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Why Don’t You Embrace Islam?

Al-Mighty Allah describes Paradise in the Quran, “Verily, the dwellers of Paradise that Day, will be busy in joyful things. They and their wives will be in pleasant shade, reclining on thrones. They will have therein fruits (of all kinds), and they shall have whatever they desire (They shall be given whatever they ask for). (It will be said to them) “Salamun” (Peace be on you), a Word from the Lord, Most Merciful.” [ Qur’an chapter 36/55-58]

Further, the Quran describes, “No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy, as a reward for what they used to do.” (Surah As-Sajda 32/17)

Heaven is a beautiful and wonderful place that awaits those who believe in Allah and do righteous good deeds, where every wish is fulfilled. Every kind of beauty and blessing exists in Paradise and will be revealed with a perfection never seen or known before. There would be many types of delights that people enjoy therein. The highest blessing is Allah’s good pleasure. Allah will say: “This is a Day on which the truthful will profit from their truth: theirs are Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise) – they shall abide therein forever. Allah is pleased with them and they with Him. That is the great success (Paradise) (Quran Chapter 5/119)

Invitation To Oneness of Allah (Islamic Tauheed)

Muslims should keep away from polytheists to avoid committing shirk. Allah the Exalted said, “Say O Muhammad (peace be upon him),’ This is my way; I invite unto Allah (i.e. to the Oneness of Allah – Islamic Monotheism) with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me (also must invite others to Allah, i.e. to the Oneness of Allah – Islamic Monotheism with sure knowledge). (Qur’an, 12:108)

The verse above highlights two main points. First is the call to Islamic monotheism, and the second is to draw one’s attention to the issue of sincerity. It also conveys the message that one should invite with knowledge, certainty, and awareness. The characteristics of the followers of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) are that they have full knowledge of Tawheed, they act according to it, and invite others in a befitting manner.

When Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) sent Mu’adh (May Allah be pleased with him) to Yemen, he said, “You will come upon the People of the Book, let your first act be to call them to testify that – “To single out Allah Alone in the worship, i.e. actualize the Oneness (Tawheed) of Allah, if they obey you in this matter inform them that Allah has prescribed for them to offer five prayers (Salah) in day and night.

If they obey you in this, then tell them that Allah has imposed upon them the duty of Sadaqah (Zakah) to be levied from their rich and distributed to the poor. If they obey you in this, then be careful not to take the best of their properties (as payment of Zakah), and safeguard yourself against the supplication of those who have suffered injustice because there is no barrier between their supplication and Allah.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

The point to note here is that when the Prophet (peace be upon him) sent Mu’adh to invite people to Islam, he (peace be upon him) asked him to make their first message to the oneness of Allah, that is to testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah. Thus, Tawheed is the foremost obligation; it precedes everything, even the five daily prayers.

On the day of Khaibar, Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “Tomorrow I shall give the flag to a person who loves Allah and His Messenger and is loved by Allah and His Messenger. Allah will grant victory under his leadership.”

The people spent the night discussing to whom the flag would be given! In the morning, they came eagerly to Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him). Each one of them hoped to get the flag. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) asked, “Where is Ali Bin Abi Talib?” They replied, “He is suffering from an eye sore.” He was sent for, and Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) then applied in his eyes his saliva and prayed for him, where upon he was cured as if he had no pain. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) then gave him the flag and said, “Advance with ease and gentleness until you reach their midst, then call them to Islam and inform them of their duties to Allah in Islam. By Allah, if He may guide through you a single man to Islam, it is better for you than the red camels.”

In the above Hadith, the statement “Then invite them to Islam” means inviting people to the two testimonies of Islam, (there is none worthy of being worshipped except Allah and that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is Allah’s Messenger. This also includes the rights of Allah, obligations towards Him, and His prohibitions. The statement “inform them of what is obligatory” means to welcome them into the fold of Islam with complete wisdom. The Hadith also conveys the promise of a reward for a person who guides a single man to Sirat Al-Mustaqeem (the straight path).

