13 July 2014 Musa plans return to Egypt and Muslim is a mirror...

13 July 2014

Musa plans return to Egypt and Muslim is a mirror...

By the Grace of Allah, in this blessed month, we continued with the life of Prophet Musa* and he became a Messenger on his journey to Egypt. We also explored why all Prophets were shepherds.
The Main topic was exploring the Hadith about a Muslim being a mirror to another Muslim – many lessons to be learned.
Some great feedback from the children and next week we’ll continue with Allah’s conversation with Musa*, inshaAllah.
Please continue do dhikr and get close to Allah in the last half of Ramadhan and please continue to make du’a for all your family, friends, the ill and dying, those Muslims affected by war and oppression around the world (including Syria, Palestine, Kashmire, Burma, Chechnya, Iraq, Yemen, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang, Egypt and others).
Jzk.
Naveed

Lives of the Prophets - Musa: Journey to Egypt


Recap - Life of Musa* to date...
(Backstory important in defining Musa* and giving him the skills and competencies to deal both with Pharaoh and his people - Bani Israel)

• Birth
• Upbringing in the Palace
• Accidental killing
• Fleeing
• Life as a Shepherd (see below)
• Family Man

'Every Prophet a Shepherd'
What is the wisdom behind this from Allah? Some points are:

1 Teaching responsibility.
The shepherd is responsible for his herd and usually looks after the flock of another. They are hired. The shepherd holds full responsibility and accountability over the herd.
2 Teaching patience.
Taking sheep out to graze is a slow process, as sheep are quite slow and they take their time and one must wait until the sheep are done. The shepherd must wait and be patient, as he is unable to communicate with them. Prophets required much patience during da'wah.
3 Teaching protection.
The shepherd protects the herd. There are various seen or unseen dangers, wolves, other beasts, diseases, etc, all of which the shepherd must consistently make sure do not endanger the herd.
The Prophets are very protective of their people, and they try to protect their followers from all physical and psychological dangers.
4 Teaching detection of danger.
Sheep/Goat have limited sight and can only see so far. A human who stands tall has a longer view and can see danger as it is approaching, as the herd cannot. The first to notice danger is the shepherd who can give an advanced warning to the herd.
The Prophets have the clearest vision and the longest view, and a vantage point that none of us have and they know what is good for us.
At times the shepherd may hit the sheep in order to give a clear and quick warning and ward off its current path away from the danger. There is no time for a nice and slow convincing manner to this approach when the danger is so near. Similarly, the Prophets at times would appear harsh in their words, as they cared about their followers and wanted to move them away from close dangers.
5 Teaching simplicity.
A shepherd is living a very simple life and cannot take all of his accessories with him to the desert. A shepherd can only carry with him some basic needs in the desert whilst doing his job. A shepherd will also become accustomed to the different environments encountered when feeding the animals, such as the cold or heat of the weather, rain, wind, etc.
6 Teaching closeness to the creation of Allah
Shepherding pulls you out of the artificial world and brings you close to nature. Shepherding gives him an opportunity to contemplate about nature.


Why specifically sheep?
There is a custom to raise cows and camels. Prophets herded sheep [or goat] and not other animals.

1 Sheep are weak animals
Weaker than cows and camels and need more protection and care and can easily fall prey. If one sheep goes astray, that will be the target of the wolf. Sheep more difficult to maintain as a flock because of their propensity to go astray and wander away.
2 We are affected by our surrounding environment and it leaves a lasting effect on our personality.
Shepherds are different than cowboys and cowboys differ from shepherds of camel. Sheep are very compassionate, merciful and weak, so the shepherd learns to become kind and merciful toward them as they are fragile animals and one cannot be too harsh toward them.
Camels on the other hand are very arrogant animals, and one cannot be soft with a camel as it will take advantage of you. The arrogance of the camel must be met with strength as opposed to kindness and compassion. Shepherds of camel are therefore very rough, tough and may be rude, which is learned via their environment.


