
Islam Deen-e-Insaniyat
Islam Deen-e-Insaniyat
Hadrat Anas ibn Malik (r.a.) said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying, “Allah, the Exalted, has said: `O son of Adam! I shall go on forgiving you so long as you pray to Me and aspire for My forgiveness, whatever may be your sins. O son of Adam! I do not care even if your sins should pile up to the sky and should you beg pardon of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam! If you come to Me with an earth full of sins and meet Me, not associating anything with Me in worship, I will certainly grant you as much pardon as will fill the earth.“
Related by At-Tirmidhi.
Commentary:
Regardless of the quality or the quantity of the sins one might have committed in one’s past, if one turns to Allah Subhanah and seeks sincere forgiveness; it is expected that they will find their Lord Forgiving and Merciful. Regardless of whether the sins one might have accumulated are major or minor, regardless of whether the sins one might have accumulated are so much that if piled up they would reach the heavens…..if one turns in ‘taubah’ unto their Lord and seeks sincere forgiveness before they meet with their appointment of death, The Lord Most Merciful will envelop such a repentant believer in His Forgiveness and Mercy.
If one were to die in a state whereby one did not seek repentance for their sins, and the sins were so many that they would fill the whole earth…provided one did not associate anything in worship with the Lord Most Majestic Most High (ie. did not commit the abomination of ‘shirk’), their Lord Most Gracious will grant them with as much pardon as will fill the whole earth! Such is the magnitude of the vastness of the Lord Most Merciful Who Created!
All of Allah’s words, which the Angel Gabriel brought to the Prophet Muhammad, are written down in a book. This book is called the Quran. In the Quran, we can read all that Allah says to us and to all mankind.
In the Quran, we can find stories of many other prophets, for Allah always sent prophets to mankind so that they would worship Him alone and do good. That is why there were many prophets before Muhammad.
We can also find many other things in the Quran. All that we as Muslims believe, and should do, is written there. When we know what is written in the Quran and follow it, we become good Muslims.
All that we know about Allah is what He Himself has told us. Allah told the Angel Gabriel to speak to Muhammad, and Muhammad told the people what the Angel Gabriel had said to him.
Allah is the only God. There is no god apart from Allah. That means, only Allah could have made mankind and the earth, moon, sun, and stars. Allah is the only One who created all these.
Of course, you know that many things on earth just work by themselves. For example, when you put seeds in the earth and wait a few months, plants will grow out of them. To put the seeds in the earth is easy, but there is an important question you must ask yourself: Where do we get the earth, and from where do we take the seeds? You may say that the seeds can be taken from other plants, and you would be right. But just think: those other plants also need the earth to grow in, so where does the earth come from?
Earth is made out of fine particles of sand, minerals, salts, and other materials. Where can we obtain the sand and other things from? Plants also need water to grow, so where does it come from? The plants need sunshine in order to shoot out from the ground. Where do we get sunshine from? We also need the day and night so that we can count how many days it takes for the plants to grow.
As we have already said, it is easy to put the seeds in the earth and wait till the plants grow out of it, but nobody can make all the things that are needed to make it work. No man can make earth and air, light and water, or the day and the night. It is exactly the same with all other things.
For instance, man can build houses. He needs stones to do this, but he cannot make the stones himself. Man can also build cars and airplanes. To do this he also needs, among other things, iron and rubber. Again, he cannot make iron and rubber himself. Iron can be found in some rocks, and when these rocks are made hot, the iron turns into fluid and flows out of them. Rubber can be found in certain trees. When the bark of these trees is cut, liquid rubber juice flows out. But the rocks in which the iron is found and the trees from which rubber flows were not made by man. Despite all his cleverness and skill, man is not able to do these things. This means that when a man makes cars or airplanes or manufactures anything else, he is using materials that are already there on Earth. Had they not been there ready to be used, man could not have made those cars, airplanes, and other things. Everything man uses to make something has been created by Allah. Allah has made all these things that man needs so that people are able to live, build houses, plant crops and rear animals for food and clothing and even make cars and airplanes.
