via It Depends On Where You Sit.

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 9,900 times in 2010. That’s about 24 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 2 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 28 posts. There was 1 picture uploaded, taking a total of 482kb.

The busiest day of the year was April 27th with 151 views. The most popular post that day was The-One-Man-Janazah.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

The-One-Man-Janazah September 2009
9 comments

This is Someone’s Home… June 2009
7 comments

Eternal Light May 2009
5 comments

RandomReflections:Jannah July 2009
2 comments

Amn+Amanah=? September 2009
8 comments

I said I would update around daily, and look, it is the last day of Ramadan.  It passed too quickly, slipped away so fast, that I think my lack of posts define its true essense.  Ramadan is the short time between my first post and my last.  It goes by too fast to document.  And you are left at the end: always filled with sadness for the leaving of this great guest.  Sometimes you are left inspired to continue what you have started.

And sometimes you are left with regret for your shortcomings.  At the end of the month you realize- what was the worth of my sleep during the month now? Every minute asleep- if not with the intention to become stronger for worship-seems like a waste after the month is over.  You would think by the end of the month those moments of shut eye would leave you well-rested.  On the contrary, they leave you restless.

Restless.  The quran I could have read instead of that sleep.  The dhikr I could have made instead of that random thing I got busy doing.  Every minute could have been savoured and yet- their worth truly shines when they are gone.  Forever.  And you are left wishful that Allah blesses you to see another Ramadan and make up for it.

I learned.  Is that not life? In the next life, those who were astray will wish that they prepared for their life. (see surat Alfajr).  They say I wish I prepared for my life.  What are they refereing to by ‘my life’? The afterlife. Because this one, this one is a blink of an eye-hardly a life.  This life is a Ramadan surrounded by eleven months.  All of which are filled with minutes that are filled with seconds that are filled with opportunities that we may pass- just out of laziness.

This blink-of-an-eye (layman language: life) is not worth it.  I define it as smiles between dissapointments; dissapointments being the true markers.  It is a sadness we try to escape- not a happiness interrupted by sadness.  It is fickle.  He who chases it falls, he who dwells in it drowns, he who is deceived by it will never know anything true.  Ramadan comes to teach us that that is the true worth of dunya-if only we would wake up.

Eid is tommorow.  I feel like it is Eid only for those who left this month forgiven.  Only for those who in this month have been saved from Hellfire.  Only for those who Allah has guaranteed them Jannah.  We can’t know who they are of course- but those are who deserve Eid.  Anyone else deserves a Janaza over his yet living soul,  I think.

So until next Ramadan then.  Eleven blinks until the next blink of an eye.

And all this life: just one blink of an eye.

Ramadan 1, 1431:
Firstly, this is the first Ramadan I start without my family. SubhanAllah, as deep of a hole as that carves in my heart, it made me realize something important- that Ramadan is a month of worship. As ridiculously straightforward as that sounds, I think we forget that the true purpose of Ramadan is worshiping Allah because the decoration and beauty of experiencing it with family and friends distracts us. It’s like, you reach a point of understanding that although good companionship makes everything more beautiful (no harm in that!), we should be able to find the pleasure in the act of worship itself, of pleasing Allah, even if we were to do that alone on the moon.

On a lighter note, I had Nesquick cereal for suhoor! (I don’t normally have cereal for breakfast, but it is to invoke childhood memories.) Throughout the day, I felt like a little kid! I was hungry, and I wished that athan al-thuhur was athan al-maghrib! Alhamdulilah, the Ramadan spirit is there, even though I spent this day continuing my week of study for my final (and it is hard to study while fasting in the heat!) but alhamdulilah. I prayed taraweeh behind my Uncle… It was amazing to welcome Ramadan…

Ramadan 2, 1431:
Cereal for suhoor again! Had my immunology final.. Again, it is a bit difficult to concentrate on test-taking while fasting, and even harder to break the habit of going out to eat with your friends (mostly comfort food over stupid mistakes) after the exam, but then again, the barakah of Ramadan surpasses all hardship!

Although I had seven hours after my exam to study for next my final, my brain feels out of order. SubhanAllah, I can’t deny that this Ramadan, seeing my circumstances, does have a different type of physical hardship attached. And that just brings out more lessons.. The things we take for granted…

Me and my cousin were talking about this today, think about it, at suhoor, between one minute and the next- you are just not allowed to eat. Not because it is not available, but out of your own willpower-simply seeking the satisfaction of Allah. And the thought of cheating when nobody is looking- subhanAllah it is not something we would consider! Unthinkable! And you might be thinking, well of course we wouldn’t “cheat”.. but outside of Ramadan, and other than fasting, we do, sometimes, to a certain level “cheat” when we forget that Allah is always watching.   Sometimes, we will abuse our senses when forget that Allah is Al-Raqeeb, we do pray messy Salahs when we are not in Jama’ah (congregation), but the thing about fasting is it is concrete.  It is either you fasted or didn’t.. Of course, until you take that idea to the next level, and well, isn’t fasting the fasting of all body parts, not just of food?  But I think that is the “how Ramadan works”… because the good deeds we do are attached to something concrete (fasting), the whole month, it is as if that what helps us reflect.  It’s like, well, if I can fast even when nobody is looking, why can’t I also do all these good deeds always, even if nobody is looking?  Wallahu aalam, but this is how I see our Taqwa being built in Ramadan.  By forcing you to have taqwa in your fast, and thus, seeing if you can apply that to everything!

