The D awn The Newsletter of the Birmingham Central Mosque Trust Ltd. Issue No. 166 August 2004 | Jamadi ul-Thani – Rajab 1425 AH Registered Charity No. 259545 | Company No. 961846 By Ibrahim N. Abusharif When describing Islam, the word "simple" frequently brothers and sisters; nurturing of our children; in control pops up for the very good reason that simplicity is of our tongues and tempers; loyal to our friends; good one of the most sublime aspects of revealed religion. with our words; forgiving of insults; gentle with animals God wants us to know Him: we have no higher duty. and nature; protecting of our eyes and limbs; All men and women are charged to realize their conquerors of our egos; and a people who remember purpose as God's creatures, and because of this God often, letting such remembrance bring us calm in a there is a solid degree of simplicity to religion such time of complex confusion and the unseemly spread of that theorists and farmhands have equal access to Pharaonic complexes and unchecked sorties of human understanding the faith and should do so before they arrogance. We are grateful when good comes to us, expire. patient when tested, and rewarded for any discomfort, be it a single prick of a thorn. This "Islam" that we take to is not the name of a land or a man, but the very knock on Heaven's door, the Islam offers ease for those who newly enter; baby answerable call, and the sanctified description of a steps along the path. We are not asked to ignore logic. believer's relationship with God, the Pre-Eternal Creator, Islam is a religion of reason and intelligence. We do not Lord, and Master of the Universe, who does as He wills, fear science. We are eager for discovery. We must the One to whom we all are in a constant state of never lose our minds by choice, culture, or inebriation. returning. We love metaphors that expand our understanding of creation and its Creator, but never metaphors that With this understanding, then let's remember that "Islam" mask inexplicable doctrines authored by men of does not really demand much, though its blessings are political sway. Moderation is our badge. Balance is our plainly beyond measure. Its obligations are not many and way of life, not because it's politically correct, but the prohibitions are always in our best interests. Its because it is the surest and more direct route to our essential principles are few and uncomplicated-no ultimate objectives. mystery, secret scrolls, or theologies suitable for a hall of mirrors. Its pillars are counted on one hand. Its rites of God is closer to us than our jugular veins. He says, worship take minutes in a day. The opportunities to do "Remember Me, and I will remember you." He says, good abound. Even a simple smile is recorded as a good "Ask of Me, and I shall answer." He says, "I am deed - a bona fide act of righteousness. near; I answer the call of a caller when he calls upon Me." He says, "When My servant remembers What it takes to become a Muslim is also simple. We say Me in his heart, I remember him in My heart." two statements with sincerity. We pay no entry fees, take There's no need for a broker between God and us. This no test, nor memorize long liturgy. We need not accept is His choice, His mercy, His security, His invincible violence to qualify nor find solace in ethnocentric views of power, and His unflagging love. God has names, exclusiveness. We make a choice, the most powerful and ‘Mercy-Giving’, ‘All-Forgiving’, ‘Pardoner’, ‘All- distinguishing feature of the human creature. Then our Loving’, . When God reveals His names, then it's a actions follow. We are charged to worship God and to be good idea to pay attention. It has meaning far beyond excellent to our parents; generous with the needy; our own names that are given to us for no inherent honourable with our neighbours; pleasant with strangers reasons usually. God is "All-Merciful," therefore He and acquaintances; hardworking in our jobs; caring of our loves to shower His mercy, obliterate our sins, and cover our shameful deeds. All sins are eligible for forgiveness except this: deny God's fraud: way too slow, as far as descriptions go. We existence (though we ourselves exist and never doubt it), worry about things that have no consequence; we attribute false things to Him (something offensive when guard our inflated sense of self-importance. We, the applied to us), and then this grace is prohibited. Again, God sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, need to be is "All-Merciful", which means it is of His essence. He careful. We need to constantly revive our sincerity, the requires no event on earth to ratify it. Nothing ties His arbiter of our deeds and portal to divine acceptance. Hands. Nothing compels Him. We seek forgiveness Never does purity of heart or faith survive a passive