Water Conservation and Islam

Water is one of the essentialities of life. Apart from oxygen, it is most important for sustaining life. life without water cannot be imagined; not only for human beings but also foe every other form of life. Allah SWT says abt this:

and we made every living thing of water. Surah Al-Ambiya (21:30)
Global warming is increasing day by day. Due to this, paucity of water is being felt in cities and villages alike. This is not the case only with India, but every country of the world faces the same problem. To create awareness about potable water, under the auspices of the UNCED (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) every year March 22 is observed as "World Water Day." On this occasion, the UN conducts seminars/conferences and camps at various levels in various countries to create awareness about the paucity of water; various techniques about saving and using water judiciously are also taught and demonstrated.

What we have to see is what the Shariah/Islamic Law says about this? And what should be done from the Islamic point to prevent paucity of water?

Islam is a universal religion and has the solution for every problem of mankind in its Law. Like other necessities of life, Islam accords great importance to water too. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has urged the Ummah to save water and not to waste it. Accordingly, there is a Hadith in Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol 1, Pg No: 34 and in Musnad Imam Ahmed:

Translation: It has been narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Abdullah bin 'Umar (May Allah be well pleased with both of them), that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) passed by Hadhrat Sa'ad (May Allah be well pleased with him) when he was performing wuzu. He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: What wastage is this? Hadhrat Sa'ad said: Is there wastage in wuzu also? The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: Yes, even if you are at a flowing river.

Again in Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol 1, Pg No: 34, there is another Hadith:

Translation: It has been narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Abdullah bin 'Umar (May Allah be well pleased with both of them), that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) passed by a person performing wuzu. He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: Do not waste (water), do not use more water than you need it.

In the light of these and such Hadith of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) , wasting water and using it more than necessary has been declared Makruh (Undesirable), as given in Hashiya Al Tahtahawi, Pg No: 80

Abridged translation: Using more water than what is reasonable is Makruh.

When water is available, it is thought that since so much of water is available, one person's wastage will not affect it. Every person's wastage of water in this manner, depletes the stck of water in a subtle way and gradually paucity of water tightens its grip.

In regard to water, the Islamic system says that whether water is available in plenty or in mere drops, conservation of water is to be the maxim all the time. This is not the responsibility of a single nation or group, but it is the responsibility of each and every person of this planet. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has not only ordered all of us to conserve water, but He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has ordered us not to abstain from dirtying water. As given in a Hadith in Sahih Muslim, Vol 1, Pg No: 138:

Translation: Hadhrat Jabir razi narrates from the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) that He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) ordered not to urinate/defecate in stationary water. Again in Majma Uz Zawaaid, there is prohibition against doing so in flowing water. (Majma Uz Zawaaid, Vol 1, Pg No: 482, Hadith No: 996)

Even in exceptional circumstances like war, Islam orders that water along with other necessities of life should be saved and not harmed in any way. The way, the educational institutions, places of worship, hospitals and noncombatants of the antagonist country should not be targeted, in the same way sources of water and other necessities of life should not be targeted. Apart from what has been said, there are various Hadith and rules of Islam which reveal the importance of necessities of life and natural resources in Islam. If all the guidelines of Islam are followed and every person fulfills his/her responsibility, then even on the global level, paucity of water can be combated and overcome

What are the Major sins?

What are the Major sins?

  

There are various Traditions about the Major Sins (Gunah Kabira).  Those sins, which are normally included in Major Sins are the following:

 

1.  Shirk- making someone or something a partner to Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala).

2.  Killing somebody without a valid reason.

3.  Leaving any Fardh (Obligation) of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) like Salaat or fast.

4.  Using wine or any other intoxicant.

5.  Adultery.

6.  Theft or stealing.

7.  Magic.

8.  Oppressing someone.

9.  Lies.

10. Accepting bribes.

11. Taking, giving or making someone give interest/usury (sud)

12. Short weighing (weighing less than the actual weight)

13. Embezzling the money of an orphan.

14. Breaking a trust.

15. Hiding the true evidence and giving false evidence.

16. Taking a false oath to prove right as wrong or wrong as right.

17. Disobeying parents or hurting them.

18. Gambling.

19. Accusing a virtuous, chaste woman of adultery.

20. Homosexuality.

21. Insisting on a minor sin or considering it small.

 

Imam IbnHajar Haitami (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) has enumerated 467 Major Sins in Az Zawajir.  One more opinion is that every sin is minor when compared to the one before it and is Major when compared to the one after it.  Going on committing a minor sin or taking it lightly is also a major sin.

