7. INFAQ (CHARITY, SADAQAT, ZAKAT ETC)

Many Muslims thought that by performing their daily 5 times "wajib" prayers, fasting in the month of "ramadhan" and pay zakat (alms giving), they have done what is required of them in Islam. But when one really read and understand the al-Quran, you will notice that Allah mentioned in many surahs of the Al-Quran about INFAQ (charity to the course of Islam) and there are also ayats that Allah says when you make infaq, you're giving a goodly loan to Allah. 

Let's read this ayat..

Al-Hadid (57:18)

In the above ayat, Allah promised that he will increase all good deeds (those who give goodly loan to Allah) in manifold. Most scholars are of the opinion that your good deeds will be rewarded either in your earthly life or in the hereafter, or both. Only Allah is Most Knowing.

Al-Muzzammil (73:20)

Al Baqarah (2:245)

This is a promise from Allah, can you say, Allah will not keep his promise ? Remember the writer mentioned in his writing under Article 5 when Allah give wealth to a person, he is actually testing him (or her).  Allah gives him wealth but when he forgets that the wealth is from Allah, he becomes stingy, do not give charity or sadaqat (sedaqah) or when he gives charity, he is giving without sincerity but for show (he wants the world to know that he is a charitable person..!.). What he may not know is that he is probably under wrath from Allah and is receiving " Istidraj " from Allah.


What is Istidraj ? It is a gift from Allah to mankind in the form of wealth (rich, successful, influential, leader of a nation or in simple word, a very successful person) but what he did not know is that the gift was because Allah is NOT PLEASED with him....!

Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. (PBUH) said "When you see that Allah Almighty gives blessing to His servants who always makes sin (perfidious), he is under wrath (istidraj) from Allah" (Narrated by At-Tabrani, Ahmad and al-Bayhaqi)

Actually people who makes sin and do evil deeds are often confused in their minds. They felt that Allah gave them the "nikmat" (grace) because Allah's love for them. Still there are those who doubt, if one is to get happiness in this world and hereafter, one must follow the footsteps of the Prophet (PBUH) and hold fast to the religion of Islam. Today, we are living in modern world, money and wealth to most, are everything. Most are willing to do anything for money. Most study secular education to achieve high position and recognition in the society. To them, giving away to charity is like reducing ones wealth. They work hard and get what they have now and why should they share with others? 

My advise, if you have this feelings, correct yourselves now...! You may be receiving "Istidraj" from Allah...!

Al-Hadiid (57:24)

Stingy person (do not like to give infaq) who influence others to be stingy, will suffer when others, due to his influence over them, also become stingy.

Allah also reminded us in this ayat..

Al-Baqarah (2:268)

Those who feel by giving charity is reducing his wealth is actually listening to the whisper of Satan. Satan threatens them with poverty and orders them to immorality. They actually sell Allah's promised of forgiveness and bounty for worldly things.

How you describe the above situation based on Ayat Al-Hadiid (57:24) above? A simple example, when you see a beggar coming to you asking for money and you still have in you the feelings of pity and you intend to give some money......but a person (your friend) next to you says, why should you give the beggar money, he should be working not begging....Why should you help a lazy person..! When you are influence by your friend and that stops you from giving, you fall under what Allah's says under the ayat 24 of surah Al Hadiid.

More ayat on goodly loan...

At-Taqhabun (64:17)

Al-Munafiqoon (63:10)

When we are about to die, Allah will show and replay all the bad doings that we have done and it will be that time when you will say,"If only Allah would give me time to return to the worldly life, I will give sadaqah, charity, zakat (Infaq)  and be among the righteous person" but by then, it's already to late....Wallahu alam.

Another promise from Allah..!

Al-Baqarah (2:261)

Allah promised that when a person spends his wealth in the way of Allah, Allah will multiplying the person's wealth (or will reward him), just like a seed that will grow seven stalks and on each stalk there will be 100 grains (this mean 1 x 7 x 100 = 700 times).

