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                   What caused me to lose my love and passion for the Lord?”

Suhaib Ashraf Bhat 
One cause of spiritual apathy is sin in the believer’s life. There are several causes of apathy and before dealing with the problem we have to pause and find out the cause. There are several ways of finding out the cause and dealing with apathy. 
Some of these causes are: a weak relationship with Allah swt, laziness in worship, keeping company with careless people, being distracted by this world and its delights, and not thinking about the end of this world and the consequences of being ill-prepared to meet Allah swt. 
As for how to treat the Muslim who has been afflicted by apathy in worship, there are several ways of doing so including the following: 
1 – Strengthening his relationship with his Lord, by reading the Qur’aan and pondering its meanings, realizing the greatness of Allah swt by seeing the greatness of His Book, thinking about the greatness of His names and attributes and actions. 
2 – Regularly offering naafil prayers and persisting in doing so, even if they are few, because one of the greatest causes of the Muslim becoming apathetic is when he starts to do acts of worship and does a great deal in the beginning. This is not the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah swt be upon him) and is not what he advised his ummah to do. ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah swt be pleased with her) described his actions as ongoing, i.e., not interrupted or infrequent. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah swt be upon him) told us that, “The most beloved of actions to Allah swt are those which are done persistently, even if they are little.” If a Muslim wants not to be afflicted by apathy, then let him strive to do a small action persistently, because this is better than doing a lot infrequently. 
3 – Striving to keep company with righteous and active people. A man who is energetic (in worship and Islamic activities) will make you more active and lazy people do not like active companions. So look for active friends who strive to memorize Qur’aan, seek knowledge and call people to Allah swt. Friends like that will encourage you to worship and will show you the way to good things. 
4 – Read books that tell the stories of active people so that you will have good examples in your journey towards Allah swt. 
5 – To make du’aa’, especially in the latter part of the night. The one who turns to his Lord and seeks His help to remain steadfast in worshipping Him and to worship Him well will never be let down.
May Allah swt make things easy for us.  Aameen 

