Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Yusuf (Joseph)
Chapter 12: Verse 110

Lofty Affair
Till, when the Messengers despaired (of their people) and thought that they were treated as liars, then came Our help, and whom We would was saved. And Our wrath cannot be warded from the guilty.

This is Allah's way with regard to the Mission brought by the Prophets: there can be no escape from hardships and inflictions until nothing of the strength and energy is left for expenditure. It is only when every apparent means to which people cling, and depend on, have disappeared, that help comes, relieving those who deserve to be relieved, while others - the criminal minded, and the arrogant ones - have the destruction delivered on themselves, with no help and relief from any quarter.

This, in order that help and relief from Allah does not become cheap and the Mission and the Call treated lightly. The call to truth is a lofty affair that stands to transform the lives of the people. It must, therefore, be saved from false callers: those who cannot bear the hardships that accompany it. The false ones soon realize what it means to be in the field, and, usually, abandon it sooner than one would expect. Help comes to those who remain on the tracks, without losing heart, despite their realization that after all, Allah's help might not come during their own lives. But, a day will arrive, after a long or short struggle, when Allah will intervene, send His help, and the masses will enter His way of life enmasse.

Source:
"In The Shade of The Quran" - Sayyid Qutb

From Issue: 478 [Read original issue]

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Fabrication for Material Gains?

Is it reasonable to assert that Muhammad, upon him be peace, might have claimed prophethood to attain some material gains? This question may be answered by looking into his financial status before and after prophethood. Before his mission as a prophet, Muhammad, upon whom be peace, had no financial worries. His loving and rich wife, Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, had made available to him all that he needed. As a successful and reputed merchant, Muhammad had a comfortable income. It is ironic that the same man, after his mission as a prophet and because of it, becomes worse off materially.

Describing their life, his wife, Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated that a month or two might have elapsed before fire was lit in the Prophet's house (to cook a meal), while the household subsisted on milk and dates. (Riyad al-Saliheen) After eighteen years of his mission, when Muslims emerged victorious, we still find a kind of revolt in Muhammad's household in protest to the difficult life characterized by a considerable self-imposed material deprivation. This incident took place at the time when the Muslim treasury was under his disposal (Bukhari, Muslim). Asked about Muhammad's bedding Hafsah, may Allah be pleased with her, answered, "It comprised of a piece of canvas which I spread double folded under him." Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet never kept back anything for future use, that he spent what he had on the poor and needy, and that on one occasion, Muhammad received a gift of four loaded camels, yet he took nothing for himself and he further insisted that he would not go home until the whole lot was given away to the needy. (Riyad al-Saliheen) At the time of his death, and in spite of all his victories and achievements, Muhammad, upon whom be peace, was in debt, and his shield was in the hands of a Jewish citizen of Madinah as a collateral for that debt! (Riyad al-Saliheen)

One may then inquire: Are there any materialistic motives behind Muhammad's  claim of Prophethood?

Compiled From:
Islam: A Way of Life and a Movement, "Muhammad's Prophethood: An Analytical View" - Jamal Badawi, pp. 69, 70

From Issue: 532 [Read original issue]

Cool Tips!

Sense of Humour

One of the best things you can do for yourself when you fail is to learn to laugh. I love the comment made by a humourist who said he spoke for an organization where they always rated the previous meeting's speaker in their program using little bells. Speakers who received a standing ovation got four bells next to their name. Those who were above average got three. Merely average speakers got two bells, and poor speakers got one. The humourist said that when he spoke to them several months ago, they awarded him the no-bell prize.

There isn't a person alive who wouldn't benefit from a good laugh, especially when he's done something really stupid. When you take your mistakes too seriously, then everything seems to become life-and-death. When that happens, you sure die a lot. The way to solve that is to keep your sense of humour no matter how bad things get.

Compiled From:
"The Difference Maker" - John C. Maxwell, p. 156

From Issue: 751 [Read original issue]