Islamic Education for Youths E-Book

Mohammad Amin Sheikho

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

This book is considered a very important educating book for children and youth, it is the first book which contains very important necessary Islamic information for youth.
Moreover, the significant thing noted in it is the simplicity that can deliver the knowledge to students, readers or the new converters into Islam in a magnificent way of simplicity and no complexity of literally crochet.
It is abundant of basic Islamic knowledge. It explains in details how to attain God’s love and to approach the true faith, as well as how to pray , why and what are the fruits of the prayer. As well as why we have to do ablution before performing prayer and how to do it.
Furthermore, it contains an interpretation of many short Surahs (chosen from Am'ma part) which are often recited in the prayer. It also supports the meaning of these Surahs by mentioning many real stories which ease understanding the meanings and have the part of disciplining children according to the high moralities of Islamic way.
We can say this valuable book contains simple necessary Islamic jurisprudence such as the rules of female prayer and many other important rules.
It contains a part of the Noble Hadith (the holy Prophet’s sayings and actions) and discusses very important and necessary issues in this life such as how to treat animals very kindly and not to hurt them.
Actually, this book is considered a real Islamic reference to students and beginners in Islam.

Leseprobe

Mohammad Amin Sheikho, A. K. John Alias Al-Dayrani

Islamic Education for Youths

Level One

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

About the Book

Islamic Education for Youths

Level One

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Authored by

The Great Humane Eminent Scholar

Mohammad Amin Sheikho

(God has sanctified his soul)

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Checked and Introduced by

Prof. A. K. John Alias Al-Dayrani

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Copyright © Amin-sheikho.com

All Rights Reserved

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Introduction

In the Name of Allah, the All Compassionate, the All Merciful

All praises and thanks are to God, the Provider, Merciful, and the Master of the day of judgement, May peace, blessing and salutation be upon the seal of Prophets and Messengers - Mohammad (cpth). [‘Cpth: Communication with Al’lah and peace are through him. ] The leader of all Prophets, our lover and guidance who communicates and links himself to The Almighty God, he taught human beings to love communicating with their Provider-the Almighty God. As he reconnects the believers after being cut off from their Creator and Provider extracting the rules to link and communicate with God from the Holy Qur’an, may peace and blessing be upon him, his companions, his family and those who follow him in good deeds.

The honourable teachers:

The interpretation of the holy Qur’an and understanding its sublime meanings, give you the best skills to bring up the students in good and perfect ways. God Has descended the holy Qur’an for us to follow it perfectly, He Has created human being “with the ability to think” granting him the thought. The holy Qur’an calls and asks human to think so as to know his duties and the importance of the holy Book of God-(Qur’an).

In these procedures, youth “students” and others will really know the wisdom which is folded in prayer (the link and communication with God), what it is, and how to perform it correctly. Also, they will also be acquainted with the details of interpretation of Surah Al-Fatiha and other short Surah s of Am’ma part, which many people used to recite in prayer, this will lead them to better understanding of what they recite in prayers.

Also, there are three noble Hadiths from the holy Prophet that teach people the fundamentals of good character, high morals, why God has created human and sent him to this world, how to get strong belief, and how to handle others in good and kind ways, without oppressing any creature on earth with no tangible reason whether it is bird, plant or any other living thing, remembering that God has created everything in this Universe for the favour and service of you oh man.

Again, there are stories of facts narrated by the great Scholar M. A. Sheikho (God has sanctified his secret) which will ease the understanding of this book to the students owing to the fact that they teach them how to use their great thought properly through which God Has favoured man above all other creatures. They have to think well, spend their time in beneficial activities as ordered by God instead of earthly passive desires. They have to be hard-working in everything such as worship, education and be kind and good to others. God Has created man in this world to do good deeds which will carry him to Paradise. He should help all people through his good deeds,This good should be to everybody no matter his colour or race and wrong no body because God is not pleased with the oppressors. The Almighty Says: ﴾Who has created death and life that He may test you which of you is best in deed (good deeds) and He is the Almighty, the oft-Forgiving﴿Surah 67, Al- Muluk, verse 2.

So, why has God made Prayers (link and communication with God) compulsory to man? You will get the clear answer from this book together with the aim and wisdom behind it which are for man to fully accept and face God in his heart.

What does a worshiper gain by accepting and getting near to God? By this nearness to God his heart will be full of perfection, kindness and righteousness and he will love good and helping others. All that will lead him finally to eternal happiness and Paradise. God Says:﴾Those whose souls are taken by the Angels while they are in a pious state (i.e. pure from the evil, worshiping nonbut God alone) saying to them peace be upon you enter Paradise because of (the good) you use to do (in the world)﴿Surah 16, An-Nahl, verse 32.

