Sunday, January 25, 2009

Grave warning






Grave warning


Hadith 1 : Sayyiduna ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhuma) narrates that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, "He who forgets to read the Durood Shareef, has certainly forgotten the path to Jannah". (Al Qolul Badi)

Hadith 2 : Nabi Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, "On the Day of Qiyamah there will be people who will be ordered to enter Jannah, but will not find the path to Jannah". When the Sahaba asked as to what the reason for this would be, he replied, "There will be individuals who did not read the Durood Shareef when they heard my name being mentioned". (Nuzhatul Majaalis)
Hadith 3 : Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anhu) narrates that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, "He who has forgotten to read the Durood Shareef, has truly forgotten the path to Jannah". (Al Qolul Badi)

Hadith 4 : Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, "Certainly that person is a miser who does not read the Durood Shareef when my name is mentioned in front of him". (Mishkaat)

Hadith 5 : Sayyidah Ayesha Siddiqa (radi Allahu anha) narrates that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, "There will be three individuals who will be deprived of recognizing me. The first is he who does not obey his parents. The second is he who abandons my Sunnah. The third is he who does not read the Durood Shareef when my name is mentioned". (Al Qolul Badi)



Hadith 6 : Sayyiduna Jaabir (radi Allahu anhu) narrates that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, "When a group of people gather and then arise without having mentioned Almighty Allah and not having recited the Durood Shareef, then it is as if they have arisen after consuming rotten flesh". (Al Qolul Badi)

Hadith 7 : Sayyiduna Abu Sa'eed Khudri (radi Allahu anhu) narrates that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, "When people sit in any gathering without reading the Durood Shareef, even though some will enter Jannah, they will be full of regrets". (Regret when looking at the lofty position achieved by others who were in the habit of reading the Durood Shareef) (Al Qolul Badi)

Hadith 8 : Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anhu) narrates that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, "Those individuals who sit in any gathering without having remembered Almighty Allah or read the Durood Shareef, they will experience hardship on the Day of Qiyamah. Thereafter, it will be the Divine Wish of Almighty Allah whether or not He allocates to them punishment or reward". (Al Qolul Badi)



Hadith 9 : Sayyiduna Anas (radi Allahu anhu) narrates that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, "May I show you who among the misers is the greatest of misers? It is he who does not read the Durood Shareef when in front of whom my name is mentioned". (Al Qolul Badi)

Hadith 10 : Sayyiduna Jarraad (radi Allahu anhu) narrates that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, "When I am remembered in front of any individual, and the individual does not read the Durood Shareef, he will certainly enter Hell". (Al Qolul Badi)

Hadith 11 : Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, "It is an injustice that when I am mentioned in front of an individual, he does not read the Durood Shareef". (Al Qolul Badi)

Hadith 12 : Sayyiduna Jaabir (radi Allahu anhu) narrates that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) ascended the Mimbar. When he had climbed the first step he said, "Aameen". He also said "Aameen" each time he climbed the second and third steps. When the Sahaba asked him about this, he replied, "When I had climbed the first step, Sayyiduna Jibra'el Ameen presented himself and said, 'Unfortunate is that person who finds the Month of Ramadaan and let it pass by without being forgiven'. To this, I replied, Aameen. "On the second step Sayyiduna Jibra'el said, 'Unfortunate indeed is that person who in his lifetime has his parents or at least one of them, yet (by being of service to them), he did not achieve Jannah'. To this, I replied, Aameen. "On the third step Sayyiduna Jibra'el said, 'Unfortunate indeed also is that person in front of whom you are mentioned (O Muhammad) sallal laahu alaihi wasallam, yet he does not read the Durood Shareef'. I again replied, Aameen". (Bukhari Shareef)

Hadith 13 : Sayyidah Ayesha Siddiqa (radi Allahu anha) narrates that during the last few moments of the Sehri she had lost the light of the candle and also the needle that she was sewing with. Suddenly, Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) arrived. Due to the brilliant light (Noor) from his face, she found the lost needle. When she commented about how brilliant the features of Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was, he replied, "Destruction is for that person who would not be able to see my face on the day of Qiyamah". When asked as to who that person would be, he replied. "That person who is a miser, and the miser is he who does not read the Durood Shareef when hearing my name". (Nuzhatun Naazireen)



Hadith 14 : It is recorded that a hunter captured a buck and was passing by Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam). Almighty Allah gave the buck the power of speech. Addressing Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), the buck pleaded, "O Prophet of Allah! I have little ones who are in need of milk. At this moment they are very hungry. Please command the hunter to release me so that I can feed them and then return". Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) asked her what would happen if she did not return. She replied, "If I do not return then the Curse of Almighty Allah will be upon me as the Curse of Almighty Allah is upon that person who does not read the Durood Shareef when you are mentioned. The curse of Almighty Allah is also upon that person who performs the Salaah but does not read the Du'a after it". Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) then ordered the hunter to release the buck as she would return as promised after feeding her young. A few minutes later the buck did return. At that moment Sayyiduna Jibra'el Ameen presented himself to Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) and declared, "O Prophet of Allah! Almighty Allah sends His Salaams to you and has declared, 'By My Respect and Magnificence! I am certainly more merciful upon your followers (O Muhammad) than this buck upon its young. I would also return your followers to you as this buck has return to you'". (Al Qolul Badi)

Hadith 15 : Nabi Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, "All those deeds which do not begin with the remembrance of Almighty Allah and the recital of the Durood Shareef are deeds without blessing and divorced from all good". (Mutaali'ul Musarraat) The same Hadith as mentioned above also refers to speeches and lectures. (Mutaali'ul Musarraat)

Wonders of Allah in Seeds of Coconut Palm







Wonders of Allah in Seeds of Coconut Palm


The seeds of some plants are dispersed by water. These seeds typically have characteristics different from the seeds of other plants. For example, plants which disperse their seeds by water possess a structure that minimizes their weight and maximizes their surface area. In addition, the floating tissue might take any of several shapes. The cells filled with air might have a spongy structure or the air might be locked in the seed in such a way that gaps among the cells are almost lost, enabling the seed to float. In addition, the cell walls of the floating tissue are structured in such a way as to prevent water from entering. Besides all this, there is an additional interior segment in these plants which protects the embryo that contains all the genetic information about the plant.

Among those seeds carried by water, there are seeds that can remain in the water for about 80 days without being spoiled or germinating owing to their strong structure. The most famous of these are the seeds of the coconut palm tree. The seed of the palm is put into a hard shell for safe transport. In this hard shell, everything that is needed for a long journey, including water, is available. Also, the outer part is covered with a strong fabric that prevents the seed from being damaged by water.




One of the most significant features of a coconut seed is that it has air spaces that make it buoyant and capable of floating on water. Because of these characteristics, the coconut seed can be carried by ocean currents for thousands of kilometers. When it washes ashore, the seed germinates and grows into a coconut palm tree.

It is quite an exceptional situation that the coconut seeds germinate just as they reach the land because, as is known, plant seeds generally germinate as soon as they meet water. Yet, this is not true for coconut plants. With their distinctive structures, plants which disperse their seeds by water are privileged in this respect. If these plants, too, began to germinate as soon as they encountered water, they would have long ago since become extinct. However, by means of their mechanisms suitable to their particular environments, these plants can continue to exist. It is evident that these precise features and design could not have come into being by the methods evolutionists claim.

The amount of reserved nutrition and water in the seeds, the period of their reaching the land, in short all the delicate calculations made for such features have been perfectly determined by Allah, Who is the owner of eternal power and wisdom.


Wonders of Allah in Dazzling Pearls


Wonders of Allah in Dazzling Pearls






On Earth, wherever one turns his eyes and looks, one meets a magnificent creation, a perfect design with amazing features. The examples we give throughout this book are only a few small details of this magnificence. Allah has created many plant and animal species on Earth whose appearances are splendid. He has brought everything into existence in a way that man finds pleasure in. Along with these, many ornaments have been created on Earth by Allah and have been given into the service of men. The pearl, which is one of these ornaments, has very interesting features besides its outstanding beauty.

The developmental phases of the pearl are amazing. The pearl is generally produced by the "pearl oyster," of which many kinds exist. The shells of oysters are quite hard. The composition of their outer shells, which are very difficult to open, is calcium carbonate-based and deters many of their enemies. The calcium carbonate also plays an important role in the oyster's formation of pearls.

The oyster is irritated when sand, a pebble or harmful parasitic organisms enter inside of it. In such situations, it isolates the uninvited guest, as a method of protection, and begins to cover it with nacre. This covering process is the first phase of the formation of the pearl. The foreign particles entering the oyster serve as a nucleus for the formation of the pearls. Through the years, the surface of this nuclear substance will be covered with calcium carbonate layers forming one on the top of the other.



How is the nacre inside the oyster made? There are two main ingredients that form the nacre among the layers of the oyster's inner tissues. In one layer is a mineral called "aragonite," the content of which is calcium carbonate; in another layer is an adhesive substance "conchiolin," which holds the aragonite together in the pearl. Since aragonite is a semi-transparent substance, it gives the pearl a shiny look. It is surely thought provoking that these two substances are produced by the oyster (a composition of shell and flesh that doesn't even have a brain) and then they come together and form such a beautiful object as a pearl by covering a mere dust particle. The pearl that an oyster produces for the purpose of protection is created as an aesthetic ornament for man.

Allah draws attention to the pearl with the verse in the Qur'an "From out of them come glistening pearls and coral." (Surat ar-Rahman: 22) Furthermore, the pearl is also mentioned in the Qur'an as one of the ornaments of Paradise.

Wonders of Allah in Water Lilies


Wonders of Allah in Water Lilies




Little flowers on the earth are mostly considered commonplace by people, notwithstanding their overall perfection. What prevents people from grasping the creation miracles in these flowers is the familiarity brought about by seeing them everywhere and every day. Therefore, flowers that grow in a totally different place, under totally different conditions and in totally different sizes will be assessed without the "glasses of familiarity" and thus help us grasp the existence of God.

Amazon water lilies that grow in the sticky mud covering the bottom of the Amazon River are interesting enough to remove the 'glasses of familiarity' from people, because they continue their lives not in the way people are accustomed to and witness everyday, but with a very different struggle.

These plants start to grow in the mud at the bottom of the Amazon River, and then reach out towards the river surface. Their goal is to reach the sunlight which is vital to their existence. When they finally reach the water's surface, they stop growing and develop thorny, round buds. The buds develop into gigantic leaves with a reach of 2 metres, in as short a time as a couple of hours. "Knowing" that the more they cover the river surface with abundant leaves, the more will they be able to make use of sunlight, these water lilies make ample use of daylight to perform photosynthesis. They "know" that otherwise they will not be able to survive at the bottom of the river due to the scarcity of light. It is certainly quite inspiring for a plant to employ such an "intelligent" tactic.

However, sunlight alone does not suffice for the Amazon water lilies. They also need oxygen equally, yet it is obvious that this oxygen does not exist in the muddy ground in which their roots are located. This is why water lilies stretch out stems developing from their roots upwards towards the water surface where their leaves float. Sometimes these stems grow as tall as 11 metres; they are tied to the leaves and function as oxygen-carriers between the leaves and the root.



How can a bud in its initial stages of life in the depths of a river know that it needs oxygen and sunlight to survive, that it would not be able to live in their absence, and that everything it needs is present on the water surface? A being recently introduced to life is aware neither of the fact that this water has an ending point, nor of the existence of the sun or oxygen.

Therefore, if the whole event is assessed from the standpoint of evolutionists, these plants should long before have been defeated by environmental conditions and become extinct. Nevertheless, water lilies are still present today in all their perfection.

