YOUR CONDUCT & MANNERS Should Reflect Teachings of Islam

 

Your Conduct & Manners

Should Reflect Teachings

Of Islam

 

(M. Javed Naseem)

“Tell my servants to treat each other the best

possible way, for Satan does sow dissensions among

them, since Satan is to man an avowed enemy.”

(al-Quran 17:53)

The best ‘Daawah’ is done by your own conduct and your own manners. You are a model and ambassador of Islam. Invite people to Islam with your good conduct and manners. If people dislike you, don’t give them a reason to dislike Islam! You are not perfect but Islam is. Islam was chosen for you by your Almighty Creator as a way of life so that you could benefit from Allah’s mercy, blessings and forgiveness. Without Allah’s mercy and guidance you would be lost; but with His blessing comes all the success.

All Prophets and Messengers of Allah were the role-models of Islam. They practiced what Allah prescribed for mankind to show us that it was possible to live a simple life as per the tenets of Islam, with humility, good conduct, justice, compassion and pleasing manners. In Islam it is called “Akhlaq”. This Arabic term refers to the practice of virtue, morality and good ethics. Akhlaq is the plural for the word ‘Khulq’ which means disposition. Your conduct is your introduction. Here’s a glimpse of Islamic code of conduct!

Be just, fair & honest!

Be just, fair and honest in your dealings! Those are the big virtues of your character that you got from the Divine. When you handle affairs, don’t worry about others, even your own family or friends. Be honest and just!

“Whenever you speak, speak justly, even if a near

relative is concerned; and fulfill the covenant of Allah!

Thus does He command you, that you may remember.”

(al-Quran 6:152)

Avoid vain talk and practice charity!

Don’t waste your time and talent in vain talk and dirty jokes. Be down to earth and remember Allah in all your affairs. Spend your spare time in charity work to help mankind! That’s the key to success in this as well as in the next life.

“Successful indeed are the believers who are

humble in their prayers; who avoid vain talk;

who are active in deeds of charity; and

who guard their modesty.”

(al-Quran 23:1-5)

A Kind Word

Speak gently, treat people kindly and behave nicely! Your manners and your behaviour is like your visiting card. If you are kind to others, they’ll be kind to you.

“A kind word with forgiveness is better

than alms-giving followed by injury.

Allah is Absolute, Clement.”

(al-Quran 2:263)

Be Grateful To Allah!

Every breath is a gift from God. Be grateful to the Creator Whose blessings and favors you cannot count! We always need His mercy and blessing to succeed in this world and in the Hereafter. If you pay thanks to Allah, He will give your more. He’s already showering His countless blessing upon you but you should not take those blessings for granted.

“And if you would count the favors of Allah,

you cannot reckon them. Lo, Allah is indeed

Forgiving, Merciful.”

(al-Quran 16:18)

Be Humble And Modest!

Be humble and down to earth! A branch of tree bearing fruit bends down. Arrogance is cursed. Learn humility and maintain modesty! Allah commands us in the Quran:

“And walk not in the earth exultant!

Lo, you cannot rend the earth, nor can

you stretch to the heights of the hills.”

(al-Quran 17:37

Help Others!

Be always ready to give service. What we do for others counts most in life. You do something for somebody today and somebody will do something for you tomorrow. It is tit for tat. Allah says:

“Therefore, remember Me, I’ll remember you!

Give thanks to Me, and reject not Me!”

(al-Quran 2:152)

Give Away Smiles!

If you see someone without a smile, give him/her one of yours. The magic about the smile is that when you give it to others, you don’t lose yours. It’s “sadakah” (charity), meaning you’ll get reward from Allah for that. And you know that smiling faces look beautiful too! Therefore, smile now! Say cheese! Why worry and have wrinkles when you can smile and have dimples? People would like you.

People’s Person

Become a “people’s person”! Be genuinely interested in people. If you try, you can like everybody and everybody will like you. It helps in fulfilling the obligations of “Haqooq-ul-Ibaad” (people’s rights). And again, you will get reward for that in the Hereafter. Remember what Allah says:

“Lo, Allah loves not such

as are proud and boastful.”

(al-Quran 4:36)

Show Understanding!

Learn to understand first and to be understood second. It helps in developing tolerance and mutual understanding. Show a little patience and tolerance! Allah loves those who love His creation. This is a great quality of “akhlaq-i-Islami” that will bring you reward in the Hereafter.

