Category: Interfaith

A vigil for minorities

Another day, another earthquake. Certainly not a hopeful way to start this post but indeed sometimes hope is hard. Perhaps that is why it is called ‘jihad’ (the struggle). The jihad to be steadfast, upright, positive, proactive, always working for a better world no matter what goes on around you. Yes, it is hard. Hard to smile, when you sometimes want to cry. Hard to keep believing and working when the mountain to climb is large and the way not clear. But then look at this wise saying from our beloved prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him);

“Wondrous are the affairs of the believer. His affairs are all good, and this is only the case for the believer. When something pleasing happens to him, he is thankful, and it is good for him. When something harmful happens to him, he is patient, and it is good for him.” (Sahih Muslim)

SubhahanaAllah! So then, true faith equates to an always happy disposition. You see, being patient is not a condition of worry and anxiety, rather it is the opposite, being a condition of joyful anticipation, a peaceful state of waiting. How can this be unless we completely believe in the justice, the ultimate justice and ultimate ‘rahma’ of God.

[Rahma is a fast becoming my favourite word and it’s meaning so deep it indeed begs the time to explain. Composed of the three radicals ‘r-h-m’, it includes all these meanings; love, mercy, compassion, nurturing, kindness, graciousness. In the Quran it is the first attribute Allah azza wajal uses to describe himself. Appearing in the second verse of Surah Fatiha, the opening chapter. One of the beauties of the arabic language is the root word system, where all the meanings of the derivatives of the root add to each word’s import. I am not doing a good job of explaining this so I’ll keep it simple and get to the point. One of the meanings of the root ‘r-h-m’ is womb. Yes, that beautiful complete-system-capsule we all spent the first months of life here on earth in! A safe, nurturing, loving, place where we are at complete peace, all our needs looked after. This meaning then given to the attribute of God. The Creator of mothers and source of ALL ‘rahma’ in the world. The scholars say that is why women are given such a high place in the islamic theology, as they embody this divine essence of Rahma. Indeed, of the attributes or ‘names’ of God we know in our tradition, about half are considered feminine while the other half masculine, for example, ‘jameel = ‘beautiful’, is feminine while ‘jalaal’ = ‘majestic’, is masculine. And that is why then God is beyond gender… what points these are to ponder upon…

ومن كل شئ خلقنا زوجين لعلكم تذكرون
And of every thing We have created pairs: That ye may receive instruction. (Quran 51:49)

But I have digressed a fair bit. My point was that sometimes grasping that immensity of love and mercy that is the divine attribute itself, is sufficient to rid the heart of anything but hope and joy. Talking about ‘rahma’ and its presence in the world though, one must comment on the sad state existent in some Muslim societies, where this immense source of ‘rahma’ in the community, i.e, women, are not given the place our beloved prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) gave to the fairer sex. As many have said, ‘if the women would play a greater part in world leadership many of the wars would have been averted’! Remember the story of Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba and the prophet Sulaiman (peace be upon him) in the Quran? Commentators on that story mention that it was Bilqis’s wisdom that averted a war and lead to harmony between their kingdoms. But I am in grave danger of another long digression, so inshaAllah more on this and other fascinating stories later on]

But coming back to where I began, then indeed an ‘effort-ful’ grasp of ‘rahma’ is sufficient to keep the heart full of hope. And we know that God is just. Completely just. So none will be wronged in the least. Our struggle then to be patient and wait that real justice.

And while we wait, our test is that we must remain true to what we know of justice. What for example, we learn in our holy book about justice. What the prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) taught us about justice. We have been taught, nay, commanded, that we must stand up for justice, for truth, even if it is against our own selves.

‘O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for God can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily God is well-acquainted with all that ye do. (Quran 4:135)

This we as Muslims must do. So after this long preamble to come to the point of this post. We must protect the rights of our brothers, no matter what religion, creed or denomination. No matter if they don’t care much for us. The events in Pakistan with the so called ‘blasphemy laws’ (heaven only knows where these came from, I find the whole thing very mind boggling!) and the seemingly open support by many for who can only be called a murderer has been incredibly painful to witness. In fact it is one of those things that one intrinsically can’t stomach so one turns away from. However here are details of the incidents for those of you not yet aware of it.

