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The Invitation: A Decade Of Longing

Muslim Matters - 18 March, 2024 - 09:10

It’s been ten years.  

Ten years since you heard the adhan reverberating through the crowded streets, ten years since your feet felt the hardness of the marble floors, ten years since you laid your eyes on the Kaabah.  

In those ten years, your father’s beard turns white. Your siblings graduate from high school, then university, find jobs, get married, have kids.  

You become a mother yourself, once, then twice, and now you have two boys, five and eight,  you celebrate your fourteenth wedding anniversary, your business is growing, and look – look what these ten years have made of you. You’ve gone through difficulties you never thought you could get out of, trials you endured when everything changed, the debris of those explosions scattered across the years. Somehow, Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) saves you, helps you pick up all those pieces, and returns you to yourself.  

He molds you into the person you’ve always wanted to be.  

After ten years, you are content, at home in yourself, and only then, Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) invites you back.  

To His home. 

***

In the weeks before you depart, whenever you start to think, I’m going for Umrah, there’s a lump that forms in your throat and no sooner is it there that you swallow it. Not yet, you tell yourself.  It’s not true until it’s real. 

You have done everything, crossed off all the tasks on your to-do list – book flights, book hotels,  apply for visas, download the Nusuk app, book Umrah and Rawdah times. But you still don’t believe it. “I’m going for Umrah,” you tell your friends and you feel nothing, not even a flutter of excitement in your chest, even as you admit to them that you can’t wait. 

And then the day comes when you are finally leaving and all your energy is laser-focused on the last-minute tasks – packing the kids’ suitcase for their stayover at your in-laws, making sure they have enough underwear and socks to last them the week, their snow pants, hats, gloves, mittens,   neck warmers for when they go out and in case it snows, and don’t forget their health cards and medication in case they fall sick. 

You are mostly packed but you fuss and fidget, wondering if you are taking too much, too little,  not enough of something, and you check and recheck your bags, and as the hours slip by and you make wudu, change into your travel clothes, pray asr, and walk out of your home, still you will not let yourself believe that you are going. 

It is staring you in the face, the ride to the airport, the check-in counter, the boarding passes tucked between the pages of your passport, kissing your children goodbye, going through security, finding your gate, finding your seat, the long wait on the runway for the place to deice, and then finally a rush and a rumble and you are in the air. 

“It will hit you when you are on the plane,” your friend had said when she dropped you off at the airport. You are flying in the black of the night through a haze of darkness, but still, you will not let yourself arrive until you get there. 

You have a subpar dinner on the plane; a piece of chicken soaked in teriyaki sauce, rice with boiled lima beans that feel like chalk, rubbery carrots, and a small brownie square that your husband declares tastes like brown sugar. When the lights are turned off, you fall asleep.  

The plane runs out of fuel in the middle of the Atlantic and the pilot has to turn the plane around and land somewhere else. Your eyes open and you’re still there on the plane, your mouth dry and pasty, squeezed in the middle seat, your husband on your right and your sister on your left. 

You fall asleep again and you are on a beach somewhere in a summer dress you don’t own, your husband in a beach shirt you don’t recognize, and you are talking to his cousin who lives in  Florida and you tell her it’s okay, it wasn’t meant to be, Allahsubḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) will take us there another time. You wake up and there is no sand, no beach, the same plane, the same people, the same night.  

You go back to sleep and then you are over the Atlantic once again and now there is a medical emergency. A little girl is sick and there’s a port in the middle of the ocean, and a glaring white light guides the plane to the runway and everyone debarks because of the little girl, waiting for an ambulance in the middle of the ocean, and your eyes fly open and the lights are on and the flight attendants are rolling their meal and beverage carts through the aisles, asking, “Eggs or waffles? Tea or coffee?” 

After that, you don’t sleep. You watch the flight path, the pixelated image of the plane on the screen moving swiftly, flying over cities, crossing one border after another, until you look out the window and see brown earth and desert sand and you are almost there, but not yet, there is still another hurdle. 

Your flight out of Toronto was delayed and your two-hour layover is now only 45 minutes. You have to pass through security again to catch your next flight to Jeddah. 

The line is long and they are screening everyone’s bags again. You slowly inch to the front, walk through the metal detectors, collect all your bags, and then run.  

You had planned to have a meal at this airport but you forget all that and you keep running, past the cafes and the restaurants and the brightly-lit duty-free shops, past your gate until you find the closest bathroom, change, make wudhu, run back to the gate and step onto the plane.  

As you walk single file through the narrow aisle to find your seat, out of breath, heart thumping,  you notice other pilgrims on the plane, men in their white ihram towels, women in abayas, and you can feel the weight of the moment tugging your insides, something threatening to come up your throat, but no, not yet, you are not there yet.  

It is a short flight, only two hours long, enough time to write down the dua’s you want to make during Umrah. You take out your old dua’ notebook for inspiration, the one from when you went for Hajj ten years ago, but your eyes gloss over the pages, all those old dua’s that were answered,  the old you who had written them, who had asked God for so much and He gave her more.  

You open your new notebook, but there’s some nervous energy in your fingers that stops you from picking up the pen and writing.  

They give you a meal on the plane, a tastier meal, a warm sandwich with chicken and sauteed onions and peppers, a meal that feels like an answered prayer, and while you are eating, the pilot makes an announcement – the plane will pass over the miqat in 30 minutes.  

You have the screenshot ready from the Umrah guide you found online, what to say to make the niyyah for Umrah. It is a declaration, a statement of intent, formulating your purpose of the trip before Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). Once you state your intention and pass the miqat, you are officially in a state of ihram and ready to perform Umrah. There is no turning back. 

You hear a buzzing click, the airplane speakers turning on, and the pilot’s voice fills the plane again.  

“In five minutes, we will pass over the miqat.” 

The moment is almost here. That page you took a screenshot of, you will need it in just a minute, just a minute longer. You look down on your phone at the bright white screen, the Arabic letters strung together, the transliteration in bold, and below it the translation in plain text. Tears pool in your eyes and the screen blurs. You can’t make out the words anymore. But you don’t need them.  The words are in your heart already.  

It is time.  

Labbayk Allahumma Umrah. O Allah, here I am, to perform Umrah.  

invitation for umrah

The Invitation PC: Maryam B (unsplash)

You repeat the words over and over again, even though you only need to say them once, and you are already in ihram now, but O Allah, please look, here I am, to perform Umrah. You called me here, O Allah, and here I am.  

You can’t stop saying the words, the tears you had kept at bay finally spilling out, and at long last, you allow yourself to believe that Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) invited you back.  

Ten years.  

Ten years later and you are going back to your Lord’s house. You are returning home.

***

There are two lessons you carry with you from when you went for Hajj ten years ago.  

Lesson One: Just because you are nearer to the Kaabah, your salah will not magically transform.  Your prayers in the Haram ten years ago weren’t what you had expected – an experience of transcendence, a rush of khushoo in every salah. They were mostly ordinary prayers, your mind distracted.  

Reality: Your first prayer at the Haram, 10 years later.  

You walk to the masjid, the adhan for fajr cascading across the indigo sky. Your sister, in her excitement, has forgotten to make wudhu and you notice you don’t feel even an itch of irritation.  You ask one of the workers in the blue overalls for directions to the women’s washrooms. It is a far walk from where you are but it doesn’t matter because nothing else matters anymore.  

You breathe deeply, looking up at the dark sky, the towering minarets, the worshippers around you, marveling at the fact that every single person here is a guest of Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). And you are one of them.  

Your sister makes wudhu and now you have to find the entrance for pilgrims. You look up and there is the sign, right in front of you, directing you to King Abdul Aziz Gate. “We didn’t even have to look for it,” your husband says, and your sister relishes in this new miracle, her feeling of foolishness at forgetting to make wudu turned to awe.  

