Monthly Archives: February 2006

Competing to Good Deeds: Abu Dujana and the Prophet’s Sword

February 16, 2006 – 12:11 am

Before the battle of Uhud, when the Muslims were preparing and such, the Prophet, peace be upon him, lifted up his sword and said “who will fight with my sword?”

And all the sahaba were like “me, me”, like “pick me”. The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) put down his sword. Their emotions were raised.

The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) raised it again and said “who will take my sword and give it the haq (right) due to the sword?”

Abu Dujana, may Allah be pleased with him, an Ansar, said “ma haqquha” (what is the right due to it?)

The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said “that you fight with it, and bends from the amount of skulls it hits.”

So Abu Dujana (radiallahu ‘an) said “I’ll do it.”

So the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said “take it.”

Abu Dujana (radiallahu ‘an) got up and took the sword. He put on his red bandanna–and there are narrations about it: “when Abu Dujana puts on his red bandanna, it means death for the other army.”

So he put it on, took the sword, and strutted in front of the other companions, like showing off. He said (to the meaning of) “look what I got, you didn’t get it!” and so on.

The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) smiled and said “This is a walk hated by Allah, and his messenger, except in this context.”

And they did this in battles–competed for good deeds, for the honour of protecting the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), and so on.

The lesson: compete to good deeds, and inshaAllah the work will grow exponentially. One MSA did this for Islam Awareness Week, and the number of professor sponsorships they got jumped from two the year before, to 90. Subnahallah.

They also competed tribally.

May Allah forgive all the companions and enter them into Jannatul Firdaus, and allow us to benefit from their teachings.

References

Muhammad Alshareef. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Conquest: History of the Khulafa. University of Toronto, Toronto. November 2005.

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Islam, Islamic Work, Sahaba, Seerah | Comments (4)

“Why?”

February 14, 2006 – 11:41 pm

Often, non-Muslims question us about aspects of our faith. “Why do you wear hijab” or “why don’t you eat pork” or “why don’t you drink or date”.

And we get defensive and mangle our explainations. “Well alcohol‘s not good for you” or “pigs are dirty” and so on. Which is not correct.

The answer to all these questions is very, very simple:

Because Allah or His Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said so.

That’s it. Done. Finished. Best of all, your reasons can never be negated–for example, one might say “well, pigs are no longer as dirty and viral as they used to be.” Then what are you going to say?

Speak the truth!

And, when you finally reach that level of “well what are some of the benefits we extract from this”, then you can peer into the wisdom behind the ruling and learn a few of the benefits, but in a limited way. Often times (for example, masseh–wiping over the top of your socks for wudoo, not the bottom) we simply don’t know the reason for the ruling.

Allah alone knows best.

May Allah help us to accept and understand His rulings, ameen.

If you know any good examples of non-obvious rulings, comment them in inshaAllah. Jazakumullahu khayr.

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Da'wah, Gems, Islam | Comments (8)

Qalqala: Mnemonic and Mistakes

February 13, 2006 – 8:54 pm

Mnemonic: Something used to help you remember.

Qalqala is best described as an “echo noise” or “bouncing noise”. There are five qalqala letters. If any of them appears with a sukoon on top, you perform qalqala. (Prime example, if you have no idea what qalqala is: the end of the last word of every verse in Surah Ikhlass.)

Qalqala letters: qaff (ق), ba (ب), taw (ط), jeem (ج), and dal (د).

The mnemonic to remember them is “qutb jadd” (قطب جَدّ). Qutb means “pole”, jadd means “grandfather”. Grandfather pole…

Some letters are easy to do qalqala on — even qaris (reciters) make mistakes on them! Learn them and avoid them. (To stop yourself from doing a qalala on a letter, simply stop on the letter.)

Common qalala mistakes: ‘ayn (ع), daad (ض), ta (ت), and kaf (ك)

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Arabic, Tajweed | Comments (4)

The Sea, the Boat, and the Governers

February 12, 2006 – 10:21 pm

Imagine you are a boat, and the dunya is the sea. Far off in the distance, is land — the akhira.

“You are a boat. You sail the waters of the dunya towards the lands of Jannah.” –Abdur-Rahman
What happens if the sea floods into the boat? You sink.

So be like the best Muslim leaders: they ditched the dunya for the akhira.

In particular, I refer to the governers in the time of the Khulafa Rashideen (i.e. in the first 30 years after the death of the Prophet, (صلي الله عليه وسلم).

In the time of ‘Umar (radiallahu ‘an), he looked at the list of people to give zakaah to (because they were poor), and #1 on the list was one of his own governers. Subhanallah, how little did they love the dunya–not like today’s presidents and government officials, who live in golden houses, glut themselves on rich foods, and own expensive trifles.