And that is why I was so especially glad to hear of the candlelight vigil to be held outside the Pakistani embassy in this city organized by ad hoc groups protesting the state Pakistan’s christian minority finds itself in. These efforts need more press I think.

And of this by the good people of Egypt, Muslim and Christians protesting attacks on the coptic community.

So then there is indeed hope. And in whatever way we can, whenever, wherever we are, when we find injustice we must oppose it. Trusting in the rahma of Allah, that trust keeping our hearts full of light and patience. A good struggle, to purify our souls.

Consider this powerful hadith from the messenger of God (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him). What a constant barometer for the condition of our faith it is!

“None of you truly believes until you love for your brother what you love for yourself” (Bukhari)


Thank you for your patience with this long not very well penned piece. Sharing has helped me and I thank you for that help. God bless and help us all.

Peace be upon you.

Consoling the heart

I found this excellent short post here and wanted to share it. Do read it. In a nutshell it says that consoling another’s broken heart is as beneficial as a whole night in prayer! MashaAllah!! And indeed, helping another when one is sorrowing eases one’s own burden. Allah loves those who give

Signs of the last day

Peace be with you all, Assalamu alaikum,

The news continues to be bad. Not just bad in one sphere, but in many ways and at the same time it seems. The conflicts and political disturbances seem to be growing and the number/scale of natural disaster increasing. I don’t want to seem to be ‘scandal mongering’ or trying to make this post sensational in anyway, but I do wonder what you feel about how all this works in terms of the signs of the last day?

I grew up in a country in conflict (but relatively sheltered from the worst of it masha’Allah) and am not a stranger to hardship, both physical and emotional. Now masha’Allah living in this protected western country sometimes I wonder if I am becoming immune to the suffering of others. Whether the ‘unfamiliarity’ of the suffering keeps me away from a real empathy. Sometimes I wonder if I am really living here. For in the east, it seemed life was more real and consequently death was more real. Suffering and joy was real and empathy was real. And knowing how fragile life really is, our awareness of our place in the universe more real… and somehow, in some strange way, instead of depression by all this, what was the outcome was peace in the heart. Like we didn’t have to wonder, only to live. Only to live. I miss those days and hope I am not too accustomed to the ‘luxury’ of life in the west (e.g., hot water showers, affordable food and a variety of it). On another note, perhaps the east is now full of these luxuries too :), and like here, the people are being rocked in to a false somnambulant state.

I feel that the need to distribute the wealth of the world evenly is becoming urgent and extreme. Having experienced first hand the incredible rift between ‘haves’ (typified by the West) and the ‘have-nots’ (typified by the East) and now with this knowledge so widely spread (that is more people becoming aware of this, or one hopes that is what is happening) that more is not done is a sign of the depravity of the times? Allah protect us. I do however also feel that the good are getting ‘gooder’ and the bad, left to their devices often becoming ‘worse’. The former is a source of strength, hope and joy and should not be underestimated in any way.

It really does seem that things don’t make sense anymore and can’t be made sense of in any comprehensive manner. And that, more than anything else, is why I wonder if the signs of the last day are coming one after the other with increasing frequency. I would love to know anyone’s thoughts on this.

For your reference here is a site that has the signs of the last days with references at least for many of them. Not all the ahadith quoted are sahih, and they don’t confirm if they are hasan. But most seem to be from the ‘sihah sittha’ (the six most rigourous/well regarded books of hadith).

To end, a few lines below, hoping it makes some sense :), but only really wanting to say that prayer is refuge at these times.

