The MIRACLE of the HOLY QUR’AN -

2

Understanding Islam Lecture Series

Outline

• The Quran as a Guide

• The Quran approach to some of the social issues– Humility– Trust– Backbiting

The Quran

• A Perfect Universe • Perfect Human Beings

The Quran

• A Perfect Universe • Perfect Human Beings

The Ultimate Willpower

The QuranAllah (SWT) granted human beings a limited willpower

that enables us

•to make decisions

•to change already existing things

The Quran

The Quran

• A Perfect Universe • Perfect Human Beings

Limited Willpower

A perfect Guide

A Perfect Society

Human Being as the “atom” of the society

• Humility: The first step to build a relationship– Prophet Mohammed was a humble servant

Humility

• “Allah (SWT) elevates the humble, and degrades the arrogant”– Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon him)

Humility

• And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance. Verily, you can neither rend nor penetrate the earth, nor can you attain a stature like the mountains in height.

• All the bad aspects of these (the above mentioned things) are hateful to your Lord (17:37&38)

Humility

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:"No Arab has any superiority over a non-

Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Nor does a white man have any superiority over a black man, or the black man any superiority over the white man. You are all the children of Adam, and Adam was created from clay"

Humility

• Humility in this world and in the hereafter.– Noone really knows who is the most pious.

• O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former…(49:11)

Backbiting

• An extremely dangerous habit

Legal Notice: Do not attempt to imitate what you see on this slide as they are extremely dangerous.(PG13)

Backbiting

• Goal: To attain good manners and quit bad ones.

• If you backbite– You lose that person (stand behind your word)

• See I told you…– That person loses you– Society loses that person– That person loses the society– That person loses himself– Society loses itself

• No short and long run benefit at all..

Backbiting

• O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions, indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is the One Who accepts repentance, Most Merciful. (4:12)

An Alternative to Backbiting

• Showing the beauties and give another chance

• Even more dangerous

Backbiting

Legal Notice: The same applies.(PG8)

• Definition of a muslim– “A muslim is the one from whose hands and

tongue the others muslims are safe”

Prophet Muhammed (PBUH)– If not?

• Muhammedu-l Emin– Example

Trust

Trust

• Successful indeed are the Believers,– …– ..– .– Those who faithfully observe their trusts and

their covenants.(23:1&8)

Trust

• Hatfield (1899), Bigelow (1905), Stevens (1912), Durand (1914), Montgomery (1904),

• Hesketh (1902), Frissel (1908), Smalley (1912), Cooper (1928), Ise (1948), Hotchkins (1914),

• Belfer (1950), Neal (1971), Grimes (1990), Glaeser at al. (2000), Beugelsdijk at al.(2004)

• ……

Trust

• Companions left their shops open during the prayers.

• Security Forces– Islam proposes a bottom up approach.

Summary

• Quran does not limit human beings, rather it frees everyone by guiding them to show how to satisfy their needs without harming themselves or the society.