Shukr and Kufr - A Reflection

     Imagine if you woke up tomorrow, with only the things you thanked Allah swt for yesterday. That's right. Your home, your family, the air, your security, your rights, you faculties of hearing, seeing, feeling, comprehending, touching, smelling and tasting. Our nervous system, our bone structures. Our loved ones, our family, our pets, our friends. What about our earth? Or our position in the solar system.. the orbit around the sun so perfectly and concisely. The forces of gravity, the layers protecting our earth, the water cycles, the wind cycles. Isn't it crazy how many things we would have to be thankful for? And to think for a moment that you woke up today and everything is held perfectly together and in place. Alhamdullilah! Just the thought is so scary because it makes us realize that there is so much to be grateful for each and everyday. In fact - the opposite of shukr (gratitude0 is kufr in arabic and its root word is 'ingratitude'. Its our failure to appreciate, or to acknowledge the thousands of blessings we are surrounded by on a day to day basis. Islam - submission to the will of Allah is also a lifestyle of appreciation. In this reflection, I will be sharing my thoughts on how gratitude is manifested in various acts from ibadat, to cleanliness, modesty, charity, loving and respecting our parents and how these are all various expressions of gratitude while comparing and contrasting that with their opposites such as uncleanliness, lewdness, stinginess, disrespecting our parents and denying the existence of God. Due to my limited knowledge, I can only share what I know to be grateful about but the list is so endless. There are so many things we can be grateful for that escape our limited comprehension. There are more blessings around us than we ourselves can even understand!

Ibadat/worshipping Allah swt

    To worship Allah swt is to recognize and see His way in everything around us. I can list all 99 names of Allah swt right now, but to keep it brief, I will only be discussing the attribute ar-Rahman very briefly to illustrate my point.
    Nothing is able to really summarize appreciation of Ar- Rahman as much as surah Rahman itself. After the attribute Ar- Rahman, the first thing mentioned is 'alamal qur'an'. He taught the Quran. That is such a huge blessing towards us and we fail to appreciate it fully again and again. The Qur'an is actually from Al lawh al Mahfuz which is the preserved tablet right below the arsh of Allah swt in the highest place in paradise. It contains knowledge of the divine that is preserved by Allah swt himself and thousands of angels protect it. Not a word can be changed by any devil or any human. It is preserved and guarded in its absolute and purest state and it is such an enormous blessing that this wisdom has been sent down to us. It provides divine guidance that after years of experience and research we find to be all authentic and true and yet mysterious still waiting to be unravelled that our human capacities have been unable to grasp during this time and age. Such a blessing to have this book with us and such an enormous honor given to us human beings by Ar Rahman. The next thing mentioned is He created humans and taught Him intelligent speech - more and more research has shown that it is our ability to communicate with one another that results is so many amazing things, like the ability to communicate our thoughts, ideas and feelings. To bounce off ideas off one another. To learn to collaborate and cooperate, to read, write, research and grow as a civilization all because He taught us intelligent speech. And the sun and the moon in their orbits. Just to acknowledge that everything is held so constant and precisely together. Imagine if everyday we had no idea if the sun was going to rise or not. What would happen to our crops, our food supplies, our ability to time ourselves, our rhythematic cycles? Or our very existence? Than the surah goes on to explain the various things on the earth for our growth and development that He placed, both in this world and in the hereafter all from the Rahma of Allah swt. To be able to see His ways and His Rahma in everything.
   What this shows us is that shukr or appreciation is in the way we are able to acknowledge and appreciate the creator in seeing all that has been perfectly placed around us. In contrast to not acknowledging any of it. Imagine if Allah swt 's rahma is manifest all around us but we fail to appreciate the creator or worse - deny Him. If we didn't thank Him for it while He did so much for us and tomorrow, all of it was gone. All those manifestations of His Rahma were gone. Imagine if the period of enlightenment following the Islamic era and various enlightenments that happened after the Qur'an was revealed - never happened. Imagine if we lived like the Arabs of the Prophet (pbuh)'s time, and continued to live as an anarchy feeding our egos with no divine guidance on how we should live our lives. Imagine if women rights, and racist beliefs, and business transactions, zakah, charity and various other social structures were never built? Imagine if we were just left on the earth without the sun and moon orbiting in their perfect order? Imagine for a second if that which you denied in fact stopped existing, what a terrible state we would be in? Thus - it is important to acknowledge and appreciate the creator and worship Him, calling Him with the best of names and having faith and love for his design and His ways as they manifest all around us.

Cleanliness

     In Islam, cleanliness is considered half of faith. cleanliness is also like gratitude and appreciation. Imagine if someone bought you a really nice dress. Would you let it get dirty? Would you throw it around, would you act roughly while wearing it? Our heart and body is not that different. If we value and respect ourselves, it would be so difficult for us to fall into sins that are going to degrade us or to do things that make our conscience feel guilty and filthy. If we loved our heart and valued its peace and serenity we would want to constantly purify it of negative traits like pride, anger, depression, lust, envy, greed and laziness. We would want our heart to flourish and grow and be in a state of harmony and would constantly purify it with dhikr (remembrance of God) so that it feels peace and security. If we cared about our bodies we would also do wudu or not want infections to happen inside our bodies. Cleanliness itself is an act of gratitude. It is to value and appreciate all that we are given in this world as well as to thank the owner who has bestowed various blessings upon us. Cleanliness being half of emaan is also an attitude of appreciation.

Modesty

    Modesty is also a form of gratitude. It is the opposite of chasing after more and more desires. it's to lower our eyes from looking at things which are not ours - or longing for things which are not ours. It is to practice limitations instead of letting our greed and desires get the better of us.

