Ramadhan and Moral Development

  I remember trying to decipher the purpose of ramadhan last year writing for the message, and than coming to the next meeting feeling empty as there was so much more insight to ramadhan. If we were to sit down and count the billion blessings of fasting in ramadhan, and fasting properly, it is possible that each year, there is another source to be awed by another discovery about the benefits of fasting, or the benefits of wudu, or the benefits of eating halal, or the benefits of zakah in community. We cannot ever grasp the entirety of the divine wisdom behind the commands of Allah swt, so this year, I share more insight I gained regarding benefits of Ramadhan as well as how we can benefit from it. The focus of this year’s insight is towards fasting and moral development as well as practical implementation of internal states.

 The purpose of fasting is so that we can learn self restraint, so that we can be purified so that you may be rightly guided and attain taqwa. (Sh. Nouman Ali Khan) In brief, the purpose of fasting is so that you may attain taqwa. Taqwa is the goal. Let’s focus on a few aspects of moral development through this claim by Sh. Nouman Ali Khan.

Self Restraint:

·         DON’T EAT: Delay all gratification and be able to “not eat or drink” between sehri time till iftar time

·         DON”T LOOSE CONTROL of YOURSELF: Internalize values and be able to self regulate your own behavior:  quran recitation, attend halaqas (moral dialogues)/educational programs/peer discussion on moral issues and exploring solutions

·         Do not violating others rights through arguing, fighting, lying, backbiting (ghibat, or violence)

·         DO NOT INFLICT relational violence (destroying interpersonal relationships, excluding peers, besmirch others reputations, backstabbing, gossiping, causing social and psychological maladjustment) and physical violence (physical harm).

Purification: Your mind and body should look something like…

·         Do wudu and ghusl when required and be clean (cut nails and all bodily purification)

·         Pray. (5 regular prayers + sunnah prayers + nafl prayers + tahajjud, taraweeh)

·         Develop tawakkul (trust in Allah swt)

·         Swallow your anger. You will be rewarded for this

·         The Prophet pbuh said “IF any of you become angry while standing then let him sit down. Then if the anger leaves him, but if  not then let him lie down” (Abu Dawud) – COOL DOWN

·         “And those who swallow their rage and pardon people. Allah loves the doers of good.” (Surah Al Imran; 134)

·         Do not listen to music or watch anything with explicit, inappropriate content

·         And say to the believing men that they should lower your gaze and guard your modesty, that will be purer for them and Allah is aquinted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty…...”(Qur’an 24:30-31)

·         Do not come near sin

·         Avoid inconsiderate Violence in video games, television, and other explicit content as this may immune you to becoming empathetic

·         Do not take out your anger on others/objects : This is known as catharsis (discharging aggressive impulses by engaging in symbolic aggressive acts that do not harm another person) i.e. a “punching bag”. Do not take out your frustrations on a chosen victim/object. This will not control/reduce your frustrations and is in fact related to elevated aggression. Find a cognitive solution + you will attain gunnah. This shows that the tactic of cooling down, sitting, lying down, and so on is more practical and beneficial (score for hadith :D)

·         Purify your mind body, and soul: Conflicts furthermore arise chemical imbalances and leakages of chemicals occur in the brain including High testosterone levels, High astradiol levels and Low serotonin (inability to control emotions) levels

·         Chemicals associated with appetite released when seeing food

·         If  you chose not to lower your gaze, purify your thoughts, hormones will be released so watch your activities, thoughts and behaviours carefully and purify your inner states.

Rightly Guided – Your activities should look something like….

·         Pray

·         Understand how It feels to not have food for those in poorer or less privilages societies

·         Donate and give charity and zakat to less privilaged

·         Be empathetic, speak politely, be kind, and considerate to those around you first to your parents, help in chores, give kind salutations with the assurance of peace, or a sincere “salam”, involve people in groups and be helpful

·         Help in chores

·         Give counsel

·         The Prophet pbuh said “Whoever eases a distress of the world for a mumin, Allah will ease one of the distresses of the Day of Rising for him. Whoever makes it easy for someone in difficulty, Allah will make it easy for him in the world and the Next Life. Whoever conceals the wrong action of a muslim, Allah will conceal his wrong action in the world and the next life. Allah is redy to help the slave as long as the slave is ready to help his brother…..” (Abu Hurayrah, Muslim)

·         Maintain good ties and relationships (visit relatives, do iftar get togethers)

·         Reciting and understanding the quran and praying regularly and try to internalize what the Qur’an is saying

·         No matter what! Be Honest, sincere, truthful, polite

·         Be prosocial (empathic, sharing, caring, considerate, kind, helpful, comforting, donating, cooperative, unified)

·         Internalized Values which result in higher self discipline and self regulation

Taqwa (God-Conscioucne) – You internal state should look something like…..