You cross the courtyard, remove your sandals, and enter through the golden doors. And there you are, the black of the Kabah straight ahead, a network of steel scaffolding blocking your view, but it doesn’t even matter because you are here.  

Ten years later, you are finally here.  

There are no carpets where the guards direct you to pray. You spread a thin teal-colored prayer mat, a gift from your older sister. 

You stand up to pray your sunnah for fajr. You remind yourself of Lesson One: your prayer will not be perfect just because you are here. Then why are you crying as soon as you raise your hands and look up, past the metal scaffolding, past the brick arches, past the sea of men in white and the women in hijabs, your gaze coming to rest at the Kaabah, the house of Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) built thousands of years ago by the Khalil of Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), the one who prayed for this place to be a sanctuary for all the believers, for you?  

Every second of that prayer is presence and transcendence and your body doesn’t know what to do with this overwhelming rush of gratitude. The tears keep flowing. Ten years and your Lord invited you back when He knew you would be most grateful for it, when you would be ready to receive His blessings like you’ve never received any blessing before this, like you’ve never known gratitude before this moment.  

***

Lesson Two: Umrah is hard. It will be physically exhausting and you will want it to be over. When you last performed Umrah, ten years ago, you were tired and exhausted, especially during the sa’ee, the pacing back and forth between Safa and Marwa, limbs and feet aching, waiting for it to be finished. 

Reality: You begin your Umrah with the tawaf, raising your right arm in the direction of Hajar al Aswad, the black stone. Bismillah Allahu Akbar.  

You don’t have a list of dua’s this time but you don’t need a list. You simply talk to Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). That is your dua’. Just you and your Creator in this moment, this tawaf, this Umrah, this House of your  Lord. 

You cry, not caring to hide your tears this time, from your husband or your sister, because it has been ten years, and look who you are now, ten years later.  

You needed those ten years to realize that when you have Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), nothing else matters. Who sees your tears, who judges your pain, Who interrogates your fears, none of it matters.  

invitation - kabah

The Kaabah [PC: Untung Bekti Nugroho (unsplash)]

To your left is the Kaabah, ahead of you is maqam Ibrahim, the sky is brightening, and everyone around you is pleading with their Lord. Someone is calling out to Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) by His Names, one after another, followed by a chorus of dua’s.  

You are suspended in time, as if you were in this moment forever, as if you were always only here, this crush of people around you, bodies in constant motion, praising, pleading, praying to their Lord, your Lord.  

You are here, you are here, you are here. 

Before you begin the sa’ee, you snack on a granola bar. You know you will get tired and maybe this burst of sugar in your blood will keep you afloat for a little bit longer.  

You start the sa’ee and soon enough, your legs begin to hurt, your calves humming with pain, the soles of your feet aching as you walk and run on the hard marble floor.  

But every time you check in with yourself, How are you doing? How are you feeling? the answer comes back, I don’t want this to end.  

You have never felt more content, more connected to your Lord, because ten years later, you are finally here, and how could you want it to end? You are retracing the footsteps of your namesake,  the woman who trusted Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) and never doubted her place in this world.  

You think of her as you run between the green lights, imagine her panic when her child was out of view as she ran through the dry, barren valley, imagine how her certainty in her Lord’s help could have existed at the same time as her struggle.  

Thousands of years later, you are here, running over the same ground, marble beneath your feet,  fans overhead, the physical landscape completely altered but the landscape of your hearts, the same; your Lord and her Lord, the same. And just as your Lord saved her, you realize it was your  Lord who saved you too. 

*** 

In those ten years, you prayed to return.  

Every Ramadan, the final dua’ on your dua list for the last ten nights was always O Allah, please let me be able to go for Umrah.  

Even when it wasn’t feasible because you were now pregnant, now with a baby, now jobless,  now pregnant again, now with two small kids, now all your savings run out, even then you prayed, O Allah, please let me be able to go for Umrah. 

Ten years of yearning. What does that do to your heart? You think it will harden and expect no return.  

But your Lord is As-Sam’ee, the One who is All-Hearing, and Al-Mujeeb, the One who Answers.  And you know your prayers were not lost, that Your Lord had collected each and every one of them, kept them safe with Himself, and that one day, one day, the time would come when your  Lord would invite you back. An invitation that would be exclusively from Him, and only His to grant. And now that you are finally here, your hands raised, gazing at the Kabah, you remember what the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) had said to his beloved, “Should I not be a grateful servant?”1

***

Two new lessons you take home with you.  

Lesson One: God never withholds without reason. And when the withholding is finished, when the wait is over, you will sit and marvel at the perfection of God’s plan. Your heart will be unable to contain the mountain of gratitude you feel at the fact that He is your Lord and you have already been blessed with the greatest gift of all, your faith. 

Lesson 2: God is your friend. A friend that never leaves, a friend that is always by your side, a whisper, a thought, a heartbeat away, always listening even when you can’t say anything or don’t know what to say. A friend who knows the speech of your heart.  

And what do you do with a friend like that, a friend who never tires of hearing your voice?  You never stop speaking, never stop asking. 

 

Related:

Reflections From Umrah: A Spiritual Journey Of Faith And Diversity

Your Ultimate Umrah Planning Resource [2023 Update]

 

1    Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم kept standing (in prayer) so long that the skin of his feet would crack. I asked him: “Why do you do this, while you have been forgiven of your former and later sins?” He said, “Should I not be a grateful slave of Allah?” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Reference: Riyad as-Salihin 1160; In-book reference: Book 8, Hadith 170

The post The Invitation: A Decade Of Longing appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

IOK Ramadan: Benefits of Following Revelation | Keys To The Divine Compass [Ep6]

Muslim Matters - 18 March, 2024 - 00:38

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Keys to the Divine Compass. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

Previous in the series: Juz 1 Juz 2 Juz 3 Juz 4 Juz 5

Juzʾ 6: Benefits of Following Revelation

Juzʾ 6 Contains: Sūrah al-Nisāʾ – al-Māʾidah (#4-5)

al-Nisāʾ (4): 174-175

یَـٰۤأَیُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ قَدۡ جَاۤءَكُم بُرۡهَـٰنࣱ مِّن رَّبِّكُمۡ وَأَنزَلۡنَاۤ إِلَیۡكُمۡ نُورࣰا مُّبِینࣰا ۝١٧٤ فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱعۡتَصَمُوا۟ بِهِۦ فَسَیُدۡخِلُهُمۡ فِی رَحۡمَةࣲ مِّنۡهُ وَفَضۡلࣲ وَیَهۡدِیهِمۡ إِلَیۡهِ صِرَ ٰ⁠طࣰا مُّسۡتَقِیمࣰا ۝١٧٥

People! Proof (meaning the Prophet ﷺ) has come to you from your Master! And He also sent clear light (meaning The Qurʾān) to you as well. If someone believes in Allāh, and holds on tight to it (The Qurʾān), Allāh will enter them into His Grace and Favor, and will guide them to Him via a straight correct path.

 

Allāh addresses all of humanity, regardless of religion or background. He ﷻ tells them that everything they need to believe is available to them, and that as a result, they have no excuses for rejecting the truth – Islam. The clear cut evidence that He ﷻ has given to humanity consists of two things: proof and evidence (burhān), and a clear clarifying light (nūran mubīnan).

Proof and Evidence (Burhān)

This proof and evidence is two fold. First, it clearly demonstrates that all other forms of worship and religion aside from Islam are incorrect. They are either illogical or based on adulterations. Then, it proceeds to show that Islam is the one true path, the only valid path to attain success in the Hereafter, and be forgiven and rewarded by Allāh ﷻ – The One True God. But what is this “proof”? One of the greatest and earliest giants of Qurʾānic Explanation (tafsīr), Al-Imām Al-Ṭabarī (d. 310 AH – raḥimahu Allāh), holds that burhān in the āyah refers to none other than the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, the greatest and final messenger of Allāh. His life, his teachings, his way ﷺ are foundational in explaining the absurdity of paganism, and the forgery and adulteration of Judaisim and Christianity. And even more special is that Allāh ﷻ says this proof and evidence – His Prophet ﷺ – is a direct proof from Him ﷻ. Specifically chosen, set, and sent by Allāh, our Master.

