Bismillah...

Playing Fetch

2007-02-14T09:29:00.000-05:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
Allahumma salli 'alaa Sayyidinaa Muhammad, wa 'alaa aali Sayyidinaa Muhammad wa baarik wa sallim.

As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

It's been a *very* long time since I last updated this, but I haven't forgotten about it and I keep thinking that I should come back to it. The main reason I feel I've been hesitant to update is that I really don't think I have anything to offer anyone; also I feel the concept of having a blog is somewhat rooted in arrogance. Who am I to think that what I have to say is so important that everyone else should waste moments of their lives reading it? But I keep remembering what some people have told and advised me, and my feelings change... I realize that benefit lies with Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala and He can choose to guide us through whichever avenue He sees best, even if we may never imagine that guidance could come from that avenue. So May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala put barakah in these words and in the time I spend maintaining this blog --if indeed it is written for me to do so-- and may He not allow my own gross inadequacies to negatively effect the great and glorious message of Truth for which this blog stands. Ameen.

So, today's reflection...

As I was working on the computer, my eye caught some movement outside my apartment, so I took a moment to observe what was going on. In the freshly fallen snow of this first winter storm, I saw a very cute, little dog running back and forth in the parking lot. He was playing fetch with his owner. His owner would throw what appeared to be a snowball, and the dog --without a moment's hesitation-- darted out in the direction of the ball, took two or three second to search the snow for it, grabbed it in his mouth, and ran swiftly back to his owner. At first I felt pity for the dog, that he could be so deeply amused and entranced by this game, such that if a car accident were to occur in the parking lot, he probably wouldn't even notice, due to the intense amount of concentration he dedicated to this rather menial task.

Then I realized that, subhaanAllah, actually this dog is far better than the vast majority of mankind. In essence, the game he was playing is completely parallel to our own lives. We were with Allah, our Lord, our Sustainer and Cherisher, Who sent us to this earth for the briefest of moments in order to test us in our obedience and worship. All we have to do is remember that that is our purpose, fulfill it, and return to Him. But, unlike the dog who diligently searches the snow for his ball so that he can return it promptly to his owner, we get distracted by the snow flakes and start wandering off on our own ventures, oblivious to the fact that our Owner is still waiting for our obedience.

Every moment we spend distracted by the things of this world is one more moment that Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala spends waiting for us to turn back to Him. Therefore it behooves the one whose bed is the grave and whose journey is to the place where he will be judged to keep our sight fixed firmly on the inevitable meeting with Him and to spend every moment of our lives preparing actively for that fateful day. Truly mankind can be elevated to statuses higher than that of the angels and can likewise be lowered to statuses less than that of the animals. So learn from the dog that is obedient to his master and strive to out-do him in his obedience. And how can we not? Our Master is the Most High, the All Merciful, Most Kind.

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala grant us the tawfiq to struggle assiduously for the meeting with Him, to give up those things that He does not want to see us engaged in, and to drown ourselves in those things which earn His Pleasure. Wa aakhiru da'waana anilhamdulillahi Rabbil 'aalameen.

Winter Branches

2006-05-22T10:24:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem

flesh hardens
eyes close to Light
lungs seal off

Life cannot enter a vessel
already filled with distraction

heedlessness
clouds the clarity
that only comes with
Faith

the child,
extremely limited in knowledge,
fears for her health

for the ender of health
is the guillotine
above her head

mere moments separate her from her
Beloved
to Whom she wishes to gift

soft, supersaturated flesh
open eyes and lungs
a vessel of Life and His Light

Love

2005-11-20T16:20:00.000-05:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
Allahumma salli 'alaa Sayyidinaa Muhammad wa 'aala aali Sayyidinaa Muhammad wa baarik wa sallam.

SubhaanAllah.

How Beautiful is Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala? Our minds cannot comprehend His Beauty. How Perfect is He? How Kind? How Loving? How Generous? How so extremely Merciful? There is no way we can ever understand. It is simply beyond 0ur small and meager (yet so blessed, as they are from Him) capabilities.

Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, the Most Beautiful of those who have beauty, the most Loving of those who have love, the Most Kind of those who show kindness, He 'azza wa jal willed to bring us into existence simply so that we could know and love Him. He does not benefit one atom's weight. We are the ones who benefit, and not just benefit, but can experience the highest level of peace, satisfaction, joy, and ecstacy that any created being can ever experience, because He subhaanahu wa ta 'alaa made us human.

Then He gave us Islam. He gave us our sweet and most beautiful of all creation, most beloved of all creation, our Prophet Muhammad salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam. (What a beautiful name! The most beautiful of all the names of creation!) He gifted us with him salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam, the perfection in his acts, the sweetness in his speech, the mildness in his nature, the love in his every movement, the grace and beauty that only he, of all creation, attained to such an impeccable degree.

If He was to have stopped there --with the gift of knowledge of Him, of seeking His Nearness and Pleasure, and with the gift of His Beloved Messenger salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam-- we would have been infinitely more than satiated as human beings. Our desires would be met. Our yearnings attained. Our passions fulfilled. Were we to simply exist in a box with whatever minimum necessary for our physical survival, we would be kings. We would have everything we could ever need, for what more is there to desire and seek after than the Love, Company, and Pleasure of Allah, which is available at no monetary cost, dispensable to all who seek it?

Yet He willed to give us more: He gave us each other. He gave us our mothers, our fathers, our brothers, our sisters, our best friends, our distant friends, our spouses, our children. He gave us our shuyukh. He gave us love for each of these people, love between us and among us. SubhaanAllah. Love is something so sweet, it is inexplainable. So beautiful, it is incomprehensible. So intense, it can cripple the physical senses and the intellectual capabilities. Love is something so real and true that people in the West have begun to think that it is the true end! The goal! The purpose! But, subhaanAllah, Allah is Most Wise and Giving, for He gave us this love as a means... it is our means to the True End, the True Goal, our True Beloved subhaanahu wa ta 'aala. He has given us this love, which standing alone is so sweet and mesmerizing, and then He has made that love a means through which we attain His Love! SubhaanAllah! How, then, can we fail to attain His Love, when He has given us love between spouses for His Sake? Love between siblings for His Sake? Love between parents and children for His Sake? SubhaanAllah, He has given us love for one's shaykh! One's guide! One's mentor! One's own, little piece of RasulAllah salAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam, so sweet and so precious, so utterly beloved. SubhaanAllah, it's like saying to someone, "I'll only give you this yummyyyy candy, if you allow me to give you $100 first." SubhaanAllah! He is giving us His Love through the already-so-sweet love for our shaykh! For our spouse! For our family! For our ummah! SubhaanAllah! And that Love that He gives... is inifinitely, exponentially more satisfying and fulfilling than these "earthly" (though perhaps they're not so earthly) loves, and even they can sometimes be enough to cripple us physically. So what does that say about True Love?

SubhaanAllah.

15th of Sha'ban

2005-09-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
Allahumma salli 'alaa sayyidinaa Muhammadin 'abdika wa rasoolikan-nabiyyil ummiyyu wa 'alaa aalihi wa sahbihi wa sallim.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu : )

Just a quick note to remind us all that the 15th of Sha'ban is coming up soon! The ground is fertile for planting those spiritual seeds and the rainy season is just a few weeks away, so reap the fruit available to you and start doing extra right away, if you haven't already.

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala grant us the gift of extra recitation of Qur'an, extra nawaafil acts and salaahs, extra dhikr, and extra fasting now, and may we spiritually soar into Ramadan so that once it begins the wind of its blessings catch us under the wings and raise us to the lofty heights of wilaaya. Ameen.

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen

P.S. Click here for a post from last year which talks all about what you can do on the night and day of the 15th of sha'ban.

Aphorisms from The Almighty

2005-09-09T23:35:00.000-04:00

'A'oodhu billahi min ash-shaytaanir rajeem.
Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.

Seest thou one who turns back,

Gives a little, then hardens (his heart)?

What! Has he knowledge of the Unseen so that he can see?

Nay, is he not acquainted with what is in the Books of Moses-

And of Abraham who fulfilled his engagements?-

Namely, that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another;

That man can have nothing but what he strives for;

That (the fruit of) his striving will soon come in sight:

Then will he be rewarded with a reward complete;

That to thy Lord is the final Goal;

That it is He Who granteth Laughter and Tears;

That it is He Who granteth Death and Life;

That He did create in pairs,- male and female,

From a seed when lodged (in its place);

That He hath promised a Second Creation (Raising of the Dead);

That it is He Who giveth wealth and satisfaction;

That He is the Lord of Sirius (the Mighty Star);

And that it is He Who destroyed the (powerful) ancient 'Ad (people),

And the Thamud nor gave them a lease of perpetual life.

And before them, the people of Noah, for that they were (all) most unjust and most insolent transgressors,

And He destroyed the Overthrown Cities (of Sodom and Gomorrah).

So that (ruins unknown) have covered them up.

Then which of the gifts of thy Lord, (O man,) wilt thou dispute about?

This is a Warner, of the (series of) Warners of old!

The (Judgment) ever approaching draws nigh:

No (soul) but Allah can lay it bare.

Do ye then wonder at this recital?

And will ye laugh and not weep,-

Wasting your time in vanities?

But fall ye down in prostration to Allah, and adore (Him)!

Surat an-Najm, Ayahs 33-62

Mubarak on Receiving this Gift

2005-08-27T23:30:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
Allahumma salli 'alaa Sayyidinaa Muhammadin-nabiyyil ummiyyu wa 'alaa aalihi wa sallim tasleema.

As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu : )

Just a quick note to say an extremely deep and heartfelt mubarak to all of you who have pledged yourself to Islam... to the sunnah of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala's Beloved Messenger salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam and to the Shari'ah-- the two threads which, along with their companions dhikr and rabita, make the strongest and firmest rope we can cling to for support and direction in our struggle on the Path to Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala.

By the Will, Mercy, and Grace of Allah 'azza wa jal, you may find that your heart will begin to expand with love in ways it may never have done before. Revel in this beautiful experience and continually turn to the Giver of such gifts to thank Him and seek His forgiveness, for verily He is Oft-Forgiving and ever-ready to turn to those of His servants who return their gazes to Him.

Also, know that there is absolutely nothing in this world more pleasurable and sweet than the remembrance of Allah... drown yourself in the remembrance of your Beloved. Cling to the teachings and advice of he who Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala has sent you as a gift and a guide. What better way to learn an art or a skill but from he who has mastered it?

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala make this a means through which you earn the highest of states, the loftiest of ranks and stations with Him, and may He grant you complete spiritual success in this life, and the most honourable and desirous of all rewards in the Next. Ameen.

Your sister,
Zareen

Our First Spiritual Guides: Parents

2005-06-29T16:30:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
Allahumma salli 'alaa sayyidinaa Muhammad, wa 'alaa aali sayyidinaa Muhammad, wa 'alaa as-haabi sayyidinaa Muhammad, wa baarik wa sallam.

As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu : )

I'm taking this class called "Race, Gender and Motherhood" and it's been making me think about a lot of things. For starters, I just keep being reminded of how grateful I must be for being Muslim. SubhaanAllah, the kinds of things I hear in that class from my classmates make me shudder... but actually the scary thing is, I have to hear them twice a week, for four hours straight, for six weeks in a row, so I'm almost becoming immune to them. I remember on my first day of class when someone said, "the only difference between a mother and a father is that the mother breastfeeds," I had to make some serious dhikr to get my blood to cool down, all the while fighting off chakkar. Now I've reached the point where I hear rabid feminist statements and hardly so much as flinch. I'm ashamed to admit it.

But anyway, that wasn't what I came on here to say. I've naturally been thinking a lot about motherhood because of this class, and furthermore about how much I really just don't know anything about motherhood because it's the kind of knowledge which is 95% experiential... except for the love... that's 100% experiential. No one can ever understand the love a mother has for her child unless she herself has had her own. Not even the the father can understand. His love is different. Beautiful, without doubt, but different.

