Wayfarer's Rest

Spring and Mawlid

2007-03-28T18:13:00.000Z

With a whisper of the wind appears the first new leaf

And the trees tremble as life returns anew

Like a gentle breeze that grows to a tempest

A new song enters in my heart,

And lifts me on its wings.

Spring is here again.

The birds have begun to sing again. Looking out, I see tiny buds beginning to poke their way through the soil; branches bare all winter have dared to send forth their first green shoots. The wind blows warmer, the rain feels somehow fresher. It is unmistakeable – spring is here again.

How fitting that, as we approach the month of lights, the blessed month of mawlid, we should find ourselves entering the season of spring. For what more fitting time could there have been for the one whose birth signified the dawning of new hope for mankind, a new spring of tauhid after the dark and cold winter of disbelief; for the one who loved all things green and who revived dead hearts to life, than the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal (lit: the first spring)?

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf mentioned that the Prophet (s) was born in spring and loved green. He continued that green was the first colour that the eye could perceive, and the last that it could make out; the middle of the spectrum of light. Green is also the colour of chlorophyll, which mediates photosynthesis in plants – the conversion of pure light into energy and nourishment that ultimately allows our continued existence. The parallels are manifest but beautiful nonetheless: he (s) is from the light of Allah, the first Prophet and the last, the moderate and median way, neither too harsh nor too lenient; he is the source of all nourishment and the means of continuation for all spiritual life. He (s) is, as the commentaries of the Quran mention, the solitary flowering tree in the midst of a barren desert – from whose fruits all men feast, and beneath whose boughs all find shade and rest.

The advent of spring fills one with gladness – a joy that the believer cannot but feel when he or she contemplates the arrival of the best and most beloved of all creation (s). Allah says in the Holy Quran: ‘In the blessings of Allah and in His mercy – in that let them rejoice,’ and, ‘make remembrance of the Days of Allah.’ al-Bayhaqi relates that the Prophet (s) said, ‘the Days of Allah are Allah’s Blessings and Signs, and the Prophet’s birth is a great bliss.’ For almost a millennium, Muslims have joyfully commemorated the arrival of our spiritual Spring with the celebration of mawlid.

Mawlid has three meanings: the time of the Beloved’s (s) birth, the place of his birth and the fact of his birth. However, for hundreds of years, the word mawlid has been used to signify the celebration of the Prophet’s (s) birth. Mawalid have been – and still are – held wherever there are Muslims; from the Islamic heartlands of Arabia, Egypt and Syro-Palestine to the very borders of the traditional Islamic lands such as Indonesia, the Caucasus and Western Africa. In the 20^th century, the globalization of the Ummah and mass migration has seen mawlid celebrated in the most unlikely of places – from the rain-swept streets of the UK to the snowy mountains of Canada to the tip of Southern Africa.

It is beloved of the common folk of the community and cherished by the elect. Kings and rulers have used mawlid to connect to their followers; scholars have used it to educate the people. Such has been its popularity among the learned and the unlearned – so deeply has it touched the hearts of Muslims from every walk of life – that one would struggle to find a place that has not been graced by the celebration of the Beloved of Allah (s).

Rabi` al-Awwal Mubarak, dear friends. May Allah enlighten all our hearts with the love of his Beloved (s), ennoble our eyes with his (s) vision in this world and the next, and fill our limbs with the strength to follow his blessed way.

Oh Cherishing Lord! Through the honour of Sayyidina Muhammad in Your eyes, purify our hearts from every evil quality that distances us from Your witnessing, Your love and Your mercy, let us die as members of his (s) community and under his banner of praise, yearning for the encounter with You, Oh Lord of Majesty and Grace! Then peace and blessings upon the elect of creation, the Master of the children of Adam, the Beloved of the Lord of the Worlds, Sayyidina wa Habibina Muhammad, his family, companions, and all who light their hearts from his blessed lamp.

from the editorial to the forthcoming magazine - Illumination

was salam, Talib

A glimpse into some commentaries of the Burda

2006-11-04T23:59:00.000Z

salams

An erudite response, by Shaykh Gibril Haddad, to a recent discussion about selected verses from that most majestic and beautiful of praises upon the beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him), the Qasida al-Burda. The author delves into six classical commentaries on the work - primarily regarding the verses quoted immediately below. In addition to clarifying their meaning, he provides a fascinating insight into the nature of traditional Islamic scholarship - incremental, layer-upon-layer analysis and exegesis that is surely unrivalled in religious tradition.

It is also an signal indication that the Burda - and works like it - are not merely enjoyable and invigorating devotional poetry, but prized works of doctrine and spirituality that were taught at Islamic Universities with ijaza, in much the same way as books of fiqh and hadith.

In the verse of the Burda:

"fa-inna min judika al-dunya wa-darrataha / wa-min `ulumika `ilma
al-lawhi wal-qalami"

the two "min" are "referring to the subset of a whole" (tab`idiyya) as
the language and context make clear. Min clearly marks off the set
(`ulum), which is in the plural, from the subset (`ilm) which is in the
singular, indicating other `ulum that are also encompassed. It is
incoherent to say that such subsets could be encompassed in part and not
necessarily in their entirety. Contextwise, this and the previous verse
speak of [1] the undiminishable high standing and [2] abundant
generosity of the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace. It would be
lukewarm iman, not to mention defective praise, not to mention poor
craftsmanship, for an Arab poet to conclude a poem of Prophetic praise
by suggesting limitation or incompleteness for such attributes. Hence,
the correct meaning denotes encompassment as I had translated it years
ago, in what became the Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine:

152. ya akrama al-khalqi ma li man aludhu bihi / siwaka `inda hululi
al-hadithi al-`amami

O noblest one in creation, I have none [in creation] from whom to
request protection other than you when the Universal Event befalls.

153. wa-lan yadiqa rasulallahi jahuka bi / idha al-karimu tajalla
bi-ismi muntaqimi

Your great standing, O Messenger of Allah, will not diminish for
advocating me, if the Generous One manifests Himself with His name of
Avenger,

154. fa-inna min judika al-dunya wa-darrataha / wa-min `ulumika `ilma
al-lawhi wal-qalami

For your generosity encompasses both this world and the one that comes
next, and your sciences encompass the knowledge of the Tablet and the
Pen.

At that time I had said:

They claim that it is wrong to say "and your sciences encompass the
knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen," and that such encompassing
knowledge belongs to Allah alone. However, their objections are needless
and far-fetched, since one of the meanings of the Tablet in the Qur'an
is the Qur'an itself: "A Glorious Qur'an in a Preserved Tablet"
(85:21-22), which Allah has taught the Prophet salla Allahu `alayhi
wa-Alihi wa-Sallam and the knowledge of which He has guaranteed for him
when He said: "Its gathering and recitation rest upon Us... Then verily
upon Us rests its exposition." (75:16-19)

As for the Pen, the Prophet salla Allahu `alayhi wa-Alihi wa-Sallam
said, as related by Bukhari and Muslim, that during the night of his
Ascension he reached a level where he could hear the screeching of the
pens writing the Decree, and this stands for his being granted its
knowledge, and Allah knows best.

Furthermore, they are gravely wrong in their suggesting that Allah is
unable to grant such knowledge to whomever He wills. We have already
established beyond doubt that the Prophet salla Allahu `alayhi wa-Alihi
wa-Sallam was granted the knowledge of all things except five matters.
This has been explained above in detail, in the section on `Ilm al-ghayb
and there is no need to repeat it here.

Imam Kawthari said in his Maqalat (p. 404): "Concerning [those] who
criticize al-Busiri for saying that the Prophet salla Allahu `alayhi
wa-Alihi wa-Sallam knows the science of the Tablet and the Pen: neither
does all that is hidden, nor does all knowledge reside exclusively in
the Tablet. Therefore the denial of the knowledge of the Unseen does not
necessitate that of the knowledge of what is in the Preserved Tablet.
The denial mentioned in Allah's saying: fa la yuzhiru `ala ghaybihi
ahadan "He discloses unto none His Secret" (72:26) presupposes exemption
of all that is excluded from "His Secret," signifying the negation of
universal disclosure [= no one knows all that Allah knows], not the
universal application of such negation [= no one knows anything that
Allah knows]. Therefore the meaning is the negation of the knowledge of
ALL the Unseen; not the negation of the knowledge of SOME of the Unseen.
This was demonstrated by Sa`d al-Din al-Taftazani in Sharh al-maqasid."

As for the Prophet's generosity which "encompasses both this world and
the one that comes next," it is clearly a reference to his abnegation on
behalf of his Umma in this world, and his intercession on their behalf
in the next world: to acknowledge both of these is a required article of
belief for all Muslims. And it is established in the hadith narrated by
Tirmidhi who declared it a fair narration (hasan), that Anas asked the
Prophet salla Allahu `alayhi wa-Alihi wa-Sallam for his intercession in
the next world, and he replied: ana fa`il, i.e. "I shall do it." This is
a proof against those who claim that it is unlawful to ask for the
Prophet's future intercession while still in this world.

Al-Hamdu lillah, even then a fumbling pauper's love was enough to read
the Arabic correctly and be guided to some of the Aayaat and Ahaadith
that show the mendacity of that specific attack upon the Burda. Even
before I had sat down I instinctively knew that the writer of such an
obviously inspired poem could not be guilty of what his attacker
claimed, especially in light of the latter's highly suspicious proneness
for the anathema and tadlil of our Salaf Imams and the common Muslims. I
knew, even as a four-year old in Islam, that the Seal of all Ummas was
protected from error in its `Aqida and could not possibly have been
propagating wrong for centuries from West to East, and that Ibn Shama
could not have been teaching the Burda to al-Nawawi in Syria, nor Ibn
Hajar to al-Sakhawi in Cairo, nor al-Sakhawi to his students in the
Haramayn, nor al-Haytami to al-Qari in Makka, if there were even the
smell of shirk in one of its letters, for Ibn `Uthaymeen to credibly
propose, at the tail-end of times, a fatwa which said "Qasidat al-Burda
contains passages that constitute shirk" as quoted in the
Arabic-language periodical al-Sirat al-Mustaqeem published in the US
(Issue #46-47, Rabee` al-akhira 1416 / September 1995, p. 7).

We can be even more certain now, as I knew then, that no conscientious
Muslim would fly in the face of the Arabic language, ignore the `isma of
the Umma, and leave the company of the Sadiqin among the greatest Ulema
upon whom the Umma concurs, to follow some non-ma`sum teacher(s) except
a misguided muqallid who fell prey to his hawa.

I will quote from various commentaries of the Burda, again al-hamdu
lillah, which confirm one after another the soundness of the above, by
the following:

1. Imam Muhammad Abu al-Su`ud al-Hanafi (d. 951),
2. Shaykh Muhyi al-Din Muhammad ibn Mustafa al-Hanafi, known as Shaykh
Zadah (d. 951),
3. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Shafi`i (d. 973),
4. Mulla `Ali al-Qari al-Hanafi (d. 1014) whose commentary is by far the
most interesting,
5. `Allama Ibrahim al-Bajuri al-Shafi`i (d. 1277), and
6. Imam Muhammad al-Tahir Ibn `Ashur al-Maliki (d. 1284).

