Category: Music

‘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

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!

On the subject of music

Here is a track by Maher Zain that ought to be shared as widely as possible. Not only for its lyrics, but for the video. Another master piece by the very talented Lena Khan, spreading vital information about what Muhammed (may peace be upon him) was really like. For his kindness, generosity, magnanimity, consideration..he was known for his truthfulness and trustworthy-ness first. Yes, first, way before he was called to prophet-hood. Here’s another humble and sincere attempt to clear his name.

Happy times!

Assalamu alaikum! (Peace be upon you)

Alhamdulillah after a gorgeous restful day I was enjoying some beautiful pieces of music and thought I had better share it.. as ‘sharing is caring’ right 🙂

The first is Kareem Salama’s ‘A land called paradise’.. I love the video, its so representative of the Muslim community in North America and breaks down false preconceptions so well. Isn’t it amazing what art can do and how art talks to all people, so easily overcomes barriers. I also love the lyrics, its true that there is a great deal to thank God about for the place we live in. I grew up in the east and now call Canada my home. I feel so blessed… and I want to emphasize blessed… to be here. Subhahanallah, such a beautiful place and where there is social justice (I understand there are many issues yet to be worked on, but the emphasis is on the fact that there is a method allowing us to work on them. If you want to effect change, you are given the space to do so, this is precious). Before going on too long, I was walking in the woods and felt how grateful I was to be in a country with a serious Park Board that looks after these parks. Where people actually do pick up their own litter! Very ‘Muslim’ 🙂 MashaAllah
Here is the song.. interestingly Kareem Salama is an American of Egyptian parents who sings country music! He has a gorgeous song called ‘generous peace’ (the meaning of his name) and one on Mariam (alaihi salam), Mary, may peace be upon her. One of the best of woman-kind and our beloved, who according to the Muslim belief, will be one of the first women to enter Paradise. It’s a beautiful song called ‘Lady Mary’. Easily youtube-able.

The other song is ‘out seeing the fields’ by the time-less peace of Dawud Wharnsby Ali. I sometimes think if he hadn’t become Muslim early, he’d have been the new Cat Stevens! I especially love the line in this song where he says ‘I only feel guided when I’m free to question why’

Subhahanallah! and the best way to learn is to question is it not? 🙂

Enjoy!