4 Realizations of Faith

We tend to be very forgetful creatures sometimes. We often lose focus and get caught up in the details of our day-to-day lives to such an extent that we don’t pause to consider the bigger picture. Even thinking about it causes people to feel uneasy; “forget that religious talk, let me just enjoy my life!”

As they say, ignorance is bliss. Knowledge is tough, because you have to grapple with the consequences of knowing things. You may be obligated to change aspects about yourself. And who likes to change themselves? It’s much easier to just remain the same.

Such a person chooses to remain asleep while the world around him beckons to a potentially deeper understanding.

What Islam Really Teaches

If you were to give an award to “the world’s most misunderstood religion,” you would be hard pressed not to give it to Islam. After all, what is Islam? Is it a pagan religion? Is it a heretical sect of Christianity? Is it a violent religion? Is it a religion of hate? If you were to theoretically follow all of the fundamentals of Islam, what would be your character, your ethics, and your creed? Would you become a blind barbarian, seeing all infidels worthy of death? Would you become a moon-god worshiper, following in the footsteps of an unjust prophet? Would you recite the words of hate and oppression contained in your unholy book?

The Many Problems of Atheism

Atheists, like any group of people who have a common belief, are actually very diverse. There are many genuinely understanding atheists around the world who know that people have different viewpoints and thus respect the decision to have faith. On the other hand, there are also a good chunk of atheists who despise any person who entertains the idea of belief. These staunch atheists like to present themselves as heralds of reason and truth, resisting the spread of falsehood and corruption in the form of ignorant traditions and ancient religions.

Why Do We Exist?

And when it is said to them, “Believe as the people have believed,” they say, “Should we believe as the foolish have believed?” Unquestionably, it is they who are the foolish, but they know [it] not. [2:13]

Ever since society started to become secularized, atheism has grown as an intellectual movement and a cult of skepticism has emerged in modern culture. Nowadays, people tend to view themselves in a superior light thanks to the advancements made in science and technology. We now take a rational approach to life; no longer do we invent stories to explain how and why things happen, rather we only make judgements after physical evidence is presented before us.

It is true; eliminating superstitions and expecting evidence has indeed allowed us to advance as a society.

Cultural Masochism

Verily, We have created man in toil. [90:4]

Life isn’t easy for human beings. Whether one is wealthy or poor, highly skilled or entirely uneducated, life is a series of tough choices. However, at the heart of it all is a single goal. Something keeps us going through the different trials and tribulations. It is a single idea, a hope, that after all the effort one puts into his day-to-day life, man will attain his dream,

Gratification

If the human experience can be summed up in a single phrase, it would be the following: a search for gratification and contentment. Ever since the dawn of time, man has tried to find a sense of tranquility and peace within himself.

Muhammad ﷺ in Judeo-Christian Traditions

Muslims make the claim that Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the last in the long line of messengers and prophets of God. To a Christian or a Jew, such a claim is naturally received with some skepticism. If God had planned for a prophet after Jesus, then you would think that there would be some prophecy in the scriptures of his advent.

What people don’t know, however, is that it would seem that there is indeed some prophecy in Judeo-Christian tradition regarding another prophet. Why don’t we take a look?

Can Jesus Die for You?

The central concept in Christian belief regarding salvation is the idea that Jesus died on the Cross as a payment for the sins of humanity. This was necessary because the punishment for sin is death, and so in order for sins to be removed the punishment must be carried out. Sin cannot be simply “forgiven” because that would be injustice and it would be breaking the law. The only way we as humans could be forgiven is if someone paid the price for us. Since Jesus was God, then his sacrifice was infinite and his one death paid the price for the whole of humanity.

To a Christian, the above sounds logical and makes sense. However, to Muslims several aspects makes no sense at all:

What’s Hair Have to Do With It?

Why do Muslim women wear the hijab? Depending on who you ask, you will surely get many different answers. But in reality, there is only one answer. Only one valid answer, anyway.

Allah commands:

“And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women.

Unforgivable Sin

Shirk in Islam is the concept of assigning partners to God. It also happens to be among the biggest sins a person can commit. Allah says in the Qur’an, Surat an Nisa’ ayah 48:

Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin.

It is one sin that Allah will not forgive a person if he dies while adhering to it. If you were not familiar with the Islamic concept of worship and belief in general, then it may seem like the condemnation is too harsh. After all, we live in a multicultural society where all types of worship are respected as valid personal beliefs.

Death and its Role in Life

The following are my notes for a halaqa I delivered for the local Muslim Student Association.

Assalaamu ‘Aleikum

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ

Sahih International
“O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].”
Today’s halaqah will be about the topic of death. I’ll start off by talking the concept of death, and how it relates to our life in this world, then I’ll finish off with some reminders and questions for you to consider.