Wednesday 29 June 2016

THE THREE SIGNS OF A MUNAFIQ (DUPLICITOUS PERSON)

THE PREVIOUS CAUTION ABOUT THE TRANSLATION OF AHADITH APPLIES.

Rasool Allah SAW said that there are three signs of a Munafiq (duplicitous person); when he speaks he lies, when he makes a promise he breaks it, and when someone entrusts him with something valuable (Imanat) he breaches that trust. In another narration of this Hadith there is a further addition that even if that person prays Salah (Namaz) and fasts in Ramadan and claims that he is a Muslim, he still doesn't deserve to be called a Muslim because he has let go of the basic tenets of Islam.

It is difficult to understand why people have come to believe that Islam comprises of just Namaz (Salah) and Roza (fasting). If someone starts praying Namaz and start fasting they start believing that we have become perfect Muslims and now Islam doesn't require them to do anything further. So after praying when they go to the real world they have no hesitation in lying, defrauding and stealing to make money, and there is not even a consideration whether the money they are earning is Hara'am (forbidden) or Halal ( permissible). No one can trust what they say. If they are entrusted with something valuable they breach that trust. They do not keep their promises. So this concept that Islam comprises of only Namaz and Roza is a very wrong and in fact dangerous concept.  Rasool Allah SAW has said that a person who engages in such behaviours doesn't deserve to be called a Muslim even if he prays Namaz and fasts. Even though formally he may not be labelled a Kafir (non-believer), because it is a very grave matter to label someone a non-believer, but all the behaviours he is displaying, are not the behaviours of a Muslim.

Adapted from the talk "The different forms of lying", by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

Tuesday 28 June 2016

HOW TO TURN YOUR DUNIYA (WORLDY POSSESSIONS) INTO DEEN (ETERNAL REWARDS)?

"And seek the (betterment of) the Ultimate Abode with what Allah has given to you, and do not neglect your share from this world, and do good (to others) as Allah did good to you, and do not seek to make mischief in the land. Surely Allah does not like the mischief-makers." Surah Al-Qasas 77. 
Translation copied from the English translation of Ma'ariful Qur'an.

If a person is using his duniya (material possessions) for the purpose of making Allah SWT happy then this duniya does not remain duniya but turns into deen (religion), and becomes a way of earning thawab (virtue). In a verse (translation above) of the Holy Quran Allah SWT has guided us how to turn our duniya into deen.

"And seek the (betterment of) the Ultimate Abode with what Allah has given to you"
In this verse Allah SWT has given an advice to Qaroon who was an extremely rich man in the days of Hazrat Musa AS. It has been mentioned in the Quran that he was so rich that he needed many servants just to carry the keys of his treasures. In this verse Qaroon has not been advised to throw away or give away all his money. Rather he has been advised that use the wealth and the riches that Allah SWT has granted to you to make your eternal life better.

By saying "what Allah has given to you" Allah SWT has pointed out that regardless of however intelligent, however smart, however skilled a person is, his material success is dependent upon Allah's blessing. How many people we see who we know to be intelligent and smart but they never succeed in making money.

"do not neglect your share from this world"
Now the question is how do we turn our duniya (worldly possessions) into deen (eternal virtues)? Does it mean we give away, everything we possess, in charity? Some people believe that the only way of turning your wealth into deen is to give it all away in charity. But that is not correct as in this sentence Quran Karim is clearly saying that do not give away your share from this world, but to keep it and use it.

"do good (to others) as Allah did good to you"
But Quran has further advised that the best way to use that wealth is to share it with people who are less fortunate than us and remember to be kind to others just like Allah SWT has been kind to us.

"do not seek to make mischief in the land"
What it means is that there are certain means of gathering wealth that Allah SWT has declared Halal (permissible), and there are certain ways that Allah has declared Hara'am (forbidden). If a person uses Hara'am methods to gather wealth then, according to Quran, he/she causes Fasaad (anarchy) in this world. Stealing, dacoity, taking another person'e money using illicit means, defrauding someone out of money, are all Hara'am. If people start using these Hara'am means to get rich it eventually leads to anarchy in the world. That is why Quran is telling us that by all means we can try to earn more, but we should always consider whether  that particular form of making money is Hara'am or Halal. If it is Hara'am then stay away from it no matter how tempting it is. And acquire your wealth through Halal means.

