بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
يس
وَالْقُرْآنِ الْحَكِيمِ
إِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
عَلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ
ya-sin
wa-al- qur’an al- hakeem
‘inna -ka la- min al- mursalen
‘alaa siraat mustaqeem
Ya Sin.
By the wise Qur’an,
Truly you are from those
On a straight path
تَنْزِيلَ الْعَزِيزِ الرَّحِيمِ
لِتُنْذِرَ قَوْمًا مَا أُنْذِرَ آبَاؤُهُمْ فَهُمْ غَافِلُونَ
لَقَدْ حَقَّ الْقَوْلُ عَلَى أَكْثَرِهِمْ فَهُمْ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ
tanzel al- ‘azeez ar- raheem
li- tundhir qawman ma undhira ‘aba’ -hum fa- hum
ghaafiloon
la- qad haqqa al- qawl ‘alaa akthar -him fa- hum la yu’minoon
A revelation of the Mighty, the Merciful,
So that you may warn a folk whose fathers were not warned, so
they are heedless.
Already the word has proved true for most of them, for they
believe not.
The object of the discourse is to warn the Quraish of the consequences of not believing in the Prophethood of Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and of resisting and opposing it with tyranny, ridicule and mockery. The aspect of the warning is dominant and conspicuous although along with repeatedly giving the warnings, arguments also have been given for the correct understanding by the people.
Arguments have been given for three things:
- For tauhid, from the signs of the universe and from common sense;
- For the Hereafter, from the signs of the universe, from common sense and from man’s own existence itself;
- For the Prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad, from the fact that he was facing all kinds of hardships in the preaching of his message without any selfish motive, and from this that whatever he was inviting the people to was rational and reasonable, accepting which was in the people’s own interest.
On the strength of these arguments, themes of reprobation, reproof and warning have been presented repeatedly in a highly forceful manner, so that hearts are shaken up and those which have any capacity for accepting the truth left in them should not remain unmoved.
Imam Ahmad, Abu Daud, Nasai, Ibn Majah and Tabarani have related on the authority of Hadrat Ma’qil bin Yasar that the Holy Prophet said: “Surah Ya Sin is the heart of the Quran.” This is similar to describing the Surah Al Fatihah as the Umm al Quran (the essence or mother or core of the Quran), because Al Fatihah contains the sum and substance of the teaching of the whole Quran. The Surah Ya Sin has been called the throbbing heart of the Quran because it presents the message of the Quran in a most forceful manner, which breaks the inertness and stirs the spirit of man to action.
Again Imam Ahmad, Aba Da’ud and Ibn Majah have related from the same Ma’qil bin Yasar that the Holy Prophet said: “Recite Surah Ya Sin to the dying ones among you.” The object is not only to revive and refresh the whole Islamic creed in the mind of the dying person but also bring before him, in particular, a complete picture of the Hereafter so that he may know what stages he would have to pass through after crossing the stage of this worldly life.
Over the next few weeks we will be delving into the heart of the Quran. It is most important that we understand our relationship with Allah (SWT) and with rasool allah (SAW). For us as Muslims we need to be reminded in the strongest sense of our duties and responsibilities and of the consequences of not fulfilling them. Allah (SWT) is telling us that in this sura, in strong terms with might and power. In it he reminds us of many things, among them are –
- Al-Qur’an is revealed by Allah to warn people and establish a charge-sheet against the disbelievers.
- Allah has created all things in pairs.
- The day, night, sun and moon; all are being regulated by Allah.
- Scenes from the Day of Judgement:
- Allah’s greetings to the residents of Paradise.
- Allah’s address to the criminal sinners.
- Hands and feet shall bear witness.
- All human beings shall be raised back to life again on the Day of Judgement for accountability of their deeds
The purpose of our exploring this sura is for us to become more pure in our hearts and closer to Allah (SWT) and to be reminded and why is it so important for us to keep our hearts full of faith?
It is said that the believers will intercede for their brothers and sisters on judgement day saying:
‘O Allah! (Save) our brothers (for they) used to pray with us, fast with us and also do good deeds with us.’ Allah will say, ‘Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of one (gold) Dinar.’ Allah will forbid the Fire to burn the faces of those sinners. They will go to them and find some of them in Hell (Fire) up to their feet, and some up to the middle of their legs. So they will take out those whom they will recognize and then they will return, and Allah will say (to them), ‘Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of one half Dinar.’ They will take out whomever they will recognize and return, and then Allah will say, ‘Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant), and so they will take out all those whom they will recognize.’