Only those who believes in Allah and His Messenger are willing to spend their wealth and their lives for the cause of Allah. Allah says this in this ayat.

Al-Hujuraat (49:15)

Let's look at what are happing now..? Amusement, wealth and the like, is what most people are after. Mentioned by Writer's in his earlier Topic, instead of learning the Al Quran, people will go through existing secular education system (blame the parents), starting from primary to PhDs with strong hopes to gain high position in the working sectors. According to most, learning al Quran (including implementing Allah's law) will not guarantee one's worldly need i.e job security, whereas there are many ayats in the al Quran that mentioned that Allah will provide "rezeki" (sustenance) to whom he pleases and especially to those who believes in Allah laws. Not many people notice that in Malaysia for example, there's a growing demand for Quranic teachers, especially those who know Al-Quran Arabic.  If those al-Hafiz (those who can recite the Al Quran by hearth) and understand Quranic Arabic are brave enough to open classes, the Writer strongly believes that are people who are keen to attend these classes. 

The Writer asked few Arab friends who speaks Arabic about whether an Arab speaking person can understand the Al Quran without learning it...? All of them said, they would only know about 10-20% of the Al Quran Arabic if they do not learn the Al Quran. The Writer is not sure whether this is true but when comparing some of the words involving similar items or situations, most of the words are different..!

Al-Hadiid (57:20)

Allah reminds that one's life is just like a plant, it will eventually dry, turn yellow and become debris. If one spends too much time on earthly matters and ignore Allah's law and what is required is to be a person of "taqwa", severe punishment is waiting in the Hereafter.

Al-Imran (4:10)

Al-Imran (4:114)

Yusuf Estes on Charity

Sadaqah

Beauty of Charity in Islam

After reading all the ayats above and watching the videos, are they real examples of sadaqat...? The Writer will not dwell in this matter so much but perhaps, a a guide, let's find out how the companions (sahabat)  during Prophet Muhammad S.A.W (PBUH) period do, when it comes to charity.....

1. Abu Bakar (RA)

One of the companions of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. (PBUH) who is known for his generosity was Abu Bakar (RA). It was narrated that Abu Bakar (RA) and Umar (RA) always compete in good deeds (giving charity or sedaqah). The Prophet came to the people and asked for charity on a number of occasions. On one occasion, Umar (RA) had recently acquired large sum of money, and he quickly give half of his money in charity to out-do Abu Bakar (RA). He later found out that Abu Bakar had donated all of his money to charity. When Umar asked Abu Bakar what he had left for his family, he said " I have left them Allah and His Messenger". The strength of his belief make Umar acknowledged he cannot keep up with Abu Bakar on good deeds (narrated by at-Tirmithi and Abu Dawud and is authetic according to al-Hakim and ath-Thahabi)

2) Abu Talhaa al-Ansari

When verse Al-Imran (3:92) was revealed, "By no means shall you attain Al-Birr (peity, righteousness etc, it means here Allah's reward that is Paradise) unless you spend  (in Allah's cause) of that which you love; and whatever of good you spend, Allah know it well". Abu Talhaa went to the Prophet (PBUH) and told him " O Messenger of Allah! The most beloved of my wealth is Bayruha i.e. a garden full of fruit-bearing trees. He gives it as a sadaqah for Allah. Take it O Messenger of Allah, until Allah shows you (what to do with it". The Prophet (PBUH) said, " Excellent ! That is profit. Keep it under your charge and give away the fruit". (This story is narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim)

3) Abu ad-Dahdah.

