And Prophet Moses[pbuh] said- "Show him to me O Allah!"

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Assalam alaikum [May peace be upon you].

As humans we all are bound to make mistakes and it is a part of our nature to commit mistakes and also learn from them. Some are wise to learn from other’s mistakes and wrong doings. We all deviate from the right path in greater or lesser degree and commit sins, sometimes knowingly and at times unknowingly. Thus we as humans will inevitably make mistakes.   

Allah says in the Noble Qur’an- 

"Do not despair of God's mercy; He will forgive you of all your sins". [Al-Qur'an 39:53]

"Ask your Lord for forgiveness and then turn in repentance to Him..." [Al-Qur'an 11:3]

The verse above is absolutely clear. Allah, our Creator, fully apprehends the inducements and temptations that come in the way of every one. He also knows that many of us fall for them. Allaah is Ar-Rahmaan, Ar-Raheem [The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful], Allah is Most forgiving. It is He who has bestowed His mercy and kindness upon us through the innumerable favors which we enjoy every day. He gives us chances over chances and grants us respite for our wrong doing until we realize, repent and rectify. It is obvious by the fact that He doesn’t punish us immediately for our acts of carelessness, mistakes or sins.

Just imagine, if He were to account us for everything we did at the very moment, what would be the state?

Truly, one can erase sins and previous misdeeds through Tawbah (Repentance) and by humbling oneself before His Lord. The Arabic word Tawbah literally means 'To return'. When spoken of in Islamic context, it refers to the deed of shunning what Allah has prohibited and returning to what He has ordained.

Acknowledging one’s mistake, repenting for it and seeking forgiveness are deeds most noble and beloved in the sight of God All Mighty. Also remember, that Allah raises high the status of those who humble themselves.

On the contrary, we must bear in our minds the outcome of those people and nations who turned arrogant and rejected faith. History has been a great lesson for those who think and understand how civilizations, empires and nations were destroyed and forgotten owing to their state of arrogance, thanklessness, mischief and corruption on earth.

The Noble Qur’an has recorded a number of civilizations which were humiliated and punished which lead to their collapse.

                        http://nisaaryusuf.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/when-nations-fall-lessons-from-the-history/

Pharoah, the King of Egypt is a classic example of sheer arrogance. Consider what happened to him.

                      http://islamgreatreligion.wordpress.com/2009/04/11/pharaoh-ramesses-firaun-with-professor-maurice-story/

Allah says in the Noble Qur'an:

"Except those who repent, have faith and good deeds, those Allah will charge their sins for good deeds. Certainly Allah is most forgiving and merciful." [Al-Qur'an 25:70]

Here is a heart softener for all my brothers and sisters. This narration goes back to the time of Prophet Moses who was sent as a guide for the Children of Israel.

It was narrated that in the days that Prophet Moses [Musa] [pbuh] wandered with Bani Israel [Children of Israel] in the desert, an intense drought befell them. Together, they raised their hands towards the heavens praying for the blessed rain to come.  

Then, to the astonishment of Prophet Moses [Musa] [pbuh] and all those watching, the few scattered clouds that were in the sky vanished, the heat poured down, and the drought intensified.

It was revealed to Prophet Moses [pbuh] that there was a sinner amongst the tribe of Bani Israel [Children of Israel] who had disobeyed Allah for more than forty years of his life.

"Let him separate himself from the congregation," 

Allah told Prophet Moses [pbuh]. "Only then shall I shower you all with rain."

Prophet Moses [pbuh] then called out to the throngs of humanity, "There is a person amongst us who has disobeyed Allah for forty years. Let him separate himself from the congregation and only then shall we be rescued fromthe drought."

That man waited, looking left and right, hoping that someone else would step forward, but no one did. Sweat poured forth from his brow and he knew that he was the one. The man knew that if he stayed amongst the congregation all would die of thirst and that if he stepped forward he would be humiliated for all eternity.

He raised his hands with a sincerity he had never known before, with humility he had never tasted, and as tears poured down on both cheeks he said, "O Allah, have mercy on me! O Allah, hide my sins! O Allah, forgive me!"

As Prophet Moses [pbuh] and the people of Bani Israel [Children of Israel] waited for the sinner to step forward, the clouds hugged the sky and the rain poured. 

Prophet Moses [pbuh] asked Allah, "O Allah, you blessed us with rain even though the sinner did not come forward."

