Today's Reminder
March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445
Living The Quran
Wantonness
Al-Anfal (The Spoils of War) Chapter 8: Verse 47
"And do not be like those who leave their homes filled with wantonness (batara), showing off before people and preventing others from the way of God. And God encompasses what they do."
The word batar has several other meanings: the inability to bear blessings, bewilderness, dislike of something undeserving of dislike, and reckless extravagance.
Wantonness is a disease to which the world's affluent societies are particularly vulnerable. In societies that are extremely pleased with their standard of living, their extravagance and hubris are obvious. One sign of these conditions is the ease with which people enter into debt and live contentedly with it. People are consciously living beyond their means in order to maintain the appearance of affluence. This is a product of wantonness, willingly falling headlong into debt in order to achieve a certain material standard of living.
The treatment of wantonness is to wilfully experience hunger and to reflect seriously on death and the Hereafter. Hunger can be achieved through voluntary fasting or by simply reducing what one eats. Reflecting on death and the Hereafter is to reflect on the state of the grave, which will be either a parcel of Paradise or a pit of Hell.
Compiled From:
"Purification of the Heart" - Hamza Yusuf, pp. 27-29
From Issue: 771 [Read original issue]
Understanding The Prophet's Life
Hard Times
"Relief accompanies difficulties" - Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) [Nawawi]
It is the way of Allah - based on His infinite wisdom - to have mankind pass through stages in their lives. In general, people go through good times and they go through hard times. Naturally, it is when they go through hard times that they face the most psychological stress.
We should know that whatever hardship or difficulties we face will come to an end soon. It, therefore, behoves us to be patient and to have good expectations concerning Allah. Allah is the Most Merciful of those who are merciful, even more merciful than a mother towards her small infant. We should realize that the Merciful will not leave us in that situation for long if we are patient for the sake of Allah.
If a person lives a life of ease only, it becomes simple for him to forget about Allah. If a person is rescued by Allah in his darkest hour, that person should never afterwards forget Allah and what Allah has done for him. Indeed, there should be a close bond forged that may not have existed had Allah not tried His servant.
Compiled From:
"Commentary on the Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi" - Jamaal al-Din Zarabozo, pp. 784, 785
From Issue: 808 [Read original issue]
Blindspot!
Imbalance and Extremism
Imbalance is betrayed by a one-sided approach to things. Overcome by emotions one looks at things from a particular angle while neglecting other relevant aspects. One pursues a particular course of action and pays no attention to other points. This results in an imbalance in thinking. One reckons only one point as important and underrates other equally significant points. Likewise, one identifies a certain evil as the root cause at the expense of ignoring other major evils. On the issue of rules and principles, one fails to exhibit any flexibility. Conversely, one too keen to get things done may show an utter disdain for norms and employ all ways and means to attain 'success', without any scruples about norms and rules.
This tendency gives way ultimately to extremism. For one who insists on his stance, takes a harsh stand against any dissident voice. He fails to consider others' viewpoint and makes no effort to weigh things justly. Rather, he ascribes the worst motives to divergent views. This makes him as quite unbearable to others. If this tendency is not checked in time, it culminates in suspecting others' integrity, bad temper and use of harsh language, which inflicts a deadly blow upon solidarity.
Source:
"Tazkiyah: The Islamic Path of Self-Development" - Abdur Rashid Siddiqui, p. 30
From Issue: 470 [Read original issue]