·         Pray – develop a close relationship and awareness of Allah swt

·         Fear Hell (avoid punishments, Fear Hell and be conscience of the result of your actions and what it may bring)

·         Try to attain Jannah (have hope that all of your efforts will be rewarded if they are done sincerely so keep working on your good deeds)

·         Respect the authority and keep good relations with family, community, society

·         Understand the shariah and system of the home/country/organization that you are a part of

·         Be empathetic and considerate and compassionate: Do not violate people’s rights

·         Understand a piece of the divine wisdom of the Allah swt, the omnipotent creator, the authority, Lord, Cherisher of the Universe and attain and listen to the voice of the consioucne

·         The Prophet pbuh said “Boy, I will teach you some words: Be mindful of Allah and He will be mindful of you. Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him facing you. When you ask, then ask Allah. When you seek help, then seek help from Allah. Know that if the Ummah gathered together to benefit you with something, they would only benefit you with something that Allah had already written for you. If they gathered together to harm you with something, they would only harm you with something that Allah had already written against you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried. (Tirmidhi & Sahih)

·         We have instructed those given the Book before you and you yourselves to have taqwa of Allah” (Surah Nisa; 131)

I hope that this article was beneficial and if I made any mistakes, it is of my own human capacities and Allah swt knows best. I also hope that this series of activities to do during ramadhan will be beneficial and that we may all develop morally in this blessed month. Ameen.

Is He "THE ONE" for Me?

Shahiq

For those who reject Their Lord and Cherished is the Penalty of Hell. And evil is (such) destination. When they are cast therein they will hear the terrible drawing in of its breath. Even as it blazes forth.(Quran: 67 6-7)

The term used is means (sobs) was contrasted with zafir (sighs). in the one case it is the drawing in of breath and in the other the emission of a deep breath. Here the latter process is represented by the verb fara, to swell, to blaze forth, to gush forth. fara was applied to the gushing forth of the waters of the Flood: here the verb is applied to the blazing forth of the Fire of Punishment. Fire is personified: in its intake it has a fierce appetite: in the flames which it throws out it has a fierce aggressiveness. And yet in ultimate result evil meets the same fate whether typified by water or fire. (Abdullah Yusuf Ali)

 _______________________________________________

When I read this surah. ayah, i kept asking myself what it mean that those who rejected faith will be thrown into hell and than will hear the drawign of its breath and fire blazing. In the word for word translation it translated that it will be as though it is inhaling and as though it is boiling. While making a recipe gone severly wrong, a part of me looked at this (refer to video underneath) and as I watched it, it seems as though it was inhaling deeply, and than as though boiling and blazing up. Is this what it must look like? shahiq? except that it would be the fire of hell? (lava?) Except that it would be the hottest of all fires and it would be burning. But just imagine. Looking at the boiling almost inhaling personification (recipe gone wrong) it made me think this is probably what it must look like. personified.

Allah's Attributes (swt)

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He is al-Raqib - the Watchful. You're never really alone, and you're never really free to do as you please. The eyes of Mankind may be diverted away from you but the Eyes of Allah never sleep. He is al-Raqib Who watches His servants, each and every one of them; He watches over you and never does He lose sight of you. He watches your actions, and watches what goes on inside you. Blessed is the person who remembers al-Raqib and in turns develops within themselves what is called 'al-muraqabah' - to act under the watchful Eye of Allah and constantly be in an amazing state of awareness.

Al-Raqib...

He is al-Fattah - The Opener. He creates a way when there seems to be no way and opens a door when there seems to be no key. He is the Judge Who decides what is best, and guides you when confusion overtakes you. Whenever you reach your dead end, don't stand there wondering what's happened, instead call out to the only One who can create a path from absolutely nowhere: 'Ya Fattah, iftah 'alayya!' (O Opener of ways, open up my way).

