Community Service

Rasulullah, peace be upon him, preferred to do most of his household work himself. He participated fully in community activities and shared responsibilities when he travelled.

Once, Rasulullah was traveling with his Sahaba (companions). In the evening the caravan stopped. They pitched their tents and began preparations for dinner. Everyone divided the various responsibilities, such as kindling the fire and slaughtering the animals for the meal.

A Sahabi told Rasulullah, "O Prophet of Allah, we are your companions and there are enough of us to care for the camp. You do not have to work. You should rest."

Rasulullah said, "No, I am no better than any other human being. I am one of you and I should participate in the work."

Then he chose the task of bringing wood for the fire. He walked out to the woods and returned with dry kindling. The Sahaba lit the fire and cooked dinner.

Rasulullah set an example for the community leader. In one of his traditions he advises the Ummah, "The leader of the community is their servant."

Compiled From:
Recorded in Al-Zarqani. "Stories of the Sirah (Vol. X)" -Abidullah Ghazi and Tasneema Ghazi, p. 11

Who to Give Zakah?

Al-Tawbah (Repentance)
Chapter 99: Verse 60

"As-Sadaqat (here it means Zakat) are only for the Fuqara and Al-Masakin and those employed to collect the (funds); and to attract the hearts of those who have been inclined (towards Islam); and to free the captives; and for those in debt; and for Allah's Cause, and for the wayfarer; a duty imposed by Allah. And Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise."

The Quran describes eight categories of people who are to receive Zakah. Ahmad Sakr elaborated on these categories:

1. The poor (Fuqara)-this refers to someone who has no income

2. The needy (Masakin)-this is someone who for instance, may have a job, a house and a car, but their income is below the minimum requirement.

3. Employees of the Zakah. This category is sub-divided into the following:

a. the group of people who are social services workers who go into the community to evaluate who is Faqeer and Miskeen.
b. those who collect the Zakah money
c. the accountant of the Zakah money
d. investors who increase the share of the Zakah
e. the clerical worker or secretary who puts the files in order
f. those who will deliver Zakah to the ones who need it
g. the outside auditor.

4. Sympathizers

These are those people who might enter or who have already entered Islam. Anyone we feel are good friends or ours (non-Muslim or new Muslims) we give them a gift from the Zakah money.

5. To free slaves

Riqab is the term used to describe the group of people who are slaves. The Zakah money is used to free the slaves. Sakr stresses that Islam did not invent slavery, but it gradually abolished it.

6. For the Gharimeen-those who are in debt

Zakah money is used to pay off debts but these people are not living in luxury, they are living a normal life. For example, someone who has gone bankrupt because of job loss and is overloaded with debt.

7. Fee Sabeelillah (for the Cause of Allah)

This can be anything for the love of Allah. Sakr gave the following examples:

a. for the employment of a Daiyah, Imam, or religious teachers to do Dawa
b. building Islamic schools
c. building Muslim clinics and hospitals
d. providing money to young men who want to marry but cannot afford Mahr
e. to assist poor travelers
f. to establish water springs on streets for those walking or travelers
(please note, these last three things were done by Khalifa Umar ibn Abdul Aziz)
g. to defend Muslims who are under attack
h. For television, radio or newspaper project aimed at doing Dawa
i. to help someone publish a book for Dawa
j. to pay for the studies of a student..

8. Ibn as Sabeel

This refers to a traveler, for instance who has lost his wallet and has to get back to his home.

Sakr stresses that this has to be verified to see if this person is really telling the truth, since there has been at least one case of a man claiming to be a lost traveler in North America who has stolen thousands from Muslims claiming to be a traveler of this type.