So then these thoughts of motherlove and mothercare extended themselves to thoughts of both parents, mother and father, and I remembered something Shaykh Hamza hafidhahullah once said that was so beautiful, and so beneficial to hear. I'm not sure if these ruminations were his own, or if he was passing them on from another great heart and mind in our Islamic spiritual and intellectual tradition, so I apologize if I'm not giving proper credit (though such "credit" is not needed among Muslims.... do you see anyone's signature on the Haram Shareef, or Masjid un-Nabawi, or Masjid ul Aqsa, the way one expects to see a signature on any great work of artistic expression?)

Shaykh Hamza was talking about one of the many hikmas behind the immese amount of love and respect commanded of us in the Qur'an and hadith towards our parents. Think about what it's like when you're born. You're weak, feeble, and entirely dependent. You can't even so much as lift your head on your own, let alone eat or drink to keep yourself alive. And who is it that facilitate your ability to do these things? None other than your parents. Therefore from the very start, you can't help but love your parents, even if it was simply because of the care they took of you. Then, on top of the things they did for you, is their love for you. They watched you, took care of you, listened for your voice, ran to you at the slightest whimper, shed tears upon your first step and gave themselves to you, mind, body, and soul. Hazrat Zulfiqar quoted in his book Love for Allah: "Love itself will teach you the aadaab of love." What your parents showed you were the aadaab (proper manners) of love. They didn't need to tell you they loved you (though in many cases they usually do), their love screamed itself known through their actions.

So what he was saying is that the relationship we have with our parents, from the very beginning, is a way for us to learn about and understand, through experience, our relationship with Allah as His slave (what an honoured status....) Think about how similar it is- when you're born you're entirely dependent on their looking after you for your survival and growth. The same way, we are always entirely dependent on Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala for our survival, growth and anything else we could ever need. Then, on top of the fact that He keeps breath in our lungs and causes our hearts to beat and that He nourishes and sustains us, He loves us. He loves us sooo much, and that love is made manifest in every single thing in our life, whether we are wise enough to realize it or not. The very fact that you are alive shows He loves you. And then, subhaanAllah, the fact that He gave us Islam and His Beloved Messenger salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam shows His love for us. Every single thing you see in or around you, feel, hear, smell, taste, touch, understand, or experience is a sign of His love for you. SubhaanAllah. How can we not then love Him in return? How can we not then make sacrafices for His Sake? How, then, can we go on disobeying Him? He who loves us more than our mother. Not just "more"... infinitely more... subhaanAllah.

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala make us among those who are entirely obedient to Him in every facet of our lives, and may He grant us a beautiful relationship with our parents... the two people He chose to be our first teachers of Love for Him. Wa aakhiru da'waana anilhamdulillahi Rabbil 'aalameen.

Where's your heart?

2005-06-20T17:45:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem

As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu everyone,

Just a friendly reminder from your fellow slave to check your heart. What is it remembering? I feel like that reminder on TV: "It's 10pm. Do you know where your children are?" with all these images of young kids with pouty lips looking into the camera. Well, it should really say: "You're alive. Do you know what your heart is remembering?" and through your mind should run images of the Day of Judgment... of you standing before your Creator, His beloved salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam, the sahaba radiAllahu 'anhum and all the awliyaa and 'ulema who sacraficed their blood, sweat and tears to preserve this perfect Deen so it could reach us today.... and as you're standing there the video tape of your life is played before all.... and it will be made plain to you what was really in your heart at that moment, and that moment, and that one.

I know, it's hard, because your heart is so used to remembering this and that, and your mind so used to processing hundreds of thoughts between one moment and another. But your heart is crying for Allah's remembrance, so remember Him! And Allah 'azza wa jal Himself has given us His Word in the Qur'an: "Remember Me; I will remember you." When you think about someone you love to pieces who's far away, sometimes you wonder, "do they think of me? I spend so much time thinking of them, remembering them in my heart... I wonder how often they think of me... I wonder what I can do to make them remember me..." In the case of your Beloved, you never have to wonder : ) You remember Him, He remembers you. Easy formula.... it's all up to you.

So take comfort in the fact that at this very moment, when you read al Lafz ul Jalaalah "Allah," and at that moment you remembered Him, know that He just remembered you too : )

And don't forget all the benefits:
"Verily in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest."
"Everything in this world has a polish, and the polish of the hearts is the remembrance of Allah."
What more could we want than to put our hearts at rest, to purify them, and to have Allah remember us, all in one moment's pleasure?

Please keep me in your du'as..
Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen

Click on the link below for a beautiful lecture on constant remembrance of Allah jalla jalaaluh, by Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed damat barakaatuh (with a beautiful du'a at the end.)

Wuquf-e-qalbi

Nafs and Sunnah

2005-06-12T16:30:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem

As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,
Just a reminder. This something I've been thinking about lately, so I thought I'd make others think about it too. Imam 'Abdallah ibn 'Alawi al Haddad rahimahullah once said:

Discipine the ego with constant isolation
silence, sleeplessness and hunger.

So most of us aren't awliyaa of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, so doing such a thing seems rather impossible. But if you're among those who yearn to purify their hearts, then just try it for a few days... I'd say, just take one of those four and work on it. Maybe focus on one each month. No, one every forty days. Write it on your calendar. Mark off the next forty days and tell yourself that you're going to be strict on your food and drink intake. Be strict with yourself, and whenever you feel yourself lax, remind yourself that the majority of the time RasulAllah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam, the Beloved of Allah, who we yearn to be like and ache to be with, used to be hungry most of the time. So think about how sweet it is that you're fulfilling a sunnah when you feel that hunger.

At the time of RasulAllah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam, there was a sahaba radiAllahu 'anh and he was African. He knew that RasulAllah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam's blessed hair would sometimes fall and create a part down the center of his perfect head. Now this sahaba's hair radiAllah 'anh was like any African's hair, so it wasn't the kind that could part. This pained him so much... he would look with sad yearning at the hair of his beloved master salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam and would lament deeply that he could not be like him... that he could not do what Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala had shown was beloved to Him through His Habib salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam. One day, he couldn't take it any longer- he grabbed hold of the thin, metal stick used to cook meat over a fire, pulled it out of the burning fire, red hot, placed it down the center of his scalp, and burned away a line of hair, creating a part. The other sahaba radiAllahu 'anhum, upon seeing the blood and burning skin on his head, cried, "what are you doing!! Doesn't it hurt?!" to which he replied, "I swear that the pain I felt upon knowing that I could not fulfill this one sunnah was more intolerable than the pain of the burning of my scalp."

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala grant us a taste, a small piece, of the kind of love and devotion to the beloved of Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wsallam that the sahaba radiAllahu 'anhum had. May He grant us the ability control our nafs and thus to experience at least a part of the hunger and sleeplessness that he salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam experienced, purely out of our love for him, and out of yearning to purify our hearts, so that we are not entirely shamed and disgraced when we stand before our Beloved subhaanahu wa ta 'aala on that Fateful Day. Ameen.

Be a Part of Hazrat Zulfiqar's Ijtema' : )

2005-06-10T12:45:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu to anyone who happens to still read my extremely inactive blog.

I just thought I'd post this incase someone here actually does still read my blog.... Insha'Allah Hazrat Zulfiqar Ahmad damat barakaatuhu and some of his khulafaa (authorized representatives) have gathered in Chicago, IL today and tomorrow for an ijtemaa'.... one of those once-in-a-rare-while, completely-change-your-life-around gatherings. Even though the vast majority of the world has to lament about the fact that we can't be sitting in his blessed and beautiful company, there's still hope! Insha'Allah they'll be teleconferencing all the talks, so we can listen from our bedrooms with our cell phones : )

Click here for teleconferencing information.

By all means, if you have even a moment of free time during these bayans you absolutely must call in and listen. We yearn to purify our hearts and we sadden deeply when the reality of our hearts is plastered before our sore eyes... eyes remain dry when reciting Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala's Kalaam, our hearts don't quiver with fear and love upon hearing His Name jalla jalaaluh, or upon thinking of His Beloved salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam.... so if we want our hearts to be brought back to life, to sing the praise of Allah, the remembrance of Him, then we need to emerse ourselves in the company of the prophets' heirs, the awliyaa of Allah 'azza wa jal, the lovers of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Loving, Most Kind.

So now's your chance to do so.... enjoy : )
Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen

Just Keep Swimming....

2005-01-30T21:20:00.000-05:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu..

It doesn't matter how hard it gets
how difficult you think it is
how impossible it seems.

It doens't matter how long the road looks
or how far behind you think you are
or how little you've moved since you started.

It doesn't matter how badly you think you're doing
how many mistakes you continue to make -the same ones at that-
how convinced you are that you're failing miserably.

It doesn't even matter how far you've fallen from grace.
That grace was given to you by Him
and He can give it to you again.
Nay, He can give you more.

It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.

You're alive.

Just keep asking,
just keep trying,
just keep going.

And don't ever, ever, ever, ever give up.

Work Now, Rest Later

2004-12-27T13:20:00.000-05:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem..
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

Alhamdulillah there are times in everyone's life when they are tested. Insha'Allah we're all struggling for the nearness of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala and to attain His Pleasure. This is really the only thing we want, and thus the only thing worth striving for. However the very nature of this struggle is that it is indeed a struggle. Even things in this world don't come to us on a silver platter... what makes us think we can attain the highest and most lofty goal -that of Allah 'azza wa jal's Proximity- without enduring some hardship?

"This world is a prison for the believers." Don't ever forget that. You're not here to settle down, to get comfortable and find your place. That's not why you're here. Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam once said, "this world is a bridge -cross over it, don't build on it!" We should always keep this in mind and live our entire life with this knowledge in the front -not the back- of our minds. Whatever hardship we endure in the name of Islam, in the name of implementing the shari'ah and sunnah in our lives, is nothing... it really is nothing compared to the hardship we may have to endure if we neglect these duties in this life and have to pay for them in the Next.

Every believer is guaranteed Jannah, so alhamdulillah... that's a guarantee... from Allah... enscribed in gold in the tablets of eternity. But what route you decide to take to Jannah, that's up to you.

You can be among those that go directly and stand beneath the 'Arsh of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala in the company of His Beloved Messenger salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam and immediately begin to bask in the Nur of Allah's Mercy.

Or you could be among those who stand and wait under the shade of your tahajjud salaahs, and Allah subhanaahu wa ta 'aala, so pleased with this one, unworthy yet consistent act, will grant you admittance into Jannah.

Or you could be among those who stand, wait, sweat, cry, suffer... and are then dragged before Allah 'azza wa jal by two angels who will then display your deeds before your Beloved... each bad thing you said about your brother in humanity... each extra glance you took at a non-mahram... each haraam or doubtful substance you placed in your body... each fard, waajib or sunnah mu'akkadah you neglected to embody during your split-second lifetime... one by one, each thing will be displayed before your Lord, until you are 100% sure that your destination is Hell... then He subhaanahu wa ta 'aala wa 'azza wa jal will glance at that one tear you shed upon hearing a hadith, smile upon you and out of His Infinite Kindness and Mercy place you in the gardens of Jannah.

Or you could be among those who believed in laa ilaaha ilAllah Muhammad RasoolAllah but lived a life entirely contrary to this weighty and beautiful declaration, and are thus thrown into the Pit of Hell to suffer, burn, starve, cry, scream... to have your skin burned off time and time again, until a new skin is created so that it, too, can burn... to be dying of thirst and fed only the puss and blood of the sinners who are melting in that Hole... to ultimately know -regardless of the physical torture you are enduring- that you despicable thing earned the Wrath of the Most Kind, Merciful and Generous One so much so that He didn't even want to glance upon your face, and threw you into the Pit of Anguish and Suffering... this knowledge being far more unbearable than even the worst physical punishment. Then that sweet and gentle man who you used to hear about will search you out, seeing in your heart the once-inscribed statement of laa ilaaha ilAllah Muhammad Rasool Allah he will throw himself before your Lord and plead that you are removed... which will be granted, and you will be washed and placed in Jannah.

