Friday Nasihah

Living The Quran Occasions of Revelation Al Maidah (The Table Spread) - Chapter 5: Verse 9. "No harm falls upon those who believe and do good works for what they have consumed as long as they are conscious of God and believe and do good works and then are conscious of God and believe and then are conscious of God and do good. Verily, God loves those who do good." The occasions of revelation (asbab al-nuzul) give context for Quranic statements for which there may or may not be correlating information for the Sunna. Without the background of the occasions of revelation, the normative value of many Quranic statements could be misunderstood if the verses are read in a literal fashion. There is a report that some early Muslims understood this verse to permit believers to consume alcohol. The claim that this verse permits a sincere believer to consume anything he wishes was contested by one of the Companions, who said, "If they had known the occasion of revelation they would not have said that: (the occasion) is that when wine was forbidden [by Quran 5:90], people used to say, 'What about those who were killed in the path of God [before this prohibition] and died after they had been drinking wine which is an abomination?' Then this verse was revealed." The point of this verse, then, is not that the sacred law is waived for those who have faith and do good works, but that those who are ignorant of the law will not be punished for lack of compliance with it. What this shows is that a decontextualized reading of the Quran can lead to a grave misunderstanding of its meaning. Compiled From: "The Story of The Quran: Its History and Place in Muslim Life" - Ingrid Mattson, p. 198

Understanding the Prophet's Life Condolence and Sympathy When offering condolences about a plight that befalls a relative, a friend or an acquaintance, it is very appropriate to pray for the dead. Your conversation with the anguished people should be aimed at mitigating their agony by mentioning the reward of patience, the transitory nature of life on earth and the everlasting life of the Hereafter. You may mention some of the sayings of the Prophet, peace be upon him, reported by Muslim and others: "O Allah, reward my calamity and replace my loss with a better one." Likewise, the saying of the Prophet reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim: "To Allah belongs what he gives, and to Him belongs what He takes, it is He that gives, and for every matter He prescribed a certain destiny." Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported that when the Prophet mourned the death of his son Ibrahim he said: "My eyes are tearful, my heart is full of anguish, but we will only say what pleases our Lord. O Ibrahim, your loss filled us with sorrow." Compiled From: "Islamic Manners"- Abdul Fattah Abu Ghudda, pp. 98, 99

Blindspot! Competing Competition can be extremely healthy. It drives us to improve, to reach and stretch. Without it, we would never know how far we could push ourselves. However, there is a sunny side and a dark side of competition, and both are powerful. The difference is this: Competition is healthy when you compete against yourself, or when it challenges you to reach and stretch and become your best. Competition becomes dark when you tie your self-worth into winning or when you use it as a way to place yourself above another. Let's use competition as a benchmark to measure ourselves against, but let's stop competing over boyfriends, girlfriends, status, friends, popularity, positions, attention, and the like and start enjoying life. Compiled From: "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" - Sean Covey, pp. 155, 156