Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Inner jihad |
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| Anonymous |
| 02/22/01 at 16:25:09 |
| Asalamu Alaykum WRWB, I will try to keep my introduction as brief as possible, but it is important I think that you know my background. I was raised Catholic but abandoned my Faith in my early 20's, turning instead to a life of indulgence and decadence for the next 15 years or so. This led to being cast into Hell in this very life, as you can imagine. I then turned to Buddha, as I was still too ignorant and arrogant to recognise the Creator of All. I practiced a Tibetan Path for about 6 years before I acknowledged that this was not "working" for me, although it did help me in many, many ways. In October of last year, my eyes were opened, and I pronounced my Shahada. While I have never felt more spiritually "in tune" in my life, I still have so many questions and concerns, particularly where my Buddhistic foundation conflicts with Islam. Here are the issues at the forefront of my own personal jihad. * Animals. I have been a friend to animals my whole life, and as a Buddhist, was taught to believe they are souls just as I am. Also, I have had dogs under my roof since I was 11. Islam has admonished me to exterminate (or turn out, which amounts to the same thing) my dogs, or I will be forfeiting a portion of my baraka every day. Additionally, I stuggle with, why would Allah create other peaceful creatures such as sheep and goats, and then ask us to kill them by the millions in His name? As a vegetarian I have a very hard time with this. * I struggle in general with the harshness and anger that seems to be part and parcel of Islam. Even accounts of the Prophet himself (SAWS) who advocated the stoning to death of adulterers as opposed to forgiveness. One account of this was so touching I found myself sympathising with the adulterers! Two adulterers were ordered stoned to death and as the punishment was being carried out, the man covered the woman's body with his to protect her. How beautiful! There is also a Hadith where Rasulullah (SAWS) said, if he had the firewood he would've set fire to every house where the people therein prayed in their homes and not in the masjid. In this world, such as it is, I would think that it would be enough that people were praying AT ALL. I look to the Ummah to help guide me with my confusion and bewilderment and I hope some of you can offer some Hikmah. Wassalam, Daud |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Anwar |
| 02/23/01 at 11:23:13 |
| Aslamu alaikum wa rahmatullah First of all I would like to commend you for having the correct approach in trying to understand your religion, since being honest about your problems and then turning to your fellow Muslim brothers and sisters for help is the best thing to do. [quote]Islam has admonished me to exterminate (or turn out, which amounts to the same thing) my dogs [/quote] Islam never encourages us to be cruel to Animals, even dogs, but the prophet Muhammad (saw) has taught that one third of Islam is cleanliness and as Muslims it is required of us to be clean and pure when we observe our prayers and so on. So to fulfil this obligation a Muslim must try and keep him/herself and his/her home clear from impurities because the home is also a place where one establishes prayer. Hence it is undesirable for an animal like a dog that is unclean to live with us in our homes, but like all the creatures of Allah (swt) it has the right to be respected and not harmed. So then it is not fair for any of us to say that Islam is asking me to exterminate my dogs once we are aware of the Islamic teachings regarding the matter, since if we were living a hygienic lifestyle in the first place we would not be faced with such a problems. [quote] why would Allah create other peaceful creatures such as sheep and goats, and then ask us to kill them by the millions in His name[/quote] Allah (swt) in His infinite wisdom has created all animals for our use, especially cattle and sheep and so on. If one ponders over these animals he/she will find that they comprise of many provisions that man has reaped gain from, and depended on for survival throughout the ages up till know. Also the method, which Islam has given to humanity in slaughtering such animals, is the most pain free and dignified method which exists, contrasting starkly with the inhumane and barbaric method applied by the disbelievers. There was a very interesting article, which came in the AL-Jumuah magazine not long ago, which scientifically compared the two methods and found that the Islamic method was the best in causing no pain to the animal. [quote]I struggle in general with the harshness and anger that seems to be part and parcel of Islam [/quote] Please forgive me if I am going to offend you, but that is a grossly inaccurate and hugely unjust statement. Far from being a part and parcel of Islam, both anger and harshness have been specifically forbidden in Islam. Allah (swt) says in the Quran- Those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity, or in adversity; who restrain anger, and pardon (all) men;- for Allah loves those who do good; Surah Al-Imran Verse 134 Al-Bukhaari narrated in al-Saheeh (6116) from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that a man said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “Advise me.” He said: “Do not get angry.” The man repeated his request several times, and he said, “Do not get angry.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) regarded the one who controls himself when he is angry as being the strongest of men he (saw) has said: “The strong man is not the one who can wrestle (fight); the strong man is the one who controls himself at the time of anger.” Narrated 'Abdullah bin Mulaika: 'Aisha said that the Jews came to the Prophet and said, "As-Samu 'Alaikum" (death be on you). 'Aisha said (to them), "(Death) be on you, and may Allah curse you and shower His wrath upon you!" The Prophet said, "Be calm, O 'Aisha ! You should be kind and lenient, and beware of harshness and Fuhsh (i.e. bad words)." She said (to the Prophet), "Haven't you heard what they (Jews) have said?" He said, "Haven't you heard what I have said (to them)? I said the same to them, and my invocation against them will be accepted while theirs against me will be rejected (by Allah). " Al-Bukhaari narrated in al-Saheeh (6114) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Narrated Abu Masud: The Prophet beckoned with his hand towards Yemen and said, "Belief is there." The harshness and mercilessness are the qualities of those farmers etc, who are busy with their camels and pay no attention to the religion. The above verses from the Quran and the Ahaadith clearly show that Islam discourages both Anger and Harshness. [quote]Prophet himself (SAWS) who advocated the stoning to death of adulterers as opposed to forgiveness.[/quote] This is a misunderstanding about the concept of punishment in Islam, as the punishment is only in this life and does not necessarily mean that the person will not be forgiven in the next life where the punishments are far more terrible and the mercies far more wonderful. The penalties imposed for committing great sins such as adultery and murder also act as a deterrent for people not to commit such crimes. There is a famous hadeeth (which I could not find anywhere on the internet) where a Muslim women came to the prophet confessing that she had committed adultery and insisting that she should be stoned but the prophet (saw) tried hard to ignore and turn away from her because he (saw) was the most merciful and kind individual and disliked any of the believers to be harmed. But because the women was a true believer and was ashamed of her actions and wanted to repent she continued to insist. When finally she was stoned to death the prophet (saw) prayed janazah over her whereby one of the companions was shocked and asked the prophet (saw) how can you pray over an adulteress, the prophet (saw) answered that the repentance she had made would have been enough to have forgiven many people (an exact number was specified which I can not remember). I would like to request any brother and sister on this board who has the above hadeeth to please place on this thread. [quote] Rasulullah (SAWS) said, if he had the firewood he would've set fire to every house where the people therein prayed in their homes and not in the masjid. In this world, such as it is, I would think that it would be enough that people were praying AT ALL.[/quote] Allah (swt) has said that “he (saw) does not speak of his own desire but it is an inspiration which is inspired”. This hadeeth is only applicable to Men, because it is better for women to pray at home. The statement of the prophet (saw) is very true because it is only out of laziness and ingratitude that men choose not to go to the masjid even though the masjid is within walking distance. If the man was to continue with this attitude and not be warned about it he would only get worse in his heedlessness, so the prophet was too right in letting them know the gravity of the situation they were in. Plus there is so much more reward in praying in the masjid as mentioned in many ahadith that how can we be so ungrateful to reject such offerings from Allah (swt). As a final piece of advise I would like to say to the brother/sister to always thoroughly research the matter before coming to any conclusion, since everything which has been ordained in Islam has been done so for a reason even if we are unable to know why? But really with most things in this religion if one were to contemplate regarding them he would find numerous reasons for their decree. |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| UmmZaid |
