Duties as Aesthetical Being

 

 Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society

 Chapter II. 

DUTIES

 

The facts stated in the preceding chapter being what they are, the question is: Has the Holy Qur’an prescribed any duties relating to the aesthetic aspect of human life?

The answer is: yes. 

 

Let us look into the details.

1. The Holy Qur’an wants its followers to beautify their Faith and their actions, and strive to obtain beautiful reward from God, as the following verses reveal:

“Who can be more beautiful in religion—Faith and Action— than one who surrenders his whole self to Allah while doing good (to mankind)…” (4:125).

“… and that, seek the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance, He will grant you enjoyment, good and beautiful, for a term appointed.” (11:3).

“Those who do good (beautifying their deeds) obtain a (like) beautiful (reward)—and more (through Divine Grace). No darkness (of ugliness and sorrow) nor shame shall cover their faces (on the Day of Judgment)! They are Companions of the Garden: therein they will abide.” (10:26).

“And if anyone earns any good, We shall give him an increase in beauty (or, of good) in respect thereof.” (42:23).

“But if any have done wrong and have thereafter substituted beauty (in conduct) to take the place of evil, truly, I am Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (27:11). 

 

2. In respect of beauty in conduct, the Qur’anic verses bear reference in the form of command to certain specific situations also.

For instance

a.       Beauty in speech:

“Speak to people employing beauty (in your speech).” (2:83).

b.       Beauty in behavior towards Parents:

“We have enjoined on man beauty (in conduct) in respect of his parents.” (29:8).

c.       Beauty in preaching and argument:

“Invite (all) to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most beautiful.” (16:125). 

 

3.    As regards physical life, the following emphatic verse refers to the duty of beautifying it in all manner, of course, in harmony with the Qur’anic norms and principles:

“Say: Who has forbidden things of beauty which Allah has brought forth for His servants, and the things, clean and pure, which He bath provided for sustenance? Say: They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe (and) purely for them on the Day of Judgment. Thus do We explain the Signs in detail for those who have knowledge.” (7:32). 

 

4.    In respect of dress, we are told first that one of the functions of dress is beautification of the human personality:

“O children of Adam! We have bestowed upon you raiment to cover your shame* and as a means of beautification; and the raiment of piety (which covers and beautifies the inner self) is the best** That is of the Signs of Allah that haply they may be admonished.” (7:26).

* Here the Holy Qur’an condemns the cult of nudism, which is a product of the psychological perversions of modern times. 

**  Here we obtain the principle that the garments we wear should never transgress the bounds of piety; otherwise, they will become source of ugliness. Thus, the Holy Qur’an voices a masculine protest against those perversions in dress which have plagued modern womanhood in the West and in the countries coming under the influence of the West.

Then, as if to emphasize the element of sanctity in beautification through dress, and to emphasize it for rectifying the wrong notion preached by certain other religions, it says, referring to worship, and, because a Muslim must compulsorily pray five times during the day and the night, referring actually to all the twenty-four hours of one’s daily life, as follows

“O Children of Adam! look to your adornment at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: (Enjoy) but waste not by excess;^* for Allah loves not the wasters.” (7:31). 

 * Mark that the Holy Qur’an allows aesthetic fulfillment but not luxury, which is vice.

 

5. To conclude: The Holy Qur’an demands and commands positive beautification of every aspect of human life: spiritual, moral, intellectual and physical. Its teaching in this respect has been beautifully summed up by the Holy Prophet (Peace be on him) in these words:

“Verily Allah has made obligatory the employment of beauty in respect of everything.”* (sahih al-Muslim), (Mishkat al Masabih, Kitab al-said, al-Fail  al-awwal, p. 357).

* The Holy Prophet (Peace be on him) has commanded Muslims to fulfill aesthetic requirements even in respect of such matters as putting on the clothing over the dead body, preparing a grave, slaughtering an animal and killing an enemy soldier on the battlefield. (See: Mishkat al-Masabih, Bab Ghusl- al-Mayyit, p. 143; and Kitab al-said, p. 357). 

 

And let every Muslim artist and artisan remember the following Prophetic exhortation:

“Verily, when a servant (of Allah) executes any task, Allah loves that he executes it with thorough skill and for stability and perfection.” (Kanz al-’Ummal).

Source

to be continued . . . . . 