Other Responsibilities of Shepherd

• Feeding
• Watering
• Grooming
• Shearing
• Delivering Lambs
• Leading
• Wandering Sheep

Prophet Musa* at the Valley Of Tuwa and the First Revelation
The Prophet Musa* honoured his agreement and stayed in Madian for many years and got married and may or may not have had children. Prophet Musa* felt homesick and wanted to visit his family in Egypt and so him and his family left Madian. On their journey to Egypt they became lost and it was a cold desert night when Prophet Musa* saw a fire in the distance, on the side of the Mount Sinai. The Prophet Musa* thought he could bring a brand from the fire to warm up or to gather some information from the people about the journey to Egypt.
When Moses had fulfilled the appointed term and had set off with his family, he noticed a fire from one side of the Mount. He said to his family, "Stay here, I can see a fire. Hopefully I will bring you back some news from it or a burning branch from the fire so that you will be able to warm yourselves." (TMQ 28:29)
When Moses said to his household, "I can make out a fire. I will bring you news from it or at least a burning brand so that hopefully you will be able to warm yourselves." (TMQ 27:7)
When he saw a fire and said to his family, "Wait here. I can make out a fire. Maybe I will bring you a brand from it, or will find guidance there." (TMQ 20:10)
He approached the fire and saw the light extending to heaven and the tree not burning, special bright light when suddenly he heard his name!
But when he reached it a voice called out to him from the right hand side of the valley in the part which was full of blessing, from out of the bush: "Moses, I am Allah, the Lord of all the worlds." (TMQ 28:30)
Then when he reached it, a voice called out, "Moses! I am your Lord. Take off your sandals. You are in the holy valley of Tuwa. I have chosen you, so listen well to what is revealed. I am Allah. There is no god but Me, so worship Me and establish prayer to remember Me." (TMQ 20: 11-14)

This was the first revelation the Prophet Musa* received, honouring him as Allah's messenger, the highest rank that a human can attain in this world.



 Main Topic: Hadith where "A believer is a mirror to another believer" (narrated by Abu Huraira—transmitted in Abu Dawud)


Why choose mirror specifically and not just say "they give naseeha (advice) to one another?


The Mirror (how the mirror gives you advice)

• The mirror doesn’t lie to you - It shows you exactly how you are.
• The mirror shows what is wrong with you.
• The mirror gives you advice immediately.
• When you leave the mirror, it doesn’t spread your advice to the next person.
• The mirror doesn’t share your secrets.
• The mirror allows you to change at your pace - It doesn’t force you to make any changes but shows it to you.
• The mirror shows you the advice, and when you leave the mirror, that’s it
• The mirror will show you the same mistake the next time but won’t nag you about it.
• If you have a mistake and fix it, then the mistake is no longer there anymore - It doesn’t show you the mistake anymore.
• If you don’t have the mirror, you wouldn’t be able to see what’s wrong with you
• The mirror shows you things you can’t see.
• The mirror shows you the good and the bad.
• The mirror doesn’t talk back to you or give you attitude.
• Mirrors can be simple and don’t have to be fancy - A person doesn’t have to be Scholar to give you advice! If you can teach yourself to find good in anyone’s advice or anyone’s speech and act upon it, then you have struck gold.
• The mirror is like Inception. You think you are fixing yourself when you look at it but it was really the mirror that showed it to you - You think you see the fault, but it is actually the mirror that shows you the fault.
• A dirty mirror can’t really show you much. You have to go to a clean mirror.
• If there’s no light, then you can’t benefit from the mirror. Light is like iman (Faith); Darkness = no iman. No hidayah, no knowledge
• The mirror can only show you what is on the outside. It doesn’t even attempt to profess to know what is on the inside - The believer can’t read what is in your heart.
• If you smile at the mirror, it smiles back at you. If you frown at the mirror, it frowns back at you.
• Mirrors always speak to you in a language that you understand.
• No human beings can see themselves with their own eyes - The mirror is the only reflective surface that allows you to see yourself.
• There’s some type of advice you only want to get in private
• The mirror gives full advice and not half of the advice - If there is strawberry in your teeth, it will show all of it to you and not just part of it.
• The mirror makes no judgment and only gives you advice.
• The mirror can be portable - You can call people any time you need advice. The mobile phone is like the portable mirror.
• The mirror doesn’t bend the rules for you.
• You can have more than one mirror.
• It never tires. Every time you stand in front of it, it is ready to give you advice.
• It shows you where you are in relation to your background.
• Mirrors are used to make an area look spacious. Perhaps you have certain traits (interrupt people, speak to people rudely), and these make your world constrict around you. When your friend shows you these things, then suddenly it becomes more spacious.
• You need to look in the mirror. If you don’t, then you have problems.
• Sometimes you have to go to another mirror just to make sure - The first brother may have given you advice but you don’t know him well, so you go to your closer friend and ask if what the first brother said is correct.
• You take care of the mirror - It is a two-way relationship.
• The more you don’t look, the worse your appearance. You always go to it every day. You look at a mirror more than once a day.
• You need to show the mirror what you need advice about.
• It doesn’t need compliments.
• It doesn’t have to be perfect.
• It doesn’t get irritated.
• It is always there for you.