Compiled From:
"Frequently Asked Questions about Zakat" - SoundVision.com

Source of Forgiveness~

The fast is a source of forgiveness for one's sins. Hence, it removes the effects and stain of these sins from one's heart, leaving the heart pure again. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said,

"Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan with faith and hoping for its reward (ihtisab) shall have all of his previous sins forgiven for him." [Bukhari, Muslim]

Al-Khataabi notes that the meaning of ihtisab means with resolve, hoping for its reward while being pleased to perform it without considering it something heavy or a hardship. Hence, the true believer for whom the fasting will have its desired effect of removing or effacing his previous sins approaches the fast with a desire and love for it. He does not consider it a burden nor does he participate in it lackadaisically, with some heavy burden on his shoulder, being lazy and complaining until it is time to break the fast.

Compiled From:
"Purification of the Soul: Concept, Process and Means" - Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, pp. 239, 240

God's Invitation~

Al-Baqara (The Cow)
Chapter 2: Verse 186

"And when My servant ask you concerning Me, then verily I am near, I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me, so that they may walk in the right way."

The whole verse is based on the first person singular pronoun which shows the great importance which the speaker, i.e. God, attaches to this subject. Then come the words My servants and not "people" or other such words. This enhances its importance even more. The reply (then verily I am near) starts dramatically just after the question without any preamble like, "then say that I am near." The reply is emphasized with "verily." The nearness of the speaker is described with the adjective near and not with any verb like "I come near him." Thus it shows that He is already near and will always remain near. Then the answer (I answer the prayer of the supplicant) is conditional upon when he calls on Me.

These points show how much importance has been attached to the answering of the prayers. In addition, this verse - short as it is - repeats the first person singular pronoun seven times; it is the only verse with this characteristic in the whole of Quran.

In short, God's ownership of His creatures gives Him authority to answer any prayer which is put before Him by any of His creatures, and to fulfill his or her need by accepting his or her supplication.

This verse not only mentions a fact, i.e. answering prayer, but gives its reasons also: Because the supplicants are servants of God, He is near to them; and because He is near to them, He answers their prayers without any reservation. Whatever prayer is addressed to Him, He shall answer it.

The condition when he calls on Me shows that the promise of answering the prayer shall apply when the supplicant is a supplicant in reality; when he or she wants that thing according to his or her natural and deep-ingrained knowledge and when his or her heart is really in what his or her tongue is asking for.

Therefore, the natural prayer addressed to God shall always be answered. If a prayer is not answered, then it lacks both or one of the two things mentioned in the verse: the prayer of the supplicant when he calls on Me. It may happen in the following ways:

First: There may be no prayer at all. For example, a person prays for an impossible thing (but he or she does not know that it is impossible), or for a thing which, if he or she knew the fact, would not have wanted at all.

Second: There is indeed a prayer, but it is not addressed exclusively to God.

God is near to His servants. Nothing comes between Him and their prayer. He cares for them and for the things they ask for. That is why He invites them to call upon Him and He is of such high attributes. Therefore, they should accept this invitation of their Lord and should advance towards Him, and have faith in Him about this attribute, having firm belief that He is near and He answers their call; so that they may be guided rightly in praying unto Him.

Compiled From:
Ramadan: Motivating Believers To Action, "Quranic Commentary on 'I Answer The Prayer'" - Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i , pp. 94-99

Living the Quran!

Reading the Quran will be of little benefit to you, it may even bring misery and harm, unless you, from the first moment, begin to change and reconstruct your life in total surrender to God who has given you the Quran. Without the will and striving to act, neither the states of heart and enraptures of the soul, nor the ecstasies of mood, nor intellectual enrichment will be of any use to you. If the Quran does not have any impact upon your actions and if you do not obey what it enjoins and avoid what it prohibits, then you are not getting nearer to it.

Reading the Quran should induce faith inside your heart; that faith should shape your lives. It is not a gradual piecemeal process, by which you first spend years reading the Quran, then understanding it and strengthening your faith, and only then act upon it. All things take place simultaneously: as you hear or recite the words, they kindle faith inside you; as you have faith inside you, your life begins to change.

