Burdens
Burdens are the foundations of ease and bitter things the forerunners of pleasure.
Maulana jalaluddin Rumi
Month: September 2010
Gender Interaction on Campus
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
The question of gender interaction on campus is one of great importance. Unfortunately, at least in many cases, it has been handled from one or two extremes. I remember visiting an MSA and finding the entire MSA was shut down because, at the first meeting a brother stood up, pointed at the sisters and said, “Why are they here? It is not allowable for you to be here!” On the other side of the coin I’ve heard of MSA’s who conduct their meetings at Starbucks! Thus, while enjoying the latest frappuccino, Fatima and Zaid are sitting together with no respect for our sacred texts and principles. Insha’Allah, it is our hope to answer this question from the perspective of Islamic activism and dawa using a few very important verses from the Book of Allah Most High.
The Responsibility of Islamic Activism
Allah Most High says:
“The believers, men and women, are protecting friends one of another; they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and they establish worship and they pay the poor-due, and they obey Allah and His messenger.”[1]
Imam Al-Tabari (may Allah be pleased with him) said, commenting on this verse, “They invite humanity toward faith in Allah and His Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) and everything that the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) was sent with by Allah.” [2] The scholars have said that, because of the wording of this verse, it is clear that the responsibility of dawa and Islamic work falls upon both males and females.[3]
The Scope of Inter-Gender Relations:
In Sura Al-Qasas we find a very interesting example of inter-gender relations found in the story of Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him).
Allah Most High says:
“And when he went towards (the land of) Madyan, he said: “It may be that my Lord guides me to the Right Way.” And when he arrived at the water of Madyan he found there a group of men watering (their flocks), and besides them he found two women who were keeping back (their flocks). He said: “What is the matter with you?” They said: “We cannot water (our flocks) until the shepherds take (their flocks). And our father is a very old man.” So he watered (their flocks) for them, then he turned back to shade, and said: “My Lord! Truly, I am in need of whatever good that You bestow on me!” Then there came to him one of the two women, walking shyly. She said: “Verily, my father calls you that he may reward you for having watered (our flocks) for us.”[4]
By taking a quick glance at these verses we can garner a number of lessons related to Islamic work, the personality of the Islamic caller and rules and adab for inter-gender relations:
1. The importance of d’ua. If we look at this story as large structure, we can see that supplication forms its foundation and roof. Thus, Prophet Musa began his actions with a du’a and completed it. For this reason the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Nothing is more honorable (most liked) before Allah Most High than Supplication.”[5]
2. The great mercy and compassion of the Prophets. Prophet Musa felt compassion for the two women and went to assist them. It is important for the Islamic worker have mercy and concern for those around him. For that reason the poet Ahmed Shawqi wrote:
وإذا رحمتَ فأنتَ أمٌ, أو أبٌ هذان في الدنيا هما الرحماء
“And if you (Muhammad) implement mercy, then you are a mother or father. And they, in this life, are the exercisers of extreme mercy.”[6]
3. The importance of obeying and serving one’s parents: Prophet Shu’ayb’s daughters not only served him in his old age, but obeyed him by carrying themselves with great fidelity and morality in his absence. The same can be said for the campus. Many of us live away from our parents on campus and it is important to respect them in their absence by being pious and righteous children. It is sad to see many university students drooling at the opportunity to escape to the campus environment just to disobey their parents. However, the truly righteous slaves of Allah obey their parents even in their absence. Of course, this obedience is in the good and not the evil.
4. It is well known that both of these women were eligible for marriage with Prophet Mosa. In fact, we know that later he married one of them. Thus, these verses are used to prove that interaction between non-marhams is permitted as long as they observe certain adab which will be explained shortly, inshallah.