Think Positive!

Allah has blessed humans with intelligence. Keep thinking positive. It creates good vibes and easily eliminates negative energy. Remember!

Life ends when you stop thinking!

Hope ends when you stop believing!

Love ends when you stop caring!

And Friendship ends when you stop sharing.

Positive thinking, believing, caring and sharing are all parts of the character of a Muslim; and will also bring you reward in the Hereafter.

Learn Your Lesson!

Every adversity, every situation, every issue, every pain and every crisis has a positive side. Find it and bring it to life. There is a lesson for us in each one of them and that should be considered a blessing. Remember, every dark cloud has a silver lining. Put your trust in Allah. He is the Best Disposer of Affairs. He helps us with strength when we feel weak.

“Allah would make the burden light

for you, for man was created weak.”

(al-Quran 4:28)

Follow Your Dreams!

Believe in your dreams and work hard to realize them! Every great success started with a small dream. When you find a dream inside you, don’t ever let it go; for dreams are the tiny seeds from which the big beautiful tomorrows grow, provided you nourish them with sincerity, hard-work and honesty of purpose! You are special and can achieve anything with a sincere effort.

Live a simple life!

Live a modest and simple life. There is beauty in simplicity. A simple lifestyle will save you lots of troubles and will bring you contentment and happiness. Allah commands us in the Holy Quran:

“Be modest in your bearing and subdue

your voice! Lo, the harshest of all voices

is the voice of the donkey.”

(al-Quran 31:19)

Don’t be mad, be glad!

Be happy. Be glad and don’t be mad! It is easy to be mad and hard to be glad. But the wise people tell us that it’s easy to be glad. Just try to stay calm and cool. Be positive! Don’t be cruel to yourself. Try to be happy and not angry. Happiness is all in the head. It’s a feeling that you can control. Live without stress and tension. That’s the best recipe for a healthy body and a healthy mind.

Be patient and steadfast!

Don’t rush! Take your time and do a good job! Be patient! Easy does it. Rushing is Devil’s quality. Haste creates waste. Be steadfast in your behaviour and show discipline and self-control. Always fear Allah. Allah loves those who …:

“Those who show patience, firmness and self-control;

who are true (in word and deed); who worship devoutly;

who spend (in the way of Allah); and who pray for

forgiveness in the early hours of the morning.”

(al-Quran 3:17)

Live in Truth!

Live in truth and with truth! Truth is divine and will always lead you out of misery. It saves you from troubles. Honesty is the best policy, we all know that. One truth can save you many lies. The Bible says: “The Truth shall set you free”. In the Holy Quran, Allah says:

“Confound not truth with falsehood,

nor knowingly conceal the truth!”

(al-Quran 2:42)

“And say: Truth has come and falsehood

has vanished away. Lo, falsehood

is ever bound to vanish!”

(al-Quran 17:81)

Be Humane!

Be humane and treat others the way you want to be treated. Remember! Everything you do to others will come back to you one day. Win others with good deeds and sympathetic conduct! Help others and cooperate with people in righteousness! That will make your life easier. Allah says:

“Allah loves those whose deeds are good.”

(al-Quran 3:148)

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FASTING WORKS MIRACLES ON YOUR BRAIN & BODY, But Big Pharma Won't Tell You!

 

Fasting Works Miracles

On Your Brain & Body

But ‘Big Pharma’ Won’t Tell You

(M. Javed Naseem)

Fasting is a blessing. Fasting was prescribed for all believers in every age and time. It was declared “obligatory” for Muslims, Christians and the Jews. But mankind has abandoned this religious practice. Surprisingly, it is making its return, thanks to the medical professionals and nutritionists of the modern health science.

In some narrations of Hadith, it is said that the Prophet (s.a.w.) used to fast twice a week (every Monday and Thursday) in addition to the three days (13^th, 14^th and 15^th) of every month (apart from Ramadan). This kind of fasting is called ‘intermittent fasting’ (i.e., not continuous).

What Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) recommended 14 centuries ago, is being discovered and researched by modern world today. Modern medical science has come up with the proof that fasting, especially intermittent fasting, works miracles on your body, especially the brains. But the money-making Big Pharma is not interested in supporting and researching such a study. They would lose most of their clients. They want people to stay sick and suffer from all kinds of illnesses so that they could make money by selling drugs in the name of treatment. This is a trillion-dollar business.

