DISCOURSES ON ISLAMIC WAY OF LIFE

BY

Justice M$ti Muhammad Taqi Usmani

Translated By

Iqbal Hussain Ansari

Vol. VII

Includes

Tlze Pleasure Of Sin - A Deception Mind Your Own Business Hate Tlze Sin, Not Tlze Sinner Tlze Signijficant Role Of 'Madrcrsahs ' Suffering, A Blessing In Disguise Stick To Halnl (Lawful) Source Of inonze Tlze Evil O f Interest-Bnsed Econonzy Abstain From Mocking-At The Sunnalz Practice TIte Blessing Of Contentment 67 Signs Of Tlze Age Of 'Fitncih ' (Trials) How To Live Before One Dies? Avoid Imprnctical Questioning The Ulama And Modern Problem

CONTENTS Series: 58 THE PLEASURE OF SIN - A DECEPTION

1. Paradise and Hell are concealed i~nder curtains 28 2. The buyer ofembers of Hell Fire 2 9 3. The path leading to Paradise 2 9 4. You should not aspire for the fulfillnent of

every \vish 3 0 5. Man's soul is addicted to tastes and pleasures 30 6. There is no peace in hankering after

sensual desires 3 i 7. Pleasure and en.joylnent know no bounds 3 1 8. Co~n~nission of Adultery openly and above board 32 9. Why are rapes being colnnlitted i n America

in such large nunlbers 32 18, The thirst for Adultery cannot be quenched 33 1 1. An example of the tastes of sins 3 3 12. Endure a little hardship and inconvenience 34 13. The 'self is like a lion over a weak 34 14. The 'self' is like a suckling child 3 5 15. The 'self7 has acquired a taste for sins 3 4 16. Peace and Tranquillity lie in the Remembrance

of Allah 3 6 17. Allah's proinise cannot be false 3 7 13. Now I have resolved to make my heart

worthy of of Allah's attention 3 8 19. Why does the mother face all these

troubles in bringing up her infant? 3 9 20. Love puts an end to hardships and difficulties 39 2 I . The miraculous impact of love explained

with the help of Love Stories 40 22. The elnployee loves his salary 4 1

Discourses O n Is lam~c Way Of I 11;- ( \ ol VI1)

23. Try to acquaint yourself with the pleasure of Allah's worship 42

24. An observation of Hazsat Sufya~i Sauri &at-, 42 25. I desire a state of ecstasy all day and night 43 26. Y ~ L I shall find e~ijoyment.in crushing the 'self' 43 27. Try to acquire the sweetness of E e n i ~ n (Belie044 28. The Essence of Tasawwuj (Mysticism) 45 29. The I-Ieart is meant for being broken 4 5

Series: 59 MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS Action upon one verse Cause of the sad plight of the Muslims Why do the efforts remain fi-uitless? You begin the work of reform on others You have no thought of reforming your ownselves The sermons delivered remain ineffective Everyone is accountable for his own deeds A11 incident that happened with Hazsat Zun-noon Misri ,&al-,, The saint had his eyes on his sins None remained bad in his eyes Look! How anxious lnan becomes about his ow11 sickness An event of a lady that is full of mol-als Hazrat Hanzalah L S . Y ~ p ; become obsessed with the idea that he had become a hypocrite

. .

14. Hazrat Ulnar U A I ~ , suspected hypocrisy in himself 6 1

1 5. Estrelne Ignoral~ce of Deen 6 3 16. This is our plight 63 17. The way of Reforming 64 18. How did the Holy Prophet &? train

the Companions ,+sA&,? 64 19. The Noble Co~npanions *d ld , turned into gold 65 20. Let us make our own servery 6 7 1 . One Lamp lights another lamp 68

How to create the thought of Self-Reform? 69 -

The Reformatol-y meetings are held in Darul Uloon~ 69 Series 60 HATE THE SIN, NOT THE SINNER The curse of condemning a Sinner 74 The Sinnet- may be compared to a sick person 74 It is KUFR (unbelief) and not the KAFIR (unbeliever) that deserves to be hated 75 Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanawi +LC dl bJ regarded others to be better than himself 75 Who are those who suffer from this disease (of superiority complex) ? 7 6 On seeing a sick person one should recite this supplication 7 6 This Du 'a (Supplication) should be recited also on seeing a sinner 7 7 Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi +LC h~ L-, kissed the feet of a thief 78 One believer is like a tiiirror for another believer what is the meaning of this maxim? 7 9 Do not disclosc the vice of one Inan to another 79 Series 6 1 THE SIGNIFICANT ROLE OF 'MADRASAHS' Introduction 8 4 Countless are Allah's blessings 85 The Greatest blessing 8 6 Religious schools and propaganda against them 87 Objections are raised to all activities of Molvis 87 This class of Molvis is a shield for Islam 88 The searcli for a Religious school in Baghdad 89 Never tolerate the abolition of the Madaris running on the classical pattern 9 1 A remedy to save Religious Fervour and Zeal from cooling down 9 1 Objections raised against the Madaris (schools) 92