because it is available, by God's leave. process. We must always work to keep film from covering our eyes, a constant jihad that helps us God's Messenger (may God’s peace and blessings be upon him) was distinguish the relevant from the trivial. the most beloved of human beings. He was the "chosen one", an orphan raised under God's eyes, and once a The degree to which we may know God differs shepherd, the vocation of the prophets before him. Jesus markedly between this life and the next. In the and Moses told their people of Muhammad's coming, and in Hereafter, some of the "veils" between God and the Hereafter, all the prophets will point to the Chosen One humanity are dropped, but, at that time, the scales of as the intercessor for humanity. The Prophet Muhammad our deeds will have been filled. In this life, however, loved what was right and righteous, and disliked what while things are still "live" and they "count," it is offended God. The plots of his enemies did not anger him, precisely these veils that we must endeavour to only saddened him that they would choose intrigue and penetrate and achieve a degree of faith that is beyond deviation over purity. He was blessed with enormous the proofs of science and its fundamentalists. But we're authority, but passed away will little worldly possessions. not blind here or without a guide. Certain rites have This was his choice: no grand monuments of earthly power, been passed down through the agency of prophets, no palaces, no canopied beds; only a straw mat on the floor who received them from God. So we have no excuses, that left imprints on his blessed skin that covered his and none will be accepted, for we have been taught slender body. He bequeathed to humanity teachings that with utter clarity what we must do, and, again, it is not guide to all that is good in this world and to the best of difficult. It is made known to us through revelation and outcomes in the Hereafter-Heaven: running rivers; fantastic conveyed to us via the scriptures and inspirations of the lush gardens; the grandest trees; banquets of delectable Prophets and Messengers. food and drink; gold bracelets; endless estates and meadows; gushing springs; silk clothing; cushions of T his is Islam, the primordial religion of humanity. brocade; virtuous and pure companions; palaces fatiguing to the imagination; all that we ask for, even our most extreme desires. The Companions of the Garden (per the Qu’ran) are people living forever without the nonsense, malice, insecurities, jealousy, lies, and envy that can insult, offend, and break hearts. Callousness, competition, backstabbing, insensitivity, oppression, and sheer stupidity are not just gone, but impossible! Instead, there is profound intelligence, pure sensuality, no obligations, complete freedom, and closeness to God the Exalted, all of this without end, without aging, boredom, or any kind of burden, duty, work, pain, or sickness; all of this for the patient ones, those who are God-fearing in their very brief lives, those who love God and look forward to meeting Him in the Hereafter and receiving with hope His endless mercy. Islam does not lord over us, but raises us in degrees of rank in the sight of the Lord of the Worlds. When we perceive difficulty in religion, we need to be honest and realize that we have admitted something into our hearts: love of the worldly or spiritual laziness that drags us earthward; or we have accepted assumptions and insinuations that carry us away from worship and its joys and glow. We live in a time when corruption is subtle. It often slinks under the cover of innocence and sometimes even under the rubric "piety." We convince ourselves that our decisions are for the sake of God, while often they serve our egos and our relentless grab for attention, credit, and low Ibrahim N. Abusharif is the editor of Starlatch Press based in the victories. We don't have a long time to live. "Time flies" is a United States. He may be reached at [email protected]. Pictures: BC Images By Imam Qari Ismail of Sheffield Dear Youth, Peace be to you! And Praise be to Our Lord Allah S.T. who blessed us with life and the strength of youth, as He reminds us in His words: “And Allah has created you and in time He will cause you to die; and many from you is reduced in old age to a most abject state so that he knows nothing after (having had) knowledge - Verily Allah is All Knowing – All Powerful” (16: 70) “And Allah Brought fourth from the wombs of your mothers knowing nothing, and gave hearing and sight and hearts that you might give thanks” (16:78) As we are witnessing the most difficult time in some parts of the Muslim world, we as believers should be repenting to Allah, but some of the youth are misguided by the forces of self desire, which seeks to free man from religion, and divine law.