Showing posts with label early islam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label early islam. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Prophets Methods of Correcting Mistakes- Explaining to the person who is making a mistake how to put things right



          


The Prophet (SAW) did this in a number of ways, including the following:
Drawing an individual’s attention to his mistake so that he could put it right himself.
An example of this is the report narrated by Abu Sa‘eed al- Khudri, who said that he was with the Messenger of Allah, and the Prophet entered and saw a man sitting in the middle of ‘he mosque, clasping his fingers together and talking to 
himself. The Prophet (SAW) gestured towards him, but he did not notice. So he turned to Abu Sa'eed and said,
‘If one of you is praying, he should not clasp his fingers together, because this clasping comes from the Shaytan, and you are in a state of prayer so long as you are in the mosque, until you go out.’”
—            Asking the person to do something again correctly, if this is possible.
Abu Hurayrah (RA) reported that a man entered the mosque whilst the Messenger of Allah was sitting in a far comer. He prayed, then he came and greeted him with salam. The Messenger of Allah said,
“wa 'alaykas-salam, go back and pray, because you have not prayed.” So he went back and prayed, then he came back and greeted the Prophet, who said, “Wa ‘alaykas-salarn, go back and pray, because you have not prayed (correctly).” On the second occasion, or subsequently, the man said, “Teach me, O’ Messenger of Allah.” He said, “When you stand up to pray, do wudoo ’ properly, then face the Qiblah aud say Takbeer (Alla.hu Akbar']. Then recite whatever is easy for you of the Qur’an, then bow until you are at ease in rukoo ‘ (bowing), then stand up until your back is completely straight. Then prostrate until you are at ease in sujood. (prostration), then sit up until you are at ease in your sitting, then
prostrate again until you are at ease in your sujood, then sit up again until you are at ease in your sitting.
Do this in all your prayers.”
We should note that the Prophet (SAW) used to pay attention to the actions of the people around him so that he could teach them. According to a report narrated by an-Nasa’i:
“A man entered the mosque and prayed, whilst the Messenger of Allah was watching him. When he finished, he turned and greeted the Messenger of Allah, who told him, ‘Go back and pray, for you have not prayed (correctly)’...”
Among the qualities of the educator is that he should be aware of the actions of those who are with him,
—            It is a part of educational wisdom to ask a person who has made a mistake to re-do his action, so that he can notice his mistake and put it right himself, especially when it is an obvious mistake that does not befit him. He may have done it out of forgetfulness, so this will remind him.
—            If the person who has made a mistake does not realize it, it must be pointed out and explained to him.
—            Giving information to a person who is interested and has asked about it himself is more effective and is more likely to be remembered than handing it out to someone who has not made any such inquiries.
The methods of teaching are many, and the educator can choose whichever are best suited in any given circumstances.
Another example of asking a person to repeat his action correctly is given by Muslim in his Saheeh, where he reports that Jabir said: ““Umar ibn al-Khattab  told me that,
‘A man did wudoo  but missed an area on his foot in the size of a fingernail. The Prophet saw him and said, 'Go back and do your wudoo’ properly.’ So he went and did it again, then he prayed.’”
A third example was narrated by at-Tirmidhi in his Sunan from Kildah ibn Kanbal, who said that Safwan ibn Umayyah sent him with some milk, yoghurt and daghabees (cucumbers) to the Prophet, when the Prophet was at the top of the valley. He said,
“I went near him, and I did not greet him with salam or ask permission to enter, so the Prophet said, "Go out and say, ‘as-salamu ‘alaykum,’ may 1 enter?’ ”'
—            Asking the person who has made the mistake to correct it as much as he can.
Bukhari reported from Ibn 'Abbas that the Prophet said,
“No man should be alone with a woman unless he is a mahram (close blood relative to whom marriage is permanently forbidden).” A man stood up and said,
‘O’ Messenger of Allah, my wife has gone out for
Hajj and I have signed up for such-and-such a military campaign.’ He said, ‘Go back and do Hajj with your wife.’ ”
—            Putting right the consequences of the mistake.
An-Nasa’i reported in his Sunan from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr that a man came to the Prophet (SAW) and said,
“I have come to pledge allegiance to you and to make hijrah (migration). I have left my parents weeping.”
He said, “Go back to them and make them smile as you made them weep.”
Offering kaffarah (expiation) for the mistake.
If some mistakes cannot be corrected or reversed, then there are other ways offered by Islam for wiping out their effects. One of these ways is kaffarat or acts of expiation, of which there are many types, such as kaffarat al-yameen (expiation for swearing an unfulfilled oath), and expiation for dhihar (a jahili form of divorce in which one says to his wife “You are to me as my mother’s back”), and expiation for manslaughter, having intercourse during the day in Ramadan, and so on.
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Monday, July 29, 2013

My Daughters My Shield from Fire , Fire of Hell ( Jahannam..)