Respecting Our Parents

   This is a big one - because our parents are the ones who have spent so many of their tangible and intangible resources on us. When we were babies it was our mothers who was giving from her own self. It was her blood and supplies that were being drained from her body while the conditions of our growth and development took place. To have spent nine months in that state is spending so much of her bodily resources on us. Next, while we were children and toddlers, our parents provided us with food, shelter and other things to help us grow and develop and each parent spend from the resources that they had. What human being on earth would donate as much blood or endure as much pain as did your mother? What person spends on you over and over again, thousands of dollars throughout your life just to provide you a shelter, home, education and more. People loan us a couple of dollars and they wait for their favors to be repaid and while some don't, how much are they going to give you? Would anyone give you thousands of dollars every single year for free? Would someone cook for you without wanting payment? No human being invests in us as much as our parents invest in us. I just mentioned tangible resources but what about intangible ones? What about love, support, comfort, knowledge, guidance? There is so much our parents do for us on a day to day basis and they barely ever ask us for anything in return. It should be enough to water our eyes with gratitude for our parents and Islam teaches us that. To appreciate and respect them above all other human beings.
 

   In conclusion, i've just listed a few ways Islam is a lifestyle of gratitude but as you may notice, the list is just so endless. From the attributes of God and the various ways those attributes manifest themselves daily which should awe us with praise of the creator. To lifestyles and behaviours such as modesty and hijab, cleanliness, and respecting our parents. If we woke up only with the thing we thanked God for yesterday, what would they be? And if you haven't already done so. Than start appreciating and thanking the creator with your every breath, and all the blessings around you. Not everyone is able to say it - but say it with full meaning - a heartful Alhamdullilah praising Allah swt for everything He does for us every single day. Both in this life, and in the hereafter. Not just in this world, but the one whose mercy is so enormous created a place called Jannah.

Promises of the Hereafter

I think this is a very scary thing to think about, is that for some weird reason many of us are living in the future instead of making the most out of the present. When it comes to the future, there are two kinds of futures that an individual can worry about. The near future, the far worldly future, and the hereafter.

But what most of us don’t realize is that the future is a non existent entity. No one really has knowledge about what will happen tomorrow except for Allah swt. We worry about something that does not even exist. All we really have is the past and the present. However, we are more certain about our past and our present. Our past immaturity and experiences teach us various lessons. It is a way for us to learn from it but the future is non existent while the present is all we really have to work with. We are on a time machine, crossing zones that fade away our material existence each time and yet we are consumed with the concept of the future.  We are certain of a reality that time is in fact wasting each and every one of us. In this reflection, i will be defining the hereafter and the various promises of the hereafter.  

      In the world in which we live, almost every educational path, every career, every person seems to be giving us promises about a future. Yet how many of those promises are real, and how many of those promises are false. Majority of the people we know show up to us with a face of confidence and certainty. Employers in marketing will teach you about how to be persuasive. Professors will also often tell you about how to prove your arguments and everything seems to be geared towards ‘winning’. The question becomes, winning what? Sometimes it is winning an argument, or proving a point, or selling a product yet all these wins are deprieved of an essential quality – which is reason. Reason is something that is open to debate, discussion, and opposition as well as challenge. If it is questioned, it is able to sufficiently provide answers. Winning therefore is not always the goal of reason. Honesty and integrity are the goals of reason. In this section of my reflection, i will be discussing the various flaws of the many promises that have been made to us through a variety of examples.

How Marketing Works

         I worked for a marketing company once, as a customer loyalty assistant. The term customer loyalty somehow meant that we are loyal and  honest to our customers but that is not the case at all. By working here, and later quitting due to demotivation as I realized this may not be good for my hereafter in the book of deeds, I realized the many secrets of the corporate world when they sell products, ideas and so on. The point is, it is presented as ‘flawless’. Almost omnipotent you could say. It was a health and safety service, but the truth was, when the situation actually arose, there really was neither health, nor safety. It was simply taking advantage of people’s ongoing fear. While it wasn’t 100% flawless, it wasn’t 100% a deception either because there was an effort to provide relief to the injured. It was just full of various faults. I even managed to change the line I was given to reassure customers by adding lines including. “God willingly, we will try our very best to provide aid through the following means’. I ended up selling the product to the higest number of customers having an enormous commission rate of almost 900$/month ontop of my minimum salary until they told me to not have religious association in my line (  a little while before I actually left the job). But through working here I realized that whatever item, idea or product we are being sold is always sold to us with 100% confidence. I also realized that just because something is given to us with 100% confidence doesn’t mean that we can place our 100% reliance on it. There is really no certainty about our futures. Everything is always as God wills it to be, and God willingly only can anything truly occur.

The Creation of Statistics for Confidence Purposes

I suppose this is what makes a statistical analysis of everything so useful during today’s time and age because we can say with sound knowledge based on the past that we are 99% confident that such a such thing will happen based on our understanding in the past collection of various random samples. So next time someone sells you a product that you have a right to ‘not immedietly believe them’. And question them, like ‘how sure are you’? What important information do you have from the past to suggest what you are saying is in fact the truth?

Secondly I may as well also add that not all statistics are the truth. Some statistics are simply made up while others can have research biases. I look forward to a day in which a statistical corporation is designed to ensure validity for all the various ‘confident claims’ that companies are making to deceive and exploit their customers and will make this one of my future developmental goals.

                Finally, regardless of our confidence intervals of the past, does not guarantee our future and we are simply given the opportunity to say that ‘God willingly’ with the realization that the future is not in our hands entirely. It may be that we overlook one/two small factors  or circumstances occur that are beyond our control. However, when we have done our best and used all the various means at our disposal the best thing to do is rest assured that the final decision regardless of our efforts is ultimately in the hands of our creator.

