The Goodly Tree @TheGoodlyTreeSA

The only legacy that ultimately matters is indeed what rises beyond us to the glory of God. Names perish, generations disappear and civilizations return to dust indeed. But if God alone is the ultimate object of that glory, then the torch cannot end with the exaltation of Jesus. Jesus himself carried it beyond himself to God. God is not merely greater than Jesus by degree, as one king is greater than another. He is greater by an absolute distinction between Creator and creation. He is the First, dependent upon nothing; the Ever-Living who cannot die; the All-Knowing from whom nothing is hidden; the Lord who sends His Messengers, gives them knowledge, commands them, strengthens them and receives them back to Himself. A messenger may be the greatest of men, beloved and honoured beyond measure, yet he remains dependent upon the One who sent him. To erase that distinction is not to exalt God, but to diminish what it means to be God. Jesus calls the Father “the only true God” and himself the one “whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). He says, “I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God” (John 20:17). He declares, “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), and says, “I can of mine own self do nothing” (John 5:30). When speaking of the final Hour, he distinguishes his knowledge from God's: “of that day and that hour knoweth no man… neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32). The distinction is fundamental: the One who sends and the one sent, the Independent and the dependent, the All-Knowing and the one to whom knowledge is withheld, God and the one who calls Him “my God.” Jesus consistently pointed beyond himself to the One above him. To make the Messenger the destination is not to complete his message, but to lose its direction. So pass on the torch Jesus actually carried: “The Lord our God is one Lord.” Mark 12:29

They will spend their wealth to fight Islam, suppress its message and turn people away from the path of Allah. They will pour their resources into it, believing their wealth and power can extinguish the truth. Yet Allah tells us that the very wealth they spend against His path will ultimately become a source of anguish for them. “Verily, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to hinder men from the Path of Allah, and so will they continue to spend it; but in the end it will become an anguish for them. Then they will be overcome. And those who disbelieve will be gathered unto Hell.” Qur’an 8:36 Let them exhaust their wealth, influence and every means at their disposal trying to extinguish the Light of Allah. What they spend believing it will bring about the demise of Islam will ultimately become a cause of their own anguish and undoing. "They intend to put out the Light of Allâh (i.e. the Religion of Islâm, this Qur’ân, and the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) with their mouths. But Allâh will bring His Light to perfection even though the disbelievers hate it." Quran 61:8

"It's time for Martyrs." These words, immortalized by Malcolm X, capture a man who had absorbed the true meaning of sacrifice and placed his complete trust in his Creator. SubhanAllah, he absorbed this meaning so deeply that it permeated his very being: "No, I don't worry. I'm a man who believes that I died 20 years ago, and I live like a man who is dead already. I have no fear whatsoever of anybody or anything." There is a freedom that cannot be granted by men, and therefore can never be taken from the heart. This is the Garden of the heart: when its attachment to God becomes greater than its attachment to the world; when its hope in Him overcomes its fear of creation; when threats no longer weaken it, but drive it back to the One upon whom it relies. Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullah, said: "Indeed, there is a Garden in this world. Whoever does not enter it shall not enter the Garden of the Hereafter." And Allah informs us of how the hypocrites tried to threaten the believers when they said "'Your enemies have mobilized their forces against you, so fear them,' the warning only made them grow stronger in faith, and they replied, 'Allah alone is sufficient for us, and He is the best Protector.'" Quran 3:173

Great resolutions are attained by men of resolve in due measure The noble in due proportion attain noble possessions In the eyes of the small, the small ones are big In the eyes of the great, the great ones are small One of the knowers has said,“Be a man of steadfastness, not a seeker of miracles, for your ego works in the quest of miracles whereas your Lord demands of you only steadfastness” “The greatest of miracles is remaining steadfast.” (Ibn Qayyim,The Ranks of Divine Seeker) Steadfastness is to stand firm upon the love and adoration of God, persevering in truth and patience throughout the journey. It is to strive to the best of one’s ability, continually rectifying one’s intentions, words and deeds; aiming for the highest standard and striving to come as close to the mark as possible, yet never relying upon one’s own efforts or the means. Rather, one relies entirely upon the One deserving of all praise and adoration for ultimate success. This is among the most comprehensive concepts of the path: to stand before God with truthfulness and loyalty, for the sake of God, with the help of God, and in accordance with the will of God.

The Encyclopaedia of Islam, published by Brill and written largely within the Western academic tradition of Islamic studies, states: “He was already known, by antonomasia, as the God, al-Ilāh (the most likely etymology; another suggestion is the Aramaic Alāhā).” It further notes that Allāh was known in Arabia before Islam. This is important because either major etymological explanation leads into the same Semitic family of divine terminology: Arabic: ilāh / Allāh Aramaic: Elāh / Alāhā Syriac: Alāhā Hebrew: El / Eloah / Elohim Akkadian: ilu Gardet, L., ‘Allāh’, Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edn, Vol. I (Leiden: E.J. Brill), p. 406.

