TEN GREAT NON MUSLIM QUOTES

“I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind… I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self- effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the second volume (of the Prophet’s biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of that great life.” – Mahatma Gandhi “The Islamic teachings have left great traditions for equitable and gentle dealings and behavior, and inspire people with nobility and tolerance. These are human teachings of the highest order and at the same time practicable. These teachings brought into existence a society in which hard- heartedness and collective oppression and injustice were the least as compared with all other societies preceding it….Islam is replete with gentleness, courtesy, and fraternity.” – H.G. Wells “Islam is a religion of success. Unlike Christianity, which has as its main image, in the west at least, a man dying in a devastating, disgraceful, helpless death… Mohammed was not an apparent failure. He was a dazzling success, politically as well as spiritually, and Islam went from strength to strength to strength.” – Karen Armstrong “… since September 11th event, in many occasion I always come forth, with a defense of Islam. Islam like any other major tradition. I think the very praising Allah means love, infinite love, compassion, like that. I understand Islam, they usually carry rosary, all 99 beads, different name of Allah, all refer compassion, or these positive things.” – Dalai Lama “Islam brings hope and comfort to millions of people in my country, and to more than a billion people worldwide. Ramadan is also an occasion to remember that Islam gave birth to a rich civilization of learning that has benefited mankind.” – George W. Bush Like us on Facebook for exclusive content: “Love Sufism …’the divinity of the human soul… Within Our spiritual heart there is a direct connection to God… I have respect for all faiths. All faiths. But what I’m talking about is not faith or religion. I’m talking about spirituality.” – Oprah Winfrey “… the religiosity of Muslims deserves respect. It is impossible not to admire, for example, their fidelity to prayer. The image of believers in Allah who, without caring about time or place, fall to their knees and immerse themselves in prayer remains a model for all those who invoke the true God, in particular for those Christians who, having deserted their magnificent cathedrals, pray only a little or not at all.” – Pope John Paul II “It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for, in the mosque, when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim: ‘God Alone is Great’… “ – Sarojini Naidu “I have been struck […] by the human and moral values which Americans as a people share with Islam. We share, first and foremost, a deep faith in the one Supreme Being. We are all commanded by Him to faith, compassion, and justice. We have a common respect and reverence for law. Despite the strains of the modern age, we continue to place special importance on the family and the home. And we share a belief that hospitality is a virtue and that the host, whether a nation or an individual, should behave with generosity and honor toward guests. On the basis of both values and interests, the natural relationship between Islam and the United States is one of friendship. I affirm that friendship, both as a reality and as a goal […] [and] am determined to strengthen, not weaken, the longstanding and valued bonds of friendship and cooperation between the United States and many Muslim nations.” – Jimmy Carter “The legislation of Quran will spread all over the world, because it agrees with the mind, logic and wisdom.” – Leo Tolstoy

DR. ZAKIR NAIK Q&A 12

Q. Are there any common errors you can mention relationship to culture and country? All the errors i mentioned earlier were general for Muslims throughout the world. There are certain errors by people living in certain country, belonging to certain culture. For example – in the Indian Subcontinent, these are people living in India, in Pakistan, in SriLanka. During Ramadan many Muslims play night cricket and they spend most of the time in night cricket rather than doing ibaadah of Allah subhanwatala. So playing night cricket is more common in Indian sub-continent. If you go to the Arab countries, especially the gulf countries there many of the working places and offices they change their timings, they hardly work for couple of hours in the day time and they open most of the times during night. So what happens it encourages the people to do shopping in the night rather than the day and they get more business and they are inviting people rather than spending time in remembering Allah subhanwatala, Muslims spend their time in shopping, in eating during night time. Further more those people who are employed in these shops are forced to come.

DR. ZAKIR NAIK QUOTES

Al-Qur'an is not a book of Science, ‘S-C-I-E-N-C-E’ but a book of Signs ‘S-I-G-N-S