He is al-Fattah, and as He opens up the skies upon the dead earth, and breaks away the darkness with the dawn, so too can He open up upon your dead heart, open your eyes to solutions, remove your obstacles, and grant you a way out.

Al-Fattah...

He is al-'Aziz - The Honourable and AlMighty. No amount of transgression can tarnish His 'izzah (glory) and no amount of disobedience can lower His Might. He is al-'Aziz. To Him belongs ultimate 'izzah and as such, He grants it only to those of His slaves who seek it through Him Alone, who do not seek it in other than Him, and are thus saved from the dark depths of hypocrisy.

"... And all honour, power and glory belong to Allah, His Messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites do not know." [al-Munafiqun: 8]

Al-'Aziz..

He is al-Sabur - the Patient. Every day we transgress His limits, we fall short of His Rights, and we forget Him. But in patience He remains and forbearance does He show, for He is al-Sabur. Don't you see how they ascribe partners and a son to Him, how they blaspheme against Him, how they deny His very Existence, but still He keeps them alive, still He provides for them, still He gives them Signs and gives them more time.

Al-Sabur...

He is al-Mu'akhir - the Delayer. He delays certain things out of Mercy for us, but out of ignorance we become impatient. Instead of having a good opinion of Him, a deeper certainty in His Power, and more trust in His Ways, we instead become anxious, resentful, and unhappy. Our Iman (faith) then takes a dip because we've failed to understand. But He is al-Mu'akhir. He delays out of goodness. Does He not delay punishing the creation for their sins, so that they can come to repent?

Al-Mu'akhir...

He is al-Mubdi' - the Initiator. He initiated the creation and began it from nothing. He originated the heavens and the earth when they were non-existent. He is al-Mubdi' who initiates new things in your life, and creates new circumstances - some as a blessing, some as a test, and some to just bring change into your life and a different direction. He creates you and creates your way and all that you will meet therein.

But just as He is al-Mubdi', He is also al-Mu'eed - the One who repeats. As He created the first time, He will repeat it. As He constructed existence once, He will repeat it. But also, that smile He once placed on your face, He can certainly repeat that. Those days of joy He caused to take place, He can certainly bring those back. And just as He created certain things in your life, He can certainly repeat them. The Dunya encircles, and comes back on itself, history repeats and comes back on itself, all because of the Hand of al-Mu'eed... will we then be steadfast?

al-Mubdi' wal-Mu'eed...

He is al-Khafidh - the Abaser. And He is al-Rafi' - the Exalter. He is al-Mu'izz - the Giver of Honour. And He is al-Mudhill - the Debaser.

He raises whom He Wills and lowers whom He wills. He hands the kingdom to whoever He wishes and seizes it from whoever He wishes And such are the days that He gives to Mankind; days weighed upon scales that tip according to the Decree of al-Khafidh al-Rafi', al-Mu'izz al-Mudhill. Don't you see how civilizations rise only to fall after some time? Don't you see how the oppressed of yesterday become the leaders of tomorrow? Don't you see how the famous disappear into anonymity and the unknown one becomes the well-known and remembered? The Scale of Allah tips and so we see extraordinary days, incredible history, and ironic happenings. He is al-Rafi' al-Mu'izz Who raises His humble Slaves, and He is al-Khafidh al-Mudhill Who lowers every arrogant head. He turns tables as He turns the earth, and He does so with Wisdom in a Supreme Law which cannot be surpassed.

"Say: 'O Allah! Possessor of the kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom You will, and You endue with honour whom You will, and You humiliate whom You will. In Your Hand is all good. Verily, You are Able to do all things.'" [Aal 'Imran: 26]

He is al-Qahhar - The Irresistible and Supreme. He is the one Whom souls recognise and stand in awe of. His Strength is overpowering and dominating; it breaks and defeats forces you can see and forces you cannot see. He is al-Qahhar who causes the backs of the oppressors to break, the necks of the Mushrikin (polytheists) to lower, and the soul of every Man and Jinn to submit at the time of death. He is al-Qahhar to Whom everything in the heavens and the earth pays heed to, prostrates to, respects and fears so deeply. The King of Kings. The AlMighty and Supreme. Nothing can break away from His Grip when He seizes and nothing can escape His Sight or Knowledge.