So we must be vigilant in our own hearts and also vigilant in watching our brothers and sisters and encouraging them so that they will be recognized on that day. But it is better, if they know, that they use the time here for the betterment of their deen. Remember, we do not know when this day is coming but we can do our best to prepare for it insha’allah!
Part 2
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Mutilation of Bodies is prohibited in Islam. There is not doubt about this. Even a dog’s dead body had “beautiful teeth” to Rasool allah (SAW).
Narrated Abdullah bin Yazid Al Ansari
The Prophet forbade robbery (taking away what belongs to others without their permission), and also forbade mutilation (or maiming) of bodies.
About using the punishment of mutilation, Abu Bakr addressed a Governor as follows:
“I have heard that you laid hands on a woman who had showered abuses on me, and you got her hands amputated. God has not sought vengeance even in the case of polytheism, which is a great crime. He has not permitted mutilation even with regard to manifest infidelity. Try to be considerate and sympathetic in your attitude towards others in future. Never mutilate because it is a great offence. God purified Islam and the Muslims from rashness and excessive wrath. You are well aware of the fact that those enemies fell into the hands of the Messenger of Allah who had been recklessly abusing him, who had turned him out of his home, and who had fought against him, but he never ordered their mutilation.” (Abu Bakr ke Sarkari Khatut by Khurshid Ahmad Fariq.)
Additionally, we are exhorted again and again not to behave in ways that cast a bad reputation for Islam and for other Muslims. Now we have seen these scenes of the bodies being dragged in Falujah on the TV and in the newspapers all over the world. It is true that the occupying forces have killed innocents and the press keeps covering this up and not reporting on it or showing it, but they do show this deplorable behavior. This behavior is not according to Islam, not according to what our Prophet (SAW) did and not according to Sharia. It is ignorance and behavior more fitting animals.
Also, there has been a call lately for more “moderate” Muslims to speak out and for Muslims in countries, especially the US and Briton to listen to these people and to align with them. I hate this term, “moderate”. I am a muslim, I do not need any qualifiers like “moderate” or any other to define my religion for me. My religion is defined by Allah (SWT) in the Quran and by the sunnah. If my message is palatable to governments of the world is entirely unimportant to me. If they like it or not is up to them but I will do my best to live the deen to the best of my knowledge. Islam is not a religion of politics. What I say here is not political. But I will say this. Rasool allah (SAW) always implored his followers to be kind and compassionate like Allah (SWT) has asked. He also implores us to be moderate in our religion as well, salat, fasting, etc.
وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ
الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتِي كُنْتَ عَلَيْهَا إِلا لِنَعْلَمَ
مَنْ يَتَّبِعُ الرَّسُولَ مِمَّنْ يَنْقَلِبُ عَلَى عَقِبَيْهِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ لَكَبِيرَةً
إِلا عَلَى الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ
(2:143) لَرَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ
Al baqarah ayat 143
We have made you a moderate Ummah (nation) so
that you may testify against mankind and that your
own Rasool may testify against you. We decreed your
former Qiblah only to distinguish those who are the
real followers of the Rasool from those who would
back away from the faith. It was indeed a hard test
except for those whom Allah has guided. Allah wants
not to make your faith fruitless. Allah is
Compassionate and Merciful to mankind.
If I am moderate, it is the moderation asked of me by Allah (SWT) and rasool allah (SAW) it is not for the sake of any political gain but for the sake of my deen. If they like it, fine, if they don’t like it, that is fine also. I will not have to answer to them when my final day comes I will have to answer only to Allah (SWT). Wa allahu alim.
This past week a friend of mine passed away. George Mahbud Crawford was not just a friend of mine, nor just a friend of many friends of mine, nor just of our entire community, but of many, known and unknown, and of a web of communities spanning many walks of life, many faiths, many lifestyles and many lives. He gave of himself generously and not only of his time and wealth but also of his heart. The huge heart of this man could embrace so many so fully, without any thought of recompense or need of recognition. There are so many stories of examples of this remarkable life. As for me, I had not seen Mahbud for a while, but before that he would come to the book store where I worked, and we would talk. It was always on a slow day, he would wander in, for a nice afternoon talk on one subject or another, usually spiritual, always enjoyable, or to bring me a book he knew I would like, or to buy a gift for a friend.
We are very pleased to announce that bookings are now being taken for a new seminar on “Prayer and Purification” given by Imam Salim Chishti and Tara Chishti. For more information about the seminar and how to bring it to your area please read the web page at:
Among all the popular books being presented now that deal with Islam relating to current events there is nothing still that can compare with this book, published in 1975 dealing with Islam as a path to the divine – known as tasawwuf or, more popularly, Sufism. 
Ihsan Center - Islam From The Heart 