I currently live in Spain, and, while most people here don't really practice Catholicism anymore, the national calendar still features observances for Catholic saints' feast days. As a former Catholic, most of the saints' names are familiar to me. And today (June 24) is the feast day of St. John the Baptist, (better) known to Muslims as Yahya ibn Zakariyya alayhi salam, cousin to 'Isa ibn Maryam alayhi salam. 

Christians hear all kinds of tales about Yahya alayhi salam, some charming and moving, some appalling. The source? What passes today for the Injil in the 'New Testament' of the Christian Bibles. I won't recount these stories here. If you're strong in your deen and you're curious, you can find out for yourself. I wouldn't recommend spending much time with the books of other creeds, though.

So I had a lot of untruths to unlearn. And Allah SWT guided me with the Qur'an. A few months after I took my shahada, through a set of seemingly unrelated circumstances, I happened upon Surahs Maryam and Imran. Other than the surah that I was learning to read salat, these two surahs were among the first I ever encountered.  And I read with awe the compelling accounts of the births and lives of Yahya and 'Isa alayhima salam. Then and now, I find it so moving that what Allah SWT relates about Yahya alayhi salam early on in Surah Maryam is echoed later on in the surah by the infant 'Isa alayhi salam to describe the life he himself would lead. No dramatic details, no controversy, just the important facts of the mubarak lives of these two prophets. 

In Sha Allah I'll write a reflection on the occasion of these Catholic feast days as they come up, whenever the feast has to do with someone whom we know through the Qur'an. I am blessed and humbled to know the truth about Yahya alayhi salam. Ma Sha Allah.

#Prophets #Yahya #Isa #Maryam #Reverts #Injil #Bible #Catholicism #Zakariyya

How do we arrive at the peace we long for?

We all long for peace. Peace in our hearts, minds, bodies, homes, and communities. God recognizes this longing for peace, especially in three instances, the day we are born, the day we die and the day we return back to Him as seen in verses 15 and 33 in Surat Maryam for Prophets John and Jesus, peace be upon them.  

What are some of the ingredients to reaching this long sought peace? I believe verses 12-14 preceding verse 15 about peace provide us with some of these ingredients which include:

*Holding on to the book firmly which provides wisdom (verse 12) signalling strength and intellectual insight and ability

*Being granted tenderness and compassion from God, purity and God consciousness (verse 13) implying softness and mindfulness

*Kindness to parents and not being domineering or arrogant and rebellious (verse 14) alluding to gentleness and humbleness 

May we be of those who are blessed with strength, wisdom, softness, mindfulness, gentleness and humbleness to enable us to find the peace we are all searching for. 

www.ihsanedu.com 

Right after Yahya is told to hold firmly to the scriptures, God tells him He has been granted compassion from God.  

This Divine Compassion is what can gift us strength, wisdom, purification, God consciousness, Kindness to parents and humility.  

Strength is not stripped of compassion, kindness, or humility. On the contrary, when compassion is at the root of our actions because we know we have An All Compassionate Creator and Sustainer, that compassion nurtures and beautifies all our actions.  It becomes a driving force that permeates all of our hopes and steps towards more goodness in the world. 

May we be of those who receive God's compassion and spread compassion.

Bilal May Allah be pleased with him stopped giving the athan after the prophet peace be upon him passed away as it would remind him of the blessed prophet. 

I never truly understood this concept untill I had to recite these surahs after my mother الله يرحمها passed away. Tbh I’ve been avoiding these surahs because of the emotional weight they have on me now. 

I still love these Surah , but there is this memory attached to them now that I recited these a lot by my mother’s death bed. 

Even walking through the streets that I passed by while talking to my mother,  somehow remind me of her. Subhan Allah 


Sometimes I almost accidentally pick up the phone and dial her 


I trust that Allah rewards a person every time  they remember a loved one that they lost and practice patience 

Until then 

و لذكر الله اكبر

Isn't it so interesting that Zechariah (a), a healthy adult, couldn't speak for 3 days and then a few ayahs later, we read that Isa (a), a newborn baby, could speak clearly?

Has anyone reflected upon/compared these 2 events? I'd love to read your reflections and any lessons you can share.  JAK.

Why was Zachariah deprived of speech for 3 days? Does anyone know the spiritual lesson behind this? I am unaware of the context of his teachings/story so any explanation would be greatly appreciated jzk!

In addition to being from amongst the greatest woman of mankind, their is another hidden wisdom as to why Maryam AS is the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran.

The Arabs of old, especially the elites amongst them (kings, noblemen, etc.) would never mention the names of their wives publicly because to them this was degrading to their honor as they held their wives too sacred to allow for their names to be on the tongues or ears of other men.  Instead they would refer to their wives in general terms that can also mean family, such as (ahl, 3iyal, etc)

We see in the quran other woman are referred to by their patronymic or 'kunya' such as the wife of Pharaoh aka Asya, or the mother of Musa AS, etc.  However with Maryam it is different. In almost every reference she is referred to by her name and not just her title, as the Mother of Jesus. That is because the Christians claim her to be the mother of the Son of God (AKA Jesus AS). This would entail that Allah SWT , far removed from this claim, took Maryam AS as a wife. So referring to her by name in every reference in the Quran adds additional emphasis that she is a servant of Allah SWT and nothing more. Knowing that the arab's did not see it problematic to refer to the female servants by name, unlike the case with their wives, this offered additional proof for those in doubt that Allah SWT never took for himself Maryam AS as a spouse, nor anyone for that matter.

Far removed is He from what they ascribe to Him.

Subhanallah so well thought out reflection, to me this is also proof of divine foreshadowing in a sense; Allah knew Isaa AS would be slandered by the christian presenting him as a god. Thereby by referring to Maryam AS  by her name it provides no room for misinterpretation of her as his wife, and establishes clarity on her role as a servant of Allah (as you mentioned at the time female servants were refered to by their names unlike wives called as per their status) and the mother of a prophet.

God (swt) frames the story of Zakaria's duaa by introducing it as a mercy from Him.
As Zakaria is making his duaa, we're listening to him and we already know that God is having mercy with him. 
He's Merciful in listening to Zakaria, He's Merciful in answering him immediately, He's Merciful in allowing him to empty his heart of all concern before gifting him a son.
What other mercies is God showing His slave?

JAK for wonderful observation... I'd add the mercy of direct access, personal experience, candid private conversation, he goes to Allah swt with personal concern and stating how he has been committed, then states a problem, and even a solution, and Allah accepts it all. It's like a conversation between friends, then Allah swt names the chilld - what an honor, true mercy and elevation of his concerned slave.

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