Islamic Finder - Lectures Khutbas

Suffering and Divine Wisdom

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QUESTION 
Why does Allah allow suffering and evil? What is evil? 
 
RESPONSE 
Sheikh al-'Alawi has said, "All the universe is Light, and the only thing that darkens it is the manifestation of the self in it." Sheikh 'Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri, who met Sheikh al-'Alawi, and related this to me, used to teach that the notions that affect our hearts come from one of four quarters. Notions of tawhid or the absolute Oneness of the Divine come from the All-merciful Himself; those of doing good come from the presence of the angels; those of lusts and desires come from the ego; and those of doubts in eternal truths come from the Devil. 
 
Now, all of these are ultimately from the first of them, as "Allah is the Creator of everything" (Qur'an 13:16), and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said, "Verily the hearts of mankind, all of them, are between two fingers of the All-merciful like one single heart, which He turns whither He wills (Muslim (14), 4.2045: 2654. S). Imam Ghazali understood the 'hand' of Allah in this hadith as His omnipotence, through which the promptings of angels and devils, to do good or evil, move hearts like 'two fingers.' He says, "Allah accomplishes what He does [within hearts] by controlling angels and devils, both being under the power of His omnipotence in turning hearts over, just as your two fingers, for example, are wholly under your control in turning objects over" (Ihya' 'ulum al-din (4), 3.24). 
 
From this, we may know that the question "Why does Allah allow suffering?" is itself created by Allah, though put into human hearts as an accusation against God by the Devil, the open foe of mankind, who has sworn to Allah, "Verily I will mislead all of them together, except for Your servants among them whom You have made wholly sincere" (Qur'an 15:39-40). That is, such promptings that appear in the heart are from the quarter of the infernal, but we are responsible for our own choices, since sincerity entails free choice. So perhaps the more telling answer to this question lies not in words, but in the ikhlas or sincerity towards the Divine that alone can avail against the Enemy who has put doubts into people's hearts, as a test from Allah. 
 
1. THEODICY 
The problem of suffering has been known in European philosophy since the time of Leibniz, who titled a book after it, as theodicy, from the Greek words theos (God) and dike (justice). The reader will find few other philsophical references below, however, despite the many Christian and Jewish philosophers who have treated the problem, among them Augustine, Maimonides, Aquinas, Spinoza, Hume, Mill, and a good number in the twentieth century. There is no comparable body of literature in the Taoist, Buddhist, or Hindu traditions, probably because most of their followers believe in reincarnation and the inexorable law of karman, which places the blame of suffering squarely on the sufferer for his own misdeeds in this or previous lives. Nor has it received much attention in Islam, because, I believe, Allah has anticipated the doubts of man in advance by answering them in the Qur'an and prophetic sunna. I have hence left unexplored the answers of philosophers and academics, to let the Divine speak for itself; and have elucidated revelation on the question as it has been understood by my mentor Sheikh 'Abd al-Rahman and other traditional scholars, together with my ordinary common sense about the lessons of life. Someone has asked me the above question, and I confine myself herein to what a human being needs to know about it. 
 
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The force of the question, if we parse it logically, contains several premises: 
 
(1) God is almighty. 
(2) God is just and good. 
(3) Someone just and good would not allow suffering and evil if he could prevent them, yet both exist in the world. 
(4) Therefore God is either not almighty, or else not just and good. 
 
The conclusion is invalid not only because the premises are subtly flawed in ways we shall see below, and countered by many examples we shall provide, but also because the whole answer lies in the absolute perfection of Allah. The above inference presumes that mere words can explain the divine wisdom in suffering, while it can only be intuited by the light of Allah reflected in the heart. That is, while ordinary answers can be articulated by saying something, the answer to "Why does Allah allow suffering and evil," I apprehend, can only be intuited directly, by being something. The way our sheikh taught to change one's being was by three stages: knowledge ('ilm), practice ('amal), and the resultant spiritual state (hal). Words can only help impart knowledge, urge that it be practiced, and allude to or denote the resultant state-while this specific answer can only come about by traversing these three stages with one's existential choices. But by our verbally elucidating the aspects of them that are plain and ready to hand, perhaps Allah will help the reader travel the rest of the way and discover the answer within his own heart. We will take them in the order they normally occur. 
 
2. KNOWLEDGE OF THE DIVINE 
The requisite knowledge to understand the question at hand is the knowledge of Allah, who opens His revelation by saying, "In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate." According to Ibn al-'Arabi, this first verse is the predicate of a subject omitted in ellipse, as is frequent in the Qur'an, and its full meaning is "(The origin and appearance of the world are but) In [i.e. 'in virtue of, because of'] the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate" (al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya (7), 1.102). 
 
These opening words convey the mysterious secret of all created being: that its reality lies in the larger context in which it is articulated and has its existence. The Most Merciful (al-Rahman) denotes the penetration of the divine mercy into everything in the cosmos, this world and the next, by bringing it out of the privation of non-being into the perfection of temporal being. It is a mighty mercy, and the ontological basis of our servanthood. 
 
The Most Compassionate (al-Rahim) is an intensive form of the previous name that denotes a qualitative leap in the magnitude of this mercy through a theophany to be fully manifest only in the next world, beyond death, for the sentient beings ('alamin) Allah loves, of mankind, jinn, angels, and any others. Its infinitude in degree is matched by its infinitude in time, or rather timelessness, extending as it does to eternity. 
 
How do they, though finite themselves, win unto infinitude? By being transformed and refined by a process of uplifting their possibilities through the pure grace and mercy of the Divine, signified by the Qur'anic verse immediately following the first: al-Hamdu li Llahi Rabbi l-'alamin, "All praise is Allah's, Lord of the worlds of beings." The word Rabb, very imperfectly rendered here as "Lord," was originally a masdar or verbal noun in the ancient Arabic language that denoted educating, raising, or uplifting, in the specific sense of taking something at the imperfect level it first was, then bringing it by degrees to the desired level of perfection; also connoting the love, tenderness, and solicitude with which this normally occurs. This verbal noun, like others in the Arabic tongue, came lexically to be applied to its doer by way of hyperbole, in view of the unceasingness and intensity with which the doer, Allah, does it-much as in English the word "justice," for example, denoting a particular course of legal procedure, came to be applied to the magistrate whose profession it was to effect it. 
 
The Rabb al-'alamin or "Lord of the worlds of beings" in this sense, uplifts His servants by directing their wills and lives to the larger contexts in which they are imbedded; away from attachment to things, or considering themselves things, or believing that things bring about happiness, to the meaning of things. What are things for? 
 
Our sheikh held that existent things were precious ('aziza) to Allah Most High, and were the manifestation of His attributes, and especially of His divine mercy and compassion, as the opening verse of the Qur'an indicates. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "When Allah created creation, He inscribed in His writ that He has made binding on Himself, it being reposited nigh to Him upon the very Throne: 'Verily My mercy surpasses My wrath'" (Bukhari (2), 9.147: 7404. S). So there is divine mercy and there is divine wrath, the former being of Allah's infinite beauty (jamal), the latter of His limitless majesty (jalal) and justice. He says, "My chastisement I but smite with whom I will, while My mercy encompasses everything: I shall inscribe it for those who show godfearingness, and pay the alms, and who in Our revealed signs are wholehearted believers" (Qur'an 7:156). That is, His mercy is prescribed for those willing to listen and follow. 
 
Suffering and evil we experience. But their significance lies not in making charges against God, but rather in liberation from them by attaining to limitless felicity with Him. It is to be attained not merely by Iman or 'knowing about Allah,' but by the 'amal or 'practice' appropriate to His divine autonomy, majesty, and beauty; namely servanthood ('ubudiyya). For where there is true knowledge of the Master, there is love; and where there is love, there is devoted service. 
 
3. SERVANTHOOD 
The significance of existent things, of our lives and our deaths, lies in the universe of actions they make possible. It is probably no coincidence that the great themes of English literature, particularly since the rise of atheism among intellectuals in the later nineteenth-century, have tended to coalesce into virtually a single theme: the alienation of man before his own meaninglessness. This is something unimaginable for a servant of Allah, except pathologically, in those far from God. For a servant is only meaningless outside of the context in which he exists, what he at bottom is, namely, his Master's, "who has created death and life to try you, as to which of you shall prove better in works" (Qur'an 67:1-2). The most tremendous of personal realities each of us faces, life and death themselves, are a test for something beyond them. The question of theodicy cannot be answered until we understand what. 
 
The larger picture tells a great deal. Stand for a moment in your mind's eye in the hallway of an institutional building, looking into one of the rooms from its open door. It is presently occupied by a group of young adults each sitting at a school desk, writing on a sheaf of papers, occasionally glancing up at the wall clock, but not looking or talking to one another. They are writing as fast as they are able. Yet this is but a superficial impression, incomprehensible to someone who has never heard of students sitting an examination. The reality of it lies in the larger setting around it. We are at a college of medicine, at a university, at the end of the semester. The reality of this in turn lies in the role of universities in general, the profession of practicing medicine in the larger societal and historical context in which the college has its being, and in a world economy that has focused the salaried energies of many human beings upon the enterprise on which the students in the room are embarked. 
 
Just now, one of them curls the fingers of her left hand around her right wrist and works it back and forth for a moment before she continues writing. She has writer's cramp, but knows it will be gone after the examination, like the coffee she has been drinking to excess for the previous week, the late hours she spent up studying with her classmates last night, and the stress hormones still coursing in her veins. What sense can possibly be made of the pains she is taking, until we understand that she intends to become a physician? 
 
Now, people are of two categories with respect to the meaning of this scenario, and indeed of anything: those who realize its significance, and those who do not. "Say: 'Are those who know and those who do not know equal?'" (Qur'an 39:9). On the one hand, the kafir, lexically denoting both a denier or 'unbeliever,' and not tangentially, an ingrate, literally "one who is covered over"-by his own selfishness, benightedness, and thinghood-regards things as primary, the very substrate of reality, the permanence of the world. Conversely, actions are ephemeral for him, in themselves vanishing, except as a means to more things, be they immaterial, such as fame, prestige, or power-or material, such as wealth, clothes, or property. For the kafir, where any aspiration exists beyond merely maximizing happiness and pleasure and avoiding sorrow and pain, the meaning of life is often no more than "to amount to something." As a bumper sticker I once saw read: "He who has the most toys when he dies wins." 
 
For the mu'min or believer, on the other hand, someone who has lifted his gaze to the horizons of infinity, the opposite view obtains: actions, specifically those which are for God alone, are what is permanent of this world, while things are ephemeral. "Every single thing is perishing," its Creator declares, "except His face" (Qur'an 28:88)-face being an Arabic metaphor for what is most distinctive of someone, the person himself; here, the Being of Allah, and by extension what is done purely and solely for Him and none besides. 
 
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The cosmos, in macrocosm and microcosm, the infinity of sapience and sentience, of human experience within and without-exists to convey and denote the oneness (tawhid) of the Divine. "We shall show them Our signs, in the horizons and in themselves, until it is plain to them that it [this revelation] is the Truth" (Qur'an 41:53). The meaning of things thus lies outside of things, just as the meaning of a symbol lies in what it signifies, portends, and implies. 
 
What a life lived in servanthood to Allah discloses to the servant is his own larger context. The more he ascends in closeness to the Divine, the farther his horizons recede. Something comes to abide in a servant's heart, left there by directing his will towards Allah in work after work, year after year, until he has become Allah's, and Allah, in a sense, his. This relation is probably as unique for each of the awliya as the uniqueness of Allah Himself. It discloses to each, in his own measure, the wisdom and mercy of Allah in the interface between servant and world. The way of those close to Allah lies not merely in realizing that the world is ordered by the theophany of Allah's names, but in seeing therein the divine perfection. "Say: 'Are the blind and the sighted equal?'" (Qur'an 6:50). 
 
4. THE CONTEXT OF THE DIVINE NAMES 
Sheikh 'Abd al-Rahman taught that the divine names vie over existent things to manifest their implications in them. Consider the example of a young man from a good family, who falls in with bad company and drifts into their way of seeing and doing things, under the influence of the name al-Khafid, the Lowerer, and finally al-Mudhill, the Abaser, until the day comes when he can sink no lower and disgusts even himself. The name al-Tawwab or 'Relenter' deploys, he remembers how he was, sees what he has become, and finds himself ashamed before his Maker, to whom he repents. The days and weeks see him improve, under the implications of al-Rafi', He Who Raises. He seeks better company, unplugs from bad old ways, and passes into the sphere of al-Wadud, the Solicitous and Tender, to al-Karim, the All-generous, and so forth. The interactions of the names and their determinations are complex and interpenetrative. The name al-Musawwir, for example, the Bestower of Forms, the Fashioner, the Ingrainer, the Organizer, manifests its implications in all existents; while al-Warith, the Inheritor, remains after the implications of the former have been lifted from any particular existent and it has been annihilated, effaced, and dispersed. The name al-Muqaddim, the Advancer, makes one existent precede another, in works, in rank, or in time of appearance; while al-Mu'akhkhir, the Delayer, the Demoter, postpones existents and events until after others, or keeps them back, or lowers them. The name al-Wahhab, the Liberal, the Bountiful, the Giver, dispenses His bounties perpetually, freely, universally, and for nothing in return; while al-Mani', the Preventer, stops, denies, checks, and prevents attacks. The name al-Nafi', the Benefiter, promotes, helps, and does good to whomsoever He wills; while al-Darr, the Afflicter, damages, harms, and mars whomever He wills. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "Verily, Allah has ninety-nine names. Whoever comprehends all of them shall enter paradise" (Tirmidhi (19), 5.532: 3508. S). The believer, the saint, the 'arif or knower of Allah directly and experientially-all know Allah in His manifestations and determinations, each according to his own illumination and consciousness of the Divine. 
 
They are patent in the wondrous balance in the natural world between species, whose interests are inextricably intertwined by feeding, parasitism, symbiosis, and most dramatically perhaps, predation. On Isle Royale, for example, a forty-five-mile-long wilderness sanctuary separated by fourteen miles of open water of Lake Superior from the coast of Ontario, there were no moose until 1908, when a number of them swam across the channel to escape wolves on the mainland. By 1915, their numbers had increased to two hundred. The population, unhindered by natural enemies, kept steadily increasing until 1930, when they had eaten up so much of the vegetation on the island that they were starving in droves, emaciated and diseased. The eight hundred or so moose continued, miserably famished and ill, until the winter of 1948-49, when a pack of some twenty timber wolves came across the ice and began to prey on the herd. They were soon reduced to some six hundred, or thirty moose to each wolf, which is the natural balance between the two species in the wild. The outward ferocity of the wolves bringing down the individual moose and eating them, the inevitable fear and blood and suffering of the prey at the fangs of the predator, proved to be a divine mercy resulting in the recovery of the species as a whole on the isle. Within a few years, the herd was better fed and healthier than any time in the previous half century it had lived there (The Seven Mysteries of Life (13), 474-75). 
 