The message is that when trying to make money avoid Hara'am means, and carry out the financial duties that have been imposed upon you, whether it is obligatory Zakat or non-obligatory Sadaqah or Khairat (alms). Be kind to others as Allah SWT has been kind to you. If a person adheres to these principles, and says Shukr (thanks) to Allah SWT for all the blessings Allah SWT has showered on them, then all the blessings and wealth of this world will turn into deen.

Adapted from the talk "Is financial wealth just duniya (material)?" by Mufti Taqi Usmani DB

Sunday 26 June 2016

IS IT NECESSARY TO GIVE UP ALL WORLDLY COMFORTS TO LIVE A LIFE ACCORDING TO DEEN (RELIGION)?

"And seek the (betterment of) the Ultimate Abode with what Allah has given to you, and do not neglect your share from this world, and do good (to others) as Allah did good to you, and do not seek to make mischief in the land. Surely Allah does not like the mischief-makers." Surah Al-Qasas 77. 
Translation copied from the English translation of Ma'ariful Qur'an.

Hazrat said that these days a misconception which is commonly found even in well educated people is that, in this day and age, if someone wants to live their life according to the dictates of Sharia and laws of religion then they must give up the material world altogether, they must give up all worldly comforts, all worldly possessions, and that one can not live a life guided by our religion unless we give up everything that belongs to this world.

The truth is that Allah SWT and his Holy Prophet SAW have never asked us to give up the material world altogether. Rasool Allah SAW never said that we should stop working or earning, we should stop doing business, we should stop building houses, we should stop spending time with our family, or we should stop eating. There is not a single edict like that in the entire Sharia. However, it has been said that this world is not the end of our life, that this is not our ultimate goal. It is wrong to think that whatever efforts we make in this life should be exclusively focused on making this life better. What we have been told is that while living in this world and enjoying all its comforts, we should also continue to focus on the next part of the journey which is the life hereafter, and we should also do things in this life that would help make the next life comfortable for us too. While we engage fully in this life we should never forget that this life is temporary, and the next one would be ever lasting, and that whatever good or bad happens to us in that life, would be solely dependent on what we do in this life.

(Further details of this topic and the interpretation of the verse at the top will InshaAllah follow in the next post)

Adapted from the talk "Are all material possessions purely worldly?" by Mufti Taqi Usmani DB

Saturday 25 June 2016

Hazrat said that a human being must ponder about how long is he going to live in this world. Would he live in it for a day, a month, or a year? The greatest scientist, the greatest philosopher, the mightiest king can not say  with certainty how much longer he has got to live. And yet human beings are striving all the time to gather more wealth and are spending every waking moment to earn more and more of it. But the moment their time on this earth is up they would leave everything here and would not take a single thing to the next world.

That is why this verse of the Quran:

 "وما الحیوٰة الدنیا الّا متاع الغرور" (سورہ حدید ۲۰)

is telling us that this worldly life is a trap. Do not fall into this trap to the extent that it makes you forget about the life hereafter. Do use what this world offers you but do not let it make you blind to the Aakhirah. Once a person becomes fully cognisant of this fact, then regardless of whether they have bungalows, or mills, or a big bank balance, if they are not in love with their material possessions then they have the attribute of Zuhud (زہد). 

Imam Ghazali RA used to say that the greatest loser is the person who did not make any money and is poor, but his heart is full of love for the material world. That person does not have the attribute of Zuhud because even though he doesn't have money and material possessions his heart is full of love for them.

Adapted from the talk "Don't fall in love with the material world" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB
Sheikh Fareed Uddin Atta'ar (perfume seller) was a very successful businessman of Greek medicines and perfumes. In his early days he had a big shop of medicines and perfumes and was a worldly man at that time. One day he was sitting at his shop which was full of bottles of medicines and perfumes. A dishevelled man entered his shop and started staring at all the different medicine and perfume bottles. Sometimes he would look up, sometimes down, sometimes right, sometimes left, but he just kept staring at the bottles in shelves and didn't say a word. After a long time had passed Sheikh Fareed Uddin asked him, "What are you looking at? What are you trying to find?" He replied, "I am just looking at these bottles." Sheikh Fareed Uddin asked, "Do you want to buy something?" He said, "No. I don't want to buy anything. I am just looking at these bottles." He then just kept looking at different bottles. After a while Sheikh Fareed Uddin asked again, "Brother what are you looking at?" The man replied, "Actually I am wondering that when you are dying how would your spirit escape from this place. You have got so many bottles here. When you are dying your spirit would go into one bottle, then it would go into another bottle, how would it be set free from here?"