Some of the above excelled their respective contemporaries in the Arabic
language and they excelled also in fiqh and usul, while Ibn `Ashur and
Abu al-Su`ud were arguably the two greatest mufassirs of the last five
hundred years.

1. Abu al-Su`ud: "Knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen (in the sense of
what is written on the Tablet through the coursing of the Pen) is some
of what your knowledge flows through / has thorough access to [ba`du
mimma jara fihi `ilmuk]." As quoted in Sayyid Hasan al-`Idwi al-Hamzawi
al-Maliki's (d. 1303) al-Nafahat al-Shadhiliyya fi Sharhi al-Burdat
al-Busiriyya (Damascus photocopy of the Cairene ed. of the Nafahat p.
204).

2. Shaykh Zadah: "It may be that Allah Most High showed him, upon him
blessings and peace, all that is in the Tablet, and increased him on top
of that also, because the Tablet and the Pen are created, so what is in
them has a limit, and it is possible for the limited to encompass the
limited. This is according to your understanding [O reader]. As for him
whose heart's eye has beed dyed with the kohl of Divine light, he
witnesses through spiritual taste that the sciences of the Tablet and
the Pen are a portion (juz') of his sciences, upon him blessings and
peace, just as they are a portion of the knowledge of Allah Most High."
Shaykh Zadah's Hashiyat al-Burda in the margin of al-Kharputi's `Asidat
al-Shuhda Sharh Qasidat al-Burda (Ottoman 1320 ed. p. 219).

3. Al-Haytami: "AND OF YOUR SCIENCES IS THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TABLET AND
THE PEN, that is: Of some of your vast learning (ay: ba`di ma`arifika)
which Allah Most High gifted you. [...] And the sense in which knowledge
of the Tablet and the Pen is part of some of his sciences, upon him
blessings and peace, is that on the night of Isra', Allah Most High
showed him everything that is in the Preserved Tablet and added to that
other types of knowledge, such as the secrets which pertain to His
Essence and Attributes, may He be exalted!" Al-Haytami, al-`Umda fi
Sharh al-Burda, ed. Bassam Muhammad Barud (UAE: Dar al-Faqih, 2003, p.
666-669).

4. Al-Qari: "Min is tab`idiyya [...]. The commentators have said
conflicting things on the second hemistich of the verse. It was said
that 'al-`ilm' is a substantive which is in construct with its subject
(masdar mudaf ila fa`ilihi), that is: the Tablet and the Pen's knowledge
of things, but then we need to say that they possess perception and
feelings toward what was attributed to them. It was also said that
'al-`ilm' is in construct with its object, that is: the people's
knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen, but then we need to say that there
are different positions here. It was also said that Allah Most High
showed him, upon him blessings and peace, what the Pen had written in
the Preserved Tablet, which is the knowledge of the first and the last,
and this is the preponderant explanation (wa-huwa al-az.har). To clarify
further, what is meant by the knowledge of the Tablet is what was
entered into it among other transcendent writs and shrouded images
(al-nuqush al-qudsiyya wal-suwar al-ghaybiyya). What is meant by the
knowledge of the Pen is what was entered with it into the Tablet as
Allah Most High wished, so the construct implies the nearest
connection (al-idafatu li-adna mulabasa). The fact that the knowledge
of the Tablet and the Pen is part of his sciences consists in that his sciences
are multifarious, including universals and particulars, hidden matters
and minutiae, subtle wisdoms and arcane sciences pertaining to the
Essence and the Attributes, whereas the science of the Tablet and the
Pen are only a few lines (sut.ur) among the lines of his knowledge and a
mere river from the seas of his knowledge. Then, in addition to this, it
is from the blessing of his existence according to the report that was
said to be transmitted: 'The first thing Allah created is my light,'
that is, He looked at it with a gaze of majesty, so it cleaved in two,
and from its two halves were created the two worlds. This [light] is
what is meant by the Pen, hence the transmitted report: 'The first thing
Allah created is the Pen,' so there is no contradiction. The upshot is:
this world and the next are aftereffects (aathaar) of your existence and
generosity, and whatever appeared out of the Pen and onto the Tablet is
from the secrets of your wisdoms and the lights of your sciences."
Al-Qari, al-Zubda fi Sharh al-Burda, ms. from the Damascus library of
the Musnid Sayyid Muhammad Salih al-Khatib (also containing al-Qari's
two treatises on the Mawlid), folios 54b-55a.

5. Al-Bajuri: "His saying 'fa-inna min judika al-dunya etc.' [...] min
is for tab`eed. [...] 'Wa-min' in his saying 'wa-min `ulumika' is for
tab`eed also [...] meaning the informations Allah Most High showed him,
for He, Most High, showed him the sciences of the first and the last.
[...] {The problem was raised that part of 'the knowledge of the Tablet
and the Pen' are the five things mentioned at the end of Surat Luqman
although the Prophet, salla Allahu `alayhi wa-Sallam, does not know them
for Allah Most High reserved their knowledge for Himself alone, so the
aforementioned tab`eed is incomplete? It was replied that it is not
granted that those five things are among what the Pen wrote on the
Tablet, or else whoever is entitled to look into the Tablet, such as
some of the muqarrabin angels, would have seen them; and even if it were
granted that they are part of what the Pen wrote into the Tablet, what
would be meant is that some of his sciences, upon him blessings and
peace, are the science of the Pen and the Tablet which a creature may
look upon, thus excluding those five matters} [curly-bracketed material
is largely from al-Qastallani], although the Prophet, salla Allahu
`alayhi wa-Sallam, did not leave this world except after Allah Most High
did inform him of those matters. If it is asked: Since the knowledge of
the Tablet and the Pen are some of his sciences, upon him blessings and
peace, then what is the rest? The reply is, the rest is [to say the
least] what Allah Most High informed him of with regard to the states of
the hereafter, because the Pen only wrote into the Tablet what was going
to happen until the Day of Resurrection and nothing more, as already
mentioned in the hadith ['The first thing Allah created was the Pen, and
He told it to write, so it said, What shall I write? He said: Write the
apportionments of every living thing until the Hour rises' al-Tirmidhi
(sahih) and Ahmad]." Al-Bajuri, Sharh al-Burda (`Abd al-Rahman Mahmud
Cairo ed. p. 132-133).

6. Ibn `Ashur: "The meaning is: how could your great standing diminish
for advocating me, whereas you are the noblest of all creatures in the
sight of your Lord Who gave you exclusively the magnificent special
attributes that show your rank before Him, among which, that He created
this world and the next for your sake, and also among which, that He
taught you what no one else encompasses by their knowledge, to the point
that what is in the Tablet and the Pen is some (ba`d) of your sciences."
Ibn `Ashur in `Umar `Abd Allah Kamil's al-Balsam al-Murih min Shifa'
al-Qalb al-Jarih, the epitome of Ibn `Ashur's Shifa' al-Qalb al-Jarih fi
Sharhi Burdati al-Madih (Beirut: Bisan, 2004, p. 164-165).

In conclusion, the statement that "The wording used by Imam Busiri does
not specify that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) had
all the knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen" is incorrect, and Allah
Most High knows best.

I long to see the commentaries on the Burda by Imam Fayruzabadi and
Hafiz Murtada al-Zabidi, even more that of Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyya
al-Ansari, and even more that of Imam Abu Shama, the earliest of them
all.

Blessings and peace on the Prophet, his Family, and all his Companions.

walhamdulillahi rabb al-`alamin, wa as-salat wa as-salam `ala habib

'make me one of those who will see your blessed face'

2006-10-21T00:56:00.000Z

salams

a reply to a brother who emailed questioning the following lines in 'Allahu' from the album 'Songs of Innocence:'

Oh Lord of the Worlds, full of mercy and grace
Make me one of those who will see your blessed face'

Question:

Just want to ask the Nur Al Habib team.... if they know much about this artist: Talil Al Habib?.......because i have listned to one of his track and in it this Talil Al Habib says something something 'face of Allah' is that not a wahabie thing to say? by putting human like attributes to Allah? the lyirc is in Track 4 it goes: 'Make me one of those who will see your blessed face....'
Please someomne correct me if i am wrong...... i hope to hear your opinions....Jazakallah

Answer:

as salamu alaykum brother

Nur al-Habib Productions have passd this email on to me (talib) for answering. Jazakallah for your question, and for having the adab to ask it of me rather than others.

Firstly, it should be noted that the lyrics of each song - especially Allahu (which concerns aqida) - were submitted in advance of recording them (2 years ago now) to senior ulama including Shaykh Gibril Haddad (Syria - a specialist in Ahl as-Sunna aqida) and Allama Rasul Baksh Sa`idi (Birmingham, UK - my teacher) for proofing. They were also approved by Hazrat Ghulam Muhyi ad-Din Kazi al-Chishti (South Africa - my shaykh) .

To get on to your question: there are two issues here.

1. Seeing Allah
2. Allah's 'face'

In terms of the first, it is stated in the Quran that the believers will see Allah on the Day of Qiyama (explicitly) and in Paradise (implicitly). 'On that Day faces will be radiant, gazing at their Lord (ila rabbiha nazira)' (75:22-23) is the explicit reference; and 'for those of ihsan will be beauty and even more,' (10:26) where the commentators have mentioned that 'beauty' refers to Paradise and 'extra' is the vision of Allah (I heard this directly from Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqubi). Regarding the connection between the two verses, Imam Qurtubi narrates in his Tafsir al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Quran the hadith of Suhayb from Sahih al-Muslim:

" ibn Umar used to say [in commentary of the verse of Sura Yunus] that, 'the most honoured with Allah of the people of paradise are those who will look upon His 'face' (wajh) morning and evening. Then he recited the ayat, 'verily faces on that day will be radiant, gazing at their Lord.' [This was confirmed by al-Hasan and Ikrimah]. It is also said that 'gazing' means 'expectant of reward from their Lord' as related by ibn Umar and Mujahid. " This meaning is also confirmed by the hadith of ibn Umar narrated by Tirmidhi, which also specifically mentions that the people of Paradise will see the Face of Allah (yanzur ila wajhihi).

It goes without saying that the 'seeing' referred to is bila kayf (without concept of the modality or the 'how-ness' of the seeing).

In regards to the 'face' (wajh) of Allah, then this too is a phrase that recurs frequently in the Quran. Please refer to, for example: 'Wheresoever you turn, there is the Face of Allah' (2:115), 'whatever of good you give benefits your own souls, and you shall only do so seeking the Face of Allah' (2:272), and 'all upon it shall perish, save for the Face of your Lord, full of grace and majesty' (55:27).

Each of these usages, of course, indicates a sligthtly different meaning. The word 'wajh' is unquestionably among the mutashabihat (those words whose meaning can never be properly understood by the intellect). However, one does find that the phrase 'ibtigha wajh Allah' - or 'seeking the face of Allah,' is used as a metaphor to mean 'to purely seek the pleasure of Allah.' This is the sense in which it is used in the second ayat quoted, as well as throughout Islamic history.

