Dying Words

On Imam Shafi’i’s deathbed, the Imam’s companion turned to him and asked, “What is your condition?”

Imam Shafi’i replied: “I am journeying from this world, and departing from my brothers, drinking from the cup of death, and upon Allah, Exalted is His remembrance, arriving. And no! By Allah, I do not know if my soul is traveling towards Paradise or the Fire!”

Imam Shafi’i then began to cry profusely and recited the following: “In You, the Creator, I raise my longing, and even if I am, O Possessor of Kindness and Generosity, an evildoer, a criminal. When my heart became hardened and my paths became narrow, I took my hope in Your pardon and forgiveness as an opening and an escape, my sins seemed very great to me but when I compared them to Your forgiveness, I found Your forgiveness to be far greater, You are and still remain the only One who can forgive sins, You grant and forgive out of Your benevolence and generosity, perhaps the One who is the source of all goodness will forgive and overlook my mistakes, and will hide the sins and burden that I accumulated, my sins seemed very great to me, so I turned (to You) in humility, were it not for my contentment in you, I wouldn’t, O my Lord, have seen any comfort at all, so if You forgive me, You would have forgiven a sinner, a rebellious, oppressive tyrant still sinning, so my crime is very great, past and present, but Your forgiveness that embraces Your servant is greater and higher, so whomsoever holds fast to Allah is truly saved from mankind, and whosever’s hopes are in Him, will be far removed from any regrets.”

For the Love

A gift for Valentine’s Day.

Raising Children in Deen and Dunya

by Hina Khan-Mukhtar | hijab flutter: ibnalhydrabadee

I still vividly remember the first night I spent by myself in the hospital after delivering my eldest son Shaan.  The guests were gone for the day, the hallway lights were dimmed, the nurses were speaking outside my room in muted tones.

“Knock, knock!” came a cheerful voice from the doorway.  “Someone’s hungry and wants his mommy!”

The nurse wheeled in the crib that held my newborn, only a few hours old at the time.  She cooed over him as I struggled to sit up, then efficiently handed him into my waiting arms, bustling out of the room after giving me a few words of encouragement.

I pulled the blanket away from his cheek and smiled in awe at this fragile, little creature who was being left alone with me for the first time ever.  I felt privileged to be trusted with his care, overwhelmed with the weight of responsibility.  No one was watching over my shoulder; he was all mine and I could do whatever I wanted.

I felt it was an appropriate time to take care of something that no one had thought of arranging so far — introductions.

“Assalaamu alaikum,” I whispered to the warm bundle nestled against my chest, “I’m your mommy.”  I stroked his face and then asked the rhetorical question that every mother has asked since time immemorial.  “Now…how am I going to raise you?”

It’s a question that I have continued to ask since that first magical night in the maternity ward.

I’ve asked it of grandparents, parents, sons, and daughters.  I’ve asked it of Pakistanis, Indians, Afghans, Arabs, Americans, Asians, and Africans.  I’ve sat people down at parties, emailed friends’ parents, called up aunties on the telephone, and stopped uncles on their way out the door.  Any family whose practice of Islam has impressed me, any child whose manners have stunned me, any teenager whose conduct with his or her sibling has given me reason for pause, any adult whose balance of deen (religion) and dunya (world) has wowed me, I have accosted and asked,

“What exactly did your parents do with you?!”

“How did you raise your children?!”

“I beg you, tell me the secret of bringing up Mu’mineen like the ones I see in your home!”

What I have found in my years of “field research” is that nearly all of these families have stumbled upon the same basic secrets to success.  While many of them don’t necessarily know one another, time and time again they have given me the same advice, the same tips, the same rules.  I would catalogue their stories in my head, thinking I could easily remember them later.  So when I was recently approached with the request for an article on Muslim parenting tips, I jumped at the chance to put it all down in writing and thus preserve the valuable insights I have gathered over the course of the past twelve years or so.

Here then, for my benefit and yours, are the tips from the “experts”, the tried-and-true heroes who have worked hard at (and, insha’Allah, succeeded at) securing their children’s minds, hearts, and souls.  These words come from those parents — like you — whose primary purpose in life has been to direct their sons and daughters onto the Path they believe will earn them the Pleasure of their Creator and the respect of their fellow human beings.  Some of the advice may seem “common sense”, the type you could hear on any daytime talk show or read in any self-help book.  Other tips genuinely surprised me at how specific and unyielding they were in their insistence that “This is the only way”.  While there has been a whole variety of advice given to me, I have noticed a pattern emerging where the same ten “Rules of the Game” seem to keep reappearing in different shapes and forms; those dominant tips are the ones that I have chosen to focus on for the purpose of my article.

