ملتقى الشفاء الإسلامي

Beauties Of Islam
Majed S. Al-Rassi

All of the Qur’an is a proclamation of Tawheed (The Oneness and Unity of God). Some of the verses inform about God, His Names, Attributes, Acts and Speech. These verses indicate the Unity and Oneness of God with respect to His most Excellent Names and perfect Attributes.
Other verses call to the necessity of worshipping God Alone, without any associate or partner and the renunciation of worship of anything other than Him.
These verses indicate the Oneness and Unity of Worship and the necessity for people to single out their Lord in their intention, desire, requesting and their turning to Him. The Qur’an also contains injunctions and prohibitions, and so the doing of something or refraining from doing it is the fulfillment and perfection of the affirmation of the Oneness and Unity of God.
In addition, the Qur’an includes stories and information about the people of true and sincere belief and tells of their immediate reward in the life of this world as well as the immense reward reserved for them in the hereafter.
The Qur’an also contains stories about those who associate partners with God and informs of their punishment in the life of this world and the punishment they are promised in the hereafter.
This is the reward for those that associate partners with God and deviate from affirmation of God’s Oneness and Unity.
The Qur’an calls for the correcting and strengthening of peoples’ relationship with their Lord, and their relationship with each other.
It also calls for people to correct and straighten their own selves, both inwardly and outwardly.
Concerning the correcting and strengthening of the relationship between a person and his Lord, the Qur’an calls for people to draw close to Him through both physical and financial acts of worship such as prayer, Hajj, sacrifice and so forth. In addition, the Qur’an calls to the knowledge of God through His Names and Attributes and this instills fear and awe of the Lord in peoples’ hearts and establishes discipline in applying God’s commands and prohibitions and strengthens the relationship between people and their Lord.
Concerning the straightening of a person’s relationship with other people, the Qur’an calls to behaviour which strengthens and reinforces social relationships such as the importance given to the role of the family.
So treating parents kindly, maintaining good relations with other family members, seeing to the rights and needs of wives and children, doing good to neighbours are all obligatory while disobeying parents, severing family ties and social isolation are all prohibited. The Qur’an also instructs that reconciliation should be encouraged between husband and wife if a dispute occurs between them to avoid the breakup of the family and separation of the children.
In addition, the Qur’an instructs that all people should be treated with high moral behavior and noble manners such as smiling with them, being gentle in speech to them, controlling one’s anger with them, forgiving any harm or offence they may have caused and even returning that harm with good, in order that any spite or hatred might be removed from the hearts and that enmity be turned into love and affection. Whoever achieves this is promised an immense reward.
The Prophet, mercy and peace be upon him, instructed that even animals be treated fairly and with kindness, instructing that they should be fed and watered and informing that such action would be rewarded on the Day of Resurrection.
He also instructed that they should not be made to carry a burden more than they could bear, nor tormented or caused undue suffering or killed unless they were harmful. And if an animal was to be eaten then it should be made to feel relaxed at the time of slaughter and other animals should not be slaughtered in front of it.
The Qur’an also enjoins both physical and spiritual cleanliness and purification. It encourages that the body be kept clean, the wearing of clean clothes and shoes and the use of perfume.
A bath should be taken every Friday and after sexual intercourse and ablution performed before prayer, nails should be clipped, hair under the armpit plucked, pubic hair shaved, the moustache trimmed, the siwak (the small branch of a tree used for cleaning the teeth) used regularly and the private parts washed after going to the toilet.
Concerning spiritual purity the Qur’an instructs that the soul be straightened and corrected and that the heart be purified of spite, malice, jealousy, pride and inequity. It calls for integrity of heart and love, affection and humility towards people.
It instructs that the tongue be purified from lying, backbiting, slander and insulting people and adorned with truthfulness and softness of speech. The eyes should be restrained from looking at pornographic pictures and at peoples’ private parts and the ears should be kept from listening to loose and immoral talk.
The Qur’an praises and encourages knowledge and criticizes ignorance saying that it leads to destruction.
It commands to action and dynamism while prohibiting inaction and laziness. Likewise, the Qur’an calls to all similar praiseworthy behavior and virtuous qualities.
The Qur’an orders that children be born within a legal marriage contract and that sexual desire be controlled and contained within these parameters.
Marriage is fulfilled by the obligatory payment of a dowry by the husband and by his supporting his wife and children financially and treating them kindly. In the same manner, the Qur’an prohibits fornication because it is one of the worst assaults on other peoples’ honour and dignity and something which causes disease and produces illegitimate children.
