Month: April 2011

Our only true enemy… ‘The whisperer’

MashaAllahu ta’ala the past few weeks have brought fresh illumination as in our study circle we’ve been learning about the real enemy. The one and only enemy. As told by God to us in His book, we have only one enemy very clearly;

O you who believe! enter into submission one and all and do not follow the footsteps of Shaitan; surely he is your open enemy.
Quran 2:208

While I don’t want to paraphrase all I’ve been learning about the shayateen (devils) in the past weeks in to a few words on one post, I think there certainly is a simple take-home message. That really there is evil, but that evil is only the devil and all he can do is whisper. He tempts, deceives, confuses and moves man to great sin thereby. But in the end, he is not to be feared but only treated with contempt. And our Lord we seek refuge in from his devious whispers. But more importantly that all this cause of hatred/anger/jealousy really is not people but the one real enemy. How many wars are being fought, where brother kills brother, each pandering some truth as a truth above another’s truth. The US Army over the VietCon (Vietnam war), Iraq over Iran (Iran-Iraq conflict), the Gulf war…the list is endless… and now the situation in Libya. Fast deteriorating in to an all out civil war, one wonders what happened to the truth in this conflict.

As someone so wisely said (I forget who, was it Bernard Shaw?) ‘truth is the first casualty in war’.

So hate the sin, but not the sinner. If we hate the oppression wrought by an oppressor, we do not hate the oppressor himself, but only wish for him the same salvation we yearn for ourselves. The vital hadith again;

‘None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself’
– look at how strong this hadith is, recorded by al-Bukhari (13), Muslim (45), Ahmad (3/176), at-Tirmidhi (5215), Ibn Majah (66), an-Nasa’i (8/115), and Ibn Hibban (234)

Wanting that same salvation, that same peace for everyone is essential to training our hearts to that state of purity demanded by the fact that only those with a sound/serene/peaceful heart will be saved on that day

وَلَا تُخْزِنِي يَوْمَ يُبْعَثُونَ
يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ
إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّـهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ

And do not disgrace me on the Day they are [all] resurrected
The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children
But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.”

Quran (26:87-89)

So hate the sin but not the sinner. This was beautifully expanded on by Sh. Hamza in his article expounding on Divine Love as understood by the Muslim tradition. An article very much worth reading and passed on. It can be found here

Without going on too much about it, here is in verse form some of that which mashaAllah I’ve learned about all this. I hope it is of benefit inshaAllah. Called ‘the whisperer’

The whisperer

Whispers have brought down empires
From Shakespearan tragedies to real life
Desdemona and Othello to
every day in some every day home
some husband walks out on his wife

A neighbour has whispered
On the streets a rumour spread
Brothers do not speak with brothers
for years. Nor their sisters
fathers, mothers
They are afraid to allow
the possibility that the human errs
Afraid to forgive lest it reduce ‘honour’
or display weakness?

Fools proclaimed in self righteous glory
Sit on your high seat till you taste that same sloth
of the sinner when sin you commit unknowingly
or in a moment of weakness, that you do not forgive in another

The devils can only whisper
And we have no other enemy
No other. Remember Abu Sufyan? Not an enemy but in the end
the Muslim brother. And that great sword of the deen
Khaled, once the attempted excutioner of the prophet

A mercy to the worlds

O Patient man. Teach us your patience
Your people are in disarray
They kill each other inventing enemies
Spurring on deeds of fresh bloodshed
While screaming ‘Allahu akber’

Only a heart serene will be saved on that day
Didn’t you read your book? Held aloft while you screech.
Ah, what are you screeching for?

Perhaps a little silence will lift that veil of ignorance
The constant cacophony of mad passion
Drowned out the whisperer so close to your ear
who has never ceased whispering…
stop the gun so you can hear

A vile enemy that is whispering
Just a whisperer. Just a doomed whisperer

Then love your brother
Your messenger honour. Worry eradicate
All the burdens of the earth fall away from heavy shoulders
You can now fight, knowing what you are fighting for
Just one enemy. Remember.