20 May 2012

Conquest of Mecca (3); Linguistic Meaning (4) and Limited Creation (3)

Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the peace blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

Umm Hani gives limited protection
Two persons took refuge in the house of Umm Hani, the sister of Ali. Ali, fully armed, besieged her house. On coming face to face with an unidentified officer, she introduced herself immediately and said: "In the capacity of a Muslim woman, I have given asylum to two persons and the asylum provided by a Muslim woman is respected like that provided by a Muslim man". At this moment, in order to make himself known to her, Ali pulled off his helmet from his head. The sister saw the brother whom the vicissitudes of time had separated from her for so many years. Her eyes were immediately filled with tears and she put her arms round Ali's neck. Thereafter both of them went before the Prophet* and he too approved the asylum provided by Umm Hani. Umm Hani noted that she saw the Prophet* praying 8 rakah (separated every 2 rakah) during the time Dhoha and some scholars say this was the prayer of victory and others conclude this is just the Dhoha prayer.

Bilal Pronounces Adhan and Returning the keys to the Kaaba
The time for noon prayers arrived. Bilal, the official mu'azzin of Islam, went on the roof of the Ka'bah and announced, with loud voice, the Oneness of Allah and the Prophethood of Muhammad, making it reach the ears of those present in the general gathering. The obstinate idolaters were saying all sorts of things. One of them said: "Such and such person was lucky, because he died earlier and didn't hear adhan". It is mentioned that the Prophet* intended Bilal to make the Adhan to demonstrate the new system of Islam and to irritate / agitate the Quraish.
The Prophet* offered the noon prayers. Ali had asked that the honour of the keys to the Kaaba now be kept with the family of the Prophet*, but the Prophet* called Uthman bin Talhah and, returning the key of the Kaaba to him, said: "This position belongs to you and will remain safe in your family!" And nothing else could me expected from the Prophet* of Islam - the Prophet*, who takes orders from Allah and conveys the people: Allah commands you to return the things entrusted to you to the rightful owners. (Surah al-Nisa, 4:58) he should certainly precede others in returning such a big trust. He does not trample upon the rights of the people means of military strength. Hence he announces in open terms: "Custodianship of the key of the Kaaba is the admitted right of the son of Talhah and nobody shares this right with him." 

The Prophet*'s Speech to the People of Mecca
The Prophet* made clear that the old ways were gone and the new era of Islam cancelled all the old traditions. The rules of the game had changed and now Islam was in charge. He condemned every discrimination and laid stress upon the necessity of justice and equality between all classes, and said: "O Children of Hashim and Muttalib! I have been sent to you by Allah as His Messenger and the ties of love and kindness between you and myself are also unbreakable. You shouldn't, however, think that only relationship with me will ensure your salvation on the Day of Judgement. All of you should understand that my friend from amongst you and others is he who is pious and virtuous, and my connection with those, who come before Allah with a heavy burden of sins is cut off. I shan't be able to do anything for you on the Day of Judgement. (On that day) I and you will be responsible for our respective actions".
The Prophet* himself was an inhabitant of the same environments and knew fully well the ailments of the Arab society and their remedy. He knew the reason for the decline of the people of Mecca. Hence, he decided to look into the social ailments of the Arab society and to remedy them fully. The question of self-glorification on account of one's family, household or tribe was one of the deep-rooted ailments of the Arab society and the greatest pride for a person was that he should belong to a branch of a well-known tribe like Quraish. The Prophet* condemned this imaginary basis of superiority. He said, "O people! Allah has abolished from amongst you, under the tenets of Islam, the bases of pride of the Age of Ignorance and self-glorification on account of lineage. All are the descendants of Prophet* Adam and Adam was created with clay. The best person amongst you is he who refrains from sin and disobedience". In order to make the people understand that the criterion of superiority is only piety, he, in one of his sermons, divided all human beings into two groups, and declared only pious persons to be entitled to honour and superiority. By means of this division and classification, he nullified all imaginary standards of rank and position and said: "Before Allah, people consist of only two groups; one of those groups is that of the pious people, who are honourable before Allah, and the second group is that of the transgressors and the sinners, who are abject and humble before Him".