Clear Clarifying Light (Nūr Mubīn)

Light, especially clear unobstructed light, allows us to see the world as it really is. And just like it can show us the actual physical nature of what is in front of us, it can show us the reality and value of proof and evidence. Al-Imām Al-Ṭabarī quotes a few tābiʿūn (students of the companions) who explained this light to be The Qurʾān. And Qurʾān does exactly that. It not only explains to us the reality of this world, such as the finite temporary nature of it, but it also highlights the fact that this man, Muḥammad ﷺ, is undoubtedly the last and final messenger of Allāh ﷻ. This is our “Divine Compass”.

In the next sūrah, Sūrah Al-Māʾidah (#5): 15, Allāh somewhat flips the descriptions. He  ﷻ says, قَدۡ جَاۤءَكُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ نُورࣱ وَكِتَـٰبࣱ مُّبِینࣱ “No doubt, a light and clear clarifying book have come to you from Allāh.” There Al-Imām Al-Ṭabarī  explains that “light” refers to The Prophet ﷺ, and that “a clear clarifying book” refers to The Qurʾān.  This is the perfect message spoken on the tongue of the greatest messenger. It is the most perfect compass in the hands of the greatest human being – ﷺ.

But Alḥamdulillāh, by following this compass, this map, this guide book, we are taken to the greatest of treasures. If we truly believe in Allāh ﷻ the way He should be believed in, and we stick to His guidance found in His revelation and taught by His Prophet ﷺ, Allāh ﷻ will enter us into His Raḥmah – His Care, Grace, Kindness, Compassion, Gentleness. Raḥmah that is specially from Him, not from elsewhere. Being entered into His Raḥmah means: being included as a recipient of His Gentleness, getting His Reward, Jannah (Paradise), and being saved from Hell and punishment – just to list a few. As well as His Bounty and Favor (Faḍl). Whatever extra goodness He chooses to give, extra rank, status, honor, and gifts. But it’s not a one time reward, it’s continuous until we leave this world. He ﷻ will guide us, show us, and take us to Him, facilitate His obedience for us, help us adhere to The Qurʾān, and assist us in following the Sunnah (way/lifestyle) of His Messenger ﷺ via a straight correct path. And there is only one correct straight path which is the religion of Allāh – Islam.

Allāh ﷻ gives and gave others the same reminders.

al-Māʾidah (5): 15-16

یَـٰۤأَهۡلَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ قَدۡ جَاۤءَكُمۡ رَسُولُنَا یُبَیِّنُ لَكُمۡ كَثِیرࣰا مِّمَّا كُنتُمۡ تُخۡفُونَ مِنَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ وَیَعۡفُوا۟ عَن كَثِیرࣲۚ قَدۡ جَاۤءَكُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ نُورࣱ وَكِتَـٰبࣱ مُّبِینࣱ ۝١٥ یَهۡدِی بِهِ ٱللَّهُ مَنِ ٱتَّبَعَ رِضۡوَ ٰ⁠نَهُۥ سُبُلَ ٱلسَّلَـٰمِ وَیُخۡرِجُهُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِ بِإِذۡنِهِۦ وَیَهۡدِیهِمۡ إِلَىٰ صِرَ ٰ⁠طࣲ مُّسۡتَقِیمࣲ ۝١٦

People of the book (Jews and Christians)! Our messenger has come to you, explaining and exposing a lot of what you’ve hidden from scripture. But he (Our Messenger) also overlooks many other issues. No doubt, a light and clear clarifying book have come to you from Allāh. Allāh uses it (The Qurʾān) to guide those who (try) to seek out His Pleasure (by doing what Allāh approves of and is pleased by) to the paths of The Pristine (Al-Salām), and He takes them out of the multiple layers of darkness into light with His Permission, and He guides them to a straight correct path.

We see these two āyāt are very similarly to the ones to the two we discussed at the end of Sūrah Al-Nisāʾ. We see a practical example of The Prophet ﷺ being a proof  that directly points out the adulterations of other religions. And previously The Qurʾān was described as a clear light, and we we see it as a clarifying book. And again Allāh ﷻ reminds humanity of the benefits of belief and obedience: success and guidance.

If we follow His Pleasure (Riḍwān), and do our best to obey Him, He will guide us to Subul Al-Salām – The Paths of Al-Salām. Al-Salām can refer to Allāh – The Pristine, free of any blemish. But it can also be understood in the linguistic sense of safety, protection, and peace. The path to Allāh and Jannah is a path that will help keep one safe, protected, and at peace from misguidance and darkness. And instead of a life of darkness (evil, sin, disbelief), Allāh will bring us into light! And we want to remain on this path of truth and guidance, working our way towards His pleasure, so He keeps us guided on the straight correct path.

The post IOK Ramadan: Benefits of Following Revelation | Keys To The Divine Compass [Ep6] appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Muslim prisoners unfairly targeted with pepper spray, says rights group

The Guardian World news: Islam - 17 March, 2024 - 14:00

In 2022, MoJ data shows 34% of those targeted with synthetic Pava spray were Muslims, who make up 18% of prison population

Muslim prisoners in England and Wales are being disproportionately targeted with the use of pepper spray according to campaigners, with statistics showing the number of incidents has risen sharply in recent years.

The Ministry of Justice data, obtained from a freedom of information request submitted by the advocacy organisation Maslaha, shows that in 2022, 34% of those targeted with Pava, a synthetic form of pepper spray, were Muslim, despite only making up 18% of the prison population. Pava was drawn and used against Muslim prisoners 188 times in 2022 and was drawn but not used by prison officers 54 times.

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The Sacred Elixir: The Night Prayer And The Ordinary Muslim

Muslim Matters - 17 March, 2024 - 12:39

‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

“The closest the servant is to the Lord is during the last depth of the night. If you can be among those who remember Allah in this moment, then do so.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhī]

Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), The Sublime and Exalted, not only created and fashioned us in the best form, He subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) constantly sustains us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. He desires we choose the path that will lead us to Him subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). As the Ever-Living, Ever-Sustaining Lord, He subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) perpetually oversees the flawless operation of the grand cosmos and the minutest subatomic particles. Possessing All-Hearing and All-Seeing attributes, He subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) remains ever near, prepared to answer when we call upon Him subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), eagerly awaiting the initiation of our Divine connection and responding promptly. His subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) response is to our soul, fueling an insatiable desire for Divine proximity, propelling us to Him subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) through love, acts of service, and a craving for Divine communion. The elixir for our hungry soul is in the prayer in the depth of the night, when all of creation seems to be asleep, when lovers privately entreat with their beloveds, and when the hungry souls seek out an unadulterated connection with their Lord. 

Tahajjud, the night prayer, is that sacred elixir. 

Guidance from Surah Muzammil

بِسۡمِ اللهِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِيۡمِ

“O you the (sleeping) enwrapped one!” [Surah Al-Muzzammil: 73;1]

“Stand up in Prayer by night, all but a small part of it;” [Surah Al-Muzzammil: 73;2]

“half of it, or reduce it a little;” [Surah Al-Muzzammil: 73;3]

“or add to it a little; and recite the Qur’an slowly and distinctly.” [Surah Al-Muzzammil: 73;4]

In the 73rd chapter of the Qur’an, Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) the Almighty addresses His beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ with the title of al-Muzammil, the enwrapped one, commanding him to stand and pray most of the night, at the time of Tahajjud, as a spiritual preparation and fortification for the mighty, onerous task of receiving the last Divine revelation, and calling the creation to worship One God.

