Al Fajr Issue 6 Vol 4

8/14/2019 Al Fajr Issue 6 Vol 4

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The very existence of the Islam we have with us today is as a directesult of the sacrifices and courage of the first people who acceptednd protected this fragile religion. It was their unflinching supportnd bravery that let Islam flourish and grow to what we have todayor their trials and tribulations pale in comparison to what is faced bynyone in this day and age. Islam was never easy to practice as evenhen the oppressors tried all they could to suppress the truth as muchs the oppressors today are trying with all their might to suppress it.

To illustrate this, a man came to one of the companions of the ProphetP) after the demise of the Prophet (P) and told him how he wished toave lived at the time of the Prophet to have seen his face. The com-anion turned to him and told him never to wish that for he wouldot be able to predict whether he would have been a hypocrite or aoward in front of 40 years of wars, thousands of casualties and brutalppression prior to that. This paper will focus on highlighting theontribution of these pioneers of Islam, in order for us to gain courage

nd fortitude from them and to make them our role models.THE BEST COMPANIONS

Quite contrary to the miscon-eption that Shia scholars doot pay heed to the compan-ons of the Prophet, historicalarratives and Shia bookspeak extensively of the brav-ry of the companions of the

Prophet especially the veryirst ones. There is a chasm ofifference between the com-

anions of the Prophets andhose of the previous Prophetspoint clearly illustrated in the

ime of Prophet Musa askedis companions to fight, Allahays in the Holy Quran (5:21-24) O my people! enter the holy land

which Allah has prescribed for you and turn not on your backs for hen you will turn back losers. They said: O Musa! Surely there is atrong race in it, and we will on no account enter it until they go out rom it, so if they go out from it, then surely we will enter. Theyaid: O Musa! We shall never enter it so long as they are in it; goherefore you and your Lord, then fight you both surely we will hereit down . This was a dramatic demonstration of the faith of the com-anions of Musa. Even more dramatic was the hypocrites who werehe disciples of Jesus one of whom even betrayed him even though weo not believe Jesus was crucified. On the other hand almost all theompanions of the Prophet (P) were extremely loyal and unflinchingaving fought over 40 battles in only 9 years! It is said of them thatven if the whole world was against Those only are believers whoseearts become full of fear when Allah is mentioned, and when His

communications are recited to them they increase them in faith, and in their Lord do they trust .(8:2) The do not cower and change theirname, get rid of their identity as Muslims or become embarrassed tobe Muslims, NAY, they fight and stand up and are courageous andbrave and proud for their blessings.

Allah, in the Quran, praises these pioneers of Islam saying And (as for) the foremost, the first of the Muhajirs (migrants to Madinah ) and the Ansars ( Helpers- citizens of Madinah ), and those who followed them in goodness, Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneathwhich rivers flow, to abide in them for ever; that is the mightyachievement (9:100). The people referred to as those who followed them in goodness are those who, even in this day and age, followtheir examples and have faith and sacrifice for the sake of Islam as thepioneers did. Allah in surah Waqiah verse 10 says And those fore-most (in Islam) will be foremost (in Paradise). The pioneers of Islamand truth in places were Islam has not touched are also included inthis especially those who were in absolute minority and still protectedtheir religion and did not assimilate the ignorance of where they were.

There is a significantcondition though thatthe companions of theProphet had to satisfyto gain this reward. Themere fact that theylived at the time of theProphet or they talkedor sat with the Prophet

(P) does not automati-cally make them truecompanions. The sim-ple condition is thatfrom their embracing of

Islam to their eventualdeath, they remainedloyal to Islam and to theProphet. Numerous com-panions of the Prophet,who were loyal to himthroughout his life, aban-doned Islam for worldlydesires after his death.This serves as a verypoignant and clear exam-ple to us, to consider whatwe will end up as. Willwe loose our faith before

(Continued on page 2)

Written By Abidali Mohamedali based on a Lecture by Sheikh Mansour Leghaei

Muhammad (P) A Mercy to The WorldsThe Pioneers of Islam

The Pioneers of Islam .. 1

Editorial...... 2

The Walking Dead.... 4

The True Story of Jesus (AS) Jesus

will return with Imam Mahdi...5

Days of Hope ...7

Importance of Dua. 9

Where is My Knowledge...9

Tafsir of Surah Fath 10

Profile.....12

Shattered Dreams ...12

DISCLAIMER AND CAUTION

The articles published in this paper arenot the views of Al-Fajr or any particu-lar Islamic centre but of the Author.

Please handle with care as it containsnames of Allah and His Prophet

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our death, or will we stand steadfast till thenend? Some of the companions of the Prophetwere by far closer to Islam and greater in theircontribution to and their faith than some of uscan even hope to be, but yet in the end aban-doned Islam for their worldly desires. There isno room to be proud of ourselves for thegame of life is not over yet! This message

comes directly from Allah where He says inthe Quran, Those who believe and mix not their belief with wrong, for them (only) thereis security and they are the guided . (6:82)

THE FIRST MUSLIM

In order to study the pioneers of Islam it isessential to know who the first Muslim was.There are two interpretations of the first Mus-lim one is in general in terms of submission toAllah and the other after the advent of Islamor the complete package given to the Prophet.From the Islamic perspective, the first Muslim

in the universe was the Prophet (P) himself.The question then arises that if the religion ofMusa, Isa and all the Prophets was Islam(Jesus never called his religion Christianitynor did Musa call his Judaism and no evi-dence exists that any Prophet actually nameshis religion), how was the H. Prophet (P) thefirst Muslim? Although they did introduceIslam, they did not name it such simply be-cause the package was incomplete. It wasonly when the final package of Islam after itsbegging with Adam was competed after thelast Hajj of the Prophet (P), did Allah revealthat This day I have perfected your religionfor you and have chosen Islam as your relig-ion.

All the previous prophets acknowledged theywere Muslim but none claimed to be the firstMuslim. There are several examples of this inthe Quran referring to Prophet Nuh (P) forinstance who says And I have been com-manded to be of the Muslims . (10:72).Prophet Nuh (P) was amongst the very earlyprophets yet dose not say that he is the firstMuslim. In addition Ibrahim and Ismael (P)after finishing the building of the Kaaba said

Our Lord! Make us two Muslims(submissive) unto You. (2:128) and also inanother instance, Prophet Yusuf (P), whoprayed to Allah to Cause me to die as a Mus-lim . (12:101).

It was only when the Prophet (P) came didAllah put the words that he is the fist of theMuslims where He says Say (O Muham-mad)!... And I am the first of the Mus-lims. (6:162,163). This is a whole encompass-ing statement indicating that he was the firstof the Muslims EVER even though he is thelast of the Prophets chronologically! The sec-

ond interpretation that he was the first tohave the complete package of Islam perhapscan be used to explain this. Commentatorsthough have suggested that the H. Prophet(P) was the very first manifestation of God(Al-Fajr 1(4)). Looking at it from that perspec-

tive, chronologically he was still the first andthe closest to God and the first monotheist.However, to discuss the pioneers of Islam it isthe people who supported and accepted himas Prophet that need to be analysed.

ALI (AS): THE FIRST MUSLIM (IN THECOMMUNITY OF THE PROPHET(P))

It is a fact that the very first Muslim in thecommunity of the Prophet that is unani-mously accepted by all historians save for aminority of known biased historians. One ofthe most outstanding Sunni historians HakimNaishabouri in his book al -Mustadrak alas-Sahihain, says I do not know of any disputeamongst the historians that Ali bin Abi-Taleb(may God be pleased with him) is the fore-most of all in Islam, though they disputeabout his age . The range of his reported agevaries from 7 to 35 both extremes beingunlikely with the most likely being the age of

11-13yrs. Some of those fringe scholars havesuggested Abu Bakr was the first, a assertionthat shall be discussed in this paper as it hasmajor repercussions, the first being that thefirst Muslim would have a higher rank in thehereafter and secondly should deserve thesuccessorship of the Prophet (P). A book writ-ten on this issue by Ayatollah Amini by thename of Ghadir- Fil-kitaabi wa Sunnah (

????-??d???? ?T???? ? ) is an extensive study of thetopic. It is suggested that the discussion thatfollows clearly and concisely solves the prob-lem without having the need to extensivelyquote and rebuke false sources of hadith.

IMAM ALI (AS) WAS NEVER A NONMUSLIM

There is immense proof to suggest that ImamAli (AS) was never a non-Muslim and there-fore talking of his conversion to Islam is aredundant argument. There are several au-thentic ahadith that support this claim: Holy Prophet (P) himself asserting this

point says The foremost of all nationswere three, in a blink of an eye they never disbelieved in God, the three are Ali (AS),

Ashab Yaseen (Habib the carpenter at thetime of Jesus) and Mumin aale Firawn (who rescued Moses from Firawn). Theyare the most truthful. Ali (AS) is the most virtuous of them all. All these peoplesubmitted to Allah even before their re-spective prophets declared their missions.