"He is the Irresistible, Supreme over His slaves, and He sends guardians over you, until when death approaches one of you, Our Messengers take his soul, and they never neglect their duty." [al-An'am: 61]

He is al-Hafeedh - The Preserver. All that He preserves is protected, and all that is protected by Him remains. He preserves our bodies, mind, and our very existence, and thus we're saved every day from accidents and catastrophes. He preserves our faith for us so we see ourselves being guided to knowledge, benefiting from reminders, and meeting the right people. Of the greatest thing that He has preserved is the Qur'an, and look at how it is: No word or chapter has ever changed, it remains lofty and unchallenged, and He has even appointed slaves of His to guard it; Angels from the creation above and huffadh (memorisers) from the creation on earth. He is al-Hafeedh Who can preserve you from all evil if He so wishes, so ask for the Hifdh and Ri'ayah (care) of Allah, and He will take you under His Protection.

He is al-'Adhim - the Great. He is the AlMighty and Powerful, the Exalted, Magnificent and the Most Majestic. When you realise the greatness of Allah, you begin to see how small and trivial certain things are in life. When you think about the greatness of His Kingdom in the Hereafter, you will begin to see the insignificance of this world. He is al-'Adhim with nothing greater than Him, no rival or contestant. He is our ultimate focus and He is the greatest that we can ever behold; the greatest that our minds can ever come to know, and the greatest that our hearts can ever love. Our sacrifice for Him is the greatest sacrifice, our intentions for Him are the greatest, and our deeds for Him are the greatest of deeds, simply because He is the Greatest.

Tabarakta ya Rabbana wa Ta'alayt (Blessed be You, Our Lord, and Ever-Lofty are You).

Al-'Adhim...

He is al-Wali - the Friend. He is your Friend, as well as your Creator and Lord. He is your Ally against the world, and your Protective Supporter in your time of need. We cannot begin to imagine how close He is to us. Closer than the jugular vein in our neck He said, so how close must He be... He is a Friend to your soul seeing as though He made it and knows it better than you. Everyone has an ally and a defender, and the wise one is he who makes al-Wali his Ally and Defender. Ever swift in coming to you and He is with you when you call upon Him, for a friend is never missing, and you know they are always there.

"Verily, my Wali (Friend, Protector, Supporter etc.) is Allah Who has revealed the Book, and He is an ally to the righteous." [al-A'raf: 196]

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Humbled

Love

You Have Power, We Have None

This is an interesting and unique question and that question is, do we have the power to control and guide our lives? Do we have the rationality, the capacity, the power to do this? Is it possible for us to decide a process in which we can govern our lives with order, peace, harmony and good will? Are we able to control our desires whatsoever by our own human physical, emotional and intellectual capacities? The answer to all of these questions is, no, we cannot.

   Allah swt created man and jinns for no other purpose but to worship Him alone. When he created Adam (a.s.) Allah swt. said to the angels (as mentioned in the Qur’an) to bow down to Adam a.s. He endowed man with the power of will as well as virtues, making him a vicegerent on earth. The ability to be vicegerent on earth means that he gave him a limited amount of control and power to guide his life. He equipped him with rationality and the ability to decide a process to govern his life with order, and good attributes such as justice, mercy, compassion and the like. He gave him the ability to control his passions and desires using physical, intellectual and emotional capacities, however, the shaitan became devious and excessively jealous and wanted to mislead mankind, attempting to mislead all of mankind.

   In the first section, we will explore and grow a broad understanding of what exactly it means to be a vicegerent and how much control a human being is capable of practicing. In the second section, we will look at the shaitan’s role in leading mankind astray through different means, why he was motivated to do so, as well as what was used to guide mankind again and again back to the straight path. We will observe closely why he fell into grief on four major occasions. In the Third Section, we will reflect and analyze what is meant by “Then We reduce him to the lowliest of lows” in surah Tin. and if in fact, mankind is capable of capable of defeating the shaitan, or prevent from falling astray from the path of guidance or if we are in fact capable of living our role as vicegerents of God’s perfect wll on earth with or without the help of Allah swt.

