The quran says: 

Read: In the name of thy Lord Who createth,
Createth man from a clot.
Read: And thy Lord is the Most Bounteous,
Who teacheth by the pen,
Teacheth man that which he knew not. (Al-Iqra 001-005)

Now there are many types of books and many purposes for reading, but I think that most will agree that we can break them down into three distinct types.

1- Informational (education, research, curiosity, etc.)
2- Pleasure (good story, great characters, escape from reality.)
3- Commands or instructions for action.

Now seeing as Allah (swt) commands us to read, using this logic, we must reach one of the following conclusions:

1- He (Allah) intends for us read for informational purposes, which include instructions for action, education, research, etc.

or

2- He (Allah) intends for us to read this as just a pleasure book of poetry-like writings, and to become engaged and impressed with the characters and the storytelling style.

or

3- He (Allah) intends this as a set of specific commands and instructions for action.

In truth all three apply.

I think that if we take either the 1st or 3rd without the other, we are dead wrong.  The 2nd keeps us interested long enough for the other two to take effect.

Remember:

Knowledge must accompany your action or your action will be pointless.

Action must accompany your knowledge or you will be pointless.

Think over that.

Z.

The quran says: 

Read: In the name of thy Lord Who createth,
Createth man from a clot.
Read: And thy Lord is the Most Bounteous,
Who teacheth by the pen,
Teacheth man that which he knew not. (Al-Iqra 001-005)

Now there are many types of books and many purposes for reading, but I think that most will agree that we can break them down into three distinct types.

1- Informational (education, research, curiosity, etc.)
2- Pleasure (good story, great characters, escape from reality.)
3- Commands or instructions for action.

Now seeing as Allah (swt) commands us to read, using this logic, we must reach one of the following conclusions:

1- He (Allah) intends for us read for informational purposes, which include instructions for action, education, research, etc.

or

2- He (Allah) intends for us to read this as just a pleasure book of poetry-like writings, and to become engaged and impressed with the characters and the storytelling style.

or

3- He (Allah) intends this as a set of specific commands and instructions for action.

In truth all three apply.

I think that if we take either the 1st or 3rd without the other, we are dead wrong.  The 2nd keeps us interested long enough for the other two to take effect.

Remember:

Knowledge must accompany your action or your action will be pointless.

Action must accompany your knowledge or you will be pointless.

Think over that.

Z.

AA,

Here’s a parable for you:

A man is 26 years old with several problems. One problem is that he is broke factory worker. Another is that he’s cheating on his wife. Another is that he never got an education. He also drinks and smokes.

It was the smoking that killed him in the end.

The moral to my rambling story? Had the man had the courage to tackle all of his problems head-on when he first realized the need for a change, things would have ended very differently.

In Islam many of us have this same problem. We want to tackle the “easy” stuff before even trying the “hard” stuff. So while we’ll rejoice over beating the easy odds, and crossing the short hurdles, it’ll likely be the ones that we put off which kill us.

And do not say of anything: Surely I will do it tomorrow (Quran 18:23)

Done,

Z.

AA,

Here’s a parable for you:

A man is 26 years old with several problems. One problem is that he is broke factory worker. Another is that he’s cheating on his wife. Another is that he never got an education. He also drinks and smokes.

It was the smoking that killed him in the end.

The moral to my rambling story? Had the man had the courage to tackle all of his problems head-on when he first realized the need for a change, things would have ended very differently.

In Islam many of us have this same problem. We want to tackle the “easy” stuff before even trying the “hard” stuff. So while we’ll rejoice over beating the easy odds, and crossing the short hurdles, it’ll likely be the ones that we put off which kill us.

And do not say of anything: Surely I will do it tomorrow (Quran 18:23)

Done,

Z.

[img]http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2006/07/burneddell.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2006/07/burneddell.jpg[/img]

[img]http://infowars.net/pictures/july2006/260706Independent.jpg[/img]

[img]http://infowars.net/pictures/july2006/260706Independent.jpg[/img]

Hezbollah, or Hizb Allah meant literally “The Party of Allah”.

It’s funny how those little details get “overlooked” by the major media.

It’s also funny how they (major media) overlook the fact that Israel and Hizb Allah have been capturing each other’s soldiers for a long, long time now. The same is true of Israel and Hamas. Bet you didn’t hear that on CNN.

The fact is that in war, any war, there are going to be deaths and there will be captives. On FoxNews you probably heard that Hizb Allah “kidnapped” two Israeli soldiers and that Israel wants them back.

Nonsense.

Nobody gets “kidnapped” in a war. You get caught. You are a CAPTIVE, or a POW, or a captured pawn (that’s probably the most accurate). There are no “kidnapped” people in a war between two armies.

Now, most of you probably don’t realize that Hizb Allah is an actual army. They are. THey have a chain of command, they have weapons, they even have uniforms of a sort. This current conflict is between two ARMIES, plain and simple.

Am I sympathetic? Yes.
Am I feeling the urge to hop on a plane and go save the Lebanese and the Palestenians. No.

This is in spite of being a Muslim who happens to want to see Islam rule the whole world. You see, the Palestenians and the Lebanese have toyed with the “Islamist” agenda for a long time now. When things are going well, they shuffle the Imams and Ulema into a back closet and only pull them out for Weddings, Funerals, and Fridays.

But when things turn sour, as the quite often seem to, then suddenly their struggle becomes a MUSLIM STRUGGLE against evil Israel and America.

I’ll tell you what (Lebanese and Palestenians). Announce that you are serious about establishing Khilafah and begin doing just that. Then you will, inshallah, have the worldwide support of the Muslim Ummah that you desire. Against the billions of muslims on this planet, your enemies would likely be little more than a nuisance. Like a string on the finger.

One day we’ll glance at them and simply shake them off without more than a passing thought.

wa Allahu Alim

Hezbollah, or Hizb Allah meant literally “The Party of Allah”.

It’s funny how those little details get “overlooked” by the major media.

It’s also funny how they (major media) overlook the fact that Israel and Hizb Allah have been capturing each other’s soldiers for a long, long time now. The same is true of Israel and Hamas. Bet you didn’t hear that on CNN.

The fact is that in war, any war, there are going to be deaths and there will be captives. On FoxNews you probably heard that Hizb Allah “kidnapped” two Israeli soldiers and that Israel wants them back.

Nonsense.

Nobody gets “kidnapped” in a war. You get caught. You are a CAPTIVE, or a POW, or a captured pawn (that’s probably the most accurate). There are no “kidnapped” people in a war between two armies.

Now, most of you probably don’t realize that Hizb Allah is an actual army. They are. THey have a chain of command, they have weapons, they even have uniforms of a sort. This current conflict is between two ARMIES, plain and simple.

Am I sympathetic? Yes.
Am I feeling the urge to hop on a plane and go save the Lebanese and the Palestenians. No.

This is in spite of being a Muslim who happens to want to see Islam rule the whole world. You see, the Palestenians and the Lebanese have toyed with the “Islamist” agenda for a long time now. When things are going well, they shuffle the Imams and Ulema into a back closet and only pull them out for Weddings, Funerals, and Fridays.

But when things turn sour, as the quite often seem to, then suddenly their struggle becomes a MUSLIM STRUGGLE against evil Israel and America.

I’ll tell you what (Lebanese and Palestenians). Announce that you are serious about establishing Khilafah and begin doing just that. Then you will, inshallah, have the worldwide support of the Muslim Ummah that you desire. Against the billions of muslims on this planet, your enemies would likely be little more than a nuisance. Like a string on the finger.

One day we’ll glance at them and simply shake them off without more than a passing thought.

wa Allahu Alim