May this be a blessed Ramadan for everyone!
And Allah knows best.

-Written: Ramadan 2, 1431

"Short Surahs"

“The little Surahs”

The ones we recite in our Salah, in a rush, although they are already short.

They are the first ones we learn as children, because they are conveniently suitable for a two-year-old’s memory.

SubhanAllah, all of the words of Qur’an are deep, but some of the greatest wisdom lies in those little surahs…
And because we have neglected them for so long, we are often amazed by the meanings they hold.

The meanings we’ve repeated so many times, without awareness, without knowledge…

So this wonderful picture doesn’t include the Surah I want to talk about…

Lately, I find myself often saying “I don’t have the time”… “I can’t find the time”…and apologizing, “I’m sorry, but I really don’t have the time”..

I think I’ve always been a relatively busy person, but I’ll admit this year the busy-ness increased like 6-fold…

And I find myself remembering this 3-Ayah-Surah, which is the summary of my life, the advice for my life, the meaning of my life:

The Reality:

In the first Ayah, Allah- jalla jalaluh- makes an oath by “Al-Asr”, which could translate as/mean  ”Time”, which is the most common opinion, or it could mean the “two ends of the day” (morning/night), or the last hour of day, or it could be the actual “Asr Prayer”-because it is sometimes considered “the middle prayer” and has a great importance.  Whichever it is, the main theme is time.

When Allah makes an oath by it, it may mean “By the Lord of Al-Asr”…

So by the Lord of Al-Asr, the one who is time and created time….

“Indeed man is at great loss”.

We are at great loss for time.  Our life is a race with the clock.  We run and run and run but what is our life but a few breaths??

“Khusr” is translated as “loss” but it encompasses, loss, being defeated and losing, being in a bad situation…so it is a complete STATE of loss.

So this race we have with time, we are always losing, throughout the whole race-we’re second place, hopelessly and pathetically panting behind, with no chance at getting ahead….

In Tafseer Al-Tabary and some others, it states that Ali bin Abi Talib used to read it, “Indeed man is at great loss, and he is in that (loss) until the end of the time.”

SubhanAllah, this state of loss is never ending…

The Exception

So where is the bushra, the glad tidings, of this reality?  The Quran never leaves us hanging without a solution!

“Except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and enjoin each other on Al-Haqq (truth) and enjoin each other on Patience.”

We do have a chance at this race! Four things are needed:

1.  Believing. Having Iman, having true faith. This always come first.  Their is no point of doing good deeds (#2) if you are not doing it for the right cause.

2. Doing righteous deeds-this reflects your Iman.

3. Enjoining on the Haqq- the truth, which is quite general.  The truth could be Tawheed, Quran, Sunnah…

4. Enjoining on Patience

For all humans, life is too short.  But the difference between the believers and not is that that short life is worth it.  If in those few breaths, you believe, and are doing things for the sake of Allah, then the time you have spent will not go without reward, and therefore you are not at loss.  But if in this race with time, someone wastes what time they have in disbelief and worshiping other than Allah, then they are surely in a state of loss.

Notice “enjoining on truth and patience”… All four of these acts are mentioned in the plural form, but in addition to that the last two are specifically “enjoining”… Being upon the Haqq is a group act, and how often do Muslims have to have patience as a group? In Ramadan, they all have patience fasting together, and in times of difficulty, they have patience together.

It also reminds me of  ”Allah’s hand is with the Jama’aah (congregation)”.  Allah aids the Muslims when they stand together, aid one another, stick together, unite for a cause, stand hand in hand… Don’t ever leave the Jama’aah!!

Let’s-Apply-Together:

• Next time you read this Surah in your Salah, reflect upon its deep meanings.  If you have kids, try to at least tell them the main idea of the Surah when they memorize, to grow up knowing its value.
• Make sure whatever you are doing with your precious time is worth it.
• Surround yourself with righteous, musk-selling friends.  Be in the middle of Jama’aah…
• Make sure you are the exception.  Review where you stand with those four aspects.  How is your Iman? What good deeds are you consistently doing?  Have you stood up for the Haqq lately?  Are you being patient? Are you enjoining truth and patience?