Quranic Foundation & Structure Of Muslim Society In The End Times

 

Woman and Paradise in Islam

 Woman and Paradise in Islam

http://imranhosein.org/n/woman-and-paradise-in-islam/

The secular feminist revolution rose upon the world from the West with an essentially godless agenda to liberate women from the “shackles” of the ages by totally transforming her status, role and function in society. In so doing it has turned the previous religious and sacred order upside-down in such a way that the sun now appears to be rising from the west.

Secularism led to materialism which in turn denied woman any reality beyond her material reality. Consequently the young beautiful woman became the goddess of the age. But she was a goddess who was shamelessly exploited in advertising to sell everything. She became a thing enjoyed, exploited, abused, degraded and discarded when her physical beauty and sex appeal began to wane. Then a host of schoolgirls would rush in to replace her. Even the national calypsonian gave his view on the subject quite some time ago when he sang of the prostitute, “… and if you catch them broken (i.e., in financial difficulty), you can get them all for nothing.”

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prophesied the deception that would enslave women. He said, “women would be dressed and yet be naked”, thus anticipating an age of increasing feminine nudity that would be integrally linked to the feminist revolution. Carnival bandleaders in Trinidad are now complaining that they cannot use enough cloth to make creative designs since women increasingly demand the skimpiest of costumes. The ‘naked’ woman’s body was used to usher a sexual revolution that would culminate, according to the Prophet pbuh, with “the majority of children being born out of wedlock” and “people having sexual intercourse in public like donkeys.” When we see sex publicly simulated in Trinidad carnival we know that the feminist revolution will soon climax with woman being transformed into a donkey. Despite this colossal failure, the modern godless world has insisted on opening a ‘gender’ battlefield in quest of ‘equality’ while waging war on Islam. The latest target is the innocent Hijab that is maliciously attacked because it obstructs the way for the Muslim woman to be absorbed into the godless melting pot.

Islam has never sought to put an equal sign between the sexes. ‘Woman’ can neither be studied nor understood in a context independent of ‘man’. The two are inseparable. The Prophet pbuh declared that women were “… the twin-halves of men.” The Qur’an confirmed this inter-dependence when it declared “They are your garments, and you are their garments.” And in a passage with sublime literary beauty the Qur’an (al-Lail, 92:1-4) first directed attention to the ‘night’ and that which it shrouds and conceals with such mystery and splendor, and then turned to the ‘day’ with its bright light which exposes everything and leaves nothing concealed, and then proceeded to explain that the ‘male’ and the ‘female’ are functionally analogous to the ‘day’ and the ‘night’. In the same way that ‘day’ and ‘night’ are functionally different yet interdependent, so too are the ‘male’ and ‘female’.

When this philosophy of gender was applied to Muslim society the ‘night’ never attempted to become ‘day’. Rather ‘night’ and ‘day’ eternally longed for each other. And so we were never subjected to the abominable phenomenon (that European civilization is now exporting to the rest of the world) of the ‘day’ mating with ‘day’ and vice-versa. Women in such a society not only fulfilled all their sacred functional duties as wives and as mothers, and thus contributed in a significant way to preservation of the health, strength and stability of the family, but, in addition, they preserved both their femininity as well as their fertility. And so the Muslim woman remained truly and enchantingly a woman! An age that produced the celibate priest had obstinately insisted that one had to turn away from woman in order to turn to God. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) responded by declaring “Three things have been made dear to me in this world of yours – perfume, women and prayer.” And so Islam rejected both celibacy and the ‘object’ while recognizing woman, like prayer, to be a medium through which a man might journey to paradise. 

 

A DANGEROUS MISTAKE FOR WHICH WE WILL PAY DEARLY

 

The Women of Islam in The House of Allah 

http://imranhosein.org/n/the-women-of-islam-in-the-house-of-allah-2/

A Dangerous Mistake For Which We Will Pay Dearly

Prophet Muhammad pbuh warned his followers:“Do not prevent women from coming to the Masjid (for prayer)”. If Allah Most High, or His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him), were to give an order, then Muslims have a religious obligation to submit to that order and to obey it. No one has the authority to cancel an order which has come from Allah or His Messenger. An order can be suspended in consequence of an abnormal situation having arisen (such as a suspension of the divine law of cutting of the hand of the thief in consequence of an abnormal situation created by drought and famine). But neither can an order be cancelled, nor can it be permanently suspended.