When Abu ad-Dahdah heard Al-Baqarah 2:245, "Who is he that will lend to Allah a goodly loan so that He may Multiply it to him many times? And it is Allah that decreases or increases (your provisions) and unto Him you shall return" he asked the Prophet (PBUH), " O Messenger of Allah. Does Allah too ask His servants to give him a loan?" The Prophet (PBUH) replied, "Yes" On this, the companion asked the Prophet (PBUH) to extend his hand and to bear witness that he had given away his garden that no one else owned, a garden in which there were several hundred palm trees. The companion returned to his garden where his family were and he informed his wife of what he had done. The family vacated the garden and said to him," What a profitable transaction, O Abu ad-Dahdah..! Allahu Akbar" This companion gave something very valuable to him in the way of Allah and his family supported him in his effort. This is a good example of a righteous family where the family members aide one another in their striving towards the Hereafter (Story narrated by at-Tabarani and Abu Ya'laa)

From the many stories of the lives of the companions of the Prophet Muhammed S.A.W. (PBUH), we come to conclusion that the companions applied Allah's law and the sayings of the Prophet (PBUH) who encouraged charity. Although charity is not compulsory ("wajib"), the reward from our deeds is something that we should carry in the Hereafter. Again from the stories, we can say that there was not a single companion who have not given away something from his wealth as a goodly loan to Allah.

Some of the poorer companions came to the Prophet (PBUH) telling him that the rich had surpassed them in doing good deeds because they were not able to donate anything. The prophet (PBUH) said,    " For every glorification of Allah is charity, enjoining good is charity, forbidding evil is charity, removing obstacles from the path is charity, to reconcile between two people is charity and to help a man onto his mount is also charity". He later told them to recite "Subhanallah, Walhamdulillah, Wallailla hailallahu akbar " after prayer which is also a form of charity.

In today's modern world where everything is money for us to get by the day, how can we emulate the strong belief of the companions....?

Let's not talk about those who are rich and able to apply what the companions have done (the Writer believes there are still such people around) but let's look at ourselves. How can we train ourselves to build some characteristics of the companions. Assume we have not done much charity for past years and now we want to start. How do we start...? 

A friend said, " Start giving charity to those who you have strong doubts in your heart". For example in Malaysia, quite often when you have tea tarik (milk tea) with your friends in the mamak (Indian Muslim) restaurant  you will see very frequently small kids (mostly Mymmar or Cambodian origins) asking for money or sell items like surah Yasin. There will be people who will say "No" or show a jesture to indicate "a No" and some will comment, "They say No because the kids are collecting money for syndicate" and some even questions the kids. Yes....! perhaps it's a syndicate, but so what.......? Most importantly, in our heart, we should instill this feeling of sedaqah. Give some, maybe a 50 sen, a Ringgit or maybe more......do not question their background. When you grow this feelings of giving sedaqah in you...quite often before going to mamak restaurant, you would have prepare small change (coins or oen ringgit notes) so you will not be caught in situation when you want to give but you only have large Ringgit notes with you and that deters you from giving.. ..resulting a feeling in you on why I did not prepare small change..and you feel regret why I did not give something...??? This feelings is hard to explain..!. But if you believe strongly in the ayat of Allah.....go to the cashier for small change or just give what you have...... try it!

Another way, is when you go for prayer in the mosque, mussollah or surau (as it is known in Malaysia). Before or after each prayer, just put some money in the mosque collection box...start small and perhaps later more. When you continue to give, the growing feelings of wanting to give charity will grow in your heart. It will also helps you to build your eagerness to pray in the mosque for all your daily prayers...

The above are examples of small deeds...perhaps, you can share your experience with the Writer on how to build oneself in the way of sedaqah...! May Allah bless you for all your deeds in sedaqah !

Before we end this topic, the Writer would like readers of this blog to view this video clip. Remember, call for charity by Allah is for all mankind...not just to the Muslims and Allah will surely pay a goodly loan !...but for the Muslims, our deeds in charity will surely help us in the Hereafter and this is more important than earthly rewards...