The particular significance here for theodicy is that the perfection of this world and the next lies in the totality of the myriad interpenetrative and interconnected modes, factors, and implications of these names. For each particular existent's "perfection" is only over others, which to that extent must be subject to some privation, whether experienced as pain, evil, or suffering. A "good job" for example, only exists in contradistinction to the less rewarding ways in which other people have to earn a living. 
 
Moreover, a certain complementarity imbues the very terms in which the perfection of particulars is construed. Thus triumph has no meaning without the possibility of ruin, or friendship without the possibility of enmity, peace without war, health without disease, safety without peril, might without abasement, or life without death. So privation and evil exist in order to elucidate their opposite, human felicity and perfection; not as any "absolute standard" to measure the Divine, which rather in its entirety measures them. Servanthood means that one accepts that they pertain to man, not to God. Imam Juwayni, Ghazali's sheikh in tenets of faith, expressed this by saying, "There is neither good nor evil in the actions of Allah Most Blessed and Exalted in respect to His divinity, for all actions are equal in respect to Him; while their levels but differ in respect to created servants (al-'Aqida al-Nizamiyya (11), 35-36). 
 
This supreme sovereignty of Allah is ultimately the reason why theodicy, if earnestly discussed by divines of other faiths, has far less relevance for Muslims. The ethos of Islam or 'submission to Allah' does not reduce the order of created being, with all its complexity, to pleasure or pain, joy or suffering, good or evil, for these refer to created individuals. It instead acknowledges that the universe is a larger context, a theater, an examination room, for human actions to mirror the degrees, shades, and nuances of the Creator's love or wrath. The theophany of Allah's love is in human tawfiq or 'divinely given success' in obeying Him. The theophany of His wrath is in human khidhlan or the 'divine abandonment' of a servant to his own pride and folly. There is no mystery as to which is which, because Allah has sent us messengers to make it plain, given us eyes and ears with which to apprehend their message, an intellect with which to understand it, and a life and death in which to realize it. Acting upon what one thus knows brings about an illuminatory hal or state in which the wisdom of suffering and privation is taken for granted, because the resultant qurb or nearness has transmuted the experience of them into tawfiq rather than khidhlan. 
 
5. ACCEPTANCE OF ALLAH 
A great part of man's tawfiq is wisdom, of which Allah has said, "He gives wisdom to whomever He wills, and whoever is given wisdom has been given tremendous good" (Qur'an 2:269). In its common acceptation, wisdom is associated with a farsighted comprehension of matters that resist the comprehension of the less farsighted. The scholars of Islam have defined it as "putting a thing in its true place," while Ghazali has called it simply "that which was brought by the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace)." Certainly recognizing the wisdom of Allah in everything is a part of these definitions, and in it lies the key to answering the question "Why does Allah allow suffering and evil?" 
 
Were we to ask such a question about a human being, it would be an inquiry about a motive, what moved him to allow such and such. But Allah is not moved by anything, for the very good reason that He is already perfect, not admitting of any increase in perfection such that seeking it should move Him to do something. Sanusi mentions in his celebrated creed that Allah's utter dissimilarity to created things obviates His "having motives, whether in actions or rulings" (al-Sanusiyya (1), 25). So "Why?" is logically meaningless as an inquiry into Allah's motives, though it is meaningful as an inquiry about such aspects of His divine wisdom that our own wisdom can comprehend. But if we do not comprehend, what then? 
 
Wisdom also means accepting God as God and man as man. No man can encompass more than an infinitesimal part of the knowledge of the whole, which alone would furnish a measure of its perfection and justice. Sir Walter Scott relates that Emperor Napoleon once felt that, as a world conqueror, it would not prove difficult for him to master a team of spirited horses attached to a coach, though he was normally driven by a coachman. He mounted the seat and took the whip, with Empress Josephine and others below as passengers, and took off driving the carriage, which he overturned, suffering a severe and dangerous fall. His sole observation afterwards was, "I believe every man should confine himself to his own trade" (Life of Napoleon (16), 9.238). As for theodicy, the only being capable of judging the perfection of God in creating everything is God. Man is but a part, and can know but part. Our very experience in life teaches us "Never call anything a misfortune until you have seen the end of it." Here a Muslim says, "Allah suffices us, and is the best to rely on" (Qur'an 3:173). These were never intended as mere words, but also a hal, born of nearness to Allah that has bequeathed entire trust in His wisdom. 
 
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If all these conclusions seem like so many heresies in the present day, it is only because of the grip on modern minds of the "humanistic fallacy," first advanced by the Greek sophist Protagoras, who said: "Man is the measure of all things: of those that are, that they are; and of those that are not, that they are not" (History of Philosophy (3), 1.87). If in revealed truth God is the measure of man, in humanism as it has come to be understood in our times, man is the measure of all knowledge, values, and even God. To this fundamental error, raised by the modern day from an ancient sophistry to a world ethos, revelation replies: "It may haply be that you dislike something, and it is good for you; or haply be that you like something, and it is bad for you: And Allah knows, while you know not" (Qur'an 2:216). 
 
6. THE DIVINE WISDOM IN SUFFERING AND EVIL 
Theodicy fails not only because of the humanistic fallacy of making an infinite Divine analogous to the limitarily human, but also because its crucial premise "Someone just and good would not allow suffering and evil if he could prevent them," is contradicted by many examples of Allah's wisdom, justice, and goodness in creation that entail suffering and evil, of which the following are only those most plain after a little reflection. 
 
The Next World 
 
The value of one over infinity approaches zero. So too, the time one spends in this world pales to insignificance before eternity, where, in the next world, each of us will realize that in this one, "you bode but little" (Qur'an 23:113). Allah has placed the story of each particular human being, the creative theophany of the Rahman or Most Merciful, in the larger context of forever, the special theophany of the Rahim or All-compassionate to those who were His true servants in this world. The eternity of the afterlife furnishes the true measure and context of the transitory sufferings of this life, which are ephemeral in comparison. 
 
Rumi alludes to this "global answer" to suffering in his parable of the sapling in the midst of the leafless winter, shivering and muttering to itself about the misery of the biting wind and cold, unable to think why God should do such a thing to it. The answer finally comes in the form of the warm and verdant springtime. In the trajectory of a believer's life and afterlife, when springtime comes it lasts forever. 
 
The Gulf Between the Here and the Hereafter  
 
The significance of joys and sufferings in this world will dwindle to nothing before the next not only quantitatively, because of its eternity, but qualitatively because of its nature. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: 
The person who had the most pleasing life in this world, of any of the people of hell, will be summoned on Resurrection Day and utterly plunged into the hellfire, then asked, "O human being, have you ever beheld any good at all; have you ever felt a single joy?" and he will say, "No by God, my Lord." And the most miserable sufferer in this world, of any of the people of paradise, will be summoned and utterly plunged into paradise, then asked, "O human being, have you ever seen any bad at all; have you ever experienced a single misery?" and he will say, "No by God, my Lord: I have never seen any bad or suffered a single misery" (Muslim(14), 4.2162: 2807. S). 
They are not lying, but what their testimony means is that nothing in this world can even be called "joy" or "misery" compared with the next. 
 
Joy and Suffering as Signs  
 
Obversely, the joys and sufferings of this world, if they pale in the face of eternity, are tremendously evocative in human hearts of the realities of paradise and hell. Abu 'Ali al-Rudhabari used to say, "What He has made manifest of His blessings indicates what He yet conceals of His generosity." The experience of those with ma'rifa in this world is but a foretaste of the incommensurability of the beatific vision of God in the next. For its part, disease is a harrowing ordeal, especially psychologically, since most of us tend to identify closely with our bodies. Yet through its pain and travail we come to understand how little we could bear endless suffering, teaching us to implore Allah to spare us from the hellfire, thus serving as a means of our deliverance. As Ibn 'Ata Illah has said, "Whenever He loosens your tongue with a petition, know that He wants to give to you" (Hikam (8), 37: 102). 
 
Prayer  
 
Central to worship is supplicating the Worshipped. "Say, 'My Lord would not even concern Himself with you were it not for your supplication'" (Qur'an 25:77). Unlike friends, relatives, and virtually everyone else, Allah loves to be asked and dislikes not to be. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "Truly, supplication is what worship is," then he recited, "And your Lord says, 'Call on Me and I will answer you: Verily those too haughty to worship Me shall inevitably enter hell, utterly humiliated'" [40:60] (Ahmad (9), 4.271: 18.386. S). Moreover, as Poor Richard said, "Danger is sauce for prayers": if not for the problems, fears, inadequacies, and pain man faces, he would remain turned away from the door of the Divine generosity, and miss an enormous share of worship that benefits him in this world and the next. 
 
Triumph over Suffering 
 
Though well able to do so, Allah did not create all mankind in paradise to begin with, but rather willed to consummate their perfect and endless bliss with the knowledge that by His grace, they have triumphed over all suffering, limitation, and evil for all time. "Allah solemnly promises believers, men and women, luxuriant groves of paradise beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein; and surpassing fine dwellings in lush groves of Eden: And the merest of the supreme pleasure of Allah is far yet greater. That is the mighty triumph" (Qur'an 9:72). He could have created all souls on a beach as clams, contentedly filter-feeding from an endless peaceful sea. But to do so would be without any challenge, suffering, purification, or struggle, or any of the other realities that befit the distinctive humanness which Allah has made our special endowment. 
 
Freedom  
 
Much of the suffering and evil in this world comes of man's inhumanity to man, which Allah does not accept, but punishes, sometimes in this world and sometimes in the next. Man has no excuse for this, having been sent messengers teaching us decency and goodness. But man's gift of being able to decide and choose for himself how he may treat his fellow man, for good or for evil, is his freedom, a perfection which Allah in His wisdom has bestowed on each of us. 
 
The Exaltedness of Human Choice  
 
Allah has raised the stakes of human existence at once to the highest possible worth and the direst possible peril by the fact of Judgement Day, with its eternal consequences. Though man's life and works are finite, their consequences are infinite because man's determination, once he has made up his mind, is how he intends to act forever if he is able. The hardened atheist who dismisses God as a mindless superstition does not intend to ever believe and change, so when he dies, he is requited in the measure of his intention, forever, out of Allah's justice. The believer who loves Allah and acts accordingly does not intend to ever change, so when he dies, he too is requited in the measure of his intention, forever, out of Allah's mercy. 
 
Eternal hellfire is a harrowing chastisement; but forewarned is forearmed, and after revelation, it is only what its denizens have chosen for themselves: "Read your record: your own self suffices today as a reckoner against you" (Qur'an 17:14). The existential threat of a fire has stopped many an iniquitous wrong in this world from being inflicted upon others, though I have never heard of an intellectual discussion of ethics that did. Hell is a peril, but one that is a mercy for whoever makes sensible choices. Like the endless happiness of paradise, its effect is to exalt the worth of every moment of human life in this abode, out of Allah's wisdom. 
 
Fear and Hope  
 
Abu 'Ali al-Rudhabari said, "The most beneficial of certitude is that which exalts the Real in your eyes, makes everything beside Him dwindle in them, and instills fear and hope in your heart." Sheikh 'Abd al-Wakil used to say that fear and hope were the two wings of the believer, without which he could not ascend. Both evoke supplication, and Allah loves to be asked. Fear and hope, moreover, are obligatory. Imam Taqi al-Din al-Subki says: 
The spiritual station (maqam) of every man is commensurate with his hal (state), and his hal with his knowledge of the Divine (ma'rifa). People vary immensely in this, no one being more perfect therein than the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), while people after him are each according to their own station, some possessed of much, some of little. Fear is obligatory: Allah Most High says, "Fear you Me, if you be true believers" [Qur'an 3:175], and He Most High says, "So let none of you fear men, but fear you Me" [5:44]. And hope is obligatory, because it is the opposite of despair, and despair is haram: Allah Most High says, "Verily none despairs of the relief sent by Allah but people of the unbelievers" [12:87], and He Most High says, "And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord but those utterly lost? [15:56]" (Fatawa al-Subki (18), 2.556). 
In the Sufi path, fear and hope must be realized by the traveller from the first. The possibilities of both suffering and liberation therefrom are integral to the ascending stages of the dhikr, in which fear (khawf) and hope (raja) are transmuted first, respectively, into awe (hayba) and intimate love (uns), then rigor (jalal) and beauty (jamal), and then extinction and finally subsistence in the Majestic (al-Jalil) and the Beauteous (al-Jamil) Himself. Fear and hope, in these successive stages, remain the two wings of the traveller, for those most in love with the Beloved remain the most fearful of offending Him and being expelled from His presence. As Abu Madyan said, "Presence with Him is paradise, and absence from Him is hell." The possibility of punishment and suffering remains a spur on the way of spiritual attainment, even at its highest degrees, until the traveller has both feet in paradise, and can see for himself the triumph of the transformations Allah has thereby wrought in him. 
 
Punishment for Sin  
 
Much of the suffering man experiences is requital for disobedience. Allah says, "Whatever misfortune befalls you is for what your very hands have earned, and He pardons much" (Qur'an 42:30)-which is the general rule, to which some of the headings discussed above and below contain exceptions. Scholars affirm that every ruling of Sacred Law has been revealed for our benefit, not Allah's. The effects of right and wrong are far more crucial in the next world, but as the above verse makes plain, they are also at least sometimes punished in this. For those Allah loves, the punishment turns them back to the path of tawfiq and obedience. For those with whom Allah is wroth, disobedience is punished by their committing other acts of disobedience. As the early mystic Muzayyin said, "One sin following another is punishment for the first, and one good deed after another is reward for the first." 
 
