Month: August 2012

Eid Mubarak! May the festival greeting of barakah (blessings) be true for you and me

Assalamu alaikum (Peace be with you)

My dear sisters and brothers in Islam and in humanity, I greet you and wish you much joy and peace on this most beautiful celebration of the festival of ‘fitr’, or of breaking the fast. It has been a month of illumination and bonding, patience and self-descipline, a much needed bootcamp of the soul, heart and importantly, stomach.

We Muslims unfortunately neglect the importance of the stomach and all that goes in to it. If you think about it, other than your lungs that take in air every few seconds (without stopping since you popped out of Mum’s uterus to till you die- isn’t that amazing? Subhahanallah!) the system that has most interaction with the outside world is your GI (gastro-intestinal) system. And the GI system has to contend with a lot more variety than your lungs do (at least as far as we know to-date). So be easy on this precious blessing that is the GI system on the day of Eid. Don’t make the month of training be of no or little consequence by gluttonous feasting. Remember, moderation in all things. In abstinence and in celebration. It is the way of our beloved teacher, the best example and beautiful guide, Muhammed (may Allah bless him and elevate him!). The middle way.

 

So this reminder is first to myself and then to you. The prophet (peace and blessings of God be on him) said on eating, the very famous and sound hadith (narration, or record of his words, ‘sound’ here means it has been rigourously authenticated as true, as there are many hadith and not all of them are authentic…not knowing which narrations are sound vs. which are not, has lead to much disarray among the Muslims, but I digress) below;

On the authority of Al-Miqdaam ibn Maadiy-Karib who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: “No human ever filled a vessel worse than the stomach. Sufficient for any son of Adam are some morsels to keep his back straight. But if it must be, then one third for his food, one third for his drink and one third for his breath.”

Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasaa’I, Ibn Majah – Hadith sahih.

 

I found these useful comments by early physicians and scholars of the Muslim world on the hadith ;-

1. Ibn Masaweh, a Muslim doctor, said after reading this hadith: “If the people only used these words, they would avoid all diseases and maladies and the clinics and pharmacies would be idle.”

2. Another doctor, Al-Harith ibn Kalada said: That which has killed mankind is the introduction of food on top of food before it has been digested.

3. As for spiritual benefits: humbleness of heart, strength of understanding, lessening of lower desires, lessening of personal opinions and anger, while overeating induces the opposites of all of those. Al-Hassan Al-Basri said: “O, son of Adam, eat with one third of your stomach and drink with one third and leave one third of your stomach to breathe so that you may think.”

4. Ibn Umar: A man said to Ibn Umar: Shouldn’t I bring you some jawarish? Ibn Umar said: What is that? He said: Something which aids in digesting your food after you eat. Ibn Umar said: I have not eaten to being full for four months. That is not because I am not able to do so, but I was with a group of people who were hungry more than they were full.

5. Not reaching your goals: Muhammad ibn Wasi said: Whoever eats little will understand and make others understand and will be clear and humble. Overeating weighs a person down and keeps him from much of what he wants [to accomplish].”

6. Al-Hassan Al-Basri: The test of Adam, peace be upon him, was food and it is your test until Qiyama. And, it used to be said: Whoever takes control of his stomach gets control of all good deeds. And: Wisdom does not reside in a full stomach. One day, Al-Hassan offered some food to his companion who said: I have eaten until I am no longer able to eat. To which Al-Hassan said: Subhaana Allah! Does a Muslim eat until he is no longer able to eat?

[these notes are taken from a well known scholarly text by a great scholar, Imam Rajab al-Hanbali (d 1393). The book is called ‘Jami’al Uloom al’Hikam’, a commentary on the famous forty hadith by Imam Nawawi. Copied with thanks from Br. Saleem Morgan’s website]

And indeed, Imam Ghazali (one of the best known of the Muslim scholars and a great luminary who lived in Persia about 900 years ago) in a commentary of the Quran, famously said to paraphrase in my own words (and I intend no disrespect or frivoulty by this, only ease of making this post, please look this up for a more accurate rendering) that indeed one of the reasons mankind fell, was his excessive love of food! 🙂 Though I smile, I do take this seriously as a practitioner of prophetic medicine (the teeny bit I know) and a scientist, as well as a person trying to be a Muslim. Indeed we have moved so far from the mark of our early scholars that we laugh at serious matters. Allah protect me and us!

This reading of the story of Adam and Eve (may Allah bless them both) and their eating of the apple (this story is given in the Quran, but differs in detail quite a bit from the better known biblical version…however the eating of the apple remains, though the Quran calls both Adam and Eve tempted and not just the one, this story appears in several places in the Quran, the second chapter in particular has detail if you are interested in reading it) is quite profoud if you come to think of it.

We neglect the influence the GI tract has on us and shorten the long lives God would give us by our own folly. So celebrate in joyful light, eat moderately and be thankful for your tummy! Don’t over-stress it after treating it so well in the month of fasting.

We Muslims have lost a lot of the education, guidance, wisdom and character our predecessors had. No wonder the Muslim Nation suffers so. We have a long way to climb back up again. I would humbly submit that a first step is controlling the stomach. Verily, it will only help and not hinder, the controling of the heart. As the Quran says in the words of our father Abraham (God elevate and bless him) ‘And indeed the only ones saved that day are those who bring a sound heart ‘…

 

26:87
Sahih International

And do not disgrace me on the Day they are [all] resurrected –

26:88
Sahih International Interpretation

The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children

26:89
Sahih International Interpretation

But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.”

Quran (26: 87-89)
 
With that shared, I must take your leave. Indeed mashaallah (by God’s grace) writing it out here is like sharing something with a dear friend, it only cements the sentiment in one’s heart. Indeed this is my prayer.
 