Imam Baqir (AS): under the interpretationof those who believe and did not mixtheir faith with wrong says: This ayahwas revealed with regards to Imam Ali(AS) as he never made any partners withGod ever and he never worshiped lat andUzza

?? ? ???????? ? ??s ? ????? ?? ?????????????? ?? ???? ?????? ? ? ? ????????? ? ???? ???s Imam Ali (P) was worshipping God along

with Prophet Muhammad (P) for manyAl Fajr ????? 4 ( 6 ) Pg 2

????? ??? ?

I greet you with a heavy heart. The pastmonth has seen innumerable atrocities be-

ing meted out to innocent women and chil-dren with the well used, arrogant, mislead-ing and downright illegal pretext on the

war on terror. The irony of using terror tostop terror, or the hypocrisy of the so calledcivilized nations of the world reeks ofgreed, imperialism , colonization and geno-cide. The fact that majority of the peoples of

the world have been duped by the propa-ganda serves to show that perhaps there is afundamental flaw in the way we perceiveour society. The spin doctors have so con-

vincingly brainwashed the society that now

the evil is considered good!Where does the fault lie? I believe it lies ineach and every single person. Most are con-tent with living their lives on the fence or

ignoring what does not effect them until itdoes, but their response is more zealotrythen measured, the very action that fuelsthe fire of rage and hatred! It is a promise

from the Prophet (P) that the Islam shall bethe victor. This conflict can be likened to a

soccer match, the enemies may score a fewgoals in the beginning but they WILL loose

at the end! The focus therefore is how werespond to it and how we live up to thechallenge. Will we stand up and tell thepeople of the truth or will we cower behind

our ignorance or our fancy cars and houses?The key lies in educating and changing our-selves so as not to fall into the same traps ofgreed, materialism and love for this world

our enemies have fallen into, lest we be-come the very embodiment of the enemywe are fighting!

This issue is dedicated to all the martyrswho have so bravely given their lives to

protect themselves and their familiesagainst the very heartless scum of the earthand the dwellers of the pits of hell. And toall those who continue giving their lives

until the day when Imam (AJTFS) shall re-appear and rid the world of oppression andtyranny.

Wassalaam

Abidali Mohamedali - Editor

Editorial...


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years before the advent of Islam. Afterthe death of Abu Talib, Imam Ali (AS)was brought up in the house of the HolyProphet (P), a fact no historian has anydispute about. If it is now accepted thatthe Prophet was already divinely ap-pointed and was a Prophet before hebecame a messenger, Imam Ali (AS),

being brought up in that he was following the footsteps of the prophet like a little camel follows itsmother (Nahjul Balagha) would cer-tainly be a muwahhid too. A fact sup-ported by Ima Ali saying for seven yearsbefore the advent of Islam, I was praying with the Prophet ! the Prophet (P) said for seven years, angels were bringing mercy and blessings on us for at that time there was nobody on earth praying except Ali(AS) and myself These sevenyears is referred to before the advent ofIslam for after Islam, Khadijah, and othercompanions of the Prophet were alsopraying behind him, being that the com-mand for prayer was one of the first lawsto come to the Prophet.

???????? ???? ??? ???? ? ?? ? ?? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???????? ? ? ??S????? ??? ? ? ????

Imam Ali (AS) was around the cave ofHira when the first revelation de-scended! (Al Fajr issue 5 vol. 4) (narratedin Nahjul Balagah). The first to acceptthe message of Islam was therefore notKhadijah but rather Imam Ali (AS)

Imam Ali (AS) himself says I am themost veracious, and if anyone claimsthis is a slandering liar therefore refer-ring to Abu-Bakr as siddique is an in-sult to Imam Ali (AS).

THE ISLAM OF ABUBAKR

Without prejudice or bias, an in depth studyof the life of Abu-Bakr reveals that all histo-rians are not unanimous about when Abu-Bakr embraced Islam in the sequence of thefirst people who embraced Islam. Somescholars such as Jaaiz, have claimed thatAbu-Bakr was the first Muslim and there-fore deserved to lead the Ummah. The ques-tion then arises that why is it that during theelection at Saqeefah Bani Saaida, did Abu-Bakr use this point as support of his ap-pointment? This claim is akin to claimingone is more catholic than the pope! How cansome person a few hundred years laterclaim something for someone when he neverclaimed it himself!? In fact on the contrary,later confessions of Umar and Abu-Bakrthemselves reveal that his appointment tothe caliphate was a mistake!

It has been narrated in Al-Tabari in an au-thentic narration from Muhammad bin Sadbin Abi-Waqqas who says: I asked my fa-ther: Was Abu-Bakr the first Muslim? hereplied No, surely more than 50 people had

already embraced Islam before him, but his Islam was better than ours! I should bemade clear that the father of Muhammad,Sad, is comparing himself to Abu-Bakr, andtherefore this statement is not universal norcan be universally applied. The fact that isuniversal and fact was that Abu-Bakr wascertainly NOT the first Muslim.

KHADIJAH (AS)

It is a known fact that the second personafter Imam Ali (AS) to embrace Islam wasone of the four ladies of paradise as narratedby the Prophet himself. There is no disputethat she was the first Lady to embrace Islam,and to this date stands as a pure role modelfor all Muslim women. It is most certainlypossible for women as well to achieve thehighest status in the eyes of Allah.

JAFAR BIN ABU-TALIB

Jafar, the brother of Imam Ali (AS) was thethird person to embrace Islam. About thisfact, there is some dispute whether he wasthe third or the fourth being that the timedifference between the third and fourth wasa few days and according to some narrationsa few hours even. There is an inclination forhistorians to support his being the third per-son to embrace Islam. It is narrated that onceAbu Talib, in the very early days of Islam,entered while the Prophet was praying andImam Ali (AS) praying on his right. Abu-Talib ordered Jafar to pray behind theProphet on his left. It was from then that Jafar became Muslim.

Jafar was very close to the Ahlul Bayt andwas referred to the Prophet himself as oneresembling him in both appearance andaction. He is the same one to whom theProphet (P) gave the leadership to take someof the severely oppressed Muslims to Ethio-pia. In addition, his benevolence was wellknown as he was titled Abul-Masakeen,the father of the needy. The Prophet of Islam(P) also said of him : The masters of peopleon the Day of Judgment are: myself, Ali, al- Hasan and al-Husain, Hamzah, and Jafar . Jafar was martyred in the battle of Mootahat the age of 41 with his arms being severed,which the Prophet (P) said will be replacedwith wings on heaven. Jafar had 3 children,one of whom, Abdullah, eventually becamethe son in law of Imam Ali (AS) married toZaynab (AS).

ZAID IBN HARITH

Before the advent of Islam, Zaid was boughtas a slave by Hukaym ibn Hizaam as a giftfor Khadijah. As soon as she received him,she gifted him to her Husband, the HolyProphet (P). Since then, Zaid was like a closeslave to the Prophet and when Zaids familycame to know of this, they came to Medina,found the Prophet (P) and demanded himback. The Prophet turned to Zaid and gavehim the choice, either to go with his father

or to remain with him. Zaid turned to hisfather and told him that he had seen suchnoble character in this household that wouldrather remain with the Prophet as a slavethen go home to his parents! His father, be-ing deeply offended, disowned his son.Since then, the Prophet (P) adopted Zaid ashis own son. Being so close to the Family of

the Prophet, he was the fourth to accept Is-lam. He was martyred in the battle ofMootah two years before the demise of theProphet(P).

ABU-DHAR AL-GHIFAARI

Abu Dhar was one of the most prominentcompanions of the Prophet (P) and is con-sidered to be the fifth person to accept Islam.His real name was Junda Ibn-Junadah as hewas from a sub tribe of Kanaan called Ghifarand therefore was given the name of AbuDhar Al-Ghifari. He is considered to be one

of the Hunafaa (from the root Hanif mean-ing monotheist) before the advent of Islam.His conversion to Islam was hilarious andmade the Prophet (P) smile every time heheard the story. Abu Dhar narrates that inhis tribe they had an idol called Munaat, towhom most would pray to and seek bless-ings from. Once, early in his life, he had aproblem in his life and decided to give somemilk from his camel to this idol so as to alle-viate some of his pain. He kept the containerof milk in front of his idol and stepped backto recite some supplications. As he was recit-ing, a fox entered the room and started lick-ing the milk! Having finished it, the fox uri-nated on the idol, wetting it from top to bot-tom! He sat there flabbergasted at his igno-rance and his false belief, that his godcould not even stop his own creatures fromurinating on him! Since then, he abandonedhis false beliefs and began contemplating onthis.

As soon as he heard about the message ofthe Prophet (P), he went to Makkah andsecretly met with the Prophet (P). WhenIslam was explained to him concisely, heaccepted instantly. He became such a loyalfollower of the Prophet that the Prophet (P)said of him Among my community, thedetachment of dunya (Zuhd) is like that of Isa (AS). In another instance the Prophet(P) said The heaven has not shadowed nor has the earth carried any one more truthfulthan Abu-Dhar. He lives alone, dies aloneand will be risen up alone . The prophecy ofthe Prophet came true such that Usman (thethird caliph) exiled Abu-Dhar in the middleof the desert with is wife and daughterwhere he died there alone.