And yet, despite the clear orders of the Prophet pbuh concerning the rights of Muslim women in the house of Allah it is a quite common sight around the world of Islam today to witness Masajid (plural of Masjid) from which women have been permanently excluded. Such a flagrant violation of women’s rights is sure to provoke a bitter response from the feminist revolution. Indeed we are eventually likely to witness that revolution so exploiting this matter as to eventually succeed in having women give the Juma Khutbah (sermon) from the Mimbar (pulpit) of the Masjid. Already one such profoundly misguided woman has blindly led the way in a New York City church that was used as a Masjid, to open the gates for that evil destructive storm.

But the deprivation of Muslim women’s rights is not limited to their exclusion from the House of Allah. Even when they are allowed to come to the Masjid they are often not allowed to pray in the same space with the men. Rather, a separate space is allocated to them. This can even be in a separate building, an annex, an upstairs gallery, a basement, etc. And finally, when they are allowed to pray on the same floor with the men, two separate spaces are created through the imposition of a barrier (of bricks, wood, cloth etc.) which has the effect of creating two separate spaces for prayer – one for men and the other for women. Sometimes the separate space created for women is at the back of the men; but sometimes, and alarmingly so, it is at the side of the men. In addition to creating a separate space for women, the barrier also has the effect of reducing women to praying congregational prayers with their ears alone, and not their eyes. Women cannot see the congregation (Jama’ah) at prayer. They can only hear!

But Prophet Muhammad pbuh very clearly placed men and women in the Masjid to pray ‘in the same space’ with women behind the men, and gave men and women the right to pray with both their ears and their eyes. Consider the following:

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet said: “The best row for the men (in the Masjid) is the first (row) and the worst or most dangerous is the last; and the best row for woman (in the Masjid) is the last, and the worst (or most dangerous) is the first.”(Sahih Muslim)

It is quite clear from the above Hadith that men are supposed to first fill the front row in the Masjid, and then proceed after that to fill row after row in the direction away from the Mimbar (pulpit). If and when women choose to attend Salat in the Masjid, they are supposed to first fill the last row, and then proceed after that to fill row after row in the direction towards the Mimbar (pulpit). As the Masjid fills up the back row of men would draw closer and yet closer to the front row of women. And it is that close physical proximity of men and women, with no barriers in between them, which creates the situation that is pregnant with danger. Among the dangers described by the Prophet pbuh himself was that a man may not have enough cloth to cover his private parts when he prostrates. And so the Prophet pbuh ordered women to keep their heads down on the ground in prostration (Sijdah) until the men (in front of them) had a chance to sit up:

“Narrated Asma’ daughter of Abu Bakr: I heard the Messenger of Allah say: One of you who believes in Allah and in the Last Day should not raise her head until the men raise their heads (after prostration) lest they should see the private parts of men.”(Sunan Abu Daud)

The inescapable implication of both the above Ahadith is that women prayed in the Prophet’s Masjid in the same space with the men, but behind them, and that they prayed with both their ears and eyes since a woman who raised her head too soon could see the private parts of the man in front of her (if he was not adequately clothed). This possibility also indicated that there was no barrier in the Prophet’s Masjid between men and women as would obstruct women’s vision. If women choose to perform their Salat at home, on the grounds that such is preferable, it still would not solve the problem faced by those women who choose to visit the Masjid for Salat, and are denied rights mentioned above. Indeed they are forced into such situations of prayer (such as praying at the side, rather than behind the men) in which their Salat would be in manifest conflict with the Sunnah and hence of dubious validity.

The remedy for the present situation in which women are deprived of their rights, even in the house of Allah, is quite evident. It is that Muslims must now insist that women be allowed to come to the Masjid; that they be allowed to pray in the same space with the men but behind them; and that they be allowed to pray with both eyes and ears, and hence with no barrier between men and woman as would obstruct women’s vision of the men in front of them. Nothing less than that can save Muslims from the grave charge of having changed the religion left by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) even in the Masjid itself! And nothing less than that can save Muslims from the evil feminist storm that is sure to sweep the world of Islam in the not-too-distant future, and sure to exploit this mistake of the Ummah to reap evil capital from it.

to be continued . . . .