So it's up to you, really, to decide which path you'd rather take. Endure a little hardship in this life and insha'Allah you will be spared in the Next. Know that no matter how hard it gets, no matter how difficult the test looks, no matter how impossible you think it is, it is nothing compared to what you may have to endure in the Next Life if you don't stand up to it. And subhaanAllah, it's not all doom and gloom... indeed it's far from it. Yes, the wrath you may receive on this earth for sticking to the teachings of the Qur'an and sunnah is far less than the wrath you may receive in the Next Life for neglecting them... however the reward also follows a similar pattern. In this life you will taste the sweetness of imaan, the sweetness of Love, the sweetness of yearning for Allah, the sweetness of tears shed for His sake. In the Next Life... we can't even begin to imagine the sweetness you will receive for that moment beforehand when you cringed -that moment called life.

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala grant us the tawfiq to be among those who purify themselves in this life so we can avoid the purification process that occurs after death... may He make us among those who stick to the teachings of the Qur'an and sunnah, who embody the shari'ah and the sunnah of Allah's Beloved salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam no matter what test we are faced with for doing so... may He grant us the tawifq and the himmat to endure whatever small test we face in this life for struggling in His Way... may He make our struggle a means through which we earn His Pleasure... a cause for His smiling upon us and drawing us nearer to Him in this life, and granting us His Proximity in the Next...
wa akhiru da'waana anilhamdulillahi Rabbil 'aalameen.

Seek out the Gardens of Jannah -and the Gardeners

2004-12-22T21:35:00.000-05:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem..
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

I recently spoke to someone who is extremely important in my life (understatement) who mentioned that they'd visited my blog, and I've decided to post little more often. I'd stopped posting... for various reasons... but insha'Allah I intend to start up a bit now. I've stopped allowing comments on my posts because I think allowing them could be, well, unsafe.

I've been reflecting more and more on that hadith wherein Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam said that if you happen upon a garden of Jannah you should graze in it. Upon saying this he was asked, "what are the gardens of Jannah?" to which he replied salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam, "gatherings of remembrance." If you think about this hadith in conjunction with the one in which Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam said, "this world is a prison for the believers," life makes sense.

If there's one bit of advice you ever take from this blog and hold onto I'd want it to be the following: Grab hold of righteous people wherever you find them and hold on to them like gold. The benefit of emersing yourself in the company of the lovers of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, of those who yearn to be with Him and have progressed on the Path to Him cannot be captured in words. The benefit can only be felt in the heart and then seen on the limbs, in an increase in adherence to the shari'ah and the sunnah of the beloved of Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam. The effect such company has takes place in more than one way... firstly you receive the spiritual blessing of being with them, you get to be with the angels that stay with them, you receive attention from them by their simply knowing you are there and then further you receive their du'as... also their heart, whether you realize it or not, has a beautiful and cleansing effect on your heart by simply being in the company of those most beloved to Allah, even if they're upstairs and you're downstairs (which is usually the case for sisters.) If you're fortunate enough you can even spend time in their physical company, mostly for brothers, and observe them... just watch how they do things, how they sit, how they stand, how they smile when they talk to you... these men... who have embodied the sunnah and the shari'ah entirely... who have purified themselves with dhikr and the company of their own masha'ikh... subhaanAllah.

So if you ever hear about a scholar coming to your community, or a neighbouring community, or even a neighbouring state or province, get in you car and drive over there. Dead hearts come to life, tears of sorrow turn to tears of unspeakable joy, false love inches closer to True Love, a gaze flithied by sights of this world gets redirected to the Heavens and to Reality... and if you find yourself falling in love with these people, with the awliyaa of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, don't stop yourself. Just fall in love. Insha'Allah it will take you closer to True Love.

That's the key, actually... someone once told me that if you feel you're loving things of this dunya which you know won't benefit you and may actually harm you to love them, then you should redirect that love to Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam, because he is the bridge between worldly love and Divine Love. He lived in this world and was/is human... therefore the part of you that inclines to wordly love can comprehend loving him, and is willing to do so... and at the same time, whether you realize it or not, that love is bringing you nearer to Divine Love, because you are loving Allah's beloved, and because he salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam was sent to us so we could fall in love with him, and in turn with Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala wa 'azza wa jal. For those of us, like me, who have very limited knowledge of the seerah of RasulAllah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam (the story of his life) it can be hard to bhatay-bhatay start loving him (though in reality it shouldn't be.... if we reflect upon even one quality of his that we know of it would be sufficient to love him entirely.) So for people like me we have 'ulema and awliyaa... we have masha'ikh who are the heirs of the prophets, as stated in a hadith. Their duty, like their pious predecessors, is to reconnect our hearts with our True Beloved, Who we have left and forgotten, Who waits patiently for His ungrateful servants to return to Him, to throw themselves before Him and beg Him to accept us... little do we know that He'd accepted us before we even thought to beg. SubhaanAllah...

So emerse yourself in their company... seek them out and keep them close... hold onto them like gold, for they are truly far more valuable than gold... they contain a wealth of spiritual gold which they impart wherever they go. Grab hold of them... grab hold the fabric that they give out and say the words, repent for your sins, cry out to Allah... He has already heard your call.

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam..

Rocks from which Waters Flow

2004-11-28T23:30:00.000-05:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
As-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

There are some rare and painful moments in our lives when we hit rock bottom- spiritually, emotionally, sometimes psychologically. Our hearts feel as though they've been emptied of every atom's weight of peace, contentment and tranquility and been overstuffed with bricks of despair, boulders of pain, anguish, loss, emptiness and the worst kind of distance that exists... resulting in spiritual depression. We walk around like zombies completely numb to the crisp truth of Reality, yet aching agonizingly over a sweetness spoiled, a closeness departed, a remembrance forgotten.

These moments are precious- not in and of themselves, but due to their abounding potential. The truly prosperous is he who finds in calamity the seeds of a growth which were destined to be planted in that way. The truly wise he who understands and believes with conviction in the Words of Allah jalla jalaaluh, "Fa inna ma'al 'usri yusraa. Inna ma'al 'usri yusraa." ~ "So verily with difficulty there is ease, verily with difficulty there is ease."

Let us reflect upon this reality and embrace it. Allah 'azza wa jal has told you it can happen; in fact He has told you it will happen. Now make it happen- one step, one moment, one prayer at a time. Where there's a will there's a way... and He is waiting to facilitate it.

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam..

In the Days After

2004-11-16T01:40:00.000-05:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

This is an e-mail I received from Jamiatul Ulama. There's always something precious to learn from the awliyaa of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala. May He preserve and increase them, and grant us that noble rank. Ameen.

Please keep me in your du'as.
Was-salaam ma'al ikraam...

~ * ~ * ~

This happens year after year. When Ramadhaan is over and Shaytaan is released again, how many will go back to their previous master, to become his slave again, leaving aside all the good they did in this month, and go back to their old ways.

Bursting with the joy of Ramadhaan, I set to visit a pious old sage I knew to share my joy with him.

He spotted me before I saw him and made Salaam to me before I could greet him. Replying to his greeting, I looked at his face, again marvelling at the deep serenity to be seen in his warm, affectionate eyes.

He sat without speaking: He was lost in Ya Ilaahi (Remembrance of Allah), and I was pondering on a way to express my inner exultation to him. After just a short while, I could not contain myself any longer.

'O Sheikh!' I burst out. 'What a wonderful month is this not! Just see how everyone is affected by the spirituality of this month; men, women and children as well.'

Without any shadow of emotion at this stage, the sage just looked my way without showing any emotion.

Taking this as a cue to continue, I expanded: 'Yes, the children as well. They have such a zeal for fasting and in this month one finds even fewer of them sitting in front of the TV, or getting involved in useless activities!'

Instead of a corresponding delight, the twinkling in the sage's eyes disappeared, and a pained look entered those eyes that were normally so clear and bright.

Somewhat startled by this unexpected effect I tried again: 'O Sheikh! Just see how, in this wonderful month, the women are dressing more modestly, and even covering their heads!'

Cautiously, I glanced at the sage's face. The pain in his eyes deepened and spread to his face. What did I say wrong?

I tried again: 'O Sheikh! See how the people deprive themselves of the things they enjoy. Their behaviour is also good. There is little or no arguing and fighting, no vulgarity or obscenity. How strong is the feeling of brotherhood!'

The sage appeared grief-stricken. His eyes began to moisten.

But I tried last time: 'O Sheikh! Look how full the Masaajid are at night! See how the men, young and old, submit themselves to their Creator in Salaat - not only for Esha, but also exerting themselves another hour or so in Taraweeh!'

These words were the final straw! The sage wept openly. Feeling helpless, I sat in silence, head bowed down in contrition at having caused the sage so much grief.

When the sage regained his composure, I turned to him:

'O Sheikh! Please forgive this foolish and ignorant one for causing you grief. I implore you to please remove the veils of darkness from my heart, so that I may also see what you have seen.'

The sage replied: 'O my son, do you not see? In this month Allah Subhaanahu-wa-Ta'ala has chained up Shaytaan. The very people in whom you have noticed betterment are the very ones who had been following Shaytaan before this month. Throughout the whole year they have been following Shaytaan. Now that Shaytaan is locked up, they are able to do what you have seen them do. This happens year after year. And when Ramadhaan is over, and Shaytaan is released, how many will not go back to their previous master, to become his slaves again, leaving aside all the good they did in this month, and go back to their old ways? That is why I weep!

Jamiatul Ulama (Transvaal)

~ * ~ * ~

Ayyaamum-ma'doodaat

2004-10-19T00:10:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem...
Allahumma salli 'alaa sayyidinaa Muhammad, wa 'alaa aali sayyidina Muhammad, wa baarik wa sallim.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu...

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil 'aalameen Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala in His Infinite Kindness and Mercy has brought yet another Ramadan into our unworthy cluches. If we hold fast to every second that ticks hastily by and strive to make each one shine, we will see the nur of each moment burning beautifully on the Day of Judgment, if Allah jalla jalaaluh in His Infinite Generosity wills it. Each neglected moment of this sweet month will make us weep a deep lament on that Day, drowning us in other-worldly sorrow.

Brothers and sisters in the nation of Ahmad salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam- take careful advantage of every second of this month... ensure that your every sigh breathes in accordance with the Qur'an and the sunnah of RasulAllah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam. Fill your heart with remembrance of Allah 'azza wa jal, and empty it of anything other than Him. Make tawbah sincerely. "Tears flowing from the eyes purify the heart." Soothe your throbbing heart with dhikrullah... cloak your inner self with the perfectly beautiful qualities of the Beloved of Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam... adorn your outer self with his sunnah. Run away from the smallest sin as though it is a burning, sighing, raging fire chasing diligently after you...

Submit. By the leave of Allah, it can be done. Now is the time to do it.

I ask that you please keep me in your du'as...
Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen

A Garden of Jannah

2004-10-11T21:33:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem....

SubhaanAllah

Tazkiya

2004-10-08T08:15:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu : )

Hope you're all in the best of health and imaan, and increasing with each day.....

I was listening to Shaykh Kamal's (db) talk on Ramadan (a beautiful and beneficial talk, Masha'Allah... may Allah preserve and increase him) and he kept making the point that Ramadan is closely tied to tazkiya, which means purification of the heart... spiritual cleansing... essentially tasawwuf. He'd mention one aspect of Ramadan and then tie that point into tazkiya, so we could see how one of the main points of Ramadan is to help us purify our hearts so that we can be better slaves of Allah subhanaahu wa ta 'aala, and by His Mercy earn His Pleasure. So for example, he was saying how when you fast, you're willingly giving up that which is lawful for the sake of attaining the Pleasure of Allah 'azza wa jal. Therefore, it's even easier to leave that which is unlawful. So in Ramadan we should be careful to avoid any and every kind of sin... sins of the limbs (eyes, ears, tongue, stomach, hands, feet and privates), sins of the mind (sinful thoughts and recollections) and sins of the heart (sinful desires.) This is essentially one of the goals of tazkiya as well... or rather, one of the steps to attaining a pure heart... leaving any and every form of sin.