The words in question, therefore, are both a dua to be among the people of ihsan on the Day of Qiyama, as well as to be among those who sincerely seek to earn Allah's good pleasure. By the 'wahhabi' aspect, I assume you mean the danger of tajsim (anthropomorphism). May Allah preserve us from this. It is not incorrect to attribute a 'wajh' to Allah, as He has attributed this to Himself. What is incorrect, from a doctrinal point of view is to, is to delineate human-based parameters and pre-conceived understandings to the word 'wajh,' such as explaining this as 'a round fleshy countenance with two eyes, a nose and a mouth...'

As mentioned, it is not supposed to be taken in this context, for Allah is glorified beyond all mortal understanding, but rather as explained above. I trust that this explanation meets with your approval, and I sincerely seek forgiveness from Allah if what I have said is incorrect.

wa ma taufiqi illa billah
jazakallah khayra jaza'

was salam
talib al-habib

The Sunna as Primordality

2006-10-20T00:45:00.000Z

salams all

Is there a more brilliant writer scribing today than Shaykh AH Murad? If so, please let me know!

http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/sunnah.htm

Please read through this long but profound article. Don't be put off by the beginning, where you may find yourself wondering 'where is he going with all this?' In fact, print it out and absorb it piecemeal. It's one of those essays that builds and builds in power and subtlety. Then tell me your iman, your love and reverence for Rasulullah (s) is not increased!

An excerpt:

Let us remind ourselves of the lifestyle of the Prophet (s). We live in a time of ‘lifestyle choices’; but for us, in fact, there is only one appealing ‘lifestyle choice’. Modernity holds up to us a range of ideal types to imitate: we can be like Peter Tatchell, or Monica Lewinsky, or Alan Clarke, or Michael Jackson. There is a long menu of alternatives. But when set beside the radiant humanity of Rasulullah (s.w.s.), there is no contest at all. For the Prophet is humanity itself, in its Adamic perfection. In him, and in his style of life, the highest possibilities of our condition are realised and revealed. And this is beauty itself: the word jamil, beautiful, which is one of his names, refers also to virtue. Ihsan, the Prophetic state of harmony with God, means the engendering of husn, or beauty.

Here is a condensed recollection, a kind of verbal icon, of that Prophetic beauty. It is paraphrased from a passage by Imam al-Ghazali, in Book 19 of his Revival of the Religious Sciences, Ihya Ulum al-Din.

‘The Messenger of God (s) was the mildest of men, but also the bravest and most just of men. He was the most restrained of people; never touching the hand of a woman over whom he did not have rights, or who was not his mahram. He was the most generous of men, so that never did a gold or silver coin spend the night in his house. If something remained at the end of the day, because he had not found someone to give it to, and night descended, he would go out, and not return home until he had given it to someone in need. From what Allah gave him [...] he would take only the simplest and easiest foods: dates and barley, giving anything else away in the path of Allah. Never did he refuse a gift for which he was asked. He used to mend his own sandals, and patch his own clothes, and serve his family, and help them to cut meat. He was the shyest of men, so that his gaze would never remain long in the face of anyone else. He would accept the invitation of a freeman or a slave, and accept a gift, even if it were no more than a gulp of milk, or the thigh of a rabbit, and offer something in return. He never consumed anything given in sadaqa. He was not too proud to reply to a slave-girl, or a pauper in rags. He would become angered for his Lord, never for himself; he would cause truth and justice to prevail even if this led to discomfort to himself or to his companions.

‘He used to bind a stone around his waist out of hunger. He would eat what was brought, and would not refuse any permissible food. If there was dates without bread, he would eat, if there was roast meat, he would eat; if there was rough barley bread, he would eat it; if there was honey or something sweet, he would eat it; if there was only yogurt without even bread, he would be quite satisfied with that.

‘He was not sated, even with barley-bread, for three consecutive days, until the day he met his Lord, not because of poverty, or avarice, but because he always preferred others over himself.

‘He would attend weddings, and visit the sick, and attend funerals, and would often walk among his enemies without a guard. He was the most humble of men, and the most serene, without arrogance. He was the most eloquent of men, without ever speaking for too long. He was the most cheerful of men. He was afraid of nothing in the dunya. He would wear a rough Yemeni cloak, or a woolen tunic; whatever was lawful and was to hand, that he would wear. He would ride whatever was to hand: sometimes a horse, sometimes a camel, sometimes a mule, sometimes a donkey. And at times he would walk barefoot, without an upper garment or a turban or a cap. He would visit the sick even if they were in the furthest part of Madina. He loved perfumes, and disliked foul smells.

‘He maintained affectionate and loyal ties with his relatives, but without preferring them to anyone who was superior to them. He never snubbed anyone. He accepted the excuse of anyone who made an excuse. He would joke, but would never say anything that was not true. He would laugh, but not uproarously. He would watch permissible games and sports, and would not criticise them. He ran races with his wives. Voices would be raised around him, and he would be patient. He kept a sheep, from which he would draw milk for his family. He would walk among the fields of his companions. He never despised any pauper for his poverty or illness; neither did he hold any king in awe simply because he was a king. He would call rich and poor to Allah, without distinction.

‘In him, Allah combined all noble traits of character; although he neither read nor wrote, having grown up in a land of ignorance and deserts in poverty, as a shepherd, and as an orphan with neither father nor mother. But Allah Himself taught him all the excellent qualities of character, and praiseworthy ways, and the stories of the early and the later prophets, and the way to salvation and triumph in the Akhira, and to joy and detachment in the dunya, and how to hold fast to duty, and to avoid the unnecessary. May Allah give us success in obeying him, and in following his sunna. Amin ya rabb al-alamin.‘

This moving portrait by Imam al-Ghazali depicts our role model, and simultaneously our ideal of humanity lived in the form of absolute beauty. His was a life lived in fullness. There was no aspect of human perfection that he did not know and manifest. And his perfection also indicates the nature of specifically masculine perfection. He was a great warrior; a sound hadith narrated by Imam al-Darimi tells us, on the authority of Ali, that

‘On the day of Badr I was present, and we sought refuge in the Prophet (s.w.s.), who was the closest of us all to the enemy. On that day he was the most powerful of all the combatants who fought.’One of the Companions described him riding his horse, wearing a red turban and holding his sword, and said later that never in his life had he seen a sight more beautiful.

In 23 years he became undisputed ruler of Arabia. Through his genius and charisma, and the attractive force of his personality, he united the Arabian tribes for the first time in their history. He took his people from the depths of idolatry into the purest form of monotheism. He gave them a law for the first time. He laid down, in his mosque in Madina, a system of worship, self-restraint and spiritual fruitfulness that provided the inspiration and the precedent for countless generations of later worshippers and saints. In affirming the Ka‘ba, he affirmed beauty; so that all else that he did was beautiful.

And in all this, he attributed his success only to Allah. He was, as Imam al-Ghazali records, the most humble of men. He was forbearing, polite, courteous, and mild. He paid no attention to people’s outward form, but assessed and responded to their spirits. He forgave constantly. He was indulgent with the simple Bedouin of Central Arabia, the roughest people on earth. When one of them. who wanted money, pulled his cloak so violently that it left a mark, he merely smiled, and ordered that the man be given what he wanted.

All of this came about through his detachment. The veil of self and distraction was gone: he saw by the Truth. He knew his own prophetic status, but was not made proud by this. He said: ‘I am the first around whom the earth shall split open at the Resurrection - and I do not boast’. He knew his worth, but because he knew his Lord, he was not proud.

And the most perfect peace and blessings, without number or end, upon the Soul of mercy, the Quintessence of existence, the Beloved of Allah and His creation, Sayyidina Muhammad, his family, companions and inheritors - such blessings that will be a source for our salvation on the Day of Rising!

Allah! Allah! Allah!

was salam
`abd da`if
talib al-habib

Reponses to the Pope

2006-10-17T10:36:00.000Z

salams

Three responses to Pope Benedict, pointing out the fallacies of his lamentable speech.

The first, courtesy of Islamica, is a telling response to the Pope by 40 of the most prominent traditional ulama of our time. It is a concise but excellent analysis of several extremely important concepts in Islam, some of which are particularly relevent to our troubled times. Quite apart from its content, its beautiful adab, eloquent style and penetrating wisdom illustrates the Prophetic (s) manner of discourse with non-Muslims, as well as the central qualities of 'returning evil with good,' and 'inviting with wisdom and beautiful preaching.'

http://www.islamicamagazine.com/online-analysis/open-letter-to-his-holiness-pope-benedict-xvi.html

The second - sharper and more pointed - is from Imam Zaid Shakir:

http://www.zaytuna.org/articleDetails.asp?articleID=107#_ftnref5

Lastly, a more philosophically inclined, point-by-point analysis by Aref Ali Nayed. This article additionally illustrates the Pope's inclination towards an exclusivist Euro-Centric, Hellenized Christianity seemingly defined by its opposition to everything non-European (and therefore irratonal?). This appears to be the Catholic / European version of the self-aggrandizing Americus Imperius model of Evangelist Christianity currently being courted by the Bush Administration. The former sees the way of Jesus Christ as referring exclusively to European norms; the latter binds it inextricably with America's Star-Spangled Banner. Courtesy of www.masud.co.uk

http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/commentary_on_benedict.php

What a pity that nuanced, intelligent and well-grounded responses such as these do not find their way into the mainstream media, whilst the slatherings of Ayman al-Zawahiri and co make front-page headlines! La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah!

was salam
talib

What is worship

2006-10-15T21:52:00.000Z

a pome of sorts. Based on a conversation with my shaykh (may Allah bless him and give him good health) a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away... :)

Insha-allah, something to think about at the terminus of this blessed month of Ramadan

What Worship Is

And I asked you in my silence, ‘what is worship?’
You smiled in your heart and said:
It is that you journey with God, through God, to God, for God.
That your very breath be because of Him.

That you awake each morn in thankfulness,
With a song of praise on your lips.
That sleep be the wakefulness of your spirit
And your dreams, as winged flights unto Him.

It is that you weep for another man’s sadness,
And drink deep from the cup of his joy.
Strengthen his hand when he falters,
Restrain it, when he rushes to wrong himself.

It is that you see in his sin, your own frailty,
And in his righteousness, that which you may yet become.
That you grasp the thorns of your enemy, flung in your path
And, by forgiveness, fashion of them roses to adorn his house.

Let your work be service – not of your self or of your fellows,
For Allah suffices for all, beyond means and cause –
But of Him, through the service of his creatures.
No more, no less does He ask of you.

Give one who asks freely, begrudge him not your pennies,
And be grateful for the blessing he has gifted you.
For every beggar is a benefactor;
He fills your soul when you fill his cup;
And food given to the hungry will quench your own thirst
On the Day when wealth and power will not avail you.

It is that you look beyond colour and wealth and fame,
Further still, past man’s virtues and vices,
To the inner soul that bowed with you before God in awe
And worshipped Him without words or doubt
On that First Day before memory and beyond thought.

Veil from all strangers not only your body,
But the deeper beauty of your goodly deeds;
For, in the same action, will you tear down the veil
That lies between you and your Beloved.

And when you stand for prayer,
It is that you cast yourself from your Self
Deep into the ocean of His Majesty and His Unity,
And drown in your helplessness.

That you do not read His Word,
But hear Him speak to you;
That you prostrate your very heart in his presence
And surrender all that you are unto Him.

Let your feet tread in the footsteps of the holy and the saintly,
And let your light be taken from their lamp.
Live not as if God’s beloved (s) watches you,
But as though you are him.
Let your words be echoes of his voice;
And your deeds be shadows of his radiance.
Then will you truly taste the sweetness of his blessed Way.

It is that you pass your days and nights, restless,
Yearning for the meeting with Him,
That you water your faith with tears of regret,
But rest content in the certainty of His mercy.

What is worship?
It is that you perfect all this, yet regard yourself
As more insignificant than a grain of sand in the trackless desert,
And more unworthy than the most wretched of men in your eyes;
Until you have become nothing, and a stranger to yourself.

Then, when you have sacrificed your Self on Love’s altar,
When you have forsaken this world for the sake of the next,
When you have abandoned the next world for the sake of God Alone,
Then will you die unto yourself,
And in dying find eternal existence in Him.

Then will you live in God, with God, through God, for God;
A drop in His ocean, a reed-flute at His mouth.
Then, when you transcend both heaven and earth,
When all has perished, except for the vision of Him,
Then will you worship.

Ramadan Karim
was salam

the passing of two great Mustafas

2006-10-11T22:03:00.000Z

salams all

'Allah does not take away knowledge by removing it from the hearts of scholars; rather He takes it by removing the souls of the scholars...'

Two great masters of the internal and external paths have been taken to the enfolding embrace of Allah's mercy less than a month apart from each other. One on the Night of Mercy (Laylat Nisf Sha'ban); the other in the month of mercy.

Shaykh Mustafa Turkmani of Damascus.

http://www.zaytuna.org/articleDetails.asp?articleID=103

Shaykh Mustafa Basir al-Darqawi
by Shaykh GF Haddad

We belong to Allah and unto Him we shall return. Sayyidi Muhammad al-Mustafa Basir ibn Sayyid Ibrahim ibn Sayyid Imbarak al-Basiri al-Hasani al-Maghribi al-Susi al-Muqri' al-Maliki al-Shadhili al-Darqawi passed away in his zawiya in Bani A`yaat (Middle Atlas region of Morocco) on the night of mid-Sha`ban 1427 (night of 7-8 September 2006), at the age of 67.

He is survived by many sons and daughters and countless murids. His eldest son, Sidi Isma`il, continues to be in charge of running the affairs of the zawiya which is heavily frequented by the Fuqara and the Bearers of the Qur'an at all times of the year and which I had the honor of visiting for a month, as I described in my article "From Blessed Morocco: World of the Qur'an."

http://www.livingislam.org/n/wqm_e.html

During my time there, I was blessed to read with him the `Aqida part of the Risala al-Qushayriyya, Ibn Juzay's tafsir of Surat al-Fatiha, and pages from Sayyid Ahmad Zayni Dahlan's Mi`raj al-Wusul ila Ma`rifat Allah wal-Rasul.

When I gave Sidi Mustafa a copy of the large arabic volume of Mawlana al-Shaykh Nazim's talks, published in Lebanon under the title Jami`al-Irshad al-Sharif, he held public readings from it in his zawiya for weeks. A year or two later, when his son-in-law drove him to Damascus,they took me with them on a memorable visit of Mawlana al-Shaykh in Cyprus, at which time the latter vested Sidi Mustafa with his jubba. The least benefit of travels around the seasoned Shuyukh of irshad is that they strip one bare of such amounts of pretense that if one were a tree one might muse whether one consists exclusively of dead bark.

Sidi Mustafa often visited Damascus on his way to Hajj or `Umra and graced the homes of those who loved him with his gracious presence - visits which left such homes in awe at his simplicity and good humor. He commanded attention and attraction wherever he went, especially for the North African students who turned his gatherings into the most special "all-sufi all-memorizers of the Qur'an" circles. Among them the noble stand most learned of them by agreement of those who met him, the adib,usuli, and sufi Shaykh Farid ibn `Azzouz al-Hasani al-Jaza'iri (who spent over ten years in Damascus and is now back in Algeria) bore special love for the Shaykh, who gave him ijaza in Tariqa.

I remember a visit with Sidi Mustafa to Shaykh Muhyi al-Din Ibn `Arabi's grave in Damascus, after which men and women flocked to him for advice and help but he said to them: "The Shaykh is here so there is no need for me," i.e. Shaykh Muhyi al-Din. Another time, we visited the Hadra of Shaykh Mustafa al-Turkmani in Jami` al-Ward. After the Hadra, as people took their seats and tea was distributed, Shaykh Mustafa al-Turkmani gave Shaykh Muhyi al-Din Ibn`Arabi's book of Wasaya to Sidi Mustafa and asked him extemporaneously to give the dars for him. Smile for smile, Sidi Mustafa Basir obliged. I remember the latter's commentary on the wasiyya that we should not sleep before washing mouth and hands after eating lest we feed our shaytan: "The point is not to strengthen your shaytan but to weaken it." Another time, Sidi Mustafa took us to Amman, where we visited Shaykh Nuh Keller in his zawiya, who gave him his Shadhili works and led the hadra. In his last visit to Damascus he was hosted by Abu al-Nur Institute, where we visited him.

One of Sidi Mustafa's favorite repartees in his exchanges after enquiring after the health of his friends was: "Bi-khayr, wa-fi khayr, wa-`ala khayr!" He smiled often and his friendly, unassuming manner hid from our sight, much of the time, the fact that he peered into the spiritual states of people and could diagnose their needs before they even voiced them. His family hailed from the desert and he did not caref or appearances. His anger could be fierce and he reserved it, as far as I saw, for the Wahhabis, whom he called "Shalafis" and "Talafis" and for whom he had no tolerance. One time, as we travelled in the Marrakesh region we stopped to pray Maghrib in one of their mosques and one of them had the misfortune of nudging the Shaykh's toes with his toes as they love to do inside prayer. As we went into ruku`, the Shaykh slapped the man below the knee and he retreated.

The senior Shuyukh of da`wa and irshad are never coy about asserting the superiority of Ahl al-Haqq to other schools which they rightly view as the offshoots of modernity and misguidance dressed up as religion. It can never be said of them that they are "neither sufi nor wahhabi" as this would be identical with saying they are "neither guided nor misguided" and is confusion dressed up as moderation. Their successors, on the other hand, are a different story. Another son of Sidi Mustafa, Sidi `Abd al-Mughith, whom I met in Damascus and to whom I owe the honor of meeting his father, authored a large volume entitled al-Nazr al-Yasir min Manaqib Zawiyat Al al-Basir fil-Sahra' wa-Sous wa-Bani A`yat bil-Maghrib ("A Glimpse at the Merits of the Zawiya of the Basir House in the Desert, Sous, and Bani A`yat in Morocco"). He also authored a brief history of the Shadhiliyya and a biography of Imam al-Jazuli accompanied by a new edition of Dala'il al-Khayrat.

I was told, years after first meeting the Shaykh, the story behind his heavy limp and scarred leg. In his early days, a deranged man showed up gun in hand in the school in which Sidi Mustafa was teaching. People took to their heels but Sidi Mustafa did not budge. The man faced him and said: 'Who will protect you from me?' Sidi Mustafa replied: 'Between you and me there is Allah.' The man then shot Sidi Mustafa and kept shooting until the gun was empty but by the grace of Allah, Sidi Mustafa survived and was graced with four wives and the successorship of his father in directing the zawiyas of the Darqawiyya-Basiriyya.

May Allah grant him the highest abode in Paradise next to his forefather, our liege-lord the Messenger of Allah, upon him and his House blessings and peace.

GF Haddad

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un

No of rakats in tarawih

2006-10-06T14:37:00.000Z

Salams

The hoary old chestnut of how many rakats in tarawih. I was (yet again) witness to a (mainly civilised) debate about this last night.

I'm going to approach the topic from a slightly different perspective - that of linguistics. Any understanding of shari`a (lit: fiqh ash-shari`a) has to minimally be in keeping with the basic principles of Arabic grammar. For example, if one said, 'muslims have prayers during the day,' it would be understood that this meant more than 1 prayer, as the word used was in the plural.

To wit:

1. The prayer in question is called salat al-tarawih.
2. Tarawih is the (broken) plural of the singluar tarwiha.
3. tarwiha is the verbal noun (masdar) of the verb ra-ha on the scale of taf`il (the second derived verb form pattern).
4. The verb scale ta`fil gives the meaning of 'to effect or cause [the meaning of the root word].'
5. The root in this case is ra-ha, which means, 'to be at rest.'
6. Thus tarwiha means, 'to cause a rest' or 'to have a rest.'
7. The plural in Arabic is numbered as three or more - unlike English which does not have a dual case.
8. Thus tarawih means, 'three or more periods of rest.'
9. And salat al-tarawih means, 'the prayer in which three or more periods of rest are taken.'
10. A rest is taken between each set of 4 rakats by agreement.
11. Mathematically, therefore, in order for the prayer to be validly called, 'salat al-tarawih,' it is necessary to take at least 3 rest periods between sets of four rakats.
12. The minimum number of rakats in tarawih - linguistically - thus has to be sixteen [4 rakats - rest 1 - 4 rakats - rest 2 - 4 rakats - rest 3 - 4 rakats]
13. It is therefore impossible for the prayer to be called 'salat al-tarawih' and consist of 8 rakats.

Allah knows best.
Ramadan Mubarak

Knowledge is Light (and hearts are candles)

2006-08-22T21:06:00.000Z

salams to whoever reads...

I phoned my Grandma in South Africa yesterday for Mi'raj - kind of a family tradition, though I really should phone more often! The formidable old lady, now 81 and going strong, was my very first teacher of deen - may Allah reward her abundantly for teaching me 'alif, ba tha,' and, 'awwal kalima tayyab.'

She was - of course - deliriously excited to speak to me and, between informing (several times each) about the whereabouts and circumstances of our ever-widening family diaspora, she imparted some precious information.

Nothing that you or I would call spectacular - simple advice like, 'say bismillah before you do anything,' 'sleep and wake up with the shahada,' and so forth. Yet it had a profound effect on me - as much as the words of any shaykh.

Strange thing was, I repeated what she had said to my wife not a few hours later, and it fell flat. It just didn't have the same 'zing' to it when I retold it. And - being me - I gots me to thinking why... How many times have many of us experienced this? You can't tell it the way the shaykh/imam/teacher did? Your words don't have the same impact on others that their's did on you? You just had to be there?

The way of acquiring spiritual benefit from people is not through their words; but from their states. It is a two-fold process: our connection to them, and their connection to their Lord. The latter is a pathway for Divine wisdom; which is knowledge that melts hearts and enraptures souls, whose traces fundamentally affect behaviour. Their hearts are candles lit by the Divine out of His blessed providence.

The former requires that one's own heart be open to theirs. When Allah's rain is falling, we cannot benefit if the containers of our hearts are sealed shut. There are many people - if not most - to whom our hearts are closed, for we have no connection to them - connections such as love and respect. But those to whom they are open, will affect us with the simplest of their words - no, even their stillness and silence, their looks or gestures, their very presence or absence.

My heart is open to my beloved grandmother; and her's - after a lifetime of worship and unfailing service - is open to Allah's. She is not learned by the standards that most of us have. She does not quote hadith; she has forgotten most of her Quran; she was taught her fiqh 70 years ago. But she has a state with Allah, a secret so secret that perhaps even she does not know it. And she told me to say 'bismillah.'

Mi'raj Mubarak. May Allah bless you, and her, and forgive me, and her.
Talib

A maths problem

2006-08-12T02:04:00.000Z

salams

my daughter Noor (7) chirps up with a comment during math's homework:

'Islam is like a math's problem. Allah is the answer, Rasulullah (s) is the example. To get to the answer, you have to do one step at a time, following the example. It's easy if you do it that way, but if you don't, you get the answer wrong.'

verbatim...

alhamdu lillah. Clearly takes after her mother... :)

Heartsong

2006-08-11T00:25:00.000Z

Hear now my heartsong
My heart calls to you
That you guide me, my Lord
Through my soul's long dark night.

I send my heartsong
Across the empty silences
To you. May you fill me
With peace and with light.

The Journey of Man

2006-08-07T23:17:00.000Z

Insan – The Journey From Forgetfulness To Communion

NB: It is important for those not well-acquainted with Arabic to be aware that the majority of Arabic words are mushtaqq – or derived from a basic root (the mushtaqq minhu). For example, the word ‘mustaqim’ (straight or upright) is derived from the word ‘qama’ (to stand up), from which the word ‘qaum’ (people) is also taken.

Part 1 - Language and Meaning

Language is the primary tool through which human beings express thought. The attribute of speech is Divine in its origin, and is furthermore one of the Core Attributes of Allah (Ummahat as-Sifat). The ability to express rational thought is the defining characteristic of humanity; and so for language to be effective, it must be able to express a shared meaning. The sciences of language, including etymology, are well established among scholars of language and tafsir, such that one finds a 15 volume commentary (al-Bahr al-Muhit) devoted exclusively to the linguistic and grammatical analysis of the Quran.

From works like this it becomes clear that some important words in Arabic have root meanings that point to the reality of their spiritual meaning. For example, the word for ‘gold’ (dhahab) is derived from the word that means ‘to leave’; the word for ‘silver’ (fidda) comes from the word ‘to scatter’; the word dunya means ‘lowly and contemptible’, whilst the word dirham contains sorrow and anxiety (hamm). Thus gold is always leaving, silver scatters, dirhams bring worry, and the world is base and low. The word ‘din’ (religion) on the other hand, is very closely related to the word ‘dayn’ (debt) – thus we may say that ‘din is how one repays one’s dayn to Allah.’ It is for this reason that the majority of scholars of the Arabic language believe that it is ‘taufiqi’ or ‘divinely gifted’ – something that should be studied and contemplated over.

Part 2 - Insan as Forgetfulness

Another word that certainly bears contemplation is the word for human – insan. This word relates to both men and women, and refers to, ‘the animal that talks (or is capable of rational thought).’ It has two possible root meanings – and as we have seen, the root meaning (mushtaqq minhu) often points to the spiritual reality (haqiqa) of a concept. The first of these root words is ‘nisyan,’ which means ‘forgetfulness.’ This is the basic state of humanity. It is something about which Allah repeatedly remarks in the Quran – ‘we have created man forgetful,’ ‘man is ever forgetful.’ My shaykh used to tell us, ‘the child is born in remembrance of Allah; it is we who make them forget,’ which (as with many of the things Hazrat says) is a direct interpretation of a hadith of Rasulullah (s): ‘every child is born in a state of fitra; it is the parents that make them Muslim, or Christian, or Jew.’ The child comes from a realm of spirituality and remembrance (`alam al-arwah), into a realm of forgetfulness and illusion (`alam al-dunya). Its spiritual eyes are open, but as it spends more time among us – people of forgetfulness – it is continuously distracted by the bright lights and shiny toys of this world, until its spiritual eye closes and it enters a state of forgetfulness.

Ultimately, our disobedience to – and distance from – Allah arises from this state of forgetfulness. We forget why we have been placed on this earth – which is to attain ma`rifa (direct experiential knowledge) of Allah; we forget that we are always in his presence and under his gaze, and so do not feel ashamed to be sinful, either in secret or in person, whether by word, action or quality. We forget, too, that He is the ‘Knower of the secrets of every heart,’ and pass the vast majority of our lives in heedlessness. The cure to this basic state of the human experience is by struggling against the lowly human nature (nafs al-ammara bi’ su) by opposing heedlessness with its opposite – continuous remembrance (dhikr). This is the reason that the Sufi Masters emphasise dhikr to such a degree, in obedience to the command of Allah, ‘and remember Allah perpetually.’[1] Muhyi ad-Din ibn al-`Arabi in ‘al-Wasaya’ (the Wise Counsel) states:

Encumbent upon you is the Greatest Jihad, which is the unceasing battle against the nafs ... when Allah says, ‘battle the disbelievers closest to you,’ he is referring [via isharat an-nass – subtle indication] to the worst type of kufr – the disbelief of the nafs that passes every moment in forgetfulness and heedlessness (ghafla)...

It is precisely this state of nisyan or ghafla that the Sufis have recognised as the most prevalent and insidious form of disbelief, and this which they spend their lives struggling against. The aim and consequence of this struggle against the forgetful nature of humanity is to return back to the primordial (original) state of humanity, which is the true reality of the human soul, that by which Allah has said, ‘we have most certainly honoured the children of Adam.’ Insan – mankind – are all the children of Adam, thus the secret of the (potential) honouring of humanity above all of creation arises from something within the very nature of humanity itself. It is this spiritual reality (haqiqa) of humanity that is uncovered by contemplation upon the other root of the word insan – which is uns.

Part 3 - Insan as Communion

Uns is ‘intimate communion,’ and refers to the feeling of unbridled joy and ecstasy that one feels when in the presence of one who is loved completely and unconditionally. It is the joy of being in seclusion with the Beloved. As the nature of human experience is to progress from the known to the unknown, and from the perceptible to the imperceptible, Allah gives us the capacity to experience this feeling of uns in a variety of ways: with our spouses[2], our children[3], then our shaykh, then with Rasulullah (s). All this is gifted to us, as we progress in spiritual stages, through sacrifice and struggle against the nafs, so that we can ultimately enter the sanctified presence of Allah (hadara al-Qudsiyya). This was the state of our Beloved Master, Sayyidina Muhammad (s), when he said, ‘I have a time [alone in seclusion] with my Cherisher upon which no prophet-messenger nor angel-brought-near may intrude.’

This is the state – of intimate communion – that comes with what in Sufi terminology is called ma`rifa billah – direct experiential knowledge of Allah. It is also what is described in the Gibril Hadith as al-ihsan – ‘to worship Allah as though you were seeing him.’ More specifically, uns is the subjective experience of the presence of Allah – an allusion to the indescribable joy and delight that fills all of the senses, the mind and the soul, when all of the temporal world falls away and one is left alone in the ineffable presence of the Creator of all. It is a re-enactment of the state of Rasulullah (s) when he passed beyond the Lote-Tree, leaving his guide Gibril behind, and entered unto that which, ‘no eye can see, no ear can hear told, and no heart can comprehend,’ a state so awe-inspiring, rarified and elevated that even the Quran speaks about it in allusive terms,

‘He approached and drew closer, till he was at the Qaba Qausain, or even closer; and His Lord inspired him with whatever he desired. His heart did not lie or misinterpret what he saw ... Behold! The Lote Tree was shrouded by [unspeakable mystery], yet his eye did not waver, nor transgress; and He saw the greatest signs of His Lord.’

This state of uns is one that cannot be described by one who has not experienced it personally, just as one who is in love cannot describe it to one who is not. Yet its sweetness can be guessed or approximated by the mixture of awe and love that one feels in the presence of sanctity and spiritual illumination – on our case, in the presence of the perfected shaykh. In the case of the latter, on the other hand, the uns continues to rise in levels: through fana fi ash-shaykh through fana fi ar-Rasul, until one eventually arrives at the state of fana fi-Allah: the intimate communion with Allah – which has been called, 'the Tur [where Musa spoke to Allah] and Mi`raj of the Knowers of Allah.'

As muridin, we need to understand the sacrifice that our shuyukh make; for in spending all their time dealing with our problems, they are denying themselves the sweetness of communion with Allah. Khwaja Nasir ad-Din Chiragh used to say, ‘Oh Burhan! If I had not been commanded by our master to remain here, you and I would never have met, for I would have been wandering in solitude among the mountains and rivers.’ A contemporary Sufi master of Syria, Shaykh Ibrahim al-Ya`qubi, said, ‘if not for [people seeking] knowledge, I would not meet anyone.’ This is because, when such elevated people enter this state, then – as ibn `Ata’illah in his Hikam states:

‘when Allah opens for you the door of uns b’illah,
you will never find sweetness in any other company.’

Part 4 - Summary

This ‘U-shaped’ pathway is summarized in Sura at-Teen:

‘verily, we created mankind (insan) in the best of original forms’

the primary root of the word insan – uns, or intimate communion.

Then we reduced him to the lowest of the low

the second root of insan – nisyan, or forgetfulness, which is the worst state of creation.

Except for those who believe and do good works

by struggling against their souls with constant remembrance of Allah (dhikr) with tongue, action and state, which is through sharia and tariqa.

For them shall be a reward unfailing...

which is a return to the state of uns that comes with direct experience of the divine presence in this world (ma`rifa billah fi ad-dunya).

Thus in summary, Allah has placed within the word insan both the base state and the true destiny of mankind; and our pathway is nothing more or less than the journey of the soul from one reality to the other: from forgetfulness to intimate communion. It is towards this end – ma`rifa – that Allah has provided us with a road (the shari`a), a pathway (tariqa) and perfected human beings to guide us along it (the prophets, the people of truth, the witnesses to truth, and the righteous). May Allah give us the taufiq to realise our reality and to travel from heedlessness to remembrance, from absence to presence, and from forgetfulness to communion – through the blessings and guidance of our teachers.

One in need of his shaykh’s solicitous gaze (tawajjuh)
Blessed Rajab, 1426.

PS: While on the subject of root words, it is edifying to be aware that the root of the word ‘Hazrat’ – which many of us use thinking it means merely, ‘respected one’ – comes from the Arabic root ‘hadara,’ which means ‘presence.’ The original use of the word Hazrat, then, means, ‘the one who is perpetually in the Divine Presence.’

Peace!

[1] ‘wa’dhukur Allaha dhikran kathira,’ which according to the rules of Quranic rhetoric contains three types of emphatic exhortation: ie: .
[2] ‘From among our signs is that we have created for you spouses from amongst yourselves so that you might find rest and tranquillity in them, and we have placed love and compassion between your hearts.’
[3] Rasulullah (s) passed a woman holding and gazing at her baby, oblivious to everything else around her. He said, ‘Allah has 70 times more compassion towards you than this woman has for her baby.’

The term 'sayyidina'

2006-07-11T22:19:00.000Z

Salams

A response to a sister from Australia (whom I later learnt was a recent convert, masha-allah). She wrote in asking about the usage of the word 'sayyidina' to describe our beloved Rasulullah (s), having thought that it meant 'Lord' and therefore was a term that should be used exclusively for Allah. She also questioned whether we should 'love Rasulullah (S) more than Allah.' May Allah bless her for asking - half of knowledge is asking questions [the other half is listening to the response!].

The reply ...

In the name of Allah, most Compassionate, Most Merciful. Peace and blessings upon Sayyidina Muhammad, his family and companions.

I hope this email finds you in the best of physical and spiritual health. Your email was passed on to me for answering. Thank you for having the adab to expressing your reservations 'in person' as it were, and for giving me the chance to explain the lyrics to the best of my paltry ability. It should firstly be noted that I am not a scholar, but merely a student and as such in no position to issue legal rulings. However, during the compilation of this CD, some of the most prominent ulama in the world were consulted - specifically regarding the lyrics - and they not only were satisfied with them, but actively recommended them to others. Therefore, in answer to your question,

1. The Arabic word for 'Our master' is 'Sayyidina,' a word that the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) explicitly used for himself ('ana sayyid walad Adam, wa la fakhra'), and so forth. It was also a word that he used for other companions, such as when he instructed people to 'stand for your master' ('qum li-sayyidi-kum'). Allah also uses it in the Quran to describe his Prophets (such as the description of the Prophet Yahya (as) as 'sayyidan husuran,' (chaste master). As the scholars of Islam have explained to us, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (s) is worthy of any epithet used for any Prophet - may Allah bless them all and grant them peace. It is - as such - a word that no scholar has a problem using for Rasulullah (S) - and in fact, it is inappropriate to use it for Allah for various reasons.

2. It is both logically and legally impossible for the status of Rasulullah (s) to be compared to Allah's. However, it is not an issue of 'loving Rasulullah (S) more than Allah,' for various reasons:

a. Love is a gift, not something that one can control. Sayyidina Umar once told Rasulullah (S) that 'I love you more than anything except my own self and my parents.' When Rasulullah (s) questioned him about this, he didn't say to him, 'that is haram /shirk!' rather he caused Umar to look deeper into his heart, where he found that, in reality, he loved Rasulullah (S) more than anything else.

b. In reality, the differentiation between 'love of Allah' and 'love of Rasulullah' is an artificial one. They are one and the same thing. Love for Allah cannot exist without love of Rasulullah (S) and vice-versa. He (s) is the door to Allah, and one cannot come to knowledge (therefore worship therefore love) of Allah without him (s). Love of the flower necessitates love of the earth from whence it sprang. Much more could be said about this, insha-allah.

c. The foremost in love of Rasulullah (s) were his own companions, who - according to the most rigorously authenticated hadith - cherished his gaze, his touch, his voice and his presence beyond anything else, used his perspiration as perfume, caught his used wudu water before it fell to the earth, collected his hair, and expressed their love for him in poetry, as mere words were too poor to express the depth of their emotion.

3. The idea of those 'who yearn for the light of his beauty / Who pass days and nights seeking his company' is the reality of the righteous and lovers of Rasulullah (s) in every generation from the sahaba to present day. Sayyidina Abu Bakr was reported to have said that, 'the thing most beloved to me in all the world is gazing upon the face of Rasulullah.'

4. Regarding the actual title 'Abd al-Mustafa - slave of Muhammad - there is a scholarly difference of opinion as to whether or not this is appropriate. You would be advised to speak to a scholar regarding this matter. The point is that linguistically, the word 'abd does not only infer a sense of 'worship' but also of 'obedience and servitude.' Thus a report attributed to Sayyidina Ali (ra) and whose meaning has been verified by the scholars reads, 'I am the slave (`abd) of the one who has taught me a letter' [ie: even the smallest amount of knowledge].

I hope I have gone some way to answering the questions that you so kindly sent Nur al-Habib Productions. If they are still unclear, my advice to you would be to speak to scholars regarding such issues. www.sunnipath.com is an excellent site, and no doubt there are others. Otherwise, I hope that you will now be able to enjoy the CD without doctrinal reservations or uncertainties. It was written in the love of Rasulullah (s), for the love for Rasulullah (s), in order to help myself and others attain the love of Rasulullah (s). Also be aware that - short of attributing divinity to the Holy Prophet (s), which no Muslim has ever done - it is impossible to praise Rasulullah (s) 'more' than he deserves. His reality is known only to Allah - as he told Sayyidina Abu Bakr, 'nobody knows my reality except for Allah.' Imam Busiri says,

'And how could any encompass his reality
a people sleeping, deluded in a dreamworld;'

and

'Leave [the divinity] that the Christians attribute to their Prophet
Then say whatever you will in praise of him
For verily, the blessedness of the Prophet
Has no limit that any tongue could ever utter.'

May Allah fulfill all our hopes and keep us with the lovers of the Beloved of Allah (S).

was salam
`abd da`if
talib al-habib

leaving for Shaam

2006-05-27T22:39:00.000Z

salams

Will be leaving for a week with my family to the blessed lands of Shaam ash-Sharif (Damascus). May Allah make it easy. Allahuma anta sahibun fi safarina wa khalifatun fi ahlina, fa'ghfir lana wa'rhamna bi-hurmat al-habib.

In the meantime, here is the first hadith on truthfulness in Imam Nawawi's Riyad as-Salihin with commentary:

green is the commentary of Nuzhat al-Muttaqin
blue is the commentary of my hadith teacher, Allama Rasul Baksh Sa`idi
purple is my comments

Hadith 1/54.

Ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet (s) said,

“Truthfulness leads to piety and piety leads to the Garden. A man is [consistently] truthful until he is written down as a truthful one (siddiq) in the sight of Allah. Lying leads to deviance and deviance leads to the Fire. A person lies to the point that he is written down as an inveterate liar in the sight of Allah.”

[Agreed upon]

piety (al-birr): goodness and consciousness of Allah. In Misbah [al-Lughah, a dictionary] it is said, ‘al-birr is a collective noun for all [forms of] goodness.’

Leads (yahdī): meaning both ‘guides’ and ‘causes to arrive.’

Is truthful: ‘la-yasduqu’ means ‘consistently truthful’ with a particle of emphasis (la) and this is the preferable vocalization; some scholars however use the subjunctive of desirability ‘li-yasduq,’ meaning, ‘he should be truthful.’

A truthful one (siddiq): it is written on the scale of intensity (mubālagha) [ie: extremely or innately truthful, like ar-Rahīm means exceedingly tender]. It means one who is truthful time and again, until it becomes habitual, and a character trait of his.

Deviance (fujūr): sinfulness. It is written in al-Misbah, ‘al-fujūr is wicked actions’ [those proscribed by the Divine Law].

An inveterate liar (kadhāb): also formulated on the scale of intensity [like al-Wahhāb]. It means [similarly] one who persists in lying to such an extent that it becomes second nature and a characteristic of his.

Written down: the meaning of this is that he is adjudged as this [either a truthful one or a liar] in Allah’s presence and is deserving of this ascription, as well as the reward [or punishment] that accrues to one such person. [In the case of a liar it also means that] this character trait of his is so well-known that it is permissible to attribute it to him. For example, if a person is commonly known to be a drunkard, one will not be deemed sinful to describe him as this, for it is common knowledge. However, if there is a slight doubt as to whether or not he is deserving of this attribute, or if one is possessed of certain knowledge, but it is not well-known among people, then it is necessary to hide his sins and conceal his flaws. The path of precaution and humility is to refrain from describing people by their weaknesses unless it is necessary, such as in a legal setting.

Lessons

Encouragement towards truthfulness, for it is the cause and means to all goodness; and admonition against lying, for it is a means to all evil.
If one becomes famous [or notorious] for something, then it is permissible to attribute it to him [as described above].
Reward and punishment proceed from whatever actions human beings establish, whether for good or for ill .
The recompense of truthfulness is paradise; the recompense of falsehood is hellfire.

Truthfulness in speech is correlation of one’s narration with the actuality; truthfulness in action is to perform what is expected of one in the best possible way; [and truthfulness in state is evenness between visible and hidden states, and to worship Allah with complete presence of heart.]

Insha-allah, more later on the psychology and wisdom of this beautiful hadith.

was salam
`abd da`if
talib

Miscellaneous marriage advice

2006-05-13T13:49:00.000Z

Salams

Some advice given to a dear friend recently. Hopefully we can all benefit from it. Mrs Habib will no doubt be commenting forthwith on my position to be giving advice on happy marriages...

1. Marriage is obviously a very important sunna, but it is equally important to know that you are 'ahl' for marriage - that is, that you can meet the obligations of being a husband. It's essential to walk into something with your eyes open, and to know the ruling of Allah, and guidance of Rasul (s) BEFORE you do something (rather than after when it's too late!) A good start would be a book like Ghazzali's Book of marriage (trans Muhtar Holland), or Hedaya Hartfords 'Islamic Marriage.'

2. Insha-allah, we can speak about the fiqh/adab of marriage at some point. It's a crucial area that unfortunately most people are unaware of. I remember a friend once asked me to 'go through the fiqh of mariage' with him. I told him I would go through the adab of marriage with him, and then he wouldn't need the fiqh! As one of our teachers mentioned, 'if you understand and practice the spirit, you'll never need recourse to the law.'

3. What you're looking for in a partner is 'Deen.' This means three things (in order of importance): beliefs, character and practice. Note that good character is probably more important than practice because:

a) a person of good character is easier to live with, and marraige is about 'taskin,' which means 'making a home' but ALSO 'bringing tranquility.' Note that a home is suposed to be a place of tranquility. Also note that this is MUTUAL - tranquility and making a home does NOT mean wife listens to evrything you say, stands to attention and obeys every command! You have to bring tranquility to her as well! This is the psychology bit...
b) a person with good character is naturally attracted to good actions, even if they may not be performing them at the moment. Actions are easy to change in comparison to character traits.

4. Character, unfortunately is (a) difficult to judge - especially when you don't have the time to get to know someone - and (b) something unfortunately not particularly high up the priority list for most people, particularly when it comes to finding or rendering oneself suitable for marriage partners. You have to have a feel for these things, or ask the right sort of questions.

5. This is the person who will be closest to you - and have the most insidious influence on you, for better or worse - for the rest of your life. It is the person with whom you will raise your children, a major determinant of their final destination. Choose well, choose carefully. Yes, you can influence a person for the better - of course - but they will also influence you. Better all round to start with the best possible chance. If you want to build a table, buying and assembling the flat-packed one from IKEA is easier than taking an axe to the tree and going from there (even with the Swedish instructions!)

6. Remember that a good wife - or husband - (defined as one who will facilitate rather than hinder your pathway to Allah) is rarer than red sulphur. Someone interested and actively involved in tariqa is usually a safer bet. Note this does not mean, 'has a shaykh' or 'does khatam and mawlid' but someone who is actively involved in the process of self-purification. A person helps you spiritually not merely by waking you up for fajr (though this is handy!) but also by creating domestic conditions conducive to spiritual progress. The primary obstacle on the path is worldly distraction - be this financial, physical or emotional - that leads to heedlessness and pre-occupation. Heedlessness is the root of all spiritual diseases, which is why the sufis recommend nothing more than dhikr (remembrance) as a tool of rectification. Allah says, 'wadhkur Allaha dhikran kathiran,' which might be translated as 'make dhikr absolutely all the time.' We are created weak, and tend not to focus well on long-term matters (ajila) when we have pressing short-term worries (`ajila).

7. Something important: one often finds today that religiously-minded youngsters like ourselves get advice like the above on 'getting a good partner,' smugly content in our superiority over our 'less religious,' 'culturally backward' elders. Of course, we know better. They just married whoever mum chose for them. They didn't care about religion, piety, or any of that stuff. They just wanted someone from their village... And their marriages, in most cases, have lasted 20, 30, or 40 years. Many of our marriages don't last the winter.

Why? Because when you choose your 'perfect partner,' you expect perfection. We live in an age of instant satisfaction, where we are constantly being told to expect - no, demand - exactly what we want. Whether you like it or not, those who grow up in less-traditional societies are influenced by the 'gimme' mindset, the idea that happiness and contentment are not found in making the best of what one has, but in constantly searching for a fully-formed utopia.

8. Marriage is hard work. For women, it is often a jihad - a constant struggle, placing others before oneself, sacrificing. You get a diamond in the rough, and you have to polish it carefully and constantly. The joy is in the struggle, the incremental steps towards whatever is reasonably attainable. It's not in making it perfect the first time round. Home-cooked food has more baraka than ready meals from Tescos, even if the salt is slightly less, because it is made with love, the fruit of one's own hands.

To use another example, I really enjoyed the work on 'Songs of Innocence' because it was a constant process of revision, of listening and improving, of challenging myself to do better. The best part of it is that when I listen to it now, I know there are still things that I can improve, but when I look back at how it started, the first rough drafts (that I still have!), I delight in the difference between then and now.

So be warned, the work really starts after the nikah has occured. My shaykh explained to me that a successful marriage has two ingredients: shukr and sabr. Be thankful for whatever good qualities your partner has, and be patient and forebearing in the face of their not-so-good ones. Our older generations, consciously or not, were aware of this. They were content with marrying a person who was far from perfect. Over years, with difficulty and no doubt many tears, they have grown together, moulding each other in unnoticeable ways, until they are content with one another. You'll notice the word 'content' is mentioned frequently. This is not because I don't have my thesaurus. It is purposeful. Our problem is that we are fundamentally discontented with what we have. This is the major fitna of the modern world.

There is more, of course, but this should suffice to make you wish that you had never pressed 'send' on the blasted email in the first place!

Last note: everything that I have just said - apply it to yourself FIRST. make sure you are suitable to be a husband according to what has been mentioned above. Many of us have exacting standards for potential spouses, and make the unwitting and narcissitic assumption that we ourselves are perfect partners. A healthy prescription of introspection / looking in the mirror three times a day is just what the doctor ordered. NB: The masnun dua when looking in the mirror is: Allahuma anta hassanta khalqi, fa hassin khuluqi (Oh Allah, you have beautified my form, now beautify my inward character). Think about it...

Peace and blessings upon the best of creation, the spirit of life and master of existence, Sayyidina Muhammad, his family and companions.

was salam

Every Pulse Bears the Drum of Primordial Love

2006-04-04T10:18:00.000Z

Maulana spoke:

The lover weaves satin and brocade
from tears,
O friend, to spread it one day beneath your feet...

Only from tears, Maulana?

Every breath
Forms the weft of the endless fabric of love.
With every breath I weave the brocade of your name,
Golden letters inscribed in the satin-robe of my blood.
O, what garments have I prepared for you,
Taking the ruddy dawn
And the first green silk of spring,
Star-embroidered velvet, and feather-light wool!

Every thought embellishes your name, O my friend,
Weaving into the fabric the turquoise domes of Iran,
Dyeing the yarn in the pearl-studded depths of the sea.

Every pulse bears the drum of primordial love
Every breath is the flute of impossible hope
Every goblet is filled with you

And I weave
Ever new silken garments of words
Only to hide you.

AnneMarie Schimmel
in remembrance of Rumi

Oh beloved! Teach us of love
And of the anguish of seperation...

(with thanks to Zuber-man!)

Marrying non-Muslims

2006-03-30T14:21:00.000Z

salams

an old reply to a non-muslim enquiring about inter-religious marriages...

This is something often misunderstood by both muslims and non-muslims. I'll get to the question of love presently. According to shari`ah (divine law) the rulings regarding inter-religious marriage can be summarised as follows:

1. It is not permitted for a muslim woman to marry outside her faith.
2. It is permitted for a muslim man to marry one of the 'ahl al-kitab'. Interpretations of this term vary, from the classical meaning (a jew or christian) to a broader (and much weaker) interpretation (any believer in the Unity of God and the prophets). However, many scholars are of the opinion that even this stipulation is highly disliked and should be avoided (for reasons that may become clearer later).

That's not the end, though! No disrespect intended, but muslims often get so caught up in following the letter of the shari`ah that it becomes a goal in itself. It's not the goal - Allah is the goal, the shari`ah is merely the way to attain it. The path should not be the destination! There is a spiritual core that underlies the shari`ah and differentiates it from all man-made law. It is based on the beautiful attributes of Allah and derived from the blessed personality of Rasulullah (s). Indeed, if it were not, how could one call it DIVINE law? There are reasons for rules and laws - and the basic rule is 'do that which will enable one to get closer to God'. The entire shari`ah is based on this one premise. Regarding marriage, therefore, I want to try to provide an understanding of the Islamic philosophy behind the various rulings listed above.

The bond between husband and wife is the most profound and enduring in a person's adult life. Perhaps no other person will exert as much emotional and psychological influence on an individual. Love is the absolute basis and essence of Islam. As such, he (s) was sent to teach us love and compassion in their most perfect forms. Faith is perfection in three things: fear, hope and love.

However, love exists in many different forms - for parents, for spouses, for children, and so forth. Perhaps no other word is used so frequently and understood so rarely! Is true love infatuation? a mother's love? the love that our grandparents feel after 50 years together? One should really ask the question, "WHAT is love and why do I feel it?" not "who or what do I love?" The first logically precedes the second, but the second emotionally precedes the first (and sometimes eclipses it entirely!)

A lot of our mixed-up feelings arise because we become so entangled with the 2nd question that we forget the first! The psychological basis of marriage is to develop love for the partner - for love (as opposed to infatuation) develops over years of shared joys and hardships.

But the underlying reason that Allah has blessed us with the faculty of love is so that we can learn to love Him. He has said, "it is one of Our SIGNS that We have placed love and compassion between (husband and wife)" - ie, that feeling of love is in fact a sign of the existence of the fountain and source of love - God. Through our various mortal loves, we are directed towards the discovery of the eternal love of Allah, as rivers flow inexorably towards the ocean.

This, then, is the true reason for marriage - to apprehend, through one's partner, a part of the all-embracing love of Allah. Knowing this, the reasons for the Islamic rulings on marriage become clearer. On life's journey towards Allah, one is not alone. Husband and wife walk hand in hand, helping and strengthening each other. They are companions on the journey, and Allah has said, "we made for them spouses that they might find rest and comfort." However, if the direction (qibla) of one is towards God and His messenger (s), but the other is walking a different path, one of three things will happen:

Firstly, the rightly-guided will turn the straying one towards truth - but is this a gamble one would be prepared to take? Second, and more frequently, the misguided will turn the muslim away from God. Third, as their paths diverge more and more, their hands will leave each other's hold (they will separate).

Thus Allah, in his wisdom, has directed us to marry those who will not only face in the same direction as us upon our journey towards Him, but will also be a strength and comfort to us upon the hard road. Therefore a hadith encourages muslims to look first and foremost for 'taqwa' - consciousness of God - in one's life-partner. Our choice of partner should be made not with this fleeting world in mind, but the eternal hereafter. We are encouraged to choose someone who can be a mirror for us, reflecting the immortal and infinite love of Allah Most High - and of course, we should work towards being such a mirror ourselves! The most blessed of creation (s) has said, "a believer is a mirror to a believer."

This, then, is the underlying basis and wisdom of all Islamic rulings regarding this subject. I hope it has been made clearer, and may Allah forgive me if I have erred. For Allah knows best. To Him do all souls return, and He is the Comforter of all longings. And blessings upon the Messenger of Love and Compassion.

Talib

Allah Made the Whole Wide World

2006-03-27T14:50:00.000Z

by my daughter Noor (age 5)

(at least, the first two verses... mum helped with the rest!)

Allah made the whole wide world
Allah made the whole wide world
Muhammad Salallah is His Messenger
Beloved of Allah, Our Teacher
Muhammad Salallah is His Messenger
Allah made the whole wide world

The angels are made of heavenly light
They serve Allah both day and night
They always obey and never go astray
And send their salam on the Prophet of Islam

CHORUS

Allah is one and partners He has none
He made with his power everything and everyone
The earth and the trees, the sky and the seas
Every soul that is born, to Allah will return

CHORUS

Our prophet's teachings serve to remind
To treat with respect, to love and be kind
To give to the poor, and to fast and to pray
These deeds will help us on our Judgment Day

La ilaha ilallah
Muhammadun Rasulullah
Alayhi salawatullah
La ilaha ilallah

habib allah pt 1

2006-03-19T21:47:00.000Z

Huwa al-Habib alladhi turja shafa`atuhu
Min kulli hawlin min al-ahwali muqtahimi

" He is the Beloved whose intercession is hoped for
From every onrushing terror [that assails us]. "

There are so many mysteries and subtle points of spirituality locked into the Arabic language, it's awe-inspiring. I was talking today with Sidi Aftab Malik (director of Amal Press) about one of the titles of Sayyidina Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him): Habib Allah (the beloved of God). I'll cover it in parts, otherwise it'll get too long.

Part 1 - Lover and Beloved

Firstly, the form of the word: habib is on the scale of fa`il, which conveys two meanings in Arabic. The first is of ism al-maf`ul - the passive participle. On this scale, the meaning of habib is 'beloved.' The second is that of ism al-mubalagha - the intensive noun. On this scale, the meaning of habib is 'the intensely loving.' (from the Zurqani's commentary of al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyya). Thus this single word speaks volumes to the discerning viewer about the reciprocal nature of the loving relationship that exists between Creator and His most perfect Creation.

For the habib can be one who nutures an unrequited love for something, which is both a marker of humiliation and neediness; and which will eventually render the lover a weak and desperate former shadow of himself. On the other hand, the habib can be the object of affection: cold, distant and untouchable, filled with a self-regarding pride and arrogance.

It reminds me of a bedtime story I told my daughters, of Narcissus and Echo. Narcissus was a youth of surpassing beauty; Echo a wood nymph who was cursed by the 'demi-gods' for the usual Greek female crime (considering herself to be more beautiful than the goddesses). Echo fell in love with Narcissus, but could never reveal herself to him. He - with the pride and arrogance that comes with external beauty - repelled all advances as being unworthy of his beauty. Echo - the first habib - lingered on, tortured by her unrequited love until she eventually wore herself out and became no more than an echoing voice. Narcissus - the second habib - eventually met a sticky end: he fell in love with his own reflection in a pool and died of grief for not being able to be with his 'beloved.' [don't you just love those happy clappy Greek myths?]

But Rasulullah (s) is both lover and beloved - a perfect union of celestial bliss and perfection. In his oceanic love for his Creator, he sets up a paradigmic example to us for exactly what should be the nature of man's relationship to the divine. He used to pray in communion with his Lord until his blessed feet swelled because of the length of his standing, and when asked why he even needed to - since Allah had already forgiven him any possible slip - he replied merely, 'should I not be a thankful servant?' Though he - of all creation - who passed through the veils of light to approach ultimate knowledge of his Creator (al-ma`rifa billah), attained the rank where he was blessed with, 'a time with my Lord, upon which neither Prophet-Messenger nor Angel-brought-near may encroach,' still he cried, 'Oh Lord, forgive! I cannot praise you as you deserve to be praised!'

In his love for his Lord, Muhammad Habib Allah is never content or complacent, ever restless, always yearning to be yet closer, yet more intimate. He is in his love like a flowing spring that leaps down the mountain-side, ever yearning for 'the Sea, and Unity.'

Yet so too is he Beloved of Allah, receiving His Lord's unceasing, uncountable salawat - which is love conjoined with mercy, magnification and intimacy; and the salawat of His angelic hosts, so numerous that, 'there is not a point in all the seven heavens that is not occupied by a glorifying angel.' And in this, too, is a clarion sign for us, that - if he is deserving of the love of His Infinite Lord, how much more so is he deserving of our love and salawat - which is veneration, respect and an appeal to Allah to raise him yet closer to His ineffable presence. What kind of being is he that - yet a man born of woman, he commands such a position in the eyes of the Lord of Might and Glory?

Allah says with his Divine speech (a hadith qudsi): "when I love someone, I call Gibril and say, 'oh Gibril, I love this person, so you too must love him.' Then He orders Gibril to travel throughout the heavens and the earth, proclaiming, 'oh creation! This person is beloved of Allah, so you too must love him/her.' "

If this is the case for a mere 'ordinary' beloved of Allah [if there can be such a thing], then how could we possibly conceive the rank of the one whom Allah has loved from pre-eternity, whose love was inscribed before there was Pen, or Tablet, or earth or heaven?

In fact, it is my firm belief that love for Sayyidina Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) is hard-wired into the very ground of existence; it is the substance of creation itself. Every particle in creation contains within it the love of Rasulullah (s). This can be inferred from the hadith quoted above, for if the beloveds of Allah become beloved of creation, then surely the Beloved of Allah from Pre-Eternity must have been beloved to creation even before their existence.

It can also be known from simple common sense. Every characteristic and quality that the human soul inclines towards, yearns for and is nourished by - compassion, wisdom, truth, justice, humility, kindness, love, tranquility - are embodied completely, perfectly and paradigmically in the most Blessed Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him. All that we find appealing, beautiful or attractive - to the soul, not merely the nafs - find their ultimate manifestation in him (s). As Allah says, 'verily, I swear that you are indeed upon the absolutely supreme paradigm of created character' (wa innaka la `ala khuluqin `azim - which contains no less than six particles of emphasis (ta'kid) in Arabic.

May Allah give us love for Him, love for His Beloved and for his (s) beloveds. May He make us lovers and beloved of Him. Peace and Blessings upon him, without number nor end, as many as the raindrops that fall from heaven, reviving the dead earth and bringing forth from it plants and fruits to nourish mankind. May his love (s) rain upon our dead hearts, revivifying them with the perfumed flowers of remembrance, the nourishing plants of obedience and the delicious fruits of wisdom.

accents

2006-02-26T23:49:00.000Z

When I was a young-un living in Manchester, the Black Country accent used to be the object of great hilarity. Many of my friends - not to mention Younger Bro - would while away the hours amusing themselves trying to imitate this central-England dialect along with others, such as the Liverpudlian (scouser) and Scottish brogues. I was largely spared from this, given that (1) I was (and am) useless at impersonating accents and (2) coming originally from London I found it rather ironic that those with thick Mancunian accents were jesting about other people's idiosycnrasies in speech. Nevertheless, perhaps because of Holly the Computer (of early Red Dwarf fame), the Brummie accent was an object of especial derision.

Imagine my chagrin, then, when fifteen years later, my dear daughter Tahseen has a Brummie accent as broad as a barn door. "I loike you," she exclaims, along with gems such as, "leave the compewta an' cum wif moee," and best of all, "yew alroight, luv?" Younger Bro - now sporting a fashionable South African accent plus slang [eg: ekse I'm vaying pose, check you, lekker? - trans: I say, I'll be off home now, I will see you later, alright?] - is alternately highly amused and don't-know-where-to-put-my-face embarrassed.

There is a lesson in everything, I suppose. And yet, and yet, the lesson in this is particularly wonderful. Why has Tahseen developed a Brummie accent? Because she's around people from Birmingham, obviously. And therein lies the trick.

We accquire the characteristics of the ones' we accompany. We take on their fragrance and their hue, their characteristics and their qualities, as surely as a child develops an accent depending on the place she grows up. The soul is as malleable and impressionable as a young child - because that is its reality. We are children in our spirits, immature, still growing, still discovering the true nature of the world around us. We desire sweets and don't care who gives them to us. We detest work and love play. We are astounded by the illuions of a clown or a magician. We believe that fairy tales are true. We follow our desires with no thought to ultimate consequence. We are unable or unwilling to take the long view. We are easily moulded into shapes by those around us.

Whom do we choose to fashion the potter's clay of our unformed spirits? In whose hands do we leave ourselves? The master potters, who will create of us objects of beauty and value that are cherished forever? Or those who will render us ugly and misshapen, that in the end we might be thrown against a wall and smashed to pieces? Do we remain in the company of the blessed, or the company of the cursed? For we will take on their characteristics, for good or for ill.

Imam Hasan al-Basri, the master of the tabi`in according the people of Basra, said, 'if you seek to accquire gentleness, be with those who are gentle, for a man seldom accompanies a people but that he accquires their traits.' And this was but an exposition of the words of our blessed Prophet, the beloved of Allah, who said, 'you will be with those you love,' and 'whoever imitates a people [thinking that their way is best] will be counted among them.' And these blessed words were but a tafsir of Allah's uncreated speech: 'Oh ye who believe, be conscious of Allah, and stay with the people of Truth.'

There is nothing that the Sufis emphasize more than good character and purifcation of the interior, and they advise no means to accomplish this more than remaining in the company of the righteous. May Allah let us all acquire good accents, so that we perfume ourselves with the fragrance of those whom He loves and who love Him.

locked out

2006-02-21T22:00:00.000Z

interesting day today.

Came home to find out that the door to our prayer room has stopped working. The... [don't even know what it's called] latching mechanism (?) no longer works, so when you turn the handle, it doesn't open the door. The upshot of this is that we are locked out of our prayer room. Talk about a sign - Mrs Habib with great hilarity wonders what we have done that Allah would do such a thing to us. To even greater (one-sided) hilarity she expects me (the man in the house) to 'kick the door down.' Hmm... I reply that this is contrary to my Jedi training.

All the musalla's, tasbih's, Qurans, and burqas are on the other side of the door. So we're reduced to reading salat on the carpet, counting on fingers, and so forth. A minor inconvenience, no doubt. But it leads to us wondering about other scenarios. What if the door had given up with one of the kids inside, and they had wanted to go to the toilet. An unpleasant thought. What if it had broken with Mrs Habib inside, me at work, and the kids at school. Trapped in a room, unable to open the door, with no mobile phone or way of contacting the outside world, and a four and six year old waiting outside school for a mum who is just not appearing. A chilling and dangerous thought. Instead of having a laugh about 'using the force,' we could have been in a very different position.

There are so many mercies that Allah bestows on us that we are totally unaware of. We may, if we are thankful and perceptive, be able to understand some of what might be called 'bounties of commission' - material or spiritual favours that Allah actually gives us. But what about the equally important bounty of the calamities that He averts from us? One of the verses from the Salat al-Badriyya reads:

And oh! what mercies we have accquired
How many misfortunes we're made to avoid
How great the blessings that have entered our lives
Through your love of the people of Badr, ya Allah.

That I did not have an accident coming home today, that my mum or dad did not have a heart attack, that my kids did not mess the carpet with paint, that my eyes blink and my kidneys function... the list of such 'bounties of omission' is endless. My shaykh once told us about a lady who asked him for a wazifa to help relieve the pain of a failing kidney. 'Do you think,' he asked us, 'if it had ever crossed that lady's mind to ask for a wazifa to thank Allah for her kidneys when they were healthy?'

Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqubi mentioned that ibn Abbas (ra) said, 'whenever a calamity befalls me, I give thanks for three mercies:

1. That it was not a worse calamity
2. That it happened in this world and not the next
3. That it concerned by material welfare and not my spiritual.'

And Allah says, 'if you were to [try to] count the bounties of Allah, you would never be able to enumerate them.' Indeed, the mere fact of remembering one of Allah's bounties is a bounty in itself, for had Allah not inspired us with the taufiq to remember him and his blessings, we would have remained in a state of heedlessness. The mind boggles (as is its wont).

May Allah keep us in a state of thankfulness and reflection.

greetings of peace

2006-02-18T10:28:00.000Z

In the Name of God, Limitlessly Compassionate, Endlessly Merciful...

Greetings of peace to the world and to emptiness.

I wonder whether anyone will end up reading this...

I suppose it is primarily a convenient place for me to scribble down whatever comes into my head. Sometimes thoughts cannot be known or understood until they are expressed, like the pieces of a jigsaw that must be taken out of the box and structured to reveal their reality.

The traditional format for this used to be a journal or diary, or so I gather from the long-bearded, toothless (and therefore wise?) ones. Yet am I like most Gen X-ers who tend to spend more time in front of the computer than with pen (that leaks) and paper (that gets lost)?

Anyway, I came across a some blogs (quite by accident - I am not particlularly internet savvy) and thought it seemed like a good idea at the time. So I may or may not update this blog, depending on whether I actually have any thoughts worth writing. Some may be fragments of remembered conversations, some echoes of memories or dreams. Others may be me trying to make sense of something in my mind - a task in which I may or may not be successful.

The Blessed Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) said, 'each of you is a mirror to his brother.' That is to say, one sees in others those aspects of the self that cannot be seen unless reflected. So my friends, unseen and unknown, yet mirrors of my soul: I thank you and ask that - like mirrors - you be patient with both my flaws and my vanities.

And peace and blessings upon the best of mankind, his family and companions, and all those who follow in their footsteps of guidance - and may we all be among them.

was salam, talib

PS: A word of warning: I guarantee neither sense nor coherence, much less truth and verity. I'm only human.