May Allah bless the souls of the pioneers ofIslam, who remained steadfast until the endof their lives and may HE grant us some of

the courage and fortitude to defend thetruth especially this time of aggression and

ignorance. Al Fajr ????? 4 ( 6 ) Pg 3


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Imam Amir ul Mu'mineen Ali (AS) said:" He who abandons forbidding what iswrong theoretically and practically (and isindifferent while seeing vices committed) isa moving corpse amongst the living."

Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 100, p. 94

There will come a day when you will not enjoin good and not forbid evil . There willcome a day when your neighbour hears youcry in agony as your family is slaughtered,but turns away because helping you wouldcost too much. There will come a day whenthe death of innocent children is a priceworth paying, and the slaying of an old ladywho cannot even walk triggers no guilt inthe conscience. There will come a day whenyour neighbour is more worried about howmany dollars he can save than about howmany of your children die. There will come aday when your neighbour watches as youare pillaged and consumed by fire, while hetakes a tentative step back, afraid that asmall spark of that fire may land at his feet.

There will come the day when you willenjoin evil and forbid good . There willcome the day when you stand divided, rais-ing arms against your brother, while thethieves make away with what little life youhave left. There will come the day whenwealthy slaves prostrate before self-madeidols, and sell themselves in exchange for

lavish comforts. They will wear the tag oflackeys with pathetic pride, and with themwill follow millions, deaf, dumb and blind-whatever light that momentarily shines forthem is put out by ignorance and greed, un-til their eyes are charred by their own burn-ing fingers so that they will never openagain.

There will come that day when you will seeevil as good, and good as evil. There willcome that day when truth loses all meaning,and becomes a ball that is thrown from the

hands of one oppressor to the next, eachmoulding it to their own best interests. Therewill come a day when you see little girlspaint pretty messages on missiles that aredestined to burn and deform other littlegirls, who happen to live just across the bor-

der. There will come that day when the bla-tant and horrific massacre of hundreds isseen as the pangs of birth: the sweet painthat comes before the delight of wiping outan entire race. There will come the day whenyou will be humiliated, robbed of yourhomes, killed, then asked to remain submis-sive and silent, or be branded with the evilname that has become the stamp of fear andthe best political tool. There will come thatday when conscience is denied, and you willbe amongst the walking dead.

What will you do then? What will you dowhen the truth you so clearly see is shifted,blurred, covered, cut and manipulated untilpeople give up all hope of finding it? Whatwill you do when you are met with a blankwall where you expected emotion? Whatwill you do when you are met with suspi-cion when you so needed help? What willyou do when your neighbour loves so muchto be deceived that he needs only a bad lie tosend him into his cocoon of patriotic racism?What will you do when your words do notreach beyond the air that you speak into?What will you do when the pain inside you

has nowhere to go, when you choke withfrustration at your helplessness and weak-ness? What will you do when you see lieafter lie, injustice after injustice, tragedy aftertragedy? What will you do when you aretold you are sub-human, what will you dowhen you are not allowed to speak, becausewhatever comes from you is fanatical andillogical?

What will you do when your uselessnessbrings tears to your eyes? What will you dowhen you are almost drowned in your own

pain? What will you do when the tribula-tions become great, and hope is cut off?What will you do when the Earth seems con-stricted, and the skies are blocked off?Will you gather and talk endlessly ? Or willyou realise your hypocrisy and watch fromyour own miserable corner and remain si-lent? Will the accusations pound you intosubmission? Will the sheer volume of liesmake you doubt the truth you so clearly see?Will the hypocrisy of the enemy quell theburning desire for justice? Will you becomeimpotent? Will your heart die? Will it be-come a stone that refuses to move? Will itsuddenly forget love and compassion, be-cause hatred and greed have taken up all theroom? Will you become a zombie, walkingand talking, but rotting with the stench ofdeath?

Or will you resist? Will you hold on to thepain as a sign of your humanity, will youembrace the anguish as a sign that you con-science lives, and will live, in the face of allfalsehood and evil? Will you trust in thepromise of the Almighty give you all theconfidence you need? Will your certainty inthe certainty of the Truth give you all thedirection you need?

Will you speakwith your own small voice?Will you wake up others, slowlyuntil yourvoices come together as one loud cry thatyour neighbours can no longer ignore? Willyour pain change the world you live in? Willyour tears move the black hearts and openthe blind eyes that strangle this planet?

Will your trust in the All-Powerful and All-Seeing endow you with power and vision?Will it move you to move others with you?...so that even if we are swimming against avicious current, we will not have left withoutmaking our statement and presenting ourproof, we will not have left without enjoin-ing good and forbidding evil, so that on theDay of Gathering, the oppressors will be leftwith no excuse.

The Walking Dead by Ali Al Samail

Al Fajr ????? 4 ( 6 ) Pg 4


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Biblical Eschatology is a study of things tocome. The Second Advent of Jesus is one ofthe eschatological issues in Christian theol-ogy. Mainstream Christians believe that Je-sus, forty days after his resurrection as-cended to heaven and he will return to Earthat the end of time. One of the main Biblicalreferences for the second advent of Jesus isin the Acts of the Apostles.

Upon saying this and while they werelooking on, he was taken up and a cloud carried him up from their view. And as theykept gazing intently toward heaven as hewas going away from them, two men inwhite clothing were standing by them, whoalso said: Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into heaven? This very Jesus, whowas taken up from you into heaven, willcome again in the same manner in whichyou have seen him going to heaven . [Acts1:9-11]

For the past 2000 years, there has been anongoing debate regarding the above andsimilar Biblical passages. Many Christiansbelieve that Jesus will literally return. Othersbelieve that the return of Jesus will not bephysical, rather symbolic somehow. Otherssuggest that the church serves the same pur-pose. Most of the debates rotate around theabove phrase in the same manner as towhether it should be taken literally or figu-ratively.

THE RETURN OF JESUS IN ISLAM

Muslim scholars irrespective of their de-nominations are quite unanimous that uponthe reappearance of Imam Mahdi (May Godhasten his reappearance) Prophet Jesus willalso descend to Earth from the heavens.During that time Jesus and Imam Mahdi willspread peace and justice on earth and theearth will attain unprecedented peace, jus-tice and welfare. Jesus will be like the minis-ter for Imam Mahdi and his main missionwill be to correct the dogma of Trinity and toclarify his humane personality and servitudeto God.

The Islamic doctrine of the descent of Jesusto earth is derived from a couple of Ayaat inthe Quran and many Ahadith which arenarrated by both Shia and Sunni narrators.The following are the most important rea-sons for this doctrine:

1) Jesus is still alive

As we learn in chapter 8, the holy Quran in aunique style denotes the false dogma of cru-cifixion. The holy Quran clearly states thatAllah raised Jesus to Himself. Thus, Jesushas not tasted physical death as yet. On theother hand, every creature shall have a

taste of death . [29:57] In conclusion, Jesusmust return to earth to live a physical lifeand die a physical death.

2)The People of the Book believe in Jesus

before his deathThe Almighty Allah states: And there willbe none of the People of the Book ( Jews and Christians ) but must believe in him beforehis death and on the Day of Resurrection, hewill be a witness against them . (4:159)

Most interpreters of the Quran agree that theabove Ayah is with reference to the time ofthe return of Jesus to earth. During that timethere will be no Jews or Christians but thosewho believe in Jesus as a Messenger of Allahand a human being. According to this inter-pretation the pronoun in before his deathreturns to Jesus not a Jew or a Christian.

Shahr bin Houshab narrated: Hajjaj binYusuf said to me: There is an Ayah in theQuran that Im baffled as to its meaning. I said: O Amir! Which Ayah is that? He said:And there will be none of the People of theBook By Allah! I have ordered the execu-tion of many Christians and Jews and I havewitnessed their death, but none of them be-lieved in the humanity of Jesus before hisdeath. Shahr said: I said to Hajjaj: This isnot the meaning of the Ayah. (He meant thepronoun in that phrase returns to Jesus notthe Jews and Christians). The meaning of the Ayah is that Jesus will descend to earth before the Day of Resurrection and there willbe no Jews or Christians but believers in Jesus and he will pray behind Imam Mahdi. Hajjaj asked from whom I had learnt that interpretation from. I replied: Imam Baqir,son of Imam Sajjad, son of Imam Husain,son of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib narrated thisto me. Hajjaj said: By Allah, you gained it from a pure spring. 3) The followers of Jesus will be superior

over disbelievers

Almighty Allah states:

And when Allah said: O Jesus! I will takeyou and raise you to Myself and clear you of those who disbelieve, and I will make thosewho follow you superior to those who dis-believe till the Day of Resurrection. Thenyou (believers and disbelievers) will returnto Me and I will judge between you in thematter in which you used to dispute. (3:55)

The above Ayah is one of the controversialAyaat in the story of Prophet Jesus. SomeChristian preachers use this Ayah to provethe superiority of Christians over the adher-ents of all other religions whom they alsocall disbelievers until the Day of Judgment.

