Issue 655 - Lordship of God, The Fast Car, Abusive Man

[Friday Nasiha]

In the Name of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful.

In This Issue: Lordship of God The Fast Car Abusive Man Break The Cycle Of Fear	October 14, 2011 - Dhul-Qida 16, 1432 Friday Nasiha: Issue 655 www.fridaynasiha.com | www.youngmuslims.ca
Living The Quran Lordship of God Ibrahim (Abraham) - Chapter 14: Verses 40-41 "My Lord, cause me and my offspring to establish prayers. My Lord, accept my prayer. Our Lord, grant Your forgiveness to me and my parents, and all believers on the Day when the reckoning will come to pass." Abraham's long and humble supplication, which also mentions a number of God's blessings and expresses gratitude and thanks for them, comes to a close with these verses. It imparts an air of gentle tenderness and care which makes people's hearts long to be with God, and remember His grace and blessings. Abraham follows his thanksgiving with a supplication to God to make him always thankful. His thanks take the form of prayer, worship and obedience to God. Thus he declares his determination to always be a devout worshipper, but fears that something may divert him from it. Hence, he prays that God may help him to carry out his intention. Abraham, the father of a long line of prophets, is seen as a pious servant who does not forget His Lord's grace, or his duty to be thankful for it. We note how Abraham repeats several times the addressing phrase, "My Lord" or "Our Lord". This repeated acknowledgement of God's Lordship over him and his offspring is significant. He does not mention God by His attribute of Godhead, but instead by His Lordship. Godhead has rarely been a subject to controversy even in ignorant societies. Nor was it so in the ignorant society of Arabia at the advent of Islam. What people have always argued about is the Lordship of God, and the need to submit to Him in everyday life on earth. This is in fact the central point between submission to God, and believing in His oneness on the one hand, and the association of partners with Him on the other. People either submit to God, and this means that they acknowledge Him as their Lord, or they submit to others who would become their Lords. This makes all the difference in life. The Quran relates Abraham's supplication to the Arab idolaters, emphasizing his acknowledgement of God's Lordship to draw their attention to the fact that their own way of life was in complete contrast with what this supplication truly signifies. Compiled From: "In The Shade of The Quran" - Sayyid Qutb, Vol. 10, pp. 284,285
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Understanding the Prophet's Life The Fast Car If the life of this world is an illusion, the period of greatest illusion occurs during youth. It is a period of high energy and great enthusiasm, coupled with an air of invincibility and perpetuity. Like the driver of a fast car, one may also develop a disdain for the slower cars on the highway of life. It is difficult to imagine that the car will run out of fuel and that one day the engine will wear out. For the moment though the car is fast and it can go places! For this reason there are special warnings for the youth and glad tidings for the person who uses this energy wisely. A famous hadith tells us that on the Day of Judgment no man will be able to move from his place until he answers five questions. "How did he spend his life? How did he utilize his youth? How did he earn his wealth? How did he spend it? And, how did he practice what he learnt?" [Sunan al-Tirmidhi]. While the first question asks generally about one's life pattern, the second especially focuses on the period of youth. On the other hand, the person who devoted his youth to the worship of Allah will be among the selected seven kinds of people [Bukhari, Muslim]. Hence the profound advice in another famous hadith to value five things: "Youth before old age, health before sickness, wealth before poverty, free time before preoccupation, and life before death." A fast car is dangerous if it does not have strong controls. And that is where Shaitan targets the vulnerable --- by loosening the controls. It has been his time-tested trick to work through temptations and make desires look irresistible. The path of deviation looks good. It is cool. It is fun. It is endlessly entertaining. The only problem is, it leads to assured disaster. Compiled From: "Youth: On Culture, Religion, and Generation Gap" - Khalid Baig