Without Allah, man would not be able to do anything, for the simple reason that but for the will of Allah, man would not exist. It is Allah Who has created the earth, air, sun, water, and many other things that man needs in order to live. Without these, man cannot live and that means man could not exist on earth. It is Allah Who created man and He Who keeps him alive. Everything is from Allah. That is why we say: There is no god apart from Allah.
It is Allah Who has created everything. Allah has also told the man what he should do because that is good for him. Allah sent prophets to speak to the man. A man should always think of Allah and be grateful to Him, and obey the commands he has given through His prophets.
Everyone in this world is well aware of the fact that this life is mortal. All of us are sent into this world for some specific time after that we have to dwell in eternal life which starts after the end of this life.
Humans pass through different phases after death i.e. separation of the soul from body, life, in the grave and the most important event that will happen on the Day of Judgment is when we will be held accountable for our deeds and when we will be questioned by our Lord Allah (S.W.T.) as He says in Quran:
“Then surely, We shall question those (people) to whom it (the book) was sent and verily, We shall question the Messengers.” ( Al-Araf, 6 and 7)
Two Methods of Accountability
On the Day of Judgment, every human being who is sent into this world in any era will be stood together at a place where they will be held accountable in front of God as He says in the Quran:
“The Day is approaching when every soul shall find itself confronted with whatever good it has done and whatever evil it has wrought. It will then wish there is a wide space between it and the Day! Allah warns you to beware of Him; He is most tender towards His servants.” (Surat Al-Imran, 30)
There will be two methods of accountability,
Those who have successfully spent their lives according to the teachings of Allah and His Prophet (PBUH) will be directly sent to paradise to live an eternal life with all the blessings they have been promised and will be considered the most successful people.
They will say: “Praise be to Allah Who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us the inheritors of this land, letting us settle in Paradise wherever we want. How excellent is the wage of those who work.” (Surat az-Zumar, 74)
Those who used to commit evil things in the worldly life will be questioned about their bad acts and surely they will have no answer for it except shame on their own deeds and begging pardon for their wrongdoings but the time of forgiveness will be over. Those people will be sent to hell fire where they will be tortured for their sins until they complete their punishments.
Kya Muslim Ko Valentine Day Manana Chahiye
Some Muslims, out of ignorance, have fallen into the evil of celebrating Valentine’s Day. Shopkeepers have jumped into preparing gifts for this day in the hope of earning some extra bucks. It’s sad that a pagan festival that promotes immorality is being observed by Muslims undermining their faith and Islamic values.
The Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and verdicts of Saudi Arabia declared it impermissible for Muslims to celebrate non-Muslim occasions like Valentine’s Day, which is also known as the ‘festival of love.’
“(This) is one of the festivals of the pagan Romans, when paganism was the prevalent religion of Romans, more than 17 centuries ago,” said Dr. Su’ad Ibrahim Saleh, professor of Fiqh at Al-Azhar University, Cairo in one of his articles.
Several customs connected with Valentine’s Day originate from the beliefs held in England and France during the middle ages. One such example is that birds begin to pair on February 14. According to research, the Romans introduced this pagan festival into the Christian world. In Saudi Arabia, however, it’s not permitted to celebrate this festival and the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice strictly banned the sale of any red roses, hearts or even wrapping paper on this day.
In Islam, expressing love is fine as long as it doesn’t fall into what is Haraam. Among the greatest of all types of love is the love for Allah and His Messenger, and the love for Islam. Loving our parents, family, and relatives is very much encouraged. Love of courtship is allowed only between married spouses. Islam highly recommends that spouses show affection and mercy towards each other. Islamic requirements are only in the best interest of society, to protect morality and nourish familial values. Immorality and Haraam relationships lead to the disintegration of families and ultimately to the degradation and destruction of society. Islam is the best model to follow. All praise and thanks be to Allah for giving us this blessing. We, who have divine guidance, are not in need of imitating the West.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) told us that Muslims would eventually fall into this error. Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you, span by span, cubit by cubit until even if they were to enter a lizard’s hole, you would follow them.” We said, “O Messenger of Allah, (do you mean) the Jews and Christians?” He said, “Who else? !” (Al-Bukhari, 8/151, and Muslim, 4/ 2054)
This Hadith should serve as a stark reminder for all of us. We, instead of influencing others to enter the fold of Islam, are following them at the expense of our religion. May Allah protect all Muslims and guide them to the straight path. Aameen.