When I was reading Tafsir today morning, I have gone through these Ayah many times, again and again. Only one question coming to my minds, has anything changed? 
This was situation 1400 years ago, Jahiliyah.. ignorance is still there, we still kill our daughters. Tears started flowing in my eyes.
Why do we still kill our daughters?  What will we say when Allah the most exalted will ask her on the day of Judgement? 
Why she was killed?
What was her crime?




Change is Awaited?



Quran Surah 81, Takwrr Tafsir Tafhimul Quran 
وَإِذَا الْمَوْءُودَةُ سُئِلَتْ ﴿81:8﴾ 
(81:8) and when the girl-child buried alive shall be asked:

بِأَيِّ ذَنْبٍ قُتِلَتْ ﴿81:9﴾ 
(81:9) for what offence was she killed? *9
*9 The style of this verse reflects an intensity of rage and fury inconceivable in common life. The parents who buried their daughters alive, would be so contemptible in the-sight of Allah that they would not be asked: "Why did you kill the innocent infant?" But disregarding them the innocent girl will be asked: "For what crime were you slain?" And she will tell her story how cruelly she had been treated by her barbarous parents and buried alive. Besides, two vast themes have been compressed into this brief verse, which though not expressed in words, are reflected by its style and tenor. First that in it the Arabs have been made to realize what depths of moral depravity they have touched because of their ignorance in that they buried their own children alive; yet they insist that they would persist in the same ignorance and would not accept the reform that Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) was trying to bring about in their corrupted society. Second, that an express argument has been given in it of the necessity and inevitability of the Hereafter. The case of the infant girl who was buried alive, should be decided and settled justly at some tune, and there should necessarily be a time when the cruel people who committed this heinous crime, should be called to account for it, for there was none in the world to hear the cries of complaint raised by the poor soul. This act was looked upon with approval by the depraved society; neither the parents felt any remorse for it, nor anybody in the family censured them, nor the society took any notice of it. Then, should this monstrosity remain wholly unpunished in the Kingdom of God?


 
This barbaric custom of burying the female infants alive had become widespread in ancient Arabia for different reasons. One reason was economic hardship because of which the people wanted to have fewer dependents so that they should not have to bear the burden of bringing up many children. Male offspring were brought up in the hope that they would later help in earning a living, but the female offspring were killed for the fear that they would have to be reared till they matured and then given away in marriage. Second, the widespread chaos because of which the male children were brought up in order to have more and more helpers and supporters; but daughters were killed because in tribal wars they had to be protected instead of being useful in any way for defence. Third, another aspect of the common chaos also was that when the hostile tribes raided each other and captured girls they would either keep them as slave-girls or sell them to others. For these reasons the practice that had become common in Arabia was that at childbirth a pit was kept dug out ready for use by the woman so that if a girl was born, she was immediately cast into it and buried alive. And if sometimes the mother was not inclined to act thus, or the people of the family disapproved of it, the father would rear her for some time half-heartedly, and then finding time would take her to the desert to be buried alive. This tyranny and hard-heartedness was once described by a person before the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) himself. According to a Hadith related in the first chapter of Sunan Darimi, a man came to the Holy Prophet and related this incident of his pre-lslamic days of ignorance: "I had a daughter who was much attached to me. When I called her, she would come running to me. One day I called her and took her out with me. On the way we came across a well. Holding her by the hand I pushed her into the well. Her last words that I heard were: Oh father, oh father!!" Hearing this the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) wept and tears started falling from his eyes One of those present on the occasion said: O man, you have grieved the Holy Prophet. The Holy Prophet said: Do not stop him, let him question about what he feels so strongly now. Then the Holy Prophet asked him to narrate his story once again. When he narrated it again the Holy Prophet wept so bitterly that his beard became we with tears. Then he said to the man: "Allah has forgiven that you did in the days of ignorance: now turn to Him in repentance.'
It is not correct to think that the people of Arabia had no feeling of the baseness of this hideous, inhuman act. Obviously, no society, however corrupted it may be, can be utterly devoid of the feeling that such tyrannical acts are evil. That is why the Holy Qur'an has not dwelt upon the vileness of this act, but has only referred to it in awe-inspiring words to the effect: "A time will come when the girl who was buried alive, will be asked for what crime she was slain?" The history of Arabia also shows that many people in the pre-Islamic days of ignorance had a feeling that the practice was vile and wicked. According to Tabarani, Sa`sa'ah bin Najiyah al-Mujashi`i, grandfather of the poet, Farazdaq, said to the Holy Prophet: "O Messenger of Allah, during the days of ignorance I have done some good works also among which one is that I saved 360 girls from being buried alive: I gave two camels each as ransom to save their lives. Shall I get any reward for this?" The Holy Prophet replied; "Yes, there is a reward for you, and it is this that Allah has blessed you with Islam."
As a matter of fact, a great blessing of the blessings of Islam is that it not only did put an end to this inhuman practice in Arabia but even wiped out the concept that the birth of a daughter was in any way a calamity, which should be endured unwillingly. On the contrary, Islam taught that bringing up daughters, giving them good education and enabling them to become good housewives, is an act of great merit and virtue. The way the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) changed the common concept of the people in respect of girls can be judged from his many sayings which have been reported in the Hadith. As for example, we reproduce some of these below:
"The person who is put to a test because of the birth of the daughters and then he treats them generously, they will become a means of rescue for him from Hell." (Bukhari, Muslim).
"The one who brought up two girls till they attained their maturity, will appear along with me on the Resurrection Day ... Saying this the Holy Prophet jointed and raised his fingers. (Muslim).
"The one who brought up three daughters, or sisters, taught then good manners and treated them with kindness until they became self-sufficient. AIlah will make Paradise obligatory for him. A man asked: what about two, O Messenger of Allah? The Holy Prophet replied: the same for two." Ibn `Abbas, the reporter of the Hadith, says: "Had the people at that time asked in respect of one daughter, the Holy Prophet would have also given the same reply about her. " (Sharh as-Sunnh).