“Behold, We shall cast upon you a Weighty Word.” [Surah Al-Muzzammil: 73;5]

It is as though Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), The Sublime and Exalted, is conveying to His Most Chosen Servant ﷺ, “Prepare yourself, for I have selected you above all creation and will bestow upon your heart a Weighty Revelation. To bear this responsibility, you must cultivate the necessary spiritual strength within by forsaking your comforts and sleep, dedicating half the night to standing in prayer before your Lord. This act will supply you with the essential energy to confront the entire world and initiate a spiritual revolution that will endure until the end of time. It is the most significant task bestowed upon any being, so equip yourself with the power of communion with Me during the sacred time of tahajjud.”

Receiving and enacting the injunctions of the Holy Qur’an, embodying its message, extending its invitation to the entire creation, and catalyzing a revolution in the entire framework of belief, thought, morals, manners, civilization, and social life is undeniably the weightiest task any human being has ever been assigned.

It has also been called a weighty word because bearing the burden of its actual revelation was a difficult and heavy duty. Zaid bin Thabit raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) says: “Once revelation came down upon the Prophet ﷺ in a state when he was resting his head upon my knee. I felt such a pressure of the weight on my knee that I thought it would break.”

Lady Aishah raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him)says: “I have seen the state of the Prophet ﷺ receiving revelation during the intense cold; drops of perspiration started falling from his forehead.” [Muslim]

In another tradition, Lady Aishah raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) has stated: “Whenever revelation came down on the Prophet ﷺ while he was riding on his she-camel, the she-camel would be forced to rest her chest on the ground and could not move until the revelation was over.” [Musnad Ahmad, Hakim, Ibn Jarir]

“Surely getting up at night is the best means of subduing the self and is more suitable for uprightness in speech.” [Surah Al-Muzzammil: 73;6]

The Mufassirs (exegists) of the Qur’an explain the meaning of the above verse and give four possible meanings explaining why the night is the best means of subduing the self and more suitable for upright speech. 

  1. Engaging in night worship and prolonged prayer is against human nature and the nafs (ego) of man seeks ease and comfort during those late hours. However, this practice serves as a potent exercise in self-control and discipline. Those who adopt this method and achieve mastery over their body and mind are empowered to channel their abilities toward the path of God. Such individuals can operate more efficiently, working steadfastly to make the message of true faith prevail in the world. 
  2. This serves as a highly effective method to establish harmony and concord between the heart and the tongue. During these pre-dawn hours, there is no interruption nor interference between the servant and Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) the Sublime., Whatever a person articulates with their tongue in this state reflects the authentic voice of their heart.
  3. This proves to be a highly effective approach to aligning the outer and inner aspects of an individual. Someone who, in the solitude of the night, willingly forsakes comfort and ease to engage in worship where no person sees him or knows of his acts, does so with genuine sincerity. It is done purely for the pleasure of Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) the Exalted with no room for pretense or hypocrisy.
  4. As this worship is more difficult than daytime worship, it develops steadfastness in individuals. It empowers them to tread the path of God with increased resilience, enabling them to confront and endure the challenges of that journey with heightened constancy and determination.

Finally, during that period, individuals can read the Quran with a heightened sense of tranquility, focus, and comprehension. Ibn Abbas elucidates that this time is particularly conducive for deep reflection on the Quran. [Abu Daud]

Al-Nawawi reported: Al-Hasan ibn Ali raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him), said, “Verily, those before you viewed the Quran as letters from their Lord, such that they would contemplate it by night and yearn for it by day.” [al-Tibyān fī Ādāb Ḥamalat al-Qur’ān]

The Significance of the Last Third of the Night

Let us keep in mind the profound significance of the latter part of the night, specifically when one-third of it is left, when the Almighty descends to the lowest heaven, in the manner He knows best, and says,

“Who supplicates Me so that I may answer him? Who asks Me so that I may give to him? Who asks Me forgiveness so that I may forgive him?” [Sahih Muslim]

And this is available to us every night of the year, and facilitated for us in the blessed month.

Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) the Almighty directs our attention towards the concept of attaining taqwa, or God-consciousness, through the month of Ramadan when He states:

“Believers! Fasting is enjoined upon you, as it was enjoined upon those before you, that you become God-fearing.” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 2;183]

Abu Umamah reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

“You must perform the night prayer for it is the habit of the righteous who came before you, it brings you closer to your Lord, it expiates your evil deeds, and prevents you from sinning.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3549]

Ramadan, a time when the nafs (ego) is subdued by being deprived of its physical nourishment of food and drink during the daylight hours, conversely, the ruh (soul)  is elevated and nourished by the Word of God. This is a key catalyst for personal reformation and attaining the goal of taqwa.

A Divinely Facilitated Schedule night prayer

PC: Yayan Mulyana (unsplash)

He subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), the Sublime and Exalted, doesn’t just outline what He subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) wants from us, but rather He subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) orchestrates the alignment of the cosmos, time, and space, to welcome this most blessed month. He even allows each one of us to break our normative schedule and create one revolving around worship, suhur (the pre-dawn meal), and iftar (the breaking of one’s fast). Every able-bodied Muslim who fasts during the obligatory month of Ramadan pushes themselves to wake up in the pre-dawn hours to take a quick bite or sip of water, in essence catching the most sacred of times. It’s as if Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) the Almighty wants each and every one of us, the pious, the sinful, the lost, and the distracted, to embrace the time He loves, enabling us to also “carry the weighty word” in our hearts and minds. 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Hold fast to night prayer, for it was the way of the righteous before you, a way of drawing closer to your Lord, an expiation for wrong deeds, and a shield from sin.” [Tirmidhi, and others] In some narrations, there is an addition, “And it repels sickness from the body.”  Further, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked, “What prayer is most virtuous, after the obligatory prayers?” He said, “Prayer in the depths of the night.”

Surprisingly Imam Baghawi raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) says, on the basis of hadith reported by Lady Aisha raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him), and others, the night prayer was compulsory for the Prophet ﷺ and the entire Muslim community until the five daily prayers were prescribed on the night of the Ascension (Isra and Mi’raj). Ibn Abbas raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) says that when the five prescribed prayers became obligatory, the obligatory nature of tahajjud was abrogated, but was retained as sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ and most of the blessed companions were regular with their tahajjud as well (Mazhari, Ma’rifal Qur’an).

Maybe the key to understanding the obligatory nature of tahajjud lies in the reformative and spiritual training experienced by the first generation of Muslims. Similar to constructing a building, the foundation must be robust and sturdy for the structure to endure and stand the test of time. Nothing is as crucial to the establishment of this endeavor as it is to fortify the foundation of the Deen of Islam, meant to endure until the Last Day. Tahajjud might have played a pivotal role in fostering this spiritual fortitude, drawing hearts closer to their Lord, and enabling them to withstand the rigorous and harsh tests on their faith posed by the disbelievers of Makkah.

Preparation for Spiritual Ascendency

Training our nafs through challenging tasks such as tahajjud is training our inner selves to obey and adhere and uphold the Divine laws. 

Further, in the tafsir of the Surah al Muzammil, Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) the Almighty explicates further insight into the wisdom behind the night prayer. Given our intense involvement in worldly matters throughout the day, it becomes essential to set aside a portion of the night to wholeheartedly focus on Allah ﷻ through tahajjud. This counsel is particularly directed towards scholars and guides who, much like candles, may find themselves drained from teaching and serving during the day. Therefore, it is paramount for them, as well as for those whose daylight hours are consumed by mundane affairs, to replenish their spiritual reserves at night by dedicating solitary moments to worship and connection with Allah ﷻ.

May we delve into a profound understanding and contemplation of the purpose behind tahajjud, appreciating the divine schedule outlined for us in the sacred month of Ramadan. Let tahajjud serve as the catalyst propelling us towards divine closeness, becoming a steadfast practice not only during Ramadan but also a strengthening force to alleviate all our challenges and concerns throughout our lives. May it be a means of peace for us in this worldly life, and a means of entering the Abode of Peace in the Next*. Ameen.