Shortcomings in Human Knowledge

                Regardless of all our progressions in the past, human beings are still ultimately ignorant. To illustrate my point here, take the example of depression and felicity. During the past decade we have been using medicines to cure depression while ignoring the larger social political structures that create depression in the first place. It’s like assuming that a kid goes to school and gets bullied every single day and as a result, he becomes depressed. So, he attempts suicide but his parents take him to the doctor who prescribes medication. As a result, his stress response becomes numb and the fight flight response also becomes numb because of medical intervention in controlling his hormones associated with stress. Now he goes to school and he gets bullied but doesn’t show the stress response a normal stimuli in that situation would do as a survival instinct. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? While in the short run it might be a good thing but in the long run, it is just making things worse. What really needed confrontation was social and psychological factors including fighting to eradicate bullying, better disciplining by teachers, and protecting people’s rights. How would that have been achieved? It would have required moral intervention including ‘not hurting others’, ‘loving one another’, ‘not taking o ut your frustration on others’, it would look at ‘why is he bullying?’ it would target areas including dealing with arrogance, greed etc and praying to have better souls and cooperation in the community. That is a spiritual intervention. Including cooperative group work, prayer, meditation and so on yet as a code of life, the divine knowledge which has so much to offer.

        Similarly when we analyze the case of AIDS (a topic my mom specifically told me not to discuss because girls shouldn’t be discussing these topics that I feel that the AIDS pandemic happening in the world is a huge issue for our generation), a geographical analysis shows that the AIDS pandemic simply does not seem to have affected muslim populations in Africa, while south Africa is massively affected by it. In discussing this issue, the professor was unable to outline the underlying causative factor behind it but it may include the limitation of direct physical contact with the opposite sex within the institution of marriage, charity in the community as a preventative factor for those living in poverty resulting in intervention against people having to be in circumstances where they have no choice but to sell their bodies for survival, as well as hygienic practices including wudu five times a day, washing hands before meals, covering the face, limiting forms of direct contact and so on. While various intervention practices including vaccinations, social institutions have been placed they are not as accomplishing as simple everyday practices when following divine guidance.

     The above examples therefore illustrate the human limitations in knowledge and intervention. Ultimately, regardless of the picture painted of success through social institutions, doctors and health professionals, the ultimate promise of success in this life as well as the hereafter is in the hands of God. This understanding allows us to take a deeper look into another issue of concern. Does our education guarantee our career?

    The answer again is – not really. Our university is filled with professors having done PhDs yet they are living under minimum wage. Similarly various graduates have absolutely no jobs. All of this shows us that our future is not in the hands of anyone but God. Regardless of the promises that people make, they do not guarantee a future for us regardless. Similarly, various intelligent students I have known personally ended up getting their jobs not through their university degrees but through their college degrees or directly through contacts. While others may obtain their jobs through no educational background whatsoever. What it should  be noted is nothing about the future is really promised and we cannot simply rely on human being to tell us what is or isn’t success. What we study years for doesn’t mean that will necessarily be what we spend years doing. As scary as that sounds that is the reality of how unpredictable our world is. All of this is proof enough to show us that the promises of the hereafter are only with Allah swt. When this becomes our concluding remarks, it is enough to change the way of how we choose to live our lives. What is God’s promise of the hereafter?

God’s Promises About the Hereafter and Promises of Success

     So far we have covered how unpredictable the future can be. Now let’s discuss what God’s promises of success regarding our future (hereafter)  are. The Qur’an’s very outlook on everything is a little bit different than the worldly outlook on things. For starters’. The Qur’an refers to the life being a test, as well the defining factors of success quite different from what we define it to be. In deciphering the true essence of success, this section will look at life being a place of test and trial. Secondly we will look at the meaning of success as defined in surah muminoon, and than we will go onto our next discussion topic regarding time in surah Asr. The focus of this topic is mainly still geared to defining the ‘hereafter’ which is always where our outlook of life tends to be since we are always working towards promises of the future.

    ‘He who created death and life to test you as to which of you are best in deed, and He is Almighty (Al-Aziz) and Most Forgiving (Al-Ghafur) ’. (passage from surah mulk). This single ayah shows us something remarkable. It tells us the purpose of our life as well as creation. Similarly in other ahadith and places in the Qur’an Allah swt also talks to human beings about ‘do you think you will be left alone to say we believe and will not be tested?’.  These ayahs and hadith change our outlook on life. They teach us that life is not really the material way that we perceive it but everything has a deeper and inner meaning. Other traditions often tend to differentiate these realities into two realms, the perceived reality and the ‘true reality’. Nouman Ali Khan also nicely states this reality discussing ‘the way a mumin’ sees a tree and the way that a person who studies agriculture sees a tree is still different because everything has a deeper inner meaning. To explain that, picture someone who is consumed in usury or exploits labour. On the surface this person may look like they are temporarily blessed with various material gains and status and if we only look at the outer appearance we may actually be deluded by this person, but there God sees this from a very different perspective in which there is a spiritual essence to this person. This person is wrongfully devouring the property and exploiting the rights of other people. ON the material surface this may even be something beautiful but the inner nature is what God sees. Sometimes the inner nature of a person is also written on the features of their face but, not always. Similarly if we read the story of Ayub (a.s. ) there is a very different inner nature and apparent nature. In great testing times and poverty he may appear to be poor, ill, deprieved and even cursed but on the inner self there is virtues of great patience, exemplary sabr for generations and generations to come.

   These example paint a very different picture of ‘success’ than the picture we are used to. Yet a part of us as human beings often tend to prefer people with a better inner nature rather than the superficial standards society wants us to love outwardly. For example when looking for a spouse, a life partner, people prefer someone of high moral character. Various men and women were interviewed and women always thought men only wanted ‘sex’ and men always thought women wanted someone with good careers and money mainly, but the reality was quite different. Everyone wanted a morally upright person. So it didn’t matter if he was wealthy but cruel, drunk, mistreated people it mattered that he was kind, calm minded, treated others well and money was an asset after the moral character. Similarly what joins hearts also tends to be a beautiful moral character. The success God’ paints for us is the success of the inner nature and inner being. The success of the soul and not the material being.

