Dear readers,
Peace be with you all, I just came across this and I couldn’t but share it 🙂
Sometimes, one gets rather tired of the misconception of women in Islam…not just from non-Muslims. I have heard silly things said by Muslim women themselves…notably who come from patriarchal societies devoid of much islamic education. Here’s the article, do read. Nice pictures too 🙂
Dear readers, Assalamu alaikum, peace be upon you all,
February has rushed past and it is already close to the middle of March. I am amazed at the rapid passage of time, as I am sure most of you are as well. However that aside, yours truly is hoping to post again from her travels. Though I’ve finished my series on my ‘rihla’ to Turkey (please see archives with tag ‘travels’ or ‘Turkey’) I was intending to post on Jordan soon inshaAllah as I visited there after Turkey…and what a delightful visit it was, not to mention eye-opening.
For today, here is a talk I just listened to and as most of my readers may not know this lady, I thought I’d post it up here. This is Dr. Ingrid Mattson, the former president of North America’s largest Muslim organization – Islamic Society of North America. She is answers a number of pertinent questions to those of us living in the west, both Muslim and non-Muslim, in this interview, and I was struck both by the sincerity and fairness of the interviewer as much as by the sincerity and honesty of Dr. Mattson. I hope you will listen.
Assalamu alaikum (peace be with you) dear readers,
Alhamdulillah (thanks and praise be to God), finally back to posting and continuing with the rihla to Turkey posts. We visited many sites in Istanbul and spent the majority of our time in that great city. What can I say? there is so much to share that I am do not know where to begin. Let me then, begin at the beginning!
We arrived in Istanbul on the day of the great Istanbul marathon, I believe over ten thousand runners were on a route that included the Bosphorus bridge, thereby crossing Asia-Europe, which I thought was rather cool. The bottom line was that traffic though was a mess, as this meant one of the two bridges across the Bosphorus was closed to vehicles. After a short time in our hotel we then headed to the Abu Ayyub al Ansari mosque, or the Ayyup camii as the Turks call it. We did this as good etiquette upon our rihla. The turks call Abu Ayyub al Ansari (radhiallahu ta’ala anhu = may God the most High, be pleased with him) the ‘first Sultan’. Here is a website from Turkey on him. He was a companion of the prophet (peace be upon him) and a man beloved to all Muslims. He was an ‘ansari’ meaning, one of the ‘ansar’ (ansar= helpers). The ansar is the name given to the people of Yathrib, a city north of Medina, that the beloved prophet (peace be upon him) migrated to to escape immense persecution from him own tribe in Mecca and also at the request of the people of that city who pledged allegiance to him and asked him to come and govern it. On his arrival there, the city came to be called ‘Medina’ meaning ‘city’. A shortened form of ‘medinatun-nabi’ (=city of the prophet). There is much to relate of this migration, called the ‘hijrah’ which begins the Muslim calander and of the prophet (peace be upon him)’s first actions when he got there, among which was to draft a constitution.
To continue, when our beloved messenger (peace be upon him) entered Medina, he stayed at the home of Abu Ayyub al Ansari for several months until his own modest dwelling was built along side a mosque simultaneously constructed. There is a beautiful story about how the site was chosen for the mosque of the prophet (peace be upon him) which exists to this day and is the second most important mosque in the Muslim world (after the Ka’aba in Mecca). It was actually the prophet’s (peace be upon him) camel that chose the site. But this post will be very long were I to relate it. Abu Ayyub al Ansari showed the prophet (peace be upon him) an immense amount of love and respect on having him as his guest. Many stories are told about his honoring of his guest and the prophet’s immense love for him and his family. He lived a long time after the prophet’s death. In his eighties he went on a campaign to what was then constantinopole and died there. Several centuries later when Muhammed al fatih located where he was buried he built a mosque, the first he built in that city. The mosque exists to this day and the locals loving visit there to celebrate marriages, circumcision ceremonies for boys and etc. It was as if they were seeking the blessings of this great man. There was a feeling of peace and serenity in that mosque hard to rival among the other many fabulous mosques in Istanbul. Also one felt the genuine love of the local people for the place, and surrounding it many restaurants, plazas and places for people to hang-out are there, and they are always full. So we began our tour with a traditional etiquette of paying our respects to this beloved soul who did so much for Islam, and who had the honour and blessing of being among the companions of our beloved messenger (peace be upon him). I have no pictures of that place, it was not a place to take pictures in, at least not for me. I will however post below a video I found on youtube, of some brothers who gathered in the mosque, following the ritual prayer or salah, to sing in praise and love of the prophet and his companion.
