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Friday, October 15, 2021
Story of the Mahdi...
The Rightly-Guided One
(Al-Mahdi), The Imaam, The Promised Deliverer, The Khalifatullah (Deputy
of God), Al-Jabir (The Comforter)!
The
Holy Prophet Muhammad (saws) has prophesied about several events that
will occur just before the advent of the Day of Judgment. Among these,
the Messenger of Allah (saws) has foretold the advent of one of his
descendants, the Mahdi (rightly-guided one), which will materialize when
the believers are severely oppressed in every corner of the world. He
will fight the oppressors, calm the trials and tribulations, unite the
Muslims under his Caliphate, lead a prayer in Damascus at which Prophet
'Issa (Jesus) will be present and rule the world with equity and justice
for seven years.
Throughout the history of Islam, a few individuals - driven either by the desperate state of Muslims in their community or a selfish pursuit of power and prestige - laid claim to being the Mahdi and found a following among the uninformed masses, looking for salvation from the heavens. For some of these individuals (like Bab of Iran or Mirza Ghulam of India) the claim to being the Mahdi was just a stepping stone to the development of heretic sects which broke away from the fold of Islam. Thus, it is at least prudent to visit the facts of this prophecy and avoid falling pray to false claimants that will appear from time to time.
Among the major signs of the Day of Judgment is the advent of the Mahdi. The Messenger of Allah (saws) predicted the coming of the Mahdi towards the end of this worldly existence, i.e. just before The Day of Judgment.
Throughout the history of Islam, a few individuals - driven either by the desperate state of Muslims in their community or a selfish pursuit of power and prestige - laid claim to being the Mahdi and found a following among the uninformed masses, looking for salvation from the heavens. For some of these individuals (like Bab of Iran or Mirza Ghulam of India) the claim to being the Mahdi was just a stepping stone to the development of heretic sects which broke away from the fold of Islam. Thus, it is at least prudent to visit the facts of this prophecy and avoid falling pray to false claimants that will appear from time to time.
Among the major signs of the Day of Judgment is the advent of the Mahdi. The Messenger of Allah (saws) predicted the coming of the Mahdi towards the end of this worldly existence, i.e. just before The Day of Judgment.
Seriousness of Amanah !!!
Allah says: "O you who have believed, fear Allah
and speak words of appropriate justice. He will (then) amend for you
your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His
Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment. Indeed, We
offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and
they declined to bear it and feared it; but man (undertook to) bear
it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant." [33:70-72]
These Ayaat are a call to the believers, i.e. those who are pleased
with Allah as their Lord, with Islam as their religion and with
Muhammad (saws) as their Prophet and Messenger. They are commanded to
fear Allah and then speak words of appropriate justice. This implies
that saying words of appropriate justice is a sign of fearing Allah.
The tongue expresses the content of the heart and indicates the
righteousness of deeds, which entails the forgiveness of sins. True success and the great attainment are represented in
obedience to Allah and His Messenger (saws).
These Ayaat refer to the magnitude of the trust which was offered to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it although they are among the greatest of creatures. Although it is a very heavy burden, the weak man undertook to bear it because he did not realize the nature of the responsibility with which he burdened himself.
Women in Da'wah !
From the very beginning of the Islamic history, Muslim
women have played vital roles in the propagation of the Divine Message
of Islam. From the sacrifices of Sumayyah (ra) to the collected Ahadith
of A'ishah (ra), women have been instrumental in the flourishing and
spreading of this religion, the process which is called "Da'wah" in
Arabic.
Unfortunately during our present times the Islamic
revival suffers from weaknesses in its properly qualified personnel,
which limits its spreading and restricts the Da'wah work to an elite
group of activists, with finite and limited efforts of Da'wah and
Tarbiyah being focused on women.
Da'wah amongst women deserves
and should get far more attention than it does. So far except in a few
instances women have been distanced from the field of Da'wah work. If we
consider the situation of Islamic Da'wah work and the position of women
in it today, we can easily find the following problems:
1 - Deficiency in Da'wah capabilities among women.
