WHAT S PIETY ? QURAN ALFAJR: “180 It is prescribed that when death approaches any of you and he is leaving behind wealth, he shall make a will in favour of his parents and relatives equitably. This is a duty for all who fear God. 181 Anyone who alters it once he has heard it shall be accountable for his crime. Surely, God is all hearing and all knowing.182 But if anyone apprehends partiality or an injustice on the part of a testator, it shall be no sin for him to bring about a settlement between the parties. God is forgiving and merciful.183 Believers, fasting has been prescribed for you, just as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard yourselves against evil. 184 Fast for a specified number of days, but if any one among you is ill or on a journey, let him fast the same number of days later. For those who can fast only with extreme difficulty, there is a way to compensate—the feeding of a needy person. But he who does good of his own accord shall be well rewarded; but to fast is better for you, if you only knew. The month of Ramadan is the month when the Quran was sent down as guidance for mankind with clear proofs of guidance and the criterion by which to distinguish right from wrong. Therefore, whoever of you is present in that month, let him fast; but he who is ill or on a journey shall fast a similar number of days later on. God desires ease for you, not hardship. He desires you to fast the whole month, so that you may glorify Him for His having guided you and so that you may be grateful to Him. When My servants ask you about Me, say that I am near. I respond to the call of one who calls, whenever he calls to Me: let them, then, respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be rightly guided.187 It has been made lawful for you to go to your wives on the night of the fast: they are like a garment for you, and you are like a garment for them. God is aware that you were deceiving yourselves and He has turned in mercy towards you and pardoned you. So you may now consort with them and seek what God has ordained for you. Eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct from the black. Then resume the fast until nightfall, and do not approach them during the nights of your devotional retreat in the mosques. These are the limits set by God, so do not approach them. Thus He makes clear His commandments to mankind, so that they may guard themselves [against evil]. 188 Do not consume one another’s property by unjust means, nor offer it as a bribe to the authorities, so that you may deliberately and wrongfully devour a part of other people’s wealth. 189 They ask you about the phases of the moon. Say, ‘They are a means of determining time for the regulation of people’s affairs and for the pilgrimage.’ Piety does not consist in entering your houses from the rear. Indeed, one who guards himself against evil out of fear of God is the truly righteous one. Enter your houses by their doors and be mindful of God, so that you may prosper. 190 And fight in God’s cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression—for surely, God does not love aggressors. THE QURAN ILLUSTRATED 2TH MARCH 2014: “God is forgiving and merciful”. After someone’s death the problem arises as to how to deal with his or her wealth. The Islamic injunction in this regard is to distribute it in a just and equitable manner to the heirs. One who fears God should follow this injunction regarding the disposal of intestate property in the spirit of justice. This will create a brotherly atmosphere in society, preventing litigation and quarrels over property. Where there is a member of a family, like an orphaned grandson, or any other needy member of the family who does not inherit under the Islamic inheritance scheme, the testator may provide for him, as he has been given the power to dispose of up to one third of his property by making a will in his favour. Islam approves of every lawful device for keeping society free from litigation and quarrels. But unless this is the objective, the changing of the provisions of a will is unlawful. “So that you may guard yourselves against evil”. Fasting serves as training for two things at the same time—inculcating the spirit of thanksgiving and instilling the fear of God in the heart of the believer. Food and water are great blessings of God, yet man is incapable of attaching due importance to them. While fasting, he goes hungry and thirsty the whole day, then at sunset, in a state of extreme hunger and thirst, he eats and drinks to his fill. He then realizes through his own experience how great are the blessings of God which are present in the form of food and water. This experience produces boundless feelings of gratitude towards his Lord. On the other hand, fasting also serves as a form of training for a God-fearing life, which entails abstaining from all kinds of sins and evil deeds, which God has forbidden. A total abstention from food and drink from dawn until sunset is an exercise in making God one’s guardian. The entire life of the believer is a life of fasting. During the month of Ramadan he receives his training by temporarily, abstaining from certain things, so that for the rest of his life he may permanently renounce all those things of which God disapproves. The Quran is a great blessing of God to man. It is through fasting that man enables himself to be truly thankful to God, and to lead a godly life in accordance with the teachings enshrined in the Quran. “Thus He makes clear His commandments to mankind, so that they may guard themselves [against evil]”. Fasting by its very nature is an act of patience, and patience involves putting up with all kinds of difficulties in order to carry out God’s commandments. This helps man to attain that state of mind which brings him closer to God. Only those find God who surrender themselves totally to Him, only the words of those reach God whose ‘wavelength’ matches that of God. The command to fast is followed by the command, ‘Do not consume one another’s property by unjust means’ (see 2.188). This shows the essence of fasting. The real aim of fasting is to create such a feeling of subservience that when God commands us to abstain from anything, we must do so forthwith. The lesson fasting