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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Ease |
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| gift |
| 07/17/02 at 09:01:00 |
| [slm] This isn't a new article, but in light of some of the interesting discussions going on in al-manar, i thought this might be the right place to post it. 8) Innal-Hamdalillah was-Salaatu was-Salaam `alaa Rasoolillah as-Salaamu `alaykum wa-RaHmatullahi wa-Barakatuhu [center]Ease[/center] [center]Shariffa Carlo[/center] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When I was a Christian, I used to believe that my way of worship was the easiest, and that my Lord was the Most Merciful and Most Just. I was partially right. It was very easy to be a Christian, no doubt. I could do as I wished with no fear of consequences for my actions because my God had forgiven me. But what I did not realize was that this forgiveness was unjust, and where there is no justice, there is no mercy. Mercy is a byproduct of justice. If I were to be evil while my sister is saintly in her actions, why should we both have equal reward? Where is the justice in this? Where is the Mercy for my sister? When I cheat my friend, and I am forgiven and given the same reward as my cheated friend, where is the justice and mercy for her? For me, it is a great deal -- all the pleasure none of the pain, but for her, it is unfair. This seemed and is intrinsically flawed. The true God can not be unfair. Thus, this philosophy can not be right. But what is right? Can retaliation for an evil deed be right? Christianity taught me to turn the other cheek when I was injured. It taught me that God forgave those who hurt me or others. It taught that God was neither vengeful nor retaliatory in nature, but I don't see any justice in this if it is so. Neither do I see mercy. I see only pure ease for the evil and misery for the good. One day, I was particularly bored, so I went into one of these political discussion chat rooms on the net. Just my luck (surprise, surprise), they were discussing Muslim terrorism. I read for a while, then decided to join in. Soon the conversation turned towards the essential beliefs of the Muslims, and one of the liberals brought up the issue of free speech in Muslim countries. I proceeded to talk to them of their own system and the results of its leniency. I spoke about how the American people had traded some freedoms or rights for others. When asked to elaborate, I said. "You traded away the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for the rights of free speech, freedom from virtue, and freedom from responsibility for your actions. Essentially, You traded the freedom of safety for the freedoms of speech, action and non-virtue." You consider it acceptable to be afraid of the evil elements within your society, so much so that your women fear walking alone at night and your children can not play in peace in your neighborhood. The evil elements of your society are given free rein to terrorize the good, while you continue to preserve your precious right to complain about it. In pure Islam, we do not allow certain types of speech, that which harms the beliefs, persons and virtues of our people, but our people enjoy a higher quality of life because they are free to live moral, decent lives and to feel safe and comfortable in their homes, their neighborhoods, their cities and their countries. You have chosen the path to the left, but we have opted for a middle course -- one which creates some restrictions and some freedoms. We believe that there can not be freedom without limits because that leads to anarchy and destruction." These people believed that the right to speak freely, to view pornography, to malign God, man and country were essential to happiness. The Muslim knows better -- or should. Absolute freedom is dangerous. Allah knows this, that is why He chose for us Islam as our religion. That is why we, Muslims, always take the preferred middle course, a course which may have restrictions but which creates freedom as a result of the restrictions. Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "...do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and worship Allah in the forenoon and in the afternoon and during a part of the night, and always adopt a middle, moderate, regular course whereby you will reach your target (Paradise)." Sahih Bukhari: Volume 8, Book 76, Number 470. Our prophet was consistently asking us to take the middle course. This was and is for our own good. We have seen the results of extremism in both directions. The United States' moral, cultural and physical decay is the perfect example of extremism in leniency and the USSR's utter collapse is the example of extremism in harshness. Islam, the religion created by and sent to us by Allah, is the only system which can consistently narrow and expand our freedoms in such a way that our overall life is always improved. It may seem harsh when compared to some systems or lenient when compared to others, but its beauty comes from an overall balance. Allah says, "...Allah does not lay on any soul a burden except to the extent to which He has granted it; Allah brings about ease after difficulty." (65:7) and "On no soul does Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear..." (2:286) And "Surely with difficulty is ease. With difficulty