The unbelievable life struggle of water lilies continues well after they reach light and oxygen on the water surface, where they curl the brims of their huge leaves upward to prevent them from sinking.

They can continue their lives with all these precautions, yet they also know that these are not enough for their reproduction. They need a living being that will carry their pollen to another water lily, and this living being is a beetle (coleopteran) which has been created with a special weakness for white colour. They prefer these white water lilies out of all the attractive flowers of the Amazon River. When Amazon water lilies are visited by creatures which will continue their species, they close all their leaves, imprison them, and offer them ample pollen. They let them free after keeping them for one night, and then change their colour so that they do not bring the same pollen back to them. The once pure white, glorious water lilies will now go on adorning the Amazon river in pink.

Could such flawless and finely calculated plans be the work of a bud unaware of everything? Of course not. They are the work of the wisdom of God, Who created all things. All the details summarized here show that plants, like all other living beings in the universe, came into existence already furnished with the most convenient systems, and this was thanks to their Creator.

Wonders of Allah in Social System of Ants


Wonders of Allah in Social System of Ants


Ants live in colonies and a perfect division of labor exists amongst them. When we take a closer look at their systems, we shall also see that they have a pretty interesting social structure. It will also come to our attention that they are capable of sacrifice at a much higher level than humans are. One of the most interesting points is that - compared to humans - they do not know the concepts such as the rich-poor discrimination and the fight for power that are observed in our societies.

Many scientists, who for years have been doing extensive research on ants, have not been able to clarify the subject of their advanced social behavior. Caryle P. Haskins, Ph.D., the president of the Carnegie Institute at Washington has this to say:

After 60 years of observation and study, I still marvel at how sophisticated the ants' social behavior is. …The ants thus make a beautiful model for our use in studying the roots of animal behavior. (National Geographic, vol.165, no.6, p. 775)

Some colonies of ants are so extensive with respect to population and living area, that it is impossible to explain how they can form a perfect order over such a vast area. Therefore, it is not easy not to concur with Dr. Haskins.

As an example of these large colonies we can give the species of ant, called Formica Yessensis that lives on the Ishikari coast of Hokkaido. This ant colony lives in 45,000 interconnected nests over an area of 2.7 square kilometers. The colony, which is composed of approximately 1,080,000 queens and 306,000,000 workers, has been named the "Super colony" by the researchers. (Bert Hölldobler-Edward O.Wilson, The Ants, Harvard University Press, 1990, p. 1.) It has been discovered that all production tools and food are exchanged in an orderly fashion within the colony.

It is very hard to explain how the ants have maintained this order without any problems, considering the vast area they are living in. We must not forget that various security forces are needed for enforcing law and maintaining social order, even in a civilized country with a low population density. And there is an administrative staff leading and managing these units. Sometimes, it does not become possible to maintain the required order without problems despite all these intense efforts.

Yet in ant colonies there is no need felt for police, gendarmerie or guards. If we consider that actually the duty of the queens, whom we think of as the leaders of the colonies, is just to maintain the species, they do not have a leader or a governor. There is thus no hierarchy based on a chain of command amongst them. Then who is it that lays down this order and maintains its continuity?

The fact that ants can establish such a great and perfect order is proof that they are acting on the inspiration of a certain "supervisor". The verse below fully confirms that God is the master and supervisor of everything and that every living creature acts on His inspiration:

I have put my trust in God, my Lord and your Lord. There is no living being He does not hold by the forelock and inspect! My Lord is on a straight path. (Surah Hud: 56)

Wonders of Allah in Butterflies


Wonders of Allah in Butterflies


Look over the butterflies' wings in the picture on the left as if you were seeing them for the first time. Surely you will be filled with admiration for such an aesthetic display, a symmetry that is without the slightest flaw, the dazzling colors and patterns. Now think of a piece of cloth. Assume that it is a very beautiful piece of cloth of good quality that has been woven with the inspiration of these butterflies' patterns. What would you think if you saw such a piece of cloth in a shop-window? Probably, the existence of an artist, who has drawn the patterns of this cloth, taking the wings of a butterfly as an inspiration while drawing them, springs into your mind, and you appreciate his artistry. In this situation, you should also appreciate this fact: the artistry you admire doesn't belong to the person who draws the cloth pattern, taking butterflies as his example, but to Allah, Who is the originator of the patterns and colors of butterfly wings. The colorful wings of butterflies with their wonderfully varied patterns are magnificent manifestations of Allah's artistry in color. Just as a pattern on a piece of cloth does not come into being by chance, so is the color and pattern symmetry in the wings so perfect that they could not have come into being coincidentally.

Moreover, the splendid wings are not the only striking features of butterflies. The body design of butterflies is also perfect in every respect. The butterflies take in nourishment by sucking up nectar from flowers. Most butterflies have a long organ called a proboscis which they use to reach a liquid that is at some depth. A proboscis is a long tongue used to drink water or to suck up nectar from flowers. The butterfly rolls up its long tongue inwards when it isn't using it. This tongue can be three times the length of a butterfly's body when unrolled.

Like other insects, the butterflies also have a skeleton that covers the outer surface of their bodies. This outer or exoskeleton is composed of hard plates connected by soft tissue, looking like some sort of armor. The hard material is called "chitin." The formation of this layer comes about through a very interesting process. As is commonly known, caterpillars pass through a rather complex process called metamorphosis. The caterpillar first becomes a pupa and then turns into a butterfly. Throughout this process of metamorphosis, slight changes occur in the wings, antennae, legs and other body parts. Also, the cells in different key areas such as the flight muscles and wings re-organize themselves through every phase of metamorphosis. Furthermore, along with these changes, almost all systems in the body -the digestive system, excretory system, respiratory system etc.- go through a process of immense change.

This diversity in design that butterflies have, as much as their wings, belongs to Allah, the All-Powerful. Allah is the One Who bestows every creature with the characteristics it needs.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Human Rights in Islam


Human Rights in Islam



Since Allah is the Absolute and the Sole Master of men and the universe, He is the Sovereign Lord, the Sustainer and Nourisher, the Merciful, Whose mercy enshrines all beings; and since He has given each man human dignity and honor, it follows that, united in Him and through Him, and apart from their other human attributes, men are substantially the same and no tangible and actual distinction can be made among them, on account of their accidental differences such as nationality, color or race. Every human being is thereby related to all others and all become one community of brotherhood in their honorable and pleasant servitude to the most compassionate Lord of the Universe. In such a heavenly atmosphere the Islamic confession of the oneness of God stands dominant and central, and necessarily entails the concept of the oneness of humanity and the brotherhood of mankind.

Although an Islamic state may be set up in any part of the earth, Islam does not seek to restrict human rights or privileges to the geographical limits of its own state. Islam has laid down some universal fundamental rights for humanity as a whole, which are to be observed and respected under all circumstances whether such a person is resident within the territory of the Islamic state or outside it, whether he is at peace or at war. The Holy Quran from the English translation of the "Kanzul Iman" very clearly states:
"O believers, stand up firmly by the Commandments of Allah, bearing witness
with justice and let not the enmity of any people incite you that you should
not do justice. Do justice that is nearer to piety and fear Allah,
undoubtedly, Allah is aware of your doings." (5:8)

Human blood is sacred in any case and cannot be spilled without justification. And if anyone violates this sanctity of human blood by killing a soul without justification, the Holy Quran from the English translation of the "Kanzul Iman" equates it to the killing of entire mankind.
"...whosoever killed a soul not to retaliate for a soul, nor for creating
disorder in the land, then it is as if he had killed all mankind. And whoso
gave life to one soul, then it is as if he had given life to all
mankind..."(5:32)

It is not permissible to oppress women, children, old people, the sick or the wounded. Women's honor and chastity are to be respected under all circumstances. The hungry person must be fed, the naked clothed and the wounded or diseased treated medically irrespective of whether they belong to the Islamic community or are from among its enemies.

When we speak of human rights in Islam we really mean that these rights have been granted by God; they have not been granted by any king or by any legislative assembly. The rights granted by the kings or the legislative assemblies, can also be withdrawn in the same manner in which they are conferred. The same is the case with the rights accepted and recognized by the dictators. They can confer them when they please and withdraw them when they wish; and they can openly violate them when they like. But since in Islam human rights have been conferred by God, no legislative assembly in the world or any government on earth has the right or authority to make any amendment or change in the rights conferred by God. No one has the right to abrogate them or withdraw them. Nor are they basic human rights which are
conferred on paper for the sake of show and exhibition and denied in actual life when the show is over. Nor are they like philosophical concepts which have no sanctions behind them.

The charter and the proclamations and the resolutions of the United Nations cannot be compared with the rights sanctioned by God; because the former are not applicable on anybody while the latter are applicable on every believer. They are a part and parcel of the Islamic Faith. Every Muslim or administrator who claims himself to be Muslim, will have to accept, recognize and enforce them. If they fail to enforce them, and start denying the rights that have been guaranteed by God or make amendments and changes in them, or practically violate them while paying lip service to them, the verdict of the Holy Quran from the English translation of the "Kanzul Iman" for such government is clear and unequivocal:
"Undoubtedly, We have sent down Taurah, wherein is the guidance and light.
According to it the Jews were ordered by Our obedient prophets and men of
learning and jurists for it was desired from them to preserve the Book of
Allah and they were witnesses to it, then fear not people, but fear Me and
do not accept mean price for Our Signs. And whoso judges not according to
what Allah has sent down, they are the persons who are infidels."(5:44)

Human Rights In An Islamic State
The Security Of Life And Property:
In the address which the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon HIM) delivered on the occasion of the Farewell Hajj, he said:
"Your lives and properties are forbidden to one another till you meet your
Lord on the Day of Resurrection." The Prophet (Peace be upon HIM) has also
said about the dhimmis (the non-Muslim citizens of the Muslim state): "One
who kills a man under covenant (i.e., dhimmi) will not even smell the
fragrance of Paradise."
The Protection Of Honor:
The Holy Quran from the English translation of the "Kanzul Iman" lays down:
"O believers! let not the men scoff at the men, perchance they may be better
than those who scoff, and nor the women at other women, perchance that
they may be better than those women who scoff, and do not taunt one
another and nor call one another by nicknames. What a bad name is, to be
called a disobedient after being a Muslim, and those who repent not, they
are the unjust. O believers! avoid most suspicions, verily some suspicion is a
sin and do not look out for faults and do not backbite one another. Would
any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would abominate it.
And fear Allah, Verily Allah is Oft Returning, Merciful." (49:11-12) Sanctity And Security Of Private Life:
The Holy Quran from the English translation of the "Kanzul Iman" has laid down the injunction:
"O believers! enter not houses other than you own, until you take
permission and salute the residents thereof. This is better for you, haply
you may be heedful." (24:27) The Security Of Personal Freedom:
Islam has laid down the principle that no citizen can be imprisoned unless his guilt has been proven in an open court. To arrest a man only on the basis of suspicion and to throw him into a prison without proper court proceedings and without providing him a reasonable opportunity to produce his defense is not permissible in Islam. The Right To Protest Against Tyranny:
Among the rights that Islam has conferred on human beings is the right to protest against government's tyranny. Referring to it the Holy Quran from the English translation of the "Kanzul Iman" says:
"Allah likes not the utterance of evil words except one who is being
oppressed. And Allah is Hearing, Knowing." (4:148)

