Muslims still live in trees!

The common insult of a civilisation still leaving in trees probably stems from the belief of evolution, whereby man evolved from the ape. Muslims do not believe in Darwin's theory, which is full of loopholes, on the becoming of man. However, when faced with the comment or insult that Muslims still live in trees... Muslims can respond that the statement is in fact true. There are Muslims living in trees!

As much as Muslims do not believe that Man are ancestors of the money, they do believe that the many species that make up the ape-kindgom are, in fact, Muslims.

Besides monkeys that "still" live in trees, birds, bugs, bees, sloths (are the part of the ape kingdom?), koala bears and other animals that inhabituate trees are also Muslim.

"There is no animal that lives on the Earth, but forms part of communities like you. Nothing have We omitted from the Book, and they shall all be gathered to their Lord in the end."
(Al-An'am: 38)

Obviously we have left out all the other non-tree bound animals that live in the different climates and environments that have been uniquely created to suit their multiple needs and requirements.

In fact, there are plenty of special mention of animals in the Qur'an and the Prophetic Sunnah that give animals the recognition of their natural inclination to worship Allah, and Allah alone.

Prophet Sulayman (may Allah bless him) was gifted with the knowledge to decipher the speech of birds and beast alike.

"He (Sulaiman) said: O' People! We have been taught the language of the birds and have been given (abundance) of all things; this is indeed grace manifest (from Allah)." (Al-Naml: 15)

In fact, on one of his da'wa missions, Prophet Sulayman heard ants clamouring for safety in fear of being trampled upon: "At length when they came to a valley of ants, one of the ants said: 0' ants! Get into your holes lest Sulaiman and his hosts crush you without knowing it." (Al-Naml: 18)

In the story of Prophet Yusuf, Prophet Yakob (Yusuf's father) (peace and blessings upon them both), questioned his sons on Yusuf's disappearance. The boys quickly framed a wolf for devouring their younger brother. Prophet Yakob however, was enlightened by Allah that their story was false and there was no incidence of Yusuf's death, let alone had he perished in the jaws of a wolf.

In another story, the chapter Al-Kahf in the Holy Qur'an, narrates the story of a group of young men who hid in a cave away from persecutors of the Islamic faith. It is narrated that a dog stood guard for a great number of years, protecting the righteous young men from enemies.

"Thou wouldst have deemed them awake, whilst they were asleep, and We turned them on their right and on their left sides: their dog stretching forth his two fore-legs on the threshold: if thou hadst come up on to them, thou wouldst have certainly turned back from them in flight, and wouldst certainly have been filled with terror of them." (Al-Kahf: 18)

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) too, in all of his kindness, always reminded his Muslim followers to treat animals the way they would treat one another. He forbade striking animals in their faces, humiliating them, or killing them in a way that would cause horrific pain.

Prophet Muhammad's acknowledgement of the Muslim status of animals was fortified during his flee from hostile Makkah to welcoming Madinah. For fear of their lives, he and comrad, Abu Bakr (peace and blessings upon them both), hid in a cave in the vast desert as men of the Quraysh hounded them down to put a stop to Islam.

A spider sensing the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him), strive for survival, wove a web, cordoning off the opening of the cave. Upon seeing a magnificently woven web across the shelter that hid the two Muslim men, the hunters, tipped off by the Quraysh, left the mouth of the cave, deceived by the spider's flimsy piece of protection - a delicate layer of nature hiding the truth.

There is an abundance of Hadith relaying the importance of caretaking of animals. A popular one is the story of a prostitute being granted Heaven after sighting a thirst-mongered dog. She removed a shoe, collected water from a well and watered and fed the dog, saving it from an untimely death. (Bukhari)

Human Muslims are therefore required to bestow only kindness upon animals regardless of their species, regardless of their habitats. Apparently now for Muslims, "living in trees" no longer poses as an insult.

It may be distasteful for a person's home to be associated with a tree branch, but in fact, there are probably human civilisations still living in trees and who are Muslim.

Nonetheless it is important to remember that all animals too are in fact Muslim and many of them live in trees designed to suit their ecosystem.

Practicing Muslims believe that Allah Ta'ala the Creator of the Worlds has perfected the environment we live in, so much so, that all elements of nature lament in His Glory, each with their own ways of worship.

