Ilm Fruits

Default Dumma and Definitivity

In Arabic grammar, the default harakaat that goes on all words is dumma (ُ or ٌ, the "oo" or "oon" sound). When you don't know the vowel, apply dumma. Other harakaat are for other cases--for example, posessive case takes kasra (ِ or ٍ, the "ee" or "een" sound).

Harakaat are two types--short (aa, ee, and oo) and long (aan, een, and oon).

The second point to remember is definitivity. A definitive object means a specific object, not just any old object. For example, the word kitaabun (كِتَابٌ) means "a book", while al-kitaabu (الكِتَابُ) means "the book". Al-kitaabu is definite, kitaabun is not definite.

The rule is that definitive words don't take tanween. They always take the single harakaat. So if you want to turn "a camel" (جَمَلٌ) "jamaloon" into "the camel", it becomes al-jamalu (الجَمَلُ). The same applies to all nouns (and to adjectives).

You can find an excellent series of short posts on Arabic harakaat (with gigantic font-sizes) at Islamic Forum.

• Mubtada and Khabr
• Adjectives for Allah
• Possessive Case / Mudaf & Mudaf Ilayh
• Laysa (Not)
• Arabic Word Gender

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Zuhd?

On the authority of Abu al-'Abbas Sahl bin Sa'd al-Sa'idi (رضي الله عنه) who said:

A man came to the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an act which if I do it, [will cause] Allah to love me and people to love me." He (صلي الله عليه وسلم) answered: "Be indifferent to the world and Allah will love you; be indifferent to what people possess and they will love you."

[A sahih hadith related by Ibn Majah and others with good chains of authority]

If you notice, most (if not all) the people in the world desire the love of people. This desire is very damaging towards our ultimate purpose of life, which is to please Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى). Hence the love of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) should precede any other love that we desire.

The first aspect mentioned in this hadith, is that all provisions and sustenance come from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and not simply by our own actions. The second aspect, is that if we lose anything of this world, it should not bother us because we are seeking the Hereafter and not this world.

Many people have the misunderstanding of zuhd, and borrow it from other cultures. They disregard this world, forbid the permissible, voluntarily choose a life of poverty and refuse to work or follow the means to sustenance that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has laid down for this world. This is not from Islam.

The correct zuhd in Islam is not an act of renouncing or giving up the world. It is an act of being aloof from the world, in the sense that one's heart is not attached to the things of this world, but to the aspects of the Hereafter and one is indifferent about losing the bounties of this world. Zuhd is an action of the heart and not an outward action.

Abu Idrees al-Khaulaani said, "Zuhd in this world does not mean forbidding what is permissible or wasting wealth. Zuhd with respect to this world is only where a person puts more trust in what is with Allah than what is in his own hand. If he is afflicted with a calamity, he is more hopeful for its reward and what is stored for him in the Hereafter than if it were to have remained with him." [1]

Sulaiman al-Daaraani said, "Do not testify that anyone has zuhd for zuhd is in the heart (and cannot be witnessed by others)." [2]

Wahb ibn al-Warad said, "Zuhd in this world is where one does not despair because of what he is given of this world."

Sufyaan ibn Uyainah said, "Zuhd with respect to this world is where one, if he is blessed with something, gives thanks and, if he is tried, is patient." [2]

Anyone is capable of having zuhd in their heart. An extremely rich person can have zuhd as long as he or she does not get attached to their worldy blessings. Similarly, a poor person can also have zuhd as long as they are patient while striving in all good deeds and content with what they have. All of us need to dettach our emotions from the duniya and strive for the Hereafter, and that is the only way we can have the love of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and the people.

May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) enable all of us to strive and compete amongst ourselves in using all our blessings in His cause, just like the sahabas in the past (ameen).

[1] Zarabozo, Jamaal al-Din M., "Commentary on the Forty Hadith of Al-Nawawi, Volume 2." Al-Basheer, 1999.

[2] Quoted in al-Bugha and Mistu, p217-219.

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Arabic Word Gender

In Arabic, all words are one of two genders: masculine, or feminine. There is no "it", no third, gender-neutral gender like English has.

The main thing to remember is that when you don't know the gender, the default is the masculine gender. You also use the masculine gender for mixed groups (eg. if you're talking to a group of men and women).