And Allah Knows Best

I just heard this idea on the radio so I wanted to write it down. This is going to be my first post here that is unedited and un-proofread and stuff because I am in a hurry-but I don’t want to forget it…Forgive me if it is such a rough-draft post but inshAllah you will find it of benefit.

It’s a basic idea: Iman that does not lead to action is value-less Iman.

If you know and believe in the harmful effects of smoking, but don’t quit…then you knowing the facts is useless because it didn’t change your ways…

If you have Iman in Allah but don’t act upon it-then what’s the point?

Often you hear people saying: “Oh I have Iman in my HEART…. I don’t wear hijab, or I don’t pray, or I don’t fast but it is all in my Heart…”

Well it is great that it is in your “heart” but until it shows on your outward actions it is useless.

Best example: The devil Iblees.

Look at verses 74-83 of Surat Sad:

Except Iblis (Satan) he was proud and was one of the disbelievers.

(Allah) said: “O Iblis (Satan)! What prevents you from prostrating yourself to one whom I have created with Both My Hands. Are you too proud (to fall prostrate to Adam) or are you one of the high exalted?”

[Iblis (Satan)] said: “I am better than he, You created me from fire, and You created him from clay.”

(Allah) said: “Then get out from here, for verily, you are outcast.

“And verily!, My Curse is on you till the Day of Recompense.”

[Iblis (Satan)] said: “My Lord! Give me then respite till the Day the (dead) are resurrected.”

Allah) said: “Verily! You are of those allowed respite “Till the Day of the time appointed.”

[Iblis (Satan)] said: “By Your Might, then I will surely mislead them all,”Except Your chosen slaves amongst them (faithful, obedient, true believers of Islamic Monotheism).”

I thought I would share some reminders, for the reminder truly benefits the believer, about the pillar of our Deen-Salah.
The word “Salah” in Arabic comes from “Silah”, which means connection- connection with our creator in this case.
SubhanAllah, when something goes wrong in the connection..
EVERYTHING else goes wrong in life.

If you are depressed- check your Salah.
If you are overwhelmed- check your Salah.
If you are on an Iman-Low- check your Salah.
If you are not successful in any area of life- check your Salah.

First, I thought we should evaluate where we stand.  I once heard this in halaqah-and if you give yourself a score out of five on every Salah-you will really benefit inshAllah:

Five Degrees of Prayer

With respect to prayer, there are five levels of people. [The lowest] is he ‘who wrongs his own soul’; who is remiss; who curtails his ablution and the times, limits and essential elements of prayer.

At the second level is he who keeps the times, rules and elements of prayer; who keeps its ablution but is taken away by distractions, which he lacks the inner strength to resist.

At the third level is he who keeps the limits and essential elements of the prayer, and struggles against distractions. This person is preoccupied with striving against his Foe, ‘lest he rob him of his prayer’. In prayer, he is in sacred combat [jihad].

At the fourth level is he who, standing in prayer, completes its requirements, its essential elements and its limits. His heart is absorbed in safeguarding the rules and requirements of the prayer ‘lest he miss any of them’. In fact, his entire concern becomes performing the prayer as it should be, completely and perfectly. In this way, his concern for the prayer and for worshipping his Lord absorbs his heart.

At the fifth level is he who, standing in prayer, performs it in the manner of the fourth, but in addition places his heart before his Lord. With this he beholds God – ever vigilant before Him, filled with His love and glory – as if, seeing Him, he were physically present before Him. Therefore, the distractions vanish, as the veil between him and his Lord is lifted. The difference between this person in his prayer and everyone else is as vast as the distance between heaven and earth, for he is occupied [only] with his Lord Almighty in prayer, in which he finds his source of gladness.

[Of these five persons], the first will be punished, the second admonished, the third redeemed, the fourth rewarded and the fifth brought near to his Lord – for his source of gladness has been placed in prayer. And whoever is gladdened by the prayer in this world will be gladdened by nearness to his Lord in this world and the next. He who finds gladness in God, gladdens others [in turn]. But whoever does not, leaves this world a loser.

Compiled From:
“The Invocation of God” – Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, pp. 29, 30

So, have a moment with yourself…what do you score out of five? The pass level is a 3…But aim for excellence…

The Perfect Anesthetic

One of the great Sahaba- Urwah bin AlZubair -once had a condition in his leg where it needed to be amputated.  They offered him alcohol to lessen the pain, but he refused to drink that which makes him forget his Lord-the only One who can cure him.  After negotiation, he told them that if his leg must be amputated, they should do so while he is in PRAYER, so he won’t feel it.

And that is what they did.

SubhanAllah, is it our anesthetic as well? Is it our anesthetic from the pains of this Dunya?

