Category Archives: Belief

What We Need and What We Want

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Aboo Uthmaan explains how material desire will always be insatiable and unfulfilling.

We desire things. We are attached to things. We believe that things will make us better and this desire produces a restless craving, which leads us into the world and schemes for betterment but of course, things have a built-in disappointment factor. Think back to the last time you bought a “thing.” Did it live-up to the expectation that had been created by its expensive TV advertising campaign?

[Image credit: The Rocketeer]

Habib Ali’s Analogy on Rizq

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Hammad shares a wonderful analogy on Rizq, particularly relevant to those us like me who travel extensively for work.

If someone were to represent a company or an institution in his own country or abroad in order to conclude a business deal, to make a bid, or for research purposes, would the representative bear the burden of the expense? No, because he is confident that his large, wealthy company will provide him with a ticket, living expenses, travelling expenses and will also reimburse him for his entire journey. He will travel with very little worry about expenses because he is confident that his company, as long as it has contracted him to do this task, is duty-bound to fulfil his needs.

“What’s the Harm?”

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Anis outlines certain Islamic rulings whose wisdom may not be fully apparent to certain observers. Indeed, it may be that something appearing good may be harmful for us, and something appearing harmful may be good for us.

There are a few other things which are which apparently seem harmless and are prohibited, for example music and interest. A basic argument can be put forward that if it is not used for anything immoral or exploitation, what is the harm in it?

Tower of Babylon

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A short essay by Saha on the Tower of Babylon. An excerpt:

I am utterly obsessed with language and I always read references to language metaphorically. In this sense, speaking many different languages, causing confusion and chaos is just as applicable today as it was at the time of the tower. But I understand the problem as being tribalism rather than just a matter of language and translation. So from this, I imagine the “pure language” as being knowledge of Allah, because it is only through such knowledge that barriers of language and ethnicity can be overcome.

But, it is only through Allah’s Mercy that we receive such knowledge, thinking that we can gain it through our own endeavours leads us back to the tower of Babel. Arrogance, which is after all, shirk, leads us far away from pure language.

The Middle Path

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Brother Anis has put up an explanation of the term “Al Umma Al Wasat” or the community of the middle way, as Muslims are described in verse 2:143 of the Quran.An excerpt:

“The Arabic expression which we have translated as ‘the community of the middle way’ is too rich in meaning to find an adequate equivalent in any other language. It signifies that distinguished group of people which follows the path of justice and equity, of balance and moderation, a group which occupies a central position among the nations of the world so that its friendship with all is based on righteousness and justice and none receives its support in wrong and injustice.”

More at Belief in the Unseen.

Belief in the Last Day

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Sister Salikah reviews the lessons learned over the weekend at a series of lectures she attended, on the topic of the beliefs in the questioning of the grave, resurrection, the Last Day, the reckoning, the bridge, Heaven and Hell:

“Imam Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him), who wrote so much on the topic of death, said that “the Reality of death, is the Reality of Life”. Our physical death is simply entry into the third stage of our existence — the stage called barzakh (an intermediary between our worldly existence and the Day of Judgement).”

And helpful tips to achieve success in the next life:

“Standing in prayer before Fajr when the angels and Mercy descend from the Heavens. Doing wudu and praying some rakats of salah. Some of the scholars say this is better than praying in the haram itself. Imam Junayd the great sufi (Allah have mercy on him) was seen in a dream after his death, saying that all that benefited him of his works in this world were the two rakats he always made before fajr.

Surah Tabarak (I believe after Isha). “

Read more at Salikah’s blog.