Anas ibn Malik reports that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was sitting with a number of his companions when a funeral passed by. Those who were with him praised the dead person, and the Prophet said: “He has secured it.” Sometime later another funeral passed by and the same companions spoke negatively of the deceased. The Prophet said: “He has secured it.” Umar asked the Prophet: “What is it that was secured?” The Prophet said: “You praised the first one and he secured heaven, while you spoke negatively of the second and he secured his position in hell. You are God’s witnesses on earth.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).
Other reports of this incident clarify that the Prophet and a few of his companions were together when the two funerals passed by. In each case, the Prophet asked who the deceased was. They named the first person and said that he was a man who loved God and the Prophet and was keen to obey God’s orders and steer away from sin. They added that he was a very good and pious person with no doubt about the strength of his faith. When the second funeral went through and they named the deceased, they added that he was a man of bad manners, abusive, and negligent of his religious duties. Commenting on both cases, the Prophet used the same words, “He has secured it.”
The Prophet’s companions were amazed at this. Hence they asked what was secured by both persons. The Prophet told them that the one who received their unqualified praises secured heaven, while the others of whom they were very critical secured hell. Scholars give various explanations of this Hadith, with some of them saying that it is limited to the Prophet’s companions who were all very pious and would not praise or criticize anyone unless they were certain that he well deserved their praise or criticism. The majority of scholars, however, maintain that this Hadith has universal application. When several people, who are known to be pious and truthful, testify that a deceased person was good in character and behavior, God-fearing and kind to other people, God accepts their testimony, forgives that person his sins, and admits him to heaven.
What this means is that the person concerned tried throughout the best part of his life to implement Islamic teachings and values. When a person does that, his behavior is certain to be reflected on others who deal with him. It will be known to many people. They are bound to praise him when they learn of his death. They are considered God’s witnesses. He accepts what they say and deals with the deceased accordingly. The reverse is also true. Normally people tend to overlook a person’s misdeeds when he has died, preferring not to mention them. If, nevertheless, several people point out that the deceased was of bad character, ill-behaved, and defiant of God’s commandments, God accepts their testimony.
This Hadith encourages us to be good to others in whatever way we can. It tells us that observing Islamic teachings in all our dealings with other people will secure our admittance to heaven because such people will say what they know of our good character when we die. Their praise will be accepted by God as sound testimony and his ruling on our destiny will be based on that. This is what the Prophet’s words mean: “You are God’s witnesses on earth.” ‘You’ in this statement refers to all people.
-By Adil Salahi
Islam is a complete way of life and therefore teaches us good manners too. Cleanliness in Islam is given a lot of importance according to a famous Hadith which says, “Purification is half of faith.” (Muslim). It not only teaches us personal hygiene but also the cleanliness of our houses and neighborhoods.
Allah has indeed created man in the best form and granted him beauty, and so he wishes to see His slave in the best form as well. “Verily Allah is beautiful and loves beauty.” (Muslim).
The use of siwak or miswak holds great importance in Islam. Apart from keeping the body and limbs clean Islam teaches special cleanliness for the mouth in order to keep away from diseases and also to make one’s breath pleasant so that it doesn’t become a cause of discomfort to others. Since teeth are the doors of our mouth they should always be clean and shining as it adds beauty to a Muslim’s smile and face.
“Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘Was it not for my fear of imposing a difficulty on my Ummah I would have ordered that the miswak be used for every Salah’.” (Bukhari).
It was after listening to this saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that his companions made the use of miswak a part of their routine. Teeth are important components of the human body that need special care as there hides the secret of health. The minerals in this twig include potassium, sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and calcium oxides. These ingredients strengthen the tooth enamel, and the bark contains an antibiotic that suppresses the growth of bacteria and the formation of plaque.
