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Friday Talks |
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Friday Talks |
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93 |
Benefits of Faith
Written by: Sk. Dr. Younis Salih
Translated by: Dr. Faheem Bukhatwa.
19 February 2009
22 Safar 1430
All thanks be to Allah. Peace and prayers be upon the most honorable of all messengers.
Dear Brother,
Today’s talk is about faith. Not reality and foundations of faith, rather I will talk about the benefits of faith.
Faith when it takes over the heart has great effects on the individual. Faith is not a small matter in a person’s life. In fact a complete change in one’s life which makes him or her go through this life as this faith requires. There is no value to the life of an individual without faith. The human being without faith in the greater unseen and without Islam taking a good hold on his or her heart will change into a monster that cares about nothing except self interest. Society without faith is a jungle where the strong will eat the weak; and where the rights are lost. Faith is the safety valve for any society and a strong connection that pulls the individuals together. Faith makes the person do his or her obligations not out of fear of law or fear from a punishment in this life; but because they know that Allah can see them and Allah shall reward them for good and for bad. The benefits of faith are great and many and of them we mention the following:
1) Absolute confidence in Allah
The absolute confidence of the faithful with what he or she has. They do not need to have a second look at things, nor keep on changing opinions. Allah says: {Say I am on clarity from my God, and you disbelieved what I have with me, do not be hastened with it. The decision belongs to no one except Allah. He tells the truth and He is the best judge in all matters} 6:57.
Yes, when the person is so clear about his or her God then his faith is as firm and solid as the mountain whose roots penetrate deep into the ground. Certainty is never shaken, and the scales are never unbalanced. That was the case of our messenger (ppbu) in his firmness on faith. Even when Quraish wanted to entice him with what any other human would not be able to resist; money, riches, status and power; he replied to their offer with verses from the Koran. He recited: {Ha, Meem, (Í ã) it came down from the most Gracious the most Merciful. A book its signs are so expressed in so much details. And Arabic readable for those who have knowledge. Bearer of good tiding and bringer of warnings, so most of them denied, for they do not listen} 41:1-13. Faith is located so deep with the heart of the Messenger (ppbu).
Faith changes those souls that are difficult to change. The beauty of faith penetrating into the heart; can change a man from state of denial, ignorance and associating other with God, to the perfect nature of faith. That’s what happened to the magicians of Faro when they saw the evidence.
2) Refraining form Sin
One of the effects of faith is keeping away from sins; and evaluating desires and their consequences with the scale of the life after not with the scale of this life. This who is weak in faith may loose his strength and may fall for the desires and temptations if opportunities present themselves; and when the watchful eye of Allah within his heart is not there. He would dive into sin, and afterward he wakes up and realizes what he had done. The faithful when faced with tempting desire to sin he faces it by reading Allah’s words: {I fortify my self with Allah. He is my God who gave me good patterns; those who transgress shall not win} 12:23. and also faces temptations with Allah’s words: {I fear if I disobey my God, I fear the punishment of a majestic day} 6:15.
A person with faith fears disobedience and always keeping an eye on him self or her self in all matters big and small. A faithful will loose sleep over committed sins. He or she sees a sin so enormous even if it is a small sin. This is an important feature which distinguishes those with faith from those who do not have faith. The faithful will see a sin as a big mountain hovering over him and about to fall on top of him, while a hypocrite will see his sin as small as a fly that lands on his face and casually he would hush it away.
3) Faith into Allah’s promises
Another effect of faith is the absolute confidence into Allah’s promise and his support and victory. The faithful will see a trouble as present; and a difficulty as closeness to Allah. All tough circumstances will do is increase his confidence in God. Our messenger (ppbu) taught us many lessons in the great concepts of faith. Do you recall what he said to his friend when they were being tracked in that cave? He said: {As he says to his companion: do not be saddened; For Allah is with us} 9:40.
Those with faith will seek no one except Allah when all things go wrong. The messenger (ppbu) when ever he felt danger he rushes to Allah and says: {Allah is our protector and He is the best care taker}. The same words uttered by prophet Abraham when he was thrown into the fire.
Dear brothers, stay with Allah. Fear Him. And be with the believers and the faithful in order to win the rewards and prizes of faith. And be certain that Allah loves those who have faith, in fact Allah becomes jealous for the faithful. The messenger (ppbu) said: {Allah’s jealousy for the faithful is when the faithful commits a sin}.
Dear God, Keep our faith for us, and give us firmness to faith. God give us strength to do good and stay away from bad. Dear God, we have no strength and no scope except with you. God do not leave us to our selves.
