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By Idris Tawfiq We make life so very complicated, don't we? It's not just the tragedy and the violence which we see on the television news that makes our lives so disjointed and confused. Even choosing a career or selecting a course at college becomes the reason for hours of anguish. Shall I do this or shall I do that? What if I don't like my choice or I'm not good at the Course? Young people are faced with choices and decisions which seem ready to overwhelm them. Pressure from adults and even from our own friends makes us have to live up to others' expectations, when all we want is just to get on with our lives. The pressure on young Muslims is greater still. A well as having the usual pressures of life, there is the additional pressure that society places on Islam and Muslims. We didn't blow anyone up, yet people look at us as if we did. We are just ordinary young men and women trying to complete our studies or to succeed in a chosen career,...

Allah the Almighty says: {... وَإِنَّ أَوْهَنَ الْبُيُوتِ لَبَيْتُ الْعَنكَبُوتِ ۖ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ } Translation : {…And indeed, the weakest of homes is the home of the spider, if they only knew} [Surat Al-’Ankabût: 41]. Transliteration: wainna awhana albuyooti labaytu alAAankabooti law knoo yaAAlamoona This Qura’nic verse appears at the beginning of the second part of Surat al-’Ankabût (The Spider). It is a Makkan surah and has a total number of 69 ayahs following the Basmalah. This surah was named as such because it compares disbelievers and polytheists, who seek protection and support in things or people rather than in Allah the Almighty , to the spider that seeks refuge in its house, the flimsiest of houses. This is the only verse in which the spider is mentioned in the whole of the noble Qur’an. The main theme of this surah is believing in Allah the Almighty . It tackles the ordeals inflicted upon believers because of their faith and what they might ...

"As for man, whenever his Lord tries him with honor and with favors He bestows on him. he says 'My Lord has honored me.' But whenever He tries him by stinting his means, then he says 'My Lord has left me humiliated.' " [Qur'an: 89:15-16] Such is man's thinking about the various forms of trial Allah may set for him, be it comfort or hardship, wealth or scarcity. Allah may test him with comforts, honor, wealth or position, but he does not realize the probationary nature of what he is given. Rather he considers the gesture as proof that he deserves to be honored by Allah and as evidence that He has chosen him for a special honor. It is a line of thinking which mistakes trial for reward and test for result. It imagines honor in the sight of Allah to be measured by the amount of worldly comforts given to a certain person. Allah also tries man by stinting his means, and man again mistakes trial for reward and imagines the test ...

"Rivalry for worldly gain distracts you, until you enter your graves.Indeed you shall know! Again, you shall certainly come to know. Indeed, were you to have certain knowledge.. You shall certainly see the fire of Hell. Yes, you will see it with your very eyes. Then, on that day, you shall be questioned about your joys and comforts" [102: 1-8] From Fi Dhilaal al-Qur'aan Wake up Muslim Brothers and Sisters and pay heed to the caution and warning given in this sura before it is too late. "This surah has a rhythm that is majestic and awe-inspiring-as if it-were the voice of a warner standing on a high place and projecting his voice which rings out in weighty emphasis. He calls out to people who are drowsy, drunken, confused. Then approach a precipice with their eyes closed and their feelings numbed. So the warner increases the volume of his voice to the limit: "Rivalry for worldly gain distracts you until you enter your graves". You drunk...

"Indeed Allah will help those who help Him. Indeed Allah is Exalted in Might, All-Powerful."[ Al-Qur'an 22:40] Muhammad al-Amin ash-Shanqiti Imam Ash-Shanqiti (d. 1393H) - rahimahullah - said: Allah - the Mighty and Majestic - explains in this noble ayah that He has sworn to help and give victory to those who help Him. It is known that the help and victory of Allah comes by following what He has prescribed, obeying His commend, avoiding His prohibitions, by helping His Messengers and their followers, aiding His Religion and fighting against His enemies and overpowering them - until the word of Allah is made uppermost, whilst the word of His enemies is debased and mode low. Then Allah - the Most High, the Most Magnificent - explains the characteristics of those whom He has promised would receive His help and victory, distinguishing them from others. So He said - explaining those to whom He swore He would aid and give victory to - because He is the on...

Tafseer Ibn Kathir (261. The parable of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah, is that of a grain (of corn); it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures’ needs, All-Knower.) This is a parable that Allah made of the multiplication of rewards for those who spend in His cause, seeking His pleasure. Allah multiplies the good deed ten to seven hundred times. Allah said, << The parable of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah… >> Sa`id bin Jubayr commented, "Meaning spending in Allah’s obedience". Makhul said that the Ayah means, "Spending on Jihad, on horse stalls, weapons and so forth". The parable in the Ayah is more impressive on the heart than merely mentioning the number seven hundred. This Ayah indicates that Allah `grows’ the good deeds for its doers, just as He grows the plant for whoever sows it in fertile ...

First Evidence: Abu Zarr of the Ghifar tribe somehow got angry with the freed slave of Abu Bakr, Bilal of Abyssinia. Both of them were the companions of the Prophet. The altercation became prolonged and Abu Zarr in his fury called Bilal the son of a black skinned mother. Bilal complained to the Prophet, who addressed Abu Zarr saying, "Did you call him a name reviling his mother? It appears you still retain vestiges of Jahiliyah (ignorance period before Islam)" Abu Zarr failed to understand the word Jahiliyah and took it to signify some sort of sexual immorality, and meekly questioned in surprise, "At this ripe age, O Prophet of God?" The Prophet said in reply, "Yes, you are his brother (and should be considerate and kind to him)". Abu Zarr who had by now understood the significance of the Prophet's remark, was ashamed and repentant and out of extreme repentance and humility requested Bilal to trample his face with his feet. Second Evidenc...