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BaKhabar  Download pdf
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Sighting the new moon of Ramadan plunged my soul into a fit of ecstasy and heightened elation. The month of forbearance, restraint and divine succour had finally marked its presence to purge us out of the deep echelons of hatred, animosity, egocentricity and vicious demeanour. The similitude can be coined as such of a droughted piece of land lavishing obsessively for multitude of clouds which would scintillate the barren land with a few drops of rain, therby quenching its thirst and enabling it to produce grains and cereals. Our life resembles the similitude of a barren land. In pursue to fulfil our materialistic and avaricious whims we trample all virtues of God consciousness and at times even engross in libertine profligacy’s. The Month Of Ramadan is akin the glad tidings of rain which sprouts forth grains from the barren land. The Month of Ramadan bears the glad tidings of God’s infinite mercy and gratuitousness. It offers a chance to all of us to peek into our inner selves, and to fortify and disinfect our soul against the satanic elements of Jealousy, apathy, covetousness, odium and revulsion. With sincere conviction and a deep sense of reverence i prepared myself for a shot at the paradisiacal entity Ar Rayyan. As the Imam raised the cries of Allahu Akbar signalling the beginning of the taraweeh prayers, i made a resolute determination to listen attentively to the Taraweeh proceedings, with rapt attention. As Allah says:- “When the Quran is read, listen to it with attention, and hold your peace; that you may receive mercy” Quran 7:204 Come the 4th Rakaah, my resolve was shattered, largely due to my own inability to grasp the essence of the Quran. Come the 8th Rakaah, i was twitching and tingling my limbs. I left the Masjid disgusted and aghast at the weakness of my faith and resolve. The burden of my dejected conscience was lessened by the melancholic and resonating recitation of Taraweeh from the grand Mosque, Masjid Al Haram in Makkah. Such melancholic voices which would turn stones into wax, accenture which spellbound the listeners- Quranic recitation par excellence. I kept listening to their recitation and kept wondering “Why am i not able to muster the same amount of attentiveness in the Taraweeh salah in my masjid?”. After pondering meticulously over the whole matter, i finally struck the right chord. The Taraweeh prayers are one of the most highly revered and recommended prayers in the holy month of Ramadan. During the caliphate of Hadrat Umar, by the popular consensus of the Ummah, the taraweeh prayers were stipulated as 20 rakaah, with 5 periods of quarterly momentarily rest periods. Subsequently, this practice was continued fervourously throughout the Islamic empire. Mosques were adorned with the reverberating and soul rendering recitation of the holy Quran, covering the length and breadth of the holy month. However, the taraweeh congregations of our era are contrastingly different then the ways of the Salaf As Saliheen. We boast of revering the Quran, so much so that we have invented obscure ways to venerate the Quran such as, placing it on a high shelf, or evade from reading the Quran behind a person’s backside. The fateful paradox is that we have forfeited the fundamental essence of the Quran, neither do we bother to read it, nor to understand and imply it’s core values in our daily ordinances and nor do we accept the Quran as a judge in our daily squabbles and disputes. Muslims woefully lack a staunch faith in the Divine origin of the Qur’an. Allah says …truly, those who have inherited the Book after them are in suspicious (disquieting) doubt concerning it. (Al-Shura 42:14) This lack of faith is the reason why we neither find any reverence for the Qur’an in our hearts, nor feel inclined to study it, nor evince any interest in pondering over its meaning, nor ever think of seeking its guidance in conducting our lives.  To suit our whimsical desires and sordid passions, we have adopted a similarly lack lustrous approach regarding the recitation of the holy Quran during the Taraweeh prayers. Majority of the people set predetermined limits stipulating the number of days in which the Quran has to be completed. These obscure and oblivious limits can range from being as low as 3 days to a maximum period of 27 days. Quran is recited with such swift and hasty Accenture which makes it almost impossible for the congregation to grasp the subject matter of the Quran. As a result of such lengthy and cold hearted recitation, one can witness people twiddling and maintaining a fidgety posture during the taraweeh salah, many of them sit through the first raakaah, only to stand up during ruku!. The results are detrimental to ourselves only, we are left berift and bereaved of the blessings of the Quran and neither will it intercede for us on the day of resurrection. We make apocryphal and mundane claims regarding our affinity and attachment with the Quran, whereas on face value we openly mock and flout divine dictum by hastening the completion of Taraweeh obligations. In course of swiftly and speedily reciting the Quran, we also strangulate the Khushoo and Khuzoo of Salah, thereby capitulating the very quintessence of Salah. We conceive taraweeh as a burden, which must be discharged disregarding the etiquettes of the Quran. On the contrary, Allah, glorified be he forbids us to hasten the recitation of the Quran
…do not be in haste for the Qur’an…. (Taha 20:114) And do not move your tongue quickly (in trying to memorize the Revelation) to make haste therewith. (Al-Qiyamah 75:16). The Messenger Of Allah SAW said Adorn the Qur’an with your voices. (Narrated by Abu Daud & Nasai) One who does not recite the Qur’an in a melodious voice is not from us! (Narrated by Abu Daud) The need is to refrain from using the Quran to suit your own capricious needs, to read it and recite it in a melodious voice, to comprehend over it’s connotation and to imply it’s injunctions in our daily ordinances, and last but not the least to promulgate and apprise others of the teachings of the Quran. If we follow this course of action, Insha Allah we shall be able to competently discharge the Haqq of Quran and earn the divine grace and pleasure of Allah We have made the Qur’an easy as a means of reminding (men of the truths forgotten by them). Is there any who will benefit from this reminding? (Al-Qamar 54:17, 22, 32, 40) |
