shaikhrafique

حَدَّثَنَا الأَنْصَارِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا مَعْنٌ، حَدَّثَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنْ أَبِي الزِّنَادِ، عَنِ الأَعْرَجِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ "‏ لاَ يَقُولُ أَحَدُكُمُ اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي إِنْ شِئْتَ اللَّهُمَّ ارْحَمْنِي إِنْ شِئْتَ لِيَعْزِمِ الْمَسْأَلَةَ فَإِنَّهُ لاَ مُكْرِهَ لَهُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ ‏.‏ Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “None of you should say: ‘O Allah forgive me if You wish. O Allah have mercy on me if You wish.’ Let him be firm in asking, for there is none that can compel Him to do things.” This hadith reveals that if a believer asks for anything to Allah, then he should not hesitate and should be confuse, but he should ask by open heart what is permissible in the shariah and he should not be doubtful about it. Because Allah can do everything whatever He wants as the holy Quran reveals, “verily, God has the power to do anything.” (Al-Baqara (The Cow) 2:20) And…” God always prevails in whatever be His purpose: but most people know it not.” Yusuf (Joseph) 12:21 May Allah give us power to do so, Amin.

يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌۭ وَلَا بَنُونَ ٨٨ إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى ٱللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍۢ سَلِيمٍۢ 26:89) The holy Quran reveals "The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail, Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]: The question is: what does it mean qalbe saleem ? whether it means a ritualistically heart free from diseases? But it means a hart free from infidelity ascribing partners to Allah A lmighty, hatred enmity and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]deceit etc. as a hadith reveals:- Anas reported God’s messenger as saying, “Sonny, if you can keep your heart morning and evening void of deceit towards anyone, do so.” Then he said, “Sonny, that pertains to my sunna. He who loves my sunna has loved me, and he who loves me will be with me in paradise.” (Mish kat ul masabeeh) So, it is the need of time that we should clean our hearts from all spiritual diseases in order to be really successful at the Day of Judgement.

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ‏:‏ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالصِّدْقِ، فَإِنَّ الصِّدْقَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْبِرِّ، وَإِنَّ الْبِرَّ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ، وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ يَصْدُقُ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ عِنْدَ اللهِ صِدِّيقًا، وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَالْكَذِبَ، فَإِنَّ الْكَذِبَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْفُجُورِ، وَالْفُجُورَ يَهْدِي إِلَى النَّارِ، وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَكْذِبُ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ عِنْدَ اللهِ كَذَّابًا‏.‏ Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani) صـحـيـح (الألباني) The Truth saves a man and lies destroys himself! By Mohammad Rafique Etesame Abdullah reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "You must be truthful. Truthfulness leads to dutifulness and dutifulness leads to the Garden. A man continues to tell the truth until he is written as a siddiq with Allah. Beware of lying. Lying leads to deviance and deviance leads to the Fire. A man continues to lie until he is written as a liar with Allah." (Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani) This hadith reveals that a man should be a truthful one should not be a liar. Because the truthfulness gives guarantee to the everlasting success as the holy Qur’an makes mention,” Allah says: This is a day in which their truthfulness profits the truthful, for theirs are Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they are secure forever, Allah taking pleasure in them and they in Him. That is the great triumph” (Al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread) 5:119). As it is said that “The truth saves and lies destroys." It means that a man should be a truthful one in every walk of life i.e. to his parents, to his children, to his business fellows, to his relatives and to other people etc. Similarly, he should save himself from lying, because a liar attains no reliable status in the society and he remains a rejected one and a failure one in every walk of life. So, a man should be careful about the truth and lying, because its profit and loss goes to his own self and not to anyone else. May Allah Almighty gives us power to act upon this hadith, amin.