In Islam, as has been argued earlier, all power and authority belong to Allah, and with man there is only delegated power which becomes a trust; everyone who becomes a recipient of such a power has to stand in awful reverence before his people toward whom and for whose sake he will be called upon to use these powers. This was acknowledged by Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) who said in his very first address:
"Cooperate with me when I am right but correct me when I commit error;
obey me so long as I follow the commandments of Allah and His Prophet
(S.A.W.); but turn away from me when I deviate."
Freedom Of Expression:
Islam gives the right of freedom of thought and expression to all citizens of the Islamic state on the condition that it should be used for the propagation of virtue and truth and not for spreading evil and wickedness. The Islamic concept of freedom of expression is much superior to the concept prevalent in the West. Under no circumstances would Islam allow evil and wickedness to be propagated. It also does not give anybody the right to use abusive or offensive language in the name of criticism. It was the practice of the Muslims to inquire from the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon HIM) whether on a certain matter a divine injunction had been revealed to him. If he said that he had received no divine injunction, the Muslims freely expressed their opinion on the matter. Freedom Of Association:
Islam has also given people the right to freedom of association and formation of parties or organizations. This right is also subject to certain general rules. Freedom Of Conscience And Conviction:
Islam has laid down the injunction in the Holy Quran from the English translation of the "Kanzul Iman":
"There is no compulsion in religion; no doubt the virtuous path has become
clearly distinct from the erring; then whoso does not accept devil and
believes in Allah, he grasped a very firm knot which is never to open and
Allah Hears and Knows." (2:256)

On the contrary, totalitarian societies totally deprive the individuals of their freedom. Indeed, this undue exaltation of the state authority curiously enough postulates a sort of servitude, of slavishness on the part of man. At one time slavery meant total control of man over man - now that type of slavery has been legally abolished but in its place totalitarian societies impose a similar sort of control over individuals.
Protection Of Religious Sentiments:
Along with the freedom of conviction and freedom of conscience, Islam has given the right to the individual that his religious sentiments will be given due respect and nothing will be said or done which may encroach upon his right. Protection From Arbitrary Imprisonment:
Islam also recognizes the right of the individual not to be arrested or imprisoned for the offenses of others. The Holy Quran from the English translation of the "Kanzul Iman" has laid down this principle clearly:
"And no soul bearer of burden will bear the burden of another. And if any
one heavily loaded calls any other to share its load, not anyone will bear
anything from its burden, even though he may be a near relation..." (35:18) The Right To Basic Necessities of Life:
Islam has recognized the right of the needy people for help and assistance to be provided to them. In the Holy Quran from the English translation of the "Kanzul Iman", it states:
"And in their wealth there was the right of the beggars and the
unfortunate." (51:19) Equality Before Law:
Islam gives its citizens the right to absolute and complete equality in the eyes of the law. Rulers Not Above The Law:
A woman belonging to a high and noble family was arrested in connection with theft. The case was brought to the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon HIM), And it was recommended that she might be spared the punishment of theft. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon HIM) replied:
"The nations that lived before you were destroyed by Allah because they
punished the common man for their offenses and let their dignitaries go
unpunished for their crimes; I swear by Him Who holds my life in His hand
that even if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, had committed this crime,
I would have amputated her hand." The Right To Participate In The Affairs Of State:
It states in the Holy Quran from the English translation of the "Kanzul Iman":
"And those who obeyed the command of their Lord and established prayer and
their affairs are decided by mutual consultation and they spend something
out of Our provision in Our way." (42:38)

The "Shura" or the legislative assembly has no other meaning except that the executive head of the government and the members of the assembly should be elected by free and independent choice of the people. Lastly, it is to be made clear that Islam tries to achieve the above mentioned human rights and many others not only by providing certain legal safeguards but mainly by inviting mankind to transcend the lower level of animal life to be able to go beyond the mere ties fostered by the kinship of blood, racial superiority, linguistic arrogance, and economic privileges. It invites mankind to move on to a plane of existence where, by reason of his inner excellence, man can realize the ideal of the brotherhood of man. The Holy Quran quotes come from the English translation of the "Kanzul Iman". This is, by far, the best English translation of the Holy Quran. The faults of the article above are entirely my own. All correct information gathered and written in the article above are entirely attributed to Allah. For He, in His Mercy and Kindness, shows this slave of His, the Right Path. A thousands blessings and Salams go to my hero, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon HIM) As-Salatu Wa-Assalamu Alaikah Ya Rasulullah.

Saying “Ya Rasool’Allah (Sallalahu Alaihi Wassalam) Madad”



Saying “Ya Rasool’Allah (Sallalahu Alaihi Wassalam) Madad”

December 3, 2007 · Filed under Ahlul Baiyat, AlaHazrat, Ali, Allah, Aqeedah, Awliya Allah, Companions, Deviants, Durood, Fiqh, Islam, Mawlid, Miracles, Muslim, Poetry, Prophet (Sallal Laahu Ta’ala Alaihi Wasallam), Qur'an, Scholar, Science, Sufi, Sunni, Tasawwuf, salam
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The permissibility to say ‘Ya Muhammad!’ [May Allah bless him and grant him peace]

The sensitive issue of whether or not Muslims can say the words ‘Ya Rasool Allah’ or ‘Ya Muhammad!’ [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] needs to be clarified, since this issue divides the Muslim community and causes a great deal of friction among the Muslims throughout the world. Basically, there appears to be what we could label as two “schools of thought”. One insists that saying that stating “Ya Rasul Allah is ’shirk’ and that any Muslim proclaiming it in fact goes outside the pale of Islam. Now the other School believes that it is indeed permissible to say so - based on evidences from the Salaf, and the tafsirs of later day scholars. However, they do not insist that one must proclaim this - or that it is even a fard to do so, rather, it is permissible to do so. This is, and always has been, the stance of the Ahl al-Sunna.

Those who believe that it is impermissible to say Ya Muhammad! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] not only say that there are no evidences to support the permissibility, but also believe that the prefix of Ya, can only be used when that person [who is being called upon] is present, as opposed to being absent. The proclamation of Ya Muhammad, or Ya Rasul Allah [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] is not an innovation [bid'a] that crept in after the first three generations, but contrary to modern misconceptions, was initiated and practiced within these generations, as we shall see, Allah willing. Also, the fact that the later generations did proclaim Ya Muhammad! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] the death of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant him peace], did not prevent them in doing so, even though there were great distances between them and Madina.

As we shall aim to demonstrate to the readers in this chapter, Insha’ Allah, that if it is wrong today [or even Kufr and shirk as some of our brothers declare], to proclaim Ya Muhammad! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] why then, did the Sahaba, Tab’ee in and the later generations of Muslims do so? Would those brothers who oppose the Muslims of saying Ya Muhammad! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] apply the same criteria to the first generations of this Umma as they do for the believers of today?

The permissibility of saying Ya! For someone who is not physically present.

One of the main arguments used against the believers on this issue, is the one of the impermisibility of using the prefix Ya [Oh!] to someone who is not physically present.

Innovation in the Language

This understanding of the Arabic language [that of not being able to use Ya! For an absent person] is an innovation [bid'a] in Arabic grammar. To the minority holding this view, it appears that this is the only way of accusing the majority of Muslims to be constantly committing an impermissible deed, or even shirk and kufr as others may profess.

We first would like to invite those who hold the above view, to examine one of the most respected classical dictionaries of the Arabic language, the Lasan al Arab of Ibn Manzur (d. 711 hijri). Ibn Manzur states that Ya! can be applied for either a person who is near, or far from the caller.
[Ibn Manzur al-Afriqi, Lasan al-Arab under the word 'Ya']

Since those Muslims who often claim that saying Ya Muhammad! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] is shirk, I now propose to examine the views of Ibn Taymiyya on this issue. Why? Well, it is mainly because these very brothers have given Ibn Taymiyya the noble title of Shaykh al Islam, and such, use him as an authority, if not, the foremost, in their attempts to practice Islam as the Salaf [pious predecessors] did. Ibn Taymiyya writes:

When someone calls upon someone else, saying Ya! it may be used in one of two ways - physically or by the knowledge of that person. An example of this is when the Messenger of Allah [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] warned the people at the time of Dajjal: “Yaa ‘ibaadillaahi Fathbutu…” (Oh servants of Allah! Keep your feet steadfast…) The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said this to the people who would be present at the time of Dajjal, and who were not yet born.

Another example, is when Sayyidna ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with Him, was walking through the plain of Karbalah, he said ‘Ya Abu ‘Abd Allah Hussayn, Fasbir! [Oh, (my son) Abu 'Abd Allah Hussayn! Be patient (when facing the enemy in this place]‘ This was because ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with Him, was informed by the Messenger of Allah, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), that his son, Hussayn [May Allah be pleased with Him], would be martyred at Karbalah. Sayyidna ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with Him, called Hussayn despite the fact that he was not present with him, and even though Hussayn could not hear his Father ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with Him, but remained in his thoughts.

[Ibn Taymiyya, Minhaj-as-sunna, chapter Aswad-al-Qadeem]

The above example demonstrates, as provided by Ibn Taymiyya, that at least in one way, Ya can be used in the Arabic language to call someone who is not physically present, but who is present in the thoughts of the caller, as when Sayyidna ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with Him, remembered his son and called to him.

Evidence to support the permissibility of saying Ya Muhammad! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace]

Hafidhh ibn al Qayyim writes that the Prophet of Allah, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

Send salutations on me, but send more salutations on Friday. When you recite the salutation, your voice will reach me wherever you are. Some companions asked, ” even after your death?” The Prophet, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, “Allah has made it unlawful for the earth to decompose my body”.

[Hafidhh Ibn-al-Qayyim, Jala-ul-Afhaan page 145]

Imam Nasa’i narrates that there are specific angels who visit the earth and whose sole duties are to go to the persons who sends salutations upon the Prophet Muhammad, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), and then to take those salutations to the Prophet Muhammad, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace)
[Mishkat chapter on Salaah al Nabi]

The above mentioned Ahadith, indicate that if anyone were to send salutations to the Prophet, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), he himself would either hear the salutations, or an angel will convey them to him. In both cases, salutations will reach the Prophet, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace).

The Salaf used to say Ya Muhammad![May Allah bless him and grant him peace]

Imam Bukhari, Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyya and Qadi Shawkani all posed the same question, that if a person’s foot becomes numb, what should he do? Their recommendations were the same, and included with their answer, the following hadith:

Some time after Rasul Allah, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), had passed away, ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Umar [May Allah be pleased with Him] was in Najd where one day his foot became numb. As a remedy to alleviate the pain, a person said to him. “Remember the one whom you love the most!” Upon hearing this Ibn ‘Umar [May Allah be pleased with Him] said “Ya Muhammad! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace]” and his foot made an immediate recovery from numbness.

[Imam Bukhari, Adab al Mufrad al Kalim al Tayyab; Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyya and Qadi Shawkani, Tuhfah al Dakireen chapter on Khadirat Rijluhu, and also Imam Nawawi's Kitab al Adkar]

Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyya writes,

In the same way as ‘Abd Allah ibn Umar’s foot became numb and he remembered the one he loves the most, ‘Abd Allah Ibn Abbas’s foot also became numb. Someone also said to him to remember the one who he loves the most, whereupon ‘Abd Allah Ibn Abbas said Ya! Muhammad [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] and his foot immediately recovered from numbness.

[Hafidhh ibn Taymiyya, Al Kalim al Tayyib chapter on Khadirat Rijluhu]

Qadi Shawkani writes:

If one is in trouble or is in distress, he should perform two nawafil rakats and then make a supplication. They should say ”Ya Muhammad!” [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] and Allah most High will grant them what they requested and their problems and troubles should be resolved. The scholars of hadith say that this hadith is authentic and Tirmidhi, Hakim, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah and at-Tabarani record it.

