Duties of Respect with reference to God

 

 Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society

PART 1. DUTIES AS SPIRITUAL BEING

 Chapter 1.

Duties with reference to god

 

1.       Duties of Respect;  

2.       Duties of Love.

ENDS:

(a)   Objective:

Maintenance of a constant attitude of Respect  and Love towards God for acquiring the Blessings of Divine Pleasure (Ridwan Allah) and Divine Love (Hubb Allah), As it has been said in the Holy Qur’an:

“… seeking Grace from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure …” (48:29).

Also:

“… whom He will love, and they will love Him …” (5:57).

(b)  Subjective:

Creating in the moral agent:

1.       Purity of will, leading to possible ‘holiness’ in the measure it may relate to human personality, as it has been said:

“And whosoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart (aright).” (64:11).

2.       Stability in, and enthusiasm for, the pursuit of moral struggle, as we are told:

“… And he who rejects false deities and believes in Allah has grasped a firm handhold which will never break. Allah is Hearer, Knower.” (2:256).

 

 

(l) DUTIES OF RESPECT 

(a) Duties of Commission

(1)          Cultivation of genuine and complete Faith in God and its inner realisation enjoined:

“O you who believe! Believe (with all the richness of belief) in Allah and His Messenger, and the Scripture which He has sent to His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent to those before (him). Any who denies Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers and the Day of Judgment, has gone far far astray.” (4:136).

(2)      Faith in the Unity of God—perfect monotheism—implying indivisible loyalty to Him, enjoined:

“That is Allah, your Lord! There is no God but He, the Creator of all things: then worship Him (alone).” (6:102).

“… and your God is One God, so unto Him submit (wholly and solely).” (22:34).

(3)          Maintenance of the attitude of respect for God enjoined:

“Verily those who believe and work righteousness, and humble themselves before their Lord, they will be Companions of the Garden, to dwell therein for ever.” (11:23).

(4)          Cultivation of the fear of Displeasure of God and of the Final Accountability by Him, enjoined:

“O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not save as those who have surrendered (unto Him).”(3:102). 

“It is only the devil that suggests to you the fear of his votaries: Be not afraid of them, but fear Me, if you have faith.” (3:175).

“… except those that are bent on wickedness; so fear them not, but fear Me…” (2:150).    

“And for such as had entertained the fear of standing before their Lord’s (tribunal) (on the Day of Judgment) and had restrained (their) souls from lower Desires, their Abode will be the Garden.” (79:40-41).

        (5)    Cultivation of Obedience to God enjoined:

“O you who believe! Obey Allah…” (4:59).

“O you who believe! Give your response to (i.e., obey) Allah and His Messenger, when He calls you to that which will give you life;… ” (8:24).

“… and stand before Allah in a devout (frame of mind).”  (2:238).                     

“Turn unto your Lord repentant, and surrender unto Him, before there comes unto you the torment, and then you shall not be helped.” (39:54).

“O mankind! worship your Lord, Who has created you and those before you, so that you may ward off (evil).” (2:21).

(6)     Cultivation of trust in God’s goodness, mercy and help enjoined:

“Is one who worships devoutly during the hours of night prostrating himself or standing (in adoration), who takes heed of the Hereafter, and who places his hope in the Mercy of his Lord—(like one who does not)? Say: ‘Are those equal, those who know and those who do not know? It is those who are endued with understanding that receive admonition.” (39:9).

“Lo! those who believe and those who suffer exile (in defense of Truth) and strive and struggle in the path of Allah, they (i.e., such true Muslims) have hope of Allah’s mercy; and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (2:218).

Then there is the command:

“… and on Allah (i.e., in Allah’s goodness, mercy and help) put your trust if you are believers.” (5:26).

(7)     Affirmation of one’s dependence on God: Prayer to Him, enjoined:

“And your Lord has said: Call on Me, I will answer your prayer. Verily those who are stiff-necked against My worship (i.e., against acknowledging Me as their Lord and Benefactor), will enter hell in humiliation.” (40:60).