A sin that often brings unlooked-for misfortune in this world is revealing sins to others. Allah has commanded us to conceal all sins, except when that would lead to someone being harmed. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said, "Whoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah shall conceal his faults in this world and the next" (Muslim (14), 4.2074: 2699. S). This includes one's own. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "All of my Umma shall be forgiven, except those who commit iniquities openly. Verily, open indecency includes a man committing an act by night, and then in the morning when Allah has concealed what he did, saying, "O So-and-so, last night I did such and such." He passed the night, his Lord having concealed what he did, and morning came, and he pulled aside the veil of Allah" (Bukhari (2), 8.24: 6069. S). In Islam, to mention a sin is itself a sin. How many a person has been unable to resist telling a friend or a spouse of the wickedness they did in their previous life, and Allah punished them with disgust and contempt in the other's heart that could never quite be forgotten! There is no baraka in the haram 
 
There are other sins palpably punished in this world before the next, such as pride, ill-treatment of parents, or oppressing others. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "Beware the prayer of the wronged, for there is no veil between it and Allah" (Bukhari (2), 3.169-70: 2448. S). Negligence too of our stewardship of the natural order is punished by a world in which we cannot eat, drink, or breathe without imbibing our own befoulment. "Corruption has appeared on land and sea through what people's hands have earned, to let them taste something of what they have done, that haply they may repent" (Qur'an 30:41). 
 
The Example of the Patient  
 
The innocent are sometimes tried with suffering in order to manifest their spiritual rank or inspire others by their example. The prophets, for example (upon whom be blessings and peace), were exemplars to mankind, and their suffering was greater than anyone else's-not to punish or purify them, for they were already without blemish, but in order to teach mankind patience and fortitude. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was asked, "Who amongst mankind is greatest in affliction?" and he replied: "The prophets, then those most like them, then those next most like them. A man is tried in the measure of his religion: if his religion is firm, his trial is great; while if there is flimsiness in his religion, he is tried according to his religion. Tribulation remains with the servant until it leaves him walking on the earth without a single error" (Tirmidhi (19), 4.601-2: 2398. S). Yet this is probably an elucidation of the exception, which is tribulation in the lives of the righteous, rather than the general case, which is their being preserved from it-for it is a sunna to ask Allah to be free of affliction. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) told Abu Bakr, "Ask Allah for well-being (mu'afah), for no one was ever given anything, after certitude, that was better than well-being" (Ahmad (9), 1.3: 5. S). 
 
The Example of Others  
 
Man lives in a group, thinks and speaks in words and symbols bequeathed him by a group, and benefits from a larger polity of mankind both latitudinally, from the community of individuals and nations found today, and longitudinally, from the successive generations who have gone before, and left behind them the riches of culture and civilization down to our own times. All of us are educated not only by our own lives, but those of others, be they individuals, groups, or entire peoples. The refining and educating of Rabb al-'Alamin, 'Uplifter of the Worlds,' comprehends both individuals and collectivities. Allah teaches us by the object lesson of previous civilizations whom He warned by sending them guidance, and who scoffed, and who met with destruction, that as great as we may feel ourselves-whether as a nation, as makers of war, as a community of scientific explanation, as a civilization-"Who is mightier than we in power?" (Qur'an 41:15) were the famous last words of everyone who said them. "Or can they not have beheld that Allah who created them is mightier than they in power?" (41:15). Humility before omnipotence is mere realism, yet "man was ever the most disputatious of all things" (18:54), and without the object lesson of previous peoples, most would never understand it. There is no injustice in this, for "when Allah sends down a chastisement upon a people, the chastisement strikes whoever is among them; then they are raised up each according to his own works" (Bukhari (2), 9.71: 8108. S). The example of others whose pride and folly brought about their destruction is a powerful lesson not to follow their path, and hence a felicity and mercy for those willing to learn. 
 
The Divine Bounty  
 
The sufferings experienced by good people in this world are from the bounty of Allah, who benefits them thereby. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "No Muslim suffers weakness, illness, worry, sorrow, vexation, or gloom-even the thorn that pricks him-without Allah thereby expiating some of his misdeeds (Bukhari (2), 7.148-49: 5642. S). He once said of a Muslim's satisfaction with destiny in good times and bad, "A believer is like budding grain: wherever the wind blows, it sways; and when the wind stops, it re-straightens: he bends with affliction. And a wicked man is like a sturdy cedar, standing aloft until Allah breaks it asunder whenever He wills (ibid., 5644. S). The messenger of Allah also said, "Whomever Allah wants good for He afflicts somewhat" (ibid., 5645. S)-that is, because "Allah loves those who are truly patient" (Qur'an 3:146). For these reasons, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) observed: "How wondrous is the matter of the believer, for all that happens to him is good: if good befalls him he shows gratitude, and it is best for him; and if ill befalls him he shows patience, and it is best for him" (Muslim (14), 4.2295: 2999. S). 
 
This bounty is often as manifest in groups as in individuals. In the natural world, consciousness of pain, if unpleasant to bear at an individual level, is evolutionarily beneficial and adaptive for individuals to possess in teaching them what to avoid. If the individual suffers to death, it prospers the species as a whole through natural selection. In the succession of nations and civilizations, there is a cultural selection of usages, institutions, and inventions-writing, for example-that are more beneficial and useful in at least some ways than prior ones. "And as for what benefits people, it remains in the earth" (Qur'an 13:17). When the innocent are abused and suffer, laws come into being. When maladies afflict them, new medicines are developed. Of the species which interact with their environment in complex ways, nature offers few examples that cannot experience pain. It is simply too advantageous. 
 
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Hardiness Through Variance  
 
Hardiness increases through difference and adversity. Sidi 'Ali al-Jamal, the sheikh of Mawlay al-'Arabi al-Darqawi, says in his book: 
Realize too that the wisdom [hikma, here the cause that makes something work the way it does] that underlies all beings, also underlies man, namely variations. Allah has made the well-being and preservation of man through variations; and Allah has made the detriment and destruction of man through his remaining in one condition rather than another. So too with all being; it and man are the same: thus it is in material things, and thus it is in immaterial things. For Allah Most High is wise and beautiful, and everything He has created is of unsurpassed wisdom and limitless beauty. Everything He has created for you, in yourself or in all being, you are utterly in need of; while He has said, "Yet still they are at odds" [Qur'an 11:118]. Variation is thus the means of the survival of man and the survival of all beings; and lack of variation the means of the destruction of man and of all beings. For this reason you can see that man, like all beings, as long as he varies his food, his words, what he hears, sees, or smells, his walk or his sitting, his moving his hand or letting it rest, his moving his groin or letting it rest-then he is increasing in health, both physically and spiritually. And as long as he remains statically fixed on one thing, without its opposite, corruption imbues him to the degree he remains fixated. So much so, that if he persists long enough in his fixity and remains with it, he atrophies and finally perishes. Whenever he says, "This is fitting," or "This is unfitting," he is ignorant of the wisdom of God, both in himself and others. This wisdom sums up the health of bodies, health of souls, and health of all beings. And so too it is with increase: there is not any except through variation. Or lessening: there is not any except through lack of variation-whether in all beings, or in man (Ma'ani al-insan (10), 181-81). 
Stasis is not natural to human beings. Without sleep as well as wakefulness, hunger as well as satiation, pain as well as relief, poverty as well as riches, sadness as well as joy, man would not thrive in this world. 
 
Stimulus for Spiritual Growth  
 
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "Patience is a surpassing light" (Muslim (14), 1.203: 223), and some Sufis, such as the Malamatiyya or 'followers of the path of blame,' have considered patience with psychic pain, particularly that of the derision, censure, and scorn of others, a means of pruning away spiritual insincerity. The sheikhs of this school, Hamdun of Nishapur and others, noticed that the heart pays an inordinate amount of attention to what others think, and that love of others' regard is often a reason for insincerity with Allah. They found that breaking the ordinary habits of the mind, and the resultant helplessness and dismay at being left without anyone or anything to help-except God-was a means for opening up a door between the soul and the Divine. Mawlay al-'Arabi al-Darqawi methodically used this to precipitate the realization in his disciples that there was no recourse from Allah except to Him. When disciples took him as their sheikh, he had them give away everything they owned and then go door-to-door begging, particularly in neighborhoods where they were well known and would be certain to meet with insult and humiliation. It was very effective in breaking egos, and Darqawi filled North Africa with awliya and 'arifin. Ibn 'Ata Illah says, "Nothing pleads more for you than utter need; nor is anything swifter in bringing divine gifts than humiliation and want" (Hikam (8), 43: 129). I personally experienced something of the baraka of this when I moved to Jordan in 1980. I had been working at sea fishing for some years, and was big and I thought tough-until several years of chronic liver disease, never precisely identified, made me too weak to walk much farther than fifty yards without exhaustion. Few things ever benefited me more than this dark and distressing period, from which I finally realized that Allah alone was in control, and that "truly man has been created weak" (Qur'an 4:28). Abul Hasan al-Shadhili experienced this so often in his own path that he said, "By Allah, I have not seen triumph except in humiliation." Clearly in the mystic way, the dark night of the soul often precedes the dawn of illumination. Suffering is just part of the story. 
 
Trial  
 
Sufferings are a spiritual trial from Allah, who says, "We try you with evil and with good as a test; and unto Us shall you be returned" (Qur'an 21:35). Doubts about the mercy of Allah, despair at fate, the waswasa of the Devil in implanting the very question we are treating here in the heart and obfuscating the answer-all these sufferings are a test from Allah. Sufis say that people are of four categories in their tests: 
 
If one proves patient with the test and lives it out, it means that one is passing it. Allah says: "The patient shall be requited their wage wholly without reckoning" (Qur'an 39:10). 
 
If one benefits from the test by learning, changing, and gaining experience that will obviate similar tests in the future, this is characteristic of the dervish, whose way depends on benefiting from both his good and his evil. He benefits from his good by thanking Allah for it and not turning to look at it; he benefits from his evil by heartbrokenness, repentance, and never returning to it again. He benefits as well from the evil of others by changing it with his tongue, his hand, or by a prayer in his heart; and if unable to change it, he benefits by realizing that it is evil, which is rewarded by Allah as faith in what the prophets (upon whom be peace) have taught. A Sufi is a person who cannot not benefit as long as he is travelling the way. 
 
If one is well pleased with Allah for honoring one with the test, and aspires to succeed in winning His good pleasure, then the test means a spiritual increase, and means that one is of the awliya, and moreover on an exalted footing among them, for Allah's tests are seldom except in what one holds dearest, and are proportionately harder for those of higher rank. Shibli used to say, "Allah's raising the spiritual degrees of His servants is commensurate with their distress: had He poured upon the awliya an ant's weight of what He has poured upon the prophets, they would have melted away and been cut off." 
 
Finally, if one is bitter about the test and resentful over Allah's destining it, it means that one is failing, unless one turns one's back on the Devil and the self, and takes the way of repentance, and returns to one of the other categories. 
 
The Suffering of Others  
 
The sufferings of the innocent, such as from natural disasters, disease, or the inhumanity of others, are temporary, and shall be a source of triumph in the next life, the infinite sphere of Allah's name al-Rahim, the All-compassionate. Children who die find eternal bliss. 
 
In this world, the sufferings of the innocent are equally a trial for bystanders and onlookers, who are not innocent if they can do something to alleviate them. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "The believer is not someone who spends the night while his neighbor is hungry" (Mustadrak (5), 4.167. S). Scholars of Sacred Law mention that while some duties in Islam are of defined amount, such as the five daily prayers, fasting the month of Ramadan, the hajj once in a lifetime-others are equally obligatory but of undefined amount, such as cooperating with one another in good works, feeding the hungry, helping the distressed, or providing disaster relief. Someone who can help a sufferer by spending his money, his time, his influence, his advice, or if nothing else, his prayers, must. From Allah's wisdom, this too is of the trial of mankind "with good and evil, as a test" (Qur'an 21:35). 
 
Getting Real  
 
Our Maker has warned man against attaching his heart to this world, on the tongue of His prophets (upon whom be blessings and peace) in the revelations of all previous ages and peoples, and in this one, saying, "Nor is the present life except a divertment and frivolity; and truly the Final Abode is the life unperishing, if they but knew" (Qur'an 29:64). 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar said, "The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) took me by the shoulders and said, 'Be in this world as though you were a stranger, or a traveller down the road'" (Bukhari (2), 8.110: 6416). 
 
Setting one's hopes upon something that must vanish is a lack of reality. Like lightbulbs, which manufacturers are capable of making a perfect vacuum in which the filament would never oxidize and hence the lamp never need a replacement, but in which they leave a trace of oxygen so that more bulbs will need to be consumed in the future-this world has purposely been designed by its Creator to fall short of human expectations. This is of the lutf or 'all-subtle loving-kindness' of al-Latif, the All-knowing and All-solicitous towards His servants. If the pain, disappointment, and sordidness of this world were less patent, people would forget the infinite beauty of the Beloved and the abode of His limitless largesse. Ibn 'Ata Illah says, "He knew you would not take mere advice, so He has made you taste of its flavor, to make it easier for you to leave it" (Hikam (8) 62: 230). 
 
Turning to the Creator  
 
Sufferings are often caused by other people, as Allah says, "And We have made some of you a trial for others: Will you prove patient?" (Qur'an 25:20). Allah tries the poor person by seeing the rich person and wondering why he is not like him, tries the ill by seeing the well, tries the lowly by seeing the noble, tries wives with husbands, and husbands with wives, tries parents with children, and children with parents, tries teachers with students who go bad. All of these tests apprise those tested that what they really want is not in the hands of other people to give, but only in Allah's. Ibn 'Ata Illah said, "He has only made annoyance appear at their hands so that you might not rest contented with them. He wants to make you tired of everything, so that you may not be distracted from Him by anything" (Hikam (8), 63: 235). This is the point of all our pain and disappointment, whether from ourselves or others: that it be a means to Allah. As Sheikh al-Buzidi said, "Everything you want is found in the Entity of God." 
 
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Gratitude for Blessings  
 
At the personal level, suffering teaches man to thank God for his blessings. Ibn 'Ata Illah says, "Whoever does not appreciate the value of blessings by having them, will appreciate it by losing them" (Hikam (8), 56: 199), and said, "Whoever is unthankful for blessings has made himself liable to lose them, while whoever shows gratitude for them has fastened them with their true tethers" (ibid., 29: 64). It is related that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) once "asked his family for something to eat with his bread, and they said, 'We have nothing but vinegar.' He asked for some and started eating with it, saying, 'What a splendid sauce vinegar is! What a splendid sauce vinegar is!'" (Muslim (14) 3.1622: 2052. S)-thereby teaching us not only to show tact and graciousness in all circumstances, but also the sunna of exalting even the least blessings. The latter was his inevitable practice, not out of naïtér ignorance of greater blessings, but because every nor blessing, if we think about it for a moment, presupposes in order to be enjoyed a multitude of major blessings such as health, life, security, time, and liberty; as well as freedom from pain, want, oppression, injury, and a thousand other misfortunes. That is, from a more concrete viewpoint, there are really no minor blessings. Without privation we would not count our blessings, which makes privation, for most of us, itself a blessing. 
 