Without perfect prayers (the link and the communication with God) human spirit will never require good deeds and will be prohibited from successes in this world. The greatest deeds are guiding and helping others and the teachers have the great opportunity to achieve them through guiding and helping students to become successful tomorrow.

Introduced by:

Prof. A. K. John Alias Al-Dayrani

Part One

Lesson One

The definition of prayer

(Communication with God)

God has made the prayer as an obligation to all His worshipers so that they earn His favour and honor by standing before Him and facing Him. Through that they will be sympathetic, very kind to other creatures and have perfection.

What is Salat (Prayer)?

Prayer means: Communication with God that is to say, the link between the Spirit and its Provider and its close connection with the light of the Creator. This is prayer in reality. If it does not result in this link and connection; it will merely be movements and sayings with no sense, meaning and reality.

But how can we get this link with our Provider? How can we perform this communication with God in its essence and reality? Indeed, Allah has explained it in Surah – Al-Fatiha supported by the prophet saying: “No communication with God is performed by that who doesn’t read the opening chapter of the Holy Book – Al-Fatiha” .

So, what is the greatest secret related to Al-Fatiha which makes the communication with God depending on it? Al-Fatiha shows you the perfection of God (glory to Him) and by seeing the perfection, love will be generated and the link will be achieved. That is the desired fruit in reciting it in each bow when performing the communication with God. The more the believer recites Al-Fatiha, the more he witnesses and knows the Godly perfection he maintains and the higher rank he gradually raises to loving God through this communication. The noble saying of the Prophet denotes: “Communication with God is the elevatorof the believer” . It is a ladder through which he ascends in loving and knowing state by state. It is a ladder through which a believer gradually advances in seeing a way of virtue; time after time because this link makes the Spirit illuminated by the divine light of God. And it becomes able to distinguish the right path from the evil one. God says: ﴾Communication with Me prohibits man from doing fornication or evil, but remembering Allah is the greatest﴿Surah 29, Ankabut (spider), verse 45.

The Almighty God has ordered us to seek refuge in Him from the cursed Satan when we want to recite the Qur’an. He says: ﴾So, when you want to recite Qur’an, seek refuge in God from Satan the cursed﴿.Surah 16, Annahl (the Bees), verse 98.

What is the meaning of “seeking refuge” ?

What do we mean by saying “in God” ?

Who is Satan?

What is the meaning of “the cursed” ?

“Seeking refuge and might” : means, to seek a shelter, protection and power from the owner of the mighty and glory. So, ‘seek refuge’ means that I ask for might and take shelter and protection in the Owner of glory and might.

“In God” ;Means “in the Obeyed” . The obeyed here is that whose control and command affect every creature without exception, whether he likes or not, for His control and command contain but good and mercy. Each creature moves according to his assigned function and performs the works he has been created for. For examples:

The Camel is directed and exploited for serving man it serves as a mean of transport and food. The Bee is steered for collecting sweet substances from flowers and all the like to make honey. The terrestrial globe is controlled and rotated by the Almighty commands. The moon is directed and rotated round the earth in a continual movement and circulation. The entire universe is subjected to God’s Will and it cannot get out of the control of this Obeyed. That is what we understand from the word “In God” .

“Satan” : In Arabic is called “Shaitan” derived from the two verbs: ‘Shatana’ and ‘Shata’. The verb Shatana means avoided the right. The word Shata means burned, So Satan who is far from the Right exposed himself to burning and being perishable. He is stricken by burning and damnation because of his farness from the God.

“The cursed” : Means, also the one who is continually hit by affliction and misery as farness away of God and shunning are the reasons beyond each affliction and the source of each misery.

The whole statement ﴾I seek refuge in God from the cursed Satan﴿means ‘I seek protection and might in the Obeyed whose command controls everything from Satan who became always tortured and deprived of every good out of his farness from the right.

If you spiritually resort to Allah (God), when reciting the Holy Qur’an and enter into the presence of the Obeyed who made all creatures submissive and yielding to His command, there you will be in fortified fort and inaccessible place where no devil can enter.

In this fort, the whispers of Satan will cease from reaching you, the deafness of the ears will disappear and the veil of the eyes will be uncovered.

Questions 1

1-What is the definition of Prayer?

2-What great thing does this Fatiha show you during its recitation in prayer?

3-Does the reward of Fatiha or its benefit end at one stage or does it increase progressively whenever a believer recites it in every Ruka of his prayers?

4-Allah commands us to seek always refuge in Him from the cursed Satan whenever we want to recite the Holy Qur’an. He (The Almighty) says: ﴾When you recite Qur’an, you must seek refuge in God from the cursed Satan﴿.

5-What is the meaning of the word- “I seek refuge in God” ? and Why Does Qur’an describe Satan with “The cursed”

Lesson Two

The interpretation of Fortress -The Opening

(Part One)

Fortress[1] of the Opening (Al-Fatiha Surah )

1. “In the Name of God, the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful.