And then out of respect and etiquette, I will post about other aspects of the Istanbul leg of our rihla later on inshaAllah (God willing). May the peace and blessing of God always around you, be closer and closer and ever more apparent to your hearts!
I read some years ago a book by Tariq Ramadan – one of our foremost intellectuals today, a professor at Oxford- that had a significant impact on my life. It is ‘In the footsteps of the prophet‘, a biography of our beloved. What sets this biography apart is the masterful and deeply insightful analysis given by Prof. Ramadan. Dr. Ramadan brings historical events to light and marries them to current world events in a way that we all need to understand. The life story of our beloved was not for naught…it teaches timeless truth. I hope you will read this book.
For now suffice to share a quote from the introduction. I am not sure how but I was bereft of my copy of the book and at long last I have gotten another one. So with thanks to God, deeply happy to be able to re-read this work. Here is how Dr. Ramadan ends his introduction-
“The prophet’s life is an invitation to a spirituality that avoids no question and teaches us – in the course of events, trials, hardships, and our quest – that the true answers to existential questions are more often those given by the heart than by the intelligence. Deeply, simply: he who cannot love cannot understand.”
Peace be with you all, Assalamu alaikum
Assalamu alaikum (peace be with you)
My dear readers, I am not sure I’ve talked about it before, but those who know me know I am an avid chess player. I’ve loved the game since a dear uncle taught it to me before he passed away (Allah irhamu ‘may God bless and cherish his soul’. I was eight at the time I think…I still have the chess board he taught me on). It is very relaxing believe it or not, as it focuses the mind and gives clarity to the thought. I used to play tournament level in high school and then at a rather mediocre college level but sadly have not had much opportunity to play since, except now online with a global chess community (you have to love the internet!).
So imagine then my absolute delight at finding this article on ‘chess and divine decree’. I always knew there was some deeper truth the game lead one to or hinted at…there must be, if it has the ability to draw people in so. It is a beautiful game, very profound. Quite surprising a game can be so.
But enough from me, please enjoy the article. One last parting thought on reading it, happy sighs to know our ‘Ummah’ (community or nation, a word Muslims use to talk about the followers of Muhammed, peace be upon them. The real and true followers, not charlatans and abusers of his pure and blessed name) had scholars of this caliber at one time, who could think and write so. May we once more have this level of scholarship in our community and in the world. I do believe peace comes with sound knowledge.
God bless you all!
This kid has a thing or two to teach the world! May God increase her reach and keep protecting her
Fall is my favourite season. The depth and range of shades on a single maple tree….Subhahanallah! (praise and glory to the Pure and High), it is beyond description. Beyond the ability of this meagre slave to extol with words, beyond the capture of any camera lens. Surely, this time if at no other, some inner chord vibrates to the call of the Creator, surely at this time if at no other, some inner voice speaks and finds resonance. You are a special creation of a magnificent Creator. The human soul is not to be belittled, denigrated to a heartless scientific experiment, not to be relegated to the happy outcome of a series of accidents. No, you are greater than this, created to do great things, understand great truths, come into great states of knowing, of understanding, of transcending, of being. Don’t let time slip by you, don’t let distraction upon distraction take away precious moments of reflection and thought, precious moments of connections and communication.