    This success is not dependent on one’s social status, educational level, career position, or any other characterisitic. This success is dependent on one’s piety. Surah shams refers to this as ‘By the soul and the proportion and order given to it. And its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right. Truly he succeeds that purifies it and he fails that corrupts it.’ (91; 7-10). Surah Muminoon also defines success in its first frew ayahs. “The believers must win through, those who humble themselves in prayer, those who avoid vain talk, who are active in deeds of charity, who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or the captives whom their right hands possess, for in their case they are free from blame. But those whose desires exceed those limits are transgressors. Those who faithfully observe their trusts and covenents, and who strictly guard their prayers those will be thei heirs, who will inherit Al-Firduous’. (Qur’an 23; 1-13). Finally, surah Asr discusses this concept as well by stating. “By the token of time, verily mankind is in loss except those who have believed, done righteous, enjoined righteousness and teachings of truth and have patience’.

       This concludes our discussion on the hereafter and defining what it is. When our outlook on life is the betterment of our soul and working towards the hereafter, our outlook on life is changed. Most of the things that happen in our lifetime can be looked upon as blessings including times of blessings as well as times of trial and loss. Our life becomes a constant struggle of simply ‘doing what is right’. In times of blessings we avoid being extravagant, wasteful and so on. And in times of test and trial we avoid being angry, offensive, overly defensive and so on by maintaining a calm equilibrium. Similarly by focusing our attention on doing what is right saves us from falling into various deceptive ways including being overly concerned with who is right instead of what is right and so on. It becomes a constant struggle of purifying our souls to present a better person to God and letting him be our judge of character and deeds and accepting the judgement that is passed for us. 

Signs of the End of Times

The Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) foretold 72 signs that would appear near the Day of Doom:

1. People will leave prayer
2. People will usurp Ama’naat
3. Lying will become an art
4. There will be murders on the slightest of disagreements
5. Interest will become common
6. There will be very tall buildings
7. People will sell Religion for the world
8. People will treat relatives badly
9. Justice will become a rarity
10. Lies will be considered truth
11. Clothes will be of silk
12. Persecution will become common
13. Divorces will become common
14. Sudden deaths will increase
15. The usurper of Ama’naat will be considered honest and honourable
16. The keeper of Am’naat will be called an usurper of things given to him for safekeeping
17. Liars will be thought of as honest
18. Honest people will be thought of as liars
19. False accusations will become the norm
20. It will be hot in spite of rain
21. Instead of wishing for children, people will pray that they not have children
22. People from bad backgrounds and with bad upbringing will live a life of luxury(material, not peaceful)
23. Good people, when they try to practice, will be cut off from the world
24. Previously good people will also usurp Ama’naat
25. Leaders will become persecutors
26. Ulema and Qaris will commit adultery
27. People will wear clothes of animal skin
28. But their hearts will smell and will be dead
29. And will be bitter
30. Gold will become common
31. Demand for Silver will increase
32. Sin will increase
33. Peace will become rare
34. Ayaats from the Quran will be decorated and calligraphy will become common
35. Mosques will be decorated
36. And will have tall minars
37. But hearts will be empty
38. Alcoholic drinks will be consumed more than ever
39. Punishments ordered by the Shariah will be revoked and will no longer be implemented
40. Women will order their mothers around
41. People who are with naked feet, naked bodies and against religion will become kings
42. Women will trade along with men
43. Women will imitate men
44. Men will imitate women
45. People will swear by things other than Allah and the Quran
46. Even Muslims will be prepared to give false testimony, without being incited to it
47. Only people one knows will be greetedwith the salaam
48. The knowledge of the shariah will be used to earn worldly things
49. Acts which earn the Akhirah, will be used to earn the world
50. Assets belonging to the nation will be considered and treated as personal treasures by the rulers
51. Ama’naat will be considered ones personal asset
52. Zakaat will be considered a burden
53. The lowest and the worst man in the nation will become its leader
54. People will not obey their fathers
55. And will mistreat their mothers
56. And will not hold back from harming their friends
57. And will obey their wives
58. And the voices of men who commit adultery will be raised in mosques
59. Women who sing will be treated with great deference
60. Instruments of music will be kept with great care
61. Alcohol will be drunk on the highways
62. People will be proud of their acts of persecution
63. Justice will be sold in the courts
64. The number of men in the police force will increase
65. Instead of music, the Quran will be used to gain pleasure for its tune and style (qirat), not for what it preaches, its meaning or for rewards in the Akhirah
66. Animal fur will be used for clothes
67. The last of the Ummat will curse thosebefore them. (clearly seen today in peoplewho call the Prophet’s companion’s names)
68. Either Allah will send a Red Storm upon you
69. Or Earthquakes
70. Or your faces will be changed
71. Or a rain of rocks from the skies. Asteroids, Meteors
72. Lies will become a habit of the rulers and the rich

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also said:

1. Alcohol will be called Sherbat, and will be considered Halal
2. Interest will be called Trade, and will be considered Halal
3. Bribes will be called Gifts, and will be considered Halal
4. Women will have hair, like the hump of a camel. (This is the fashion of people today, yet they do not realise they will neither enter Paradise nor even smell its fragrance.)
5. Women will be naked in spite of wearing dresses. (This Hadith has baffled the Ulema for a very long time until now)The 3 kind of naked women are:(1) Those who wear see-through dresses(2) Those who wear tight dresses and(3) Those whose dresses are so short,thatthey expose the body

Sacrifice

The conscience speaks, the whispers grow
The inner light pierces through.
Like the rays of dawn, - light, hope and life
A new beginning, a new day, the soul awakes.

The soul awakes - fighting its first battle
against the sister of death that longs to keep him in bed
So many more battles lie ahead
Each moment, and phase, so many tests
To be purified and tested, before it rests.

It will struggle, it will fall, it will sin
But most importantly, it will repent and repent, once more stand tall
Washing away all the filth once again
Crying to its Lord in the depth of the night
To be saved from His displeasure, His anger and wrath
This repenting sinner.

Sometimes walking by - hands and arms are bleeding
Compassionate and pure - despite all its heard
So many sacrifices this soul will make
In submitting to its creator, its own heart it could break.
This human.

