This poem I have read before but can’t remember where. I believe it is an old Muslim poem. I found it again here in this wonderful article on one of Allah’s names, ‘as-Samad’ = ‘The Eternal Refuge’. I’d encourage you all to read the article, and below is the poem.
God’s peace and mercy be with you all always
Do not ask the son of Adam for your needs
But ask the One whose doors do not close
Allah is angry when you do not ask
And the son of Adam, if asked, is angry
Peace to you all
Glory to God, to be alive to witness another Ramadan inshaAllah! My heart is overjoyed and at the same time bathed in an ocean of great peace. This month is the blessed month, I am humbled to enter it again. The month of the Quran, when it was first revealed and when it is celebrated. So here, to herald Ramadan, leaving you with the recitation of Surah Maryam (the chapter entitled ‘Mary’). This recitation is especial to me, listening to the words kept me going through a very dark half an hour. May it illuminate and pacify your heart as well.
Peace to you all and Ramadan Mubarak (May you have a blessed Ramadan!)
‘I only want to serve you O Allah, and I don’t know how to live’
‘Stay in remembrance of Allah and Allah will show you the way’
I’ve often said over the years that the only thing certain about life is death. And it is true. So I wonder, why are so many people afraid of what is inevitable? And knowing this, why then worry about all the pettiness in the world when time is short and there is eternity to prepare for. It may sound a morbid statement, but the truth above is a great release and brings about true perspective to one’s life.
Today, I drove past a graveyard where a dear friend is buried among many other souls. And as we Muslims do, I greeted those souls with the greeting we have been taught by our beloved prophet (Allah bless and elevate him) ‘Assalamu alaikum ya ahlul kabr’ = ‘peace be upon you, o people of the grave’ and added the prayer ‘May Allah grant you are in ease’ and also ‘one day I will join you if Allah wills (not knowing in exactly which graveyard in what part of the world my end will come)’
May God bless us all with ease in our graves and an expansion, with peace in our present and joy in our hereafter and that we use this precious time on earth wisely and well. And may He, almightly, the Subtle, the Near, the Watchful, the Witness, the Clement, the Turner, the Loving, the Forgiver, turn to us in His benevolent loving kindness and forgive our countless sins. Ameen
Assalamu alaikum (peace be with you)
Here is a talk well worth listening to. It is by Sr. Yasmin Mogahed, a noted scolar and speaker with a deep insight and wisdom. It was given at the Being ME conference in Malaysia I believe. the ‘ME’ standing for ‘Muslimah empowered’. Muslimah is the feminine form of Muslim. This conference is about us Muslim women further developing as the type of women the prophet (peace be upon him) developed. Strong, equal, beautiful and with strengths unique to being female. The conference is coming to Vancouver and I am so looking forward to going inshaAllah (God willing). Ustadha Yasmin (ustadha being a title of respect, meaning female teacher basically) explains stories of the prophets (peace be upon them all) in the Quran in profound ways. I hope you get to listen. And if you are in Vancouver, I hope you get to attend and I meet you there! Here is a link to the event.
One of the greatrest blessings of tribulation is that it forces one to end self-reliance and instead rely on God. This is another of the meanings of that profound verse in the Quran…repeated twice…in surah 97, which is aptly titled ‘inshirah’ a word that can be translated as ‘the expanding of the chest’ meaning increasing one’s understanding or realization. The verse is
‘inna ma al usri yusra…/ inna ma al usri yusra…’
Meaning ‘ verily, with hardship, is ease / verily, with hardship is ease’
– I have translated to the best of my ability as I am on the road. I believe it is right though God willing. But please forgive any errors.
So Ibn Ata’allah, a great Islamic scholar advised us to ‘bury oneself in the soil of insignificance, and then like the seed, to be brought to fruition’
So I pray, ‘O my Lord, empty myself of me and fill me with Thee’
– ameen
Peace be with you all and may whatever hardship you go through bring you also to the One and to peace.
Assalamu alaikum
God’s love – cherishing – sustenance
Do you doubt the cherishing of you by God, when He it is that created you. How can He, pure and sublime, not love what He made?
***
Copyright Joymanifest
Between the two books
Ayaat*, signs, envelope me
Stars and planets, earth and sky
Every drop of water in every great river
Flowing to meet the sea
Every cell in every body
Pulsating to some internal decree
DNA is a wonder
Mathematical modeling encoding life
Music, numbers in motion
All bound by the time-space continuum
All knowledge spiraling upward, upward
Like some unrelenting stream
Taking the disciple to an eternal ocean
Of oneness, one to one
You to your Creator
Me to the same
You and me and all that exists and ever did exist
All to Allah
Transcending time.
So these signs in the book
Rain from the sky
Verdant tree, bury your head in the ground
To stand tall. Sujood*
Roots connected to the earth
Your Lord will teach you.
Between two books of signs
The one you hold in your hand, you recite, you read, you revere
The other all around you, birds and trees, mountains and seas
All within you, your every cell and sinew, proclaim
God is one, God is one, God is one
You are a living proof, you cannot escape
One day I will join you, our streams joining to one ocean
Before the Creator, realization
Signs brought to final fruition
***
Copyright Joymanifest 2013
*ayaath = plural of ‘ayah’, meaning a sign. see below
*sujood = arabic word meaning ‘prostration’. The pose within the prayer, when we put our forehead to the ground. We say the slave is closest to the Lord during this pose in the prayer. We also believe that all of creation, whether animate or inanimate is in a constant state of worship to God. Not to be fluffy, rather theologians say this as all of creation is obeying natural laws; of physics, chemistry etc. and to obey these laws is to be in a state of worship. Some scholars say that trees manifest their constant worship simply by the way they exist..likening their root system to the human brain synapses…the roots buried in the ground are the trees in ‘sujood’ :). So then when your head is in the ground, is when you find most peace. Muslim theologians go on to say that as mankind has free-will, man is given the choice of whether to worship or not..whether to be in tune with the signs or not…and when he is in tune, he finds complete peace (as he is fulfilling his purpose) and if not, finds discord in his soul.
This poem is inspired in part by the arabic word for the verses in the Quran, each verse is called an ‘ayah’ which literally means a ‘sign’, and the commonly used English translation ‘verse’ is really a misnomer. However it was likely used as it is easier for people to understand ‘verses’ in a book rather than ‘signs’ making up a book :). Peace to you all, Assalamu alaikum
This song is very special to me. I thought I should share it with you, my dear readers. With beautiful graphics and very deep lyrics it speaks of a timeless truth. From one of my favourite artists, Sami Yusuf. It’s on his latest ‘salam’ album (available on iTunes and his website).
Enjoy, and God bless and protect you all.
Assalamu alaikum (peace be with you)
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