So anyway, he gives a few examples of how Ramadan is closely tied to tazkiya. The above was a sneak peak at what he says.. so that you'll want to go and hear the talk on your own, if you haven't already : ) Well, the point of my saying all this was that I stumbled upon this little article-type thing on tazkiya from another sister's blog (may Allah reward her) and I thought it was sooo beautiful Masha'Allah, so I thought I'd post it here. It's really quite short, so do take a glance at it. In fact, no- read it properly.... coz if you've read everything up until this properly and I'm a complete nobody, then for sure you should be reading this teeny little article by an amazing shaykh.

Enjoy : )

TAZKIYAH

Tazkiyah is the synonym of Tasawwuf. The literal meaning of Tazkiyah is purification, but in the terminology of the seekers (the Salekin those on the path to spiritual reformation) it means to purify ones soul from all sort of spiritual diseases and maladies, which can lead to displeasure of Allah Subhanahu Wata aala

Tazkiyah is extremely important for those who are in search for the love of Allah Subhanahu Wata aala. The main objective of Tazkiyah and Tasawwuf is to purify the heart before the true love of Allah Taala can penetrates in ones heart, similar to that when one begins to pray one has to purify his body.

Allah the Almighty says in the Holy Qur'an:

Indeed Allah loves those who repent and those who are clean"

For people to clean their physical bodies they need water, whether it is from a tap, well or river. In the same way for a person to clean his inner self (Nafs) he needs the water to flow from his eyes and his heart. The heart plays a great role here. Why? Because for true repentance and spiritual cleansing the tears have to flow from the heart before the tears flow from the eyes.

There is no tap that one can just turn on and expect to find clean water within the heart. Its source lies beneath the rocks of pride, jealousy, hatred, greed, ambition, doubt and so forth. Before the water comes bursting through the rocks, one has to begin the process of slowly but surely lifting away each rock, so that the water can flow through and the rays of the sun can enter those places, which were once covered in darkness by these rocks. If these rocks are removed then there is true spiritual reformation.

Allah the Almighty says in the Holy Qur'an

Indeed he is successful who purifies himself. (Surah as-Shams: 9)

It is only after cleansing the heart and the soul from spiritual diseases one is able to truly become aware of the presence of his Lord.

The Holy Qur'an and Ahadith are filled with warnings regarding specific diseases and their injurious and detrimental effects. Therefore it is essential to diagnose these diseases and find an effective cure in order to find serenity and peace in the hearts.

Allah Ta'ala says in the holy Qur'an:

Indeed whosoever purifies himself shall achieve success
(Surah al-Ghashiyah: 14)

http://www.khanqah.co.uk/Tasawwuf_article.htm

~ * ~ * ~

Please take a moment to make du'a for all the 'ulema and awilyaa of today and of days gone by, those we know of and those awliyaa who spent their lives in silent worship of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala and were never known.

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen

Talk by Hazrat Zulfiqar (db) for Sisters

2004-10-05T23:10:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu : )

Masha'Allah Hazrat Zulfiqar Ahmad (db) recently did a talk for sisters and they already posted it online. It's not very long... I think it's about half an hour long, maybe less. It's in English : ) So those of us who need to struggle to understand an Urdu lecture can sit back and enjoy this one, alhamdulillah.

I highly, highly, highly recommend all sisters (and brothers, for that matter) hear this talk... you have the time alhamdulillah, why not tap into the barakah? SubhaanAllah, this man... his very cells beat in accordance with sunnah and love for Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, and this is entirely evident in every word uttered from his lips.

One thing, though- don't let his accent deter you. We second-generation immigrants (and others as well) have this deep-rooted, preconceived notion regarding "molvi sahibs" with thick, desi accents and as soon as we hear their voices they become as background noise, to merely be tuned out... and I include myself in this category. But, subhaanAllah, after having met Hazrat Zulfiqar I've realized why shaytaan had to work so hard to get me (and many others) to blindly reject any and all subcontinental scholarship. If we open ourselves to this river of barakah and nur, with desire to draw near to Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, we'll benefit more than we can imagine.

So anyway, insha'Allah definitely listen to this lecture with an open heart, desiring sunnah and seeking Allah... it can only benefit you.

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen

Hazratji's talk for sisters

Two Beautiful Narrations

2004-10-01T19:00:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu : )

Below I have quoted two narrations, the beauty of which can not be expressed in words, only shed in tears. The purpose of my quoting these is to remind myself and others about the blessing of being given Islam. Without doubt the biggest blessing upon each and every Muslim is not his health, nor his wealth, nor his family, but the Prophet salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim and the message he brought mankind, which a select few were chosen to embrace. Within these narrations are also deep and pertinent lessons for us to reflect upon and inculcate. May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala grant us the tawfiq to allow these words to reach past our eyes into our hearts. Ameen.

The following are quoted from Imam 'Abdallah ibn 'Alawi al-Haddad rahmatullahi 'alayhi in his book The Lives of Man translated by the well-known translator, Mostafa al-Badawi, may Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala preserve and increase him. The full title of the book is actually, The Way to Remember and Learn from the Lives of Man that Wane and Perish, and I highly recommend you buy this book and read it least once a month. It's short, but its message and reminder is of utmost importance. You can purchase the book from its publisher, Fons Vitae.

Wahb ibn Munabbih, may God show him His Mercy, said: When Moses, upon whom be peace, read the Tablets, he found mentioned in them the merits of the nation of Muhammad, may blessings and peace be upon him, and he said: "O Lord! Which is this mercy-given nation that I find in the Tablets?" God answered: "It is the nation of Ahmad, whose people are content with whatever little provision I give them, and I am content with whatever little good works they do. I make each one of them enter the Garden by his testimony that laa ilaaha ilAllah."

And then Moses said: "I find in the Tablets a nation of people who shall be resurrected and assembled on the Day of Rising with their faces like full moons. Let them be my nation!" But God replied: "They are the nation of Ahmad; I shall gather them resurrected on the Day of Rising, when their foreheads and limbs shall be blazing white from the effect of their wudu-ablutions and their prostrations."

Moses said: "O Lord! I find in the Tablets a nation of people whose clothes are on their backs and whose swords are on their shoulders, people of certitude and dependence [tawakkal]; they glorify God from minaret-tops, and they continue to seek to fight for every righteous cause, until they do battle against the Dajjal. Let them be my nation!" But He replied: "They are the nation of Ahmad."

Moses said: "O Lord! I find in the Tablets a nation for whom the [whole] earth is a place of worship and ritually pure, and for whom booty is lawful; let them be my nation!" But He replied: "They are the nation of Ahmad."

Moses said: "O Lord! I find in the Tablets a nation of people who fast the month of Ramadan for You, and whom You then forgive all they had done before; let them be my nation!" But He replied: "They are the nation of Ahmad."

Moses said: "O Lord! I find in the Tablets a nation of people who go on pilgrimage to the Invioble House for Your sake, whose longing for it is never exhausted, whose weeping is loud and tumultuous, whose talbiya is clamorous; let them be my nation!" But He said: "They are the nation of Ahmad."

Moses said: "What will you give them for that?" And God said: "I shall grant them more forgiveness, and shall allow them to intercede for those who come after them."

Moses said: "O Lord! I find the the Tablets a nation of people who ask forgiveness for their sins; when they raise their food to their mouths it does not reach their stomachs before they are forgiven; they start [eating] with Your name and end with Your praise; let them be my nation!" But He said: "They are the nation of Ahmad."

Moses said: "O Lord! I find the the Tablets a nation whose members will be the foremost on the Day of Rising, but are the last to be created; let them be my nation!" But He replied: "They are the nation of Ahmad."

Moses said: "O Lord! I find in the Tablets a nation of people whose gospels are held within their breasts and they recite them; let them be my nation!" But He answered: "They are the nation of Ahmad."

Moses said: "O Lord! I find in the Tablets a nation of people among whom when one of them intends a good deed but does not perform it, it is written as one good deed for him, while if he does perform it, it is written as ten to seven hundred times its worth; let them be my nation!" But God said: "They are the nation of Ahmad."

Moses said: "O Lord! I find in the Tablets a nation among whom, when one of them intends a sin but does not commit it, it is not written against him, while if he does commit it, it is written as a single sin; let them by my nation!" But He replied: "They are the nation of Ahmad."

Moses said: "O Lord! I find in the Tablets a nation who are the best of people, who exort to good and forbid evil; let them be my nation!" But He said: "They are the nation of Ahmad."

Moses said: "O Lord! I find in the Tablets a nation of people who will be resurrected and brought on the Day of Rising as three groups. One group shall enter the Garden without reckoning, another's reckoning will be easy and another will be rigorously judged, then made to enter the Garden; let them be my nation!" But He said: "They are the nation of Ahmad."

Moses said: "O Lord! You have spread out all this good for Ahmad and his nation; let me be a member of his nation!" But God told him: "O Moses! I have chosen and preferred you over other people with My Message and My Speech; take what I have given you and be one of the thankful."

* * * * * * *

Ibn 'Abbas, God be pleased with him, said: 'The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, said one day to his Companions: "What do you say of this verse: And you were not beside the Mountain when We called? [28:46] They said: "God and His messenger know best." And he told them, "When God spoke to Moses, upon whom be peace, he asked Him: 'O Lord! Have you created any creature dearer to You than myself? For You have chosen and preferred me over mankind, and did speak to me on Mount Sinai.' And God answered him saying: 'O Moses! Did you not know that Muhammad is dearer to Me than the rest of My creation? And that I looked into the hearts of My slaves, and, finding no heart humbler than yours, therefore chose and preferred you, with My Message and My Speech, over other men. Make sure, therefore, that you die in tawhid and the love of Muhammad!'

'Moses asked again: 'O Lord! Is there any nation dearer to You than mine? For You have shaded them with the cloud, and sent down to them honeydew [manna] and quails.' [2:57] And God replied: 'O Moses! Did you not know that the eminence of the nation of Muhammad over other nations is like My eminence over the whole of My creation?'

Moses asked: 'O Lord! Will I see them?' And He replied: 'You will not see them, but if you wish, you can hear their speech.' Moses said: 'I do so wish.'

And thus God the Exalted called: 'O nation of Muhammad!' And they all answered with one voice, from within the loins of their ancestors: 'Labbayk Allahumma Labbayk! [Here we are, O God! Here we are!]' And God the Exalted said: 'My blessings and peace are upon you; My Mercy has outsripped My Wrath; My Forgiveness has outstripped My Punishment; I forgave you before you even asked for My forgiveness; I answered you before you called upon Me; I gave to you before you asked of Me! Those of you who will meet me bearing witness that there is no god save God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, I will forgive them their sins.'"

'And the Prophet, upon whom be blessings and peace, continued and said: "And God wished to favour me with this, so He said (Exalted is He!): And you were not beside the Mountain when We called; i.e. [when We called] your nation to let Moses hear them speak."'

* * * * * * *

Allahumma salli 'alaa sayyidinaa Muhammad...

Laylatul Baraa'ah

2004-09-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

As you may or may not know, tonight will Insha'Allah be Laylatul Baraa'ah. I realize that if you're in the European or Asian times zones and this is the first you've heard about Laylatul Baraa'ah you don't really have much time to prepare... but khayr, better late than never.

