Ashura

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and Chief of the Messengers, and upon all his family and companions.

What is Ashura:

Ashura is the 10th day of the month of Muharam which is the fourth sacred month in the lunar calendar..
That is where it took its name, in reference to the number 10 in Arabic language. Muharram is the month with which the Muslims begin their lunar Hijrah Calendar. It is one of the four sanctified months about which the Quran says,

"The number of the months according to Allah is twelve (mentioned) in the Book of Allah on the day He created heavens and the earth. Among these (twelve months) there are four sanctified (Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab)"..

History of `Ashura:

In the Islamic history Ashura is related with the historical victory of the prothet Moosa (A.) over the Pharao, the tyrant of Egypt. In the Qur’an, Allah tells us this story in details in many surah.

That is, when Pharaoh become arrogant upon believers with many kind of oppressions, Allah told Moosa to get every believer out of Egypt and direct them to where Allah would tell him. Pharaoh gathered his army and forces, which were around one million soldiers, according to some references, and he chased Moosa and his people, hoping to destroy them completely. Moosa ended up at the sea with Pharaoh and his army behind him. The believers were afraid because the sea was in front of them and the enemy was behind them.

Allah says (which means): “And when the two hosts saw each other, the people of Moosa, said, ‘We are sure to be overtaken. (Moosa) said, ‘Nay, verily! With me is my Lord and He will guide me!’” (Ash-Shu’araa 26:61-62)

Whoever is close to Allah, Allah will never let him down or leave him on his own. Allah ordered Moosa to strike the sea with his staff. Moosa did so and the sea opened up for them to cross.

Allah says (which means): “And indeed We inspired Moosa (saying): ‘Travel by night with My slaves and strike a dry path for them in the sea, fearing neither to be overtaken (by Pharaoh) nor being afraid (of drowning).” (Taa-Haa 20:77)

Moosa walked across the path that opened in the sea and the last of his people left the sea and every soldier of Pharaoh’s army was inside the path. At this time Allah ordered the sea to collapse upon them, drowning Pharaoh and his army.

That was the victory of the truth over falsehood. The promise of Allah was true – He made the people of Moosa victorious over Pharaoh and his army. From this story we see how the truth is victorious, regardless of the size or seeming power of falsehood. Falsehood has its own limited time, but the truth is always victorious.

The significance of 'Ashura:

This story of Moosa (A.) should enrich the hearts of the believers and make them steadfast in the face of their enemies, regardless of size or seeming power of their enemies.. The believer should also benefit from this story by understanding that the people of falsehood claim that they are on the right path and are calling people to the truth. In fact, the opposite is true - they rely on lies and deception.

This great event – the victory Allah gave Moosa and the believers over Pharaoh and his army - occurred on the 10th of the sacred month of Muharram and the day is called Yaumul 'Ashurah' (the day of 'Ashurah'). It is a day that has a great merit. Prophet Moosa fasted on that day, and ordered the people to fast that day.

Ibn ‘Abbass reported that when the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) arrived in Madinah, he found the Jews fasting on the day of Ashura. The Messenger of Allah asked them, “What is the significance of this day that you fast on?” They said: “It is the day of great significance when Allah delivered Moosa and his people and drowned Pharaoh and his people. Moosa observed fast out of gratitude, and we also observe it.” Upon this, the Messenger of Allah said, “We have more right and we have a closer connection to Moosa than you have.”

So Allah’s Messenger fasted (on the day of Ashura) and gave orders that it should be observed, even after the fasting in Ramadan was made obligatory.

So, We also benefit from the story of Moosa by learning that the Sunnah of the Prophets is to thank and praise Allah in times of peace and when they gain victory over their enemies. Moosa fasted on the 10th, the day on which Allah made his followers victorious over Pharaoh; and this is another sign that the truth will always defeat falsehood.

The virtue's of Fasting on `Ashura':

1- It is also reported in a number of authentic traditions that in the beginning, fasting on the day of 'Ashura' was obligatory for the Muslims. It was later that the fasts of Ramadan were made obligatory and the fast on the day of 'Ashura' was made optional. Sayyidina 'Aisha, Radi-Allahu anha, has said:

"When the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, came to Madinah, he fasted on the day of 'Ashura' and directed the people to fast. But when the fasts of Ramadan were made obligatory, the obligation of fasting was confined to Ramadan and the obligatory nature of the fast of 'Ashura' was abandoned. Whoever so desires should fast on it and any other who so likes can avoid fasting on it." (Sunan Abu Dawud)

2- Abdullah ibn Musa, Radi-Allahu anhu, reports that
"The Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, preferred the fast of 'Ashura' over the fasts of other days and preferred the fasts of Ramadhaan over the fast of 'Ashura'. (Bukhari and Muslim)
The Hadith cited above signifies that the fasts of the month of Muharram are most rewardable ones among the Nafl or voluntary fasts.

3- Abu Qatada,Radi-Allahu anhu, reports that "The Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam said "and I seek from Allah that fasting on the day of Ashura may atone for the sins of the preceding year". (muslim-2602)


4- According to another Hadith, it is more advisable that the fast of 'Ashura' should either be preceded or followed by another fast. It means that one should fast two days: the 9th and 10th of Muharram or the 10th and 11th. The reason of this additional fast as mentioned by the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, is that the Jews used to fast on the day of'Ashura alone, and the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, wanted to distinguish the Muslim way of fasting from that of Jews. Therefore, he advised the Muslims to add another fast to that of 'Ashura'.

The Age of Paranoia

2 passengers detained after flight to Phoenix

PHOENIX – Two men thought to have been acting suspicious aboard a flight bound for Phoenix were detained and questioned by federal anti-terrorism authorities before they were released, the FBI said Sunday.

Transportation Security Administration officials said passengers aboard U.S. Airways Flight 192 from Orlando, Fla., on Saturday night reported that two men, described as Middle Eastern, were acting strangely and talking loudly to each other in a foreign language. A nearby passenger also observed one of men watching what appeared to be footage of a suicide bombing, but was actually a scene from the 2007 movie "The Kingdom." The man also got up from his seat while the seat belt warning sign was still lit, FBI spokesman Manuel Johnson said.

"The totality of those three occurrences led this passenger to believe this was suspicious," he said.

-----------------------------------------

So, let's see, speaking loudly in a foreign language + watching a violent movie + getting up while the seatbelt light is on = terrorist? 

Trust in God...

Trust in God is realization of ones desperate needfulness.

- Jurayri in 'Attar: Tadhkirat

The Highest Stage of Worship...

The truest and highest stage of worship is to see God face to face, and to receive His guidance from His own mouth. Those who attain this highest stage, choose for themselves whatever God chooses for them. Their entire characters are transformed by God. They are God's friends; so they no longer discriminate between people, but regard all people as friends. Wherever they go, they go from God; wherever they arrive, they arrive at God. Whatever they do, they do for God; whatever service they perform, they perform it in God. The self has been truly annihilated.

- Junayd, "Tawhid"

Once the Ego is Overcome...

Once the ego is overcome peace follows. "Only God and no living creature has the power to control destinies." With that conviction entrust all your cares to the Lord and follow the path of the Truth, conforming to the divine edicts, until you attain union with Him and become as pure as Adam before whom all creatures prostrated.

- Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fayuz E Yazdani"

In Islam, the Opportunity to Do Good is Everywhere

"When one of you plants a tree, the fruits of which all creatures enjoy, let it be written as charity."

- Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Anas bin Malik

Don't ever underestimate the power of the small act of kindness... Allah sees everything...

Practice

Practice what you have learned, for theory without practice is like a spirit without a body. One who is content with learning alone is not learned, for the truly learned seeks more than mere words. Divine guidance entails self-mortification, without which contemplation is unattainable.

- Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

The Atheist Professor and the Faithful Student...

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty...

He asks one of his new students to stand and......

Prof:
So you believe in God?

Student:
Absolutely, sir.

Prof:
Is God good?

Student:
Sure.

Prof:
Is God all-powerful?

Student:
Yes..

Prof:
My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him.
Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't.
How is this God good then? Hmm?

(Student is silent.)

Prof:
You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?

Student:
Yes.

Prof:
Is Satan good?

Student:
No.

Prof:
Where does Satan come from?

Student:
From....God...

Prof:
That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student:
Yes.

Prof:
Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?

Student:
Yes.

Prof:
So who created evil?

(Student does not answer.)

Prof:
Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible
things exist in the world, don't they?

Student:
Yes, sir.

Prof:
So, who created them?

(Student has no answer.)

Prof:
Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you.
Tell me, son... Have you ever seen God?

Student:
No, sir.

Prof:
Tell us if you have ever heard your God?

Student:
No, sir.

Prof:
Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you
ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?

Student:
No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof:
Yet you still believe in Him?

Student:
Yes.

Prof:
According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student:
Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof:
Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student:
Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Prof:
Yes.

Student:
And is there such a thing as cold?

Prof:
Yes.

Student:
No sir. There isn't.

(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student:
Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold .. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student:
What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Prof:
Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?

Student :
You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light.....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?

Prof:
So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student:
Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Prof:
Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student:
Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought.. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully
understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Prof:
If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student:
Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)

Student:
Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class is in uproar.)

Student:
Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?

(The class breaks out into laughter..)

Student:
Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Prof:
I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student:
That is it sir... The link between man & god is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving & alive.