is surely ease" (94:5-6) Notice the symmetry. Allah does not make our deen to be more difficult than we are able to bear, nor does He make it completely easy. He provides us with ease and difficulty, and in His Great Mercy and Justice, He provides us more ease through this difficulty. In the last verse quoted, in its original form, the Arabic, we can see that there are two eases for a singular difficulty. No one who is a true believer can claim that Islam is the easiest religion in the world. Its not, but through the hardships that we face, we are rewarded, and we are protected. We gain far more than we lose from the few restrictions given to us. Sometimes, I think that it is all a matter of perspective. Some people (unfortunately, Muslims included) look to Islam and see so many restrictions. I ask them, "What do you mean?" They say, "Look, Allah has forbidden pork, alcohol, dead meat, illegal relations between men and women, gambling, music, women going out without the Islamic covering (hijab) etc... so many restrictions." I say, "I see some restrictions -- more than I see in Christianity which has none -- but not a lot. Allah gave us a plethora of food and drink, more than can be named at one sitting and from this abundance, He forbid 3 or 4 kinds. Allah gave us marriage with open options for physical gratification, and He only forbid satisfaction of desires outside of marriage and two types within marriage which are physically harmful. Allah gave us many types of recreation, like the food, too many to count, and He forbid these two. Allah allows the woman to expose her beauty to her mahram (male family members who can not marry her), her husband, her Muslim sisters, and her female family members. Her paths for beautification are wide. He forbid for her only that she uncover in front of non-mahram men, as a protection to her and them. When I count all that Allah had forbidden and compare it to all that He has provided, I find the list of the forbidden to be quite limited." It is a matter of perspective. It is a shame that we allow the completely untamed Western values to taint our perspective. Islam is difficult because we either secretly or openly prefer the open worship of desire over the worship of Allah. We can be free -- do whatever we want -- think of nothing but that which gratifies us, but what is the result of this? Those of you in America -- the answer should be easy for you -- just open your door and take a walk. Look at the result. For the rest of you, just read -- America is one of the most dangerous countries in the world (if you discount countries currently involved in a war -- probably the most dangerous). One quarter of teen-aged girls end up as unwed mothers. Aids and other such diseases run rampant. The gay lifestyle is not only open but almost considered normal. Thousands of children are stolen from their parents annually; crimes against women are common, children are beating their parents, parents are killing their children. No one feels safe anymore. If we want the freedoms, we have to be willing to live with the consequences, and the Muslim should never be willing with these consequences. Too many of us idealize this life. Young men from the Muslim world come here with the surety of knowledge that it is a good place to play, before they settle down with a good Muslim woman. Allah guide them! These ignorant and disobedient youths are taking back with them the diseases of this country. Not just the physical diseases, but the diseases of the heart. Do they think their actions are unknown by Allah or the people? As this becomes more acceptable to the families and friends of these men, it also becomes acceptable to society in general, until the day it is no longer necessary for the men to travel to find these women, because they will be their mothers and sisters. You don't believe me? Take a good look around. Go to the chat channels, talk to some of these 15 and 16 year old Arab, Indo/Pakistani, Malaysian etc... girls. See what they have learned from their Muslim brothers -- and be prepared to cry. Once again, don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the destruction of the morality of the woman is a greater sin than the destruction of the morality of the men -- it is not -- both are equal in sin, but traditionally, the woman is stronger and the last to fall. When she falls, society is doomed because she is the creator of society. She is the educator of the next generation, the base of the future, and what will happen when the base is cracked? True, Allah did not make our religion difficult for us. True, He did not make it beyond our capacity. This is all true, but we must not forget that He did not make it strife free either. Therefore, the common usage of the phrase, "Allah did not make the religion hard on me" in response to clear acts of disobedience is unacceptable for Muslims. We can not fall upon the words of Allah to disobey Allah. This is ridiculous. Muslims are now using this to get out of any restriction imposed by Allah: "Sister, it is too difficult for me to wear jilbab to school, so I wear pants, Allah did not make the religion hard on me." or "I do not borrow money with interest, but if I do not put my money in the bank, I will have no way to take care of my finances. Allah did not make the religion hard on me.", or "I tried for years to find a wife, and I