ONLY ALLAH KNOWS BEST

alqamar5417.blogspot.com

6. AL QURAN, THE SCRIPTURES & THE PAGANS

Sura Al-Ahqaf (Arabic: سورة الأحقاف‎ ) ("The wind-Curved Sandhills) is the 46th (Juz 26) sura of the Quran with 35 ayat. Prophet Muhammad SAW pbuh is ordained to relate to the people of Quraish not to worship other gods, but only Allah, the One and Only. For this section, we shall focus on Surah Al-Ahqaf (46) ayat 1 to 14.

Historical Background

The 10th year of the Prophethood was a year of extreme persecution and distress in the Holy prophet's life. The Quraish and the other tribes had continued their boycott of the Bani Hashim and the Muslims for three years and the Holy Prophet and the people of his family and Companions lay besieged in Shi'b Abi Talib. The Quraish had blocked up this locality from every side so that no supplies of any kind could reach the besieged people. Only during the Hajj season they were allowed to come out and buy some articles of necessity. But even at that time whenever Abu Lahab noticed any of them approaching the market place or a trading caravan he would call out to the merchants exhorting them to announce forbidding rates of their articles for them, and would pledge that he himself would buy those articles so that they did not suffer any loss. This boycott which continued uninterrupted for three years had broken the back of the Muslims and the Bani Hashim; so much so that at times they were even forced to eat grass and the leaves of trees.

At last, when the siege was lifted, Abu Talib, the Holy Prophet's uncle, who had been shielding him for ten long years, died, and hardly a month later his wife, Hadrat Khadijah, who had been a source of peace and consolation for him ever since the beginning of the call, also passed away. Because of these tragic incidents, which closely followed each other, the Holy Prophet used to refer to this year as the year of sorrow and grief.

After the death of Hadart Khadijah and Abu Talib the disbelievers of Makkah became even bolder against the Holy Prophet. They started treating him even more harshly. So much so that it became difficult for him to step out of his house. Of these days Ibn Hisham has related the incident that a Quraish scoundrel one day threw dust at him openly in the street.

At last, the Holy Prophet left for Ta'if with the intention that he should invite the Bani Thaqif to Islam, for even if they did not accept Islam, they might at least be persuaded to allow him to work for his mission peacefully. He did not have the facility of any conveyance at that time, and traveled all the way to Ta'if on foot. According to some traditions, he had gone there alone, but according to others, he was accompanied by Zaid bin Harithah. He stayed at Ta'if for a few days, and approached each of the chiefs and nobles of the Bani Thaqif and talked to him about his mission. But not only they refused to listen to him, but plainly gave him the notice that he should leave their city, for they feared that his preaching might "spoil" their younger generation. Thus, he was compelled to leave Ta'if. When he was leaving the city, the chiefs of Thaqif set their slaves and scoundrels behind him, who went on crying at him, abusing him and petting him with stones for a long way from either side of the road till he became broken down with wounds and his shoes were filled with blood. Wearied and exhausted he took shelter in the shade of the wall of a garden outside Ta'if, and prayed:

"O God, to Thee I complain of my weakness, little resource, and lowliness before men. O Most Merciful, Thou art the Lord of the weak, and Thou art my Lord. To whom wilt Thou confide me? To one afar who will misuse me? Or to an enemy to whom Thou hast given power over me? If Thou art not angry with me I care not. Thy favor is more wide for me. I take refuge in the light of Thy countenance by which the darkness is illumined, and the things of this world and the next are rightly ordered, lest Thy anger descend upon me or Thy wrath light upon me. It is for Thee to be satisfied until Thou art well pleased. There is no power and no might save in Thee." (Ibn Hisham:A. Guillaume's Translation, p. 193).

Grieved and heart broken when he returned and reached near Qarn al-Manazil, he felt as though the sky was overcast by clouds. He looked up and saw Gabriel in front of him, who called out: "Allah has heard the way your people have responded. He has, therefore, sent this angel in charge of the mountains. You may command him as you please."  Then the angel of the mountains greeted him and submitted : "If you like I would overturn the mountains from either side upon these people."  The Holy Prophet replied : "No, but I expect that Allah will create from their seed those who will worship none but Allah, the One." (Bukhari, Dhikr al Mala'ikah; Muslim: Kitab al-Maghazi; Nasa'i :Al-Bauth).