Perfection of Gnosis  
 
By suffering, loss, and privation, Allah perfects the 'arif's experiential knowledge of the Divine. For knowing the One entails not only knowing Him in His entity (dhat), but in His names and attributes, in His rulings, which order and hierarchize the relations between existent things, and in His actions, of which the world and all it contains are the most palpable. 
 
The ma'rifa of the Sufis is at the upper limit of an entire continuum of Iman or faith, and like it, is disparate in degree among those it is given to. Abul Hasan al-Shadhili in his Grand Litany used to pray for "vast gnosis" (ma'rifa wasi'a), not to suggest that it was ever anything but vast, but to acknowledge the gulf between human knowledge, however sublime, and Allah's own perfect knowledge of Himself. Sheikh 'Abd al-Rahman too in this sense used to say, with Ibn al-'Arabi, that "no one knows God but God." Yet Abul Hasan's asking for "vast knowledge" also directs others to strive to expand their ma'rifa higher into this infinite gulf. One of the most telling means of doing so is firmness in beholding the Divine at the moment of trial. Ibn 'Ajiba spurs mystically inclined readers to use it by saying, "As for him who knows [Allah] in the divine beauty, but not in the divine rigor and majesty, or when given to, but not when withheld from, or in triumph but not in humiliation, in health but not in illness, in well-being but not affliction, in wealth but not poverty, in ease but not hardship-such a person is a liar" (Iqadh al-himam (6), 489). 
 
The last word is perhaps something of a hyperbole, for when Allah tries someone, even a servant who has ma'rifa, it is the nature of a divine test to push the individual to the very limit of his capacities. Otherwise it would not be a test. In Dr. Marcel Carret's ministrations to Sheikh al-'Alawi as he lay in the extremity of dying, for example, when he lost consciousness, the doctor injected him with a stimulant that brought him back from that far perimeter. The sheikh awoke with a reproof on his lips for holding him back from his Beloved. Carret writes: 
 
. . . He opened his eyes, and looked at me reproachfully. 
"Why did you do that?" he said. "You should have let me go. There is no point in keeping me back. What is the good?" 
"If I am at your side," I answered, "it is because God willed it so. And if He willed it so, it was in order that I might do my duty by you as your doctor." 
"Very well," he said. "In sha' Allah" (if God wills) (A Sufi Saint (12), 31). 
 
At that moment of wrenching separation after closeness, and in an extremity of physical weakness, Sheikh al-'Alawi's opacity at beholding the doctor, who was after all merely a means of effecting the divine will, was succeeded by a higher degree of recognition, expanding his knowledge of the Divine. As Ibn 'Ata Illah says, "My Lord, I realize from the diversity of phenomenal vestiges, and the transformations of successive stages, that what You want of me is to reveal Yourself to me in everything, so that I may not be ignorant of You in anything" (Munajat (8), 82: 11). 
 
Lack of Progress in the Spiritual Path  
 
Spiritual sufferings include those of murids whose suluk has stalled. When early in my tariqa I once complained to Sheikh 'Abd al-Rahman about my occasional lows of dispiritedness, he told me, "Allah makes spiritual expansion (bast) and contraction (qabd) alternate in the human heart as night alternates with day, until Allah makes you only with Him." Longer than such swings are the periods of spiritual dryness that sometimes set in after the beginning of a disciple's path, as a test from Allah of his genuineness. Anyone can be a servant when it is easy, but who shall be a servant when it is not? True servanthood means tawakkul or reliance on Allah and continuing in one's servitude come what may. As Ibrahim al-Dasuqi said, "Whomever Allah tries, let him bear it patiently, for He has only tried him in order to exalt him-or be rid of him." 
But when spiritual progress is held up at great length, the disciple may well face a basic obstacle such as pride, or lack of contentment, or ruh-pollution through internalizing the views, goals, or character of those who are spiritually dead. Such obstacles may remain unaddressed for years through "putting a good face on them" and not returning to the sheikh. In such a case, the pain caused by lack of progress is a message from God to the murid that he has an attitude problem, and should return to the basics. A tariqa consists not only of a disciple, but a teacher by whose guidance the disciple accomplishes his journey when he has adab and perseverance. Suffering is a gift from Allah when it brings one back to the way of success; and is often the harbinger of divine increase, as Ibn 'Ata Illah says: "Intense needs that appear are the feast-days of disciples" (Hikam (8), 52: 174). 
 
Alienation from Allah  
 
Another more common spiritual suffering is alienation from Allah because of sin. The wisdom therein is that one repent and renew one's closeness to Allah. Ibn 'Ata Illah says, "How many a sin that brought humiliation and need was better than an act of worship that brought triumph and haughtiness" (ibid., 36: 96). In this sense the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "By Him in whose hand is my soul, if you all did not sin, Allah would do away with you and bring a people who sinned and asked Allah's forgiveness, and He forgave (Muslim (14), 4.2106: 2749. S). When sin is unfollowed by repentance, the divine wisdom therein is an object lesson to others through the individual's destruction and perdition, depending on which divine names it manifests, such as the Avenger, the Humiliator, or other. 
 
IN fine, the manifestations of divine wisdom in suffering are many. Most sufferings teach us disattachment from all but Allah. Some, like those of the prophets and saints, inspire us with a sense of the spiritual exaltedness of the sufferer and his fortitude. Some show us the magnitude of the divine blessing of relief after distress. All reveal to those with wisdom the immensity of the divine perfection, beauty, sovereignty, and justice, "yet none remember but those clearest of mind" (Qur'an 2:269). Even a little wisdom shows the nullity of the idea that "someone just and good would not allow suffering and evil if he could prevent them." To even suggest this shows a profound lack of realism about human nature that could hardly be expected from someone who had lived any length of time in this world and dealt with people, let alone someone who created them. 
 
7. CONCLUSIONS: THE NATURE OF EVIL 
To summarize everything we have said, the foregoing aspects of divine wisdom are disclosed by an existential attitude (hal) of entire trust in Allah whose mark is husn al-dhann bi Llah, or always thinking the best of Allah. Those who possess it do not make up hypothetical situations and then tax Allah with them, but confine themselves to concrete events they know have happened, and the particulars of which are fully known by them. "Suffering" in general is such a hypostatized, abstract reality, for the suffering of the part may well entail the benefit of the whole, or one of the many other aspects of wisdom we have mentioned. 
 
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Let us return for a moment to the syllogism with which we began:  
 
(1) God is almighty. 
(2) God is just and good. 
(3) Someone just and good would not allow suffering and evil if he could prevent them, yet both exist in the world. 
(4) Therefore God is either not almighty, or else not just and good. 
 
From our knowledge of tawhid, the divine oneness and uniqueness, it is plain why the conclusion "Therefore God is either not almighty, or else not just and good" does not follow from these premises; namely, because their key terms just and good are equivocal: they are used in premise (2) as they apply to one order of being, that of the Divine; while in premise (3) are used both as they apply to the Divine, and as they apply to an entirely distinct order of being, that of man-of whom it is usually true that that "someone just and good would not allow suffering and evil if he could prevent them"-yet not always even then, since someone just and good might well choose the "lesser of two evils," or impose temporary suffering by say, surgery, to effect a cure, or for innumerable other ethically valid reasons. And our twenty or so examples in the previous section have shown how much less the first assertion of premise (3) applies to God. 
 
We have seen that the autonomy of Allah, His supreme perfection in Himself, and the fact that man is not a co-sharer (sharik) in it, entail a number of consequences: 
 
First, Allah's goodness, justice, mercy, and other attributes are only graspable by us to the degree that our all-too-human understanding can absorb the light of what He has revealed to us about them in the Qur'an and the sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). As Abul Hasan al-Shadhili said in his Litany of Light: 
I cannot reckon Your praise, You are but as You have praised Yourself: Indeed, You are too majestic even for praises, which are but accidents indicating Your generosity that You have bestowed upon us on the tongue of Your messenger so we may worship You with them in our own measure, not in Yours (Awrad al-Tariqa al-Shadhiliyya (17), 38). 
Secondly, Allah's justice is intrinsically different from human justice. "Morally accountable" means nothing more or less than "answerable to Allah." It is meaningless to ask whether He is just, because His judgement is what justice is. "He is not answerable for aught that He does, but rather they are answerable" (Qur'an 21:23). 
 
Third, because of the limited and fragmentary nature of our knowledge about the past, present, and future, to say nothing of the details of the cosmos, our own motives, those of others, the parts of others' lives we see not, and above all eternity-through which alone the consequences of the present will become transparent to comprehension-suffering and evil remain at least to some degree opaque in this life. Their full knowledge, if we are realistic about the limits of our own, must be consigned to their Creator. 
 
Fourth, because Allah is the primary reality, and the particulars imperfectly known to us derive from Him alone, His own perfection entails that from the perspective of omniscience, the world is perfect, while it only seems imperfect, evil, and filled with needless suffering from a human point of view that is limitary and incomplete. 
 
In other words, reality in its entirety, the true concrete, is the infinity of Allah and His limitless perfection. The 'arifin or those who know Allah directly and experientially, men such as Imam Ghazali, Mawlana Rumi, Sheikh al-'Alawi, or Sheikh 'Abd al-Rahman (Allah be well pleased with them), have traversed the path to Him and realized this perfection by beholding its Source, saying with 'Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, "My eye at anything besides Your beauty does not gaze" (Diwan (15), 1.246). Their spiritual vantage-point revealed to them the radical affirmation of everything that is from God, and they have said with one voice, as the Prophet himself (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "All the creation of Allah Mighty and Majestic is goodly" (Ahmad (9), 4.390: 19475. S), or as our sheikh used to express it: "Were any of you to encompass the Unseen in knowledge, he would not choose anything but what is." For all that is only exists through Allah's perfected disposal over His own sovereignty: He does what he wills, and rules as He ordains. The obvious question for man is: Why not strive to win His eternal favor and bliss, rather than His eternal wrath and punishment? 
 
Finally, from all this we can understand the nature of evil, and that it is inimical to man, not God. Evil is rebellion against the Divine that is not followed by repentance. 
 
 
WORKS CITED 
(1) al-Bajuri, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad, and Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Sanusi. Hashiya al-Shaykh Ibrahim al-Bayjuri [sic.] 'ala Matn al-Sanusiyya [Bajuri's Hashiya printed with Sanusi's al-'Aqida al-sughra in the margins above al-Anbabi's Taqrir]. Cairo: Dar Ihya' al-Kutub al-'Arabiyya, 1347/1929. 
(2) al-Bukhari, Muhammad ibn Isma'il. Sahih al-Bukhari. 9 vols. Cairo 1313/1895. Reprint (9 vols. in 3). Beirut: Dar al-Jil, n.d.). 
(3) Copleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy. 9 vols. Norwich: Burns Oates and Washbourne, 1947. 
(4) al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid. Ihya' 'ulum al-din [with Zayn al-Din al-'Iraqi's al-Mughni 'an haml al-asfar containing notes on its hadiths printed below it, and 'Umar al-Suhrawardi's 'Awarif al-ma'arif on its margins]. 4 vols. 1347/1929. Reprint. Beirut: 'Alam al-kutub, n.d. 
(5) al-Hakim, Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad. al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn [with Imam Dhahabi's Talkhis evaluating its hadiths printed below]. 4 vols. Hyderabad, 1334/1916. Reprint (with index vol. 5). Beirut: Dar al-Ma'rifa, n.d. 
(6) Ibn 'Ajiba, Ahmad ibn Muhammad, and Ahmad ibn Muhammad Ibn 'Ata' Illah. Iqaz al-himam fi sharh al-Hikam [Ibn 'Ata' Illah's al-Hikam al-'Ata'iyya printed with Ibn 'Ajiba's commentary]. Cairo: Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi wa Awladuhu, 1392/1972. 
(7) Ibn al-'Arabi, Muhyiddin. al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya. 4 vols. Cairo, 1329/1911. Reprint. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, n.d. 
(8) Ibn 'Ata' Illah, Ahmad ibn Muhammad. al-Hikam al-'Ata'iyya wa al-munajat al-ilahiyya. Ed. Ahmad ibn 'Ubayd. Damascus: al-Maktaba al-Arabiyya, 1393/1973. 
(9) Ibn Hanbal, Ahmad. Musnad al-Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. 6 vols. Cairo 1313/1895. Reprint. Beirut: Dar Sadir, n.d. [In the present writers citations herein, after the volume and page number of this edition of the Musnad (which is the standard), the number of the hadith and its authenticity evaluation have been supplied from another more recent edition:] Ibn Hanbal, Ahmad. Musnad al-Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. Eds. Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut et. al. 50 vols. [including five vols. 46-50 of indexes,]. Beirut: Mu'assasa al-Risala, 1995/1416-1421/2001. 
(10) al-Jamal, 'Ali. al-Yawaqit al-hisan fi tasrif ma'ani al-insan. Edited with notes by Mokrane Guezzou. Amman: Mokrane Guezzou, [2000] n.d. 
(11) al-Juwayni, Abul Ma'ali. al-'Aqida al-Nizamiyya. Edited with introduction and notes by Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari. Cairo: Maktaba al-Azhar li al-Turath, 1412/1992. 
(12) Lings, Martin. A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century: Shaikh Ahmad al-'Alawi. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1973. 
(13) Murchie, Guy. The Seven Mysteries of Life. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999. 
(14) Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj. Sahih Muslim. Ed. Muhammad Fu'ad 'Abd al-Baqi. 5 vols. Cairo 1376/1956. Reprint. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1403/1983. 
(15) Nabulsi, 'Abd al-Ghani. Diwan al-haqa'iq wa majmu' al-raqa'iq. 2 vols. Bulaq 1270/1854. Reprint (2 vols. in 1). Damascus: 'Abd al-Wakil al-Durubi, n.d. 
(16) Scott, Sir Walter. The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte [sic.], Emperor of the French, With a Preliminary View of the French Revolution. 9 vols. Edinburgh: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1827. 
(17) al-Shadhili, Abul Hasan, and sheikhs of his tariqa. Awrad al-Tariqa al-Shadhiliyya. Ed. by Nuh Ha Mim Keller. Amman: Dar al-Zahid, 1418/1997. 
(18) al-Subki, Taqi al-Din. Fatawa al-Subki. 2 vols. N.p., n.d. Reprint. Beirut: Dar al-Ma'rifa, n.d. 
(19) al-Tirmidhi, Abu 'Isa. Sunan al-Tirmidhi. Ed. Muhammad Fu'ad 'Abd al-Baqi. 5 vols. Cairo n.d. Reprint. Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-'Arabi, n.d. 
MMVIII © N. Keller 
 
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Suffering and Divine Wisdom

QUESTION Why does Allah allow suffering and evil? What is evil? RESPONSE Sheikh al-'Alawi has said, "All the universe is Light...