NB: I believe you have enjoyed the conversation...and if so...you'll probably want your friends/colleagues to enjoy the same...won't you?.... this is a true story, and the student was none other than..........

APJ Abdul Kalam, the former president of India.

Abu Hanifa and The Roman

Many years ago, during the time of the Tabi’een (the generation of Muslims after the Sahabah), Baghdad was a great city of Islam. In fact, it was the capital of the Islamic Empire and because of the great number of scholars who lived there, it was the center of Islamic knowledge. One day, the ruler of Rome at that time sent an envoy to Baghdad with three challenges for the Muslims. When the messenger reached the city, he informed the Khalifah that he had three questions which he challenged the Muslims to answer. The Khalifah gathered together all the scholars of the city and the Roman messenger climbed upon a high platform and said,

"I have come with three questions. If you answer them, then I will leave with you a great amount of wealth which I have brought from the king of Rome.” As for the questions, they were: ‘What was there before Allah?’ ‘In which direction does Allah face?’ ‘What is Allah engaged in at this moment?’

The great assembly of people were silent. (Can you think of answers to these questions?) In the midst of these brilliant scholars and students of Islam, there was a man looking on with his young son. “O my dear father! I will answer him and silence him!” said the youth. So the boy sought the permission of the Khalifah to give the answers and he was given the permission to do so.

The Roman addressed the young Muslim and repeated his first question, “What was there before Allah?” The boy asked, “Do you know how to count?” “Yes,” said the man. “Then count down from ten!” So the Roman counted down, “ten, nine, eight, …” until he reached “one” and he stopped counting. “But what comes before ‘one’?” asked the boy. “There is nothing before one – that is it!” said the man. “Well then, if there obviously is nothing before the arithmetic ‘one’, then how do you expect that there should be anything before the ‘One’ who is Absolute truth, All-Eternal, Everlasting the First, the Last, the Manifest, the Hidden?”

Now the man was surprised by this direct answer which he could not dispute. So he asked, “Then tell me, in which direction is Allah facing?” “Bring a candle and light it,” said the boy, “and tell me in which direction the flame is facing.” “But the flame is just light – it spreads in each of the four directions, North, South, East and West. It does not face any one direction only,” said the man in wonderment. The boy cried, “Then if this physical light spreads in all four directions such that you cannot tell me which way it faces, then what do you expect of the Nur-us-Samawati-wal-’Ard: Allah – the Light of the Heavens and the Earth!? Light upon Light, Allah faces all directions at all times.”

The Roman was stupefied and astounded that here was a young child answering his challenges in such a way that he could not argue against the proofs. So, he desperately wanted to try his final question. But before doing so, the boy said, “Wait! You are the one who is asking the questions and I am the one who is giving the answers to these challenges. It is only fair that you should come down to where I am standing and that I should go up where you are right now, in order that the answers may be heard as clearly as the questions.” This seemed reasonable to the Roman, so he came down from where he was standing and the boy ascended the platform. Then the man repeated his final challenge, “Tell me, what is Allah doing at this moment?” The boy proudly answered, “At this moment, when Allah found upon this high platform a liar and mocker of Islam, He caused him to descend and brought him low. And as for the one who believed in the Oneness of Allah, He raised him up and established the Truth. Every day He exercises (universal) power (Surah 55 ar-Rahman, Verse 29).” The Roman had nothing to say except to leave and return back to his country, defeated.

Meanwhile, this young boy grew up to become one of the most famous scholars of Islam. Allah, the Exalted, blessed him with special wisdom and knowledge of the Deen (religion). His name was Abu Hanifah (rahmatullah alayhi – May Allah have mercy on him) and he is known today as Imam Abu Hanifah (Imam-e-Azam), the Great Imam and scholar of Islam.

The Story of Abu Hanifa and the Three Questions

There was a young man who went overseas to study for quite a long time. When he returned, he asked his parents to find him a religious scholar or any expert who could answer his 3 Questions. Finally, his parents were able to find a Muslim scholar.

Young man: Who are you? Can you answer my questions?

Scholar: I am one of Allah (SubHana Wa Ta’ala)'s slaves and Insha-Allah (God willing), I will be able to answer your questions.

Young man: Are you sure? A lot of Professors and experts were not able to answer my questions.

Scholar: I will try my best, with the help of Allah(SubHana Wa Ta`ala).


Young Man: I have 3 questions:
1. Does God exist? If so, show me His shape.
2. What is taqdir (fate)?
3. If shaitan (Devil) was created from the fire, why at the end he will be thrown to hell that is also created from fire. It certainly will not hurt him at all, since Shaitan (Devil) and the hell were created from fire. Did God not think of it this far?

Suddenly, the Scholar slapped the young man's face very hard.

Young Man (feeling pain): Why do you get angry at me?

Scholar: I am not angry. The slap is my answer to your three questions.

Young Man: I really don't understand.

Scholar: How do you feel after I slapped you?

Young Man: Of course, I felt the pain.

Scholar: So do you believe that pain exists?

Young Man: Yes.

Scholar: Show me the shape of the pain!

Young Man: I cannot.

Scholar: That is my first answer. All of us feel God's existence without being able to see His shape... Last night, did you dream that you will be slapped by me?

Young Man: No.

Scholar: Did you ever think that you will get a slap from me, today?

Young Man: No.

Scholar: That is taqdir (fate) my second answer........ My hand that I used to slap you, what is it created from?

Young Man: It is created from flesh.

Scholar: How about your face, what is it created from?

Young Man: Flesh.

Scholar: How do you feel after I slapped you?

Young Man: In pain.

Scholar: That's it. This is my third answer, Even though Shaitan (Devil) and hell were created from fire, if Allah wants, insha-Allah (God willing), the hell will become a very painful place for shaitan.

The scholar was Imam Abu Hanifa (Rahmatulla Alai) and the man was a famous Jewish scholar of that time. After this incident, it is told that he became Muslim...

Drinking Your Way to Health? Perhaps Not

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter by Dennis Thompson
healthday Reporter – Sun Oct 18, 11:48 pm ET

SUNDAY, Oct. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Just about every month -- if not every week -- a new study emerges touting the health benefits to be gained from a daily glass of wine or a pint of dark beer.

The benefits related to cardiovascular health have become well-known. A study released in mid-July, for instance, found that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in women by increasing the amount of "good" cholesterol in the bloodstream and reducing blood sugar levels.

But other studies have linked a daily drink, most often wine, to reduced risk of dementia, bone loss and physical disabilities related to old age. Wine also has been found to increase life expectancy and provide potential protection against some forms of cancer, including esophageal cancer and lymphoma.

But don't invest in that case of Pinot noir just yet.

Experts with the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association say that though these studies do show some benefits to moderate drinking, the health risks from alcohol consumption far outweigh the potential rewards.

Drinking any alcohol at all is known to increase your risk for contracting a number of types of cancer, said Susan Gapstur, vice president of epidemiology for the American Cancer Society. These include cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colon/rectum and breast....

"They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: "In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit." (Qur'an, 2:219)

Islam: Work and Surrender

God says, “Walk and work for Me.” He wants you to work and to surrender at the same time. He does not want you to stay at home like the person who says, “I stay at home and do not work and Allah sends me everything.” The Khalifah ‘Umar came to a man in the mosque and said, “Why are you still here?” He said, “I want to always be praying.” ‘Umar asked him, “Who gives you food and who brings food to your children?” The man answered him, “God.” ‘Umar said, “But who told you to always be in the mosque and to not work and to leave your children? This is not praying.”

The deep praying is to know Him in every face and in every job. ‘Umar took a stick and hit him, “Wake up God, and find work to feed yourself and your children, and feed the animals and everything. Go to know how to help people. This is the deep praying for you! Do not leave your religion to die. It is important to not call yourself a Muslim.” This is the meaning of the real surrender, to work and when you work you know with Whom you work. You work with God. You follow His Order. Allah wants you to be very careful with the earth. This is the meaning of the surrender, trust - trust God.

Many Dervishes or Sufi people speak about themselves as Sufi and say that the Sufi Way is to keep your self inside the Zawiyah and to pray. This is the understanding of the Sufi for himself, but this is not the way. Allah does not like to see any one of His beloveds weak. He likes to see His beloveds strong in the perfect way, to know how to give and how to work. You see many who say they are Sufi and who keep themselves inside praying. I tell them this is not the right kind of praying. You are praying for yourself, but God wants you to pray for another and to give to others. This is praying and this is the meaning of al-Islam.

Where is this religion from? The Prophet, may peace be upon him, worked. He carried the message but at the same time he had a business. He traveled often from Mecca to Damascus bringing things everywhere. This is because he searched about the right life. You can know the Beloved of Allah (the Prophet, may Allah bless him) when you live between the people. How can you know how to help people if you do not live between them? If you do not have a business, how can you be honest? And when you have work, you learn how to give, how to take, and how to care about everything, even animals and plants. The Prophet, may peace by upon him, had many sheep and cared for them. And he cared about himself because he wanted to feed the people. He helped himself and, others. This is al-Islam. Islam does not like weakness. If you are healthy in body and mind, then it is important to go and work but to be straight in everything, to see how to work, to follow when you work, and to change everything, beloved, because the teaching comes through you when you walk straight and follow the teachings of Allah.

