Worship of the Calf and the trial for repentance.

Worship of the Golden Calf and the trial for repentance

(Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 2003, p.228-230) 

Prophet Musa (a.s.) was summoned by Allah for a period of 40 days (30 days during Dhul Qa ‘dah and first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah), after being rescued from Fir ‘awn, to be enlightened and blessed with the Tawrah, the criteria for right and wrong. 

Meanwhile, the Children of Israel began worshipping the calf. Upon returning, prophet Musa (a.s.) announced to them the severity of their error. They realized the wrong and regretted and turned to Allah for repentance. 

Allah’s command to the Children of Israel was that their repentance would be to slay by the sword every person (wrongdoer, who worshipped the calf) without being concerned about whom they kill. Prophets Musa and Harun (Aaron) (a.s.) were unaware of who was guilty and who was innocent. 

When prophet Musa (a.s.) received Allah’s command, he ordered those who had confessed their guilt to sit down and those who hadn’t to arm themselves with knives and stand. A great darkness overshadowed them as they began killing and 70,000 were dead when the dark lifted. 

Allah, the Most Merciful, had forgiven them all, those who died and those who lived. The killing was a great trial for seeking repentance. 

The Light On Sirat

Imagine being stranded on a bridge, without a light, under which there is a bottomless pit and you are dead sure there is a fire ablaze down there. The bridge would sound familiar to anyone who has read the Quran, or was paying attention while an elder or a scholar was speaking, and has come across the word Sirat. It is the very bridge that each human being has to cross on the Day of Judgement. There's a catch to it, a deal, which like any other has a profit and loss scenario. If you've been a Believer, a brilliant one, you shall pass. If you have been anything otherwise, your chances are slim. As I moved on with reading the tafsir of Surah Al-Baqarah I discovered the meanings of the verses that expose the traits of hypocrites and how they would be the ones stranded on the Sirat without a light. Conclusion: doom!

Allah (swt) has spoken of the strength of faith and belief as a light for those who believe and as a fierce thunderclap for hypocrites who turn a deaf ear and give a blind eye to guidance when it comes to them. Hypocrites, unfortunately, come from within Muslims themselves and they are all around. They can be identified from their deviant deeds. Words of faith do not effect them, they will listen to goodness for hours and days but remain unchanged, and furthermore they will manipulate the words of goodness to create doubts, conspiracies, innovations, and confusions. 

"Verily, it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts which are in the breasts that grow blind." - 22:46

A strong faith, a powerful Islamic lifestyle, and a knowledgeable voice are characteristics of a believer. One can develop them and use them to counter the confusions such as sectarianism, innovation, manipulation of Islamic meanings, and etc. created by hypocrites. A powerful Muslim's words and deeds shock the hypocrites because faith stuns disbelief. It strikes like a powerful bolt of lightning that blinds the deviant sights of disbelievers and hypocrites with which they see the world. It mutes the words of conspiracy and innovation. 

Hypocrites, therefore, are folks at a loss.

For such folk there is serious bad news because they will either have no light with them on the Sirat because they were staunch disbelievers, or their light will be very small and would go off if they have been hypocrites with faulty beliefs. Poof!

"They (the believers) will pass on the Sirat according to their deeds. The light that some people have will be as big as a mountain, while the light of others will be as big as a date tree. The people who will have the least light are those whose index fingers will sometimes be lit and extinguished at other times." - At-Tabari 23:3179

"Rabbana Atmim-lana Noorana"

"Our Lord! Keep perfect our Light for us."

Al-Hakim 2:495

Make sure it is the mountain you head for and not just the date tree. 

How I Overcame The Post Ramadan Writer's Block

The Writer's Block is a pet peeve of the devil himself, especially when you are writing for a good cause. The post-Ramadan writer's block had been doing an annoying dance on my nerves lately. Last night, at about Isha time when all was said and done, I ransacked my mind for fresh ideas. Alhamdulillah, they came and I spent the day today getting the resources together.

The past previous months have coaxed me into thinking more about the workings of the Muslim family, relationships, and how a family unit can function effectively. I was at a restaurant, waiting for a pizza in a never ending line, when a major fight broke out between two Muslim families because of some young adult boys who chose to misbehave. 

"Don't you give me the look, now!" The boy, about 17 or 18 years of age, shouted at his mother.
The mother, in an undertone, asked him to hush.

"Who're you telling to keep quiet?" The boy raged, "I will not keep quiet, I will not shut up, you shut up, you always give me that look."

The mother, louder this time, asked the boy to sit back down at the table. 

"No! I will not sit down!"

A man, apparently his father, came in to intervene all the way from his place in the waiting line. He asked him what the problem was and he ridiculed his mother.

"She always does this! She gives me the look! What are you going to do, hit me?" He glared at his mother.

This is when an appalling thing happened. The mother withdrew a toothpick from its holder on the table, and poked it multiple times like a dagger on her son's shoulder. He still didn't shut up!
That was when I saw the void that needs to be talked about. The distances in relationships, the mannerisms, the lack of personal connections. So I'd be putting together some thought-provoking articles. Hopefully, if my editorial team at Productive Muslim.com agrees, I shall be contributing the articles to their website.
Secondly, I had been meaning to put together an entire bunch of entries in Ramadan about soul searching, inner reflections, connecting with oneself and eventually finding Allah (swt)'s good will by connecting with Him. It is obvious that these entries will focus a lot on self-help issues.

