Uncategorized « Peacespective

Eid

Early dawn flush with excitement Rushed showers Children’s eyes now lit with wonder Voices hushed in awe at splendor To the background of takbeer The eager struggle with new clothes, Brand new shoes, Buttons, buckles and berets Snapping price tags, peeling stickers To the background of takbeer

Character: Night Prayer

In Arabic, qiyam means prayer at night; usually it refers to the prayer one does at night before one sleeps. Whereas, tahajud refers to prayer one does in the night after sleeping for a period of time. The Prophet, peace and blessing be upon, him would pray both. Allah SWT mentions both in the Quran: In Surah al-Furqan, He speaks of those who spend the night in prostration and prayer. In Surah al-Sajdah, He describes the believers as those whose bodies shun their beds and they call out to their Lord in fear and hope. In Surah al-Zumar, Allah SWT says, “Is one who spends the night devoutly obedient, prostrating and standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, [like one who does not]?” In Surah al-Dhariyat, He describes the righteous as sleeping little and asking for forgiveness in the time before dawn. Of course al-Muddathir and al-Muzzamil are the most known surahs requesting the Messenger, peace and blessing be upon, him to pray qiyam and tahajud. So important is this prayer that the Prophet ,peace and blessing be upon him, said, “The best fasting after Ramadan is the month of Muharram and the best prayer after the fard is the night prayer.” And of Abdullah b. Umar he said, “What a good man is Abdullah if only he would pray at night.” The Prophet entices us with the mercy of Allah deserved by a man who woke at night to pray and woke his wife ,and when she refused he sprinkled water on her; and that same mercy deserved by a woman who woke to pray at night and woke her husband up, and when he refused she sprinkled water on him. He entices us with the answered prayers at an unknown hour of the night – each night. Our beloved Prophet, sallalahu alayhi wa sallam, would pray before he slept, before fajr and sometimes all night. At one point he asks Aisha if she would grant him her night. “As much as I love your closeness, I love what pleases you more.” So he rose, made wudu and prayed. Al-Sayidah Aisha fell asleep and awoke to a sound like a boiling kettle – the Messenger’s chest heaving as he wept in prayer. When asked, “Hasn’t Allah forgiven you all your deeds?” He answered, “Should I not be a thankful servant?” I often tell people this story when speaking of laylatul Qadr. One Ramadan my friend, my sister and I decided to spend the night in prayer. It was an odd night in the last third of Ramadan and after putting the babies and toddlers to sleep we began to pray. We prayed together and separately. We prayed in the yard, and the swaying trees and rippling grass seemed to pray with us. We experienced amazing feelings that could not be put to words. At one point I imagined the Prophet ,sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, was leading me in prayer. After a wonderfully fulfilling night we prayed fajr. The sun had risen when I lay down to sleep absolutely sure that this had been THE night. I had finally experienced laylatul Qadr. Just as I was drifting off to sleep, a disturbing thought jerked me awake. This was the only night I had put forth such energy in dua, Quran and prayer; what makes me think that this night was special? What night of equal effort on my part am I comparing it to? What if all the nights of Ramadan were like this? What if outside of Ramadan, any night spent in prayer were similar to this? I fell asleep disappointed and sure that it was not laylatul Qadr after all. It is unfortunate that we so seldom put forth such effort. It is sad that nightly prayer is not more a consistent part of each Muslim’s life. There are times when we get so caught up in the details of some acts of worship that we forget who they are done for and that the object of what we do is gaining the pleasure of and closeness to our Lord. Our focus should be what the Messenger taught Aisha to say in Laylatul Qadr, ‘O Lord You are much forgiving and generous, forgive me’. Our focus should be, ‘Should I not be a grateful servant?’ Our focus should be on developing or regaining the clarity of our existence — that in this world there is nothing more important than pleasing one’s Lord and that everything else in our life pales in comparison. Nightly prayer helps develop this clarity and helps develop a closeness and attachment to Allah. We were placed on this planet for a purpose: to worship Allah and to be His representatives in managing the planet and all on it. When worship and responsibility distract us from the true source of happiness, it is to our detriment and loss. Tahajud and qiyam allow us to stand before our Lord as we will during the throes of death, as we will in our grave, and as we will on the Day of Judgment. It allows for a recognition of our absolute need for our Creator, His infinite generosity and love for us. It allows for the cultivation of a dialogue between the Master and the servant, the Forgiver and the sinner, the Bountiful and the needy. Tahajud and qiyam were an integral part of Prophet Muhammad’s character, peace and blessing be upon him, may Allah make them likewise a part of our life.

Formality between men and women

The proper etiquette of interaction between men and women in Islam is spelled out clearly and is based on the best interest of the individual and the family and on their peace of heart, mind and soul. One reading Quran is sobered by the seriousness with which this subject is treated. One studying hadeeth receives a confirmation and elaboration upon the message in Quran; and one reading seerah cannot help but see how this was implemented in a balanced manner that neither secluded women from participating actively in society, nor allowed for free interaction to become a source of distraction, dissatisfaction and distance from one’s Lord. Today, more than ever before there is a need to remember and understand Islam’s position on this very delicate matter. There was a time when mere tradition and custom worldwide guarded in various degrees the mental, emotional and spiritual health of people by drawing limits and setting rules. Today, most of these rules have disappeared and where they exist they are questioned. There was a time when the unhappy results of unregulated interaction mostly affected Muslims who didn’t practice Islam; today however, the woes of crossing the boundaries of Islamic manners are common amongst the most religious and pious of Muslims. There was a time when non-Muslims deemed our views on the subject as sexist, dirty-minded and backward, now some of the soundest and most ‘Islamic’ opinions come from non-Muslims who have witnessed the folly of unregulated ‘free’ interaction. It is time we treated this subject with the seriousness it deserves, drawing on Quran and sunna in an objective, intelligent and God-fearing manner.