May Allah make Salah our safe haven always…I am sure some of us have experienced the “anesthetic Salah” at least a few times.  Personally, when I’m at school these days…tired to the core from my environment and all that it entails-there is no sweeter sound than that of Athan.  No excuse more beautiful than “I have to go pray Dhur!!”… The Sunnah, the Salah, the thikr…it truly is my anesthetic during the day.  But are all my prayers like that? Sadly, no.  The distractions and the whispers are there… May Allah give us all the strength to focus in our Salah…

I’ll Be Imam!

I read once somewhere that one of the pious men of Islam-I can’t recall his name but I still don’t want to miss sharing the story-would always rush to be the Imam in Prayer.

He was asked why he did that…His answer??

He knew of a Fiqh “debate” between two Imams on whether or not the Fatiha is read along with the Imam when you are praying in congregation (jama’ah).  So that this uncertain ruling would not distract him in Salah, he rushed to be Imam so he wouldn’t have to worry about that!

What can we learn from this?  ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS!

Turn off electronics.  Finish, or put away-physically and mentally-your task at hand.  Pray in a distraction-free place, and make it a designated place for prayers.  Take a few moments before Salah to belittle the worries of Dunya and get ready to Meet your Lord.

“Salah, Salah…”

The stories, the ahadeeth, the verses, the lessons, the sayings regarding prayer are endless.  In every corner of our Deen we are reminded of the importance of prayer.

I will not go on to list them-this post is long enough-but feel free to do your own reading on Salah.
I know we say we’ve heard it all (almost) in halaqahs and read it all (almost) in books- but we struggle in its application and remidners are always needed…

Let’s-Apply-Together:

• In every Salah this week, grade yourself out of five.  Try to make sure the next salah is at least one unit higher.
• Eliminate distractions.  If they come during prayer, fight them.  Seek refuge from Allah from the Shaytan.
• Practice Variety in the Surahs you read, even if they are still short Surahs.  Give the last page of the Quran a break for this week and try the fourth-last or fifth-last…reflect on its meaning.
• Prepare for Salah.  Take your time with Wudu’.  Get into Salah-Mode.
• Remind the Mahrams of your household to pray at the Masjid—  Brothers: Make sure you are praying in the Masjid.  If for some reason a prayer in the Masjid isn’t feasible-make sure it is at least in Jam’ah.  SubhanAllah, I can’t recall how often I’ve heard sisters say “Brothers are so lucky they have to pray in the Masjid!” Consider yourself fortunate that you have an edge-on-khushoo’ and make the most of it.

And Allah Knows Best

If you need to get a Quran, open a translation, read some of the previous Heartbeats, go ahead and do that first…..check out previous Hearbeats Posts for online Qurans/Translations…

So.. we left off in Heartbeats(3) if you remember with Our Volunteer giving these people logical and reasonable reasons to believe in Allah and follow the messengers….We were only left wondering what his conclusion to them will be….

Ayah 25…

Verily! I have believed in your Lord……

His conclusion: I have believed in your Lord.  He declares his own Iman, and says ‘your’ Lord reminding them that he is theirs as well, even if they decide not to believe.

Daw’ah Tip: Don’t be afraid to say “Your Lord” or “Your Creator” and so on… We tend to say ‘in OUR religion’ or ‘OUR belief’ and subhanAllah almost “OUR Allah’.. Not only is that not true, he is everyones’ Lord, but it also doesn’t make people feel like they are responsible or part of the picture.  SubhanAllah, maybe the word ‘YOUR’ alone is considered Daw’ah because you remind them that it is Allah.

so listen to me!”

He just gave his last reason to the people on why they should listen to him: because he believed in THEIR Lord.  It’s like: Hey, I’m not sitting here telling you theoretically what to do, I have believed myself!!!

So listen to me=fasmaa’oon in Arabic (one word)… in the context of Tafsir it is actually really, really sad…Imagine…

The people of this town threatening (seriously) to torture and kill him, this Volunteer still trying his absolute best for them to believe, finally telling them that he believes in their Lord, and his last word “Fasmaa’oon” (So listen)…Don’t read it monotone.. Imagine him in the midst of torture, his last cry: ‘so listen!!’ Kind of like a movie (but real) when the hero comes to warn the people and they all think he’s crazy and the evil guards drag him away but the whole time he is screaming something like “Listen to me!’ or “Be careful!’ or “You have to believe me!!”…

Imagine it like that.

Not just as an excercise for your imagination, but because that is truly how it was, wallahu aalam. What’s the next thing we hear from (or about) him???

Ayah 26…

It was said to him enter Jannah…

Jannah?? What????? One second we are in Dunya, him still alive and warning, and all of a sudden in the next ayah, we are fast-forwarded to way after death, life in the grave, the day of judgement, everything is fast-forwarded to Our Volunteer standing before the huge, magnificent gates of Jannah, being told “Enter Jannah…”

Allahu Akbar!! There is not even a link between the two Ayahs of a time span…No ‘faa’, No ‘thumma’ , No then, No after that… Immediately we are told about this honorable moment.  This volunteer was truly honored, if the people tried to humiliate him during torture, we know nothing about it.  If they argued, we hear nothing of it.  We are just swirled around in the Quran like a time-machine and brought to the moment of his entrance to Jannah.

