A prominent shaikh is reported to have said, “Jaala Allah-o ahl-li-taat ahyaun fi hayatihim” (God has made his obedient servants alive in the state of death, and the disobedient dead in the state of life).
That is to say the obedient even if he is dead physically, is alive spiritually, and the angels go on blessing him till the Day of Judgement.
Once an old man came to him (the shaikh) and said, “O shaikh I am a great sinner. I have come to repent at your hands.” He said, “It is too late.” The old man said, “No, it is too early.” The shaikh said, “How?” He said, “Because I have come before death, and he who repents before death repents in time.”
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Curse of Selfishness
Being the selfish one is deprived of God’s blessings and is led astray. Selfishness brings two curses to a person. If he succeeds, it would be the success of the nafs (lower or beastly self) which is bound to bring destruction and land him in hell. If he fails, he also gains nothing. He should have abstained from it in the first place, as his failure is due to nothing but selfishness. And the key to Paradise is nothing but abstention.
Says God in the Holy Qur’an:
“Those who abstain from the cravings of nafs (beastly self) surely find their place in Paradise.” [79:40-41]
Refraining from the cravings of nafs means, that whatever one does his motive should be nothing but pleasure of the Almighty, and the avoidance of Hell fire. In short there is no end to the machinations of the nafs which are indeed imperceptible.
Says God in the Holy Qur’an:
“Those who abstain from the cravings of nafs (beastly self) surely find their place in Paradise.” [79:40-41]
Refraining from the cravings of nafs means, that whatever one does his motive should be nothing but pleasure of the Almighty, and the avoidance of Hell fire. In short there is no end to the machinations of the nafs which are indeed imperceptible.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Importance of Pure Intention
Man can only intend to do something and leave the result to God Almighty. If he fails, he is not to be blamed.
For the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) has said:
“Intention of the believer is better than actual completion.”
It is better to begin something with true motives than to complete it without any motive. Determination of correct motives is of tremendous importance in Islam, in that it leads to higher and higher objectives.
For instance, if a man abstains from food and drink with no intention of religious fasting, he is entitled to no reward. But if he intends to fast he becomes one of the inmates of Divine Presence although there is no apparent difference between the one who fasts with the intention of fasting and the one who fasts without it.
Similarly, a person who goes to Mecca without the intention of visiting the Holy Shrine deserves no recompense, but if he has that intention and dies on the way before visiting it, he is rewarded immensely.
This shows that the fixation of true motive in the beginning is tantamount to good performance itself.
For the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) has said:
“Intention of the believer is better than actual completion.”
It is better to begin something with true motives than to complete it without any motive. Determination of correct motives is of tremendous importance in Islam, in that it leads to higher and higher objectives.
For instance, if a man abstains from food and drink with no intention of religious fasting, he is entitled to no reward. But if he intends to fast he becomes one of the inmates of Divine Presence although there is no apparent difference between the one who fasts with the intention of fasting and the one who fasts without it.
Similarly, a person who goes to Mecca without the intention of visiting the Holy Shrine deserves no recompense, but if he has that intention and dies on the way before visiting it, he is rewarded immensely.
This shows that the fixation of true motive in the beginning is tantamount to good performance itself.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Tauhid
Allah Ta'ala has said in the Holy Quran:
"Your Allah is one." [16:22]
He has again said:
"Do not worship two gods, verily He is one." [16:51]
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w) has said, "There was a person who believed in oneness of God and did not do anything else as far as prayers and worship were concerned. He told his relatives to burn him to ashes after his death, and then throw one half of the ashes into the sea and another half into the winds so that no trace of him would be left. When he died his will was duly fulfilled. God Almighty bade the winds and oceans to preserve his ashes so that when he would be raised again on Resurrection, God would ask him why he made that will. He will reply: 'O Lord, because I was a great sinner I could not face you due to shame.' God Almighty will then forgive him."
Tauhid literally means being one or unifying. Since God is one both in His Essence and Attributes, is indivisible and has no sharer, the unitarians know Him as such, and this knowledge is called tauhid.