2. All praise is to God, the Provider of worlds.

3. The All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful.

4. The Only Possessor of Judgment Day.

5. It is You we worship, and It is You we ask for help.

6. Guide us to the straight path:

7.The path of those whom You have blessed not of those who have incurred Your Wrath, nor of those who have gone astray.”

The Prophet (cpth) says in the noble Hadith: “No communication with God (that is, no prayer) is performed by those who do not read the Opening Fortress of the holy Book ‘Al-Fatiha’.” [ Narrated by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Ahmad in his Musnad.]

Another Hadith states: “Whoever performs a prayer without reciting the Opening Fortress of the Book: indeed their prayer is imperfect! Imperfect! Imperfect!”[2]

Verse no. 1

1.“In the Name of God, the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful,”

After saying “I proudly seek refuge in God from the cursed Satan,” you can say “In the Name of God, the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful.”

What is the meaning of “In the Name of God” ?

What is the meaning of “the All-Compassionate” ?

What is the meaning of “the All-Merciful” ?

To explain the meaning of “In the Name of God” we will give an example. When a judge pronounces a judgement, he says: “in the name of the law” ; that is “I am the judge, revealing the punishment which the law has decided.” Also, when a president says: “I speak in the name of the people” , he means “I reveal what they ask me to reveal and declare what they wish for.”

Accordingly, our saying “In the Name of God” means ‘I recite only the Words of Al’lah to myself and to all others, revealing God’s Command and delivering the words of the Obeyed One.’

What, however, are the Attributes of this ‘Obeyed One’? He is “the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful.”

This “Compassionate” quality encompasses every being, and its good spreads over every single being throughout all of creation.

“The All-Compassionate” is the One Who obliges all of creation with the cure; that is, the spiritual cure.

The Almighty Al’lah treats the ailing, the poor, the anxious and the grieving in accordance with His Name, ‘Compassionate’. Therefore sickness, poverty, anxiety, and grief, and even affliction and torment are all part of Al’lah’s Compassion for humankind. Through them spiritual redemption and the gradual advance from one state to another can be achieved.

For the most part, affliction creates the drive and strength of will that result in a return to God’s Advice, and the motive that draws the wayward spirit back to Al’lah.

Once it has returned, a spirit is cured by being close to God, and there it becomes cleansed of the dirt it has gathered.

In general, when hardships descend upon someone who deserves them, they are in truth a kind of goodness and compassion from Al’lah, and always bring hidden benefits for the afflicted.

Through the Name ‘the All-Compassionate’, sickness becomes the health of those who were sick, poverty becomes wealth, failure success, and difficulty ease. Through the Name ‘the Compassionate’, all creation evolves in experiencing Godly Favour, time after time. Through the Name ‘the All-Compassionate’, you –humanity– have come out of nonbeing into being. Because of this Name you live, and through it you will also be raised to life after death.

Through the Name ‘the All-Compassionate’, the believer ascends gradually in Godly Knowledge from a particular rank of perfection to a higher one, day by day. Through the Name ‘the All-Compassionate’, people’s torment in the Fire will increase until its severity makes them forget the pain of their spiritual diseases. These diseases arise because of their submission to the selfish whims of this worldly life and their breaches of the Commands of the Provider of worlds. They will therefore be immersed in the burning agony of Hellfire, where they will wish to forget the dreadful torment of their spirits and the horrible destruction of their disease.

Through the Name ‘the All-Compassionate’, the Almighty will reveal Himself to the believers in Paradise, so that they may ascend through the different degrees of divine proximity, climb the ladder of perfection from one level to the next, and so on. The goodness contained in this Name never stops; nor does the All-Compassionates Good will end.

Thus, the All-Compassionate is the One Who manifests Himself to His followers (Ibad) [3]with compassion, and this is not restricted to obedient believers. His Compassion spreads over every person according to their moral state in this life and in the hereafter.

That is why the believers are in Paradise, enjoying what their Provider has prepared for them: the eternal bliss which is in congruence with their healthy spirits. Meanwhile, the unbelievers are treated by the fires of Hell, suffering from constant burning agony, which is an appropriate outcome of the moral diseases they carried during their lives. That is one of the ways in which Al’lah is Merciful. He (glory to Him) shows compassion towards His creation because He Himself is Merciful.[4]

“The All-Merciful” is the One Who manifests Himself to His obedient followers in grace and welfare. This Name, however, is limited to the believing obedient follower. They live good lives in this world, enjoying the Favour of their Merciful Provider, as well as enjoying the eternal bliss He has prepared for them in Paradise.

Verse no. 2

2. “All praise is to God, the Provider of worlds.”

To understand this noble verse, we will explain it word by word, in order to grasp its full meaning.