Basically the key thing to remember about tonight is forgiveness... forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness... and we all need to be forgiven. [sigh] If you can tonight, preferably in the last half of the night, unless you know you're one of those people who can't wake up early (ie before Fajr) then do some of this before you go to bed... or most ideally stay up all night, but that can be hard if you're venturing to do this on your own in the comfort of your bedroom... basically, do lots and lots and lots of istighfaar (asking for forgiveness.) Think about any and every little sin you've ever committed and ask Allah subhaanahu wa ta' alaa's forgiveness for it. Once you've completely drained your memory of all the sins you could think of, admit your weakness and plead with Allah jalla jalaaluh to forgive you for all the sins you've ever committed, hidden and open, those you remember and those you've carelessly committed and then forgotten.

And know that He hears you when you call upon Him (and even when you don't.)

Especially ask forgiveness for those things you've been doing over and over and simply haven't had the himma (strength, ability) thus far to remove yourself from them on your own. Make such passionate and sincere istighfaar for these things so you're soooo ashamed you won't even think about approaching that sin between now and Ramadan. And if you can keep away from that sin from now until Ramadan then Insha'Allah ta 'aala you'll be in a better state entering Ramadan than you would have been were you still partaking in that sin. And the higher your state when you enter Ramadan, the more likely you'll benefit even more from the barakah of the month. And we so need to benefit from Ramadan...

Below I've pasted a portion of an article by Mufti Taqi Usmani, may Allah preserve and increase him, on what's special about this night and what things to do. SubhaanAllah, notice the hadiths he mentions which talk about Laylatul Baraa'ah.... and notice the one thing mentioned again and again as the one reason your du'as could possibly not be accepted this night. SubhaanAllah... reflect upon the meaning of that, and avoid it at *all* costs. No petty dispute between you and another Muslim, no matter how passionately you feel been violated or how wronged you think you've been, is worth losing out on the opportunity to be saved from the Fire of Hell and to be forgiven your sins. Astaghfirullah... may Allah protect us.

* * * * * * *
The Night of Bara'ah

Another significant feature of the month of Sha'ban is that it consists of a night which is termed in Shariah as "Laylatul-bara'ah" (The night of freedom from Fire). This is the night occurring between 14th and 15th day of Sha'ban. There are certain traditions of Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, to prove that it is a meritorious night in which the people of the earth are attended by special Divine mercy. Some of these traditions are quoted as follows:

1. Ummul-Mu'mineen 'Aishah, Radi-Allahu anha, is reported to have said, "Once Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, performed the Salah of the night (Tahajjud) and made a very long Sajdah until I feared that he had passed away. When I saw this, I rose (from my bed) and moved his thumb (to ascertain whether he is alive). The thumb moved, and I returned (to my place). Then I heard him saying in Sajdah: 'I seek refuge of Your forgiveness from Your punishment, and I seek refuge of Your pleasure from Your annoyance, and I seek Your refuge from Yourself. I cannot praise You as fully as You deserve. You are exactly as You have defined Yourself.' Thereafter, when he raised his head from Sajdah and finished his salah, he said to me: 'Aishah, did you think that the Prophet has betrayed you?' I said, 'No, O Prophet of Allah, but I was afraid that your soul has been taken away because your Sajdah was very long.' He asked me, 'Do you know which night is this?' I said, 'Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said, 'This is the night of the half of Sha'ban. Allah Almighty looks upon His slaves in this night and forgives those who seek forgiveness and bestows His mercy upon those who pray for mercy but keeps those who have malice (against a Muslim) as they were before, (and does not forgive them unless they relieve themselves from malice).'"

2. In another Tradition Sayyidah' Aishah, Radi-Allahu anha, has reported that Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, has said, "Allah Almighty descends (in a manner He best knows it) in the night occurring in the middle of Sha'ban and forgives a large number of people more than the number of the fibers on the sheep of the tribe, Kalb."

Kalb was a big tribe the members of which had a very large number of sheep. Therefore, the last sentence of the hadith indicates the big number of the people who are forgiven in this night by Allah Almighty.

3. In yet another Tradition, she has reported Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, to have said, "This is the middle Night of Sha'ban. Allah frees in it a large number of the people from Fire, more than the number of the hair growing on the sheep of the tribe, Kalb. But He does not even look at a person who associates partners with Allah, or at a person who nourishes malice in his heart (against someone), or at a person who cuts off the ties of kinship, or at a man who leaves his clothes extending beyond his ankles (as a sign of pride), or at a person who disobeys his parents, or at a person who has a habit of drinking wine."

4. Sayyidna Mu'adh ibn Jabal, Radi-Allahu anhu, reports that Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, has said: "Allah Almighty looks upon all those created by Him in the middle Night of Sha'ban and forgives all those created by Him, except the one who associates partners with Him or the one who has malice in his heart (against a Muslim)".

Although the chain of narrators of some of these traditions suffers with some minor technical defects, yet when all these traditions are combined together, it becomes clear that this night has some well founded merits, and observing this night as a sacred night is not a baseless concoction as envisaged by some modern scholars who, on the basis of these minor defects, have totally rejected to give any special importance to this night. In fact, some of these traditions have been held by some scholars of hadith as authentic and the defects in the chain of some others have been treated by them as minor technical defects which, according to the science of hadith, are curable by the variety of their ways of narration. That is why the elders of the ummah have constantly been observing this night as a night of special merits and have been spending it in worship and prayers.

What Should be Done in this Night?

In order to observe the Night of Bara'ah, one should remain awakened in this night as much as he can. If someone has better opportunities, he should spend the whole night in worship and prayer. However, if one cannot do so for one reason or another, he can select a considerable portion of the night, preferably of the second half of it for this purpose, and should perform the following acts of worship:

(a) Salah. Salah is the most preferable act to be performed in this night. There is no particular number of Rak'at but preferably it should not be less than eight. It is also advisable that each part of the Salah like qiyam, rukoo' and sajdah should be longer than normal. The longest surahs of the Holy Qur'an one remembers by heart should be recited in the Salah of this night. If someone does not remember the long surahs, he can also recite several short surahs in one rak'ah.

(b) Tilawa. The recitation of the Holy Qur'an is another form of worship, very beneficent in this night. After performing Salah, or at any other time, one should recite as much of the Holy Qur'an as he can.

(c) Dhikr. One should also perform dhikr (recitation of the name of Allah) in this night. Particularly the following dhikr is very useful:

One should recite Salah (durood) on Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, as many times as he can. The dhikr can also be recited while walking, lying on bed and during other hours of work or leisure.

(d) Dua. The best benefit one can draw from the blessings of this night is prayers and supplications. It is hoped that all the prayers in this night will be accepted by our Lord, insha-Allah. Prayer itself is an 'Ibadah, and Allah Almighty gives reward on each prayer along with the fulfillment of the supplicator's need. Even if the purpose prayed for is not achieved, one cannot be deprived of the reward of the prayer which is sometimes more precious than the mundane benefits one strives for. The prayers and supplications also strengthen one's relation with Allah Almighty, which is the main purpose of all kinds and forms of worship.

One can pray for whatever purpose he wishes. But the best supplications are the ones made by Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. These are so comprehensive and all-encompassing prayers that all the human needs, of this world and the Hereafter, are fully covered in the eloquent expressions used in them. Actually, most of the prophetic prayers are so profound that human imagination can hardly match their greatness.

Several books in various languages are available which provide these prophetic prayers, and one should pray to Allah Almighty in accordance with them, whether by reciting their original Arabic text or by rendering their sense in one's own language.

(e) There are some people who cannot perform any additional Salah or recitations for any reason, like illness or weakness or being engaged in some other necessary activities. Such people also should not deprive themselves completely of the blessings of this night. They should observe the following acts:

(i) To perform the Salah of Maghrib, 'Isha' and Fajr with Jama'ah in the mosque, or in their homes in case of their being sick.

(ii) They should keep reciting the dhikr, particularly the one mentioned in para (c) above, in whatever condition they are until they sleep.

(iii) They should pray to Allah for their forgiveness and for their other objectives. One can do so even when he is in his bed.

(f) The women during their periods cannot perform salah, nor can they recite the Qur'an, but they can recite any dhikr, tasbeeh, durood sharif and can pray to Allah for whatever purpose they like in whatever language they wish. They can also recite the Arabic prayers mentioned in the Qur'an or in the hadith with the intention of supplication (and not with the intention of recitation).

(g) According to a hadith, which is relatively less authentic, Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, went in this night to the graveyard of Baqi' where he prayed for the Muslims buried there. On this basis, some of the fuqaha hold it as mustahabb (advisable) in this night to go to the graveyard of the Muslims and recite Fatihah or any other part of the Qur'an, and pray for the dead. But this act is neither obligatory nor should it be performed as regularly as an obligatory act.

Fast of the 15th Sha'ban

On the day immediately following the Night of Bara'ah, i.e. the 15th of Sha'ban, it is mustahabb (advisable) to keep fast. Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, is reported to have recommended this fast emphatically. Although the scholars of hadith have some doubts in the authenticity of this report, yet it is mentioned earlier that the fasts of the first half of Sha'ban have special merits and Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, used to fast most of the days in Sha'ban. Moreover, a large number of the elders (salaf) of the Ummah have been observing the fast of the 15th of Sha'ban. This constant practice indicates that they have accepted the relevant hadith as authentic.

Therefore, it is advisable to fast the 15th of Sha'ban as an optional (nafl) fast. One can also keep a fast of qada on this day and it is hoped that he can also benefit from the merits of this fast.

* * * * * * *

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala put barakah in all of our time tonight, and grant us the ability to make sincere tawbah, and may He accept our repentance. Ameen.

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen

The People of Jannah Will Ask...

2004-09-23T15:55:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

I hope you're all in the best of health and imaan by the Grace of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, making the best of your Sha'ban so you're in a most healthy state by the time Ramadan starts and can truly benefit from the barakah and Rahma descending upon us during those blessed days.

I read something in the Qur'an today which I wanted to share. Alhamdulillah, I know we know most of these things but it's really beneficial to be reminded over and over... and over. I mean, subhaanAllah... Allah subhanaahu wa ta 'aala in His Infinite Mercy, Kindness and Wisdom repeats His Name "Ar-Rahman" well over a hundred times in His Kalaam, the Holy Qur'an, yet still some of us fall into despair when we make the same mistake again, or when we feel ourselves slip spiritually, despite His having reminded us again and again and again: He is Most Merciful.. don't you ever despair of His Infinite and Overwhelming Mercy.

So in the spirit of reminder I wanted to share a translation of the following ayahs from the Qur'an. They're ayahs 32-56 from Surat al-Mudaththir (#74.)

32. Nay, verily: By the Moon,
33. And by the Night as it retreateth,
34. And by the Dawn as it shineth forth,-
35. This is but one of the mighty (portents),
36. A warning to mankind,-
37. To any of you that chooses to press forward, or to follow behind;-
38. Every soul will be (held) in pledge for its deeds.
39. Except the Companions of the Right Hand.
40. (They will be) in Gardens (of Delight): they will question each other,
41. And (ask) of the Sinners:
42. "What led you into Hell Fire?"
43. They will say: "We were not of those who prayed;
44. "Nor were we of those who fed the indigent;
45. "But we used to talk vanities with vain talkers;
46. "And we used to deny the Day of Judgment,
47. "Until there came to us (the Hour) that is certain."
48. Then will no intercession of (any) intercessors profit them.
49. Then what is the matter with them that they turn away from admonition?-
50. As if they were affrighted asses,
51. Fleeing from a lion!
52. Forsooth, each one of them wants to be given scrolls (of revelation) spread out!
53. By no means! But they fear not the Hereafter,
54. Nay, this surely is an admonition:
55. Let any who will, keep it in remembrance!
56. But none will keep it in remembrance except as Allah wills: He is the Lord of Righteousness, and the Lord of Forgiveness.

