Ideas to change your life

    بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ وَلَا تَأۡكُلُوٓاْ أَمۡوَٰلَكُم بَيۡنَكُم بِٱلۡبَٰطِلِ وَتُدۡلُواْ بِهَآ إِلَى ٱلۡحُكَّامِ لِتَأۡكُلُواْ فَرِيقٗا مِّنۡ أَمۡوَٰلِ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلۡإِثۡمِ وَأَنتُمۡ تَعۡلَمُونَ Wa laa ta’kulooo amwaalakum bainakum bil-baatili wa tudloo bihaa ilal hukkaami lita’kuloo fareeqam min amwaalin naasi bil-ithmi wa antum ta’lamoon. Al-Baqarah 2:188 — Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly, nor bring it before the authorities in order to consume a portion of people’s wealth sinfully while you know. In the old books of adab there is a small story preserved by Ibn ʿĀṣim , but like many small stories it contains a large mirror. A man stood one day near a cook. The pot was boiling, and the smell of the food filled the air. Perhaps it was meat. Perhaps it was stew. Perhaps it was one of those simple dishes whose fragrance reaches the hungry before the food itself ever does. The man had only bread with him. Dry bread is not easy to eat when the sto...

  بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ثُمَّ جَعَلۡنَٰكُمۡ خَلَـٰٓئِفَ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مِنۢ بَعۡدِهِمۡ لِنَنظُرَ كَيۡفَ تَعۡمَلُونَ Thumma ja’alnaakum khalaaa’ifa fil ardi min ba’dihim li nanzura kaifa ta’maloon Yunus (Jonah)  10:14 - And thereupon We made you their successors on earth, so that We might behold how you act.   Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi was among the notable scholars and political activists of South Asia. Among his many roles, he served as the Home Minister of the first Provisional Government of India established in Afghanistan in 1915. But that effort did not continue for long, and under indirect British pressure he was compelled to leave for Russia. It is sometimes mentioned that he met the ailing Lenin, though the evidence for such a meeting remains uncertain. What is clear, however, is that his writings show a serious engagement with the socialist movement and its concern for justice.   Before the Russian government, Maulana Ubaidullah mad...

  بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ     ضُرِبَتۡ عَلَيۡهِمُ ٱلذِّلَّةُ أَيۡنَ مَا ثُقِفُوٓاْ إِلَّا بِحَبۡلٖ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَحَبۡلٖ مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ... Duribat ‘alaihimuz zillatu aina maa suqifooo illaa bihablim minal laahi wa hablim minan naasi  Part of Al-Imran(Family of Imran) 3:112:Overshadowed by ignominy are they wherever they may be, save [when they bind themselves again] in a bond with God and a bond with men !      قُلْ يٰعِبَادِيَ الَّذِيْنَ اَسْرَفُوْا عَلٰٓى اَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوْا مِنْ رَّحْمَةِ اللّٰهِۗ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوْبَ جَمِيْعًاۗ اِنَّهٗ هُوَ الْغَفُوْرُ الرَّحِيْمُ Qul yaa’ibaadiyal lazeena asrafoo ‘alaaa anfusihim laa taqnatoo mirrahmatil laah; innal laaha yaghfiruz zunooba jamee’aa; innahoo Huwal Ghafoorur Raheem Az- Zumar  (The Troops) 39:53 Say, "O My slaves! Those who have transgressed against themselves, (do) not despair of (the) Mercy (of) Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives the sins all. Indeed...

  بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمُۢ بِذَاتِ ٱلصُّدُورِ  innal laaha ‘aleemum bizaatis sudoor Part of Al-Imran(Family of Imran) 3:119: Behold, God has full knowledge of what is in [their] hearts ! Niaz Fatehpuri , a famous albeit somewhat misguided Urdu poet who had won many awards and accolades in South Asia was a strong critic of religion. Once in Lucknow, he was arguing with Maulana Manzoor Nomani against the existence of miracles in general, and specifically that the Prophet ﷺ had not performed any miracles. Maulana politely said that between the two of us, can we come up with a strategy to fix this city and rid it of the misguided and corrupt people?  Niaz replied,  "Maulana you are crazy, this is impossible!" To which Maulana replied, "You are well read and erudite, and you cannot even entertain the idea, and yet you saw how an unlettered Prophet with no worldly teacher, within a portion of his lifetime, managed to transform the wors...

  بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ  ... فَٱبۡتَغُواْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرِّزۡقَ وَٱعۡبُدُوهُ وَٱشۡكُرُواْ لَهُۥٓۖ إِلَيۡهِ تُرۡجَعُونَ ... fabtaghoo ‘indal laahir rizqa wa’budoohu washkuroo lahooo ilaihi turja’oon Part of Al-Ankabut (The Spider)  29:17    seek, then, all [your] sustenance from God, and worship Him [alone] and be grateful to Him: [for] unto Him you shall be brought back!   Depend solely on your Lord In the well known historical compilation Al-Bidāya wa-n-Nihāya ( البداية والنهاية ), The Beginning and The End, by Ibn Kathir , there is mention of the story of the grandson of sayyidina Umar ibn al-Khattabؓ, known as Sālim ibn Abdullahؓ ibn Umarؓ. Once when Hisham bin Abdul Malik, one of the Umayyad rulers was performing Hajj , he saw Sālim performing Tawaf around the Ka'aba .  Unadorned, with simple attire and handling pair of sandals in need of repair, the austere appearance caused an idea to form in the ruler's mind.  P...

  بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ فَعَّالٞ لِّمَا يُرِيدُ Fa’ ‘aalul limaa yureed Al-Buruj (The Mansions of the Stars)  85:15    a Sovereign Doer of whatever He wills.  Know your Limits and Limitations This is a story whose origins lie in a debate with one of my acquaintances who was from the Ahmadiyyah community (which us Muslims often call Qadiani or Mirzai, in a derogatory way), before reverting back to Islam after renouncing his beliefs in the community.  Knowing that I am from Kashmir, he had tried to form a connection using the name of Hakeem Noor-ud-din , who spend several years as the court physician of the Maharaja of Kashmir. Hakeem Noor-ud-din was of the most well read and well traveled of those involved in the missionary activity in the cause of the Ahmadiyyah, and was influential in shaping their discourse.  I read up on his biography, and on page 106, I found an interesting story, which not only showcases the vision of true s...