The Muslim Brings About Harmony
The Muslim Brings About Harmony Among People By Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah “Islam advocates this etiquette and stresses it so as to perfect the Muslim personality and to bring about harmony among people. There is no doubt that embodying such manners and virtues enhances personal style and qualities, refines personality and brings us closer to the hearts and minds of others. The forthcoming manners and etiquette are central to Islam, its purposes and its aims. Calling it ‘etiquette’ by no means implies that it is marginal to life and social behaviour. It does not mean Muslims have the option of ignoring this code of behaviour, or that it is merely preferable to adhere to it. In pointing out that manners rank higher than deeds, Imam Al-Qarãfi in his...
Read MoreSublime conduct with neighbours
Hasan al-Basri (rahmatullahi alayhi) had a Christian neighbour who had a toilet on top of his house. Urine used to seep through from the toilet into the house of Hasan al-Basri (rahmatullahi alayhi), who ordered that a container be placed beneath that area so that the drops would fall therein. At night, he would dispose of the contents. One day, he was ill and his Christian neighbour came to visit him. When he noticed what was going on, he asked, “How long have you been patiently bearing my filth?” Hasan al-Basri (rahmatullahi alayhi) replied, “Twenty years.” On hearing this, he decided to accept Islam. The sublime conduct taught by Islam has the power to touch the lives of others. Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah (rahmatullahi alayhi) emphasising on the...
Read MoreRespect for the law of the land
There are countless incidents from the life of Hakīm al-Ummah Hadrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (rahmatullai alayhi) which illustrate his strict adherence to the law of countries/authorities, even if they be non-Islamic countries. One of our teachers in the Jami’ah Dar al-’Ulum (Karachi) once related an incident from the life of Hakīm al-Ummah to illustrate this. A khalifah-e-mujaz (an appointed representative) of Hakīm al-Ummah once came to Thana Bhavan to visit him. He had travelled by train from another part of India to get to the khanqa (spiritual retreat) in Thana Bhavan. When he met Hakīm al-Ummah, the latter, when asking the former of how he was etc, asked him how old his son who was accompanying him was. The khalifah replied that he was...
Read MoreThe importance of integrating with and contributing to society
Integration is defined as the free association of people of different ethnicities, religions, and beliefs. Hadhrat Moulana Husayn Ahmad Madani, one of the leading pioneers of Deoband, campaigned with Mahatma Ghandi for the independence of India. He once forcefully stated: “If Muslims cannot form a nation with non-Muslims, if Islam does not permit it…then how was it that the Prophet formed a composite umma (nation) with the Jews?… …The view that Islam is an inflexible religion is beyond my comprehension. To the extent that I can understand its laws, [Islam] can live together with non-Muslims in the same country; it can be at peace with them; it can enter into treaties with them; as well as into commercial transactions, partnerships, tenancy, the exchange...
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