[Qadi Shawkani, Tofah al Dhakireen chapter on Salaah al Hajah]

Hafidhh Ibn Kathir, Imam Tabari and Imam Ibn Athir all wrote [that]:

During the Khilafa of Abu Bakr as- Siddique, may Allah be pleased with Him, there was a battle against the false Prophet Musaylima [of Najd]. When the battle commenced, the Muslims lost their footing at which point Khalid bin Walid, may Allah be pleased with Him, and the rest of the companions called out “Ya Muhammad!” [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] and proceeded to win the battle.

[Tarikh at Tabari, Tarikh Ibn Kathir and Tarikh Qamil by Imam Tabari, Hafidhh Ibn Kathir and Imam Ibn Athir and Ibn Jarir in Chapter Musaylima Kadhaab]

Hafidhh Ibn Kathir and Imam Tabari both write:

During the Khilafah of ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with Him, there was a famine outside the city of Madinah. A companion called Bilal bin Harith al Muzni, may Allah be pleased with Him, said to his people “The famine is very severe, [let us] sacrifice a goat”. Apart from a red bone nothing came from the goat [the goat was very thin due to famine and as such, there was no meat on the bones]. Bilal bin Harith, may Allah be pleased with Him, called out “Ya Muhammad!” [May Allah bless him and grant him peace]. The Messenger of Allah, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), then appeared in the dream of Bilal bin Harith and informed him that there will be rain.

[Tarikh Ibn Kathir and Ibn Jarir chapter of khilafah of 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with Him]

As-Sayyid Mawdudi writes:

When Hajaj bin Yusuf had placed tax upon some new Muslims, they left Basra crying with their fuqaha [scholars] and they were all saying, Ya Muhammad!, Ya Muhammad! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace]

[Sayyid Mawdudi, Khilafah wa Malukiyat, page 270 and Tarikh Ibn Athir]

Hafidhh Ibn Kathir and Imam Tabari both write that

After the occasion of Karbala, Sayyida Zaynab, May Allah be well pleased with her, [the sister of Hussayn, may Allah be pleased with Him] and her company were taken as prisoners to Syria. When she passed the dead bodies she proclaimed: “Ya Muhammad!” [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] Your Hussayn is drenched in blood without a shroud or a grave, and Ya Muhammad! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace], your daughters are taken prisoners and your children have been killed

[Ibn Jarir and Tarikh Ibn Kathir in Chapter of Karbala*]

*For those of us, who have forgotten, Karbala took place in Iraq in 60AH. At that time Zaynab may Allah be well pleased with her, said ‘Ya Muhammad! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace]

Imam Waqdi writes:

During the khilafah of Abu Bakr Siddiq [may Allah be pleased with Him], there was a battle at Halb. Ka’ab. Abu Bakr [may Allah be pleased with Him] said “Ya Muhammad! Ya! Muhammad, [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] and shouted, “Oh Companions! Stay firm footed!”
['Allama Waqdi, Futoohusham, in the chapter on the Battle of Halb]

Imam Ibn Sa’ad writes:

After the Messenger of Allah, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), had passed away, Arwa bint ‘Abd al Muttalib, May Allah be well pleased with her, recited the: “Ya Rasul Allah! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace]. You were our place of hope.”

[Imam Ibn Sa'ad, Tabaqat Ibn Sa'ad, chapter on the Death of the Prophet]

Hafidhh Ibn al Qayyim writes:

Muhammad bin ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with Him, relates: ‘I was sitting in the company of Abu Bakr bin Mujahid in Baghdad when Shaykh Shibli came before them. Whereupon Abu Bakr bin Mujahid stood up and hugged Shaykh Shibli, kissed his forehead and sat him by his side.’ Muhammad bin ‘Umar [May Allah be pleased with Him] enquired: “You are the Shaykh [Abu Bakr bin Mujahid] whilst the whole of Baghdad regards Shibli as Majnun [Mad] - why have you treated him with so much respect?” To this, Abu Bakr bin Mujahid replied “I have done nothing strange, I have treated him exactly as I have seen the Messenger of Allah, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), treat him. In my dream I saw the Messenger of Allah, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), kiss Shibli between his two eyes. I asked the Prophet, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), “Why did you treat Shibli in this way?” to which he, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), replied “I love him because after every Salaah he recites the last verse of Surah Tauba after which he recites Sallal la ho ‘alayka Ya Muhammad! [Peace and blessings from Allah be upon you Oh Muhammad!) Three times.

[Hafidhh Ibn-al-Qayyim, Jala-al-Afham., page 80]

The above mentioned Ahadith clearly illustrate that the Companions and others of the Salaf used to say Ya Muhammad or Ya Rasul Allah! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] when they experienced difficulty, and that the Prophet, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) did help us either by making supplication for their success or appearing in their dreams to comfort them. Those Companions who were ill and said Ya Rasul Allah [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] found that they would get better; and if they were in a battle which they were losing - they would soon win; and if they were facing a famine - they would soon have rain.

The last quotation from Hafidhh Ibn al-Qayyim shows that the Messenger of Allah, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), loves the one who pronounces ‘Ya Muhammad!’ [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] to a considerable high degree. All these occurances took place many years after the Messenger of Allah, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), passed away. So if it was kufr to say ‘Ya Muhammad!’ [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] today and after the lifetime of the Prophet, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), the Prophet, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), would not have expressed any love for Shibli. Also, if this is an unreliable narration, why did Ibn al-Qayyim choose to quote it? Was he someone who supported shirk or kufr?

What has been said above supports the fact that it is not kufr or shirk to call out Ya Muhammad, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace).

However, still people will insist, despite of all the above, that to say Ya Muhammad (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) is shirk, and will deduce to the fact that this is a form of worshipping someone besides Allah. They often put forward the following ayat of the Qur’an:

And the mosques are only for Allah, so worship none with Allah
[Surah al Jinn verse 18]

This is just a doubt and a misunderstanding of the grammatical use of the words Tad`u/Yad`u in the Arabic language - since Tad’u and Yad’u have been used in two different contexts in the Qur’an: in the context of worship and also in the context of calling.

In the above verse it has been used in the context of worship and we agree that anyone who worships something besides Allah is a kafir and a mushrik. However, when a Muslim says Ya Rasul Allah! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] he is not worshipping the Messenger of Allah, but merely calling him, as Ibrahim, peace be upon him, called all the people to Hajj [Tafsir Ibn Kathir under Surah Hajj] and as ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with Him, called Sariah. This type of calling is not worship, of which an example is provided in the Qur’an when Allah commanded Ibrahim, peace be upon him, to call the dead birds [Surah Al- Baqara, verse 260]

This should demonstrate that the word ‘call’ is not always used in the context of worship. Whoever says Ya Muhammad! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] cannot be called either a kafir or mushrik because he is calling with the love of the Prophet Muhammad, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), as was the case when the salaf called upon the Messenger of Allah, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace). His intention is not the intention to worship him.

The pious can hear from afar

1) The Prophet Sulaiman, peace be upon him, heard the conversation of the ants from a distance.
[Al- Qur'an Surah al Namal verse 19]

2) The Messenger of Allah, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), heard the footsteps of Bilal,may Allah be pleased with Him, in Paradise. [Bukhari and Muslim Kitab-al-Manaqib., Muslim., fazail Bilal]

3) Hafidhh Ibn al Qayyim writes:

The Messenger of Allah, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), stated: ‘I hear the voice of every person who sends salams (peace and blessings) upon me, wherever he may be’.
[Hafidhh Ibn-al-Qayyim Jala-al-Afham page 145]

4) When women quarrel with their husbands who are righteous (and who go to paradise) the Hoors (fair Maidens of Paradise) listen to their arguing from Paradise whilst they are still on the earth. [Mishkat-al-Masabih in Chapter of Mu'ashirat-an-Nisa]

To conclude this chapter, we would like to state that:

From the above statements it is proved that the pious can hear from a far distance, by the grace of Allah most High.

Secondly, it is not shirk to call them using the word Ya! We would like to clarify that to call upon the pious using Ya! is simply permissible: being neither fardh, nor wajib, nor sunna.

Thirdly, as proven, the Salaf did proclaim Ya Muahammed! [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] at times of distress - and this difficulty was alleviated.

The reason for writing this article is only to clarify, to those people who shout ‘kafir’ and ‘mushrik’, to those Muslims who call using the word Ya! - that we can use the word Ya!

We also say that help should only be asked from Allah most High. We should only present the Waseela of the pious, when asking from Allah.

__________________

حسبي ربي جل الله ما في قلبي غير الله نور محمد صلي الله لا اله الا الله

جئت اليك من ديار اولياء الله وانا مجرم من أمتك اشفعني يا رسول الله


ياذاالجلال والاكرام ,أ متنا على دين الإسلام و في المدينة المنورة

I would also advise people to read ‘Reliance of the Traveller’ by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller regarding this topic.

MUHAMMAD (SALLAL LAAHU ALAIHI WASALLAM) IS A LAWMAKER


MUHAMMAD (SALLAL LAAHU ALAIHI WASALLAM) IS A LAWMAKER



There is a difference between one who knows the law and a lawmaker. One who knows the law refers to that person who is aware of the complete and partial aspects of law. With this he should have the ability to solve a problem from law. An example of this is an attorney or an advocate. These persons are only knowers of the law no matter how intelligent they may be. These persons do not have even the right to make a single change to any law. They are not permitted to change any law that has already been established by the Judiciary, even though they may have the expertise to do so. They draw evidence from laws already established, to make an argument for their case, which debate sometimes for weeks and months, but they cannot change the actual law, and cannot even change the context of such law. An example of this in Islam is the Ulama, who have the knowledge of the fundamentals and principles of Shariah (Islamic law). They have such expertise, that they can solve problems presented to them to an extent, where they are able to firmly answer the objections made on Islamic issues. They however have no right to change any established Islamic law. They cannot change the actual law and cannot even change the context of such law. As for the lawmaker, who must be worthy of being a special personality, he may change the law when he wants, whatsoever he wants either by himself or by the authority vested in him by the actual maker of the law. An example of this in present times is the Ruling Emperor, who has the right to make any law and to change any law when and how he deems necessary. The second example is that of the Minister, who on the authority of the Emperor or King, may make or change any law.



Now that we have understood the meaning of the terms Knower of Law and Lawmaker, now let us examine the same in the light of the Shariah, and search to find whether the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is only the possessor of knowledge, or is also a Lawmaker through the permission granted to him by Almighty Allah. There are a few views in this debate:



1. The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is a lawmaker through the permission of Allah In the light of the Quraan.

2. The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is a lawmaker through the permission of Allah In the light of the Hadith.

3. The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is a lawmaker through the permission of Allah In the light of Authentic Testimony.

4. What were the views of the Ummah before this Era.



IN THE LIGHT OF THE QURAAN: If we make research from the Quraan, then we will find much information relating to this. Even if we browse through the Quraan, we will find evidence of this. When reciting the Quraan, we will find verses that say, Obey Allah and His Apostle, Whomsoever disobeys Allah and His Prophet, are sinners and tyrants, whose destination is Hell. None have doubt in the fact of Almighty Allah being the Sole Controller and Lawmaker. It is evident that Almighty Allah is the Creator, Bestower, Cherisher etc, but it is also clear that it is also compulsory to obey the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam). It must thus be accepted, that just as Almighty Allah changes, commands and specifies, through His permission and His Bestowing, the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) also has the control over everything, and this is in actuality, the meaning of a Lawmaker. With the exception of these general explanations, let us also examine a few specific points.