 

*‘Abdullāh ibn Salām raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) say: “O people, spread the greeting of peace profusely, maintain kinship ties, feed others, and pray at night when people are asleep, you will enter Paradise in peace.” [Ibn Maajah]

 

Related:

Best Ramadan Ever: Praying Qiyam

A Prayer That Is Not Rejected: Al-Qarib Al-Mujib

 

The post The Sacred Elixir: The Night Prayer And The Ordinary Muslim appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Michael Gove’s definition of extremism will shut down vital debate | Observer editorial

The Guardian World news: Islam - 17 March, 2024 - 06:30

Whether something is racist or homophobic, or threatens parliamentary democracy, should be obvious without government labelling

How do you define extremism? That depends on whether you want a definition with which most people can agree, or one that is meaningful. A definition acceptable to most people must necessarily be broad and bland. One that has more meaning will inevitably be controversial and contested.

And therein lies one of Michael Gove’s problems in his new definition of extremism. Such a definition is either unnecessary or it creates the very problems it is supposed to solve.

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Earl Spencer and early boarding

Indigo Jo Blogs - 17 March, 2024 - 04:58
 how I was sexually abused at just 11 by school matron" with the sub-heading "Earl Spencer reveals, in devastating memoir, how trauma left lifelong toll"

Last Sunday the Mail printed extracts from a new book by Earl (Charles) Spencer, the brother of the late Princess Diana, on his time at a private boarding school in England called Maidwell School (the school claims it has changed, but still offers two-weekly boarding for children as young as seven) which he attended between ages eight and 13; he experienced sexual abuse from a female staff member he described as a “voracious paedophile” while the then headmaster dished out “brutal beatings” and appeared to gain sexual pleasure from doing so. Early boarding — sending children to boarding school from primary age — has been a norm among the British aristocracy for generations and for many years this was inflicted on disabled children also, with schools for the blind, deaf etc taking in children from as young as four or five for their entire school lives; this practice has ended in this country, but it still goes on (albeit to a lesser degree than in the past) among the aristocracy. The practice of early boarding has received a greater degree of criticism than senior boarding, because it involves taking children from usually stable and functioning families and putting them in loveless institutions when they very much still need the love and attention of their parents. In the years since the Tories returned to power, the effect these places have on the men these boys become has been widely held up to scrutiny also.

I was in a boarding school from ages 12 to 16 and although I neither experienced nor witnessed serious sexual abuse, and none by any member of staff (although such things had happened earlier in the school’s history, resulting in some of the perpetrators doing prison time and one killing himself when police showed up), physical abuse was common as I have detailed here many times. What was more common than that was open and unchecked bullying; fifth-form prefects behaving like utter louts, punching and kicking boys in front of members of staff who did nothing, and in one incident I recall jumping on a first-year boy in the corridor and bellowing “keep your f***ing language down!”. The school boasted that it relied on “tried-and-tested old-fashioned methods” and that it was “structured and disciplined”, which I realised was a lie when I was made to live there; it was extremely chaotic and indisciplined, the only real ‘discipline’ was violence or the threat of it and mostly meted out to small boys. Certain members of staff were able to hold a civilised conversation with the more adult-like teenage boys (which there were more of, because few boys started at the start of secondary school but would mostly start in the middle of years 7, 8, or even 9, and because many were kept down a year, finishing year 11 at age 17 rather than 16) but were rude and dismissive when younger boys tried to engage them, especially if they made demands because of, say, bullying.

While I agree that early boarding must be condemned, we should consider “early boarding” to mean pre-pubescent boarding, not only primary-age (up to 11) boarding. When children enter secondary school at age 11, they do so very much as children. Boys, especially, are usually not even approaching puberty and are frequently smaller than most grown women. When they leave, they are adults in fact if not in name. By lumping these two groups together and expecting them to inhabit the same space, we endanger the actual children: they come to be seen as ‘youths’ whose misbehaviour is treated as more threatening than it actually is, and who require ‘discipline’ that would not be meted out to a child a year or so younger, but who are much easier to push around than someone in their mid teens who are, in the case of boys, sometimes as much as six feet tall; they thus become easy targets for the aggression of staff frustrated with dealing with older teenagers. Putting these two groups together is to give a group of adults free access to children but with none of the professional standards required of paid staff. This age range might have seemed like a good idea in the 1940s when compulsory secondary education was first introduced in the UK and the leaving age was 14, but it rose twice by the mid 1970s and the more of these unaccountable young adults you introduce, the more top-heavy the school’s population becomes and the more the staff’s time and skill set has to be oriented towards them.

In a boarding school, this age range is a recipe for disaster. Children have a right to their family, and parents have a duty to parent; no child should be separated from their family unless the family itself is the cause of harm. If a child is in a happy home and not being abused by anyone, why risk changing this by sending them to a boarding school which might change that as soon as your back is turned? Add to this the fact that pre-teen boys are a favourite target for a certain type of paedophile, and the paedophile may not be the stereotypical guy in a dirty mac but the illustrious, cultured teacher who can write beautifully and play a dozen musical instruments whom any school that did not know better would consider a most valued member of staff and on past experience might turn a blind eye even if they suspected something was wrong. There is really no educational benefit and certainly no social cachet that can justify subjecting a child to any of this. Their place is at home, with their families, and it was about time this was recognised in law.

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[Podcast] Reorienting for Ramadan | Ustadh Abu Amina (Justin Parrott)

Muslim Matters - 15 March, 2024 - 20:46

The week before Ramadan, and the first week of Ramadan, can feel like a scramble of trying to be “prepped” just enough – from iftar menus to prayer schedules, balancing school and work, and so much more. How do we avoid being overwhelmed by it all?

Ustadh Justin Parrott sat with Zainab bint Younus and Irtiza Hasan to  provide a Ramadan reorientation reminder on how we can maximize our Ramadan by holding onto just a few basic, important principles.

Justin Parrott has BAs in Physics and English from Otterbein University, an MLIS from Kent State University, and an MRes in Islamic Studies from the University of Wales. He is currently Research Librarian for Middle East Studies at New York University in Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), Research Fellow for Yaqeen Institute, and Instructor for Mishkah University. He served as a volunteer Imam for the Islamic Society of Greater Columbus until 2013. He is currently the faculty advisor and volunteer Imam for the Muslim Students Association at NYUAD.

Related:

The Prophet’s Golden Rule: Ethics of Reciprocity in Islam

The post [Podcast] Reorienting for Ramadan | Ustadh Abu Amina (Justin Parrott) appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Palestinians hold first Friday prayers of Ramadan amid rubble of Gaza mosque – video

The Guardian World news: Islam - 15 March, 2024 - 15:57

A group of Palestinians in Gaza held their first Friday prayers of Ramadan amid the rubble of a mosque in Rafah destroyed by an Israeli airstrike last month

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IOK Ramadan: Can You Give What You Love? | Keys To The Divine Compass [Ep4]

Muslim Matters - 15 March, 2024 - 11:00

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Keys to the Divine Compass. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

Previous in the series: Juz 1 Juz 2 Juz 3

Juzʾ 4: Can You Give What You Love?

Bismillah-ir Raḥmān-ir Raḥīm. All praise to Allah and peace and salutations upon his servant and final messenger Muḥammad (pbuh), Assalāmu ‘Alaykum wa Raḥmatullāhi wa Barakātuh!

Welcome to another episode of our Ramaḍān Reflection series, Keys to the Divine Compass, where we go over verses of the Qur’an from every Juz throughout the month of Ramaḍān so that we can derive lessons and apply them to our lives.