 

Healing Skin Rashes

Healing Through Prophetic Medicine in Islam

Tibb-e-Nabawi

Healing Diseases

Skin Rashes & SILK

رَبَّنَا وَآتِنَا مَا وَعَدتَّنَا عَلَى رُسُلِكَ وَلاَ تُخْزِنَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّكَ لاَ تُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ

Prophet's Guidance on treating skin rashes and scabies caused by mites



In the Sahihain, it is narrated that Anas Radi Allaho Anh said,

فى ((الصحيحين)) من حديث قَتادةَ، عن أنس بن مالك قال: ((رخَّص رسولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لعبد الرَّحمن بن عَوْفٍ، والزُّبَيْر بن العوَّام رضى الله تعالى عنهما فى لُبْسِ الحريرِ لِحكَّةٍ كانت بهما)).

"The Messenger of Allah had allowed Abdul Rahman bin Auf and Zubair bin AI-Awwam to wear silk garments because of the skin rash they had". In another narration, Abdur Rahman bin Auf and Zubair bin AI-Awwam complained to the Prophet during a battle that they had mites, and he allowed them to wear silk garments which I saw them wearing”



There are two areas of interest regarding this Hadith, one in the area of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) and the other is medical.



In the area of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam is that wearing silken garments is allowed for women and disallowed for men, except when there is a legitimate need. For instance, men are allowed to wear silken garments in cold weather, when one has only a silk garment to wear and when complaining from mange, rashes, mites or lice, as evident by the last Hadith.



According to Imam Ahmad and Shafi'ee, wearing silken garments is allowed for men if a necessity warrants it.



Medically, silk is produced by an animal and is a remedy. Silk has many benefits, such as soothing and strengthening the heart and helping relieve certain ailments; it helps against black bile and strengthens the eyesight when used as eyeliner. Raw silk, which is used in preparing medications and remedies, is hot and dry in the first degree. When silk is used in clothes, it is mild and heats the body. Sometimes, it could chill the body.


Al-Razi said, "Silk is hotter than linen, colder than cotton and develops the flesh. Every type of thick clothes weakens the body and hardens the skin".



There are three types of clothes, one that brings warmth and in addition heats the body. Another type of clothes brings warmth but no heat to the body. The third type does not bring warmth or heat. There is no type that brings heat but not warmth to those wearing it. For instance, clothes made of wool and animal hair elevate body temperature and bring warmth to the skin, on the other hand, silk, Kittan (linen) and cotton garments only bring warmth to the skin, Kittan clothes are cold and dry, wool clothes are hot and dry, while cotton garments are moderate. Silken garments are softer and less hot than wool. The author of AI-Minhaj stated that wearing silk does not bring as much warmth as cotton, because it is milder.



Every type of soft, polished clothes heat the body less and are less effective in helping the decomposition process. That is why it is better that these types of clothes are worn during summer and in hot areas.



Since silk garments are neither dry nor thick as other types of clothes, they help as a treatment for skin rashes that result from dry, thick material. Hence, Prophet Muhammad Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam allowed Zubair and Abdul Rahman Radi Allaho Anhuma to wear silken garments due to their skin rash. In addition, silken garments are the least hospitable to mites or lice, for it is not the best environment where mites live and thrive.



The types of body-wear that neither elevates the body temperature nor brings warmth are made of iron, lead, wood, sand, and so forth.



If one asks, "Since silk provides the best type of clothes and the most suitable for the body, why was it prohibited for men by the Islamic legislation, which is the most honorable legislation and which allows the good and pure things and only disallows the impure things?” We should mention that this is a question that the Muslims differ regarding its answer.



Those who deny that there is wisdom behind the Islamic legislation do not even need an answer to their question.



As for those who affirm that there is wisdom behind Islamic legislation, who are the majority, say that Islam disallowed silken garments for men so that they observe patience and abandon wearing them for Allah's sake. In this case, they will be rewarded by Allah, especially since there are other types of clothes to wear.



Some people say that silk was created for the benefit of women, such as the case with gold. Hence, silk is prohibited for men so that they do not imitate women. Some Muslims say that silk was prohibited because it leads to arrogance and pride.



