A thought

The depth of a word isn't what is uttered out of the mouth, rather what is felt in the heart.

Apologies

A sincere apologie to my 1 follower for my lack of blogging!

The application of Free Time and Struggle

There are two blessings about which most people are cheated: health and spare time," (Sahih Bukhari vol.8 no.421).

I've been thinking about this hadith alot lately. Since finishing university successfully Alhumdulilah, I have had more free time and spending it in the way of Allah (swt) is something I really want to do but at the same time time difficult, its almost a constant battle to avoid other distractions, wasting time on things that are not beneficial and even just the thoughts within!

I know who I want to be, but becoming 'her' is hard. I know I want to become more knowledgeable , and Alhumdulilah I have been but applying knowledge can be difficult. But surely that is not an excuse?

So my plan up until Ramadan 2010:
Tomorrow I am signing up for a 2 week intensive Tajweed course, following that I start a 'Wonders of the Heart.' The outline of this course is very exciting!

"There is nothing closer to you than yourself. If you don't know your self, how will you know others? You might say, "I know myself," but you are mistaken.... The only thing you know about your self is your physical appearance. The only thing you know about your inside, is that when you are hungry you eat, when you are angry, you fight, and when you are consumed by passion, you make love. In this regard you are equal to any animal. You have to seek the reality within yourself.... What are you? Where have you come from and where are you going. What is your role in the world? Why have you been created? Where does your happiness lie? If you would like to know yourself, you should know that you are created by two things. One is your body and your outer appearance (zahir) which you can see with your eyes. The other is your inner forces (batin). This is the part you cannot see, but you can know with your insight. The reality of your existence is in your inwardness. Everything is a servant of your inward heart." 

The last sentence and first sentence got me! It is very true, that the closest thing to 'us' is 'ourselves,' yet how much do we actually know about ourselves? My interpretation of the last sentence is that if for example you love your spouse sincerely with your heart, than your actions will naturally follow this inward affection. This sentence could be applied to all sorts of behaviour. Its quite fascinating really, that which you hold close to your heart will be reflected in your deeds, and even thoughts. So the question I ask, if we as Muslims really hold Islam close to our hearts than surely it would be reflected in our thoughts and actions?

http://www.muslimhands.org/en/gb/our_work/its_my_project/orphans_village/ http://www.justgiving.com/orphanvillage

These above links is what the fee to the course is going towards, please pass on if you can! Jazakallah khair

(I'm really looking forward to this course now, Inshallah! Will keep my only follower updated on what I learn, Inshallah!)

Contemporary poets

Some inspirational writers and poets pages on facebook:

Brother Berhan

Profound B.Shakoorah

Boona Mohammed

Thoughts

If you gave a someone the world they would want another one. Satisfaction, pleasure, happiness are all feelings that people chase. We as Muslims should chase the Akhirat not the dunya.

Since finishing my final term at university ever (!!!!!) I have had a lot more free time, and have been spending the new found time with family and friends. And Inshallah will be signing upto some Tajweed lessons for July :) 

I have come to realise that people are always chasing something, a degree, a car, house, job, money etc. It is almost as if society moulds you into doing these things. Its automatic, one after the other. To obtain any of these things is challenging.

"And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirin (the patient). Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: "Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.'' They are those on whom are the Salawat (i.e., who are blessed and will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones." (Qur'an 2:155-157)

The amenities I have mentioned above, are indeed materiality but in a Western civilisation where society is run on money, it is impossible to get away from it. I have never really seen the obtainment of these things as trials until very recently. You could say that life is beginning to get very serious, not that it ever wasn't, I have just been taking it more seriously and I think the significant and most contributing reason to this is seeking knowledge.

People tend to be afraid; never being good enough, never having that lifestyle seen in so many tv programmes, letting others down, not achieving the goals they have set for themselves, losing what they already have. So surely we should be afraid of losing our life? I mean what I sometimes or very often as of late find so hard to grasp is how people can be so fully occupied with the here and now? I mean everyone has the potential to be intellectual and really think about life ... even the intellectual ones I know who are not Muslim do not think about the Hereafter. How can intellect be so wasted? Dont't people realise that all the intellect they have developed over their life will come to a halt? How can they think thats it? Or not think at all?

On another note this year has been eventful, I have learned alot, and my interest in the Deen is increasing Alhumdulilah! As knowledge increases though, the trials seem tougher or perhaps more apparent? 

At the moment I have many thoughts going on in my head! And about half an hour ago I came to the conclusion of this: event > feeling > thought > motive > spoken word > action > outcome.

Love is like a lawsuit

I am amazed at the seeker of purity
who when it's time to be polished
complains of rough handling.
Love is like a lawsuit:
to suffer harsh treatment is the evidence;
when you have no evidence, the lawsuit is lost.
Don't grieve when the Judge demands your evidence;
kiss the snake so that you may gain the treasure.
That harshness isn't toward you,
but toward the harmful qualities within you.
When someone beats a rug,
the blows are not against the rug,
but against the dust in it.