Research shows that regular use of miswak significantly reduces plaque, gingivitis, and the growth of carcinogenic bacteria.
Miswak not only cleans the teeth but also strengthens the gums. It further makes the mouth odor free and gets one close to his Lord by attaining a Muslim in the favor of Allah, the Almighty. Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “Make a regular practice of the miswak, for verily, it is healthy for the mouth and it is a Pleasure for the Creator (i.e. Allah is pleased with the Muslim who uses the Miswak).” (Bukhari)
It was the routine of our Prophet (peace be upon him) to use siwak before entering his house. He made sure to use the siwak before every salah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used siwak when he got up for the night prayer. (Bukhari, Hudaifa)
The above mentioned Ahadith teaches us the importance of using siwak in our lives and during our acts of worship to make ourselves more presentable and likable in the sight of our Lord as well as the people around us. We must make it a habit to use siwak prior to reading Qur’an and Salah. It is a Sunnah to use it during fasting as well. The intense cleaning of our mouth keeps our mouth throat and digestive tract protected. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) has taught our Ummah a great medical formula to avoid germs.
Today, we see many young and old, men and women indulging in smoking cigarettes and sheesha thereby making their mouths full of foul smell and harming their precious teeth, gums, and lungs, leading to diseases that could even be fatal like cancer. They may think it’s fashionable although, in reality, it is a filthy habit that harms others also. If we would adopt this healthy habit of using the siwak we would not only gain worldly benefits, but also the favors of our Lord in the hereafter.
The Miswak is a great Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). May Allah guide all of us to leave our filthy habits and adopt a habit that is good for us and our religion.
– by Nawal Aqil
Aurat Ka Parda
The pleasures of this world are tangible and present, whilst the delights of Paradise are as-yet-unseen promises. People are readily influenced by what they can see and know instantly; it is hard enough for them to forgo something that is in front of them for the sake of something else that is in the future, so how much harder it is if the promise will not be attained until after death! So Allah (SWT) drew a comparison between the pleasures of this world and the joys of Paradise and explained that the delights of Paradise are far superior to this world’s pleasures. The Qur’an speaks at length denouncing this world of instant, fleeting pleasures and stating that the rewards with Allah as far better, to encourage man to strive hard for success in the next world:
“And strain not your eyes in longing for the things We have given them for enjoyment to various groups of them [mushrikeen and kuffaar] the splendour of this life that We may test them thereby. But the provision [good reward in the Hereafter] of your Rabb is better and more lasting” [20:131]
And “Beautified for men is the love of things they covet: women, children, much of gold and silver [wealth], branded beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled land. This is the pleasure of the present world’s life but Allah has the excellent return with Him. Say: “Shall I inform you of things far better than those? For al-Muttaqoon there are Gardens with their Rabb, under which rivers flow. Therein [is their] eternal [home] and Azwaajun mutahharatun [purified mates or wives], and Allah will be pleased with them. And Allah is All-Seer of [His] Slaves” [3:14-15]
There are many reasons why the delights of Paradise are superior to the pleasures of this Dunya; Amongst them:
(i) The Pleasures of this Dunyaa are Fleeting.
“Say: Short is the enjoyment of this world. The Hereafter is [far] better for him who fears Allah..” [4:77]
The Prophet (saw) illustrated the inferiority of this Dunya by comparing it to what Allah has prepared in Paradise, “By Allah, this world in comparison with the Hereafter is nothing more than as if one of you put his finger” – and he gestured with his forefinger – “in the sea; let him see how much water he would retrieve” [Saheeh Muslim, 4/2193, no. 2858]. A finger dipped in the ocean would not even pick up one drop; this is how little this world is worth when compared with the Aakhirah.
Because these pleasures are so insignificant, Allah (SWT) has rebuked those who prefer the pleasures of this world to the joys of the Aakhirah:
“O you who believe! What is the matter with you, that when you are asked to go forth in the Cause of Allah [Jihaad] you cling heavily to this earth? Do you prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the Hereafter” [9:38]