Living The Quran
Birr
Al-Baqara (The Cow) Chapter 2: Verse 177
 "The birr does not consist in your turning your faces towards the East or the West, but true birr
is this, that one believes in God, and the Last Day, and the angels,
and the Scripture, and the Prophets; that one gives one's own wealth
howsoever cherished it may be, to kinsfolk, orphans, the needy, the
wayfarer, and beggars, and also for the sake of slaves; that one
performs the ritual prayer, pays the alms. And those who keep their
covenant when they have once covenanted and who are patient in distress
and hardship: there are they who are sincere; these are they who are
Godfearing."
The word Birr is perhaps among the most elusive of the
Quranic moral terms. In any case, the usage of the word in Quran
indicates that a very prominent place is given to factors relating to
justice and love in human relations, so much so that -
to take two representative elements - the act of rendering religious
service to God and that of feeding the poor are made to stand almost on
the same footing. This should not surprise us, for the Quran as a whole
gives an outstanding emphasis to justice and love in social life. Piety,
in other words, cannot be piety unless it manifests itself in various
works motivated by the will to practice justice and love towards others.
The word birr seems
to lend further confirmation to this view. The above verse furnishes a
contextual definition of the word. A glance at the elements here
enumerated as constituting true birr would make us understand
at once that there is practically nothing to distinguish it from true
iman. We see at the same time why this term has been so variously
translated in English. It may very well be rendered as 'piety'; it may
no less justifiably be rendered as 'righteousness' or 'kindness'. But
any of these translations taken alone, cannot possibly do justice to the
original word which includes all these and perhaps still others in its
complex meaning.
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Understanding the Prophet's Life 
Five Favours
God is kind and gives favours to everyone. Whatever people
have is from God. Nevertheless, He bestowed special favours on each
Prophet (peace be upon them) and community according to the dictates of
the time. For example, Adam was favoured with the knowledge of the names
(the keys to all branches of knowledge). Noah was endowed with
steadfastness and perseverance; Abraham was honoured with God's intimate
friendship and being the father of numerous Prophets; Moses was given
the ability to administer, and was exalted by being addressed by God
directly; and Jesus was distinguished with patience, tolerance, and
compassion. All Prophets have some share in these praiseworthy
qualities, but each surpasses, on account of his mission, the others in
one or more of these qualities.
Prophet Muhammad has all of the qualities mentioned above,
except for being the father of Prophets. Moreover, because of the
universal nature of his mission, he is further distinguished in the
following five ways. As related by Bukhari, he says:
"I have been given five things not given to anyone
before me: God helps me by implanting fear in the heart of my enemies at
a distance of one month's walk; the Earth has been made a place of
worship and means of cleansing for me, so whenever it is time to pray my
followers can pray wherever they are; the spoils of war are lawful for
me, although they were not lawful for anyone before me; I have the right
to intercede (with God on behalf of believers); and, while every
Prophet (before me) was sent to his people exclusively, I was sent to
humanity."
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Cool Tips!
Islamic Call
The propagation of Islam was the mission of all the prophets and
messengers of Allah. There was never a prophet who was not a preacher
and teacher. All of them preached the same message: 'Worship Allah, you
have no other god but Him.' They all called to their people saying: 'I
do not seek any reward from you for this work.'
There are five premises to the Islamic call, it has five approaches, and its results are also five.
The five premises
First: sincerity and truthfulness with Allah, and to seek His favour. Allah says: 'And, they were not enjoined aught but that they should worship God, sincere in their faith to Him alone.' (98:5)
The Prophet (peace be upon him) foretold that the first with whom the
fire of hell will be lit are three; among them a scholar who acquired
knowledge so that people would say he is learned.
Second: to practice what one preaches. Actually
it is a scandal and disgrace that a person's actions contradict his
words. Allah derides such people in His Quran: 'Do you bid other people
to be pious, the while you forget your own selves - and yet you recite
the divine writ? Will you not, then, use your reason?' (Qur'an 2:44)
Third: gentleness in presenting the message. Allah
advised Musa and Haroon (peace be upon them both) to adopt this
measure with Pharaoh, the greatest tyrant of his time: 'But speak unto
him in a mild manner, so that he might bethink himself or [at least] be
filled with apprehension.' (Qur'an 20:44)
And to Prophet Muhammad, He also cautioned: 'And it was by God's
grace that thou [O Prophet] didst deal gently with thy followers; for if
thou hadst been harsh and hard of heart, they would indeed have broken
away from thee' (Qur'an 3:159).
Hence it was on this basis the Prophet, declared: 'Make matters
easy and do not make them difficult. Give glad tidings and do not drive
people away.'
Fourth: adopt a gradual approach to propagation. Do
as Prophet Muhammad did in his mission by beginning with the most
important matters; then follow them up in order of priority. This was
clearly demonstrated in the advice he gave to Muadh (may Allah be
pleased with him) before he sent him to Yemen. "You will come upon a
People of the Book (Jews and Christians), the first thing you should
invite them to is to bear witness that there is no God save Allah and
that I am the Messenger of Allah. If they respond positively to this,
then inform them that Allah had ordained for them five prayers each day
and night.'
Fifth: address every people with what is suited for them and their needs.
There is a special approach to the people of the cities and another
approach to the villagers. Similarly, there is a special approach to the
Bedouin. The intellectual has his position and the ignorant has his
position. So too, there is a style for the argumentative and an entirely
different one for the submissive. 'And whoever is granted wisdom has
indeed been granted wealth abundant.'
[to be continued]
Compiled From:
"Thirty Lessons For Those Who Fast" - A'id Abdullah al-Qarnee
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