Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib's summary of Islam for the Negus

"... we were a people in a state of ignorance and immorality,

worshipping idols and eating the flesh of dead animals,

committing all sorts of abomination and shameful deeds,

breaking the ties of kinship,

treating guests badly

and the strong among us exploited the weak.

We remained in this state until God sent us a Prophet,

one of our own people

whose lineage, truthfulness and integrity were well known to us.

He called us to worship God alone

and to renounce the stones and the idols

which we and our ancestors used to worship besides God.

He commanded us to speak the truth,

to honour our promises,

to be kind to our relations,

to be helpful to our neighbours,

to cease all forbidden acts,

to abstain from bloodshed,

to avoid obscenities and false witness,

not to appropriate an orphan's property

nor slander chaste women.

He ordered us to worship God alone

and not to associate anything with Him,

to uphold Salah,

to give Zakah,

and fast in the month of Ramadan.

We believed in him

and what he brought to us from God

and we follow him in what he has asked us to do

and we keep away from what he forbade us from doing..."

Qur'an: The desires of the heart

"Beautified for people

is the love of that which they desire;

of women and sons,

heaped-up sums of gold and silver,

fine branded horses,

and cattle and tilled land.

That is the enjoyment of the worldly life.

And God has with Him the best return."

(Surah 3, Verse 14)

How lucky man is
to have in the desires of his heart

a means
to distinguish himself:

to realise the temporariness of his wants;

to act on them only in what is necessary;

to overcome them for deeds eternal.

Qur'an: The Ever-Living, the All-Sustaining

"God:

there is no god but Him,

the Ever-Living, the All-Sustaining."

(Surah 3, Verse 2)

Herein lies a declaration and a proof:

God has no beginning and no end,

and it is He Who sustains all that exists.

And can there be two gods

who have no beginning and no end,

and sustain all that exists?

And can there by any other than God

who is worthy of adoration and worship?

Qur'an: God does not burden a soul

"God does not burden a soul

with more than it can bear."

(Surah 2, Verse 286)

Meaning:

man is not taken to account for involuntary thought

but for intent.

"Each gains whatever good it has done,

and suffers its bad."

Umar's advice to the judges

Here's a summary of some timeless advice prepared by Umar (God be pleased with him) for his judges. It's taken from Dr Ali Muhammad as-Sallabi's book about the life and times of Umar Ibn al-Khattaab. A small example of the fruit of the faith which the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) planted in his heart!..

Try to understand when cases are presented to you,

for there is no use in a person presenting a case if it is not understood.

Treat people equally when you address them

so that no noble man will hope for your unfair siding with him

and no weak man will despair of your justice.

Be gentle with the weak one

so that he will have the courage to speak.

The burden of proof rests with the plaintiff,

the oath is required of the defendant,

and judgement must be based on evidence and oaths.

Strive to bring about reconciliation,

unless it becomes clear to you who is in the right and who is in the wrong.

If you passed a judgement yesterday

then examined it further and are guided to a different conclusion,

let it not prevent you from returning to the truth.

And returning to the truth is better than persisting with falsehood.

The verses of Riba in Surah Al Baqarah

Here's some points taken out from Ma'aariful Qur'an about the verses of Riba (interest/usury) in Surah Al-Baqarah. Worth a ponder!

1. The verses of Riba (verses 275-279) are surrounded by the verses of charity (verses 261-274 and verse 280), signifying perhaps that the two concepts are related to and at odds with each other. One is to do with giving (decreasing one's stock), and the other is to do with taking (increasing one's stock).
2. God does not respond to the reasoned argument that "Riba is similar to trade" with a counter-argument but, rather, responds by stating that one is allowed and the other is not. (See verse 275.)
3. God has stated that one who lived his life in the consumption of Riba will be raised on the Day of Judgement like one tormented by Satan's touch. Raising the consumers of Riba in this state is perhaps indicative of a certain parallelism: They lived their lives in pursuit of money, senseless & unaware of the harms of their actions, and thus they will be raised.

The etiquettes of giving in charity

Here's some lessons on giving charity taken out from verses 261 to 274 of Surah Al-Baqarah:

1. Give to attain God's approval, and as an affirmation of your faith, and not to be seen by people.
2. Do not follow your giving with reminders of benevolence or hurtful words.
3. A kind word and forgiveness is better than a charitable deed followed by hurtful words.
4. Give from the good things you have acquired and not from the bad things which you yourself would not accept.
5. To give openly is good, and to give in secret is even better, and know that God is well aware of all that you do.