Section 1

   “Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” They said : “wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood? Whilst we do celebrate Thy praises And glorify Thy holy name?” He said: “I know what ye know not. And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels and said “Tell Me the names of these if ye are right”. They said “Glory to Thee: of knowledge We have none, save what Thou Hast taught us: in truth it is Thou who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom. “ He said: “o Adam! tell them Their names.” When he had told them, Allah said “Did I not ttell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth and I know what ye reveal and what ye conceal?” (Al Baqarah, 30-32)

    This reveals to us that human beings have a degree of control over nature and the natural world around them, as much control as Allah swt has given to them especially because he made man the His vicegerent on earth.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali states about these ayah in his commentary (n. 47):

   It would seem that the angels, though holy and pure, are endued with power from Allah, yet represent only one side of Creation. We may imagine them without passion or emotion of which the highest flower is love. If man was to be endued with emotions, those emotions could lead him to the highest and drag him to the lowest. The power of will or choosing would have to go with them, in order that man might steer his own bark. This power of will when used aright gave him to some extent a mastery over his own fortunes. and over nature, thus bringing him nearer to the God like nature which has supreme mastery and will. We may suppose the angels had no independent will of their own: their perfection in other ways reflected Allah’s perfection but could not raise them to the dignity of vicegerency. The perfect vicegerent is he who has the power of initiative himself but whose independent action always reflects perfectly the will of his Principal. …..
   The names of things, according to commentators means the inner nature and qualities of things  and things here would include feelings. The particular qualities or feelings which were outside the nature of angels were put by Allah into the nature of man. Man was thus able to love and understand love, and thus plan and initiate, as becomes the office of vicegerent. The angels acknowledged this. These things they could only know from the outside, but they had faith or belief in the unseen. And they knew that Allah saw all what others see, what others do not see, what others may even wish to conceal. Man has many qualities which are latent or which he may wish to suppress or conceal to his own detriment.

   We can now begin to understand the purpose of creation with the eye of goodness and purest standards. This means that the person is able to govern his life according to the principles outlined to him in the Qur’an. That he governs his passions and life and the natural world around him in accordance with those standards. When he understand the nature of things, he treats them according to what is best for them rather than without that good will and he understand the nature of things. He knows how to deal with different personalities, he knows how to practice his limits, he understand where his love, hopes, fears and trust belong. He understand the order of things and he places everything in its right place.

Section Two

    However, the shaitan is always waiting to lead him astray all of the time. We will analyze the ayahs that deal with what caused the shaitan so much enmity with mankind in the first place and his reaction when Adam a.s. was created. Then we will take a look at his weakened attempts in which he shrieked on four occasions; when Allah swt cursed him, when he was expelled from jannah, when the Prophet s.a.w.s. was born and when Surah al Fatiha was revealed. We will understand why it was that each of these was such a powerful blow against him. Finally, we will return to the question that without the help of Allah swt, would mankind really be able to resist the shaitan?

   The first thing we have to understand is why does the shaitan have so much enmity against mankind. When Allah swt created Adam (a.s). he refused to bow down to Adam (a.s.) although this was against the will of Allah swt. Allah swt states in the Qur’an:

“And behold, We said to the angels: i”Bow down to Adam:” and they bowed down: Not so Iblis; he refused and was haughty: He was of those who reject Faith. We said: “O Adam! dwell thou And thy wife in the Garden; And eat of the bountiful things therein as where and when ye will; but approach not this tree or ye run into harm and transgression. Then did Satan make them slip from the garden and get them out of the state of felicity in which they had been. We said “Get ye down, all ye people with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling place and your means of livelihood for a time

These ayah and several other ayahs in the Qur’an explain how the shaitan does his best to lead mankind astray in every single situation. His pride and arrogance kept him from obeying the command of Allah swt. Furthermore, his envy against mankind leads him to rebel and find every opportunity to go against mankind. His motivation is to disgrace, lead astray and prove his own worth and his enmity is ever-fueled. He refused to even obey the command of Allah swt due to his pride and arrogance.