failed so that's why I now have a girlfriend. Allah did not make the religion hard on me." or "I do not have the time or ability to teach my children at home, so I send them to the public school. Allah did not make the religion hard on me." No Allah did not make your religion hard on you, but remember -- HE defined easy and HE defined hard. If Allah commanded it, it is by definition not hard. Allah is the Most Wise, the Most Just, the Most Merciful. Would He command for you what you can not do after promising to not do such a thing? Of course not. He knows we can do it. We know we can do it. The true problem is we do not want to do it. Now, having said all this, what is the answer for all of this? Simple. Islam. We are Muslims. We love Allah, we fear Allah and we obey Allah. In return, Allah protects us, forgives us and gives us Paradise. Sweet deal. Just as a sweetener to the pot, Allah makes it super simple. He provides us with tons of ways to gain easy blessings -- to balance out our duties. I have always been particularly fond of one of these: Narrated 'Aisha: The Prophet said, "...Do (good) deeds which are within your capacity (without being overtaxed) as Allah does not get tired (of giving rewards) but (surely) you will get tired, and the best deed (act of Worship) in the sight of Allah is that which is done regularly." Sahih Bukhari: Volume 1, Book 2, Number 41. Why do I like this one so much? Because, to me, it is the symbol of Islam. A hardship (small) which brings with it much ease. And it is something I can do without too much trouble. Brothers and sisters. I want you to do yourselves a favor. I did this myself one day, and I have found it to be quite easy. Choose a deed, a small deed. Make it something easy for you. Don't make it prayer all night unless this is something easy for you. Choose something very easy and small -- example -- smiling at your (mom, dad, husband, wife, blood sister or brother), making the 33 Subhana Allah, Alhamdulillah's, Allahu Akbars after each salat, adding one sunnah salat, making adhan before you pray, cleaning the dishes for your wife or mom after breakfast in order to ease her burden for the sake of Allah, reading a verse from the Quraan every night, making the dua before you go into the bathroom, anything.... Just choose one simple good deed -- one that is easy for you. This is very important -- that it be easy. Next, make the intention to please Allah and Allah only, and then, do it consistently, every day. This is a deed for Allah that carries special blessings, not because it is big, but because it is consistent. There is a hadith: Narrated Aisha: The Prophet said to me, "Beware of the small sins. They are like when a people gather to make camp. They all gather small twigs and sticks and contribute to a pile till it becomes a large fire. The small sins are like that." Think of this gathering wood not as small sins but as small deeds. They will build as quickly, and inshallah may act as the barrier between you and the fire, while you did not even perceive them because you intentionally made them small and easy so you could keep them up consistently. May Allah make this deed an expiation for our sins and grant us paradise as a result. Ameen. |
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| mwishka |
| 07/17/02 at 22:53:11 |
| eek eek eek (a mouse! hee heeee...nah.) um sis attia, i must comment on some of the content here. please bear with me...... mwishka ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- sigh. here i am again, not a christian, having to correct misconceptions about christianity. it seems this writer, if she believes THESE things...... [i]It was very easy to be a Christian, no doubt. I could do as I wished with no fear of consequences for my actions because my God had forgiven me. It taught that God was neither vengeful nor retaliatory in nature, but I don't see any justice in this if it is so. Neither do I see mercy. I see only pure ease for the evil and misery for the good.[/i] actually never understood christianity. this is not helpful to people reading here who are trying to understand just what islam is. you can't go about putting out misinformation, and then trying to base any kind of compelling argument on it. sigh. i find this discouraging, just like a lot of other writings i've read where someone left christianity because of a single personal misunderstanding they had, and then went on to compare the two religions, incorporating their own misunderstanding into their comparison. that doesn't work, except to sabotage any attempt to present islam in a favorable light, and will only lead people to feel there's no substance to even the substantial ways in which the two religions differ. [i] It was very easy to be a Christian, no doubt. I could do as I wished with no fear of consequences for my actions because my God had forgiven me.[/i] "no fear of consequences"?? wow, can't even imagine where that idea came from, it's certainly not from any christian religion. but i suppose it could be from some offshoot variant sect that i don't know of, since it's clearly not from any of the major denominations of christianity. as i understand islam the five times a day prayer serves as a form of formal repentence for sins, with forgiveness also asked for outside the fromal prayers. christians do thesame thing - they pray, begging god to forgive them their sins, truly suffering inrepentence for having displeased god by doing wrong by sinning. and this [i]We love Allah, we fear Allah and we obey Allah. In return, Allah protects us, forgives us and gives us Paradise.