Hatred is the razor, that shaves away the deen! By Mohammad Rafique Etesame Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "By the One in Whose Hand my soul is, you will not enter Paradise until you submit to Islam. And, you will not submit to Islam until you love one another. Extend the greeting to one another and you will love one another. Beware of hatred, for it is the razor. I do not tell you that it shaves the hair, but it shaves away the deen." حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ أَبِي أُوَيْسٍ قَالَ‏:‏ حَدَّثَنِي أَخِي، عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ بِلاَلٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ أَبِي أُسَيْدٍ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ‏:‏ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لاَ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ حَتَّى تُسْلِمُوا، وَلاَ تُسْلِمُوا حَتَّى تَحَابُّوا، وَأَفْشُوا السَّلاَمَ تَحَابُّوا، وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَالْبُغْضَةَ، فَإِنَّهَا هِيَ الْحَالِقَةُ، لاَ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ‏:‏ تَحْلِقُ الشَّعْرَ، وَلَكِنْ تَحْلِقُ الدِّينَ‏.‏ (الألباني حسن لغيره) Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "By the One in Whose Hand my soul is, you will not enter Paradise until you submit to Islam. And, you will not submit to Islam until you love one another. Extend the greeting to one another and you will love one another. Beware of hatred, for it is the razor. I do not tell you that it shaves the hair, but it shaves away the deen." This hadith reveals three things, first is that nobody can enter Paradise until he/she accepts Islam, because no other religion except Islam will be accepted in the Day of Resurrection. Second is that, despite acceptance Islam, it is necessary that there should be love, affection and sympathy among the Muslims also. And, to achieve this purpose, greeting should be extended among themselves. And the third is most important, it means that abhorrence, loathing, or abomination etc. should not be among the faithful believer and heart should be clean from malice, ill feeling bitterness and arrogance from others. The holy Prophet PBUH said,” Anyone has an atom's weight of arrogance in his heart will not enter Paradise." A man said:" What if one likes his clothes and shoes to look good?" He said: "Verily, Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty. Arrogance is to reject the truth and look down on people." Sahih/Authentic. - [Muslim] So, in order to entering Paradise, every faithful believer should arrange to act upon this hadith, amin.

Implementation on Quran is quite impossible without Hadith of the holy Prophet PBUH By Mohammad Rafique Etesame Wahii (Revelation) has two categories ‘wahii matlow’ (which is being recited i.e. the holy Qur’an) and ‘wahii ghair matlow ‘(which is not recited) i.e. hadith, the sayings of the holy Prophet PBUH. In the holy Qur’an, there are the commandments of Allah Almighty, for offering Salat, paying Zakat, observing the fasts of Ramadan etc. And How can these orders be implemented? So, we find the guidance for it in the hadith. In fact, the holy Prophet PBUH is the practical commentary of the holy Qur’an, as the mother of the faithful believer Aisha siddiqah R.A. said that, عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ ہِشَامِ بْنِ عَامِرٍ قَالَ: أَتَیْتُ عَائِشَۃَ فَقُلْتُ: یَا أُمَّ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ! أَخْبِرِینِی بِخُلُقِ رَسُولِ اللّٰہِ ‌صلی ‌اللہ ‌علیہ ‌وآلہ ‌وسلم قَالَتْ: کَانَ خُلُقُہُ الْقُرْآنَ، أَمَا تَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ قَوْلَ اللّٰہِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ: {وَإِنَّکَ لَعَلٰی خُلُقٍ عَظِیمٍ}؟ It means The morals of the Messenger of Allah, PBUH, were the Qur'an. He was included in the habits and morals of Allah (may peace be upon him). For example, the holy Qur’an makes mention,” Establish worship, pay the poor-due, and bow your heads with those who bow (in worship)”. (Al-Baqara) 2:43). So, the Messenger of Allah, PBUH, established Salat before his companions R.A. and said, that was the real meanings of the Salat, as a hadith reveals, صلوا کما رایتمونی اصلی “offer Salat just as I am offering it”. Similarly, he explained that what is the fixed quantity of Zakat from the earning of a believer? Also how can a believer observer fasts of Ramadan and what are its terms and conditions? However, some people (Ahle al-Qur’an) say that the holy Prophet PBUH gave to his Ummah only the holy Qur’an just like a post man delivers a message card or document only, and all hadiths are fabricated and invented by men and Unreliable. The holy Qur’an is sufficient for us and that,” Do not use any hadith invented by human to explain Quranic verses, Allah is very clear in His verses etc. And if someone asks them to prove their prayers, Zakat or fasting of Ramadan form the holy Qur’an and must reply these questions as: - (1) What is the correct method to perform an obligatory Salat? (2) How many units (rak’t) should be offered in Salat Zuhar, Asar or in other Salats? (3) How many are the obligations (fraiz) of Salat? (4) How many are the wajibat of Salat? (5) By which action the Salat goes invalid? (6) If a man commits a mistake in Slat, how can he reform it by ‘sajda sahwah’? (7) what is the fixed amount of Zakat from earning? (8) Who should pay Zakat (poor-due) and who are deserving to receive it? (9) How can a believer observer fasts of Ramadan and what are its terms and conditions according the holy Quran? So, they cannot answer these questions at all, but are stubborn refusal to every argument. Also if asked to them that “how do they establish their own Salat according the holy Quran, give an example, so they become silent. The question i: when they do not pray any Salat, then how can they respond? And if they offer funeral prayer on their dead, then what is its method apparat from hadith? So, a faithful believer should act upon the ‘uswai-hasana’ of the holy Prophet PBUH, in order to implement on the complete Islam. May Allah Almighty give us ‘taufeeq’to do so, amin.

