Thursday, September 28, 2006

 

Hilye Book on Sale in UK!


Alhamdulila it has finally arrived to the residents of this little island!
135 copies are available for the lucky dwellers...

What better Eid gift!





And it's yours for just £75 [+p&p]

More info & purchase:

Ilyas Ahmed
Pbuh
1 Boyne Hill Road
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 4HQ

hilye@hotmail.co.uk
07799 591591


Related URLs
Hilye-i Serife Official Website
More info on the Hilye by Calligrapher Sidi M. Zakariya



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Wednesday, September 27, 2006

 

Imam Zaid's Ramadan Message

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Mercy Giving

Ramadan Mubarak!

A Brief Message From Imam Zaid Shakir

The Month of Ramadan is upon us. During this special time, we should all reflect on the many blessings God has bestowed upon us. Those of us who live here in the West have been blessed with many material bounties that are unimaginable to many of our coreligionists in the East. The amount of food we enjoy and unfortunately the amount that many of us waste, the expansiveness of most of our homes, our ready ability to own cars, trucks, and vans, our easy access to higher education, our ability to marry at a young age, all of these blessings and many others are incomprehensible to many Muslims in faraway lands struggling to live from day to day.

Perhaps the greatest blessing we enjoy is the blessing of security. This is a great blessing that many people take for granted. The ability to be safe in ones home, to walk the streets without fear of assault, to travel freely down the highways and byways without fear of brigandage or harm to our person or loved ones, the ability to rest comfortably at night without fearing a sudden deadly intrusion, or a violent explosion as a projectile tears through the roof or walls of our dwelling visiting us with hell on earth. This is a great, expansive blessing.

God mentions that security is one of the great blessings He bestowed upon the Quraysh, the people of our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God upon him. He mentions in the Qur'an:

Therefore, let them worship the Lord of this [Sacred] House; he who has fed them, warding off from them hunger; the one who has made them secure from fear. (106:3-4)

This latter blessing, the great blessing of security, the blessing that allows us to enjoy all other blessings, should never be taken for granted, for it can be taken away at any moment, and we could be cast into the throes of terrible tribulation with sudden swiftness. One of the ways to perpetuate the blessing of security and the many other blessings we enjoy is to express our deep thanks for them. That expression of thanks lies in our being good productive citizens, it lies in our faithful devotion to our Lord, and it lies in our demonstrating to people the good of our religion through our actions before we endeavor to do so with our words. It lies in our endeavoring to share our blessings with those who are less fortunate that ourselves.

The details relating to how we do these things are known to all of us and are as numerous as each and every one of our individual lives. Those details are revealed to us by God when we endeavor to be sincere in our service, true in our devotion, honest in our conviction to assist our fellow human beings. Ramadan is an excellent time to start for those of us who have been limping down the road of life oblivious to the blessings we enjoy; lacking any consciousness of the obligations those blessings impose on us. Ramadan focuses our appreciation of the food and other material blessing we enjoy by allowing us to experience at a personal level the reality of deprivation. Ramadan focuses our devotion to God by facilitating heightened levels of devotional acts by couching them in a communal manifestation. Ramadan focuses our sincerity to God, for it is centered around fasting, the one act of worship it is impossible to "show off" with before other human beings, for at the end of the day, God alone knows if we are truly fasting. Ramadan, if we allow it to do so, focuses our spiritual energies by reintroducing the great blessing of the Qur'an into our lives. Finally, Ramadan focuses our attention on the centrality of charity in our lives, by encouraging us to greater levels and acts of charity during this time, a time when our beloved Prophet, peace and blessings of God upon him, the most generous of all people ordinarily, was excessively generous.

Let us translate that heightened focus on God, and our appreciation for His blessings into heightened levels of servitude to Him and to our fellow human beings. If we can do that as an entire community, with ample conviction, God will continue to shower His blessings down upon us and to He will bless us to be secure in our lives and property, just as He has blessed us to be secure from material want. Such blessings are commensurate with "the best community raised up to serve humanity (3:110)." However, for the manifestation of those blessings to be real, our service to God and to our fellow humans has to be real. So let us proceed through this blessed month with consciousness, willing devotion, and sincerity. By doing so we will express our appreciation to our Lord, and work to perpetuate the many blessings He has bestowed upon us.