The main sign of a word being feminine (remember, if you don't know, the default is masculine) is a specific form of the letter ta, called ta-marbuta (التَّأ المَربُوطَة), or "tied-up ta", which looks like this:

ة

Ta-marbuta also changes some words from masculine to feminine. For example, the word tabiyb (طَبِيب) means male doctor. Tabiybah (طَبِيبَة) means female doctor (notice the ta-marbuta at the end?).

Some feminine words don't have ta-marbuta (like sun (شَمس), so how do you know they're feminine? There are only a few words like that, so don't worry too much about it.

Wallahu 'alim. Here is a list of some common nouns, both masculine and feminine.

kitaab (كِتَاب): book

baab (بَاب): door

jamal (جَمَل): camel

qalam (قَلَم): pen

kursiy (كُرسِى): chair

qidr (قِدر): cooking pot

baTTah (بَطَّة): duck

sa'ah (سَاغَة): clock/watch

sayyaarah (سَيَّارَة): car

mil'aqah (مِلغَقَة): spoon

Finally, when refering to nouns, since there's no it, you use the masculine pronoun, huwa (هَوِ) for masculine objects, or the feminine pronoun, hiya (هِيِ) for feminine pronouns. So after talking about a duck (بَطَّة) instead of saying "it is big" you say (literally) "she is big" (هِيِ كَبِيرَةُ) or "hiya kabiyratun".
(P.S. if you can't read the Arabic easily, increase your font size, or cut-and-paste into Notepad or Office and change the font size to something large, such as 72.)

• Arabic Colours
• Gender Interaction: Professionalism
• Learn Arabic from the Qur’an
• Arabic Grammar: It’s All in the Vowels
• Lessons in Arabic Language

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Arabic Grammar: It’s All in the Vowels

Arabic Grammar consists almost entirely of putting harakaat on letters.

Arabic writing is typically written without the harakaat. How is it possible to read? One must learn slowly, piece by piece, and read with understanding. Arabic is not like English--you have to actively read and consciously think while you read about what it means. (At least, when you start out.)

Why are harakaat important? Harakaat determine the meaning of words and sentences entirely. A different choice of harakaat can sometimes invert the meaning of a sentence entirely!

For example, this word: ضرب (daad-ra-ba) can mean hit (ضَرَبَ: daraba), hitting (ضَرْبٌ: darboon), was hit (ضُرِبَ: duriba), and more! Another word is من (meem-noon) which can mean from (مِن: min) or who (مَن: man), and so on.

InshaAllah ta'ala now that you know, start paying attention to the vowels as you read Qur'an. It makes all the difference.

May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) grant us all knowledge of Arabic, the language of the Glorious Qur'an, ameen!

• Precision in Vowels
• Huruwful Jarr: Prepositions
• MadinahArabic.com: Open the Portal to Learning Arabic
• The Key to Learning Arabic
• Observe and Beautify Your Writing

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Qur’anic Word of the Day

Learning Arabic? Trying to memorize the Qur'an? Then inshaAllah you'll find this Yahoo Groups beneficial: Qur'anic Word of the Day.

Every day, the administrator sends out a word--Arabic and english--as well as references to two ayat in the Qur'an that contain the word (transliteration and translation). Very beneficial mashaAllah.

Also, for those new to Yahoo! Groups, they're like public mailing lists. You can configure your settings so you receive an email daily, or a digest weekly, or no email (and you browse from the site). The QWOTD list contains archives, so you can check out digests dating back to January 2006.

So take a look inshaAllah and see if you like it.

By the way, yesterday's word is Al-Khabiyr (الْخَبِي): The Aware. One of the names of Allah. The root word is khabar (خَبَر), which means news.

In Surah Al-Anaam, Allah (سبحانه وتعال) says:

Translation: He is Al-Qaahir (the Omnipotent) over His slaves, and He is Al-Hakim (the Wise), Al-Khabir (the Knower). [Surah Al-An'aam, verse 18]¹

Later in Surah Al-An'aam, Allah (سبحانه وتعال) says:

Translation: Vision comprehendes Him not, but He comprehends (all) vision. He is Al-Lateef (the Subtle), Al-Khabir (the Aware). [Surah Al-An'aam, verse 103]¹

May Allah reward all those involved in the efforts and accept their work, ameen!