After this he went to stay for a few days at Makkah, perplexed as to how he would face the people of Makkah, who, he thought, would be still further emboldened against him after hearing what had happened at Ta'if. It was here that one night when he was reciting the Qur'an in the Prayer, a group of the jinn happened to pass by and listened to the Qur'an, believed in it, and returned to their people to preach Islam. Thus, Allah gave His Prophet the good news that if the men were running away from his invitation, there were many of the jinn, who had become its believers, and they were spreading his message among their own kind.

Subject Matter and Topics

Such were the conditions when this Surah was sent down. Anyone who keeps this background in view, on the one hand, and studies this Surah, on the other, will have no doubt left in his mind that this is not at all the composition of Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace), but "a Revelation from the All Mighty, All Wise Allah." For nowhere in this Surah, from the beginning to the end, does one find even a tinge of the human feelings and reactions, which are naturally produced in a man who is passing through such hard conditions. Had it been the word of Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) whom the occurrence of personal griefs one after the other and the countless and the recent bitter experience at Ta'if had caused extreme anguish and distress, it would have reflected in some degree the state of the mind of the man who was the subject of these afflictions and griefs. Consider the prayer that we have cited above: it contains his own language its every word is saturated with the feelings that he had at the time. But this Surah which was sent down precisely in the same period and was recited even by him under the same conditions, is absolutely free from every sign or trace of the time.

The subject matter of the Surah is to warn the disbelievers of the errors in which they were involved, and also resisted arrogantly, and were condemning the man who was trying to redeem them. They regarded the world as a useless and purposeless place where they were not answerable to anyone. They thought that invitation to Tauhid was false and stuck to the belief that their own deities were actually the associates of Allah. They were not inclined to believe that the Qur'an was the Word of the Lord of the worlds. They had a strange erroneous concept of apostleship on the basis of which they were proposing strange criteria of judging the Holy Prophet's claim to it. In their estimation one great proof of Islam's not being based on the truth was that their elders and important chiefs of the tribes and so called leaders of their nation were not accepting it and only a few young men, and some poor folks and some slaves had affirmed faith in it. They thought that Resurrection and life after death and the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter were fabrications whose occurrence was absolutely out of the question.

In this Surah each of these misconceptions has been refuted in a brief but rational way, and the disbelievers have been warned that if they would reject the invitation of the Qur'an and the Prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad SAW pbuh, by prejudice and stubbornness instead of trying to understand its truth rationally, they would only be preparing for their own doom.

The above historical background of this Surah is extracted from Tafsir (many thanks for his effort and may Allah bless him today and hereafter) by: Sayyid Abul Al Maudud - http://www.englishtafsir.com/Quran/46/index.html

Before we elaborate further, let's listen to the recitation of Surah Al-Ahqaf (46) ayat 1 to 14 and at the same time kindly read the translation of the ayat either in the video or in this section below:-

Surah Al-Ahqaf (46:1 to 14)

Read about Abdullah bin Salam by clicking this link http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/1692/

After reading ayat 1 to 14, in summary what Allah stressed in these ayats are not something new. Allah's law has been revealed in the earlier books, the Zabur (psalms) through Prophet David pbuh, the original scriptures of Prophet Moses pbuh (Torah) and the original scriptures of the Injeel or Bible (via Prophet Isa or name called by the Christian, Jesus pbuh)

The Quriash, during Prophet time as mentioned in the Al Qur'an:

At-Tur (52:29)

Allah gave comfort to Prophet Muhammad SAW pbuh not to be afraid and he is neither a soothsayer (fortune teller) because the Prophet is talking about paradise, hell, sin etc nor he is a madman, talking about something at that time, not within the imagination or minds of the Quraish people.