Celebrating Eid meelad-un-Nabi PBUH by taking out procession, is only a lip service? By Mohammad Rafique Etesame Every year when 12 rabi-ul-awwal comes, some Muslims celebrates Eid meelad-un-Nabi PBUH i.e. ‘Eid of birth day’ of the holy Prophet PBUH and they take out processions to the market and bazars, with music and a statue of the shrine of the holy Prophet PBUH by some processions also. The question is: whether all this is permissible in Islam and whether the holy Prophet PBUH and his companions and those who came after them, celebrated Eid meelad-un-Nabi PBUH? So, assuredly not, but reality is that, almost one thousand years after the passing away of the holy Prophet PBUH, we do not find such type of example in history. In principle, this is an occasion of great happiness and good luck for every Muslim but, how to celebrate it, so scholars differ in this issue. The best way of it is, to recite Drood Sharif more and more on the holy Prophet PBUH, and to mention the good attributes of him and also to intend firmly to follow the uswai-hasana i.e. the good example of the holy Prophet PBUH. And it can be witnesses for years that, those who celebrate Eid meelad-un-Nabi PBUH in this occasion by taken out processions, have not changed themselves according to the Islamic teachings yet. Whether it is not only a lip service? eid-milad-un-nabi_650x400_41512225601.webp

