Say: ‘Who could protect you, by night or by day, from the Most-Gracious?’ Yet, from the remembrance of their Lord do they stubbornly turn away. Do they have gods other than Us to protect them? Those (alleged deities) are not even able to succor themselves, nor can they be given company by Us.
We have allowed these, and their fathers, to enjoy the good things of life for a great length of time. Can they not see that We gradually reduce the land from its outlying borders? Is it they, then, who will triumph?
Say: ‘I do but warn you on the strength of divine revelation!’ But the deaf cannot hear this call, however often they are warned.
Yet, if but a breath of your Lord’s punishment touches them, they are sure to cry, ‘Oh, woe betide us! We were wrongdoers indeed.’ We shall set up just scales on the Day of Resurrection, so that no human being shall be wronged in the least. If there be but the weight of a mustard seed, We shall bring it (to account). Sufficient are We for reckoning. (The Prophets: 21: 42-47)

We concluded our commentary last week pointing out that the question in the first verse in this passage is a rhetoric one. They have none other God to watch over them, for He it is who watches over every soul at all times. The fact is that they stubbornly turn away from the remembrance of their Lord.

The same question is put to them again in a different form: "Do they have gods other than Us to protect them?" Could these gods be the ones who watch over, and protect, them? This cannot be, because those alleged deities "are not even able to succor themselves," let alone be able to support and protect anyone else. "Nor can they be given company by Us," to derive strength from being on the side of God Almighty.

Although the name Ahmad has been over the whole history of Islam one of the most common names in Islamic culture and throughout the Muslim world, when it is mentioned on its own in any scholarly work of Hadith or Fiqh, there can be no mistake that the reference is to Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Ahmad was the founder of the fourth school of thought, but the ranking is made only on the basis of chronological order.

He was born in 164 AH, corresponding to AD 781. This means that his birth took place 14 years after Abu Haneefah’s death, and 15 years before Malik’s death, but the two did not meet. He was a student of Shafie whom he respected very highly. His full name was Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal Al-Shaibani, which means that Hanbal was his grandfather, but the affiliation to his grandfather stuck to him, perhaps because his father died when he was a very young baby. Indeed he mentions that he did not see his father, which suggests that the father died when the young child was not yet able to recognize people with eyesight.

His grandfather was a governor in Persia, and although the family was purely an Arab one, it lived in Persia for many years that some of its members found it easier to converse in Persian, rather than Arabic. Ahmad himself spoke Persian, although the family moved to Baghdad when he was still very young.

That helped Ahmad who showed strong inclinations to study and learning. His uncle was looking after the family, and directed his early studies, but it was his mother’s influence that had the clearest mark on his upbringing and future attitudes. She was a remarkable woman of very strong faith and serious attitude. His early promise was recognized by teachers and friends. Thus, he was known to be among scholars as “the pious young man” and in his old age he was the master scholar withstanding torture and hardship for his beliefs.

Al-Muhassin ibn Muhammad ibn Karramah Al-Jushami Al-Baihaqi is better known by his title, Al-Hakim. His descent takes him back to Muhammad ibn Al-Hanafiyah who was a son of Ali ibn Abu Talib, through a later marriage than his first marriage to Fatimah, the Prophet’s daughter. Sources differ as to whether Jushami, to which he is affiliated, was his hometown or his tribe, but we know that he was born in Ramadan 413 AH, corresponding to 1023 AD. He grew up in Khurasan, a part of today’s Iran.

Al-Hakim studied under a number of scholars who were students of Justice Abd Al-Jabbar, a scholar of high prominence who documented the intellectual thought and the theological approach of Al-Mu’tazilah. Al-Mu’tazilah was a school of Islamic theology, or Kalam, which went deep into discussing the nature of God’s attributes, leading to much unnecessary controversy. What was wrong with the approach of the Mu’tazilah is that it relied to a large extent on the human mind to go into a realm far beyond its scope or ability. Thus, it applied to God what is essentially relevant to man’s own world.

Al-Hakim had many teachers, but the main ones were Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq Al-Naisapuri (died 433) by whom he was greatly influenced, Ali ibn Abdullah (died 457) and Abdullah ibn Al-Hussain Al-Nassihi, who was Chief Justice (died 447). Apparently he did not frequent the circle of any scholar while the first of these three teachers was alive, but when he died, he frequented the circles of both the other two scholars, as well as attending others. He did not confine himself to the strict Mu’tazilah school. In fact, the third of the above three teachers disagreed with the Mu’tazilah on certain points, and he was a leading Hanafi scholar. Al-Hakim read the Hanafi Fiqh under him, as well as other subjects.

Today’s American political landscape can be quite a confusing and frightening place. The ideas of the Founding Fathers are commonly cited as the foundation of the nation. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are seen as the infallible documents on which American life are based. Freedom, democracy, and liberty are the cornerstones of political and social ideas in the United States.

At the same time, however, the rising tide of Islamophobia is making its presence felt. Politicians support the characterization of Islamic life as incompatible with American society. Media “pundits” decry the supposed influence Muslims are having on destroying the basis of American political and social ideas.

The truly ironic part of this is that Muslims in fact helped formulate the ideas that the United States is based on. While this article will not argue that Islam and Muslims are the only cause of the American Revolution, the impact that Muslims had on the establishment of America is clear and should not be overlooked.

Islamic Philosophy and the Enlightenment

The political and social ideas that caused the American colonists to revolt against the British Empire were formulated in a movement known as the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement that argued that science and reason should be the basis of human society, not blind following of monarchs and church authority.

Children are the coolness of their parents’ eyes. ‘Coolness of eyes’ is an Arabic expression. It means that if someone is deeply depressed, his “eyes are warm” as opposed to a mother whose “eyes are cool” when she cries upon seeing her child after many years.

When the ‘season of tests and exams’ arrives, the entire parent fraternity is bogged down with preparation, stressing themselves and straining their children. The worst arguments arise during this season. As the D-Day approaches, another storm in the box is waiting to explode. Pre-result day talks include: “Wait till you get your report” and the sanctions are all set to be implemented.

The most important thing at stake is the child’s self-esteem, which should be respected in order for him to achieve success in the future. The aim is to help the child develop a balanced personality, which is neither over-confident nor of an individual who thinks very low of himself.

Some positive ways to turn this occasion into a beneficial event are:

• Publicly discussing the unpleasant will always bring ill feelings and estranged relationship. It is not very hard to choose between result and relationship. A healthy relationship is directly proportional to good results in all the exams of life. This is the only thing which can positively influence an individual’s way of thinking and living.

Somewhere in a small village and across the globe, there are couples pledging their lives to one another, committing to a lifelong journey, their better half thereby making them one. The Qur’an has described this union like this:

”…They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them...” (Surah Al Baqarah2:187).

Other mentions of the union include: “And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.” (Surah Ar Rum 30:21)

Though many an article have been written about the rights of women in Islam, very few deal with the rights of the husband. And of those that do, they paint a backward portrait of Islam; making it seem as though women are slaves to the man. What people fail to realise is that with rights comes responsibilities. Islam has put that into consideration.

Think about women who have broken stereotypes and overcome boundaries by working, raising children and also stepping up to the challenge for the impoverished, ill and oppressed. How do these women do all this and still maintain good relationships with their spouses?