Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

The Day of Mutual Loss
Al-Taghabun (Loss and Gain) Sura 64: Verse 9 (Partial)

"The Day He shall gather up all of you for the Day of Gathering (taghabun) ..."

Ghabn, the root of the word taghabun, literally signifies fraudulently acquiring a thing at less than its market value. In other words, it denotes "cheating," "deceiving," or "defrauding" in buying or selling. In extended use, it may indicate "overreaching," or "overcoming" someone or something in an engagement. When buyers and sellers engage each other in the act of ghabn, it is called taghabun, thus becoming "mutual" cheating or defrauding.

The Quran uses this in its extended sense as one of the names of the Day of Judgment because the believers will, on that Day, "overcome" the disbelievers in attaining Paradise. Therefore, in the great engagement between the faithful and the faithless, the disbelievers will become the ultimate losers. The believers' delight assured perpetually, nonetheless, they themselves also will wish that they had striven harder in life with sacrifice and good deeds, to have earned even higher stations in the Garden.

Al-Khazin in his commentary explains this verse: "The utter loss of the disbelievers will become evident on the Day of Judgment when they are deprived of eternal delight because of their abandonment of faith. Moreover, believers will realize a certain 'loss,' as well, because they will then realize their missed opportunities in life for increased righteous works. It is also said that many of the haughty, the mighty, the rich and the famous - who are deficient in goodness - will come to stunning disillusionment when they find themselves surpassed by the truly righteous and virtuous who were deemed humble in life."

Compiled From:
"The Gracious Quran" - Ahmad Zaki Hammad, pp. 271, 272

From Issue: 555 [Read original issue]

Understanding The Prophet's Life

The Birth

Ibn Sad narrates that Aminah had a very easy pregnancy before giving birth to the future Prophet of Islam. She was reported to have said:

I did not feel that I was pregnant, nor did I find myself heavy because of it, as is customary for (pregnant) women to find themselves... But I saw a vision as I was between sleep and wakefulness. It said to me: 'Have you felt that you are pregnant?' and I replied that I did not know. But it continued: 'You are pregnant with (the future) chief and prophet of this nation'. Then it (the vision) left me until I was about to give birth. Then it returned (and commanded me to say): 'I put it (the child) under the protection and refuge of the One Who is eternally besought by all, from the evil and mischief of every envious person'. I used to say these words and respect them.

According to the majority of our sources, the Prophet, peace be upon him, was born on Monday, the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal, the year of the Elephant (571 C.E.) only fifty five days after the unsuccessful expedition of Abrahah against Makkah. Aminah describes this historic moment as follows:

When it (the baby) was separated from me, a flood of light radiated from him which illuminated the entire horizon from the east to the west. [Ibn Sad]

The Prophet himself was reported to have said:

Just as I was born, my mother saw a light radiating from me which illuminated the palaces of Busra (Syria). [Ibn Sad]

The new baby was conspicuously healthy, good-looking and well-built. Besides his mother, the second person who rejoiced most at his birth was the ageing patriarch, Abd al-Muttalib, foremost chief of Makkah and the undisputed leader of Banu Hashim. He was reportedly so pleased with the new baby that he carried him to the Kabah where he voiced, in a passionate manner, an elaborate invocation of thanks and gratitude. He declared that the infant was to be named Muhammad, a name not then common among the Arabs.

Compiled From:
"Makkan Crucible" - Zakaria Bashier, pp. 49, 501

From Issue: 620 [Read original issue]

Cool Tips!

Remedy for Sadness

Sadness is of two distinct types. The first type is the one that has a clearly identifiable cause such as the death of a beloved relative or the loss of wealth or something that the person greatly values. The second type has no obvious cause. It is a sudden distress and gloom that descends over the affected person preventing him, most of the time, from the exuberance of activity and the enjoyment of the usual pleasures of this world. The person afflicted is generally unaware of any clear reason for his dejection.

The causes behind the latter type of sadness or depression for which there is no known reason are related to bodily symptoms such as the impurity of the blood, its coolness and the changes in its contents. The treatment for this symptom is physical and psychological. As for the physical, it concentrates on purifying the blood, increasing its temperature and making it lighter. The psychological is limited to gentle encouraging talk that brings back some happiness as well as listening to music and songs and similar activities that emotionally give warmth to the gloomy.

One of the thought mechanisms to treat the sadness or depression that has a known reason i.e. loss of a loved relative or inability to obtain something one desperately wants is to weigh up the excessive bodily harm that continued sadness and depression can cause to one's body with the urge to mourn over his loss. Logical thinking would convince the person in question that his bodily health should be the most beloved thing to him. He should not accept to trade it in for any sum of money or relatives. The fact that a person feels sad and depressed for presumed loss is actually because he loves his body and soul and wants to please himself with what he failed to obtain or to stop the loss from happening. Destroying his health in agony over what has been lost, would be akin to someone selling out his capital to gain some little profit.

Another maneuver is for one to understand and realize that life in this world, by its very nature, is not the abode of perpetual joy and happiness, nor the abode of avoiding any loss of loved ones or sought after desires. One should look around to see if anyone has been spared such losses and bereavements. None will be found. If this is the way of things then one should deeply convince oneself that all the pleasures one obtains in life are but an additional gift that should be enjoyed with delight and that the losses one suffers and (those things) which one is unable to attain should not cause one much sorrow and bereavement.

A further mental approach is to realize that any hardship or damaging loss that besets one is similar or even less severe than the predicaments other people have suffered or are now suffering from. It is one of the characteristics of human nature to find solace in one's hardship when one discovers that it is shared by many other people. Furthermore, one should always remember that incidents that cause people to feel sad or to grieve are part of the engraved nature of this life.

Finally, by surveying one's own as well as other's experiences, one will come to the realization that all incidents of sorrow and grief are destined to be forgotten and that with the passing of days the agony would certainly diminish. One must take cognizance of the fact that the most saddening moment of an incident is its inception and that the days that come after will certainly reduce its painful effects until it is gradually pushed into forgetfulness. This kind of mental maneuver is bound to bring about a quick feeling of comfort or even happiness and pleasure.

Compiled From:
"Abu Zayd al-Balkhi's Sustenance of the Soul: the Cognitive Behavior Therapy of a Ninth Century Physician" - Malik Badri, pp. 48-52

From Issue: 977 [Read original issue]