 

Apart from Major sins, all other sins are minor sins..

QUALITIES OF A BUSINESSMAN

QUALITIES OF A BUSINESSMAN

(AS PER ISLAMIC SHARIAH)

 

The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has mentioned the attributes and qualities of a businessman. Among them are:

 

The businessman should start his work in the early hours of the day. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has prayed for blessings in the early hours of the day, and the Sahabah used to start their business in the early hours. There is a Tradition in Jame Tirmidhi , Vol 1 pg no. 230, Hadith no. 1133 "It has been narrated on the authority of Hazrat Sakhr Al Ghamdi (May Allah SWT be well pleased with him), that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) prayed, 'O Allah! Bless the hours of the morning for my Ummah.  

 

Hadhrat Sakhr (May Allah SWT be well pleased with him) says that whenever the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) sent a small regiment or a huge army, He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) always sent it in the early hours of morning." Hazrat Sakhr (May Allah SWT be well pleased with him) was a businessman and whenever he sent his men for trade, he sent them in the early hours of morning, because of which he became wealthy and affluent.

 

The businessman should especially avoid deception, cheating. There is a Hadith in Jame Tirmidhi Vol 1, pg no. 245, Hadith no. 1234, "Whosoever deceives/cheats is not from us." Although cheating may give the businessman some momentary gain, there is no blessing (barakah) in such a gain. The people form an opinion about the businessman that he/she cheats. In this way, people gradually start avoiding transactions with such a businessman. As a result of it, the businessman suffers losses. There is such stress on staying away from lying, that the Jurists (Fuqaha) have said that if someone buys something in say Rs.100 and the cost of transport is say Rs.10, then if the businessman says that he bought the good for Rs.110; even that will be considered a lie; as has been mentioned in Hidayah, Vol3, pg no.71.

 

The weighing of the goods should be meticulously fair. Allah SWT says, "Weigh with fairness, and do not diminish."-Surah Rahman-09. There is strict warning in the Holy Quran for those who diminish the weight of the good. "There is destruction for those who diminish."-Surah Mutaffifin-01.

 

It is Commendable (Mustahab) to weigh out a little more than what is required. Jame Tirmidhi Vol 1 pg no. 244 has a Hadith, "Weigh more than what is required."

 

The aforementioned verses of the Holy Quran and Hadith have been mentioned only as an example. There are many Hadith and Traditions, which make it clear that the businessperson should run his/her business with truth and honesty; that he should start the business in the early hours of the day; that he should avoid lying, cheating etc.; that he should not cheat while weighing. The person who runs his business according to the guidelines given by Islam is a successful businessman; his business will be beneficial; he will receive blessings (barakah) in this world and in the Aakhirah, he will be seated on lofty stations. There is a Hadith in Jame Tirmidhi, Vol 1 pg no. 229, Hadith no. 1130, " It has been narrated on the authority of Hazrat Abu Sa'eed Khudri (May Allah be well pleased with him) that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, 'The truthful and honest businessman will be with the Prophets, the Siddiqin (the truthful) and the Martyrs (Shuahada).

How should the Burqa be?

How should the Burqa be?

In the Holy Quran the Purdah for women has been dealt with in  verses, 3 verses of Surah Noor and 4 verses of Surah Ahzaab.  There are about 70 Hadith in which the rules of Purdah have been described.

 

Burqa is a very good way to practice Purdah.  The Burqa' and its nose piece fulfill the same objectives, for which the command to cover the whole body with a chador, including the face, was given.

 

How should the Burqa be?