- Sheikh Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal

In the Presence of the Mightiest of Emperors...

Imagine yourself entering the presence of a mighty emperor. You are overwhelmed with awe at his power, and with a sense of your own insignificance. Your entire attention is absorbed by the emperor's greatness, so you are utterly unaware of his physical presence and of the other people around him. When you leave his presence, people ask you about the other people, about his physical appearance, and about your own experience of being in his presence. But you are unable to answer.

This is a parable for losing the sense of self.

- Qushayri, "Risalah"

Supplication of Love

Lord, the night is gone. The dawn has lighted the sky. How I long to know if You accepted or rejected my prayers. Comfort me, Lord, for only you can comfort this state of mine. You gave me life and nurtured me; Yours is all the praise. If You would ever drive me away from Your door, I would never abandon it for the sake of Your love, which I carry in my heart.

- Rabi'a, "Rabi'a the Mystic"

Moulding Students to Think.... Go IKIM!

Tuesday September 29, 2009

Moulding students to think

IKIM VIEWS

By NIK ROSKIMAN ABDUL SAMAD, Fellow of Centre for Consultancy and Training,IKIM

The rote-based education system only churns out students with data and information but without the means to convert them into knowledge. We need to move on to producing thinking students

IT WAS with great relief that we heard the Government’s announcement to revamp our educational system for the better.

We have discussed this issue before, that our national education system should start focusing on producing thinking students rather than memorisers of data.

The move to reduce the number of subjects taken at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia level is commendable. But that will not have much significant impact on the student population as a whole if the primary school level is not put through a serious revamp as well.

Developing students’ minds should begin as early as possible.

During my stay at Edinburgh a few years back, my six-year-old son came home from school one day with a question following a nativity programme organised by his school.

He asked me: “Can God have a son?”. I replied: “No, in Islam we do not believe that God can have children. Since He is God and not a human being like us, he cannot have a child. Only a human being begets, not God”.

Then he replied: “Yes, my thoughts too, because God is not human like us. He is an alien!”

I was amused, yet shocked. The premises that I laid down for him in order to develop his thinking mind, had led him to a wrong conclusion, unfortunately. His logic was correct but the conclusion was erroneous.

I bring up this anecdote to share with readers the importance of developing students’ minds at an early age. It is the responsibility of parents and teachers to guide the children on the correct use of logic and reason to arrive at the right conclusion.

Logic (or dialectic as it also called) is one important tool taught by the Greek at an early age at the trivium level to develop minds. Logic is not a subject but rather the art of understanding things and arguing correctly.

That practise during the Greek ages in the form of trivium and quadrivium can be emulated and improved on to suit the modern age. This has been done by many scholars trying to bring back the classical spirit, but with a modern scent.

Havard Professor Howard Gardner, for example, mentions in his work Five Minds for the Future that there are five minds to be cultivated for an individual to excel – the Disciplined Mind, Synthesizing Mind, Creating Mind, Respectful Mind and Ethical Mind.

His emphasis on “minds” and “intelligence” has great thoughts and ideas that can be incorporated into our educational system.

A similar stress on developing the mind has in fact been espoused by classical Muslim scholars of the past who Islamised the Greek logics, in the introduction of ilm al-mantiq (logic) in the classical curriculum of madrasahs all over the Muslim world during that period.

The Disciplined Mind of Gardner is in reality the Socratic method of teaching logic to students.

The teacher raises questions and the students discuss them in class. By controlling the pace, the teacher can keep the class lively and at the same time stimulate the students’ thinking in a disciplined manner. Furthermore, the discussion is not bound by any textbook or syllabus that needs to be completed.

In other words, during the Classical period, students were taught the tools of learning at an early age. And, only later, at quadrivium level, were they taught such subjects as arithmetic, astronomy geometry and music.

The early stage is the foundational stage to develop the mind, to create the framework and logical foundation of the children’s mind, so that the real subjects could be fitted into the mind without any difficulty or incoherency.

I liken this to a computer that needs to be formatted and installed with an operating system – be it Windows, Linux, Apple or others – before software applications can be installed.

Our minds work in the same manner. What we have been doing in the past 50 years was “installing” various “software applications” (subjects) in our minds, but not the operating system for the mind.

At the end of the day, our students have huge data and information but their “non-formatted minds” are incapable of converting them into knowledge beneficial to them and society.

These “non-formatted minds” also, at times, come up will illogical and nonsensical ideas and arguments out of ignorance and the inability of the minds to synchronise and link scattered information coherently and logically.

In other words, we added new subjects to be studied without developing students’ minds. For that reason, we find certain people are now talking about an unlearning process, realising that what we have been practising or advocating or believing all this while appears not right.

This is also what Gardner lamented: The inability of “teachers, students, policymakers and ordinary citizens to sufficiently appreciate the differences between subject matter and discipline”.

Most individuals in most schools study subject matter - memorising facts and formulas, figures, dates etc, according to him. But discipline is rather a different phenomenon. Gardner says “it constitutes a distinctive way of thinking of the world”.

This disciplined mind is what is lacking in today’s modern education system.

While Islam does not view any dichotomy between the world and the afterworld (al-akhirah), the disciplined mind of a Muslim constitutes the ability to distinctively view not just the physical world but also existence (al-wujud) and reality (al-haqiqah) in its totality, which is encapsulated in the Worldview of Islam (ru’yat al-islam lil-wujud), the concept propagated by Professor Dr Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas.

It is therefore imperative for our policymakers to now come up with an education system which concentrates more on developing and nurturing students’ minds rather than bombarding them with subject after subject.

And, it should begin not only at the secondary level or SPM, but at the primary and pre-school stages.

The Road to Success

Revelation is to be believed. This is why we are called believers. But it also reveals what is to be believed, the "truth", so to speak, that by it falsehood, which abounds in this world, may be discerned and eschewed. When "the faith", that which is to be trusted as true, has entered into the heart, then that heart is guided by it, and the person is considered to be "rightly guided", and a guide to others. This is the Essence, a Free and Clean (Sufi) Muslim, surrendered and guided by the Masters of the Way. This is the goal for which we strive. For then you are free, free of your burdensome, tiring self, free of false responsibilities and concerns - clean, innocent and forgiven, teaching and living by the Religion of Choice, Surrendered to the God in Whom we all believe and guided by Religion in the right way.

What more could be asked for. It is then and only then that the ways of true success in the world will be opened for you, for it is no longer coming from your will but from Alllah's will, which must come to pass, and to which you are completely surrendered.

So now let me "reveal" to you the nature of your religion:

"I am the Lord thy God. Your lives and provision have been decreed. I want only of you recognition, not that you provide for yourselves. Let Me provide for you, and you worship Me. I have created you for this recognition. There is no way that you "can't" do it, I have built it into the depths of your very being. But there are created many distractions for you that will test your will and improve your strength and insight, so many of you "won't", for now. And it is for that choice that I have given you a free will.

"Knowing me is as simple as leaving your desires. To guide you in my direction I have sent you a revelation through a prophet perfect in character and understanding, yet human, that you be not discouraged. He describes for you that which you should practice and that in which you should trust, and exemplifies in his being the balance between them, the holding of them both in perfect harmony. He describes for you the religion of Surrender, which is the direct way of knowing Me for each one of you. He describes for you your faith. And He shows you the way to outer peace through inner peace. So believe now in Me and follow the way of Surrender I have revealed for you. It will lead you out of the suffering of your mortal illusions and into the true life that I have created for you."

- Ali Ansari

Conversation with Sheikh Hajj Gibril on Issues Related to Non-Muslim Friends...

Far from the overly simplistic rhetoric we often read about in regard to how Muslim teachings view relations with non-Muslims, here is a short conversation between Sheikh G.F. Haddad and a questioner about his or her non-Muslim friends. It's a very interesting dialogue...

Q: Some of my non-Muslim friends are very nice people, and follow their religion well. Now here is my question, if they believe in God, and follow their religion, why would they be sent to hell and punished?? Didn't Allah create them as well, and wasn't he who placed them in a non-Muslim family? It's so sad to know what would happen to these innocent people!

A: Islamic Law considers them Ahl al-Fitra until the authentic message of Islam reaches them. Allah does not punish a people until He sends them a messenger and they reject him. In fact you may be that messenger for some of them, and your responsibility as a representative of Islam before non-Muslims is immense.

Q: Just like us, they are too strong believers in their own faith. They have been brought up in that religion, and it is impossible for them to even think of another religion to convert to.

A: Yes, there was a time I would have thought this the height of absurdity also, but little by little it changed until conversion became the height of logic and the right thing to do. At that point the terms "another religion" became superficial and only those of "the completion of religion" made sense. I also realized that belief in Islam in comparison to other beliefs is like maturity in comparison to childhood. So they may be "strong believers just like us" in the sense of one's emotional ties and conscientious adherence to one's convictions, but never in the sense of knowledge.

Q: Now think about it, we know that Islam is the correct path. We know this from reading the Quran, and other books. We know this from being told so. And most importantly we know so because we were blessed to be born in a Muslim family.

A: Are you being rhetorical? None of the above shows true knowledge, as I am sure you know. Knowledge in Islam is the upholding of Divine Oneness, then everything else that follows, to which reading and birth may or may not lead. It is different from merely being Muslim and imitating other Muslims, which is what you have described.