It will submit humbly in its prayers,
Bowing down, it will submit its own ego
Its anger will turn into mercy, its sadness into reason, its worries and fears into faith and trust.
It will hear ill speech but walk away,
It will spread peace and love to every passerby
It will give what it gives for the sake of its Lord
And what others fight for it will give in charity
They shed blood for this, but it gives it away freely
This mumin.

Enveloped by heaven's love
Blessed steps. And words. And tears.
And - it just keep walking, closer and closer
Towards Allah swt seeking His face, His pleasure
Embraced.

One day, it silently and gently flows away
Embraced by angels, doors of mercy wide open.
For all its done, all its giving, all its sacrifices, everything for the one, it returns.
Heaven.

(c) 2014

The Impact of Nature and Meditation on Mental Health

by Zartasha Zainab

    Contemporary scientists and health practitioners have spent almost a decade now focusing largely on the impact of our mental health using the biomedical paradigm. Research has been directed towards exploring brain processes, functions and various parts of the brain, our genetic composition,  our biology and often blaming the victim of mental illnesses for the way they think or behave while ignoring the social context in which those illnesses or disorders take root. Several mood disorders that impact our physiological state both mental and bodily can be treated using natural techniques with fewer side effects.  New studies are finding holistic ways that will enable us to better perform, have better brain functions and better overall mental health. Whereas studies on drug use to cure mental illness has shown various hazardous side effects.. Tricyclics and antidepressants such as Tofranil and Elavil can lead to heart attack, stroke, hypotension, blurred vision, anxiety, tiredness, dry mouth, constipation, gastric disorders, erectile failure, and weight gain. The use of MAO inhibitors such as Parnate can have side effects such as fatal hypertension, dry mouth, dissiness, nausea, and headaches. The use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors such as Prozac can lead to nervousness, fatigue, gastrointenstinal complaints, dizziness, headaches and insomnia. And finally the use of Lithium can lead to tremors, gastric distress, lack of coordination, dizziness, cardiac arrhythmia, blurred vision, fatigue and also death. When weighing the costs and benefits of drug therapy or biopsychosocial therapies that focus on thought processes that result in stress, relaxation and the role that our social and environmental factors play on allowing us to achieve mental health are a lot more effective.⁴  This article focuses on two key factors that impact our mental well being. (1) Spending time in nature and (2) The impact of meditation on mental health which often results in overall well being.

     Have you ever felt extremely stressful and then gone to a park or a nature walk to find yourself feeling renewed, refreshed, more tranquil as well as peaceful inside out? Well, that feeling is not just you. Various studies have shown that being around nature directly impacts our mental health and overall well being. Studies conducted on children have shown that children growing up in the inner city who are not often exposed to as much natural environment are at risk of academic underachievement, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy and other important negative outcomes. In order to avoid these outcomes there is a necessity for self discipline, which requires directed attention which is a limited resource that can be renewed through contact with nature. Children who spent more time around nature showed greater concentration, impulse inhibition, and the ability to delay gratification. Girls especially showed a remarkable degree of overall better mental health being in close proximity to nature and boys showed better overall mental health being close to nature even from a greater distance.¹

    The next focus of this article is the impact of meditation on mental health. A variety of studies have shown that transcendental meditation also has an astonishing impact on overall mental well being. Transcendental meditation is a mental practice that focuses on putting the mind and body in a state of complete relaxation. This method has been shown to reduce anxiety as well as stress and also enhancing mental health. Studies were conducted over an entire twelve week period and test scores revealed overall well being in somatisation and anxiety as well as better immune functioning. Transcendental meditation allows the mind to settle into a quieter state and the body into a state of deep rest leading to relaxed alertness. It also reduces anxiety and distress. This is independent of age, sex and marital status.³ Meditation also has an enormous impact on our immune system. Meditation boosts antibodies, it melts away stress, it stimulates immune system brain function regions. Since our immune system is also linked to thoughts, for reasons unknown, it responds to both negative and positive thoughts. Meditation creates the perfect environment for the immune system to flourish allowing for better health, more energy and greater happiness.²

      Through natural environments and meditations, we are able to have an overall better immune system, better somatisation, relief from anxieties as well as depression as well as various stress disorders. These methods are much healthier than using drugs to cure the mood disorders which are accompanied by hazardous side effects. It also leads to better concentration and immune system. Meditation and nature allow us to develop a stronger mental and physiological state improving our autonomous nervous system as well as central nervous system both within our consciousness as well as sub consciousness.  These are just a few ways of understanding mental health from a more broader and holistic perspective that health professionals are beginning to research and target in order to develop better social, behavioural and environmental outcomes for our overall mental health and well being.          ____________________________________________________________________________________

            ¹Faber, A., Kuo, F., & Sullivan, W. (2002). Journal of Environmental Psychology, 22(2), 49-63. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from    http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494401902415

           ²Miserandino, M. (2012). Intrapsychic Foundations of Personality. In Personality Psychology.       New Jersey: Pearson

       ³Yunesian, M., Aslani, A., Vash, J., & Yazdi, A. (2008). Effects of Transcendental Meditation         on mental health: A before-after study. Clinical Practice and Epidiemiology in Mental  Health,4(25). Retrieved November 11, 2014, from  http://www.cpementalhealth.com/content/4/1/25

         ⁴Davison, G., Blankstein, K., Flett, G., & Neale, J. (2013). Mood Disorders and Suicide. InAbnormal Psychology Fifth Canadian Edition (5th ed., pp. 260-264). New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons

Health and Well Being in Islam - Table of Contents

Author's Note

Section One: Individual Well Being
    Chapter 1: Understanding the Self
    Chapter 2: Moral Development
    Chapter 3: The Muslim Helpline
    Chapter 4: Challenges in Adolescence (13-19)
    Chapter 4: Challenges in Young Adulthood (19-40)
    Chapter 5: Challenges in Middled Aged (40-65)

Section Two: Elders 65+
    Chapter 1: Understanding the Needs of our Elders
    Chapter 2: Preventing the Development of Old Age Diseases

Section Three: Children and Infants
    Chapter 1: Child Development
    Chapter 2: When does the 'rooh' Arrive?
    Chapter 3: Engaging Activities for Infants and Preschoolers
    Chapter 4: An Islamic School Environment
    Chapter 5: Engaging Activities for Young Children
    Chapter 6: Engaging Activities for Children 7-12

References




 

 

   

 

 

 

In Rememberance of Lost Loved Lives

May Allah swt reunite them in Jannatul Firdous....