Christians assumed the Quranic phrasethose who follow you equals Christians.Nothing can be farther from the truth. Chris-tianity today is in essence very differentfrom the actual teachings of Prophet Jesus.The followers of Jesus were those who trulyfollowed his teachings. According to theQuran, the dogma of Trinity is in full conflictwith the teachings of Prophet Jesus. Thus,how could Trinitarians be regarded as thefollowers of Jesus?!

The examples of those who follow youfrom the time of Jesus till the advent of Islamare those sincere believers who believed in Jesus as a Messenger of Allah and followedhis teachings. With the rise of Islam, Mus-lims who believe in Jesus as a Messenger of

Allah are the true followers of Jesus. Thedisbelievers in return are those who neverbelieved in Jesus as a Prophet such as the Jews or even the Christians who believed inthe divinity of Jesus. Thus Almighty Allahhas made the true monotheists who believein Jesus as His Messenger superior in theirideology over the disbelievers who do notbelieve in Prophet Jesus.

Another meaning for the Ayah is to saywhen Imam Mahdi (a.s) reappears and Jesusreturns to earth, the true followers of Jesuswho include all Muslims, Jews, Christians

who truly followed Jesus will be superior tothe disbelievers.

4) Prophetic narrations confirm the descentof Jesus

Numerous Narrations in both Sunni andShia sources confirm and detail the de-scending of Jesus at the same time as ImamMahdi.

Renowned Sunni narrators such as al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Maajah, Ahmad IbnHanbal, Abu-Dawood and many othershave narrated the Narrations of the return of

Jesus at the time of Imam Mahdi and that hewill pray behind Imam Mahdi.

Ibn Jouzi in his book Tathkeratul-Khawasnarrated: Mahdi and Jesus will reunite.When its the time for Prayers, Mahdi willask Jesus to lead the Prayers, but Jesus willsay: You are more preferred to lead the Prayers. Then Jesus will pray behind him.

According to the Narrations of his return Jesus will break the cross and abandon themeat of the pig. He will also abolish the Jazyah for the People of the Book of his time

will have no excuse to adhere to their falseprinciples. They have to either convert toIslam and hence no Jazyah will apply tothem or will be executed by Jesus. Jesus willlive on the earth for 40 years before he dies.

Written by Sheikh Mansour LeghaeiThe True Story of Jesus (AS) Jesus WILL Return With Imam Mahdi (PBUT)

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Imam Mahdi will pray on his body and willattend his burial in pubic.

THE RETURN OF JESUS AND THE SEAL OF PROPHET -HOOD

One of the theological problems about thereturn of Jesus is the paradox between thisconcept and the seal of Prophethood. Un-doubtedly, Prophet Muhammad was the lastProphet and Messenger of God. WithProphet Muhammad, prophethood ceased tocontinue. Then how could one of the previ-ous prophets return to earth afterProphet Muhammad?

The answer to the above paradox isthat Prophet Jesus will not return toearth to bring a new Sharia Law.Thus, he will pray behind Imam Ma-hdi. In fact, Imam Mahdi who is the12th and the last successor of theProphet of Islam will lead the world.The main purpose of the return ofJesus to earth is in order for him toprove to the Jews and the Christiansthe truth about himself.

CHRISTIANS

The names by which the disciples wereknown among themselves were brethren,the faithful, elect, saints and believers.

The title Christian for the followers of theteachings of Jesus is historically a Greek-given name not a God-given name. In Greek,the adjectival ending -ianos denoted the ad-herents of an individual or party. So, adher-ents to Christ were called Christianos whichis developed in English to Christians. Thename Christian was first given by theGreeks or Romans, probably in reproach, tothe followers of Jesus.

There is no record of any disciple callinganother believer a Christian or of Jesus ap-plying that designation to himself. Luke inActs [11:19-30] writes that " the disciples werecalled Christians, " not that " the disciplescalled themselves Christians. " According to

the Acts (11:26) the title of Christian wasfirst used at Antioch for the disciples. Whendisciples under the persecution of the Jewssought refuge in Antioch which was a Greekcity, they were named in reproach by paganGreeks as Christians meaning those whobelieve in the one who claimed to be theChrist. In the early stages of Christianity tobe called Christian would most probablyequal execution.

Although this title initially carried somenegative sense, over time Christians acceptedit, as to them it would be an honour for themto be related to Christ (the Messiah; al-Maseeh in Arabic). Hence, the title was uni-versally accepted.

On the other hand, the Jews who did not

believe Jesus was the Messiah scorned thefollowers and the disciples of Jesus as " thesect of the Nazarenes " (Acts 24:5) meaningthe followers of the one who was merelyborn in Nazareth.

The only God-given title for the followers ofthe teachings of Jesus is given by Allah in theholy Quran. The holy Quran has never re-

ferred to the followers of Jesus as Christians(Al-Maseehiyoun in Arabic) or Nazarenes.The term used in the Quran for his followers

is Nasara meaning the helpers, the singularof which is Nasrani meaning the helper. Just like the term used for those believers inMadina who supported Prophet Muhammadand hence were called the helpers. The rea-son as to why the holy Quran is calling theadherents of Jesus the Helpers stems from aconversation between Jesus and his disciples.According to the Quran when Jesus beganhis mission he asked his disciples whowould be helping him in the cause of God.The holy Quran states: O you who believe!Be you helpers (in the Cause) of Allah assaid Jesus, son of Mary, to the disciples:Who are my helpers (in the Cause) of Allah?The disciples said: We are Allahs help-ers. [61:14]

Therefore, contrary to the name given to thefollowers of Jesus by the Romans or the Jews,the Quranic title for them is a God-givenname and designates their devotion to Allah.

Another title used

frequently in theQuran for both theChristians and the Jews, is the appella-tion of People of theBook which is a veryhonourable title con-firming that they his-torically belonged tothe community of thefaithful people whooriginally had a di-vine Scripture.

THE CHARACTERIS-TICS OF THE NASARA

In the story of ProphetMoses (a.s) I dealt

with the status of the People of the Book inthe Quran. The People of the Book are some-times condemned in the Quran not merelybecause they are Jewish or Christians. Theywere castigated due to their wrong actions.The Quran, whilst emphasising that Chris-tians did, theologically, go astray by believ-ing in the erroneous dogma of the Trinity,respects and admires their good deeds andmoral behaviour. Almighty Allah in Surahal-Madah (Chapter 5), Ayah 82 states:And you will surely find the nearest in love

to the believers (Muslims) those whosay: We are Nasara (Christians). That is because amongst them are priestsand monks, and they are not proud.

This love and compassion is a Godlygift to them, as Allah in Surah al -Hadid(Chapter 57) Ayah 7 states: And Weordained in the hearts of those who followed him (Jesus) compassion and

mercy. On the other hand, however, Muslimsare commanded not to trust and make

close friendships with the Jews and theChristians.Allah in Surah Maedah (Chapter 5) Ayah 51states:O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as friends (or protectors or helpers), they are but the friends (or protec-tors and helpers) of each other. And if anyamongst you take them as friends, thensurely he is one of them. Verily, Allah guides

not those people who are the wrong-doers.

The message of this Ayah is similar to thefollowing Ayah in which relying u[on thewrong-doer is forbidden.

And incline not toward those who dowrong, lest the Fire should touch you, and you have no protectors other than Allah, nor you would then be helped. [11:113] Thus,God condemns only the wrong-doers who-ever they may be.

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Regret is one of the strongest emotions thatan be experienced by man. It binds the

mind with oppressive chains and poisonsand contaminates every thought and everymotion. It is a tape of the past that playstself over and over again, and will not re-

pond to any attempt to stop it. At its peak,egret leaves no escape for man and leaves

him nowhere to go. He will screw up hisace, bite his hands out of frustration, lash

out at his surroundings, yet nothing seems towork, and the tape of the past continues toplay itself, heedless to the pain of this man.At its peak, regret drains man's spirit andovercomes his will; it leaves him weak andwaiting only for the blessing of time to makehe wound less sharp, and to present him

with opportunities to redeem himself and hisituation.

Regret is a result of counter-factual thinking,which is the cognitive process of imaginingventualities or conclusions other than the

ones that have occurred in reality. The mindravels to the past and re-traces the steps thated to the present situation. At one or more

of these steps, it recognizes that it could havemade a different choice, and it goes on topostulate theories as to what eventualitieswould have materialized if it had made thoseother choices. If these other possible eventu-alities are deemed more favourable than thepresent one, the bitter unpleasant feeling of

egret emerges.Despite the cruelty of this emotion, and itsdepressing impact on the human psyche, itan be channelled in such a way that it as-ists man in making choices about his future.