Q: Now let's look at the Christian culture, and the same can be said for them.....they also read their Bible, and learn more from their weekly church visits, so how can they (the faithful one's) even think of converting. I, like most Muslims would rather die, then even think of conversion, but then again the same can be said about people from other religions.

A: The comparison holds only if one is indeed a superficial Muslim who follows Islam out of some inherited habit or cultural notion of belonging, or purely material circumstance, which I am sure, or hope you do not.

There is no comparison. Islam imparts a knowledge that all of mankind was honored by the Creator, and that the Creator likes to be known for this and worshiped on the basis of truth-imparting knowledge. They have to focus on the person of the Prophet Muhammad and the Qur'an and Law he brought, and ask themselves whether he was acting with divine sanction or out of his own human will.

Q: So why would this happen? Is it really their fault? Would Allah really punish them?

A: We are all answerable at different degrees. I have non-Muslim relatives who are just as dear or dearer to me than your Toronto friends are to you. Allah will grant success to those who repent to him sincerely and ask for dear guidance with true broken hearts, and He will not look at names and titles such as Christian, Muslim, Jew, Protestant, Catholic, Maronite, Orthodox, Sikh, Buddhist....

Hajj Gibril

GF Haddad ©
[2000-11-04]

'Allahu Akbar' and the Purification of the Mind

In prayer, the words 'Allahu Akbar' are said over and over. The words mean 'God is great' or 'God is greater', or, God is greater than anything, even that which is conceived of in the mind. As such, when the mind becomes preoccupied with other-than-God we say Allahu Akbar to take us back to that state of remembrance, that place where God (i.e. remembrance of His name) is greater than whatever it is that we are thinking about at that moment. It's the fastest and most effective way to reclaim that state of clarity and mental precision.

So the next time you feel your mind overwhelmed with mental noise and endless chatter, use the greatest weapon that Allah has armed us with - His remembrance. Make it constant, then observe yourself...

"...Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest(13:28)"

Tafsir al-Tustari:

His words, Exalted is He:

…Truly, it is in the remembrance of God that hearts find peace.

[In] remembrance (dhikr) with knowledge ('ilm) there is tranquil repose (sukūn), and [in] remembrance with intellect ('aql) there is profound peace (ṭ uma'nīna).

He [Sahl] was asked, 'And how is that?' He replied:

If a servant is maintaining [true] obedience to God, he will be in a state of remembrance (dhākir), but when something occurs to his mind, he will be in a state of severance (qāṭ i') [from God]. If he is involved in an act [motivated by] his lower self, and something comes to his heart which guides him to remembrance and obedience, this is the role played by the intellect (mawḍi' al-'aql).

This is Silat on the big screen....

Merantau Movie Trailer

Words of Wisdom from the Imam...

Imam Shafi`i said: 3 things in this world have been made lovely to me: avoiding affectation, treating people kindly, and following the way of tasawwuf.

He also said: I accompanied the Sufis and received from them but three words:
their statement that time is a sword: if you do not cut it, it cuts you;
their statement that if you do not keep your ego busy with truth it will keep you busy with falsehood;
their statement that deprivation is immunity.

[-Al-Shafi`i]

More Than

This is a beautiful song about one man's love for His Prophet (SAW)....

More Than

by Kareem Salama

Since when did a man need to be free of his sin
To see the face of the moon and feel the warmth of a friend
I come from miles and miles away from a far and distant place
But I pray every night to dream of the light of your face
The more I know you I love you

Chorus

More than mountains of jewels
More than months of honeymoons
More than gold loves a fool
I love you

VERSE 2

I’d give up everything I have which isn’t much to say the most
But if you’d be my honored guest then I’d be a gracious host
If you’re the paradise I seek then I was born in hell
If you’re the garden where we sit then I sit on land untilled

The more I know you I love you
More than mountains of jewels
More than months of honeymoons
More than gold loves a fool
I love you

More than shade under a tree
On a summer day in Tennessee
More than I love me
I love you

VERSE 3

Wish all the people throughout time knew what I know about you
How they harmed the ones you loved and how they tried to harm you too
But you repelled hatred with love and you invited friend and foe
And though the lies they speak pain me it’s that you’re gone that hurts the most
The more I remember you I love you

Chorus

You Should Observe Yourself Closely...

People differ greatly in the amount of anxiety and worry they can stand: some can endure a great deal without being adversely affected, while others soon show signs of strain. You should observe yourself closely, so that you understand your own powers of endurance. By this means you will learn to divest yourself before any harm is done.

- Razi: Kitab al-Muluki

Ramadhan Reminders...

"O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may (learn) self-restraint."
[Al-Baqara, 2:183]

Soon inshAllah, the graceful month of Ramadhan will be upon us. It is the month chosen by Allah سبحانه وتعالى as a month of fasting. He سبحانه وتعالى favoured this month over all other months by making it the month of mercy and reverence for all the believers. Indeed, Ramadhan is the most superior of all months: the one in which Allah سبحانه وتعالى commenced His final revelation - the Qur'an.

In the month of Ramadhan we read the Qur'an everyday and recite it at length during the Taraweeh. But do we understand and practice this Qur'an? Aisha (ra) described the Prophet's صلى الله عليه وسلم character as being the walking Qur'an. Do our characters reflect the message of the Qur'an? Do we implement it in our lives? Do we feel its weight on our shoulders?

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:

لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

"Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and split asunder (crumbling) by the fear of Allah. Such are the parables that We put forward to mankind that they may reflect." [Al-Hashr, 59:21]

Allah سبحانه وتعالى reveals to mankind that had He sent the Qur'an upon a mighty mountain many times the size of a man it would crumble in the fear of Allah سبحانه وتعالى! Do we, in our petty and insignificant stature, then feel humbled by the Qur'an, which was revealed to us and not the mountains? Do we live by the commands and prohibitions that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has laid down in the Qur'an, His final revelation?

If Allah سبحانه وتعالى Wills, we will fast this month, but will we be alive to see the next Ramadhan? Will this be our last chance to taste the Mercy of Allah سبحانه وتعالى within this blessed month? We should assess our behaviour and actions and reflect whether the Day we meet Allah سبحانه وتعالى will be our best Day or will it be a Day of disaster? Every one of us will meet Allah سبحانه وتعالى alone; with no parents to protect us and no wealth to save us. Allah سبحانه وتعالى has revealed:

يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ الْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ
وَأُمِّهِ وَأَبِيهِ
وَصَاحِبَتِهِ وَبَنِيهِ
لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِّنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ يُغْنِيهِ

"That Day shall a man flee from his own brother, And from his mother and his father, And from his wife and his children, Each one of them, that Day, will have enough concern (of his own) to make him indifferent to the others." [‘Abasa, 80:34-37]

We will only have our actions in this life. So let us look back to the year that has passed and reflect. Let us look at what we did right according to Islam so we can continue doing them, and look at what we did wrong so that we can ask Allah سبحانه وتعالى for forgiveness and strive not to repeat them again. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

"If comes Ramadan, the gates of Heaven are opened, the gates of hell are locked, and the devils are chained." [Bukhari & Muslim]

Based on this hadith, the scholars say that Heaven literally opens its doors and Hell closes its doors and the shayateen are chained! So the only enemy we have to overcome is our Nafs (inner desires).

Let us use this opportunity in which the shayateen are chained to overcome our Nafs and get accustomed to obeying Allah سبحانه وتعالى in all actions of life without exceptions, whether we are at the masjid or in the school, whether we are at home or at work, whether we are buying a house or selling a car. In short, we must follow Islam in all aspects of our lives.

Ramadhan is also a great opportunity to seek Islamic knowledge and increase our awareness of the Islamic culture. The more we are aware of Islam the better chance we have to run our lives according to it. Allah سبحانه وتعالى revealed:

إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاء

"Those truly fear Allah, among His Servants, who have knowledge." [Al-Faatir, 35:28]

In the month of Ramadhan, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to study the Qur'an every night with the Angel Jibreal. Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported that Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, had said: "The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was the most generous of people. He used to be the most generous in Ramadhan when he would meet with angel Jibreal and study the Qur'an with him. Angel Jibreal would meet with the Prophet every night in Ramadhan to teach him the Qur'an. The Prophet was so generous when he met with Jibreal, more generous than the wind that brings rain." Imam Ah-mad added to this narration: "And nothing he was asked for but he would give it." Furthermore, Al-Bayhaqi reported that 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, had said, "When Ramadhan would start, the Prophet would release all prisoners of war and fulfil the need of every person who would ask him for something."

Let us seek knowledge in this blessed month by studying the meaning of the ayat of the Glorious Qur'an. Let us read about the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and his companions (ra): how they lived their lives, how they sacrificed life and limb to make the Word of Allah سبحانه وتعالى supreme. Let us remember Musab ibn Umayr (ra): the sahabi who went from being the richest man to the poorest - so poor that when died he did not own enough clothes to cover his own body. Why did he face such a situation? Because he realized the promise of Allah سبحانه وتعالى is true. Let us read about the rules of interaction in Islam whether in trade, finance, agriculture or others. Let us see what Islam says about the relationships between men and women, family and children. Islam is a complete way of life and in this blessed month let's make the sincere intention to cover some parts of Islam that we lack knowledge of.