[/i] is EXACTLY what christians do also. none of this really makes any difference to me personally, i have no "stake" in any discussion centered around christianity, but if as muslims you want to communicate successfully with christians, you can't hope to do so by not understanding what christianity actually is as opposed to what those who left it tend to view it as in terms of their own personal dissatisfactions when those dissatisfactions came from basic misunderstanding of the tenets and philosophy of christian belief and practice. (plus, when did i learn about omnipotence? 6 or 7, maybe 8 years old. and if there's any key quality in the possibility of this omnipotent being or force that convinced my small child's mind that it looked like the grown-ups had been taken for a ride, it was that they then went on to tell of this god's vengeful nature when people went against the laws of god in the world, and retaliatory is exactly what this comes across as to a child who knows that neither are good qualities to have. omnipotence and vengeance, to my thinking, were incompatible concepts. ) |
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| bhaloo |
| 07/18/02 at 01:44:42 |
| [slm] [quote author=mwishka link=board=lighthouse;num=1026910861;start=0#1 date=07/17/02 at 22:53:11]sigh. here i am again, not a christian, having to correct misconceptions about christianity. [/quote] I don't think these were misconceptions, but rather your misunderstanding of the article, christianity, and what was said. [quote] this is not helpful to people reading here who are trying to understand just what islam is. you can't go about putting out misinformation, and then trying to base any kind of compelling argument on it. [/quote] She didn't put out any misinformation from what I read. [quote] [i] It was very easy to be a Christian, no doubt. I could do as I wished with no fear of consequences for my actions because my God had forgiven me.[/i] "no fear of consequences"?? wow, can't even imagine where that idea came from, it's certainly not from any christian religion. [/quote] Of course its a christian concept, that these christians believe in this falsehood that Jesus (a.s.) died for their sins, that they are forgiven and will go to paradise. This is what the sister meant when she said there is no fear of consequences within Christianity. I have read it with my own eyes how these Christian missionaries spread their falsehood, with a comic book that shows some arab and a christian man and his son coming up to him telling him to accept Jesus as his Lord, and that Jesus died for his sins, and that he will go to Paradise if he just accepts this. ASTARGHFULLAH! May Allah (SWT) protect people from believing in this! [quote] but i suppose it could be from some offshoot variant sect that i don't know of, since it's clearly not from any of the major denominations of christianity. [/quote] Its what the majority of christians believe. Anyways this board is not about Christianity, we're not here to spread falsehood. [quote] and this [i]We love Allah, we fear Allah and we obey Allah. In return, Allah protects us, forgives us and gives us Paradise.[/i] is EXACTLY what christians do also. [/quote] No, they don't. Quran 9:31 They take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords in derogation of Allah and (they take as their Lord) Christ the son of Mary; Yet they were commanded to worship but one Allah: there is no god but He. Praise and glory to him: (far is He) from having the parents they associate (with him) Haven't you heard Christians saying, forgive me father for i have sinned, and saying this to the priest. And the priest, responds, what have you done my child, etc.. and eventually tells the person, go my son, you are forgiven. Or one christian show i was watching on tv, the priest was talking to God, and demanding that the people there give money so they could be forgiven. [quote] none of this really makes any difference to me personally, i have no "stake" in any discussion centered around christianity, but if as muslims you want to communicate successfully with christians, you can't hope to do so by not understanding what christianity actually is as opposed to what those who left it tend to view it as in terms of their own personal dissatisfactions when those dissatisfactions came from basic misunderstanding of the tenets and philosophy of christian belief and practice. [/quote] You don't know the author of the article, and you arrived at these false conclusions. Sister Shariffa Carlo used to go around trying to convert people to Christianity, she was very active in this endeavor, she accepted Islam alhumdullilah after seeing the falsehood in Christianity, and she definitely understood the basic tenets and philosophy of christian beliefs. Alhumdullilah she was very active in bringing many christians to Islam through the years. |
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| gift |
| 07/18/02 at 03:51:45 |