I think all great musicians have known in some deep way some knowledge of the divine, how else can they create these great timeless works, unless through inspiration. And what is inspiration except from the Creator. The source of all is The One, and there is no other. Subhahanallah!
So I am sharing one of my all time favourite pieces below. Listening to this, it takes you higher to that heavenly realm. Vivaldi’s four seasons, apt too now that the leaves are changing. May God’s light, blessing and love be with you. May you come to know Him, as He is to be known. And having said that, none of us can really ever know God, at least not in our present limited state of creation. This is the orthodox Muslim view. We have been taught
‘Laisa kamithlihi shai’
‘there is nothing like unto Him’
Quran 42:11
So whatever comes to your mind about God, He is other than that. Beyond the constrains of time and space, beyond change. How can you then grasp this fully. So study the creation to know the Creator. Study the creation and love the bounty and beauty of Allah, and Allah will love you back. When Allah loves you, your life will transform. We Muslims have lost our spiritual core, now it is just some diluted corrupted tribal nonsense we are pandering in the Muslim world. Forgive my outspokenness, but I am heartily sick of all these brutal barbaric wars and people committing humanly unthinkable acts in the name of Islam, so cruel even the ancient barbarian hoards would be cringe at committing them, and yet people do this and take on the exalted pure name of ‘Allah’ while doing so. I fear for them, for I would be shivering in my boots to do even a petty crime in the name of Allah. For Allah is swift in punishment (this too is Quranic), and yet they openly flout the teachings of Islam. Allah’s swiftness is not our swiftness, but it is swift and certain.
We Muslims who know and love and study and practice our religion the way it is meant to be have a lot on our shoulders. To our non-Muslim friends, I say, help us out. We are speaking out, living and being the best citizens we can be. Very grateful to live in countries of social justice and civics and ethics, so dear to the Muslim heart and mind. We will continue to fight against all those who claim to be Muslim and violate the sacred tradition of Islam and malign the pure and noble name of our beloved Muhammed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Please do also read about Islam, about our dear prophet, the chosen one. Read from authentic sources. May God help us all and may we truly become who we are created to be.
God’s peace and blessing be upon you all. Assalamu alaikum (peace be with you!)
Well worth the read, please do read and share
Assalamu alaikum, peace be with you all. This song, just released as a free download by Sami Yusuf, I wanted to share. It carries a prayer for the children of Syria. And a hope by the artist that we will give more to help the children of Syria. Indeed for the children affected by any war anywhere. Listening to this type music, itself is a prayer. So please listen. There is a beautiful du’a (supplication) at the end. We all need to spend more time in prayer these days. World events point us to the need to pray more, cleanse more, redeem ourselves more. What a mess mankind has made of this earth. Allah forgive us all.
Assalamu alaikum, peace to all!
It’s been way too long since I last posted. I’ve missed sharing as I do via this medium. I am stuck in the middle of moving house and as anyone who has done this knows, it is not pleasant nor does it leave much room for other pursuits. That and family issues that I would like to ask for your prayers for. So inshaAllah I will get back to regular posts once things settle down. In the meantime I wanted to share this excellent article a dear friend and mentor shared on her FB site. Anyone who spends even a little time in contemplation, can realize the globe is going through a period of intense change and that the Muslim nation if not all of humanity is being challenged to self-examine and self-correct…
May the below be fruitful reading!
An article published by emel.com discussed the issue of how we have become “informed yet ignoramus”. Written by Sheik Abu Muntaser, the Chief Executive of JIMAS.org, “The search for a living Islam” provides an account about how life has an orientation and moves towards a certain end. In the midst of that, we tend to forget about the Day of Judgment.
The Messenger of God (peace & blessings of God be upon him) said, “I have been sent in order to perfect moral virtues (in you).” As I slip into my waning years of life and look back at all the adventures and misadventures I have been privileged to savour, I realize just how centrally important this narration is to appreciate our short sojourn on this sweet and verdant earth.