The following underlying Semitic pattern stretches deep into antiquity: ʾ-L / ʾ-L-H → deity/God Hence: El — Hebrew/Canaanite Eloah (אֱלוֹהַּ) — Hebrew Elohim (אֱלֹהִים) — Hebrew Elāh/Elāhā (אֱלָהּ / אלהא) — Aramaic Alāhā (ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ) — Syriac Ilāh (إله) — Arabic Allāh (الله) — Arabic

“Verily, the Sharia is founded upon wisdom and welfare for the servants in this life and the afterlife. In its entirety it is justice, mercy, benefit, and wisdom. Every matter which abandons justice for tyranny, mercy for cruelty, benefit for corruption, and wisdom for foolishness is not a part of the Sharia even if it was introduced therein by an interpretation.” Ibn Qayyim And: “God Almighty has made clear by many of His laws that the purpose is to establish justice between His servants and for people to behave fairly. Whichever path leads to justice and fairness is part of the religion and does not contradict it.” This is why the scholars spoke of the higher purposes of Divine Law. Al-Ghazali writes: “Welfare which we mean here is the protection of the objectives of the Sharia. Namely, the objectives of the Sharia are five in creation: the protection of religion, life, intellect, family relations, and property. Everything that advances the protection of these five fundamentals is considered benefit, and everything which fails to protect these five fundamentals is considered corruption.” Thus the Sharia seeks to preserve fundamental human goods: *Religion. Life. Intellect. Family. Property.* And all of this returns to Tawḥīd. The One who created us is the One who sustains us. The One who sustains us is the One who knows us. The One who knows us is the One with the right to guide and command us. And the One who commands us is the One to whom we ultimately return. His Lordship, Divinity, wisdom, mercy and judgment are not disconnected realities. They belong to the One perfect God. We were created by the Lord, for the worship of God alone, guided by His wisdom, and destined to return to the King. The Sharia lies within that entire Divine order: creation, purpose, guidance and return.

The Divine Wisdom in the Sharia To understand the Sharia, we must first understand something of the One who revealed it. God is the Lord (Ar-Rabb): He created everything, sustains everything, knows everything and governs His creation with perfect knowledge. He is the only One worthy of worship (Al-Ilāh): from Him comes our ultimate purpose, our worship, and the Divine commands and prohibitions by which we are guided. And He is the King and Master (Al-Mālik): to Him everything returns, and with Him rests the final judgment, perfect justice, reward and punishment. In the simplest terms: Existence comes from His Lordship. Purpose comes from His Divinity. Our final return is to His Kingship. The One who created the human being is therefore the One who knows what perfect guidance for the human being requires: “Should He who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the All-Aware?” Qur’an 67:14 Human knowledge is fragmentary. We see the immediate while God knows the end; we perceive the outward while He knows the inward; we calculate a handful of consequences while His knowledge encompasses every cause, every consequence, every soul and every generation. The Sharia proceeds from this Divine knowledge and wisdom. It is not an arbitrary collection of commands detached from human welfare.

"There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world. It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to tropics and deserts. Within its dominion lived hundreds of millions of people, of different creeds and ethnic origins. One of its languages became the universal language of much of the world, the bridge between the peoples of a hundred lands. Its armies were made up of people of many nationalities, and its military protection allowed a degree of peace and prosperity that had never been known. The reach of this civilization’s commerce extended from Latin America to China, and everywhere in between. And this civilization was driven more than anything, by invention. Its architects designed buildings that defied gravity. Its mathematicians created the algebra and algorithms that would enable the building of computers, and the creation of encryption. Its doctors examined the human body, and found new cures for disease. Its astronomers looked into the heavens, named the stars, and paved the way for space travel and exploration.....When other nations were afraid of ideas, this civilization thrived on them, and kept them alive. When censors threatened to wipe out knowledge from past civilizations, this civilization kept the knowledge alive, and passed it on to others. While modern Western civilization shares many of these traits, the civilization I’m talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600, which included the Ottoman Empire and the courts of Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo, and enlightened rulers like Suleiman the Magnificent. Although we are often unaware of our indebtedness to this other civilization, its gifts are very much a part of our heritage. The technology industry would not exist without the contributions of Arab mathematicians.... Leaders like Suleiman contributed to our notions of tolerance and civic leadership. And perhaps we can learn a lesson from his example: It was leadership based on meritocracy, not inheritance. It was leadership that harnessed the full capabilities of a very diverse population–that included Christianity, Islamic, and Jewish traditions" - CARLY FIORINA Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P