And Allah replied, "O Musa, it is for the repentance of that very person that I blessed all of Bani Israel [Children of Israel] with water."

Prophet Moses [pbuh], wanting to know who this blessed man was, asked, "Show him to me O Allah!"

Allah [SWT] replied, "O Musa, I hid his sins for forty years, do you think that after his repentance I shall expose him?"

Such Is Allah, The most High, the Most forgiving!

Brothers and sisters, repent before it is too late, for you never know when you will die, wishing at the last minute that you had done good deeds, and repented for the bad.

May Allah make us humble and not insolent towards everything in life.

May we be thankful for all the favors of Allah!

Ameen

[https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=230153403668250]

And they say- HIJAB oppresses the women!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Assalam alaikum [May peace be upon you].

I begin with a quote-

“It is one of the great ironies of our world today that the very same headscarf revered as a sign of 'holiness' when worn by Catholic Nuns, is reviled as a sign of 'oppression' when worn for the purpose of modesty and protection by Muslim women.”

In this article i would like to address the issue of Hijab [covering the head and the body] which deals with the modesty of covering the head and body by Muslim Women.

The ‘crunch’! Hijab is a sign of Oppression and Suppression.

It is again common to hear that many people in the west, standing for ‘women’s liberation’ consider the observance of the Hijab by Muslim women as the greatest representation of women's oppression. In other words, the woman is subjugated in Islam and is imprisoned under the garb because she has to cover herself up under compulsion. Let us see whether this claim holds true!

We must first try to understand-

 "Why do Muslim women need to cover their heads?”

Undoubtedly, many people labor under the mistake that the Hijab applies to women alone. Since this article deals with the Hijab of Muslim women I would describe the Hijab of Men in brief. The word Hijab is commonly used to refer to covering or concealing but in the broader sense Hijab is not merely a covering. The Hijab serves as a protection- Protection of identity, Protection of dignity, Protection of self-esteem, Protection of chastity, purity.

 Moreover it is the Hijab of moral character, behavior,conduct, speech and appearance among people.

Allah says in the Noble Qur’an-

"Say to the believing man that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them; and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.

And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty…..."   [Al-Qur'an 24:30-31)

These aayaats[verses] from Surah (Chapter) Noor are clear and apply to both men and women. Indeed, these verses provide solutions to the problems we face today.

My dear sisters, ask yourselves -

Would you like those stares from men around you? Do you really feel comfortable when Men ogle at you continuously [under the pretext of admiring your beauty]?

And my dear brothers, ask yourselves-

Would you entertain any guy ogling at your sister? Or your Mother?

The answer is so obvious! We respect and love our Mothers, our sisters and we must also be well aware that the women around us are mothers, daughters, sisters of someone too. I agree that there are many among us who love it [seeking attention from the opposite sex] and want to be seen and commented on! May Allah guide such to the truth and protect them from the evils of its consequences.

As I mentioned earlier, the verses mentioned above provide solutions- let us see how!

Allah commands the believing man to lower his gaze [eyes] when he sees a woman before any weird or brash thought creeps into his mind. It is not allowed and appropriate for a man to ‘STARE’ at a woman and bother her [independent of what she is wearing]. Many men feast upon women who dress skimpily [or even wear revealing, tight fitting clothes] which is totally wrong. This leads to eve teasing and other evils which we are aware of.

Thus the evil which leads to other evils is cut off at the root level itself. Alhamdulillah.

Coming to the next verse in which Allah commands the believing woman to do the same and guard their modesty. If we read the verse carefully, we realize the beauty of it.

Unfortunately, we see many sisters following the footsteps of topnotch women celebrities, actresses and Models [size zero]. This trend of imitating what they wear and how they look or what they apply that has been borrowed from the western society over the years is in vogue and is flourishing in our societies today to which our sisters are falling prey. It is sad to see that the women are being treated like objects.  In the name of liberation, our women are literally being degraded.

Studies and surveys reveal to us that more than half of men first glance at a woman’s bosoms. Also a majority of men, glance at the woman’s hips and buttocks. Statistics say that very few men look at the woman’s face initially.