Let us use this opportunity to extend the bridges of brother-hood and earn rewards by inviting Muslims for Iftar as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has said:

"He who feeds a fasting person will gain the same reward as he will, without decreasing from the fasting person's rewards." [Ahmad]

The month of Ramadhan in the time of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was a time of purification, enjoining the good, forbidding evil and striving hard with one's life and wealth to make the word of Allah the highest. After the death of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, Muslims carried this Sunnah on and Allah the Majestic used the believers to affect the course of history.

Ramadhan was a time of intense activity, spending the day on the saddle and the night in prayer, while calling upon Allah for His Mercy and Forgiveness. This was the spirit of Ramadhan that enabled our righteous forefathers to face seemingly impossible challenges.

So let us make this month of Ramadhan the month of prayer, the month of worship, the month of recitation of Qur'an, the month of giving Zakah, the month of strengthening the relations between our relatives, the month of generosity and goodness to the needy, the month of being aware of our speech and actions, the month of re-invigorating our relationship with Allah سبحانه وتعالى and purifying our hearts, the month of increasing our knowledge of Qur'an, Sunnah and Fiqh, and the month of engaging in the da'wa to implement the Qur'an and the Sunnah on earth.

May Allah the Most Glorious One make us that generation of Muslims who lay the proper foundations of the Islamic rule for the coming generations and make us of those who carry out our Islam during Ramadhan and beyond.

يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ
ارْجِعِي إِلَى رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً
فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي
وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي

"To the righteous soul will be said: ‘O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction! Come back thou to thy Lord, - well pleased (thyself), and well-pleasing unto Him! Enter thou, then, among My devotees! Yea, enter thou My Heaven.'" [Al-Fajr, 89:27-30]

Being Spiritually Intelligent...

The significant problems that we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.

- Albert Einstein

Ramadhan Daily Du'a

Ramadan Dua: DAY 1

ALLAH, on this day make my fasts the fasts of those who fast (sincerely), and my standing up in prayer of those who stand up in prayer (obediently), awaken me in it from the sleep of the heedless, and forgive me my sins , O God of the worlds, and forgive me, O one who forgives the sinners.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 2

ALLAH, on this day, take me closer towards Your pleasure, keep me away from Your anger and punishment, grant me the opportunity to recite Your verses (of the Qur'an), by Your mercy, O the most Merciful.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 3

ALLAH, on this day, grant me wisdom and awareness, keep me away from foolishness and pretension, grant me a share in every blessing You send down, by You generosity, O the most Generous.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 4

ALLAH, on this day, strengthen me in carrying out Your commands, let me taste the sweetness of Your remembrance, grant me, through Your graciousness, that I give thanks to You. Protect me, with Your protection and cover, O the most discerning of those who see.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 5

ALLAH, on this day, place me among those who seek forgiveness. Place me among Your righteous and obedient servants, and place me among Your close friends, by Your kindness, O the most Merciful.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 6

ALLAH, on this day, do not let me abase myself by incurring Your disobedience, and do not strike me with the whip of Your punishment, keep me away from the causes of Your anger, by and Your power, O the ultimate wish of those who desire.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 7

ALLAH, on this day, help me with its fasts and prayers, and keep me away from mistakes and sins of the day, grant me that I remember You continuously through the day, by Your assistance, O the Guide of those who stray.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 8

ALLAH, on this day, let me have mercy on the orphans, and feed [the hungry], and spread peace, and keep company with the noble-minded, O the shelter of the hopeful.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 9

ALLAH, on this day, grant me a share from Your mercy which is wide, guide me towards Your shining proofs, lead me to Your all encompassing pleasure, by Your love, O the hope of the desirous.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 10

ALLAH, on this day, make me, among those who rely on You, from those who You consider successful, and place me among those who are near to you, by Your favor, O goal of the seekers.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 11

ALLAH, on this day, make me love goodness, and dislike corruption and disobedience, bar me from anger and the fire [of Hell], by Your help, O the helper of those who seek help

Ramadan Dua: DAY 12

ALLAH, on this day, beautify me with covering and chastity, cover me with the clothes of contentment and chastity, let me adhere to justice and fairness, and keep me safe from all that I fear, by Your protection, O the protector of the frightened.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 13

ALLAH, on this day, purify me from un-cleanliness and dirt, make me patient over events that are decreed, grant me the ability to be pious, and keep company with the good, by Your help, O the beloved of the destitute.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 14

ALLAH, on this day, do not condemn me for slips, make me decrease mistakes and errors, do not make me a target for afflictions and troubles, by Your honor, O the honor of the Muslims.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 15


Ramadan Dua: DAY 16

ALLAH, on this day, grant me compatibility with the good, keep me away from patching up with the evil, lead me in it, by Your mercy, to the permanent abode, by Your God ship, O the God of the worlds.


Ramadan Dua: DAY 17

ALLAH, on this day, guide me towards righteous actions, fulfill my needs and hopes, O One who does not need explanations nor questions, O One who knows what is in the chests of the (people of the) world. Bless Muhammad and his family, the Pure.


Ramadan Dua: DAY 18

ALLAH, on this day, make me love goodness, and dislike corruption and disobedience, bar me from anger and the fire [of Hell], by Your help, O the helper of those who seek help.


Ramadan Dua: DAY 19

ALLAH, on this day, multiply for me its blessings, and ease my path towards its bounties, do not deprive me of the acceptance of its good deeds, O the Guide towards the clear truth.


Ramadan Dua: DAY 20

ALLAH, on this day, open for me the doors of the heavens, and lock the doors of Hell from me, help me to recite the Qur'an, O the One who sends down tranquility into the hearts of believers.



Ramadan Dua: DAY 21

ALLAH, on this day, show me the way to win Your pleasure, do not let Shaytan have a means over me, make Paradise an abode and a resting place for me, O the One who fulfills the requests of the needy.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 22

ALLAH, on this day, open for me the doors of Your Grace, send down on me its blessings, help me towards the causes of Your mercy, and give me a place in the comforts of Paradise, O the one who answers the call of the distressed.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 23

ALLAH, on this day, wash away my sins, purify me from all flaws, examine my heart with (for) the piety of the hearts, O One who overlooks the shortcomings of the sinners.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 24

ALLAH, on this day, I ask You for what pleases You, and I seek refuge in You from what displeases You, I ask You to grant me the opportunity to obey You and not disobey You, O One who is generous with those who ask

Ramadan Dua: DAY 25

ALLAH, on this day, make me among those who love Your friends, and hate Your enemies, following the way of Your last Prophet, O the Guardian of the hearts of the Prophets.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 26

ALLAH, on this day, make my efforts worthy of appreciation, and my sins forgiven, my deeds accepted, my flaws concealed, O the best of those who hear.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 27

ALLAH, on this day, bestow on me the blessings of Laylatul Qadr, change my affairs from (being) difficult to (being) easy, accept my apologies, and decrease for me [my] sins and burdens, O the Compassionate with His righteous servants.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 28

ALLAH, on this day, grant me a share in its nawafil (recommended prayers), honor me by attending to my problems, make closer the means to approach You, from all the means, O One who is not preoccupied by the requests of the beseechers.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 29

O ALLAH, on this day, cover me with Your mercy, grant me in it success and protection, purify my heart from the darkness of false accusations, O the Merciful to His believing servants.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 30

O ALLAH, on this day, make my fasts worthy of appreciation and acceptance, according to what pleases You, and pleases the Messenger, the branches being strengthened by the roots, for the sake of our leader, Muhammad, and his purified family. Praise be to ALLAH, the Lord of the worlds.

Ramadhan Checklist

A Ramadhan Checklist

1. Ask Allah to enable you to reach Ramadan and to get the most out of it as the Salaf used to do.

2. Intend to fast every day with Iman and pure intention seeking the reward from Allah alone. The Prophet peace be upon him said, "Whoever fasts in Ramadan with Iman and seeking reward (from Allah) his past sins will be forgiven". (Bukhari)

3. Read the whole Qur'an at least once as the Prophet peace be upon him did.

4. Have Suhoor as the Prophet peace be upon him said, "Have Suhoor because it is blessed".

5. Make Du'a during the fast because the Prophet peace be upon him said that three people's supplication is not rejected one of them is the fasting person. Ask for the good of this life and the next for yourself, your family and Muslims in general.

6. Make Dua before opening the fast. The Prophet peace be upon him said, "The fasting person has a supplication that is answered when he opens his fast".

7. Give Sadaqah and be good to people. The Prophet peace be upon him was the most generous of people and he was most generous in Ramadan.

8. Avoid anything that diminishes the fast such as, lying, backbiting, cheating, getting angry. The Prophet peace be upon him said "Whoever does not give up false statements (i.e. telling lies), and evil deeds, and speaking bad words to others, Allah is not in need of his (fasting) leaving his food and drink." [Bukhari] 9. Do not eat too much after Iftar.

10. Ask for forgiveness since this is the month Allah frees people from the fire.

11. Pray At-Tarawih with Khushoo. If you pray in the Masjid complete the Salah with the Imam. If you pray at home prolong the Salah as long as you can. The Prophet peace be upon him said, "Whoever prays during Ramadan with Iman and seeking reward (from Allah) his past sins will be forgiven".