Regret leaves such a strong imprint on man'smind that when he comes to make futurehoices, he attempts to anticipate which ofhese choices will lead to the least amount ofegret and makes his choice based on thatriteria. The student who does not study for

an examination fails, and the unpleasantonsequences of his failure stimulates the

pangs of regret. This regret will in fact be-ome this students main motivation to studyor his next examination. He will not want toeel the same bitter emotion again and so thisime he will study.

Despite the pain that regret causes, it is auseful emotion that can be channelled so thatt has positive outcomes. In fact, it is a bless-ng from the Perfectly Wise Creator in ordero assist man in planning out his future. He

warns His creation of a day of intense re-gret, when the matter shall have been de-ided while they live now in negligence

and do not believe .1 This intense regret isverlasting and eternal; a regret that cannot

be blunted-a burning fire that cannot be putout, a wasted life that cannot be retrieved.

However if man feels regret while he is stillin this world, he can, like that student, atonefor his mistakes by making efforts in the timethat remains for him. If he has pained andhurt people, he can compensate themthrough various means, if he has sinned

against himself and against his Lord he canstill repent. However, after his death, on theday that he will be raised again to be ques-tioned about how he used that time he wasapportioned, the matter will have alreadybeen decided . The eternity of everything willhave already been set in stone and man'sfinal abode will have prepared. There will beno tampering with the past, nor any correc-tion of deeds- the time for action will havepassed. His regret on that day will be thefinal, ultimate and absolute regret.

That regret is born today, and nour-ished and nurtured in this world. It isgiven its existence here, because welive now in negligence and do not believe. The punishments we face inthe afterlife are not conventional pun-ishments. Rather they are a direct ef-fect of actions here. Just like the pun-ishment in this world for a motherwho consumes alcohol while she ispregnant is that her child will be bornhideously deformed, so the punish-ments of that Day will be a directcause of our actions here. We will in fact see

our actions almost 'personified' on that day;it will be almost as if we give birth to thesecreatures that will now haunt us on the mostfrightening day of our lives. On that day,every soul will be confronted with all the good it has done, and all the evil it has done,it will wish there were a great distance be-tween it and its evil 2. We cannot picturethese 'creations' that are expressions of ourevil in this life but when we see them on thatDay we will know exactly which actionbrought them to existence and the justice oftheir existence. They will be like embarrass-ing companions that will follow us aroundand declare to the whole of creation, includ-ing the Prophets the Imams and the piouspeople of our communities that we commit-ted these awful deeds. They will be compan-ions that we will be questioned about whilewe have no answers, and thus we will bepunished.

We brought this eternal punishment to lifethrough our desire for this world. We ruinedour eternity for nothing but a small portionof this world. Some of us ruined our eternityin order to spend some time with a beautiful

companion of the opposite sex, others of usruined their eternity because of a certainamount of money that we gained throughfoul means, others ruined their eternity be-cause they wanted fame, glory and power.Yet there are those of us who are even worse

off, those who when there comes to themyet another reminder from their Lord, theyonly hear it while engaged in fun and games,their hearts preoccupied with trifles 3. Theseare those of us who cannot even take accountof the hours of the day they are given. These

are the ones who have no purpose besidessleeping, eating and playing. These are theones who in fact ruin their eternity for noth-ing, they have gained neither this world northe next and they are the most pathetic crea-tures of this world.

Yet on the Day of Judgment all of those whowere heedless of that Day, no matter whattheir reason, will feel an intense regret. Infact, if every soul that has done injusticehad all that is in the earth, it would offer it

for ransom, and they will manifest regret

when they see the chastisement .4

When wesee the hell-fire with our eyes, we will notonly give up that companion, that moneyand that power, but we will in fact give upall that is in the Earth . This world will bethe cheapest thing to give up in the hereafter,so much so that those who do not respond to Him, had they all that is in the earth and the like thereof with it they would certainlyoffer it for a ransom 5. This world, and allthat is in it, is naught but the blink of eye,which will mean nothing when compared toits eternal successor. 6

Our Exalted Sustainer provides us withwarning so that we will anticipate the regretthat will fill our future if we do not take heednow and wake up from our oblivion. Onceour life ends and death takes its hold overus, it will be too late. Whatever has befallenthem cannot be described. Pangs of deathand grief for losing (this world) have sur-rounded them. Their limbs become languid and their complexion changes. Then deathincreases its sway over them. In some it stands between the man and his power of speaking although he lies among his people,looking with his eyes, and hearing with hisears, and with his full wits and intelligenceabout him! He then thinks over how hewasted his life and in what (activities) he passed his time. He recalls the wealth hecollected when blinding himself in seeking it,

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The Days of Hope by Ali Al Samail


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and acquiring it from fair and foul sources. Now the consequences of collecting it haveovertaken him. He gets ready to leave it. It would remain for those who are behind him.They would enjoy it and benefit by it. It willbe an easy acquisition for others but a burdenon his back, and he will not be able to get rid of it. He would there upon bite his handswith his teeth out of shame for what wasdisclosed to him about his affairs at the timeof his death. He would hate what he coveted during the days of his life and would wishthat he who envied him on account of it and felt jealous over him for it should haveamassed it instead of him, himself. Deathwould continue to affect his body till his earstoo would behave like his tongue (and losetheir function).So he would lie among his people, neither speaking with his tongue nor hearing with his ears! He would be rotating his glance over their faces, watching themovements of their tongues, but not hearing their words. Then death would increase itssway over him, and his sight would be takenby death as the ears had been taken and thespirit would depart from his body. He would then become a carcass among his own people.They would feel lonely when around him and would move away from him. He would not join a mourner or respond to a caller (ever again). Then they would carry him to a small place in the ground and deliver him in it to(face) his deeds. Slowly, they (even) stop vis-iting him! 7

Death is the final closing of the book, afterwhich man can no longer alter anythingabout his eternal fate. On that day, the veilwill be removed and man will see the truereality of the world for the first time, 8 afterwhich he will ask to be given even if a littletime to come back so that he may do gooddeeds and repair the damage he caused dur-ing his life. Yet he will be told that no soulwill be delayed once its time comes and nosoul will be returned 9. What man has sownfor himself in this world will become appar-ent to him as soon as the last breath leaveshim, and he will reap what he sowed for theeternity to come.

The only escape from the bitter regret thatwill encompass man after death is to channelthe regret of today into virtuous actions. Manis advised to Work!, Work! Perform good acts while he is still in the vastness of life,(while)the books are open (for the recording of actions), (while) repentance is allowed,(while)the one who runs away (from Allah) isbeing called back and the sinner is being given hope (of forgiveness) before man diesand the (light of) action is put off, timeexpires, life ends, the door for repentance isclosed and the angels ascend to the sky .10

Is there no one to offer repentance over his faults before his death? Or is there no one to perform virtuous acts before the day of trial?Beware, surely you are in the days of hopebehind which stand death. Whoever acts dur-

ing the days of hope before the approach of his death, his action s will benefit him and his death would not harm him. But he who fails to act during the period of hope beforethe approach of death his actions are a lossand his death is a harm to him...Beware,surely I have not seen a coveter for Paradiseasleep nor a dreader from Hell to be asleep.Beware, you have been ordered insistently tomarch and been guided on how to provide for the journey. Surely the most frightening thing which I am afraid for you about is that youwill follow (your) desires and widen (your)hopes. Provide for yourself from this world what would save you tomorrow (on the Dayof Judgment) 11

We live now in the time of opportunity, in aworld that was created so that we could workfor our afterlife and gain proximity to ourLord. We must feel regret over our insuffi-ciency before our Lord today, while we canstill redeem ourselves somehow, before theopportunity passes and the world and all itsavenues of worship become useless to us. Wemust make regret the facilitator for repen-tance, repentance that fills the heart and spillsover into action. The flames of regret andremorse can in themselves wash away therust of sin from the heart; the tears that theybring can in themselves cleanse the con-science and bring about some sort of tranquil-lity. Regret, when man is dead, is one of theworst forms of torture. Regret while man isalive, is part of his salvation and the first steptowards repentance. Sincere repentance is the

door to forgiveness and salvation that nevercloses 12 while man remains alive, and regretis the key that opens that door, time and timeagain. 13

REFERENCES

1-Surah Maryam, Verse 39 And warn them of the day of intense regret, when the matter shall have been decided; and they are (now)in negligence and they do not believe .

2-Surah Ale Imran, Verse 30 On the day that every soul shall find present what it has doneof good and what it has done of evil, it shallwish that between it and that (evil) therewere a long duration of time; and Allahmakes you to be cautious of (retribution from) Himself; and Allah is Compassionateto the servants .

3-Surah Anbiya, Verses 1-3 Their reckoning has drawn near to men, and in heedlessnessare they turning aside. There comes not tothem a new reminder from their Lord but they hear it while they sport, Their heartstrifling; and those who are unjust counseltogether in secret: He is nothing but a mortallike yourselves; what! will you then yield to

enchantment while you see? 4-Surah Yunus, Verse 54 And if every soulthat has done injustice had all that is in theearth, it would offer it for ransom, and theywill manifest regret when they see the chas-

tisement and the matter shall be decided be-tween them with justice and they shall not bedealt with unjustly.