gives us is that even if God wants us to stay away from lawful things, we must show no hesitation in obeying His command. Thus one who abstains from lawful things if God wants him to do so, will have no difficulty in abstaining from unlawful things if God so commands. “But to fast is better for you, if you only knew”. The main aim of fasting is to reduce man’s dependence on material things and strengthen his spiritual resolve, so that he may enter the higher realms of faith and piety. In this way, fasting during Ramadan is a unique opportunity to concentrate on doing good and abstaining from evil. The heart of the believer is thus gladdened and his mind is set at rest. Although the fast is prescribed for just one month every year, the spirit of fasting is far more enduring. It brings man closer to God by showing him how to withdraw from the world while still being a part of it. It shows man the way to fulfil his spiritual obligations in the turmoil of the materialistic world. In that sense, fasting during Ramadan is a way of attaining peace of mind. Ramadan is the month of heightened God-consciousness, of attaining piety and training ourselves to be the best possible human beings. Instead of indulging in gossiping, lying, slandering and generally exhibiting all other traits of bad character, one is focused on improving one’s character by cultivating good habits. In doing so the believer’s inner self inches closer day by day towards a state of righteousness, worshipfulness, devotion and piety, which elevates the soul to a condition of superior spiritual bliss. It is a path which the Prophet Muhammad himself had laid down. During Ramadan he would engage himself in prayer and praise the Almighty throughout the day, especially while breaking the fast at sunset. Just before sunset, when the fast reaches its climax, the believer experiences closeness to his Creator. Perhaps for this reason, the Prophet Muhammad included the fasting person at the time of breaking his fast in the five kinds of people whose supplications were never turned down by God. (The others were a just ruler, an oppressed person, a parent who prays for his children and one who travels for the sake of God.) The Prophet Muhammad divided the month of fasting into three parts. He called the first ten days ‘blessings’, the next ten days ‘forgiveness’ and the last ten days ‘freedom from Hellfire.’ The Prophet also said, ‘The best days of this world are the last ten days of Ramadan.’ Therefore, during the last ten days the Prophet’s family would join him in what they called, ‘the tightening of his belt’—in its figurative sense—indicating total seriousness of devotion. “And fight in God’s cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression”. The fighting (qital) mentioned here refers to that which took place during the life of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The Prophet’s Makkan opponents, not content with just expelling the Prophet and his companions from Makkah, their home- town, also prevented them from living and working peacefully in the neighbouring town of Yathrib (Madinah) where they had gone to settle. Without any provocation, they repeatedly attacked the Muslims who then had to fight in self- defence. When aggression has already been committed by opponents, believers are obliged to defend themselves. Initiating hostilities is not permitted for Muslims. Only defensive war is permitted in Islam. Even defensive war has to be openly declared by an established state. “They ask you about the phases of the moon”. The Qur’anic exhortation to do battle against religious persecution (Fitnah) has been explained by ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, a senior companion of the Prophet. He said that this verse referred to the coercive religious system that prevailed in the ancient world. “And fight in God’s cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression”. Temporary in nature, the war against Fitnah was thus one of limited duration, meant to be engaged in only until its specific purpose had been served. In the wake of the Islamic revolution, religious persecution was replaced by intellectual freedom. As ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said, they had already put an end to Fitnah, therefore, except in cases where self-defence had become inevitable, the Quran did not give permission for violence “So that they may guard themselves [against evil]”. Thus the life of a believer is one of renunciation. For his entire life he has to keep himself away from certain things. The month of Ramadan serves as training for this. A life of restraint during the month of fasting gives us the lesson that the true servant of God is one who worships God at the level of taqwa, and lives a life of piety and fear of God. God will answer the call only of those who bring themselves closer to Him by living a life of sacrifice. “They ask you about the phases of the moon”. The waxing and waning of the moon are meant to serve only as measures of time. The superstitious believe that the days when the moon is waxing are auspicious while the days of the moon’s waning are inauspicious. The moon, in fact, is an almanac of nature appearing in the sky so that people may plan the timings of their worldly affairs as well as their worship. But there are many people who have come to regard mere outward observance as religiosity. “Piety does not consist in entering your houses from the rear”. The ancient Arabs believed (a mere supposition) that, after the donning of ihram to perform Hajj, nothing should come between them and the sky, for they thought it was against the etiquette of ihram. Due to this superstitious custom, when the Arabs left their homes after donning ihram, they did not enter their houses by the doors, but climbed over the walls to reach the courtyard during or after the pilgrimage. This is disapproved of, for there is no virtue in observing any such outward rituals in the name of religion. True religiosity is to fear God and remain within the bounds laid down by Him. (Fath ul Bari, vol. 8, p. 60).(Source Tazkirul Quran ,pp,74,75,76,77)
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 02:27:24 +0000
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