It could be that he was a martyr and  his soul was immediately raised to Jannah, or that this is what will be told to him when that time comes. Allahu Aalam…

Ok, so he is told to enter Jannah…What is his wish??

He said: “I wish that my people knew!..

Allahu Akbar once again!

It is said in a Tafsirs that THIS PARTICULAR STORY of the Volunteer is what makes this Surah the heart of the Quran, because the Volunteer was the heart of this town: he was the heartbeat of truth and sincerity.  He kept reminding, like a beating heart, his reminder the vitality of the town…

This is the Mark of Devotion.

He’s in Jannah, eternal bliss, and yet he remembers his people (who murdered him) and fondly wishes, “if only my people knew…”.. It’s always the people remember AFTERWARDS that are the loyal and sincere.

I have a personal example to share..When I finished 12th grade a couple years ago I decided to skip High School Graduation (ya, I’m that sentimental).  It just didn’t seem worth going or whatever and I actually was on another continent the day of the ceremony.  A couple days later, I got an email from my English teacher, congratulating me on graduating, wishing me luck for the future in college, and congratulating me for a couple of awards I had actually received from him.  I remember thinking “wow, school is over yet here he is remembering one of his students.”  He’s not my teacher in the summer-nor will he ever be my teacher again-so you really feel it’s just for the sake of caring.  That is a tiny scale example of how it shows that you are devoted-when you are but don’t have to be.

The other thing to notice is that it is immediate.  ”He was told to enter Jannah.  He said if only my people knew.”  I would imagine that he would have at least enjoyed Jannah for a couple years THEN remembered his people, but that is not the case.

I wish they knew.  Knew what?  Well, if we stop at this Ayah, the general meaning evokes a specific, familiar feeling- I wish the people around me just KNEW.  Just knew about how short life is, how serious, the consequences, the reality of it.  I wish they KNEW the magnificence of the Lord they neglect and disobey.  I wish they KNEW that un-sacrificable feeling of the noor of Islam, the noor of KNOWING.

He has so much hope in them, that he still believes that if people KNEW, despite him being the one who warned them repeatedly, things would have been different.

But what does he say he wishes they knew?

Ayah 27…  

“That my Lord (Allah) has forgiven me, and made me of the honored ones!”

So if only the knew that Allah has forgiven me- if only they knew of his mercy..

and made me of the honored ones- if only they knew of his reward…

Daw’ah Tip: Never hide details about the punishment that follows not following the straight path.  But subhanAllah, reminding people of Allah’s mercy and reward tends to win and capture the hearts of many.  And remember, Daw’ah can be to Muslims as well.

Notice another thing here.  He says that Allah has forgiven him, THEN that he has made him of the honored ones.

CHALLENGE: One of the posts (on this blog) about Ramadan held a concept similar to this… Which one?

hint: something happened then something happens after…

Alhamduillah.  Our volunteer endured a lot of hardship.  His end was harsh-his own people whom he was so devoted to killed him.  But Allah shows us that no work goes to waste.  We see his wonderful ending in Jannah.  We see that Allah has forgiven him and honored him.  You may be doing Daw’ah all day-with no response and no change.  You may be doing Daw’ah all day and receive nothing in return but harshness.  But don’t forget the reward of Jannah.  Do your best, but at the end of the day, the hearts of people are in the hands of the Creator of their Hearts…

Let’s-Apply-Together:

• Remind people, even if it is a brief conversation, of Allah’s mercy and reward.  Remind them to hope for it dearly!
• Remember Jannah.  Imagine it.  Imagine your castles, your scenery, your bliss.  Make Du’aa to enter Jannat-Al-Firdous, with your loved ones.  We would all love to go home….
• Don’t give up on Daw’ah-even when results seem intangible…

And Allah Knows Best

The angry, superstitious people of this town are throwing their threats.  Our three messengers are still standing firm upon their message, not sinking to the level and attitude of the people of the town.

Recap:

• See Heartbeats(1) and/or Heartbeats(2) if you haven’t already.
• Get a Quran/Tafsir/ or GO TO THIS or HERE
• This post will be Tafsir for Surat Yasin Ayahs 20-24
• Look out for the Daw’ah Tips we learn from the following man….

Bismillah… Ayah 20…

And there came running from the farthest part of the town, a man

SubhanAllah the image: A man from the END of town comes running… Imagine that someone found out that someone he/she loves very much is in great danger…wouldn’t they also come running from the end of the world if needed to give that person the message?

The word used in the verse is actually not “running”… it is “yas’aa” يسعى

Does this word sound familiar at all?