“Call on your Lord with humility and in secret: Lo! Allah loves not those who trespass beyond (rational and respectful) limits.” (7:55).

“… and call on Him with fear and longing (in your hearts): for the Mercy of Allah is (always) near to those who do good (to others).” (7:56).

(8) Seeking Help and Grace from God, the Possessor and the Source of all Power, enjoined:

Says the Holy Qur’an: “… seek help from Allah… ” (7:128).

Now, help should be sought basically from God alone. Muslims have been commanded to pray to God in these words:

“You (alone) do we worship, and of You (alone) do we seek help.” (1:4).

Again: “and ask Allah of His Grace … ” (4:32).

And this seeking of Grace from God is a constant attribute of the life of a Muslim:

“You will see them bow and prostrate themselves (in prayer) seeking Grace from Allah and (His) Good pleasure…” (48:29).

(9)          Seeking Guidance from God, the Possessor and Source of all Knowledge, enjoined:

It is a duty of every Muslim to pray to God for guidance in the following words:

“Guide us (O Allah) unto the path straight…” (1:5). 

(10)      Following the Divine Guidance revealed in the Holy Qur’an, enjoined:

“Follow the Revelation given unto you (in the Holy Qur’an) from your Lord …” (7:3).

(11)      Showing respect to God by believing in all the Messengers and all the Scriptures sent by Him for the guidance of man, enjoined:

“So believe in Allah and (all) His Messengers,” (3:179).

“(Muslims are those) who believe in the Revelation sent to you (O Muhammad), and that which was sent before you…” (2:4). 

 

(b) Duties of Omission : 

(1)          Attributing any quality to God which is profane and blasphemous, prohibited:

“The most excellent Names belong to Allah: so call on Him by them; and shun the company (and the blasphemies) of those who use profanity in His names. They will be repaid for what they do.” (7:180). 

(2)          Associating any partner with God and limiting His uniqueness and supremacy in any manner, prohibited:

“And worship Allah and associate not anything with Him (either in His Person or in His Attributes).” (4:36).

“And call not, besides Allah, on another god. There is no god but He …” (28:88).

(3)          Saying anything concerning God without the authority of Revelation, prohibited:

“Say: The things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are: shameful deeds, whether open or secret; sins and trespasses against truth or reason; assigning of partners to Allah, for which you are given no authority; and saying about Allah of which you have no knowledge.” (7:33)

(4)          Disobedience to and arrogance in respect of God, prohibited:

“… and they (i.e., the Believers) are not arrogant (in respect of worshipping Allah).” (32:15).

“But he who is greedy miser and deems himself  free from need (of Allah), and gives the lie to the Best (i.e., dishonors Truth), We will indeed make for him smooth the Path to Misery.” (92:8-10).

Again:

“If anyone disobeys (the Commands of) Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path.” (33:36).

(5)          Despairing of the Mercy of God prohibited:

“…and never give up hope of Allah’s Soothing Mercy: truly no one despairs of Allah’s Soothing Mercy except those who have no Faith.” (12:87).

“Say: O My Servants who have transgressed against their souls! despair not of the Mercy of Allah, for Allah forgives all sins: verily He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.” (39:53).

(6)          Believing in superstitions and seeking help from superstitious objects, thereby indirectly insulting God, prohibited:  

“… so shun the abomination of idols (i.e., evils of  idolatrous practices).”  (22:30). 

“O you who believe! Intoxicants and games of chance (i.e., all forms of gambling), and stone altars and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,—of Satan’s handiwork: shun it therefore, that you may prosper.” (5:93).

“It is not Allah Who has instituted (superstitions like those of) a slit-ear she-camel, or a she-camel let loose for free pasture, or idol sacrifices for twin-births in animals, or stallion-camels freed from work. It was blasphemers who invented a lie against Allah, and most of them lack wisdom.” (5:103).

(7)  Magic, being evil practice and opposed to godliness, condemned: hence to abstain from it is duty:

Speaking of the practice of magic by the Jews, the Holy Qur’an says:

“… and they could harm none thereby (i.e., with their Magic) save by Allah’s Will (i.e., in accordance with His laws). And they (i.e., the Jews) have learnt that which harms them (spiritually and morally), and profits them not; and assuredly they knew (from their Scripture) that the buyers of Magic would have no share in the happiness of the Hereafter.” (2:102).