<3 <3 <3

Tahajjud

Q1. What is Tahajjud?
A.Tahajjud comes from hujood, which is doing one thing and the opposite, so the word hajada may mean he slept or it may mean he stayed up at night, which are opposites.
Tahajjud means waking up after sleeping, and it became a name for prayer, because the individual wakes up for it. So tahajjud means getting up to pray at night. This meaning was given by al-Aswad, ‘Ilqimah, ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn al-Aswad and others.

Q2. How does one offer Tahajjud?
A. Offer 2 rakat salaah. 2 rakat is the minimum ofcourse and there is no upper limit.

Q3. What is the difference between Tahajjud and Qiyam ul Layl?
A. Qiyaam al-layl means spending the night, or part of it, even if it is only one hour, in prayer, reading Qur’aan, remembering Allah (dhikr) and other acts of worship. It is not stipulated that it should take up most of the night.
Tahajjud means specifically praying at night, and some scholars limited it to prayers that are offered at night after sleeping.
Qiyaam al-layl is more general than tahajjud, because it includes prayer and other actions, and it includes prayer before and after sleeping.

Q4. Should I pray Witr before Tahajjud or after Tahajjud, specially if there is a chance to pray witr behind the Imam?
A. I could not shorten it please read the entire explanation:
Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allaah preserve him) was asked a similar question and he replied:
It is better for the person who is praying behind the imam to follow the imam until he finishes Taraweeh and Witr, so that he will have stayed with the imam until he finishes, and the reward for spending the whole night in prayer will be recorded for him. This is what Imam Ahmad and other scholars did.
Based on this, if a person prays Witr with him (the imam) and finishes with him, there is no need to do another Witr at the end of the night. If he wakes up at the end of the night he may offer whatever prayers Allaah has decreed for him, two rak'ahs at a time. And he should not repeat Witr, because there should not be two Witrs in one night.
Some scholars regarded it as preferable to pray Witr with the imam and do an additional rak’ah, by standing up after the imam says the salaam and then doing another rak'ah and saying the salaam, and then praying Witr at the end of tahajjud, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any one of you fears that dawn is about to come, let him pray one rak’ah as Witr …” And he said: “Make the last of your prayer at night Witr.”

If you have any further doubts ask under comments. Please feel free to tag yourself in this post.

--
For further details and references check the links below
http://islamqa.info/en/143240
http://islamqa.info/en/65702

Allah's Existence is Justified; The purpose of our existence has to be...

Dua'a Qunoot

Q. What is dua-e-qunoot?
A. Qunoot, according to the definition of the fuqaha’, “is the name of a du’aa’ (supplication) offered during prayer at a specific point while standing.” It is prescribed in Witr prayer after the rukoo’ (bowing), according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions.
If a calamity (naazilah) befalls the Muslims, it is prescribed to say Du’aa’ al- Qunoot after standing up from rukoo’ in the last rak’ah of each of the five daily obligatory prayers, until Allaah relieves the Muslims of that calamity.
(See Tasheeh al-Du’aa’ by Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd, p. 460)

Q2. Is it necessary?
A. It is better not to recite qunoot in witr "ALL" the time, rather it should be done sometimes, because there is no evidence that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did it all the time. Qunoot is Sunnah. Based on this, if a worshipper omits Qunoot, his prayer is still valid.

Q3. Should I recite dua-e-qunoot after bowing or before bowing?
A. With regard to qunoot: there are two extreme views and one middle (or moderate) view. Some say that qunoot should only be recited before bowing and some say that it should only be recited after bowing. The fuqaha’ among the scholars of hadeeth, such as Ahmad and others, say that both are allowed, because both are mentioned in the saheeh Sunnah, but they preferred reciting qunoot after bowing because this is mentioned more often.

Q4. Till where should I raise my hands?
A. The worshipper should raise his hands to chest height and no more, because this du’aa’ is not a du’aa’ of supplication in which a person needs to raise his hands high. Rather it is a du’aa’ of hope in which a person holds out his palms towards heaven

Q5. What is the real dua of qunoot?
A. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught me some words to say in qunoot al-witr:

“Allaahumma ihdini feeman hadayta wa ‘aafini feeman ‘aafayta wa tawallani feeman tawallayta wa baarik li feema a’tayta, wa qini sharra ma qadayta , fa innaka taqdi wa la yuqda ‘alayk, wa innahu laa yadhillu man waalayta wa laa ya’izzu man ‘aadayta, tabaarakta Rabbana wa ta’aalayta la manja minka illa ilayk

(O Allaah, guide me among those whom You have guided, pardon me among those whom You have pardoned, turn to me in friendship among those on whom You have turned in friendship, and bless me in what You have bestowed, and save me from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can influence You; and he is not humiliated whom You have befriended, nor is he honoured who is Your enemy. Blessed are You, O Lord, and Exalted. There is no place of safety from You except with You).”

The last phrase – Laa manja minka illa ilayka (There is no place of safety from You except with You) – was narrated by Ibn Mandah in al-Tawheed and classed as hasan by al-Albaani.

It is not obligatory for the du’aa’ of Qunoot to be in the words narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him); rather it is permissible for the worshipper to say other words or to add to them. Even if he were to recite verses from the Qur’aan that include words of supplication, that would be sufficient.
Many hanafies read - Allahumma inna nasta'inuka wa nastaghfiruka..., which is correct and you can recite that dua.

