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Internal / original articles by Islamic Living
Climate Change: Islamic Perspective
One pressing issue for humanity before during and after COVID-19 crisis is the environment. Particularly climate change. It is said to be one of the priorities of the new American president.
Islam, turns out, also considers this to be a priority issue, and has been providing guidance in that regards for over a millennium.
Recently, interest in the contemporary role of Islam in treating this issue has been clearly noticed, as various scholars are increasingly shedding light on it.
One such contribution is illustrated by an article about climate change recently published in Al-Jazeera by an Islamic environmental philosopher of Turkish origin, Dr. Ibrahim Uzdemir. (Read More about his article)
Attributes of a Muslim Home
One bounty bestowed by Allah that he has reminded humans about (in surah “The bees” which is also called “the surah of the bounties”) is a home, a peaceful home. “And Allah has made your homes peacefully habitable for you” (16:80). For the home is the basic fundamental unit of society, and if this unit is righteous, as the Muslim home is expected to be, then the whole society will be righteous.
Thus, righteous attributes of such a home would include the following, among others: 1. Safe and protected habitation. This sheltering idea is held high in Quran and Sunnah, and it is an obligation on some and a right for others. Thus, when considering all those people who are without shelter or homeless, a Muslim has an important responsibility to assume.
2. Family life founded on an appropriate marital relationship and built on affection and mercy. “And one of His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves so that you may find comfort in them. And He has placed between you compassion and mercy. Surely in this are signs for people who reflect.” (30:21).
3. lifestyle based on faith and Islamic principles: lively home with Salat (prayer) and praising, heeding the prophet’s commands: “give your homes its share of prayers and don’t make graves of them”.
Selecting Your Marriage Partner: The Method That Never Fails
As in many other faiths and cultures, marriage in Islam is considered holy, and entails an inter-dependent network of legal, social, family, religious, cultural, and other aspects.
Depending on the local Muslim society, these aspects vary in its influence on the process of selecting a partner, and proceeding with marriage. As times change, local values and customs tend to change as well. Thus, from totally prearranged marriages to marriage through the internet and everything in between is spoken about from time to time.
Unfortunately, leaving the process of selection to random factors, such as social and cultural influence, could be one of the reasons why many marriages fail, sometimes soon.
Thus, as with any aspects of life, adhering to the principles of Islam and following the Sunnah of the prophet (PPBUH) when it comes to marriage partner selection almost guarantees a successful marriage.
Let's see how:
The Prophet (PPBUH) laid down two formula, one for selecting the prospective husband, and another for selecting the prospective wife. Each came as an authentic Hadith on the account of Abu Hurairah, as follows:
1. "When someone approaches you for engagement (wants to marry your daughter) , and you are satisfied with his religion as well as his character, do comply with his request (let him marry). If you do not, there will be Fitnah (strife) and widespread corruption." (Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah).
2. “A woman is normally sought as a wife for her wealth, beauty, nobility, or religiousness (adherence to Islam), but choose a religious woman and you will prosper. ” (Muslim)
That said, these formulae do not rule out all the other factors which should be considered, including attractiveness and love. In fact, the prophet (PPBUH) has other Hadiths that touch upon that. However, the main factor should be religiousness as well as character, especially for the future husband.
Of those two qualities, character is usually the harder one to elicit or to observe or to assess. Many people can easily show or prove their religiousness. However, when it comes behavior or conduct, it's not as easy to detect. Hence the need for as thorough profile as possible. This can be done through acquaintances, some opportunity for dialogue or interaction prior to and during the engagement period. or however else is appropriate.
Furthermore, what makes this character part harder but more significant to ascertain, is the fact that there are so many qualities and attributes to look for. Some may be more important to some people than others. The rule of thumb is the more of them a person has, the more satisfying their "character" will be.
Crying Over The Deceased
Different people deal differently with grief. In Islam, expressing sadness and crying over a deceased loved one is fine as long as it is within the expected norms and limitations of the Din. The question seems to come up more often by people who are concerned about their Din. Such is a question asked by a young lady who lost her son. even though a long period of time has passed, every time she remembers him she cries. The Fatwa summary on such concern is as follows: There is nothing wrong with crying over a deceased (such as the case mentioned above), if it's a mere emotional expression upon remembrance (i.e cannot be helped), as long as the person also remembers Allah, and utters the usual remembrance phrases that boosts their faith and promotes patience, such as "Inna Lillah wa Inna Ilaihi Rajioun" (to Allah we belong and to him we shall return), and the supplication "Allah-umma Ajirni Fi Musibati, Wa-Khlufni Khairan Minha" (O'Allah, Reward me for my Calamity and replace it with something better). This kind of expression of tears is considered a type of mercy. However, if it's accompanied by uttering anger, discontent and resentment expressions, or if it's exaggerated crying, accompanied by some physical rituals (self-slamming etc.) and other Jahiliah forms of grief, then it's forbidden.
Conspiracy Theory: Islamic Perspective
If you consider the Wikipedia of this topic, you will notice that apparently it's been around for quite sometime, and that it's categorically vast. Various intellectuals, specialists and others have visited the topic, books written etc. Yet, a lot of people across the globe apparently adopt it or use it in their daily lives, oftentimes without realizing. Hence why some psychologists considered it to be a kind of defense mechanism, to cope with an uncertain world, to say the least. From an Islamic point of view, it can be analogous to some other similar concepts or notions that shy away fro reason, objectivity, moderation etc. One such similarity might be the notion of "Dhunn" (suspicion), which is discouraged of a Muslim. Recently, one victim of this conspiracy theory was the Coronavirus pandemic. For a related article on this topic Read More