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Thursday, October 25, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
A letter from Allah, Would you not read it?
Post Type :
Come to Islam
If any body sends you a letter what will be your first reaction? Will you leave it closed and not read it? Would you not be interested to know what the other person has written? Well, the answer is you would not only be interested in finding out what is written in the letter, rather you will be curious to know it.
Now, suppose the letter contains some words difficult to understand, what would you do? Most likely you will go for a dictionary! But what if the letter contains entirely different language? Indeed, you will seek a person knowing the language to translate it for you.
Well, this was about the letter from a person, just another person out of billions of people in the world. How about the letter being sent to you by Allah? The one and the only, the Lord of the worlds. Would you not be inquisitive to know what this supreme entity has to say to you?
Quran is a letter of Allah to the mankind, which Allah has sent for its guidance. It contains the words of Allah, the message of God, which directly corresponds to every human being, to you, to me, to every one, irrespective of cast or color.
But how do we treat this letter? Do we read it? Do we try to find out what Allah wants to say to us, do we try to get guidance from it, or have we just kept it for respecting, kissing, and then putting it at some high place, wrapping it in beautiful covers.
Is this what it came for?
Some people read Quran in Arabic, and would not read the translation. Reciting Quran in Arabic no doubt, has its own fazeela, (importance and advantages), but along with this, it is very essential to go through the meaning, so that one can know what exactly the ayaats mean and what exactly Allah is saying to us.
There are people who say,
We would recite Arabic but we wont read the Translation, because it is very difficult to understand Quran. It is for the great scholars to understand the meaning of the Quran and not the normal people, therefore, we must avoid reading translation or else we can go astray.
My question to these people is, If Quran can make them go astray, then what in the world can take them to Hidaaya (the right path)? If anyone says that Quran is not for a normal person to understand, then He/she negates this Ayah,
And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember: then is there anyone that will receive admonition?
(Sura Al-Qamar, Ayah 40)
The people who think of understanding and pondering over the Quran as a job of scholars only, confuse Islam with other religions, in which, only the religiously high-cast people can read the religious scriptures, and it is forbidden for the lower-cast to do so.
Yet there is another group that says,
We wont read the translation, if we would, then we would become aware of what Allah has said to us, so then, it would become obligatory for us to follow the instructions.
I think for these people the two Ayahs of Quran are enough, (yet there are many more),
1:- We have sent down to you clear signs (ayat); and none reject them but
those who are wicked.
(Surah Al-Baqara, Ayah 99)
2:- Those who keep on being blind in this world will be blind in the
Hereafter, and yet most astray from the Path.
(Surah Al-Israa (bani-israel),Ayah 72)
A Man is a Traveler in this World
Post Type :
Come to Islam
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas
Narrated Mujahid
Narrated 'Abdullah
Narrated Anas bin Malik
A Wise Young Muslim Boy
Post Type :
Come to Islam
Many years ago, during the time of the Tâbi'în (the generation of Muslims after the Sahâbah), Baghdâd was a great city of Islam. In fact, it was the capital of the Islamic Empire and, because of the great number of scholars who lived there, it was the center of Islamic knowledge.
One day, the ruler of Rome at the time sent an envoy to Baghdad with three challenges for the Muslims. When the messenger reached the city, he informed the khalîfah that he had three questions which he challenged the Muslims to answer.
The khalîfah gathered together all the scholars of the city and the Roman messenger climbed upon a high platform and said, "I have come with three questions. If you answer them, then I will leave with you a great amount of wealth which I have brought from the king of Rome." As for the questions, they were: "What was there before Allâh?" "In which direction does Allâh face?" "What is Allâh engaged in at this moment?"
The great assembly of people were silent. (Can you think of answers to these questions?) In the midst of these brilliant scholars and students of Islam was a man looking on with his young son. "O my dear father! I will answer him and silence him!" said the youth. So the boy sought the permission of the khalîfah to give the answers and he was given the permission to do so.
The Roman addressed the young Muslim and repeated his first question, "What was there before Allâh?"
The boy asked, "Do you know how to count?"
"Yes," said the man.
"Then count down from ten!" So the Roman counted down, "ten, nine, eight, ..." until he reached "one" and he stopped counting
"But what comes before 'one'?" asked the boy.
"There is nothing before one- that is it!" said the man.
"Well then, if there obviously is nothing before the arithmetic 'one', then how do you expect that there should be anything before the 'One' who is Absolute Truth, All-Eternal, Everlasting the First, the Last, the Manifest, the Hidden?"
Now the man was surprised by this direct answer which he could not dispute. So he asked, "Then tell me, in which direction is Allâh facing?"
"Bring a candle and light it," said the boy, "and tell me in which direction the flame is facing."
"But the flame is just light- it spreads in each of the four directions,
North, South, East and West. It does not face any one direction only," said the man in wonderment.
The boy cried, "Then if this physical light spreads in all four directions such that you cannot tell me which way it faces, then what do you expect of the Nûr-us-Samâwâti-wal-'Ard: Allâh - the Light of the Heavens and the Earth!? Light upon Light, Allâh faces all directions at all times."
The Roman was stupified and astounded that here was a young child answering his challenges in such a way that he could not argue against the proofs. So, he desperately wanted to try his final question. But before doing so, the boy said,
"Wait! You are the one who is asking the questions and I am the one who is giving the answer to these challenges. It is only fair that you should come down to where I am standing and that I should go up where you are right now, in order that the answers may be heard as clearly as the questions."
This seemed reasonable to the Roman, so he came down from where he was standing and the boy ascended the platform. Then the man repeated his final challenge, "Tell me, what is Allâh doing at this moment?"
The boy proudly answered, "At this moment, when Allâh found upon this high platform a liar and mocker of Islam, He caused him to descend and brought him low. And as for the one who believed in the Oneness of Allâh, He raised him up and established the Truth. Every day He exercises (universal) power (Surah 55 ar-Rahmân, Verse 29)."
The Roman had nothing to say except to leave and return back to his country, defeated. Meanwhile, this young boy grew up to become one of the most famous scholars of Islam. Allâh, the Exalted, blessed him with special wisdom and knowledge of the deen. His name was Abu Hanîfah (rahmatullâh 'alayhi- Allâh have mercy on him) and he is known today as Imâm-e-A'dham, the Great Imâm and scholar of Islam.
[Adapted into English from "Manâqib Abî Hanîfah" written by Imâm Muwaffaq Ibn Ahmad al-Makki (d. 568 Hijri). Dar al - Kitâb al-'Arabiy, Beirut, 1981/1401H.]
From: Rizwan Ahmed
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