5-Surah Ra'd, Verse 18 For those who re-spond to their Lord is good; and (as for) thosewho do not respond to Him, had they all that is in the earth and the like thereof with it they would certainly offer it for a ransom.

(As for) those, an evil reckoning shall betheirs and their abode is hell, and evil is theresting-place .

6-Surah Nahl, Verse 77 And Allah's is theunseen of the heavens and the earth; and thematter of the hour is but as the twinkling of an eye or it is higher still; surely Allah has power over all things

7-Imam Ali (AS), Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 107

8-Surah Qaaf, Verse 22 Certainly you wereheedless of it, but now We have removed from you your veil, so your sight today is

sharp .9-Surah Al-Munafiqin, Verses 10-11 And spend out of what We have given you beforedeath comes to one of you, so that he should say: My Lord! why didst Thou not respite meto a near term, so that I should have givenalms and been of the doers of good deeds?And Allah does not respite a soul when its ap- pointed term has come, and Allah is Aware of what you do.

10-Imam Ali a.s., Nahjul Balagha,

11-Imam Ali a.s, Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 28

12-Imam Zainul Abidin, Munajatil Ta'ibeen

My God, You have opened a door to Your pardon, and named it 'repentance', for Yousaid 'repent to your Lord with unswerving repentance'. What is the excuse of he whoremains heedless of entering the door after itsopening?

13-Imam Zainul Abidin, Du'a Al-Hazeen(Mafatihul Jinan)

O My Lord, till when and until when will I come back to You repentant

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Al Fajr ????? 4 ( 6 ) Pg 9

And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer theprayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me,so they should answer My call and believe inMe that they may walk in the right way. (2:186)

Dua is one of the most important forms ofworship, and the most effective and pro-found duas have been prescribed to man-kind by non other than the Holy Prophet (P)and his Household (AS). As shall be seen inthis short paper, it plays a crucial role in thelife of a Muslim and it is a most vital toolwhich must never be abandoned.

Before proceeding to delve any deeper intothe subject at hand, a clear definition of theterm dua must be elucidated based on howthe word is employed in the Holy Quran. Inits general sense, dua means asking and

this may include a servant asking Allah(SWT) for His favor, Allah (SWT) asking hisservant to perform a task or simply the ser-vants of Allah (SWT) asking questions be-tween themselves. For example, In theQuran Allah (SWT) says, And Allah callsyou to the abode of peace [10:25]. Here,Allah (SWT) is asking His servants to enterinto His domain of mercy and forgivenesshowever this ayaah by no means implies thatAllah (SWT) is in need of mankind, on thecontrary it eludes to the fact that mankind isindeed in need of Allah (SWT). Allow me to

offer a simple analogy; imagine that a personoffers an orphan a room in his own home,surely such a kind act does not indicate thatthe one who lent aid to the orphan is in need(at least not with regards to housing) on theextreme opposite. It indicates that the homeowner must have room to spare and that he

due to his kind and caring nature, his incli-nation towards generosity and willingness tohelp his fellow man, sought to ease the bur-den of another. It most certainly does implyblatantly or indirectly, that he too is in needof a place to rest.

The importance of dua has been explicitlyemphasized in one of the amazing Ayahs ofthe Holy Quran. Allah (SWT) says, Say: My Lord would not care for you were it not for your supplication (dua). (25:77) Amplecontemplation on this ayah will help us un-derstand the importance of supplication. TheAlmighty Creator of the worlds is informingus that he would not even consider us if itwere not for our supplications! If our Lorddid not consider us, this life of ours wouldsubsequently be purposeless for we are alldependent upon His bounties.

The supplication of a believer is in fact ac-knowledgment of his neediness towardsAllah (SWT). Hence, failure to supplicate toAllah (SWT) is an indirect form of sayingthat one is not in need of His Mercy and Sus-tenance which in turn takes one to a state ofpride. In the Quran, the Almighty has com-manded us to supplicate onto him, And your Lord says: call upon me, I will answer you; surely those who are too proud for myservice shall soon enter hell abased. (40: 60)

In this Ayah, Allah (SWT) has guaranteed toanswer the prayer of a person who callsupon him, but on many occasions it mayappear that ones duas are not answered orthey seem to have just been ignored. Thepoint which is not realised is that there arecertain conditions for the supplication of abeliever to be answered and that if these con-ditions are not met in the proper manner,

there will be no satisfaction with the out-come of dua.

One of the most important of these condi-tions is to supplicate with an attentive heart. Just like when the Quran is recited, one willonly benefit from its recitation if the mean-

ings are understood and the Ayahs are con-templated over. In his dua before the recita-tion of the Quran, Imam Sadiq (as) says, Let not my reading be one that is devoid of con-templations. Make me one who contem- plates over its signs and prescriptions.. Let not my recitation be mere babbling . It is infact necessary for one to have an attentiveheart in order to achieve the maximum bene-fit in all forms of worship.

Furthermore; one must keep in mind thatman is a finite being who resides on a tinyplanet in a vast universe. Allah (SWT) how-

ever has Knowledge of all things, perhapsones request in their dua may actually, ifgranted, lead the person to sin or put them ina situation which could incite sinful behav-ior. Allah (SWT) can see all aspects of a po-tential scenario while man with his limitedknowledge cannot. I mean how many of youhave missed a train? Initially such a turn ofevents could be upsetting, but very rarely dowe dare ponder what possible benefits mayhave come from missing the train. Perhaps ifyou caught it someone may have robbedyou, or the train may have crashed 20 min-

utes into the trip. Many a time what we prayfor may not be what is best for us, as Allah(SWT) says in His Holy Quran 'But it is pos-sible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye knownot.'

The Importance Of Dua by Sajjad Falamaki

ome people do not really believe in God. They see things exist, invol-ntary through evolution. Well, I believe that I was created for some-

hing. I believe I am from The One, created just to worship and followis order. The word Islam means submission to God. Being a Mus-m means following a way of life, every day in order to please God.hat means that we should practice our religion Islam. I should notve like I am the best human in the world, but a human who tries to

mprove his/her knowledge, guidance and worship.

ou should not a Muslim because you have to be Muslim or thinkhat the religion of Islam is cool so you should follow it, nor becauseour father and mother are Muslim but its because you truly see it inour heart and you follow it, you have knowledge and have re-

searched the truth. The way God has ordered usto follow the truth.

Islam teaches and protects us from going downdangerous or difficult roads. Our society wouldbe more equitable and joyous if we were grate-ful to God for our lives and if we love our broth-ers and sisters as ourselves, respect others, havethe manners when talking to our families and

friends etc.

The Muslim community of the globe today is approximately one bil-lion people. That is an impressive figure. But what to me is equallyimpressive is that Islam today is the fastest growing religion. Theremust be something we have to take into account. Something is rightabout Islam in order for it to attract so many people.How much do I know about Islam and being a Muslim today ?

The below are some ahadith that advise us just how important it is toseek knowledge. Imam Sadiq (AS) said: " The one who learns knowl-edge and acts accordingly, and teaches it for Allah, will be called magnificently in heavens. The Holy Prophet (P) also said: " The good of this world and the world to come is with knowledge. Imam Baqir(AS) said: " Try to learn knowledge because learning it is a good actionand study is itself a worship ." Imam Amir ul Mu'mineen Ali (AS)

said: "The one who seeks for knowledge is like a warrior in the causeof religion for the way of Allah."

lets not waste time enjoying the desires of this world and make ourtime useful. Research about your religion, in order that you areknowledgeable for any trials you may face in the future. Let us all aimfor paradise in the next world which we will be living for eternity.

Where is MY Knowledge By Zaynab Kaussan


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Continuing on the commentary of the versesof the Holy Quran in from Surah-al Fath,Allah has utilised the historical incident ofthe treaty of Hudaibiyyah to drive throughsignificant messages, messages still relevant

to this date. The treaty of Hudaibiyyah wassigned by the H. Prophet (P) with the pa-gans of Makkah as a peace deal and whichled to the eventual bloodless conquering ofMakkah a few years later. This theme it per-haps most relevant to this day and agewhereby Muslims have to be smart enoughto broker peace deals with faith and knowl-edge to enable victories over their enemies.

Allah in the next two verses gives humanity2 poignant messages, in the first verse Allahis condemning pride, zealotry, haughtiness(????d??? ) as zealots are blind to the facts.Zealotry is defined as zeal in excess, fanati-cism, referring to cases where activism andambition in relation to an ideologyhave become excessive to the pointof being harmful to others, oneself,and one's own cause. Particularaspects can focus on religion, poli-tics, but can also apply to any otherarea where partisanship and itsrelated dogma are fostered andencouraged.