Character

Ramadan is the month of Quran. It is the month in which the Quran was first revealed. It is the month that angel Jibreel would review with the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, all the Quran that was revealed until then. Sayidah Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, was asked about the character of the Messenger (s) and she answered simply, “His character was Quran.” In celebration of this special month and in recognition of the one whom Allah designated as our good model, we will explore in this section, certain ayahs in Quran that deal with manners and behavior and observe how Prophet Muhammad sallalahu alayhi was sallam practiced them. Read part 1: The Night Prayer.

Fatima: weaning and the concept of restraint

Prophetic Principles of Islamic Interaction Lesson One — Fatima: weaning and the concept of restraint The wealth of barakah in the Messenger of Allah’s life cannot be encompassed. Every word, every move, every look is a cascade of never ending benefit and guidance. In few words and plain actions, he modeled for us the upright way to live by striving to be kind to others and to please our Lord. His words had that amazing ability to be comprehended by a child yet inimitable by a genius: the gift of saying much in few words. Simply put he attributes this ability to his Lord and describes it saying, أوتيت جوامع الكلم

Burning passion required to accomplish…anything worth accomplishing

Umrah’s Life Lessons #7: Burning passion required to accomplish…anything worth accomplishing I have always been the expert in child-rearing in the family, but in matters of prayer and Quran, my husband surpasses me by far. While I think of creative ways to enforce prayer, he would be calling them to stand with him and giving them attention and demonstrative love after each prayer; while I tried to write up the best memorization schedule, his daily sessions with them after every fajr had gotten them hooked. Every so often he plans a spiritual experience “to improve the prayer of so-and-so” or “encourage so-and so to memorize more”. I respect and admire this in him, so when he announced that the main reason he was thinking of Umrah was to get Fatimah working on her sunna prayers and to increase her focus in prayer in general, I couldn’t object. But, I was ill-prepared. There was so much going on in my life. What with my daily worry about each member of my family, the deadline for a project I am part of a team for, the girls I was seeing daily for taraweeh, I couldn’t feel excited. But then, there was very little chance that it would come to be. Ramadan had begun, we had no reservations, my mother-in-law who is extremely attached to my husband was very sick, and my husband was surprised with a sudden trip he had to go on.

Real life is raw, sans glamor… but naturally sweet

Umrah’s Life Lessons #6: Real life is raw, sans glamor… but naturally sweet Five years ago I went on a luxury haj. We could pray in the hotel, see the Kaba and have it count as jama’a with the Haram. We could make wudu after the athan and still make it to a decent place in view of the Kaba. We had air-conditioned, carpeted tents in Arafat and food fit for a king. We had buses zooming to Mina and back at times that would count for two days, in one trip. Every day we had our choice from an amazing buffet for breakfast and dinner. Every evening we were invited to pray tahajud and listen to a lesson on the roof of the Haram, and our tawaf was video-taped for us to remember. My first haj, we were abandoned or ripped off by a non-existent group. We (my husband and my 24 year-old self) performed haj with my fiqh book in hand. We knew no one and had no help. In Muzdalifah we slept in a sleeping bag on the shoulder of the road and we walked to Mina because we had no ride. We were so consumed by trying to correctly perform the rites that every once in a while we would feel dizzy, stop and count how many days it had been since we had last eaten, and find out that invariably it was three. Three days on Zamzam and soft drinks, so we would buy some cheese and bread. After haj we visited my sister-in-law who was on haj from a different country and with a group. She took me with her to buy a roasted chicken, I was shocked. You mean they have food in Mecca? My childhood memories were of my aunts frying meat and preserving it in shortening and buying dried fruit and vegetables to take to the land that had no food. But, that first haj… transformed my life.

The Deprived Citizens of the Land of ‘Good-Enough’

Umrah’s Life Lessons #3: The Deprived Citizens of the Land of ‘Good-Enough’ Did I mention that it was a twenty to thirty minute brisk walk to the outer premises of the Haram from our hotel? Any other month, a car would have taken us along the freeway practically to the door of the Haram. Now all traffic was blocked from the surrounding streets and we had to walk the most direct street down to the Mosque. First we went under several freeways, then there was a souk reminiscent of Middle Eastern souks only it wasn’t covered, this continued to include a few empty lots full of rubble, a small mosque and a few hotels. Then another street merged into this one, turning the two into a wide street with fancy tower hotels and food shops on either side. Halfway down that street was the ‘tent’. Wide swaths of semi sheer cloth were draped from one side of the street to the next creating a delicately shaded area. Now it was a mere ten minutes to the outer vicinity of the Haram. We took this path back and forth at least twice a day.