Superiority On Account Of Being An Arab
The Prophet* knew that the Arabs considered being of Arabian descent to be a great honour for themselves; they were proud of being of Arabian lineage. This spirit was like a contagious disease in them. To remedy this ailment and to do away with the conception of this superiority he turned to the people and said: "O people! Being an Arab is not the criterion of your personality or a part of your being, but only a mode of expression. The genealogical pride is not of any use to a person who does not carry out his duties properly, and it does not make amends for deficiency in his performances". "All persons have been equal in the past and are also equal at present like the teeth of a comb and an Arab does not enjoy any superiority over a non-Arab, nor is a red-coloured person superior to a black one. The criterion of superiority is piety".
The Hundred Years' Wars And Old Grudges
Owing to internal wars and continued bloodshed the people of Arabia had become a revengeful nation and they were constantly at war with one another. He then asked the people to ignore the entire bloodshed which had taken place during the Period of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah), and to treat all such dossiers as sealed. In this manner he prevented bloodshed which disturbed peace and order, and made the people forget transgression, plundering and murder, which could result in claims of blood-money or in confrontation. To achieve this end he declared: "I reject all claims relating to life and property and all imaginary honours of the past, and declare them to be baseless".
Islamic Brotherhood
A part of what the Prophet* said on that day related to the unity of the Muslims and the rights which a Muslim has on his brother Muslim. His aim in mentioning these advantages was that by maintaining such ties of friendship and unity, as well by honouring the rights enjoyed by the Muslims over one another, the non-Muslims might be inclined towards Islam and might join the ranks of the Muslims: "A Muslim is the brother of another Muslim and all the Muslims are brothers of one another and constitute one hand as against the non-Muslims. The blood of every one of them is equal to that of others and even the smallest among them can make a promise on behalf of others''.

Forgiving Safwan bin Umayyah
Safwan was the son of Umayyah, who had been killed in the Battle of Badr. Besides his other crimes and felonies he had hanged a Muslim in Mecca in broad daylight, to take revenge for the treatment meted out to his father. Fearing punishment, he decided to leave the Hijaz by sea. 'Umayr bin Wahab (who was once sent to assassinate the Prophet*) requested the Prophet* to forgive Safwan. The Prophet* accepted his recommendation and, as a token of protection given to Safwan, gave 'Umayr the turban which he was wearing at the time of his arrival in Mecca. 'Umayr went to Jeddah with that turban and brought Safwan to Mecca. When the Prophet*'s eyes fell on the greatest criminal of the time, he said to him with great magnanimity: "Your life and property are guaranteed. However, it will be better if you embrace Islam". He requested for two months time to think over the matter. The Prophet* said: "I am prepared to give you four months time instead of two months, so that you may choose this religion with thorough understanding". The period of four months had not yet passed when he embraced Islam.

Main Topic: Fiqh 4
(Linguistic and Shariah Meanings)
In previous study circles we have briefly mentioned that words can have more than 1 meaning. We have talked about Linguistic Meanings and Shariah/Islamic Meanings of words. To explain further:

• A linguistic meaning is the original meaning of the word in Arabic or where the word was derived from, and how this was originally used before Islam.
• A Shariah/Islamic Meaning is the new meaning to the word or phrase that is given to it by Islam (the Qur’an, the Prophet* or the scholars). Hence, when the word is commonly used now it is due to the new Islamic meaning of the word as this is the one related to reward and punishment from Allah.