Ramadan Mubarak!

Your Brother in Islam

Imam Zaid Shakir


Related URLs:
Imam Zaids' Website
Zaytuna Institute



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Sunday, September 24, 2006

 

Ramadhan Greetings x x x

:-)

Hey Beloved,
You are here once again!

And Bint greets thee with full brace -
Do you sense mine angelic wings?
Which were not before -
But have become so now -

After being aquainted with the Sacred -

Now here I stand -
So proudly -

To welcome my Guest!




Last Years' Ode



This Ramadhan please pray for those who are not in the ease that we are in:

There are those who are in war-zones or those undergoing political oppression.

There are those littered on the streets with no shelter, food or clothing.

There are those in prison or camps.

There are those who had no crop this harvest or those whose crop was washed away with floods.


Also include in your prayers all who will be fasting without the presence of their loved ones:

Those who have been seperated by death and will never share another Suhur or Iftar with their beloveds.

Those whose loved ones are in prison.

Those who are the relatives of a 'missing person' and who have no idea whether their beloved is safe or not.

Those who will be using Ramadhan to visit their loved ones in hospital rather than attend Iftar gatherings with their friends.

And pray duas for all those around the world who were forced out of their homes and are now either refugees or asylum seekers.

May God Almighty bring out the goodness in our conduct during this Ramadhan. And may He keep everyone Safe from the wrong actions of our hands and our tongue.

Dua taken from Deenport Khatams thread.

Check out the Ramadhan Thoughts next door :-) & loads of Ramadhan URLs!

Peace & Prayers x x
27/09/06





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Wednesday, September 20, 2006

 

Coping With Losing Children

Whilst browsing the Beebs site today, I came across a feature on a very special woman. A woman who has a very important place in my heart..


Iram Khan
Iram Khan

Coping with losing children

by Marsha Ramroop, BBC Faith Producer

Iram Khan from Rowley Regis tells her story about her faith helped her, and is still helping, through the toughest time in her life. Losing two children to a terminal illness, Iram called upon Islam for strength, peace and hope.


And for those who read my Thank You list last year - this is the woman who prayed on my hand shortly after losing her second child when I met her at the Mosque.

May the blessings of God Almighty forever remain upon her household. Ameen.




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Sunday, September 17, 2006

 

The Two Pots

From :
Sent : 05 June 2005 02:09:38
To : tranquilart@...
Subject : A story


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A water bearer in China had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots of water to his house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After 2 years of what perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. " I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes to leak out all the way back to your house."

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.

For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."



:' )
God Bless x
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Sunday, September 03, 2006

 

Extending The Rihla Experience

I don’t agree that the good feelings we get from the good experiences which life blesses us with are restricted to a fixed time-scale. To believe so, is to ascertain that goodness is limited to a certain set of circumstances or incidences. This is contradictory to the teachings which direct us towards trying to recognise goodness in our troublesome times and periods of life where we undergo much uncertainty.

I write this as I see my fellow Rihla buddies very much saddened at leaving the presence of our Prophet, our Teachers and the most angelic of places. I was chatting to one of the sisters who was very upset Friday and I felt a deep pinch within me: I felt something hurt. And I asked myself: are the good experiences we have in life only limited in their effect to those circumstantial moments? I knew in my heart of hearts that they couldn’t be because if they were, then I think that would be unfair, and I was taught that God is Fair and Just.

I’m unsure how much consolation this write-up will be for my Rihla companions or how much it would make sense, and my apologies now if it doesn’t make anyone feel any more at peace. Soz folks. Having had to leave the Sacred Lands for the second time I personally feel a lot more calmer this time. I remember crying for months after our Hajj return; when the following Hajj came: the loss really hit home.

But today I don’t feel like that. And when I ask myself why, the reply comes:

“It’s because when you went the first time, you didn’t ever think you’d go again. Now that you’ve been again – you know it can happen any time God wants!”

As odd as it reads – it is true. And what is even odd is that today I have a conviction to return; the conviction that did not exist over 3 years ago. Moreover I went during the most bizarre of circumstances this time; I’d never thought I’d visit in this state – But this is a promised blog for next time.