Likewise, the Qur’an forbids everything which leads to fornication and so it prohibits looking at pornographic pictures and being alone with marriageable women.
It also commands that men should lower their gaze from looking or staring at improperly dressed women just as it has ordered women to dress modestly and cover their bodies.
The Qur’an also calls to the protection and sanctity of peoples’ lives and specifically mentions that the taking of an innocent life is one of the worst and most hideous crimes.
The Prophet forbade breaking the bones of a dead animal so what about the taking of an innocent life? The Qur’an prescribes a life for a life and an eye for an eye for all injuries, however large or small, unless the family of the person killed or the injured person accepts financial compensation instead.
The Qur’an commands that peoples’ property and wealth be safe and inviolable and therefore prohibits theft, bribery, usury and deception.
It calls for moderation in spending and so forbids extravagance, lavishness and the squandering of money while at the same time forbidding the hoarding and amassing of wealth. It calls for balance and commands that people should neither be greedy and covetous nor spend thrifty and wasteful. It encourages the seeking and striving for provision in lawful ways such as buying, selling and renting - activities that bring financial or material benefit to all parties concerned - as well as safeguarding the rights and needs of the poor, especially those of them who are relatives.
Islam promotes the protection of good health and has therefore commanded that only wholesome and nutritious food in moderation be eaten and has prohibited the consumption of all bad and harmful food and drink such as carrion, liquor, smoking, drugs and so forth.
It also prescribes fasting that has many benefits for the body, especially the stomach.
The Prophet, mercy and peace be upon him, taught many general good manners, including the virtue of adopting the correct manners for eating and drinking.
These include eating with the right hand and not finding fault with the food but rather being satisfied with it. Therefore, if someone likes the food, they should eat it but if they have no appetite for it, they should leave it without criticizing it. This is both out of respect for the blessing of the food and in order not to hurt the feelings of the person who cooked it. It is also preferred that a person eats with others and not alone, either by eating with his family or by inviting a poor person to eat with him.
The words ‘In the name of God’ (bismillah) should be said before beginning to eat, and ‘All praise belongs to God’ (Al-hamdulillah) after finishing the food, in order that people remember the blessing they have been given and the One who provided it. The prophet, mercy and peace be upon him, also prohibited people from blowing on food or drink or breathing on to it, out of respect for others who may be sharing it and to avoid the spread of contagious diseases.
The Prophet, mercy and peace be upon him, instructed people to adopt good manners when in a gathering such as not raising one’s voice, respecting elders, showing mercy to the young, greeting those present (saying as-salam) when entering the gathering and guarding the tongue from saying bad things about people, even if it is true.
The Prophet, mercy and peace be upon him, also instructed people to remember God at all times and in every situation. This creates a permanent connection between people and their Lord and instills stability, stillness and tranquility in their hearts and it is one of the means of protecting against evil and vice.
The Prophet, mercy and peace be upon him, for example instructed that specific invocations be said at the time of sleep, before entering the toilet, before sexual intercourse, while traveling, due to fear of a people, upon entering or leaving one’s house, first thing in the morning and in the afternoon, on being afflicted by distress, anxiety or misfortune, when burdened by debt or poverty, upon entering a graveyard, when stopping for a rest or setting up camp and other situations when specific invocations and prayers should be said.
Another aspect of general behaviour which the Prophet, mercy and peace be upon him, gave guidance about concerns correct behaviour and manners when traveling. For example, he instructed that the one traveling should say goodbye to his family and supplicate for them just as they should supplicate and pray for him.
In addition, he instructed that a person should not travel alone but in company, one of whom should be appointed as the leader, who undertakes to make decisions after consulting the others. The traveler should also make continual invocation and remembrance of God during his journey. He should also not surprise his family by returning unexpectedly late at night. Rather, he should inform them before he arrives in order that the wife can prepare for his arrival or leave returning until the following morning.
The Prophet, mercy and peace be upon him, also instructed that a woman should not travel by herself but travel either with her husband or with someone who she cannot marry such as her father or brother to ensure that both her honour and wealth are protected.
Islam calls for justice and noble conduct and urges that agreements and contracts be fulfilled, that trusts are returned, that rulers are obeyed and enjoins every noble character just as it forbids vileness, baseness, crime, oppression, hostility, aggression and all blameworthy and reprehensible qualities.