Almighty Allah says, O Beloved You say! If you love Allah, then obey Me. Allah will make you His beloved. Every person knows that the meaning of obedience, is this, that one should follow every command that has been given, and to practice accordingly. From this verse, it is evident, that we have to obey any command that is given by the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam). This shows, that the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has been blessed with the right to give any command He wishes to the Ummah. This is the meaning of a Lawmaker. Almighty Allah says, Whomsoever does contrary to the command of the Prophet after the truth has been made apparent, and who go on the path of any other than that of the believers, We will then turn him in the direction to which he has gone and will place him in hell. This is a bad destination.



To go against the command of the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), here means to refute or go against anything He says, or act against anything He commands. It is for this reason, because His every command, is the law of Islam and He whose every command is the Law of Shariah, is definitely a Lawmaker, and not only a Knower of the Law. It is as follows in Surah Noor: For those who act against the command of the Prophet, they should fear that they are not caught up in corruption and that a painful torment does not befall them. The warning for those who act against the command of the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), is for this reason, that to act in any way against Him is to act against the Shariah, and this is only the right of a Lawmaker, and not that of only a Knower of Law.



IN THE LIGHT OF AHADITH: Hadith No.1: The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said,I have left two things with you. As long as you remain firm on this, you will not go astray. The Quraan and my Sunnat.



None object to the fact of the Quraan being the law of Shariah. However the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) also kept His Sunnat the law of Shariah. It is therefore only proper that we accept the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) as a lawmaker.



Hadith No.2: Imam Abu Da ud (radi Allahu anhu) narrated a Hadith from Hazrat Irbaaz bin Saaria (radi Allahu anhu), in which the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, Listen! By Allah! I have commanded certain things, and forbidden certain things. Verily these (commands) are equal to that of the Quraan.



Hadith No.3: Imam Bukhari, Muslim and Nasai narrated the following Hadith on the Authority of Hazrat Ibn Abbas (Radi Allahu anhu), If I had not thought that it would be inconvenient for my Ummah, then I would have commanded them to pray Esha at that time, in other words at half the night.



Hadith No.4: The Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, Do not drink things that intoxicate. I have made all intoxicants Haraam.



When we read all these Ahadith carefully, we will find that those who have only accepted those things to be Halaal which have been made Halaal by Allah, and those things to be Haraam, which have been made Haraam by Allah, and do not accept that to be either Halaal or Haraam, which has been made Halaal or Haraam by the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), how hard the torment has been sent upon them. The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has further stated, all those things, which I have made Halaal, and all those things which I have made Haraam, are equal to that which Almighty Allah has made Halaal and made Haraam. Can any person who has no authority over making laws make such a statement? This shows that the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has been blessed with the opportunity of making laws, through the permission of Almighty Allah.



TESTIMONY OF SAHABA-E-KIRAAM: The proof of testimony of Sahaba-E-Kiraam in this matter is so vast, that all of them cannot be quoted here, but a few of them are being quoted for your perusal.



1. It is on the narration of Hazrat Abu Hurairah, that a certain Sahabi came into the Court of the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) and said, I have been destroyed. The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) asked what had happened, and He replied by saying, I had sexual intercourse with my wife while fasting (during Ramadaan) The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, Can you free one slave? He replied in the negative. The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) then asked if He had the strength to keep sixty (60) fast continuously, and He replied in the negative. The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) then asked if He had the means to feed sixty poor people, and He replied in the negative. Just then someone presented some dates. The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) asked Him to donate this to the poor. He replied by saying that there was no one more deserving in Madinah, than His family. On hearing this, the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) smiled so much that His Blessed Teeth began to show. He then said, Feed it to your family.



2. It is narrated in Tibraani, Musnad Abu Yal aa etc. on the Authority of Hazrat Haarith bin Usaama bin Nu man bin Basheer (radi Allahu anhu) and also personally from Hazrat Khuzaima (radi Allahu anhu) that the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, If Khuzaima gives testimony contrary or in agreement to anyone, then his testimony alone is acceptable. Whereas the Holy Quraan states, make two just persons from amongst you testators (witnesses). But the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) made the Testimony of Hazrat Khuzaima alone, equivalent to that of two witnesses. This alone is proof, that the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is a lawmaker.



VIEWS OF THE UMMAH BEFORE THIS ERA: It is in the Sunnan of Abu Da ud and Ibn Majah and the Musnad of Imam Tahtawi etc. on the authority of Hazrat Khuzaima, that, The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) specified the duration for masah on the leather sock to be that of three days and if someone had to ask, then He would have definitely changed it to five days.



1. Imam Abdul Wahab Shu raani (radi Allahu anhu) states in his Mizaanush Shariatul Kubra, that Almighty Allah has given the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) the authority to command whatever He wishes from His side.



2. Imam Ahmed Khateeb Qastalaani states in Mawahib as follows: It is from amongst the uniqueness of the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), He could change any law of the Shariah with whichever law He desired.

3. Imam Zirkaani (radi Allahu anhu) states, There is no specification in commands. He could change anything which he wished with anything He wished, by making it specific.



These are some of the quotations of the Learned predecessors, which prove that the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has been blessed with the authority to make and change laws as He wished. If anyone wishes to note the belief and the thoughts of the present Ummah, then they should peruse Aala Hazrat s (radi Allahu anhu) Al Amn-wa- Ulaa etc.

What is Islam


What is Islam

Contents:
Religion of Unity
Religion of "Submission To The Divine Will"
Religion of Nature
Religion of Discipline
Religion of Truth
Religion of Temperance
Religion of Beauty
Religion of Reason
Religion of The Negation of Superstition
Religion of Action
Religion of Balanced Progress
Religion of Scientific Quest
Religion of The Sanctity of Labour
Religion of The Highest Idealism In Ethics
Religion of Peace And Goodwill
Religion of Struggle (Jihad)
Religion of "No Compulsion In Conversion"
Religion of Brotherhood
Religion of Spiritual Democracy
Religion of Human Dignity
Religion of Rational Sex Morality
Religion of Salvation In This Life And The Hereafter
Religion With Authentic And Perfect Divine Scripture
Religion With The Simplest Creed
Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) The Pinnacle of Human Perfection
Absorption In The Love of God The Final Goal


(A) RELIGION OF UNITY

(1) Unity of God
Islam teaches the purest form of Monotheism and regards polytheism as the deadliest sin. A Muslim addresses GOD by His Personal Name: ALLAH --- the word "god" and its equivalents in other languages being unstable in the matter of connotation. Allah, according to Islam, is the One God, who is Indivisible in Person and Who has no partner: wife, son or daughter. He is the Matchless and "naught is as His likeness". "He begetteth not, nor was He begotten". He is the First, the Last, the Eternal, the Infinite, the Almighty, the Omniscient, the Omnipresent. He is the Creator, the Nourisher, the Cherisher of all things. He is the All-just, the Avenger of the wrongs done to the weak and the oppressed, the Compassionate, the Merciful and Loving, the Guide, the Friend, the Magnificent, the Glorious, the Beautiful and the True. In short, He is the Possessor of all Excellence.

Speaking of the conception of God in Islam, Gibbon, the famous western historian, says: "The Creed of Hazrat Muhammad is free from the suspicion of Ambiguity and the Qur’an is a glorious testimony to the unity of God. The Prophet of Mecca rejected the worship of idols and men, of stars and planets, on the rational principle that whatever is corruptible must decay and perish, that whatever is born must die, that whatever rises must set. In the Author of the universe his rational enthusiasm confessed and adored an infinite and Eternal Being, without form or place, without issue or similitude, present to our secret thoughts, existing by the necessity of His own nature, and deriving from Himself all moral and intellectual perfections. These sublime truths …are defined with metaphysical precision by the interpreters of the Qur’an. A philosophic theist might subscribe to the popular creed of the Muhammadans."

(2) Unity of the Universe
From the Unity of the Creator, according to Islam, proceeds the Unity of the Universe, i.e., Unity of Creation and Unity of Purpose. In other words, the Cosmos is a Moral Order.

(3) Unity of Mankind
Islam regards the whole of mankind as an "organic unity" --- a single family, and emphatically says that the distinctions on the mundane plane, the distinctions, namely, of race, colour, language or territory, cannot form the ground for claims of superiority of one group over the other. The only distinction that has "value" is that which arises at the moral and spiritual planes – namely, the distinction of "taqwa", or, "piety and righteousness".Prof. H.A.R. Gibb, the famous English critic of Islam says, "…..Islam…..possesses a magnificent tradition of inter-racial understanding and co-operation. No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and of endeavour so many and so various races of mankind… If ever the opposition of the great societies of East is to be replaced by co-operation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition." (Whither Islam? p.379).

(4) Unity of Religion
According to Islam, the human intellect, though a great and powerful asset, has its natural limits, and, therefore, neither the normative nor the empirical sciences are capable of leading humanity to a sure knowledge of ultimate truths and the code of life based upon them. The only source of sure knowledge open to humanity is, consequently, Divine Guidance, and that course has been actually open ever since the beginnings of human life on earth. Allah raised His "Prophets" and "Messengers" and revealed His Guidance to them for transmission to humanity. Coming from the same Source, all revealed religions have, therefore, been one, i.e., ISLAM.

Allah's Prophets and Messengers continued to come to every country and community to work in their respective limited fields. Time after time, the revealed Guidance was either lost or corrupted through human interpolation, and new Prophets with fresh Dispensations were sent, and humanity continued to advance from infancy to maturity. At last, when the stage of maturity was reached – when humanity was practically to become one family --- instead of sectional Guidance, a perfect, final and abiding Revelation, addressed to entire mankind and for all time, was granted in the seventh century of the Christian era. That Revelation, which recapitulates all former Revelations and thus sets a seal on the Unity of Religion, is ISLAM; the Scripture which enshrines it is the HOLY QUR’AN; and the Prophet who brought it is the Leader of Humanity, Hazrat Muhammad (Allah bless him!).Thus all the Prophets of God, from Adam down to Hazrat Noah, Hazrat Abraham, Hazrat Moses and Hazrat Jesus (peace be upon them all), are the Prophets of a Muslim the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him!) being the Last and Final one, and all the Divine Scriptures are the Scriptures of a Muslim, though he follows only the Holy Qur’an because it alone exists in its original purity and it alone contains the religion of Islam which has been followed by all rightly-guided people since the day the first human being came into existence.

(5) Unity of Sexes
Differentiation of functions have misled certain cultures of the world to regard woman as a being who belongs, so to say, to a different and inferior species: and to meet out to her inhuman treatment accordingly. Islam emphatically repudiates that notion and teaches that both man and woman have sprung from the same essence and the same source and consequently possess the same human status. Their functions and interests, instead of being antagonistic, are meant to be mplementary. The natural relation between the sexes, in all its aspects, is therefore, that of love and harmony, without which no true human progress can be possible.

(6) Unity of Classes
Islam aims at the creation of a classless society by eliminating all possible social conflicts (through revolving the different interests).
In the sphere of economics, Islam lays down the principle that wealth should not be allowed to circulate among the wealthy only, and envisages, through its laws and institutions, a "Cooperative Common-wealth of Talents".

In the political sphere, Islam stands for the "Cooperative Commonwealth of the Pursuers of Righteousness".
Taken as a whole, the Islamic state is a "welfare state" where sovereignty belongs to Allah alone and no human being has a right to govern other human beings except in the name of Allah and according to His Will, and where nobody, not even the Head of the State, is above the law. Absolute Justice is the watchword and the Establishment of Righteousness is the goal.

The merits of Islam’s social ethics have elicited praise even from the otherwise hostile critics. For instance:H.G. Wells says: "Islam created a society more free from widespread cruelty and social oppression than any society that had ever been in the world before" (Outline of History, p.325).