5. Inter-gender interaction is an exception, not the rule. Meaning that such interaction should take place only under situations which are clear necessities. The proof is the statement, “Our father is a very old man.” Meaning that Musa (peace be upon him) saw them under severe duress and spoke to them in an effort to remove their hardship, and their response was based on the necessity of getting water to drink. Thus, it can be said, that the call to Islam and its propagation fall under such a necessity however, such work must be done observing the following adab.
a. Remember that any encounter involves the eyes, tongue and limbs. However, the most important component for this encounter is the heart. Thus, before any gathering check your heart and make sure that it is with Allah Most High, full of love for Him and in submission to the sunna of the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him). A great du’a to say before such a gathering is the following supplication of the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him):
اللهم مقلب القلوب ثبّت قلبي على دينك
Allahumma muqallibul Qulub thabit qalbi ‘ala deenek.
“O turner of the hearts! Establish my heart upon Your religion.”
b. After one’s heart has submitted and his whims have been crushed, it is logical the rest of his body will follow and this would entail:
· Lowering the gaze as everything has an entrance and one of the entrances to the heart is the glance.
· Avoid speech or actions which could be taken as flirting. I was told by one of my sheikhs that laughing and joking should be avoided between non-mahram couples. For that reason Allah described the daughter of Shu’ayb, when she approached Mosa, “Then there came to him one of the two women, walking shyly.”
· Avoid being alone as Shaytan will be the third amongst you. Try your best to meet as a group as private meetings amongst a brother and sister who are non-mahram are strictly prohibited. In addition, during group meetings there should be a good amount of distance between brothers and sisters.
· Observe the correct Islamic dress code and remember to ask yourself an important question. “Am I making dawa to myself, or to Allah and the call of His beloved (may peace and blessings be upon him)?”
· There is no better solution than asking. Thus, it is important to refer any specific questions or issues to local scholars as they are your life source for survival in the campus jungle.
I ask Allah to bless our questioner, plant her feet firm upon his obedience and make her a great caller to Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him). I would like to express my gratitude to two of my early Sheikhs, Abu Mustafa of Senegal and Shaykh Abdul Jalil of San-Diego. Most of my humble attempt at an answer came from the questions I asked them while in my university days. May Allah bless them and continue to use them as a source of benefit to the shabab in the West.
In need of your prayers and happy Eid,
Suhaib D. Webb
Source: Sunnipath.com
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[1]Qur’an 9/71
[2]Tafsir Al-Tabari, surah 9/71
[3]For and excellent Arabic reference on this refer to Sh. Faisal Malwais Darul Mara Fe Al-A’mal Al-Islamiy.”
[4]Qur’ana 28/22-25
[5]Reported by At-Tirmizi, Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim graded it Sahih
[6]Al-Shawqiyat pg. 193
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Prophet Musa
The Early Years of Prophet Musa
The ruler of Egypt, the pharoah, discriminated against the people of Israel. He oppressed them and killed all their sons. When Musa (alayhis Salam) was born, his mother feared that he too would be killed. Allah sent a message to her to nurse him as long as she could, until she feared for his safety. Then she was to throw him into the river. Allah promised that He would bring Musa (alayhis Salam) back to her and that Musa would become a messenger of Allah.
It was the family of the pharoah who found Musa (alayhis Salam) in the river. The pharoah’s wife wanted to keep him and ordered that he not be killed. She thought he might be useful to them or that they might adopt him.
Meanwhile, Musa’s mother had sent his sister to keep watch over him from a distance. When the pharoah’s wife was looking for a nurse to feed and care for him until he grew older, the sister approached and offered the services of her mother, without, of course, revealing her mother’s real connection to the child. In this way he was restored to his mother, as Allah had promised. And when Musa (alayhis Salam) grew up, he was given wisdom and knowledge by Allah.
One day, when Musa (alayhis Salam) had grown up, he went into the city and found two men fighting, one of whom was an Egyptian, and the other an Israelite. The Israelite asked Musa (alayhis Salam) for help and Musa (alayhis Salam) struck the other man with his fist, thus killing him. Musa (alayhis Salam) was horrified that he had killed a man, and asked Allah for forgiveness, which Allah granted.