Suhaibhatt85@gmail.com

SOCIAL EVILS IN OUR SOCIETY

By Syed Mustafa Ahmad
There are many evils prevalent in our society. Some of them are attached with it since time immemorial. But some have recently entered into our society. The evils prevalent in our society are: dowry, drug addiction, domestic violence,  female foeticide, female infanticide, illegal abortions, corruption, gender inequality, racism, human trafficking, casteism, poverty, food adulteration, hoarding, etc., to name a few. All these evils adversely affect our lives. But some are more grave than others. Like female infanticide and female foeticide are against humanity and the natural plan. No one has the liberty to kill a living being especially a human being. It directly attacks the very survival of generations. But this sort of behavior is not the culmination of some days; but it has a long history that slowly and steadily prepared  ground for such a behavior that we see in our society. Here, I will throw some light over some causes.      First is materialism. Materialism is such a path that is to be treaded upon carefully. It has the potential of creating as well as destroying. But the experience shows that a majority of people are destroyed by the harmful side of materialism. They worship materialism. Humanity is humiliated in the pursuit of this. The destruction of the Central Asia, Myanmar, Syria, Kashmir, Africa, etc., to name a few has made it clear to us that when the crown of humanity acts against his or her capacity, the fate of the whole world is destined to be destructive. This destruction gives rise to a number of other crimes. Drug addiction, sex scandals, human trafficking, etc., happen in these areas because in the backdrop of failure of the government, might becomes right. Anti-social elements take place of morality and the result is that the society falls into an abyss of immortality, where from it is very difficult to come out.      Second is religiosity. Religions almost teach peace and comfort. There are some rare occasions when violence of very less magnitude is permitted. In today’s world, religiosity has taken the place of religion. Dowry system in Islam has been permitted on the pretext that the last Prophet Muhammad ( PBUH) gave his daughter Hazrat Fatima some household things, at the time of her marriage. The things discussed in the most authentic books show that they were some household things and nothing more like a cushion with date leaves. This incident is taken as a condition for forceful dowry. A girl is forced by her in-laws to bring the modern gadgets from her parents’ home. But the reality is that when a father according to his wish gives some things to his daughter as a heart’s contentment, it is legal. But when it becomes matter of life and death, it becomes religiosity and becomes a life-taking evil.      Third is that we lack scientific temper. Every religious and non-religious text stress upon this fact that a person should ponder over the creation of  Universe. The perfect design of the Universe will make a person realize that there is someone who is the most intelligent and the perfect designer. The diversity among the living beings, will allow him or her to appreciate his or her Creator. The diversity among the non-living things will also leave him or her amazed. The natural phenomena will force him or her to think that they happen due to natural causes. There is no human contribution in it. This kind of mindset is an asset for the whole humanity. In contrast, the superstitious mind never thinks like this. He or she fears the natural phenomena. The rainbow is something to be worshipped. The big trees on account of their size are to be called sacred. Animals are for the service of man but in a humanitarian manner, are worshipped without any solid base. God becomes happy when we help each other, regardless of colour, age, religion, etc. But what when we sacrifice human beings to appease gods, means that we are more nasty than animals. God hates violence but we kill each other on the pretext that certain people bring ill-omen and they should be killed instantly. This approach is quite dangerous and its fruits are quite bitter to taste.       Fourth is the lenient government. They actually are hand in glove. If they are serious, no crime will happen on large scale. The culprits should be dealt harshly. There should be no complacency in punishing the culprits. The culprits, due to many reasons, get  freedom without much pain. In politics, a ruler should be an embodiment of both mercy and dread. A ruler will rule according to the situations. The other side of him or her that is dread, is more important in the contemporary world. The language of love is not understood by  the majority of people. So, it becomes necessary to get them on the right track by the use of stick. I feel it is nice to punish the guilty so that others get a lesson. It will somehow bring down the graph of evils down.      And the last is gender discrimination. A girl and a boy are discriminated on the basis of useless things. A boy is generally taken as a source of pride while a girl as a source of shame. This mindset will not allow girls to live. The ways will be sought to kill them so that the shame they bring with them is ended forever. Our social structure makes it possible to distinguish between a boy and a girl. A girl is always looked with suspicion. Most of the times, boys get scot free while girls are subjected to different harassments for the same activity that is done by a boy. This inequality is found everywhere. From homes to the markets, the story is same. This atmosphere brings no comfort but only gloom and frustration. And we are eyewitnesses to this. No day passes without some girl raped, teased, molested, etc., due to prejudices. It is a long story of misery with no end in future.      We call ourselves modern but we still live in an orthodox manner. We have not understood the reality of a man’s creation. If we had known, we would have mended our ways. If someone knows it, he or she still follows others and the society becomes devoid of the ethically good persons that create so many problems for the society. Let humanity prevail.
By: syed Mustafa Ahmad.

GLOBALIZATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES By Syed Mustafa Ahmad
Globalization can be defined as free flow of ideas, goods, services and people. Globalization has existed through out history. However, the speed and the scale of the movements of the goods has been different from period to period. In the past, during to lack of Science and technology, the rate of globalization was slow. But in the contemporary world, its pace is very quick. The main reason, apart from other reasons,  is the age of information technology. The quickest services provided by information technology have enabled us to spread ideas, goods, services, people, etc., quickly from one place to another.       Globalization is not the result of a single factor. Necessity is the main motive that results in globalization. No country or nation wants to remain aloof from others. A nation or country cannot be self sufficient in every respect. So, the circumstances force a nation or country to opt for globalization. Moreover, in the backdrop of the Covid-19 in December, 2019, it has become quite clear that how closely the world is knitted in the present world. The emergence of the Covid-19 in China, has almost engulfed the whole world. Any toward incident in any part of the world has a direct bearing on all the affairs of the countries. In short, we can say that the world is a global village, where everything is shared from one corner of the world to another in the quickest time. Now, we have some idea of globalization. We are in a position to understand that necessities are the main building blocks of globalization. But what about its impacts? On the paper, it looks like that it is full of advantages. But when we delve deep into it,  reality comes to the surface. In the next lines, I will throw some light over the consequences of globalization.
Consequences of GlobalizationPolitical: The first consequence of globalization is that it has reduced the state from a welfare state to a minimalist state. The core functions of a state include the maintainence of law and order and protection from any external aggression. Moreover, a state has to strive for the creation of socially and economically well being state. The entrance of globalization has eroded the capacity of a state to only look out for the maintainence of law and order and forget about the social and economic well being of a state. The entry of MNCs has made the state the toothless tigers. There is a compromise on the name of sovereignty. A powerful country interferes in the internal and external affairs of a state.  A state’s own laws and regulations are compromised on the name of development. It is a tight rope and to walk upon it is not a cakewalk at all.Social or Cultural: Apart from the political repercussions or consequences, globalization has affected our culture as well. It has affected our domestic life, food, drink, clothes, ideas, etc. It has also affected the people’s preferences leading to the threat of the common culture that can threaten the other cultures of the world. America, being the most powerful country in the world, rules over the physical life, social life, economic life, ethical life, mental life, etc., of people. America’s hegemony is found in many ways. In case of Soft Power, America dominates in ideological and cultural dimensions. They manipulate the world cultures in their own favour and we call it the Cultural Homogenization. The examples of this culture include the “ jeans culture” and the usage of “ fast foods”. However, it doesn’t mean that other cultures only get subdued. But they also learn new things. It shows that culture is a dynamic concept. It is a give and take method. But here again, it is a path to be treaded upon carefully.Economic: Globalization has economic dimension as well. When it comes to the economic Globalization, our eyes fall on the international institutions like IMF and the World Bank. It is because these institutions play a major role in determining not only the economic policies but also the political and social policies of a country. Economic globalization means to merge a country’s economy with the world economy. But this process is fraught with many dangers. A developing economy can be wiped out if it merges its economy with the developed countries. Recession may or may not harm the developed countries but there are cent percent chances that a developing country will be left in ruins. There will be no recovery from this shock. However, there are chances that a developing country may have access to the world market and try its best to develop itself like the developed countries. But this fact should be kept in mind that any mistake from the side of a developing country can prove fatal. Moreover, economic globalization doesn’t benefit everyone equally. The rich become richer while the poor become poorer. There is a wide gap between the  rich and the poor. One percent people  control ninety percent population in America. So, it can be easily deduced that economic globalization is a sugar-coated poison in my opinion.       The above discussion makes it clear that there are both positive as well negative sides of globalization. It is up to a country now how to tread on this path. It is a risky path. The largest economies of the world can walk up on this path without any hesitation. But for a country like India, that is a developing country with a myriad of problems, it is very dangerous. India is the fifth largest economy of the world. Its economy is about 2.7 trillion dollars. America has about 20 trillion dollars. China has about 14 or 15 trillion dollars. In this case, India lags behind. India cannot afford to merge its economy with these economies because at some time in the future, it may prove disastrous. So, our country should try to become self-reliant and then try to look out for the world market. 