Often, we would take sides withone of ours even if he is on theright or wrong even if the person isMuslim and yet is doing somethingwrong, it is condemned to take hisside and defend him as it wouldmean defending his wrong action.Conversely, even if one may not beof the same faith or nationality andis honourable and truthful it is in-cumbent that he be supported.This attitude creates enmity andanger in the heart and can haveserious social and personal conse-quences. Allah says in this verse:

When those who disbelieved har-boured in their hearts (feelings of)

disdain, the disdain of (the days of)ignorance, but Allah sent down Histranquillity on His Messenger and on the believers, and made themkeep the word of guarding (against evil),

and they were entitled to it and worthy of it; and Allah is Cognizant of all things .

Allah in this verse, describing the hearts ofthe disbelievers uses the word ??c??a? ?owhich isdriven from the word humma which liter-

ally translates to fever but as n expressionmeans zealotry. The root is a description of azealot who gets angry and hot under thecollar. On occasions zealotry can be goodwhen it is in defence of his family and relig-ion although most zealotry is considered

distasteful. In order for

Allah to discern the difference, the word ??c??a?c?c?c?c??a? ?owas used. It is for this very reason,

their disdain, doggedness, and excessivezeal of their own ideology they lost. Theydid not allow the Prophet to enter Makkahfor pilgrimage, refused to sign the treaty if ithad the name of Allah or the name of theProphet (P) as Rasul and so on. Their fanati-cism, they did not have a good plan or anycommon sense nor did they measure thingsproperly! The simple message is that in diffi-cult situations Muslims must NOT jump thegun and act irrationally and emotionally orthink with their tongue. Although the treatyseemed to be negative for the Muslims, butthe supreme wisdom and calculation on theside of the Prophet ensured a bloodless vic-tory! In addition, Allah as a reward, sent tothe hearts of the believers peace and tran-quillity to calm even the rebellious Mus-

lims who would have ruined everything.Allah as a reward attached them to thekalimah of taqwa in this context the ruhor spirit of taqwa meaning they became thecrystallisation of taqwa! To that, Allah al-lowed them to be victorious against the spy-ing Jews in Khaybar, allowed them to go forpilgrimage at the same time a year later andthe year after that conquer Makkah! Allah inthis surah is driving home the point that thistreaty was supremely significant in ensuringthe safety and survival of the religion wehave today.

Imam Sajjad says The zealotry of sinning iswhen a person sees another doing some-thing bad but just because he comes fromthe same race/country regards him good. Itis not negative to like your community but

what is forbidden is if you support thosefrom you are committing a sin. The believ-ers are more deserving of the rewards fromAllah. The recent example of zealotry in theAustralian community was to make a mar-tyr or heroine out of Michelle Lesley whowas caught with drugs in Malaysia simplybecause she was Australian and on the otherhand because certain Australians do nothave blond hair and blue eyes are not evenbothered about because they are not part ofthe Australian community. Perhaps theAustralians do not have good role models

and their actions can be justified but what justification do Muslims have for acting inthe same manner when wehave the Prophet (P) as thesupreme role model!?!?

Subhanallah, the prime exam-ple of zealotry blinding thepeople and the governments isthe massacre of Lebanon andthis pseudo war on terror.Zealotry has so blinded theworld that even the images ofmaimed children and brokenfamilies and dead women can-not jolt these despots into real-ity. The Zionists have no logi-cal or conscious hope of gettingHizbullah out of Lebanon butyet persist with their atrocitieswithin clear view of the rest ofthe world. We as Muslims haveto be calculated in our re-sponse and ensure we do notall in the same trap as they didand do on a daily basis. Thereis CERTAINLY some signifi-cant good that will come out ofthis conflict and may lead tothe return of the occupiedlands just as the pagans ofMakkah were defeated and

Makkah returned to the Muslims.

The second message, which is ayah 27 ofthis surah, is the final concluding message ofthe whole incident of Hudaibiyyah. Allahreminds us again that HE knows what wedo not meaning if something happens inones life that is out of his hands, somethingwhich was not his mistake or even did notcontribute to it and had a negative effect,surely there is some benefit in it and a clearwisdom behind it.

(Continued on page 11)

Surah Fath - Verses 26-29 Presented by Sh. Mansour Leghaei written by Abidali Mohamedali

Al Fajr ????? 4 ( 6 ) Pg 10

?o??o??a?????g c?c?c?c??a? ?o??c?c?a? ??c?c?a? ?oA?????????o ? cg o?A??K?? a? ?c|o?o??a?a? ???

?A????a? ? a?Oc??o??a?c??? a?A?a?a???Ia? as ??c?alA??o? ??aaa? c?c??A? a? ???aa A?a?a??c j a?

C??c?aa ?a? a? o?? j ??A?o??o?????a? ?a???a??Ia? ?a???cOa? ?I`^

?a? ???a?oa?a? ?oa??? a? a??oc? ??A? a?a??? dOa? ?????a?a?C??o A????A? a? A?o??oaka?aI a??O??

?A???a?ata????a? a?c?a??g ????g?a? at ???a????di ?OA?a? a?? j a? ?A?A? as cOo?a? A? as ??c?? A?o??o

C?????o ?C? a??g a? c??? c??A? ?c? ??a?a? ?g`^

?o??? ???d??o ? ??aa A?a???uA?c?dOa? ?o???c?a? ? a?A?????A????A? a? ??a? a??I ? c|o?oa?A?

C????a? c?o?????? ?K??a?`^

?A?oa?ata?A?a?a?a???a?a? A? ???oK? j ?o? ??aa ?oc?c??I A?a?a? a??c|o?oa? c?o??o?? ?A? c? c?c?a? C?

? d? ???c??A?A? ?cg a?A??a??c? ?C?oa?aU??a? c?o??oa?d? ???au?g ???AGa?a?a? oC?c? A? ?C?o?A?

? a?a??I? a?a??? ?? ?cu???o?cg a?A????ua?a? c?oa?a?c??o? cg a?A????ua? a? c??? c??A? C? ?o???U?I

????? ?u?cGa?c? a? oc?C??oA? ?? a?A? c?co?A? ? ??aa ? a?a?a???g ?u??aGa?a? ??g A?a?a!??g A???ua?

C?a??Ia? ??a?cKaGc? ?A?a?c? c? ?a? c??ci ?o o???c?aaa? o?A?a?? a??c|o?o A?o??oa?aaa? a??oK? j ?o

C??cuaa`^


11/12

Certainly Allah had shown to His Messen- ger the vision with truth: you shall most certainly enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah pleases, in security, (some) having their

heads shaved and (others) having their hair cut, you shall not fear, but He knows what you do not know, so He brought about a

near victory before that.

The year of the treaty, some people ques-tioned the vision of the Prophet (P) in re-gards to them entering Makkah. This versewas revealed with the message that Godmay delay the blessings to test the hearts ofthe believers. A jurisprudential law of cut-ting hair and shaving of the head comesfrom this ayah. Most scholars believe that itis compulsory to shave ones hair on the firstHajj while others say that it is a recom-mended precaution but pilgrims can eithershave their head or cut their hair short.

From the very first instance of Islam cominginto existence and when only three people,the Prophet (P), Khadijah and Imam Ali(AS) had embraced Islam, the Prophet toldImam Ali (AS) that a time will come whenthere is no house on this earth made ofwood or brick in which the shahadatain willnot be recited. In the next ayah Allah says:

He it is Who sent His Messenger with the guidance and the true religion that He maymake it prevail over all the religions; and

Allah is enough for a witness.

The religion of Islam has two major charac-teristics, the first that it is a religion of guid-ance and the second is that it is the truth.These two tools have been bestowed uponthe Prophet (P) to make Islam prevail overall religions. This is a promise from Allahand He alone is sufficient as a witness. Islamis a proselytising religion i.e. a religion thatmust be spread just as Christianity is. Thisfact is so ingrained in the religion that amr-bil-maroof and nahy-anil-munkar are com-pulsory in Islam and so is the encourage-ment for dawa. The most striking factswhich have never been paralleled in history,is the speed at which Islam spread. Accord-

ing to historians a mere century after thedemise of the Prophet (P), half of the inhab-

ited regions of the world was Muslim.Today, according to statistics, Islam isthe fastest growing religion and thesecond most populous religion in theworld. 51 countries have Muslims as asignificant proportion of the popula-tion. One of every 4 people on thisplanet is a Muslim in addition it is thefastest growing religion in the world. Inthe last 50 years, the growth rate ofMuslims was a whopping 235% and257.1% in Australia! Christians on theother hand have increased by only 47%. Itbegs the question, why is it that the world isfighting the Muslims? The more they fightthe religion the more it increases! Taking thesimple example of the status of women inIslam, it has been criticized so much but inreality the proportion of women convertingto Islam is even greater than that of men!

The universality of this religion is so pro-found that there does not exist in the Quraneven a single ayah that addresses only theArabs despite the fact that Islam came firstto the Arabs! Allah only uses the title ofmankind for all humanity or believers forthe Muslims. There is no special trick to thespread of Islam, it simply is the truth! Thetruth in itself is the most powerful attractiveforce. It is not limited to language eitherbecause only 15% of Muslims speak Arabic!