As Muslims we are meant to be an example for people on how to live well by teaching them how to measure their days. We understand life has an orientation and everything is moving towards a certain end. After a few numbered days followed by the mysterious existence in an afterlife waiting for the great resurrection there is a grand Day of Judgment. We are all then separated into those who have succeeded and those who have not. What we bury in our hearts is thus important. To bury something does not mean it is dead. Hate, grudge, envy, jealousy, anger, greed, lust and pride in our hearts consume us from within and the devoured soul will have very little to be saved on that portentous day. These destructive elements always spring to life through the stimulants of negative experiences unless we have learnt to kill and wipe them out of our hearts.
Look behind the cause of sins in our lives and we are sure to find one or more of these characteristics of hate, grudge, envy, jealousy, anger, greed, lust and pride. When such peculiarities fester we are in reality enslaved to our desires. It is then that our lives are taken over by them and we overlook what our scholars summarized: the way we treat the servants of God, we will be treated by God the same way.
The blessing of pure monotheism in our hearts produces mercy towards creation. As the Quran reminds us, “Then will he be of those who believe, and enjoin patience, and enjoin deeds of kindness and compassion.” (90:16)
Forgetting this simple principle of Islam is at the root of our delusion that we are champions and defenders of faith while yet beholden to the vain desires. We talk about various deceptions; deceptions of glamour, of nuclear energy, of power or even of global capitalism, but hardly any of us care to mention deceptions of the self. Self-deception is about keeping secret from ourselves the truth we cannot face. Make no mistake: the media advertises something in between the commercials. How are we then affected considering we are always so focused on correcting others but ourselves?
“And do not follow that of which you have no knowledge; surely the hearing and the sight and the heart, all of these, shall be questioned about that.” (17: 36) Our rich heritage of exegetical material makes it clear that this verse forbids passing judgments without knowledge, false accusation, bearing false witness and speaking based on conjecture.
We become busy for Islam and her people while in reality we do not see how we merely scramble to achieve an enviable image to display to others. Busyness acts to repress our inner fears and personal anxieties but worryingly, propaganda replaces intelligent thought and time becomes opportunities to avoid responsibilities, whether of learning, teaching or performing actions that build and benefit. We rhapsodize about the joy of sacrifice and striving but do not see how we become the first ones least obliged towards such. We become mired in moral laziness because we do not understand the work of the heart.
As the saying goes, “Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.” This is something to note so that we do not become the ‘informed ignoramus’ among us who speak about Islam without due knowledge.
Learning what to feel is one of the hardest aspects of moral education. One can know a fact and know how to act, but to know what to do; it has to come from the right motivation, whose seat is the heart – it is a feeling. When the heart does not distinguish between good and bad, there is loss of total faith. Knowing what to feel is thus the essence of educating the emotions and virtue is learnt by that.
Truthfulness, which is a necessary prerequisite, is no more than a condition of the heart. It should be there when we speak and act. How does the heart feel at such time? Do we sense serenity and feel calmness in our hearts?
Do we perhaps confuse reactions with truthful action? Motivation and sincerity are not the issues. The real issue is whether we spend adequate time in serious, purposeful, peaceful and deep study, instead of simply reacting. By reacting in the name of Islam we only live to learn later through regret and shame, the harms and pain we thus either cause or never manage to remove, despite the best of intentions.
Much of our actions are needlessly debatable when there are many safer and surer options available to face the challenges that face us. Maybe we are too impatient and impulsively thrust forward with the irrational excuse that doing something is better than doing nothing because we really only want to follow our desires.
We are fools to repress our hearts into hardness through reactions of whim and temper when we have a serious duty to bring about peacefulness through truthful action. Just as truthful behavior is tranquility in the heart, so is goodness or good behavior.
For the heart to open the treasure chest of wisdom, it must address knowledge with humility. Ali had once said, “Do not recognize the truth through men, but recognize the truth and thereby recognize its partisans.” When knowledge of Islam is received with humility it opens doors to recognizing the truth, then to understand one’s own inadequacies and requirements for care and appreciation of the sacred duty to absorb and grow in that knowledge.