Neglectful Husband and depressed wife

Suhaib Bhat 
Harming wife a sin : This is one of the basic principles of Islam. Because harming even others is haraam in the case of strangers, it is even more so in the case of harming one’s wife.
 It was narrated from ‘Ubaadah ibn al-Saamit that the Messenger of Allah swt (peace and blessings of Allah swt be upon him) ruled, “There should be no harming nor reciprocating harm.” (Narrated by Ibn Maajah,, 2340)
This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Imaam Ahmad, al-Haakim, Ibn al-Salaah and others. See Khalaasat al-Badr al-Muneer, 2/438.
 Among the things to which the Lawgiver drew attention in this matter is the prohibition of hitting or beating in a severe manner.
 It was narrated from Jaabir that the Messenger of Allah swt (peace and blessings of Allah swt be upon him) said in his Farewell Sermon:
“Fear Allah swt concerning women! Verily you have taken them on the security of Allah swt, and intercourse with them has been made lawful unto you by words of Allah swt. You too have rights over them, and that they should not allow anyone to sit on your bed [i.e., not let them into the house] whom you do not like. But if they do that, you can chastise them but not severely. Their rights upon you are that you should provide them with food and clothing in a fitting manner” (Narrated by Muslim, 1218).
The husband’s rights over his wife.
 The rights of the husband over his wife are among the greatest rights; indeed his rights over her are greater than her rights over him, because Allah swt says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And they (women) have rights (over their husbands as regards living expenses) similar (to those of their husbands) over them (as regards obedience and respect) to what is reasonable, but men have a degree (of responsibility) over them [al-Baqarah 2:228]
 al-Jassaas said: Allah swt tells us in this aayah that each of the spouses has rights over the other, and that the husband has one particular right over his wife which she does not have over him.
 Ibn al-‘Arabi said: this text states that he has some preference over her with regard to rights and duties of marriage.
 These rights include:
 (a)The obligation of obedience. Allah swt has made the man a qawwaam (protector and maintainer) of the woman by commanding, directing and taking care of her, just as guardians take care of their charges, by virtue of the physical and mental faculties that Allah swt has given only to men and the financial obligations that He has enjoined upon them. Allah swt says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah swt has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means” [al-Nisaa’ 4:34]
 ‘Ali ibn Abi Talhah said, narrating from Ibn ‘Abbaas: “Men are the protectors and maintainers of women” means, they are in charge of them, i.e., she should obey him in matters of obedience that Allah swt has enjoined upon her, and obey him by treating his family well and taking care of his wealth. This was the view of Muqaatil, al-Saddi and al-Dahhaak.(Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 1/492)
 (b)Making herself available to her husband. One of the rights that the husband has over his wife is that he should be able to enjoy her (physically). If he marries a woman and she is able to have intercourse, she is obliged to submit herself to him according to the contract, if he asks her. That is after he gives her the immediate mahr, and gives her some time – two or three days, if she asks for that – to sort herself out, because that is something that she needs, and because that is not too long and is customary. 
If a wife refuses to respond to her husband’s request for intercourse, she has done something haraam and has committed a major sin, unless she has a valid shar’i excuse such as menses, obligatory fasting, sickness, etc.
 It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah swt be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah swt (peace and blessings of Allah swt be upon him) said: ‘When a man calls his wife to his bed and she refuses, and he went to sleep angry with her, the angels will curse her until morning.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3065; Muslim, 1436)
 (c)Not admitting anyone whom the husband dislikes. One of the rights that the husband has over his wife is that she should not permit anyone whom he dislikes to enter his house.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah swt be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah swt (peace and blessings of Allah swt be upon him) said: “It is not permitted for a woman to fast when her husband is present without his permission, or to admit anyone into his house without his permission. And whatever she spends (in charity) of his wealth without his consent, ….” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4899; Muslim, 1026)