Definition of '‘Shirk Jali (plain) and Shirk khafi (hidden) By Mohammad Rafiqu Etesame The holy Qur’an makes mention,” Indeed, shirk is the greatest injustice" (Al-Quran). There are two types of shirk: shirk jali (open or plain shirk) and shirk khafi or hidden shirk. Definition of plain shirk is that, to associate partners with Allah Almighty i.e. to hold belief that Allah Almighty is true God and worthy of worship, He gives life and death, provides to his creation, fulfills their needs, sends down rains and blowing winds, etc. Just like that, such and such god, goddess or the sun, the moon, fire or other natural phenomena (to whom these people give the status of God), are the worthy of worship and can do these actions. Now to understand the definition of hidden shirk, it is necessary that every action is done only by Allah’s will and command as the holy Qur’an makes mention,” The decision is for Allah only. He tells the truth and He is the Best of Deciders” ﴾57﴿. According to these verses, everything is in motion only by Allah’s command and no living creator can move without this, even a man cannot hold a cup of tea by his own will unless Allah wants, and the effect of profit or loss in everything exists by His order. For example, cooling of ice and burning of fire is only by His command, and they can do nothing by themselves. The holy Qur'an coin a similitude of Prophet Abraham PBUH, that when he was put into fire, then Allah's command came,” [But] We said: O fire! Be thou cool, and [a source of] inner peace for Abraham!” (Al-Anbiya (The Prophets) 21:69). And the fire did not burn him but became the pleasant for him instead. And it is proved by the holy Qur’an that when the Prophet Abraham PBUH intended to slaughter to his son Prophet Ishmael PBUH with a knife, but the knife did not work, because Allah did not order to it to do so and a sheep was slaughtered instead. Similarly, food and water cannot quench hunger and thirst of anyone and no medicine can heel but by Allah’s command. So, according to Islamic teachings, when any Muslim takes a food or water or medicine, then he should intend that, “I am taking them only by following Allah’s command and sunnah of the holy Prophet PBUH. Now the definition of Shirk khafi is that, to give too much importance to beings, which function as a means in the creation of things, and to think that they have the power to influence, then this is a hidden shirk or shirk khafi. For example, food water or medicine are only the means to fulfills a need, and if someone thinks that these are independent to do something by themselves without Divine command, then he commits shirk khafi. And the man who does so, it is like that he adopts many other ‘gods’ besides a real One God. For example, one god causes to quench his hunger and other his thrust, and some heels his disease etc. Now a question arises here that, generally when a Muslim eats food or drinks water and he does not intend anything, whether he commits shirk khafi? But it doesn’t so, because Oneness of God exists in every Muslim’s heart and he knows well that everything is done by Allah’s command. Therefore, he doesn’t commit shirk, however the disbelievers when they commit plain shirk by ascribing partners to Allah Almighty, then they also commit shirk khafi along with it.

Everyone has recognized Allah Almighty in the world of spirits, and knows about his right and wrong? Part one By Mohammad Rafique Etesame This is verily interesting, but is reality that every man has recognized Allah Almighty when he was in the world of spirits before coming in this world and knows well about the right and wrong actions as per the teachings of Islam? The Holy Qur'an makes mention,” And (remember) when thy Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their reins, their seed, and made them testify of themselves, (saying): Am I not your Lord? They said: Yea, verily. We testify. (That was) lest ye should say at the Day of Resurrection: Lo! of this we were unaware; Or lest ye should say: (It is) only (that) our fathers ascribed partners to Allah of old and we were (their) seed after them. Wilt Thou destroy us on account of that which those who follow falsehood did?” ﴾(Al-A'raf: 173﴿ The Commentators explanation that,” God gathered all human beings, and divided them into different groups, granted them human form and the faculty of speech, made them enter into a covenant, and then making them witnesses against themselves He asked them: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They replied: ‘Assuredly you are Our Lord.’ Then God told them: ‘I call upon the sky and the earth and your own progenitor, Adam, to be witness against you lest you should say on the Day of Judgement that you were ignorant of this. Know well that no one other than Me deserves to he worshipped and no one other than Me is your Lord. So do not ascribe any partner to Me. I shall send to you My Messengers who will remind you of this covenant which you made with Me. I shall send down to you My Books.’ In reply all said: ‘We witness that You are Our Lord and our Deity. We have no lord or deity other than You.’ (Musnad Ahmad b. Hanbal) Now, this is crystal clear that man has observed Allah Almighty in the world of sprits and has testified about Him as being The Lord and The Master of the universe, and since then up to his birth, he does not forget that covenant as a hadith reveals about it, “Abu Huraira, narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Every child is born with a true faith (i.e. to worship none but Allah Alone) but his parents convert him to Judaism or to Christianity or to Magainism, as an animal delivers a perfect baby animal. Do you find it mutilated?" Then Abu Huraira recited the holy verses: 'The pure Allah's Islamic nature (true faith i.e. to worship none but Allah Alone), with which He has created human beings.' " (30.30).