InshaAllah today I will be going over verse 92 from Surah Āl-i ‘Imrān (Sūrah 3) in which Allah (swt) says, “You will never achieve the height of goodness, righteousness, piety until you spend from that that which you love, and whatever you spend then indeed Allah is aware of it.” This verse is instructive to all of us when it comes to the mindset we are supposed to adopt when giving charity, when giving in the path of Allah (swt).

There is a narration associated with this verse, of Abū Ṭalḥa (R), one of the earliest Muslims from the Anṣār and the leader of the Khazraj, who was part of the ‘Aqabah pledges before the migration of the Prophet (pbuh) to Madinah. He was one of the wealthiest individuals of Madinah, and he had a garden that was named Bīr-Ḥā’, the location of which would be in the rear area of the Masjid of the Prophet (pbuh) today. It was a very beautiful garden that had clean water, beautiful trees, and the Prophet (pbuh) would come to love to sit there and drink its water. When Abū Ṭalḥa (R) heard this verse after it was revealed, he made the intention to give his entire garden away in charity. He came to the Prophet (pbuh) and said, ‘I wish to give this garden in charity’. The Prophet (pbuh) was surprised but pleased, and he advised that instead of giving it in charity he should distribute it amongst his closest family members first. In other words, give it as charity to the people closest to you.

This verse is instrumental for us because Allah (swt) is addressing a very key point, a mindset that we might adopt sometimes–subconsciously–when it comes to giving charity. We may think that charity is something that we give from the extra, is something that we give from what we do not want anymore, that which no longer holds any value or never held any value to us but might be valuable to others. Yet, Allah (swt) says that to achieve the heights of goodness and piety, you must fight and disassociate yourself from the things you are attached to. The scholars say that the word ‘bir’ in the verse can be literally translated as good, but it refers to Jannah, that you will never be able to achieve Jannah until you are able to part from the things that you have a love for. When we give something, for example donating clothes, how often do we give clothes that we no longer wear? The clothes that are ripped, the clothes that have been neglected in the back of the closet, the clothes that were already going to be thrown out but now we decide to give it away to charity. How often do we look at the clothes that we wear, some of the more valuable ones, some of the ones that we love and are favorites, and we take one of those items and give it away to charity? How often do we buy things that are new and give them to charity?

This mindset helps a believer not form attachments to their wealth. What we own is that which Allah (swt) has given me from His blessings, but I will not allow those blessings to cloud my judgment. I will not allow those blessings to become an obstacle through which I am unable to achieve Jannah. I will not allow them to help me stay away from achieving the heights of piety that I can achieve otherwise. It is something that all of us should keep in mind in the month of Ramaḍān as we gear up to give charity every day, that yes –when we give $1, $10, or anything else, we are parting with something that we love. We love our money, we love our possessions, we love the things that Allah (sawt) has given us, but when we give, we actively fight against the impulse of ‘I am the owner of it’. It is not the owner of me, it has no value to me, rather when it is given away it adds value for me, that perhaps I can achieve Jannah through this.

So, when we are giving in the month of Ramaḍān our goal should be ‘Oh Allah, I am parting from things that I love for your sake, ‘I am parting from the things that I have a love for only for your pleasure’. When we give physical items in charity our goal should be to give from the best that we have. It might not always be possible, but we should try to give from the best we have because we do not want to be standing in front of Allah on the day of judgment and have Allah tell us, that yes you gave but you gave from the things that you no longer needed, you gave from the things that you would have thrown out, and you gave it feeling very generous when that is not really generosity. Allah (swt) says that whatever you spend He is aware of it, even if it is little. Allah (swt) knows that if it was a non-believer, then perhaps they would not have parted with it, but you did because you wanted the pleasure of Allah.

May Allah (swt) guide, bless, protect us all, and give us the ability to give charity from the things that we love for His sake and for His love, Ameen. Assalāmu ‘Alaykum wa Raḥmatullāhi wa Barakātuh.

The post IOK Ramadan: Can You Give What You Love? | Keys To The Divine Compass [Ep4] appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Diaba Konaté loves France. But a hijab ruling stops her playing there

The Guardian World news: Islam - 15 March, 2024 - 09:00

The point guard is a talented prospect. But the French Federation of Basketball’s ban on religious headwear means she cannot play in her hometown of Paris

The energy radiating from Diaba Konaté is palpable, even over our transatlantic Zoom chat. The wide-smiling college star has dreamed of playing basketball in the States ever since she was a young girl. She moved to the US from France in December 2018 on a full scholarship from Idaho State University, later transferring as a junior to the University of California, Irvine.

The 23-year-old point guard’s collegiate highlights include averaging 8.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game as a junior, ranking among the top-30 in the nation with her free-throw percentage, and tying eighth in single-season school history with 63 steals. She also reached 1,000 points in her collegiate career after dropping a season-high 20 against UC Santa Barbara in February 2023.

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IOK Ramadan: The Quran is a Compass | Keys To The Divine Compass [Ep5]

Muslim Matters - 15 March, 2024 - 04:47

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Keys to the Divine Compass. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

Previous in the series: Juz 1 Juz 2 Juz 3 Juz 4

Juzʾ 5: The Qur’an is a Compass

Bismillah-ir Raḥmān-ir Raḥīm. All praise to Allah and peace and salutations upon his servant and final messenger Muḥammad (pbuh), Assalāmu ‘Alaykum wa Raḥmatullāhi wa Barakātuh!

Welcome to another episode of our Ramaḍān Reflection series, Keys to the Divine Compass, where we go over verses of the Qur’an from every Juz throughout the month of Ramaḍān so that we can derive lessons and apply them to our lives.

 InshaAllah today I will be going over verse 82 from Sūrah al-Nisā’ (Sūrah 4) in which Allah (swt) says, “Do they not ponder over the Qur’an, if the Qur’an had been from anyone other than Allah (swt) then they would have absolutely found within it many inconsistencies and mistakes.” The words of the Qur’an are the words of Allah (swt), and the words of the Qur’an are perfect just like the Perfection of Allah (swt) as He is the only being who can claim Perfection. The words of the Qur’an are so majestic and miraculous, that despite being in their language and being familiar with its conventions, the Quraysh were unable to reconcile how such a superior text (which they were unable to replicate) came to be recited on the tongue of someone who was illiterate i.e., the Prophet (pbuh). They were unable to challenge the miraculous linguistic aspect of the Qur’an, but it is a greater miracle because of what it contains.

The words of the Qur’an give us purpose and direction, it tells us the reason why Allah (swt) has given us an existence in this world for 70, 80, 90 plus years. Allah (swt) has given us an objective, has given us a reason as to why we are here, and what to do with the time that we are given.

 If the words of Allah (swt) are Perfection and the teachings of Allah (swt) are Perfection, therefore, in addition to giving us purpose and objective, the Qur’an also provides us with objective morality. The Qur’an tells us what is right and wrong, and how to think about good and evil. Allah (swt) tells us what the red lines are supposed to be for the believer. Morality, if kept under the purview of human beings who are imperfect, whose intelligence is limited, whose biases are inherent, then we are going to be unable to come up with anything that is objective. Our morality would then be subjective, and we would think of good as good only if it suited us, and we would argue for the things that are evil when it suited us. We would essentially change things around because morality, right and wrong, its definitions, would be subject to our whims and desires and subject to what society thinks about certain things at certain times. Yet Allah (swt) has made it very clear and has informed us of what is right and wrong, because the Qur’an is al-Furqān–that which allows us to distinguish between good and wrong.