| [quote author=mwishka link=board=lighthouse;num=1026910861;start=0#1 date=07/17/02 at 22:53:11]sigh. here i am again, not a christian, having to correct misconceptions about christianity. [+quote] i'm sorry if you misunderstood my intention mwishka. i did not intend to start a debate on the rights/wrongs of christianity. what i really wanted was for readers to focus on the latter part of the essay in which sister Shariffa Carlo describes an easy way in which we can all achieve ease in Islam. however, i thought it best to post the whole article - rather than cutting and pasting bits of it - may Allah swt forgive me if i have done wrong in doing this. as to sister Shariffa Carlo's background brother Arshad has made some very good comments in his post above. Allah u 'aalim (Allah is the All-Knowing) [wlm] |
| 07/18/02 at 03:53:06 |
| gift |
| Re: Ease |
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| Dawn |
| 07/18/02 at 09:09:57 |
| Greetings everyone -- here comes a former Evangelical Christian jumping into the mess. [quote author=bhaloo link=board=lighthouse;num=1026910861;start=0#2 date=07/18/02 at 01:44:42] [i]Quote: It was very easy to be a Christian, no doubt. I could do as I wished with no fear of consequences for my actions because my God had forgiven me. "no fear of consequences"?? wow, can't even imagine where that idea came from, it's certainly not from any christian religion. [/i] Of course its a christian concept, that these christians believe in this falsehood that Jesus (a.s.) died for their sins, that they are forgiven and will go to paradise. This is what the sister meant when she said there is no fear of consequences within Christianity. I have read it with my own eyes how these Christian missionaries spread their falsehood, with a comic book that shows some arab and a christian man and his son coming up to him telling him to accept Jesus as his Lord, and that Jesus died for his sins, and that he will go to Paradise if he just accepts this. ASTARGHFULLAH! May Allah (SWT) protect people from believing in this! [/quote] Having read the article and having something of a clue what is believed by a great number of the various Christian denominations, what the auther was saying here sounds very much like strict Calvinistic teaching (as pertaining to predestination) and is a part of the theology of a small number of protestant denominations. These churches are often (but not always) very conversion minded (which I always found unusual, given the nature of predestination). It would not surprise me to read that the author was a former member of one of these churches. However, bhaloo, I would have to respectfully disagree with you about the above interpretation of what she said for the following reason. Keep in mind that the author implies she is talking about her life after becoming a Christian (she says [i]As a Christian[/i]), not before becoming one. The vast majority of Christians do not believe that conversion entitles one to do as one wants, as Christ has forgiven them. Actually, it is just the opposite. Someone who does that is viewed as not having had a true conversion. Rather, one who becomes Christian is expected to act and think in an etirely different manner. There is the knowledge that people do sin, but Christians are to avoid it at all cost. After all, Jesus himself is quoted as saying "Be perfect, therefore, as you Father in heaven is perfect." And Paul, in one of the epistles (I don't remember which one off the top of my head) really chews out his intended audience for "sinning so that grace might increase". He spends a lot of words to say that to do so is not in keeping with the religion. Nevertheless, there is a very small minority within Christianity which seems to miss this point, emphasizing instead, another of Paul's claims about being chosen from the beginning of the world, and interpreting that to mean that nothing they do will cause them to lose salvation, if they were chosen. The author's remark sounds very much like a person who might have thought this way. [quote] [i] and this " We love Allah, we fear Allah and we obey Allah. In return, Allah protects us, forgives us and gives us Paradise." is EXACTLY what christians do also. [/i] No, they don't. [/quote] Once more, I beg to differ, but the majority of Christians that I knew did just that. Granted the emphasis is less on fear and more on love, but the obedience part was most DEFINITELY there. Also, it is true that the concept of the nature of God differs between the two religions, but to say that Christians don't love God, or don't fear God, or don't strive to obey God, is simply not true. [quote] Quran 9:31 They take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords in derogation of Allah and (they take as their Lord) Christ the son of Mary; Yet they were commanded to worship but one Allah: there is no god but He. Praise and glory to him: (far is He) from having the parents they associate (with him) Haven't you heard Christians saying, forgive me father for i have sinned, and saying this to the priest. And the priest, responds, what have you done my child, etc.. and eventually tells the person, go my son, you are forgiven. Or one christian show i was watching on tv, the priest was talking to God, and demanding that the people there give money so they could be forgiven. [/quote] Yep, there was this thing called the Reformation which split the Roman Catholic church and resulted in the myriad of Protestant denominations. And among the issues that the reformers wanted changed were confessions to priests (viewed as unnecessary) and indulgences (paying to have your sins forgiven). And you will find neither of the two in protestant churches today. Oddly enough, you won't find indulgences in Catholicism anymore either, but there are a few "TV evangelists" who seem to have, umm, resurrected the notion, and the money from the poor, gullible, mostly elderly folks that watch the programs go to line the pockets of the preachers themselves. Sad, but true. I do hope that this helps clear up some misconceptions. Peace, Dawn |
