Learn Arabic
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be
upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Burhan bhai,
I was born a Bohra in a family in
I was of a rebellious nature and never did
what they enforced upon us and had a bad reputation.I
was taught namaaz and the recitation of the holy Quran as other Muslim chidren
were taught.
As soon as i was old enough i stopped
praying because it seemed like a robotic act to me.I
got invovled with christians
and started attending their religion sessions as deep inside me there was this
feeling and attraction for religion.Soon i left the christian sessions as
well realising that they were no better than the Bohras.Life was busy and i got
involved in the hassle.
Now as kids are
older and i have time for myself, i
started digging into Islam, always fearing that i may
be mislead, because i was talking to peolple.Then i bought
translations of the Quran and started visiting websites.A few days back, i was
informed about your site and have been taking a keen interest.I
feel your site is god sent for me, to help me study and understand the religion
as we should.and your thoughts of Bohraism
have been my thoughts for the past 22 years.
What amazes me is that one Bohra at least
turned out to be a man and took the step the way you have.At
the moment they can only e-mail and abuse you but your life is at stake and i have been reading Asghar Ali
(engineer's) articles and this is a mafia type of group and when your news
reaches to the top, they can do anything.May you have
god's protection.I
n my search for Islam,there
was one thing that i was searching and have not found
it in your site and that is Arabic as a language.
Don't you think
that not knowing Arabic is a big hurdle to the road to Allah.Maybe
you can arrange it in some way that all those interested can learn Arabic.
Nowadays i spend a lot of time regreting
that i should have taken this up earlier as i feel i have wasted a good 22
years of my life and if god gave me back those years just so that i could spend them worshipping him.The
worship of Allah has a unique taste in it and when one tastes it,He/She will keep wanting more and more.I
am sure you understand my feelings.My salute to you
in your work and may Allah be with you all the way in this journey that you
have undertaken.Maybe
Burhan bhai, this note is more personal than of any meaning to the
readers so it is your wish wether you would like to
add it in the forum or not.
(There may be some
grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not
change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our
readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Learn Arabic
In the name of Allah, We praise
Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can
misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We
bear witness that there is no one (no idol,
no person, no grave, no
prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone,
and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of
His Messengers.
Dear Sister in Islam, we
sincerely thank you for your kind supplications for us. All Praise is due to the Merciful Lord
Alone, Who has had mercy on the believers and guided them to the Straight Path
of Islam. We started this humble forum
in the hope that some brothers and sisters would benefit from our experience;
and our ardent and sincere prayer to the Merciful Lord is to help us, guide us, have mercy on us, accept our humble and weak
efforts, forgive us our shortcomings, and save us all from the torment of the Hell
Fire. If we are able to bring even one
brother or sister closer to Allah Subhanah and His
Message of the Holy Quran, we will consider ourselves
to be amongst the most honored and fortunate people on this planet earth.
Although there were quite a few
challenges when we started this forum, and Allah is our witness, we would have been unable to surmount any of
them without the help and mercy of Allah Subhanah. Alhamdolillah, today each article
is mailed to almost 150,000 brothers and sisters; and Allah Alone Knows to how many more are
forwarded by them. All Praise is due to
Allah Subhanah Alone, and we consider ourselves
indeed very fortunate to be able to serve the Cause of Allah in our own humble way.
We are very much aware of the
risks that are associated with this forum, and we assure you that it reaches
the top-notch leaders of the community; who have tried everything in their
power to stop us from propagating the Truth from the Holy Quran. We have been summoned by the hierarchy, we have been issued
threats of life and property, we have
been issued threats of social boycott,
our families have been told to dis-associate
themselves from us, etc. We are also aware of their strength and
power, but as believers we sincerely believe that the Power and Strength of our
Almighty Lord is far far greater than all the power
and wealth they can amass! Yes, we admit we are
weak; but the Lord whom we worship is
High, Mighty, and Exalted in Power!
Our only intention is to present
the Truth from the Quran and Sunnah
to our brethren; to
believe in it or to leave it alone is a decision each individual will have to
make for him/her self.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verse 29:Proclaim, “This (Quran) is the Truth from your Lord: now whosoever wills may accept it, and whosoever wills may reject it.” (As for
those who reject it) We have prepared for such workers of iniquity a fire whose
flames have encircled them. There, if they ask for
water , they will be given a drink like
the dregs of oil, which will burn their
mouths! What an evil drink, and what an
evil abode!