Thursday, January 07, 2016

Jesus (peace be upon him) - Muslim & Christian Common Beliefs

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Isa (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>: عيسى‎, ʿĪsā; pronounced <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Arabic" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none !important;" title="Help:IPA for Arabic">[ʕiːsɑ]</a>) is an Arabic name corresponding to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_(name)" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Jesus (name)">Jesus</a> in English. It is a common male given name for <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_people" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Arab people">Arabs</a> and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslims" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Muslims">Muslims</a>.</div>
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Arabic-speaking Muslims refer to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Jesus">Jesus</a> as ʿĪsā, while Arabic-speaking Christians refer to Jesus as Yasūʿ (يسوع).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isa_(name)#cite_note-1" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[1]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isa_(name)#cite_note-2" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[2]</a> The name for Jesus is used in these two forms in the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qur%27an" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Qur'an">Qur'an</a> and in Arabic versions of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="The Bible">the Bible</a>, respectively.</div>
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Jesus (peace be upon him) - Muslim & Christian Common Beliefs

Isa ( Arabic : عيسى ‎, ʿĪsā ; pronounced [ʕiːsɑ] ) is an Arabic name corresponding to Jesus in English. It is a common male give...

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

Weakness of Faith

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The word Taqwa, having the fear of Allah, has been mentioned in the Qur'an 251 times as an indication of the importance of the subject and the dimension that the concept of Taqwa the fear of Allah swt. 
 
Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem 
 
All praise belongs to Allah, we praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our own souls and from our evil deeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can lead astray, and whomever Allah leaves astray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no god except Allah alone, with no partner or associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His slave and Messenger. 
 
"O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except as Muslims." Al Imran 3:102 
 
O you who believe! The message is clearly directed to us as believers. It is not a general statement but addressed specifically to the believers and hence the emphasis "O you who believe! Fear Allah.  Fear Allah as He should be feared and die not but as Muslims."  This ayah from the Surah Al Imran (3:102) states a simple and straightforward message that forms the basis of our Iman i.e. having Taqwa.  . 
 
The word Taqwa, having the fear of Allah, has been mentioned in the Qur'an 251 times as an indication of the importance of the subject and the dimension that the concept of Taqwa the fear of Allah swt. 
 
Today as Muslims - both in America and beyond our Iman is weak and this fear that we should have for the creator today is displaced by the fear for the created. The created, people, wealth ... We fear people, we fear poverty, we fear humiliation, we fear death and we fear and fear everything but Allah swt as He should be feared- the most prominent fear and only fear that we should have is deficient.  This overpowering fear of created things rather than for The Creator of all has subjected us (as a collective Ummah) to one humiliation after another with subsequent loss of our pride, our dignity, and our self-respect. 
 
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As the Messenger of Allah Ta'ala prophesied: 
 
"It is expected that nations will call other nations to share against you, as the feasters call each other to eat from the food in front of them in a large wooden plate. One of the companions asked, 'O Messenger of Allah, will this be because of our small number on that day?' And the Prophet said, 'No. Your number will be great. But you will be without substance, like the foam on the face of a river; and Allah will remove from the breasts of your enemies the fear of you; and Allah will throw wahn into your hearts.' One of the companions asked, 'What is wahn, O Allah's Apostle?' And the Prophet responded, "Wahn is to love this life, and to hate death!' 
 
 Wahn results from the weakness of Iman or the lack of Taqwa and there is literally no English translation for this Arabic word wahn. There is no concept of wahn and it does not exist. So when we love this life and hate death we suffer from a sickness in our hearts, a sickness in our Iman. This weakness of Iman is what I would like to share with you today. 
 
 The phenomenon of weak faith has become so widespread among Muslims today. So often we feel this hardness in our heart, in that we do not find any joy in worship, reading Quran does not move us and we fall into sin so easily. It is unfortunate that this entity of weakness often goes by our entire existence without us being consciously aware of its destructive nature and how it is detrimental to the spiritual and the moral aspects of our lives. As Muslims this is not acceptable.  We need to recognize and acknowledge this weakness and make a sincere effort to channel this weakness to become our strength to serve Allah swt and His cause. 
 
 What causes weakness of faith: 
 
 Three broad categories include 
 
 1.Failing to seek knowledge on a constant basis. 
 
Many of us have abandoned reading the Quran and Hadith on a daily basis and when we do we seldom reflect on its message or seek guidance.  Our minds are not focused on the virtue of its message.  We starve ourselves in the knowledge of deen by allowing our attention to be diverted by feasting on daily talk shows on TV, or other forms of destructive activities for the passing of time. We miss out on that breeze of Iman that softens hearts. 
 
2 Living in an environment surrounded with sin is conducive to weakening the faith. 
 
In this environment temptation exists, continuously at every point. We need to guard our prayers and our Iman. We are not as Allah conscious as we ought to be, we allow ourselves to be swayed and distracted by temptations. We have been devoid of a faith-filled environment for too long. We've become de-sensitised and lost sight of the world of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). We are oblivious to the good as taught by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).  -- Moral and spiritual values that elevate man are replaced by the worldly pleasures of today's society.  We fail to protect our families and ourselves from acts of disobedience and often we accept them as the norm. 
And seldom do we turn to Allah swt in repentance (taw bah). This is our ignorance, our weakness. 
 
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And last but not the least, 
 
3. Preoccupation with our worldly life, while neglecting the hereafter. 
 
Our day to day activities centre around our material world - our business, our work, our money, our bills, the sizes of our homes, our cars, and so on. These take preference both in our minds and speech. This preoccupation with the world enslaves our hearts. 
 
We have allowed the diseases of the heart to flourish such as vanity, pride, fame, glory. We tend to get lost in these illusions, fooled by the worldly glamour and fail to illuminate our hearts with Allah's Noor. 
 
We remain pre-occupied with our worldly life. 
 
 Allah says in 
 
Surah Al Hijr 15:3 
"Leave them to eat and enjoy, and let them be preoccupied with (false) hope. They will come to know!" 
 
 And Allah swt created us only for His Ubudiya, for His worship alone, as His slaves but today we have become slaves to this duniya, this world, slaves of our desires and ambitions, slaves to wealth. 
 
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "He is doomed, the slave of the dinar and the slave of the dirham" (Reported by al-Bukhari, no. 2730), 
 
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) further said: "Every nation has its fitnah (trial or temptation), and the fitnah of my Ummah is wealth." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 2336). So this eagerness to acquire wealth weakens Iman. This is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) meant when he said: "Two hungry wolves sent against the sheep do not do more damage than what a man's eagerness for wealth does to his religion." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2376). That is it leaves him injured or dead as far as his Iman is concerned. 
 
We must analyse and reflect where we are in terms of our knowledge, our environment, our desires, our hopes and dreams and our level of Iman. 
 
 A weak Iman is a disease of the heart.  And like all diseases this too has its symptoms. 
 
 I am going to mention those symptoms that are more apparent, and perhaps we can list these and perform a self- assessment of our Iman. 
 
Performing prayers devoid of feeling, performance without the keenness to earn reward, performance without humility and obedience indicate a weak Iman. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said that "Allah does not accept the duas of one whose heart is heedless of Him." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 3479). 
 
Lack of zeal and   enthusiasm in prayer and other acts of worship such that we are able to perform yet we tend to procrastinate on. For instance Hajj, often many of us are able to perform Hajj, yet we delay it, or fail to go for Jihad when we have the strength to do so, give Zakat when we have the means to do so and even pray in congregation when we are able to do so. All these are traits of weakness of faith.  This lax attitude is in contrast to what Allah swt describes in 
 
Surah Al Anbiya 21:90 
"They used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us." 
 
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And where are we in terms of our acts of worship? 
 
3.Not being moved by the ayah of the Quran is yet another sign of the Weakness of Iman. 
 
We hear and read the words of the Quran but seldom relate to its meanings. The promises of Paradise or its warnings of Hell do not touch our hearts.  Its commands and prohibitions, its descriptions of the Day of Resurrection are not taken into the seriousness that it involves. The one who is weak in faith gets bored when he hears the Quran being recited, and cannot continue reading it. Whenever he opens the mus-haf, he soon closes it again. 
 
 Not remembering Him often or making duaa, such that dhikr or remembrance of Allah swt becomes difficult, and when we raises his hands to make duaa, we quickly lower them again. A difference between those of faith and the hypocrites is that of remembrance of Allah swt. 
 
Allah swt has described the hypocrites in 
Surah Al Nisa 4:142 
"and they do not remember Allah but little." 
 
Another example. 
 
5.Falling into sin and commit haraam deeds with ease. 
 
Without any hesitation or reservation we fall into sins.  Persisting in our sins to the extent that the sins become a part and a habit for us.  And where we commit sins openly?  The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) "All of my Ummah will be fine except for those who commit sin openly, an example of which is a man who does something at night, and when morning comes and Allah has concealed his sin, he says, "O So-and-so, I did such and such yesterday." His Lord had covered his sin all night, but he has uncovered what Allah had concealed. (Reported by al-Bukhari,). Sinning without ease and with no remorse or repentance for it. 
 
Physically this weakness manifests as anxiety, mood swings and depressions that weighs a man down. Irritability sets in and he has no tolerance. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) described faith when he said, "Iman is patience and tolerance". 
 
The heart that harbours love for fame, desire for leadership without understanding the serious responsibility involved, stinginess and greed, malicious enjoyments of the failures of others can not share abundance of Iman in the same heart. 
 
Two important aspects that affect us not just on an individual basis but collectively as an Ummah are: 
 
1.      Not feeling any responsibility to work for Islam 
2.      Lack of concerns for Muslims. 
 
Islam and spreading of its message is our duty. The attitude of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who as soon as they entered this religion felt this responsibility right away, for example, al-Tufayl ibn Amr (may Allah be pleased with him), who became Muslim and went to call his people to Islam straight away. He was only a new Muslim but he felt that he had to go back and call his people to Islam, and he went and did this.  Today after being committed to Islam for several years we still hold ourselves back for fear, for thoughts of being considered old fashioned, out of the loop , for rejection and being able to Fit In. It comes from the sickness of the heart. 
 
Lack of concern for the welfare of a brother Muslims is lack of faith. Whether it be by making duaa, giving charity or helping them. A person with weak Iman has a distant attitude towards the oppression, suppression and disasters suffered by his Muslim brothers in any part of the world, be it Palestine, India, Bosnia, Iraq and others.  And is content merely with his own safety because this world is everything to him. This is the result of weak faith. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The believer's position in relation to his fellow believers is like that of the head to the body; the believer feels the pain of his fellow believers as the body reacts to the pain suffered by the head." (Musnad Ahmad, 5/340). 
 
Do we feel the pain, the torment, and the oppression?   Do we feel the hunger, the sense of loss and the hurt? 
 
Do we feel angry when the limits set by Allah are violated? 
We don't feel this anger because the flame of zeal has been extinguished in his heart.  One no longer takes action to stop evil, or guides evildoers to do good deeds, or denounce wrongdoing. We seldom get angry for the sake of Allah. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) described this heart ravaged by weakness in the Hadith: "The heart will be subjected to trial after trial, and there will appear a black stain on any heart that is affected, which will spread until the heart is completely black and sealed, as it were, so that it will not recognize any good deed or denounce any evil, except whatever suits its own desires." (Reported by Muslim, no. 144). 
 
InshaAllah we shall talk about strengthening our Iman in the next Khutbah. 
 
Second Khutbah: 
 
Strengthening our Iman.  
 
We need to value that we are Muslims. No other creation has been as blessed as us, and no other creation is shielded by Allah's Mercy as we Muslims are. Allah swt bestowed us with His best blessings and made us the Ummah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).  He granted this special favor, this high honor and privilege to us. He guides whom He wills. 
 
 Allah swt mentions in Surah Noor 24;46 
..and Allah guides whom He wills to a way that is straight. 
 
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 For us to strengthen our Iman we must   
 
1.      Reflect on our relationship with Allah swt and His commandments 
 
2.      Reflect internally as believers 
 
3.      Reflect externally in our community 
 
 
Reflecting on our relationship with Allah swt. 
 
There is none that can increase our Iman except Allah swt.  He alone shares that personal relationship between a slave and Himself.  Can we claim that we love Allah swt and His Prophet SAW in the manner where we can taste the sweetness of faith? 
 
We need to turn to Him in sincerity and humility and ask.  Sincerely pray for Iman -making dua to Allah swt to renew and strengthen our faith with each prayer. 
 
Allah's messenger Rasool Allah SAW taught us that Faith is never static. It increases and decreases, or waxes and wanes. It is our responsibility to assess where our faith is, and make it our duty to constantly work towards improving it. 
 
Allah mentions in Surah Al Fath  48:4 
It is He Who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the Believers, that they may add faith to their faith;- for to Allah belong the Forces of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is Full of Knowledge and Wisdom; 
 
 Faith increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience. 
 
We should make every effort to obey Him and avoid disobedience. By doing this Allah swt will make it easy for us to strengthen our Iman. 
 
 Allah swt already blessed with His guidance through the example of Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Quran. We need to implement those obligations and strive to increase our Iman. 
 
So how can we strengthen our Iman? We should begin .... 
 
 1. With our daily prayers, not for a day but a sincere commitment and duty to Allah swt make it the part of our daily lives. Praying as if you are seeing Allah swt in front of you and pray as if this is the last one of your life. 
 
 Confide in Allah and humble oneself before Him. The more we humble ourselves before Allah, the closer we become to Him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The closest the slave can be to Allah is when he is prostrating to Him, so make lots of duaa then." (Reported by Muslim, 482) 
 
 2.  Reading the Quran, even if it takes 10 minutes a day.  We should make an effort to read and ponder the meaning of the Quran. There is no doubt that it contains a powerful and effective cure. 
 
 Allah says Surah Al Isra17: 82: 
 We send down (stage by stage) in the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe: 
 
3. Remembering Allah swt often.  Even though our hands are occupied keep that heart attached to your Lord.  Take the opportunity to remember at home with family or in the halaqa here. 
 
