Baseerath

TIMES are difficult. Peace and security are scarce and fleeting. Humankind frequently suffers tribulations such as natural disasters, war and tyrannical rulers. Social and economic problems such as unemployment, divorce, permissive youth culture, terrorism, rampant crime and lack of education and morality, abound. However, out of all problems, dissension, division and discord seem to rule the roost. Ibn Al-A’rabi summed up the meanings of fitnah when he said: “Fitnah means testing, fitnah means trial, fitnah means wealth, fitnah means children, fitnah means kufr, fitnah means differences of opinion among people, fitnah means burning with fire.” (Lisan Al-‘Arab by Ibn Manzoor) During fitnah, a Muslim is often left confused about what to do; how to keep despair at bay and remain hopeful; whose side to take during a conflict, and who to blame or condemn? The haqq (truth) becomes blurry with baatil (falsehood). Our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prophesied the onslaught of fitan near...

There once lived a fisherman who took his job very seriously. He only caught one fish at a time, and only went to fish for another one when the the one he had at home finished. One day, as his wife was chopping up the fish that her husband had brought home, she discovered something amazing. She found a pearl inside the fish. She was astonished, a pearl inside a fish?? SubhanAllah. "Husband, Husband!" she exclaimed, "look what I have found!" "What have you found?" he asked. "A pearl, I have found a pearl inside the fish!" she answered. "What an amazing wife you are! Bring me the pearl, pehaps we will benefit from it and eat food other than fish!" The fisherman took the pearl to a pearl trader. The trader took a look at the pearl, and said "This pearl is so precious, but unfortunately I cannot afford it even if I were to sell my shop and my house! Go to the vendor in the nearby town, perhaps he can buy it off you." The fisherma...

It could have been the splash of red or the overabundance of hearts or the young man in a designer jeans that caught his eye, but Sheikh Hamaad stopped under the bold “Valentine’s day Specials” banner, set his shopping basket on the floor and watched the young man battling to select an appropriate gift from the heaps of hearts, teddy bears and chocolates. Like a busy humming bird he flitted from shelf to shelf struggling to choose. Sheikh Hamaad approached him as he stood scratching his head, “Asalaamu Alaikum, young man, seems like you’re battling to make a choice.” “Eish, Moulana, this is more difficult than I though. And lucky I only have to choose for two of them,” he said, picking up another heart decorated teddy bear, examining the price and putting down with disappointment. “For your sisters?” Sheik asked, feigning innocence. “Naah, just friends, you know how it is. You have to do these things” came the prompt reply. Sheikh Hamaad remained silent and fixed his gentle gaze on the...