Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Al-Tahrim (The Prohibition)
Chapter 66: Verse 6 (Partial)

Take charge of your home
"Guard yourselves and your kindred from the Fire."

Your own home is in your control. Strive to enforce the commandments of Allah within its precincts. Establish Allah's rules in your home. Your most important task should be to arrange and maintain your home according to the Will of Allah. After your own self, the things about which you shall be asked and required to explain on the Day of Judgment will be those that are within your power. Most important amongst these is your home. The reformation of your home is dependent upon your own reformation and vice versa. When your home operates according to the Will of Allah, you shall be rewarded with the immense wealth of peace and satisfaction. Although no home is secure against external influences today, yet your efforts can make a great difference.

Let the spirit of this verse be central to the daily routines of your domestic life and for your mutual relations. Whether it is the material possessions of your home or the food and drink, or the education and training of your children, or their entertainment and future welfare, or the relationships between spouses and the treatment of the children, always make sure that no action of yours leads you to the hell-fire. The more you keep your vision focused on this principle and the more you strive towards this end, the more your domestic life will be heavenly and is likely to lead you to the attainment of Paradise.

This is not to say that this constant concern with hell-fire will deprive you of all worldly pleasures and enjoyment. No, not at all. Given such a concern, your home life will be permeated with mutual caring; there will also be much love and mutual affection; and there will also be the happiness that emanates from mutual forgiving and tolerance. There will also be a lot of scope for enjoyment from things that are clean and lawful, and of course, the home will have all permissible adornments. All these will be there since they are to save oneself from Allah's wrath.

Compiled From:
"Dying and living for Allah" - Khurram Murad, pp. 63, 64

From Issue: 518 [Read original issue]

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Leadership and Guidance

[continued from issue 910]

4. Leadership (imarah)

As for the capacity of supreme leadership of state, most of its instances cannot be confused with those pertaining to the capacity of legislation, except in such situations as would happen during wartime and which may admit particular applicability, such
as the prohibition of eating donkey meat in the battle of Khaybar. The Companions disagreed on this issue. Was the prohibition of God's Messenger (peace be upon him) to eat the flesh of donkeys, and his command to spill the pots in which it was cooked, a proscriptive legislation entailing an absolute prohibition of consuming donkey meat? Or did it ensue from his capacity as supreme leader in the interest of the army, since their mounts in that battle were donkeys?

5. Guidance (hady)

The capacity of guidance and instruction is more general than that of legislation. This is due to the fact that God's Messenger may command and prohibit while his intention is not decisiveness, but rather the indication of different ways to goodness and
righteousness. Thus, words arousing people's interest to follow the way of the Afterlife or describing the eternal bliss people will enjoy in Paradise as well as most recommended matters (mandubat) flow from this capacity of guidance and instruction. It is reported in an authentic tradition narrated by al-Marur ibn Suwayd who said:

"At al-Rabadhah I met Abu Dharr, who was wearing a cloak, and his slave, too, was wearing a similar one. I asked the reason for it. He replied, 'I scolded a slave by calling his mother bad names.' The Prophet said to me, 'O Abu Dharr! Did you abuse him by calling his mother bad names? You still have some characteristics of the age of pagan ignorance (Jahiliyyah). Your slaves are your brethren, upon whom God has given you authority. So, if one has one's brethren under one's control, one should feed them with the like of what one eats and clothe them with the like of what one wears. You should not ask them to do things beyond their capacity, and if you do so, help them [with their hard job].'" (Bukhari)

..... [to be continued]

Compiled From:
"Treatise on Maqasid Al-Shariah" - Ibn Ashur, pp. 37, 38

From Issue: 911 [Read original issue]

Cool Concepts

Firasah

Firasah is a sense of visual acumen, perception and insight.The firasah is a light which Allah, subhanahu wa ta`ala, deposits in the heart of His servant. By this light, His servant distinguishes between truth and falsehood and between right and wrong.

The reality of firasah is a sharp thought that enters the heart and dominates its opinion. It overwhelms the heart just as the lion does to its pray, fareesah. Note the similarity between firasah and fareesah in Arabic. However, in their linguistic forms, fareesah is an object whereas firasah is similar in form to wilayah (authority and power), imarah (authority and command) and siyasah (administration and leadership).

The strength of firasah is dependent on the strength of faith. A person with stronger faith has sharper firasah. Amr bin Nujaid used to say that whoever lowers his gaze away from prohibitions, restrains himself from vain desires, constructs his interior according to muraqabah (knowledge that Allah is watching over us), his exterior according to the Sunnah, and accustoms himself to eat only halal, his firasah will never be wrong.

Firasah is linked to three human organs: the eye, ear and heart. His eye examines the look and the signs, his ear examines the speech, the over expressions, oblique inferences and hints, content, logic and tone of voice. And his heart analyzes both what is seen and heard to perceive hidden thoughts of others. His analysis and examination of the interior compared to the exterior is like one who examines currency to see if it is counterfeit after examining the outside. It is also similar to Ahlul-Hadeeth (scholars who specialize in the knowledge of the hadeeth), who will read a hadeeth that has a sound isnad (chain of narrators) but upon examination of the matn (text of the hadeeth), it is found that it is a fabricated hadeeth.

There are two factors in firasah. One is the quality of one's mind, the sharpness of the heart and the intelligence. The second is the appearance of the signs and indications on others. When both factors are present then one's firasah may not be wrong.

Compiled From:
Madarij As-Salikeen, "The Station of Firasah" - Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah, Translated by Yahya Ibrahim

From Issue: 518 [Read original issue]