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "No people sit together remembering Allah, but the angels surround them, mercy envelops them, tranquility descends upon them, and Allah mentions them to those who are in His presence." (Saheeh Muslim,) 
 
Reflect internally as believers 
 
 Are our deeds in accordance with Allah swt?  And will he accept these deeds.  Do I find the time to do good? 
 
 The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked his Sahaabah: "Who among you got up fasting this morning?" Abu Bakr said, "I did." He asked, "Who among you has attended a funeral today?" Abu Bakr said, "I have." He asked, "Who among you has fed a needy person today?" Abu Bakr said, "I have." He asked, "Who among you has visited a sick person today?" Abu Bakr said, "I have." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "No man does all of that but he will enter Paradise." (Reported by Muslim) 
 
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 We need to self-evaluate on a constant basis. 
 
Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Take account of yourselves before you are called to account." 
 
 Evaluate internally in terms of our lives, our deeds and our end.  Do acts such that our end is a good one and where Allah swt is pleased with us.  As The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Remember often the destroyer of pleasure, meaning death." 
 
 Reflect externally in our community 
 
We need to get involved in our community.  We need to be known as Muslims and take part in all our community activities and for those in need.  As Muslims we need to unite as people, make dawah and reach out with the message of Islam.  It is our responsibility to share this message of Islam with non-believers. 
 
We need to attach our hearts with the believers and express enmity with those that our enemies of Islam. We need to be loyal and sincere to Islam and we need to care for our brothers in Islam and any and every way we can, even if it is by dua or sharing of your wealth or voicing your opinion.  We need to think beyond ourselves and think collectively as an Ummah. 
O Allah, we ask You by Your beautiful Names and magnificent Attributes to renew the faith in our hearts. O Allah, make faith appear beautiful to us and adorn our hearts with it, and make kufr, sin and disobedience abhorrent to us. Make us of those who are rightly guided. Glorified be the Lord of Might above what they ascribe to Him. Peace be upon the Messengers and praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. 
 
Al hamdilillahi rabbil alameen irRahman irRaheem, Malik al yawm ad-deen. Wassalatu Wasallam ala Sayyidina Muhammad bin Abdullah Khatamul Anbiya wal Mursaleen. 
 
by Ali Mollah, MD 
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Weakness of Faith

The word Taqwa, having the fear of Allah, has been mentioned in the Qur'an 251 times as an indication of the importance of the subject ...

Monday, January 04, 2016

A Group of Men Test the Trust of a Sheep Herder in the Desert

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A group of men came across a shepherd in the desert and asked him to give them the sheep that was not his. Instead of letting his desires take over him for some riyals, he was honest and showed his strong faith in Allah. 
 
This is the honesty and taqwa of a true Muslim!

Subhan'Allah! Allahu Akbar. May Allah grant him Jannatul Firdaus and make him a Companion of the Prophet Sal'Allahu 'Alayhi Wasallam in the Hereafter! 
Ameen! 
 
Indeed, if you put your trust in Allah, he will provide for you in ways you never imagined.
Allahu akbar! The honest Shepherd has been given 200,000 Riyals from the Sudanese Embassy as a token of respect!

You can see the poor shepherd refusing to take 200 Riyal for a sheep that did not belong to him, saying "By Allah even if you give me 200,000 Riyal I will not give it" 
 
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The honest Shepherd was tracked down and given 200,000 Riyals from the Sudanese Embassy as a token of respect. SubhanAllah.

"And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out, And will provide for him from where he does not expect"

[Quran 65:3-4]

Honesty and Strong Faith in Allah shown by a shepherd may Allah bless him, this is Islam the way we should follow the Quran and Sunnah. 
 
Happened around 2012/2013</div>

A Group of Men Test the Trust of a Sheep Herder in the Desert

A group of men came across a shepherd in the desert and asked him to give them the sheep that was not his. Instead of letting his desir...

Monday, January 04, 2016

Muslims not responsible for terrorists distorting faith. But terrorism is not mine, I will not claim it not even through an apology.

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"I believe in a freedom that is true, that is real, and that is unapologetically principled. I will always do my part and fight for justice. But terrorism is not mine. I will not claim it, not even through an apology."  Rana Elmir is the deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, USA 
 
Ran Elmir, 
 
As an American Muslim (USA), I am consistently and aggressively asked - by media figures, religious leaders, politicians, and Internet trolls - to condemn terrorism to prove my patriotism. 
 
I emphatically refuse. 
 
Make no mistake: The terror imposed by those who sympathize with Daesh (an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State extremist group), al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, al-Shabab, and other groups is just as foreign to me as the terror advanced by mostly white men at the alarming rate of one mass killing every two weeks in this country. 
 
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Therefore, just as I have never been asked to condemn Dylann Storm Roof's attack on parishioners of a historic black church in South Carolina, Robert Dear's attack on a Planned Parenthood facility, the murder of 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School, or the slaughter of moviegoers in Colorado or Louisiana, I will not be bullied into condemning terror perpetrated by psychopaths who misrepresent and distort Islam for their deranged purposes. 
 
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Not surprisingly, nativist rhetoric and policies targeting American Muslims always start with the same feral calls for condemnation. Asking us to apologize for violence that has orphaned generations of Muslims has the perverse effect of revictimizing us by erasing our humanity and experiences. There is no other acceptable scenario in which the media, politicians, and even our president would urge and expect victims to apologize publicly and rout out the ideology that contributed to their own persecution. 
 
Since 2000, the majority of terror attacks have occurred in five countries - Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Syria, all Muslim-majority countries. Close to 90 percent of the victims of Daesh are Muslims. A 2009 study conducted by the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point concluded, conservatively, that al-Qaeda has killed eight times as many Muslims as non-Muslims. 
 
Muslims across the globe are not threats. They are threatened. 
 
Muslim vulnerability is not just contained abroad. The pernicious disease that is Islamophobia is spreading at home, thanks to a steady diet of repugnant rhetoric and equally misguided policies. While the number of hate crimes reported to the FBI fell in 2014 in most categories, the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes rose, with Muslim Americans experiencing five times the number of hate crimes today than they did before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. 
 
Examples of crimes, threats, and harassment against American Muslims abound. 
 
In November, a group of individuals euphemistically called "armed protesters" by the media rallied outside the Islamic Center of Irving in Texas, greeting worshipers with assault rifles and other weapons. Later, the organizing group published the names and addresses of Muslim families and "sympathizers" on social media. 
 
In New York, a store clerk was beaten by a man who yelled "I kill Muslims!" 
 
In California, a woman berated a group of Muslims praying in a park and then threw hot coffee on them. Elsewhere in California, police are investigating a fire at a mosque as a hate crime. 
 
The list goes on, with even children in the role of both target and perpetrator. A Muslim girl in New York was put in a headlock, punched repeatedly, and called "ISIS" by her classmates. An aggrieved mother reported on social media that she had to comfort her 8-year-old daughter because she began packing a bag after she heard "someone with yellow hair named Trump wanted to kick all Muslims out of America." 
 
A friend who has committed herself to bringing interfaith communities together and who has never shrugged off a question about her identity as an American Muslim woman who wears hijab spoke to me of a paralyzing fear she feels every time she leaves the house. 
 
In a country that cherishes religious freedom, countless other women are sincerely questioning whether they should remove their hijab for the safety of their children. 
 
Sadly, as Muslims, we contribute to our own oppression by erroneously believing that if we just apologize, then the anti-Muslim rhetoric will end. And it never does. 
 
Condemnation becomes our admission of guilt, and we indirectly concede that terror is borne of us, and, therefore, we must atone and condone policies that criminalize us to prove "we have nothing to hide." 
 
But these calls for condemnation serve only zealots who will never be satisfied. They thrive and profit off of the fear-mongering, hate, and violence generated by othering and silencing an entire community who has lived and contributed to our nation since its founding. 
 
The first Muslims in the United States were brought over bound as slaves, not immigrants. Muslims fought in every war starting with the American Revolution and have contributed to every facet of society - law, education, medicine, government, fashion, music, architecture, and sports. 
 
And while some American Muslims have prospered, many face challenges - poverty, unemployment, and undereducation - often overshadowed by foreign policy and compounded by pervasive discrimination in our country. 
 
But I believe in a freedom that is true, that is real, and that is unapologetically principled. I will always do my part and fight for justice. 
 
But terrorism is not mine. I will not claim it, not even through an apology. 
 
Rana Elmir is the deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, USA</div>

Muslims not responsible for terrorists distorting faith. But terrorism is not mine, I will not claim it not even through an apology.

"I believe in a freedom that is true, that is real, and that is unapologetically principled. I will always do my part and fight for ju...

Sunday, January 03, 2016

Burger King France - Replacing all pork and bacon products from its menu with halal-certified beef and chicken

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Fast food chain Burger King is going after the 5-million strong Muslim consumers in France, the country with the biggest Muslim population in Europe, WND reported.

An American fast food chain is taking advantage of the growing Muslim population in France by replacing all pork and bacon products from its menu with halal-certified beef and chicken. 
 
This came about after Burger King took over hamburger chain Quick's 405 outlets in France, according to The Local and Le Parisien.

With its expansion, Burger King will directly compete with McDonald's, which has 1,300 fast food outlets in France. The acquisition of Quick will make Burger King, which currently has 30 stores in France, the second largest fast food chain in the country.

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Grand Mosque - Paris France</div>
 
Quick registered a turnover of $1.12 billion last year and employs 19,000 people. Quick has about 20 halal restaurants in France, which source meat from animals slaughtered in compliance with Islamic law. Le Parisien reported that the halal food market in France is worth about 5.5 billion euros. Groupe Bertrand, the major shareholder of Burger King France, is set to finalise the takeover of Quick this month. 
 
The halal burger outlet is a growing market in France. An experiment was conducted for six months in 2009 to test the consumers' preference for halal food. Some politicians opposed the lack of pork in some fast food restaurants, saying it's a form of "communitarianism." 
 
Burger King France has about 5 million euro in annual sales and expects to have 50 restaurants by end of the year. The takeover will make France one of the largest markets for Burger King worldwide. Burger King France was established in 2013. 
 
Quick has about 509 restaurants in France, Belgium, Luxemburg and outside of Europe and the takeover in France will boost Burger King's position in the fast food market. 
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Burger King France - Replacing all pork and bacon products from its menu with halal-certified beef and chicken

Fast food chain Burger King is going after the 5-million strong Muslim consumers in France, the country with the biggest Muslim population ...

Sunday, January 03, 2016

Guide Us TV - Streaming

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Guide US TV provide programs everywhere; from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Turkey, Africa, the Gulf, the Netherlands, the U.K. and of course America, all across Canada and the U.S. 
 
<a href="http://www.guideus.tv/LIVE" target="_blank">[To watch Guide Us TV click here ##arrow-circle-right##]</a> 
 
Our live and recorded Internet video streaming extends around the earth and offers alternate understandings for faith, in simple English for many homes on our planet. But what about all those homes that don't have Internet or don't know about our online channels? We have spent years researching logistics to achieve something that has never been seen in America - until now: 
 
Three years ago we started to build a ﬁrm foundation to the extent, we are proud to announce - Guide US TV is ready to launch and broadcasting online right now! Content IS KING! That's what they say in broadcast TV - And we have a great mix of quality programs from our media partners like, Peace TV, HUDA TV, Islam Channel, Voice of Islam and our own inventory. 
 
Yusuf Estes, Founder & Director 
<a href="http://www.guideus.tv/LIVE">http://www.GuideUs.tv/LIVE</a> 
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Guide Us TV - Streaming

Guide US TV provide programs everywhere; from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Turkey, Africa, the Gulf, the Netherlands, ...

Saturday, January 02, 2016

Emulating The Akhlak of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Honouring The Rights of Fellow Muslims

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Blessed Friday Jemaah, 
Let us strive hard to increase our taqwa to Allah s.w.t., to the highest level of taqwa, by obeying all of His commands and abstaining from His prohibitions. May Allah s.w.t. grant us taufiq and consistency in strengthening the ties of kinship among us, insyallah, Amin. 
 
Jemaah, Last Friday, we discussed the importance of making the Prophet s.a.w. as our role model. The sermon touched on the need to emphasise on the manners or adab that were upheld by Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. with Allah s.w.t. The sermon today will touch on keeping relations between humankind, because our belief (iman) is only complete when we fulfil both the rights of Allah and the rights of fellow mankind. 
 
Beloved Jemaah, 
We cannot downplay the importance of observing good manners and ethics when interacting with others. Take some time to reflect upon the lesson in a hadith from Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. about the different states of humankind in the hereafter. There will be those who come to meet Allah s.w.t. with rewards from all sorts of acts of worship, but his deeds have been taken by those whom he have wronged and oppressed in this world. Rasulullah s.a.w. said: 
“If his deeds have been used up before he can repay those whom he oppressed, then the sins of the person he oppressed will be given to him, and he will then be thrown into the hellfire.” [Hadith reported by Imam Muslim] 
 
This hadith also emphasizes the need to fulfil the rights of others and keep good relations with others, and how it is tied to one’s faith (iman). Let us spend some time to understand what Allah s.w.t says in surah At-Tahrim verse 6: 
“O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded.” 
 
In explaining the verse, Saiyidina Ali bin Abi Talib r.a. said: “Teach them (your family) manners and equip them with knowledge.” This is what we need to instil in our family members, especially our children, to groom them to become the “Rabbani” generation – a generation that will heed all of Allah’s commands and keep good relations with one another. Hence, this is where our responsibility lies: to ensure that we watch our manners and ethics when interacting with our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters. 
 
The need for good manners and ethics becomes even more critical in today’s world of advanced technology. It has now become easier for us to communicate with each other. With increased communication, the probability of hurting each other in our interactions increases as well. It is a religious duty for Muslims to ensure that no matter the platform of interaction, we need to uphold the rights of others to the best of our abilities. 
 
Jemaah, 
What are these rights of our fellow Muslims that we need to honour? There are many lessons contained in the hadith of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. that we can refer to. 
First: Always hope for the best for our brothers and sisters. This is an excellent trait of a true believer (mukmin). Just look at our beloved Messenger, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. when he interacted with his companions. Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. always encouraged and supported his companions, and always wanted the best for them. Rasulullah s.a.w. said, in a hadith: 
“A Mukmin is a mirror for another. And a Mukmin is a brother to another; he helps (his brother) better his mistakes and watches him from behind.” [Hadith reported by Abu Daud] 
 
This was how the Prophet s.a.w. emphasised on the importance of maintaining good ties among fellow Muslims. We should help another Muslim to be a better individual, whether or not he knows of it. 
 