When health becomes a business, the only consideration is to boost the profits. If people are healthy, doctors and Big Pharma would not make big money. Simple!

Fasting does good things for the brain, and this is evident by all of the beneficial neuro-chemical changes that happen in the brain when we fast. It also improves cognitive function, increases neuro-trophic factors, increases stress resistance, and reduces inflammation.

Fasting is extremely beneficial for your physical and spiritual well-being. Unfortunately, the biased media has dubbed it as a Muslim religious ritual (referring to Ramadan) only thus taking away all the health benefits your body can derive from it. Fasting is good for the body and the soul. It’s not only materially beneficial, it’s also a godly act. It’s good for the entire mankind though it’s obligatory for Muslims only. But all scriptures show that all messengers or prophets of God (like Abraham, Moses, Jesus, etc.) used to fast; and their followers did the same. The Quran says that fasting was as well obligatory for all other nations as it is obligatory for Muslims.

‘If people fast, the food industry loses money.

What about the pharmaceutical industries?

What if people do some intermittent fasting, 

exercise periodically and are very healthy,

is the pharmaceutical industry going to

make any money on healthy people?’

--- Dr. Mark Mattson, PhD

Researchers claim that fasting is a challenge to your brain, and your brain responds to that challenge by adapting stress response pathways which help your brain cope with stress and risk for disease. The same changes that occur in the brain during fasting mimic the changes that occur with regular exercise. They both increase the production of protein in the brain (neuro-trophic factors), which in turn promotes the growth of neurons, the connection between neurons, and the strength of synapses.

‘Fasting shifts stem cells from a dormant

state to a state of self-renewal. It triggers

stem cell based regeneration of an organ

or system.’ – Study

Modern scientific research has shown some wonderful results of fasting (or intermittent fasting). The food (or your dietary habits) affect your body and soul. Dietary changes have long been known to have an effect on the brain. Children who suffer from epileptic seizures have fewer of them when placed on caloric restriction or fasts. It is believed that fasting helps kick-start protective measures that help counteract the overexcited signals that epileptic brains often exhibit. Some children with epilepsy have also benefited from a specific high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. Dr. Mattson and another researcher reported in the journal ‘Nature Reviews Neuroscience’ that normal brains, when overfed, can experience another kind of uncontrolled excitation, impairing the brain’s function.

What Fasting Does To Your Brain, And

Why Big Pharma Won’t Study It!

Mark Mattson, Chief of the Laboratory of Neuroscience at the National Institute on Aging and his team have published several papers that discuss how fasting twice a week could significantly lower the risk of developing both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. He is also a professor of Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University, and one of the foremost researchers in the area of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying multiple neuro-degenerative disorders, like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. In one of his interviews, Mark Mattson said:

“I chose to include ‘Big Pharma’ in the title because that’s exactly what it is. There have been countless examples of the manipulation of published research at the hands of pharmaceutical companies in recent years. Why is it that the normal diet is three meals a day plus snacks? It isn’t that it’s the healthiest eating pattern, now that’s my opinion but I think there is a lot of evidence to support that. There are a lot of pressures to have that eating pattern, there’s a lot of money involved. The food industry — are they going to make money from skipping breakfast like I did today? No, they’re going to lose money. If people fast, the food industry loses money. What about the pharmaceutical industries? What if people do some intermittent fasting, exercise periodically and are very healthy? Is the pharmaceutical industry going to make any money on healthy people?”

Fasting can also stimulate the production of new nerve cells from stem cells in the hippocampus. He also mentions ketones (an energy source for neurons), and how fasting stimulates the production of ketones and that it may also increase the number of mitochondria in neurons. Fasting also increases the number of mitochondria in nerve cells; this comes as a result of the neurons adapting to the stress of fasting (by producing more mitochondria). By increasing the number of mitochondria in the neurons, the ability for nerons to form and maintain the connections between each other also increases, thereby improving learning and memory ability.

“Intermittent fasting enhances the ability of nerve cells to repair DNA.” 

He also goes into the evolutionary aspect of this theory – how our ancestors adapted and were built for going long periods of time without food.

A study published in the June issue of ‘Cell Stem Cell’ by researchers from the University of Southern California showed that cycles of prolonged fasting protect against immune system damage and, moreover, induce immune system regeneration. They concluded that fasting shifts stem cells from a dormant state to a state of self-renewal. It triggers stem cell based regeneration of an organ or system.