(A Rumi poem, translated by Kabir Helminski and Camille Helminski)

I guess what Rumi is saying is that those who seek to be righteous often complain, struggle, and find it extremely difficult when they are being hurt, in turmoil, have tough choices, internal jihad you could say.

However to suffer is an opportunity to demonstrate our love for Allah (swt). Because often the struggles are our weaknesses, desires and that which is haram, therefore giving up such things for Allah (swt) is the best thing we can do for ourselves.

The struggles that each of us face are not personally directed to us, but at the negative attributes of our character.


Hence Rumi uses the metaphor of an extremely dusty rug, in order to remove our own impurities we too must be made aware off them to be rid of them Inshallah!

An insight to Saudi Arabia

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rv3yf

Islamic Poetry

Brought tears to my eyes, please watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcm9jNyZbnU&feature=player_embedded

Camels and Life

I came across a post on a fellow bloggers site, that has really sprung to mind today.
http://islamicsouls.blogspot.com/2009/08/tying-your-camel.html


It talks of a hadith. 'Tie you camel first, then put your trust in Allah,' (At-Tirmidhi). I did not see its significance until recently, I understand from this hadith that we have to work hard in all areas of  life, not just the ones that will get us a qualifiation or increase our popularity at the end!


To get something, whether it be a material posession or something that will be beneficial in the hereafter we have to work hard, and to maintain that something we have to work even harder. I guess I have undermined alot of things in life, I just assumed they would fall into place and many things alhumdulilah have! But I now am beginning to understand the importance of working hard for akhirat too! Praying 5 times a day, mind, body and soul is not an easy thing to do, and I don't believe that being truly rightous and pious is easy either, (well at least I haven't). But this is why it is so important to tie our camels in everything we do!


Peace :D

Rumi

Rumi was a persian poet from the 13th centruy. His poets are great, here is one that really makes me :) and think.


Working with our humaness
'Someone said, "There is something I have forgotten." There is one thing in the world that shoukd not be forgotten. You may forget everything except that one thing, without there being any cause for concern. If you remember everything else but forget that one thing, you will have accomplished nothing. It would be as if a king sent you to a village on a specific mission. If you went and performed a hundred other tasks, but neglected to accomplish the task for which you were sent, it would be as though you had done nothing. The human being therefore has come into the world for a specific purpose and aim. If one does nto fulfil that purpose, one has done nothing. We propsed the faith into the heavens, and the earth, and the mountains: and they refused to undertake it, and were afraid of it; but the human being undertook it: and yet truly, he was unjust to himself, and foolish. (33:72)

Identifying Sin

A sin can be defined as something that is 'unjust' to your soul. The problem is how do you know when you are being unjust? How can you tell? And how can you stop? How do you identify sin? How can you become aware of sin? How do you know when you are committing sin? I have began to identify the following factors to identify sin.

• A feeling of guit 
• Uncomfortableness in a situation
• A feeling of wanting to make Tawbah (repentence)
• Excess enjoyment in material pleasures
• Imitation of disbelievers

What if you have none of the feelings aboove? Or are not aware of the other factors suggested?
I have noticed that in order to identify sin you have to want to identify it, or at least be aware of your motive for a particular behaviour. An important lesson I am learning, is the more knowledge I seek, the more I will learn, and the more sin I can identify to make tawbah for and rectify Inshallah.

Why do Muslim women cover themselves?

'And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what [must ordinarily] appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers sons, or their sisters' sons, or thier women, or the slaves whom their right hands pocess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O' you Believers! Turn all together, that you may attain Bliss', (Surah Al Nur: 31).

'O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful', (Al-'Aĥzāb:59).

I recently had a conversation with a very close friend about the dress code of a Muslim woman, she herself is not a Muslim and I explained to her that I recieve more respect from people because of my scarf and dressing modestly.

What is ironic however, is that the Western media portray Muslim woman as being oppressed and inferior to men, when the truth is that woman are equal to men. Women are beautiful and because of that it is very easy to judge a woman on her looks. The purpose of hijab is therefore not to oppress a woman, rather the opposite, it protects her from the obtrusive eyes of society so that one will look past her looks and appreciate her intellect and character.

I recently watched a programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rv3yf  
Great conversation on the subject of the abaya around the 35th minute of the programme! Enjoy :)

Parents and family

'Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: My Lord! Bestow on them thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood,' (17:23).

Parents take care of you, they never really stop. Its a difficult thing doing the same in return. It is much easier sometimes to be nicer to a stranger than you own parents or family. Especially at times of stress, like exams, it is very easy to lash out at parents or mutter under your breath or wish you even lived somewhere else. I have began to understand the nature of this verse in Qu'ran. Parents get older, its inevitable and we get older with them, its almost role reversal now we have to take care of them along with all our other responsibilities, job, spouse, children, etc. Indeed parents nurture us so much when we are young and vulnerable. 

I have noticed that if I can conquer - perhaps conquer isn't the right word but if I can treat my parents and family with more respect, more love and have patience with them all and vice versa and bite my tongue more often than the reward from Allah (swt) must be so great Alhumdulilah!