What we must remember is that to live by the Quran requires a major decision on our part: we have to completely alter the course of our life, irrespective of what may be the dominant thought-patterns around us, or what our society may be dictating, or what others may be doing. This decision requires major sacrifices. But unless we, as believers in the Quran being the word of God, are prepared to take the plunge, not much good will come out of the time spent with the Quran.

Compiled From:
"QURAN: Your Gateway To A New World" - Young Muslims Publication [Download and distribute]

Trusting The Maker!

Jabir ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) use to teach us how to seek guidance in choosing the best option available in practical matters, just as he would teach us chapters from the Quran. If one of you is concerned about some practical undertaking, or about making plans for a journey, he should perform two cycles of ritual prayer, not as obligatory observance, but voluntarily. Then he should say: "O Allah, I ask You to show me what is best, through Your knowledge, and I ask You to empower me, through Your power, and I beg You to grant me Your tremendous favour, for You have power, while I am without power, and You have knowledge, while I am without knowledge, and You are the One who knows all things invisible. O Allah, if You know that this undertaking is in the best interests of my religion, my life in this world, and my life in the hereafter, and can yield successful results in both the short term and the long term, then make it possible for me and make it easy for me, and then bless me in it. O Allah, if You know that this undertaking is NOT in the best interests of my religion, my life in this world, and my life in the hereafter, then turn it away from me, and make it easy for me to do well, wherever I may happen to be, and make me content with Your verdict, O most Merciful of the merciful."

Also known as 'istikhara' in Arabic, the strength of this supplication lies in the humility of the one who seeks the guidance of his or her creator. Now, many will pray it dutifully when making big decisions. They may wait for a dream to come to them or some sort of sign that would show them without doubt what it is that they should do. And indeed that sign may come in a very tangible form. And yet, on other occasions, the answers you're looking for may not be entirely tangible. And this is precisely when you have to start trusting.

You need to start trusting in your maker, in His infinite endowments to you. You need to start trusting in your gut, your heart, and mind, because they will know the answers, by His will. We're able to start listening when we begin to trust that HE, too, is listening. And once we can believe that completely, we can become unstoppable, no matter what "unstoppable" may mean.

Compiled From:
"Release Your Inner Queen of Sheba!" - Heba Alshareef, pp. 112, 113

Hearts Filled With Fear!

Al-Muminun (The Believers)
Chapter 23: Verses 60-61

"Those who give what they have given (i.e. charity) and whose hearts are filled with fear by the very idea that they shall return to their Lord. Such people are truly racing towards their own welfare and they are the first to reach them."

Unwavering Belief in the truth of the Hereafter:

• This verse is describing the inner state of mind of the believers who are always conscious about the acceptance of their good deeds by Allah. They worry whether their charities are accepted or not. This concept of "fear" was the corner-stone that strengthened the sense of responsibility among the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
  
  
• There was a deep certainty in their hearts that one Day they would have to rise and account for all the worldly deeds, small or big. Their whole life was divided between hope for Allah’s mercy and fear of His punishment. Only Islam, unlike any other faith, is able to strike such a perfect balance between the two.

The Source of their Struggle and Patience:

They had already known that life, with all its pains, was worthless when compared with the Hereafter. Such deep convictions brought about in them a sense of indifference to all troubles and hardships that attended their life for the sake of Islam.

Examples of Umar and Hassan Al-Basri (may Allah be pleased with them):

• A concrete interpretation of this verse is given by Caliph Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Although he served Allah in a way that was exemplary, yet he was so afraid of accountability to Him, as he once said, "I shall consider it a favor (from Allah), if I am neither rewarded or punished in the Hereafter."
  
  
• Hassan Al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) once said, "A believer obeys Allah and is yet fearful of Him, whereas a hypocrite disobeys Allah and is still fearless of Him!" How ironic it is.....

Compiled From:
"The Sealed Nectar" - Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri
"Towards Understanding the Quran" - Syed Abul Ala Maududi