H.A.R. Gibb says: "Within the Western world Islam still maintains the balance between exaggerated opposities. Opposed equally to the anarchy of European nationalism and the regimentation of Russian communism, it has not yet succumbed to that obsession with the economic side of life which is characteristic of present-day Russia alike." (Whither Islam? p.378).

Prof. Louis Massignon says: "Islam has the merit of standing for a very equalitarian conception… It occupies an intermediate position between the doctrines of bourgeois capitalism and Bolshevist communism." (Whither Islam? p.378).

(7) Unity of Human Activity
Islam conceives of the human personality as a "unity" and consequently regards the distinction of "secular" and "religious" as unscientific, irrational and absurd. The life of a Muslim, both in its individual and social manifestation, is a life lived for God and God alone.

"Islam," says Dudley Wright, scholar of Comparative Religion, "is no mere creed; it is a life to be lived. In the Qur’an may be found directions for what are sometimes termed the minor details of daily life, but which are not minor when it is considered that life has to be lived for God. The Muslim lives for God alone. The aim of the Muslim is to become God-bound, and to endeavour to advance the knowledge of God in all his undertakings. From the cradle to the grave the true Muslim lives for God and God alone."

(B)RELIGION OF "SUBMISSION TO THE DIVINE WILL"
The word "Islam" means "submission" and, as a religious term, it connotes "submission to the Divine Will and Commands". As such, ISLAM is co-extensive with NATURE. For, everything in Nature submits to the Divine Will without demur. The only exception is man. He has to choose "Islam" through his free will and thus to attain his destiny by falling in line with the rest of God’s Creation.

Goethe, the renowned poet-philosopher of Germany, says:"Naerrisch, dass jeder in seinem Falle Seine besomdere Meinung priest! Whenn Islam Gott ergeben heisst, Im Islam leben und sterben wir alle" viz:"It is lack of understanding that everyone praises own special opinion;(for) Islam means submission to God and in Islam we all live and die."

(C) RELIGION OF NATURE
The above statement brings out, and the Holy Qur’an emphasises in clear terms, that to be a Muslim is to live and grow in accordance with true human nature and in harmony with the Nature around. Islam, thus, means conformity to the Natural Law.

(D) RELIGION OF DISCIPLINE
The concepts of Submission to the Divine Will and Conformity to the Natural Law, when actively realized in human life, give rise to the healthiest form of ISCIPLINE and Islam is the religion of Discipline par excellence.

In his famous book; First and Last Things, H.G. Wells says:
"The aggression, discipline and submission of Muhammadanism makes, I think,… fine and honourable religion for men. Its spirit, if not its formulae is abundantly present in our modern world... I have no doubt that in devotion to a virile… Deity and to the service of His Empire of stern Law and Order, efficiently upheld, men have found and will find salvation."The German Orientalist Friedrich Delitzsch admits that the Muslim shows "owing to his religious surrender to the Will of God an exemplary patience under misfortune and he bears up under disastrous accidents with an admirable strength of mind." (Die Welt des Islam, p.28).

(E)RELIGION OF TRUTH
The concept of "Truth" forms the keynote of Islamic ideology and pervades the entire universal order presented by Islam. Not only is "truthfulness" a fundamental value in the elaborate Islamic Moral Code – a value which forms the foundation-stone of Muslim character, but God Himself has been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an as "The Truth", or "the True", the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (God bless him!) as the "Bearer of Truth", the Qur’an itself as "the Truth", and the abode of the righteous after death as the "Seat of Truth".

(F) RELIGION OF TEMPERANCE
Islam is the religion of Purity and Temperance par excellence. It stresses purity not only of the mind and the heart, which certain other religions also stress, but also of the body, its fundamental principle being the harmonious development of human personality. Consequently; it strictly prohibits the use of all drinks and foods which might be unhealthy and injurious to the body, or the mind or both. Thus its prohibitive injunctions cover not only all the intoxicants, e.g., wine, opium, etc., but also those foods which are harmful to healthy human growth. Ultimately, Islamic Temperance covers all evil thoughts, feelings and deeds.

(G)RELIGION OF BEAUTY
Unlike certain religions, Islam is not the religion of contempt for the world, of the negation of any fundamental value. It is positively and definitely a religion of fulfilment – fulfilment of all the faculties and positive capabilities with which God has endowed man. Aesthetic culture, therefore, forms part of Islamic life – of course, governed and controlled by Islam’s moral and spiritual principles. In Islam the concept of "Beauty" permeates the entire human activity – nay, the whole cosmic order, "Allah," says the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (peace be with him!), "is Beautiful and loves what is beautiful." Beauty in thought, words and deed, and beauty in all creative activity is the Islamic ideal.Islam permits the creation of Art, within the limitations of its spiritual and moral framework. But its motto is not "Art for the sake of Art" but "Art for the sake of Life", whereby alone a true blending of spiritual, moral and physical beauty – the rational and harmonious goal of human life – is achievable.

(H) RELIGION OF REASON
Islam regards Reason as man’s distinctive privilege and God’s noble gift, and the Holy Qur’an has repeatedly exhorted mankind to employ Reason in the matters of social and natural phenomena and in understanding its Message and practicing its Guidance, thus giving to "personal judgment," its due place in the life of a Muslim."Intellectual Culture" in general, forms one of the noblest pursuits of human life in Islam and the acquisition and cultivation of knowledge has been made obligatory upon every Muslim man and woman.

(I) RELIGION OF THE NEGATION OF SUPERSTITION
Islam is a positively rational religion and stands opposed to the mystery cults and religions of mysterious dogmas whose acceptance is generally claimed on the basis of blind faith.

Speaking of the negation of superstition and the affirmation of Reason in Islam, Godfrey Higgins says: "No relic, no image, no picture, no mother of God disgrace his (Hazrat Muhammad’s) religion. No such doctrines as the efficacy of faith without works, or that of a death-bed repentance, plenary indulgences, absolution or auricular confession, operate first to corrupt, then to deliver up his followers into the power of a priesthood, which would of course be always more corrupt and more degraded than themselves. No indeed! The adoration of one God, without mother, or mystery, or pretended miracle, and the acknowledgement that he, a man, was sent to preach the duty of offering adoration to the Creator alone, constituted the simple doctrinal part of the religion of the Unitarian of Arabia." (Apology for Hazrat Muhammad).

(J) RELIGION OF ACTION
Islam stands in sharp contrast with those religions which interpret the Salvation of man in terms of the acceptance of certain intricate and inexplicable formulae. Simplicity is its watch-word and rationality its lifeblood, and as such it gives to both "Faith" and "Action" their due place. Wherever the Holy Qur’an mentions the problem of human salvation, it bases it on "right belief" as well as "righteous action", emphasizing the former as the ground and the latter as the sequence.

(K) RELIGION OF BALANCED PROGRESS
Islamic life is a life of the attainment of "Falah" which means, "The furrowing out of latent faculties". A Muslim, therefore, has to continuously strive for progress…. a progress controlled by righteousness and illumined by Divine Guidance, a progress grounded in spirituality, a progress balanced and comprehending all aspects of human life: spiritual, mental, moral, aesthetic and physical.Paying tribute to the balanced character of Islam and the progress which it inspires, the famous Orientalist Prof. H. A. R. Gibb says:"Within the Western world, Islam still maintains the balance between exaggerated opposites...For the fullest development of its cultural life, particularly of its spiritual life, Europe cannot do without the forces and capacities which lie within Islamic society." (Whither Islam? p.378).

(L) RELIGION OF SCIENTIFIC QUEST
While other religions may feel shy of science Islam has made the scientific quest a religious obligation. The aims of that quest, however, are not the unbalanced indulgence in physical pleasures and the tyrannisation over fellowbeings, but the advancement in the love of God through progress in the knowledge of His works and the service of humanity through the acquisition of control over the "forces of nature".

Speaking of the role of Islam as the inaugurator of the modern scientific era, Briffault, the reputed scholar of the history of civilisation, says:…although there is not a single aspect of European growth in which the decisive influence of Islamic culture is not traceable, nowhere is it so clear and momentous as in the genesis of that power which constitutes the permanent distinctive force of the modern world and the supreme source of its victory – natural science and the scientific spirit … The debt of our science to that of the Arabs does not consist in startling discoveries of revolutionary theories; science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence. The ancient world was, as we saw, pre-scientific. The Astronomy and Mathematics of the Greeks were a foreign importation never thoroughly acclimatised in Greek culture. The Greeks systematised, generalised and theorised; but the patient ways of investigation, the accumulation of positive knowledge, the minute methods of science, detailed and prolonged observation and experimental inquiry were altogether alien to Greek temperament... What we call science arose in Europe as the result of a new spirit of inquiry, of new methods of investigation, of the method of experiment, observation, measurement, of the development of Mathematics in a form unknown to the Greeks. That spirit and those methods were introduced into the European world by the Arabs… Neither Roger Bacon nor his later namesake has any title to be credited with having introduced the experimental method. Roger Bacon was no more than one of the apostles of Muslim science and method to Christian Europe; and he was never wearied of declaring that knowledge of Arabic and Arab Science was for his contemporaries the only way to true knowledge. Discussions as to who was the originator of the experimental method…are part of the colossal misrepresentation of the origins of European civilisation. The experimental method of the Arabs was by Bacon’s time widespread and eagerly cultivated throughout Europe … Science is the most momentous contribution of Arab civilisation to the modern world….. It was not science only which brought Europe back to life. Other and manifold influences from the civilisation of Islam communicated its first glow to European life. "(Making of Humanity, pp 190-202).H.G. Wells, another great Western authority, had to admit that: "Through the Arabs it was, and not by the Latin route, that the modern world received that gift of light and power (i.e., the Scientific Method)."

Because of its deep-rooted hostility to Islam, implanted during the Middle Ages, the West has been very slow in acknowledging the merits of Islam. Admissions and confessions have, however, been gradually coming forth grudgingly or ungrudgingly. Thus, as we have seen above, it has been admitted that the Muslims gave to the West the Scientific Method as well as the scientific inspiration. But the Muslims themselves received them from the Holy Qur’an. This fact has also been admitted at last. For instance, Stanislas Guyard observes: "In the seventh century of our era, the Old World was in agony. The Arabian conquest infused into it new blood … Hazrat Muhammad gave them (the Arabs) the Qur’an, which was the starting point of new culture. " (Encyclopedia des Sciences Religieuses, Tome IX,p. 501). Challenging the adversaries of Islam and referring to the Holy Qur’an, Dr. A Bertherand says: "Let them read and meditate on this great Book: they will find in it, at every passage, constant attack on idolatry and materialism; they will read that the Prophet incessantly called the attention and the mediation of his people to the splendid marvels, to the mysterious phenomena of creation… those who have followed its counsels have been, as we have described in the course of this study, the creators of a civilisation which is astounding to this day." (Contribution des Arabs auprogres des Sciences Medicales, p. 6).Emmanuel Deutsch oberves: "By the aid of the Qur’an the Arabs…came to Europe to hold up the light to humanity, they alone, while darkness lay around,…to teach philosophy, medicine, astronomy and the golden art of song to the West as to the East, to stand at the cradle of modern science, and to cause us late epigoni for ever to weep over the day when Granada fell."

(M) RELIGION OF THE SANCTITY OF LABOUR
In Islam, all honest labour is sacred and forms the life-blood of human progress. "For man is naught but what he strives for," says the Holy Qur’an, and "the labourer is the beloved of God," says the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (God bless him!). Thus "idleness" is a sin and "industry" is a virtue in Islam.