Reflect upon this! Be not one of those who will be asked, "what on earth were you thinking during your short and fleeting life in that lowest realm?" Be not one of those who will ashamedly reply that they did not stand in prayer, that they did not give out of their wealth -however great or small- to those who needed it more (and there are always those who need it more), that they chatted about useless, unecessary and even detrimental things, that they were heedless of the reality of the Day of Judgment, its nearness, its truth, its torments... Take the proper care now to ensure that you don't fall under any of these dark categories.

And ask Allah sincerely for help... for none will increase in their love for Him but that He wills it, and none will slip into sin but that He wills it.

And He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam.

Sha'ban Mubarak!

2004-09-16T10:10:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu : )

Sha'ban Mubarak!!! SubhaanAllah, Sha'ban's started!! That means Ramadan is only one month away!! SubhaanAllah.... May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala give us physical and spiritual health in this blessed time.... Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim would get noticeably excited when Sha'ban would start, because of his eager anticipation for the forthcoming month. So we should definitely make the most of this time.... start doing the things you want to be doing in Ramadan... stop doing the things you don't want to be doing in Ramadan. And just stop them. I mean, it's totally not worth losing out on the barakah.. the sweetness... the closeness of Ramadan for whatever petty sin you're holding onto. Look at the quote on the right about Ramadan... that's the way it should be.

I know we're not supposed to be like hermits on this Earth... not interacting with people, staying in our rooms with our doors shut doing 'ibaadah from morning till night. This is not what we've been commanded to do. But in Ramadan... do it. That's the time to do that. Just cut yourself off from as many people and things of the dunya as you can and attach yourself to remembrance of Allah and love of Him.

How sorry is the state of the person who enters Ramadan and exits Ramadan without having drawn nearer to Allah jalla jalaaluh and made some change. Ramadan is about change. It's about changing those things you tried soooo hard to change before but simply have never succeeded in doing. It's about dropping those sins you do which fill you with deeper and more painfully penetrating shame each time you go back to Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala to beg for His forgiveness for having slipped yet again. Ramadan's the time when the shayateen are locked up, the gates of Jannah are open, the gates of Jahannam closed.... and barakah is being poured upon the Earth and all its inhabitants. It's up to us to make use of that barakah. We have to seek it out, grab hold of it and make use of it.

So start now... don't leave yourself 100% of the work to start on the first of Ramadan. Increase in your recitation of Qur'an. Try to finish a Qur'an now so you'll be better trained in doing so once Ramadan starts. Increase in your tasbihaat. After each salaah do a few tasbihs of dhikr, any dhikr. Or if you already do, do two instead of one. Be more patient. Be kinder. Be more helpful and understanding. Fast. Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim would fast the first 15 days of Sha'ban, but generally not the last half of Sha'ban, because he didn't want us to get drained. But you still can fast here or there in the last half as well, just definitely not in the last three days before Ramadan starts, in order to be certain you start fasting on the first of Ramadan. (I heard all that in one of Shaykh Husain's (db) lectures.... actually the majority of this post is directly from Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed (db) and Shaykh Husain (db). Except for the stuff that sounds weird. That's probably from me.)

Also, increase in your constant remembrance... remain focused on your heart throughout the day and be certain that it is remembering Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala at all times. This will make sin more difficult to commit and will, Insha'Allah, purify your heart. There's a hadith that says that everything in the world has a polish and the polish of the heart is the remembrance of Allah. And this act of constant, internal remembrance of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala has a certain sweetness, a certain beauty that's indescribable. Coz no one knows about it. It's between you and Allah... it's your little secret : )

Ohhh.... there's this beautiful narration I heard in one of Shaykh Kamal's talks, where he explains how when you do this quiet, internal remembrance of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, it's so much between you and Allah that not even the angels get to know about it. All that happens is that a sweet fragrance comes from your heart and they smell that sweetness. So on the Day of Judgment after they present all our deed before Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala -veils removed- He will ask them, "Is there anything left of My servant's deeds to be presented?" And they'll say, "Oh Allah, there were times when we smelled a sweet frangrance coming from the heart of Your servant, but we knew not what it was, so we didn't know how to record it." And Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala will tell them, "Oh My angels, know that those were the moments My servant was remembering Me internally, quietly, secrectly, to himself... and just as I kept that between him and Me in his life, so also will I keep his reward for that between him and Me." SubhaanAllah :')

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala grant us the tawfiq to increase in our good works and to leave our bad habits in Sha'ban so that we can make the best of Ramadan. And may He grant us the sweet things we yearn for in Ramadan, and the ability to make the changes we've been dying to make but have continued to fail at. Ameen...

[Please refer to my post "Preparation for the Sweet Days of Ramadan" for lectures on Ramadan and how to make the most of it, in Urdu and English.]

Leaving a Matter of Doubt

2004-09-03T08:20:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakathu...

Hope you're all in the best of health and imaan, using your every moment in the manner most pleasing to Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, avoiding any matter in which there is the slightest doubt and embracing all that will draw you near to Allah 'azza wa jal, our true Desire and Love.

Alhamdulillah rabbil 'aalameen, I've had a realization.

A few days ago I was suddenly overcome and I spewed out a really intense lecture at someone about how important it is to avoid any act in which there's the slightest bit of doubt because it simply isn't worth taking that risk: because ultimately when you're deciding between taking or leaving some matter wherein there is doubt, you're generally deciding between harming or benefitting your relationship with Allah jalla jalaaluh. Considering the fact that the purpose of our existence is to remember, worship and love Allah it would be profoundly unwise to take on anything in which there is a strong chance of fitna occuring, as such an act could ultimately veil the heart and increase one in their distance from Allah 'azza wa jal. Is that a chance worth taking?

I realized that by blogging I was doing just that. I was walking a very thin line on the edge of disaster and, not surprisingly, I fell over on more than one occasion. In my blogs I was revealing a great deal of information about myself that I would normally never tell any non-mahram brother. The nature of a global community is that people will see what you put on here, so it's guaranteed that sisters and brothers will be viewing my blog. Essentially by speaking my heart out on here, I may as well be sitting in a crowded cafeteria with a table full of brothers and sisters telling them the very same things I was writing here, winking and giggling for added effect. That is the truth. You can hide behind as many screennames and passwords as you'd like, but effectively you're opening yourself up to the opposite gender in manners that we simply should not being doing so. Anything I say in my blog I should be ready to walk up to a brother in my university and say the very same thing to him, so long as the shari'ah allows it. Does it? For a lot of the things I wrote it certainly does not.. especially considering the circumstances, ie it being entirely unecessary.

Think about it plainly.... do you think Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim would have had a blog? Astaghfirullah. I'm sure your heart cringed when you read that... of course he wouldn't have. One could say, "Oh... to do da'wah to the global community," in which case I'd say doubtfully, "maaaaaaaaaaaaaybe." But would he sit down and type up a lengthy post on who came over today, what classes he taught today, what he's worried about regarding the upcoming semester/year, what he bought today, where he went today etc, etc, etc? No. He simply would not have. I don't think he would have even told Abu Bakr radiAllahu 'anh, his dearest and most close companion, about most -if not all- of these things. He salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim probably wouldn't have even thought about them, let alone write them down (if he could write), let alone approach some ghayr sister and start telling her about them. I mean, astaghfirullah... really, reflect upon it.

And sisters... my dear sisters... you're too precious. You really are. Of the things of this world RasulAllah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim loved women. He loved you and I for something unbelievably special we have. Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, Possesor of the most Perfect and Beautiful Attributes, chose two particular attributes to remind us of constantly. "Ar-Rahmaan, Ar-Raheem." He is so unimaginably Merciful.. His Mercy outstrips His Wrath, He's saving 99 parts of His Mercy for that fateful Day, the Mercy He showers upon us every moment of every day is incomprehensible.. and this quality is so beloved that He chose to remind us of it again and again and again. The words Ar-Rahmaan and Ar-Raheem stem from the root "raa haa meem" which make "raham" which means "womb."

SubhaanAllah sisters, reflect upon this! We have been created with this sacred container within us, worthy of holding a little human life, fresh from the presence of Allah, still unpolluted by the fitna of this realm... and this container is the root of the rahm which naturally pours from us as women... Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala has given us this quality of His. Just part of the package of being female. (And what a beautiful gift.) He has bestowed upon us this attribute which from Him we will be longing for on the Day of Judgment, this beautiful quality worthy of the status of being mentioned before almost every surah in Kalaamullah, the Holy Qur'an.... And for this dear and sweet quality Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim loves us. What an honour......

Why am I saying this? Because I want you, sisters, to realize how precious you are... how priceless you are. So don't sell yourself short. Live up to the status the Qur'an and Sunnah have given us. If we are told not to talk unecessarily to brothers, it's for a reason. It's to protect that sweetness within us, that purity, that barakah.... Sisters, whether you're married or unmarried, don't talk freely with brothers. Don't reveal yourself to them when that precious self was created to be shared only with your mahrams. If you're married, don't you want to stay pure for your husband? And if you're not married, which is the vast majority of sisters who read this, don't you want to be completely untarnished for your future husband? Don't you want to be untouched, unglanced upon, unspoken to so that you're entirely his and have not already been processed by another?

I noticed something a little while back which makes me sad. I rarely receive comments from certain sisters who I know read my blog, which I don't mind at all... but then I happened upon a few brothers' blogs and found their comment boxes overflowing with comments from those very sisters. It didn't bother me that they commented there rather than here, but it hurt me deeply to see the manner in which they commented to a brother, and in such a public forum. Sisters, it's not necessary.... in fact it's hurting you, whether you know it or not. Taking poison knowingly or unknowingly doesn't matter... it's still poison. Look at the sunnah- Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim would either say something of benefit, or he'd stay silent. And he was silent most of the time. SubhaanAllah. If he salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim, who has the most beneficial of things to say -faaaaaaaaaaaar more beneficial than anything we could say- would stay silent most of the time, what could we possibly have to say that's more important than him such that we feel the need to comment so often? And to a brother?

I know that some of you reading this know exactly what I mean... dispell those thoughts in your mind which are adamantly declaring, "well it's ok because this, and I'm only doing it because that." Those aren't from you. That justification is from shaytaan. That's not from you. You're purer than that, you're better than that, you're more beloved to Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim than that. Don't reduce yourself to a status lower than the one Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala wants to raise you to. You have it in your heart, you've tasted that sweetness... cling on to it, and shed the weight of anything which is going to hold you back from getting more.

And, brothers, this all applies to you too. You can't clap with one hand. Help us behave as we should by behaving as such as well. And don't sell yourself short. You, too, have the potential to be amazing. I mean, look at your role models: Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim, the sahaba radiAllahu 'anhum... even the 'ulema and awilyaa of today. You can emobody the sunnah in ways sisters never could. What a blessing... what a beautiful gift. Take advantage of that and excel.

I must apologize now, as I'm sure I've offended some people.. such is the nature of haqq. Still, if I've said anything wrong or in an inappropriate manner I would be honoured and grateful if you would correct me.

Insha'Allah from now on my blog will no longer be a blog, but rather I'll post here reminders and reflections of benefit (insha'Allah) based on things I've noticed or experienced, or I'll post things I've read which I find beautiful or helpful or effective in anyway... But insha'Allah nothing personal... no personal stories... no personal thoughts. Those are for Allah, and the people He's given me to share them with in a halaal manner : )

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala grant us the tawfiq to abandon anything displeasing to Him and embrace all that is beloved to Him. May He adorn us inwardly and outwardly with the sunnah of His beloved messenger salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim and may He make His Pleasure our only goal and desire. Ameen.

Note: All my previous blogs have been editted for things that were personal or gave away something about myself which non-mahrams have no reason to know.

Alhamdulillah.....

2004-09-01T13:45:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem....
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.....

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil 'aalameen... All praise is due to Allah Most High, Most Kind, Most Caring... Who protects His servants from falling deeper into sin...

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen

Preparation for the Sweet Days of Ramadan

2004-08-22T16:30:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu...