From Allah we have all come, and
to Him is our ultimate return.
Once again, we sincerely thank
you for your encouragement and your supplications for us. May Allah Subhanah
always keep you and your family and all the believers in His infinite
Protection and Mercy.
Your Question: In my search for Islam,there
was one thing that i was searching and have not found it in your site and that is
Arabic as a language.
We have received literally
thousands of replies and comments and suggestions (and abuses) on our forum,
and frankly you are the first one to have shown the dedication to learn the
language of the Quran! There is absolutely no doubt that to
understand the Quran in the language in which it was
revealed is indeed the absolute best thing to do. But, to learn a new language at any age, is a
serious commitment; and blessed indeed are those who are guided by Allah to
learn the language of the Quran, so that they may
strive to understand the Message of their Lord in the language it was
revealed. If Allah Wills and Helps us,
we will arrange to introduce a basic Quranic Arabic
language course on our forum very soon, Insha
Allah. By going through this simple
course with dedication and commitment, one will Insha
Allah be able to at least understand the basics of the Message of the Glorious Quran in the language it was revealed. We do not claim that one will become an
expert in the Arabic language by going through the course; but we assure you that when one hears
the recitation of the Quran, he will at least know and understand the
Message that is being declared by the Lord of the Worlds in the text of the
Glorious Quran.
Your Question: Don't you think that not knowing Arabic is a
big hurdle to the road to Allah.
No hurdle is big enough, if one sincerely
intends to take the Path to Allah Subhanah! If one indeed makes a solemn covenant with
himself that he will search and take the Path that leads to Allah’s Mercy;
Allah Subhanah helps the person find the Path, and
makes it easy for him. But to those who
don’t care about what really is the Message of the Lord of the Worlds; Allah
leaves them to stray in darkness!
The Message of Islam was never
confined for those who knew or spoke the Arabic language; nor was it confined to the Arabs; nor was it confined to the Arab land! The Message of Islam was sent as a perfect
guidance and a Mercy from Allah Subhanah to all of
mankind.
Allah says in Chapter
2, Surah Baqarah aayat 185:"Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was sent down: this Book is a perfect guidance for
mankind and consists of CLEAR teachings which show the
The big hurdles are the ones
that man creates for himself in denying the Truth. He either does not care to seek the Truth, nor does he care
about the life of the Hereafter! He is
very content with the life of this world, and when confronted within his heart
about his condition or preparation for his life in the Hereafter, he seeks a short-cut entry into
Paradise, and tries to find some
unscrupulous self-made holy men who are more than happy to guarantee them success
in the next life, if they obey and serve
them in this world!!! The big hurdles
are indeed the ones that man creates for himself…. And by aligning themselves
to these self-made holy men and their pagan rites and rituals, they seek to satisfy the right of their
Creator, and are given the false
impression that these unscrupulous holy men will be their saviors and
intercessors on the Day of Resurrection!
Only if they had made some
effort to read and understand the Message of the Quran, they would have
realized their folly what they will recognize on the Day of Judgment! That absolutely All Power, and All Strength,
and All Decisions, are with Allah Subhanah Alone; and no one else has
a say or has the power to even slightly influence His Decisions!
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumar verses 44:What! Have they taken besides Allah others as ‘shofa’a’ (intercessors)?
Say to them, “Will they intercede even if they have no power whatever
nor understanding?” Say, “Shafa’a is wholly in the Power of Allah Alone!”. His is the
Kingdom of the heavens and the earth.
Then to Him you will be returned.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verses 103-106:Tell them (O
Mohamed), “Should We tell you who are the most unsuccessful people and
miserable failures in regard to their deeds?
They are those,
all whose edeavours in the worldly
life, had gone astray from the Right
Way, but all along they were under the
delusion that everything they were doing,
was rightly directed! Those are
the people who rejected the Revelations of their Lord and did not believe that
they would ever go before Him.