12. Feed the poor and invite others for Iftar. The Prophet peace be upon him said, "Whoever gives Iftar to someone fasting he will have the same reward without decreasing the reward of the person fasting".

13. Try harder the last ten nights especially the odd nights. The prophet would strive in Ramadan more than he would in any other month and more so in the last ten days.

14. Say this Dua in the nights that Laitul-Qadr is likely to fall on: Allhumma innaka afuwun tuhibbul-afwa fa'fu anni (O Allah you are Forgiving and love forgiveness so forgive me).

15. Ask Allah to accept all your good actions during this month.

Remaining Steady....

In the hour of grief you turn to Him; when grief departs you transgress.
In adversity you moan entreating Him; when ease returns you turn away.
Those who know God remain steady, but those who doubt exult at times and become despondent at others.

- Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Reflections from the Night of Absolution....

This was written by a brother in the U.S. reflecting on his experiences leading prayer during the night of nisfu sha'ban. It is a beautiful example of a Muslim's reflection on the experience of prayer, something that is painfully missing from most Muslim's daily discourse. The personal experience of Islam is, even in Muslim countries, something that seems to be rarely discussed these days. Despite the sheer number of opportunities we have to reflect on and share our experiences as Muslims, we seldom do it. Yet, so much can be learned and gained from sharing on the path to Allah....

As-alaamu Alay’kum,

I just want to share a reflection about our Laylat ul-Baraa’ah (Night of Emancipation) gathering last night. I had the privilege to be the imam for 20 rak’at of the salat prayer, and during that time particularly, I felt very clear and focused on the prayer, without the normal mind-chatter that usually creeps in at just about every moment. It was very uplifting to continually bow down and put my forehead on the carpet after the numerous repetitions of Allah hu Akbar—God is Great. For a time, there was nothing else going on.

I noticed it was far more difficult to maintain such clarity and focus when I re-joined the prayer line. I was no longer responsible for leading the congregation. I was now responsible for doing my best to be an upright member of the group, but the mind-chatter came tumbling back in.

It became clear to me in these moments that taking leadership, in service to Allah, where the welfare of others takes precedence over oneself is a chance to feel the closeness of Allah and a clearness of the mind. You see, originally, I did not want to lead the prayer. I feared my mind would be too distracted and I would “mess-up.” But thanks to Rafi’s invitation and simple encouragement, I took that one step towards Allah, and Allah took countless steps in my direction.

I know these words can’t express the beauty of how it felt to recite Qur’an over and over again, hearing my voice, feeling my body, hearing the congregation respond, all in a divine dance, a collective Dhikr, purifying ourselves on this night of emancipation, but I wanted to share what I could….

Generous Peace

by Kareem Salama

This fool throws wet stones at me insists on attempts to break my nerve
But I hate to respond to the anger and feed the fuel in those ugly words
They ask me why I say nothing at all like I don’t have any self respect
I say gentleman I’m like incense the more you burn me the more I’m fragrant

And I don’t feel the need to act violently
And I don’t feel desire to fan the fire
You can say what you want about me
But I lace the lines of these times with generous peace

There’s a thin line between virtue and fear and it’s funny how they appear
Both demanding restraint and control and it’s enough that I know it’s clear
That I’m not scared of you I’m scared of me and I live by controlling my fool
Cause you’re a fool enough for the both of us but I still try to find the good in you

And I don’t feel the need to act violently
And I don’t feel desire to fan the fire
You can say what you want about me
But I lace the lines of these times with generous peace

I know its hard to listen to the words you just can’t stand
It’s gonna take more than a fist to enlighten and ignorant man
And don’t you see how we fear the patient eyes of a lion
And don’t you see how we fear those lions in their silence

Be as Pliant as Dough....

Since you are not a prophet, follow the way taught by prophets.
Since you are not a king, be a loyal subject to the king.
Since you are not a captain, do not take the helm of the ship.
Since you do not possess every skill, have partners in your business.
Be as pliant as dough in the hands of others, that you may rise well.

- Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Some Quotes about the Importance of Adab

Aadaab is the practice of being present. See the whole day as practice. If one is practicing being present, then one is also practicing Aadaab.

Aadaab is devotional service to God. All other spiritual practices are only mechanical supports to put you in the framework of Aadaab so you can realize this One thing.

Aadaab is simple. It is the constant devotional service to Allah. Practices on the path are only the devices to support your Remembrance.

- Dayemi Tariqat

God Exists for No Other

God has no ultimate cause.
The ultimate cause of a being is the ultimate reason why that being exists.
Yet God does not exist for the sake of any other being; he exists for the sake of his own perfection, which is both the cause and the consequence of his existence.

- Ibn Sina, “al-Risalat al-Arshiya”

Shock Dead, Everybody's Gone Mad: Reflections on the Death of Michael Jackson

Shock Dead, Everybody's Gone Mad: Reflections on the Death of Michael Jackson

By Hamza Yusuf


On the news
Everybody's dog food
Bang bang
Shock dead
Everybody's gone mad...

From "They Don't Care About Us" by Michael Jackson


As a little boy, Michael Jackson had an extraordinary charisma -- as well as an absolute innocence -- that was disarmingly charming. It captivated millions of Americans and eventually people around the world.

As the years went by, his career took strange turns and his face transformed eerily into a ghastly masque, perhaps to conceal the pain of alienation from his own self and family. He was also rumored to have unsavory predilections that would never have been suggested if one used the rigorous criteria of Islam before hurling an accusation. Despite the rumors, he appeared to have had a genuine concern for children, wanting to provide them with a world that was denied to him as a child due to the abuses he claimed to have suffered.

I was very happy for him last year when he reportedly became a Muslim. He had apparently followed the footsteps of his dignified and intelligent brother, Jermaine, who converted to Islam 20 years ago and found peace. It seemed befitting that Michael sought refuge from a society that thrives on putting people on pedestals and then knocking them down. He was accused of many terrible things, but was guilty of perhaps being far too sensitive for an extremely cruel world. Such is the fate of many artistic people in our culture of nihilistic art, where the dominant outlet for their talents is in singing hollow pop songs or dancing half-naked in front of ogling onlookers who often leave them as quickly as they clung to them for the next latest sensation.

In the manner of Elvis or the Beatles, Michael is unwittingly both a cause and a symptom of America’s national obsession with celebrity, currently on display in the American Idol mania. Celebrity trumps catastrophe every time. Far too few of us make any attempt to understand why jobs are drying up, why mortgages are collapsing, why we spend half-a-trillion dollars to service the interest on the national debt, why our government’s administration, despite being elected on an anti-war platform, is still committed to two unnecessary and unjust wars waged by the earlier administration, wars that continue to involve civilians casualties on an almost daily basis. Instead, we drown in trivia, especially trivia related to celebrity. And the response to Michael’s death is part of the trivial pursuits of American popular culture. The real news about death in America is that twenty Iraq and Afghan war veterans are committing suicide every day. But that does not make the front page nor is it discussed as seriously as the King of Pop’s cardiac arrest.

Nevertheless, Michael’s very public death notice is a powerful reminder that no matter how famous or talented or wealthy one is, death comes knocking, sometimes sooner than later. Michael has now entered a world of extraordinary perception, a world that makes his “Thriller” video seem mundane. It is a world of angels and demons, and questions in the grave, a world where fame is based upon piety and charity. Given Michael’s reported conversion to Islam last year, Muslims count him as one of our own, and we pray that he can finally find the peace he never found in this world and that he is in a place, God willing, of mercy, forgiveness, and solace.

By Means of Opposites...

The servile earth and the lofty sky: without this opposite the sky would not be so high.
The low and high of the earth are winter and spring.
The low and high of time are night and day.
The low and high of the body are sickness and health.
By means of these opposites the world is kept alive; by means of these doubles souls feel fear and hope.

- Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Ponder the wisdom of creation and the unity in all that He Creates...

The Whole World is Imagination...

Indeed the whole world is imagination.
Only He is the real in Reality.
Whoever understands this knows the secrets of the spiritual path.

- Ibn 'Arabi, "Masters of the Path"

Allah is Always Close...

Behold the words of the Qur'an: "We are closer to you than you are yourself." Comprehend your relationship with God! He is closer to us than our own selves. Yet through ignorance we search for Him Wandering from door to door.

- Sufi poem

Life Without Repentance....

Life without repentance is spiritual agony; to be absent from God is immediate death. Life and death both are sweet with God’s presence: without God even the Water of Life is fire.

- Rumi, Mathnawi [V, 770-771]

Experience, Reflection and Right Action: Developing Spiritual Intelligence Among Young Muslims

By Abdul-Lateef Abdullah


Youth are spiritually disconnected. This is the complaint of many concerned adults who sense that problems among young people are growing more extreme. Even those young people growing up in ‘religious’ homes are among the victims of a number of social ills. The disconnect they sense is young people learning religion yet not practicing it, not realizing it, and not having it influence their lives in a meaningful way. The disconnect they sense is between the knowledge that they are receiving and that knowledge translating into meaningful action and positive, healthy human and spiritual development. As such, the fear is a growing culture of meaninglessness among youth. In such a culture, the only value that many young people receive from the society at large is materialism or the pursuit of physical pleasure. The understood purpose for existence is no more than an accumulation of ‘things’ (Garbarino, 1999).