The Messenger of God said, “Every religion has a certain ethos of its own and the ethos of Islam is al-Haya (modesty).” We know that Adam was not taken out of Paradise in order for it to be given to others besides human beings. When Adam found his way back to God what was it due to? Was it due to his glory since the angels bowed to him? Was it due to his honor since he was taught the names of all things? Was it because of his dignity since God fashioned him with His own hands? Was it due to his pride since God breathed into him his spirit? He got back to God simply due to humility! The Quran reminds us that they said: “Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: if you forgive us not and bestow not upon us your Mercy, we shall certainly be lost.” (7:23)
Fire outside the fireplace is dangerous; a fireplace without fire is useless. Islam has a form and content. The fire is action and the fireplace is the framework of Islam’s obligations and limits. The form and content of the faith work in harmony and fortify each other. The noble behavior of the Messenger was the pure form; the fire. The revelation constitutes the sublime content, the fireplace.
Islam offers the watching world its best when the outward and the inward, the form and the content, the action and God’s revelation embrace. Islam is a choice for people. When we offer a better and more humane society-the form; with a content that does not lack in any room for the spirit to soar towards God, we are then sincerely on the road to success.
The Messenger of God said, “The parable of the believer is that of a bee; what it eats is good, and what it produces is good.” Our true care for the ‘Lived Islam’ leaves us no time for an ‘Imagined Islam’. To people who live Islam, God is never a source of validation for their wicked ways but a Lord for their moral elevation.
As mentioned by His Eminence, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah (ra): Reckoning approaches man to the extent that he will come across it in every moment that draws him nearer to death, for death signifies transition from the realm of deeds, this world, to the realm of reckoning, the Hereafter, as Imam Ali (a.s.) put it down in his famous saying: “Today is the time of deeds and not reckoning, and tomorrow (in the Hereafter) is the time for reckoning and not for deeds.” The Quran has notified man on many occasions about what is awaiting him after death, as in Allah’s saying: “And return to your Lord time after time and submit to Him before there comes to you the punishment, then you shall not be helped.And follow the best that has been revealed to you from your Lord before there comes to you the punishment all of a sudden while you do not even perceive.” (39:54-55). The Quran expresses death by punishment, noting that punishment is the fate of the extravagant sinners who did not repent to Allah before their death.
Thus, reckoning approaches people as they get closer to the Hereafter without determining its exact time; is it right after death as some narrations talked about punishment in the grave or is it on the day of resurrection; the day people resurrect before Allah. The main issue is to bring up the concept of reckoning in their hearts and minds, “yet they heed not and they turn away”, for they experienced heedlessness to the fullest by avoiding the truth obstructed by many barriers; thus, they would turn away from every call for the right, for they are not aware of and open to it.
Some wonder about the reason for joining between heedlessness that suggests inattentiveness and turning away that represents a voluntary (aware) negative stand. The answer is that turning away signifies a realistic negative state that could be aware of the stand or heedless, for it represents the actual negligence of the movement of responsibility in his life, and Allah knows best.
Allah also says: “There comes not to them a new reminder from their Lord but they hear it while they play,” meaning that they do not shoulder their responsibilities seriously; but rather, they face them playfully, as if messing up with their fate and neglecting the negative repercussions awaiting them. This is was the prevalent state at the time the prophets brought the messages of their Lord to guide them to the straight path, grant them success and make them feel the spiritual ascension that brings them closer to Allah; thus, clarifying many realistic problems they face in the intellectual, political and emotional issues. They used to listen to the prophets frivolously not wanting to engage their minds in what they were listening to or nurture their souls on it or experience the suffering through it. All they wanted was to respond to their feelings and fill their leisure time, not caring about what they hear, but just listening to the echoes caused by the words, away from their connotations, and creating sarcastic ambiences through the opposing stand they make.
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