Allah, Islam, the Quran and Us

[greenhill]

I have always tried to find a pathway in my road of being a muslim that is clearly marked so as to make it fit into my daily life as opposed to it being an alien and or sporadic laws that govern behaviour.

The closest to being simple and effective is to talk about the 5 & 6 pillars, even then there's a lot missing. Sis Insaanah's Leaflet on Islam is a good one as a brief about Islam but what brief do we have about us and our deen?

I have come to the conclusion that this matter is very difficult to get to grips because the blurry line between the 'spiritual' self and the 'physical' self and often the two aren't separated. To start I have to cite Socrates statement, "I think, therefore I am" which became the starting point of life philosophy to separate the thought process of the mind that is the essence of man.


The mind.


Many verses spread out over the Quran invites us to ponder, to consider, seek, to reason etc, and there is only one part of us that we can use for this purpose, the mind. Where am I going with this? Back to the physical and spiritual differentiation I was saying earlier. Allah exists, whether we like it or not, He describes His attributes via the many names He has, and how He Rose Majestically over the Arasy(?) of His creation, and also describing that He is closer to us than our jugular vein. But to us, humans, He exists in our minds. Only when our mind can accept it do we start being a muslim.

So apart from knowing the 5 and 6 pillars, what else is there that can form a guide for us? This is where I'd like to introduce a different path (which as I was saying earlier). What can we learn from the Quran that can be compiled like the 5 & 6 pillars?

Allah says about human beings repeatedly throughout the Quran. What did He say?

• We are ungrateful
• We are proud
• We are forgetful
• We are materialistic (there are a few more)

More importantly, Allah has also repeatedly said the following earns His wrath. What are they?

• The oppressors (as per the recent thread)
• The hypocrites
• The mischief makers
• The stingy people (who do not give in the cause of Allah)

Allah creates things in pairs, so if the mind is a 'tool' for Allah, what will be the 'tool' for the opposite? (Not the best term to use)


The heart.


The heart is the crucible of desires and is mention throughout the Quran as being a big part in affecting our conduct. At worst is when Allah decides to 'seal' our heart and it can no longer be guided by the mind. Now, whether it is by design or not, it is interesting to note that the final verse of the Quran is An-Nas. And the last few ayats talks about this. After a heavy read, the final words as a reminder are :

From the evil of the sneaking whisperer, (4)
Who whispereth in the hearts of mankind, (5)
Of the jinn and of mankind. (6)
[114: An Nas (Pickthall)]

Hence we should always be on guard not to have these evil whispers causing us to slip into being the people that Allah has mentioned again and again in the Quran. This is my desired pathway...

[greenhill]

Thank you MuslimInshallah for your pm...

Correction. Not Socrates. It's Rene Descartes... but the message is the same... (I think)

Peace

[ardianto]

That Descartes remark remind me to a moment that happened when I was young.

1989. I visited a campus cafe and saw a debate between a guy who I knew and two hijabi sisters. The topic was "Does God exists?". Those sisters said God does exists, but that guy said God does not exists. His argument was, he had never seen God, so he could not believe. Finally those hijabi sisters gave up and left him. Then I sat in front of him. He smile at me me and then he quoted Descartes "I think, therefore I am".

That guy was very logical and really used his mind. He had thought about the existence of God and he made conclusion that God does not exists because he had never seen God.

Time passed by.

2001. I read my Sunday newspaper and I found few Islamic religious poems which written by someone. I felt familiar with his name. So I noticed his photo and bio, and my memory flew to the moment that happened in 1989 in a campus cafe. Yes, he was the guy who had ever said that God does not exists.

Allah did not seal his heart. So his heart could guide his mind to rethink about the existence of Allah and finally his mind realize that Allah does exist although he has never seen Allah.

[syed_z]

Asalaam o Alaikum...

Thought this Ayat will be supportive of the topic

(49:14) The bedouins say, "We have believed." Say, "You have not [yet] believed; but say [instead], 'We have submitted,' for faith has not yet entered your hearts.