To subscribe, email them.

(1) Khan, Lena. "AL-KHABIR (الْخَبِ) = THE AWARE." QWOTD: Qur'anic Word of the Day. 21 July 2006. 22 July 2006 <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QWOTD>.

• Learn Arabic from the Qur’an
• Route 114: Qur’anic Sciences
• Arabic Colours
• Madd: Fard and Mustahab
• What is a Museebah?

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Zakaah on Plants and Fruits

Allah says, in Surah Al-An'aam:

Translation: And it is He Who produces gardens trellised and untrellised, and date­palms, and crops of different shape and taste (its fruits and its seeds) and olives, and pomegranates, similar (in kind) and different (in taste). Eat of their fruit when they ripen, but pay the due thereof (i.e. zakaah) on the day of its harvest, and waste not by extravagance. Verily, He likes not Al-Musrifun (those who waste by extravagance), [Surah Al-An'aam, verse 141]¹

This verse spells it out: pay the due on the day of the harvest. For fruit, the hawl (one year holding period) does not apply.

Zakaah is mainly focused away from fruit, and on plants--things that are the staple foods of people worldwide, like wheat, barley, salt, etc. things people need for sustenance. When it comes to fruit, fruit is more like a luxury--in the old days, diplomats came with watermelon, the ultimate gift--like "where'd you get watermelon in the middle of the desert?" It's not something for someone to remain alive upon. And subhanallah, today, watermelon is just another fruit to us. How different our standards of life are.

There is a difference of opinion on what fruits and plants zakaah is paid on. According to the Shafi'ee madhab, zakaah is paid on plants and fruits that fill the stomach, are necessary, and can be stored. The key points are the latter two--something necessary and can be stored, becomes like an asset. Person collects all this harvest, they can keep it somewhere it won't spoil quickly so they can distribute it.

Zakaah is paid on staples like: barley, wheat, corn, rice, lentils, chicpeas, beans, etc. Comfort-foods and other things non-essential to the diet don't need zakaah paid on them--things like peaches, pears, figs, walnuts, almonds, pomagranates, etc.

In Somalian culture, for example, they eat bananas like people eat bread. So in that case, zakaah would be paid on harvest day. But in other cultures, bananas are a comfort food, a non-necessity, so zakaah is not paid on them.

The nisaab for plants is a net dried weight of 609.84kg (free of husks and chaff), and for rice and wheat (which are stored in the kernel) the nisaab is 1219.68kg.

In a hadith narrated by Abdullah ibn 'Umar, the Messenger of Allah said, "For that which is watered by the sky or a spring, or by it's roots, (the rate of zakaah) is one-tenth, and for that which is watered by a camel, (the rate of zakaah) is half of one-tenth." [Bukhari]²

From this, we understand two things: zakaah paid on plants and fruits nurtured naturally is 10%--such as places where it rains, or a river flows through an area and all these trees sprout from it, zakaah in that case is 10%. Additionally, zakaah paid on and irrigated plants have a 5% zakaah rate--things where people have to make allowances to water them, like dig ditches and irrigation channels, and so on.

And finally, according to the Hanafi madhab, you pay the zakaah in what you've collected (with respect to plants and fruits). This is because, when zakaah collectors came in the time of the Prophet, you don't see people pulling out wads of cash to give, but instead, the collectors take and distribute rice.

Wallahu ta'ala 'alim.

(1) Khan, Muhsin, trans. “Quranic Realm.” Islamic Network. 12 May 2006 <http://quran.islamicnetwork.com/>.

(2) Muhammad Alshareef. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Rizq Management. University of Toronto, Toronto. June 2006.

• Water, Soil, Plants, Fruit, Life Management
• Rizq Management
• Business Zakaah
• Three Requirements of Zakaah
• Belief: A Beautiful Tree

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Business Zakaah

The following is an explaination on zakaah as it applies to business. In short, it's 2.5% of marketable items.

Narrated Samurah ibn Jundub: The Mesenger of Allah used to order us to pay the sadaqah (zakaah) on what (goods) we prepared for trade. [Abu Dawud 9/1557]¹

"Goods from what we prepared for trade" means business inventory. So if someone owns a clothing store full of leather jackets, they pay zakaah on all the jackets not sold after a year.

