Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Women in the Quran
Al-Ahzab (The Confederates) Sura 33: Verse35

"For submitting men and submitting women, believing men and believing women, devout men and devout women, truthful men and truthful women, patient men and patient women, humble men and humble women, charitable men and charitable women, men who fast and women who fast, men who guard their private parts and women who guard [their private parts], men who remember God often and women who remember [God often], God has prepared forgiveness and a great reward."

Regarding the revelation of this verse, it is reported that when Asma bint Umays returned with her husband, Jafar ibn Abi Talib, from Abyssinia, she went to the wives of the Prophet and asked, "Has anything from the Quran been revealed about us [women]?" When they answered that nothing had been revealed about them, she went to the Prophet and said, "O Messenger of God, women are disappointed and at a loss!" He asked, "How is that?" She replied, "They are not mentioned [in the Quran] in goodness as are the men," after which this verse was revealed. Others say that it was revealed after Umm Umarah al-Ansariyyah came to the Prophet and said, "I do not see but that everything is about men, and I do not find the women mentioned with regard to anything." According to another account, Umm Salamah said to the Prophet, "Why is it that we are not mentioned in the Quran as are the men?" Then later that day she heard him reciting this verse in the mosque.

This verse may also be related to 4: 32 and 3:195, both of which explicitly confirm an otherworldly reward— without differentiation— for both men and women who uphold the moral requirements of Islam. Regarding men and women who remember God often, al-Tustari writes, "One who observes true remembrance is one who is aware that God witnesses him. He perceives Him with his heart as being close to him, and therefore feels shame before Him. Then he gives Him priority over himself and over everything else in every situation."

Compiled From:
"The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary" - Seyyed Hossein Nasr

From Issue: 1044 [Read original issue]

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Transmission

Our Community has a long history of protecting its prophetic legacy and defending it against being misconstrued, and it considers lying about the Messenger to be something which will take anyone who does it to eternal punishment in Hell because it involves falsification of the deen and forging lies against Allah. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said, "Lying about me is not like lying about anyone else. Whoever lies about me deliberately will take his seat in Hell." [Bukhari]

Scholars who study the Sunna have laid down five preconditions for the acceptability of hadiths of the Prophet: three concern the isnad (chain of transmission) and two the text itself.

1. The isnad must be comprised of transmitters with good memories who are precise in respect of what they hear and then report it accurately.

2. As well as having an intelligent grasp of the text, they must also have unimpeachable morals and a conscience which fears Allah and refrains from any temptation to adulterate it.

3. These two qualities must be applied to every one of those who make up the chain of transmitters. If any chain is lacking in one transmitter or one of the men in the chain is unsure, then the hadith is less than sound.

When the isnad has been found to be acceptable on this basis, then we examine the text transmitted by it. i.e. the text of the hadith itself.

4. It must not be aberrant.

5. It must not have a fault which renders it unacceptable.

Aberration arises when the text concerned contradicts a reliable transmission from a more reliable transmitter. When those with expertise see such an impairing fault in the hadith, that moves them to reject it.

These preconditions provide an adequate guarantee of the precision of the transmission. Indeed, in the whole history of human culture, there is nothing comparable to this firm establishment and determination of reliability of any other tradition. The important thing is to apply these criteria properly.

Compiled From:
"The Sunna of the Prophet" - Muhammad al-Ghazali

From Issue: 1013 [Read original issue]

Cool Tips!

Train Your Will Power

Many people fail to get ahead because they have no willpower to do what they know they should be doing. Nor can they help themselves to avoid the things which they know will ruin them. Many such people would like to give up smoking, to stop using drugs, or to avoid affairs outside of marriage. Many find that gambling or alcohol addiction is wrecking their lives. Yet these people have no willpower to set their life on the right course. They feel helpless, and they have to deal with a nagging conscience that pricks them with what they could have done, or should have done.

Yet there are some strong-willed people who seem to be able to do what they know is right and avoid what they know is wrong. Such people experience peace of mind knowing that they are doing the right thing. Their willpower is obviously working for them.

But how do they do it? What is the secret? The secret is that you can train your willpower.

Suppose you made a resolution to skip lunch for a month and actually stuck to your decision. You may save your lunch money, lose a few pounds, develop sympathy for the poor, and give your digestive system a much-needed rest. More importantly, you will strengthen your willpower.

The reason this works is that you teach yourself to avoid lunch even when you know you could have it if you decide. Your stomach may growl, but you won't listen. Thus you train yourself to ignore the calling of your lower physical self and reach for the higher goals of real human achievement. If you stick to your decision day after day for a month you can develop a regular habit of doing the right thing even when your desires are calling for something else.

Every year, for one month, able Muslims go through a similar fasting exercise. They observe the fast as a compulsory practice which God prescribed in His revealed messages, especially in His last revealed book. One of the many benefits they experience from fasting is its training aspect. The willpower they develop in the one month helps them to continue doing the right thing and avoiding the wrong throughout the year. They find the fast such an effective method of spiritual training and of achieving a closeness with their creator that many Muslims also keep some additional, optional, fasts on other days of the year. They eat an early breakfast before dawn and a late dinner after sunset. From dawn to sunset they would have no food or drink; they would also refrain from sexual activity. Whereas the baser selves regularly call for these things, Muslims train themselves with the help of God to fulfill their natural needs in the time and manner which God declared suitable for human dignity and well-being.

During the fast Muslims also train themselves to always avoid lying, cheating, backbiting, and all manner of false speech and immoral actions.

Compiled From:
"How to Train Your will power to work for you" - Shabir Ally

From Issue: 539 [Read original issue]