Page 10 Page 11 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 16 I asked for Strength.................. And Allah gave me Difficulties to make me strong. I asked for Wisdom................... And Allah gave me Problems to solve. I asked for Prosperity................ And Allah gave me Brain and Brawn to work. I asked for Courage................... And Allah gave me Danger to overcome. I asked for Love........................ And Allah gave me Troubled people to help. I asked for Favors..................... And Allah gave me Opportunities. I received nothing I wanted....... I received everything I needed. Allah answers my prayers. ON PARENTS In America there are many days set aside to honor and appreciate special people in our lives. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Grandmother’s and Grandfather’s Day, etc. We do realize the significance of these occasions and the ideals and philosophies of setting aside certain days to recognize and appreciate these people. As for the appreciation of parents, it should be a daily recognition rather than a special occasion according to the Holy Qur’an and Hadith. We are taught that a Muslim should respect and appreciate his or her parents every day throughout the year. In the Qur’an, appreciation and treatment of parents is described beautifully in Surah Al-Isra in which Allah (swt) says, “Your Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And out of kindness lower to them the wing of humility and say: ‘My Lord! Bestow on them Thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.’” (Quran 17:23-24) Recognition and respect of parents is mentioned eleven times in the Qur’an. In every instance, Allah reminds children to appreciate the care and love they received from their parents. In one aspect, Allah demands that children honor their parents by saying, “We have enjoined on man kindness to parents.” (Quran 29:8 & 46:15) This is stated again in Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow) with, “And (remember) when We made a covenant with the children of Israel, (saying): worship none save Allah (only), and be good to parents...” (Quran 2:83) ...and in Surah Al-Nisaa (the Women), “And serve Allah. Ascribe nothing as partner unto Him. (Show) Kindness unto parents...” (Quran 4:36) ...and in Surah Al An’Am (The Cattle), Allah (swt) reiterates that people should honor and be kind to parents, “Say: Come. I will recite unto you that which your Lord has made a sacred duty for you; that you ascribe nothing as partner unto Him and that you do good to parents...” (Quran 6:151) It has been related that a person came to the Holy Prophet to take part in the Emigration (Hijrah) against the will of his weeping parents. The Holy Prophet told him to go back to his parents and come back only after pleasing them as he had made them cry. (Abu Dawood) In fact, Islam teaches us that respect for parents comes immediately after praying to Allah and before Jihad (struggle and striving in the way of Allah) ...this would indeed make it a very powerful and important injunction. This implies that we should take it not only as a worldly affair but as a religious duty also. Almighty Allah and His Holy Prophet have both laid much emphasis on obeying, serving and pleasing our parents. Sayings of the Prophet (S.A.W.) Finally after eight months of self-study and research, I called the Islamic Center of San Francisco and spoke to a brother there. He made me feel at ease, he spoke English clearly and he didn’t act as though I was another insecure American following a temporary religious whim. He invited me to the Friday night program at the Islamic Center in the area. This was November 6, 1992. I drove to the mosque following the brothers directions and arrived at 6:00 P.M. even though the ‘program’ didn’t start until 8:00 P.M. I wanted to ‘look before I leaped’. I was very nervous, but Alhamdulilah, Allah guided me out of my car and up to the front door. I was greeted by a brother named Muhammad and as I shook his hand, I felt not only welcome, but that I had ‘come home’ after 37 years of searching. I was then introduced to another brother who was a most knowledgeable and pious man who patiently instructed me in the requirements of the deen. He taught me how to make proper wudu (the act of cleaning oneself before prayer or the handling and reading of the Qur’an) and finally, he led me in reciting the Shahada (the Muslim declaration of faith) which was the single most significant moment of my entire life. May Allah make it easy for all people who seek His guidance to be as blessed as I was with so many understanding brothers and elders as I had, and continue to have the honor of knowing. They have been of immeasurable help in aiding me in the practice of the deen. Four months after officially taking Shahada, I spent the last ten days of Ramadan in the path of Allah, doing the work of dawah (inviting others to Islam). This gave me a real first-hand look at the beauty of this deen when practiced at what is our current best. As an ummah (brotherhood), I could not believe how I met so many pious brothers who were actually practicing their faith to the best of their abilities. Over the past 6 years I have had the blessing of being able to spend a week here or there in the path of Allah performing dawah, and I can say without a doubt that it is a sure way to increase ones’ iman (faith). All of us in the Ummah of Rasulullah (swm) have a responsibility and a duty to invite others towards the good and forbid the evil. May Allah guide us to a true understanding. If I may summarize, the deen of Islam (submission to the will of God) is the only religion. It was the religion of the prophet Abrahim (swm) when he had the blessings of revelation and destroyed the idols of his father and his fellow tradesmen. It was the religion of Moses (PBUH) when he received the law of Allah and defeated the army of Pharaoh. It was the religion of Jesus, son of Mary ((PBUH) when he healed the sick and confirmed the law of Moses, and when he foretold the coming of Muhammad (pbuh) and the final revelation until the day of judgement. Allah has blessed humanity with the miracle of the Holy Qur’an, a book which has remained unchanged since it was revealed to our beloved prophet Muhammad (swm), and will remain unchanged until Allah judges all that He has created. We have no excuses. The Holy Qur’an is a document that can lead to eternal paradise, Insha’Allah (If God wills it). It is a miracle which Allah in His mercy has bestowed upon mankind. We have the Qur’an, a miracle and blessing from Allah. We have the Sunnah (the actions) of the holy and final prophet Muhammad (pbuh). It lights the way to the path which is straight and leads to paradise and brings us closer to the one Creator. No other revelation or book or prophet is going to come to guide us. There is no need for any other instruction. We have it all in the Holy Qur’an. Where did we come from? Allah, Subhana’Allah (God is Awesome), created us to manifest His glory in this reality. Why are we here? To bring glory to the One true Creator of all things and to enjoin good (the Law of God) and to forbid evil. To fight our own desires and to bring the remembrance of Allah to mind. When tempted by Shatan (the devil) to invite all humanity towards the greatness of Allah. Where are we headed? To eternal paradise, Insha’Allah. How do we get there? By following the ways of the one who is an example by which to live. Allah in His Mercy and Grace has blessed us with Hadeeth of Rasulullah (swm) so we are able to find the way. It is often said that Islam is simple and we make it complicated. Let me tell you dear brothers, sisters and elders... Islam says it all! I wandered so long in the darkness of existential dead ends and esoteric thinking and the answer was there all along. I can’t say that my struggle came to an end when I converted to Islam. We all must continually strive to improve our faith and practice and shatain is ever vigilant to our weaknesses. But Allah in His Mercy has given us this light called the Holy Qur’an as a guide, His Beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in which to make it through this brief journey of life. May Allah increase all of our understanding, raise our Iman and Bless all who seek His guidance with the strength to live our deen to the best of our abilities. Asalamu Alaikum Omar Abdul-Salaam Daly City, CA Ask and He Gives The Prophet (pbuh) when asked “Which deed is most liked by Allah?” replied, “Prayers on time.” Then asked, “Which one next?” said, “Goodliness to parents”, then asked again, which next, replied, “jihad in the way of Allah”.
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