Deriving The Objectives Of Life From Quran And Sunnah In An Islamic Society
You cannot achieve anything meaningful
and significant without setting a fundamental objective in sight. In
fact, it is the fundamental objective that motivates and drives a person
to achieve any target one sets. This is also a fact that fundamental
objectives of different societies of world differ significantly from
each other, giving them a unique identity and a unique place in world.
For example, Aristotle, the great Greek
philosopher, according to the wisdom of his times regarded the following
three elements as the objectives:
- Beauty
- Truthfulness
- Deeds of good
Similarly, being Muslims, we should know what elements are treated as primary objectives from Islamic perspective. They include:
Total submission to Allah Almighty leading to His utter love, respect and adoration:
According to Islam, Allah is the
ultimate creator of the universe. In fact, everything present in
universe is meant to teach man about the supremacy of Allah Almighty,
accounting to complete submission to Allah’s will in the most loving
manner.
In the Name of God, the Lord of
Grace, the Ever Merciful We have always sent messages (of guidance) as a
mercy from your Lord. He alone is the One who hears all and knows all,
the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, if
only you were firm believers. There is no deity other than Him; He gives
life and deals death. He is your Lord and the Lord of your earliest
ancestors. Yet they remain in doubt, playing about. (Smoke; Al-Dukhan;
44: 5-10)
Understanding oneself as well as the universe:
Allah Almighty has awarded humanity with
what all other species and beings lack in the degree and essence, i.e.
intelligence and the power of decision. This is because Allah (SWT)
wants humans to contemplate on their own being and creation, as well as
that of the whole universe. Consider the following verses of Quran for better understanding:
“Behold! In the creation of the
heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in
the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the benefit of mankind;
in the rain which Allah Sends down from the skies, and the life which He
gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds
that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the
clouds which they trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth —
(Here) indeed are Signs for a people that are wise.” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:164)
Following Islamic values:
This also serves to be one of the major
objectives from Islamic perspectives. Since Islam not only preaches
religious beliefs and practices, but also awards a complete code of
life, following Islamic values for living life, for Muslims serves as
one of the major objectives of an Islamic society.
For that, Quran education and
Sunnah (the life patterns of Muhammad PBUH) serve as the best sources,
as told to us by none other than Prophet Muhammad (PBUH):
“I am leaving you two things and you
will never go astray as long as you cling to them — they are the Book
of Allah and my Sunnah.” [Reported by Al- Haakim - Sahih].
Conclusion
Islam is the only path that leads to Allah Almighty, as communicated by The Mightiest Himself
Aal-e-Imran [3:19]
the Religion before Allah is Islam (submission to His will): nor did
the People of the Book dissent therefrom except through envy of each
other, after knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the Signs of
Allah, Allah is swift in calling to account.
Therefore, the best way is to live your
life in a manner that pleases the Ultimate Creator, i.e. Allah Almighty.
May Allah (SWT) endow to us the will and strength to achieve these
objectives.
How Can You Make Your Life Worthier With The Help Of Quran Education?
Life is one of the most precious gifts
one can ever demand from the Mighty Lord of the universe, i.e. Allah
Almighty; Who not only created human beings, but every single particle
constituting the whole wide universe we can see and think of.
Especially blessed are the ones who have
been honored with the chance of living life as a Muslim, following the
principles of life laid by Allah (SWT) Himself, communicated to us
through a scripture as exalted as Quran.
However, erroneousness of human nature compels many human beings to go
astray and follow a lifestyle that not only creates many problems for
them in this life, but the life hereafter.
This article describes some of the ways
and habits every Muslim should avoid in order to live a life of peace
and prosperity, also guaranteeing the accord of Allah Almighty in the
eternal world.
Stay away from the company of ill-intentioned people
This is very important. As mentioned
earlier, human nature is prone to getting astray easily. In fact, that
is why Allah Almighty had been blessing humanity with constant guidance
in form of more than one hundred and twenty four thousand messengers who
devoted their lives in guiding humanity out of abyss of ignorance. That
is why wise people insist that the company a person keeps counts a lot
in determining the way one would live their life. Rogue and
ill-intentioned people around you serve to inspire and compel you for
bad things, leading you away from Quran education and Sunnah principles, as also mentioned in the following verse:
“… real wish is to see that you become a
disbeliever, as they have disbelieved, so that you may become exactly
like them. So you should not take friends from their ranks unless they
immigrate in the way of God…” (Qur’an; 4:89)
Stop looking for help from anyone other than Allah
Being a Muslim, one of
the basic requirements is to consider none other than Allah to be the
ultimate source of power and strength, seeking help only from Him.
