Friday Nasiha

Surah \r\n Bani Israel (Children of Israel)
\r\n [aka. Al-Isra (the Ascension)]
\r\n Chapter 17: Verse 15

Translation:

He \r\n who follows the right way shall do so to his own advantage; \r\n and he who strays shall incur his own loss. No one shall carry \r\n another’s burden. And never shall We punish any until \r\n We send a Messenger.

Commentary:

It is obvious that if a man follows the right \r\n way, he does no favour to God, or His prophet (peace be upon \r\n him) or to those who seek to bring about reform. For his \r\n righteousness will be to his own advantage. \r\n Likewise, when he adopts a wrong course, or stubbornly clings \r\n to it, he harms no one but himself.

Once the truth is convincingly placed before \r\n a wise person, and falsehood is shown to be untrue, he should \r\n not allow his biases or excessive concern for material interests \r\n to deter him from following the truth and instead should \r\n adopt a straightforward attitude to \r\n it.

The statement ‘No one shall carry another’s \r\n burden’ emphasizes that every man has been encumbered \r\n with moral responsibility, that each person is accountable \r\n to God in his personal capacity, \r\n that no man has a co-sharer in this accountability. Hence, \r\n a wise person should not be overly concerned with the actions \r\n of others.

In the scheme of things relating to God’s \r\n Judgement of man, the Messengers occupy a central position. \r\n The Messengers constitute God’s \r\n evidence which, at the end of the day, also \r\n establishes man’s responsibility. For had not Messenger \r\n been sent and no Message conveyed, there would be little justification \r\n to hold men to account and to punish them.

Man’s responsibility is so grave that \r\n he ought to remain wholly absorbed with the question: ‘What \r\n will happen to me? How will God treat me?’ \r\n So far as others are concerned, God knows best as to how, \r\n when and to what extent His Message reached each of them, \r\n and how each of them responded to it, and why.

[Taken \r\n from "Towards Understanding the Quran" by Abul Ala \r\n Mawdudi, Vol. V, (Islamic Foundation, UK), pp. 29-30]

Removing \r\n Anxiety

Abu Saeed Al-Khudri, may Allah \r\n be pleased with him, narrated that one day the Messenger of \r\n Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, entered the mosque \r\n and found a man from Ansar, named Abu Umamah. He said: "O \r\n Abu Umamah! Why do I see you sitting in the mosque outside \r\n the time of prayer?" Abu Umamah replied: "Anxieties \r\n and debts have remained with me." The Messenger of Allah \r\n asked: "Should I not teach you words, which if you say \r\n Allah will remove your anxiety and will settle your debt?" \r\n He replied: "Definitely, O Messenger of Allah." \r\n He said: "Say when you wake up in the morning and when \r\n you reach the evening: 'O Allah! I seek Your protection \r\n from anxiety and sorrow, and \r\n I seek Your protection from helplessness \r\n and laziness, and I seek Your protection from cowardice \r\n and miserliness, and I seek Your protection from the \r\n burden of debts and from the tyranny \r\n of men." Abu Umamah said (later): "I \r\n did (as the Messenger of Allah said) and Allah removed my \r\n anxiety and settled my debt." Related by Abu Dawud.

[taken \r\n from Al-Mathurat, \r\n by Imam Hasan Al-Banna Shaheed, BUY \r\n NOW!]