Revival of the Individual

by Khurram Murad

Individuals committed to the Islamic Movement are like the building bricks fused together to form a solid wall. Each individual, like a brick, must be strong and capable of withstanding the loads and stresses that it is called upon to bear. Just as each brick must be fully burnt and purified in a kiln and pass certain minimum standards, so too an individual has to go through a process of training and development in order to be effective within the edifice of the movement. But what is involved in this construction of the individual? What has the individual got to do in order to prepare himself for his role in the movement? These are fundamental questions – for a pre- requisite to the revival of Muslim society is a revival of the individual or the self.

THE KEY TO SUCCESS

The starting point in this process is what the Qur’an calls the qalb or a person’s heart. Look at yourself and you will find inside you a whole universe, emotions, desires, urges, instincts which motivate you from within. The qalb does not mean the pump which pushes blood around the body, it means the centre or locus of the personality which is pumping motivations, desires and urges and which makes man do what he wants to do.
The Qur’an goes on to explain that this is the key to a person. His success depends not on what he is physically, nor on what he does, but on what lies at the centre of his personality. The Qur’an declares that except the one who comes to Allah with a sound heart on the day of Judgement none will be successful in His eyes (26:89). There is also a hadith which states: ‘Beware, there is a piece of flesh in the human body. If it is right, then the whole body is right and sound and if it is corrupted then the whole body is corrupted. Look, this is the heart’ (Bukhari).

According to the Qur’an, the basis of corruption stems from within a person. The social institutions may be corrupt, there may be exploitation and abuse in the economic and political spheres, but the basis of all these diseases lies inside a person’s heart. The Qur’an says, The disease (is not somewhere in the body, it) is inside their hearts (2:10). What it is that stops man from seeing right and doing right, that turns him blind? The Qur’an explains, It is not the eyes which go blind but it is the heart inside you which goes blind (22:46).This, then, is the basic starting point for the movement – to purify the heart and then summon it to the service of mankind, whether it be in government, in political institutions or in economic ventures. For us who are committed to Islam as a movement and who are involved in the path of jihad, attention should always remain riveted on keeping the heart, our centre, pure. Our whole attention must be focused on this continuous struggle. All the rites that have been prescribed by the Qur’an reach out to purify the deepest regions of our selves. The Qur’an states (reagarding the animals sacrificed in charity), It is not the flesh and blood that reaches Allah, it is the taqwa within your heart that finds acceptance (22:37).

PURIFYING THE HEART

If the individual is the primary building block of society, then the heart is its foundation within each person. The question which arises now is how should we set about preparing this most basic of building bricks?

I. Submit the Qalb to Allah

First we must understand that the ‘heart’ must submit totally and exclusively to its Creator. It cannot be compartmentalised – we cannot dedicate one piece of it to Allah, and another to some other god, like wealth, status, career and so on. There is a beautiful verse in the Qur’an which throws light on the absurdity of such a situation. It tells about some of the mushrikin or idol worshipers who sacrifice animals and then say that one part of the animal is for Allah and another is for their other idols. The verse then states quite clearly that whatever is assigned to Allah is also, in reality, assigned to the idols, for Allah does not accept something divided. He is One, Indivisible, and wants us to be undivided in service to Him. So long as we remain divided within ourselves, so long as our heart lies in a hundred places, so long as our eyes are set in a hundred directions, so long as our destination is not one but many, we shall never be able to achieve that first condition for building a strong and pure personality.

Rain

And it is He who sends down the rain after they had despaired and spreads His mercy.

And He is the Protector, the Praiseworthy.

(Surat ash-Shuraa, Qur’an – 42:28)

Triumph

In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy

Truly We have opened up a path to clear triumph for you [Prophet], so that God may forgive you your past and future sins, complete His grace upon you, guide you to a straight path, and help you mightily. It was He who made His tranquility descend into the hearts of the believers, to add faith to their faith – the forces of the heavens and the earth belong to God; He is All-Knowing and All-Wise – so as to admit believing men and women into Gardens graced with flowing streams, there to remain, absolving their bad deeds – a great triumph in God’s eyes…The forces of heaven and earth belong to God; He is All-Mighty and All-Wise. We have sent you [Prophet] to bring good news and give warning, so that you [people] may believe in God and His Messenger, support Him, honor Him, and praise Him morning and evening. Those who pledge loyalty to you [Prophet] are actually pledging loyalty to God Himself – God’s hand is placed on theirs – and anyone who breaks his pledge does so to his own detriment: God will give a great reward to the one who fulfills his pledge to Him.