We say that the word “praise” expresses an appreciation for the benefactor generated in the spirit, and the feelings of gratitude towards the giver which arise therein.

The gratitude which we feel towards the one who has brought goodness to us is a kind of praise. When we feel gratitude for or acceptance of God’s Role in our lives, the appreciation which we show to the one who has granted us grace, from whom favour has come, is also a kind of praise.

As we can see, praise is a spiritual state. It arises in the spirit towards the benefactor and giver when we see his favour and his charity.

However, nothing can be praised unless it includes every kind of goodness in all its different aspects, is free of defects, and lacks nothing.

Similarly, a person cannot be praised unless their benevolence is all-inclusive and their favour prevalent. That is some of what we understand the word ‘praise’ to mean.

So, who is the one who should be praised?

Who is the one who deserves to be praised, such that everybody or even every being and every spirit should praise him for each deed or action?

The Envoy (cpth) tells us on behalf of Al’lah that praise should be only to God. Therefore the Almighty says: “to God” that is, ‘to the Obeyed’.

As previously mentioned in the phrase “I proudly seek refuge in God from the cursed Satan,” ‘the Obeyed’ is the One Who forced existence to submit to His Will.

He alone steers the course of the whole of creation, and He alone is the Director of its affairs, guiding them for their own benefit according to His Will.

What we mean when we say “All praise is to God…” is that anything which God brings to His obedient followers is full of goodness and charity, and any action performed by Him, the Almighty, for His creation is loaded with Godly Favour and Kindness. This is not limited to humanity; this Favour and Kindness spread over each of His creatures. God is praised for every event occurring in this universe.

Thus if the veil was removed, all creatures, without exception, would praise God Almighty for what had been brought to them. The sick would praise God for the diseases with which He had inflicted them.

So it is for the troubled and the aggrieved; if the veil was removed, they would praise God for the trouble and the grief with which He had afflicted them. The criminal, as he is being driven to the Fire, will praise God for the pain and the torture he is about to experience. Praise, then, is due to God in all cases, in this life and in the hereafter.

This means that everything which God decrees for His obedient followers is nothing but goodness and mercy, and all that He treats them with is absolute grace and beneficence.

If you achieve a connection with God, you will have a detailed awareness of this, and will believe wholeheartedly that all praise should be to God. Thus, “All praise is to God,” means ‘to the Obeyed’. He, the Almighty, is obeyed because He is the Provider of worlds.

“The Provider of worlds” : ‘The Provider’ means ‘the Sustainer’ who provides an entity with existence, growth, power and life.

“The Provider” means the One Who holds the secret of continuous sustenance, whose nourishment does not cease for an instant - or even less than an instant - in His creation.

The word “worlds” is the plural of ‘world’. The stars in the sky, beasts, birds, fish in the seas, bees, germs, humankind, jinn, blood cells, and everything else: each one is a world in itself.

Plants also contain many worlds, and each world contains worlds, and so on...

The Almighty God provides all these worlds moment by moment and day by day. He is (glory to Him) the Provider of all the worlds. Praise is to God, the Obeyed, as He is the Sustainer and the Director. Everything praises Him because He moves everything in a way that is suitable for it and that entails good for it.

Why does Al’lah treat everything in His creation with kindness and bring them nothing but that which contains good?

The Envoy (cpth) demonstrates that Al’lah treats His creation so because He is the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful. For this reason, the Almighty says: “The All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful.”

Questions 2

1- Explain the meaning of – ﴾In the Name….﴿?.

2- Why does Allah send the disasters to the unbeliever as illnesses and indigence? Is that a mercy from God to him?

3- What is the meaning of “The Provider of the worlds” ?

Lesson Three

The interpretation of Fortress –The Opening

(Part Two)

1. “In the Name of God, the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful.

2. All praise is to God, the Provider of worlds.

3. The All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful.

4. The Only Possessor of Judgment Day.

5. It is You we worship, and It is You we ask for help.

6. Guide us to the straight path:

7. The path of those You have blessed not of those who have incurred Your Wrath, nor of those who are astray.”

Verse no. 3

3. “The All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful.”

He shows compassion towards His creation when He brings distress upon those who oppose His Rule. This distress is like treatment with which He cures them of their defects and the spiritual diseases they bear. He is also Compassionate, when He brings grace, charity and favour to those who are charitable and faithful because that is what they deserve and because of the healthy lives they lead. He is (glory to Him) Compassionate with these two groups because He Himself is Merciful.

Verse no. 4

4. “The Only Possessor of Judgment Day.”

The “Possessor” is the Master of possession and the Embodiment of power and rule.

“Judgment” connotes the meaning of justice; besides this, it refers to what people deserve and its delivery to them of absolute justice.

“Judgment Day” begins in Al-Azal world and lasts forever. It is one day that has no end, and its master is the Provider of each and every world.