If you have any further doubts ask under comments.

--
For further details and references check the links below
http://islamqa.info/en/9061
http://islamqa.info/en/14093
http://islamqa.info/en/20031

The Glorified Names

Nasheed Lyrics:

Ya Allah, Ya Allah
Ya Allahu, Ya Rahmanu, Ya Raheem
Ya Malik, Ya Quddusu, Ya Salaam
Ya Mu'minu, Ya Muhayminu, Ya 'Aziz
Ya Jabbar, Ya Mutakabbir, Antal Khaliq
Antal Bari'ul Musawwir
Ya Ghaffar, Ya Qahhar
Subhanak

Ya Wahhab, Ya Razzaq
Ya Fattah, Ya 'Alim
Antal Qaabidu, Antal Basitu
Antal Khafidh, Antal Rafi'
Antal Mu'izzu, Antal Mudhillu
Ya Sami'u, Ya Baseeru, Ya Allah
Ya Allah, Ya Allah
Antal Hakamu, Antal 'Adlu, Ya Lateef
Ya Khabeer, Ya Haalimu, Ya Adheem
Ya Ghafuru, Ya Shakuru, Ya 'Ali
Ya Kabeer, Ya Hafidhu, Ya Muqeet
Ya Haseebu, Ya Jaleel
Ya Kareem, Ya Raqeeb
Subhanak

Ya Mujeeb, Antal Wasi'
Ya Hakeem, Ya Wadud
Ya Majeed, Antal Baa'ith
Ya Shaheed, Antal Haqq
Ya Waqeel, Ya Qawi'
Ya Mateenu, Ya Waleeyyu, Antallah
Ya Hameed, Antal Muhsi'
Antal Mubdi'u, Ya Mu'id
Antal Muhyi' wal Mumeet
Antal Hayyul Qayyum
Antal Wajeedul Maajid
Antal Wahhidul Ahadu
Al Qadeerul, Al Muqtadiru
Antal Muqaddimu, Antal Muakhkhiru
Antal Awwal
Antal Aakhir
Antal Dhahiru, Antal Baatinu
Antal Waali wal Muta'ali
Al Barru Tawwabu
Antal Muntaqimu
Ya 'Afuw, Ya Raufu, Ya Allah
Ya Allah, Ya Allah, Ya Allah, Ya Allah

Ya Malik al-Mulk
Ya Dhul Jalali wal Iqram
Antal Muqsit
Antal Jami'
Antal Ghaneeyu.. Antal Ghaneeyu
Antal Mughnee.. Antal Mughnee
Antal Mani'
Antad Darr.. Antar Rabbi
Antan Nafi'
Antan Nur
Antal Haadi
Antal Badi'.. Antar Rabbi
Antal Baaqi'.. Antal Baaqi'
Antal Waarith
Ya Rasheedu, Ya Saburu, Ya Allah
Ya Rasheedu, Ya Saburu, Ya Allah
Ya Allah, Ya Allah

Because she is the one who is going to raise a Nation

Article on Sanctity of LIfe - Aramesh and H. Shadi

    Islamic jurisprudence, based on a convincing

interpretation of the holy Koran, does not recognize a

person’s right to die voluntarily. The Islamic arguments

against euthanasia can be summarized in two main

reasons: 1-Life is sacred and euthanasia and suicide are

not included among the reasons allowed for killing in

Islam. And 2-Allah decides how long each of us will

live and two verses support this reason.

According to Islamic teachings, life is a divine trust

and can not be terminated by any form of active or

passive voluntary intervention.11 All the Islamic

scholars regard active euthanasia as forbidden (Hiram)

and there is no difference between Sunni and Shiite

schools.

    The moment of death, ajal, is under the control of

Allah and the human has no say in this matter; the

human can not and should not attempt to hasten or

delay the ajal. The prohibition on life applies equally

well whether for self, suicide, or others, homicide or

genocide. The concepts of autonomy, freedom and

individual choice does not apply here for these two

reasons: a. life does not belong to the human; and b.

taking life will cause harm to the family and society in

general. An individual's freedom of choice is

constrained by the harm it causes to others.

Justifying the stance of advocates of euthanasia on

the basis of other factors such as economic concerns,

consideration of resources that could otherwise be

utilized by other patients and death with dignity does

not seem plausible because of crime nature of mercy

killing in Islamic point of view.3 Of course, we have to

exclude the situation in which the life support

equipments are switched off from a brain-dead person,

aimed to use them for saving the life of a live person.

As a conclusion we can say that the Islamic position

is that life belongs to Allah. It is He who gives and

takes away life. No human can give or take it. Muslims

are against euthanasia. They believe that all human life

is sacred because it is given by Allah, and that Allah

chooses how long each person will live. Human beings

should not interfere in this.

   There are two instances, however, that could be

interpreted as passive assistance in allowing a

terminally ill patient to die and would be permissible

by Islamic law: Administering analgesic agents that

might shorten the patient’s life, with the purpose of

relieving the physical pain or mental distress, and

withdrawing a futile treatment in the basis of informed

consent (of the immediate family members who act on

the professional advice of the physicians in charge of

the case) allowing death to take its natural course.11

If a patient is medically presumed dead through

what is known as brain death, switching off the life

support may be permissible, with due consultation and

care, especially when it is clear that the life support

machine becomes of no use for the already-dead patient

or in the case of organ and tissue donation for saving

another persons’ life which is a routine practice in Iran

and some other Muslim countries. Regarding end-stage

dementic patients, they should be considered as

completely human being and according to Islamic teachings; their life is scared and should not be taken.

What Does "Freedom" Mean to You?

Euthanasia and doctor assisted suicide is becoming legalized in more and more countries in the world. At the last stage of one's life, when one is faced by suffering, pain and dependance - people are beginning to choose death over life. It contradicts with a doctor's values to preserve life and heal, It may be due to depression or contracting the most deadlydiseases including HIV, AIDS, and cancer.  

