JAMIATUL ULAMA (KZN) ISLAMIC WEBSITE
Council of Muslim Theologians
"The Best of this World and the Hereafter"
It is important that we engage in serious introspection and make
appropriate changes both at an individual and collective level. The Holy
Qurân warns us against becoming complacent and heedless because of
prolonged passage of time and inaction. Do not be like those who were
given the Book aforetime, and whose hearts have hardened with the
passing of time so that many of them have become rebellious
Moral degeneration, a loss of purpose and hard heartedness are
but some of the failings of the passing of time. We eventually lose the
capacity to appreciate Divine Guidance; we lose the humility to search
for the truth and the foresight to understand prophetic wisdom. We
gradually embrace values that are bereft of Divine Guidance and become
victims of spiritual and emotional insecurity.
The Holy Prophet has said: Whoever has been blessed with four
things has indeed been given the best of this world and the hereafter. A
heart full of gratitude, a tongue occupied with the Zikr of Allâh, a
body able to patiently endure hardships and a wife that does not
breach his trust regarding herself and his property. (Baihaqî)
In order to achieve the best of both worlds we need to
consciously work towards acquiring the following four blessings:
Gratitude:
Too often, we take the favours of Allâh for granted. We
feel aggrieved, deprived, and display ingratitude when destiny does not
accord with our insatiable dreams and desires
Consider the following:
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof
overhead and a place to sleep ... you are richer than 75% of this
world.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a
dish someplace... you are among the top 80% of the worlds
wealthy.
If you woke this morning with more health than illness... you are
more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle,
the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs
of starvation
you are more blessed than three million people in the
world.
If your Parents are still alive and still married ...
you are very rare.
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and
are truly thankful
you are blessed because the majority can, but
most do not.
If you can read this message... you just received a
double blessing in that someone was thinking of you and,
furthermore, you are more blessed than over two billion people in
the world that cannot read at all. (Courtesy: Al Balagh)
Nabî has said: The first (condition)
for the reformation of this Ummah is conviction and abstinence, whilst
the first cause of its destruction will be miserliness and (unending)
desires." (Baihaqî)
Zikr
The Holy Prophet has said: The parable of one who remembers
Allâh and one who does not, is like the living and the dead. (Bukharî &
Muslim) We have become spiritually dead individuals with no sense of
drive. We neither fear the Wrath of Allâh, nor yearn for His Pleasure.
Hence, religion has become an oppressive imposition designed to deprive us
of the pleasures of life. How often do we recite the Holy Qurân? When
last did we spend time pondering and chanting the Glory of Allâh? The Holy
Qurân refers to this kind of spiritual death in the following words:
They have hearts with which they fail to grasp the truth, and eyes
with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear, They
are like cattle: nay even less conscious of the right way
They live like animals conscious only of fulfilling their natural
desires without giving any thought to the purpose of existence. Hearts
rust as metal does, and the polish for the heart is the zikr of Allâh!
Zikr is the spiritual rain that renders the heart fertile and allows for
the lush growth of virtue.
Patience:
We have become selfish, impatient and intolerant, losing our
self-composure at the least bit of irritation. We have become pessimists
who fret at the presence of thorns oblivious to the beauty of the rose. We
become despondent and repeatedly bemoan the sad state of our affairs
least, convinced that every experience good or bad has a meaning and
purpose. The Holy Prophet has said, "Patience is half of faith." (Abû
Naîm) The Holy Qurân states:
Fighting is ordained for you even though it be hateful to you, but
it may well be that you hate a thing while it is good for you, and it may
well be that you love a thing while it is bad for you; for Allâh knows
whereas you do not know.
What may at first seem to be a disaster, may later turn out to be a
means of betterment and enhancement. Hardships, disaster, and calamities
are the like the thunder and lightening that we have to endure before we
are blessed with torrential rains. Consider the birth of Islâm in South
Africa. Islâm reached the Cape Province in 1654 when the Dutch East India
Company decided to use the Cape as a penal settlement for Muslim prisoners
from Batavia In Indonesia. The Cape was chosen as the official place of
confinement for political prisoners. They came as slaves yoked in chains
and lived under barbaric and sub-human conditions. They were treated in
the same beastly and savage manner as our brothers in Guantanamo Bay in
Cuba. Yet slavery became the basis for the rise of Islâm in South Africa,
so will Camp X-Ray become the basis for the rise of Islâm in Cuba.
Insha-Allâh!
And seek assistance in patience, and prayer, surely it is
difficult except for those who fear Allâh.
A Stable Family
Over the past decade, our society has undergone a rapid social
and religious transformation, resulting in high divorce rates, separation,
single parent families, and common-law relationships. It is becoming
extremely difficult to find happiness in marriage and to develop a healthy
and vibrant relationship with your spouse. This is because of a
fundamental shift from an obligations-oriented bond to a
rights-orientated relationship. We tend to demand our rights instead of
fulfilling our obligations, which breeds a culture of conflict and
tension. The Prophet not only encouraged marriage among his followers,
he also emphasised the importance of appropriate conduct after marriage so
that the marriage endures and in the words of the Holy Qurân becomes the
coolness of our eyes. We need to study the life of Nabî to see
how far we have drifted and alienated ourselves from prophetic teachings.
Conclusion
The Holy Qurân states, Sufficient is Allâh as a Protector and
sufficient is Allâh as a Helper. (4:45) Muslims are promised that Allâh
will be on their side and will favour them with His help. However, this
Divine Intervention and support are not granted to those who sit idle and
wait for things to change, nor to those who adopt a lukewarm approach and
commitment to Deen. If we refuse to work towards the best of both the
worlds, Allâh forbid, we will have to contend with a terrible loss in both
worlds. How long will we continue to profess Islâm, while discarding its
teachings and refusing to abide by its laws or heed its warnings? If we
stubbornly persist in revering the social, cultural and moral decorum of
the Kuffâr, we have by our own volition opted for a life of barren
existence.
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