Thursday, August 02, 2007
The Noble Man From Zaytuna - continued..
- KK said...
-
WE WANT TO SEE A PART 2 OF THIS ASAP!! SubhanAllah! Keep up the good writing :)
- Anonymous said...
-
Part two! Part two! Part two! PLEASE! If you have gone to the Rihla, then we expect a part for each day at the Rihla :)
Amazingly, now the lessons that we sat in, in Jeddah are available for ordering :-)
So, anyone who wants to know what happened henceforth, you must purchase a set of these fine CDs and listen for yourself. Sit and listen to what our beloved Noble Man from Zaytuna said to us exactly a year ago..
For those of you who have been my long-time supporters and well-wishers throughout my period of ill-health - think for yourself what sitting in these sessions must have done for me and is still doing for me. Myself and fellow Rihla buddies recently reviewed the notes we made in these sessions and I was overwhelmed at how fragile a learner I am. What my being encountered whilst sitting in these sessions was beyond words. And for those of you who know me well enough, you will soon come to realise why I stopped blogging where I did in my entry. This CD set is an amazing tool for anyone who wants to move from point a to point b in their life. It is greatly empowering aswell as informing of where, what and how we are.
God bless Shaykh Hamza Yusuf with health, prosperity and the guidance so he continues to be the torch for us all. Ameen.
PURCHASE HERE:
UK - roots distribution
USA - alhambra productions
The Alchemy of Happiness
By: Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
5 CD Set Gift Box
In this 5 CD set, Hamza Yusuf discusses the causes of unhappiness in this world, according to Imam al-Ghazali, and gives us the guidelines to obtain inward contentment.
This amazing class was taught at the Rihla 2006 program (Makkah/Madina/Jeddah)
Come and follow this journey with me:
It is August 4th 2006, I am sitting in the lesson in Jeddah...
Labels: Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Zaytuna
words continue here
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Disturbing Comments
About six weeks ago, whilst many people were posting kind thoughts about my ‘Noble Man’ entry, I received two comments which were not so kind. A pair which left me feeling tearful for a few weeks.
St Valentines has left a new comment on your post "The Noble Man From Zaytuna":
Honestly woman, get a grip of yourself. You're practically worshipping HY, maybe you should just ask for his rishta instead of seeming like a desperate ''number one fan.'' You seem like a fanatical HY stalker, I hope your husband one day gets out a miswaak to give you a good bashing with.
Posted by St Valentines to tranquilart at Tuesday, May 08, 2007 2:25:00 PM
Curious Muslim has left a new comment on your post "The Noble Man From Zaytuna":
Zaytuna institute - The place where dreams come true :) The place where we rip you off and hang you out to dry for sacred knowledge ;)
Posted by Curious Muslim to tranquilart at Tuesday, May 08, 2007 2:30:00 PM
I do have a heart, and within it are chambers which ‘feel’.
At the time, I was so upset, confused and angry that my immediate reaction was to ‘moderate comments’. Never before have I had to moderate what comments have been left. Of course with the exception of a few spammers, all who have commented on my blog have been most welcome “Ahlan Wa Sahlan!” I shout in cyberspace.
Come, come, whoever you are
Wonderer, worshipper, lover of leaving
It doesn’t matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vows
a thousand times,
Come, yet again,
Come, come.
RUMI
For almost three years I have been blogging and although there are a ‘regular’ few who comment, most of my comments are from individuals who chance upon the read. I am accustomed to receiving comments from strangers, in fact in the last 2 years I have received a wealth of emails from people who have read the blog but shied away from commenting so publicly. And as I have said before, it is only due to the positive feedback that I continue to find motivation to blog.
So let’s get back to these comments then.
After discussing the comments with well-wishers I came to receive a lot of support and words of comfort, metaphors for the relationships that exist in blogosphere, aswell as the dynamic transformation that communication is currently undergoing.
Everything made perfect sense.
However I still felt very perturbed, tearful and saddened by the comments. I deduced that both comments had probably been left by a single male who was most likely a Muslim. In other words: “A Muslim Brother”.
I asked myself why had I been so offended by these comments. Why was I allowing myself to give them so much of my time, thought and energy? Especially at a time when I was already feeling weak and resorting to daytime naps in order to have sufficient physical energy to fulfil, in the very least: the minimal prayers for each day. Why was I so upset? Allowing something like this to eat into me.. a friend who could not resist told me one day: “taz, let it be like water off a duck’s back!” She made me laugh!
There are many reasons why I was upset:
Initially it was the misogynist stench which I didn’t like.
The references to domestic violence were totally unacceptable. I mean totally. Speak to a woman whose husband has beaten her and told her she is the ugliest individual alive, and you will come to realise how demeaning it is. How it destroys the soul and leaves the spirit to bleed: heart is pumping blood, all vital signs are in check – but there is a corpse in clothing: breathing just because those breaths have been written by Him who Writes it all.
