The History of al-Tabari — Post #1

Tabari starts his great work with an invocation to God in which he also praises the Prophet (SAW).

He then goes on to discuss the nature of creation and its relationship to God, in that 1. All things created were done so with the purpose of worshiping God. 2. God is not dependent on His creations for their worship or in any other way whatsoever, and that 3. God provides and cares for his creations in every minute and major detail. Furthermore, with regard to humans He gave us the faculties to choose and decipher good from bad as such 4. All gratitude is due to God and Tabari expands by explaining that by showing gratitude, God provides us with further blessings and favors in reward…. presumably because the act of being grateful means that we understand the magnitude of Gods kindness and care of us —- life/the world/ our minds/ this universe  could have been different. God could have created us and commanded worship regardless but He didn’t…. He created for us a world to help us and make things easier and to facilitate our minds, body and spirit. Furthermore, He explained all this to us in the Quran so that we may know what has been done for us.

Tabari quotes the following verses regarding these points:

Qur: 51: 56-58

Qur: 71:19f

Qur: 21:32

Qur. 78:10f

Qur 17:12

Qur 2:189

Qur 10:5f

Qur 14:7

This is a concept i did not fully appreciate before, perhaps being grateful for the everyday things that we take for granted such as the ecosystems, the oceans and the way they generate rain, the night, the trees and the air we breath and the way we and they all interact… maybe there is an added dimension in addition to Gratitude….  by appreciating the complexity of the favors God (SA) has bestowed on us through the Earth… we can gain more respect for it and the other “simple” natural wonders. Maybe by respecting nature and the world as a gift from God (SA) out of care for us we would learn to treasure it more.

Assalaamu Alaikum

Assalaamu Alaikum people. It has been a very long time since I have posted anything on this blog. I really can’t think of a good reason why I have stayed away so long. Either way, I have a new mission regarding my blog. As we all know, there are two external sources of guidance we can turn to in that briefest of instants before thoughts result in an outcome. The sum of all these outcomes could be described as our personality or character. Thus to my basic understanding there are two external sources of guidance that shapes our character /heart. These are of course the Qur’an and Sunnah.

With this in mind I mind I want to use this blog to record the steps in my new mission to focus on gaining knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah – Insha’Allah. The sources I want to use are  Tabari’s History of Prophets and Kings and the Commentary of the Qur’an by Ibn Kathir. I hope that i will gain the knowlege i need to influence my heart/character in a positive way.

I believe we are all born with defects in our character. Defects that are a challenge to overcome – ie a test. By using  knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah, I hope to push the odds more in my favor – Insha’ Allah it works.  The second benefit of doing this is that the more time I spend here, the less time i spend doing things that I have no business doing.

Du’aas from the Fortress of the Muslim Book

Links to the eBook entitled “Fortress of the Muslim” and the book itself.

Fasting on ‘Ashura’

Fasting the Day of `Ashura’

By Ælfwine Mischler

A satellite view of Sinai and the Red Sea. `Ashura’ commemorates the day that Allah saved the Children of Israel from Pharaoh.
Fasting on Muharram 10, known as the Day of `Ashura’, expiates for the sins of the past year.

When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Madinah in 622 CE, he found that the Jews there fasted on Muharram 10 and asked them the reason for their fasting on this day. They said, “This is a blessed day. On this day Allah saved the Children of Israel from their enemy (in Egypt) and so Prophet Musa [Moses] fasted on this day giving thanks to Allah.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “We are closer to Musa than you are.” He fasted on that day and commanded Muslims to fast on this day. (Al-Bukhari)

Shaitaan before and during Ramadan

Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim

With Ramadan being just weeks away, this is the time that shaitaan goes into full swing to throw us off our tracks. I thought it would be a good opportunity to compile some information on this as well as provide ways to protect one’s self from shaitaan.

Where will shaitaan be once Ramadan arrives? As related in the following hadith, the devils and all rebellious jinns will be chained in hellfire. The Prophet (SAWS) said, “When the first night of Ramadan comes, the devils and rebellious jinns are put in chains and the door of hell are closed, none of them remains open. The doors of heaven are open and none of them remains closed. And a caller calls, ‘O the seeker of goodness, come forward and o the seeker of evil, desist. And Allah has (many) who will be freed from Hell.’ This announcement is made every night. (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, Hadith no. 618)