online islamic course

Witness Pioneer's dar ul albab (virtual school) is offering a course on Introduction to Islamic Jurisprudence. The duration is from July 29, 2006 - October 28, 2006.

Details:

- No tuition fee for the course.
- The instructor will notify the lecture plan at the beginning of the course.
- One lecture per week.
- The instructors and teaching assistants will fix their official e-groups CHAT schedule for discussion.
- Almost all the materials, including the textbooks, will be available in the online library if those are not protected by the copyright. And lecture materials will be provided.

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further details >>

let us experience the Quran: surah Ma'oun

In the name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful!

All praises and Glory be to Allah (swt), the Lord of the Universe, Master of the day of judgement. Peace and blessings of ALlah (swt) be upon our master, the illiterate Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (saw).

surah ma'oun (small kindness)

Have you seen him who denies Our religion?
It is he who harshly repels the orphan
and does not urge others to feed the needy.
Woe to those who pray
but are heedless of their prayers;
who put on a show of piety
but refuse to give even the smallest help to others.

--------------------------------------------

This surah derives its name from the last word of the last verse. It is a Makkan revelation according to some authorities and a Makkan-Medinan one according to others. The latter opinion is perhaps more accurate. The subject matter is more in line with the topics of the part of the Qur'an revealed in Medina. It is related to the phenomena of hypocrisy and false appearances which were unheard of among the Muslim community in Makka.

1. This surah tackles an important and vital issue. It brings forth -
a) The fundamental truth essential in the nature of the Islamic faith,
b) The enormous benefit it offers to all humanity and
c) The abundant blessings with which Allah (swt) favoured mankind when He (swt) sent them His last Message.

2. Islam is not built on ostentation and superficiality. Acts of worship are meaningless unless motivated by sincerity and devotion to Allah (swt). Sincere worship produces effects within the individual's heart driving him to act righteously. This in turn are reflected in a social behaviour which elevates man's life on this earth.

3. Neither is Islam a loose, fragmentary, disjointed system from which one can pick and choose at leisure. On the contrary, it is a complete way of life with acts of worship and rites as well as individual and collective obligations that are mutually complementary. Together they lead to a goal of which mankind is the sole beneficiary, a goal which ensures that hearts are purified, life is ennobled, and men co-operate for the common good and progress. A goal wherein abounds the blessings of Allah (swt).

4. The essence of faith once firmly rooted in the hearts and minds, will begin immediately to operate and manifest itself in men's behaviour. The surah stresses unequivocally that, if this is not the case, there is no faith.
"Have you seen him who denies Our religion? It is he who harshly repels the orphan and does not urge others to feed the needy."
(One) who harshly repels the orphan and does not urge others to feed the needy is thus identified by the Qur'an as the one who denies the religion of Islam? This definition may sound surprising but in fact, this is the core of the whole matter. For if the truth of Islam has in any degree touched his heart, he would commit no such acts. True belief in Islam is not a spoken word but an overall change of the individual's heart, motivating him to benevolence and goodwill for all his fellow beings that are in need of his care and protection. Allah does not want mere words from His servants but demands deeds to support the spoken words which, otherwise, are as weightless and valueless as blown ash.

5. Next, Allah offers a practical illustration of what is meant above:
"Woe to those who pray, but are heedless of their prayers."
These verses contain Allah's invocation against those who offer prayers but are careless about them. Those
"who put on a show of piety but refuse to give even the smallest help to others"
They execute the mechanical aspects and pronounce the verbal formulae of prayers but their hearts are never alive to them, nor are they nourished by praying. The essence and purpose of prayer and its component parts (recitation, supplication and exaltation of Allah) are never present in their souls. Muslims are required to offer their prayers regularly as a manifestation of their servitude to Allah alone. Thus, prayer leaves no result in those who are neglectful and inattentive to it. Consequently they refuse to be kind or helpful to their fellow beings and deny the slightest charity. Since their prayers have not affected their hearts and behaviour, they are not merely useless but rather a sin liable to severe punishment.

6. From all these, we gather the purpose behind what Allah demands of His servants when He instructs them to believe in, and worship Him. He seeks no benefit thereof for Himself, as He is All-Affluent, but all He cares for is their own welfare and prosperity, purification of their hearts and happiness in their lives. Allah wishes human life to be elevated, happy, based on pure motives and characterised by mutual compassion, brotherhood and purity of hearts and behaviour.
To where then is humanity driving itself?
Away from this abundance of mercy?
Away from this wonderful and sublime path?
How can mankind debase itself to living in the wilderness of a wretched and gloomy Ignorance when it beholds the sparkling light of faith before its very eyes at the cross-roads where it now stands?