As one Sheikh has said about Islam and Iman (faith) that it is a circle within a circle. One enters Islam but then faith is what needs to be increased in the heart otherwise it can also fade away as faith fluctuates:

(18:13) Indeed, they were youths who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance.

When they decided to take the step towards Allah (swt), He increased their Faith in their Hearts and something that increases may as well decrease....

(18:14) And We made firm their hearts when they stood up and said, "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. Never will we invoke besides Him any deity. We would have certainly spoken, then, an excessive transgression.

Once it enters the heart then Allah (swt) may strengthen it such that whispers from mankind and jinn wont work.

If Faith has entered our hearts then we must keep reciting the following so that whispers of mankind and jinn don't make any effect:

(3:08) "Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower."

[fatimataybia46]

greenhill . Sorcrates and Rene Descartes..............The same message........Yes

[greenhill]

Reading the thread "Contribute to my struggle..." reminded me roughly of this thread as it started off with similar intentions but after getting too immersed with the details I totally forgot the reason and 'tapered off"....

When I look at the 5 & 6 pillars, apart from zakat, everything else is between us and Allah swt. Only zakat is for humanity. In my original post, I mentioned a list of human traits Allah tells us about us and those traits He dislikes immensely.

These matters should be guarded against as much as we guard the 5 & 6 pillars. In fact it should be put alongside as a code of conduct between humans.

I believe that even if you comply with the 5 and 6 pillars but you are a cruel person, you are not guaranteed heaven. So, if that is true, then there must be another list on top of the 5&6 to add to our duties on earth.

[Insaanah]

for this interesting and thought provoking thread.

Of course everything would come together under the many Qur'anic verses which tell us to "Obey Allah and obey the messenger".

Though if classifying, I wonder if the remainder apart from 5 and 6 pillars could be classified as:

Relating to Allah, sub'haanahu wa ta'aala, or the rights of Allah
Relating to the Prophet , or the rights of the Prophet
Interaction with each other, responsibilities to each other and rights of each other.

Though not everything may fit, and there could be better classifications/categorisations.

We would also have to bring the sunnah as recorded in the authentic hadeeth into it as well.

A few ahadeeth come to mind. The first one is very relevant and apt at this moment:

It is reported on the authority of Anas b. Malik that the Messenger of Allah said:

None of you is a believer till I am more beloved to him than his child, his father and the whole of mankind.

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، وَابْنُ، بَشَّارٍ قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ قَتَادَةَ، يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ لاَ يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى أَكُونَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ وَلَدِهِ وَوَالِدِهِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏
Reference : Sahih Muslim 44 b
In-book reference : Book 1, Hadith 76
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 1, Hadith 71
(deprecated numbering scheme)

http://www.sunnah.com/muslim/1/76

This would come under, "relating to the Prophet

Also, there is this one:

Narrated Anas (May Allah be pleased with him):

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "None of you will have faith till he wishes for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself."

حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، عَنْ شُعْبَةَ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم‏.‏
وَعَنْ حُسَيْنٍ الْمُعَلِّمِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا قَتَادَةُ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ "‏ لا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى يُحِبَّ لأَخِيهِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ ‏"‏‏.‏

: Sahih al-Bukhari 13
In-book reference : Book 2, Hadith 6
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 1, Book 2, Hadith 13
(deprecated numbering scheme)

http://www.sunnah.com/bukhari/2/6

This would come under relating to each other, as would:

It is narrated on the authority of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Prophet say:

"A Muslim is he from whose hand and tongue the Muslims are safe."

