In order to build and maintain Islamic character and temperament it is incumbent upon every Fundamentalist Muslim to keep himself/herself within the limits created by Allah in the matter of eating, drinking , dressing ,earning, spending and fulfilling other requirements of life. Sticking to HALAL (permitted by Allah) helps spiritually in the development of Islamic character whereas recourse to HARAM (Prohibited by Allah) harms spiritually in building or maintaining Islamic character. The Fundamentalist Muslims must therefore acquire necessary knowledge of HALAL and HARAM. The holy Prophet (peace be on him) has said: i. "The halal is that which Allah has made lawful in His Book and the haram is that which he has forbidden and that concerning which He is silent, He has permitted as a favour to you." ii. "Allah has prescribed certain obligations for you, so do not neglect them; He has defined certain limits, so do not transgress them; He has prohibited certain things, so do not do them; and He has kept silent concerning other things out of mercy for you and not because of forgetfulness, so do not ask question concerning them."

     SEEKING ALLAH'S PROTECTION

     To become a Fundamentalist Muslim and remain so all through life is a very very difficult task. The 'self', surroundings and Satan are three enemies which consistently tempt to sin and transgression and, without the help of Almighty Allah, it is not within the power of any human being to resist the temptation of "self", surroundings and Satan. The Fundamentalist Muslims must therefore try to deserve Allah's help, protection and refuge by doing the following acts:

     1. FREQUENT RECITATION OF ALLAH'S GLORY, PRAISE, ONENESS AND GREATNESS (Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illallah,AllahoAkbar)

     "O ye who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance. And glorify Him morning and evening. (Quran 33:41-42). "Remember the name of thy Lord at morn and evening." (Quran:76:25). ".. men of understanding, such as remember Allah standing , sitting and reclining and consider the creation of the heavens and the earth, and (say): Our Lord! Thou createst not this in vain. Glory be to Thee! Preserve us from the doom of Fire."(Quran: 3:191). "Remember thy Lord within thyself humbly and with awe, below thy breath, at morn and evening .And be thou not of the neglectful." (Quran:7:205). "Your tongue should always remain busy and fresh with the remembrance of Allah." (Saying of the holy Prophet PBUH).

     2. REGULAR RECITATION, READING,UNDERSTANDING AND PONDERING OVER THE HOLY QURAN"

     (Say): I (Muhammad) am only commanded to.. recite the Quran: (Quran:27:91-92). O mankind ! There has come unto you an exhortation (Quran) from your Lord, a balm for that which is in the breasts, a guidance and mercy for believers." (Quran :10:57). "Say: The holy spirit (jibril) hath revealed it from thy Lord with truth, that it may strengthen those who believe and as guidance and good tidings for Muslims. (Quran:16:102). "Lo! Those who read the Scripture of Allah, and establish worship, and spend of that which we have bestowed on them secretly and openly, that look forward to imperishable gain."(Quran:35:29). i. "Verily, you cannot turn to Allah with anything better than that which has come forth from Him namely Quran." ii. "The Prophet said: "Verily, for Allah some from mankind are (like) relations". "Who are they, it was asked. The Prophet replied: "the people of Quran, they are (like) relations of Allah and bigwigs. (Sayings of the holy Prophet (PBUH).

     3. REPENTANCE FOR FAILURE /WEAKNESS IN SUBMISSION

     "Allah loves those who turn to Him (in repentance)." (Quran:2:222). "O ye who believe! Turn unto Allah in sincere repentance. It may be that your Lord will remit from you your evil deeds and bring you into Gardens underneath which rivers flow, on the day when Allah will not abase the Prophet and those who believe with him."(Quran:66:8). "And vie with one another for forgiveness from your Lord."(Quran 3:133). "Allah is seer of His bondmen; those who pray for pardon in the watches of the night. (Quran:3:17). "And seek forgiveness o f A l lah . L o ! A l l a h i s f o r g i v i n g merciful."(Quran:74:26). "Whosoever binds himself to seeking (Allah's) forgiveness, Allah appoints for him way out of all distress, and relief from all griefs and provides for him from whence he has no expectation."(Saying of the holy Prophet (PBUH).