| 02/23/01 at 20:13:23 |
| Salaam 'Alaikum Anonymous, I think the foremost thing for you to keep in mind right now is that you have only been Muslim a few months. You might get sick of hearing that, but just keep it in mind. Looking at your background, I think it is safe to say that you don't read or speak Classical Arabic. So you have to keep in mind when you are reading about Islam or hearing about Islam that you are relying on someone else's interpretation of what is being said, or what they think it should be translated as, etc. It is so important that you just learn this Arabic so you can read from the sources yourself. My spoken Arabic is poor, and I can't understand Modern Arabic at all, but because I can read Arabic, and because I can use a dictionary, I can read from the Qur'an myself, and look up the words that I might not understand, or might want to get a further meaning of. And let me tell you, there is definitely a deeper understanding there, now that I can see all of the meanings of a particular word. And also, b/c sometimes the translators of Qur'an, or Sunnah or classical books aren't *really* translating the whole thing, or they are leaving things out, and so on. And for the non Arabic reader, the one who struggles to read Qur'an, you get more hasanat (blessings) for struggling with each letter and each word of the Qur'an than someone who can read and recite it easily. Also, Anonymous Brother or Sister, there is an aya (verse, but literally "sign") in the Qur'an that says what is translated as, "Do men think taht they will be left alone on saying 'We believe,' and that they will not be tested?" (Sura al Ankabut, the Spider, 29:2) Just remember that everyone's test is different. Perhaps these issues are your test. Some people are tested by praying 5 times a day, some are tested by the ban on alcohol, and so on. For some Muslims, having questions like yours are a test. >>Islam has admonished me to exterminate (or turn out, which amounts to the same thing) my dogs<< I sense that perhaps you are being a little dramatic here? Putting your dogs in the yard, or sending them to live on a farm if you can't do that is not the same as "exterminating" them. Allah subhannahu wa ta'ala commands that we be kind to animals, as does His Prophet, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam. There was an incident wherein a Quraysh Kafir came up to Abu Bakr, radhi Allahu anhu (I'm pretty sure it was Abu Bakr), and said, "Hey what's this, I hear your Prophet (sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam) is saying that you should be kind to women? Next thing, he'll be commanding you to be kind to the animals! Haw haw haw" (I mean, they really thought that the idea of being kind to women was outrageous, and that was part of the "evidence" they used *AGAINST* the Muslims, subhan'Allah!) At this point, Abu Bakr turned to the man and said, "Well, he has. He has told us we can't overburden our donkeys." And there are other ahadith about kindness to animals. He (peace and blessings be upon him) also said, "Whoever is kind to the creatures of God is kind to himself." He also said, "A good deed done to a beast is as good as doing good to a human being; while an act of cruelty to a beast is as bad as an act of cruelty to a human being." >>or I will be forfeiting a portion of my baraka every day.<< That is because while kindness to dogs is commanded, their saliva is considered najas, or filth. The cleanliness of your skin, clothes, and home is paramount in Islam. You know that you can not make your salah if there is any part of you which has najas on it. If you do knowingly make salah with najas from a dog on your skin or garments, then your salah is not accepted, and ... I mean, I know it's hard when you are entering Islam from another paradigm, but salah is a thousand million times more important for you as a believer than your dogs are. The dogs have a right to kindness, but Allah's rights come before anyone else's. As far as I know, and from what my husband has taught me, we do not know why Allah's Messenger (sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam) has made the commands about dogs that he has. There is obviously a hikma (wisdom) in it that we don't know, but that Allah knows, and that His Messenger knew. Muslims are permitted to keep dogs outside for their protection, or to help herd their animals. Just because your dog isn't permitted in your home doesn't mean that you are cruel to him, that you don't play with him, or feed him, or take him to the vet. But it does mean that you don't go kissing him on the mouth, like I see so many people doing. Kindess to dogs is evident as a command in this hadith from Sahih Bukhari: Allah's Apostle, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, said, "A prostitute was forgiven by Allah, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst, she took off her shoe, and tying it with her head-cover she drew out some water for it. So, Allah forgave her because of that." (Now, we know how big of a sin and transgression fornication (prostitution) is, and Allah subhannahu wa ta'ala forgave this woman her sin because she was kind to a dog and gave him water, a simple thing to do!) Anyhoo, part of this hikma in the prohibition of dogs in the home is reflected in this hadith: The Prophet, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, said: When you hear the barking of dogs and the braying of asses at night, seek refuge in Allah, for they see which you do not see. (Abu Dawud) And: I heard Allah's Apostle, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, saying; "Angels (of Mercy) do not enter a house wherein there is a dog or a picture of a living creature (a human being or an animal)." (narrated by Abu Hurairah in Bukhari, and also a similar hadith narrated by Ai'sha in Muslim, and these are both sound, of course). >>Additionally, I stuggle with, why would Allah create other peaceful creatures such as sheep and goats, and then ask us to kill them by the millions in His name?<< He doesn't ask us to kill them by the millions in His name! Subhan'Allah. Islam permits the eating of meat, but it does *not* require that one eats meat. You may be surprised to know that there are other vegetarian Muslims out there, even vegan Muslims. I myself maintain a semi-vegetarian diet (and steadily, but slowly moving towards lacto-ovo vegetarian). Our Prophet, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, and his family and companions themselves ate very little meat, what we would call a semi-vegetarian diet today. When 'Umar, radhi Allahu anhu, was the Caliph (ruler), he forbade the eating of meat everyday, as something that is excessive and bad for people. I *highly* recommend that you try to purchase the tape, "Food for Thought" by Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, by Alhambra Productions (if you are in the UK I think they are produced by another group). Sh. Hamza, who is a very popular speaker and teacher of Islam, is himself a vegetarian, and in this two-part lesson, he speaks about meat and food and maintaining a good diet in Islam in accordance with the Qur'an and Sunnah. But what Islam does require with regards to meat is that *if* you are going to eat it, you *must* do it in His Name. And let's think a minute, the animals are not being slaughtered for no good reason. In fact, it is haram to kill an animal for game or sport or no good reason in Islam, and if you do this, the animal will testify against you on the Yawm al Qiayama (Day of Judgement). Historically, people not only ate the meat of the animal, they used the skins and