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Blindspot! Signs of an Abusive Man 1. Jealousy and Possessiveness Becomes jealous over your family, friends, co-workers. Tries to isolate you. Views his woman and children as his property instead of as unique individuals. Always asks where you've been and with whom in an accusatory manner. 2. Control He is overly demanding of your time and must be the center of your attention. He controls finances, the car, and the activities you partake in. Becomes angry if woman begins showing signs of independence or strength. 3. Superiority He is always right, has to win or be in charge. He always justifies his actions so he can be "right" by blaming you or others. A verbally abusive man will talk down to you or call you names in order to make himself feel better. The goal of an abusive man is to make you feel weak so they can feel powerful. Abusers are frequently insecure and this power makes them feel better about themselves. 4. Manipulates Tells you you're crazy or stupid so the blame is turned on you. Tries to make you think that it's your fault he is abusive. Says he can't help being abusive so you feel sorry for him and you keep trying to "help" him. Tells others you are unstable. 5. Mood Swings His mood switches from aggressive and abusive to apologetic and loving after the abuse has occurred. 6. Actions don't match words He breaks promises, says he loves you, and then abuses you. 7. Punishes you An emotionally abusive man may withhold physical or emotional intimacy, or plays the "silent game" as punishment when he doesn't get his way. He verbally abuses you by frequently criticizing you. 8. Unwilling to seek help An abusive man doesn't think there is anything wrong with him so why should he seek help? Does not acknowledge his faults or blames it on his childhood or outside circumstances. 9. Disrespects women Shows no respect towards his mother, sisters, or any women in his life. Thinks women are stupid and worthless. If you continue to stay in an abusive relationship because you think he will change and start treating you well, think again. An abusive man does not change without long-term therapy. Group counselling sessions are particularly helpful in helping abusive men recognize their abusive patterns. If the abusive man is not willing to seek help, then you must take action by protecting yourself and any children involved by leaving. By staying in an abusive relationship, you are condoning it. If you are scared you won’t be able to survive because of finances, pick up the phone book and start calling family, friends, shelters and associates and ask them if they can help or know of ways to help. Compiled From: "Top 10 Signs of An Abusive Man" - Stephany Alexander
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Maintainer's Message Break the Cycle of Fear! The international phobia of Islam and Muslims has assumed deadly proportions. This irrational fear is a worldwide scourge that is ruining people’s lives and livelihoods and causing normally decent people to develop fear and loathing of “the other.” Study after study has shown that people with the highest levels of Islamophobia are those who know the least about Islam and have had the least interaction with Muslims. Islamacloserlook.com is a pilot project with a specific focus – to succinctly and creatively dispel common myths that are fueling Islamophobia. Our objective is to break the cycle of fear. This sample site provides a glimpse of our approach and vision. We have created 2 professional videos, 4 web friendly articles as well as lists of useful books and websites. A fully completed website would feature 25 videos addressing widespread misconceptions as well as 50 articles and various online and print resources for further study. The content would also be fully accessible through social networking sites such as FaceBook and YouTube. We need your support to complete this site. All of our content will be fully downloadable so that people around the world can use it to help stem the rising tide of Islamophobia. With your support we can create a resource that makes a difference. Thank you and may God bless you. ------------------------ Spread the word. Follow the links below to invite more friends and families to join Friday Nasiha. If you want to invite multiple email addresses to Friday Nasiha please send the email addresses to us and we will invite them on your behalf. Please donate generously whatever the amount is. The more you donate the more we'll be able to spread the word via advertising and marketing. Any extra money we get will be used to fund other Young Muslims initiatives. You can donate online or send your cheque payable to 'Young Muslims Canada', put in the memo 'Friday Nasiha' and mail to: Young Muslims P.O. Box 48030 Mississauga, ON L5A 1W0 A small amount of your time will lead to a massive amount of reward from Allah and will benefit Friday Nasiha and its readers immensely. Remember, you have the potential to gain reward for every additional reader who joins and implements something which they learn from Friday Nasiha! Don't let this opportunity pass you by! May Allah reward you for your time! Subscribe to Friday Nasiha

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