Friday Nasiha 2/29/2008

Friday is the Islamic holy day, for congregational worship. It is incumbent upon men, but optional for women, as they may be ill from menstruation, pregnancy, or have young children to attend to. Nasiha means advice. This is from Young Muslims of Canada's weekly newsletter.


Seek the Good in Everyone

We must recognise that every person who believes in Allah and in His Messenger cannot be devoid of some inborn good, however evil his practice may be. Involvement in major transgressions does not uproot a person's iman unless the transgressor deliberately defies Allah and scorns His commands. We have to heed the Sunnah of the Prophet who used to treat wrongdoers as a physician would treat a patient, not as a policeman would treat a criminal. He was very kind to them and always listened to their problems.

The following example illustrates this point: a Qurayshi adolescent once came upon the Prophet and asked permission to fornicate. The Prophet's Companions were so outraged by the young man's request that they rushed to punish him, but the Prophet's attitude was totally different. Calm and compose, he asked the young man to come closer to him and asked: 'Would you approve of it [fornication] for your mother?' The young man replied: 'No'. The Prophet said: '[Other] people also would not approve of it for their mothers'. Then the Prophet repeatedly asked the young man whether he would approve of it for his daughter, sister, or aunt? Each time the young man answered 'No,' and each time the Prophet added that '[Other] people would not approve of it for theirs'. He then held the young man's hand and said: 'May Allah forgive his [the young man's] sins, purify his heart, and fortify him [against such desires]' (Ahmad and Tabarani).

The Prophet's sympathetic attitude clearly indicates a gesture of goodwill, a conviction that inborn goodness of the human self outweighs the elements of evil which could only be transient.

Source:
Islam: The Way of Revival, "The Ethics of Dawa and Dialogue" - Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, pp. 224, 225

We're Just Like YOU!

People are the same everywhere. There's good and bad in all faiths, cultures, races and societies. Muslims are no different--we have the good and bad. But in fact, we are just like you. We have our hopes and dreams, the extraordinary and the mundane. Here is something we'd like you to know. The voice you're hearing is that of Kareem Salama, an Arab-Muslim country singer! Please watch and enjoy.



presented by MAS MEDIA FOUNDATION

On calling others to Islam...

The following are excerpts from a speech by the emminent Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi. While it was originally given as a testament to the invaluable work done by IslamOnline, it applies to every Muslim in general. Our duty is not just to spread the beautiful truth of Islam to non-Muslims, but also to invite Muslims to enrich their faith. This blog is my humble attempt at answering this noble call.

It is our duty to carry this religion to all people around the world until they understand it, become interested in it, look for it, and enter it in surges as God would like. This is the duty of the Islamic nation. It is a collective obligation for this nation to propagate the message of this religion to the corners of the globe, and it is an individual obligation for the scholars of this religion to propagate Islam in all languages and tongues and be as God said: "We sent not a messenger except (to teach) in the language of his (own) people in order to make (things) clear to them."

The Muslims must be at the forefront of those calling to their religion; that is the obligation of this nation at this time, when relationships have intertwined, people are closer together and the world has become a giant village, or even a small village.

Our duty as Muslims is to call our religion and to teach it to people correctly from its pure sources. We should teach it as a creed, a way of worship, a set of behaviors and ethics, as a law and as an ideal civilization that connects the earth to the heavens, finds a place between the heart and mind, balances between rights and obligations and between individual rights and communal interests.

The Qur'an says: "You are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind. Enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah," and "Thus have We made you a nation justly balanced. That ye might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves."

I ask God Almighty to light our paths and guide our steps. May He help us carry out this dangerous mission: to call, educate and adjudicate so that our call to this religion may be the best it can, and for us to possess a certain knowledge in all we present. The Qur'an says: "Say thou: 'This is my way; I do invite unto Allah - with a certain knowledge - I and whoever follows me. Glory to Allah! And never will I join gods with Allah."