حَدَّثَنَا حَسَنٌ الْحُلْوَانِيُّ، وَعَبْدُ بْنُ حُمَيْدٍ، جَمِيعًا عَنْ أَبِي عَاصِمٍ، - قَالَ عَبْدٌ أَنْبَأَنَا أَبُو عَاصِمٍ، - عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ أَبَا الزُّبَيْرِ، يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ جَابِرًا، يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏ "‏ الْمُسْلِمُ مَنْ سَلِمَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ مِنْ لِسَانِهِ وَيَدِهِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Reference : Sahih Muslim 41
In-book reference : Book 1, Hadith 69
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 1, Hadith 65
(deprecated numbering scheme)

With regards to actions/people God does not love, as alluded to in the first post here, I found something similar in this post, in the red text:

In Islam, does God love everybody?

[OmAbdullah]

I have always tried to find a pathway in my road of being a muslim that is clearly marked so as to make it fit into my daily life as opposed to it being an alien and or sporadic laws that govern behavior.

The closest to being simple and effective is to talk about the 5 & 6 pillars, even then there's a lot missing. Sis Insaanah's Leaflet on Islam is a good one as a brief about Islam but what brief do we have about us and our deen?

I have come to the conclusion that this matter is very difficult to get to grips because the blurry line between the 'spiritual' self and the 'physical' self and often the two aren't separated. To start I have to cite Socrates statement, "I think, therefore I am" which became the starting point of life philosophy to separate the thought process of the mind that is the essence of man.


The mind.


Many verses spread out over the Quran invites us to ponder, to consider, seek, to reason etc, and there is only one part of us that we can use for this purpose, the mind. Where am I going with this? Back to the physical and spiritual differentiation I was saying earlier. Allah exists, whether we like it or not, He describes His attributes via the many names He has, and how He Rose Majestically over the Arasy(?) of His creation, and also describing that He is closer to us than our jugular vein. But to us, humans, He exists in our minds. Only when our mind can accept it do we start being a muslim.

So apart from knowing the 5 and 6 pillars, what else is there that can form a guide for us? This is where I'd like to introduce a different path (which as I was saying earlier). What can we learn from the Quran that can be compiled like the 5 & 6 pillars?

Allah says about human beings repeatedly throughout the Quran. What did He say?

• We are ungrateful
• We are proud
• We are forgetful
• We are materialistic (there are a few more)

More importantly, Allah has also repeatedly said the following earns His wrath. What are they?

• The oppressors (as per the recent thread)
• The hypocrites
• The mischief makers
• The stingy people (who do not give in the cause of Allah)

Allah creates things in pairs, so if the mind is a 'tool' for Allah, what will be the 'tool' for the opposite? (Not the best term to use)


The heart.


The heart is the crucible of desires and is mention throughout the Quran as being a big part in affecting our conduct. At worst is when Allah decides to 'seal' our heart and it can no longer be guided by the mind. Now, whether it is by design or not, it is interesting to note that the final verse of the Quran is An-Nas. And the last few ayats talks about this. After a heavy read, the final words as a reminder are :

From the evil of the sneaking whisperer, (4)
Who whispereth in the hearts of mankind, (5)
Of the jinn and of mankind. (6)
[114: An Nas (Pickthall)]

Hence we should always be on guard not to have these evil whispers causing us to slip into being the people that Allah has mentioned again and again in the Quran. This is my desired pathway...

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله

My first question is:
What is the 6th pillar? Please explain. In Islam, I know only 5 pillars. So what do you mean by 5
& 6 pillars?


My 2nd question is that if you are attached with the Quraan and Sunnah then why are you upset and confused? My own experience is that when a person starts reading, understanding and following the Holy Quraan in accordance with the Sunnah ( method applied by the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ) the Straight Path ( siraati mustaqeem ) becomes clear and bright to him/her. He/ she does not feel any difficulty in understanding Islam and he/she finds great satisfaction in heart and mind.

So then why should you be confused and upset???