Everyone has recognized Allah Almighty in the world of spirits, and knows about his right and wrong? Part two. Now the question is: when man become a young one, whether that covenant is fresh in his mind till now? The answer is yes, because as we see that every man has a spirit of worship and he is excited for that he should bow down before any supernatural power. Therefore, every man adopts a religion to satisfy this passion. Notable that whenever the ruins of an ancient civilization are discovered in any part of the world, there exists a boundary of a place of worship necessarily. But the religion of Islam guides a man to the right way of worship i.e. to worship of Allah Almighty, a real Supernatural Power and The Creator of the universe. Now the question is: how can man knows about the right and wrong actions by himself? So, the holy Qur’an makes mention,” And a soul and Him Who perfected it, And inspired it (with conscience of) what is wrong for it and (what is) right for it” (Surah Shams: 8). Also mentions, “And showed him the two ways (of good and evil)” (Surah Balad, Verses: 10). According to the commentators, in the conscience of man there is a light or a criterion of guidance that has been granted to him to examines the facts he faces and it does not take long for him to know about them as to right and wrong or the truth and falsehood? For example, if someone is asked about stealing, committing adultery, to kill or to hurt someone, injustice, or to be disobedience to the parents that, what type of these actions? He will immediately reply without any hesitation that, all these actions are wrong, immoral and should not be done. And on the other hand, if he is asked about the moral status of to worship, to help others, to get rid of a debtor's neck from debt, to obey the parents and to share in someone's pain and trouble state of affairs? So he will immediately answer that all these actions are good and should be done! He will never say in reply that, “I don’t know what type of these actions, First I shall read my religious book or I shall ask to my religious leader, priest or a Guru, then I shall answer! Reason is that, this Devine light guides to him every time. So, everyone should be careful about his covenant and should be ready to obey the commandments of Allah, in order to be successful one!

A black spot on the heart due to committing sins! By Mohammad Rafique Etesame Abu Hurairah (R.A.) reported: The Messenger of Allah, https://youtu.be/E7nBcWHmXUI be upon him, said, “Verily, when the believer commits a sin a black spot appears upon his heart. If he repents and abandons the sin and seeks forgiveness, then his heart will be polished. If he increases in sin, then the blackness is also increased. That is the covering which Allah has mentioned in His Book: No, but on their hearts is a covering because of what they have earned.” (83:14) This hadith reveals that when a faithful believer commits a sin it leaves a black spot on his heart. If he repents and be ashamed of that sin, then this spot will be removed, and if it is not so, then this black spot increases and covers his heart as a whole. And this does not mean that the heart turns black in real, but it means that the evil of the sins covers the heart and puts the believer away from the mercy of Allah. Now the question is: what happens when the whole heart of the believer covered with the blackness of the sins? So, his heart becomes spiritually dead due to this, because when a faithful believer commits a sin with a living heart, then he feels a knocking or pricking in his heart and becomes uncomfortable. According to another hadith,” An-Nawwas bin Sam'an (RAA) narrated, ‘I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about virtue and sin and he replied, “The essence of virtue is (manifested in) good morals (Akhlaq) whereas sinful conduct is that which turns in your heart (making you feel uncomfortable) and you dislike that it would be disclosed to other people.” In other words, it means that his living heart says to him after committing sin,” what you have done, this is wrong and a sin, seek forgiveness to Allah and repent.” And on the other hand, if his heart is dead, then there is no pricking or knocking at all. As we see that some people commit sins in the name of custom of the times and do not care for the Islamic teachings and are quite free to do whatever they want… Perhaps they love much to their people or friends and think that,” when the accountability will be held at the Day of Resurrection, and if our friends will be entered in Paradise, then most welcome, and if by chance or unfortunately, they will be entered in the Hell-fire, then no problem, we shall also be entered into it with them!” So, it is wrong thinking and every faithful believer should stop himself from committing sins as it is possible, but if committed, then he should repent and intend not to do again. So that his heart may be pure and may be granted the blessings and mercy of Allah, amin!