......

"They said: Glory be to Thee! we have no knowledge but that which Thou hast taught us; surely Thou art the Knowing, the Wise." (Quran, 02:32)

Wallahu 'aleemun hakeem. whatever is good is from Allah (swt) and all shortcomings are mine alone

let us experience the Quran: surah Quraish

In the name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful!

"For the tradition of Quraish, their tradition of traveling in winter and summer. Let them worship the Lord of this House, Who provided them with food lest they should go hungry, and with security lest they should fear."

-------------------------

Introduction:
Name - taken from the word Quraish in the first verse

Period of revelation - according to majority of scholars, it is makki and revealed soon after the previous surah (al Feel)

Synopsis of Tafsir (In the shade of the Quran - Fi zilal al Quran):
When Ibrahim (pbuh), the friend (khalil) of Allah, completed the building of the Ka'ba and had purified it, he turned to Allah with the following prayer:

Lord, make this a city of peace and sustain its inhabitants with the fruits (of the earth). (2:126)

Allah preserved for the House its security and sacrednessSo and made that House one of peace free from all human authority and tyranny. He granted security and peace to anyone seeking shelter in that House, while fear was all around it. He also preserved it from those seeking to destroy it, as explained in surah Feel.

The Elephant incident greatly enhanced the sanctity and respect of the House amongst all over Arabian peninsula and strengthened the position of the Quraish as the custodians of the House. This enabled them to establish two great routes for their commercial caravans, one to the Yemen in the winter and the other to Syria in the summer. Thus giving them an exclusive and distinct opportunity for means of sustenance in peace, security and contentment, despite the lawlessness prevalent all over Arabia at that time.

Their security is the result of their being the custodians of the House, the sanctity of which is ordained and preserved by Allah against any violation, which is a gift granted to them by Allah (swt). It is by His (swt) grace that while their land is desolate and dry, they still live a comfortable life.

Allah reminds them of these graces in order that they may be ashamed of their submission to other beings, while He is the Lord of the House. Allah says to them in effect: for this tradition of Quraish, namely their trips of winter and summer, let them submit to the Lord of this House Who guaranteed their security, provided them with food and encouraged them to take such beneficial trips.

"Let them worship the Lord of this House, Who provides them with food lest they should go hungry."

This is a reminder which generates and leaves a deep shame in the hearts of the Quraish, who chose to ignore the call to worship the Lord of this House, which has brought so much goodness for them. Though at the moment of danger and difficulty, the Quraish appealed only to the Lord of that House and seek only His help. (the case of Abdulmuttalib who only said to - "I am only the master of the camels, but the House has its own Lord who is sure to protect it"). But Ignorance does not listen to any logic, or acknowledge what is right, or accept any reasonable argument.

Wallahu 'aleemun hakeem. "They said: Glory be to Thee! we have no knowledge but that which Thou hast taught us; surely Thou art the Knowing, the Wise." (Quran, 02:32)

whatever is good is from Allah (swt) and all shortcomings are mine alone

The Qur'anic Path

by Abu A`la Syed al-Maududi

'...but all that you may do to understand the Quran is not enough. If you want to identify with the spirit of the Quran, you must practically involve [yourself] with the struggle to fulfill its mission. For the Quran is not a book of abstract theories and cold ideas, which one can grasp while seated in a cosy arm chair. Nor is it merely a religious book like other religious books, whose meanings can be grasped in seminaries and oratories.

'On the contrary, it is a Book which contains a message, and invitation, which generates a movement. The moment it began to sent down, it impelled a quiet and pious man to abandon his life of solitude and confront the world that was living in rebellion against God. It inspired him to raise his voice against falsehood, and pitted him in a grim struggle against the lords of disbelief, evil and inquity. One after the other, from every home, it drew every pure and noble soul, and gathered them under the banner of truth. In every part of the country, it made all the mischevious and the corrupt to rise and wage war against the bearers of the truth.

'This is a Book which launched a glorious movement, with the voice of a single individual, and continued to provide guidance to it for twenty-three years, till the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. At every stage during this long and heart-rending struggle between truth and falsehood, this Book showed its followers the ways to eradicate the old order and usher in the new.

'Is it, then, possible, to reach the heart of the Quran merely by reading its words, without ever stepping upon the battlefield of faith and disbelief, of Islam and Ignorance, without passing through any stage of the struggle? No, you can understand the Quran only when you take it up, begin to act upon it, and call mankind to God, and when every step you take is in obedience to its guidance.