I think you are not reading and understanding the Quraan thoroughly. Rather you are taking different ideas from here and there. I can prove this point by the fact that you have brought a few qualities of mankind from the Holy Quraan out of context. This is a very dangerous action. For e.g. Allah said in the Holy Quraan:


Laa taqrabu assalaata wa antum sukaarah ( لا تقرب الصلاة و أنتم سكاره ) It means: "don't go near the prayer when you are drunk".
If a person seperates laa taqrabu assalaata from the rest of the verse, the meaning will be, " don't go near the prayer".

Therefore our duty as Muslims is to keep the verses in their context. Also we are ordered to take all of the texts about a topic or subject. Only then we can understand the Holy Quraan. Surely Quran is not difficult to be understood for admonition. Although this is my experience, but I will support my saying with a verse from Allah, the verse which Allah repeated in surah Al Qamar, ولقد يسرنا القرآن لذكر فهل من مدكر "and certainly, WE have made the Quraan easy for admonition, then is there any to take the admonition?"

What Allah said about mankind, if you read every one of these qualities in their context, you will find it very beautiful and perfect.

Moreover, the 5 pillars of Islam are compulsory, there is no Paradise without them. It is not only zakat which is for the welfare of needy human beings but also consider others. Salaah is necessary for men in masjid with imam. This brings the Muslims in close unity, love and sympathy with each other. My father (may Allah give him paradise, aameen ) used to pray with imam in the masjid. When he fell ill and couldn't go to masjid, a brother came from the masjid and asked the reason of his absence from the masjid. Then he informed others about the illness of my father. So the brothers started coming, asking about his health, saying du'aa and presenting their love and sympathy as well as help if we needed. You can experience all that beauty if you practice it.

Similarly in fasting we can feel the hunger of a poor. In Hajj Muslims of the whole world come together in one uniform and so on.
Still we can see that these 5 are the pillars while Islam as whole will be a full building. So we have to be careful at large about Huqooqul Allah and huqooqul ibaad, which means the rights of Allah and the rights of people. THese are the 2 parts of the worship of Allah and to fulfill them we must follow the Character of Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم in full.

Sister Insaanah has explained the things with ahaadeeth.

Brother Syed_Z's statement is also a beautiful guide in this context

The end of the Holy Quraan is with the "mo'awwizhatain" that are the Surah Al Falaq and Annaas. If you could know the pleasure of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم at the revelation of these 2 surahs. He informed the companions with great pleasure about these surahs. This is because there are many benefits for mankind in these two surahs. Allah سبحانه و تعالى sent down these surahs for our safety and protection from numerous enemies like every mischief in the world, mischief of the intense darkness of the night, mischief of black magic, mischief of jealous person, and from the wrong ideas of satan and all his friends among jinn and mankind. From all of those troubles and mischief we will be saved by Allah when we read these two surahs only. In fact for our safety in the day and night we cannot live without reciting these two surahs and ayatul kursi. These are truly from the great blessings of Allah for us. but alas, alas! in what way have you presented them giving very wrong impression of our Beneficent Lord!!!
You must repent to Allah and try to clean the minds of those readers of your post who fell into misunderstanding about our very Kind and very Merciful Lord.

[greenhill]

Thank you nbegam for your comments.

Your reply in a way confirms my 'feelings' on the matter.

Before I go further, the 5 & 6 is the

5- believe in Allah send his messenger, to do the 5 daily prayers, the Hajj, to fast and to pay zakat. The 6 are to believe in Allah, His prophets, the Books, the angels, in doomsday, qada and qadar.

My point is this.

When there is a discussion on Islam and questions are posed, I have heard many varying responses. Usually, the follow up questions are related to how the original question was answered. In most cases, a more simple answer is given, and it is a quote from rasulullah in one of his hadiths regarding the performance of the 5 pillars. Who can argue with this?

So for a new muslim, how would we impart the basic knowledge if it cannot be compiled in a manner they can understand?

You mentioned huquuqul Allah and ibaad. To me that's a good starting point. That Islam is 'essentially' about that. Then we start the conversation or discussion from a clear point of reference. Huquuqul Allah meaning... and huquuqul ibaad meaning... which then covers our duties as 'Khalifa' on earth.