the fur and hair and bones for clothing, for shelter, for shoes, and for tools and other things. So what Allah is telling us in the Qur'an is that if we are going to eat meat, and we don't have to, but if we are going to, then slaughter the animal in the name of the One who created it, and what the Sunnah of the Messenger, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, shows us is that *if* we are going to eat meat, then we *must* slaughter them in kindness, we must make sure they are getting enough to drink and eat, we must make sure that they don't see other animals being slaughtered (which scares them), we must make sure that the slaughter itself is very quick and that the animal doesn't see the knife. Insha'Allah, I will move on to your next point, but this is already very long. I would like to pass on some website resources for you, in regards to Islam and Animals: The Vegetarian Islam site has some stuff about vegetarianism in Islam, halal meats, resources, and so on. I think it is maintained by some Shi'a, who have a different take on meat than Sunnis, but the site is for all Muslims. You can also find out information on joining the Islam Vegetarian e-mail group on here, I believe (I myself am on this list also). the URL is www.islamveg.com www.themodernreligion.com/an_main.htm has articles and links to resources about Animals in Islam that, insha'Allah, you will find very helpful. Here is an article about Compassion to Animals in Islam, from Ahl i Allah. They are mainly a Shi'a group, but are open to Sunni Muslims also. I know a few of them, and they are very commited to Islam and Justice. http://peopleofallah.org/articles/articles/compassion.html Here's an article about the spiritual benefits of being a vegetarian: http://peopleofallah.org/articles/articles/vegislam.html |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| UmmZaid |
| 02/23/01 at 21:01:27 |
| >>I struggle in general with the harshness and anger that seems to be part and parcel of Islam.<< I know where you are coming from. But... it isn't a part and parcel of Islam. Perhaps in all the books and whatnot condemning kufr (the denial of Allah) or condemning sins, you missed all the stuff about Rahma (mercy) and Love and Kindness. Believe me bro, it's out there. How many ahadith (pl. of hadith) are there about kindess to the children, or to one's wife, or having mercy on others, or giving charity? Have you not seen them? But, I mean, we are growing up in a culture and society which teaches us that Islam is angry and barbaric, and so I think hadith that "prove" this to us are the ones that jump out at us, while we might "yeah yeah" the ones about Mercy, Love, and Kindness. Remember, Islam is peace, and Islam is a Mercy to Mankind, and the Prophet of Allah subhannahu wa ta'ala is a Mercy to Mankind. Remember that Allah is Ar Rahman, Ar Rahim. There is more Mercy in Islam than there is anger (more on that later). Read your Qur'an, and see how many ayat are about His Forgivness, His Mercy, His Love, His Kindness to us! There were so many to choose from, I felt it was easier to tell you to go read the Qur'an than try to type them out. Wallahi, go read the Qur'an and *see* what Allah says about Islam and His Love for Mankind, that He gave us the ni'ma (blessing) of being Muslims. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Those who are merciful have mercy shown them by the Compassionate One, if you show mercy to those who are in the earth, He Who is in heaven will show mercy to you." (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi) And he, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, also said, "A Muslim is a Muslim's brother; he does not wrong him or abandon him. If anyone cares for his brother's need, God will care for his need; if anyone removes his brother's anxiety, God will remove from him one of the anxieties of the Day of Resurrection; and if anyone conceals a Muslim's secret, God will conceal his secret on the Day of Resurrection." (Bukhari, Muslim) And he, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, said, "He does not belong to us who does not show mercy to our young ones and respect to our old ones, who does not recommend what is reputable and prohibit what is disreputable." (Tirmidhi) And again, he has said, "The believer is not the one who eats his fill when the neighbour beside him is hungry." (Bayhaqi) and, "All creatures are God's children, and those dearest to God are the ones who treat His children kindly." (Bayhaqi) And, "He who is deprived of gentleness is deprived of good." (Muslim) And, "God will nop show mercy to him who does not show mercy to others." (Bukhari, Muslim). And, "You have two characters which God likes; gentleness and deliberation. (Muslim) In a hadith Qudsi, Allah says, "I am as My servant thinks I am (1). I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assemble better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed." (related in Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, and ibn Majah) Here's an article about Mercy in Islam: http://members.home.net/arshad/mercy.html >>Even accounts of the Prophet himself (SAWS) who advocated the stoning to death of adulterers as opposed to forgiveness.<< Hm. I don't know if this is in the translations of the hadith you are reading, or if it is in the *way* that you are reading it, but the Blessed Prophet most certainly did *NOT* advocate the stoning of adulterers! He meted out this punishment AFTER encouraging the people to repent privately, to go away and not approach him again confessing this sin, and so on. In the case of the woman, he sent her away to have her baby. When the baby was born, he sent her away until the baby was weaned. Each time, the woman had the opportunity to *not* come back, and it's not like the Prophet, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, didn't realize that. If you add up the time of pregnancy and weaning, you are talking about a year, maybe three, that the Prophet, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, delayed giving her the punishment of adultery. In the case of the hadith with the man, did he not turn away from the man's confession three times, as if to say, "Please, I don't want to hear it?," attempting to discourage the man from publicly confessing his sin? Is this advocating? And in both cases, did he not pray over their graves at their funerals, and pronounce that their repentence had been enough for 70,000 Muslims (or more or less, this is the number I remember hearing). This is not advocating the punishment of stoning over repentence to Allah. This is showing that time and again, the adulterer should be given the chance to repent *privately* to his or her Creator but that if that person insists on implicating himself or herself of this most grievous sin in a public forum, that the person should receive the punishment. Remember, both the man and the woman in these hadith were seeking to receive the punishment for zina on THIS dunya (the earth, the short temporary life) so that they could be purified for the AKHIRA (the afterlife, the enternal life). This man and woman were such strong believers in Islam, in Allah, that they would have rather suffered for a (relatively) short time in Earth rather than suffer in the Jehanam (Hell) for... who knows how long, in the akhira. (And remember that a day in the Akhira is like 50,000 years or so here. The days in that time are not like the days now, so that even a day in the Hellfire would be ... subhan'Allah.) The punishments for Zina are actually more of a deterrent than something that will be enacted commonly, everyday. First of all, in Islam, we are supposed to cover not only our sins, but the sins of our neighbors as well. We're not supposed to go around announcing that we've been sleeping with a boyfriend, or that we're cheating on our wife. We're supposed to make taubah (repentence) to Allah privately, and if someone comes and tells us that they are engaging in these behaviors, we are supposed to encourage them to repent and we are supposed to keep our mouths shut and not blab it all over town. Secondly, there must be four male eyewitnesses to the actual act of penetration, and if there is the slightest discrepency in any one of the men's testimony, then it is considered as if they are falsely slandering the accused man and woman, and none of their testimony is accepted. Thirdly, even if the accused man or woman confesses, the judge is required to try and persuade them to recant their self-incriminating testimony three times. One would have to overcome a lot of obstacles before one would be set upon with stones or whips. The idea is, if this is the earthly punishment for Zina, and it's something that none of us would want to endure, then what is Allah's punishment for us in the Akhira, if we've done this big sin and not repented to Him? The fact that there is a punishment for zina at all is very hard to come to terms with when you are entering Islam from a paradigm which doesn't make a big deal of it, or after growing up in a society where pre-marital and extra-marital sex are common, accepted, and encouraged. I totally understand why it might seem strange, even barbaric, that Islam has these physical punishments for a deed that we are raised to believe is "no big deal," but as you begin to grow in Islam, as you see the world with new eyes, and you begin to see what fornication and adultery has done to our society, how it has victimized and destroyed the dignity of women, how it has lowered men to the status of animals, and deprived innocent children of an intact, loving family, then perhaps you'll begin to see that perhaps Islam isn't the barbaric one after all. >>There is also a Hadith where Rasulullah (SAWS) said, if he had the firewood he would've set fire to every house where the people therein prayed in their homes and not in the masjid.