– by Farzana Qamar

Like The Prophets, Raise Your Complaints To The Creator – (Part-II)

Like The Prophets, Raise Your Complaints To the Creator – (Part-I)

Prophet Ya’qub (peace be upon him)
The bitter pain of losing one’s offspring, a beloved, most upright son, along with his younger brother, depicts the trial of Prophet Ya’qub (peace be upon him). Long years shadowed in grief and sorrow pass. He shed tears until his sight was lost, but what was not lost is hope and complaint to his Creator. Reprimanded by family for being too hard on himself, he firmly responds with words that abridge the message of this piece: He said, “I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah, and I know from Allah that which you do not know.” (Yusuf 12:86)

Indeed, he did not complain to them, for they were mere humans who grew tired of the complaints of their brethren. He called out to One Whose pleasure increases when He is asked of.

Prophet Ya’qub’s word ‘bathee’ in the ayah refers to his greatest and most severe type of grief, whose difficulty makes one unable to restrain himself from releasing it and complaining about it.

When he turned to Allah, Allah helped him and he was reunited with his sons in an honored state: And when they entered upon Yusuf (Joseph), he took his parents to himself and said, “Enter Egypt, Allah willing, safe [and secure].”
And he raised his parents upon the throne (Yusuf 12:99-100).

Like The Prophets, Raise Your Complaints To the Creator – (Part-I)

WHEN the trials of this temporary life burden us, piling heavily within us, a need to release them, to complain, to call out for help urgently arises. It is a means through which we lighten the load and hopefully find some light.

The urge to release one’s complaints exists in us all, even a camel felt it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) entered the garden of a man from the Ansar (the people of Madina), and upon seeing him, the camel froze and its eyes watered. The Prophet (peace be upon him) came to it and rubbed its ears until it calmed down. He (peace be upon him) inquired about the owner and warned him to fear Allah, for the camel had complained to him that ‘he starves it and tires it by overworking it and using it beyond its capacity.’ (Ahmad and Abu Dawud).

Narrated to us over and over in the Quran are stories of men before us who were tested. They were great men chosen by Allah to carry messages of Truth, but their position did not deem them safe from facing the trials of this life, thus proving that indeed the world is a place of test upon test. For if it were not, Allah would have spared such a noble creation. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The people who are tested the most severely are the Prophets, then the righteous, then the next best and the next best, and a man will be tested in accordance with his level of religious commitment; the stronger his religious commitment, the more severe will be his test.” (Ahmad).

Not Performing The Hajj When Able to

Allah, the Most High, says, {Pilgrimage thereto is a duty, men owe to Allah those who can afford the journey; but if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of his creatures.} (Al-Umran: 97)

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever can afford this journey to the sacred House, by provision and transportation, and he does not make the pilgrimage, there is no blame if he dies as a Jew or a Christian. This is because Allah says, “Pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah -those who can afford the journey.” (Reported by At- Tirmidhi)

‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I have considered sending men to these cities to see who has not made the pilgrimage, and collect the non-Muslim poll tax (Jizya) from everyone possessing the means who has not performed it. They are not Muslims.”

Ibn ‘ Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Whoever does not make pilgrimage or pay Zakat will ask to be returned to life when dying.” Someone said, “No one asks to be returned except the unbelievers.” He said, “Allah, the Almighty, says, {And spend something (in charity) out of the substance which we have bestowed on you, before death should come to any of you and he should say: O my Lord! Why didst thou no give me respite for a little while, I should then have given (largely) in charity, and I should have been one of the doers of good.} (Al-Munafiqun: 10)
i.e., I should have made a pilgrimage.

Allah Most High says, {But to no soul will God grant respite when the time appointed for it has come.}
It was asked, “In what amount is Zakat obligatory?” He answered; “Two hundred Dirhams and the equivalent amount if it is gold.” Someone asked, “What about pilgrimage?” He said, “Provision and transportation.” Sa’id Ibn Jubair said, “If I have a wealthy neighbor who died without making a pilgrimage, I would never pray over him.”