Wednesday, March 27, 2019

What It Means - Day 9

"It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness and every act of obedience to Allah) that you turn your faces to east and (or) west (in prayers); but Al-Birr is (the quality of) the one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book (Holy Scripture), the Prophets and gives his wealth, in spite of the love for it, to the kinsfolk and to the orphans and to Al-Masakin (the poor) and to the warfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as Salat) and gives the Zakat, and who fulfil their covenant when they make it, and who are patient (in severe poverty), and ailment (disease) and at the time of fighting (during the battles). Such are the people of truth, and they are Al-Muttaqun."
Muhammad, Hadith

Last year I purchased a multi-volume collection of the Hadith, that is the sayings of the Prophet.  So, sometimes I'll be quoting passages from the Quran, but other times I'll be focusing on the Hadith.  If you would sit through a Friday prayer at any mosque you'd get the same mix of the two.  So, I try to read either the Quran or the Ahadith every day, although, truthfully, I don't always succeed.  One of the nice things about my Kindle is that I have copies of both downloaded so that makes it easier. I chose this one today because I think it nicely supports was I was talking about yesterday.  In this example the Prophet is suggesting that true piety does not relate to questions of which way you face during a certain act, but rather more profound issues such as belief and how you treat each other. I love the emphasis on looking after orphans and the poor and wayfarers; it would be lovely if our most horrible President paid attention to some of these guidelines.

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