Notes:
The inhabitants of the city of Al-Medina that received and supported the messenger (PPBU) when he immigrated from Mekkah in the very early years of Islam.
Adhan - The call to prayer.
Ansar (or Al-Ansar):
Assalam Alaikum - The Islamic greeting, literately means: Peace be with you. Used when approaching or leaving. When used during approaching it will be like saying: I bring no harm to you . and when said during leaving somebody it will mean: No harm will come to you after I leave.
is a verse of the Koran. It also means a miracle or a sign from God. Aya (or Ayah):
is a mountain outside the city of Mecca that represents the climax of the Hajj worship. All doing Hajj must stay at this location on the same day. Arafa (or Arafah or Arafat):
Badr - The place of the first significant battle between the Muslims and the pagans of the Quraish. It is located in Saudi Arabia.
Caliph - A Muslim ruler. See: (Khalifa)
Dajjal - Antichrist or the False Massiah.
Dawah - The proliferation of Islamic teachings through word and deed.
Deen (Din) - Religion or way of life.
talking to Allah; praising him and asking him for help. Duaa: a prayer in the form of
Fatwa - Legal verdict given based on the Qur'an (Koran) and the Sunnah which are the recorded sayings and deeds of Muhammad.
Ferdose: is the highest level of the all the gardens of Eden or paradise.
Fiqh - Religious law.
Hadeeth: is something reported that the messenger have said. It includes all the speeches and ceremonies he gave. It is usually narrated or told by one of his companions. There is a list of hadeeths approximately 14000 that are reported and checked to be genuine. No more hadeeths are acceptably added to this list.
Hajar - The Black Stone set into the corner of the Ka'aba in Mecca. It is said to be a stone from Heaven.
Hajj - The pilgrimage to Mecca which takes place in the last month of the Islamic calendar. One of the five pillars of Islam.
Hasana or hasanas: is the reward for a good deed. a hasana is a point or a merit for a good deed.
Hadith - The sayings and not deeds of the prophet Muhammad recorded by his followers. Considered authoritative and perfect.
Hajj: is the worship of pilgrimage.
Hijra (or Hejrah): the event of the immigration of the messenger from Mekkah to Madina. This event marks the start of the Islamic calendar. the Islamic calendar has 12 months based on the lunar cycle, each is 29.5 days. Hijra is also used as a name for the Islamic dating system.
Ibadah - Worship. All the words and deeds with which Allah is pleased. These deeds could be prayer and charity.
Iblis - (Ibleese): On of Satan's names.
Ibn (Ebn): the son of. Used by Arabs as part of an individual's name. Example: Ali whose father is Omar or the son of Omar, would be called: Ali Ibn Omar.
Imam (or Emam)- The leader for a prayer. In the Shiaa sect, an Imam is the individual who has the religious authority.
Iman: belief or faith
Injil (Enjeel) - The Bible. The book inspired to Jesus for the Christians.
Islam - Submission, the religion of all the prophets of Allah culminating in Muhammad.
Jannah - The heavenly garden, Paradise. The place of the faithful in the afterlife.
Jihad: is striving in the line of Allah in many forms. Includes a very wide scope varying from improving oneself to fighting a defensive war in protection of Allah's word. The greatest Jihad is the fight one's self against temptations. It also means "holy war."
Jinn - Supernatural, invisible beings race of beings, below angels. They were made from fire. Like humans, there amongst them are the faithful and the non beleivers and Jinn shall be judged on Judgment Day.
Ka'aba: A cube shaped building in Mecca containing a stone laid there by Abraham and Ishmael. Some say Ka'aba was first built by Adam, and some say by Abraham. It is the holiest place for Muslims. It is where all Muslims face in their daily prayers. Ka'aba also makes a major part of the pilgrimage in a ritual known as Tawaf.
Khalifa: is the Muslim ruler. Head of the Islamic empire. Exact translation: "Successor".
Khutbah - A sermon given in a Mosque, usually on Friday.
Kufr - Denial or Disbelief. A term Muslims use for anyone who denies existence of Allah or the prophecy of Muhammed.
Koran - Also spelled Qur'an. The holy book of Islam revealed to Muhammad by Allah through the Archangel Gabriel. Koran literally means "the recital." It is the final revelation of Allah given to the prophet Muhammad. It consists of 114 surahs (or chapters.)
Madinah - (Medinah): A city in the Arabian peninsula (in the country known now as Saudi Arabia). A city where the messenger had to immigrate to. Then it was called Yathrib.
