loading

Today's Reminder

March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 19, 1445

Living The Quran

Knowing Another
Al-Hujurat (The Chambers) Chapter 49: Verse 13 (partial)

"Behold, we have created you all out of a male and a female and have formed you into tribes and nations so that you may get to know one another."

The Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) greatest political achievement was to find a way of helping the Arabs to transcend the aggressive jahiliyyah that was tearing Arabia apart. Pluralisms and diversity are God's will; the evolution of human beings into national and tribal groups was meant to encourage them to appreciate and understand the essential unity and equality of the entire human family. But national and tribal chauvinism (asabiyyah), which regards one's own group as inherently superior to all others, is condemned as arrogant and divisive. Tribalism in this sense is still alive and well today. If we continue to make our national interest an absolute value, to see our cultural heritage and way of life as supreme, and to regard outsiders and foreigners with suspicion and neglect their interests, the interconnected global society we have created will not be viable. After the world wars, genocide, and terrorism of the twentieth century, the purpose of the tribe or the nation can no longer be to fight, dominate, exploit, conquer, colonize, occupy, kill, convert, or terrorize rival groups. We have a duty to get to know one another, and to cultivate a concern and responsibility for all our neighbours in the global village.

Compiled From:
"Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life" - Karen Armstrong, p. 144

From Issue: 788 [Read original issue]

Understanding The Prophet's Life

No Limit

During the siege of Madinah by the unbelievers, who raised a large army with the aim of annihilating the Muslim community, the Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered a dry moat to be dug at the entrance to Madinah to stop the attacking army's advance. The Prophet worked in the digging of the moat as an individual among the community. The Muslims were very poor at the time, and most of them were suffering from hunger. As a result of their hard work, their hunger was especially acute. Many people used the device of putting a stone against their bellies and wrapping it tightly to overcome the pangs of hunger. The Prophet himself had two stones wrapped against his belly. As he was working, one of his Companions, Jabir ibn Abdullah, was deeply affected by the sight and sought permission to absent himself temporarily. He went straight home to determine what food was there. His wife told him that she had a small quantity of barley and a small goat. He immediately slaughtered the goat and prepared it for cooking. His wife ground the barley and started to cook the goat in a large saucepan.

When the cooking and baking were nearly finished, Jabir went to the Prophet and said: "Messenger of God, I have some food at home. Would you like to be my guest with one or two of your Companions." The Prophet asked him how much food he had, and when he heard Jabir's reply he said: "This is good and plenty. Tell your wife not to take her saucepan off the fire, or her bread out of the oven until I come." Then he addressed his Companions and invited them to Jabir's dinner. All those digging the moat, from among the Muhajirun and the Ansar, went with him.

In Jabir's own account of the story, he says that he was exceedingly embarrassed because his little goat and a small amount of bread were very inadequate for that large number of people. When he arrived at Jabir's house, the Prophet said to his Companions: "Come inside, but do not push one another." The Prophet himself started to cut the bread, put it in dishes and put meat on top of it. Meanwhile, he kept the pot simmering and covered it as well as the oven, after taking some bread from it. He served dish after dish to his Companions until they had all eaten a full meal. Both the saucepan and the oven were still full of bread and meat when everyone had finished eating. The Prophet then said to Jabir's wife: "Eat of that and send presents to other people, for we have suffered something approaching a famine." She did so and sent large quantities of bread and meat during the rest of that day. [Bukhari]

There are several reports of this story. Some of these put the figure of those who shared in Jabir's dinner at 800. If everyone who was working on digging the moat accepted the Prophet's invitation to Jabir's house, the number would be even higher. These events are not surprising, not because of a little goat - or a large one, for that matter - was enough to feed such a large number of people, but because God blessed that repast and gave the Prophet such a privilege at that particular time.

There are many other stories like these that took place at one time or another. In all these examples, the common factor was that the Prophet would handle the situation himself and say a supplication that was not heard by those around him: witnesses only mention that they saw him saying a prayer or a supplication. When necessary, he would take over the action, as in the case of serving the food given by Jabir. Were these miracles? From our human perspective, they were no doubt supernatural happenings. However, they were not offered by the Prophet or anyone else as signs or proofs that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was God's Messenger. No one was asked to believe in Islam as a result of any such event. These events reassured the Prophet's Companions and gave them certainty that they were following the right path, but they were not presented as evidence of the truth of Islam. Rather, they showed two things. Firstly, they show that when God's blessings are given, a small amount of food suffices an army. It was God's blessing of Jabir's goat that gave hundreds of people two meals during their hard work in digging the moat to defend Islam. Secondly, they show that when God answers a prayer, there is no limit to how much He gives.

Compiled From:
"Muhammad: His Character and Conduct" - Adil Salahi

From Issue: 968 [Read original issue]

Blindspot!

Affirmative Action

Women enjoy equal rights in Shariah in respect of ownership, management of financial affairs, civil transactions and contracts. The Hanafi school has extended this position to the contract of marriage, although the majority of other schools have considered marriage an exception and require its solemnization by the legal guardian (wali) even of an adult woman. Since Islamic jurisprudence permits selection (takhayyur, or takhyir) among the leading schools, position which has been utilized in the statutory legislation in many Muslim countries, then there is basically no Shariah issue of concern in this area. Yet patriarchal customary practices, especially among the tribes of Asia and Africa, present obstacles to women's enjoyment of their civil and financial rights. The problem here is essentially not juridical but one of prevalent prejudicial custom and male-dominated family and society.

To give an example, the Quran unequivocally entitles female relatives to specified shares in an inheritance, which is, however, widely denied to them by their male relatives. Prohibitive statutory enactments in many Muslim countries on this and similar other issues have not succeeded in curbing entrenched customary positions. The Lesson one learns here is that prescriptive law reform needs to be followed by a wider campaign on awareness raising, education and policy initiatives.

Muslim women in rural Asia and Africa are not well aware of their rights either under the Shariah or statutory law. Legislation should naturally be continued to lead the way in the campaign for gender equality and economic empowerment of women. In some particularly difficult situations, recourse may be had to affirmative action legislation and quota system, for example, in admission to schools and employment centres, on a temporary basis at least, to promote the objectives of gender equality.

Compiled From:
"Shariah Law - An Introduction" - Mohammad Hashim Kamali, pp. 271, 272

From Issue: 528 [Read original issue]