In short, my point is about the confusion we sometimes create in trying to explain the deen. Either it is way too simple or really complicated.

So the 'huquuqul' way seems to me a good point to start. That we as human must guard these basic duties. It must be spelt out right from the outset and not left to chance whether it is discovered or not. To cite an example, if we are not made to be aware of one of the pillars of faith, say about the Qada and Qadar, then it may not be in our peripheral objectives to research and understand, although it may be repeated in the Quran. Again, to reiterate, I'm just trying to compile, with input from the members here the basics of muslim duties. It seems huquuqul aspects is a good intro...

[greenhill]

I think you are not reading and understanding the Quraan thoroughly. Rather you are taking different ideas from here and there. I can prove this point by the fact that you have brought a few qualities of mankind from the Holy Quraan out of context. This is a very dangerous action.

Perhaps, but I don't think so.

Your example given goes to show my point on the subject. Bits from the Quran or sometimes from the hadiths are quoted to illustrate a point just as you chose the verse about the 'approach not your prayers in a state of intoxication' is just one point. It does not guide people in their general mannerism.

What would be the next point if a person does take the shahada after he has learnt the 5 pillars of Islam and the 6 pillars of faith? Does he learn all the various bits and pieces people remember along the way or can a list of basic items be compiled for easy reference and guide?

What was the factor to cause the downfall of Satan? His pride. Surely this is a lesson for us? A big lesson. How it seriously affects our choices. This is a point made and scattered throughout the Quran just like how it has been said that we are ungrateful and forgetful, and the various other items listed (again throughout the Quran) which is not compiled for our own benefit of understanding as being the core values.

So, as muslims around the world, we generally grope in the dark and offer all kinds of answers picked from various parts of the Quran or hadiths to reinforce a point we want to make without first categorising the basic steps and the main factors determining our faith.

[OmAbdullah]

1. You have mixed up two things and made a 6th pillar. In fact there are 5 pillars of Islam. They are as you mentioned i.e. tashahhad, 5 daily prayers, yearly zakat, fasting in Ramadhan, and Hajj once in life if a Muslim can afford it.

2nd thing is the articles of faith. It is not 6th pillar of Islam. Rather it is the basic thing i.e is Al-Eimaan. It has actually 7 things to believe in which are called the artickles of Faith (Eimaan). These are belief in Allah, belief in the angels and in the heavenly Books, in the messengers of Allah, in the last Day of this world, in the good and evil of destiny being from Allah, and in the life after death. Some scholars joined the two articles i.e the last Day and the life after death, together and made one of lt although in the original hadeeth these are mentioned separately. So they made them 6 articles of faith. In any case these are the articles of faith i.e. our belief must be in all of them and these are not the 6th pillar of Islam. We can say that here the first pillar is opened to tell us that we must believe not only in the absolute oneness of God but also along with that we must believe in all of them.


For a non-muslim we must always start with tawheed. when he accepts then we must teach him daily prayers and then gradually all other things. Abdullah bin Mas'ood رضي الله عنه said that the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم would teach them ten verses of the Holy Quraan and then He would not proceed until they understood those ten verses and acted upon them.

In this way a new Muslim can understand the whole Islam in full and comes to know how to act upon it. Anyhow it is very simple and easy without any confusion or trouble. About qadar (destiny) insha Allah, I will write in my next post, now I have to pray salaath az- zuhur.

[greenhill]

Thanks for engaging me nbegam,

My bad, wrongly labeled . But essentially, that is what is stressed to most new converts. [The 5 pillars of islam and the 6(or 7 as you have elaborated) articles of faith].

We get so involved with the tauhid which is listed and categorised, but the other aspects as you also pointed out was taught by the prophet (saw) by verses of the Quran (ten of them at a time) and would not proceed until they have understood and incorporated into their lifestyle. In my ignorance, I never heard of this, jazakallah khoir for this bit of info. Still, the 'other' aspects are left without a list as is compiled for the articles and the pillars.

This is the point I am trying to make.

What would be the first ten surah that the holy prophet (saw) taught, I wonder? What was the message that the prophet wanted them to understand and incorporate into their lives? It probably would add that as the 'lessons' progressed, it became an addendum to the earlier teachings.

But as it stands, we are not taught this way (at least I was not and I have not heard of a place that teaches this way) and apart from the tauhid aspects (which is clearly listed out) the 'other' parts are not at all very clearly outlined, but sporadic. Even in our discussion, we have labeled them as 'other' aspect. Tauhid is defined but the 'other' is left as undefined. What does it include? What is it about? etc ...

I have generally categorised them as what I see in the Quran what Allah repeatedly said about us humans, we are proud, ungrateful, forgetful and materialistic. In addition, to being oppressive, mischief maker, stingy and hypocrites. (I find most of what is described in the Quran falls under one of these categories).

I'll end (for now) with verse 107

In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful.
1. Have you considered him who denies the religion?
2. It is he who mistreats the orphan.
3. And does not encourage the feeding of the poor.
4. So woe to those who pray.
5. (But) those who are heedless of their prayers.
6. Those who put on the appearance.
7. And withhold the assistance.

Describes in one way or another traits of pride, arrogance, stingy, hypocrite.. maybe another one I have missed out.

[greenhill]

Salaam sis,

Of course everything would come together under the many Qur'anic verses which tell us to "Obey Allah and obey the messenger".

I have been looking for this verse in a way to dispel the anti hadith groups, but my eyes cannot find it....

Narrated Anas (May Allah be pleased with him):

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "None of you will have faith till he wishes for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself."

would be 'humility'(?) opposite of pride.

It is narrated on the authority of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Prophet say:

"A Muslim is he from whose hand and tongue the Muslims are safe."

Not entirely sure what this is suppose to mean, but I see hints of not hypocrite, non oppressors, and generosity.

I do see a 'pattern' to the message on behaviour and attitude, that it falls into broad categories. On my own i may be prone to error but as a group, we might be able to better define it.

I am feeling excited.

[greenhill]

Another similar thread to this I was referring to in my earlier post was "help me in my struggle against islamophobia". But the "Quran project" is no different really. Between the two of them jogged my memory about this post.

[Insaanah]

I have been looking for this verse in a way to dispel the anti hadith groups, but my eyes cannot find it....

I love www.quran.com. Just enter in the search bar "obey Allah and obey the messenger" or "obey the messenger", and all the verses will appear.

There are quite a few:

Say, "Obey Allah and the Messenger." But if they turn away - then indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers. (3:32)

And obey Allah and the Messenger that you may obtain mercy. (3:132)

These are the limits [set by] Allah , and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted by Him to gardens [in Paradise] under which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great attainment. (4:13)

O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result. (4:59)

And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favor of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions. (4:69)

He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah ; but those who turn away - We have not sent you over them as a guardian. (4:80)

And obey Allah and obey the Messenger and beware. And if you turn away - then know that upon Our Messenger is only [the responsibility for] clear notification. (5:92)

They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the bounties [of war]. Say, "The [decision concerning] bounties is for Allah and the Messenger." So fear Allah and amend that which is between you and obey Allah and His Messenger, if you should be believers. (8:1)

O you who have believed, obey Allah and His Messenger and do not turn from him while you hear [his order]. (8:20)

O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart and that to Him you will be gathered. (8:24)

And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart; and be patient. Indeed, Allah is with the patient. (8:46)

The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those - Allah will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise. (9:71)

And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger and fears Allah and is conscious of Him - it is those who are the attainers. (24:52)