Definition of Hadith of the holy Prophet PBUH and its authority in the religion of Islam By Mohammad Rafique Etesame Almighty Allah Says in the holy Qur’an,” And whatsoever the messenger giveth you, take it. And whatsoever he forbiddeth, abstain (from it). And keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is stern in reprisal.” (Al-Hashar : 7). And,” وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ Therefor of the bounty of thy Lord be thy discourse. ﴾Az-Zuha: 11﴿. And the holy Prophet PBUH said,” حدثوا عنی ولا حرج” Talk to me, no problem. Literal meaning of hadith is utterance or to speak any word, but according to Islamic term, it applies to the saying, actions and the silent approval of the holy Prophet PBUH. It means if a companion of the holy Prophet PBUH did any Islamic act in the presence of the holy Prophet PBUH, and it was in his PBUH notice, but he did not disapprove and criticize it. Then this was the proof that it was right. Also hadith is defined as,” A compilation of narratives describing the sayings, practices and silent approval of Prophet Muhammad. And a collection of traditions containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad PBUH which, with accounts of his daily practice (Sunnah), constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims apart from the Al-Qur’an. And Hadith have been called "the backbone" of Islamic civilization, and within Islam the authority of hadith as a source for religious law and moral guidance ranks second only to that of the Quran. (Wikipedia) Hadith is, infect the practical explanation of the holy Qur’an, the holy Prophet PBUH expounded the commandments of the holy Qur’an by his good example, the holy Qur’an makes mention,” وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱرْكَعُوا۟ مَعَ ٱلرَّٰكِعِينَ “and be constant in prayer, and spend in charity, and bow down in prayer with all who thus bow down”. (The Cow) 2:43). So, the holy Prophet PBUH said,” صلوا کما رایتمونی اصلی” establish prayers just as I establish them. So, the holy Prophet PBUH established the daily five prayers with detail and explained their complete method. Now, only that prayer will be accepted and is authentic that is offered in the same way of the good example of the holy Prophet PBUH, and apart from that, any prayer that is offered against it , will be rejected. Similarly, the holy Prophet PBUH offered other worships like zakat (poor-due, charity), fasting of the Month of Ramadan, going to Hajj and other religious matters by his good example. So, a faithful believer should follow this “uswai hasana” in every walk of life, so that he/she may be successful in this life and also in the Hereafter.

Islam vs Monasticism, the salient features of Islam (1) By Mohammad Rafique Etesame Monasticism is defined as: - “Monasticism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. This is the religious practice of living apart from the world, usually secluded in a community of like-minded people, to avoid sin and grow closer to God.” This is the specific way adopted by some people in order to grow closer to God, as regards the religion of Islam, so it is against it as a hadith of the holy Prophet PBUH reveals as: - Anas declared that God’s messenger used to say, “Do not impose austerities on yourselves and so have God imposing austerities on you; for people have imposed austerities on themselves and God has imposed austerities on them. Their survivors are to be found in cells and monasteries.” [Then he quoted from the holy Qur’an], “Monasticism, they invented it; we did not prescribe it for them” ( Al-Hadid 57:27). The question is: what does a man do to become a monastic? So, there are many ways to become a Monastic or Monk but a common thing is that he does not marry so that he may separate himself or herself from society either by living as a hermit or anchorite (religious recluse) or by joining a community