<< This isn't that he was condeming people who were praying in their homes, he was talking about those people who were just too stinkin' lazy to walk down to the masjid to pray in the jama'a (congregation). There is a hadith about a guy who lived a ways out of town, over a marsh I think, and was unable to make it to the masjid for fajr prayer. The people talked about him, called him lazy, uncommited, etc. He came to our Blessed Prophet, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, and asked him to come pray in his home with him, so that the people would know that he was praying at home b/c it was impossible for him to reach the masjid under those circumstances at that time of day, and the Prophet, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, did go and pray in his home. So, it's not condemning those who pray in the home b/c they are unable to go to a masjid, or b/c there is no masjid there, or whatever, that hadith is talking about those *men* (they are the ones obligated to make salah in jama'a) who are able to go to the masjid without undue hardship and they *still* don't do it. |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| BrKhalid |
| 02/25/01 at 02:59:38 |
| Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) [quote]There is a famous hadeeth (which I could not find anywhere on the internet) where a Muslim women came to the prophet confessing that she had committed adultery and insisting that she should be stoned but the prophet (saw) tried hard to ignore and turn away from her because he (saw) was the most merciful and kind individual and disliked any of the believers to be harmed. But because the women was a true believer and was ashamed of her actions and wanted to repent she continued to insist. When finally she was stoned to death the prophet (saw) prayed janazah over her whereby one of the companions was shocked and asked the prophet (saw) how can you pray over an adulteress, the prophet (saw) answered that the repentance she had made would have been enough to have forgiven many people (an exact number was specified which I can not remember). I would like to request any brother and sister on this board who has the above hadeeth to please place on this thread.[/quote] Imran b. Husain reported that a woman from Juhaina came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and she had become pregnant because of adultery. She said: Allah's Apostle, I have done something for which (prescribed punishment) must be imposed upon me, so impose that. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) called her master and said: Treat her well, and when she delivers bring her to me. He did accordingly. Then Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) pronounced judgment about her and her clothes were tied around her and then he commanded and she was stoned to death. He then prayed over her (dead body). Thereupon Umar said to him: Allah's Apostle, you offer prayer for her, whereas she had committed adultery! Thereupon he said: She has made such a repentance that if it were to be divided among seventy men of Medina, it would be enough. Have you found any repentance better than this that she sacrificed her life for Allah, the Majestic? [Muslim] |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Anwar |
| 02/25/01 at 13:42:47 |
| Aslamu alaikum wa rahmatullah Yes, thats the one. Jazakh Allah khair Br Khalid wa salam |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Daud |
| 02/27/01 at 07:52:09 |
| Jazakullah, to those who responded to my post (I was Anonymous then). Your explanations were VERY helpful. My "problem" at this point is I am spending too much time reading the opinions on various web sites, and not going to the source itself, the Quran and Sunnah. I am also taking the advice regarding learning to read and understand Arabic. I have 4 different translations of the Quran and it is AMAZING how different they can be. You have been very helpful and I love the "attitude" on this web site, compared to some of the more "militant" ones I have found. My Allah reward you all for your kindness. Wassalam, Br. Daud |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| BrKhalid |
| 02/27/01 at 08:57:53 |
| Asalaamu Alaikum Br Daud ;-) Welcome on board Brother I may be biased but this really is a great place to share experiences and learn from another no matter what our backgrounds ;-) |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| haaris |
| 02/27/01 at 09:14:59 |
| Welcome aboard Br. Daud. Please, introduce yourself at the Bebzi stand. Wa salaam |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| chachi |
| 02/28/01 at 18:49:28 |
salam with regards to dogs..a dog is a artificial construct ..that is humans bred dogs to protect them and to hunt for them. A society where humans must depend for companionship and friendship on dogs is in my view a very inhospitable society ..in fact i remember a hadith where the prophet said a day would come when women would raise and keep dogs rather than children...so you can see this from 2 perspectives...1) you are perverting nature ..because you are removing the hunting instinct from a animal and leaving it defenceless 2) You by treating a dog as a human are thereby creating a situation where people will not see the differences between dogs and humans..that is that a human through thought changes his situation whereas a dog is changed by his situation Incidentally remember the prophet diverted his whole army because he did not wish to disturb a dog with puppies in his path and he cut off his sleeve rather than awaken a kitten that had fallen asleep in his robe...theres a book i read a while ago called 'the journey of joneses' about how somebody from the west goes to africa cures all these diseases and tells people they should live how they like..in a short while the diseases return and the medicines no longer work... you said why does god allow the killing of animals?..because god is the creator And the destroyer..god wishes to develop his attributes in humans before they can truly become his representatives ...thus the muslim who goes around killing animals purely for some sadistic pleasure has failed as has the muslim who will not kill an animal though it could cause mass destruction eg rabbits in australia or rats in new zealand..forgiveness comes first but you must be prepared to use the surgeons knife ..remember the muslim saying the surgeons knife is merciful.. by the way this is why budhism fails..it isn't practical..ibrahhim bin adham also left his kingdom at night wearing the beggars cloth just like buddha but he taught people how to live IN society rather than take the easy path and live apart (by the way i'm not saying buddha was a bad guy~) wasalaam |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Daud |
| 03/01/01 at 10:09:44 |