 

Islam has not imposed any particular type or color of cloth for Purdah.  The main objective of Hijab is to cover the Satar, so that there is protection from troubles, indecency and immodesty.  In light of this, it is necessary that some broad guidelines of Hijab be observed:

 

1.  The Hijab should be such that it should cover the whole body from the palms to her toes.

 

2.  It should be so loose that it should not express or reveal the structure and outline of the body.

 

3.  It should not be so thin and fine that the complexion of the body is visible.

 

4.  It should be not resemble the particular clothes of the people of other religion, as there are strict warnings for resembling the people of other religions/faiths.

5.  The Burqa should not be attractive-looking or have any attractive patterns, designs, etc. as the objective of Burqa is to shield oneself from the eyes of the non-Mahram and not to invite it.

 

In the Hadith, women have been prohibited to wear attractive clothes while going out of their houses.  As given in the Hadith in Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 3991;At Targhib Wat Tarhib, Vol. 3, Pg. No. 38:

 

Translation of Hadith: The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: O people! Do not let your women wear beautiful clothes and come before non-Mahram men.

6- Also, the Burqa should not be similar to the clothes used by men in its design, stitching, etc., as it is prohibited for men and women to resemble each others' dress.  It is given in the in Hadith:

 

Translation of Hadith: The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has cursed the man who wears the clothes of women and has cursed the woman who wears the clothes for men.

 

 

By Abul Hasanath Islamic Research Center, Hyderabad,

Must Read & Understand How It Starts : Adultery is a BIG SIN

By a Lady : "I am a young woman from a very well-known family. All my life I have been religiously committed and of good character, as all will attest, but for some reason I got to know a young man. I wanted to help him because he had suffered the calamity of his father's death, and he is responsible for his siblings and his mother, but he went down the path of keeping company with bad people. I advised (which was not even a face to face communication!) him and I felt it was my duty to stand beside him and advise him sincerely. Eventually he returned to his studies and gave up those bad friends, and he changed completely. His mother asked him the reason, and he told her. She spoke to me and thanked me for being patient with her son.

One day he came for a visit to see me, and I did not know why I did not hesitate. I went to see him, and I felt as if he was my brother. We spent some time together and what happened happened, unfortunately. Now he wants to come and propose marriage to me, but it is impossible. He is three years younger than me, and he is not of the same nationality as me. Now I am pregnant and I want Allaah to conceal my sin and I want to repent. I know that I have done wrong, and you will criticize me severely, but I want to repent and I want a solution."

Ø Perhaps this letter can be a lesson to those who claim that a relationship between a man and a woman can be "innocent".

Ø And it can be a lesson to those who claim that such relationships are 'Islamically' acceptable if they are for the purpose of giving advice, especially religious advice!

Ø And to those who want to "water down" the religion to allow relationships between men and women in the name of modernity.

Ø And to those who claim that woman are able to control their desires and emotions and similar justifications.

Ø It is a lesson for those who are heedless of the laws of Allah and pay no attention to the warning of our Rabb, against following in the footsteps of the shaytaan,

Ø It is a lesson to those who continue to take gender relations lightly until they find themselves in deep trouble.

No doubt, this girl must have been careful to protect her chastity initially. But somewhere along the lines, she fell into shaytaan's trap and slowly but surely became careless in her dealings with this young man.

And she went ahead and spoke with him and advised him, then she agreed to receive him in her house. Next she agreed to be alone with him, then the shaytaan made attractive to her the idea that he was like her brother (sounds familiar?)

And then what, then what happened?

Did their conversation stay limited to 'religion'? They could not have been talking about religion while committing adultery!

Did she continue to give him religious advice that day? She could not have been advising him about Islam while committing adultery with him!

Did she continue to think of him as a brother? She couldn't have been considering him like a brother while committing adultery with him!

She committed adultery in the same meeting and in her own house, with one whom the shaytaan made her think was like her brother!

Which was the first step of the shaytaan?

