Thursday, November 12, 2009
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله وصلاة وسلام على رسول الله واله وصحبه وبعد
اسالم عليكم
Allah The Most High said;
قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (31)
سورة ال عمران (Surah Al-Imran)
The meaning of which is: “Say (O Muhammad صلي الله عليه وسالم to mankind): If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
Al-Hafidz Ibn Kathir (774H) said;
“This ayat (verse) is the breaking-point for those who claimed to love Allah but they are not upon the path of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسالم. Verily he is a deceiver as what he has proclaimed to be, untill he follows solemnly the rulings of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسالم and this Deen-ul nabawiah in all statements, actions, with full certainty. In Sahih al-Bukhari. from Rasulullah صلى الله علىه وسالم: Whomsoever performs a certain action which is not on our way, therefore it is rejected” (Ibn Kathir, Tafseer al-Qur’an al’Azim, 1/366, Beirut: Dar al-Ma’rifah)
من تحبو؟
mantuhibbu?
Who do you love?
You should have noticed by now that the titled which I have chosen for this blog is “mantuhibbu”. Truly if one has the will and desires to get to know of his Creator, The Creator of the heavens and the earth, The One Who instills loves in our hearts, The One Who placed between us (men and women) affection and mercy; As The Creator has said in the most eloquent terms in the Qur’an –
وَمِنْ آَيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُمْ مَوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآَيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ (21)
سورة الروم (Surah Al-Rum)
The meaning of which is: “And among His Signs is this, that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect.”
then may Allah give us understanding.
Numerous times in the Qur’an that calls for reflection, pondering, and contemplating. Have we ever wanted to pause and reflect? Have we ever spend the time to actually understand our role as a child to the mother, a child to the mother, a brother to another brother, a follower to the leader, but most importantly, the role of the creation to The Creator.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ (56)
سورة الذاريات (Surah Al-Dzariyat)
The meaning of which is: “And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone).”
Obviously Islam is against any forms of associating partners with The One and Only Creator of all that exists! Therefore to understand that any form of polytheism should be discarded and eliminated. How can this be attained?
Knowledge.
Knowledge is the essence of this Way of Life. Neglecting knowledge, becoming ignorant often resulting in destruction, arrogance, and self-denial. Denying the truth due to sentiment or for other personal gain is a product of immaturity. Certainly in Islam, seeking knowledge is a baseline which one needs to be persistant to. Developing interest, love, and the passion of seeking knowledge with sincerity to discover the truth is important. In Islam, any action should come with the proper ‘intentions’ or in other words ‘niat’ (نية). What is the purpose of the certain actions committed? What did you intend when you were helping that lady to cross the road? Why do like that person? What is your purpose in travelling so far to learn this knowledge? Etc.
Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسالم said:
"...إنما الأعمال بالنيات"
رواه بخاري و مسلم (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim)
The meaning of which is: “Verily every actions relies on its intentions…”
This hadith is one of the fundemntals of Islam. Imam Ahmad and Imam Syafi’e said that this hadith regarding on the intention (niat) is one-third of knowledge. Also a group of ulama’s (religious scholars) said that this hadith is one-third of Islam.
The emphasis on intention is utmost important in Islam. Even if the deed is seemingly good and noble, but if it comes with the intention of gaining popularity for instance, then the deed is nullified or in other words, worthless. Noone knows about what is in the heart except The Creator of the heavens and the earth, Allah The Most High. Allah The Most Knowledgable knows everything that is in the open and everything that is hidden. The following are the verses taken from the Qur’an;
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَخْفَى عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ (5)
سورة ال عمران (Surah Al-Imran)
The meaning of which is: “Truly, nothing is hidden from Allah, in the earth or in the heaven.”
رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ تَعْلَمُ مَا نُخْفِي وَمَا نُعْلِنُ وَمَا يَخْفَى عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ (38)
سورة إبراهيم (Surah Ibrahim)
The meaning of which is: “O our Lord! Certainly, You know what we conceal and what we reveal. Nothing on the earth or in the heaven is hidden from Allah.”
And there are many other verses from the Qur’an which states that Allah The Most Gracious is The All Knower of All Things.
Above all, it is Allah The Most Greatest who instills knowledge upon us. In other words, it is He The Exalted who gives men understanding. Allah The Most Powerful said;
وَلِيَعْلَمَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ فَيُؤْمِنُوا بِهِ فَتُخْبِتَ لَهُ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَهَادِ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ (54)
سورة الحج (Surah Al-Hajj)
The meaning of which is: “And that those who have been given knowledge may know that it (this Qur’an) is the truth from your Lord, so that they may believe therein, and their hearts may submit to it with humility. And verily, Allah is the Guide of those who believe, to the Straight Path.”
Therefore it is also essential for us to ask from The Creator of the heavens and the earth to give us understanding and so that we may act upon the understanding which He has given us.
Up untill today, we are blessed with the life that we have. The families which are given to us, so that we may feel comfort and such, all the numerous things that we owned, should we not be thankful for The One who has given us all these blessings? Or do we still want to live this life which He had given us filled with arrogance and ignorance?
Then again Allah The Most Merciful gave us the freedom of choice.
لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ قَدْ تَبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ فَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَى لَا انْفِصَامَ لَهَا وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ (256)
سورة البقرة (Surah Al-Baqarah)
The meaning of which is: “There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, The Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taghut* and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower.”
-Note*(The word Taghut covers a wide range of meanings. It means anything worshipped other than the Real God (Allah), i.e. all the false deities. It may be satan, devils, idols, stones, sun, stars, angels, human beings e.g. Messengers of Allah, who were falsely worshipped and taken as Taghuts. Likewise saints, graves, rulers, leaders, etc. are falsely worshipped and wrongly followed. Sometimes “Taghut” means a false judge who gives as false judgement (see V 4:60). [See Tafsir Ibn Kathir, and (V 4:51).
There is no compulsion in religion. As we can see today we can live the life as how we choose it to be. Today we live in a world that is filled with all sorts of mentality, ideologies, debts, peer pressure, anxiety and stress, and even excessive entertainments which sways our focus from seeking knowledge for the truth. Therefore I urge all my brothers and sisters in this Deen and to all my brothers and sisters in humanity to seek knowledge for the truth.
Who do we love indeed?
When one states that he/she is willing to die for him/her or “I can’t live without him/her”, does one really understands of what it means in the first place? Perhaps we should strive for knowledge and understanding for the truth, work towards attaining that. It is time to stop filling our lives with what the media portraying about what ‘love’ is but instead in accordance to what they think it is and start seeking for the truth.
and Allah knows best.
May Allah guide us all, Ameen.
Ibnu Zek
