Friday, February 20, 2009

Surah 24: An-Nur (The Light) Verses 23-42

I recently read parts of a book titled "Christianity, Islam and the Negro Race" by Edward W. Blyden which compared the lives, cultures, and statuses of "Mohammaden Africans" and "Christian Africans” as viewed through the eyes of Europeans during the late 1800s. I was surprised to learn that even at that time, many Europeans realized the effect Islam had upon a natural society that followed pagan religions (by natural I mean largely unaffected by modernization). It seems, Blyden said, that the “Mohammadan Africans” felt, in temperament, character, and general self-awareness of one's status, equal to white men and thus, were indeed equal in intellectual conversation and “cultural and moral practices.” The reasons Blyden gives for this are: 1.) In Islam, as soon as one became a Muslim, he/she was a free man/woman and in servitude to none but the highest Being, Allah. 2.)When an African man/woman converted to Islam from the pagan religion which he/she followed, the first task was to learn to read the Quran and gain knowledge from scholars; that is, gaining intellectual knowledge became a kind of worship and was highly encouraged. 3.) Once he gained even some part of that knowledge, he learned of the previous scholars, kings, theologians, travelers, and highly respected men within the tradition of Islam who were of African descent. He realized their merit and saw that others of his race were truly considered equal to white men (if not in a higher social standing due to their knowledge). Blyden specifically mentions that one of the first African persons they learned of was also an extremely important man in Islamic history -- Bilal (peace and blessings be upon him), who was given the most honored position by the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to serve as the first caller to prayer when Islam was established. 4.) In contrast, when African's from pagan backgrounds converted to Christianity, they were told that the white man was 'superior' and reading and education were strongly discouraged -- the reasoning? That a man (such as an African) who would never be fit to use letters did not have a need to learn them. I don't think Blyden was implying that this was the case throughout all Christian converts, but it was for a vast majority of the one's he observed.

Anywho, after reading this, I went back to the ultimate source for all Muslims, the Quran. I knew that at the time the Quran was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) slavery was still in practice** , but never bothered paying much attention to the verses regarding it because ( thank God) they don't apply much today. But subhanallah, when I went back to read these verses closely, I was somewhat surprised to find so many rules for the RIGHTS of slaves in Islam…

The verses in this video contain some of them and are pretty self explanatory.

In addition, this Surah of the Quran also contains verses about several other issues: The etiquette of visiting people's homes, as well as rulings for interactions between the opposite sexes and maintaining a high level of modesty. Lastly, verse 35 till the end (of this video) contain the famous Verses of Light which discuss, through the use of parables, the struggle to attain knowledge and closeness to Allah (swt).

Is it simply a coincidence that the verses discussing one’s closeness to Allah (swt) and those having to do with others’ rights and protecting modesty come right after one another?

I think not. :)

-Sumeyya

ps – I wrote this in a rush so didn’t cite the pages from the book; look it up on google, that’s where I found the book!

**(From a social standpoint however, it is interesting to note that in 7th century Arabia, slavery had little to do with race or ethnicity and more to do with war and power; that is, those taken as slaves were usually prisoners of war and not taken as slaves because of the color of their skin or their ethnicity.)

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Knowledge Travels - Word Of The Day (16/02/09)

Ok, had to post another one; this one is too cool and has a really good lesson too!

Every letter in the Quran has its right. When you recite, are you giving it its right?

Mashallah!

Sumeyya

Knowledge Travels - Word Of The Day (17/02/09)

Cool little series started to learn Arabic...
and now, I need to get back to finishing my 'wajibat' ! :)

Sumeyya

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Sexual Relations in Islam [1 of 5] - Muhammad ibn Adam Al-Kawthari

In a time where marriage, especially as portrayed by the media, is considered boring, and artificial, shallow relationships based on lust are encouraged, how can we as Muslims living in Western societies adhere to the Prophet's sunnah and how do we define 'romantic love' in accordance with Shari'ah and Islam? This is part 1 of 5 of a lecture (and one of three lectures given at a conference titled 'Beauty of Marriage in Islam' held in the UK January 20th, 2009) by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam-al-Kawthari. At the heart of it all is the issue of fulfilling others' rights: a wife's right, a husband's right, a child’s right, and most importantly, the concept of Taqwa, or fear of Allah, that leads us to fulfill each other's rights in the best manner possible, as exemplified by the Prophet of Allah, Muhammad ('alayhi salatu wa salaam).

Sumeyya