Sheikh Fareed Uddin was a worldly businessman at that time. Upon hearing this he got angry and said, "Why are you worried about how my spirit would be set free? My spirit would be set free the same way your spirit you spirit would be set free." The man said, "I am not worried about my spirit leaving here. I have no business, no shop, no bottles. My spirit would be set free just like this." The man went out, lied down on the ground, recited the kalimah ""اشھد ان لا الہ الا الّٰلہ و اشھد ان محمّدً ا رسول الّٰلہ" and passed away.


Sheikh Fareed Uddin was really struck by this scene that he was so preoccupied by his business that he had never thought about going to Allah Ta'alah and here was this man who had gone to his Creator so easily and peacefully. The same day he handed over his business to others and left home in the way of Allah and eventually became one of the most famous saints of his time.

Moulana Taqi Usmani further said that for people like us the moral of this story is not that we all give up what we are doing and leave home in the way of Allah. The true lesson of the story is that if a person's heart and mind are completely preoccupied with material comforts and worldly affairs, and everything he does in life is to make more money for the sake of making money, then there will be no place for Allah SWT in that heart.  On the other hand if a person has Allah's love in his heart then even though he does have material possessions his heart is not exclusively preoccupied with them.

Adapted from the talk "Do not fall in love with the material world" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

WHAT IS MEANT BY ZUHUD (زہد)?

Zuhud is one of those positive internal attributes which is mandatory for every Muslim to try to achieve. Zuhud means having no love for the material world. A person who is not preoccupied with material things all the time, who is not always occupied with earning more money for the sake of earning money, whose all time while awake is not spent in planning and scheming about how to increase his material wealth, is said to have achieved Zuhud.

The problem is that all of us have to live in this material world and benefit from it. When we are hungry we need food. When we are thirsty we need water. We need a roof over our heads. We need to earn money for our everyday expanses. How is it possible then that while we benefit so much from this material world and need it all the time, we do not fall in love with it?

Maulana Rumi has explained this by using an analogy. He said that a human being is like a boat and the material world is like water. A boat needs water to sail on it. If someone tries to sail a boat on dry land they would fail. Similarly a human being needs material things to survive. They need food, money, water, clothes, house, and all of this belongs to the material world.

But just like water is beneficial for a boat only as long as it is underneath it, and will sink it and destroy it if it gets inside the boat, similarly as long as the material world is around a person it is not harmful, but if he/she develop a love of material things and it gets inside their hearts it will destroy them. Maulana Rumi has expressed that beautifully in a verse;


آب اندر زیرِ کشتی پشتی است
آب در کشتی ہلاک کشتی است

Meaning as long as the water is around and and underneath the boat it helps it sail, but if the same water enters the boat it sinks it.

Adapted from the talk "Do not fall in love with the material world" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

Thursday 23 June 2016

TASAWWUF IS A PART OF SHARIA

People think that Tasawwuf is something separate from Sharia. Please understand that Tasawwuf is a part of Sharia. The laws of religion that apply to a person's outward deeds (physical acts) are called Sharia. The laws of religion that apply to a person's internal deeds and attributes are called Tareeqat or Tasawwuf. The correction of internal attributes is important because without it sometimes the external acts also become meaningless. Suppose a person does not have Ikhlas. Ikhlas means that whatever a person does he or she does it purely to make Allah SWT happy. It is a deed of the heart. So because he doesn't have Ikhlas he is praying so that people would think he is very religious and pious. In that case even though his outward deeds are correct, in reality they are useless or even sinful because in a Hadith Rasool Allah SAW has said that if a person prays to impress people he is doing Shirk with Allah Ta'alah.

This is the reason why purification of heart is essential for correction of one's outwardly deeds. Otherwise if the internal attributes are not correct the external deeds also become useless.

Adapted from the talk "Ills of the heart and need for a spiritual guide", by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

WHAT IS MEANT BY IKHLAQ (اخلاق)?