Yas’aa…. As in Sa’iee…

Clue: Makkah…

When you do Umrah or Hajj, the action of walking/running between Safa and Marwa is called “sa’iee”…

For someone who is (in present tense) doing that we would say “yas’aa”. What’s the connection? It’s not just random running; it is running with intent.  With a clear direction, a goal, mission. So in fact, it is not the speed that is important, and he may not have been running exactly, but whatever walk it was, it was with intent.

Who is he? The Quran leaves him anonymous: ‘rajul’…’a man’… Remember when we said that the three messengers were performing a mandatory task? Here is our volunteer.

So what did he  come say? saying: “O my people! Obey the Messengers;

He says now, O my people! We know he is a man FROM THESE PEOPLE when he says “my”…and an ordinary man.  Not their Prince, not their President…but a simple resident… A man from this town. A man who simply cares about his people.

Daw’ah Tip: When you do volunteer Daw’ah with those of your race or town-connect with them. This volunteer shows  that he is one of them by saying “my people” and then he advises them to obey the messengers…

His reasons being….

Ayah 21

Here he gives them two reasons to follow the messengers:

1.  He says: “They are not asking for wages”…Non-Profit…and in that they are sincere…It’s true isn’t it?  When you’re online and run into some crazy ad, trying to persuade you into something, as soon as you see “Enter Credit Card Details Here:” or “Pay-Pal” or “We accept Visa and MasterCard” you close the window and are dismiss it as a rip-off. But is being sincere enough?

2. No, which is why he adds, “and they are guided”.  Guided; worthy of following.  This goes against their attacks of the messengers being liars and whatnot.

Daw’ah Tip: When giving Daw’ah point out rational points, such as “What do you think any of us would benefit (materialistically) by doing this?”

Ayah 22  

The dialogue now takes a super-interesting turn. Our beloved volunteer here goes from speaking to the people to an inner dialouge-but apparently he is thinking outloud!

I know the translation says that the Volunteer questions himself  ”And why should I not worship He (Allah)….”  But the “Why should I not?” comes off kind of bland.  Realize that he is really questioning himself, and perhaps the people listening, “Why wouldn’t I?”

Ok.  Now about the switch. Why? What would you suppose??

Think about it….

One way I would explain it: Have you ever seen/heard your mom when she is really upset and starts lecturing?  How often does it take that turn as well?  For example, “Kids! You need to listen! Go do your homework!!…..(the-switch) I don’t think I ever gave my mom such a hard time! I did this stuff without being told, I wouldn’t dare give my mom such a hard time!”

Something like that.

Where she is kind-of telling the kids that, but mostly she just really questions the bizarre attitude or behavior of the kids…and wonders how their ways of thinking are different. In a way, this volunteer is the same.  He starts off advising his people, then verbalizes how he rationalized belief.  His rationalization: Allah created me, and to Allah I return.

In the Ayah, the Arabic word translated as created me is “fatarany” (and not “khalaqany”)…”Fatar” is the first first creation.. It is the bringing into the existence. The first creation of matter.  Allah alone is “al-Fatir”… He is the best of  ”Al-Khaliqeen” (so people can ‘create’ something things (khalq) but not bring into existence).

Daw’ah Tip: Don’t turn it into a ‘you, you, you’ session.  Put yourself in their shoes.  Try statements such as the ones in these ayahs…For example, “The way I see it, I should worship the one who brought me into existence.”  or “Is it just me or is the One I will return to the most worthy of worship?”

Ayah 23

And he now he asks a really good question…

Wait, notice how our Volunteer is the one asking all the questions?

Did you notice he is the one in the driver’s seat?  The one leading the conversation? Doing the Daw’aa?  We don’t hear the responses of the people!! As if they were dumbfounded…

So he asks: Shall I take besides Him aliha (gods), if the Most Beneficent (Allah) intends me any harm, their intercession will be of no use for me whatsoever, nor can they save me? Good point.  These “other gods” will they intercede for me? Will they save me from the true creator? NO.  Thus, are they worthy of worship?? NO!

Daw’ah Tip: Ask confronting questions such as, “Does ….. that you worship bring you any benefit? Do you honestly believe they can save you from harm?”

Daw’ah Tip: Our volunteer says “if Al-Rahman intends me any harm…” he uses the same word that they used against the messengers.  Use the same vocabulary as your audience.

But this is an internal dialouge...So our Volunteer completes his train of thought…What if he were to worship these other ‘gods’ that could not help him or save him? He would be….

Ayah 24

“Then verily, I should be in plain error. (I think it makes more sense if you say: Then verily I would be in a state of ‘Dallaal Mubeen”) Dallal Mubeen: -Dallal is the opposite of Huda.  It is a state of being lost and astray. Of being ‘in error’. -Mubeen.  I hope you remember this word from Ayah 17! Remember Balagh Mubeen? Clear Message? Well, if you have a clear message, and disbelieve, then you are clearly astray…

Daw’ah Tip: Make you statements short and concise.  Have a point in mind you want to reach to..