I pray you're all in the best of health and imaan, deeply emersed in remembrance of Allah 'azza wa jal and making the very most of every moment of your time.I added a section on the right in which I'm counting down the days to Ramadan. You may be wondering, "Why on earth is she counting the days 'till Ramadan already?" Well, to be entirely honest I made a mistake. I should have started counting a few months ago. Some of the salaf radiAllahu 'anhum used to make du'a for a full six months before Ramadan that Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala allow them to make the very most of the upcoming Ramadan, and they'd make du'a for six months after Ramadan that He accept the 'ibaadat they did during the previous Ramadan. Such should be our attitude, as we are in far greater need of the barakah that blessed month brings than they were.

Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar (db) said in one of his talks that the fayd of Ramadan actually begins two months before Ramadan itself. SubhaanAllah, this is an amazing thing to take advantage of.

[Stuff editted out. The rest is about the importance of preparing yourself for Ramadan. The following is a description of how it's like before Ramadan....]

It's like this... you know when it's really, really windy out and you're trying to walk against the wind? Especially for sisters, this can be really hard coz of all our periphery garments that catch the wind and slow us down. So imagine you're late for class and you're trying to speed walk towards it, but the wind is blowing insanely hard against your body causing you to walk in an almost ruku' position, grimacing against the sand and dirt being whipped into your face. It's hard... and you're moving slower than you'd like to, but at least you're getting somewhere. You're going to stumble a little bit, but insha'Allah you're bound to make some progress. Such is the nature of hard work. Now imagine that all of a sudden the wind stops blowing, and then starts up from behind you, pushing you forward. That's Ramadan.

When the wind's blowing against you, you're still trying your hardest to make progress towards your classroom and step by painful step you inch closer. As soon as the wind blows with you, you're now able to run... practically fly to class because your body was already so used to working in that direction. So subhaanAllah it's the same way as our time before Ramadan, except much more profound and your destination is faaar more rewarding than sitting before your professor in a big, poorly lit lecture hall.

Before Ramadan you should be training yourself *hard*... working on removing those bad habits (talking less, eating less, sleeping less) and increasing in good works (reading Qur'an more, waking up for tahajjud, increasing in dhikrullah.) It's really hard, because you have the wind of your nafs, shaytaan and dunyaa to fight against, and they're powerful warriors. But you know that at the end of this wind tunnel will come Ramadan, when all of a sudden everything you're doing becomes far easier.... you talk less coz you're tired, you eat less coz you're fasting, you sleep less coz you wake up for suhur (tahajjud : ), you read more Qur'an because you have all this free time which appeared out of no where (yes, eating takes up a lot of precious time) and you find your heart deeply engaged in remembrance of your Beloved, morning, afternoon and evening. It's no longer a struggle. Durng the year you have to keep checking yourself- "Oh, oops, I'm not doing dhikr," and then start up again. But during Ramadan barakah will be showering upon you, your heart will yearn for that connection and shaytaan won't be there to blast your mind with thoughts of anything ghayrullah.

So subhaanAllah, we have a gift! We have an unbelievable gift approaching us, and its benefit has already begun to seep into our lives. Tap into the barakah that's beginning to trickle from the blessed month of Ramadan, and start making changes now. The more changes you make now, the easier it'll be to dive head first into Ramadan. Don't be like I was last year... realizing on the first of Ramadan that the time has begun and then starting my struggle... only to realize that it's Eid ul Fitr and I've made no progress. Take advantage now. Take this time now to make the changes you didn't have the tawfiq to make before. Begin to fight against that bitter wind so that the moment the sun sets on the 30th of Sha'ban and Ramadan dawns upon you, you can bask in its light, soak up its sweet spiritual fragrances and run to your Lord, Who has been waiting for you....

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala grant us the tawfiq to make the changes we've been dying to make, to drop the habits we've been pining to drop and to taste the nearness we've been yearning to taste for all these years. May He allow us to benefit from this upcoming Ramadan far more than we ever have from previous Ramadans. May He make this time a means through which we draw near to Him greatly, so that when the sweet days of Ramadan begin we can drown ourselves in remembrance of and love for our Creator. Ameen.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Please do take a moment to hear one or more of the following lectures -if not now, then later- in order to prepare yourself for these sweet and blessed approaching days.

Hazrat Maulana Zulfiqar Ahmad (db) -Urdu
Physical and Spiritual Benefits of Ramadan
Hazrat Zulfiqar's lecture series during I'tikaf in Zambia

Mufti Taqi Usmani (db) -Urdu
Ramadan: How to Make the Most of it

Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed (db)-English
The Purpose of Ramadan

Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar (db) -English
Preparing for Ramadan - The Month of Sha'ban
The Path to Ramadan - Limited Days of Ramadan
The Path to Ramadan - Purification
The Path to Ramadan - Prayer
The Path to Ramadan - Fasting
Taking Advantage of Ramadan
Making the most of Ramadan

Jum'a Mubarak and Istighfaar

2004-08-13T20:35:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu....

Haven't blogged in a while. I suppose I just haven't felt inspired. But I just thought I'd write up a quick post and blurt out a couple things I'm thinking about. Firstly, don't forget to read Surah Kahf today. Insha'Allah he who reads Surah Kahf on Jum'a, preferably before Jum'a Salaah, will be protected from the Dajjal when he comes. And we all need protection from him. I've heard that righteous people will run and hide from him out of fear that if they meet him they'll be convinced by him and swayed off the Path. Imagine- that'll be state of the righteous. What'll happen to us?

Also increase in your salawaat upon Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim. On any other day, when you say "Allahumma salli 'alaa sayyidinaa Muhammad" an angel rushes to deliver that gift to our beloved Prophet. But on Yawm al-Jum'a those sweet words are heard directly by him salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim. SubhaanAllah, reflect upon that...

And one last thing... don't ever think it's too late. So long as there is breath in your lungs, blood in your veins and beats in your heart, it's not too late. It doesn't matter how far you've gone down the wrong path, it doesn't matter how many times you've made the same mistake, it doens't matter how ashamed you feel going back and asking Allah jalla jalaaluh to forgive you for something you've done for the 23rd time.... what matters is that you're still alive, you're not in your grave and you can do istighfaar and change. Don't even think about it. Just don't. Don't give yourself that extra moment of thought for shaytaan to come in and whisper. If you're doing something wrong, *stop* and do istighfaar.

Imagine.. Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala has said that He loves the one who turns over and over in repentance, seeking forgiveness. Hear these words! "Allah loves..." Think about that! Just stop, clear your mind and heart and reflect upon that phrase, "Allah loves..." And what comes after it? You'd think, "Allah loves those who do good... Allah loves those who are patient... Allah loves those who stand up in prayer in the predawn hours..." Yes, Allah 'azza wa jal may well love those people... but what is He saying here? "Allah loves the one who turns to Him over and over in repentance." And who falls in that category? Sinners! Sinners who sin.. over and over.. such that they are in need of turning over and over in repentance! SubhaanAllah! Allah has said to you, Oh you who are sinning, Oh you who are filthying your heart with blackness, Oh you who are wrong, Oh you who are destroying your soul.... Allah *loves* you.... if you but turn in repentance. SubhaanAllah.. He loves you.. just turn to Him. Ask Him sincerely for forgiveness, He will grant it. He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy... He is the Most Kind of those who have kindness... It's not too late.... you're alive... and look at Who you're asking forgiveness from.. if it were your best-friend that you'd wronged over and over and over, would she forgive you after the 100th time? Probably not. But this is Allah.. Allah Most High.. Allah Most Kind.. Allah Most Loving...

Just do it... you have nothing to lose and everything to gain... stop what you're doing. Just stop... it's not worth it.. it's sooo not worth it. SubhaanAllah, it really isn't. Stop, do istighfaar with sincerity again, for the umpteenth time.. and Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala will forgive you... He loves you, oh frequent sinner....

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala grant us the tawfiq to leave those things that are keeping us away from Him, for verily in the moment you are committing a sin you have almost definitely left the remembrance of Allah and thus our purpose in this life, and if you were to die in that state you may well die in heedlessness... May He grant us the tawfiq to stop, do istighfaar, and return to our Lord, Who loves us for our ability to repent.. again and again and again... May He fill our last moments on this earth -and those last moments began the day we were born- with love for Him and remembrance of Him... let us not spend a single moment of our time in heedlessness of Him, for only in those moments are we prone to sin... Ya Rabb let us love You the way the people of our previous generations loved You.. with our every breath, heart beat, tear, blink, step and sigh, Ya ArhamurRaahimeen. Ameen.

Lessons from a Majestic Blue Canopy

2004-08-08T20:32:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

I've decided I don't really like being on the computer, especially not for long periods of time coz there's only so much you can do that's truly of benefit, and after a few hours you're most probably just wasting time and draining anything you may have attained spiritually. (Unless, of course, you're a computer science person or a web designer or someone whose actual vocation invloves the computer.) Thus it's been a little while since I last posted, but I decided to come on and post because I had some really fun reflections which I wanted to share.

Alhamdulillah, nature really stimulates beautiful chains of thought. Not to get all Emersonian or Thoreau-ian but I do think spending time in unadultured nature with contemplation, reflection, deepness of thought and expansion of mind is good for the soul. So I was looking at the sky the other day, and SubhaanAllah it really is so beautiful. There's so much to learn from it... so many of its qualities to reflect upon. Firstly, it's just so perfect. Utterly flawless. I think Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala even said in the Qur'an to look at His creation and try to find fault in it... you will fail. It's so true (obviously... it's in the Qur'an : ) It's this perfect blue canopy which hangs effortlessly overhead, covering and protecting us by the Grace of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala.

I was also thinking about its quality of expansiveness. I mean, firstly we've established that it's utterly flawless because that's the way Allah created it. And on top of this quality it appears as though it goes on forever. We know it doesn't, obviously, but the naked eye unsupported by the intellect and heart could easily fall into thinking it does. Look in any direction at it and you'll never see the end of it. No matter where you stand, what elevation, what location, no matter what longitudinal and latitudinal region you are in, the sky above will always appear as though it just keeps on going. It makes me think of the Glory of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, because imagine: here's this thing that's so unbelievably expansive, so beautiful in its physical appearance, so necessary for our survival and sustenance and appears as though it's limitless. Yet despite the greatness of each of these qualities it falls hopelessly short of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala Who created it, sustains it, maintains it and has Himself the most Beautiful and Perfect manifestations of all its aformentioned qualities. If I can barely comprehend the majestic beauty of the sky above me, can you even begin to imagine how unimaginably Beautiful and Majestic must be its Creator? SubhaanAllah : )

The third reflection I had about it was again in regards to its expansiveness and solidarity, yet this time not physically but over time. The gentle blue canopy I call the sky has contained the same glittery stars, burning sun and soothing moon for centuries, and will continue to do so until the day the universe collapses. Stars do die, of course, but most major constellations and such have remained for centuries as we can see in our study of ancient civilizations and the importance they gave to the night sky. What's so amazingly beautiful is this powerful yet unassuming constant... I mean, think about it- throughout all the wars, all the bloodshed, all the sick things mankind has done, all the transgressions we've committed against Truth, all the sins man has done -hidden and open- since the beginning of time, all the damage we've caused to this sweet planet... throughout all of this, one thing which has remained untouched and ever-peaceful is the sky.

On the flip side we have the serenity... subhaanAllah, this brings tears to my eyes... the sky I gaze upon in the middle of a tiring day, after weeks of feeling spiritually low... that very sky is the same sky that my beloved Prophet salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim gazed upon when he was on this earth. SubhaanAllah... the moon... that very moon which lights up my neighbourhood at night with a gentle blue glow, is the very same moon upon which the blessed gaze of my dear and beloved Prophet Muhammad salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim fell over 1400 years ago. That moon is the same moon that is referred to in a hadith, when one of the sahaba radiAllahu 'anh said that he was with the Prophet salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim on a night when it was a full moon and he looked at the Prophet, then he looked at the moon, then he looked at the Prophet, then he looked again at the full moon and he said, "I had never seen anything as beautiful as the Prophet salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim." Just think- this celestial smile which, when it grows to be full, is used to describe the face of the beloved of Allah... this beautiful moon was actually compared to the beauty of the Prophet salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim by one of the sahaba. SubhaanAllah...