Peace through the night in prayer,
My heart feels yet I am unable to utter,
Struck dumb by terror
A glimpse of the immensity of Thy power
Of what could be of us all.
Yet the prayer, unjolted
continues, somehow in my heart, it continues
and soon swells to words on the lips
O Lord, only because of the hope
that knowing You are ar-Rahman brings.
Peace through the night in prayer.

Allah (God) protect and forgive and teach us all.

Copyright 2011. JoyManifest’s blog. F R Zahir

‘a few gems’

I hope you are all well, in an excellent state of health and more importantly well being. Unfortunately I am fighting a tiredness bug that keeps escalating in to something worse so a lot I wanted to share has been put aside. This brings on thoughts of how really all our thoughts and ideas are not much when in our human form itty bitty viruses can bring us to our knees/mess up all our organs/even wipe our brains! How great then, Allah azza wajal, who never tires, never in need of (nor does He) sleep, and is always constant, there. Subhahana wa ta’ala! So then foolish is the one who looks to help anywhere else and happy is the one who puts his entire hope ONLY in Allah.
This perhaps why the scholars call this single ayah (verse), the fourth in Surah al Fatiha (opening chapter in the Quran, composed of 7 sentences), ‘the declaration of independence’. Scholars have also said half the meaning of the Quran is wrapped up in it. It is only four words!

Iyyaka nau’budud wa iyyaka nasta’een
(Only you do we worship and only your aid do we seek)
Quran 1:4

Subhahanallah! Allah forgive my faults, they are more than the snow flakes falling outside (not said to sound pretty).

Here are a few gems shared by a dear sister that I wanted to post here to share with more people inshaAllah. The source is not given for all of them.

* Imam Shaf’i – “All humans are dead except those who have knowledge. And all those who have knowledge are asleep, except those who do good deeds. And those who do good deeds are deceived, except those who are sincere. And those who are sincere are always in a state of worry.”
* Ibn Qayyim – “Truly in the heart there is a void that can not be removed except with the company of Allah. And in it there is a sadness that can not be removed except with the happiness of knowing Allah and being true to Him. And in it there is an emptiness that can not be filled except with love for Him and by turning to Him and always remembering Him. And if a person were given all of the world and what is in it, it would not fill this emptiness.”
* Rasulullah saws said, “A person is upon the religion of his close friend, so let one of you be careful about the person with whom he establishes friendship [with].” (The Book of Manners, 134)
* A friend cannot be considered a friend until he is tested in three occasions: in time of need, behind your back, and after your death.- Ali ibn Abi Talib (r.a.)

What a billion Muslims Think – The Gallup Poll in Documentary

Many many thanks to Seeking Hidaya for posting this on her site. I stumbled across it and wanted to share it here. It’s the documentary showcasing the Gallup poll of Muslim countries. Well worth the watch, don’t miss it. Many many points in it ring true and are all topic headings of their own, inshaAllah one day to return to.

But in light of what is going on in the Muslim world now (and coming from just as much an ‘outsider’ as the average non-Muslim, in so much that I too have never lived in a Muslim majority country, and I too practice my faith almost as if I came to it as a ‘convert’ i.e., no family background of Islam in any serious sense etc) I think its most topical to watch this. We seem to be witnessing the truth of it coming out; that most Muslims want democracy, the right to self govern, human rights, free speech and human dignity upheld. May God almighty help us all.

I cannot insert it embed it here. So the links are below.

Source video at snagfilms
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/inside_islam_what_a_billion_muslims_really_think/

And twitter link
http://bit.ly/e8oQqe

On Leaders

How quickly the world is changing. It seems there is hardly time to take in one reality and then another unfolds, or breaks down, whichever way you want to look at it. First, the fall of one dictator in Tunisia in four short days. Hardly reported by the International media until it was over. Perhaps the pace of it all was too much to catch the attention of the air-wave controllers. Then the long protracted battle in Egypt. Seemingly long when it was going on as we all watched the news endlessly and felt the length of the days in empathy with those camped out in Tahrir square. Only then when the ‘Pharoah’ fell, to realize it was only 18 days. 18 days to end 30 years. Subhahana wa ta’ala. Perhaps Mubarak too celebrated the advent of 2011 without an inkling as to where he would be scarcely two months in to the new year. And now the situation in Libya.

