"The seven heavens and the Earth and all they contain glorify Him, and there is not a thing but extols His glory; but you do not understand how they glorify Him." [Sûrah al-Isrâ': 44]
Let us join in this celebration by remembering Allah, praising Him, and extolling His glory. Allah possesses the most sublime names and attributes, all of which are intrinsically linked with the religious and everyday aspects of a believer's life. This is why knowledge of Allah's names and attributes is the greatest and purest of all forms of knowledge.
We should endeavor to make ourselves more aware of Allah by becoming better acquainted with His noble names and attributes, and by increasing our awareness of how those attributes relate to our lives.
We encounter, on a daily basis, stories of various kinds, from news reports to novels to epic adventures. Some of us even center our lives on our favorite television programs, following them day after day. Most of these stories are imaginary and serve no purpose other than to provide fleeting entertainment. Nevertheless, our fixation on them is undeniable, because we crave the variety of experiences they provide.
So how is it when we focus our awareness on Allah and His greatness which we cannot describe in words, which transcends human cognition, and which not even our imaginations can begin to grasp?
As believers in Allah, we can appropriate something of that magnificence, just enough to illuminate the way ahead. This is the faith that resides in our hearts and expels the surrounding darkness. In our troubled times – rife with injustice, tragedy, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles – Muslims and non-Muslims alike are faced with more insecurity and uncertainty than ever before.
We really need to have Allah in our lives, and to be in touch with His names and attributes. We must turn to Him with love and awe, and purify our hearts with God-consciousness and a commitment to draw near to Him.
--> Everything in our life experience as human beings – everything in our surroundings, from inanimate objects to living things to the stars in the heavens – are manifestations of Allah's greatness and of His infinite capability. In this way, all of creation participates in a grand celebration of Allah's praises. The heavens and Earth, the stars and the firmaments, the flora and fauna: everything glorifies Allah and testifies to the divinity and suzerainty which are His alone.
"The seven heavens and the Earth and all they contain glorify Him, and there is not a thing but extols His glory; but you do not understand how they glorify Him." [Sûrah al-Isrâ': 44]
Let us join in this celebration by remembering Allah, praising Him, and extolling His glory. Allah possesses the most sublime names and attributes, all of which are intrinsically linked with the religious and everyday aspects of a believer's life. This is why knowledge of Allah's names and attributes is the greatest and purest of all forms of knowledge.
We should endeavor to make ourselves more aware of Allah by becoming better acquainted with His noble names and attributes, and by increasing our awareness of how those attributes relate to our lives.
We encounter, on a daily basis, stories of various kinds, from news reports to novels to epic adventures. Some of us even center our lives on our favorite television programs, following them day after day. Most of these stories are imaginary and serve no purpose other than to provide fleeting entertainment. Nevertheless, our fixation on them is undeniable, because we crave the variety of experiences they provide.
So how is it when we focus our awareness on Allah and His greatness which we cannot describe in words, which transcends human cognition, and which not even our imaginations can begin to grasp?
As believers in Allah, we can appropriate something of that magnificence, just enough to illuminate the way ahead. This is the faith that resides in our hearts and expels the surrounding darkness. In our troubled times – rife with injustice, tragedy, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles – Muslims and non-Muslims alike are faced with more insecurity and uncertainty than ever before.
We really need to have Allah in our lives, and to be in touch with His names and attributes. We must turn to Him with love and awe, and purify our hearts with God-consciousness and a commitment to draw near to Him.
Showing posts with label Islamic News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Islamic News. Show all posts
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Father
Touching poem "Me and My Father"...
