General
From Issue: 406 [Read full issue]
| Living the Quran |
Al-Baqarah
(The Cow)
We Muslims should develop a collective mindset. We should never think of our personal interests at the expense of our faith and community. An approach based on selfishness is highly destructive. In the verse above Allah warns us against this. Some misinterpret the above Quranic directive in the sense of avoiding any danger or loss in the cause of faith. This is a total misreading of the verse, for rather, its stance runs counter to such claims. Once Abu Ayyub al-Ansari came across some discussion along the above lines. He clarified that the verse under discussion was sent down regarding the Ansar. He then explained its circumstantial setting. When Islam reached Madinah the Muslims were weak. The believing Madinans (Ansar), however, reinforced Islam with their lives and belongings, disregarding altogether their personal loss and suffering. They pledged their lives to the cause of Islam. After a few years however Islam had gained much strength; it could no longer be considered as weak. The Ansar therefore sought leave for a short period of time, thinking that they were entitled to this. While the Ansar so thought of taking such leave, the verse under study was sent down, asking them not to incur self-destruction. They were thus told to devote themselves, as in the past, to the cause of faith. No leave was granted to them. For Allah loves those who do good. This places the verse in its proper historical context. Without collective thinking we cannot achieve much. Individualism kills community spirit. It is regrettable that such a mentality is on the rise in our community. We have become a highly selfish people, concerned only with our own petty interests, our own prosperity, our own success in trade and industry and with our own material well-being. Prompted by such individual interests we act and do nothing beyond this. This mindset must change. We should feel a genuine concern for the issues confronting our faith and community. Compiled From: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| Building Our Communities Brick By Brick “You are a corner among the many
corners of Islam, It is obvious that while walking on your personal way to God, you will need to attain greater and greater heights of sacrifice and self-discipline to succeed in seeking His pleasure. But once you decide to come together with others to struggle, you stand in greater need of making sacrifices. Without them, neither your organized collective struggle can take a durable shape, nor can you aspire to be successful in your mission. Strong and solid, fused and welded, without cracks or divisions. That is how members of a Muslim community, joined together in bonds of love, marching to the beat of the ‘drums of hope and faith’, strive to invite people to do good and eliminate evil. How is a wall built? How do the individual blocks 'join ranks' to turn into a solid and impregnable wall? As a wall is composed of many building blocks, so must our communities be built upon the strengths of individuals like yourself. As each brick supports and builds upon others, so must Muslims cement their bonds, and gain in height and strength at each step. When the wall is seen from a distance, the blocks may look indistinguishable due to their uniformity, but like human beings, each retains its inner individuality. No one is required to sacrifice this, as indeed it is the diversity of strengths that is the beauty of an Islamic community. But if each block is unwilling to carry the burden of others above it or build upon those below it, it is impossible to construct a strong wall. Similarly, the most valuable bricks will have to go into the foundations below ground, never to be noticed or appreciated by anyone. Yet they are bearers of the greatest load, and without their sacrifice the building can not even begin to rise. Indeed many blocks may have to be broken in the process! Similarly, without the help of the individuals in the Muslim community, through their unique and creative skills, their time for counselling of those in need, their activism and financial contributions, Islam cannot be expected to survive, let alone spread to the hearts of individuals of other communities. Every single one of us has something exceptional to offer to Islam and our communities, no matter how little it may seem, and whether we recognize it or not. Ask yourself today: “What little can I do to make a difference in the life of others?”, “What is so unique about me, my skills, and my personality that could be of benefit to Islam?”, “When was the last time I did some good action that truly required sacrifice on my part, which may be known to Allah alone?”, “What have I done to thank Allah for all His blessings, the greatest of which is the guidance of Islam?” Compiled From: |
| Blindspot |
Moral Vaccination! When a family gets a new baby, almost immediately after the congratulations, they take the baby to the doctor to get the vaccine shots. There is a vaccine against measles, against diphtheria, and polio....etc. Why do they do that? Because the vaccine will give the child immunity against those diseases. Someone might ask, since these babies are at home and are not exposed to the infections, why then do they need the vaccination so early. The answer is that it is important to give the immunity before exposure to infection, so that later on when they are exposed to the infection, they would have acquired the immunity and they would resist that disease. We are not only bodies but we have souls, and morality. There are moral illnesses and they are contagious. So this medical principle of early immunization also applies to the moral state of our souls. We need a moral vaccination to immunize the souls to be able to resist these moral illnesses. That our society is full of moral illnesses does not require proof. It is a society infected with, violence, licentious sex, homosexuality, drugs and drinking. These are diseases and they are very infectious and our children are exposed to them. During their lives, at the early stage, whatever Mom says is correct. But then at a later stage there is PEER competition, a vigorous competition with which Mom and Dad do not have a chance. The maximum influence on the child would then be his peer group, not his parents. They will influence his thinking, will provide the food for his thought. They constitute peer pressure, which is very powerful, and hence the child, unless previously vaccinated, can not be immune from catching those diseases. Therefore we should make sure that in the limited window of time that we have, which is early childhood, we would vaccinate our children against those moral illnesses, so that at the time they get exposed to the infection, it would not be too late. They would have already acquired the resistance against those infections. Compiled From: |