Now, I would want you to read the verse again-

Allah commands the woman to-

‘draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty’

Alhamdulillah. Another solution in which the woman takes social responsibility and avoids mischief from happening! How does it happen? The same would be elaborated in the next verse which says-

"O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women to draw their outer garments[cloak] around them (when they go out or are among men). That is better in order that they may be known [to be Muslims] and not be molested.."   [Al-Qur'an 33:59]

The 2 reasons stated here in this verse of the Noble Qur’an are-

1] They may be known as Muslims [Believing women submitting their will to God]

2] Not be molested [Annoyed]

As I mentioned in the initial part of this article- Hijab also speaks for a woman’s identity. When people see a woman well covered in hijab, it does not take them time to recognize the woman to be a Muslim. The Hijab speaks for the one wearing it- so as to say-

 ‘Do not approach me; I am not that kind of a woman’

Statistics also tell us that most of the rapes that happen are a result of the provocative dressing or behavior of a woman.

 Ask yourself a question- When you see a woman dressed modestly in Hijab what do you feel for her other than respect? Would you cast a second look at her?

What is the case with our sisters [nuns] who have dedicated themselves to the churches? What is their attire like?

It is strange to see that the Christian women do not observe the veil though the Bible instructs women to dress up in the same manner as the Nuns and the Muslim women do. Women would not enter the churches without covering their heads until forty years back . But the storm of Modernization has struck so hard that it seems the women other than the nuns are exempt from this biblical code of dressing!

  Would you even consider casting a second look at Muslim women in hijab as compared to women in tight revealing clothes? SubhanAllah [Glory be to Allah]

Here is a survey that the English daily newspaper recently conducted on scarf and Hijab. This survey was conducted among those ladies who are mostly highly educated and are presently working as professionals in their respective fields. When question was raised why they do Scarf or Hijab or under what circumstance they started doing scarf.

Some of the answers are as below-

One beautiful lady who is presently working in an american IT firm as a IT specialist says:

That while doing scarf it’s like having recognition. I feel more confidence and power within myself.

Another woman says that I love fashion and still I am, but Hijab has given elegance in my style, what I was lacking before and I always felt that. Now in crowd even, I feel myself so differnt and special.

Similary such kind of surveys were conducted on internet, and there, when women were asked whey they start wearing scarf, some of the answers are as under;

It boost confidence, and automatically creates respect for myself. It was so surprising to note that non muslims even participated in the survey.Tena who is catholic christian and by profession is an engineer wear scarf. She explains that it gives her contentment, and feeling of peace.

Although scarf was initially a symbol of religious attachment but with the pessage of time, it has become part of glamour and fashion. Nowadays, even in functions and wedding parties, girls prefer to wear their shawl in style of scarf. In College and university girls also, it is becoming more and more popular. 

People often talk about History but fail to realize that the clothing of women as recently as fifty to seventy years ago was strikingly similar to hijab. The western attire is nothing but a new invention.  It must be noted that Muslim women who wear hijab and know the practicality and wisdom behind it do not wear it out of compulsion. They do not wear it because the Imams say or because their fathers or husbands want them to. They wear it because Allah says so!

And undoubtedly, it does not interfere with any of the activities in all aspects and walks of life. As I said earlier Hijab is not merely a covering but in the broader sense, Hijab serves as a protection- Protection of identity, Protection of dignity, Protection of self-esteem, Protection of chastity, purity.

 Moreover it is the Hijab of moral character, behavior, appearance, speech and appearance among people.

Islam teaches us to treat the women gently and with utmost respect without harming their identity and dignity.

 How ironic it is that people are more concerned and worried about their wealth [gold and silver] but so careless when it comes to protecting and safeguarding women! They try their best to safeguard their riches and deposit the same in banks and safety deposits. I dare anyone to walk with a piece of diamond, gold or silver openly! You wouldn’t because it is valuable.

Women are far more valuable than diamonds and pearls in Islam! Priceless.

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w instructed us to be kind and protective towards women as they are our mothers, sisters, daughters and aunts. If men and women both understand their responsibilities and know the wisdom behind what Allah has revealed they would willingly take it up knowing the benefits of the prescribed way of life. Alhamdulillah! For both men and women, clothing requirements are not meant to be a restriction but rather a way in which society will function in a proper manner.

Hijab uplifts the women and is safe from the claims and allegations of the talkers of vanity who wish to achieve their aims by shouting out loud their so called concerns for ‘women’s liberation’ and exposing women to all kinds of evils of the society.

Hijab doesnt not subjugate but safeguards!

May Allah guide us all!

Ameen..