Despite this rosy picture, it is the responsi-bility of every single Muslim to ensure thatthe message of the truth reaches everyoneand more importantly we do not become

zealots and fall into the same trap that theenemies of Islam have already fallen into.Each Muslim is an ambassador of Islam andas such has to defend its principles by firstacknowledging them and believing in themand then acting upon them. Islam is notspread by the sword or by preaching andfanaticism as the media wishes us to believe,it was spread by good actions and attitudes.The adherence to the Islamic principles inour day to day lives will emanate the fra-grance of Islam which will attract the seek-ers of truth. The real victory surely lies withthose who adhere to Allah.

Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and

those with him are(1 ) firm of heart against the unbelievers, (2) compassionate among themselves; (3) you will see them bowing down, prostrating themselves, (4)seeking

pleasure from Allah and pleasure; (5)their marks are in their faces because of the effect of prostration; that is their description inthe Taurat and their description in the In-

jeel; like as seed-produce that puts forth itssprout, then strengthens it, so it becomes

stout and stands firmly on its stem, delight-ing the sowers that He may enrage the unbe-lievers on account of them; Allah has prom-ised those among them who believe and do

good, forgiveness and a great reward.

Allah then continues to describe the charac-teristics of the true Muslims, the first twobeing that although they are firm and non-compromising of their religious principlesand but in the personal life they are compas-sionate and easy going and compromising.The third is that they pray a lot and are notMuslims for name sake. The fourth is that

all their actions are for the sake of gainingpleasure from the Almighty, NOT fromtheir boss or their friends or family or evenat the highest levels not even for the sake ofgaining heaven or getting pardoned fromhell. If one is fasting to go to heaven, its notfor the sake of Allah or if one does a goodact to avoid hell has not done it for Allahbut merely for that avoidance. So thereforeimplying that even if, hypothetically speak-ing, there were not hell or heaven, the trueMuslim would pray merely for the pleasureof Allah. The fifth characteristic has two

interpretations, the literal being that theyhave signs of prostration on their head, theother being that they stand early in themorning for salaat (people who recite SalaatLayl) and hence have a special light.

Allah uses a simile to explain the true fol-lowers of the Prophet (P) whereby theywere only two or three Muslims (the weakshoot) and over time, the shoot has grownand become a strong tree with billions ofMuslims world over which will becomestronger still. This is ordained to enrage theunbelievers! Is that not what is happening at

this very moment. They think that bombsand threats will wipe out the drive of theMuslims.. How sorely are they mistaken!Allah has promised that He will forgivethem and give them a mighty award.

Al Fajr ????? 4 ( 6 ) Pg 11


12/12

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is theleader of the Lebanese Hezbollahresistance movement. He wasborn in 1960 in the Bourji Ham-moud neighbourhood east of theLebanese capital, Beirut.

In 1975, the civil war in Lebanon

forced Nasrallahs family tomove to their ancestral home inthe South Lebanese village ofBassouriyeh where Nasrallah joined the Amal movement, apolitical group that representsthe Shia in Lebanon. At thattime he was just 15-years-old and Amal was known by the nameof the movement of the deprived. Nasrallah then moved toNajaf in Iraq to study Quraanic divine sciences at a Hawzawhere in 1978, he completed the first stage of his studies suc-cessfully, but his studies were interrupted when he was forcedto leave by the Iraqi authorities. He then returned to Lebanon,

where he studied at the school of Amals leader Sheikh Abbasal-Musawi.

A few years later, Amal elected Nasrallah as its political dele-gate in Bikaa, making him a member of the central political of-fices. After the Israeli invasion in 1982, Nasrallah dedicated him-self to the anti-Israeli resistance and joined Hezbollah whichmainly aims at resisting the Israeli occupation of southern Leba-non in the Bekaa Valley. Despite his commitment to Hezbollah,Nasrallah was determined to resume his religious education tobecome a religious jurisprudent. In 1989, he moved to the sacredIranian city of Qum to continue his studies.

Nasrallah is married to Fatima Yassin, who comes from theLebanese village of Al Abbasiyee. They have three children re-mained after their elder son, Hadi, was killed by Israeli occupa-tion forces when he was 18-year-old. The forty-four-old leadersaid once in an interview that he reads many books, particularlythe memoirs of political figures, including the Memoirs of Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahus book A Place under theSun , with the intention of getting to know his enemies.

He became the leader of Hezbollah after Israel assassinated themovements leader Sheikh Musawi in 1992. Nasrallah is consid-ered one of the most powerful and charismatic figures in theMiddle East. He is a leader who endlessly fights for the rights ofthe Arabs and the Muslims. Under his leadership, Hezbollahbecame a serious opponent of the Israeli occupation. The move-

ments resistance was one of the main factors that led to the Is-raeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon in 2000, ending 22-years of occupation.

Nasrallah also played a major role in the prisoner exchange dealbetween Israel and Hezbollah in 2004. The agreement was de-scribed among the Arab world as a great victory for Hezbollahand Nasrallah was praised as a hero for achieving gains in theArab-Israeli conflict that no other Arab figure has attained. Forhim, Hezbollah isnt just a resistance group. He believes that itcarries a message that depends on the Islamic belief.

Nasrallah also believes that Islam can solve all the problems forany society, but he makes clear that the movement doesnt in-tend to force people into Islam. He once said that With respectto us, briefly, Islam is not a simple religion including onlypraises and prayers, rather it is a divine message that was de-signed for humanity, and it can answer any question man mightask concerning his general and private life. Islam is a religiondesigned for a society that can revolt and build a state.Obtained from www.al-jazeera.com

Sayyid Hasan Nasrallaht is always beautiful to see something being created, it is always reward-ng and heart warming to see a community coming together pulling re-ources to reconstruct their neighbourhood. We, as a society, reward and

value creators and their creation. Similarly we rarely take pride in seeinghings destroyed. We go as far as imprisoning people who destroy andake life, labelling them murders.

t is in this backdrop in our MODERN world, that we watched as onenation destroyed and ripped a soul out of another while the worldwatched in silence. The silence was not out of shock or surprise but it wasdue to lack of care. They watched, as many years and billions of dollars ofeconstruction was flushed down the annals of history in few minutes

with the help of the modern F16s.

One can start by laying the blame, or pointing fingers, but there is nopoint. Since everyone is guilty and trying to find a source of this conflict isvery much like asking How long is a piece of string?, Furthermore wehave fingers have been pointed for the past 60 years, and look where weare now. Instead, what has been achieved is that another generation ofour children will grow up hating each other, not knowing exactly why,but hating because that is the only thing you can do when bombs and mis-

iles are falling on your head.This conflict didnt start three weeks ago, it was a conflict that was sim-mering under the surface. The response from both sides show exactly howprepared they both were, so it was not just a tit for tat battle, but insteadyears of planning had gone into this and it seems it was only matter ofwhen instead of if before the conflict was reignited again.

What is disheartening more than anything though is not that buildings arebeing destroyed, or people are dying, as tragic as they all are, however thereighting outcome of this war is that the international community is soelaxed about this war. It is frightening to know that the democratic worldan watch and see the bloodshed and yet fails to call for a ceasefire. Therony is that everyone knows they all have to sit at a table one day, but

now they rather go on with the killing rather than sit at a table and negoti-ate. But then it will be too late, it will be too late for all those children whohave died, and it will be too late for those children who will only remem-ber the bombs and the air strike sirens from the summer of 2006?

The next tragedy that comes out of this war is the UN, the most famousand vital organisation in the world of politics has once again been showno be also the most overrated. One doesnt know whether to feel sorry, oreel rage at its impotence. UN was established to ensure that the world

becomes a safer place, that countries can resolve their differences morediplomatically instead of starting wars and causing genocides.

However, the only thing it seems to have achieved in the past sixty yearss to become another avenue for the superpowers to protect their interests.

During the cold war years, UN was nothing but a playground for USSRand USA, and since the end of that era, it has slowly lost out to USs uni-ateralism policy. UN has become so ineffective, that it can not even call annd to what looks like a war in every sense of the word. But yet it remains

helpless and does nothing but squabbles for days over semantics. UN isgreat and very effective in many other areas, like eradicating poverty andmproving world health and other services but it is almost a failure whent comes to war prevention. These are tragedies because this war can soasily spun out of control and become a world war that UN was supposeo prevent.

Why is it that man consistently decides to go to war, when thousands ofyears of history show that wars achieve only misery and pain? Surely, thepain, the blood and the angered souls will stop these so called leadersrom wrecking havoc with lives of ordinary people and prevent themrom starting a war, alas that is too much to expect from leaders who in

guise of their peoples interest are prepared to see them die and suffer.

The reason is most likely because between an easy choice and a hardhoice, man always goes for an easy choice. Hence it is always easier to

destroy a nation, than it is to create a lasting peace.

Shattered Dreams

Al Fajr Issue 6 Vol 4

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Transcript of Al Fajr Issue 6 Vol 4