Fortunately, I found out that Yasmin Mogahed's new book 'Reclaim Your Heart' touches a lot of such issues that can help serve the purpose. I'd be purchasing the book to benefit from it, inshaAllah. These articles would hopefully be coming up on Sisterly Yours, inshaAllah.
A third series that I am estimating, inshaAllah, is about women exclusively. I intend to attend 'Complicated? - A to Z Of Women's Modern Fiqh', a seminar by Al-Maghrib which aims at explaining the modern stance of a Muslim woman in the global community. The issues discussed in the introductory summary of the seminar are very practical and elaborate. There are always doubts in one's mind pertaining to the role of a Muslim woman and how much liberty she can enjoy. There are issues of socialization, public speaking, participation in the community, and many more.
I feel that as a writer for the Muslim youth, I definitely need to attend this seminar in order to understand my own scope and flexibility under the light of Quran and Sunnah.
Conclusively, I figured that when writer's block strikes it is best to gather resources which inspire creativity. The blankness is natural because of work overload, emotional stress, and exhaustion. Good books, good speakers, good movies, and websites are a refreshing feed of information that has the potential to become one good creative write.

Ramadan Has Flown By

The blessed month has flown away as if on wings. I have fasted, prayed, and I have made duaas. I wish I could have done more than what I did in terms of quality and quantity but my mother is struggling with health issues and I had to divert most of my attention towards her and medical procedures. I had wished to "reclaim my heart" as Yasmin Mogahed's new book talks about. I had wished to dive into the depths of my mind and soul to heal wounds, troubleshoot problems, and simplify life. I wasn't able to begin that process.

My Dua'a List - Reposted

In Ramadan Diaries 2010, I wrote down a beautiful list of Dua'as alhamdulillah. I was inspired to write down a Dua'a List from Amirah Mauthoor's Ramadan e-book "Recharge Your Faith." I ensured that I cover every aspect of my life and called upon Allah (swt) using His 100 names, each one relative to the dua'a I was calling him for. I am sharing the dua'a list because often we forget what we should be asking Allah (swt) for. 

My Ramadan Deficiency

It's the 5th of Ramadan already! Time flies, except of course when one hour is left for Iftaar.

I must say I haven't been very good with keeping my Ramadan diary this year. My doctor diagnosed me with a big vitamin D deficiency and an elevated H. Pylori in my stomach which means increased acid levels, basically. Also, my mother's health hasn't been keeping very well. So, mashaAllah, I feel pretty heroic with fasting this year. I pray that Allah grants everybody the strength and stamina to fast and worship, ameen.

Ramadan fasts in my part of the USA are a good 16 hours starting from 4:30am and ending at about 8:30pm. I'd say I'm handling the duration pretty well, but my productivity level is very, very low, like that vitamin D. I had some goals set straight before the month began, but they aren't coming along very well because I'm so preoccupied with difficulties.

Nevertheless, there is always time to revamp because this is a matter not between me and the world but between me and Allah. And He is the Most Understanding. So, I'm revising my goals, making them a bit more easier this Ramadan.

Ramadan Goals:

• Memorizing the 100 names of Allah
• Read most of the Tafsir of Surah Baqarah
• Read as much Quran as I can
• Compile a good variety of recipes in the Ramadan Kitchen

Ramadan Eve: Welcoming Ramadan Kareem

My mind is turning back pages in time ... to a couple of years ago when I lived in my home country Pakistan in Karachi, the City of Lights. The night of the new moon ... the Ramadan moon ... used to be a night of great festivity. I was usually found, during the day, running the last minute Ramadan shopping lists with my mother. The most fresh item to grab just on the eve of Ramadan was mithaai, the sweet treats for Sehri, the pre-fasting meal.

The eve would begin with the typical moon sighting drama where some seriously far flung, remote areas of the country would suddenly bear witness of having sighted the new moon. Whereas, the awesome Mufti Muneeb ur Rehman would still be engaged in sighting it with his buddies of the Hilal Committee.

At times, announcements would take a really long time to confirm the moon sighting! I remember once everybody got the breaking news at around midnight, the nation had missed a Taraweeh, and my mother was suddenly in the panic mode! The housemaid was being woken up, the watchman was being stirred alive, and seher preparations had just jolt started! Ah! Those were the days!

All cellular phone networks would get jammed because people were sending Ramzaan Mubarak texts around the country to their family and friends. Phone lines would all become engaged because everybody was busy calling up the entire planet.

The men of the house would shower, put on their "special" kurta pajama/shalwar, douse Itar and get ready for Taraweeh prayers at their local mosques. The women would be busy arranging their kitchens which would boil, bubble, broil, grill, and fry traditional delicacies for Iftar and Seher meals for the net 30 blessed days.

Outside, the bakers and confectioners would be all ready with their huge bubbling cauldrons of oil, frying up rolls, samosas, jalebi, imarti, and what not!

I must mention my wonderful girlfriends who always got busy planning Iftaar menus, Iftaar cum dinner reunions, and Eid preparations on endless phone calls, text messages, and even between lectures at college.

The spirit of Ramadan is brilliant in the USA too but having spent 24 years of my life in Karachi, Pakistan, the festive connection of the heart is always missing.