However, it is quite unfortunate and disturbing when people resort to
sources other than Allah Almighty as their help. Allah (SWT) loves every
human being more than anyone else ever could, and listens to the please
and prayers of those who resort to Him with full faith. Consider the
following verse to get a better understanding on this:
If My servants ask you about Me, I am
near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls on Me. They should
therefore respond to Me and believe in Me so that hopefully they will be
rightly guided.
(Surat al-Baqara: 186)
(Surat al-Baqara: 186)
Stop being ungrateful
Allah (SWT) says in Quran:
It is He Who has spread out the earth
for (His) creatures: Therein is fruit and date-palms, producing spathes
(enclosing dates): Also corn with (its) leaves and stalk for fodder and
sweet-smelling plants. Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye
deny? (Al Rahman 55; verses 10-13)
Conclusion
It is really up to us how happily we
want to live our lives. We can either be the cry-babies, whining,
crying, and complaining for the little bit of what we do not have; or be
the thankful and grateful beings, expressing our gratitude for
countless bounties bestowed to us by Allah Almighty.
Verdict of Islam on Men Shaking Hands With Non-Mehram Women
One of the major questions asked by most
of the Muslims residing in West is that, shaking hands with a
non-mehram woman is permissible or not?
The ‘woman’ in the question includes
both Muslim and Non-Muslim women. Though the Eastern countries provide
far less places and chances, where non-mehram men and woman can shake
hands with each other, on contrary survival is not possible without
doing so in the western world. Moreover, shaking hands with a non-mehram
woman is regarded as a sin in Islam.
“For one of you to be stabbed in the
head with an iron needle is better for him than that he should touch a
woman who is not permissible for him”
This Hadeeth shows the extreme disliking
of the act of shaking hands or touching a non-mahram woman. Touching a
non-mahram woman is a grievous sin, and receiving a fatal stroke of iron
pin on head is better than committing this sin.
The Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is in direct compliance with the message of Quran.
Therefore, there is not a single chance that Prophet (PBUH) would do
what is against the Quran. Umaymah the daughter of Raqeeqah narrates
that:
‘The Messenger of Allah (Peace Be Upon Him) said, “I do not shake hands with women”
This is the clear message of Holy
Prophet (PBUH) in case you seek answer to your question of shaking hands
with non-mehram women. No reply could be as clear as the reply in the
above hadeeth.
Now if Prophet (PBUH) did not shake
hands with any women, then the next question that arises in mind is, how
did he take the bay’ah (pledge) of all the women?
The custom with men was that, Prophet
(PBUH) would take the hand of the other person in his hand and then take
his pledge of Tauheed and pronounce him a Muslim. However, in case of
women, Prophet (PBUH) adopted a different strategy, which did not
require physical touch of any sort. As narrated by Aa’isha (May Allah be
Pleased with Her):
“He used to accept the women’s oath of allegiance by words only”
Meaning that he did not apply the same
custom of taking pledge of men on the women, there was no handshake and
no physical contact.
You will find different tafseers of
Mufassareen, where they would mention that during the pledge, the
Prophet (PBUH) would ask for a vessel of water, and would dip his hands
in to it, and then the women would do the same to complete the pledge.
Some of the mufassareeen say that, the Prophet (PBUH) shake hands with
woman, with a Qatari Cloak in his hand, and some say that Umar (May
Allah be Pleased with Him), would do the hand shake with women on his
behalf.
All of these tafaseer are untrue and unauthentic, especially the last one. If you learn Quran,
you will know that Prophet (PBUH) was Masoom (infallible), and if the
Infallible Prophet (PBUH) could not shake hand with women, then how
could Umar (Allah be pleased with him) do so.
Islam is a religion of understanding, so
in case of necessity where a woman does not have any other woman to
help her, like in medical treatment, removing of tooth, or any eye
procedure, then a non-mahram can touch a woman and it would not be
considered a sin. Because the act was performed in dire necessity, and
there was no other option.
In a nutshell, shaking hands or touching
a non-mahram is extremely prohibited in Islam, with no leverage
whatsoever. You can only have physical contact with a non-mahram, if he
or she is in a medical treatment, and don’t have the option of being
taken care by the same gender.