 FOR THOSE OF OUR WHANAU WHO CAN NOT READ URDU

THE PREVIOUS DISCLAIMER ABOUT TRANSLATION OF AHADITH APPLIES HERE TOO

Rasool Allah SAW once said, "There is one particular oran in a person's body. If that part is functioning well, the whole body functions well, but if that part goes wrong the whole body goes wrong." Then Rasool Allah SAW further said that part is the heart.

Allah SWT has given us many injunctions which relate to our body. For example Salah (Namaz) is prayed by the movements of the body, in fasting we have to refrain from eating and drinking up to a certain time, Zakat is given by hand, and one has to perform a lot of physical movements during Hajj.  In exactly the same way Allah SWT has given us a lot of injunctions which relate to the deeds of our heart, our mind, our spirit. For example, Allah SWT has ordered us to adopt Tawazu (تواضع), Ikhlas (اخلاص), Shukr (شکر)and Sabr (صبر), but these acts are not acتs of the body, they are acts of our hearts, our mind, our spirit.

Tawazu means that a person starts thinking that I am an ordinary mortal, I am at the mercy of Allah SWT, I am no better than anyone else, and has this thought most of the time. Ikhlas means that whatever good deed a person does, he or she does it only to make Allah SWT happy, and not to make other people happy or so that they will praise him or her. Sabr means that if something untoward and unpleasant happens a person reminds himself or herself that it was Allah's will, and no matter how hurtful it was for the person it was how Allah wished things to be, and does not complain about it. All these acts are as obligatory as praying Salah (Namaz), fasting, giving Zakat or performing Hajj. However, these acts are not acts of a person' body, they are acts of heart, of mind, of spirit.

Allah SWT has declared many physical acts to be sins, like telling lies, stealing, taking bribes, taking interest. These are all sins which are committed by our body. Similarly there are many acts which are not committed by our body, but are rather committed by our heart, our mind, our soul. For example Takabbur (تکبّر) is Hara'am (impermissible), Hasad (حسد)is Hara'am, Ujub (عجب) is Hara'am.

Takabbur means thinking of oneself as superior to others while thinking of other human beings as inferior to oneself. Ujub means thinking of oneself as good and praiseworthy though not necessarily thinking of others as inferior. Hasad means being so jealous of someone that not only the person wants to get what the other has, he/she also wants the other to lose those things. These are all sins of the heart, sins of the soul, but they are as Hara'am as drinking alcohol, eating pork or telling lies.

These internal attributes, some of which Allah SWT has ordered us to develop, and some Allah has ordered us to stay away from, are called Ikhlaq. Ikhlaq doesn't just mean meeting people cheerfully and with a smile. The core of Ikhlaq is that a person develops those internal attributes that Allah SWT has ordered us to develop, and stays away from those internal attributes that Allah SWT has ordered us to stay away from, so that not just our body, but also our soul and our spirit gets moulded according to the wishes of Allah SWT.

Adapted from the talk "Ills of the soul and the need for a spiritual guide", by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

Tuesday 21 June 2016

Allah Ta'alah is watching

FOR THOSE OF OUR WHANAU WHO CAN NOT READ URDU

Once Hazrat Omar RAA was travelling. On the way he felt hungry. Hazrat Farooq-e-Azam RAA tried to find a village nearby but couldn't find any. During his search for food and people he saw a herd of goats grazing. He thought of asking the shepherd to give him some milk to quench his thirst. Hazrat Farooq-e-Azam said to the shepherd, "I am a traveller, I am very hungry, could you please sell me the milk of one goat and I will pay you for it." The shepherd said, "Sir! I would have happily given you the milk but these goats are not mine. I am someone's employee who has hired me to look after these goats. I can not give you the milk until I take permission from the goats' owner."

Hazrat Omar Farooq RAA also used to test people. He said to the shepherd, "I will suggest something which will be of benefit to both of us. You sell a goat to me and I will pay you for it now. My benefit would be that I will get milk to drink, and if need be I can slaughter the goat and eat its meat. Your benefit would be that you keep the money and spend it yourself. If your employer asks about the missing goat just lie to him that a wolf ate it. Wolves eat goats all the time any way. There would be no way your employer can check whether it actually happened or not. This way it would be a win-win situation for us."

As soon as the shepherd heard this he exclaimed, "O Master! What about Allah?" Meaning you are telling me to lie to my employer and tell him that a wolf ate the goat. Indeed my employer is not here and is not watching me but Allah Ta'alah is watching us all the time. How can I lie when he is watching me all the time.