"In the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and day, and the ships which sail the seas to people's benefit, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky - by which He brings the earth to life when it was dead and scatters about in it creatures of every kind - and the varying direction of the winds, and the clouds subservient between heaven and earth, there are Signs for people who use their intellect." (al-Baqara: 164)

New and Improved Blog

Salaam and greetings to all of you. We have made a comeback at Things to know about Muslims and Arabs. I have added a co-blogger, named Maria. She will be blogging twice a week, occasionally one or two posts extra.

Our intention is to blog Monday through Friday with occasional Saturdays and Sundays. If you have topics that we should cover, feel free to leave a comment on our blog.

A Happy Ramadan to Muslims around the world!

A multitude of talents required, please!

"If you do not feel ashamed of doing something, do whatever you like." (Bukhari)

Arabs are Muslims. Muslims are Arab. Sound familiar? That is just one of the popular misconceptions related to the Islamic faith.

Another popular illustration of Muslims, or Arabs, for the matter, is that they sit around all day, probably in a mosque, or a home, chanting melodic verses from a large book, sometimes in unison, sometimes not. These people who chant comprise mostly of men - no women in sight at all - and boys.

The man, or boy, in focus does not differ a great deal from the man, or boy, sitting next to him. They dress the same, their hair is combed the same way, they both wear a skull-cap and both grow a beard to the best of their ability. Where are the women? Probably sitting in a room down the hall, with the lights dimmed, all wearing black, chanting the same verses too.

Many believe that this picture denotes the only way one can be a firm follower of the Islamic faith.

Scholars though, along with the multi-cultural Muslim society scattered around the globe, beg to differ. With the saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) to do "whatever you like," directly reminds Muslims of the infinite amount of knowledge, also scattered around the globe, and the importance of attaining as much knowledge as possible to build a progressive, developing society, known as the Muslim umma. A progressive nation requires a multitude of talents.

Though it is true that there are Muslims who devote their lives in becoming experts in the realm of Islamic creed, it is not mandatory on every Muslim to study Islamic fiqh as their main career in life.

A Muslim, is allowed and encouraged to delve into studies of his or her interests and choose the field that allows him or her to flourish by capitalising on his or her strengths.

Like followers of other faiths, Muslims are doctors specialising in different disciplines; engineers, with sometimes more than one degree to their name; writers and journalists; accountants and bankers; lecturers and historians; politicians and economists; architects and artists.

What Muslims have to observe however, is that whichever field of knowledge they specialise in, they are required to hold steadfast to the Islamic principles that govern their expertise.

For example, Muslim bankers can only enter into banking contracts that are enacted without the element of interest. Architects are allowed to express their creativity provided their architectural designs do not violate Islamic beliefs. For example, they may not incorporate human images in their designs.

These practices are in conjuction with the Muslim way of worship, whereby each follower loves and hates for the sake of Allah, demonstrating that Islam is indeed a complete way of life with Muslims holding steadfast to the truth - together.

By adhering to this Islamic conduct with regards to the various strands of knowledge, Muslims also acknowledge hat infinite wisdom belongs to Allah and to Allah alone. The knowledge acquired by one person throughout his or her lifetime is but a speckle of dust caught in a drop of water resting on a grain of sand on a vast beach stretching a cross a tiny country.

A Muslim, or an Arab for that matter, is not only a lawyer, realtor, warden, police officer, or construction worker - he or she is encouraged to be whatever he or she wants to the best of his or her ability and interest.

The uniqueness of one Muslim to the next is important in order to complement another person's field of speciality. A society would not survive if every member of the community shared the same profession, even if it were a whole society devoted to Islamic creed.

Diversity is the key of a progressive nation. This goes to show that no one person, regardless of faith would ever be able to survive in this world all alone. There is no such thing as living as an island as far as Islamic belief is concern.

This principle is further strengthened by the opening chapter in the Qur'an, which Muslims recite at least 17 times a day during prayers: "Thee do we worship and thine aid do we seek," (Al-Fatiha: 5). The verse clearly reflects the humility of a Muslim towards Allah Ta'ala through his or her invocations and his or her humility towards the Muslim praying next to him or her.

A Muslim worships with his or her brothers and sisters of the Islamic faith, portraying that Muslims need the unique strengths of his brothers and sisters in order to successfully worship his of her Creator.

Therefore the next time a newsclip on Muslims is aired on television, understand that worship in the traditional sense is not the only activity Muslims partake in, 24 hours a day.

Every Muslim is different from the next in what he or she does during the day. At the same time however, it is so important for Muslims to sit down together whether in prayer, reading of the Qur'an , rememberance of Allah (dzikr), or the breaking of the fast (iftar), to remind each other of the greatness of Allah Ta'ala.