His hopes of leading mankind astray ocurred on four occasions. But the last two occasions also shows that his hopes in leading mankind astray and how extremely relevant they are to the power they had in saving mankind as a whole. Those two were the mercy to mankind when such a beloved prophet named Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) came, his teachings, his mercy, his endurance and his commitment to worshipping Allah swt was so beautiful and magnificent. The last being the beauty of surah fatiha. Two beautiful shields that we now have is the Qur’an and its representation through the teachings and actions of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.s. If we hold on to these two things firmly, the shaytan will not have the power to lead mankind astray. But this is in the case that we firmly grasp on to the Qur’an and the sunnah. We ourselves are not powerful enough to withstand the powerful blows of shaitan alone. We need the help of our creator and we seek his power. We learn to guard ourselves and create barriers and divine guidance against even coming close to haram actions by strictly holding on to our deen and having a shield against each and every one of the traps that the shaitan could possibly attempt to dig for us.

Section Three

  Finally, we move into our third discussion of is man capable of controling his own self? Allah swt tells us in the Qur’an that mankind was created so nobly and with such a good purpose. He was raised to the level of vicegerncy. But when he (mankind) did not fulfill his purpose which was to believe and do the righteous deeds, and instead used his faculties for other purposes except worshipping Allah swt, he was reduced and abased to the lowest of the lows. This shows that when we do not fulfill our noble purpose for which we were created, we are than reduced and fallen.

Conclusion

This concludes our discussion of whether mankind is in fact capable of controlling himself. The answer is alone, withotu divine guidance, he has no power and it is only unless he grasps, seeks the help of his creator and follows the teachigns that he can resist and live the noble life. In short, it is like the absence of goodness that causes one to fall to the lowliest of lows. The Question being, why does evil exist or what causes it to exist? The truth being, it doesnt exist. It is a condition that can only exist in the absence of goodness. Just as darkness is the absence of light, ignorance is the absence of knowldge, coldness is the absence of head, similarly, evil can only exist inthe absence of goodness. When one plants iman and works righteous deeds, it is the only way to eliminate evil and withstand falling into wrongdoing and the depths of darkness.

And Allah swt knows best.

Moral Development in Mankind

by Zartasha Zainab

The ayahs regarding moral development in the Qur’an have been taken, and using the commentary of Abdullah Yusuf Ali, reflected upon. These ayah state:

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

“Say: I seek refuge with the Lord and Cherisher of Mankind

The King or Ruler of Mankind

The God or Judge of Mankind

From the mischief of the whisperer of Evil who withdraws After his whisper

The same who whispers into the hearts of mankind

Among Jinns and among Men” (Surah 114: 1-6)

This ayah, in its six verses seems to explain chapters of how moral development has occurred throughout centuries with the muslim community. It acknowledges both human weakness as well as a divine law that must take precedence over those human weaknesses and inclinations. It acknowledges higher attributes such as compassion, kindness, sharing, and so on often at the expense of reducing or being considerate towards our surroundings.

The first and foremost subject that requires understanding is, the acknowledgement of the creator, Allah swt. To name this creator with the attributes of “Kind or Ruler of Mankind, God or Judge of Mankind, Lord and Cherisher of Mankind” seems to acknowledge a very supreme and higher force that is far greater than the force of the individual themselves. These attributes have very powerful meanings.

The attribute “Lord and Cherisher of Mankind” seems to imply that it is Allah that sustains him and cares for him, that He provides him with all the means for his growth and development and for his protection against evil. The attributes Allah is his king or ruler seems to imply that more than any earthly king, Allah s authority to guide man’s conduct and to lead him to ways which will make for his welfare, and He has given him laws. The attribute Allah is the judge implies that all of our actions will be held accountable and brought to light. It means that all human beings will return to Him and He will Judge and be the goal of the hereafter and only Being entitled to man’s worship at any time. (1,1718)

When a person acknowledges the greatness of Allah swt, he ends up loving His creator and depending on Him. When he/she is in need they learn to turn to their creator and he/she does not feel belittled infront of any other person besides Allah swt and keeps a clear conscience not out of fear from others, but out of fear from the creator to whom all His actions will be held accountable. He becomes more proactive and realizes that he/she doesnt need to prove themselves to anyone and yet that they will be held accountable for all of their actions. They learn to place their love, their hopes, and fears seeking refuge from their own selves and outward factors only from Him. They become calm and content in being able to rely on someone at all given times and places. His importance is first and foremost emphasizes in these surah and so does obeying His will. All other things/issues become irrelevant as the individual learns to trust in Him, rely on Him and His will which is best for the self as well as dealings and interactions. And they fear the consequences only from Him, their creator.