(N) RELIGION OF THE HIGHEST IDEALISM IN ETHICS
Islam lays the foundation of ethics on "submission to the Divine will" and gives to humanity the ethical ideal of imitating the Divine Attributes, even as we have been exhorted by the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (God bless him!) who says: "Imbue yourselves with Divine Attributes."

"The highest form of religious ethic," observes Sir Richard Gregory, "is that in which the aim of conduct is complete and implicit obedience to what is conceived to be the Will of God …(this obedience) may become a joyous and spontaneous acceptance of a mode of life, such as it is conceived would be consonant with the nature of God, subject to such limitations of the flesh as are ineradicable – the ideal of saintliness. Hence arises the desire for uprightness as end-in-itself; either with a view to reward, if not in this world, in the next, or pursued selflessly for its own sake. This concept of religious ethic has led to the highest idealism in human conduct." (Religion in Science and Civilisation, p. 63).

(O) RELIGION OF PEACE AND GOODWILL
The world "Salam", which means "peace", has close root-affinity with the word "Islam". Thus the concept of PEACE forms an integral part of the world ISLAM itself. Indeed, this concept permeates the Islamic religion through and through. For, God, according to the Holy Qur’an, is As-Salam, i.e. (the Source of) peace"; a Muslim’s Salutation, which embodies the ideal of Muslim life, is As-Salam-o -alaikum, i.e., "Peace be unto you"; and the abode of the righteous, towards which the Holy Qur’an invites humanity, is Dar-us-Salam, i.e., "the Abode of Peace".One of the ideals of Muslim life, therefore, is the attainment of peace on all fronts --- peace with self through harmonious self-realisation, peace with fellow creatures through the maintenance of the basic attitude of Goodwill, and peace with God through submission to the Divine Will.

(P) RELIGION OF STRUGGLE (JIHAD)
The Islamic concept of Peace is not, however, utopian, For, Islam is a practical religion par excellence –a religion of Struggle (Jihad) --- and does not, therefore, prescribe any course of action which is unnatural or impracticable. Thus, for instance, in international relations, although basically committed to the promotion of Peace and Goodwill, Islam does allow the participation of Muslims in war when it becomes morally inevitable – when no other course remains open for safeguarding justice, nay, peace itself.The word "Jihad", which has been maligned much by the evil-minded misrepresenters of Islam in connection with the wars of Islamic history, means "struggle" and, according to Islam, it is of two kinds: (1) Struggle for subjugating one’s lower self to the higher self. This is the higher form of "Jihad" and its function is purely spiritual: (2) Struggle for defeating the forces of evil on the collective plane. This is the collective Jihad.The collective Jihad may, again, be either of a peaceful character, namely, propagation of Islam and its establishment in the collective life of the people through preaching and reform, or it may be in the form of war against an aggressor.

The Islamic permission of war is basically for defensive purposes. And not only does Islam rule out all immoral impulses to war but it also lays down a rigid ethics which in its sublimity and humanness surpasses all other ethics of war which humanity has ever known.

Says O. Houdas: " … The Qur’an states: ‘And fight for the cause of God against those who fight against you; but commit not the injustice of attacking them first; verily God loveth not the unjust’ – S.II 190…… Jihad had to be waged to defend Islam against aggression… Once the war was terminated, the Muslims always displayed a great tolerance towards the conquered peoples, leaving them their legislation and religious beliefs." (La Grande Encyclopaedia, Tome 20,p. 1006)."In their wars of conquest," says E. Alexander Powell, "the Muslims exhibited a degree of toleration which put many Christian nations to shame." (The Struggle for Power in Moslem Asia, p. 48).

(Q) RELIGION OF "NO COMPULSION IN CONVERSION"
As regards forcible proselytisation, it has been explicitly banned by Islam with the Qur’anic declaration: "there is no compulsion in matters of faith", and the propaganda that Muslims went out into the world with the sword in one hand and the Qur’an in the other to convert the non-Muslims forcibly is a pure fabrication. Indeed, it is so utterly unfounded that even an enemy of Islam like Rev. Dr. O’Leary had to admit:"History makes it clear that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of sword upon conquered races, is one of the most absurd myths that the historians have ever repeated". (Islam at the Croos-Roads, page 8).

(R) RELIGION OF BROTHERHOOD
Islam inculcates the love of God’s creation in general and of the human family, in particular. "The best of you is he who is best to God’s family (i.e., humanity)," says the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (God bless him!) Islam regards humanity as ‘one Fraternity inside which it affirms the existence of the "Islamic Brotherhood", wherein all distinctions of caste and tribe, race and colour, language and territory are superseded and obliterated, and which has been allotted the function of acting as the servant of, and the torch-bearer of Divine Guidance for, the larger Human Brotherhood.Side by side with the code of conduct meant to be observed within the circle of Islamic Brotherhood Islam also gives a definite code of Human Love which relates to the dealings of Muslims with the larger human society.

"The brotherhood of Muhammadanism," says Dr. Leither, "is no mere word. All believers are equal and their own high-priest." (Muhammadanism. P.18).
The Dutch Orientalist Snouck Hurgronje observes: "The ideal of a League of Human Races has been approached by Islam more nearly than by any other ideology; for the League of nations founded on Hazrat Muhammad’s religion takes the principle of the equality of all human race so seriously as to put other communities to shame." (Muslim World Today).

(S) RELIGION OF SPIRITUAL DEMOCRAY
In the sphere of worship, Islam stands for the establishment of direct relation between God and human being without the mediation of any priest. Every Muslim man and woman is, therefore, his or her own priest or priestess.

It is wrong to regard the scholars (Ulama) or the leaders (Imams) of congregational prayers in the mosques as priests. Any good Muslim who knows Islam can lead the prayers, while the ‘Ulama’ are simply scholars and experts of Islamic knowledge and merely fulfil a responsibility which rests on the shoulders of the entire Islamic Brotherhood. For, Islam wants every Muslim man and woman to be a scholar of its teachings, unlike, for instance, Hinduism, where those belonging to the caste of Brahmins alone possess this privilege.Rev.W.Wilson Cash, the famous Christian missionary and hostile critic of Islam, had to confess: "Islam endowed its people with a dignity peculiarly its own… Direct access to God makes one of the strong appeals of Islam" (The Expansion of Islam p. 177).

(T) RELIGION OF HUMAN DIGNITY
Problem of Slavery
By emphasizing freedom as the birthright of all human beings, by proclaiming human equality without distinctions of caste, colour or clime, by denying the sin-innate theory and all other theories of the evil origin of mankind by affirming that the progeny of Adam is the noblest creation of God, by raising humanity to the status of the Vicegerency of God on earth, by making imitation of the Divine Attributes the ethical ideal of mankind, and by pointing out the conquest of the universe as the human destiny, Islam has established human dignity on the loftiest pinnacle conceivable.

Humanity was suffering in various ways because of the wrong notions held by pre-Islamic cultures and religions about human dignity, when Islam appeared. Cruelty was being perpetrated in the name of caste, tribe and race, large masses of humanity had been reduced to the status of serfs, and slavery, which had been an age-old institution, was being practiced by various races and peoples of Europe and Asia, including the Arabs, with the sanction of such scriptures as the Bible and without the least moral compunction. Islam raised its masculine voice of protest against all those evils and gave to the world a philosophy and a legislation which has made it the saviour of the downtrodden and the oppressed for all time.

Among the many misconceptions spread about Islam by its enemies, one is that which relates to slavery. For a proper appreciation of the role of Islam in the abolition of slavery, the reader is referred to the present writer’s "Islam and Slavery." Here, in this brief brochure, we might confine ourselves to the brief statement of a fair-minded non-Muslim scholar of the last century, who said: "His (i.e., Hazrat Muhammad’s) law of slavery is, ‘If slaves come to you, you shall’ --- not imprison and then sell by public sale, though no claimant appears, as in the nineteenth century is the law of Christian England in her provinces, but, --- ‘redeem them, and it is forbidden to you to send them forth’ (Qur’an II, p.85). And this was a man standing up in the wilds of Arabia in the seventh century." (Westminster Review no. IX, p. 221).Even the hostile and biased Dutch critic of Islam, Prof. Snouck Hurgronje, had to say: "According to the Muhammadan principle, slavery is an institution destined to disappear."

(U) RELIGION OF RATIONAL SEX MORALITY

Problem of polygamy
The Islamic view of the fundamental equality of sexes has been already stated in the section on "Religion of Unity" and an impartial historical appreciation of the problem proves beyond all doubt that it was "Islam which removed the bondage in which women were held from the very dawn of human history and gave them a social standing and legal rights such as were not granted them in England till many centuries later." (Lady Evelyn Cobbold, in "Pilgrimage to Mecca"). But the widespread propaganda of the enemies of Islam in connection with polygamy necessitates a specific statement in that connection.

In the first instance, polygamy was not invented by Islam, nor was it made in any way obligatory. It had existed in pre-Islamic societies since time immemorial with the sanction of religion and had been practiced even by those who were accepted as holy personages as for instance, we find in the Old Testament. There it was governed by no law whatsoever, and so also it was in the Arabian society at the advent of Islam. What Islam did was to regulate it and to subject it to such severe restrictions as to make it prohibitive except in cases of emergency. Indeed, monogamy has been the ideal and polygamy only an exception in Muslim Society. This fact is fully borne out by the present as well as the past history of the Muslims and has been admitted by all fair-minded critics of Islam. For instance, William Kelly Wright says: "Most Mohammedans in all ages have had only one wife." (Philosophy of Religion, New York, 1935).

Islam is a natural religion and it takes a very serious view of sexual vices and social ills. Consequently, it was very natural for Islam to permit limited and restricted polygamy for the maintenance of social health in all those situations where it is the only natural remedy. For instance, when war alters the natural sex ratio, giving to women preponderance over men, there are only two alternatives, namely, widespread prostitution or polygamy. Islam prefers the latter to the former in the interests of moral health and social wellbeing of womanhood. Similarly, if the first wife is sterile or suffers from any incurable disease, there are only two possible alternatives, namely, either the first wife should be divorced and a fresh wife taken or she may continue in her status undisturbed along with a second wife. The former course would mean distressing, spinsterhood for the first wife while the latter course would provide to her an honourable normal life without temptation to evil. Polygamy can also become a necessity in a medically incurable case of the hypersexed male who, in most cases, would look to more than one woman for the satisfaction of his biological need. In all such cases, the Islamic permission of polygamy with all its responsibilities and restrictions would be a definitely healthier course than the hypocritical adherence to the formal monogamy.

Polyandry (i.e., the marriage of one woman with several husbands) is not permitted in Islam because psychologically it is unsound, sociologically it is impracticable and biologically it is most dangerous for the physical health of the persons concerned. Certain primitive tribes who practice polyandry are infected with the plague of venereal diseases.

Speaking on polygamy, Dr. Annie Besant says: "There is pretended monogamy in the West, but there is really polygamy without responsibility; the ‘mistress’ is cast off when the man is weary of her and sinks gradually to be the ‘woman of the street’, for the first lover has no responsibility for her future, and she is a hundred times worse off than the sheltered wife and mother in the polygamous home. When we see thousands of miserable women who crowed the streets of Western towns during the night, we must surely feel that it does not lie in western mouth to reproach Islam for polygamy. It is better for a woman, happier for a woman, more respectable for a woman, to live in polygamy, united to one man only, with the legitimate child in her arms, and surrounded with respect, than to be seduced, cast out into the streets, perhaps with an illegitimate child outside the pale of law, unsheltered and uncared for, to become the victim of any passer-by, night after night, rendered incapable of motherhood, despised of all."Another critic of Western social order observes: "The law of the state, based upon the dogma of the Church, which makes it a criminal offence for a man to marry more than one wife, by that same provision makes it illegal for millions of women to have husbands or to bear children…It is untrue that monogamy was advocated by Jesus Christ… whether the question is considered socially, ethically or religiously, it can be demonstrated that polygamy is not contrary to the highest standards of civilisation ….. The suggestion offers a practical remedy for the western problem of the destitute and unwanted female: the alternative is continued and increased prostitution, concubinage and distressing spinsterhood" (J.E. Clare McFarlane: Case for Polygamy).