 In addition to providing purpose, direction, and objective morality, the Qur’an also gives us a civilizing ethos. The Qur’an teaches us and the laws of the Sharī‘ah teach us how to govern ourselves in the most harmonious way possible when it comes to the individual vis-à-vis each other, when it comes to the individual vis-a-vis their creator Allah (swt). Allah (swt) has given us rules and regulations and the Sharī‘ah emphasizes the community, emphasizes the bigger units of collectivity, so beyond the individual we have the family, beyond the family we have the community, beyond the community we have the society, etc. At every level, Allah (swt) and the Prophet (pbuh) encourages us to come together because there is strength in numbers. There is a purpose in coming together because the believers are like one body as the Prophet (pbuh) said, yet when there are a lot of people together, and even when there are two people together there might be conflict. There is potential for conflict, for self-interest, so how do you navigate self-interest and prioritize the communal objective and the rights of the other? The Qur’an through its content teaches us a civilizing ethos, that we are not just encouraged to come together but we are also given standards, rights, and regulations that allow us to communicate, regulate the interactions that we have between the different units of society. Allah (swt) teaches us how to govern ourselves in the best way possible because Perfection comes from Allah (swt).

 The Qur’an also gives us perspective during times of difficulty. Pondering over the verses of the Qur’an allows us to understand the difficulties that we are experiencing–directly or indirectly–in our lives at any given moment. Over the past five months all of us have witnessed the horrifying atrocities in Gaza, but the verses of the Qur’an have given us comfort. Allah (swt) has given us the knowledge of what is yet to come, that the Judgment of Allah (swt) is inescapable, that the people who are suffering are having their ranks elevated and that they are martyrs. Allah (swt) reassures us that whatever they undergo in this world will be nothing in comparison to the rewards that they will receive on the day of judgment. For those of us who are still remaining and are witnesses to it and feel helpless, because we might be doing something, but we also acknowledge that we do not feel we are doing everything that we can. Instead of being paralyzed by our inability to affect change, Allah (swt) reminds us of who is in control, reminds us of the limitations that we have, reminds us not to stay back and do nothing. Perspective during times of difficulty allows us to navigate this realm of chaos, this existence that is filled with difficulty, trials, and tribulations.

 Lastly, Allah (swt) gives us guidelines. So, Allah (swt) not just gives us purpose, direction, objective morality, a civilizing ethos, and perspective during times of difficulty, but for every step of the way there are instructions. There is guidance from Allah (swt), there is encouragement from Him. “Do they not ponder over the Quran?” We do not want to be from those people that Allah (swt) addresses rhetorically because all the answers are here. Allah (swt) has given it to us and all we must do is reach out and take it.

May Allah (swt) allow us to be people of the Qur’an, allow us to be people who ponder over the Revelation, who ponder over the contents of the Qur’an, and not just on a theoretical level but apply it to our lives as well. Assalāmu ‘Alaykum wa Raḥmatullāhi wa Barakātuh.

The post IOK Ramadan: The Quran is a Compass | Keys To The Divine Compass [Ep5] appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

A Ramadan Quran Journal: A MuslimMatters Series – [Juz 3] What Is True, And What Matters

Muslim Matters - 15 March, 2024 - 04:42

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters reached out to our regular (and not-so-regular) crew of writers asking them to share their reflections on various ayahs/surahs of the Quran, ideally with a focus on a specific juz – those that may have impacted them in some specific way or have influenced how they approach both life and deen. While some contributors are well-versed in at least part of the Quranic Sciences, not all necessarily are, but reflect on their choices as a way of illustrating that our Holy Book is approachable from various human perspectives.

Introducing, A Ramadan Quran Journal: A MuslimMatters Series

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What is True, and What Matters

By Wael Abdelgawad

 

Dania leaned back on the stool, rubbed her eyes, and turned to speak to Rawan. Except that her young Muslim colleague wasn’t there. Dania scanned the handful of lab stations, all dedicated to testing water samples for the presence of a wide spectrum of contaminants. Her eyes went to the clock: 1 pm. Wow, the day was half gone. Rawan was no doubt eating lunch.

An entire morning staring into a microscope and typing notes on a keyboard could do a number on you. Dania’s back was stiff, her eyes tired, and her hands were like chicken feet. Now that she was in her 30s, these things seemed to bother her more. She was 35 and unmarried, which in her Egyptian Christian family was a disgrace. She’d dated plenty of boys, but… The Egyptian-American men all seemed shallow. Money and girls, that was all they cared about. And some were as prissy as women.

As for the American boys, it never worked. Dania’s family were dedicated members of the Coptic church. They attended Sunday services as well as Matins and Vespers on Saturdays and Wednesdays. All their friends were Copts, and when they got together socially the conversation was in Arabic, and consisted of a combination of gossip and talking bad about Muslims. It was too foreign a world for American boys to fit into.

In fact, it was a world that left Dania herself feeling bored and empty. At services, the Bible reading was in Arabic. But Dania, though she was fluent in Egyptian conversational Arabic, could not read the language. Then the Liturgy of the Word was in Coptic, which no one but the priest could understand, and probably not even him.

She’d tried taking up guitar, but it was painful and time-consuming. Nowadays she spends most of her time in this lab, working twelve-hour days.

She removed the elastic band from her hair, letting her red curls fall loose. By some freak of genetic circumstance had been born with milk-white skin, flaming hair, and green eyes. Americans never believed that she was Arab. Oops… Coptic. Her parents would have seizures if they heard her refer to herself as Arab. Which was so weird. She spoke Arabic, she came from an Arab country. But she’d been lectured many times: “We are Copts, not Arabs. We are the true Egyptians, the word ‘Egypt’ means Copt!’”

She wandered into the break room. Her parents were there, as well as her brother, all still wearing white lab coats as they ate stuffed cabbage leaves, lentil soup, and saffron rice. She did half the work in this lab, yet no one had even called her to come for lunch. 

This entire lab belonged to her father, Boulos Khalil. Their clients were mostly large corporate farms. The lab had done well. Her family was wealthy. 

“I still don’t think it’s right what’s happening to the Palestinians,” her brother said in English. He was five years younger than her, lean, and clean-cut.

Her father grimaced. “What do we care,” he replied in Arabic, “about a bunch of terrorists in the desert? What do you think Hamas would do with us Copts? They would slaughter us like black sheep.” Her dad had been in America a long time, but had never learned English well.

Her brother shook his head. “I don’t think so. There are Palestinian Christians too, they’re integrated.”

“Stop worrying about the Arabs and the Muslims,” her mother said. “Leave them in their mess. Their religion is evil. All they know how to do is oppress and destroy.” Her mother was as elegant and graceful as she’d been as a teenager, but was so full of anger and bitterness. Every day it was the same thing, running down the Muslims, and vilifying their religion. It was very old-world and tiresome.

“I hope Rawan doesn’t hear you talking like that.”

“Oh, Dania! Come and eat.” Her mother waved to an empty chair at the table.

“No. That’s alright. I’ll go see what Rawan is doing.” She walked to the exit door.

“Dania!” her mother called after her.

Dania found Rawan in the small garden at the center of the office park. The mid-twenties hijabi sat on the grass, engrossed in her reading. She was a small woman of Iraqi origin, skin the color of Arabic coffee and with big, dark eyes. Rawan had come to work at the lab a year ago, and Dania had always found her fascinating. Rawan was a near genius, yet she liked to laugh. She was assured, but not cocky. She tended to keep to herself, and who could blame her, considering the work environment?

Dania sat beside her and stretched her arms to the sky, reveling in the feeling of the soft grass against her skin, and the sun on her face.

“How come you’re not eating?”

Rawan marked her spot in the book, which Dania saw now was the Quran, then adjusted her blue headscarf. “Ramadan started last week. I’m fasting.”

“Oh, right! I knew that. How’s it going?”

“Really good, alhamdulillah.”

“Listen, Rawan…” Dania picked a blade of grass and put the end in her mouth. “I’m sure you’ve heard my family sometimes. How they talk… I feel ashamed. I can’t understand why my father hired you when he feels like that about Muslims.” Realizing what she’d said, she hurried to explain. “I mean, I’m glad he hired you! It just surprises me.”