Which begs the question--what is business? Here, we define business as "an exchange of value with the intention of profit". That's what business is.

So if someone's rich uncle dies (inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajioon), then those 500 leather jackets he passes on is not zakaahable. They don't have to pay zakaah on that, until the day they decide "hey, let's sell this stuff off!"

In Surah Baqarah, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: O you who believe! Give of the good things which you have (honourably) earned, and of the fruits of the earth which We have produced for you ... [Surah Baqarah, verse 267]²

Keywords here are "anfiquw" (give) and "maa kasabtu" (what you earned) and what comes out of the land. "What you earned" means from your business, and "what comes out of the land" means crops--for farmers. So this verse covers both produce (rice, wheat, etc.) and business transactions.

There are two conditions on business items before they are zakaahable:

1. Ownership through an exchange contract: the items must be owned through an exchange contract. This excludes things like getting items through inheritance, and things like gifts (unilateral contracts). One reason we didn't say "owned through buying and selling", is because it can be an exchange--"my taxi driver will work 12 hours for you, and you'll give us 200 pizzas."
2. Intention to sell: You might have a whole lot of products--maybe you bought an entire box of awesome 'itters (perfumes) that you could technically sell, but instead, give them away as gifts. In that case, you don't pay zakaah on those items--even if you keep them for a long time!

When paying zakaah, the amount paid (2.5%) is calculated not on the price the items were purchased for, but on the current average market price. Those 500 leather jackets moldering in a warehouse since last year? You pay zakaah on the current market price for them.

One final point: zakaah on cattle is paid in cattle. Zakaah on food is paid in food. What about business zakaah? The answer is, it's paid in gold and silver (or in cash). You can't give 2.5% of your leather jackets as sadaqah!

(While you're calculting your business zakaah on your marketable commodities like leather jackets, don't forget to include zakaah on liquid cash you may have lying around, as well as reclaimable debts you expect will be paid back (including money you've made that hasn't reached you yet), and subtract mature debts of a year or more--it's like you don't own that money.)

Wallahu ta'ala 'alim. Just a reminder inshaAllah that this covers zakaah from a Shafi'ee madhab position. May Allah increase us in our knowledge and understanding of the pillars of Islam, ameen!

(1) “Partial Translation of Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 9: Zakat (Kitab Al-Zakat).” USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. USC-MSA. 8 July 2006 <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/009.sat.html#009.1557>.

(2) Khan, Muhsin, trans. “Quranic Realm.” Islamic Network. 12 May 2006 <http://quran.islamicnetwork.com/>.

(3) Muhammad Alshareef. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Rizq Management. University of Toronto, Toronto. June 2006.

• Train Leaders, Not Followers
• Rizq Management
• Zakaah on Plants and Fruits
• Three Requirements of Zakaah
• ‘Uthman’s Caravan: Doing Business with Allah

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A Wife

The following is a beautiful little speech by Shaykh Abdullah Adhami, entitled "A Wife". Read it inshallah ta'ala and benefit from it. Props to Beautiful Islam for the original.

By getting married you are not just getting a wife, you are getting your whole world. From now until the rest of your days your wife will be your partner, your companion, and your best friend.She will share your moments, your days, and your years. She will share your joys and sorrows, your successes and failures, your dreams and your fears. When you are ill, she will take the best care of you; when you need help, she will do all she can for you.When you have a secret, she will keep it. When you need advice, she will give you the best advice. She will always be with you: when you wake up in the morning the first thing your eyes will see will be hers; during the day, she will be with you, if for a moment she is not with you by her physical body, she will be thinking of you, praying for you with all her heart, mind, and soul; when you go to sleep at night, the last thing your eyes will see will be her; and when you are asleep you will still see her in your dreams. In short, she will be your whole world and you will be her whole world.The best description that I personally have ever read describing the closeness of the spouses to each other is the Qur'anic verse which says: "they are your garments and you are their garments" [Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 187]¹.