One last thing, your true home is on that prayer mat alone in front of your Beloved, The Beloved. I am sure you felt this during the many hours of standing in prayer the nights of Ramadan, don’t let the deceiver make you forget. So increase the prayer these days after Ramadan and inshaAllah the feeling of loss at the passing of the month of mercy will not be so great.
 
Allah bless you all and guide and protect us and may we be aware of the Cherishing Nurturing Protection already around us… in the food we eat, the air we breathe, the birds and colours and fragrances and immense beauty around us. Truly our Lord is a Generous Lord.
 

Peace to all of you.

Several realms of gratitude

Alhamdulillah, alhmadulillah, alhamdulillah, Subhahanallahi wabihamdihi, la ilaha illallah!

Now half this beautiful blessing of a month has flown by. How swiftly it goes. These precious hours, each more gracious than the one past, oh they come to us one after the other and leave us breathless. They raise us higher and higher as we go closer and closer to the divine. This training of the body, opens up vistas of the mind and soul, cleans the heart and purifies the ego. Oh, what a wise blessing this obligatory fast is. Praise be to God, praise be to God, praise be to God, there is no God but God and God is the most pure, sublime, worthy of all praise, to whom is due all thanks.

 

Everynight now, after a long day of heat, we are blessed with a sip of cool water to drink…and as the prophet (Allah bless and elevate him) said;

ذَهَبَ الظَّمَأُ وَابْتَلَّتِ الْعُرُوقُ وَثَبَتَ الأَجْرُ إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ

Dhahab az zamaa’u wab tallatil urooqu wa thabat al-ajru Insha-Allah

The thirst has vanished, the veins have been wetted and the reward is established – Insha-Allah. [Abu Dawud]

indeed, the veins are refreshed by this. But oh, so many in the world are in an involuntary fast, and have no means of breaking it. Water is such a precious precious gift. Such a miracle. How easily we waste it. A few days ago I was hurrying to a meeting, having parked my car along a residential street. This was in the middle of a hot day and mashaAllah I was feeling the blessing of water, being thirsty with the fast. I noticed a water-sprinkler in full swing on someone’s lawn. It is a silly time to water one’s lawn, as in the mid-day heat, the water evaporates sooner than it can be absorbed and therefore it is not good etiquette to water one’s lawn at this time, rather it is better to water the garden/lawn early in the day or in the evening. So I was thinking of all this at the back of my mind while hurrying, and then forgot all about it. But it was very sad, for an hour and a half later, returning after the meeting…I saw the same sprinkler still working. This was very sad indeed! What a waste of a precious resource and so many in the world suffer so without water to drink. God forgive us all for the way we squander the resources of this precious earth. Now writing this out, I get to thinking about this wisdom I learned back home on what time is best to water the garden. It was always done either early after dawn or just before sunset. Since my home country is poor, it was always done by a person who doubtless did not want to toil in the hot sun watering the garden, so there was more than one benefit. I wonder though, had my country been rich and there was an automatic water sprinkling system…would the ancient wisdom of ‘do not waste’ have prevailed?

 

God knows best the condition of the human and our weaknesses. And indeed we are forgetful creatures. I know there is a thousand things I do that are wasteful now, that I did not do before when I had less. So Allah forgive me for my countless sins and mistakes and forgetfulnesses. Indeed, our real sin is that we forget. Even the great prophet Moses (may God bless and elevate him) forgot as is mentioned in the beautiful and profound story of his encounter with Khidr-

قَالَ لَا تُؤَاخِذْنِي بِمَا نَسِيتُ وَلَا تُرْهِقْنِي مِنْ أَمْرِي عُسْرًا
Sahih International translation

[Moses] said, “Do not blame me for what I forgot and do not cover me in my matter with difficulty.” (Quran 18:73).

 
But look at the etiquette of Moses (peace be upon him) who stated his deficiency and asked for leniency with dignity and sincerity. This is a lesson to us. There is no way we will not be forgetful, there is no way we will not sin. Indeed if that were the case, we would be angels or we would be in heaven! So do not despair of the loving kind protection of your Lord and that you have someone, always there, for you to turn back to. Indeed the beauty of the sin, if I may call it that, is that it brings us back to our Lord. And that we all need. So there is a wisdom in everything created. And God alone is the only true reality.
 
Remember His name…you inhale and exhale it with every breadth, your heart beats to the rhythm of Allah, of expansion and constriction…this is your Lord, everywhere Manifest and everywhere Hidden. Glory to Allah, the most Beautiful, the most Majestic, the One, Everlasting.
 
I began this post really to document the great blessing of water and also to acnowledge with humble thanks, the ‘lovely blog’ award that my beautiful sister, Rosa Noor, bestowed upon me sometime ago. I was trully bowled over by it and super happy 🙂 MashaAllahu ta’ala! And I praise and thank my gracious Lord that this blog began so many months ago, has been able to reach out in such a way to my larger family. As we Muslims believe, if there is any good in it, it comes from God and God alone. InshaAllah, I will soon be able to aknowledge the award as it should be and complete the post. But now it is late and there is much to do and learn these precious Ramadan nights so please Sr. Noor (what a lovely name you have!), forgive me for the delay. Please do check out her amazing blog, ‘Greetings from England’.    MashaAllah such an active blog and here I am scarcely able to pen an entry in a fortnight! 🙂 Truly, God distributes His blessing in the best way.
 
To end, today was a blessed day of being on the water kayaking (one of my favourite things to do)…and since I began with water here’s a picture of a favourite lake where I was blessed to kayak with my God daughter when she was here (how I miss her). Do make du’a for her and all the children in the world who suffer and bear so much. Allah, help us all!
 
 
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