     4. INVOCATION OF ALLAH'S BLESSINGS ON THE HOLY PROPHET (PEACE BE UPON HIM)

     "There hath come unto you a messenger (Muhammad), (one) of yourselves, unto whom aught that ye are overburdened is grievous, full of concern for you, for the believers full of pity, merciful."(Quran:9:128). "We sent thee not (O Muhammad) but as a Mercy for the worlds."(Quran:21:107). "Lo! Allah and His angles shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation." (Quran:33:56). i. "When any of my community bless me, Allah and His angels bless them ten times for doing so."ii. The nearest people to me on the Day of Resurrection will be those who sought the most Allah's blessings for me." (Sayings of the holy Prophet (PBUH).

     5. SUPPLICATIONS (DU'A')

     "I respond to the supplications of the supplicant when he calls on Me." (Quran:2:186)

     "And your Lord has said: "Call upon Me and I shall answer you." (Quran:40:60). "Caution will not be of any benefit against predestination, but supplication benefits (matter) that have occurred and that are (yet) to occur. And indeed, supplication meets with a calamity, and fights it until the Day of Judgment.(Saying of the holy ProphetPBUH). "So the du'a (supplication) is the weapon of the believer, by which he can fight against any and every tyrant and oppressor." (Abu Ammar Yasir Qadhi in "Addua: Salahul Mumin).

     6. DISSOCIATION FROM INNOVATIONS (BIDAT)

     "This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour unto you, and have chosen for you as religion AL-ISLAM ."(Quran:5:3). "… And beware of new things! For verily, all new things (in religion) are an innovation and all innovation (in religion) is error." ii. Whoso introduces into this our (religion) affair what is not of it, is bad." (Sayings of the holy Prophet (PBUH).

     7. STEADFASTNESS AND PERSEVEARANCE

     "O ye who believe! Seek help in steadfastness and prayer. Lo! Allah is with the steadfast… And surely We shall try you with something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth and lives and crops, but give glad tidings to the steadfast who say, when a misfortune striketh them: Lo! we are Allah's and lo! unto Him we are returning." (Quran:2:153,155,156). "Do men imagine that they will be left (at ease) because they say, we believe, and will not be tested with affliction: Lo! We tested those before you. Thus Allah knoweth those who are sincere , and knoweth those who feign." (Quran:29:2.3). "Therefore stand firm as thou art commanded, thou and those who with thee turn (unto Allah), and transgress not: for He seeth well all that ye do." Lo! those who say: "Our Lord is Allah, and afterward are steadfast, the angels descend upon them, saying: Fear not nor grieve, but hear good tidings of the Paradise which ye are promised. We are your protecting friends in the life of the world and in the Hereafter…" (Quran:41:30-31).

     8 . REMEMBERING DEATH AND EVENTS RELATIVE THERETO

     The temptations of worldly life, of wealth, wine and women, of name and fame, of power and authority, of ease and comfort, of fun and frolic, of dance and music, of lust and luxury are strong and man is weak. How to resist the temptations then? By remembering death, the inevitable visitor-at-will and destroyer of worldly life and harbinger of accountability, and events following death.

     i. DEATH

     The holy Prophet (PBUH) was asked which believer was the best ? 'The best of them in character' was the reply.' 'Which believer was the most intelligent," they asked. 'He who most frequently remembered death, and prepared himself best for the same ere it alighted upon him', said the Prophet. . At the time of death a true Muslim sees his/her place in Paradise and dies an easy death whereas a sinner sees his/her place in Hell and dies a torturous death.

     ii.GRAVE

     "Visit the graves, for verily, these will make you indifferent to the world and remind you of the Hereafter." "Verily, the grave is the first stage of the (many) stages of Hereafter." The grave is either a garden of Paradise (for true Muslims) or a pit of Fire (for sinners)." (Sayings of the holy Prophet (PBUH).

     iii. QUESTIONS BY MUNKAR AND NAKIR

     Munkar and Nakir are two angels, who visit every person in his/her grave, and who, immediately after the return of the funeral party from the burial, examine the dead person by asking the questions: Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your Prophet? He/she who gives the correct answer that my Lord is Allah, my religion is Islam and my Prophet is Muhammad is saved from the torment and the grave becomes a garden of Paradise for him/her. Only a true Muslim will be able to give the correct answer. The sinner will fail to give the correct answer and the grave will become a pit of Fire for him/her.