When Hazrat Omar RAA heard this he said, "As long as there are are people like you in this Ummah (nation) no harm will come to this Ummah."

Adapted from the talk "The greatness of the knowledge of Quran Karim" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

Sunday 19 June 2016

THE IMPORTANCE OF HUQOOQ-UL-IBAD (RIGHTS OF HUMAN BEINGS)

FOR THOSE OF OUR WHANAU WHO CAN NOT READ URDU

Causing hurt and distress to any Muslim is a major sin (Gunahe-Kabirah). It is a sin of the same magnitude as drinking alcohol, robbing someone, or stealing from someone. It is narrated in a Hadith that Rasool Allah SAW was once doing the tawaf of Ka'aba. He was accompanied by Hazrat Abdul Ibne Masood RAA on that occasion. Hazrat Abdullah Ibne Masood said that I saw Rasool Allah SAW addressing the Ka'aba at one point and saying, "O Allah's house! How holy you are, how prestigious you are, how respected you are!" Then after a short while Rasool Allah SAW addressed the Ka'aba again and said, "But I know that there is one thing that is even more holy and prestigious than you." Hazrat Abdullah Ibne Masood says that he got startled wondering what could be holier than the Ka'aba. Rasool Allah SAW said, "A Muslim's life, their possessions, and their reputation are even holier than you."

What does it mean that a Muslim's life, their possessions and their reputation are holier than the Ka'aba? It means that if someone attacks a Muslim physically; this includes physically hurting them, taking their life, injuring them, or if someone does something to take away their possessions unlawfully, or tarnish their reputation, then it is the same as if that person damaged or demolished the Ka'aba.

Today we have limited Islam to a few rituals. When we start praying Salah (Namaz), start fasting, start giving some Zakat even if not all, and get the opportunity of doing Hajj and Umrah, then we start thinking that we have become perfect Muslims. While these prayers are very important, Islam is not limited to these rituals alone. The knowledge body of Sharia which is called Fiqh (Jurisprudence) consists of four parts. One part of this relates to Ibadat (prayers) and the other three-fourths relate to Huqooq-ul-Ibad (rights of people) but totally we have totally divorced Huqooq-ul-Ibad from Islam. When we hurt someone unduly we don't even think about it that we have committed a sin, or done something against the Sharia, or done something that makes Allah SWT angry. We don't even realise that if we breach someone's rights, and then at some later date we want to do Taubah (repentance) from it, the Taubah would not be accepted until the person whose rights were breached has forgiven us.

NB. THERE ARE VERY SIMILAR INJUNCTIONS ABOUT BREACHING THE RIGHTS OF NON-MUSLIMS WHICH WILL BE ADDRESSED IN FUTURE POSTS

Adapted from the talk "The greatness of the knowledge of Quran Karim" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

NOT HURTING OTER HUMAN BEINGS

FOR THOSE OF OUR WHANAU WHO CAN NOT READ URDU

During a speech in a Madrassah Hazrat once said, "I just went upstairs to look at the Madrassah. MashaAllah a lot of good work is being done here. However, the volume of the loud speaker was so loud, both upstairs and outside, that it was very noisy. I requested to lower the volume of the loud speaker. I also suggested that the rule of Shariah is that if people gather to listen to a talk somewhere the volume of the speaker or the loud speaker should only be as loud as would be sufficient for the people gathered to hear the speaker clearly. It is not permissible under Shariah that the volume be so loud that the whole neighbourhood, or the entire city, starts getting disturbed by it.

The most important reason is that if a person in his home nearby was sick, he would not be able to sleep because of the loud volume, and his illness may become worse because of it. Or there may be another person who may not be sick but just wants to sleep, he would be unable to sleep because of this loud noise. We are very happy that the whole neighbourhood is listening to our talk but in Aakhirah (Day of Judgment) Allah SWT would ask us that one of my creations was in pain and distress because of you, what was your justification for doing so?

In a Hadith Rasool Allah SAW said that a Muslim is one whose hand and tongue other Muslims are safe from. He doesn't hurt anyone physically and he doesn't say anything which hurts other people. We believe we are preaching religion to other people, but Sharia has told us the proper way of doing it. It is impermissible under Shariah that if a person does not want to listen to what we are saying, we put a loud speaker right over his ear and make him listen to us forcefully."

