Living Islam (mission, prophet, marriage, faith, muslims)

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Forgiveness Vis-à-Vis Repentance


Asking for forgiveness of God is a regular aspect of worship for believers. People can ask forgiveness of God all day long for all their sins, whether deliberately or unintentionally committed. Moreover, as well as asking for forgiveness for themselves, they can also do it for other believers, as stated in the Qur'an.

In Arabic, the word for "asking for forgiveness" is istighfarwhich is "asking for God's attribute of Ghafir, or He who forgives.

Thus, asking for forgiveness of God is like pledging to purify one's self and hence seeking refuge in the mercy and grace of God.

http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1165993909275&pagename=Z one-English-Discover_Islam%2FDIELayout

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Get a Good Teacher!
Advice from American convert Abdul-Lateef Abdullah to fellow new Muslims

My advice to you as a new Muslim is to find and learn the deen from a teacher. In my year and a half of being Muslim (I'm 28 years old), one of the most important experiences for me has been the guidance and support of a very knowledgeable and pious teacher.

Islam is a not a religion of self-interpretation. It is a straight path based on knowledge that must be acquired. It is a lifestyle that has to be adhered to, and is unfortunately being influenced by many negative elements, both within and outside Islam.

Although many new Muslims, especially in the US, choose to teach themselves Islam through books, lectures and videos, there are many pitfalls to doing this that should be avoided. Without a teacher or a guide, one who armed with the combination of knowledge and experience, the pitfalls of the ego and desires can confuse and lead us astray quite easily.

Self-teaching is a western phenomenon, and because many of us are brought up in the west, we assume we can apply our cultural norms to Islam as well. However, Islam is not of the west, thus, our western norms cannot be applied to it with much success.

For centuries, classical Islamic education was taught through direct contact with teachers. This is how wisdom, not just knowledge, was acquired. You cannot gain wisdom from just reading. ...

http://islamfortoday.com/abdullah03.htm

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Does God Need Our Worship?

Q: If Allah is free of all wants, why does He ask us to worship Him?

A: Allah said:
*{To Allah belong all things in heaven and earth: verily Allah is He (that is) free of all wants, worthy of all praise.*** (Luqman 31:26)

This verse tells us that Allah has no needs; that He is completely independent and free. So it was not out of any necessity on his part that He created the humans and asked them to worship Him.

And yet He created them, because He is the Creator par excellence. And it is part of His creative plan that He created beings who can understand and appreciate His creative power, along with countless insensate beings and inanimate things.

Allah on His own chose to be Merciful, Bounteous, Loving and Forgiving. And all these are qualities that require that there be beings who should receive His mercy, His bounty, His love and His forgiveness.

Maybe that is why He created such beings; who out of their gratitude to Him are asked to willingly, and not out of compulsion, worship Him. This was never a need on the part of Allah.

Nor can any of His creation provide him or help him with anything. As all beings came into existence out of Allah's own will and whatever they possess by way of ability or power — and indeed their very existence — was given to them by Allah the Almighty Himself. ...

http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1203759226133&pagename=IslamOnline-English-AAbout_Islam%2FAskAboutIslamE%2FAskAboutIslamE

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Pearls of Wisdom in Islam:

Hold Your Tongue

Speaking little and listening much are virtues and signs of maturity. The desire to make oneself heard at all times is a sign of spiritual imbalance and shamelessness, even if some explain it away as a form of insanity.

Any words spoken should be directed toward solving a problem or answering a question. In either case, the one who asks the question and the one who listens to the answer should not become bored.

It is natural that one speak only when necessary, and keep silent when words are out of place. However, it is always better that those words which are of great benefit to others should take precedence.

Nevertheless, this depends on acquiring good manners and perceiving the virtue of keeping silent. Such wisdom is reflected in a beautiful proverb: Those who speak a lot make many mistakes.

People reveal themselves through their words, and manifest their spiritual rank through their manners. Those who act as though they are the only ones with the authority to speak inevitably become disliked and are condemned by their friends.
As a result, any valuable words they might express are rejected out of hand. As a corollary, these truths are not accorded the respect they deserve.

Holding the tongue, like eating and sleeping only a little, always has been a golden rule followed by men and women of perfection.

Those who wish to develop their spiritual faculties are advised firstly to hold their tongue and to refrain from idle talk. They should not say whatever comes into their heads ...

http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1213871690169&pagename=Z one-English-Discover_Islam%2FDIELayout

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"No God but God"

The statement by which a person enters into Islam is "There is no God but Allah." By making this declaration, we profess Allah's lordship over all Creation as well as His exclusive right to be worshipped. We then turn all of our strengths – those of the mind, the heart, and the body – to glorifying and praising Him.

Our bodies, and the atoms that make them up, already glorify their Creator, whether we acknowledge it or not. However, we are given the choice when it comes to our minds, our hearts, and our deeds. We can willingly turn to Allah and embrace the message that he sent to us with His messenger, or we can remain heedless.

We as human beings are blessed with a natural inclination to recognize our Creator and to worship Him. We instinctively feel the need to do so. Therefore, when we worship our Lord, we are in harmony with our own natures and with the rest of Creation.

As for someone who worships something other than the Creator, that person is taken by the tides of worldly existence and his soul is torn by it. ...

http://www.islamtoday.com/showme_weekly_2006.cfm?cat_id=30&sub_cat_id=1939

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"…and He put love and mercy between your hearts"

"And among His Signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility with them, and He put love and mercy between your hearts. Verily in that are Signs for those who reflect." [Sûrah Rûm: 21]

We should think about this verse of the Qur'ân. We should consider it well. What does it tell us about married life?

The verse tells us quite clearly that the marital relationship is to be established on a basis of mutual understanding, compassion, and love. Moreover, this relationship is a reciprocal one. It is not one-way. This relationship something that both the husband and wife must maintain together with closeness, affection, softness of heart, and mutual caring. This is the way that the "tranquility" mentioned in the verse is realized.

The measure of marital success is in the harmony and openness of the marital relationship. Its failure can be measured in the degree of discord and emotional imbalance it suffers from.

Marriage is one of the noblest of human relationships. It is the very foundation of society. Allah has established a strong foundation for this relationship.

Love and affection are translated into action through kindness of expression, leniency in conduct, sincerity, mutual respect, and other behaviors. Tranquility comes about through their familiarity for one another, their natural sense of ease and comfort in being together, their need for each other. ...

http://islamtoday.com/showme2.cfm?cat_id=37&sub_cat_id=1782

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“Allah forgives all sins…”

Allah says: “Say: O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Sûrah al-Zumar: 53]

This verse speaks about those who repent. It tells us that any sin, no matter how major, is expiated by sincere and proper repentance.

There are conditions for repentance to be sincere and proper. The first of these is that the penitent person desists from the sinful act. The second is that he feels deep and genuine regret for having committed the sin. The third is that he resolves in his heart never to return to the sin again. Finally, if the sin caused a transgression against the rights of another person, he needs to do his best to make amends.

When Allah sees this sincere repentance from one of His servants – a servant who truly turns to his Lord in fear and hope – He not only forgives the sin, but replaces those sins for good deeds to the servant’s credit. This is from Allah’s infinite grace and munificence.

http://islamtoday.com/showme2.cfm?cat_id=37&sub_cat_id=1195