Say, "Obey Allah and obey the Messenger; but if you turn away - then upon him is only that [duty] with which he has been charged, and upon you is that with which you have been charged. And if you obey him, you will be [rightly] guided. And there is not upon the Messenger except the [responsibility for] clear notification." (24:54)

And establish prayer and give zakah and obey the Messenger - that you may receive mercy. (24:56)

And whoever of you devoutly obeys Allah and His Messenger and does righteousness - We will give her her reward twice; and We have prepared for her a noble provision. (33:31)

And abide in your houses and do not display yourselves as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance. And establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the [Prophet's] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification. (33:33)

The Day their faces will be turned about in the Fire, they will say, "How we wish we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger." (33:66)

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. (33:71)

O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not invalidate your deeds. (47:33)

There is not upon the blind any guilt or upon the lame any guilt or upon the ill any guilt [for remaining behind]. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger - He will admit him to gardens beneath which rivers flow; but whoever turns away - He will punish him with a painful punishment. (48:17)

The bedouins say, "We have believed." Say, "You have not [yet] believed; but say [instead], 'We have submitted,' for faith has not yet entered your hearts. And if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not deprive you from your deeds of anything. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." (49:14)

Have you feared to present before your consultation charities? Then when you do not and Allah has forgiven you, then [at least] establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. And Allah is Acquainted with what you do. (58:13)

And obey Allah and obey the Messenger; but if you turn away - then upon Our Messenger is only [the duty of] clear notification. (64:12)

[greenhill]

Wow! So many!!! ...... and I could not find one

[OmAbdullah]

Alhamdulillah, we can see the post of sister Insaanah, what a beautiful post!!!!!! You can also see so many good points of reward for the practicing believers in verses present in the same post. So one has to be patient and attentive, he/ she will be fully satisfied with guidance of the Holy Quraan +Sunnah.
If you just write the verse No. and surah name of those verses which are about the qualities of mankind so that we all can see the context then every thing will be clear. For e.g. Allah سبحانه و تعا لى said in surah An Nisaa verse 28 that human being is created weak.

If we take only this half part of the verse 28, we will not understand the meaning in full and Satan will get a chance to put so many wrong ideas in one's mind against Allah سبحانه و تعا لى and thus will try to make one astray. Now let us see this verse full and in its context:

26. Allah wants to make clear to you [the lawful from the unlawful] and guide you to the [good] practices of those before you and to accept your repentance. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.

27. Allah wishes to accept your repentance, but those who follow their lusts, wish that you (believers) should deviate tremendously away from the Right Path.

28. Allah wishes to lighten (the burden) for you; and man was created weak (cannot be patient to leave
sexual intercourse with woman).

Now we can clearly observe in these verses the kindness of Allah, The Most Merciful, and we , rather , find honor for mankind. Therefore we will feel thankful to Allah and Satan will insha Allah fail in his attempts. Thus the advice is "try to understand the verses in their context"

The definition of every topic in the Faith is really important but it needs lot of time. It is the duty of every Muslim to give time to dawa. But I will be thankful to the brothers and sisters if they can guide to some books or sites on the net where the details of Al Eimaan and Al Islam are already present.

One important point is that before starting the work of a da'ee, a Muslim is supposed to strengthen his own faith so that he/she feels fully strong and cannot be shaken by Satan directly or indirectly through his friends. Such weak Muslims are in a state of confusion and are not good for preaching. We need to pray to Allah constantly to make us strong and steadfast as well as we must read, understand and act upon the Holy Quraan along with the Sunnah to become strong Muslims.


In the end you have given the translation of Surah Al-Maa'oun without giving its name. you have typed "verse 107".

This doesn't mean anything. verse 107 can be a single verse from any long surah, While in fact you are presenting a full surah Al-Maa'oun which is surah No. 107. Please be careful in this regard because this is the matter of the Book of Allah and we must fear Allah.

This surah is great! The word "deen" in the first verse means "The Day of Accounting in the Hereafter".
Please read a good tafseer to get a clear understanding of the Holy Quraan.

