Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Al-Rum (The Romans)
Chapter 30: Verse 8 (Partial)

Proofs Within
"Do they not reflect on themselves?"

Man's own being and the position he enjoys has been presented as a proof of the imminence of the Hereafter. Man is, after all, distinguished from all other creatures by the following three features:

i. Innumerable objects on earth and its environs have been yoked to man's service and man has been vested with a wide range of abilities so that he can make use of these.

ii. Man has been granted freedom to choose his course in life. But once he makes the choice, he is enabled, by the nature of things, to pursue his choice and, in so doing, can use the resources which God has created.

iii. Man has been inherently endowed with moral consciousness. Thanks to this, he can instinctively differentiate between good acts and evil acts.

These innate traits indicate that at some point in time man should be called to account; that he should be asked how he used the abilities, power and authority that were granted to him in the world and how he exercised his free-will to choose between good and evil. It is also evident that the appraisal of man's performance is possible only after the term granted to him to act comes to an end. Furthermore, this can only happen when the actions of not just one individual or nation, but of all human beings, come to a final end. This, because an individual's death or even the disappearance of a whole nation does not bring about an end to the total effects of a person's actions.

Thus, there will be an Afterlife in which everyone will be judged in the light of his life's record and be recompensed in accordance with his performance.

Source:
"Towards Understanding the Quran" - Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi, Vol. 8, pp. 75, 76

From Issue: 494 [Read original issue]

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Greedy Desire

The origin of all problems is greedy desire (shuhh). The Prophet explains this in the following sahih hadith:

"Beware of shuhh (greedy desire), for verily it destroyed those who came before you. It ordered them to be miserly and they were miserly, it ordered them to commit oppression and they oppressed, and it ordered them to cut family ties and they cut family ties."

Shuhh, which is the greedy desire of the self, causes miserliness by withholding objects of desire which have been acquired, and causes oppression by the taking of the property of others, and causes breaking of family ties, and it causes envy - which is to hate others possessing what one does not have, and wishing for its destruction. Envy itself entails miserliness and oppression, since envy is miserliness with that which one has been given, and oppression by wishing for others to lose the good which they have acquired.

Source:
"Enjoining Right and Forbidding Wrong" - Ibn Taimiya

From Issue: 502 [Read original issue]

Blindspot!

Not an Inspector

When you enter a home whether as a visitor or an overnight guest; do not closely examine its contents as an inspector would. Limit your observation to what you need to see. Do not open closed door or boxes. Do not inspect a wallet, a package, or a covered object. This is against Islamic manners and an impolite betrayal of the trust your host has accorded to you. Uphold these manners during your visit and seek to cultivate your host's love and respect, may Allah bless and protect you.

Imam al-Muhasibi in Risalat al-Mustarshidin said: "The duty of sight is to preclude forbidden sights and not to try to see what has been hidden and covered." Likewise Dawud al-Tai'y said: "I was told we would be accountable for our minor gazes, as we are accountable for our minor deeds." The Arab poet, Miskin al-Darimi said:

My neighbour need not worry if
his door was not closed.

Compiled From:
"Islamic Manners"- Abdul Fattah Abu Ghudda, pp. 43, 44

From Issue: 586 [Read original issue]