Source

to be continued . . . . . 

Quranic Foundation & Structure Of Muslim Society In The End Times

 

Riba and Dar al-Harb

THE PROHIBITION OF RIBA IN THE QUR’AN AND SUNNAH

CHAPTER SIX

RIBA AND DAR AL HARB

Many Muslims respond to lectures on riba with many very important questions and observations. Some question the juristic opinion of some ulama that there is no riba in Dar al-Harb. What is Dar al-Harb?

Allah the Most High, informs us in the Qur’an that the whole earth belongs to Him (7:128). He further informs us that His righteous servants shall inherit the earth (21:105). What they, in fact, inherit is the responsibility for maintaining a state of salaam on the earth, since Allah the Most High, calls for such (10:25). Salaam means peace, security and the warding off evil. That state of salaam is violated when aggression is committed, or when a people are being oppressed and tyrannized, and are themselves crying to the heavens for deliverance from oppression, in such a situation, Allah the Most High, makes it obligatory on Muslims to fight to respond to aggression and to liberate the oppressed (4:75). Since the Arabic for war is harb, such a territory (i.e. territory with which Muslims are at war) was designated Dar al-Harb.

There is nothing in the Qur'an or the ahadith of Prophet Muhammad (s) which make riba lawful in Dar al-Harb! In the Hanafi School of Law, however, there is an opinion which has now been applied in a rather careless and dangerous way to North America. The opinion is that riba can be accepted in Dar al-Harb. Here is the relevant section from Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani’s Kitab al-Siyar al-Kabir which is the most authoritative work in Hanafi jurisprudence on the Islamic Law of Nations:

764. I asked: If a Muslim entered into a transaction with a harbi (i.e. someone from dar al-Harb) involving usury (riba), or corpses (dead animals), do you-think that such a transaction would be rejected as null and void?

765. He (Imam al-Shaybani) replied: Yes, if it took place in Dar al-lslam. If it were in the dar al-Harb, it should not be regarded as null and void according to the opinions of Abu Hanifa and Muhammad (b. Al-Hasan).

766. I asked: Why? You have said that if a Muslim enters the Dar al-Harb, it would be permissible for him to sell corpses and take two dirhams in exchange for one.

767. He replied: Yes, it would be quite all right to do so in their land, but not - as in the former situation - in the Dar al-Islam, where Muslim rulings are binding on them and where it would not be lawful to do so save what is lawful among Muslims. If (on the other hand) the Muslims were in Dar al-Harb under an aman, it would be lawful for him to acquire property from them in accordance (with their law) by their consent, since Muslim rulings would not be binding on them there. This is the opinion of Abu Hanifa and Muhammad (bin al-Hasan). However, Abu Yusuf held that he would not approve of (a Muslim being involved in) a transaction in the dar al-Harb involving riba, wine, or dead animals, and he rejects it. But Allah knows best!

Even if it were to be agreed upon that there is no riba between a Muslim and a harbi in the territory of Dar al-Harb, we would still argue that United States of America is not Dar al-Harb and hence, the prohibition would still apply In USA. We do so for the following reasons:

In the first place there can be no Dar al-Harb without Dar al-Islam. And there is no Dar al-Islam existing anywhere in the world today, not even in Makkah and Madinah! it was too early, in his time, for an outstanding scholar like Maulana Manazir Ahsan Gilani to perceive that Dar al-Islam was coming to an end in his age. Nor even, could Al-Azhar University perceive this when it convened the Caliphate Congress in Cairo in 1926 in order to respond to the Turkish abolition of the Caliphate in 1924.