[greenhill]

Again you caught me mixing up my terminology, sis nbegam .. :

Apologies, surah, not verse. Seem to be doing this a lot, of late..

[OmAbdullah]

I will try to write some short notes on Al Eimaan first.

It means The Faith. As we observe it is the very bases and starting of one's Islam. It is related with heart/ mind. One has to believe with his heart/mind in the following:

1. Existence and absolute Oneness of God,

2. Existence of angels,

3. Divine Books that God (Allah) sent down to the Holy Prophets,

4. The Prophets and Messengers that they were truly appointed by Allah and they received guidance from Allah to guide mankind.

5. The Last Day which will be the Day of Calamity.

6. The Divine Destiny, its good and evil ordained by Allah.

7. And Life after death.


The Hadeeth about the articles of faith that I remember is:

أمنت باالله و ملآئكته و كتبه و رسله و اليوم الآخر و القدر خيره و شره من الله تعالى و البعث بعد الموت

The first and the very basic article of faith is Tawheed which means to believe in the absolute Oneness of Allah. In fact this is the primary faith while all others are secondary to strengthen the primary one. Surah Al-Ikhlas is a short and perfect presentation of Tawheed, Allah says in this surah:

1. Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
2. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; ( The One Who is Self-Sufficient i.e. everything and everyone depends on HIM while HE doesn't depend on anyone.
3. He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
4. And there is none like unto Him.

The Tawheed has 3 types. They are:

Tawheed al- Alohiah,
Tawheed ar- Rabubiah,
Tawheed al- Asmaa wa al-Sifaat.

Tawheed al- Alohiah:
This is the oneness of God-hood. The only one God WHO has the right to be worshipped by all the creations is Allah alone. Surah Al-Ikhlas is the evidence.
The important point to be noted is that Allah will not forgive the sin of polytheism. If anyone associated any partner to Allah in any form and he/she died without repenting from that sin, he/she will be punished in Hell forever.

Tawheed ar- Rabubiah
This is the oneness of Lord-ship, Which means Allah is the only One Lord.
Only Allah is the Giver of life and death, the Giver of sustenance, the Giver of harm and benefit and the Giver of Law, So in a real sense only Allah is The Ruler.
Mankind accepts the other qualities like the giving of provision by HIM but when it comes to the laws and ruling, most of the mankind openly fights against Allah and doesn't accept Allah's Rule.
The result is that the arrogant and transgressors filled up the land of Allah with bloodshed. They are denying the Tawheed ar-Rabubiah and if they died without repentance to Allah then Hell will be their abode forever and it is very bad place to return to.

Tawheed al- Asmaa wa al-Sifaat:
This is related with the beautiful names and attributes of Almighty God (Allah). We can read the names of Allah usually given in the beginning of the Holy Quraan. Also Ayatul- Kursy is a long verse which gives us some of the Great Qualities of Allah. The ayatul-kursy is such a great verse that its reader gets protected by the Grace of Allah from thieves, jinn and all enemies. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم advised us to read the asmaa-al-husnah after evening prayer daily to be protected from many harmful things at night. Allah knows best HIS Prophet's saying.

[greenhill]

Thank you nbegam.

I am fully aware of them (believe or not)

So, we have gotten passed the 'pillars' and the 'articles'. What is next?

I would draw the conversation to what Allah has repeatedly said about us, humans- we are proud, materialistic, ungrateful and forgetful (maybe more). So, as a muslim we must be humble, 'practical', appreciative, thankful and remind ourselves.

And Allah also says scatteredly throughout the Quran about the oppressors, the hypocrites, the miserly, mischief, extravagance etc, meaning that Allah wants human to to be kind, truthful, charitable, be constructive and moderation.

Those above points can be elaborated further, but generally the description of humans failings could be put into any one of the categorisies.

That way a person gets a clearer picture with regards to patience in facing life's challenges.