Libya is shocking. One felt one could identify with the people on the streets of Egypt. Not only because I too come from a country with complex power politics and a long (too long) history of corruption, but because I think the world could identify with the ordinary people on Cairo’s streets. But then again we also had a better idea of what was going on in Egypt. And so it was an immense victory and a lesson, a deep lesson to a watching world. But Libya, Libya is so painful it almost numbs the mind. This type of killing of the innocent, that it takes place is numbing, that no one does anything to stop it (myself included)…is this forgivable? God forgive us all. If all we can do is pray, let us raise our hands and pray.

Pray for tyranny to end. For old men to be able to see past their own crusty and old perspective, that has rotted in to a putrid mess long past the time it was cast out. For the bloodshed to stop. For people to stop giving themselves the right to kill other people. What a great sin, are they not afraid? Allah protect us all. I do not know much of the politics of Libya, so I am afraid to comment further. But I do know that what is happening there is a great wake-up call. Not just that it seems these type things can take place. But as to the state of the people of the world.

When the revolution was ongoing, a dear Egyptian friend posted this on facebook, ‘if we are good, we will get good leaders’. A sweet sentiment that holds a very very deep truth. As Allah says to us in His immense communication, in His Holy book
“Truly, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Quran 13:11)

So this then what my friend was saying. And how beautifully the people of Egypt upheld that.

Today in the news, we hear of many Libyan top brass, ambassadors, emissaries, army colonels, ministers… all resigning. God bless these people of conscience. It takes great courage to stand up to tyranny anywhere, but more so in a country as autocratic as that, knowing there is not much hope of a way of escape from retribution should it come (God forbid!). May we all be of those people of conscience and join our voice to the voice of reason.

Many great people have said, that the only reason evil triumphs is because good is silent. 2011 seems a year, when Allah azza wa’jal is sending us wake-up call after wake-up call, in the natural world and the working of the human sphere. Sending us opportunity after opportunity to stop being silent and to join our voices to those who need us. One way of doing that is to join your voice to AVAAZ, the global online community. But more so than the outer manifestation of doing our part. I think what we really need to do is to examine our inner beings at this time. After all Allah won’t ask us about why we didn’t solve the global financial crisis or some such, we will only be asked as to our own self. Therefore all that is going on seems to be a great and urgent reminder that we (especially us Muslims, in whose lands all the present tumult seems to concentrate) revisit all we believe in and really make sure we are living in tune with our beliefs. This then a reminder first to myself, for I need to ‘clean up a lot in my cupboard’. Allah help me and help me keep my intention pure.

On another note, but related (to me at least), is a great lesson in how ignorant I am. Today I’ve learned how deeply the tribal system is still rooted in some parts of the world. And I wonder at it. Today I understand once more what a marvel it was that one man, could unite all these tribes under one banner in such a short time. Allah bless and elevate our beloved Muhammed.

May Allah help and guide us all.

Our Beloved

There were many things I wanted to write of today. How glorious the sun was in this stunningly beautiful city I am very blessed to call home and then how peaceful to walk to my car with a dear colleague as it set, a long day’s work behind me. Was it hard to spend a Sunday at work? Yes (no false pretense here)! But then a satisfied peace to finish a project and a gladness knowing the blessing of having the time to spend in such mashaAllah. But I doubt the day would have been as peaceful and purposeful except for listening to a beautiful youtube video from a dear sister I ‘follow’. She was posting a give-away from her business to honour the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as this is the month of his birthday. The give-away was two CDs, one of which is the poem of Imam Busari, the ‘Burdah’. Famous in the Muslim world it celebrates the prophet in beautiful poetry and repeats many times the refrain translated

‘O my Lord send peace and blessings upon your beloved
The best and perfect of creation that you’ve created’

She mentioned a particular rendition of it, that by the Fez singers in Morocco and mashaAllah it was that beautiful feeling of sharing something precious, rather of being reminded of something precious by a dear one, when she spoke of the peace she felt in her heart listening to it. I then realized I had it all along with me and instead of the barrage of other music I listen to while I work (big lover of music here mashaAllah:) ), let me soothe my heart listening to this great work and drawing close to our beloved Muhammed today.
MashaAllah the entire day was good after that and what could have been a disastrous time after a very hard night before turned in to one of beauty.