The Golden Age of Rewards and Victory Do not wish that you lived in another era when Allah has blessed you with this era. We are living in an age of immense reward for anyone willing to sacrifice, hold firmly to the religion and do something for it. In a time when the tides are pulling people away from faith, merely holding firmly to Islam and remaining steadfast is itself an immense deed, let alone being among those at the forefront: defending the religion, calling to the truth and standing against those who attack it. Do not allow Islam to be attacked from your vantage point. Stand where Allah has placed you, do what is within your ability, and hold firmly to the religion until you meet Him. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Rather, you must enjoin good and forbid evil until you see greed being obeyed, desires being followed, worldly life being preferred, and everyone is impressed by their own opinion. Then you must take care of yourself and leave the common people. Verily, ahead of you are days of patience in which patience will be like grasping a hot coal. The one who does good deeds in that time will have the reward of fifty men who do likewise.” Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3058 This time is perhaps the closest in resemblance to the time of the Sahaabah and the struggle to establish Islam. A time of immense trials, but also immense opportunities and rewards for those who remain steadfast and strive for the religion.

God knows best who your enemies are. The Yahud (Jews), from day one, have been enemies of the religion of Islam. Why were they mentioned, and not other groups with massive followings? SubḥanAllah. It is from the pre-eternal knowledge of God that He knew this band of people would stand among the enemies of His religion. From the very beginning, they were among those leading the war against Islam: plotting and planning against it, supporting the hypocrites in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, just as they support the hypocrites today. They were the ones who brought together the Aḥzab, rallying the different Arab tribes against the Muslims; and today we see the nations of the world being rallied against Islam. They were at the forefront of the war of words and propaganda against Islam, and they are the ones leading it today. They were among the enemies of Muhammad ﷺ, and they will continue to be enemies of this religion until the Day of Judgement, when, at the end of time, some among them will be soldiers and followers of the Dajjal (Antichrist). Those who recognized the truth of Islam yet rejected it. Those who knew the truth yet refused it. Those who earned the anger of God.

Your enemies may overpower you for a time, afflict you, and seize what is in your hands, but they will never extinguish the light of Islam and truth or prevail over its people entirely. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “Verily, Allah has protected you from three calamities: that your Prophet supplicate against you and thus you all perish, that the people of falsehood prevail over the people of truth, and that you would unite upon misguidance.” Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4253

The saved sect is not known by labels, slogans or claims of affiliation, but by its qualities. Adherence to the truth, following the Qur’an and Sunnah, steadfastness upon the religion, and remaining unmoved by the opposition or abandonment of others. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “A group of my nation will continue to be victorious upon the religion, overpowering their enemies. None who oppose them will harm them, except what afflicts them of difficult circumstances, until Allah brings his command while they are like so.” Musnad Ah‌mad 22320

The Company of the Blessed against Loneliness on the Straight Path Being that the seeker of the straight path seeks what most men avoid, companions on his path are all too rare. Being disposed against loneliness and to intimacy and friendship, he is reminded by God the Glorious of companions on this path: 'Whom God has blessed from among the prophets, the truthlovers, the martyrs, and the righteous, and how wonderful are such companions!'' [Quran 4:69]. He has attributed the path to the companions who tread it, the ones whom God has blessed [Quran 1:6], so the seeker’s anguish of being alone among the people of his time and his kind may be allayed, and so he may know that his company on this path comprises the blessed ones, and not care about the opposition of those who divert from the path, for, though in majority, they are of little worth. As one of the Predecessors said, 'Follow the path of truth, let the paucity of its travelers not make you feel lonely, and avoid the path of falsehood, and not let the abundance of the ruined deceive you.' If you ever feel lonely, look at those who have passed of old and yearn to join them, and turn your eyes away from those other than them, for the [unworthy many] will be of no avail to you against God. If they call out to you in your journey on the path, turn not to them, for if you do they will take you away and deprive you." Ibn Qayyim

Jesus, upon whom be peace, was described as handsome and fair-skinned in relation to the generally brown complexion of his people. This description must be understood correctly: it does not mean that he was a white European, nor does it support the distortion of his appearance according to later European imagery. The Prophet ﷺ said: “I saw a vision last night by the Kaʿbah in my sleep. There was a brown-skinned man, as beautiful as I had ever seen. His hair fell between his shoulders, a man whose head was dripping with water. He placed his hands on the shoulders of two men as he circled the House. I said: Who is this? They said: It is the Messiah, son of Mary. Then I saw a man behind him, with very curly hair and blindness in his right eye, resembling the look of Ibn Qatan. He placed his hands on the shoulders of a man as he circled the House. I said: Who is this? They said: It is the False Messiah.” Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3441; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 169

A time comes when departure from the Sunnah becomes so widespread that the Sunnah itself begins to look like the deviation. Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "How will you be when you are afflicted with trials that make the old grow senile and the young grow old? And the people take the Sunnah, change it, and say it has been changed?” They said, “O Abu Abdur Rahman, when will this be?” Ibn Mas’ud said, “It will be when you have many reciters but few people of understanding, many leaders but few of them trustworthy, and the world is sought by the deeds of the Hereafter.” Sunan al-Dārimī 185