PBUH) towards him and Imam Hasan (RA), his brother, is the deep and most beautiful aspect of the life of Hazrat Hussain (RA). Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) affection for them was so clear that the narrators and historians noted a variety of moments of affection. The following are a few moments from these incidents.

The eldest son of the Prophet’s (PBUH) daughter Fatimah (RA) and Hazrat Ali (RA) was Al-Hasan Ibn Abi Talib. He was also the elder brother to Hussain (RA), along with being the fifth Caliph (Rashidun). Muslims know and give respect to him as the grandchild of the beloved Prophet (PBUH). After his father’s death, Hasan was selected as the Caliphate yet dictated to Muawiyah, the originator of the Umayyad dynasty to call off the first fitna, after six or seven months.

The caliph turned into leadership after Hasan (RA) abdication. Hasan (RA) was famous for his donations, kindness to the bondmen and the poor, his tolerance, bravery, and knowledge. Hasan (RA) spent the rest of his life in Madina till his death is 45 years old. He was buried in Madina, in the Jannat Al-Baqi cemetery. Ja’da bint Al-Ashat, his wife is commonly blamed for poisoning him to death.

Hussain ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib was the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and the Prophet’s daughter, Fatima (RA), and the grandson to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He is an essential personality in Islam as he belongs as a member of the Prophet’s (PBUH) household (Ahl-e-Bayt).

Also, the Members of Ahl-e-Kisa (Cloak). Khadijah bint Khuwaylid was the maternal grandmother of Hussain. Hasan (RA) and Hussain (RA) were considered by the Prophet (PBUH) as His own sons because of the love He had for them and as they were Fatimah’s (RA) sons.

1. You will be in Jannah if you love them

2. Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain (RA) are the two Flowers

3. He (PBUH) loved them so much

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History, Quotes And Life of Zainab Bint Ali (RA)

 Sayyidah Zaynab bint ‘Ali (RA) was the daughter of Ali (RA) and Fatimah Bint Muhammad (RA) and was the sister of Hasan (RA) and Hussain (RA)

Who was Zainab Bint Ali (RA)?

She was the granddaughter of our beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). She was the third child of Ali (RA)’s first wife Fatimah Bint Muhammad (RA).

She was a woman of courage, who stood up against Yazid in Karbala. Because of the sacrifice, she made in the battle of Karbala, she was named “Heroine of Karbala”.

Life of Zainab Bint Ali (RA)

She was born in Madina, om 5 Jumada al awwal, 5 AH (October 2) 626 CE Julian calendar. Just like Hassan (RA) and Hussain (RA), she was also named by Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Ali (RA)’s three daughters were named “Zainab” so, she was called “Zainab the Elder”. By the time her (RA) mother (RA) died, she was just 7 years old.

Martial Life of Zainab Bint Ali (RA)

She was married to Abdullah ibn Ja’far (RA), who was the nephew of Ali (RA). She and her husband spent a modest life.  Zainab (RA) had five children, four sons Ali (RA), Aun (RA), Muhammad (RA), and Abbas (RA) and a daughter Umm Kulthum (RA).

Zainab Bint Ali (RA)’s Role in Karbala

After the martyrdom of the family in the Battle of Karbala, She (RA) was the one who supported the other family members. She (RA) and her family members have marched all around Syria. Traditions state that at the time she (RA) was suffering from severe mental and physical pain after seeing her brother Hussain (RA) die.

Zainab Bint Ali (RA)’s Sermon

After they have been presented in the court of Yazid, Zainab (RA) said a Khutba (Sermon), which still Muslims all around the world and get inspired by the references and words she used to counter Yazid’s misbehavior.

Death of Zainab Bint Ali (RA)

She was buried in the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque. She (RA) died on 15th Rajab 62 AH and she was just 57 years old. Today there are two shrines one in Cairo and the other in Damascus where She (RA) is said to be buried. But, Damascus shows the higher claims of being her being buried there.

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