Firstly, before I lose most of the readers due to the length of this entry, quickly take from my pragmatist side:

  1. each one of us should strive to purify a dormant quality within us which is in need of revival; we will find that this will have a domino-effect on the rest of our self: so that bit by bit our life will mimic itself in goodness.

  1. we live in an age where we have access to our teachers online, via audio and publications: we should not see their lack of physical presence as a hindrance to our learning – rather we should set aside time to work through materials they have produced. In this manner our learning curve will become steeper. As was advised by the teachers we should re-visit our notes after a few months: I suggest we do this with other buddies in the locality. Filling the gaps in our notes will ensure we have some decent foundational background for building intermediary and then advanced studies on top of.

  1. loving those whom we know can be done when we know those we claim to love: reading the Seerah and reflecting upon the various stages of the life of the Prophet Alaislam will ensure that we are ever-closer to him. Further reading the Sham’ail and Shifaa of Qadi Iyad would deepen the love of the Prophet Alaislam. Finally, knowledge of the history of Islam e.g. (Karen Armstrongs’ book is a fine read) and how the various aspects of the empire contributed to society will enable us all to foresee a positive future. Remember although there is no future in history – the reality is that our future is based on our history.

  1. keep in touch with your Rihla buddies: today we are not confined to the constraints in communication during the times of the Companions where letters were sent which took months to arrive via the noble camel :-) Email, telephone and instant messaging are all good enough tools for folk to keep alive the familiarity of good experiences. For those who could: I suggest letter-writing as nothing quite matches this beautiful method of communication.

  2. I believe the entire world is littered with advice for us: and here's some I echo from my Nurse ages ago: now that you are back from the Rihla – think back again to the day when you made the application.. What hopes did you have? Why did you apply? What did you wish to address within your world? And then, think to the day when you received your acceptance email.. How did you feel? And why did you feel that way? Where is that feeling? Where are those hopes you had to implement change in your life? Often we need to re-visit the starting points to many of our current situations and we will find that they provide a lot of the answers we beseech. For sure our answers are within us.

By now I’m sure to have lost many of you…

Getting back to the point: I believe that our good (Rihla) experience is not limited in timescale. And I believe it is us who limit the goodness of what comes through (this and other spiritually-rewarding) experiences.

Sometimes we set before ourselves the false barriers of guilt where we believe we are not worthy to receive the gifts of goodness, and at other times we fail to notice our human nature and that we won’t become overtly saintly in one instance.


We read that anything which came into contact with the Prophet was never the same. Indeed our belief is that anything which comes into contact with the Sacred can never be how it was prior to that association occurred.


With this in mind, we should further believe that we are not the same as we were prior to the Rihla. Physiologically we know that many cells in our body would have been replaced since yesterday and our (internal) state is different to how it was a few hours ago. We should allow change to manifest itself naturally; how it often does, and not hasten to see sudden transformations. Remember the tranquilart butterfly: not only is change possible – but to deny it is denying a wonderful part of our existence.

Each one of us is living a life which is tailor-made to perfection; the fact that we were chosen for this Rihla from the millions who share the same air as us is indicative that a lot of goodness awaits to illuminate our worlds further. Many stations anticipate our arrival.

In the words of our Beloved Imam Al-Ghazzali:

“Know,

O beloved,

That man was not created in jest or at random,

But marvellously made for some great end.”


Our experiences are ever-leading us near this reality. Every time I read this I recognise that the angels bowed before our Father Adam; and how man was honoured above other creation. And that if he reflects sincerely – he would realise that his rank is one not given to others.

Staying on this wavelength of words; we know that Mecca and Medina are two of the cities which are surrounded with multitudes of angels. We also know and accept that there is literally Heavan on earth in that part of the world (the Rawdah of the Beloved being the finest example). It was a distant place far-off somewhere from where our Journey began. Indeed it is true to say that our real Rihla started a long time ago in the Garden.

(The Garden: a subject of much interest for tranquilart in these last two years..) Yes! It was here that we used to reside; in the company of angels and all things celestial.