Youth researchers across the globe acknowledge the war of values taking place inside the hearts and minds of young people. Youth are in desperate need of the skills, knowledge and competencies to moderate the worldliness of our age with understanding that can only come from the wisdom that applied spirituality, also known as spiritual intelligence, can provide.

The gap referred to above is focused around how to transform knowledge of religion into intelligence, i.e. intelligent behavior, which, according to Ford (1994) requires “a motivated, skillful person whose biological and behavioral capabilities support relevant interactions with an environment that has the informational and material properties and resources needed to facilitate (or at least permit) goal attainment”(p.203). For Muslim youth in development, rather than those goals that they might aspire to given personal tastes and affinities, goal attainment in a general sense can refer to their healthy development to adulthood and the subsequent attainment of positive life outcomes. Spiritually, this might refer to the notion of ‘ultimate success,’ i.e. success on a worldly as well as heavenly level, the latter often referred to as paradise or proximity to God. Such success requires a life lived in voluntary, conscious surrender to God’s will and commands. The question before us, therefore, is how to transfer knowledge of religion to young people in a manner that cultivates spiritual intelligence, or the ability to apply, manifest, and embody spiritual resources, values, and qualities to enhance daily functioning and wellbeing (Amram and Dryer, 2007).

Along these lines, we must identify a general process that can be applied to obtain the desired goal of the transformation of knowledge into intelligence behavior. Morris (2005), from his lifelong study of the spiritual life and works of the great Muslim saint, Ibn ‘Arabi, describes the complex process of developing spiritual intelligence into three general phases: experience, reflection and right action. Specifically, he states that:

“…the heart’s distinctive activity of ‘reflection’….refers to two equally indispensable aspects of that universal process of spiritual intelligence. First it points to the complex intellectual and spiritual processes of ‘remembering God (dhikr Allah)’ – to what the Qur’an variously refers to, on every page, as our seeking, looking, probing, thinking, understanding, pondering, contemplating, recalling – all so that we might come to recognize the divine Source and meaning of those phenomena, that task which is our distinctively human capacity, finality and responsibility. Secondly, it alludes to the ongoing practical processes and actions of purification and spiritual discipline, to the often painful task of polishing the mirror of the heart, so that through these trials and lessons it can eventually become a true and effective reflection of each of the divine qualities, of the “Most Beautiful Names” (p.2).”

The process of reflection, therefore, is that stage where experience and knowledge meet, interact and result in a more refined end product, namely, right action or the manifestation of the more refined human being, also known in Islamic terminology as ihsan. Thus, spiritual intelligence is the application of spirituality into right action, the nexus of experience and knowledge, mediated by the human being’s capacity for meditation, contemplation and meaning making culminating in manifested behavior worthy of God’s pleasure. The missing ‘link’ previously mentioned, therefore, is addressed by way of a holistic process that makes use of the entire human being – body, mind and soul – to engage in the development of spiritual intelligence.

It begins with how a person experiences life through the world of the senses. In an effort to make meaning of what is seen, heard, felt, smelled and tasted, the experiences are filtered through the lens of ‘ultimate concerns’ (Emmons, 1999), whereby reflection is applied. The reflective process is guided by way of right knowledge delivered through the medium of the spiritual or religious teacher or guide. Reflection on the experience makes use of knowledge, discourse, reason, meditation, contemplation and prayer, and through the application of these tools, meaning of the experience is arrived at by the individual. Once meaning has been arrived at, the experience becomes internalized or integrated into the individual’s makeup, influencing future action based on the notion of truth put forth by the guide in the form of right knowledge. Thus, right action results, reflective of the right knowledge provided by the guide and confirmed through the experience of the individual.

This transformative, experiential learning cycle is exactly that, a process of application of spiritual knowledge into right action resulting from experience and deep, guided reflection. Providing an experience alone does not create learning per se. The learning comes from the thoughts and ideas that flow as a result of the experience (Boyd 2001), which is achieved through the various processes that occur in the reflection stage. For example, in the context of youth work, between a youth worker and a young person, the learning is two-way and shared. In the youth work context, unlike other formal educational arrangements, the youth worker and young person learn from one another. Learning is not one directional but a process of sharing and mutual benefit. Together, the worker and young person share experiences and engage in a process of guided mutual reflection and understanding thus allowing for mutual growth. Youth workers, therefore, must know how to use experiences with youth to create ongoing learning and values development. This is a conscious "learn by doing" experiential process; the youths’ ongoing contact with the youth worker allows for the establishment and nurturing of this special kind of developmental relationship.

In the case of spiritual intelligence development, the key missing link, therefore, is addressed. The gap between the young person’s worldly experiences and the spiritual or religious knowledge that adults so much wish for youth to acquire is met. The process fully validates the experiences of young people, no matter how mundane or materialistic adults may think them to be, while at the same time applying spiritual knowledge in an effective manner through the spiritual resources reflected in the process of guided reflection and meaning making.

Rather than starting with religious knowledge and transferring it solely in a closed, classroom environment where young people are essentially removed from their everyday settings, the development of spiritual intelligence in the abovementioned manner can improve the facilitation of spiritual understanding and deeper meaning of the everyday. This can help young people to better understand the sacredness in everything they do and experience, making the oneness of God (tawhid) a living reality, rather than a static book-rendered classroom subject.

In this process is the development of spiritual intelligence, and the need for it. Without it, young people cannot connect their lives and the events taking place around them to anything greater and more meaningful; they cannot see the wholeness of life and how they and what they do fits into it. Without spiritual intelligence, it is difficult for young people to strive for ‘ultimate success’ while at the same time live in the world with a fully present heart and mind, understanding both the temporal and eternal significance of every moment in life. The author is thus convinced that the missing link is spiritual intelligence.

Remembrance, Recognition and Realization
Spiritual intelligence, from an Islamic approach can be understood or described as ‘discernment resulting in right action,’ or the ability to comprehend the spiritual reality and thus deeper meaning behind the outward form, and to act accordingly based on that realization. Discernment is what allows us to see with the inner eye of the heart, and to go beyond the physical eye that is limited to the world of form and structure. Intelligence implies action, not merely having knowledge but applying it in a manner that leads to greater well-being for the individual and others. That is why intelligence is often defined or alluded to as problem-solving, and why spiritual intelligence does not stop at merely ‘being spiritual’ or having a certain spiritual inclination or worldview.

Spiritual intelligence as discernment is not limited to extra-sensory experiences, mystical states or special, transcendental meditative abilities, either, for these imply something other than everyday experience. Rather, spiritual intelligence from the Islamic viewpoint is the ability to ‘see’ the spiritual in the mundane and to experience the Divine Hand at work in even the most habitual of acts. It is the ability to discern reality more holistically and to peer beyond the surface and toward the essence of matters.

Along these lines, we can refer to the famous Hadith of Gabriel, and to the Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) description of the term ihsan as “worshipping Allah as though you are seeing Him, and while you see Him not yet truly He sees you.” This description implies excellence resulting from witnessing, which is why ihsan is often defined as spiritual excellence, as a result of consciousness of Allah at all times and in all matters. In this, there is the implication that spirituality is not relegated to exceptional mystical states or experiences, but every moment of ordinary life. Spirituality in this way is not a form of escapism to another realm of existence but rather a deeper knowing and recognition of the reality that exists before us at all times. The spiritually intelligent, therefore, are those that are conscious of and can see the Divine hand at work in every aspect of life, sometimes referred to as theophany or Divine manifestation in the form of Allah’s Names and Attributes.

Those who believe everything to be created by God see Him in everything.
They find comfort in regarding the Creator and not His creation.
All problems stem from the illusion that created things hold the ultimate power. -Al-Nuri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

The spiritually intelligent use this insight and ability to achieve excellence in their deeds and do not discriminate between ‘spiritual’ acts and ‘worldly’ acts, but realize that the two are at play simultaneously in a paralleled harmony and unity of existence. Continuous remembrance of God allows us to recognize Him everywhere, resulting in realization of this Truth.

Troubles and Terrors....

This world is an abode of troubles; the world hereafter of terrors.
Humans are in the midst of troubles or terrors until they reach the final abode of Paradise or Hell.
Happy is the soul that has detached itself from troubles and terrors and has attached itself to God alone.

- Al-Hujwiri, “The Kashf al-Mahjub”

When God's Decree Becomes Your Pleasure...

When God’s decree becomes your pleasure, you become a willing slave, not because of burdening yourself, not on account of recompense, but by virtue of the nature now so pure that wherever divine edict may take you, living and dying will appear the same. You live for God, not for riches; you die for God, not from fear or pain.

- Rumi

Attributes and Essence

Everyone can see the effects of God's mercy. But who, except God himself, understands the essence of his mercy? Most people cannot understand the essence of any of God's attributes; they only know his attributes through their effects -- and also through analogy.

- Rumi

Saiyyidina Ali's Mathematical Brilliance

DIVIDING 17 CAMELS

A person was about to die, and before dying he wrote his Will which went as follows:

"I have 17 Camels, and I have three sons. Divide my Camels in such a way that my eldest son gets half of them, the second one gets 1/3rd of the total and my youngest son gets 1/9th of the total number of Camels."

