Identifying Sin

A sin can be defined as something that is 'unjust' to your soul. The problem is how do you know when you are being unjust? How can you tell? And how can you stop? How do you identify sin? How can you become aware of sin? How do you know when you are committing sin? I have began to identify the following factors to identify sin.

• A feeling of guit 
• Uncomfortableness in a situation
• A feeling of wanting to make Tawbah (repentence)
• Excess enjoyment in material pleasures
• Imitation of disbelievers

What if you have none of the feelings aboove? Or are not aware of the other factors suggested?
I have noticed that in order to identify sin you have to want to identify it, or at least be aware of your motive for a particular behaviour. An important lesson I am learning, is the more knowledge I seek, the more I will learn, and the more sin I can identify to make tawbah for and rectify Inshallah.

Why do Muslim women cover themselves?

'And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what [must ordinarily] appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers sons, or their sisters' sons, or thier women, or the slaves whom their right hands pocess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O' you Believers! Turn all together, that you may attain Bliss', (Surah Al Nur: 31).

'O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful', (Al-'Aĥzāb:59).

I recently had a conversation with a very close friend about the dress code of a Muslim woman, she herself is not a Muslim and I explained to her that I recieve more respect from people because of my scarf and dressing modestly.

What is ironic however, is that the Western media portray Muslim woman as being oppressed and inferior to men, when the truth is that woman are equal to men. Women are beautiful and because of that it is very easy to judge a woman on her looks. The purpose of hijab is therefore not to oppress a woman, rather the opposite, it protects her from the obtrusive eyes of society so that one will look past her looks and appreciate her intellect and character.

I recently watched a programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rv3yf  
Great conversation on the subject of the abaya around the 35th minute of the programme! Enjoy :)

Parents and family

'Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: My Lord! Bestow on them thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood,' (17:23).

Parents take care of you, they never really stop. Its a difficult thing doing the same in return. It is much easier sometimes to be nicer to a stranger than you own parents or family. Especially at times of stress, like exams, it is very easy to lash out at parents or mutter under your breath or wish you even lived somewhere else. I have began to understand the nature of this verse in Qu'ran. Parents get older, its inevitable and we get older with them, its almost role reversal now we have to take care of them along with all our other responsibilities, job, spouse, children, etc. Indeed parents nurture us so much when we are young and vulnerable. 

I have noticed that if I can conquer - perhaps conquer isn't the right word but if I can treat my parents and family with more respect, more love and have patience with them all and vice versa and bite my tongue more often than the reward from Allah (swt) must be so great Alhumdulilah!

Narrated 'Abdullah: I asked the prophet (swt) 'Which deed is the dearest to God?' He replied, ' to offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times. ' I asked, 'what is the next (in goodness)?' He replied, 'to be good and dutiful to your parents,' (Bukhari).

It is a hard task this, but it can be done. Living in a Western society it seems almost apart of the culture to be rude and intolerable towards parents and family, especially as every soap opera dramatises every small argument, from slamming doors, to shouting down the stairs (and saying things like 'I wish you weren't my mother / father,' or 'I hate you'). Watching these kind of overdramatic programmes poses an ideolgy that we as people will get used to and likely to adopt.

An increasing elder generation with no one to look after but them but the nursing home. I think this is a very sad reality. Why I love Islam so much? Its clear to me how Allah (SWT) has defined each of our roles, how these roles complement each other and how they support the structure of society. A family is like the internal frame of a very strong building (society), each individual a pillar in their own right, if one is weak, the other pillars will bear the weight, however if too many pilllars across an entire street are weak the more likely there will be a disaster of some sort. Islam provides soloutions and outlines clearly how one should behave and think, which brings me to another topic...

Women in Islam

Recently I have been reading a book, The Ideal Muslimah (Dr Muhammad Ali al-Hashimi) and have realised how strong the female believers were at the time of Mohammed (pbuh), and found myself asking, would I of had the same strength? Would I be able to do what she did? 

Prior to reading this book, I used to debate in my head why I wasn't born at the time of Mohammed (pbuh)? It would have been amazing to live at the golden age of Islam with the Prophet (pbuh), the Sahaba's and Mothers of the Believers, yet recently I have began to understand that I do not have the same the strength as the women of that time, not even ten percent!
  
The first person to die for Islam was a woman. Summaya bint Khabbab wife of Yasir ibn Amir. Their persecution, courage and endurance truly is amazing. Praise be to Allah.