So that when man is gnostic (arif) he believes that God is one in the sense that He is indivisible; that He does not admit duality; that He is not numerically one in the sense that by the addition of another He becomes two, so that He is one of the two.
The Ahli-Sunnah-wal-Jamaah have affirmed the oneness of the Divine Lord by witnessing His wonderful creations, amazing arts and countless subtleties in this world which cannot possibly come into existence without a Creator.
Since everything in the universe is transitory, there must be a Creator to bring into existence what was non-existent. That is to say this earth, the skies, the sun, the moon, the deserts, seas, mountains together with their motions and rests, knowledge and expression, life and death, all these things cannot come into being without one Creator for one universe and not more than one, in which case one Creator would have been dependant on another.
The Creator is, therefore, one and only one without shadow of doubt, who is Perfect, the Living, the Sustainer, the Powerful, the Potent. He is without partner or partners and is absolutely independant.
This topic on tauhid is one of the most difficult to understand since it deals with the conception of God, while the Creator cannot possibly be conceived by the creature. God knows best.
"Your Allah is one." [16:22]
He has again said:
"Do not worship two gods, verily He is one." [16:51]
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w) has said, "There was a person who believed in oneness of God and did not do anything else as far as prayers and worship were concerned. He told his relatives to burn him to ashes after his death, and then throw one half of the ashes into the sea and another half into the winds so that no trace of him would be left. When he died his will was duly fulfilled. God Almighty bade the winds and oceans to preserve his ashes so that when he would be raised again on Resurrection, God would ask him why he made that will. He will reply: 'O Lord, because I was a great sinner I could not face you due to shame.' God Almighty will then forgive him."
Tauhid literally means being one or unifying. Since God is one both in His Essence and Attributes, is indivisible and has no sharer, the unitarians know Him as such, and this knowledge is called tauhid.
So that when man is gnostic (arif) he believes that God is one in the sense that He is indivisible; that He does not admit duality; that He is not numerically one in the sense that by the addition of another He becomes two, so that He is one of the two.
The Ahli-Sunnah-wal-Jamaah have affirmed the oneness of the Divine Lord by witnessing His wonderful creations, amazing arts and countless subtleties in this world which cannot possibly come into existence without a Creator.
Since everything in the universe is transitory, there must be a Creator to bring into existence what was non-existent. That is to say this earth, the skies, the sun, the moon, the deserts, seas, mountains together with their motions and rests, knowledge and expression, life and death, all these things cannot come into being without one Creator for one universe and not more than one, in which case one Creator would have been dependant on another.
The Creator is, therefore, one and only one without shadow of doubt, who is Perfect, the Living, the Sustainer, the Powerful, the Potent. He is without partner or partners and is absolutely independant.
This topic on tauhid is one of the most difficult to understand since it deals with the conception of God, while the Creator cannot possibly be conceived by the creature. God knows best.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The Wounded Sahabah
When the Muslims were engaged in the battle of Uhud near Madinah, a pious lady of the Ansar tribe rushed to the battlefield with a bucket full of water.
Seeing this, a dying soldier shouted for water. As the lady stepped forward to give him water another wounded soldier cried for water. On this the first soldier refused to take it and bade her to give it to the other.
When she went there, a third wounded soldier cried for water. The second soldier refused to take it and asked the lady to give it to the third soldier. In this way she offered water to seven wounded soldiers and every one refused to take water in preference to his brother lying next to him.
When the lady looked around, she found all of them dead and the water was still there. It was at that time that the verse, "And they give preference to others while they are in dire need themselves," [59:9], was revealed to the Prophet (s.a.w).
Seeing this, a dying soldier shouted for water. As the lady stepped forward to give him water another wounded soldier cried for water. On this the first soldier refused to take it and bade her to give it to the other.
When she went there, a third wounded soldier cried for water. The second soldier refused to take it and asked the lady to give it to the third soldier. In this way she offered water to seven wounded soldiers and every one refused to take water in preference to his brother lying next to him.
When the lady looked around, she found all of them dead and the water was still there. It was at that time that the verse, "And they give preference to others while they are in dire need themselves," [59:9], was revealed to the Prophet (s.a.w).
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