The
Choice is Yours
.... By Khalid Baig
 A recent article in the Detroit News contrasted the lives of two ordinary persons from Palestinian refuge camps in Jordan. Two persons joined by faith and circumstances, yet separated by choices of their lifestyles. One awakens at 4 a.m. every day and walks a mile to the mosque for the Fajr prayers. At that time, the other is often just getting to sleep, capping off another night of drinking and socializing at a bar that caters to tourists and wealthy Palestinians. One keeps abreast of the latest political developments in the Middle East to "ensure our future liberation from Israel." The other, "like many in his Heineken-drinking clique, is oblivious to the latest showdown between the United States and Iraq and the subsequent peace brokered by the United Nations. But … knows all the words to the latest music videos." One wears a beard. The other religiously shaves it before happy hour, "because the real hot girls like soft skin." One is concerned about moral decadence and the mortal danger it presents to "their country and their afterlife." The other asks, "Why shouldn't we enjoy ourselves? Come on, you only live once, right?" The article titled "Partying versus Praying", is pleasantly free of the propaganda overtones characteristic of the mainstream media reports about the Muslim world. In a typical piece, the first person would have been depicted as a "fundamentalist", a fanatic, a "bad guy" who is danger to himself and to the world. The second person, would, of course, be the "good guy"--- the friendly, "civilized" person who needs encouragement and support. In contrast, here is an objective observation about the clash of two currents. Its objectivity compels those it reports about, to reflect on their situation. In a way, the story captures the current state of the entire Ummah. For today, the Ummah is a big refuge camp: Robbed, wounded, tortured, expelled, dispossessed, and disenfranchised. And just like the refuge camp it has two powerful but exactly opposite currents: One represents awakening, turning to Allah, overcoming the base desires, and preparing for liberation from slavery, both physical and intellectual. The other represents falling asleep, turning away from Allah, and "enjoying" the slavery. This is a clash between piety and profanity, between light and darkness, between the path to Paradise and the way to Hell. It is born of the freedom of choice that has been given to every human being. Allah has created two possible destinations for all human beings, and there are two opposite paths leading to them. "We have shown him the two paths." [Al-Balad 90:10] "We showed him the Way: Whether he be grateful or ungrateful." [Al-Insan 76:3] The first path leads to success, the other to failure. "By the Soul and the proportion and order given to it, and its inspiration as to its wrong and its right. Truly he succeeds that purifies it and he fails that corrupts it."[Ash-Shams 91:7-10] Qur'an is very emphatic that those who choose the disparate paths cannot be alike, either here or in the hereafter: "Shall We treat those who believe and do good works as those who spread corruption in the earth; shall We treat the pious as the wicked?" [Sad 38:28] "Is he who is a believer like unto him who is an evil-liver? They are not alike." [As-Sajda 32:18] "Is then one who does know that that which has been revealed unto you (O Muhammad), from your Lord is the Truth, like one who is blind?" [Ar-Rad 13:19] "The Day when Man shall remember all that he strove for, and Hell-Fire shall be placed in full view for him who sees. Then, for such as had transgressed all bounds, and had preferred the life of this world, the abode will be Hell-Fire; and for such as had entertained the fear of standing before their Lord and had restrained their soul from lower desires, their abode will be the Garden." [An-Naziat 79:35-41] It is, then, for each one of us to make up our mind regarding our destination and to check whether we are moving in its direction. Of course, the choice would not be difficult if we were only looking at the destination. No one in his right mind would choose Hell over Heaven or eternal failure over success. But the eternal success requires us to go uphill. It takes effort and patience. The journey to hell, on the other hand, is downhill. One can just slide to it. And so, weak and prone to temptations that we are, we slip. That slip alone would not be that much of a problem, because one can also recover from it through repentance. The real problem occurs when we lose all sense of direction and purpose and start thinking that our fall is our rise. To complicate matters further, today big outside forces are also busy at work to smooth our slide and cheer us at our fall. It is a juggernaut of unbelievable proportions and unprecedented wickedness. The television and music videos, present everywhere and all the time, are part of it. The UN Social Action Program and its plans for "development" and "empowerment" are part of it. The various NGOs working for "Human rights", "Women's rights", or whatever rights, are part of it. All those propaganda pieces that praise "moderates" and demonize "fundamentalists" are part of it. Of course none of that can do any harm to us if we are willing to cut through the haze and see things for what they are. It is Allah's promise that both paths will remain open to us. It is our choice. The young Palestinian man who walks a mile to the mosque three to five times a day has made his choice. So have thousands upon thousands of others like him in the Ummah who have decided to shun evil and follow the path of piety and righteousness. So can the millions of others who are just wandering around. Let us remember: we cannot get to the high ground by taking the low road. We cannot win our Creator's pleasure by disobeying Him. We cannot enter Paradise by being ambivalent about it. The clash between the two lifestyles here is actually the clash between two afterlives. And the choice is ours. Sourec: Albalagh.net Related article: Why are you afraid of Qur'aan? |
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