Ok, so we’ve heard this volunteer’s thoughts now.  His conclusion??

Find out in Hearbeats(4) inshAllah!

Let’s-Apply-Together:

• Try these Daw’ah Tips and see if you can come up with more (and share them )
• Remember; this was a volunteer! But he was sincere, he came from the end of town.  When we really want to make something known, we’ll “make the trip” (in our day this is usually like 30 minutes)
• INTERACTIVE QUESTION: In Ayah 22, the Volunteer rationalizes that he should worship the one who created him and to Him they shall return….In your opinion, why is this so convincing??

And Allah Knows Best

If you didn’t get a Quran already (i.e you ignored me) you can follow along with THIS (Quran+Translation..its great).  Or, you can use Part 1′s link: Ayahs 13-19: Part 03

If you haven’t already, read HeartBeats(1) to get a more comprehensive picture.  Focus on the “overall themes” mentioned at the end.

Whole Surah!

Le’ts start with Ayah 13.

“And Set forth the parable…”  OF course; AlQuran AlHakeem.  One way to gain wisdom is through stories of past nations and people…

This was revealed to Mohammad to set forth the parable of the dwellers of “the town” when there came to them messengers. First of all notice that “the town”  is unnamed.   There are accounts that the town’s name is Antakiya, but Allah knows best.  The fact that it is unnamed in the Quran reinforces that it is not meant to be a one-time-thing but rather a general story that could happen to ANY town, and we should take heed from it.  ”Ith” in Arabic (Not “Itha” (If) ! ) means when/at the time of.  So it’s as if this random town would have stayed an unknown random town (kind of like Windsor ) had it not been for the messengers that came to it.

Speaking of Messengers!  Where have we heard of that recently?? Remember Ayah 3 of Surat Yasin (which you should have read before we started and hopefully didn’t ignore me again )?…In Ayah 3 and 4  Allah reassures our Prophet Mohammad that he is from among the messengers and upon a straight path, and now Allah gives an example of what happened to some other messengers…. By this time, you probably already guessed they had a hard time.  Sigh. Humans.

Anyway, three messengers were sent to this town.  We also don’t know who they are.  It is said that they might be real messengers, or messengers sent by a Prophet (like Issa, allayhe alsalam).  Allah knows best.

The Point: These were sent as MESSENGERS. Thus, it was a mandatory job, NOT voluntary.  Remember that.

Ayah 14…

In this Ayah we learn that two messengers were sent at first, the people of this town disbelieved, so Allah honored them by sending a third messenger.  And these three messengers said: “We have been sent to you as messengers.”  Notice that Allah mentions one statement for all three.  One-message-fits-all.

Ayah 15…

Of course the people of the town disbelieved with a lame excuse:  ”You are just humans like us.”  Ya, right. As if you would have believed him if he was some super-natural being that freaked you out and seemed to be more like a figment of your imagination than a real advisor.  Excuses, excuses.

Then what do they say? “Al-Rahman did not reveal anything.”  Al-Rahman, huh? So they admit to a Lord, alhamdulillah. But what name do they pick? The most merciful.  They slipped right there!  They are hoping for mercy more than anything else, lying to themselves that Allah will have mercy upon them even though they are disbelieving.

And then they continue, “You are only telling lies”.  Okay so imagine the whole response at once, “You guys are just humans, Al-Rahman did not reveal anything, and you are only telling lies.”  They saved the whole issue of truth vs. lies until the end.  Anybody whose gone through high school would know that this is nothing but a classic sign of insecurity…”You’re just lying anyway!!

They disbelieved in three: 1) The Message  2) The Messengers  3) The Sender of the Message

Ayah 16….

And now our mature messengers reply: Our Lord knows that we indeed are messengers (that have been sent) to you.

They didn’t sink down to their level and throw a come-back at each of their accusations.  They were humble and returned the issue back to Allah.  So, at the end of the day, even if they call them liars: Allah knows the truth.  The ones upon the truth are always confident.

Ayah 17…

Again, the messengers saying it like it is.  ”Our only duty is to convey the message clearly (or plainly)”

Al-Balagh: to convey, to inform.
Al-Mubeen: Clear.
That phrase is so common in the Quran: Conveying Clearly. The whole story. So in Daw’ah, if we are talking all about Jannah, Jannah, Jannah, and we are not mentioning Hellfire, that it is not Balagh Mubeen, because it is not the whole story.  Clear would be: Obeying Allah leads to Heaven, but disobeying leads to Hell.

Ayah 18…

Check out their reply: They said “For us, we see an evil omen from you, if you cease not, we will surely stone you, and a painful torment will touch you from us.”