At-Tur (52:30)

During the time of Prophet Muhammad SAW pbuh, most of the Quraish people can read and write and a number of them, can write good poetry. Poetries were placed along side of the Kaabah for visitors (coming from around the region) to read and provide contributions to the caretakers of the Kaabah. It seems at that time, there were more than 300 idols placed in the Kaabah.

Contrary to some people understanding on Sura Al-Imran (3:20) stating the Arab Pagans are illiterate (do not know how to read and write), the word "ummi" (underlined in red in the ayat below) actually meant that the Arab Pagans at that time does not know about the religion that was brought down by 24 earlier prophets (including to the Jews and Christian where Allah has given them the Scriptures).

It was Allah's plan that although Prophet Muhammad SAW pbuh lived with Abu Talib (his uncle), all his other uncle's (including Abu Lahab) learned to read and write  BUT Prophet Muhammad SAW pbuh was never ask to learn to read and write. This is Allah's plan. Otherwise, the unbelievers will use this as an excuse to say the Al Quran is actually written by Prophet Muhammad SAW pbuh.

Al-Imran (3:20)

Allah also affirmed (in below ayat) Prophet Muhammad SAW pbuh, never know poetry.

Yasin (36:69)

Al-Quran is not just to be read with good voice and melody BUT the reader must know its meaning, obey and implement Allah's law. Al Quran is a reminder about the hereafter (day of Judgement) and the life in this world as a bridge to the hereafter. Al Quran is a reminder to the LIVING AND NOT TO THE DEAD.

Yasin (36:70)

At-Tur (52:31)

At-Tur (52:32)

What does sura At-Tur (52:31) means ? Let's look at the answer in Al Alaq (96:6)

Al Alaq (96:6)

Mankind is indeed "transgress all bounds" (can do things evil deeds, disbelief ..beyond limit) especially when they felt that they have everything, has power, position, wealth and do not want to change (to maintain status quo).

At-Tur (52:33-34)

At-Tur (52:35)

At-Tur (52:36)

If the heaven and earth is not created by mankind then why they continue to become a disbeliever?

Al-Ahqaf (46:4)

At-Tur (52:37)

At-Tur (52:38)

At-Tur (52:39)





At-Tur (52:40)

At-Tur (52:41-43)

Al-Ahkaf (46:9)

Luqman (31:34)

Al-Kahf (18:110)

Al-Fath (48:8)

Al-Baqarah (2:143)

Al-Imran (3:110)

The Al Quran is also a guide to the Jinns.

Al-Ahqaf (46:29)

Jinns are created by Allah earlier than mankind.

Adh-Dhariyat (51:56)

If you want to know more about what or who is Jinns, read Surah Al-Jinn (72)

Al-Ahqaf (46:30)

Al-Ahqaf (46:31-32)

Al-Quran is a book of Signs but in today's world, it is difficult to talk about signs when most of the Muslims are not following the true teaching of Islam. Muslims are fighting among each other for power and wealth that resulted in disunity among the Muslims. However, those who are searching for true Islam, perhaps, ayats in relation to signs revealed in the Al Quran, that foretold so many things about this world more than 1,400 years ago and recently proven to to be true by modern scientist (mostly non-Muslim scientist), will make our faith in true Islam stronger. Please visit and read thoroughly this website about scientific discoveries based on the ayats of the Al Quran  http://www.muslimconverts.com/science/it-is-truth.org/Index.html

You can also listen to the talk by Dr Zakir Naik on Quran and modern science for more evidence about the contents (ayats) of the Quran

    Zakir Naik talk on Quran and Modern Science

Eversince the Qur'an was brought down by Allah through is beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW pbuh, the original texts (ayats) had remained unchanged (in its original Arabic language) and protected by Allah.

Al-Hijr (15:9)

ONLY ALLAH KNOWS BEST

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