Indeed, spouses are like garments to each other because they provide one another with the protection, the comfort, the cover, the support, and the adornment that garments provide to humans. Just imagine a journey in the winter of Alaska without garments! Our spouses provide us with the same level of comfort, protection, cover, and support in the journey of our lives on this earth as garments would do in the Alaskan journey.The relationship between the spouses is the most amazing of all human relations: the amount of love and affection, intimacy and closeness, mercy and compassion, peace and tranquillity that fills the hearts of the spouses is simply inexplicable. The only rational explanation for these most amazing of all human feelings is that: it is an act of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), "And Allah has made for you Mates (and Companions) of your own nature ..." [Surah Al-Nahl, verse 72]¹

Only our Almighty Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) in His Infinite Power, Boundless Mercy, and Great Wisdom can create and ingrain these amazing and blessed feelings in the hearts of the spouses. In fact Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is reminding those who search for His signs in the universe that these feelings in the hearts of the spouses are among the signs that should guide humans to His existence as He says in the Qur'an, "And among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves that you may dwell in tranquillity with them and He has put love and mercy between your hearts: verily in that are signs for those who reflect." [Surah Al-Rum,verse 21]¹

But Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) knows that the human heart is not a static entity, it is sometimes weak and at times dynamic. Feelings can and do change with time. Love may wither and fade away. The marital bond might weaken if not properly cared for. Happiness in marriage cannot be taken for granted; continuous happiness requires constant giving from both sides. For the tree of marital love to remain alive and keep growing, the soil has to be sustained, maintained, watered and nurtured.

Remember that our Prophet Muhammad (صلي الله عليه وسلم) had found the time to go out to the desert and race with his wife Aisha (رضي الله عنها). She out ran him but later after she had gained some weight, he out ran her.

Remember that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) took his wife to watch the young Ethiopians playing and dancing their folk dances. The show of emotions is necessary to keep the marital bond away from rusting and disintegrating.

Remember that you will be rewarded by Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) for any emotions you show to your wife as the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said "one would be rewarded for anything that he does seeking the pleasure of Allah, even the food that he puts in the mouth of his wife."

Never underestimate the importance of seemingly little things as putting food in your wife's mouth, opening the car's door for her, etc. Remember that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) used to extend his knee to his wife to assist her up to ride the camel.

Try to always find some time for both of you to pray together. Strengthening the bond between you and Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is the best guarantee that your own marital bond would always remain strong. Having peace with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will always result in having more peace at home.

Remember that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) gave glad tidings for those couples who wake up at night to pray together. The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) even urged the spouse who rises up first to wake the other spouse up even by sprinkling cold water on his/her face.

Always try your best to be good to your wife by words and by deeds. Talk to her, smile to her, seek her advice, ask for her opinion, spend quality time with her and always remember that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said "the best of you are those who are best to their wives."

Finally, it is common that spouses vow to love and honor their spouses until death do them part. I do believe that this vow is good or even great, but not enough! It is not enough that you love your wife. You have to love what she loves as well. Her family, her loved ones must also become your loved ones. Don't be like my colleague who was unhappy about his wife's parents coming to visit for few weeks. He candidly said to her "I don't like your parents." Naturally, she looked at him straight in the eye and said " I don't like yours either!" Also, it is not enough that you love her until death do you part. Love should never end and we do believe there is life after death where those who did righteousness in this world will be joined by their spouses [Surah Al-Zukhruf, verse 70]¹ and offspring.

The best example in this regard is the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) whose love for Khadija, his wife of 25 years extended to include all those she loved and continued even after her death. It was many years after her death and he never forgot her and whenever a goat was slaughtered in his house he would send portions of it to Khadija's family and friends and whenever he felt that the visitor at the door might be Khadija's sister Hala, he would pray saying "O Allah, let it be Hala."

(1) Khan, Muhsin, trans. “Quranic Realm.” Islamic Network. 12 May 2006 <http://quran.islamicnetwork.com/>.

(2) Adhami, Abdullah. "A Wife." Beautiful Islam. 7 July 2006 <http://www.beautifulislam.net/marriage/a_wife.htm>.

• Three Acceptable Types of Lies
• A Necklace of Fire
• Sex in Western Culture
• The Parable of Spouses and Garments
• Umm Sulaym and the Death of her Son

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Three Requirements of Zakaah

Zakaah is paid on assets--things that bring in money. This is important, because it means zakaah is not on things you use--like your only car, or your house. More on that next post inshallah ta'ala.