1 1 . The Molvi is a Die-hard 93 Give up worrying about the means of livelihood tor these Molvis 94 Condemn this world 95 Do not make of.the Molvi an ironmonger or a carpenter 96 An Instructive event 96 The blessings of the Teaching profession 98 Student life ameliorates the Hereafter 98 An event concerning Hazrat ~ ' a r o o f Karkhi a-lc kez, 99 The Income and expenditure of the Madaris 100 We depend on. and seek help from, Ailah only. 101 This is a Deeni Madrasah and not a shop 10 1 Know your worth 102 Series:62 SUFFERING, A BLESSING IN DISGUISE Glad tidings for the miserable 108 There are two categories of Miseries 108 Some "Troubles" descend fiom Allah on man as punishment 109 "Troubles" are also due to Allah's Mel-cq 109 No illail is free from troubles and worries 1 I0 A story full of morals 111 Allah has granted different types of wealth to different men 112 Why should a favourite servant of Allah be burdened with cares and worreis'? 112 Prizes for those who are patient and forebearing 1 13 A most suitable example of hardship 114 Another example 115 Those who recite all U\ (we belong to Allah) when afflicted with hardships 115 We put to trouble our friends 116 A unique story 116 The calamities coming down from Allah

are forced Mujahadat(strivings) 118 A third example of hardships 119 A fourth example 119 The ordeals that fell on Hazrat Ayyub .w?+ 120 The sign to indicate that a particular hardship is a Mercy from Allah 12 1 The sign of the acceptance of a Du 'a (supplication) 122 An event that happened to Hazrat Haj i Imdadullah Sahib .+JJIL=, 123 The essence of the Hadith 124 When a hardship befalls anyone, the victim should display humbleness 124 The account of Righteous Man 124 An event full of Morals 125 The conduct of the Holy Prophet & during periods of distress 126 Series 63 STICK TO HALAL (LAWFUL) SOURCE OF INCOME The means of Livelihood depends on Allah's dispensation 132 The systems of employment and livelihood are linked with Divine dispensation 133 An astonishing instance of Apportionment of Sustenance 133 It is the Divinely set system that the Night is for rest and the Day is for work 134 Do not close upon yourself the door of livelihood 135 This is a Gift from Allah 136 Allah is the Fontain-head for everything 136 Why did Hazrat Usman Ghani not relinquish the Caliphate? 137 The attribute of service to Humanity is a Divine Gift 138 An account of the ordeal of Hazrat Ayyub ,x-lqsl~ 139 An event of demanding more money as Eid Gift 140

Discol~rses On Islamlc Msa) Of Life (Vol VII) D i scour~ i :~ ( )II Isla~llic Way Of I . i le (Vol:VII) 14

Summa~y Series: 64 THE EVIL OF INTEREST-BASED ECONOMY

The difficulties which the Muslims of the Western world are facing Declaration of war against those who are involved in Usurious dealings What is the meaning of Usury? Giving something more without a prior agreement to this effect is not Usury A nice procedure of repaying a loan ' Which kind of interest has the Holy Qur'an forbidden and made unlawful? Commercial loans were in vogue even in the earlier days The reality does not change with the change of form A pleasantry The trend of today's thinking A principle of the Islamic Shari'ah A inisconceptio~i about the Prophet's & time Every tribe was a Joint-Stock company The first amount of Interest to be remitted An example of Banking during the time of the Noble Companions ,,+s~d, Simple Interest and Compound Interest are both forbidden and unlawful There is consensus of opinion on the unlawfulness of the prevailing Bank Interest What vice is there in Interest on Commercial Loans? You will have to take the risk of possible loss The existing system of Interest is fraught with vices and defects The depositor remains a loser at all costs The amount of Interest is included in

the (indirect) cost of production 159 The advantage of Partnership 159 The Profit is enjoyed by one party and the loss is borne by another party 160 Who are the beneficiaries in the Insurance Business ? 160 The havoc done by Usury on the International Forum 161 Alternatives to the Usurious system 162 The Islamic Shaui 'ah has not forbidden things which are indispensable 163 A goodly loan free of Interest p- j) is not the only alterenative to an Interest bearing loan 163

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Partnership is an alternative to Interest-bearing loans 163 Best results have been obtained from the partnership system 164 Practical difficulties in the partnership system 165 How to surmount these difficulties? 165 The second alternative solution to this problem is Leasing (0~41) 165 The third alternative is the MUI-abaha (profit-sale) 167 Which of these alternatives is more desirable? 168 Fillailcia1 Institutions working in the present age oil Islamic priiiciples of economy and livelihood 169 Series: 65 ABSTAIN FROM MOCKING AT THE SUNNAH PRACTICE The outcome of the least degree of arrogance 174 If we had lived during the time of the Noble Companions ,.+=dl P~ 175 Allah distributes His bounties according to the capacities of the recipient 175 Why did the Holy Prophet 2% curse the person? 177 Saintly men possess different trends and tendenc