Narrated 'Abdullah: I asked the prophet (swt) 'Which deed is the dearest to God?' He replied, ' to offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times. ' I asked, 'what is the next (in goodness)?' He replied, 'to be good and dutiful to your parents,' (Bukhari).

It is a hard task this, but it can be done. Living in a Western society it seems almost apart of the culture to be rude and intolerable towards parents and family, especially as every soap opera dramatises every small argument, from slamming doors, to shouting down the stairs (and saying things like 'I wish you weren't my mother / father,' or 'I hate you'). Watching these kind of overdramatic programmes poses an ideolgy that we as people will get used to and likely to adopt.

An increasing elder generation with no one to look after but them but the nursing home. I think this is a very sad reality. Why I love Islam so much? Its clear to me how Allah (SWT) has defined each of our roles, how these roles complement each other and how they support the structure of society. A family is like the internal frame of a very strong building (society), each individual a pillar in their own right, if one is weak, the other pillars will bear the weight, however if too many pilllars across an entire street are weak the more likely there will be a disaster of some sort. Islam provides soloutions and outlines clearly how one should behave and think, which brings me to another topic...

Women in Islam

Recently I have been reading a book, The Ideal Muslimah (Dr Muhammad Ali al-Hashimi) and have realised how strong the female believers were at the time of Mohammed (pbuh), and found myself asking, would I of had the same strength? Would I be able to do what she did? 

Prior to reading this book, I used to debate in my head why I wasn't born at the time of Mohammed (pbuh)? It would have been amazing to live at the golden age of Islam with the Prophet (pbuh), the Sahaba's and Mothers of the Believers, yet recently I have began to understand that I do not have the same the strength as the women of that time, not even ten percent!
  
The first person to die for Islam was a woman. Summaya bint Khabbab wife of Yasir ibn Amir. Their persecution, courage and endurance truly is amazing. Praise be to Allah. 

Kitab

Kitab means book. As Muslims we believe in Allah, the angels, the books, the messengers and the last day. It occured to me a while ago that there were books besides the qu'ran and the bible that are considered to have divine origin, it was only later that I realised that Islam has an explanation for each of these books.


The zabur is associated with the book of Sabiens however some scholars suggest this is the psalms of Dawud (David), which is a collection of songs and hymns. The tawrat is the old testament / torah revealed to Musa (Moses, pbuh) and the injil is the new testament / gospels of Isa (Jesus, pbuh). The qu'ran of course is the book of revelations revealed to Mohammed (pbuh) through the angel Jibril (Gabriel) over a period of 23 years.


This new knowledge made me realise the importance of studying all of these books. Inshallah in the summer when my studies are finished (woohoo), I will inshallah study the qu'ran closer and increase my understanding of Islam.

The First 20 Names of Allah

In the name of the Beneficient, the Merciful


1. Ya Allah
2. Ya Rahman
3. Ya Rahim
4. Ya Maliku
5. Ya Quddus
6. Ya Salaam
7. Ya Mumin
8. Ya Muhaymin
9. Ya Aziz
10. Ya Jabbar
11. Ya Mutakabbir
12. Ya Khaliq
13. Ya Bari
14. Ya Mussawwir
15. Ya Gaffar
17. Ya Qahar
17. Ya Wahab
18. Ya Razaq
19. Ya Fattah
20. Ya Alim


I am going to memorise the 99 names of Allah once again Inshallah. Once I have memorised the first 20 names of Allah I will memorise the other 69 Inshallah.

Distance & Closeness

At times I find myself far away from Allah (swt) and at times closer. This is in proximity to how often I think of Allah (swt). The sweetness of this closeness is sweeter than honey, and the closeness I am talking about really is like no other.


Tanzih is 'to declare something pure and free of something else' and tashbih means 'to declare something similar to something else.' Allah is absolute. We humans are relative. We exist because we were created by Allah (swt). Our distance to Allah (tanzih) or difference can be attributed in the Oneness of Allah and that Allah alone is real (tawhid). Recitation of the qu'ran and prayer are opportunites for Muslims to be close to Allah (Tashbih), to read and understand if not only a little bit. Tanzih and tashbih are the 2 sides of tawhid. Whilst Tanzih stresses distance and tashbih stresses closessnes, tawhid is the recognition of the Oneness of Allah (swt).


(For any error I make in expressing knowledge through this blog, I ask for Allah's forgiveness)


The 99 names of Allah are Allah's attributes. Through them we can understand our likeness or difference to Allah. We humans may also be forgiving, however we are not as forgiving as Al Gaffar (The Forgiver). I have a confession, as a child I memorised the 99 names of Allah and as I grew up I did not recite them very often and you can guess that I forgot them. I am going memorise them again Inshallah.

Sirat al-Mustaqim

Sirat al-Mustaqim means the Straight Path. Found in Al Fatiha, the first surah of the qu'ran, I recite it 48 times daily across the 5 daily prayers. The significance of Sirat al-Mustaqim is that the reader / reciter asks Allah (swt) that they be guided onto the straight path. For nearly 2 decades I recited this surah never knowing its meaning. And for 2 decades I carried out the practices of a Muslim without concisely thinking like a Muslim. Inshallah this will change.