As our beloved master taught us ‘God is beautiful, and He loves beauty’. That perhaps why, great music, like great art, beautiful surroundings, draw one closer to God.

Much more to say on that note, but before I go on too long, I wanted to share this poem, written a long time ago, close to or during one Ramadan. But perhaps apt to share now as it was inspired by listening to the Burdah of Imam Busari (raheemahullah). Also last night the moon was full and beautiful and I remembered the prayer of the prophet of God that he would say whenever beholding the moon, ‘O Moon, as thou dost worship Allah, so do I’. What immense love our prophet must have exhibited for Allah, and how immensely Allah did and does love Him back. This then perhaps the reason for the Quranic command upon the believer to send salutations upon the prophet. And so I thank my dear sister, so sharing her thoughts, Alhamdulillah the barakah has spread very far!

Here is the poem, it is written as one feels, a child by the Messenger, a wise and beautiful loving Guide. May we all be blessed to meet Him one day in peace. Allah Kareem!

O My Lord send peace and blessings on your Beloved

Maula ya salli wasallim Muhammed

‘O my Lord send peace and blessings upon your beloved
The best and perfect of creation that you’ve created’

Ramadan approaches and I remember my prophet,
More than ever, he walks with me
In front of me and I trot to keep up with his stride
So fast and steady, going to meet his enemy
Walking upon your work. O My Lord, send blessings on your beloved.

Ramadan is nigh and I remember my prophet
His hand is on my head, and all my pain has disappeared
I close my eyes and a great peace enters my heart
As his hand strokes my hair, I raise my eyes to his kind face
And everything is alright. O My Lord, send peace on your beloved.

Ramadan is here and I remember my prophet
He jokes and gently laughs, in breaks in the long night prayer
His feet swell as the hours pass and his beard becomes soaked with tears
I follow him in the prayer and stand with him. My soul in salaam
A great joy in worshiping Thee. O My Lord, elevate your beloved.

Elevate your beloved, my beloved Rasullullah. How I miss him.

Copyright 2011. JoyManifest’s Blog. F R Zahir.

And one rendering of the Burdah, a very short part of it, below. For your listening pleasure! 🙂

A Muslim For Mary (via God, Faith, and a Pen: Basking in His Love)

Loved this post…inshaallah must try to be more like Mary (peace be upon her). One of the first women to enter heaven and our great role model and prophet. Also love reading Surah Maryam!

In the Name of God, the Kind, the Beautiful Thanks be to the Precious Beloved, this was published today on the Washington Post's "On Faith" blog on Eboo Patel's site. It is reproduced below: During my days as an undergraduate at Marquette University, I always enjoyed the 8th day of December. That's because it would be day off from school for a holiday of which heretofore I had never known: the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I had a … Read More

via God, Faith, and a Pen: Basking in His Love

Allah ar Rahman

I haven’t been able to write much lately due to an immense amount of work deadlines and other things going on. But this is a sadness and inshaallah I hope to do better. Alhamdulillah we have greeted the second Eid now passed and there was much to write about that, specifically with respect to a beautiful interfaith event I had the blessing of attending. Initiated by a dear friend, a Rabbi and carried out in a mosque with Muslim, Christian and Jewish brothers and sisters…all sharing and learning from the example of the great prophet Abraham (God bless and salute him). Alhamdulillah a beautiful event indeed.