When I was 4 Yrs Old : "My father is THE BEST
When I was 6 Yrs Old: "My father seems to know everyone
When I was 10 Yrs Old:" My father is excellent but he is short tempered
When I was 12 Yrs Old: "My father was nice when I was little
When I was 14 Yrs Old: "My father started being too sensitive
When I was 16 Yrs Old : "My father can't keep up with modern times
When I was 18 Yrs Old : "My father is getting less tolerant as the days pass
by
When I was 20 Yrs Old :" It is too hard to forgive my father, how could my
Mum stand him all these years
When I was 25 Yrs Old :" My father seems to be objecting to everything I do
When I was 30 Yrs Old: "It's very difficult to be in agreement with my
father, I wonder if my Grandfather was troubled by my father when he was a
youth
When I was 40 Yrs Old: "My father brought me up with a lot of discipline, I
must do the same
When I was 45 Yrs Old: "I am puzzled, how did my father manage to raise all
of us
When I was 50 Yrs Old : "It's rather difficult to control my kids, how much
did my father suffer for the sake of upbringing and protecting us
When I was 55 Yrs Old:" My father was far looking and had wide plans for us,
he was gentle and outstanding.
When I became 60 Yrs Old: "My father is THE BEST
Note that it took 56 Yrs to complete the cycle and return to the starting
point " "My father is THE BEST "
Let's be good to our parents before it's too late and pray to Allaah that
our own children will treat us even better than the way we treated our
parents
Allah(SWT) says: "Your lord has decreed that you worship non but him and
show kindness to parents. If one or both reach old age with you then do not
say uff! To them nor repulse them, but speak graciously to them" {Surah
Al-Isra: Ayah 23}
O our lord, forgive me and my parents and believers on the day when the
reckoning shall come to pass. {Surah Ibrahim: Ayah 41}
O my Lord, have mercy on them (parents) just as they nourished me when I was
small.{Surah Bani Irail: Ayah 24
When I was 4 Yrs Old : "My father is THE BEST
When I was 6 Yrs Old: "My father seems to know everyone
When I was 10 Yrs Old:" My father is excellent but he is short tempered
When I was 12 Yrs Old: "My father was nice when I was little
When I was 14 Yrs Old: "My father started being too sensitive
When I was 16 Yrs Old : "My father can't keep up with modern times
When I was 18 Yrs Old : "My father is getting less tolerant as the days pass
by
When I was 20 Yrs Old :" It is too hard to forgive my father, how could my
Mum stand him all these years
When I was 25 Yrs Old :" My father seems to be objecting to everything I do
When I was 30 Yrs Old: "It's very difficult to be in agreement with my
father, I wonder if my Grandfather was troubled by my father when he was a
youth
When I was 40 Yrs Old: "My father brought me up with a lot of discipline, I
must do the same
When I was 45 Yrs Old: "I am puzzled, how did my father manage to raise all
of us
When I was 50 Yrs Old : "It's rather difficult to control my kids, how much
did my father suffer for the sake of upbringing and protecting us
When I was 55 Yrs Old:" My father was far looking and had wide plans for us,
he was gentle and outstanding.
When I became 60 Yrs Old: "My father is THE BEST
Note that it took 56 Yrs to complete the cycle and return to the starting
point " "My father is THE BEST "
Let's be good to our parents before it's too late and pray to Allaah that
our own children will treat us even better than the way we treated our
parents
Allah(SWT) says: "Your lord has decreed that you worship non but him and
show kindness to parents. If one or both reach old age with you then do not
say uff! To them nor repulse them, but speak graciously to them" {Surah
Al-Isra: Ayah 23}
O our lord, forgive me and my parents and believers on the day when the
reckoning shall come to pass. {Surah Ibrahim: Ayah 41}
O my Lord, have mercy on them (parents) just as they nourished me when I was
small.{Surah Bani Irail: Ayah 24
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali (RA) (1058 - 1128 C.E.)
Al-Ghazali is most famous for his contributions in philosophy, religion and Sufism. He is also known as Algazel in the West. Abu Hamid Ibn Muhammad Ibn Muhammad al-Tusi al-Shafi'i al-Ghazali was born in 1058 C.E. in Khorman, Iran. His father died while he was still very young but he had the opportunity of getting education in the prevalent curriculum at Nishapur and Baghdad. Soon he acquired a high standard of scholarship in religion and philosophy and was honored by his appointment as a Professor at the Nizamiyah University of Baghdad, which was recognized as one of the most reputed institutions of learning in the golden era of Muslim history.