‘Fasting twice a week could significantly

lower the risk of developing both

Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.’

-- Neuroscientists

A scientific review of multiple scientific studies regarding fasting was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2007. It examined a multitude of both human and animal studies and determined that fasting is an effective way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. It also showed significant potential in treating diabetes.
(Courtesy: www.collective-evolution.com/2015/12/11/neuroscientist-shows-what-fasting-does-to-your-brain-why-big-pharma-wont-study-it)

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LIFE IS 'TIT FOR TAT'. What You Do To Others, Comes Back To You!

 

Life Is Tit For Tat

What You Do To Others

Comes Back To You!

(M. Javed Naseem)

“Then evil was the consequence to

those who dealt in evil …”

(al-Quran 30:10)

When you have your piece of the pie, you want to eat it too. Similarly, when you make your own bed, you have to sleep in it too. We are responsible for our actions and we should also be prepared to face their consequences. In normal life, a good action generally generates good reaction and a bad action gets a bad reaction. Of course, there are always exceptions. But as a general rule love begets love and hate begets hate. If you are kind and nice to other people, they will be kind and nice to you in return. And if you are nasty to others, you will get the same treatment in return. These are the basics.

“Whosoever goes right, it is only for

(the good of) his own soul that he goes

right; and whosoever errs, errs only to

its hurt. No laden soul can bear another’s

load. We never punish until We have

sent a (warning) messenger.”

(al Quran 17:15)

If we are doing something good, it is for our own sake. We are not doing Allah any favor as He is above that and does not need it. We need it for our own good. Similarly, if we are doing harm to mankind, we are not harming God (because we cannot), but we are actually harming ourselves. We are damaging our own cause. And we will be rewarded accordingly.

There are two sides or aspects of our actions; one is this world and the other is the Hereafter. We get benefits of every good thing we do in this world, and we suffer for anything harmful we do to others, in this world. On the other side, the Hereafter, we reap the rewards of being good human beings; or we’ll get punishment. Simple as that.

 

It is tit for tat. You will receive whatever you give! All religions teach humans to be nice and compassionate to others because the return will be nice and beneficial. But if someone tries to play smart and fool others, that’s simple deceiving. Deceiving is like lying; you are not telling the truth; you are pretending something that you are not; and you are trying to take advantage of those who trust you. In other words, you are practicing dishonesty but claiming to be honest. We might be able to benefit temporarily from that action but there’s a law of nature and a system of nature. That system enforces justice, truth, honesty and discipline in the universe. The violators are always punished, sooner or later. But they are given ample time to rectify the damage before punishment starts.

Our actions in this world will earn us Paradise or Hell in the Hereafter. We’ll be questioned about our choices, our decisions and all good or bad actions. We have been given some rights but also some responsibilities. And nobody is exempt from that. Everybody has to face accountability before reaching his/her final destination. Therefore, we should never forget that anything we do to others in this world, will come back to us one day. There is no escape. We’ll always get the taste of our own medicine. The Almighty God says:

“Corruption does appear on land and

sea because of (the evil) which men’s

hands have done, that He may make

them taste a part of that which they have

done, in order that they may return.”

(al-Quran 30:41)

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KNOWLEDGE IS USELESS Until It Connects You With Your Creator!

 

Knowledge Is Useless

 

Until It Connects You

 

With Your Creator!

You Are God’s Viceroy On

Earth And He Wants To See

Your Conduct!

 

(M. Javed Naseem)

“Then We made you successors in the

land after them so that We may

observe how you will do.”

(al-Quran 10:14)

When Man becomes a beast, he starts killing other living creatures including humans. Adam’s son showed us that with the first murder and his grand-grand-children are repeating the fete today in Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Kashmir, Yemen, etc. The earth has become the killing fields and Man has lost his splendor.

What happened to all the education, research and knowledge? All knowledge is useless if not used for the betterment of mankind; and if not used by man to connect to his Creator, the Almighty.

“Look at the evils of the world around you and protect

yourself from them. Our teachers give all the wrong

messages to our youth, since they take away the natural

flare from the soul. Take it from me that all knowledge

is useless until it is connected with your life, because

the purpose of knowledge is nothing but to show you

the splendors of yourself!”

 
― Dr. Muhammad Iqbal.