“Seeing an evil omen from you” means “We have become superstitious of you”.  First of all, supersitions are ridiculous.  Like how some hotels “don’t have a 13th floor”?  So that hotel “saw an evil omen” from the number 13 and therefore took measures…..(you realize all they did is just call the  13th floor 14, right?)

(Complete Tangent: My name translates as glad tidings/good omen–and I was born on the 13th.  I love it )

Then these people start threating the messengers that if they don’t “stop” (stop Daw’ah) they were going to stone them and punish them severley (kill them). I spy insecurity and defensiveness again!!

The messengers are TALKING, and these people are obviously so weak that they are ready to torture them.  SubhanAllah.

Wallah, Man, Wallah:
Okay, so are you wondering yet why they had this crazy reaction? What is this ‘evil omen’ they saw from them? Well, according to one tafseer…
It was something subtle the messengers said…
Refer to Ayah 16….
It is missed in the translation…
In fact…It’s only one letter….
It’s: The ‘laam’ of ‘lamursaloon’...it counts as an oath -Like ‘waw’ for W-Allah

Thus: ‘mursaloon’ (messengers) in Ayah 16 is ‘lamursaloon’ -one word- meaning: Indeed Messengers (sent to you).
And back in the day, people took these oaths, “your word”,  SO SERIOUSLY.  So if these messengers mentioned “Rabbuna” (Our Lord) and then used the “laam” to reassure…THEY HAD TO MEAN IT-otherwise something BAD would happen to all of them (like the old get-struck-by-lighting-on-the-head-when-there-isn’t-even-a-storm deal).

So when these messengers took an oath by adding that ‘laam’ to the fact that they were messengers, that scared the people of the town. And being superstitious disbelievers they thought the best way to avoid to trouble was to kill them.

People were ready to kill for the sake of someone’s word.  NOW, these words are thrown around so loosely!!

So that is one Tafseer.

Bottom line: The people became superstitious because these messengers were serious, and they knew if they disbelieved they would receive some sort of punishment.  But here they are trying to blame the messengers for any evil to come.

Cool Arabic Stuff: They ayah does not actually say “saw an omen” (that would be “tasha’amna”) but here it is “tayarana”.  ”Tayarana” comes from the root Arabic word “Tayr”….

A Tayr is…..

A BIRD.

So how does the word come about?? Back in the Arab-Day, people were very superstious. One example is: Say someone wanted to make a decision…they take a bird (don’t ask me how they caught them) and they would set it to see where it flies.  Right would be yes, go ahead with the decision.  Left would be no.  So that is how that word came about.

Related…

There’s a hadith about the 70,000 people who will enter Jannah without “hisaab”, without punishment or questioning, and of those categories are those who did not “do tatayor”… Because they have the correct understanding of Tawhid and do not attempt to guess at the future and make decisons upon that!

Ayah 19…MY FAVORITE!!! 

Best-reply-ever.  The messengers said: “Your bird is with you.” = “Your evil omen is with you.”

What does it mean?  Good that happens to you is from you…bad that happens to you is from you.  Seriously I just look at that reply and stare in amazement: it is so confident , so true, and must have been so scary.  So basically, your supersition is within YOU. Your negativity is within YOU. How? Their actions and disbelief, THAT is what is going to bring about punishment to them, NOT the oath taken by the messengers.

Cool or what?

But there is more still to the verse.

….because you are admonished?

This is the question of the messengers to the people: Really now?  Just because you are reminded of the truth you are ready to torture us and kill us?  All of these threats just because we are you are here to remind you?

…Nay, but you are a people Musrifun

And the last part, of them being a people “Musrifun” (transgressors). As the translation says: (transgressing all bounds by committing all kinds of great sins, and by disobeying Allah):

This word comes from the root ‘israaf’ which literally means to eat away. Israaf not only means to be excessive, but it means to waste and be extravagant. Israaf means someone spends more in quantity than is actually needed. The one who transgresses is wasteful because they waste their own selves and destroy their moral and spiritual potential.

Taken From: Tayyibaat Site

Also, they are “musrifoon” because they are pessimistic and superstitious.  When you are superstitious you are being wasteful in thought; an ordinary event becomes an evil omen and something to fear.

Let’s-Apply-Together

• Your bird is with you. If good happens, then thank Allah.  If evil occurs, know it is from your own wrong-doing..
• Your bird is with you. Being superstitious is not just silly, not just nonsense-it is Haram! It contradicts tawheed and basic faith in decree and fate.  Allah is the Al-Mighty, he ordains and if he orders for something to be it is.  Black cats, stepping on cracks, friday the 13th, walking under ladders, seeking protection with “the blue eye”…none of this stuff has any place in Islam.
• Your bird is with you. Don’t blame outside “forces”.   It’s not your parent’s fault, your friend’s fault, your teacher’s fault, your spouse’s fault, your government, your culture, your boss…..Rely on Allah first then realize that matters are in your own hands!

And Allah Knows Best.