2 - The ill-use of existing limited-resources in combination with a lack of personal initiative on the part of women.
3 - A neglect or omission of women's issues in the planning of Islamic Da'wah.
4
- Absence of adequate education and the lack of fundamental Islamic
knowledge in the Da'iyaat (female callers) in the field of Da'wah. Only a
few of the wives and daughters of Du'aat (male callers) have any
worthwhile Islamic knowledge.
5 - Most women do not possess a proper
understanding of the role of Da'wah made incumbent on their husbands.
Because of this they may not understand the importance of time given to
projects outside the home which in turn may become a source of tension
within the home.
6 - The level of general Islamic knowledge among most women is low.
7 - Women's Da'wah programs as well as overall Da'wah programs and institutions are rare and not well organized.
Know Allah in prosperity and...
In his comprehensive advice to Ibn ‘Abbaas and all Muslims after him, the Prophet (saws) said: “Know Allah in prosperity, and He will know you in adversity.” [At-Tirmithi - Sahih]
This is an invaluable piece of advice for us if we wish that Allah protects us during times of adversity and tribulation, shields us against misfortune and afflictions, and guards our religiosity against temptations that lead us astray. So know Allah at times of prosperity. When a slave of Allah fears his Lord at times of prosperity, honors His boundaries, fulfills His Rights over him, obeys His Commandments, avoids His Prohibitions and glorifies Him at all times and in all states, he develops a special knowledge of Allah and a love and affection for Him that entail earning His Protection at times of adversity.
This is an invaluable piece of advice for us if we wish that Allah protects us during times of adversity and tribulation, shields us against misfortune and afflictions, and guards our religiosity against temptations that lead us astray. So know Allah at times of prosperity. When a slave of Allah fears his Lord at times of prosperity, honors His boundaries, fulfills His Rights over him, obeys His Commandments, avoids His Prohibitions and glorifies Him at all times and in all states, he develops a special knowledge of Allah and a love and affection for Him that entail earning His Protection at times of adversity.
If
we are enjoying good health and wellness, wealth and richness, safety
and welfare, comfort in our family, tranquillity in our marital life,
our children are obedient to us and our affairs are favorably going well
as we wish, then we are indeed relishing prosperity and bliss. This
should not hinder us from devoting time to worship, abundantly
supplicating Allah, reciting Quraan and Dhikr and performing good deeds.
Intent behind Dhikr...
"Therefore, remember Me (by praying,
glorifying, etc.). I will remember you, and be grateful to Me (for My
countless Favours on you) and never be ungrateful to Me." [2:152]
The intent behind Dhikr is not merely to remember (Allah) with one’s tongue, rather it is remembrance with the heart and the tongue. Remembrance of Allah includes remembering Him by His Names and Attributes, His commandments, His prohibitions and His speech. This necessitates that a person should have knowledge and awareness of Allah, belief in Allah, belief in Allah’s Perfect and Lofty Attributes, as well as (constantly) praising Allah with various types of praise (i.e. based on what Allah has legislated in the authentic texts of the Shari’ah and not by way of biddah). And this cannot be accomplished except through Tawheed. True Remembrance of Allah necessitates all of this, as well as remembering the blessings and favours, which Allah has bestowed upon His creatures and His kindness towards them.
The intent behind Dhikr is not merely to remember (Allah) with one’s tongue, rather it is remembrance with the heart and the tongue. Remembrance of Allah includes remembering Him by His Names and Attributes, His commandments, His prohibitions and His speech. This necessitates that a person should have knowledge and awareness of Allah, belief in Allah, belief in Allah’s Perfect and Lofty Attributes, as well as (constantly) praising Allah with various types of praise (i.e. based on what Allah has legislated in the authentic texts of the Shari’ah and not by way of biddah). And this cannot be accomplished except through Tawheed. True Remembrance of Allah necessitates all of this, as well as remembering the blessings and favours, which Allah has bestowed upon His creatures and His kindness towards them.