| 07/18/02 at 10:53:59 |
| Dawn |
| Re: Ease |
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| mwishka |
| 07/18/02 at 10:46:47 |
| [i]i'm sorry if you misunderstood my intention mwishka.[/i] um no sister attia, i see the emphasis on the later parts of the article, but i couldn't let those mistaken notions about christianity remain publicly posted without commenting on them, since this board is meant to be a place of learning about islam, and putting forth shaky ideas about christianity will not help christians to learn here - rather could make them feel a wall or barrier to being open to islam. [i]You don't know the author of the article[/i] bro bhaloo, that doesn't matter. my comments have nothing to do with who the author is or her background, only the information she chose to include in her article and the form in which she included it. [i]And the priest, responds, what have you done my child, etc.. and eventually tells the person, go my son, you are forgiven.[/i] um no, this is not the way it happens. the person must sincerely repent for sinning, first to the priest, begging for forgiveness not from the priest but from god, then repent in personal prayer, and make a firm statement to try to sin no more, again begging god for forgiveness. [i]used to go around trying to convert people to Christianity, she was very active in this endeavor[/i] this is not considered a right practice by the majority of christians. only by that small number of quite visible and often missionary salvation-oriented protestant christians that this author seems to be focusing on. and, in keeping the numbers of christians in perspective, you will recall, of course, that the majority of christians in the world are catholic - who do not believe in salvation (saying i accept jesus as my lord and savior at the time of death lets you into heaven), but rather that unless you have repented for your sins at the time of your death - if you die with a sin on your soul - you may not reach heaven at all. if it is a mortal sin (similar to the major sins of islam), most catholics believe you will go to hell. if it is any other sin (venial or minor sins), god can decide to forgive you and either let you into purgatory, where you continue repenting, or allow you to join him in heaven. and whether or not you agree with this idea is not of concern to me, either, only that accurate information is expressed here. [i]is EXACTLY what christians do also. No, they don't.[/i] of course they do, bro bhaloo! i don't think it's helpful to try to set up the religions as competing against each other for who loves or fears god more. [i]Or one christian show i was watching on tv, the priest was talking to God, and demanding that the people there give money so they could be forgiven.[/i] the only priests on TV shows would be saying mass on sunday, or in discussions or interviews. priests don't ask people for money on TV. this must have been a protestant show, with a protestant minister of some sort - protestant religions don't have priests. bro bhaloo. there are most likely huge numbers of christians who take their religion and their relationship to god so lightly as to not properly and deeply engage themselves in a sincere practice of their even their own beliefs. but i think it is important to show respect for those christians who are equally as devout in traditional christian beliefs, not just minority christian beliefs which seem to be so frequently referred to, as those muslims who are most devout in THEIR belief and practice of islam. i personally am not comfortable with trying to make some people seem nutty or ludicrous in their belief in god. i don't think this is the intent of islam, and as i understand it christians and jews are meant to be respected for their belief in the same god as the god of islam. the whole idea of god to me is quite a serious consideration, and i don't think casting doubt on anyone's sincerity, whatever their religion, is a nice or helpful thing to do. in fact, i'd even wonder if it isn't those most serious about the god they already believe in who may be the ones most inclined to look at islam and its views and practices, with that same seriousness. if those people are made to feel here, at this board, that all christians are seen as being the same, and that they're all lumped into one view of being like this tiny christian minority of salvation-type religions (the "born-again" sorts of denominations), lots of sincere, very devout christians will feel always on the outside here. i think it might be better to draw them in by showing a wider understanding of the full range of christian belief, and a sense of a desire here to respectfully discuss questions of religion and god with a lack of animosity toward their religion. mwishka |
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