\r\n
\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n| \r\n QURAN \r\n |
Translation:
\r\nSurah \r\n al-An'aam
\r\nThe \r\n Women (4) - Ayah 94
\r\nIn \r\n the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
\r\n\r\n
\"Believers! When you go forth in the way of Allah, discern \r\n (between friend and foe) and do not say \r\n to him who offers you the greeting of \r\n peace: 'You are not a believer!' If you \r\n seek the good of this worldly life, there \r\n lies with Allah abundant gain. After all, \r\n you too were such before (i.e. disbelievers), \r\n and then Allah was gracious to you...\" \r\n
\r\nCommentary:
\r\n- \r\n
- \r\n This verse \r\n was revealed regarding a strange problem \r\n encountered by the Muslims on the battlefield, \r\n but it has great relevance to us today.\r\n \r\n
The Islamic Greeting \r\n
\r\n- \r\n
- \r\n In the early days of Islam, the greeting of As-Salaamu \r\n A'alaykum (peace be upon you) was \r\n a distinguishing symbol of the Muslims. \r\n The Prophet and his Companions used \r\n to rush to say Salam to each other at \r\n every possible opportunity, even if \r\n they had only been away from each other \r\n for moments. They knew the importance \r\n and reward in it.\r\n
- \r\n When a Muslim greeted another Muslim with this expression \r\n it signified that he was a member of \r\n the same community, that he was a friend, \r\n one who wished peace and security, from \r\n whom no fear or hostility was expected.\r\n
- \r\n The \r\n Prophet told us to 'spread peace' amongst \r\n all Muslims whether strangers or friends \r\n by using the Islamic greeting often. \r\n It is a greeting that Allah uses in \r\n addressing us and it will be the first \r\n words we will hear upon entering Jannah \r\n (paradise). In fact, the Prophet mentioned \r\n that the Jews are not jealous of anything \r\n more than they are of our Salams \r\n and Ameens!\r\n \r\n
The \r\n Difficulty
\r\n- \r\n
- \r\n Realizing \r\n the significance of the Salam to Muslims, \r\n some of the non-Muslims whenever they \r\n were in danger of being killed or harmed \r\n in battle by Muslims resorted to pronouncing \r\n the Islamic greeting or La ilaha \r\n ill Allah to save their selves.\r\n
- \r\n \r\n\r\nSome \r\n Muslims however suspected this to \r\n be merely a ruse of the enemy and \r\n therefore sometimes disregarded the \r\n utterance and killed such people and \r\n seized their belongings as booty. \r\n These are the ones Allah criticizes \r\n in the ayah.\r\n
- \r\n The \r\n Prophet also severely reproached these \r\n Muslims when he came to know of these \r\n incidents saying that no one should \r\n \"cut open a man's heart to find out \r\n if he is a true believer or not!\"\r\n \r\n
- \r\n
- \r\n
The purport of this verse is that no one has the right summarily \r\n to judge those who profess to be Muslims, \r\n and assume them to be lying for some \r\n worldly benefit.