They further seek refuge from the evil whispers of the shaitan as well as their own selfish endeavours which are against the will of Allah swt that teaches a person to be good to their soul as well as to be good in their interactions and dealings. It helps one purify the soul and further become moral developed.

The greatest moral development that any person faces is when they let things go, they oppress the evil ideas from the shaitan, they focus on higher principles and sincerely submit to the good will which is the good will of Allah swt, and submission to Allah, also known as islam. Through submitting to the will of Allah swt, one becomes capable of submitting to moral values and obtaining self control, resistance to temptation, and personal sacrifices for the welfare of others or for the community at large. They develop an understanding of the perfect will or the acknowledgement of the greatness of the creator which helps them develop morally.

 

The Token of Time

By Zartasha Zainab

Time is one of the greatest workings of Allah (swt). It is a never-resting force, one of the creations of Allah swt of which everyone knows some, and yet no one can explain. People have attempted to visualize it using ticking clocks, or the hour glass, and yet it is best understood as persisting force. It is like any other force such as the forces of justice, or the forces of love and mercy within mothers, or the forces of order such as in gravity, the planet's orbit, the rain cycle, time also, is a natural force at work. Time also has a mission which is to to slowly deteriorate and finally destroy all that is material. It can be best explained like the wind that searched out all the doors destroying the arrogant in the time of Moses (a.s.) yet the force of time is much greater in its working and its target is everything material. The only growth that ist doesnt destroy or can catch is our spiritual achievements. 

This requires that we perfect our internal state and submit to the will of Allah swt. It is important for us to clean our intentions and sincerely, understand ourselves to the depth and deepest recesses of our soul. To strive towards and place our love, hopes, trust, fears, dependance, weaknessses and humbly have faith in Allah swt. It is important for us to constantly purify our intentions and time will not have any power to take that away from us. Our iman, is here. This internal condition is than outwardly reflected, the good works that we do, good deeds such as helping the needy, fulfilling the rights of our families, neighbors, co workers, travellers and community can withstand the blows of time. OUr good deeds and achievements are counted and taken with us eternally. Spreading knowledge and teachign truth, whether it be the Qur'an, discoveries in the miraculous signs around us in creation through science, new findings, highly reformed or enlightening information to further benefit humanity, will not fade through the passage of time. In fact, learning and expanding vocabulary is something that psychological research has shown continues to grow as a person ages. Being patient during difficult times, stressing less, staying peaceful and content and not giving into the whispers of shaitan has the power to withstand the blows of times. Staying constant and persistant, having a goal and striving daily, doing homework regularly, following schedules and committing to tasks without delays, laziness or giving up or changing your mind in between, can also withstand the blows of time. 

The Qur'an states "By the token of time, verily man is in loss, except such as have faith, do righteous deeds, and join together in the mutual teachings of truth, and of patience and of constancy" (Surah Asr). This should open our eyes to the reality around us. It shows that we are losing in our bargain against time if we are merely attending to our material gains. We should discard all bad habits such as laziness, music, idleness, feasting and excessive shopping. If we were to chase after, strive towards or make our direction in life and goals for material things, we would be like thirsty beings chasing after a fading mirage in a sandy desert and only find nothing. It should bring us to the realization that every morning we awaken, it is a blessing and with a purpose. Our attention should be towrds accomplishing that which will be ever lasting and beneficial to yourself and those around you. This can be in a wide range of careers with good will or iman including teaching, healing, counselling, justice and order order. Further to remain focused, persistant and patient in tryign to achieve them to the best of our ability and most efficient us of our time. It's our only surviaal. 

May Allah swt allow us all to win the race against time! 

Reflection: What It Really Means to Depend on Allah swt

There is a relationship that we have to establish and that is with our creator. When our creator becomes more important to us than anyone/anyplace/anything else.