In order for a territory to be designated Dar al-Islam Muslims must have the freedom, in that territory, to submit to the supreme authority of the Word and Law of Allah the Most High. In other words, the shariah must have supremacy over any and all other laws in that territory. That is no longer possible anywhere in the Muslim world today. Articles 24 and 25 of the Charter of the UN, for example, are in conflict with that essential requirement of Dar al-Islam, since they require that member States recognize, instead, the supreme authority of the Security Council of the United Nations:

Article 24;

In order to ensure prompt and effective action by the United Nations, Its members confer on the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and agree that in carrying out its duties under this responsibility the Security Council acts on their behalf. . .

Article 25:

The Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the present Charter.

The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and came into force on 24 October 1945. Very few Muslim countries were free from colonial rule at that time. One of them was Saudi Arabia, which signed this document.

This is just one example demonstrating that all Muslim countries which are members of the UN (such as Iran and Sudan. and all others), and are thus contractually obliged to submit to the supreme authority of the Security Council of the UN, rather than the supreme authority of Allah the Most High, do not conform with the most fundamental of all due characteristics of Dar al-Islam. namely that the authority of Allah. the Most High, must be supreme over the Muslims.

Also, in order for a territory to be designated Dar al-Islam, the rights of the Muslims must be respected in that territory. Among those rights are the following:

• freedom to enter the territory of Dar al-Islam,
• a Muslim does not need a visa;
• freedom to reside in that territory,
• he does not need a residence permit;
• freedom to seek his livelihood in that territory,
• he does not need a work permit;
• and freedom to participate in the political process (in accordance with the political Sunnah) in that territory,
• he does not need citizenship!

No Muslim country respects these rights anymore, not even Iran and Sudan. And foolish Muslims who have been absorbed in the jahiliyah of nationalism would actually oppose efforts to restore those rights. And yet the European Community has copied this aspect of Dar al-Islam and established all of these rights for all citizens belonging to member countries of the EC.

In order for a territory to be recognized by Muslims as Dar al-Harb, it has to be so designated in a proclamation issued by the Amir al-Mumineen. The last time such a proclamation was made was in 1914 by the khalifa (Caliph) in Istanbul. (The present King of Saudi Arabia once declared jihad against Israel. He appears to have forgotten about it). Again in 1991 there was the declaration of jihad which preceded the Gulf war, and which entered into history as the first ever ‘Yankee jihad’. If the Muslims were to restore Dar al-Islam anywhere in the world, those Muslims resident in that territory will then be in a position to elect a khalifa or Amir al-Mumineen. He, the khalifa, can then (if conditions so-justify) declare USA or any other country in the world to be Dar al-Harb in accordance with the laws of war and peace in Islam!

When a territory is designated Dar al-Harb then Muslims are not permitted to reside in that territory. If they have any temporary business there they are supposed to attend to it and then promptly leave that territory.

Harbis (i.e. the citizens of Dar al-Harb) are a people with whom all Muslims are at war. Hence a harbi can be killed by any Muslim in accordance with the laws of war. If United States of America is Dor al-harb then a Muslim would be permitted by his religion to kill an American (i.e. harbi) in accordance with the laws of war. The harbi may, however, enter into Dar al-Islam in safety if he is granted an aman (a guarantee of safety) by any Muslim, male or female.

Finally, the property of a harbi can be seized by any Muslim in accordance with the laws of war. This would apply to the property of Americans if United States of America is Dar al-Harb. The above observations should force Muslims resident in North America to pause before they accept any opinion to the effect that USA is Dar al-Harb and that it is permissible for Muslims to take loans on interest in USA, or to utilize for their own benefit the interest which is paid to them!

If a Muslim accepts the view that USA is Dar al-Harb, and yet seeks to acquire or to retain US citizenship or permanent residence (Green Card), he or she would, firstly, be engaged in clear hypocrisy and even treason against Islam! Such Muslims would face terrible consequences on the Day of Judgement unless they made tauba and sought to leave Dar al-Harb as soon as possible. Secondly, the US government would be entitled to revoke the citizenship and Permanent Residence (Green Cards) of all such people and arrest or deport them.

Source: IMRAN N. HOSEIN

to be continued . . . . 

The Prohibition of Riba (Interest) by Imran Hosein

The Prohibition of Riba (Interest) (Q&A) by Imran Hosein