\r\n - \r\n
Only Allah knows what is truly in their hearts and no Muslim \r\n has a right to label another Muslim \r\n as Kafir especially if the person \r\n has not openly pronounced his disbelief. \r\n The Prophet said that when a Muslim \r\n calls another Muslim a Kafir, at least \r\n one of them is really that! \r\n
\r\n - \r\n
Even if our accusation of \r\n a Muslim is true, and he/she is truly \r\n guilty of some crime for which justice \r\n must be served, without proof or investigation \r\n one can not assume guilt. \r\n
\r\n - \r\n The harm from letting a sinner or disbeliever go unpunished \r\n is preferrable to that of slandering \r\n a true and upright believer. \r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n
| \r\n GETTING \r\n BEYOND PRIVATE ISLAM \r\n |
:!: \r\n Mission of the Islamic Movement :!:
\r\n- \r\n
- \r\n The Islamic movement has come into \r\n existence to revive Islam (tajdeed \r\n ul Islam) and reinstate Islam at the \r\n helm of life once again, after removing \r\n the obstacles from its path.\r\n
- \r\n The \r\n term \"revival of Islam\" is not a new expression; \r\n it was used by the Prophet (peace be upon \r\n him) in the saheeh hadith narrated \r\n by Abu Hurayra: \"Allah shall send at the \r\n start of every hundred years, someone \r\n who will revive this Deen (ujaddid \r\n ad-deen)\" [Abu Dawud,al-Hakim].\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n:!: \r\n Methodology of the Revival :!:\r\n
The \r\n revival to be achieved by the Islamic movement \r\n should take three directions: \r\n
\r\n- \r\n
- \r\n Fristly, \r\n the formulation of an Islamic vanguard \r\n which is capable, through integration \r\n and cooperation, of leading the contemporary \r\n society by Islam without isolation or \r\n leniency, and curing the dis-eases of \r\n the Muslims with medicines that have been \r\n prescribed by Islam alone. This vanguard \r\n must comprise of individuals whose ranks \r\n are glued by deep-rooted faith (iman), \r\n sound learning (tarbiyyah) and \r\n close ties (ukhuwah). \r\n\r\n
- \r\n Secondly, \r\n the formulation of a Muslim public opinion \r\n representing the broad popular base which \r\n stands behind Islam's protagonists, loving \r\n and supporting them after having rid itself \r\n of the effects of the mud-throwing campaigns \r\n against Islam and Islam's protagonists \r\n and movements.\r\n
- \r\n Thirdly, \r\n the preparation of an international public \r\n climate that will accept the existence \r\n of the Islamic Nation (Ummah). This will \r\n only happen when it understands the true \r\n aspects of the Islamic Message and the \r\n Islamic Civilization, and becomes free \r\n of the evil effects left by the fanaticism \r\n of the Medieval Ages and the lies and \r\n distortions concocted by anti-Islamic \r\n campaigns.\r\n
- \r\n Such \r\n public opinion would tolerate the emergence \r\n of Muslim power beside other global powers, \r\n realizing that Muslims have a right to \r\n rule themselves according to their own \r\n creed since they are the majority in their \r\n own countries, as called for by the democratic \r\n principles that are so often praised and \r\n advocated.\r\n
- \r\n They \r\n further have a right to promote their \r\n universal humanitarian message as one \r\n of the great ideologies of the world - \r\n an ideology that has a past, a present \r\n and a future and lays claim to over one \r\n billion adherents in this world in which \r\n we now live.\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n[from \"Priorities \r\n of the Islamic Movement\" by Shaykh Yusuf \r\n al-Qaradawi]
\r\n
\r\n
| \r\n GLIMPSES \r\n OF THE SEERAH \r\n |
< \r\n The Teacher of Mankind >
\r\n- \r\n
- \r\n Masjid \r\n al-Nabawi (The Prophet's Mosque) was \r\n not only a place of worship, but also the \r\n first Islamic university. In \r\n the Masjid, there was an elevated platform \r\n known as the Suffah. \r\n\r\n
- \r\n Sometimes, people who had no place to live stayed on the \r\n Suffah, but more often, it was occupied \r\n by people who loved Rasul Allah (salla \r\n Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) so much that \r\n they did not want to part with the Masjid. \r\n These people came to be known as the Ashab \r\n al-Suffah.\r\n
\r\n - \r\n The \r\n Ashab al-Suffah spent their days and nights \r\n praying, reciting Qur'an and studying Islam. \r\n They sat in groups and performed Dhikr \r\n (remembering Allah), or they studied Fiqh.\r\n
\r\n - \r\n Once, \r\n Rasul Allah saw two meetings of Ashab al-Suffah \r\n taking place. In one assembly, people were \r\n making Dhikr. In the other, they were studying \r\n the religion of Islam. Rasul Allah said, \r\n \"Allah likes both of these assemblies. Both \r\n are blessed.\"\r\n
\r\n - \r\n Then \r\n he said, \"I have been sent as a Teacher\" \r\n and he joined the assembly where the Sahabah \r\n were engaged in learning about the Deen.\r\n \r\n