External Reflection of an Internal Condition

by Zartasha Zainab

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be real? To be true? A thing that we could admit is good, a thing where the intention is just “right”? Something that is of pure nature, with good intentions and good motives, something honorable and presentable? Like an action that you would never have any problems in justifying? A truth? A moral and right thing to do. You’ve probably heard in your life the importance of being true to yourself. But what exactly does that mean? Are we always true to ourselves? Do we not have feelings and motives? Do we not have fears and desires? What does it mean to be good? To be the right thing?  To be true? To be real? And what enables us to reach this state? It is a state that we cannot obtain being by ourselves, or in a company of others. Being by ourselves we are prone to listen to our selfish motives, passions and desires, and yet being in a company causes us to present certain parts of ourselves while hiding other parts. To be absolutely true to yourself seems to require an audience that has the ability to question your actions and motives and yet know every grain and detail about you. it is a state in which  we have to be brought to light. A state of God-consciousness, or in Arabic you would call taqwa. It is to stand before your creator with all due sincerity, to stand before Allah swt. Allah, the one God of the whole universe, the All-Seeing, the All-Hearing and the All Knowing. To be held accountable for all your actions. To be conscience of his presence at all times, that is to be sincere. To be first sincere to God is to truly be sincere to yourself down to the depths of your soul.

                This is sincerity, that you can search the world for and yet never be able to obtain anywhere else except for in prayer before Allah swt. The knowledge that He is closer to you than your jugular vein, that He has known you since the moment of your existence. He knows your worries, your feelings, and your fears. He knows your joys, your pains and your tears, and he knows your successes and your failures, your strengths and your weaknesses, and yet he always wants the best for you and accepts you and is oft forgiving, most merciful. It is as though you are being held in light and nothing veils you before your creator, your soul delicately being held before a supreme light and force that exposes your every detail, your soul before the All-Knowing. It is a most vulnerable feeling, and yet the greatest confession to acknowledge and stand before your creator. Knowing that there is nothing to hide, and that you will be judged by Him who owns and rules the universe causes you to be more careful in your actions and always seek forgiveness and reward from the creator alone.

                This truth is a thing that you can only obtain through being sincere and to be sincere is a thing you can only obtain through having taqwa, God-consciousness. An internal condition that leads to goodness and righteousness being its external reflection.

                Allah swt tells us what this external reflection is: “It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah, and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers, to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves, to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity, to fulfill the contracts which you have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, those who fear Allah.” (Baqarah Ayah 177)

                The external reflection of this sincere internal condition is reflected. A person who materializes goodness. Nouman Ali Khan further defines these ayah stating that “Faith is like a foundation of a building. First you see the person is very giving, a good charitable giving, benevolent person but that is not an accomplishment. Good means to go beyond the law. Salah means they prayed, they established it,  and that their life revolves around the prayer (like furniture has to go around pillars) meaning schedules and appointments should revolve around the prayer. Salah doesn’t have to fit with everything else, everything else has to fit with salah. What he consumes must be pure and how he earns it has to be pure. These people always fulfill their words if and when they get into a promise/agreement. These are the people of goodness. Agreements include being a student, employing, jobs, neighborhoods, your lives are in other people’s hands when you have a license, it is an agreement to abide by certain laws. Employers give many jobs and than watching Islamic movies is not righteousness. Goodness it to fulfill promises when they get into them. These are patient and persistent people in difficult times and when times become hard (economically) and in the middle of the battlefield/war, no matter what they don’t let go of their faith. Those are the ones that are really good. Those are the people of goodness, the people of taqwa. Now goodness is defined, you can fit injunctions properly, and everything has its place”.

                This includes excelling academically when you are in a contract, being punctual, honest and persistent. Goodness is manifested in the person that has true iman. This is a message that I hope will reach all brothers and sisters. Be true to Allah swt. Do you not fear the creator? Do you not know that He is watching, that He is well-aware and that you will be held accountable for everything you do? Do not take this matter lightly, let your heart soften before your creator, and let it fill with iman. Let your actions be to seek His pleasure and practice his good and right will. Let yourselves be mindful of Him, He is here, close to you and there is nothing to hide from Him. Yes, you are being judged. Constantly with your every breath and moment, you are being judged so know yourself. There is nothing to conceal before Allah and fear none at all except for Him.  Be sincere before Him, fulfill everyone’s rights, fulfill all your promises. Do not make promises that you have no intention of keeping, be good, want good and be sincere before Allah swt and excel in everything.  To be true to yourself is in fact to be true to Allah swt. That is the way to success in both this life and the hereafter.

An external reflection of an internal condition.