Islam vs Monasticism, the salient features of Islam (2) By Mohammad Rafique Etesame But the best way to get oneself closer to God is, to accept Islam and to act upon its teachings. In this way a faithful believer, not only can fulfills his natural desires or other requirements i.e. to get married, eating delicious foods and drinks, having children and to pass a luxury life etc. And also he can gets himself closer to God along with it. Also he can attain the highest position of spirituality in the best manner than the Monasticism or Monkhood. But Some Monastics, Monks and those who left social life and take refuge in jungle, mountains or caves, they claim that they do hard exercises to gain high spiritual places. But if considered, then it becomes clear that living in the society and act upon the teachings of Islam is more difficult than these exercises. Reason is that, when a man gets used to any hard work and toil in any circumstances, then, by and by this work becomes a feature of his nature and he feels no difficulty to do it. For example, if you see someone walks on ice even in winter season, or eats leafs of a tree as his food, or uses any other abnormal foods, then people become surprise to see him, while it is his routine work. On the other hand, when a believer who passes a routine life in society and eats every delicious food and drink, meanwhile, the month of Ramadan falls. Now he is bound to stop himself from eating, drinking and fulfilling sexual desire at least for sixteen to twenty hours more or less, except in the time of ‘suhor’ when he begins his fast or when he breaks his fast at evening’ this is for a month. So, actually, this is difficult because this is not his routine habit. Similarly, offering prayers for five times daily regularly both in summer and winter season particularly when he is busy in his business or service, as the holy Qur’an reveals,” Seek help in patience and prayer; and truly it is hard save for the humble-minded, Who know that they will have to meet their Lord, and that unto Him they are returning” ﴾Al-Baqarah: 46﴿. And along with it, to become safe from unlawful earnings and other bad acts like telling a lie, betrayal to others and adultery etc. These acts are not impossible but difficult, also paying all the rights and duties to his wife, children and of other people, all these acts are difficult than Monasticism and other hard exercises of None-Muslims like Sadhu and Guru others. So, the best way to get real spiritual purity and pleasure of God is, to join Islam and act upon its teachings.

Why do people accept or convert to the religion of Islam? (2) By Mohammad Rafique Etesame Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Every child is born with a true faith of Islam (i.e. to worship none but Allah Alone) but his parents convert him to Judaism, Christianity or Magainism, as an animal delivers a perfect baby animal. Do you find it mutilated?" Then Abu Huraira recited the holy verses: ‏{‏فِطْرَةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا لاَ تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ‏} "The pure Allah's Islamic nature (true faith of Islam) (i.e. worshipping none but Allah) with which He has created human beings. No change let there be in the religion of Allah (i.e. joining none in worship with Allah). That is the straight religion (Islam) but most of men know, not." (30.30) Every child born on the right nature means that every child born with a true faith of Islam because he has seen Allah Almighty already at the “yaume alast“ and has testified about Him as being his Lord and The Creator of the world and that is why the foundation of Islam is rooted in his heart. But when he becomes a young, he adopts his forefather’s religion automatically. But reality is: the passion, devotion and longing of Islam exists in his heart yet. That is why in most cases, we see that many people try their best to study and understand Islam and at last they accept or convert to Islam. (The end)

Why do people accept or convert to the religion of Islam? (1) By Mohammad Rafique Etesame The holy Qur’an makes mention,” Lo! religion with Allah (is) the Surrender (to His Will and Guidance). Those who (formerly) received the Scripture differed only after knowledge came unto them, through transgression among themselves. Whoso disbelieveth the revelations of Allah (will find that) lo! Allah is swift at reckoning”. (The Family of Imran) 3:19 These verses reveal that the religion with Allah is only Islam but as we see that people follow many religions rather than Islam in the world i.e. Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Shinto, Sikhism, Confucianism, Jainism, Hinduism and Taoism etc. The question arises here that why do people follow the various religions for worship and what is the reason behind it? So, the reason is that every man has a sense of worship into him, it means he seriously wishes that he should bow down and or to prostrate before a Supernatural being. That is why when any ruins of ancient civilization are discovered in any part of the world, a temple also exists in it in which people used to worship according to their belief. Now the question is: where from this sense of worship has been created in man, so the holy Qur’an reveals,” And (remember) when thy Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their reins, their seed, and made them testify of themselves, (saying): Am I not your Lord? They said: Yea, verily. We testify. (That was) lest ye should say at the Day of Resurrection: Lo! of this we were unaware; Or lest ye should say: (It is) only (that) our fathers ascribed partners to Allah of old and we were (their) seed after them. Wilt Thou destroy us on account of that which those who follow falsehood did? (Al-A'raf (The Heights) 7:172 ). (To be continued)