| Chachi, jazakullah for your reply. Your response was well made, but I question its application. But this is just one specific example of a bigger "jihad" when trying to live as a Muslim in the 21st Century... [quote] 1) you are perverting nature ..because you are removing the hunting instinct from a animal and leaving it defenceless [/quote] This was true at the time when dogs were first domesticated, but the sad fact is, the damage has been done, dogs HAVE been rendered defenseless and now rely on our help to live. Allah admonished us to be kind to animals so is it not then incumbent on us to protect these now defenseless animals? Both my dogs were saved from life in a cage or in a gas chamber. [quote] 2) You by treating a dog as a human are thereby creating a situation where people will not see the differences between dogs and humans..that is that a human through thought changes his situation whereas a dog is changed by his situation [/quote] I do NOT treat my dogs as humans, I treat them as dogs, albeit dogs, as you accurately pointed out, no longer have the means--or environment, thanks to overbuilding--that can no longer provide their own sustenance. But this may be truly your greatest point in that the problem IS those who DO treat their dogs as humans. But I also see people treat cats, birds, all sorts of animals as humans, not just dogs. But my main point here is, I see a real problem with the literal application of the Quran and Ahadith. For instance, when I go to the masjid to pray I see all these brothers frantically rolling up their pant legs and pulling thobes on (and then take them off when they go out in public). This I assume to conform to the admonition to raise the hem. However, the point the Prophet (saws) was trying to make, as supported by many Sheikhs, was to dress humbly and not with ostentation. Certainly we don't bury our daughters alive any more, certainly we don't consider women property any more, and certainly dogs are not the carriers of disease and the half-wild creatures they once were. How many of you use pebbles when you go to the toilet? How many of you hunker down on your left leg and stick the right one out to do so? There are always going to be those who attempt to live by the literal words of the Quran and Sunnah, and there are always going to be those who try to take the MEANING of what was said and done and apply it, not only to 21st Century life, but also to an environment that is not Islamic Arabia, but is, for instance, the "melting pot" United States, and THIS may be our most difficult jihad. I do often think that Allah ta'ala did this on purpose to see how we would handle the situation. But Allah knows best... I close by saying I don't mean to seem like I am attacking anyone's way of living in Islam, but I do think that the more strict followers of the Quran and Sunnah need to realise that everyone approaches the Deen differently, and, ultimately it is going to be the unalterable and unarguable attestation in our hearts to La ilaha illaAllah wa Muhammadan ur Rasoolullah, and Allah's Judgement and Mercy that is going to matter, and Allah knows best... [quote] by the way this is why budhism fails..it isn't practical..ibrahhim bin adham also left his kingdom at night wearing the beggars cloth just like buddha but he taught people how to live IN society rather than take the easy path and live apart (by the way i'm not saying buddha was a bad guy~) [/quote] Keep in mind that Allah said Hu sent Messengers to ALL NATIONS, so it would be wise of us all to be very careful what we have to say about other Messengers and other deens. If one truly reads what Gotama Buddha had to say, and not what the people after him had to say (not unlike our own Deen) you would be surprised how similar his teachings were to our beloved Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be on them BOTH. I ask Allah's forgiveness for anything I have said that is astray. Wassalam, Br. Daud |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| BrKhalid |
| 03/01/01 at 11:18:41 |
| Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) [quote]Islam has admonished me to exterminate (or turn out, which amounts to the same thing) my dogs, or I will be forfeiting a portion of my baraka every day[/quote] The following is the narration from Sahih Muslim which Sr UmmZaid mentioned. A'isha reported that Gabriel (peace be upon him) made a promise with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) to come at a definite hour; that hour came but he did not visit him.And there was in his hand (in the hand of Allah's Apostle) a staff. He threw it from his hand and said: Never has Allah or His messengers (angels) ever broken their promise. Then he cast a glance (and by chance) found a puppy under his cot and said: 'A'isha, when did this dog enter here? She said: By Allah, I don't know He then commanded and it was turned out. Then Gabriel came and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to him: You promised me and I waited for you. but you did not come, whereupon he said: It was the dog in your house which prevented me (to come), for we (angels) do not enter a house in which there is a dog or a picture. I think sometimes its easy to get sidetracked why we should do certain things. Bottom line is that if there is a clear and agreed injunction from Allah [swt] or his Prophet (Peace be upon him), then we simply have to hear and obey. We have to submit our will and make it in accordance with Allah's will because that's who we are; Muslims (those who submit) Granted that's not always easy but alas this world is a test and we will be tested. The problem is though, as with normal tests, the questions that come up are always on those subjects which we don't like or which we didn't study for!!!! |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Daud |
| 03/01/01 at 11:35:44 |
| Well Br. Khalid, you definitely hit the nail on the head there. We are in no position to question, are we? I'll be very honest with you (duh, why would I be otherwise???) I sometimes feel that I was "misled" into Islam. When I was just talking to Muslims about reverting, everyone said, oh it's simple, all you have to do is pronounce Shahada, pray, pay zakat, try to make Hajj once in your lifetime and fast during Ramadhan. I thought, wow, great this is going to be wonderful! Well, then you come to find out: you have to grow a beard, wear highwaters, stop drinking, stop going to Burger King and shopping at Stop n Shop, stop hanging around with the kuffar and mushrikoon (which includes my wife), take all the pictures of your family down--AND GET THEM DANG DOGS OUTTA HERE!!! So, this is kinda what I am struggling with, it's a "little more" than what I thought I was going to be asked to do, to say the least. And it is VERY overwhelming. I am sure being born into the deen is a LOT easier, because it's the life you know. But at 41, it is HARD!!! :-( Wassalam, brother. |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| humble_muslim |
| 03/01/01 at 12:02:01 |
| AA Khalid, Knowing what you know about this brother, I think you were too harsh on him. Remember, even when Allah SWT sent Musa (AS) to Firaun, He advised him something like : "And speak to him gently, so that he might get the message". |
| NS |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| BrKhalid |
| 03/01/01 at 12:13:54 |
| Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) Forgive me Br Duad if my post sounded harsh, I was just trying to make a general point. Next time I'll make sure to sprinkle it with a generous amount of smilies ;-) [humble_muslim I posted before I saw your post and I agree with you] Being born into Islam, it is very hard for me and for others like me to understand how tough that is. To suddenly have to give up things one has grown accustomed to. Just ask those Muslims who watch TV (j/k guys ;-) ) But whenever I hear a story like yours, I think to myself could I have reverted to Islam if I was in your shoes? And whoa how I wish could return to being as sinless as the day my mother bore me as you became when you entered the fold of Islam. Struggling is indeed hard but Inshallah, Allah [swt] will take away the pain and give us relief if we bear it with patience. Whenever I'm struggling within my ownself I try and remember these two passages from The Qu'ran On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear. [2:286] So, verily, with every difficulty, there is relief: Verily, with every difficulty there is relief. [94:5,6] Allah [swt] reassures us that no matter what hardship we're going through, we can take it and moreover promises relief thereafter if we patiently persevere. And Allah [swt] never fails in his promise ;-) |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| abc |
| 03/01/01 at 12:59:59 |