No doubt we felt most secure and protected in the Sacred cities; for these are the only other places where we find much resemblance to our celestial roots. These are the cities which elevate the human spirit so it feels it is at it’s heavenly home; rested and in peace.

Therefore it is natural for us to feel frightened when we leave these two cities to re-enter a world where we are in constant doubt about those celestial origins.


Hold this thought of ‘home’ and let me divert your attention to another place.


In the last 18 months I have learnt that there is a premise in our worldview: that we are in Safe Hands.


That everything which is unfolding is doing so in our best interest.

That we are being cared for by the Best of Care-Providers.

Remember I said that our lives have been tailor-made to perfection; we can only believe this if we believe that we are in Safe Hands. (Otherwise it is pointless living a life where so much negativity, disharmony and imbalance exist: for this is what our physical eye sees and what our senses grasp hold of).

If we learn to live by this philosophy, we come to realise that no experience will leave us if we live by the spirit of that experience. Because in reality all these incidences are the physical manifestation of this premise [i.e. our Rihla clearly dictated to us that we were in Safe Hands and being cared for as guests of both the Prophet (in Medina) and then by the Divine in the House of God (Mecca).]

Pilgrimages are futile if we fail to live by them. And no learning bears relevance so long as we don’t put it into practise. For it is only once we practise that we see the teachings infiltrate our world.

It would be wrong to assume that Mecca and Medina are the only places where we can stay true to our Adamic nature. We are all aware that the Companions of the Prophet Alaislam moved to lands far and wide.

Our experiences hold more meaning when we return to our communities just as the Messenger returned to his world after Gabriel’s angelic embrace in Cave Hira. Our environment will speak a language to our favour because we are taught that the world mirrors us.

But if those teachings have not set themselves firmly within our beings – then we will continue to feel the loss of the Sacred.

It is us who hinder the establishment of those teachings by our inability to go beyond the good experience itself. We don’t realise that we have the potential to take the goodness we feel to any corner of the world. To feel the refuge we felt in Mecca and Medina in our hometowns is not beyond our achievements or endeavours. In the least, it is something to work towards.

Working towards a reality where we liberate ourselves from our own disgruntled way of thinking and acting is attainable. I believe it is. By honouring our experiences we realise that the world is a great big opportunity for us to demonstrate our goodness in.

The world awaits interaction with what came out of the Prophetic furnace.

If we live in the memory of the Rihla, then we will come to learn something very powerful about life’s many great experiences: that these are tools we are given to enable us to live on earth, so that we never ever feel that God Almighty left us without His Help.

And don’t forget noble people: there are angels all around us.. wherever we go :’)

Peace and Prayers

Wasalam,
Bint-eh Adam x


Related Links:
Rihla Blog 2005
Rihla Blog 2006


The Magic Wand Theory





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Saturday, September 02, 2006

 

Back in Rainy England :-)

Yes!

Got back over a week ago.
Blissful time - lots to think about and lots to reflect about. Praises to God Alone - Alhamdulila.

I have a busy fortnight ahead (the usual dose of appointments), thus will blog my update thereafter before our Beloved Ramadhan comes our way again!

Alot of you asked me when I will be blogging about the Rihla - my deepest of apologies folks - I won't. Simply because I am not ready to blog anything yet. For those who can remember; I wrote my Hajj experiences about 18 months later: one morning after I rose from bed.. it was 2 years when I submitted it to the BBC for their Hajj feature. I believe that experiences which are entreched in alot of depth require a generous amount of time for digestion; at times it takes our entire life to appreciate the true meaning of a certain encounter.

I humbly request time. Soz.

However, I did write one piece which I will blog in due time (with you readers in mind: my noble band of followers ;-) I owed it to you for all your support and prayers of goodness. It's in the traditional hard-to-read tranquilarty way that you guys are so used to - come on, did you expect anything less from me?!

Alot of folk from the Rihla are quite sad at coming back and so I thought I'd write a little piece up for them and others; about how the 'good experiences' we have in life are not limited in their timescale. Rather it is us who limit the goodness of these experiences and in reality we can maximise their effects in our life. InshaAllah.

I'm working on that - so pray I can complete it soon.

Peace & Prayers Oh Noble People x x x


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