Yes I do know such women, and how dare someone poke fun of what they go through. Shame on whoever speaks such ill.
And to want for your fellow human, your sister-in-faith to get a “good bashing” from her husband? Are these my fellow believers well-wishing me a future of peace and prosperity? Are these their supplications for me when I enter the sacred institution of marriage? Whoever mutilated the saying:
“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
‘Brother’ equating to ‘fellow human’.
I thought:
Am I not someone’s child or sibling?
Do I not belong to the ‘big family’?
For those of you who read The Noble Man From Zaytuna did you understand what the station of a Teacher is?
Did you sense the station of a
A Guide?
A Torch?
Did you sense within it the sentiments a child echoes to a parent?
If you didn’t see a daughter’s love for a someone whom she honours alongside her father then I feel sorry for you.
Did you ever get the impression of someone who is desperately trying to save people he doesn’t know from falling into a pit? Someone who stretches his hands out, reaching for them when they have hit rock-bottom?
A man determined to switch on the light so they can see their surroundings and all that exists beyond their tiny world?
One of the comments left on the post so rightly said the following:
“Just can't imagine how garbage my life would have been had he not come into it.”
So many of us know that our lives would have been precisely that: garbage, crap, trash, rubbish and a total waste-heap had it not been for the gentleness of this gentleman, and the nobility of this humble teacher. Yet we are so determined not to acknowledge him as a blessing?
It wasn’t until about a month ago whilst reviewing last summer’s Rihla course notes that I came across the following saying of the Prophet Alaislam that my thoughts about this whole Comments affair took a new twist:
A desert Arab came to the Messenger and said:
”You kiss children, we don’t kiss them.”
The Prophet said:
“Can I prevent Allah from extracting the Mercy from your heart?”
My thoughts now turned to the states we are in. I recalled a recent phone-call from a well-wisher who had said:
“we don’t know the states that we ourselves are in.”
I really felt the weight of this.
I thought how awful it must be to have mercy extracted, taken away, removed from one’s heart.
How very sad.
To live without this emotional treasure.
Finally, I gathered my thoughts and tears: all Praises to the Guide for teaching me through this fine Hadith. I realised that deep down I felt sorry for the individual who had posted the two nasty comments. I mean really really sorry.
I felt grateful to God Almighty for bringing me to this understanding and showing me through a series of emotional hurdles, the importance of addressing why we feel the way we do.
When we are upset about something, we need to carefully examine where that sadness stems from?
Why are we upset?
Which part of us feels the hurt or the offence?
Is it our ego which feels the pain?
Or is it a wound much deep within?
Where are we really hurting?
If we live our life based upon the principles of faith, then we shouldn’t forget that there is a Day of Accounts to follow. None of us would want any other to be at a loss on that Day.
I end by saying something that I have thought about many times: that if it was possible and permissible to transfer one’s remaining years over to another human being, then He Knows best that I would choose the Noble Man from Zaytuna to transfer them over to.
I still hold firm to the 5 reasons I gave for writing the piece in the first place.
Labels: Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Zaytuna
words continue here
Monday, April 23, 2007
The Noble Man From Zaytuna
Back in June of last year I was thinking about life, purpose, meaning and the way everything evolves.My mind drifted from person to place to event, and in the midst of a melancholic hullabaloo I landed myself thinking about the ‘Noble Man from Zaytuna’.
I sat and recalled the many times this man had inspired me. I counted my blessings to know that I would be setting off onto the Rihla and have the great opportunity to learn from someone whom I’ve respected for many years. Shaykh Hamza Yusuf has touched the lives of many, in numerous remarkable ways. I am just one of the scores whom he has inspired and motivated in a positive way towards goodness.
The aim of this write-up has been a combination of:
1. to thank our blessed teacher for impacting my life in a way which has allowed my spirit to grow through happy and sad times
2. to tell you: my readers, that God Almighty works in the most Miraculous ways and that we should start to recognise the miracles that are happening around us all daily
3. to acknowledge that I am a blessed individual and although there may be much that I may not have; I have much to be happy about. I have an awful lot to cherish from the bounties that He has sent this way. Living in the same time as this Noble Man is just one blessing that I have bothered to count; there must be so so many more blessings that I haven’t even began to acknowledge
4. I think it is important for us to look at the way in which our scholars and guides have impacted in our lives. And I wanted to at least attempt this with one individual before I depart from this world. We should all remember the many favours of those around us and steer clear of forgetfulness. Even if we don't write down how God Almighty brought these noble guides into our life; we should at least set aside some time to reflect what life would have been like, had we not been introduced to these individuals?