DR. ZAKIR NAIK Q&A 11 ABOUT RAMADAN

Q. (Yusuf Chambers): What is your particular advice for Ramadan approaching us? A. (Dr Zakir): My advice would be that every Muslim he or she should make it a point that they should make a resolution that they should fast each and every day of this blessed month of Ramadan. And we should try and acquire all the benefits of this month and we should not waste a single benefit of this month on things that are trivial and try to concentrate as much as possible in remembering Allah subhanwatala. We should try and look for his mercy, we should try to ask for his forgiveness, we have to try to seek for his love and we have to try to increase out piety and our righteousness and our patience and our beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said “Anyone who does not leave the false actions and false speech Allah subhanwatala does not care if he leaves his eating and drinking”. That means if a person does not abstain from false actions and false speech Allah swt does not care if he abstains from food and drink, that means fasting will not be accepted unless you stay away from false actions and false speech and our beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “O people the blessed month of Ramadan is approaching and Allah has ordained for you that you fast on this month and the gates of heaven will be opened in this month and gates of hell will be closed and the devils will be chained, and in this month is a night that is better than a thousand months and if a person is deprived of the blessing in this month, he is truly a deprived person” . So we have to make it a point we gain the benefits of this blessed month, our beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that “Anyone who fasts in this month with faith seeking the reward of Allah subhanwatala, all his past sins will be forgiven” that means if we truly with sincerity fast in this month all out past sins will be forgiven. Imagine it is such an easy way to have our sins forgiven of the past. Also our beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said… it is a long hadith, basically consisting of four points…he said, “All children of Adam, all the deeds they do are for themselves except for fasting, fasting is for me and I will reward him”. And he further said that “Fasting is a shield, it prevents you from sin and the person who observe the fast must abstain from obscenity and yelling and from ignorance and if someone yells at him or abuses him he should say – I am fasting, I am fasting”. Third point our beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said “that I swear by Allah who’s hand is the soul of Muhammad (peace be upon him) that the breath of a fasting person is sweeter to Allah than the smell of the musk”. And he finally said in the hadith that “There are two things when a fasting person is happy and looks forward to it, first when he breaks the fast and second is when he meets Allah subhanwatala ”. It is written in Quran in Surah Noor Ch-24 V-31, it says “O you who believe, truly have faith in Allah and seek the bliss” i.e. try to enter jannah. It is mentioned in Surah Ahqaaf Ch-46 V-13,14 that “Those are the people who worship none but Allah and they are steadfast in faith” . The word is ‘istaqaam’ …”and there is only one Allah and no one else and they shall not have any fear nor shall they grieve, these are the people who are the people of paradise and they shall be rewarded for all the good they have done”. So this is the advice for the people that they should take the best of this month and they should not spend their time in trivial things and spend their time in worshipping Allah and remembering Allah subhanwatala and ask for forgiveness.

DR. ZAKIR NAIK Q&A 10 ABOUT RAMADAN

Q. Are there any particular activities for a Muslim should concentrate upon during this blessed month of Ramadan? A. (Dr Zakir): Few important points are to be noted is that no 1. Is the niyaah, niyaah is very important. The niyaah (intention) for fasting must be only for Allah subhanwatala and for a fasting to be accepted niyaah is very important. No 2 is observing the sunnah of fast. One of the important sunnah is that we should have sahoor as late as possible that is just before break of dawn i.e. just before fajar salaah and we should break our fast, have iftaar as early as possible immediately after sunset. Furthermore in this blessed month we should be careful and we should avoid all things which are prohibited, which are haraam and things which are a makru (undesirable). And this is the best opportunity for a person that if he has certain activities which are against the sahriyah (Islamic law), that they are doing haraam activites or makru activities, this is the best time they can abstain from it. And which be a good habit which he may abstain throughout his life. For example if a person is habitually to drink alcohol, if he can abstain from having alcohol from the break of dawn to sunset, he can abstain from it from the cradle to the grave. Similarly we should take care we should abstain from things which are makruh. For example it is makru to stand and drink water and if we are habitual to that then see to that in the month of Ramadan while having water we should sit down, this is the sunnah of the prophet (peace be upon him). So it is a good month in which you can abstain from the haraam activities which you are doing or the makruh activities. Furthermore it is a good time where you can implement many of the sunnah of the prophet (peace be upon him) in your day today life. For example sporting a beard, many muslims don’t have a beard, so it is a good month in which you can follow the sunnah of the prophet (peace be upon him). so this is a good month in which you can adopt as much as sunnah as possible so we can be on the staright path. This is a very good month where we should see to it that we should offer the salaah, not only the five times salaah which are the fardh but even try to offer as many nawafil and sunnah and if you are not habitual in reading in congregation see to it you are in a congregation and as far as possible go to the mosque for the salaah. In this month you should be particular that you do not miss the Taraweeh, many people think that which is a fact that it is sunnah, we can miss taraweeh, taraweeh is a very important sunnah, though it is not a fardh but every Muslim should make it a point that as far as possible they should attend taraweeh because of the blessings it has. So the taraweeh is very important which the Muslim should never miss. And when we offer taraweeh many of us rush through the taraweeh because we want to complete the Quran and many of them read the taraweeh 100 miles per hour, we should read the taraweeh with patience with moderate pace so that people can understand what is the commandment of Allah subhanwatala. And that if time permits if possible we should try to do itakaaf in the last ten days and while doing itakaaf we make it a point that we dont socialise, many people make a mistake of socialising during itakaaf, the whole purpose of itakaaf gets defeated. Furthermore we should do more supplications, this is the month of dua, and we should do more dhikr, spend time in remember Allah subhanwatala and also worshipping him, this is the month in which we must try and read as much as Quran as possible, besides reading the Quran in Arabic, if you know Arabic as a language then there is no problem but if you don’t know then also read the translation of the a Quran in the language you understand the best, if you understand in English, read in English, if you understand urdu then read in Urdu. Read it in the language you understand the best. So along with reading in Arabic for which you get the sawaab (rewards) also read the translation of the Quran so that you can implement on guidance of Allah subhanwatala. If possible read the complete Quran once in every 7 seven days, or atleast read 1 Juz everyday so that you complete the Quran atleast once in the full month of Ramadan. In this month try to read as much as Hadith as possible but see to it that you read the authentic hadith. And the best book on hadith is the book of Sahih Al-Bukhari then Sahih Al- Muslim, you can read qutub-suta also but read authentic books on hadith. Read books on lifestyle and seerah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also. See to it that if you have not given the zakat then give the zakat which is an obligatory charity and every rich person who has the saving more than the nisaab level, i.e. more than 85 grams of gold he/she should give 2.5 % of his/her saving every lunar year in charity i.e. Zakat. And many people do not calculate the zakat properly. You make it a point that you calculate the zakat honestly and it is better to given little bit more rather than give less. And this month of Ramadan is the month of generosity, it is the month of sadaqa. And you get 10 times more reward of your good deeds. Thus this is the month we should do maximum charity and we should give more time to our family. Many a time we neglect our family, we see to it that we give more time to our family and do all these activities collectively. We should also have Husne- Salooq with the people around you i.e. we should deal with other human beings with mercy, with love, with care, if they have done some mistake, forgive them, this is the month of forgiveness. If you have done something wrong, ask for forgiveness. We should do tuffaqul i.e. ponder on the things, see to it you plan the month of Ramadan properly and see to it that you do not waste not even a minute not even a second. This is the month of cleaning. And this month is month of self- improvement also and besides that we should make it a point to do islaah to other Muslim brothers and sisters. It is also the best month to do dawah i.e. convey the message of islam to the non-muslims. So my request to brothers and sisters is to plan your month efficiently and see to it that you utilize every second of this blessed month.

