For this reason, if life is full of difficulties and challenges, one should not be surprised or asks why. It is as if Ibn `Ataa is asking us: What is the name of this world? The answer in Arabic is ‘ad-dunya’, which literally means the lower life. Therefore, it is not surprising if bad conditions, unpleasant manners, and fatal consequences reveal themselves, because these things are derived from the very character and nature of this lower worldly life.
Islam recognizes that while men and women have some physical differences, spiritually they enjoy absolute equality before God. The Qur’an and Sunnah are unequivocal in stating that one’s gender will have absolutely no bearing on their reward or punishment in the next life.
Throughout Islamic history, one of the uniting aspects of the Muslim world was the caliphate. After the death of Prophet Muhammad, his close companion, Abu Bakr, was elected as the first khalifah, or caliph, of the Muslim community. His job as leader combined political power over the Muslim state as well as spiritual guidance for Muslims. It became a hereditary position, occupied at first by the Umayyad family, and later by the Abbasids. In 1517, the caliphate was transferred to the Ottoman family, who ruled the largest and most powerful empire in the world in the 1500s.
Trust is a firm moral or character by which man abstains from taking what is not his own right even if conditions were befitting and condemnation was not likely. It also stands for carrying out what is obligatory or dutiful on one such as to give out what belongs to others even if one could abstain from doing this without being persecuted or condemned in any way.
Humans lack perfect knowledge as well as perfect wisdom. No matter how hard we try, we will never attain the perfect way of life by our own thinking and interpretation. This is the reason why Allah being the Most Wise, sent us the Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad (SAW),2 to show us this practical and organized way of life. Allah, being Perfect, in His Wisdom and Knowledge, perfected a complete way of life for us. He has set His limitations and rules, all of which are beneficial to mankind, and therefore, do not need changing:
Islam granted women contractual rights, conjugal rights, the right to inherit, to initiate divorce, to independently own and control wealth and property, to set up and run businesses, to earn and receive equal pay, to retain their maiden names, etc., over 1400 years ago while the democratic West granted similar rights only in the last 50 years of the 20th century! In fact, besides casual abortion, much of what feminists still fight for had already been sanctioned by Islam.
All human beings share the same essential qualities. Therefore, any type of contact or interaction you have with another person which disregards that person’s essential humanity is bound to fail. At the same time, it is good to know that you have a starting point. You are a human being too, so there is so much that you already know about the other person: those essential needs, sentiments, experiences and feelings that we all share.
The ratio of the appearances of the words "sea" and “land" in the Qur’an is identical to the ratio between sea and land in modern science. The continents had not yet been discovered at the time the Qur’an was sent down, and it was impossible to determine the ratio between the land and sea. Even such a large continent as America was only discovered in the 15th century.
One of the purposes of acquiring knowledge is to gain the good of this world, not to destroy it through wastage, arrogance and in the reckless pursuit of higher standards of material comfort. Another purpose of knowledge is to spread freedom and dignity, truth and justice. It is not to gain power and dominance for its own sake.
Then the verses speak about those immigrants who were forced to leave their countries behind and relocate in foreign ones due to the oppression they suffered from at the hands of their oppressors in their own lands. They were obliged to leave their homeland behind, family and friends, seeking only the reward from Allah as they are after His pleasure by maintaining their faith in Him. These verses can be understood in light of the migration to Ethiopia during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and in light of the forced migration by current Muslims who were forced to leave their countries behind such as Syrians, Egyptians, Iraqis, Palestinians and others. So, these verses are suitable for happenings in the past and in the present time; this is the case with nearly all verses of the Qur’an.
