ON BEING UNDIVIDED

Surah Al-Imran Ayat 103 (The Rope)

وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا ۚ وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا وَكُنْتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِنَ النَّارِ فَأَنْقَذَكُمْ مِنْهَا ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

"And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided."

(Dan berpegang teguhlah kamu sekalian kepada tali Allah dan janganlah kamu bercerai-berai; dan ingatlah nikmat Allah kepada kamu ketika kamu dahulunya bermusuh-musuhan, lalu Dia (Allah) menjinakkan hati kamu sehingga kamu menjadi bersaudara dengan nikmat-Nya (nikmat Allah), padahal (dahulunya) kamu berada di pinggir lubang neraka, lalu Dia (Allah) selamatkan kamu. Demikianlah Allah menyatakan ayat-ayat-Nya (tanda-tanda Allah) kepada kamu agar kamu mendapat petunjuk.)

 

The Necessity of Holding to the Path of Allah and the Community of the Believers

Allah said, And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah, and be not divided among yourselves. It was said that, to the Rope of Allah refers to Allah's covenant, just as Allah said in the following Ayah, Indignity is put over them wherever they may be, except when under a covenant (of protection) from Allah, and from men;) [Surah Al-'Imran 3], in reference to pledges and peace treaties.

Allah's statement and be not divided among yourselves, orders sticking to the community of the believers and forbids division. There are several Hadiths that require adhering to the Jama'ah (congregation of believers) and prohibit division. Muslim recorded that Abu Hurayrah (Radhi Allahu Anhu) said that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) said, It pleases Allah for you to acquire three qualities and displeases Him that you acquire three characteristics. It pleases Him that you worship Him Alone and not associate anything or anyone with Him in worship, that you hold on to the Rope of Allah altogether and do not divide, and that you advise whoever Allah appoints as your Leader. The three that displease Him are that you say, `It was said,' and, `So-and-so said,' asking many unnecessary questions and wasting money.

Allah said, and remember Allah's favor on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His grace, you became brothers. This was revealed about the Aws and Khazraj. During the time of Jahiliyyah, the Aws and Khazraj were at war and had great hatred, enmity and ill feelings towards each other, causing long conflicts and battles to occur between them. When Allah brought Islam, those among them who embraced it became brothers who loved each other by Allah's grace, having good ties for Allah's sake and helping each other in righteousness and piety. Allah said, He it is Who has supported you with His Help and with the believers. And He has united their hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but Allah has united them)[Surah Al-Anfal 8,63],

And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided."  Before Islam, their disbelief had them standing at the edge of a pit of the Fire, but Allah saved them from it and delivered them to faith. The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) reminded the Ansar [from both Aws and Khazraj] of this bounty when he was dividing the war booty of Hunayn. During that time, some Ansar did not like the way the booty was divided, since they did not get what the others did, although that was what Allah directed His Prophet to do. The Messenger of Allah gave them a speech, in which he (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, O Ansar! Did I not find you misguided and Allah directed you to guidance because of me. Were you not divided beforehand and Allah united you around me. Were you not poor and Allah enriched you because of me Whenever the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) asked them a question, they would answer, "Indeed, Allah and His Messenger have granted us bounty.''

Reference: Tafsir ibn Kathir (abridged) English version. 

Sources and credits:

www.sistersbookroom   http://www.sistersbookroom.net/t1678-the-rope-surah-al-imran-3103     

Terjemahan Al Quran     http://qurannet.tripod.com/003imran.html 

Quran.com                    http://quran.com/3/103         

THE MONTH OF SYAABAN/SYA'BAN (JULY 2011)

Sha'ban is the name of the (eighth) month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and it is so called because in this month the Arabs used to disperse (tasha'aba) in search of water, or it was said that it is so called because it sha'aba (branches out or emerges) i.e., it appears between the months of Rajab and Ramadan. 

"Lord had called it Sha’ban because His favours and bounties were scattered (sha’aba) all over during it. Allah presents His great bounties in this month which are easy to achieve, and inexpensive," said Imam Ali (A).  This could mean that the doing of ‘ibadah (acts of worship), performing other good deeds and abstaining from evils will carry manifold benefits. 

