Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

True Believer
Al-Anfal (The Spoils of War) Chapter 8: Verses 2-4 (partial)

"Only those are [true] believers who, whenever God is mentioned, their hearts quiver, and when His signs are recited to them, they increase them in belief, and upon their Lord they place reliance, those who attend divine service steadfastly, and expend [in alms] of what We have bestowed upon them. These are the believers in the true sense."

Iman, 'belief' or 'faith', is the very centre of the sphere of positive moral properties. 'Belief' is the real fountainhead of all Islamic virtues; it creates them all, and no virtue is thinkable in Islam, which is not based on the sincere faith in God and His revelations.

In the above passage, 'belief' is considered exclusively in its religious aspects. This passage furnishes an almost perfect verbal definition of the 'true believer'. This verbal definition pictures 'the believer in the true sense of the word' as a genuinely pious man, in whose heart the very mention of God's name is enough to arouse an intense sense of awe, and whose whole life is determined by the basic mood of deep earnestness.

Compiled From:
"Ethico Religious Concepts in the Quran" - Toshihiko Izutsu, pp. 184, 185

From Issue: 784 [Read original issue]

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Treating Others

"The servant does not reach the reality of [or true] faith until he loves for the people what he loves for himself." [Ahmad]

This means that the denial of faith alluded to in this hadith does not imply a complete denial of faith. That is, a person does not become a disbeliever, losing all faith, by not loving for his brother what he loves for himself. What it does mean, though, is that for a person to have true and complete faith, he must love for his brother what he loves for himself. This love is a necessary component of a true and complete faith. A person who does not meet the obligatory requirements of faith is not deserving to be called a true or complete believer. This is what this hadith is referring to.

On the other hand, this hadith does not mean that if a person meets this characteristic, he has complete Iman even if he does not meet the other requirements of Iman. This hadith is simply stressing that this characteristic is an essential pillar of true and complete Iman. There is much more to Iman than simply loving for one's brother what one loves for himself.

In another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) made it very clear that one of the keys to entrance into Paradise is meeting this condition. In a hadith in Sahih Muslim, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Whoever loves to be saved from the Fire and entered into Paradise should die with belief in Allah and the Last Day and should treat the people in the way that he wishes to be treated by them."

In Ihya Uloom al-Deen, al-Ghazali presents a story about a man who complained that his house was infested with rats. He was told to get a cat. His reply was, "I fear that if the rats hear the cat's meow, they will flee to the adjoining houses and what I like not for myself I do not like for them."

Compiled From:
"Commentary on the Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi" - Jamaal al-Din Zarabozo, pp. 495, 496

From Issue: 886 [Read original issue]

Cool Tips!

Hard Moments

The poet Robert Frost wrote, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." There are certain hard moments, diverging-road moments, that, if we are strong in them, will make "all the difference" down the road of life.

Hard moments are conflicts between doing the right thing and doing the easier thing. They are the key tests, the defining moments of life - and how we handle them can literally shape our forevers. They come in two sizes, small and large.

Small hard moments occur daily and include things like getting up when your alarm rings, controlling your temper, or disciplining yourself to do your homework. If you can conquer yourself and be strong in these moments your days will run so much more smoothly. For example, if I'm weak in a hard moment and sleep in (mattress over mind), it often snowballs and becomes the first of many little failures throughout the day. But if I get up when planned (mind over mattress), it often becomes the first of many little successes.

In contrast to small hard moments, larger ones occur every so often in life and include things like choosing good friends, resisting negative peer pressure, and rebounding after a major setback: You may get cut from a team or dumped by your lover, your parents may get divorced, or you may have a death in the family. These moments have huge consequences and often strike when you're least expecting them. If you recognize that these moments will come (and they will), then you can prepare for them and meet them head on like a warrior and come out victorious.

Be courageous at these key junctures! Don't sacrifice your future happiness for one night of pleasure, a weekend of excitement, or a thrilling moment of revenge.

Compiled From:
"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" - Sean Covey, p. 122

From Issue: 731 [Read original issue]