After his death when the relatives read his will they got extremely perplexed and said to each other that how can we divide 17 camels like this.

So after a long hard thought they decided that there was only one man in Arabia who could help them: "Imam Ali (AS)."

So they all came to the door of Imam Ali (AS) and put forward their problem.

Imam Ali (AS) said, "Ok, I will divide the camels as per the man's will."

Imam Ali (AS) said, "I will lend one of my camels to the total which makes it 18 (17+1=18), now lets divide as per his will."

The eldest son gets 1/2 of 18 = 9
The second one gets 1/3 of 18 = 6
The youngest gets 1/9 of 18 = 2
Now the total number of camels = 17 (9+6+2=17)


Then Imam Ali (AS) said, "Now I will take my Camel back."

Islam is a State of Being

The word "Islamic" does not really exist. It denotes or implies "coming from Islam" as though "Islam" were a time, place or thing. It is not. It is a State - of being at Peace with God, and you are either in it, or you are not. The word "Islam" is simply the command, in Arabic, to Surrender.

- Ali Ansari

Outward Conformity and Inward Reality

It may be true that there are levels of outward understanding and compliance with outward conformity that can and should be observed by common people in their daily lives. But to deny the proven and accepted inward realities of life and religion is simply to deny the self any opportunity to realize and truly know God. And truly knowing and glorifying God is our primary responsibility. If that is not fulfilled, of what use is the fulfillment of all of the outward observations except for the benefits of conformity, and to be in the good graces of men and society. And that is truly the association of partners with Allah and a carryover of the basic ignorance of tribalism that has led to the degeneration of the lofty teachings of Divine revelation
and which that very revelation was sent to correct.

- Ali Ansari

Being born into Islam does not mean being born into Surrender...

Being born into Islam does not mean being born into Surrender. The influences of Muslim parents on their children to become "good" Muslims are exactly the same as the influences of any parents anywhere to have their children succeed in the skills of their particular society. So there remains in the soul of the child the desire to manifest, and the sense of rebellion that wants to make the right decisions based upon true experience, and not upon the acquired experience provided by parents, education and society....

...True Surrender must be discovered, realized and accepted by each individual through the process of a quest for true self-understanding. This process was, is and has been preserved by them who seek it. And they are those who have heard and follow true guidance. They are not satisfied with the outward life of picking up a book, reading it, and proclaiming themselves knowledgeable. They realize that there is and must be more to life than simply learning how to compete, succeed and excel in the outward goals of material acquisition.

- Ali Ansari

Is this what our youth are telling us? That they are merely rebelling for more genuine experiences? That they want to know -- and true knowing means through experience -- who they are? Does that mean that we -- adults -- are not providing them with the genuine knowledge and experiences they need to learn about who they are and who Allah is? The amazing thing is that this is confirmed by everything we know in youth development. Young people WILL develop, they will discover themselves, whether we like it or not, for that is the way Allah has programmed the human being and his/her life in this world. The question for us is, how will they do it? If we are truly guiding them, then we will provide them with the authentic knowledge, nurture, experiences, support and opportunities to discover who they REALLY are according to their fitra and human potential. Or, we can let them go and allow the streets, media and their oft-ignorant peers to provide them with the experiences and pathways for 'development.' It's simply a matter of guiding them to know Allah by His Mercy, or by His Wrath, and the ultimate responsibility and burden of what results will be on us.

Forcing young people to 'be Muslim' according to some superficial picture is not the same as teaching a young person what it means to live in surrender to the Creator. This is where our current educational process is wrong, beginning from the family all the way through the formal education system. We choose to 'inculcate' rather than educate. True education, as my teacher taught me, is about understanding through knowing, and it touches on every aspect of life, confirmed through the Book and the Way of the Prophet (SAW). This is a far cry from the forced instruction that our children go through on a daily basis in the so-called education system.

Until we understand this, the difference between 'being a Muslim' and living in true surrender will remain hidden and our young people will continue to cry for attention through rebelliousness and anti-social behavior.

On Knowing Reality

Prayer of the Prophet

- Ali Ansari

"O Allah! Show me all things as they are."
"Allahumma, Ara`ani kullu shay`in kama hiya"

This is the constant heart prayer of the true gnostic and the vocal expression of the essence of the endless, ongoing quest.

To know, see, and be in reality at all times is, at least, to be free from the trap of our mental perceptions and it can be done, or at least asked for. This prayer, even though ongoing, is answerable, and here's how I feel the answer.

"Things as they are" are never as they seem. We are asking for a direct vision of reality. This certainly implies its possibility. And if the certainty is not granted immediately upon request, it implies the presence of veils, which are also part of the reality, and which must become known and recognized in order to be removed. So now we must accept the reality of "veils".

The removal of veils implies the removal of the visual impedances held in the outer, central and deeper regions of the hearts by incorrect or unreal beliefs in "other than" Allah, which are the results of and cause our personal distortions of reality. Distortions in perception are not changes in reality but misguided interpretations, incorrect assumptions and understandings that keep us "out of touch" with it. The singular "cure" for this is the seeking and following of guidance. This search for and following of guidance is called 'sulook', or 'traveling', or 'walking'. It is the long-honored process of self-education in the approach to reality, or on the pathway to God, as we like to say.

What is Reality? Reality can never be what we "think" it is simply because by the time we get a "mental" fix on it, it has changed and we are left with a flash picture, like a photograph. Our perception of reality is made up for the most part of photos in archive, and the only way we can ever get through it is to posit the existence of a transcendent, objective truth, a goal, and approach it. Otherwise we are left collecting pictures of ourselves, wading through our own archives, destroying pictures. That's why the Zen people teach the phrase, "Zen mind, beginner's mind", because every moment is a new beginning.

How, then, can we "trust" anything? You might well ask.

Reality is quite reliable on its own and neither asks of us nor needs of us any mental participation. It obviously does not exclude such, but the results of mental participation become "reality" too, "our contribution", so to speak. Hence the confusion and difficulty in distinguishing between what is "really" true, and what is just true for a moment. The mind is based on attainment, but the soul is already established in the love of God. Shifting our focus from one to the other is the process of the journey. Self-acceptance (Surrender to the reality of Soul) is what dissolves the illusion of conceptual self. It simply melts in its own reality. "I see who I am and surrender to that", is the first step of "seeing things as the are". Then we come to understand the phrase "The world is but a reflection of how we see ourselves in it."

Mental purification (God-realization through remembrance exercise) is the means and goal of Islamic Healing. So we start in our minds, positing the existence of God, the Divine Being from Whom and by Whom all things emanate. Then we investigate what religions and spiritual paths have to say about such a being. Upon conclusion that such a being exists, we set about our search for means of discovery. And soon we discover the heart of the matter, ourselves. When we realized that the depth of the secrets of reality lies within our own beings, we also realize what lies within the depths of other beings and we set out on our journey in earnest, to be healed and educated by others, and to thereby bring healing and education to others.

This necessity and quest for self-understanding is what brings humanity together. We approach those in whom we feel the healing energy and wisdom of truth, peace, love and, and while discovering them on our paths, we ourselves are discovered by others on a similar quest....

New Sa'udi-Wahhabi Crime in Medina

Riyadh - In keeping up with their war against Sunni Muslims, the Sa'udi usurpers of al-Haramayn chose to impose a wall around Jannat al-Baqi, the blessed cemetery of Medina, thus preventing Muslims from visiting and supplicating by the graves of the Family of Muhammad, the Fatimid Imams of Bani Hashim, of Imam Hassan the son of Ali son of Fatimah, daughter of Rasul-Ullah, of his nephew Imam Zaynu-l-'Abidin, of his son Imam Muhammd, surnamed the Wider of Sciences by Imam as-Shafi'i, of His son Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq who gave his silsilah from 'Ali to Imam Abu Hanifah, and by the graves of the Outstanding Companions who were buried in Medina and honored by the Salaf.

According to al-Alam TV, the known theologian of Bahrein Abdul-Azim Al-Muhtada said that this is a further step in the path of disrespect and insolence toward the Family of the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions. All this continues as the Saudi monarchy goes on supporting the evil cult of the pseudo-Salafi Wahhabis.

- Istituto Culturale della Comunita' Islamica Italiana

Feeling Overwhelmed is Part of Allah's Plan

Sometimes the feeling of being overwhelmed overwhelms us. We feel like we are drowning -- so many things that have to get done and so little time. Promises we have made, deadlines to keep and the desperation in our minds of, 'how the heck am I going to do all this?' But the amazing thing is that somehow, it always gets done. Why? Because all these things are also from Allah and part of His plan. He only sends them our way because He knows we CAN get them done, and He makes sure that they do get done -- usually in ways that we never could have imagined -- just like the Qur'an tells us (i.e. Ayat seribu dinar). Trust and surrender -- then do the work that needs to be done. These are the words of wisdom that one great teacher spoke that must be referred to at such moments.

That does not mean, however, that we should not from time to time be afraid to say 'no thanks' to people that ask us to do things. We also have to be fair and just to ourselves and those who we have already made commitments to, along with those who have rights over us such as our families and the like. I guess, in the end, this is the delicate balance of life that we must maintain with constant hope and prayer. It's just another sign of how dependent we are on our Lord every moment of every day.