DR. ZAKIR NAIK Q&A 9 ABOUT RAMADAN

Q. What was the preparation of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to welcome Ramadan? A. There is hadith in sahih al bukhari (vol. 3 book of fasting, hadith 1969) “aisha (r. a) related that the prophet (saw) never fasted a complete month except in Ramadan and he didn’t fast in any month as many days as he fasted in the month of shabaan” thus from this hadith we come to know that prophet (saw ) used to welcome or prepare for the month of Ramadan by fasting many days in the previous month, i.e. the month of shabaan. And further if you read in Tirmidhi (Book of supplications, Hadith 5431) which says that Talha (r.a) says on the authority of his father that whenever the prophet (saw) saw the new moon he always used to pray to Allah (swt) and say “O Allah bless us in this month (and he used to mention the name of the month) keep us stead fast in faith in this month. This is how prophet (saw) used to pray to Allah (swt) whenever he used to see the new moon. It wasn’t specifically only for the new moon of the Ramadan but it was for all the new moons he used to see. He used to mention about coming of this blessed month to the people. Prophet (saw) addressed the people in hadith (Musanad Ahmad, vol 2, page 230, hadith 7148) “O people this blessed month is approaching you and Allah (swt) has ordained on you to fast in this month. Gates of the heaven will be opened in this month and gates of hell will be closed and the devil will be chained, and in this month there is a night which is better than a thousand months and whosoever is deprived of Allah’s (swt) blessing in this month, he is truly the deprived person.

DR. ZAKIR NAIK Q&A 8 ABOUT RAMADAN

Q. What should we do when Ramadan approaches? A. First thing we should do is to thank Allah (swt) for making us witness this blessed month once again. Thank him for his mercy and ask for his forgiveness so that all our previous sins are forgiven. And we have to thank him for all the “niyamat” he has given us and blessings and all the love. Allah says in Quran (Surah Al-Baqara, Ch. 2, V. 185): “Ramadan is the month in which Quran was revealed as a guidance for mankind and signs for guidance and judgment between right and wrong.” And Allah firther says in the Quran (Surah Al-Baqara, Ch. 2, V. 183): “O you who believe, fasting was prescribed to you as it was prescribed to people who came before you so that you may learn self restrain.” Word used is “tatakoon”. So that you learn God Consciousness, piety, righteousness, “taqwa” is increased. This is the month in which a person can become more righteous. This is the time when our “taqwa” can be at the height. This month is a sort of annual training. Like a machine requires servicing. If you allow me to call a human being the most complex machine in the world, doesn’t it need servicing? It is spiritual and moral training for human being. Purification of body, mind and soul. Increase our taqwa, increase our patience. And we can derive the benefits and guidance from the Quran.