 Surveys further indicate that religious values, practices and beliefs seem to have the highest correlation with the conceptof death and life. Agnostic and Atheism religious beliefs are the most supportive of Euthanasia while Muslims, Chrisitans,Jews and other faiths are generally not supportive of it.

  

Death and Life.Allah swt states "He who created death and life"....

  

Why is that? What does faith have to do with it? 

  

The biggest concern is "one should be able to choose" but the Canadian government has not legalized it because it values to sanctity of life, a doctor's job to preserve life above autonomy. Just like it provides people freedom of religion, freedom, autonomy at the expense that it does not violate the rights and dignity of another human being.. what if that violation is against oneself?

  

Is freedom and free will the most valuable entity that exists?Is beneficience more valuable than the right to freedom?and...if beneficience is more important than doesnt that open doors to so many other neglected ethics?

 Is freedom of speech more important than mannered restrained speech?Is moderation of temper, crime and violating the rights and dignity of other human beings not prohibited? Illegal? Are drugs, rape and abuse not illegal? Is peacenot more important than war?

  

Is the sancitity of life more important than the right to autonomy??? Was it ever ?? 

Freedom isnt beneficience - free will is great but to what extent? 

 

This test starts in this life and continues on to the next. Adam (a.s.) was sent to the earth for a reason.. cause restraint comes before freedom.The heavenly virtues are just not supposed to be compromised. ANd if you do keep compromising them, than how can you be in heaven? 

  

What most don't realize is true freedom and liberation is the liberation of the soul. If you remember watchign the lion kind as a child, as Mufasa showedSimba everything the light touched "except the shadowy place" why must we search the prohibited domains? 

IF Allah swt gave us free will, and if people sin against themselves anyways, than should euthanasia be allowed?

but...if you "choose" to "love" Allah swt more than it is haram. 

http://islamqa.info/en/70363

Resilience with Love

Recent studies reveal that the power of a kind word, good manners, politeness and social support and accepting the condition have a huge role on the resilience of people with disabilities. Our current society consists victim blaming, individualizing the client as deficient and stigmatizing behaviours towards those with illnesses. While we can hold the role of medicine accountable for curing several viral, bacterial and infectious diseases and saving lives, relieveing pain, enabling actives lives and performing caring functions, as the Prophet pbuh stated “you should seek medicaltreatment, because Allah, the Exalted, has let no disease exist withoutproviding for its cure, except for one ailment, namely, old age'."(Reported by Ahmad and the six sunnan. Tirmidi ), we cannot neglect the social conditions in which they exist. Through this article, I would like to raise awareness of the social factors contributing to the resilience of those with illness, the merit of becoming ill and helping those with illness and the impact of living the islamic lifestyle and following divine guidance that supersedes our limited understandings that are beyond our perceptions by comparing social anthropological studies that look at various social and environmental conditions and lifestyles.

Sickness; A Blessing or a Curse?

Historically in western soceity, religions were all generalized under giving illness stigmatizing labels such as deviance and satanic. (Crawford; 374)

The Prophet pbuh stated. “No Muslim is afflicted with any hurt, even if it is no more than thepricking of a thorn, but Allah wipes off his sins because of it and his sinsfall away from him as leaves fall from a tree'."(Abu Huraira)

Studies comparing migration of African Carribeans and Turkish in the Netherlands reveal that the social conditions for both groups included experiecing low levels of employment, low levels of education and while the social conditions made both groups vulnerable, the results were not the same. This suggests that the lower risks were reletaive to one’s expectations, ambitions and perceptions. The way we perceive illness and the conditions around us, and to the extent that which we internalize stress impacts our vulnerability to contractign diseases as well as resilience.

Accepting the societal labels, internalizing societal negative perceptions and stress can all heavily impact the well being of individuals. While certain lifestyle patterns can result in contractign dangerous chronic diseases including STDs, cancer and so on, many diseases do actually serve as blessings that expiate for sins in this world and should not be viewed negatively.   The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “On the Day of Resurrection, when people who had suffered affliction are given their reward, those who were healthy will wish their skins had been cut to pieces with scissors when they were in the world.”

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2402.

How to Treat Individuals with illness

Many diseases today are caused or prolonged due to stress, lack of social support, heavy reliance on psychoactive druge, sleepign aid and pain relievers. (Crawford 373). Elders are being placed on social welfare programs and old houses, toddlers are being dropped into daycares and the structure of society are becoming more and more consumer based and individualistic. By ignoring the underlying causation of societal conditions in which illness is beginning to take root and societal imbalances are beginning to take place. Illness are beginning to prolonged. This is what happens when we think that we “know” it all and our perceptions without the aid of the firmness of divine guidance. In this specific article, I’m going to be discussing the way we should treat those with illnesses. It is Islamic etiquette to visit a sick Muslim, to provide him moral support,and to make sure that he or she is well taken care of.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "A Muslim has six obligations toanother Muslim." "What are these?" they asked. He replied:"To greet another Muslim when you meet him; to respond when he invitesyou; to give him your (sincerest) advice when he seeks it; to say 'may Allahhave mercy upon you' when he sneezes and says ' may Allah be praised '; tovisit him when he falls ill; and when he dies, to attend his funeral."

Negative attitudes stem from ignorance, fear and pity that are perpetuated by the media. Cross sectional studies indicate that Television is the main source of information about various illnesses and disorders. Family members also often become mroe hostile towards diseased members and act hostile towards them due to the perceived burden of care. (Smith & Reddy, 2011) . While women tend to be more expressive of compassion and empathy, these attitudes continue to persist. They negatively impact the social identity, social interactions and social institutions at the societal level causing distress for the individual and discrimination from the general public.   (Smith & Reddy, 2011)

In conclusion, I would like to make a point that as Muslims in society, we do not follow the negative attitudes that are created. That we - for the sake of Allah swt - show kindness, consideration, acceptance towards those with illnesses. That we see the merit in helping those and the rewards for doing good to members of our society during hardships.