Muslim Family Values

Importance of Islam for the Family Unit & the Ummah

 

Today we live in a society where everything seems upside down. The family unit – a family unit approved by Allah – is in danger. The Muslim family, a family based on Islamic principles as it was in the past, used to be a solid pillar in society. Today, it finds itself weakened by modern influences that are not always in harmony with divine guidance. When the influence of Shaytan’s evil spreads in society, and when parents who wish to guide their children on the straight path try to set rules to preserve them within the pure environment of Islam, yet the youth begin to rebel and refuse the guidance of Allah that their parents lovingly try to give them, then the atmosphere at home becomes heavy.

Many times, even Muslim adults themselves drift away from important precepts of Islam, while the external world with its attractions tries to divert people’s way of thinking. As a result, disagreements between husband and wife increase, and the direct victims remain the children who grow up in confusion and without clear direction. Consequently, conflicts between parents and children also increase. Whether it is domestic violence or divorce – which society has normalised as something common – leading to the disintegration of the family home, all of this shows that there is a deep crisis that society in general is facing. What is even more tragic is that Muslims too have allowed themselves to be trapped by these influences. So, we Muslims of today must ask: What should we do to restore the sacred value and stability of the family?

Protection of Divine Truth against Evil

  

Allah, our beloved Creator, has always protected truth and the truthful. He has always destroyed the adversaries of faith and supported His messengers in every era. What we must understand is that humanity today enjoys blessings that earlier races did not. Through the blessing Allah granted us in the creation of our ancestor Hazrat Adam (as), we possess intelligence and mental and spiritual faculties that those before us did not. We are a race honoured by Allah through Hazrat Adam (as), our ancestor and the first prophet of Allah, His representative on earth.

Many may say that human DNA has existed for thousands of years, but they overlook the fact that the genetic code Allah teaches us in the Qur’an, linking us to His prophet, is the true code we carry within us. Our race is more recent than we think. We may estimate long ages have passed, but in Allah’s estimation, our creation is recent. This is undeniable truth, for when Allah created Hazrat Adam (as) and breathed into him His spirit – a divine essence connecting Adam (as) and his righteous descendants to Allah – the angels said: “Will You place therein one who will cause mischief and shed blood, while we glorify You with praise and sanctify You?” Allah replied: “I know what you do not know.” (Al-Baqara 2: 31)

 

Allah had already planned, and He is the best of planners. In this trial called life, Allah established that evil would exist, so that those who perfect within themselves the divine essence He breathed into them could strengthen themselves to combat evil. This divine essence, this gift, is Divine Revelation. It is not only Prophethood or Messengership, but the factor of guidance that comes directly from Allah, guiding His servants upon the straight path. This gift is Divine Revelation.

The Sahaba: Role Models

 

The Knowledge of the Sahaba & Our Spiritual Heritage

When we reflect on the knowledge of the Sahaba of our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), we discover a profound truth: their knowledge was not limited to books or speeches, but was a spiritual light that transformed hearts. Allah says in the Qur’an: “Innallaziiina utul ‘ilma min qablihi idhaa yutlaa ‘alayhim yakhirruna lil-adhqaani sujjadan” (Those who were given knowledge before, when the Qur’an is recited to them, fall upon their faces in prostration.) (Bani Isra’il 17: 108). This verse shows us that knowledge is such a powerful force that it drives a person towards humility and submission.

 

The Sahaba received direct training from the Holy Prophet (pbuh). They witnessed the revelation of the Qur’an, heard Hadiths directly, and observed the Prophet’s behaviour. This closeness gave them extraordinary sincerity. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), Hazrat Umar (ra), Hazrat Uthman (ra), Hazrat Ali (ra), and others were not merely scholars, but living models. They could convince entire nations by their conduct.

Divine Warning

 

In this modern world we live in, everyone can see with their own eyes how the earth is suffering, struck by all kinds of calamities: earthquakes, floods, extreme heat, cyclones and diseases, affecting people and nations without distinction. In many countries, death comes in masses; thousands lose their lives in earthquakes, entire families disappear in floodwaters, and unbearable heat kills the elderly and vulnerable. Allah has warned all of humanity in the Qur’an:

 

“And We already sent Messengers to peoples before you (the Prophet); then We seized them with poverty and hardships [calamities] so that they might humble themselves and return to Us.” (Al-An‘am 6: 43)

 

In other words, Allah tests His servants, humans who pledged to uphold divine commandments, to distinguish between those who fulfil their promise sincerely and those who turn away from their commitments. This test is not new; Allah tested peoples before us and will continue to test peoples after us. As long as humans live on earth, Allah will test them, to separate the believer from the non-believer, the sincere from the insincere, the good from the bad. We must remember that Allah has already sent calamities upon past peoples so that they might return to Him in humility.

The Martyrdom of Imam Hussein (ra)

Today is Friday of Ashura, the 10^th of Muharram 1448, exactly 1387 Islamic years (Hijri) since the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussein (ra), son of Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu Talib (ra) and Hazrat Fatima (ra), and grandson of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). Until today, the event of Karbala remains a truth that has marked human conscience across centuries through the courage of Hazrat Imam Hussein (ra) and all the members of the family of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), young and old, who were present at Karbala to fight against a merciless tyrant who sought power, wealth and status, and who was even ready to kill the beloved family of the greatest of prophets (pbuh) to establish his illegitimate rule upon the earth.

 

This event must be recounted so that the youth of today remember the extraordinary sacrifice that Imam Hussein (ra) and the rest of the family of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) made to preserve the honour of Islam and the honour of truth intact in the face of impurities that sought to stain Islam (that is, to spoil the image of Islam). This story must remain within each of us, in our hearts – if indeed we claim to have love for Allah, for His Prophet, for His family, for His companions and for the rest of the Ummah – an Ummah of pure people, who struggle each day so that the truth of Islam triumphs over the reign of evil in the world. This sacrifice must remain engraved, alive within our hearts.

The Month of Muharram

  

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah. (All praise belongs to Allah, then again all praise belongs to Allah), Allah has granted us the Tawfiq (blessed opportunity) to witness the beginning of a new year in the Islamic calendar. Among all the months of the Islamic calendar, a lunar calendar, Allah has made four of them sacred:

 

“For Allah, the number of months in a year which He prescribed on the day He created the heavens and the earth is twelve months, among which four are sacred (Muharram, Rajab, Dhul-Qaddah and Dhul-Hijjah). That is the right religion. Do not wrong yourselves during these months. But fight the idolaters all together, just as they fight you all together. And know that Allah is with those who are mindful of Him.” (At-Tauba 9:36)

Death in Islam

 

Life and death are in the Hand of Allah. In the Qur’an, Allah says: “Kullu nafsin zaa-i-qatul mawt; thumma ilayna turja‘uun” Every soul shall taste death; then unto Us you shall be returned. (Al-Ankabut 29: 58)

This is a fundamental reminder showing that life on earth is only a passage; death is not an end in itself but a transition towards eternity. What is truly decisive is the state in which a person leaves this world, for as our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said: “Every servant will be resurrected upon that which he died.” (Muslim)

 

This saying of the Prophet (pbuh) opens for us a profound reflection. Death is not a coincidence; it is a seal upon the spiritual condition of a person. If someone dies in obedience to Allah, he will be resurrected in an honourable state; if he dies in disobedience, he will be resurrected in humiliation. Therefore, a believer must be vigilant in preserving his faith and maintain this vigilance at every moment of his life so that he does not slip in his faith and fall into loss.