Masjid - A center for Muslim activity. It is referred to as a mosque.
Masiah - A sin, or a sinful act
Mecca or Makkah: is the holiest city for Muslims. It contains the Ka'aba mosque with the famous black cubical shape. Mecca is the birth place of the messenger (PPBU).
Mosque - A Muslim house of worship.
Muhajir - (Muhajireen) Immigrant, one who leaves his home town due to lack of religious freedom. It was first used to describe early Muslims immigrating from Mecca to Median and Ethiopia.
Muhammad - the final messenger and prophet of God whose message abrogated all previous revelations. He received the Koran through the angel Gabriel over a 23 year period. Born in Mecca and died in Medina at the age of 63. His full name: Muhammad ibn Abd-Allah
Muslim - One who holds faith to the religion of Islam.
Nafilah: a voluntary prayer other than the five obligatory prayers; performed at any time.
Nasara - Christians. Nasrani: A Christian individual. Nasraniah: Christianity.
Ommah: is the Arabic word for a nation. It usually refers to the Islamic nation unless otherwise specified.
Paradise - Another word for heaven. A garden of bliss, fruits, rivers and all forms of pleasures imaginable and imaginable. No suffering, disease or death. Service is provided by angels. All live in it an ever lasting youthful life. Promised by Almighty Allah to all faithful, true Jews, true Christians and True Muslims. Paradise is one of two places every person will go to, either Paradise or Hellfire.
PPBU (P.B.U.H.) : Peace and Prayers Be Upon him. A statement Muslims use any time they mention the name of the messenger or make a reference to him.
Qadar - Fate. Preordainment is the teaching that all things, good and bad, are preordained to occur.
Qadr - (night of Qadr): The night when the first revelation of the Koran took place. Most likely it happened during one of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan. Or when the Koran was brought down to the nearest heaven in one go, and from there it was brought down in bits and few verses at a time over a period of 23 years. This night is considered the holiest night for Muslims with tremendous advantages.
Qibla - The direction which Muslims turn for daily prayers, towards Mecca.
Quraish - An ancient Arab tribe to which the messenger Muhammad belonged.
Ramadan - The ninth month of the Islamic calendar which is the month of the fast. The holiest month in the Muslim colander.
Salat - Prayers. Generally it covers all forms of worship, but more specifically refers to the Muslim rituals which is performed to worship Allah five times daily.
Shiaa: A sect of Islam that teaches that a religion leader (Imam) should be the political ruler and must be direct descendants of the messenger (PPBU). Therefore, disapproving of all Muslim leaders who ruled After the messenger (PPBU) except Ali, the messenger's grandson.
Shirk - Associating another god with Allah. Or associating anyone or anything with Allah. Or using anyone or anything as a medium to Allah. The opposite of Monotheism or Tawheed.
Siam or Soam- Fasting
Sunni: is a the title of those Muslims who are suppose to be following the life style of the messenger. This differentiates them from the Shiaa of Iran.
Sunna (Sunnah): Is how the Messenger PPBU lived, what he did or said. It includes the way he dressed, ate, drank, prayed, interacted with other people and fought. Basically, sunnah is the life style of the messenger PPBU. It is considered the second source of legislation in Islamic laws and it is considered to be an important reference to be used for concluding arguments and disputes. It is also a title give to the main stream Muslims who make 90% if all Muslims.
Surah - A chapter of the Koran.
Tawaf: part of the pilgrimage (Hajj) ritual. It involves walking round the Ka'aba Mosque in anti-clock wise direction a number of seven circles.
Tauhid - Tawheed - Monotheism, in Islam is the teaching that there is only one God who alone is worthy of worship. The first requirement of becoming a Muslim. It is included in the testimony of faith for new Muslims when declaring that God is one: (No God but Allah)
Taqwah - Proper fear and veneration of Allah. A divine spark that enables the person to understand God.
Taurat: The old Testaments and scriptures of Mosa.
Ummah - the word means: a Nation. Usually refers to the Islamic nation unless otherwise stated.
Umrah - (Amrah): A mini hajj. A Minor form of pilgrimage to Mecca. Unlike Hajj which can only be done on the 12th month of the Islamic year, Umrah can be performed at any time.
Wathoo (wadoo): a washing up ritual done by Muslims before each of the five daily prayers known as ablution.
Zaboor - The Psalms
Zakat - The third pillar of Islam. Alms giving, charity that is given to the poor.
Faheem Bukhatwa, my email
address is : faheemfb@gmail.com