[quote] Looking at your background, I think it is safe to say that you don't read or speak Classical Arabic. So you have to keep in mind when you are reading about Islam or hearing about Islam that you are relying on someone else's interpretation of what is being said, or what they think it should be translated as, etc. It is so important that you just learn this Arabic so you can read from the sources yourself. [/quote] Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah I'd just like to say one thing about learning Arabic, we should learn the language to facilitate our understanding of the Quran rather than just understanding its literal sense . I believe theres a huge difference in the two. Fully comprehending the meaning of the words of Allah do not just require that a person can understand the literal meanings of the words, they also require some or a good deal of islamic background info which many of us may lack. Therefore there cannot be a substitute for reading the translations and tafseers of the Quran written by learned ppl, those who have spent their entire lives just studying and pondering over the words of Allah swt .Just because we may know what an ayah may mean in the literal sense we cannot claim to understand it completely because we may not know the bigger picture, we may not have all knowledge of the islamic information surrounding the ayah. and hence the importance of tafseer. I'm not in anyway discouraging the learning of the language which Allah ta'ala chose to reveal His words in, but simply that we do not attempt to interpret it in our own ways. Wassalam |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Daud |
| 03/01/01 at 13:42:19 |
| Brothers, no need to treat me "gently", sometimes a heated discussion or constructive criticism (tough love???) is the best way to get to the point. Nothing will shake my faith in Allah, and nothing will drive me from this deen. But that doesn't not mean I am happy about everything it has brought me. I value your words and your attempts to help, regardless of what form that help takes. Wassalam. |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Daud |
| 03/01/01 at 13:47:18 |
| "abc" this has caused me some trouble also though. If I lay my 3 Quran translations side by side and read them they are often different, sometimes to a point of bewilderment. Also, I was so happy because I acquired the first 7 volumes of Mawdudi's tafseer only to be told by a brother not to read it, to get ibn Kathir's instead. So who do you listen to at this early stage? Or do you read all the translations and all the tafseers and try to decide who is right? Jazakullah. |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Arsalan |
| 03/01/01 at 13:53:28 |
| [slm] [quote]If I lay my 3 Quran translations side by side and read them they are often different, sometimes to a point of bewilderment. [/quote]Brother, can you give some examples? |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Daud |
| 03/01/01 at 15:59:41 |
| [quote] Brother, can you give some examples? [/quote] Surah Al-Fatihah: The Noble Quran: "...not of those who have earned Your Anger SUCH AS THE JEWS nor of those who went astray SUCH AS THE CHRISTIANS." Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Asad translations do NOT assume this means the Jews and the Christians. Asad's tafseer states: "...those who have become fully cognizant of God's message and, having understood it, rejected it; while by "astray" are meant people whom the truth has either not reached at all, or to whom it has come in so garbled and corrupted a form as to make it difficult for them to recognise it as the truth". Ali puts it succinctly enough: "The first are those who deliberately break God's Law; the second those who stray out of carelessness or negligence." But certainly neither of these two translations are pointing any fingers at the Jews and Christians. Muhammad Asad throughout "Message of the Quran" translates "fear of God" as "God-consciousness"; not quite the same thing. Also, Muhammad Asad completely discounts the notion that, in Surah Al-Baqarah the people were being told to slap the dead body with a piece of the cow.... "...thus the phrase idribuhu bi-ba diha may be suitable rendered as "apply this [principle] to some of those [cases of unresolved murder]" There are quite a few, but I am at work right now and really can't go thru three Quran translations comparing every ayat. My main point was that translations, no matter how well done are going to be coloured to some degree by the translator ethnic and cultural background, the time when the translation was done, and the translators own personal Iman. And I believe this gets even more confusing when you are start reading Ahadith. Again, I am not trying to be argumentative, but as a new Muslim trying to make sense of what is expected of me, it is VERY bewildering when you are getting multiple interpretations one ayat or one hadith. Wassalam, brother. |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| se7en |
| 03/01/01 at 16:19:26 |
| [quote] My main point was that translations, no matter how well done are going to be coloured to some degree by the translator ethnic and cultural background, the time when the translation was done, and the translators own personal Iman. And I believe this gets even more confusing when you are start reading Ahadith. Again, I am not trying to be argumentative, but as a new Muslim trying to make sense of what is expected of me, it is VERY bewildering when you are getting multiple interpretations one ayat or one hadith. [/quote] Brother welcome the club :) I think this is something that *all* Muslims that don't know classical Arabic go through to a certain extent. That's why it's really important to find books, teachers, etc who can give you a really good understanding of these things. I remember one teacher telling me that if you don't learn Arabic, you're always going to need a crutch, that crutch being other people and their interpretation. And I remember him talking about how intense and staggering and amazing it is to read the Qur'an as a direct communication between Allah, the Most High and *you*, with no people's interpretations or definitions standing in the way. That must be such an amazing feeling eh :) So, don't lose hope, you're not alone, and inshaAllah it's something we can all work on. Something small that you can do that might help begin this journey is join in the Quran word a day we have in the Masjid folder. Each day we learn one new word from the Qur'an and its meaning. I think this really helps, and each word gets you closer to your goal without seeming overwhelming. Just a suggestion :) wasalaam. |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Arsalan |
| 03/01/01 at 16:27:54 |
| [slm] Brother Daud, I think I understand you more correctly now. You are complaining about the different *interpretations* of the Qur'an, and not the differing *translations*. The stuff inside the parentheses is always interpretation/explanation. What is outside the parentheses will never be 'worlds apart' in two different translations. As far as different interpretations, the safest thing to do (for you) would be to include all of them instead of picking and choosing which is right and which is wrong (this is assuming that two interpretations are not contradicting each other, of course). In the case of Surat al-Faatiha, the various interpretations are not contradictory, but rather explain the point even further. Noble Qur'an points out that the two kinds of people refers to the Jews and the Christians. Yusuf Ali's commentary (and Muhammad Asad's) helps explain why this is so. "Fear of God" and "God consciousness" are both correct translations for "taqwaa." The reason lies in the Muslim understanding of the concept of Fear of Allah as well as God consciousness! Anyone who is conscious of God at all times is ever careful about his/her actions, because he *fears* the reckoning of his actions on the Final Day. "idribuhu bi-ba diha" may be a perfect examples of a phrase used in the Qur'an which carries multiple meanings. This is one of the miracles of the Qur'an - that it conveys multiple messages by using a single statement! And all of these messages are indeed intended. I would suggest for you to sit and learn the Qur'an with a learned man in your Masjid. This is the best way to learn the Qur'an for those who are new to the Religion (as well as Muslims who are not too learned about their Religion). Insha Allah this will help you better understand the Qur'an without getting confused. Also, pick any tafsir you like! They're all good, although some of them are written with a different purpose than others. Ibn Kathir, for examples, is written with the goal of citing all related events from the Life of the Prophet (pbuh) to the verses being discussed. Maududi's tafsir is a more analytical view of the Qur'an, and an attempt to apply the verses to our everyday modern lives. Hope this helps. And surely, Allah knows best, and we only know a little! Wassalamu alaikum. |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| se7en |
| 03/01/01 at 16:34:51 |