The following day Musa (alayhis Salam) again was in the city, when he saw the same man as on the day before, involved in a fight with an Egyptian. Musa (alayhis Salam) was angry at the hotheadedness of this man, but was once again ready to take his side against the Egyptian, who was the enemy of them both. But the Egyptian cried out to Musa (alayhis Salam) that murder was not the way to settle and reform matters. At that moment another man brought news that the authorities were searching for Musa (alayhis Salam) in connection with the murder of the previous day. And so Musa (alayhis Salam) was forced to flee.
Musa (alayhis Salam) escaped to the land of Madyan. There he came to a watering hole where a whole tribe of men were watering their flocks. There were two women there also whose father was too old to care for his flocks himself. But the women were holding their sheep back and could not get close to the water until the men had finished. Musa watered their flocks for them, then settled down in the shade, praying that Allah would send him assistance.
One of the two women whom Musa (alayhis Salam) had helped approached him shyly, for her father had sent for Musa (alayhis Salam) to reward him for helping his daughters. When Musa (alayhis Salam) had told the old man his story, the old man sympathized with him. The old man offered to marry Musa (alayhis Salam) to one of his daughters if Musa would work for him a minimum of eight years. An agreement was reached and Musa (alayhis Salam) stayed in the land of Madyan for the agreed-upon time.
This part of the story of Musa can be found in al-Qur’an 28:1-28.
Three Different Trees
By Ibnul Qayyim (r.a)
The year is a tree, the months are its branches, the days are its twigs, the hours (and minutes) are its leaves and every breath man takes is a fruit of the tree. Thus the fruit of the trees of a person who breathes in obedience to Allah will be sweet and the fruit of the tree of a person who breathes in disobedience to Allah will be bitter. However, the fruit of this tree will only be harvested on the Day of Ma’aad (the day when Man will return to Allah) and the sweet fruit will only be differentiated from the bitter fruit when it will be harvested.
Ikhlaas and Tauheed are a tree in the heart (of the Believer). The branches of this tree are good actions and its fruits are a pleasant life in the world and never-ending comfort in the Hereafter and just as the fruit of Jannah will never come to an end nor will it be held back, the same can be said regarding the fruits of Ikhlaas and Tauheed in the Dunyaa.
Shirk, lies and Riyaa (doing good actions for show) are also a tree in the heart. The worldly fruits of the tree are fear, worry, sorrow, narrowness of the heart (discontent, cowardice, etc) and darkness of the heart. In the Hereafter the fruits of this tree will be Zaqqoom and everlasting punishment.
These two trees have been mentioned by Allah in the following Aayaat of Surah Ibrahim:
“Did you not see how Allah presented an example? A pleasant word is like a pleasant tree; its roots are firm and its branches are (high) in the sky, it yields its fruit all the time with the command of its Sustainer. And Allah presents examples to the people so that they may take heed. And the example of a bad word is that of a bad tree that has been uprooted from above the earth having no firmness.” (Verse 24 – 26)
Source: Jameah Mahmoodiyah
Gossip
My name is gossip.
I have no respect for justice.
I maim without killing.
I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.
The more I am quoted the more I am believed.
I flourish at every level of society.
My victims are helpless.
They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no face.
To track me down is impossible for you.
The harder you try, the more elusive I become.
I am nobody’s friend.
Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.
I topple governments and wreck marriages.
I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartache and indigestion.
I spawn suspicion and generate grief.
I make innocent people cry in their pillows.
Even my name hisses. I am called Gossip.
Office gossip. Shop gossip. Party gossip. Telephone gossip.
I make headlines and headaches.
Before you repeat a story ask yourself, is it true?
Is it fair? Is it necessary? If not— KEEP IT TO YOURSELF!
If you spend as much time praying as you do talking about others
behind their backs,
you would be further ahead Spiritually.
Author of Gossip poem unknown