Using some examples already mentioned: Linguistically, Fiqh implies having knowledge in depth. As a legal (Shariah/Islamic) term, Fiqh has two meanings: Having the knowledge of the rulings of Shariah (Islamic Law) which are extracted from the legislative sources; or all the Islamic laws. This definition is synonymous to the term Shariah.
The linguistic meaning of the word Shariah is a non-exhaustive source of water with which people satisfy their thirst. The term Shariah can also mean all the Islamic laws (ie., all the laws derived from the legislative sources of Islam), and so is also interchangeable with Fiqh.
Linguistically abrogation means cancelling (Izaalah) or changing the thing and transforming it from one state to another while it still exists in essence. Its Shariah meaning is the address (Khitaab) of the legislator (Allah) which prevents the continuation of a Hukm Shar’i (laws) of a previous address (Khitaab).
This is like Salah (prayer), whose linguistic meaning is du'a (suplication), and Islam gave it a new meaning (transferring it from the linguistic meaning to the divine/Shariah meaning) which then dominated its use. Thus, the Arabs used it a divine/Shariah meaning other than its linguistic meaning, and the linguistic meaning was abandoned while the divine/Shariah meaning dominated.
The word Sunnah originally means ‘path’ along which one travels. However, Muslims now use it to refer to either the example of the Prophet* or a recommended action from the Prophet*.
Another common term whose meaning has changed is that if Jihad. The linguistic meaning is that of ‘struggling or striving’, whereas the Shariah gave is a meaning related to fighting for Islam (in various manners). It is only the latter term that carries specific rewards in Islam according to the knowledgeable scholars.

Aqeeda: How strongly do we believe in Allah? Myth or reality?
We started off the study circle by talking about Superheroes, like Captain America, Batman, Superman, Spiderman; or the recent TV series Heroes; even touching upon mythical gods of previous cultures (Hindus & Greeks). There is often a need for limited humans like us to project power onto other beings – and super-powers to other super-beings. This reflects our own limitations – something we will come back to later. We recapped how Muslims should have a belief in Allah that is beyond superstition and ‘leap of faith’. Allah talks about this type of belief in the Qur’an: "Were they created by nothing? Or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay they have no firm belief." [TMQ 52:35-36]
 
Logical, Scientific & Rational thought
Scientific (empirical) evidence is one type of evidence, but not the only type. Other types include the likes of logic, reports and conceptual analysis. Logical approaches are based on sound premises and a valid structure to argument (like mathematics). For example, the statements that all men are mortal combined with the observation that Abdul is a man rationally means that necessarily Abdul is mortal. Our acceptance of the concept that human beings are the product of a mother and father, allows us to establish, on analysis of this concept and its rational extension, that Aisha had a great great grandfather. None of these conclusions are scientific, for they do not involve the application of the scientific method. Yet all of them are rational.

Arguments about the nature of matter, universe and Allah: The limited nature of existence
When we look around us at everything we can sense one factor is shared by these things, and that is that they are all limited. By limited we mean that they have restrictions, a starting point and an ending point, and they have definable attributes i.e. they are all finite. Man is born and he dies. There is no-one alive who will not die. During his life span, he will grow to a certain height, weight and volume. The universe is defined as all the celestial planets. All these objects have certain mass, shape, volume and so on. The life span of a star may be very long, but a point in time will come when it will cease to exist. The universe is large, but still a finite space. No scientist could ever prove using hard facts that the universe has no bounds. In fact when we say that the universe arose from the Big Bang and expanding they inherently admit it is finite in size, otherwise it could not expand! There is nothing in reality which is unlimited. No matter how hard we try, man is unable to find anything unlimited around him. All he can perceive is the finite and limited.
A further attribute of everything around us is that they are all needy and dependent in order to continue existing. They are not self-sustaining or independent. Man has needs he has to satisfy in order to survive. He has organic needs - must eat and drink if he is to survive, and if he does not he will die. We see the need and dependency in plants and animals. They depend on other parts of the food chain for their existence. The water cycle is dependent on the sun, which is dependent on the laws of the galaxies and of burning mass, and so on... Nothing man can perceive is self-subsistent. So things exist, but do not have the power of existence. They cannot control when they die or when other bodies die.
Thus what we see is that everything around us is limited and finite. Everything that is limited and finite is dependant and everything that is dependant is dependant upon something greater than itself.
Applying this to everything we see will bring us to a conclusion. If everything in the universe is dependant because it has not the power of being in existence on its own accord, and is also finite and limited, then what is everything dependant upon for its existence? Hence, two possibilities exist:

• That is either all finite and limited objects depend upon each other in an infinite chain of inter dependencies (infinite regression). Or,
• There is a first cause a sole Creator upon which everything depends.