Do not be like some individuals who are jealous and envious of others who possess more, and hold ill feelings toward them. These feelings will cause one to be unhappy and hope for the worst upon his brother, Nauzubillah! Pay attention to what Rasulullah s.a.w. said, in a hadith, : “Whoever eats food at the expense of another Muslim, Allah s.w.t will feed him with the same from Jahannam. Whoever wears clothes at the expense another Muslim, then Allah will give him clothes from Jahannam. And whoever treats another Muslim with arrogance and pride, then Allah will treat him with arrogance and pride on the day of judgement.” [Hadith reported by Abu Daud] 
 
Beloved Jemaah, 
The second trait that we should observe: Loving your brother just as how you love yourself. One can only wish for the best for another when one loves the other. Just as how we love every individual in our family, we should have the same feelings of love toward every Muslim. 
 
Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said: “None of you will believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself.” [Hadith reported by Imam Al-Bukhari and Muslim] 
And so, a believer will always love his brother. He will always ask himself: How is his brother doing? Are his needs met? How is the state of his deen? How can he help to ease his burden and worries? 
 
It is on this basis that our beloved messenger, Rasulullah s.a.w. spread the message of Islam. The Prophet s.a.w. wanted the best for his ummah. He always prayed for, and was concerned about the prosperity of his ummah. 
 
In a hadith reported by Ibn Hibban, once when Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. was making du’a for Saidatina Aisyah he recited: 
 “Ya Allah! Forgive Aisyah’s past sins, her future sins, those that she has kept hidden and those that she has made known.” He then said to Saidatina Aisyah: “Verily this is my du’a for all of my ummah, at every solah.” 
 
Thus, as the ummah of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. we should love and care for one another, instead of using harsh words – especially when there are disagreements – whether the issue of contention is a religious one or otherwise. This is not the manner and character taught by Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. May Allah s.w.t. grant us taufiq to emulate the Prophet s.a.w. May we be blessed with the ability to fulfil our responsibilities toward Allah s.w.t. and to His servants, to the best of our abilities. 
 
Amin ya Rabbal Alamin. 
 
Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura 
Friday Sermon
11 December 2015 / 28 Safar 1437 
 
http://www.officeofthemufti.sg/documents/E15Dec11-Emulating_The_Akhlak_of_Prophet_Muhammad_Honouring_The_Right_of_Fellow_Muslims.pdf</div>

Emulating The Akhlak of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Honouring The Rights of Fellow Muslims

Blessed Friday Jemaah, Let us strive hard to increase our taqwa to Allah s.w.t., to the highest level of taqwa, by obeying all of His c...

Saturday, January 02, 2016

Noble Values From The Life of Rasulullah s.a.w.

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Respected jemaah, 
 
Let us strive together to increase our taqwa to Allah s.w.t. Obey all of His commands and abstain from His prohibitions. May we become a better Muslim than we were yesterday. 
 
Friday jemaah, 
We are still in the blessed month of Rabiulawal, the month that was graced by the birth of our beloved messenger, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Hence, it is fitting for us to continue to be grateful to Allah s.w.t. for making us among the ummah of Rasulullah s.a.w. - the most noble of all the Prophets. The ummah that has been bestowed with many blessings simply because of Rasulullah’s noble standing in the sight of Allah s.w.t. 
 
Our gratitude to Allah s.w.t. for this gift should not just be expressed with words, supplications and praises. A true servant of Allah and an ummah that is truly grateful will reflect upon and understand the main objective for which Allah s.w.t. sent Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Let’s begin this reflection by understanding the objective as explained in the Quran. For example, Allah s.w.t. says in surah At-Taubah verse 128: 
“There has certainly come to you a Messenger  
from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.” 
 
Allah s.w.t. also says in surah Al-Maidah verse 15 and 16: 
“There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book. By which Allah guides those who pursue His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out from darknesses into the light, by His permission, and guides them to a straight path.” 
 
Allah says in surah Al-Anbiya’ verse 107: 
“And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.” 
 
Blessed jemaah, 
These verses explain that Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. was sent as a light to guide us on the path of safety and bring happiness to all aspects of life. In fact, Rasulullah’s entire life is an example of it. If we study the sirah or history of the Prophet s.a.w. we will find that every aspect of his life was filled with lessons and guidance for us, from the Prophet himself. It encompasses his relationship with the Creator, his relationships with other people including his family, followers, neighbours, companions, those who were hostile toward him, and even with the environment. 
 
Allah s.w.t. mentions in Surah Al-Ahzab, verse 21: 
“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.” 
 
Thus, we have to truly understand and reflect upon the values taught to us by Rasulullah s.a.w., and how they can be applied in our daily lives. 
 
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For example, it was reported that Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said in a hadith: 
“My Lord has commanded me nine qualities: Fear of God in private and in public; to be Just, whether in anger or in calmness; Moderation in both poverty and affluence;  That I should join hands with those who break away from me; And give to those who deprive me; And forgive those who wrong me; And that my silence should be meditation; And my words remembrance of God; And my vision a keen observation.” 
[Hadith reported by Imam Al-Tabrizi in the book Misykat Al-Masabih] 
 
These qualities taught by Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. will only bring about lasting benefits to one. These qualities can help a person overcome differences and disputes. In fact, these qualities taught by Rasulullah s.a.w. will increase our standing in the sight of Allah s.w.t., as well as in the eyes of other humankind. These values are relevant perpetually, and withstand the test of time- applicable in any era whether we interact with others in person or online, through skype or other social media platforms. 
 
Remember jemaah, the platforms and mediums of communication will always change, in line with advancements in technology. It will be more sophisticated offering instant communication. But what remains the same is the users, which are humans, us. Therefore it cannot be void of the values of humanity. And so, we truly need to embody the ethical values displayed by our beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. 
 
These values will help to develop good moral and strong spirituality, thus building our resilience to face a challenging and rapidly changing world. The aim is to develop a Muslim community with a strong belief (aqidah), noble character (akhlak), educated and knowledgeable, true to principles, are good neighbours, tolerant, confident of diverse views and opinions, and always contributing positively toward community and nation building. InshaAllah, in 2016, the mimbar will discuss values taught in Islam and demonstrated by Prophet Muhammad s.a.w., and we will start with forgiving others. 
 
May this sermon revive our spirit to enliven noble Islamic values in our lives. And hopefully by doing so, our beliefs are manifested, our good deeds and service highlighted and our standing raised in the sight of Allah s.w.t. and other humankind. 
 
Amin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin. 
 
Friday Sermon 
Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura 
01 January 2016 / 20 Rabiulawal 1437 
 
http://www.officeofthemufti.sg/documents/E16Jan01-%20Noble%20Values%20From%20The%20Life%20of%20Rasulullah.pdf  </div>

Noble Values From The Life of Rasulullah s.a.w.

Respected jemaah, Let us strive together to increase our taqwa to Allah s.w.t. Obey all of His commands and abstain from His prohibiti...

Saturday, January 02, 2016

Peace TV Urdu - Streaming TV

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Peace TV Urdu - Streaming TV

Peace TV Urdu Live Stream. http://www.peacetvurdu.org/live_peacetv.html [Watch Peace TV Urdu on main website click here ##arrow-c...

Friday, January 01, 2016

What is the Impact of Salaah on Us?

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All praise is due to Allaah, the Rabb (Cherisher and Sustainer) of all the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the Noble Messenger, his household and companions. 
 
Fellow Muslims! Fear Allaah, hold fast unto your religion and follow the path of the righteous people. 
 
Brethren in faith! Man, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of this modern life, is in need of what can give him tranquility and rest of mind, and keep him as far from distress and worry as possible. This aim can however, never achieved except under the shade of Islaam by carrying out acts of worship which are regarded as matchless remedy for all spiritual ailments. 
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a> 
Nowadays, Muslims are being afflicted with calamities that distract them from their fundamental affairs. Passing by them also are memorable and important occasions and seasons the most importance of which is the obligatory five times daily prayers. Many people are actually oblivious of their importance, their place in Islaam and their rules. The Messenger of Allaah said, “Tell me, if there is an overflowing river in front of the house of one of you in which he baths five times a day, will there remain any dirt on him? They said: No dirt will remain on him. He then said, “That is the example of the five daily obligatory prayers by which Allaah erases sins.” (Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim) 
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Fellow Muslims! It is the vanities of this world and peoples’ preoccupation with them that make them forget the hereafter and subsequently forget those things that lead to Paradise such as this great act of worship. This is the confirmation of the Word of Allaah, 
 
“Then there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up the prayers and have followed lusts. So, they will be thrown to Hell.” (Maryam 19:59) 
 
Some however, do observe prayers but you will not see the impact of the prayers on them. They do not abide by its rules nor do they care about the very essence of the prayers. When any one of them prays, his prayer is characterized with Satanic thoughts; casting his eyes and mind here and there and is never conscious of his standing before his Rabb  at all. As for his behavior after the prayer, he engages in the worst in words and deeds and persists in sins. One may ask: Has Allaah not said, 
 
“Verily, the prayer prevents from Al-Fahshaa’ (i.e. great sins of every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse) and Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism and every kind of evil deed).” 
 
How far we still are from the meaning of this verse? We do pray but the prayer has no impact our way of life. 
 
Brethren in faith! The prayer that Islaam requires is the one that elevates the believer spiritually and takes him from world of materialism to a higher and purer world where there is his happiness, prosperity and peace of mind as it was the case with the Prophets including the Messenger of Allaah (Muhammad, s.a.w.s.) who whenever he was distressed by a matter would resort to prayer. 
 
Fellow Muslims! Prayer is the nourishment of the hearts and souls when characterized with submission to Allaah, invoking Him, humbling oneself before Him and admitting one’s absolute dependence on Him. Prayer is the resort of the Muslim. It is the cure for his ailment, the nutrition for his soul, his weapon and provision, his best shield against Satan and the greatest means to success. It creates in the minds spiritual power, firm faith, certainty and light that eliminates darkness of trials and tribulations. Many are its wisdom and aims that a lot of those who pray do not understand. Great is the reward of him who observes it perfectly. The Messenger of Allaah said, “There are five daily obligatory prayers which Allaah has prescribed for His slaves. Whoever performs his ablution perfectly, observes those prayers at their appointed time and observes their bowing perfectly with complete humility, Allaah has taken it upon Himself to forgive him.” (Abu Daawood) 
 
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Pray in Kajikstan</div>
 
Brethren in faith! Every Muslim is aware of the place of prayer is the religion of Islaam and its law. It is the pillar of Islaam and the borderline between belief and disbelief. If prayer occupies such an important place in Islaam, it is then disheartening to see among Muslims those who have no regard for this great act of worship. What then is the matter with some people though they live among Muslims, treat the prayer lightly? Let these people change their attitude before the wrath of Allaah comes upon them. 
 
As for you who observe the prayers, rejoice over the mercy of Allaah upon you for having  opened up your hearts for this great obligatory act and rejoice over the reward that Allaah will give you in this world and the next. 
 
O you performers of prayers, the prayer that will be accepted by Allaah has pillars, conditions and manners that need to be fulfilled as there are also common mistakes that people commit and which you need to know. The Messenger of Allaah said, “The worst act of theft is one committed by the one who steals in his prayer.” (Ahmad). This has to do with defects in bowing, prostration and submissiveness. 
 
The Messenger of Allaah also said, “A praying Muslim may finish up his prayer while nothing is written down for him of the reward of that prayer except a quarter or one fifth of that until it reaches one tenth.” (Abu Daawood and others). This tells the Muslim to be attentive as regards his prayer; to perform its ablution perfectly and fulfill its conditions and pillars duly in order not to lose its reward and get punished instead. 
 
Fellow Muslims! Allaah extols the believers, praises them, describes their submissiveness in their prayer and promises them success for that when He says, 
 
“Successful indeed are the believers. Those who offer their prayers with all solemnity and full submissiveness.” (Al-Mu’minoon 23:1) 
 
Ibn Rajab said, “Submissiveness in prayer means to soften one’s heart in it, to remain calm and show humbleness; for when the heart becomes submissive, the limbs will also become submissive.” One of the righteous predecessors saw a man playing with his beard while in prayer and said, “If the heart of this man is calm and submissive, his limbs will also be submissive.” ‘Alee bin Abee Taalib said, “Submissiveness means humbleness of the heart,  to treat other Muslims with kindness and not to look here and there in your prayer.” Ibn Abbaas while commenting on the saying of Allaah, “Those who offer their prayers with solemnity and full submissiveness,” said: “Those who fear Allaah and are calm.” Al-Hasan in his own commentary on the verse said, “There is submissiveness in their hearts and as such they lower their gaze and humble themselves.” 
 
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Pray in Indonesia</div>
 
It is reported that Muslim bin Yasaar was praying in the mosque of Basra one day when the wall of that mosque fell and the market people were frightened but Muslim did not even move in his prayer. When he was congratulated for his safety he was astonished and said, ‘I was not aware of anything.’ Allaahu Akbar! Such is the way of the righteous predecessors. Their hearts used to have a feeling of fear whenever they stood before their Rabb  in prayer and the humbleness in their hearts would reflect on their limbs. Their souls would be filled with the magnificence of their Rabb  and they would become oblivious of all that was around them. The thought of this world and its vanities would disappear from their minds and spiritual tranquility and peace would overwhelm them. The Prophet (s.a.w.s.)  confirmed this state when he said, “And the comfort of my eye is put in the prayer.” He would also tell Bilaal: “O Bilaal, refresh us with Salaah (prayer).” Yes, the prayer is indeed a refreshment for the mind, for, it makes it have a feeling that it is meditating in front of the Creator of all that exists. When the Muslim raises up his hand and says the first takbeer (Allaahu Akbar), he magnifies Allaah by that and when he puts his right hand on the left over his chest, he humbles himself before Allaah and admits his helplessness. When he bows and prostrates, he admits the greatness of Allaah and his own humility. That is how a Muslim should be in his prayer. He should strengthen the relationship between him and his Rabb  in order to win the promise of Allaah, for Allaah never fails in His promise. The Messenger of Allaah said, “Any Muslim whom a time of an obligatory prayer meets and then performs ablution perfectly, makes his bowing in the best form and performs the prayer with submissiveness, that prayer will be a remedy for all his sins as long as he does not commit the major sins.” (Muslim) 
 
Dear prayer observing brethren! The real performer of prayers is the one who carries out all the pillars, obligations and rules of prayer completely and observes it regularly and punctually. He is the one who performs the prayer with all his heart and in complete submissiveness. Submissiveness  and solemnity to prayer is like head to body. Whoever makes his prayer an occasion for thinking over worldly affairs, Satan will steal of his prayer according to the degree of his lack of concentration. He may even not fulfilled the required calmness in the prayer, in which case his prayer will be outright rejected. It has been narrated in a hadeeth reported by At-Tabaraanee the prayer of such a person will be folded as a worn out cloth and cast upon its owner. 
 