So ‘Umar gave them the zakaah money, and the governer came home one day to tell his wife. Their conversation went (to the approximate meaning of):

Him: Something bad happened.

Her: What? What happened? Did the Khalifa die?

Him: No, worse. A fitnah has come upon us. Will you help me get rid of it?

Her: Yes.

So they took the money and gave it away feasabillillah (in the path of Allah, the Most High).

That’s iman. May Allah enter them, and us, into Jannah, and guide us from their outstanding examples of selflessness, ameen.

References

Project: Revision. By Al-Khurasani. Paltalk. 12 Feb. 2006.

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Gems, Islam, Sahaba, Tazkiyyah | Comments (1)

The Qur’an on Battle Tactics

February 12, 2006 – 10:05 pm

In Surah Nisaa, Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ خُذُواْ حِذْرَكُمْ فَانفِرُواْ ثُبَاتٍ أَوِ انفِرُواْ جَمِيعًا

Translation: O ye who believe! Take your precautions, and either go forth in parties or go forth all together (Surah Nisaa, 4:71).1

The message: prepare, and fight in groups.

A related incident: after the battle of Uhud, many tribes targeted the Muslims to take them down once and for all. The day the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) returned from battle, he slept, prayed ‘Isha (alone), and the next day, after Fajr, said “we’re going after [the fleeing army].” And who did he take with him? Only those who fought the day before.

The Qur’an attends to all aspects of life–including battle tactics.

Also, tactics mentioned in the Qur’an, in context of battle techniques, also apply to ideological battles. And as with (physical) wars, with ideological wars, one must prepare and fight.

Wallahu ‘alim.

References

(1) Pickthall, Muhammad M., trans. Al-Qur’an Al-Kareem: Parallel Arabic text with English Translation. One Ummah Network.12 Feb. 2006 <http://www.oneummah.net/quran/quran.html>.

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Gems, Islam, Seerah, Tafseer | Comments (1)

The People of the Ditch (15): Tests and Purification

February 11, 2006 – 11:08 pm

The people came to the king and said “Don’t you see, by Allah, your fear brought about the very thing you were afraid of.”

The king didn’t know what to do. So he had ditches dug at all the roads out of the city. People try to escape, BOOM into a ditch. He had people brought to the ditches and said “disbelieve and live or believe and in you go.” They believed, so he threw them in.

A woman arrived at the fire with her infant child, and hesitated (our of fear for its safety). But the child spoke, and said “O mother, have patience, for you are on the truth.” Allah blessed her child with speech, and it said “be patient if you are on the truth.”

There are two recitations of this. One is “fire full of fuel” and the other is “fire that stretches like a fountainhead”–birds fly over, and from the intense heat, die.

Why did the king do this? He had nothing against them, except that they believed in Allah, the mighty, the one worthy of all praise, whose dominion is the heavens and the Earth, the witness over all things.

Verily, tests to believers are like fire to gold–when you bring gold out of the ground, it’s full of impurities. When you bring fire, the impurities seperate.

So when a believer gets tests, he or she gets purified from pride, arrogance, etc. and becomes like the one the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) mentioned when he said “a muslim has tests until he leaves the world without any faults in him”.

May Allah protect us from such tests as the people before us endured, ameen.

And that concludes our series on the People of the Ditch!

References

Ibrahim Hindy. “People of the Ditch.” UTM MSA. University of Toronto At Mississauga, Mississauga.

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Islam, Tafseer | Tagged | Comments (4)

The People of the Ditch (14): Belief

February 11, 2006 – 10:53 pm

The boy said “You will never be able to kill me until you do what I say.”

The king said “Ok, what do I do?” Notice the reversal of roles–who’s in control now?

So the boy said “gather the people, cruficy me on a tree trunk, put your arrow in the middle of the bow, say ‘in the name of Allah, Lord of the worlds’ and fire.” And the king did just that, so obsessed to kill the boy he didn’t realize what the effect would be. He plotted, and Allah planned, and Allah is the best of planners.

He shot the boy. The boy died. The people said “We believe in the Lord of the boy.” The whole city became Muslim.

But didn’t they believe in the boy before?

They believe in the one who is able. When they saw the king unable to kill the boy, powerless, then able to kill the boy in the name of Allah, they believed. The irony is that if the king left the boy alone, and Allah knows best, he would not have achieved such an effect so quickly on the people as his death caused.

Related Posts: The People of the Ditch (15): Tests and Purification

References

Ibrahim Hindy. “People of the Ditch.” UTM MSA. University of Toronto At Mississauga, Mississauga.

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Islam, Tafseer | Tagged | Comments (4)

The People of the Ditch (13): Your Purpose on Earth

February 11, 2006 – 10:24 pm

The king asked the boy to renounce his religion, to which the boy refused. The king said “take him to the highest mountain and if he doesn’t renounce by the time you reach the top, throw him off.”