It was 'merely' speaking to this non-mahram man, then the other steps of the shaytaan came one after another until she committed this most abhorrent of sins. All the relationships start with just one conversation. That is why we can see the wisdom in the words of Allaah, may He be exalted (interpretation of the meaning):

"And come not near to unlawful sex. Verily, it is a Faahishah (i.e. anything that transgresses its limits: a great sin), and an evil way (that leads one to hell unless Allaah Forgives him)" [al-Isra' 17:32]

Notice how in they ayah, Allah (swt) did not only forbid adultery itself, rather He forbade coming near to it. Anything that leads to this heinous crime has been forbidden. And so the aim here is to forbid even the smallest action that leads to it.

Dear Muslims, we live in a society where gender relations are considered the reason to live this life. We live where talking to opposite gender and having boy/girl friends is a norm of life. At school and at work, many of us start talking to the opposite gender for a homework or a project or even in the name of religion to give 'dawah', and that is when the situation starts becoming comfortable and we start getting 'friendly'. How many times in the name of 'dawah' people have flirted a little?!

Nowadays there are emails, chat rooms, IMs and these are even more dangerous because shaytaan deceives with justifications like, 'its not being physically alone', or 'you can't even see each other' etc. But internet has become the leading way of flirting, dating, relationships and even affairs of married couples!

What happened to this sister above is a deterrent for all of us. Just imagine when shaytaan can deceive a person in his/her 'religious' conversation, how dangerous it must be for any other type of conversation. Don't be deceived that this can only happen to young, unmarried people.

Victims of mixing… True stories

Umm Muhammad, a mature woman over the age of 40, tells her story: I lived a life of modest means with my husband. There was never any closeness and harmony, and my husband did not have the kind of strong personality that a woman would hope for, but his good nature made me overlook the fact that I was the one who was responsible for most of the decision making in the family.

My husband often used to mention the name of his friend and business partner, and he would talk about him in my presence, and I often used to meet with him in his office which was originally part of our apartment. This went on for many years, until circumstances led to us exchanging visits with this person and his family. These family visits were repeated and because of his close friendship with my husband, we did not notice how the number of visits increased and how many hours a single visit would last. He often used to come on his own to sit with us, me and my husband, for long visits. My husband's trust in him knew no bounds, and as days passed I got to know this person very well, and saw how wonderful and decent he was. I began to feel a strong attraction towards this man, and at the same time I began to sense that the feeling was mutual.

Things took a strange turn after that, when I realized that this man was the kind of person I had always dreamed about. Why had he come along now, after all these years? The more this man's status increased in my eyes, the more my husband's status diminished. It was as if I had needed to see the beauty of his character in order to discover how ugly my husband's character was.

The matter between this person and myself did not go beyond these persistent thoughts which were occupying my mind night and day. Neither he nor I ever voiced what we felt in our hearts… until today. Yet despite that my life is over and my husband is little more than a weak man with no self-esteem. I hate him and I do not know how all this hatred towards him started to boil over. I wonder how I put up with him all these years, bearing all these burdens by myself, facing life's problems on my own.

Things got so bad that I asked him for a divorce, and he divorced me at my request. I admit that the lovely gatherings which we used to enjoy gave us the opportunity to get to know one another. Now his marriage has been wrecked and so has mine. I have lost everything!

Intelligence can also be a temptation (fitnah)

'Abd al-Fattaah says: I work as the head of department in one of the big companies. For a long time I admired one of my female colleagues, not for her beauty, but for her serious attitude towards her work, her intelligence and her excellent achievements – in addition to the fact that she was a decent and modest person who focused only on her work. This admiration turned into attachment, and I am a married man who fears Allaah and never misses any obligatory prayer. I expressed my feelings to her and she rebuffed me. She is married and has children as well.

Attraction between the opposite genders can occur in any circumstances, no matter how much men and women may deny that. This may start within the bounds of sharee'ah and end up going beyond those bounds. Even if a person protects himself (by marriage), he is not safe from the snares of the Shaytaan. Even though a person may be able to guarantee himself and he works with the opposite sex within reasonable limits, he cannot guarantee the feelings of the other party.

 It's about time we recognize that no matter how we try to beautify the issue of mixing and take the matter lightly, its consequences are bou