Sha’ban is the second month of ‘Ibadah in order to make preparations for the grand and majestic month of Holy Ramadhan – the month of Allah (SWT). The Holy Prophet (saw) has said, “Sha’ban is my month”. This is the month of asking for forgiveness of sins, giving alms & charity and fasting.  The Holy Prophet (saw) used to observe fast during the whole month of Sha’ban. 

Imam Zaynul-Aabideen (A) has said, “Whosoever, in love of the Prophet, wishes to seek nearness to Allah and receive His bounties, favours and rewards in this world and in the hereafter, must connect Sha’ban with Ramadhan in the matter of fasting and special  prayers”.

RECOMMENDED FASTS 

1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd  of Sha’ban.

1^st Thursday, Mid-Wednesday of the month and last Thursday.

13^th, 14^th and 15^th of Sha’ban.

Any Thursday, Friday and Saturday of Sha’ban.

The last three days (continuously) of Sha’ban to join with Ramadhan.

This being the second month of Maghfirah (seeking forgiveness), one should do the following:

Recite everyday 70 times ASTAGHFIRULLAHA WA AS-ALUHUT TAWBAH.

Recite everyday 70 times ASTAGHFIRULLAHAL-LADHEE LAA ILAAHA ILLA HUWAR-RAHMAANUR RAHEEMUL HAYYUL QAYYOOMU WA ATOOBU ILAIHI.

Give as much Sadaqah (alms) as possible.

Recite Swalawaat as many times as possible on the Holy prophet (saw).

Recite 1000 times the following dhikr within the month i.e. divide it throughout the month of Sha’ban; 

LAA ILAAHA ILLALLAHU WALAA NA’BUDU ILLA IYYAAHU MUKHLISEENA LAHUD-DEEN WALAU KARIHAL MUSHRIKOON

The Night of Bara`ah (nisf Sha`ban)

 
Another significant feature of the month of Sha`ban is that it consists of a night which is termed in Shari`ah as "Laylatul-bara`ah" (The night of freedom from Fire). This is the night occurring between 14th and 15th day of Sha`ban. Traditions of Prophet Muhammad (saw), prove that it is a meritorious night in which the people of the earth are attended by special Divine Mercy. 

What should be done in this night?

 
On the Holy Night of 15th Shaban, after Maghrib or Isha' prayer it is traditional practice to read Surah Yasin three times and reciting of the Holy Quran. 

It is very necessary that just as others observe this night, you observe it. To make an invitation to feed people on that night, to remember Allah (swt) and to remember His Prophet (saw), and to fast its day and pray its night, will be rewarded for that night and for whoever observes it.

In order to observe the Night of Bara`ah, one should remain awake on this night as much as possible. If someone has the opportunity, he or she should spend the whole night in worship and prayer. 

However, if one cannot do so for one reason or another, he can select a considerable portion of the night, preferably of the second half of it for this purpose, and should perform the following acts of worship: 

praying Salat ul-Khair, which consists of 100 raka`ts, in each raka`t reciting Sura al-Fatiha and 10 Surat al-Ikhlas. To complete the prayer one recites 1000 Sura al-Ikhlas.

The Night of Bara`ah is a night in which special blessings are directed towards the Muslims. Therefore, this night should be spent in total submission to Allah Almighty, and one should refrain from all those activities which may displease Allah.

A Reminder in Shabaan

If you still have to make up any missed obligatory fasts of last Ramadan, then hasten to make up them before the next Ramadan arrives. It is not permissible to delay missed fasts until after the following Ramadan, except in cases of necessity (such as a valid excuse that continues between the two Ramadan).  

Anybody who is able to make up the missed fasts before the (second) Ramadan and does not do so has to make them up after the (second) Ramadan and in addition, he should repent and feed one poor person for each day that was missed. [This is the view of Malik, al-Shafi'ee and Ahmad]

 

 

credits and sources:

www.hujjat.org

www.albalagh.net

www.ummah.com

www.missionislam.com  

Books:  Hebatnya Bulan-bulan Islam-Karangkraf