Adapted from the talk "The greatness of the knowledge of Quran Karim" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

Saturday 18 June 2016

WHO IS A MUFLIS (A POOR PERSON)?

THE PREVIOUS DISCLAIMER ABOUT THE TRANSLATION OF AHADITH APPLIES HERE TOO

It is narrated in a Hadith that Rasool Allah SAW once asked the Sahaba (holy companions), "Tell me who is a Muflis (a poor person)?" The Sahaba said , "Ya Rasool Allah SAW, to our knowledge Muflis is a person who doesn't have any money." Rasool Allah SAW said, "No! A person who who doesn't have any money is not the real Muflis. The true Muflis would be the person who would come to Allah SWT's court on the Day of Judgment with a lot of virtues in his account. He would have prayed a lot of Salah (Namaz), would have recited a lot of Tasbeehat, would have recited Quran a lot, would have done Allah's zikr a lot, would have done a lot of Tableegh (preaching), and he would come to Allah's court with all these virtues in his account.

But when the scrutiny of one's good and bad deeds would start it would transpire that while he had performed lots of good deeds, he hadn't been that careful about breach of rights of other human beings. He would have hit somebody physically, would have done backbiting against someone, would have stolen money form someone, would have insulted someone, or would have said bad things about people. So even though he would had done a lot of prayers he would also have hurt a lot of people.

When he goes to Allah SWT's court he would have to face Allah's justice there. So if he had usurped other people's rights they would be given the chance the claim back their rights. But the currency of Allah's court would not be rupees or dollars, it would be virtues. So if he had caused undue harm to someone the victim would be told to take away his some of his virtues. So one person would take away his Nawafil prayers, someone would take away the thawab (reward) of his fasting, someone else would take away the rewards of his Hajj, and victims would keep taking away his virtues and rewards of good deeds until there would be no virtues left in his account. If there are still people remaining who suffered because of him they would ask Allah SWT to get them reparations for the undue harm he caused to them. Allah SWT would say that he has now run out of virtues so now you can transfer sins from your account to his account as a reparation for the harm he caused to you.

Rasool Allah SAW then said that the true Muflis would be that person who would come to Allah's court with a lot of virtuous deeds but because he had been careless with regards to rights of other human beings he would not only not get any benefit of his virtuous deeds but would end up carrying the weight of sins of others.

Hazrat then said that one should be extremely vigilant about the rights of others. Wasting other people's rights, whether in the form of stealing their money, saying bad things about them, backbiting against them, or causing them physical harm, these are such serious sins that even though other sons are forgiven after Taubah (repentance) but sins of Huqooq-ul-Ibad (rights of others) are not forgiven even after doing Taubah to Allah SWT, until and unless the person whose rights were breached forgives too.

Adapted from the talk "The greatness of the knowledge of Quran Karim", by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

Monday 13 June 2016

Allah SWT has filled the Jahannum (hell) with people who do Takabbur. Mutakabbir (متکبّر) is a person who believes he is superior to other people, and that the human beings are inferior to him, who thinks he is great, and other people are insignificant. Allah SWT doesn't like a human being doing Takabbur at all. In a Hadith it says that Allah SWT said that Greatness belongs to me. Whoever else tries to share it with me I will put him in fire.

Adapted from the talk "Do not disrespect the poor" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani RA

Sunday 12 June 2016

PEOPLE WHO BELONG IN JANNAH AND JAHANNUM

I STRCITLY TRY TO AVOID TRANSLATING QURAN KARIM AND AHADITH BECAUSE I DO NOT KNOW ARABIC AND TRANSLATING FORM A TRANSLATION POSES MAJOR RISKS FOR MISINTERPRETATION. THAT IS WHY I OBTAINED AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF MA'ARIF UL QURAN SO THAT I CAN JUST QUOTE FROM IT. BUT I HAVEN'T GOT AN AUTHENTIC TRANSLATION OF AHADITH WHERE I CAN IMMEDIATELY FIND THE RELEVANT HADITH. HOWEVER, THERE ARE NOW SO MANY OF MY YOUNGER, VERY CLOSE TO MY HEART, WHANAU WHO DO NOT READ URDU THAT I DO NOT WISH THEM NOT TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE AMAZING TEACHINGS I WAS EXPOSED TO IN MY EARLIER LIFE. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TEXT AS AN ATTEMPT TO CONVEY THE MEANING, AND NOT A LITERAL TRANSLATION. MAY ALLAH SWT FORGIVE ANY UNINTENDED MISTAKES. (AMEEN)