There are three requirements before zakaah becomes due:

1. Islam: The person has to be Muslim. (Non-Muslims don't pay zakaah.) We deduce this from the hadith of Mu'ad ibn Jabal (رضي الله عنه), who the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) sent to Yemen. He (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said to Mu'ad: "Invite the people to shahada, and if they accept it, tell them Allah has enjoined on them five daily prayers, and if they accept it, tell them he has enjoined Sadaqah (the word used in the Qur'an and Sunnah for zakaah) on their assets." [Bukhari 2/24/573]¹
2. Nisaab: The asset in question--whether cash, land, cows, iPods, etc. has to reach a certain threshold, called nisaab.
   Nisaab works like this: if you have a glass with a capacity of 500ml of water, you can fill it with 300ml, 400ml, 499ml of water, and nothing happens. But once you hit 500ml, it spills over. Like that, once you reach the nisaab, zakaah is due--but not before that.
3. Hawl: Hawl means a (lunar) year has passed. The person must have the assets for one year, and for the entire year. If the amount ever dips below the threshold, then the hawl restarts from when it reaches nisaab again.
   So if hawl was hypothetically $1500, and you had it for eight months, then bought a $300 couch and dropped your savings to $1200, then cashed your paycheque two days later and brought it back up past $1500, the hawl would be due one year from the date you cashed the cheque. (Note: it is the Shafi'ee madhab specifically that states that the nisaab must be maintained throughout the year and restarts if it drops below the nisaab. Allah knows best about other opinions.)
   (Note that there are two exceptions to the hawl:
1. Crops: Zakaah on crops is due at harvest time.
2. Buried Treasure: Zakaah is due immediately.

May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) give us a proper understanding of this pivotal second pillar of Islam. I suggest you read (and memorize) that hadith, it's key to multiple aspects of zakaah fiqh.

(1) “Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 24: Obligatory Charity Tax (Zakat).” USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. USC-MSA. 6 July 2006 <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/024.sbt.html#002.024.573>.

(2) Muhammad Alshareef. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Rizq Management. University of Toronto, Toronto. June 2006.

• Rizq Management
• Zakaah on Plants and Fruits
• Business Zakaah
• The Sea, the Boat, and the Governers
• Thesaurus?

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World Cup? What’s That?

While FIFA World Cup blares over TV, reports on the radio, articles in the paper, we see our friends, our family, our co-workers, all of them glued to this new world.

Here are eleven reasons to unglue them (and yourself!) inshallah ta'ala:

1. I will be questioned on the Day of Judgement about how I squandered and wasted my time.
2. Who are those guys running around like headless chickens kicking that ball? Why should they matter to me?
3. I still need to memorize the Qur'an or learn how to pray properly, so why am I watching FIFA instead?
4. I veg on the couch and consume large quantities of junk food during matches--but imagine how much exercise I could get if I played soccer half that much!
5. There are better ways to make the best use of our limited time, like sitting with family, discussing with friends, going for a walk, learning something new and useful, etc.
6. It keeps me distracted from the bigger things in life -- getting rid of injustice oppressers have instilled, spreading the message of Islam (especially in light of the 17 arrests in Canada), etc.
7. I can start a business or an exciting new da'wa project and get as much fun (and more benefit!) out of that!
8. The time I spend watching is preventing me from giving others their due rights--like my parents.
9. I could be watching something beneficial (and minus the partly-dressed women during commercial breaks) like Foundations of Islamic Studies instead!
10. Death can strike at any moment, would I want to die with a bag of chips in one hand and "viva Portgual!" on my lips?
11. It promotes nationalism. (Pop quiz: what did the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) say about nationalism?)

And this applies to time-management (or mis-mangement) in general, and not just World Cup specifically.

May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) give us the tawfiq to use our time in the best way--the way that benefits us most in the akhir. Because when life ends, that's what really counts.

Don't misunderstand--leisure time has its place in Islam. The companions used to use their leisure time--but productively. One of them said, that it refreshes his mind and helps him worship Allah better. Subhanallah.

So what are you doing with your lesiure time? Is it a spring-board to good deeds, or a gateway to sins?

Subhanallah, even non-Muslims agree that we shouldn't watch TV all the time!  You can read an interesting study on TV here, and some more advice from Young Muslims on what to do about it here.

• Typical
• Light of Eman Session 5
• Zuhd?
• Helping Out Your Fellow Brother
• Islam Mission Statement - Rib’ee ibn ‘Amir

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