After a few years, however, he gave up his academic pursuits and worldly interests and became a wandering ascetic. This was a process (period) of mystical transformation. Later, he resumed his teaching duties, but again left these. An era of solitary life, devoted to contemplation and writing then ensued, which led to the authorship of a number of everlasting books. He died in 1128 C.E. at Baghdad.
Al-Ghazali made major contributions in religion, philosophy and Sufism. A number of Muslim philosophers had been following and developing several viewpoints of Greek philosophy, including the Neoplatonic philosophy, and this was leading to conflict with several Islamic teachings. On the other hand, the movement of sufism was assuming such excessive proportions as to avoid observance of obligatory prayers and duties of Islam. Based on his unquestionable scholarship and personal mystical experience, Ghazali sought to rectify these trends, both in philosophy and sufism.
In philosophy, Al-Ghazali upheld the approach of mathematics and exact sciences as essentially correct. However, he adopted the techniques of Aristotelian logic and the Neoplatonic procedures and employed these very tools to lay bare the flaws and lacunas of the then prevalent Neoplatonic philosophy and to diminish the negative influences of Aristotelianism and excessive rationalism. In contrast to some of the Muslim philosophers, e.g., Farabi he portrayed the inability of reason to comprehend the absolute and the infinite. Reason could not transcend the finite and was limited to the observation of the relative. Also, several Muslim philosophers had held that the universe was finite in space but infinite in time. Ghazali argued that an infinite time was related to an infinite space. With his clarity of thought and force of argument, he was able to create a balance between religion and reason, and identified their respective spheres as being the infinite and the finite, respectively.
In religion, particularly mysticism, he cleansed the approach of sufism of its excesses and reestablished the authority of the orthodox religion. Yet, he stressed the importance of genuine sufism, which he maintained was the path to attain the absolute truth.
Al-Ghazali was a prolific writer. His immortal books include Tuhafat al-Falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers), Ihya al-'Ulum al-Islamia (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), "The Beginning of Guidance and his Autobiography," "Deliverance from Error." Some of his works were translated into European languages in the Middle Ages. He also wrote a summary of astronomy.
Al-Ghazali's influence was deep and everlasting. He is one of the greatest theologians of Islam. His theological doctrines penetrated Europe, influenced Jewish and Christian Scholasticism and several of his arguments seem to have been adopted by St. Thomas Aquinas in order to similarly reestablish the authority of orthodox Christian religion in the West. So forceful was his argument in the favor of religion that he was accused of damaging the cause of philosophy and, in the Muslim Spain, Ibn Rushd wrote a rejoinder to his Tuhafut.
After a few years, however, he gave up his academic pursuits and worldly interests and became a wandering ascetic. This was a process (period) of mystical transformation. Later, he resumed his teaching duties, but again left these. An era of solitary life, devoted to contemplation and writing then ensued, which led to the authorship of a number of everlasting books. He died in 1128 C.E. at Baghdad.
Al-Ghazali made major contributions in religion, philosophy and Sufism. A number of Muslim philosophers had been following and developing several viewpoints of Greek philosophy, including the Neoplatonic philosophy, and this was leading to conflict with several Islamic teachings. On the other hand, the movement of sufism was assuming such excessive proportions as to avoid observance of obligatory prayers and duties of Islam. Based on his unquestionable scholarship and personal mystical experience, Ghazali sought to rectify these trends, both in philosophy and sufism.