Specifically we learned about how much Abraham must have loved (or must love) God, and what complete trust he had in the mercy of Allah that he could be ready to offer his son in sacrifice, not for a moment blinking from that immense trust that God is good. And how gloriously Allah rewarded him, terming him in the Quran ‘the friend of Allah’. Subhahanallah! what an immense title.

Here is a song I’ve been listening to today, sung in the sufi style, it speaks of this love of Allah.. this complete love for Allah. Ar Rahman, Ar Raheem. The source of all mercy, compassion, kindness, love. The true love.

Music : Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Singer: Rashid Khan
Lyrics : Niranjan Iyengar

Allah hi rahem, Maula hi rahem – 8
God is merciful, God is kind

Kaise ishq se sajh gayi raahein
Your love has adorned my path
Jab se dekhi hai teri nigaahein ya khuda
Since the day I felt your benign gaze oh God,
Main to tera ho gaya
I have become yours
Kaise ishq se sajh gayi raahein
Your love has adorned my path
Jab se dekhi hai teri nigaahein ya khuda
Since the day I felt your benign gaze oh God,
Main to tera ho gaya
I have become yours
Tu jo karam pharmaye, adam insaan ho jaaye
When you bestow your grace, we become non-entities

Mastana ho ke, deewana ho ke tujhe pal mein paa jaaye
Intoxicated (with your love) we become one with you
Saans-e-fiza mein tu hai, rooh-e-bayan mein tu hai
You’re in every breath, in every soul
Har ibtidaa mein, har inteha mein, har ek nazar-e-zabaan tu hai
You’re in every beginning and every end, in every gaze and word spoken
Allah hi rahem, maula hi rahem ..

O har zarre mein tu hai chupa
You can be seen in everything
Phir doondhe kyun tera pataa
Then why do we search for you
Tu hai dhoop mein, tu hai saaye mein
You’re in the warmth and in the cool shade
Apne mein hai, tu paraye mein
You’re in loved ones and in strangers
Allah, allah ..

Mere rom rom ki ek adaa
You’re in every part of me
Tu ishq mera, ae mere khuda
You are my love, my God
Har saans mein hai bas teri dua
Every breath I take is a gift from you
Tu ishq mera, ae mere khuda
You are my love, my God
Tujhe paane se badkar kuch bhi nahin
There’s nothing greater than receiving your love
Tujhe dekhte hi dil bole yahi
When I see you my heart sings…..
Allah, allah ..

Kaise ishq se sajh gayi raahein
Your love has adorned my path
Jab se dekhi hai teri nigaahein ya khuda
Since the day I felt your benign gaze oh God,
Main to tera ho gaya
I have become yours

Tu jo karam pharmaye, adam insaan ho jaaye
When you bestow your grace, we become non-entities
Mastana ho ke, deewana ho ke tujhe pal mein paa jaaye
Intoxicated (with your love) we become one with you
Saans-e-fiza mein tu hai, rooh-e-bayan mein tu hai
You’re in every breath, in every soul
Har ibtidaa mein, har inteha mein, har ek nazar-e-zabaan tu hai
You’re in every beginning and every end, in every gaze and word spoken

Allah hi rahem, Maula hi rahem ..
God is merciful, God is kind

It’s from the movie ‘My name is Khan’ (if you haven’t seen it, you must inshaallah :))…and isn’t it so telling that the lyrics are by actually penned by a Hindu and song sung by a Muslim. MashaAllah!

The Quran Reading at Gaia House (via How Do You See Peace?)

A beautiful event well worth reading about and repeating/spreading

Author: Michael Batinski Three weeks ago in Carbondale, neighbors from the Abrahmic faiths and from other traditions gathered at Gaia House/Interfaith Center for a reading of the Quran that would last twenty-four hours.   During the first hour, people began to sense separately and collectively a feeling of wellbeing that warmed the room.   The feeling came upon them quietly, slowly, catching some unawares.  Those who worked to make this moment po … Read More

via How Do You See Peace?