Why not saw him in half? Because the boy’s useful. He has influence among the poeple. People love him, and if he joins the king, many will follow his example.

So they took him up, and the boy said “O Allah, suffice me against them in whatever way You please”. So the mountain rumbled, and everyone fell off and died. Except the boy.

Sincere dua, immediate response. The boy had yaqeen.

He walked back to the king.

The king said “What happened to your companions?” and the boy said “Allah sufficed them”.

Now, the king’s at a cross-roads: he can realize this boy is special, and follow him, or refuse. And out of arrogance, he refused. His arrogance led to more crime. He ordered another set of soldiers to take the boy to the middle of the sea, and if he didn’t renounce by that time, drown him.

Same thing happened, same du’a, they all drowned except the boy.

He walked back to the king.

Why did he go back? Why not just run away, or go to another land? Because he realized his purpose–to give da’wah to the people, no matter what.

So ask yourself: How can I best serve Allah? Find your purpose on Earth, and stick to it. Don’t run from it.

The boy knew it, and he did exactly that.

Related Posts: The People of the Ditch (14): Belief

References

Ibrahim Hindy. “People of the Ditch.” UTM MSA. University of Toronto At Mississauga, Mississauga.

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Da'wah, Islam, Islamic Work, Tafseer, Tazkiyyah | Tagged | Comments (1)

The People of the Ditch (12): Sincerity of Du’a

February 11, 2006 – 9:52 pm

We often make empty du’as–they lack in sincerity, but hey, we don’t expect them to be answered. But why do it? Are you just testing Allah?

Think with certiny that Allah will answer your du’a. Make the most sincere, heart-felt du’a of your existance. And have hope that Allah will answer it.

Before Islam, there was a man named Jurayj, a worshipper of Allah. The people around him had intense jealousy of him for this.

This prostitute in the town, she said “I will seduce him if you like.” She didn’t. Then a year later, she bore a son, brought him out, and said “This is the son of Jurayj.”

Bear in mind she admited to commiting one of the greatest sins, at a time where they kill people for stuff like this. Not like today, where nobody raises an eyebrow.

And what did the people do? They hammered on his door and demanded to see him.

So he said “bring the boy to me”. They did. And he made a du’a–I forget which one. Totally sincere du’a. And Allah answered it immediately. Subhanallah.

So make sincere du’a and have hope in Allah. May Allah protect us from the du’a that is not answered.

A hadith quds exists to the effect of: The Prophet, peace be upon him, said that Allah said “I am with the one who thinks of me”.

Related Posts: The People of the Ditch (13): Your Purpose on Earth

References

Ibrahim Hindy. “People of the Ditch.” UTM MSA. University of Toronto At Mississauga, Mississauga.

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Gems, Islam, Tafseer, Tazkiyyah | Tagged | Comments (0)

The People of the Ditch (11): Torture and Flattery

February 11, 2006 – 9:43 pm

The king’s companion pointed out the boy.

Why didn’t he remain silent? For that matter, why does the boy point out the monk later?

Resolve. Ibn Tamiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said “much of your resolve disappears when tortured”. Your determination and strength of will plummets. So the man pointing out the boy, well, his determination couldn’t withstand the torture.

So the king’s soldiers brought the boy to the king, who said “O my boy, your magic heals the blind and cures the lepers …” Then he used flattery. “O my boy, you’re soooooooooooo cool.” And when you flatter someone with pride in their heart, they become deluded. Pride makes you succeptible to delusion.

But the boy had too much eman. He said “I don’t heal, Allah heals”. Sound familiar?

Eventually, the king realized he wasn’t getting anywhere, and tortured the boy. The boy’s willpower failed, and he pointed out the scholar.

The king said to the monk/scholar “renounce your religion”. The scholar refused. So they brought a large saw and sawed him vertically in half.

Why, you ask, didn’t the king try flattery? Because the scholar is a person of knowledge, and therefore, protected from false tricks and flattery. People of knowledge see right through that. People of knowledge cannot be confused by misinformation.

Similarly, when Abu Dhar, may Allah be pleased with him, proclaimed shahada, the Meccans beat him with intention to kill. But Al-Abbas stepped in and said “By Allah, if you kil him, none of your caravans will be safe.” This incident is narrated in Bukhari 4/56/724. Read about the first beating.

Related Posts: The People of the Ditch (12): Sincerity of Du’a

References

“Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 56: irtues and Merits of the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions.” USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. USC-MSA. 25 Apr. 2006 <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/056.sbt.html#004.056.724>.

Ibrahim Hindy. “People of the Ditch.” UTM MSA. University of Toronto At Mississauga, Mississauga.

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