Rawan grinned. “Mr. Khalil hired me because I have a bachelor’s in organic chemistry, a master’s in environmental sciences, and I speak English, Arabic, and Spanish. And he pays me well, so hey, no worries. You know what your dad always says: ‘American is American. Zis mean – ‘”

“Business is business!” The two women finished in unison, and both laughed. One of the many Boulos-isms that barely made sense, perhaps not surviving the translation from Arabic to English.

Dania nodded to Rawan’s copy of the Quran. “What were you reading about?”

“Oh.” Rawan’s brow furrowed. “I don’t like to talk about religion at work, especially considering…”

“Considering my family.” Dania sighed. “It’s okay. I really want to know.”

Rawan opened the Quran to the bookmarked page and handed it to Dania. “The Quran is divided into thirty parts, and I’m trying to read a part each day. Today I’m reading a chapter called Aal Imran, the family of Imran.”

“Who is Imran? One of Muhammad’s relatives?”

“No. Read it, you’ll see. Start at verse 33.”

Dania swallowed the blade of grass she’d been chewing – a habit she’d had since she was a kid – and studied the book. It had Arabic on one side of the page and English on the other. She found verse 33 and read the English part:

  1. Indeed, Allāh chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of ʿImrān over the worlds –

  2. Descendants, some of them from others. And Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.

  3. [And mention] When the wife of ʿImrān said, “My Lord, indeed I have pledged to You what is in my womb, consecrated [for Your service], so accept this from me. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing.”

  4. But when she delivered her, she said, “My Lord, I have delivered a female.” And Allāh was most knowing of what she delivered, and the male is not like the female. “And I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled.”

Dania frowned. “Which Mary? Our Mary? The Christian Mary, I mean?”

“Mm-hmm. The very same.”

Dania was confused. She was reading the Quran, and it was talking about Mary. In all the times she’d heard her parents insult Islam, its Prophet, its book, and everything else, she’d never heard them mention anything about Muslims believing in Mary.

She read on. The Quran went on to describe Mary’s seclusion and her care by Zakariyyah, and some angels bringing Zakariyyah and his wife the news that they would have a son, which would be Yahya. Dania knew this was the Arabic name of John the Baptist.

The next verse made her eyes widen:

  1. And [mention] when the angels said, “O Mary, indeed Allāh has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds.

“Are you serious? You guys worship Mary like we do?”

“No. We revere her as a great woman. A woman of God. But we don’t pray to anyone but God. No son, no saints, none of that.”

“Sounds… uncomplicated.”

Rawan shrugged and smiled. “I suppose. Islam is a natural religion. Very pure.”

Dania read:

  1. O Mary, be devoutly obedient to your Lord and prostrate and bow with those who bow [in prayer].”

  2. That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you, [O Muḥammad]. And you were not with them when they cast their pens as to which of them should be responsible for Mary. Nor were you with them when they disputed.

  3. [And mention] when the angels said, “O Mary, indeed Allāh gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary – distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allāh].

  4. He will speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity and will be of the righteous.”

  5. She said, “My Lord, how will I have a child when no man has touched me?” [The angel] said, “Such is Allāh; He creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.

  6. And He will teach him writing and wisdom1 and the Torah and the Gospel

  7. And [make him] a messenger to the Children of Israel, [who will say], ‘Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allāh. And I cure the blind [from birth] and the leper, and I give life to the dead – by permission of Allāh. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.

  8. And [I have come] confirming what was before me of the Torah and to make lawful for you some of what was forbidden to you. And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear Allāh and obey me.

  9. Indeed, Allāh is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is the straight path.'”

Dania read on to verses 59 and 60:

  1. Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allāh is like that of Adam. He created him from dust; then He said to him, “Be,” and he was.

  2. The truth is from your Lord, so do not be among the doubters.

With trembling hands, Dania replaced the bookmark, closed the Quran, and handed it back to Rawan. “I don’t know what to say. There are details here about Jesus that are not even in the Bible. And… It’s clear. I always found it confusing in the Bible how Jesus calls himself the son of man, and humbles himself, yet we Christians claim he is God. Your book is consistent. It’s not what I expected at all.”

“Would you like to hear part of it in Arabic? Just to know what it sounds like?”

Dania nodded. “Sure.”

Rawan began to recite. She had a mellow voice, and it was pleasant to listen to. Dania began to notice that this book sounded very different out loud from the Arabic Bible. There was a rhythm and rhyme to it that was captivating, and the language was very high level. Dania was actually able to understand most of it, but it was like listening to poetry composed by the archangel Gabriel himself, if Gabriel were a poet. The language, and Rawan’s beautiful recitation, reached inside Dania’s chest and struck her heart, making it ring like a gong. For the first time in a long time, her heart didn’t feel like an empty room. The Quran flowed into it and filled it up. Dania felt like she was sitting in a boat on a calm river, drifting as the sun shined down on her, growing steadily brighter and hotter…

Something broke inside Dania and she began to weep. Embarrassed, she stood quickly and returned to the lab, where she washed her face in the restroom. Her father and brother had apparently gone on a purchasing run, and her mother was alone in the break room, using a compact mirror to adjust her makeup.

Her mother looked up. “What happened? Why are your eyes red?”

Dania paused, thinking. “Have you ever read the Quran?”

Her mother grimaced. “Of course. I attended public school in Cairo as a child, we all had to learn some of it.”

“What did you think of it?”

“I hated it. The teacher used to hit our palms with a ruler if we did not memorize.”

“Okay, but I mean the book itself. What did you think?”

“What are these ridiculous questions? By the Messiah, I don’t understand you. You are 33 years old, when will you get married and -”

“I was reading it just now,” Dania interrupted. “The Quran, I mean. You know what? It seemed true to me.” Dania brushed her hair out of her eyes. “It seems like the truth.”

Her mother flicked her hand dismissively. “That girl, Rawan. I told your father not to hire her. As soon as he gets back I will tell him to -”

“If she goes, I go. And you’re missing my point. I said it seems like the truth.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, so?”

“I mean, so what?”

“You don’t disagree?”

Her mother tilted her chin, saying nothing.

Dania opened her palms. “You don’t have an opinion? You always have an opinion. I said it seems like the truth.”

Her mother slammed her palm down onto the table, making Dania jump. Her mother was like an ice sculpture, she never lost her cool. Yet as Dania stared, stunned, her mother began to shout:

“Of course it is true! Do you think we are stupid? I know the Quran very well. It is Arabic of another level. Islam keeps growing everywhere, do you think it’s an accident? Soon they will outnumber Christians. Of course, Muhammad was a Prophet, it’s obvious. Of course, he was the one that Jesus told us would come. Any intelligent person has to recognize it. But so what, my dear Deedee, so what?”

Her mother wiped spittle from her chin and waved at Dania as if to dismiss her. Dania was dumbfounded.

“You don’t think the truth matters?”

Calmer now, her mother nonetheless spat out the words. “Stupid girl. No, truth does not matter. What matters is that we are Copts. That is our identity, our culture, our history. Islam came to our country from outside and took over, will we now join them? Our Coptic language goes back two thousand years. Our ancestors resisted joining Islam for 1,400 years, should we betray them? We are the true Egyptians, we are more ancient. There is truth, and there is what matters. We are Copts, that is what matters!”

Her mother stood and stalked out of the lab, slamming the door behind her.

Dania’s heart beat like the sound of running feet, and sweat stood on her brow. She wiped her forehead with a sleeve, then fished the hair band out of her pocket and tied her hair back. Her mother’s words rang in her head. “There is the truth, and there is what matters!” Yet even as she pondered these words, they rearranged themselves in her head: “Truth is what matters.”

Rawan entered the lab. “Dania, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to -”

Dania held up a hand to silence her. “It’s okay,” she said. While her brain whispered:  “Do not be among the doubters. Truth is what matters.”

 

Related:

A Ramadan Quran Journal: A MuslimMatters Series – [Juz 1] Reflections On The Opening Chapter

A Ramadan Quran Journal: A MuslimMatters Series – [Juz 2] “I Am Near”

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