(V) RELIGION OF SALVATION IN THIS LIFE AND THE HEREAFTER
It is the distinctive merit of Islam that it does not concern itself merely with Salvation beyond the grave—salvation in the Hereafter, but also gives full consideration to --- in fact, ensures --- human salvation in this life. For that purpose, it provides comprehensive Guidance which guarantees moral perfection, social progress, economic justice and political health – in short, all that is needed for the practical realisation and attainment of true human happiness in earthly life and all-round harmonious evolution of humanity.Laura Veccia Vaglieri says: "A religion which is not content with being a theory adapted to the aspirations of our human nature, nor with fixing a code of sublime precepts which may or may not be applied, but which also provides a code of life, establishes the fundamental principles of our morality on a systematic and positive base, precisely formulates the duties of man towards himself and towards others by means of rules which are capable of evolution and compatible with the widest intellectual develo-pment, and which gives its laws a Divine sanction, surely deserves our most profound admiration, as its influence is continual and salutary on man." (Apologie de L’ Islamisme, p. 88).

(W) RELIGION WITH AUTHENTIC AND PERFECT DIVINE SCRIPTURE
There are three fundamental merits of the Holy Qur’an, the Scripture of Islam, in which it stands unique among the scriptures of the world. They are: (1) authenticity of its text: (2) perfection of its literary form; (3) rational character, comprehensiveness and profoundness of its guidance. Even a brief discussion of these merits is not possible in the present introductory sketch. They are, however, so well-established that even the non-Muslim western scholars, who are always ready to attack Islam on the slightest pretext had to admit them in forceful words.Commenting on the beauty of form of the Holy Qur’an Paul Casanova remarks: "Whenever Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) was asked a miracle as a proof of the authenticity of his mission, he quoted the composition of the Qur’an and its incomparable excellence as a proof of its Divine origin. And, in fact, even for those who are non-Muslims nothing is more marvelous than its language with such a prehensile plenitude and a grasping sonority that its simple audition ravished with admiration those primitive peoples so fond of eloquence! The ampleness of its syllables with a grandiose cadence and with a remarkable large rhythm have been of much moment in the conversion of the most hostile and the most sceptic." (L’ Enseignement de I’Arabe au College de France, Lecon d’ouverture, April 26, 1909).As regards perfection in matter of guidance and the authenticity of its text, Laura Veccia Vaglieri observes: "But besides the perfection of form and method, the Book is also revealed inimitable by its very substance, for, we read in it, among other things, previsions or future events and of relations of fact accomplished since many centuries or which are generally ignored, and allusions to the most different sciences, religious or profane. On the whole we find in it a collection of wisdom which can be adopted by the most intelligent of men, the greatest of philosophers and the most skillful politicians….. But there is another proof of the Divinity of the Qur’an: it is the fact that it has been preserved intact through the ages since the time of its Revelation till the present day. And so it will always remain, with God’s Will, as long as the universe exists. Read and re-read through out the Muslim world, this book does not rouse in the Faithful any weariness; it rather, through repetition, is found feeling of awe and respect in the one who reads it or listens to it." (Apologie de L’Islamisme, pp.57-59).

(X) RELIGION WITH THE SIMPLEST CREED
The Islamic creed is as simple as the Islamic ideology is profound. Its first fundaments are:

(1) SEVEN ARTICLES OF FAITH
They are: Belief in:
Allah;
Angles;
Divine Scriptures;
Messengers of Allah;
the Hereafter;
the pre-measurement of Good and Evil;
Resurrection after death.

(2) THE "FIVE PILLARS"
They are:
Declaration of faith in the One-ness of God and in the Divine Messengership of Hazrat Muhammad: (Peace be upon him) La ilaha Illallah Muhammadur-Rasulullah;
Obligatory Prayers;
Obligatory Fasts;
Zakat or Poor-tax;
Pilgrimage to Ka’aba at Meccaa by those who possess the means.A Christian critic of Islam makes the following confession: "Islam had the power of peacefully conquering the souls by the simplicity of its theology, the clearness of its dogma and principles, and the definite number of practices which it demands. In contrast to Christianity which has been undergoing continuous transformation since its origin, Islam has remained identical with itself" (Jean Lheureux: Etude sur L’Islamisme, p. 35).For an appreciation of the Seven Articles and the Five Pillars, the reader is referred to "The Principles of Islam" written by His Eminence Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddiqi and published in the present series. Here it may be noted, however, that these Seven Articles and Five Pillars constitute only the "first fundaments", while the complete ideology of Islam, which shoots off from these fundaments and which is enshrined in the Holy Qur’an and the Prophetic Traditions, is so comprehensive as to cover the entire sweep of necessary guidance on physical, moral, social and spiritual aspects of human life.

(Y) Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) THE PINNACLE OF HUMAN PERFECTION
A code alone cannot, by its existence as such, inspire mankind to action. Hence to love the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Allah bless him!) above all human being and things of the world, to believe in him as the Most Perfect Embodiment of Human Perfection and as the Absolute Leader and the Last and the Final Prophet (after whom no new prophet of any category, zilli, buruzi, tashri’ee, ghairtashri’ee --- shadowy or real --- is to come), and to follow him as the "Best Example", form the prerequisite of Islamic Belief.This is the theological status of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (peace be with him) in Islam. As regards his refulgent personality, that would require volumes even to do bare justice to it.

It is said that the best testimony is that which comes from the enemy’s camp. Here, therefore, we might quote a few statements of the Western scholars of Islam.Hazrat Muhammad’s (peace be with him) figure was highly majestic, his complexion and features were extremely handsome, and "he was gifted", says the renowned Orientalist Lane Poole, "with mighty powers of imagination, elevation of mind, delicacy and refinement of feeling. ‘He is more modest than a virgin behind her curtain", it was said of him. He was most indulgent to his inferiors, and would never allow his awkward little page to be scolded whatever he did. ‘Ten years,’ said Anas, his servant, ‘was I about the Prophet and he never said as much as Uff to me.’ He was very affectionate towards his family. One of his boys died on his breast in the smoky house of the nurse, a blacksmith’s wife. He was very fond of children; he would stop them in the streets and pat their little heads. He never struck anyone in his life. The worst expression he ever made use of in conversation was, ‘what has come to him? May his forehead be darkened with mud!’ When asked to curse someone, he replied, ‘I have not been sent to curse but to be a mercy to mankind.’ He visited the sick, followed any bier he met, accepted the invitation of a slave to dinner, mended his own clothes, milked the goats, and waited upon himself, relates summarily another tradition. He never first withdrew his hand out of another man’s palm, and turned not before the other had turned.‘He was the most faithful protector of those he protected, ‘the sweetest and most agreeable in conversation. Those who saw him were suddenly filled with reverence; those who came near him loved him; they who described him would say, ‘I have never seen his like either before or after.’ ‘He was of great taciturnity, but when he spoke it was with emphasis and deliberation and no one could forget what he said."He lived with his views in a row of humble cottages separated from one another by palm branches cemented together with mud. He would kindle the fire, sweep the floor, and milk the goats himself. The little food he had was always shared with those who dropped in to partake of it. Indeed, outside the Prophet’s house was a bench or a gallery on which were always found a number of poor who lived entirely upon his generosity, and were hence called ‘people of the bench’. His ordinary food was dates and water, or barley bread; milk and honey were luxuries of which he was fond but which he rarely allowed himself. The fare of the desert seemed most congenial to him even when he was the sovereign of Arabia…"There is something so tender and womanly, and withal so heroic, about the man that one is in peril of finding the judgement unconsciously blinded by the feeling of reverence and well-nigh love that such a nature inspires. He who, standing alone, braved for years the hatred of his people, is the same who was never the first to withdraw his hand from another’s clasp; the beloved of children who never passed a group of little ones without a smile from his wonderful eyes and a kind word for them, sounding all the kinder in that sweet-toned voice. The frank friendship, the noble generosity, the dauntless courage and hope of the man, all tend to melt criticism into admiration."He was an enthusiast in that noblest sense when enthusiasm becomes the salt of the earth, the one thing that keeps men from rotting whilst they live. Enthusiasm is often used despitefully, because it is jointed to an unworthy cause or falls upon barren ground and bears no fruit. So was it not with Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be with him). He was an enthusiast when enthusiasm was the one thing needed to set the world aflame, and his enthusiasm was noble for a noble cause. He was one of those happy few who have attained the supreme joy of making one great truth their very lifespring. He was the Messenger of the one God, and never to his life’s end did he forget who he was or the message which was the marrow of his being. He brought his tidings with a dignity sprung from the consciousness of his high office together with a most sweet humility." (Speeches and Table-talk of the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad, Introduction’ XXVIII – XXX)."The essential sincerity of Hazrat Muhammad’s (Peace be with him) nature," says Professor Nathaniel Schmidt, "cannot be questioned; and historical criticism that blinks no fact, yields nothing to credulity, weighs every testimony, has no partisan interest, and seeks only the trust, must acknowledge his claim to belong to that order of Prophets who, whatever the nature of their psychical experience may have been, in diverse manners, have admonished, taught, uttered austere and sublime thoughts, laid down principles of nobler than they found, and devoted themselves fearlessly to their high calling, being irresistibly impelled to their ministry be a power within." (The New International Encyclopaedia. Vol. XVI, p. 72).Speaking of the glorious success which attended the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad’s (Peace be with him) mission, Caryle observes: "To the Arab nation Islam was a birth from darkness into light; Arabia first became alive by means of it. A poor, shepherd people, roaming unnoticed in its deserts since the creation of the world; a Hero-Prophet was sent down to them with a word they could believe: see the unnoticed becomes world-notable, the small has grown worldgreat. Within one century afterward Arabia is at Granada on this hand, at Delhi on that, glancing in valuour and splendour and the light of genius, Arabia shines through long ages over a great section of the world. These Arabs, the man Hazrat Muhammad, (Peace be with him) and that one century --- is it not as if a spark had fallen, one spark on what seemed black, unnoticeable sand? But lo ! the sand proves explosive powder, blazes heaven-high from Delhi to Granada!" (Heroes and Hero-Worship: Chappter on "Hero as Prophet").O. Houdas, the French scholar, said half a century ago about the inner vitality of the Holy Prophet’s Message: "Never has a religion developed with parallel rapidity. In less than half a century Islam spread from the banks of the Indus to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, and, if this movement slowed down, it still persists after fourteen centuries of existence. After having penetrated in India, in China and Malaysia, Islam continues its invading march in the African Continent which will before long become entirely Muslim. Without special missionaries and without resort to the force of arms, the religion of Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be with him) has converted the Black Continent, and it is not without some astonishment to point out the existence in England and America of small white communities which….. have adopted the Islamic doctrines and made efforts to propagate them. This invasion of Europe, hardly visible today, will surely grow." (La Grande Encyclopaedie, Tome 20, article: Islamisme).

(Z) ABSORPTION IN THE LOVE OF GOD THE FINAL GOAL
Cultivation of and absorption in the love of Allah, and the permeation of the heart with the sweet ecstasy of that love, until a person becomes virtually incapable of acting against the Divine Commands, is the final goal, which bestows upon a Muslim "Abiding Life" --- a life of Peace, Progress and Perfection.