To explain this further we can understand this by way of analogy. Consider a set of dominoes for example, for the final domino to fall it is dependant upon the domino before it, and for that domino to fall over it is dependant upon the domino before it. Now imagine if there was an infinite number of dominoes…… would any of the dominoes fall over? The answer is no, none of the dominoes would fall over. Now to view any aspect of the universe we would see that something is already in existence in essence the last domino has fallen over. Thus meaning that finite things are not dependant upon each other in an infinite chain. Therefore, there needs to be a first cause or a sole Creator upon which everything depends and itself being independent. Now, we have noted that everything that is finite and limited is also dependant, hence, for something to be independent it would need to be infinite and unlimited. This is whom we Muslims call Allah the sole Creator, self subsistent, and completely unique and different from creation. Allah says "Declare, Allah is one and only, Allah is self sufficient (needy of nothing but upon which everything depends), Neither Allah begets nor was he begotten, And there is nothing equal to or comparable unto Allah" [TMQ 112]

Science cannot prove the existence of God. Not because it requires ‘faith’ but because of the limitations of the scientific method itself. As for rational evidence for the existence of God, that has been furnished, debated, refined and presented centuries ago. The Kalam Cosmological argument for example – was developed by Muslim scholars as early as the 11th century CE. The argument is profound yet simple: the material world we sense around us comprises of things (temporal phenomena) that depend for their existence on other things (temporal phenomena) and so forth. Such a series cannot continue to infinity, for if it did no one thing  would satisfy its dependence and nothing would exist. The fact that things do exist necessarily implies a finite series and, in turn, the existence of a being who determined both the existence of this series and the specific attributes or properties that define it. By rational extension, this being must be eternal and without beginning, otherwise it is temporal and forms part of the series. It must also be sentient for a timeless cause producing a temporal effect requires an independent will. Finally, effecting so grand a creation as the universe and all that it contains necessitates knowledge and power. Thus, by use of reason alone – no reference to scripture, ‘leaps of faith’ or assumptions – we deduce the existence of an eternal, necessary and transcendent being attributed with knowledge, power and sentience, otherwise known in the English language as ‘God’.
The idea and question of ‘God’ has serious implications because the answer obtained becomes the very basis by which we understand the creation and purpose of man, life round us and the whole existence of the universe. Therefore, the method used should not only be the rational thought but the comprehensive and agree with reality. Anything hypothetical or emotional should be rejected since their basis disagrees with ration and reality.
The Islamic Belief and subsequently the Islamic way of life has an intellectual basis. Therefore, Islam is neither a religion nor a set of values and rituals that arise from Blind Faith. Rather, Islam is an intellectual belief from which emanates a comprehensive system of life, be it for individuals or society. To understand the unique system that Islam offers necessitates the explanation of the Islamic belief i.e. the belief in God, Allah in Arabic, and the Word of God, the Qur’an.

We cannot try to limit Allah with our limited understanding of the Universe
The only rational and intellectual solution to the question of creation is that there is a Creator that has accounted for all that we see and perceive. Ration tells us that nothing can be created without a creator. Ultimately, there must be a Creator who is unlimited in every aspect. Hence, we cannot ask if Allah can build a wall over which he cannot jump, or make a stone that he cannot lift or make a square-circle – as these would be putting limits onto Allah and confining Him to our limited understanding of the universe and its laws. Allah is beyond this and not subject to these laws as He created them. So the questions do not make sense.
Belief in Allah is not a superstition nor a mythology, but is a definite fact that is established upon the use of the mind and is felt within every person. Hence, looking at any planet in the universe, contemplating on any phase of life, or comprehending any aspect of man provides a conclusive evidence for the existence of a Creator. "Verily in the Creation of the heavens and the Earth and the alternation of the night and the day the are indeed signs for a people who depth and thinking" [TMQ 3:190]

Children's Feedback:

The King and the Poor Person

Homework~

What did Khalid bin Walid do that caused the Prophet* to disown his actions

Where did Allah come from - Who created Allah?