Published July 6th, 2008 by sajjad
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NEWSLETTER JUNE 2008 EDITION
What Every Muslim Should Know!
The Purpose of Life:
Have you ever wondered what the purpose of life is? Did Allah 
create us for mere
entertainment or is there a reason to our existence? Islam is the only religion which
gives a clear answer to this important question. Allah states in the Quran that, “I only
created jinn and mankind to worship me,” (Surah Dhariyat 51:56)
So the purpose of our existence is to worship the Creator alone. People might ask as
to why we need to worship Allah . Is it because He needs our worship? The answer is
obvious and clear that He does not need our worship since He is independent and not
in need of anything. So why then do we need to worship him? The logical conclusion
would be because it is for our own benefit and spiritual growth.
A common misconception is that worship is restricted to rituals and praising God.
However, in Arabic, the language of the final revelation, worship is called ‘ibaadah,
which is closely related to the noun ‘abd, meaning ‘a slave.’ A slave is one who is
expected to do whatever his master wills. Consequently, worship, according to the
final revelation, means obedient submission to the will of God.
Therefore in Islam every act we do can be an act of worship, so we can spend the
entire day in the worship of Allah by living our lives according to Sharia. We benefit
from worship and obedience to Allah in this world by attaining inner peace and in the
next life by attaining eternal paradise.
A final point to note is that since worship is not restricted to rituals, shirk (polytheism)
also can occur in other ways besides prayer and supplications. Insha Allah in future
editions, we will discuss the dangers and types of shirk so that we can avoid Satan’s
traps and work our way towards fulfilling our purpose in life.
Verse of the month: “I only created jinn and mankind to worship me” Editors: Abu Muawiyah Surah Dhariyat 51:56
Binte Harun Rashid e-mail: backtosunnah [at] gmail [period] com A c2i Production
Whose Sunnah is that anyway?
Superstitions:
It is common nowadays to hear Muslims referring to certain things as causes of good
and bad luck. It is sad to hear such statements coming from Muslims since our
beloved prophet (____ _____ يا __) has strictly warned against such beliefs when he said,
“whoever does tiyarah (judging good and bad luck by the flight of birds) or has it
done for him, has his future prophesied or has someone bewitched, is not one of us,”
(Sunan Tirmizi)
From this Hadeeth, the severity of such beliefs is understood, as it can take a person
out of the fold of Islam. The reason for this is that you are placing your tawakul in
other than Allah and also that you are attributing to the creation the power to predict
the coming of good and evil and the ability to change our Qadar (destiny). All of this
is clear Shirk since these attributes belong solely to Allah .
Muslims should question the authenticity of such beliefs and their roots, as it is in
clear oppositions to Tawheed (Islamic Monotheism) and the fundamental beliefs of
Islam. There are many such beliefs prevalent amongst Muslims today which are very
dangerous for one’s Tawheed.
Therefore, Muslims are obliged to carefully avoid all feelings which stem from these
beliefs. If they find themselves unconsciously acting on the basis of these beliefs, they
should seek refuge in Allah and make dua. This area may seem quite insignificant for
so much fuss to be made about it. Islam, however, puts stress on this area because it
represents the seed from which major shirk may grow. The worship of idols, men,
stars, etc, did not come about at one instant in time. Such practices of idolatry
developed over long periods of time. Man’s belief in Allah ’s unity, was gradually
eroded as the seeds of major shirk took root and grew. Thus, Islam, by providing
guidance in all aspects of human life, tries to root out the evil seeds before they can
take root and destroy the very foundation of Muslim’s belief.
Hadith of the Month:
“The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and
every person will get the reward according to what he has
intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for
a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he
emigrated for.”
Saheeh Bukhari 1:1:1
THE GOLDEN LEGACY:
Striking the Balance:
Abu Juhaifa narrated that the Prophet (____ _____ يا __) made a bond of brotherhood
between Salman and Abu Ad-Darda. Salman paid a visit to Abu Ad-Darda’ and found
Um Ad-Darda’ dressed in shabby clothes and asked her why she was in that state. She
replied, “Your brother Abu Ad-Darda’ is not interested in (the luxuries of) this world.”