O my Lord, I seek refuge in Thee
And Thou art sufficient for me.

Copyright – Joymanifest’s blog. 2011

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Riz Khan show on Radicalization in the USA

Assalamu alaikum, peace be with all!

I came across this episode of the Riz Khan show recently. By the way if you don’t watch the Riz Khan show, I do recommend it highly. Riz who used to be a CNN newscastor and now has his own show on AlJazeera English, has a very affable personality. He is always pleasant to watch and the range of issues he covers quite varied not to mention interesting. I particularly like the questions he asks and the guests he chooses to address a particular topic. Case in point; Sheikh Hamza Yusuf to answer to the recent hearings about radicalization of Muslims in the USA. [Re the actual hearings, I like I suspect many Muslims, was left scratching my head going ‘what?!’ when I heard of them. But I’ll admit it, I’m worried too…sometimes it feels like no matter how much or how often we say we condemn terrorrism and hate it all the more that it is done by these vicous mindless maniac-perpertrators who butcher the name of Islam in such a discpicable way…it feels like no one is listening. I guess some people just don’t want to hear.]

Here it is, it’s very good listening. Thank God we have scholars like sheikh Hamza out there and may he and others like him be given the due media they deserve. May all of us 1.4999999/1.5 billion peaceful Muslims be given the media we deserve. How nice it would be if there were proportionate and responsible media coverage. What a change it would be from the fear-mongering so rampant from today’s media giants.

My first blogging award (s)! Made my week!!

I was incredibly humbled to receive these awards from a dear sister some time ago. MashaAllahu ta’ala. One of the earliest blogs I ever read and one of my favourite bloggers, Sendie, included me in her pass the award on to list. Wow, that sure is a something feeling. Mashaallah indeed!


And very many thanks Sendie…Among the conditions of accepting these awards – VERSATILE BLOGGER & INCREDIBLY SWEET BLOGGER – is that they be passed on. Now I truly do wish I could pass them on back to Sendie! (is that allowed BTW? 🙂 ). For her posts are very sweet, full of sunshine, she shares her every day life, wise insights, sense of fun and humour and all round ‘spread the love’ feeling effortlessly and very very generously. God bless her for it. And I’m so happy I found her blog way back when I did, indeed reading hers gave me a lot of encouragement to come out and share as I do here. Do visit her blog, it’s aptly named ‘Sunflowerslady’… that’s Sendie alright!

The rules in accepting these awards are as follows:

VERSATILE BLOGGER INCREDIBLY SWEET BLOGGER

Link to person who gave you award Link to person who gave you award

List 7 random facts about yourself Display Award

Pass award on to 15 new bloggers List 5 truths about yourself

Let bloggers know they won Pass award on to 5 bloggers

I’ll also have to tweak the rules a bit… I don’t know so many bloggers and yes very much a newbie here too am I! I’ll list the 7 random facts and pass the awards on to the following bloggers.

1. I’m in love with Jasmines, Gardenia’s and all flowers of white hue. Not to say I don’t love all and any type of flower. But the white blossoms are special-er! Ooh, and I’m going to categorize Cherry blossoms as white 🙂
2. Something I relish is a ride on my scooter along the streets of Colombo. My little scooty pep has a mean throttle though, she’s not slow by any means. Riding that bike in flowy Muslim-lady garb (safe of course) makes my day. Sigh, how I wish it were warm enough to ride a bike in this Country.
3. I can’t decide if I’d like to build that dream house by the beach or in the mountains. It’s a question that has been plaguing me for years now ;), thanks to God, years passed being perfectly happy living in the little houses/rooms I have been blessed to call home.
4. When I go to a mall… ahem, if and when I rarely go to a mall… I make a straight line to the store I want, get what I want and exit as fast as I possibly can. I’ve read that is masculine and not feminine behaviour. I prefer to think of it as time management.
5. I’ll cook any day, but cleaning is a bane.
6. I tend to have a favourite pair of shoes and wear it thin before getting another one. A pair a year usually works. But needing different shoes for different season is a pain
7. I hate (well maybe hate is a tad too strong a word, but you get the point) blow dryers, and leaf blowers, and anything that makes all that noise
8. I want to hang-glide (bought a deal to do so, can’t wait!) and fly a plane one day inshaAllah. All and anything to do with flight mesmerizes me. – That’s one more random fact than asked for, but I couldn’t hold it back.