'Then and only then, you will go through all the events and experiences which occurred during the course of its revelation. You will then pass through Makka, and Habash, and Taif; you will face Badr, Uhud, Hunayn and Tabuk. You will encounter Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab; you will meet the hypocrites and Jews; you will come face to face with those who instantly responded to this call as well as those who were drawn into Islam seeking some gain. You will come across all of these human models; you will deal with all of them.
This is a path different from the so-called 'mystic-path', which I name the 'Quranic path' that, as you pass through its various stations and stages, certain Surahs and Ayahs will disclose their full message to you, and tell you that they were revealed precisely for this stage and station that you are passing through. You may miss some linguistic and grammatical subtleties, you may miss certain finer points in the rhetoric and semantics of the Quran, yet it is impossible that the Quran will fail to reveal its full and true spirit to you.

'In the same way, no person can ever understand the legal injunctions, the moral teachings, and the political and economic directives of the Quran, unless and until he puts them into practice. Neither the individual who lives independently of the Quran nor the nation which runs its institutions in violation of its guidance can discover the spirit of the Quran.'

Reference: Tahfhimul Quran, Vol.I, Lahore, 1979, pp.33-4 quoted in Murad, Khurram, 'Way to the Quran', The Islamic Foundation, Leicester, UK, 1991. The above quoted passage appears in the latter on pages 117-118.

Let us experience the Quran: Surah al Feel

In the name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful!

Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the people of the Elephant?
Did He not cause their treacherous plan to be futile,
and send against them flights of birds,
which pelted them with stones of sand and clay?
Thus He made them like devoured dry leaves. (The Glorious Quran, 105:1-5)

-------------------------------------------------------

The Surah derives its name from the word ashab al fil in the very first verse.

Period of Revelation: This is unanimously a Makki Surah; and if it is studied against its historical background it appears that it must have been sent down in the very earliest stage at Makkah.

This surah refers to the famous incident of the elephants which took place before the birth of holy prophet Muhammad (saw), and clearly shows how Allah (swt) protected the Holy ka'ba. The story is well known to all of us, but just to recap -

Abraha, the Abysinnian governon of Yemen, built a luxurious church and wanted it to be the centre of attraction for Arab land. But Ka'ba was very special to the arabs because its heritage dated back to their forefathers, Ibrahim (as) and Ismael (as). Determined to achieve his goal, Abraha, marched to Mecca with a strong army equipped with elephants. Reaching Mecca, Abraha sent for Abdul Muttalib ibn Hisaham, the holy Prophet's (saw) grandfather, the then Meccan chief. His response to Abraha's messenger was:
'By God, we do not want to fight him and we have no power to resist him. This is God's sacred house, built by His chosen frien, Ibrahim. If He protects it against him, it is because the House is His, and if He leaves it to him to destroy, we cannot defend it.'

Abraha ordered his army to march, but just outside Mecca, their renowned big elephant refused to go any further, despite all attempts. Then Allah's (swt) will to destroy the Abyssinian army and its commander was fulfilled. He (swt) sent groups of birds to stone the attackers with stones of sand and clay, leaving them like dry and torn leaves. This story teaches us how Allah (swt) has power over all things and how he can bring about the destruction of a great army through some humble bird carrying tiny stones. This is also an example of how Allah (swt) protects His sanctuaries and preserves them.

'Have you not see how your Lord dealth with the people of the elephant?'

1. This was a famous incident among the Arabs. (the holy Prophet (saw) was also born in the elephant year itself). With this ayah, Allah (swt) reminds the Quraysh and the Arabs of a well known incident. He (swt) then goes on to add -

'Did He not cause their treacherous plan to be futile?'

2. This is perhaps a reminder to the Quraysh of the grace Allah (swt) bestowed on them when He protected and preserved the House at a time when they felt too weak to face the mighty aggressors. So, they should not deny the truth after Allah (swt) has helped them out of their weakness.

3. It may also be a lesson to the Quraysh. Allah destroyed the mighty army of elephants, and similarly He may destroy these aggressors who try to oppress the Messenger the suppress the truth.

'And send against them flights of birds, which pelted them with stones of sand and clay. Thus He made them like devoured dry leaves.'

4. Allah (swt) did not want the polytheists to protect His (swt) house, inspite their deep respect for it. He (swt) made it clear that He (swt) Himself was the protector of the House. Thus the polytheists did not have the chance to 'do a favour to Allah (swt)'.

5. The direct intervention by Allah (swt) made it manifest to the Arabs that there is infact a supreme Lord. Thus, they should have embraced Islam when conveyed the message by the Prophet (saw).