Therefore all their deeds were lost, for We shall assign no weight to them
on the Day of Reserruction. Their recompense is Hell for the disbelief they
showed, and for the mockery they adopted
in regard to My Aayahs and My Messengers!”
Your Statement: Nowadays i spend a
lot of time regreting that i
should have taken this up earlier as i feel i have wasted
a good 22 years of my life and if god gave me
back those years just so that i could spend
them worshipping him.
Allah Subhanah
has appointed a fixed time for each individual for the test of this life. Whoever, in the span of this time of one’s
life, recognizes his Creator and submits
to His Will; passes the test and will
enter into the Mercy and Forgiveness of their Lord. And whoever, in the span of this time, denies his Creator and follows false hopes
and delusions, will be held severely
accountable in the Court of Allah on an Inevitable Day.
Blessed and honored indeed are
those who have recognized their Lord through His innumerable Signs and
Attributes in the span of this worldly life, and have submitted themselves as
slaves to the Merciful. Blessed and
honored indeed are those who have heard and submitted themselves to the Message
of the Lord of the Worlds! Blessed and
honored indeed are those who have put their trust in the One Lord of the Worlds
Alone! Blessed and honored indeed are
those who have believed in the One True Lord, and done righteous good
deeds. Blessed and honored indeed are
the believers!
Thus sister, the days and years
that are past will never ever come back!
But our Merciful Lord has left open the doors of Repentance and Taubah until the time of one’s death…. Thus, turn to Allah Subhanah
in sincere Repentance and Taubah; for He
indeed is the One Who forgives all sins.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54:(O Prophet)
say: “O My servants who have wronged their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s
Mercy! Surely, Allah forgives all sins. He indeed is the All Forgiving, All
Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit
to Him before the scourge overtakes you; for then you may get no help from anywhere.”
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 25 Surah Furqaan verses 63-71:The (true)
servants of the Merciful are those who walk humbly on the earth. When the
ignorant people behave insolently towards them, they say, “Peace to you”; (And those) who
pass their nights in prostrating themselves and standing before their Lord and
pray, “O our Lord, save us from the
torment of Hell, for its torment is
killing! It is an evil abode, and an
evil resting place”. (And those) who,
when they spend are neither extravagant, nor miserly, but keep the golden mean between the two
extremes. (And those) who do not invoke
any god but Allah Alone, nor kill a soul unjustly, which Allah has forbidden, nor commit adultery… He who does this shall
be punished for his sin, and his torment shall be doubled on the Day of
Resurrection, and he shall abide in a state of ignominy; EXCEPT THE ONE WHO MAY
HAVE REPENTED (AFTER THOSE SINS), AND HAVE BELIEVED AND DONE RIGHTEOUS
DEEDS. For then, Allah will change his evil deeds into
good deeds, and He is very Forgiving and
Merciful. In fact, one who repents and
does righteous deeds,
returns to Allah as one rightly should!
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54:When those come to
you who believe in Our Signs, say:
"Peace be on you! Your Lord had
inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy.
Verily if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended
(his conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful."
The Messenger of
Allah (saws) said in an authentic narration: “All of mankind are
sinners! And the best (or most loved by
Allah) amongst the sinners, are those who constantly seek forgiveness from
Allah.”
May Allah make you and us of
those, who constantly seek the pardon and forgiveness of Allah for our short-comings.
Your Statement: The worship of Allah has a unique taste in it
and when one tastes it, He/She will keep wanting more and more. I am sure you understand my feelings.
Allah is our witness, you have spoken
nothing but the Absolute Truth! No
matter how much one tries to explain to another; he is unable to translate the
feeling of that unique and sweet taste of the worship of the Merciful
Lord. This taste is made available by
Allah only to those who sincerely take the path of Seerat-al-Mustaqeem!
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.20 Narrated
by Hadrat Anas ibn Malik (the servant of the
Messenger of Allah (saws))
The Prophet (saws) said, "Whoever
possesses the following three qualities will taste the Sweetness of Faith:
The one to whom
Allah and His Prophet become dearer than anything else.
The one who loves a
person, and he
loves him only for Allah's sake.
The one who hates
to revert to disbelief,
after Allah has brought
him out from it; just as he hates
to be thrown into the fire."
Whatever written of Truth and
benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error
is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He
is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan
