Eid Mubarak and a lil thought.

First and foremost, Eid Mubarak.
It's been such a long time.
Taqabal Allah minna wa minkum.

It's always been a case of sitting infront of the Egyptian/Saudi news channels waiting for the announcement of Eid to be made. The Saudis had the luck of the draw this time around and I sat there with my mum trying to understand with the limited Arabic I knew, I figured it was indeed Eid al Fitr the next day.

I'm sure you all know the feeling, the one I cannot describe where all your happiness seems to gel together as you realise your month of abstaining from things has come to an end and the reward and delights are ever-present. You know, that feeling which you are certain another billion are sharing with you. I wish I could continue but that is not the point I wish to draw your attention to.

I captured that moment and kept it in my mind for a while because it led me to imagine something greater. I imagined the delight the Ummah of Muhammad (pbuh) would feel as Allah entered them into Jannah. The similarities are rather striking. The Muslims striving throughout the month and inshAllah, their striving throughout life. The reward and joys of Eid and the infinitely greater delights that await us as we receive our treat in Jannah, God willing, if Allah chooses us to be among the successful. Imagine entering Jannah with Muhammad's Ummah as we enter into Eid with the Muslims of the present time.

It's a beautiful feeling and even with our limited understanding and knowledge of the Ghaib, I can still conclude that indeed what we feel as we enter Eid every year can only be an infinitely minute snapshot of what it'd be like entering Jannah if we have attained that reward.

Did you imagine?
Can you imagine?

Blessed is Allah, rabbil 3alamiin.

Ramadan Kareem

So I made it through the other side...

...all praise and thanks be to Allah for

(1) getting rummage through her exams

(2) peppering the Earth with knowledge for the taking.

wasalamu alaykum

A simple request

The heart requested of its fellow guide, the eyes.....

By Allah,
you have been granted
a huge trust

So forgive me
For the request
I ask of you

My guide
My guardian
My deliverer

At times,
I must humble myself
For I am under your influence

Be gentle with me
For I am weak
And I carry a heavy burden

Lighten my load
By following the advice
From the Lord, Most High

Lower your gaze
For the resulting arrows
Penetrate me so frequently

And I cannot bear
A burden greater
Than has been granted me

I am forever occupied
with the affairs
of one's emotions

So do not add to that
The weary load
Of wishful fantasy

I am under His control
By Him, I beat
Through him, I sustain

So do not deny me
Space to worship Him
Devotion to thank Him

By occupying me
With frivolous thought
And daydreams

Do not let that gaze
become a charriot
for desire

For, often a times
I have experienced
the anguish of love

Rather, let me occupy myself
with the love of Him
He, who created you and I

Yes, I am vast
and this vessel can contain
a sea of emotions

But I am overworked
And wish to feel
tranquil again

For that, I humbly ask you
To guard that which you fall upon
And curb the effect it has on me

Dear eyes
Dear windows
Work with me

Towards righteousness
Towards calm
Towards devotion

So that we may attain nearness
To our Lord, Most High
Creator of both you and I

Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.

And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof, and let them wear their head-coverings over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments except to their husbands or their fathers, or the fathers of their husbands, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or those whom their right hands possess, or the male servants not having need (of women), or the children who have not attained knowledge of what is hidden of women; and let them not strike their feet so that what they hide of their ornaments may be known; and turn to Allah all of you, O believers! so that you may be successful.

-Holy Quan , 24:30-31

Just like the winds send rain.

- ease shall follow today's hardship.

So verily, with the hardship, there is relief, Verily, with the hardship, there is relief.

- 94:5-6

Allah, al Rahman

When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with Him: My mercy prevails over my wrath.
-Muslim

O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it.
- At-Tirmidhi

Indeed, no one despairs of relief from Allah except the disbelieving people.
Surat Yusuf:87

He said: "My Lord! Verily, I have wronged myself, so forgive me."
Then He forgave him.
Verily, He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
-Surat Al Qasas :16

-he was Moses and the Forgiver was Allah, Al Ghafur. The verse was concerning Moses' supplication to Allah concerning the Copt he had killed earlier. And remember Aadam (alayhi salam) - our father , our first Prophet. Did he not commit a great sin that resulted in him being placed on Earth from Paradise?

Never despair of Allah's Mercy, His Infinite Mercy. Think for a moment, if it wasn't for His Mercy what state would we all be in. Remember , we're human, insaan, which is derived from the arabic word nasiya - to forget. My, what copious excuses we have simply for being humans, momentary excuses, that is.

Point is, try not to forget Allah's Mercy when asking for forgiveness. Remember the kindness he provides for those of us who are constantly heedless if His Mesage.Remember the Mercy He has granted us simply being able to ask for forgiveness.

wassalamu alaykum.

How Merciful must He be

image source

It was a couple of moments after sundown. Maghrib had just had its footing and I remember looking outside at the sky and being met with an artist's palette I had never seen before. The colours were inimitable; it would take the most skilled of artists an eternity to capture the range, or even a fraction, of the multitude of tones and colours that met my eye.

Allah promised the believers a Paradise where beauty would be magnified at every turn. The fruit, honey, wine and milk that would, under His command, become more delectable to the one tasting it. I thought that reality was only reserved for Paradise when I said to myself that the sky that I was looking at had seemed more beautiful than the last time I had looked at it. I suppose the two things can’t be true both at the same time so I gathered that it was because I had become more receptive to its beauty and that my heart had softened a little.

And then the thoughts came...

How Merciful must He be to grant me the eyes to see this splendid display of colour
The same eyes that had sinned while looking at that made unlawful only yesterday.

How Merciful must He be to grant me these ears to hear the ever-soothing words of Al Quran
The same ears that had sinned while listening to that made unlawful only yesterday.

How Merciful must He be to soften my heart in awe of His creation
The same heart that had deviated to that made unlawful only yesterday.

Ultimately, the Quran puts it best:

And if you would count the graces of Allah, never could you be able to count them. Truly! Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

-Surat An Nahl: 18

Wassalamu alaykum.

05 - A Most worthy invitation.

I want you to imagine an invitation handed to you. An invitation allowing you to request all that you want, in the heavens and on the earth. An invitation that takes place at a time where the heart and mind are known to be more sound, at night. An invitation allowing you to get close to the one who invited you, through prostration. An invitation for His Infinite Mercy and Forgiveness. There's no need of a RSVP. The invitation is open until you take your last breath during every night. You can come alone and if you really want , share this special moment with your beloved companion.In the still of the night, when all is quiet and silence has time to spare you,mercifully, take advantage and bow your head in prayer. Perform tahajjud prayers so that you may attain a nearness to Allah, Most High.I know its difficult, but let's at least give it a go. An hour or so before Fajr should be fine. I repeat, how can we miss out on an open invitation from our Rabb calling us to ask for forgiveness. I'll stop there, but take heed of the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

"When one third of the night remains our Rabb, Most High, Most Exalted, descends to the first sky and announces, "Who is there to beseech Me that I may answer his prayer and who is there to seek forgiveness that I may forgive him. Then He spreads out His hands (of kindness and mercy) and proclaims, "Who will grant a loan to the One who is neither a destitute or an oppressor." (Muslim)

And from the glorious Quran,

Surely rising by night is very heavy in treading the soul and very effective in speech

- 73:6

04 - Good times with good people and laughter.

'Give your heart a break for some time otherwise it will suffer a breakdown out of excessive strain.'

-Ali ibn Abu Talib

(may Allah be pleased with him)

I'm smiling now thinking about my afternoon spent with three lovely people. There was food , there were milkshakes and there was plenty of laughing. The strange thing is that I can't remember the last time I laughed like that. You know the type, the one that comes from a depth of your heart you never knew existed. The type you can't stop no matter the circumstance or the people around you. Laughter than eventually ends but you still remember the joys it brought you. Twas good, clean, innocent laughter with friends and it still makes me smile. Imagine a life without laughter, without joyous merriment with those you love and care about. Let's not imagine that for it would be a life without sunshine, you know , the sunshine that laughter brings as it tries its best to cleanse your heart of any sadness it may harbour for that moment of time.

Praise be to Allah, for providing us with this mean to lighten our hearts, momentarily.

wassalamu alaykum.

03 -"There is no obedience to the creation in disobedience to the Creator."

We've heard it many a times, the above famous hadith from our beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Consider the following example, a personal experience at that. My paternal cousin is to get married soon and I am expected to attend the wedding. I need not delve into the details nor explain how this goes against the conditions and laws set by Allah. However, I shall speak a little of the great amount of resistance I have faced from my family concerning my refusal to attend such a gathering (you know, the dress code, the music, the free-mixing). How do you tell those who obviously know it is wrong that you wish not attend? Simple - I am not going. The difficulty comes from feeling isolated and as if you have done the wrong. It may be the whispers of the Shaytaan deterring me from what is right. It's the whole ' you are going to upset your uncle', 'people will think you're being stand-offish', 'since when did you turn all religious'. I wish I was brave enough to reply, 'does it not bother you that I shall upset Allah over my uncle'. It's so sad as people worry so much over everyone's right and forget the right of Allah over us that we worship Him and obey Him. It's done , though, and I shall not attend the wedding, alhamdullilah. The lesson I would like to share follows. At the beginning of this whole issue, I'll be honest, I gave in and told myself I would attend although I'd hate it in my heart. I remember seeking help from Allah and asking Him to aid me if it was right. In fact, I cried. Although, I may have cried over something else, I've been doing a lot of that lately. Point is, when one is sincere about seeking a means to Allah, wallahi, He will meet you greater than half way. Our Rabb will respond, just put your trust in Him. I've often heard that but never experienced it as I have over this situation.Praise be to Allah, then.

Lesson learnt : Try your best and rely on Allah, the results will amaze you.
Wassalamu alykum

02 - They say miracles happen there.

I spoke to a friend I know today. She was feeling really upset and , alhamdullilah, I was there to lend a helping hand. But, something my friend said to me really got to me and the words are still in my head. She spoke of how her relative had got ill and had visited their homeland ( no, not Makkah or Madina). That's not the point. What got to me was when she told me that she would soon visit a 'holy place' that is known to have had miracles appear therein and that her relative may possibly be cured. OK, I thought. My friend was distraught so I thought better than to inquire further as to this supposed holy place. It got me thinking about the state of the Prophet's Ummah and Allah's submitted servants, though. Where have we gone so wrong? What happened to seeking Allah's help through ruqyah (healing via verses of the Quran and authentic supplications) and having tawakkul in Him. This particular person may well have tried both - I don't know. But, I felt uneasy about the 'holy place' of healing she spoke of. Its things like this that make me very uneasy and sadden me concerning the state of Muslims today. We do not advocate the Quran and Sunnah for no reason. Nor do we shun innovation for the sake of it. May Allah protect us all and keep us on His straight Path. And ( I advice myself first) , we should all strive to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, as Allah repeatedly reminds us in His revelation. I guess its finding the courage in what seems to be a tricky situation as described above.

wassalamu alaykum.

01 - Saying goodbye

It was a year ago I held my head in prostration and asked Allah that He grant me a friend of a beautiful nature. I had asked that He grant me a friend that would help me in the road to seeking His pleasure. And my, He did and He did so in the best of manners. If I choose to speak of the qualities this friend has been endowed with it would defeat my Project:Paragraph theme so I shan't and that's testament enough, I suppose. I cried last night in a way I can't remember doing so for quite some time. The thought of parting from my friend (this coming Friday) sends tremors through my heart. I can't describe it any other way. And then, I thought. If an individual who I've known for only a few months has had this effect on me, I wonder what the companions around the Prophet were going through at his death. I mean my friend is only going away. You see, my friend is the way she is because Allah has endowed her with such great qualities. She has nurtured them through Islaam and used the path the Prophet had provided her , from Allah's permission. Imagine then , I said, how people would have reacted to the parting of the Prophet, peace be upon him. I did start to imagine but I couldn't imagine any longer because if the temporary parting of this friend sends tremors through my heart , the parting of the Prophet, must have cataclysmically broken their hearts, into a million and one pieces.

wassalamu alaykum

Project: Paragraph

It's all in the title, really.
Start date: 22/03/09, inshallah.

wassalam.

A worthy series.

oh, it reminds me of my days in Egypt.
Go on, try it . You'll love it it.


http://knowledgetravels.wordpress.com/

Don't despair.

Ok, Ok, rummage tells herself. The bar was set too high the moment you suggested a hiatus. I suppose its testament to how I rely on the pen and paper. Maybe.

This is about the time of year my imaan goes through a good ol’ trial – a thorough whipping. It’s this time of year, I get the doubts as to where my future lies. Heck, they’ve gone beyond doubts, entered uncertainty and done a somersault over the term regret. And, that’s dangerous. It’s why I don’t like going there, I try my best to avert away from such thoughts but it gets too hard especially when it is all you hear , day in, day out.

Now, I have heard about the idea of being broken in front of Allah – admirable.That’s a trait preserved for the believers, the pious amongst the Prophet’s nation. May Allah grant them of His immense bounty.

Try ashamed. Utterly ashamed to ask for His help. How can I? , I question myself, without helping myself. It’s a stalemate in the thought process. In a normal situation nothing would hinder me seeking help from my Protector, the Source of Peace, the Forgiving and the Forbearing.

And then, one comes back to their senses and realises Allah is called At Tawwab (the Ever-Relenting). Wallahi, the jolt of joy one feels is inexplicable as soon as they realise that. Maybe the weather is helping, a lovely March morning; the dazzling sunshine manages to permeate every nook and cranny.

The problem is not the trial itself. No. It is the awful reality of it being self-inflicted and constantly repeating itself. It’s that which causes the annoyance, ridiculously large bouts of utter annoyance at oneself. Then all is calm as I remind myself that Allah has delivered me through this , on numerous occasions. When I thought it couldn’t get any worse, an avenue became available that I never expected.

Lesson learnt – probably not, yet. Will I continue trying – most certainly.

So, in trying to pass on what bit of advice I can, remember that Allah does not purposefully harm his servants nor would He subject them to hardships for which they could not handle , unnecessarily.
· Remember that no soul is subjected to more than it can bear, as Allah reminds us.
· Remember that Allah tests those who he loves.
· Shun the whispers of the accursed by seeking refuge in Allah.
· No amount of crying is going to get the job done, so start.
· Through hardship there is relief, as Allah, tells us.
· Don’t underestimate your capabilities for many of mankind are forever guilty of this condition.

And finally, a beautiful hadith that seems to put everything into perspective.

"A muslim is not afflicted by hardship, sickness, sadness, worry, harm, or depression - even if pricked by a thorn, but Allah expiates his sins because of that. " [Bukharee and Muslim]

Blessed be Allah, then. Lord of all Mankind. His Mercy encompasses all things.

Ma3assalam.

Off to....

Except I shan't be sleeping.

Well, I'll try not to.

No, I shall befriend my books.

Caress the sweet facts that exist therin.

Yep, I am officially in hibernation.

Well, after tomorrow night actually.

Wassalamu alakyum.

And may Allah protect and have mercy on you all.

:):):)

Some Shafi'i (may Allah grant him peace)

Here's a poem where Imam Shafi'i praises the rewards and hikmah behind travelling the land.

There is no peace of mind for the one with intellect and sophistication in remaining stationary - so leave homelands and and go to foreign fields,

Travel! You will find a replacement for what you have left. Crash out! The sweetness of life is in crashing out,

I have seen that standing water stagnates, if it flows it nourishes, and if it doesn't run, it doesn't nourish,

If the lion doesn't leave his den he can't hunt, and if the arrow doesn't leave the bow it won't strike,

If the sun stood still in its course then people, Arab and non-Arab, would become bored,

Gold dust is as the earth thrown in its places, and oud is a type of firewood in its ground,

If one travels this, his ambition is honoured. If one travels this, he is honoured like gold.

A funny conversation

So a close friend of my mum's was around here last night. She has known her since my mum's childhood growing up in Gabiley. It's been four decades. So ,she was here yesterday.

The conversation went like this *all in af-Somali, of course*

Friend: Have you heard so and so's child is getting married?

Mum: Ha , (yes) , alahmdullilah.
Allah ha hadayo (May Allah guide her, I think)

Friend: Reerki wa *so and so*

Mum: Ha, sidaas wan maqley ( Yeah I heard so)

Friend: Gormeh kuwaasna so gursadeyn (And when did they marry them)

*OK, my Somali is shameful, you can piece the pieces together.*

Mum: I know, I know.

Friend: These girls , these days, finding husbands left, right and centre.

Mum: *quiet*

Friend: mentions the clan again.

Mum:Hey, didn't we use to marry from them a time long go.

Friend: I suppose.

Mum: *quiet*

Me : holding back laughter. Aaah, Somalis.

I've abused myself.

I’ve abused myself.
Intellectual abuse, it has been.
I’ve committed a great crime, self perpetuated.
I’ve robbed my mind of what it has been granted by the Most High.
I’ve starved my intellect.
I’m thirsty for knowledge.
I’m bereft of any thinking.
I’ve switched off.
I’ve lost focus.
My brain cells have become satiated with shallowness.
Laziness has permeated my mindset.
I’ve allowed procrastination to take control of the reins.
I’ve failed in my duties to my intellect.
I’ve stopped thinking.

Allah, subhanna wa ta3alaa, has created man thus:

He is the One who perfected everything He created, and started the creation of the human from clay. Then He continued his reproduction through a certain lowly liquid. He shaped him and blew into him from His spirit. And He gave you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brains; rarely are you thankful. (32:7-9)

Indeed, man is an honourable creature. The creature with higher intellect. Heck, there’s 1.3kgs of grey mass up there burrowing in our skull. And what have I done, I’m destroying it, destroying myself of any chance to enhance and nurture this gift from Allah. Wallahi, I’ve abused myself and neglected the blessing granted to us all by Allah.

Ya Rab, allow me to make use of the blessing granted by You, in order that I may use it to please You.
Ameen.

ma3assalam.

Kids do it so well.

When the world becomes seems too much to handle, its a breath of fresh air seeing how kids treat it. They do it so well.




wassalam