6. The event also suggests that Allah (swt) did not allow even the people of earlier revelations to impose their authority over the Holy land in order that the new faith would grow up there completely free, not subjected to the authority of any despot.

7. The other aspect hightlights the reality of the Arabian situation at the time. Though (only) the heart land of the Arabian Peninsula escaped foreign rule, they were also divided and weak. For the first time in their history did they rise to the leadership of the world when they substituted their Arabism with the noble message of universal brotherhood and truth, Islam. But when they deserted Allah (swt), Allah (swt) deserted them too, and they were relegated from their leadership position.

This applies not only to the Arabs, but to all Muslims. If we are to assume the leadership of humanity once again, if we want to 'save humanity from the worship of creatures and bring it to the worship of Allah (swt) alone, to save it from the narrowness of this life so that it may look forward to the broadness of the life hereafter, and from the oppression and injustice so that it may enjoy the peace, justice and equality' there is no option other than to return to the path of Quran and Sunnah.

Wallahu 'aleemun hakeem. "They said: Glory be to Thee! we have no knowledge but that which Thou hast taught us; surely Thou art the Knowing, the Wise." (Quran, 02:32)

references:
fi zilal al quran, Syed Qutb Shaheed (r)
introduction to surah al Feel, Mawdudi (r)

Let us experience the Quran

For some times, i had been toying with the idea of having a quran discussion group/forum to see the quran through our own eyes. it is mainly to share our understanding of quran among ourselves. ofcourse, i at least dont consider myself to be in a position to discuss quran all on my own, and so i strongly think we should take some help from any selected exegesis.

here is what i have thought of:

1. We select a chapter / some verses to discuss. should have a long term plan, and for a start i suggest the last ten chapters, they being the most commonly recited during prayers.

2. I would then post a synopsis of the selected tafsir. my choice of tafsir is the fi zilal, an english version (juz amma only) of which is available online. personally i really like this tafsir for its analytical viewpoints as well as insights into the deeper feelings of the Quran.

3. this will be open for discussion for a week, where every member comments on following two points:
i - what did i learn from or how do i see these verses.
ii - how can i implement these verses in myself and people around me.

4. at the end of the week, we can make a summary of overall discussion and post it again.

so, if you are interested in participating, please drop a comment. i hope to start by beginning next week, provided there are enough interested people to constitute a discussion group.

note: please dont join if you are not in it for the sake of knowledge. comments would be moderated, so it will not be posted anyway...

rabbana taqabal minna innaka antas sami'ul aleem

Words of Wisdom

when you are moving towards a destination, focus on the goal rather than the path. this will make the journey insignificant and strengthen you to withstand the hardship of the long path. On the otherhand, if you only focus on the path, your mind will be diverted from the goal and thus make the going tough. No sooner, you will find yourself either at a dead end or in an infinite loop.


originally posted on durerkontoshor.blog.com on april 30

Infinity

According to law of science, Infinity + anything = Infinity

This has two important significance to our lives...

1) Allah is Infinite and Eternal. Seek our to LOVE HIM and when you can truly do that, you will be able to love all others and live life as it should be.

'TAAR VALOBASHA JODI PETE CHAO, TOBE MANUSHERE VALOBESHE JAO.'

THE WAY TO HIS (ALLAH) LOVE IS THROUGH LOVING HIS CREATIONS.

2) If you can sincerely LOVE HIM, He will love you back; and once ALLAH loves you, you will not be in need of any worldly love, for you would have access to Eternal and All embracing LOVE. Is the light in need of light?

p.s. this is a interesting and very meaningful satement from Sheikh Ahmed Saad

"If You really want to know how much close your are to Him, then take a look where did He place You." Ibn `Ataillah
[Man has] limited lives (in a limited world) yet he thinks he is infinite. We have limited minds, limited perceptions, limited power but unlimited desires and unlimited greed and unlimited hope. If we place our unlimited desires and unlimited greed and (unlimited) hope into the limitedness of this life, they will inevitably become so limited as such.
Therefore, let's place our unlimited hope, desire and love in the infinite and unlimited Source, that is Allah. So that they give us unlimited joy and eternal happiness. Only then, we will be removed from the temporariness and limitedness of our souls to the infinity and unlimitedness of the Source. "For them is Paradise, wherein they shall reside eternally." (The Holy Qur'an)

originally posted on durerkontoshor.blog.com on april 30

why?

durerkontoshor.blog.com nw resides here (http://durerkontoshor.blog.com)
well, i wasnt really liking blog.com and to do some cool stuffs, you have to pay. min is 25 dollars a year, and what the hell... if i can do it for free, why pay?
so... here i am.