In the meantime Abu Ad-Darda’ came and prepared a meal for Salman. Salman
requested Abu Ad-Darda’ to eat (with him), but Abu Ad-Darda’ said, “I am fasting.”
Salman said, “I am not going to eat unless you eat.” So, Abu Ad-Darda’ ate (with
Salman). When it was night and (a part of the night passed), Abu Ad-Darda’ got up (to
offer the night prayer), but Salman told him to sleep and Abu Ad-Darda’ slept. After
sometime Abu Ad-Darda’ again got up but Salman told him to sleep. When it was the
last hours of the night, Salman told him to get up then, and both of them offered the
prayer. Salman told Abu Ad-Darda’, “Your Lord has a right on you, your soul has a
right on you, and your family has a right on you; so you should give the rights of all
those who has a right on you.” Abu Ad-Darda’ came to the Prophet (____ _____ يا __ (
and narrated the whole story. The Prophet (____ _____ يا __) said, “Salman has spoken
the truth.” (Saheeh Bukhari Book 3 Volume 31 Hadith 189)
This story opposes many stereotypes and misconceptions about piety and worship.
Many people feel that to be pious, one needs to cut oneself off from the world and
spend all ones time in acts of worship. This extremism leads to people neglecting the
rights of others upon them, under the deception that its part of piety. From this story
we learn that the way of a true Muslim is to balance between the rights of Allah and
the rights of His creation upon us.
We should realize that fulfilling the rights of our spouses, children, parents, etc are
also acts of worship, and are more rewarding than optional rituals done while
neglecting or abusing Allah ’s creation.
Quote of the Month:
“In religion refrain from opinion and follow
the sunnah, because whatever is out of this is
deviation”
Abu Hanifah – Muqaddama Alamgiri (1/42)
WARNING!
THE FOLLOWING
HADITH IS
FABRICATED!
“SEEK
KNOWLEDGE
EVEN IF IT BE IN
CHINA!”
THE ISLAMIC ALTERNATIVE!
PEACE TV:
For years the Muslim world has been in dire need of an alternative to Kaafir (Non-
Muslim) Media. PEACE TV is the answer to the duas of many Muslims in that it
provides 24/7 quality and authentic Islamic programmes in English and Urdu.
Founded by Dr. Zakir Naik, the president of IRF and world renowned lecturer on
comparative religion, PEACE TV is an Islamic Edutainment International Satellite
TV Channel which telecasts state-of-the-art Islamic programmes to over 150 countries
around the world.
Some of the quality programmes that can be found on
PEACE TV include ‘Truth Exposed’ by Dr. Zakir Naik,
‘Man with a Mission’ with Ahmed Deedat, ‘Fire of
Faith’ with Dr. Bilal Philips and the hit children’s
series ‘Stories of the prophets’ by Yusuf Estes.
PEACE TV is truly a piece of art, not only are its
programmes of the highest quality, and all its programmes
contain only authentic information based on Quran and
Sunnah. Another beautiful feature of PEACE TV is that all
its background music is strictly halaal featuring only vocals,
nasheeds and percussion, PEACE TV has been able to
create brilliant soundtracks that are strictly halaal.
PEACE TV is a definite must for every Muslim home and is the perfect alternative
providing authentic, quality and exciting programmes for the entire family. It should
also be noted that PEACE TV does not aim exclusively to Muslims, rather its
programmes are such that they can be understand and enjoyed by Non-Muslims as
well, providing a perfect Dawah tool to educate Muslim and Non-Muslim alike on the
true message and teachings of Islam.
RATING: 10/10
A MUST HAVE FOR EVERY HOME!
For more information visit www.peacetv.tv
Poem of the Month:
“Are my intentions alright? Am I
doing it for Allah ?
When I’m looking deep deep down
inside, do I have the right niyyah?”
Intentions – Native Deen