A good relationship between the spouses means that each of them should pay attention to the feelings of the other and they should try to make one another happy. It also means paying attention to the spouse’s circumstances and relationship with those who have right over him or her, so as to help him fulfil those rights, such as the rights of parents, relatives, neighbours and so on. The basis for all of that is understanding, love and compassion. 
Our Lord, the All-Knowing, All-Aware, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“The good deed and the evil deed cannot be equal. Repel (the evil) with one which is better (i.e. Allah swt ordered the faithful believers to be patient at the time of anger, and to excuse those who treat them badly), then verily! he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend.
But none is granted it (the above quality) except those who are patient, and none is granted it except the owner of the great portion (of the happiness in the Hereafter i.e. Paradise and in this world of a high moral character)”
[Fussilat 41:34-35]. 
As-Sa‘di said in Tayseer al-Kareem al-Rahmaan (p. 749):
Then Allah swt enjoins showing a special type of kindness that will have a great impact, which is treating kindly the one who mistreats you. Allah swt says, “Repel (the evil) with one which is better” i.e., if  someone mistreats you, especially if he has significant rights over you, such as relatives, friends and so on, in word or deed, then respond in a way that is better. If he severs ties with you, uphold ties with him; if he wrongs you, forgive him; if he talks about you behind your back or in your presence, do not respond in kind – rather forgive him and speak to him gently; if he shuns you and does not speak to you, then speak to him kindly and greet him with salaam. If you respond to mistreatment with kindness you will attain great benefits.
“then verily! he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend” i.e., as if he is near and dear
“But none is granted it” i.e., no one is granted this praiseworthy quality “except those who are patient” in putting up with what they dislike and respond to it in the way that Allah swt likes, for people are naturally inclined to respond to bad treatment with more bad treatment, and not to forgive it. So, how about responding with kind treatment. If a person is patient, obeys the command of his Lord, is aware of the great reward, and knows that responding to bad treatment in kind will not benefit him in any way and will only make the enmity stronger, whereas treating him kindly will not lower his esteem and that in fact the one who is humble for the sake of Allah swt, He will raise him in status — then it will be easy for him and he will find joy in doing that.
“and none is granted it except the owner of the great portion (of happiness in the Hereafter i.e. Paradise, and in this world of a high moral character)” because it is one of the attributes of the elite among mankind, by means of which a person attains high status in this world and in the Hereafter, which is the greatest of noble characteristics.
It was narrated that ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir said: I met the Messenger of Allah swt (blessings and peace of Allah swt be upon him), and I took him by the hand and said: O Messenger of Allah swt, tell me of the most virtuous deeds. He said: “O ‘Uqbah, uphold ties with those who cut you off, give to those who withhold from you and turn away from those who mistreat you.” 
Narrated by Ahmad, 16883; classed as saheeh (authentic) by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Targheeb, 2536 

Interference of relatives and others in a couple’s life in ways that spoil it and cause trouble is not acceptable according to sharee‘ah (Islamic law) and people’s customs. This matter has to be dealt with wisely and carefully, so as to reduce negative consequences and achieve that which is in everyone’s best interests. The basis for that is achieving mutual understanding and cooperation between the spouses in dealing with it. It may sometimes need patience. So long as the matter has nothing to do with halaal (lawful) and haram (unlawful), 
Du‘aa’(supplication) is one of the greatest means of attaining what one seeks and being saved from what one fears, but that should be without a specific order or specific prayer.Bringing about reconciliation between people is something very important in Islamic teachings, and immense reward results from bringing about such reconciliation. By the same token, there are stern warnings against creating division among people. It was narrated from Abu’d-Dardaa’ (may Allah swt be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah swt be upon him) said: “Shall I not tell you something that is better than the status of (voluntary) fasting, prayer and charity?” They said: “Yes.” He said: “Reconciling in a case of discord, for the evil of discord is the shaver.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2509), who said: It was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah swt be upon him) said: “It is the shaver, and I do not say that it shaves hair, but that it shaves (i.e., destroys) religious commitment.” End quote.
Islamic teaching describes several guidelines that will lead to having a peaceful and sound atmosphere in the home, including the following:
Choosing a good wife.Making the home a place of remembrance of Allah swt.Establishing the laws of Allah swt in the home.Teaching the members of the household about Islamic faith and manners.Continually reciting Soorat al-Baqarah in the home to drive away the Shaytaan from the home.Not allowing anyone into the home whose religious commitment is not good.Keeping family secrets.