Others say that silk was disallowed because of its softness on the skin that leads to feminine behavior while weakening manly qualities and masculinity. Hence, you rarely see a man wearing silken garments who is not affected by its softness by inadvertently imitating feminine behavior and softness, even if he was among the most masculine men. Wearing silken garments will certainty diminish the manly qualities and masculinity, although these qualities will not disappear all together. As for those who do not comprehend these facts, let them submit to Allah's Wise Decisions. Finally, we should state that according to the correct opinion, young boys should not be allowed to wear silken garments because they will acquire feminine behavior.



An-Nasaii narrated that Prophet Muhammad Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam said:

إنَّ اللهَ أحلَّ لإِناثِ أُمَّتِى الحريرَ والذَّهبَ، وحَرَّمَه عَلى ذُكُورِها

"Allah has allowed silk and gold for the females of my Ummah (Muslim Nation) and disallowed them for the males of my Ummah". 

In another narration, our beloved Prophet said:


Wearing silk and gold is disallowed for the males of my Ummah and allowed for the females.


Al-Bukhari narrated :

وفى ((صحيح البخارى)) عن حُذَيفة، قال: (نهى رسولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن لُبْس الحرير والدِّيباجِ، وأن يُجلَسَ عليه))، وقال: ((هُو لهم فى الدُّنيا، ولكم فى الآخِرَة)

The Messenger of Allah has disallowed wearing and sitting on silken garments and Deebaaj (pure silken clothes) and then added, "It is for them (whoever wears them among men) in this life and for you in the life hereafter (Aakhirah)".

Source

to be continued .....

Muhammad (P.B.U.H) - Untainted and Pure

Source- Muhammad The Prophet of Islam by Prof.K.S.Ramakrishna Rao

UNDESIRABLES OF SALAT

UNDESIRABLES OF SALAT

Q.   What acts are undesirable (Makruh) in Salat?

  These are the following:

1. Sadl which means leaving the clothes loose and hanging from the body, such as leaving the two sides of a sheet of cloth hanging from the head or putting the coat etc., on the shoulders without putting the hands into its sleeves;
2. Helping oneself with one’s clothes to keep them from soil or mud;
3. Sporting with one’s body or clothes;
4. Going to offer Salat with shabby clothes on such as one much not like to wear in a social gathering;
5. Putting in one’s mouth some coin, etc., although it does not completely block one’s mouth in recitation; (if, however, the mouth gets blocked, the Salat will not be acceptable at all);
6. Offering Salat without the cap on the head out of sheer carelessness and indolence;
7. Offering Salat while one is feeling an urgent call of nature;
8. Gathering the hair and forming a pig-tail of it on the head;
9. Removing the pebbles from under the feet; (but if one finds it difficult even to lay the forehead on the ground for prostration, they may be removed in one effort);
10. Struggling with one’s fingers or intercrossing the fingers of the two hands;
11. Placing the hand on the back on either side of the body or on the hips;
12. Scanning this side or that with or without turning the face from Qiblah;
13. Sitting like a dog i.e., sitting with thighs upwards and touching the belly, while the knees kiss the chest and the hands rest on the ground;
14. A male worshipper’s placing the two wrists on the ground in prostration;
15. Facing in prayer a person who is sitting with his face turned towards the worshipper;
16. Acknowledging greetings by a nod of the head or the waving of the hand;
17. Sitting with legs crossed without any excuse or compulsion;
18. Deliberate yawing or not controlling the yawn when is in a position to do so;
19. Closing the eyes (but it is permissible if it is for purposes of concentration in prayer);
20. For the head of the prayer to stand under the arch (but there would be nothing wrong if the feet are outside the arch);
21. For the head of prayer alone to stand on a raised (one arm-high) place (but it is permissible if some of the following him in prayer also share that raised platform;
22. Standing alone in a back row although room in the front row is not yet exhausted;
23. Saying prayers wearing clothes that bear the image of some animate object;
24. Offering prayer at a place which has pictures or pictures on one or more sides of it or over the head of the worshipper;
25. Counting on fingers the verses or chapters of the Qur-an or the formula recited during the prayer;
26. Offering prayer with a shawl or piece of cloth wrapped in such a way that the movement of the hands of the worshipper is hampered;
27. Stretching the hands or twisting the body in order to fight indolence in prayer;
28. Laying the forehead and nose in Sijdah on the rolls of the turban;

Doing things against the precept of the Prophet (peace be on him) in the prayer;