Just try it: one day when you're feeling distant from Allah, or things are just going terribly wrong in your life, or even if you're bursting with love for Allah jalla jalaaluh and His messenger salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim and don't know where to channel it, go outside at night, turn your face toward the heavens and look. Look at that sky, gaze at those stars and soak in the light of the moon... and know that the sweet and blessed gaze of the habib of Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim once glanced upon the very same gentle moon, once used those very same sparkling stars to guide him from Mecca to Madina on his blessed Hijrah... and once raised his perfect hands towards that very same majestic sky to make a heartfelt du'a for you, his ummah...

Allahumma salli 'alaa sayyidinaa Muhammad...

Mothers

2004-08-02T20:29:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu : )

So many ponderings I want to write about. I hope this doesn't get too long...

I just finished vacuuming the upstairs plus the staircase and my arms are, like, throbbing. I also started sweating up a storm, especially on the staircase coz the vacuum cleaner itself was generating a lot of heat on top of the already warm/humid weather.

Anyway, I was thinking about it.... we always talk about how *amazing* mothers are, masha'Allah, because of the fundamental/crucial/pivotal role they play in bringing up children. I had attended a talk by Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar (db) on raising children, and he was saying that every child born is an uncut diamond and the responsibility of the parents is to cut, carve, shape and smooth that rough diamond into a beautiful gem, so that Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala will purchase that child for Jannah. Before he mentioned this point, he started off his talk by saying that the first step in bringing up righteous children is to marry a righteous wife, because the mother will essentially be the child's companion for his/her entire childhood and then some, and will play the largest role (out of creation) in nurturing that child into a mu'min, or a muhsin.

So we have this person, the mother, who has the responsibility of raising pure, untainted babies into devoted servants of Allah. That is no easy task, let alone the endless nights awake feeding the baby, rocking her back and forth to put her to sleep, the hectic days running around the house after the baby, keeping an eye on her at all times, never able to enjoy a single meal because the mother's attention and focus is always on her child, where she is and what she's doing. I mean, subhaanAllah, the things a mother does to maintain and raise a child is immense. (Alhamdulillah, the father certainly has his critical role as well, but I want to focus on the mother for a moment...)

So, anyway, what I'm discovering is that *aside* from the immense and unimaginable responsibility and duty of a mother in raising a child, let alone children, she has a house to maintain! She has to vacuum here, dust there, tidy this, clean that, wash clothes, cook food... subhaanAllah!! The CEO of a billion dollar corporation can't multi task as beautifully as a mother can! And the key thing about her mutli tasking: it's completely selfless. It's purely out of the rahm Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala placed in her that she does these things. SubhaanAllah... I keep discovering over and over why Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim loved women, and why he said that Jannah is under the feet of the mother. If you begin to think of the number of things (weighty things) a mother does everyday without tire or complaint and really, truly refect upon it... you'll want nothing more than to serve you mother, give her anything her heart desires and take care of her every need. SubhaanAllah, you may well earn Jannah as a result of just that.

So that was my first pondering for this post... inspired by my aching muscles and beating heart. Now, having spoken about something as profound and beautiful as motherhood, I've kinda lost desire to write about my other ponderings... So maybe I'll come back in a couple days and ponder out loud again. Until then, please keep me in your du'as : )

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen

The Effects of Our Deeds on Spiritual Progress

2004-07-27T20:23:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu : )

As I'm stumbling and fumbling my way along this long and arduous Path, I'm discovering a few things... One of the things I'm discovering now-a-days is that there are certain things which effect your spiritual progress *greatly* and for the most part they differ from person to person. For this reason you really have to be extremely careful about and protective of your imaan, because most people aren't going to help you with it. Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar (may Allah increase him) was saying how imaan is a treasure... it's this bag of of gold which must be protected. Say you're given a bag of gold and have it on you while you're walking in the city. Even though no one knows you have it, you're going to be *extra* careful. You'll keep looking over your shoulder to make sure no one's following you.. you'll keep your hand on it all the time so no one can take it.. because it's precious and you don't want it stolen. He was saying how our imaan is the same way. It's this bag of spiritual gold which you hold within your heart that must be protected carefully, and everytime you look at something you shouldn't look at, or say something you shouldn't say, you're selling your imaan for that filthy thing. What a miserable bargain...

The thing which I realized recently is that for each person the things they do which eat away at that bag of gold can really differ. For example, if I look at a billboard of a scantily dressed woman I'm just gonna be like, "Ew. Astaghfirullah," then continue with my dhikr... with mininal effect on my heart, by the Grace of Allah. But for a brother that glance could greatly effect his spiritual state. That example is rather obvious, but my point is that you can't judge how severe an effect a sin could have on your heart based on the effect it appears to have on others, even if they seem to be on the same lines as you or further than you on the Path. Your path to Allah is your path to Allah, and no one else's path will line up exactly with yours. Of course the Siraat al-Mustaqeem is one, but each individual's experience on that *true* Path will be different, though similarities can and do occur. Alhamdulillah for teachers, well-versed in the nuances of the Path, who can shine the nur burning in their hearts upon the rocky road ahead, hold your desperate hand and take you step by step to your Final Goal...

A sincere request: please keep me in your du'as...

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen

Sajdah

2004-07-23T20:20:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu : )

I hope you're all in the best of health and imaan, using your time in a manner that will draw you near to Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala and spending your every free moment emersed in His remembrance..

I was just thinking something today, which I think about often but it kinda hit me stronger now than it has in the past. I realized how much I love doing sujud. I have yet to discover a physical act more pleasurable than sujud. I mean, think about it... our purpose here is to worship and love Allah. What act better embodies this purpose than sujud? It's like you're saying, "Nothing matters, not my body, not my intellect, not my face by which I'm recognized on this earth, nothing. All that matters is You, so here I am. Submitted. Here I am for You." SubhaanAllah... profound. If I didn't get such a headache after a while I'd stay in sujud for hours. Ooh, now would be a good time to mention... if ever you want to cry in sujud, make sure you won't be seeing anyone for the next hour or two, because your face will maintain that puffy, swollen, post-crying look for a looooong time. Even people who hardly know you will be like, "What's wrong?"

[...]

On another note, alhamdulillah, it's raining : ) I usually don't like rain, but my father's made me realize that rain is barakah from Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala, and we should make du'a when it's raining coz it's a time when His barakah is descending from the heavens and a good time to make du'a : ) I did today and I was very grateful that I took the naseeha. I've heard it so many times before, but for some reason hearing it from my father really made it sink in. May Allah increase him..

Please make du'a for me... I'm quite in need of du'as.

Was-salaam ma'al ikraam,
Zareen

Starting Up

2004-07-20T20:19:00.000-04:00

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

All praise belongs to Allah, Creator and Cherisher of the universe, Who causes the sun to rise and set effortlessly, Who brings life from death, Who softens hearts and fills them with His remembrance, Who bestows His blessings on any who seek Him, Who raises man in ranks of righteousness and stations of nearness to Him and decreases him whenver He wills. In His Hand lies our life and sustenance, and to Him we turn for guidance and help. May the most perfect peace and blessings be upon His Beloved Emissary, the Best of Creation, the perfect example for mankind, whose presence on this earth filled it with a nur that continues to shine on the Path before us, whose love, work and dedication continues to penetrate the hardest of hearts and darkest of souls, whose teachings have been passed on from heart to heart through generations of scholarship and whose heirs continue to light the flame of "Laa ilaaha ilAllah Muhammad Rasool Allah" in minds and hearts today. May peace and blessings be upon his family, his companions, his heirs and all the rightly guided who ever lived and will ever live until the Day of Judgment.

Insha'Allah so begins the sharing of my thoughts on this page, which I pray will be a beneficial experience for me... to see on paper (or screen, rather) what runs through my mind and heart. Such has been the practice of both young and old for centuries and on a few occasions I, too, attempted to write my thoughts out, though it's never lasted more than a few days, and upon looking back at what I wrote I get terribly embarassed. I have one request: if at any time during my writings anyone finds that I've said something which could be displeasing to Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala and not in accordance with sunnah, please notify me so that I may correct myself immediately.

I'd like to first thank a few sisters I met on sunniforum.com who introduced me to the concept of blogging and through them I discovered that there is an Islamic Institute somewhere (in Canada? or England?) where young Muslims are studying to become 'aalims and 'aalimahs. When I read some of their blogs I was completely overwhelmed by the beauty and power of their lives, which have beat in accordance with the ryhthm of the Qur'an and sunnah since they were children. After reading a few of their blogs last night I was so taken in that I had to share my thoughts and did so in the sister's section of sunniforum.com. I'll paste below what I wrote there, because those thoughts are still lingering in my mind. It's a message to/about the Muslims studying to become 'aalims and 'aalimahs all over the world, especially in the West:

SubhaanAllah I'm learning about an entirely new world that I simply knew nothing about. I looked at your blog, Sister [a sister from the forum], and one other person's blog and I'm discovering this community of 'aalims and 'aalimahs and young people my age studying to be counted among that blessed group of people. SubhaanAllah, I knew nothing about this... I knew that somewhere in some places some people go to Islamic institutes, but that's all I knew. Nothing else. Now I feel like I've discovered this treasure, this pocket of spiritual gold that actually exists in the West.. in the very same community I was born and brought up in. SubhaanAllah.. it brings tears to my eyes. Reading your blogs and hearing about the things you all do, and the things you learn and what you're teaching, subhaanAllah. This brother's the imaan of this masjid and that sister's teaching fiqh to those girls... all groomed by this beautiful Islamic environment where children run around in gardens of sunnah and students bask in the fragrances of the 'ulema and awliyaa... SubhaanAllah.. what a gift.. what a blessing.. not only that it exists today due to the barakah of Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim, the sahabah radiAllahu 'anhum and the 'ulema.. but the fact that it exists here, in this society, in these times. One moment you're in the madrasah studying the hadith of our beloved Prophet salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim, the next moment you drive out and you're in the same dunyaa I see all around me.. the same dunyaa I grew up in.. the same stores and roads..

SubhaanAllah... I never thought I'd find a group of Muslims my age who see Islam the same exact way I do, who take pleasure in the same exact things I do, who see life the same exact way I do, who love the awliyaa and 'ulema and who grew up loving them. Me... I looked here and there, once in a while closed my eyes, held my breath and just ran becuase it was the easiest thing to do.. and alhamdulillah I wound up with a traditional understanding of Islam. Meanwhile there are brothers and sisters whose best friends are all studying to be 'aalims and 'aalimahs... whose friends all go for 'umrah.... who grew up in this beautiful environment, surrounded, comforted and nurtured by the nur of the Qur'an and sunnah.

SubhaanAllah.. I don't know really what I'm saying, or why I'm saying it.. or if it's even coming out right.. but I was just so overwhelmed by the beauty of what I was reading, I had to say something... SubhaanAllah, discovering all this brought me to tears... and I just had to say something. What a blessing you all have.. may Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala increase it for you all. May He increase your knowledge of His deen and your desire to learn more. May He make you among His most beloved servants, entirely submitted to His Divine Will. May He fill your limbs, hearts and souls with the sunnah of His beloved Messenger salAllahu 'alayhi wasallim.. May He make you among those who weep to Him in the pre-dawn hours.. May He raise you in the company of those whom He loves the most and grant you shade on the Day there will be no shade save that of His Throne.. and May He grant you the unimaginable gift of being in His Divine Presence for all of Eternity... Ameen...

Your humbled sister in Islam, Imaan and striving for Ihsan,
Zareen