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Pray in India</div>
 
Dear Muslims! It is when the time was prolonged  for people and their hearts become hardened and people misunderstood the rites of Islaam that you see those who violate the rules of prayer, hence preventing it from having any impact on their hearts and lives. It does not prevent them from immoral acts and all kinds of evil deeds. If those who commit evil deeds do observe their prayers and fulfill all its obligations, they would have abstained from sins and all that negate the essence of the prayer. 
 
What is our condition today as regards this great obligatory act? Hearts of many of us have become heedless and our minds are engaged in the vanities of this world. Let us go back to the path of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.)  in this great obligation and other obligations of Islaam in order that the Muslim nation may recover her lost glory  and power. Let the Muslim nation take the proper means that will let them overcome their weakness, and the greatest of these means is prayer for, it refines the individual and reform the society and eliminate the causes of defeat.   
 
Let us then fear Allaah in all our affairs especially in the prayer, for man’s Islaam depends on it. Let us think about our situation and the evils we have brought upon ourselves because of  our negligence of Islaamic rites especially the prayer. Any nation that that does not stand in front of it’s Rabb  in prayer does not deserve victory or power for, all this is from Allaah alone, and any nation which it’s people do not prostrate for their Rabb  as a sign of glorifying Him and showing their absolute servitude to Him will never be able to stand firm in the face of challenges and afflictions, and tribulations and trials will be their lot. Allaah the Exalted says, 
 
“Guard strictly (five obligatory) prayers especially the middle prayer (i.e. the best prayer – ‘Asr). And stand before Allaah with obedience.” (Al-Baqarah 2:238) 
 
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Pray in Kajikstan</div>
 
Fellow Muslims! Fear Allaah and honour the rites of your religion. Remember the greatness of your Rabb, free your minds from the vanities of this world and observe your prayer with  concentrating and humble minds. Among the things that help to achieve that is looking into the place of prostration while in prayer, putting right hand on the left over the chest and reflecting over the recited verses and the said supplications, lack of looking here and there, calmness and lack of haste or going ahead of Imaam. All this, in addition to the success from Allaah help a Muslim to observe the prayer as prescribed by Allaah and His Messenger. 
 
Dear brethren! A phenomenon that plays a major role in diverting people from solemnity and submissiveness in their prayers is the modern day communication gadgets like mobile phones which people carry along with them to the mosques and keep it with them while praying. This gadget causes inconvenience and harm disturbance to many worshippers. Will this man, who carries with him an instrument that prevents him from enjoying the sweetness of his meditation with his Rabb  have any concentration and submissiveness in his prayer? Let these people fear Allaah in their prayers and let them beware from harming their fellow worshippers. Let them know that, whenever Allaah knows of their desire for good, He will makes it easy for them. Further, if Muslims observe this prayer as prescribed by the Messenger of Allaah, their situation will be put right by the will of Allaah, their societies will be safe and that will be a gateway to victory. 
 
Fear Allaah, dear Muslims and observe your prayers regularly and punctually for, it is a light for you in this world and a treasure in the heaven. When one think carefully about the verses of the Qur’aan, one will note that the order to perform prayer is always made in the form, ‘establish the prayer’ which means to observe it perfectly. 
 
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The prayer observing Muslim therefore, has a great responsibility towards himself by observing it regularly and perfectly as he also has a responsibility towards his acquaintances, relatives and neighbors by enjoining them to observe it. Allaah says, 
 
“And enjoin the prayer on your family and be patient in offering the prayers.”   (Taahaa 20:132) 
 
The Imams of mosques also have a major role to play in this matter. They should let people know the importance and rules of prayer and explain to them how to perform it according to the injunction of the Messenger of Allaah which says, “Observe your prayers as you see me doing.” (Al-Bukhaaree) 
 
There should also be a cooperation between the Imaams and their congregations and every one should carry out his responsibility in order that the prayer may bring the desired results insha Allaah. 
 
 
By Sheikh Abdur-Rahmaan As-Sudais 
Khutbah (Friday Sermon) in Makkah Al Mukkaramah 
Shawwaal 13, 1422 (December 28, 2001) 
 </div>

What is the Impact of Salaah on Us?

All praise is due to Allaah, the Rabb (Cherisher and Sustainer) of all the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the Noble Messenger, h...

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Missing Salat (Namaz, Prayer)

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From Nawfal Ibn Mu`aawiyah, radhiallahu anhu, that the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) said: "Whoever missed the prayer, then it is as if he had lost his family and his wealth." (Ibn Hibban in his Sahih and it occurs in Saheehut-Targheeb 576) 
 
How would you feel, O Muslim brother, if you were to lose your precious son? How would you feel if you lost your wife? What pain would you feel if you lost your family? What would your grief be like if you lost both your family and your wealth? Indeed it would be an agonizing blow and terrible grief that a person should lose his family and wealth. Losing his family with whom he lived with and experienced such joy. 
 
The spacious earth would seem constricted for one who lost his family. He would experience distress, grief and agony. Then how about one who in addition lost his wealth? Fresh and sweet wealth which Allah made a support for us, how would you feel if that occurred, too? Then know that one who misses the prayer has indeed suffered a huge loss. (End of the chapter) 
 
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Summarized notes from the chapter on "The excellence of the prayer and its wiping away of sins and evil deeds": 
 
1. Allah wipes away sins through the five daily prayers. 
2. Prayer is an expiation of what is committed between them, as long as major sins are avoided. 
3. Sins destroy a person and ignite a fire for him which he must extinguish with prayers. 
4. The Muslim may reach the station of the sincere, the truthful and the martyrs through prayer, Zakat and fasting. 
5. Prayer's excellence over other actions. 
6. Allah the Most High blessed the companion by entering him into Paradise before his brother, the martyr, and that was because he performed more prayers than him. 
7. Prayer is a light which will make the way clear for the servant in this life and the Hereafter. 
8. The way to achieve companionship of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) in Paradise is to increase in performance of prostration and prayer. 
9. Performance of two Rak'ahs (units) would be more beloved to a deceased person than the world and all that it contains. 
10.Turning with one's heart to Allah in the prayer fully and sincerely, causes the Muslim to be as he was on the day his mother gave birth to him (i.e. free from sin). 
 
 
By: Shaikh Husayn al Awaaishah</div>

Missing Salat (Namaz, Prayer)

From Nawfal Ibn Mu`aawiyah, radhiallahu anhu, that the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) said: "Whoever missed the prayer, then it is as if he had...

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Id-ul-Fitr Khutba

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Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru, 
Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru, 
Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru, 
 
Brothers and sisters: 
This is a day of ‘Id-ul-Fitr . This is day of happiness, day of Tahlil, a day of Tahmeed, a day of Takbeer. It is a day of prize. Allah [swt] looks at those people who were truthful and loyal in their fasting and prayers during this month. 
 
Allah [swt] in the sacred Hadith says to His Angels in that day which is called the day of prize in 
the heaven, ‘O My Angels! What is the reward for the worker [labour] who fulfilled his work? They replied, ‘The reward is to be given his fees.’ He said, ‘O My Angels! I make you witness that I would satisfy them and forgive their sins for their fasting and prayers. 
 
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a>He also looks at those who pray ‘Id a look of mercy and kindness saying, ‘Ask Me O servant! For by My Majesty and Honor, f you ask Me in this gathering [for reward] in the hereafter, I will answer you. And if you ask me for reward in his world, I will look at you. You obeyed me, so I satisfy with you and will forgive you.” 
 
Dear brother and sister: 
The Qur’an declares: [If you give thanks I shall give you more, and if you are ungrateful then My punishment is severe indeed.] (Ibrahim 14:7) 
 
O Allah, we thank You that You blessed us with faith in You. You made it easy for us to fast in the month of Ramadan, to pray in its nights, and to recite Your Glorious Book. Today is the day of `Eid, and `Eid is the day of thanks. It marks the end of the month of fasting. We feel happy and we give thanks to Allah that we obeyed His commands; we fasted during the month of Ramadan. Allah’s commands are good for us. They are for our benefit. Allah does not want to put any burden on anyone, but He gave us the rules of fasting for our own benefit. Fasting has many benefits for individuals and for communities. It has spiritual, moral, and physical benefits. 
 
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Dear brothers and sisters: 
As we gather here today, there are two feelings that are clearly uppermost in our hearts and minds: the feeling of joy and satisfaction on the completion of our religious duty, and the feeling of brotherhood, sisterhood, and solidarity among ourselves. We are the people of faith. We are the servants of Allah. What pleases us is that which pleases our Lord. We are brothers and sisters in faith. We feel happy when we come together in the name of our faith, representing diverse colors, races, and ethnic backgrounds. We come together in the spirit of Islamic brotherhood, in the name of Allah, and following our faith, Islam. 
 
Let us keep this spirit of `Eid among us always. Let us strengthen our bond with our Creator and with each other. Let us be more united. Let us all become more and more committed to righteousness in our own lives, in the lives of our families, and in the society in which we live. Brothers and sisters: Islam is the religion of worship, `ibadah. But worship in Islam is not a mere collection of rituals. It is a whole way of life. Worship helps us to remain conscious of Allah and of our own selves. It makes right our relations with every person and with every thing. 
 
The people of worship are the people who are good to their families, to their children, to their parents, to their neighbors, to their co-workers, to the environment, to the resources of the earth, and to the world at large. The people of worship make everything right and everything good. `Ibadah is the crux of the matter. It is the purpose of our creation. [I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship me ] (Adh-Dhariyat 51:56). 
 
The people of worship do not tell lie, backbite, cheat, drink alcohol, gamble, cut the ties of blood relationship, quarrel or fight with people. Worship has a purpose. Its purpose is to set aright everything. Worship sets aright our relations with our Creator, with our own selves, with our families and with others. If we worship, but others are not safe and secure from our words and our actions, then we have not learned anything from our worship. If we pray and do injustice to others, if we pray and ignore the cries of the poor and those in pain, if we pray and do not care for those who are suffering in our neighbourhood and around the world, then our prayers have not done us any good. If we pray but we do not try to change the social, economic, and political injustices and oppressions in this world, then we have not realized the true meaning of our worship. The real `ibadah or worship is that which changes the people. 
 
Dear brothers and sisters: 
We are facing many challenges at this time. But with faith and trust in Allah and with unity and solidarity among ourselves, we can overcome all challenges and difficulties. We must not succumb to despair, fear, or anxiety. We should continue working with sincerity, honesty, and wisdom. We must work together. We should continue and increase our involvement with others on the interfaith level. We should remove misunderstandings about us and about our faith from the minds of non-Muslims. We should continue building the bridges of understanding with others to keep this society just and peaceful, diverse and pluralistic. I remind you and myself to face the challenges with courage, confidence, and wisdom. 
 
We must pay special attention to the next generation of Muslims growing up here. They need good upbringing and extensive Islamic education. We must protect them from the wrong influences of drugs, violence, immoral behaviour, and the evils that are affecting youth and eating them up. We must give them knowledge, give them hope, give them love and care, and do our best to keep them on the path of Allah. 
 
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Brothers and sisters: 
There are recommended etiquette for ‘Eid. 
• Wake up early on the day of ‘Eid. 
• Prepare by making ghusl, wearing nice clothing and wear perfume [very little for woman]. 
• Eat something before leaving home. 
• On the way to the prayer, recite the takbir. 
• The takbir starts after fajr on the day of ‘Eid until the end of Salah. 
• Make the ‘Eid prayer in congregation. 
• Upon completing the prayer, take a different route than you took to arrive at the prayer grounds. 
• Convey greetings and congratulations to you relatives and friends, give reasonable gifts 
to the youngsters, and visit each other at their homes. 
• The wording of congratulation "May Allah accept from us and from you." it can be other wording. 
• Muslims should invite their non-Muslims neighbours, co-workers, classmates, and friends. 
 
Dear brothers and sisters: 
Zakat al-Fitr is obligatory upon every Muslim to pay Zakat al-Fitr. It is obligatory upon every Muslim, young or old, male or female. The Prophet [pbuh] said, “Zakat al-Fitr is obligatory upon every person free or slave, male or female, young or old. It is Saa’ from wheat or from barley.” 
 
Its aim: the first aim of Zakat al-Fitr is to meet the needs of the poor and needy in the day of ‘Id and the second aim is to earn forgiveness for the mistakes you committed during fasting in Ramadan such as lies, wrong behaviour…etc. whoever pays it before ‘Id, it will be acceptable Zakah.; while whoever pays it after ‘Id, will be as Sadaqah Upon Whom it is Obligatory: Zakat al-Fitr is obligatory upon every guardian of a family who have the expenses for family for the day of ‘Id. He should pay for every person in the family even for the servant, and even if a child is born for him in the night of ‘Id. Its time: the best time for paying Zakah is the last ten days of Ramadan. It must be paid before ‘Id prayer. If one pays it after ‘Id prayer, it will be Sadaqah not Zakah. Zakat al-Fitr remains obligatory upon you until the last day of your life, so you must pay it because it is a right upon you. 
 
Its Value: it is sunnah to pay Zakat al-Fitr one Saa’ from crops used in the place you live in such as wheat, barley, rice, corn, or similar items. It is also permissible to pay an equivalent value. The equivalent value is five pounds for every person. To Whom We Should Pay it: it is given to the eight people mentioned in the verse of the Qur’an. Is it permissible give Zakah to people in another country? Yes it is if there are no poor people in your area. 
 
We ask Allah to accept our deeds, our fasting, our prayers. AMEEN 
 
Brothers and sisters: It is pleasure to see so many of you here today. I wish you a very happy 
`Eid. May Allah bless you, accept your prayers, your fasting, your charity, and all your good deeds. 
 
 
Sheikh/ Khalifa Ezzat 
1 Shawwal 1432 – 30 Aug. 2011 
 
 
http://iccuk.org/page.php?section=religious&page=khutbas 
 </div>

Id-ul-Fitr Khutba

Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru, Allahu Akbaru,...

Saturday, December 19, 2015