     iv. APOCALYPSE

     "The Trumpet will be sounded, when all that are in the heavens and on earth will swoon except such as please Allah (to exempt). (Quran:39:68). And when the Trumpet shall sound one blast and the earth with the mountains shall be lifted up and crushed with one crash, then on that day will the Event befall." (Quran:69:13-15). "And when the Trumpet is blown there will be no kinship among them that day, nor will they ask of one other." (Quran:23:101). "How can I enjoy happiness when the angel of Trumpet is awaiting attentively turning his forehead to one side to hear the order to blow the Trumpet."(Saying of the holy Prophet (PBUH).

     V. RESURRECTION

     ".. Then will a second one (blow of Trumpet) be sounded, when, behold, they will be standing and looking on!" (Quran: 39:68). "Hath not man seen that we have created him from a drop of seed? Yet lo! he is an open opponent. And has coined for us a similitude, and has forgotten the fact of creation, saying : Who will revive these bones when they have rotted away? He will revive them who produced them at the first for He is Knower of every creation." (Quran 36:76-78)

     vi. WEIGHING OF WORKS

     "We shall set up a Balance of justice for the Day of Resurrection. So that no soul is wronged in aught. Though it be of the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it. We suffice for reckoners. (Quran:21:47)." "That day mankind will issue forth in scattered groups to be shown their deeds. And whoso doeth good an atom's weight will see it then, and whoso doeth ill an atom's weight will see it then." (Quran:99:6-8). "Then, as for him whose scales are heavy (with good works), he will live a pleasant life. But as for him whose scales are light (due to lack of good works), the Bereft and Hungry One will be his mother. Ah, what will convey unto thee what she is---- Raging Fire." (Quran:101:6-11). The duration of the day of resurrection will be fifty thousand years according to worldly calculation which will pass off quickly and pleasantly for the righteous but will be tormenting and passing off slowly for the sinner.

     vii. CROSSING OF THE BRIDGE OVER HELL

     There is a bridge over Hell. It is as thin as hair and as sharp as the blade of a sword and as long as the journey of forty years. Everybody will have to cross the said bridge. According to the degree of their worldly piety, righteousness and good works, some will cross the Bridge like lightning, some like blowing wind, some like running horses, some will walk on foot and some will walk on their breasts. A large number will fall down into the Fire.

     viii. INTERCESSION AND POND OF ABUNDANCE

     The holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him ) will be the only person who will be in a position on the Day of Resurrection to intercede with Allah for the forgiveness of Allah and everybody will be in dire need of his intercession and of drinking water from his pond of abundance to quench his/her killing thirst and of his help to save him/her from the teeming torments and tortures of that day.

     Ix. PARADISE

     "No soul knoweth what is kept hid for them of joy, as a reward for what they used to do." (Quran:32:17). "… Garden of Immortality which is promised unto those who ward off (evil). It will be their reward and journey's end. Therein abiding, they have all that they desire. It is for thy Lord a promise that must be fulfilled ." (Quran:25:15-16). " A similitude of the Garden which those who keep their duty (to Allah) are promised: There are rivers of water unpolluted, and rivers of milk whereof the flavour changeth not, and rivers of wine delicious to the drinkers , and rivers of clear-run honey;' therein for them is every kind of fruit, with pardon from their Lord ."(Quran:47:15) "Therein are those of modest gaze, whom neither man nor jinni will have touched before them,….(in beauty) like the jacynth and the coral-stone." (Quran:55:56,58).

     x. HELL

     Lo! Hell lurketh in ambush, a home for the rebellious. They will abide therein for ages. Therein taste they neither coolness nor (any) drink save boiling water and a paralysing cold. Reward proportioned (to their evil deeds). For lo! they looked not for a reckoning; they called our revelations false with strong denial. Everything have we recorded in a Book. So taste (of that which ye have earned). No increase do We give you save of torment." (Quran:78:21-30). "Lo! the guilty are immortal in Hell's torment. It is not relaxed for them and they despair therein. We wronged them not, but they it was who did the wrong." (Quran:43-74-76).
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