Today's Reminder
July 3, 2025 | Muharram 8, 1447
Living The Quran
Gradual Way
Al-Rum (The Romans) - Chapter 30: Verse 39
"Whatever you give to people in usurious hope that it may return to you increased through the goods of (other) people, will bring no increase in God's sight. Whereas whatever you give in charity seeking God's 'Face' (His approval and good pleasure), for those there is increase (of recompense) multiplied."
Islam never aims to favour hypocrisy and hypocrites. So before establishing a law, first it trains and prepares hearts and minds in its favour or against it. This is why the Prophet's Companions could easily accept any commandment when it was revealed. To this end, Islam followed a gradual way in establishing its legal code. In Makkah, it prepared hearts and minds for its future injunctions. For example, throughout the Makkan verses it propounded many rules only as moral values; many of these would later become laws in Madinah. It also followed a gradual way in prohibiting such established vice as drinking alcohol and transactions involving interest.
This verse is the first to be revealed on the way to the decisive prohibition of transactions involving interest, with the aim of encouraging Muslims to avoid it. Some people would give gifts or similar things to others, particularly the merchants and money-lenders; this was not done with a pure intention, but with the hope or aim that it might come back to them, increased in value. That is, those who took these "gifts" would use them in their trade for profitable transactions, and return the "gifts" with the extra amount or value to the original owner.
Compiled From:
"The Quran: Annotated Interpretation in Modern English" - Ali Unal, p. 842
From Issue: 844 [Read original issue]
Understanding The Prophet's Life
Truthfulness
Authentic books of Tradition as Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Muslim, and Sunan Abu Dawud relate from Abdullah Ibn Masud that God's Messenger said: "Always tell the truth, for this guides to absolute piety and piety leads to Paradise. Those who always tell and pursue the truth are recorded by God as truthful. Don't lie, for this guides to sinfulness and sinfulness leads to Hellfire. Those who always tell and pursue lies are recorded by God as liars."
Truthfulness opens the door of happiness in both worlds. No one can taste true bliss while living in the darkness of lies and lying. Lying is "an assertion contrary to God's knowledge," a pillar of unbelief, and the most manifest sign of hypocrisy. The current prevalence of lying is destroying our security and morality, and contaminating the whole community (especially its political circles) like a contagious disease. Any structure based on lying must eventually perish due to its very nature.
This hadith states that truthfulness leads to absolute piety, while lying leads to sinfulness. Birr, the Arabic word translated there as piety, encompasses every virtue, from sound thinking, truthfulness, and pure intention to honesty, decency, and good conduct. Its opposite, fujur (sinfulness), denotes every kind of deviation and evil, among them debauchery, indecency, and perversion.
Compiled From:
"The Messenger of God: Muhammad" - Fethullah Gulen, pp. 100-101
From Issue: 562 [Read original issue]
Cool Tips!
Islamic Call
[.. continued from previous issue]
The five means of propagation
First: the individual method; that is, to invite the person individually if the matter pertains to him specifically.
Second: public or mass propagation such as in lectures or exhortations that benefit the generality of people.
Third: private lessons to students each in his specialty. This is the task of the scholars who specialize in their disciplines.
Fourth: propagation through writing, correspondence and authorship with guidance and benefit for those who are called.
Fifth: propagation using modern means of communication to advance the cause of truth or any means within your own individual capacity.
[to be continued]
Compiled From:
"Thirty Lessons For Those Who Fast" - A'id Abdullah al-Qarnee
From Issue: 790 [Read original issue]