Man is capable of performing incredible fetes. He can catch the stars and dwell at moon. He can travel through galaxies. He can conquer the universe but cannot conquer his own desires and emotions! What a contrast! Simply put: If you are disconnected from your base, you are lost. You become nobody! We are living in this world with fake pride, fake ideology, fake love, fake character, fake news and fake leaders. We have lost our direction and that’s why we have lost all respect, dignity and honor. It hurts to see that we have lost our splendor. We are fallen.

We are special! We are the masterpiece of God’s Creation – the best in the universe. When Allah thought about creating a human being, He held us in high esteem and granted us honor and respect, even above His angels. He gave us splendor.

“And had We willed We could have set among

you angels to be viceroys in the earth.”

(al-Quran 43:60)

Allah is the almighty and has power over all things. He creates and installs whatever He likes. He could have made angels responsible for running all the affairs concerning us on this earth. But no; He chose Man over Angels to entrust this responsibility. Unfortunately, we are proving that we were not worthy of it. Allah, the Almighty, created us and told us via scriptures how to behave and run the affairs of this world. In other words how to behave as His Viceroy on earth. He also warned us of dire punishment if we failed to do justice; failed to uphold the sanctity of his Message (the Truth) but we are ignoring all warnings.

“Behold, your Lord said to the angels: ‘I will

create a viceroy on earth.’ They said:

Will You place therein one who will make

mischief therein and shed blood whilst we do

celebrate Your praises and glorify Your holy

(name)?’ He said: "I know what you know not."

(al-Quran 2:30)

Vow! So amazing! Ponder upon the above verse of the Quran and look at the depth of knowledge, the vision, the insight or the farsightedness of the angels! God had just floated the idea of creating a man but the angels knew immediately what that man was going to do in the earth! And the man was not even created yet! Allah-o-Akbar! The angels knew that man would be a trouble-maker. He would spread corruption and bloodshed in the earth. And they were absolutely right!

Since the time Iblis disobeyed Allah and refused to fall in prostration in front of Adam, Allah had declared him as a devout enemy of man. The irony is that man knows it and acknowledges it too but still follows the Devil. This is revolt and merits punishment. It is more than simple disobedience. When we claim to be Muslims and then arrogantly go against the commands of Allah, openly or discretely, it constitutes hypocrisy (Munafiqat) in Islam. And Allah has promised Munafiqeen (hypocrites) a grave punishment in the lowest part of Hell. Do we really understand that? I doubt. We don’t fear the wrath of Allah.

Today, Muslims in general and Muslim leaders in particular, are considered corrupt, inept and incompetent because corruption flourishes in all Arab countries and other Muslim states. All politicians are trying to make easy money. They are so shameless that they even extort money in the name of charity (orphans, war victims, hospitals, schools, food, medicines, humanitarian projects, etc.) and then transfer that money to their off-shore bank accounts. Thus they are set for a luxury life. Others are plundering it while abusing authority and power. They don’t even think for a moment that they are going to die tomorrow and will be facing a Day of Judgment!

And that shows what kind of Muslims they are; how much they fear Allah’s wrath; how much they care about others; and how much importance they give to justice and fair-play in their society! Allah tells us in the Quran in very plain words: “Remember Me, I’ll remember you!” And if you don’t remember Him in this world, He’ll not remember you in the Hereafter! Simple as that!

 

An evil and corrupt man is not the man Allah had created to play His Viceroy in the earth. That man probably does not exist any more. The poet-philosopher of the East, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal (or Allama Iqbal) said:

Where Is The Man?

“My ancestors were Brahmins. They spent

their lives in search of God. I am spending

my life in search of Man.”

― Dr. Muhammad Iqbal

We are one community and are supposed to help each other in times of need. As human beings we should feel for others because we are all parts of one great body and pieces of one big jigsaw puzzle. One without the others is nothing. People who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, most money, or the most awards and medals. They are the people who care; who touched your heart and soul; who were there with a kind and encouraging word when you were down. And that makes the difference.

Mankind is one community. The best among us is not the one who has achieved top position in sports, education, science, technology or arts. Those honors are good for one’s personal satisfaction. If one cannot use his knowledge, expertise, skills and wealth for the benefit of other human beings, it is worthless. If we want to get rid of evil/corruption, we should strive for a welfare society based on social justice. We should have a firm belief that there is God up there and one day we will be answering questions while standing in His court. That God-fearing spirit is developed only when you believe that you are answerable to a Higher Authority than your corrupt government. So, raise your level and educate yourself!

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