While once addressing the Sahaba (holy companions) Rasool Allah SAW once said, "Should I not tell  you about the people who belong in Jannah?" Then Rasool Allah SAW said, "A person who is weak and insignificant in the eyes of people, (someone who is either physically weak, or financially poor or has a low social status, and people generally think that he is an insignificant person) but that weak person is so beloved to Allah SWT that if he makes a promise on behalf of Allah SWT, Allah SWT makes it so. (meaning if he swears that something will happen this way then Allah SWT will make it happen that way)"

Then Rasool Allah SAW said, "Should I not tell you about the people who belong in Jahannum (hell)?" Then Rasool Allah SAW said, "کل عتل جواظ مستکبر"

The word عتل refers to a person who has a harsh manner. When he speaks to someone he speaks harshly, who is unable to speak softly, who aways talks angrily, and who thinks that others are inferior to him.

The word جواظ refers to a person who is bad tempered, whose forehead is always creased in anger, who is not willing t talk to people he thinks are insignificant, who thinks it would be insulting for him to talk to people who he thinks are low in financial or social status than him, and who is always bragging and boastful.

The word مستکبر refers to a person who does Takabbur meaning he believes he is superior to others, and other people are are inferior to him. 

Rasool Allah SAW has said that these are the people who belong in Jahannum (hell) as they consider themselves superior to other people.

Adapted from the talk, "Do not disrespect poor people" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani RA.

Saturday 11 June 2016

THE CURSE OF DOWRY

Our society can never be rid of the curse of dowry until the so called rich and affluent people make a commitment that they will get their children married off with simplicity and will curb these wrong rituals that have taken root in our society. It is not possible for a less well-to-do person to challenge the norms of society. A white collar person goes beyond his means to give his daughter an expansive daughter because he is worried that if doesn't do so then the society would look down upon him and his daughter would be ridiculed by her in-laws for not bringing a worthy dowry.

Today an expansive dowry has become an essential part of a wedding in our society. It was the responsibility of a husband to provide necessary items for his household. But now it has become the responsibility of the father of the bride to provide all the household items for a newlywed couple. The poor man is supposed to not just give away his beloved daughter, but also hundreds of thousands of rupees, furniture and what not, for someone else's home. None of this is mandatory under Sharia. All that is permissible in Sharia is that if a father wants to give his daughter some gifts at wedding, he can do so quietly and with simplicity. 

Anyways, until the so called rich people in society take a lead in this and start getting their own children married with simplicity, our society can not get rid of this curse. May Allah SWT make understand the importance of this. Ameen. 

Abstract from the talk "rights of husbands" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani RA. 

Monday 6 June 2016

ONE PERSON'S RIGHTS ARE ANOTHER PERSON'S DUTIES

Today's world is the world of rights. Everyone is demanding for his or her rights, and is protesting, raising slogans, doing boycotts or in some other way asserting their rights. Unions have been formed to protect rights of groups of people. But in today's world there is not a single union or association that has been formed to make sure that its members fulfil their duties properly. People are not as worried if they are carrying out their duties properly, as they are about getting their rights. A mill owner insists on getting his full rights, while a labourer insists on getting his full rights. Neither of them have the same degree of care or worry when it comes to making sure they are carrying out their duties properly. Similarly husbands insist on getting their full rights, while wives insists on getting their rights. There is a rights war going on between the two, but neither stops for a moment to think  whether they are fulfilling their obligations properly.

In contrast Allah SWT and the Holy Prophet SAW have emphasised that every human being should concentrate on fulfilling their obligations properly. One person's rights are some other person's obligations. If everyone starts carrying out their duties and obligations fully, then every human being would get their full rights. If a labourer starts carrying out his duties properly then the rights of the mill owner would be fulfilled. If the mill owner starts discharging his obligations towards his employees fully then labourers would get their full rights. This is what Sharia has emphasised that instead of just focusing on our rights we start focusing on carrying out our obligations. If all of us start carrying out our obligations fully then everybody would automatically start getting ether rights.

Abstract from the talk "Rights of husband" by Mufti Taqi Usmani RA.