- Surat al-Fath, 48:1-10

[Translation by M.A.S. Abdelhaleem]

Contemplation During Afflictions

Mawlana Ashraf `Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) used to intruct the seeker afflicted by something unfavorable that he should contemplate (muraqaba) on the Divine names al-Hakim and al-Hakeem.

Allah, Most High, being the Sovereign authority in charge (al-Hakim) has all the right to do with us as He wants. No one can question it. We being His slaves have to accept it. However, at the same time we must remember that He is Wise (al-Hakeem) and whatever He does certainly has something beneficial for us. We may not be able to acknowledge this right away but this is for sure.

Thinking on these lines decreases the apprehensions and sufferings associated with the affliction. Also it increases one’s love and trust on Allah at the same time.

The Harvest

“The year is like a tree, months are its branches, days are the branch sticks, hours are its leaves, and the breaths are its fruits. Therefore, if one’s breaths are in obedience [to Allah and His Messenger], the fruits of his tree are good. If they are in disobedience, his fruits are bitter. The harvest is on the Appointed Day, when one’s fruits are found out to be either good or bitter.”

Imam Ibn-ul-Qayyim

The Mission Ramadan EBook!

MISSION RAMDAN EBOOK

I contributed to Mission Ramadan, where thirty bloggers contributed a post each during Ramadan. The theme was the Qur’an. Check it out!

IUMS Statement on the Steel Wall Between Egypt and Gaza

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger, his family, Companions, and those who follow his guidance.

Actually, the steel wall that is being set up nowadays by Egypt on its border with Gaza is prohibited from the viewpoint of Islam, because it serves to block all outlets to Gaza and stresses the blockade on its people. Also, it will surely aggravate their hunger, humiliate them, and intensify the pressure on them so that they submit and surrender to Israel.

When the news was announced for the first time, I doubted it and maintained that it was meant to sow the seeds of dissension between Egypt and Palestine. Then, I was astounded when it was confirmed that it was true.

Undoubtedly, Egypt is free and has the right of sovereignty over its lands, but surely it does not have the right to support the killing of its brothers and neighbors in Palestine. This is clearly unacceptable, neither under the notion of Arabism, nor under the notion of Islamic brotherhood or even human brotherhood.

In the Glorious Qur’an, Almighty Allah says, (The believers are but brethren) (Al-Hujurat 49:10). Also, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The Muslim is the brother of another Muslim; he does not wrong him, let him down, or desert him.” He (peace and blessings be upon him) also said, “Support your brother, whether he is the oppressor [by preventing him from being so] or he is the oppressed.” The Prophet did not say, “Besiege him, starve him, or put him under pressure in service of your enemy.”

It is decisively obligatory upon Egypt to open the Rafah Crossing before the inhabitants of Gaza, because it is their sole way out. This obligation is enjoined both by the Islamic Shari`ah and by law. It is in no way allowable to tighten the grip over the people of Gaza and to participate in killing them.

The Gazans have resorted to digging tunnels in hopes of finding an alternative to the mostly-closed crossing, which is closed even in the face of human relief convoys. Blocking the tunnels by Egypt is tantamount to saying to them, “Die, and let Israel live.”

I have never met any Egyptian who is not indignant about the steel wall, nor have I ever found an Arab or Muslim or even any honorable person anywhere who does not condemn the construction of this wall, which is similar to the apartheid wall built by Israel.

It is unbelievable that after Israel built an apartheid wall to oppress the Palestinians, Egypt is constructing another wall that is mainly in service of Israelis.

I appeal to all friends of Egypt to urge it to refrain from committing this unjustifiable crime. I call upon the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to interfere and stop this tragedy.

I hope that Egypt, which was engaged in four wars for Palestine, will not go ahead with this act, which is completely against the interests of Palestinians and surely in service of Israel. I wish that Egypt would fear Allah as regards our wronged and besieged brothers, and that it would safeguard itself against the supplication of the oppressed and afflicted brothers in Palestine. Allah raises the call of the oppressed one over the clouds and opens for it the gates of heaven and says, “By My Might and Glory, I will render you victorious, even after a time.”

We seek Allah’s protection against every oppressor and arrogant. O Allah, we are defeated, so make us victorious, and wronged, so avenge us. We supplicate You, so respond to us, O You Ever-Alive and Eternal.

Yusuf Al-Qaradawi
President of IUMS

The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) is an independent Islamic Union comprising Muslim scholars from all over the world and representing different schools of Islamic thought. It works globally to spread its message all over the world and it represents Muslim minorities living in countries where non-Muslims constitute the majority. IUMS eschews extremism and bigotry and thinks moderately. It is a body for all Muslim scholars and it encourages scholarship, dissemination of knowledge, and works for the revival of the Islamic scholarly heritage. For more details, click here.