Like Sendie, I too love it that I can pass these awards on. Here are my chosen recipients. In random order;

1. Sidra Mushtaq – Healing Hearts. I can’t recall how I stumbled upon her blog. But I remember subscribing immediately. Her writing and the articles/quotes she compiles and shares are so full of teaching and reminders. Alhamdulillah, a truly blessed healing. On behalf of so many of us Sidra, Thank you. Jazaki Allah Khair. Please don’t ever stop your blog.

2. Seeking Hidaya , a beautiful blog from a beautiful sister. Her sincerity, genuineness and ‘active and true’ approach to life has been an inspiration and a strength. I love to her posts and read all she shares. Thank you for being you and for sharing that with the wold my sister!

3. And for Dr. Hassaballa of ‘God, faith and a pen: basking in His Love’ . Dr Hassaballa’s is an award winning blog and he is a well published author. So this is a small offering but nevertheless his work is something I really do want to acknowledge and write of, so here’s including you Dr. Hassaballa, you inspire and strengthen many of us! Lucky are those who get to hear your sermons, and for so courageously sharing the pain you have been through with the loss of your daughter, we honour you.

Keeping writing everyone and thank you Sendie. For the beautiful and humbling words, if there is any good in me it is from Allah alone. May He give us all tawfeeq to continue and grow in His Love and Mercy.

‘He is there’…. the video is out

Peace to all. I’ve always loved this song ever since Sami released it as part of his ‘Without You’ album. Sami Yusuf is a great artist, very talented, he’s built so many bridges and crossed so many boundaries. More than anything else it is his beautiful heart that is so apparent in his music. I’ve found over the years, every time some natural disaster or important political event took place in the world, a lovingly crafted track would arrive in my inbox (I’m subscribed to his website) with the words ‘free download’, usually with all proceeds going to the cause. No wonder Allah blesses him with so much success. God protect this beautiful soul.

I just had to share this track. The official video is now out and Alhamdulillah you cannot but be moved by it. Provides a link to donate at the bottom of the screen and the video is in HD here too. I can’t upload that URL but will have the youtube of it below. May God teach us all to be more of what He wants us to be, to give more, joy more and love more.

Listening to it always reminds me of a beloved hadith of the hadith Qudsi. A ‘hadith’ is a narration from the prophet (peace be upon him) and these coupled with the ‘sunnah’, i.e., the prophetic example (there is a vast body of literature documenting his actions in every aspect, and a rigorous science on which of these narrations are authentic) are the second source of sacred knowledge for the Muslim. The other being the Quran of course, God’s own spoken word to man. The hadith Qudsi, are special types of hadith where it is God’s message, but in the words of the prophet (peace be upon him). This is different to the Quran which is God’s message in God’s own words (and since not a syllable of it has changed of the revealed word in the Arabic language, and for many other reasons as well, no doubt exists as to its authenticity). More information about the hadith Qudsi can be found here, a beautifully laid out website called SacredHadith. The particular hadith this song reminds me of is below, it is found in ‘Muslim’ the name of a book (not meaning a Muslim!) that is considered to contain the most rigorously authentic narrations of the prophet (peace be upon him).

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) will say on the Day of Resurrection:

O son of Adam, I fell ill and you visited Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so had fallen ill and you visited him not? Did you not know that had you visited him you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found that (the reward for doing so) with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and you gave Me not to drink. He will say: O Lord, how should I give You to drink whin You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: My servant So-and-so asked you to give him to drink and you gave him not to drink. Had you given him to drink you would have surely found that with Me.

It was related by Muslim.

And here is the song. Enjoy. Peace be with all. Assalaamu alaikum