In philosophy, Al-Ghazali upheld the approach of mathematics and exact sciences as essentially correct. However, he adopted the techniques of Aristotelian logic and the Neoplatonic procedures and employed these very tools to lay bare the flaws and lacunas of the then prevalent Neoplatonic philosophy and to diminish the negative influences of Aristotelianism and excessive rationalism. In contrast to some of the Muslim philosophers, e.g., Farabi he portrayed the inability of reason to comprehend the absolute and the infinite. Reason could not transcend the finite and was limited to the observation of the relative. Also, several Muslim philosophers had held that the universe was finite in space but infinite in time. Ghazali argued that an infinite time was related to an infinite space. With his clarity of thought and force of argument, he was able to create a balance between religion and reason, and identified their respective spheres as being the infinite and the finite, respectively.
In religion, particularly mysticism, he cleansed the approach of sufism of its excesses and reestablished the authority of the orthodox religion. Yet, he stressed the importance of genuine sufism, which he maintained was the path to attain the absolute truth.
Al-Ghazali was a prolific writer. His immortal books include Tuhafat al-Falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers), Ihya al-'Ulum al-Islamia (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), "The Beginning of Guidance and his Autobiography," "Deliverance from Error." Some of his works were translated into European languages in the Middle Ages. He also wrote a summary of astronomy.
Al-Ghazali's influence was deep and everlasting. He is one of the greatest theologians of Islam. His theological doctrines penetrated Europe, influenced Jewish and Christian Scholasticism and several of his arguments seem to have been adopted by St. Thomas Aquinas in order to similarly reestablish the authority of orthodox Christian religion in the West. So forceful was his argument in the favor of religion that he was accused of damaging the cause of philosophy and, in the Muslim Spain, Ibn Rushd wrote a rejoinder to his Tuhafut.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Islamic News
Azhar Imam orders niqab off, wants ban
CAIRO – The head of Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni world, has ordered a school girl to remove her niqab during a visit to an Al-Azhar school, saying he would seek an official ban for the face veil in schools, Al-Masri Al-Youm newspaper reported on Monday, October 5.
“Why are you wearing the niqab while sitting in the class with your female colleagues?” Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Mohamed Sayyed Tantawi asked the 8th grader.
The young girl was shocked with the question coming from the country’s top scholar.
A teacher intervened to explain.
“She takes off her niqab inside the class, but she only put it on when you and your entourage came in.”
But Sheikh Tantawi was not satisfied and insisted that the young girl takes off the face cover.
“The niqab is a tradition and has nothing to do with Islam.”
After the girl complied he insisted she should not wear it any more.
“I tell you again that the niqab has nothing to do with Islam and it is only a mere custom. I understand the religion better than you and your parents.”
Most Muslim women in Egypt wear the hijab, which is an obligatory code of dress in Islam, but an increase in women putting on the niqab has apparently alarmed the government.
The ministry of religious endowments has recently distributed booklets in mosques against the practice.
The majority of Muslim scholars believe that a woman is not obliged to cover her face or hands.
They believe that it is up to every woman to decide whether to take on the face-cover or not.
- Ban
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar imam vowed to issue a ban against the face-veil in all schools linked to Al-Azhar.
“I intend to issue a regulation to ban the niqab in Al-Azhar schools,” he said.
“No student or teacher will be allowed into the school wearing the niqab.”
Established in 359 AH (971 CE), Al-Azhar mosque drew scholars from across the Muslim world and grew into a university, predating similar developments at Oxford University in London by more than a century.
Al-Azhar, which means the "most flourishing and resplendent," was named after Fatima Al-Zahraa, daughter of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The first courses at Al-Azhar were given in 975 CE and the first college was built 13 years later.
Al-Azhar first admitted women students in 1961, albeit in separate classes.
Also in 1961, subjects in engineering and medicine were added to classes on Shari`ah, the Noble Qur’an and the intricacies of Arabic language.
Sheikh Tantawi’s remarks coincided with those of Higher Education Minister Hani Hilal who has banned the face-veil in student hostels.
“Face-veiled students are free to do what they want outside the hostels but there is no room for the niqab inside the women-only hostels,” he said earlier this week.
Many students demonstrated against the minister’s statements and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights plans to take him to court.
“The minister’s decision violates the principles of privacy, personal freedom and freedom of faith, which are guaranteed by the constitution.”
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