[quote] you have to grow a beard, wear highwaters, stop drinking, stop going to Burger King and shopping at Stop n Shop, stop hanging around with the kuffar and mushrikoon (which includes my wife), take all the pictures of your family down--AND GET THEM DANG DOGS OUTTA HERE!!! [/quote] Hahahahaha "highwaters"... hahahaha I'm sorry I don't mean to make light of your situation, but when you said you have to wear highwaters I almost fell out of my chair.. that is so funny.. hahaa.. Anyway, on a more serious note.. yeah I can understand how all these things are overwhelming, but know that these are all secondary to the essence of Islam which is worship of Allah, the One God who is worthy of worship alone. That is what this deen is about, that is the focus of our lives. All the rest of this comes after that. Take your time in understanding these things and trying to put them into practice. Don't get caught up in it, don't get overwhelmed... because these are all small pieces of a puzzle that make up this amazing masterpiece that is Islam... sister Nazia wrote this amazing post about this, I'm going to quote it. It was in response to someone who was having trouble understanding something that's required in Islam, she just wasn't quite satisfied with the reasoning behind why things were set up the way they were. I think it's a really beautiful post, mashaAllah, and I think it's relevant here: [quote] Assalamu Alaikum, Harisa, when you read posts on this board, I know that sometimes you're thinking, "My God these people are brainwashed...listen to them, they sound like robots, Allah says do this, so they do it, whether it makes sense or not." Allah says cover--we cover; Allah says don't drink--we don't drink; Allah says don't date--we don't date. How can we do this yet still claim we have a freedom of choice, and still consider ourselves thinking,philosophical, realistic individuals?? Harisa, many Muslims, on this board and around the world, have spent YEARS and YEARS pondering the nature of Islam, wondering, and searching for answers behind the words of the Quran. Slowly, we start developing this understanding of how it all fits together like a beautiful puzzle. Imagine one of those 10000 piece puzzles. The ones that seem impossible and beyond reach at first glance. Islam is like this puzzle. To the outsider it seems obscure, perhaps even uninviting. But to those Muslims, slowly putting the pieces together, unfolding this amazing new picture, its a reason for living. We realize that after we put those first few pieces together, the rest just starts falling into place. Before we know it, we have huge chunks of the picture in place. And one day, we look down, and realize we've finished the puzzle, so we step back and we look at the product. And what do you know, we have before us this complete beautiful picture. If it were missing even ONE puzzle piece, the entire thing would be incomplete, imperfect. The puzzle pieces themselves represent tenants, or aspect of Islam, while the act of piecing them together represents our quest for knowledge and understanding. The finished product, so clear, so prominent, so complete, is the religion of Islam. And only after we have worked hard to put the pieces together ourselves, will we appreciate and understand it. Separately, each puzzle piece seems meaningless, but when you put it all together, subhan'Allah you see the role it plays in the big picture. So Harisa, no one is expecting you to accept and fully understand why Islam is the way it is. The truth is, this understanding comes from living it, experiencing it, crying at the sound of a beautiful verse, fasting during the month of ramadan, circling the Ka'aba with millions of fellow Muslims, waking up for Fajr prayer in the early morning and many other things. No one can fully explain it to you. No one can give you an answer that would make you happy. You have to realize that, if you TRULY want, one day, you will find that puzzle piece, put it in its place, and realize that all of the sudden, the puzzle got a lot easier. So yes, we do what Allah says, but not because we don't understand, or are blinded by our faith, but rather because we DO understand, we DO see the complete picture and we have found our missing puzzle piece. Take Care, Wassalam Nazia [/quote] wasalaam. |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| humble_muslim |
| 03/01/01 at 16:48:48 |
| AA If you can understand Ibn Katheer's tafseer, go ahead and read it. But Maududdi's is very good, and very easy to understand, really aimed at the lay man. Ibn Katheer is much more scholarly. |
| NS |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Zahra |
| 03/01/01 at 22:59:08 |
[quote] I sometimes feel that I was "misled" into Islam. When I was just talking to Muslims about reverting, everyone said, oh it's simple, all you have to do is pronounce Shahada, pray, pay zakat, try to make Hajj once in your lifetime and fast during Ramadhan. I thought, wow, great this is going to be wonderful! Well, then you come to find out: you have to grow a beard, wear highwaters, stop drinking, stop going to Burger King and shopping at Stop n Shop, stop hanging around with the kuffar and mushrikoon (which includes my wife), take all the pictures of your family down--AND GET THEM DANG DOGS OUTTA HERE!!! [/quote] slm I understand what you are saying but take it easy on yourself. You are not expected to change your entire life overnight. In Islam, these kinds of things need to be done at a gradual pace-just as the Quran was revealed over 23 years, gradually laying down the laws and wisdoms for mankind. During the time of the Prophet, companions still had bad habits, such as drinking. Of course, it had not been revealed yet that drinking was forbidden because Allah knows it is hard to adjust to everything at once. WHen it was revealed that drinking was forbidden, the companions of course, stopped immediately. But the point is anyways, to take it gradual, focus on one thing at a time, and insha'Allah, you will find yourself stronger and less overwhelmed. |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| UmmZaid |
| 03/02/01 at 02:22:24 |
| >>I'll be very honest with you (duh, why would I be otherwise) I sometimes feel that I was "misled" into Islam.<< Dude, you are not alone in this one. I know soooooooo many new shahadas that feel the same way. I often feel myself like da'wa materials, and what you are told is very simplistic. I remember when I didn't know about the Sunnah at all, and I asked a sister what hadith were, she told me it wasn't important for me to know yet. !!!! As if! I felt like... dude what else are these Muslims trying to hide from me. Astaghfirullah, but it *did* seem like .... let's rope them into a commitment first and then bombard them with the hard stuff. >>all you have to do is pronounce Shahada, pray, pay zakat, try to make Hajj once in your lifetime and fast during Ramadhan. I thought, wow, great this is going to be wonderful!<< There is a hadith (beats me if I can even begin to find it now) where a Bedouin comes to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and basically he says, "If I do these five pillars, and nothing else, can I still go to Heaven?" and he, aleyhi salatu wa salaam, said, "Yes." So the Bedouin was like, "Okay, thanks." (YEAH I know, there is more to it than that, and obviously I am paraphrasing,but you get the point, and it is a sahih and I hope someone can come up with it). >>shopping at Stop n Shop<< Well, I'd stop shopping there b/c i find them to be very expensive and not having good quality. But, I mean, if I had to stop going to Pathmark or A & P or Safeway or whatever, I'd be in trouble. I mean, I think that the only thing that is really majorly doubtful in a supermarket is their meats, and you're a vegetarian anyway. ;) >>I am sure being born into the deen is a LOT easier<< Snort. Don't count on that. Everyone has their struggles and a lot of what you are going through is not all that different from people born into Muslim families. >>But at 41, it is HARD!!!<< What was the last aya revealed? "This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." (5:3) And do you know how many years went between that one, and the first ayat? 23 yrs. 23 yrs. the Sahaba took to learn how to really practice Islam, it took 23 yrs for Rasul'Allah, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, to teach it to them. So... you don't have to be like.. a sheikh overnight. You are rewarded for what you intend, and you are rewarded for striving in the diyn. |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| BrKhalid |
| 03/02/01 at 04:03:38 |
| Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) [quote]There is a hadith (beats me if I can even begin to find it now) where a Bedouin comes to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and basically he says, "If I do these five pillars, and nothing else, can I still go to Heaven?" and he, aleyhi salatu wa salaam, said, "Yes." So the Bedouin was like, "Okay, thanks." (YEAH I know, there is more to it than that, and obviously I am paraphrasing,but you get the point, and it is a sahih and I hope someone can come up with it). [/quote] Hadith can be found[url=http://www.jannah.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl/YaBB.pl?board=masjid&action=display&num=1903]here[/url] |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Daud |
| 03/02/01 at 13:17:17 |
| I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!! : -) Seriously, I cannot tell you how helpful ALL OF YOU are. Jazakullah for your wisdom, encouragement, advice, comfort blah, blah, blah you get the idea. The "highwaters" comment and all that was more or less meant to be funny just to get my point across. I'm glad it made you laugh!! :-D Ok, I'll take it one day at a time and let's see, I'm 41, add 23, that uh, 64? OK, hopefully I'll have it all down by the time I'm 64... ;-) Wassalam everyone, Daud |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| assing |
| 03/02/01 at 11:09:48 |
| As salaamu alaykum, brother Daud, these tafaseer should not be misunderstood {especially from those that the muslim ummah has accepted throught-out the ages such as Ibn Kathir, At Tabari,......etc.} for tafseer is of different types, and the example of the one you mentioned "Surah Al-Fatihah: The Noble Quran: "...not of those who have earned Your Anger SUCH AS THE JEWS nor of those who went astray SUCH AS THE CHRISTIANS.", is of the type {of tafseer} that is called tafseer by example, and this based on the hadeeth of the messenger {saw} when he was asked who are "those who have earned Your Anger?" He replied the jews, and he was asked who are "those who went astray?" he replied "the Christians", and this hadeeth has narrated by more than 3 sahabahs (ibn Kathir), thus you see this is not the translators' interpretation but rather the explaination of the messenger {saw} himself, this is why the scholars say this ayat applies to whoever from this ummah has knowledge but does not apply it then he has a resemblance of the jews, and who acts {worships} without knowledge is has a resemblance to the Christians. And this is the method the scholars have adopted throught the ages to explain the quran: First approach is to explain the Quran by the Quran, eg. Allahs says in surah At Tariq " 2] And what will explain to thee what the Night-Visitant is? [3] (It is) the Star of piercing brightness" this is an example of tafseer of the quran by the quran, and you fill many examples for this in the quran, then if a tafseer of a verse cannot be found in the quran, they will go to the sunnah {as the shown in the eg. given before in surah Al fatihah}, if it can't be found there then the scholars go to the explaination of a sahabah, then to a tabieen {those who came after then sahabahs, then the arabic language, and so on. Sometime the tafaseer may seem to be contradictory when in fact it is pointing to the same thing just by different wording, eg. in surah Al Fatir Allah describes the different level of believers by saying "Then We have given the Book for inheritance to such of Our servants as We have chosen: but there are among them some who wrong their own souls; some who follow a middle course; and some who are, by Allah's leave, foremost in good deeds; that is the highest Grace" {35:32}. Some scholars explained the verse "but there are among them some who wrong their own souls" as the one who comes late for the congregational prayer, others say it it refers to those who unduly delay the zakat, and some say they are the one who delay their prayer, as for the following verses "some who follow a middle course" they say they are the ones who come on time for the salat or pay the zakat on time, etc. and and "some who are, by Allah's leave, foremost in good deeds" are those who come to the masjid before the adhan is made or give the zakat early. But in summary they are all saying those who wrong their own soul are those who commit some sins and leave off certain obligations, and those who are foremost in good are the ones who fulfill all their obligations and avoid commiting sins, thus there is no contradictions in the tafaseer, just different ways of expressing the same idea. Indeed, this is a very wide ocean of knowledge, so i recommend if your are interested in reading more about tafseer and the differences related to it that you get "The Principles of Tafseer" by Ibn Taymiyyah, it may be a bit complex but you can benefit alot from the book, or "Introduction to the Sciences of the Quran" |
| NS |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Daud |
| 03/02/01 at 14:32:46 |
| Hisham Assing: Wow, this was VERY helpful! Once again, I think my ignorance is showing!!! Seriously, as many of you pointed out, I think I am trying to do too much too fast, with very little knowledge and understanding under my belt. I believe I should regroup and sort of start over with the basics and seeking help from my Imam and my Ummah. Jazakullah! |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Saleema |
| 03/02/01 at 14:37:20 |
| assalam ualykum, How are you brother daud? :) What do you mean that you have to stay away from your wife and the kuffar and the mushrikun? can you clarify if you do't mind? wassalam, Saleema |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Daud |
| 03/02/01 at 15:25:28 |
| Wa alaykum us-sallam, I was being a bit dramatic I think. But then again... My wife is really a non-believer in every sense of the world and even considers herself a Wiccan, although it's more talk than action, and is rooted in the fact that she insists on referring to the Divine Being as "the Goddess". The point that Allah cannot be compared to Hu's creation is totally lost on her. The bottom line with her is, the whole patriarchal, God-is-a-man thing, plus she is totally turned off from the Mono-Three (Islam, Judaism, Christianity) because so many have died in the name of God (can't really argue with her there). So, here I am a Muslim, married to a self-professed athiest/wiccan who drinks, has two pet pigs, swears more than some sailors I know (I am painting a really rotten picture, but it's basically the truth) and watches all sorts of garbage on TV. Now, I will say, she has been very tolerant of my religious pursuits. To her defense, I was also a rabid Buddhist for 6 years, so she probably thinks I am going through another "phase". But really, she is doing the best she can to compromise with me on my "Islamic requirements". From my side, I am trying to not push too hard too soon, but I always have this nagging voice in my head saying, If you REALLY loved Allah and the Prophet (saws), you wouldn't be worrying what this mushrikoon thinks, you would do what Allah commands you to do. So, I basically spend my days walking the razor-edged bridge..... Wassalam. |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| Saleema |
| 03/02/01 at 16:59:21 |
| Assalam ualykum wow, brother, you are honest aren't you? wether you act upon your thoughts or not, the point is you aren't in denial. i'm guessing your faith is stronger than you make it sound and for a convert for a few months only! mashallah, my prayers for you and your wife: make her a muslim and make you two happy. ameen :) saleema |
| Re: Inner jihad |
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| chachi |
| 03/06/01 at 15:19:11 |
Salaam The issue regarding whether to be literal with regards to an islamic injunction or to draw an usul (principle) from it isn't a problem that only muslims face..it's a problem for all constitutional systems. The classic example is the Mutazili'ites who reduced the whole of islam to usul and then tried to give the rulers the power to remove it step by step...you will probably know that this was a important issue in the time of Imam ibn Hanbal. My advice is if a rule has been stated then follow it exactly unless an explanation of the rule has been given by the prophet himself to the sahabi...it isn't enough to say that the sahabi did it this way ..eg you know the story of Hadrat Umar (ra) banning muslims from creating a navy and the reasons behind his decision. However if the sahabi say the prophet said X is banned and this is because of Y reason then if the reason no longer exists then the ban does not apply...However if you draw the conclusion that ablution before prayer is to be clean only (without any explicit reason being given by the prophet) then you are like the Mutazili'ites faced with the problem 'why then can we wash over our socks?'... wasalaam |
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