 
"The one who has a daughter born to him and he does not bury her alive, nor keeps her in disgrace, nor prefers his son to her, Allah will admit him to Paradise." (Abu Da'ud).
"The one who has three daughters born to him, and he is patient over them, and clothes them well according to his means, they will become a means of rescue for him from Hell. " (Bukhari, Al-Adab al-Mufrad, Ibn Majah).
"The Muslim who has two daughters and he looks after them well, they will lead him to Paradise." (Bukhari: Al-Adab al-Mufrad).
The Holy Prophet said to Suraqah bin Ju'sham: "Should I tell you what is the greatest charity (or said: one of the greatest charities)? He said: Kindly do tell, O Messenger of Allah. The Holy Prophet said: Your daughter who (after being divorced or widowed) returns to you and should have no other bread-winner." (Ibn Majah, Bukhari Al-Adab al-Mufrad).
This is the teaching which completely changed the viewpoint of the people about girls not only in Arabia but among all the nations of the world, which later become blessed with Islam.




Sunday, March 4, 2012

Animal Rights in Islamic Perspective


Prophet Peace Be upon Him - Love for Animals
Once, when the Prophet Peace be upon him was on a journey with his companions, he stopped over to answer the call of nature. Meanwhile, some of his companions noticed a redstart bird with two chicks. He took the chicks away. The bird came and began to circle around them flapping its wings. When the Prophet ~ came and saw the scene, he turned to his companions and said, "Who distressed the bird by taking its chicks from it? Return the chicks to the bird!"
With animals
On a different occasion, the Prophet! Ii noticed a burnt ants' nest. "Who burnt the nest?" he demanded. One of his companions replied, "I did." The Prophet Peace be upon Him became angry and said, "No one but Allah punishes with fire!" The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM was so merciful that if he saw a cat whilst he was performing ablution, he would lower the utensil down for the cat to drink from and then perform ablution from the leftover water.
Once he passed by a man who had laid a sheep on the ground and placed his foot on its neck to slaughter it while sharpening the knife as the sheep looked on. The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM became angry upon seeing this and said, "Do you want it to die twice? Why didn't you sharpen your knife before you laid it on the ground?"
On another occasion, he passed by two men in the middle of a conversation and each of them was sitting on his camel. When he saw this, he felt pity for the camels and therefore forbade people from using animals as chairs, meaning that one is not to mount  it except when required and that when the need is fulfilled, one should dismount and allow it to rest. The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM also forbade branding an animal on its face.
A story is related of the Prophet ~ and his camel called al' Adhba: Once a group of pagans attacked some camels belonging to the Muslims on the outskirts of Madinah. They took away all the camels including al-'Adhba, as well as a Muslim woman. Whenever they stopped over on their way, they let the camels loose so they could pasture. When they stopped over at a certain place and fell asleep, the woman got up in order to escape. She went to the camels so as to mount one of them. Each time she went near a camel, it made a noise, causing her to avoid approaching it lest the pagans woke up. She kept approaching the camels one by one until she came to al-'Adhba and moved it to discover that it was docile and well-trained. She then mounted the camel and made her way back to Madinah. When she felt safe, she was overcome with joy and said,"0 Allah, I vow to you that if you save me by means of this camel, I would sacrifice it for you!"
When the woman reached Madinah, the people recognized the Prophet's camel. The woman then went home and the people brought the camel to the Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM. Later, the woman came and asked for the camel so that she could slaughter it. The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM  said, "How evil is the reward you give it! Allah saved you on it and now you want to slaughter it!"
The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM then said, "A vow is not valid if it is in disobedience to Allah, or with that which one does not own."
The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM would give Friday sermons resting his back on an erect trunk of a date-palm tree in his mosque. A woman from the Ansaar said, "0 Messenger of Allah, shall I not make something for you to sit on? I have a servant who is a carpenter, The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM said, "If you wish." The woman made a pulpit for him. The next Friday, the Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM climbed the pulpit she had made, and as he sat on it, the tree-trunk behind him mooed like a bull screamed as if it was about to split in half. The mosque shook. The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM descended from the pulpit and embraced the trunk and it wailed like a child. Thereupon the Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM said, "I swear by the One who has Muhammad's soul in His Hand, were it not that I embraced it, it would have continued crying until the Day of Resurrection."