5. to remind myself that I am part of Bani Adam as he says.
These are a few things which I wanted to share.. excuse the writing style but life is spontaneous and short.. and here is a man to whom I owe almost a decade worth..
"It is 1997, I am at university.
I am mesmerised by the voice of this one
American individual living in Santa Clara. I have brought his tapes and borrowed some from the Islamic Society Library. He is on TV on the ‘Muslim’ slot on one of the stations. Everyone seems to be talking about him. He is just awesome.His words repeat themselves in my ears and I think he talks sense.
We start our Islamic Society newsletter and the editor chooses to end his introduction by his words. I make tape recordings of all his talks and keep them.
It is 1998*, he is visiting my city. I am too sick to go. My friend tells me he was wearing his white combats and walked past her and her husbands’ stall.
Wow, I sigh.
It is 1999, the sun is trying it’s best to pierce the chill of an Autumn morning, I am listening to “Educating The Muslim Child” by him. I have an interview later this morning at a Muslim School. His words make me a tad bit more confident.
I get the job.
The years are passing...I am becoming somewhat ‘detached’ from the Muslims in my community as I focus on my ‘self-discovery’ mission.
Who, what and how am I?
The opportunities are endless; I am learning new skills and building the foundations of a stable teaching career.
I am seeing success everywhere.
He is in my country I hear.
I can’t go to visit him.
My travels have become limited: I am a sufferer of migraines.
I miss out on the opportunities to hear him live.
This saddens me.
‘But I have his recordings’ I tell myself.
It is February 2003 and I have now done my Hajj.
The year ends and I spot him on the cover of a glossy magazine.
It is 2004, I make new friends. I give them his recordings because I know they will like him. They too, are in love with him.
It is February 2005 and I am in pain.I am told to purchase a CD entitled: ‘17 Benefits of Trials and Tribulations’ with the advice: “Share it with others”.
I do.
It is Monday 2nd May 2005.
I am in the Wembley Conference Centre and I see him for the first time. He is full of hope, mercy and compassion.
I am in awe.
I purchase the CD set of ‘Purification of the Heart’ by him.
Soonafter I purchase a copy of his book by the same title: I open the book to see his signature inside. My world!
I start to follow his words from the CD as I flick through the book – my concentration levels are on the all-low.
It is mid-September and he comes to my city at last! I feel so graced.
Myself and my friend intend to go to listen to his next talk tomorrow at another city – but I have a migraine accompanied by an erratic tummy; I am unsettled all night. My friend’s nephew is in hospital. We both miss the opportunity to listen to him again.
A week has passed and I receive something in the post.
It is a copy of ‘The Content of Character’ translated by him.
A kind soul narrated to him that we were meant to come but couldn’t make it and thus I receive a signed copy with my name in it too! I am soo happy – I can’t believe how lucky I am.
It is still Autumn 2005 and my hands are still in pain.
I have mail from a well wisher.
I open the envelope to find a tiny piece of cloth that was used to clean the Kabah by him. He must be such an honourable man to have cleaned the Kabah I begin to think.
It is February 2006 and I will be flying away for 2 months in a week or so time. He is in the UK again.. and this time with his teacher.
My friend and myself drive up north one cold and rainy evening and see him and his teacher as they pass before us.
My, my, we are just a metre away from him.
He looks so radiant.
God bless him always, I take that image away with me to Pakistan.
It is March 2006 and I am in Pakistan.
I am finding it difficult to understand people. I read the ‘Purification of the Heart’ and my difficulties subside.
It is June 2006 and I have been accepted onto the Rihla – where he will be teaching!!!
I am so blessed I think I will soon go mad.
It is August 2006, I am in the lift at the hotel in Jeddah.
I am fretting and running late for my lesson.
I don’t want that to happen and to dishonour the teacher. The lift should be going down – but what is this: it starts to go up to the fifth floor!
Oh my goodness!
I am sure to get late now!
I see someone with a cream coloured apparel walk in.
Oh my world!
It is him!
I finally have the opportunity to say Salam to him.
I am not late for my class afterall - I arrive the same time as my dear teacher.
And here I end.. for now.."
I know our dear teacher does not descend from the line of the final Prophet Alaislam – but through him I have been reminded on numerous occasions that we are the Children of Adam. Sadly, we live in a chaotic world where it is all too easy to forget that our common Father was a Prophet. I believe it is therefore very important that we embody the concept of Bani Adam as brought to us by our beloved teacher Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. And I thank God Almighty for making me live in the same age as this great Inspirator.
* - I think this is accurate.
All images are taken from the Zaytuna Website.
Labels: Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Zaytuna
words continue here
Asalamu ala`ykum warahamtulah wabarakatuh,
Dear Sister Taslim,I am a total stranger to you ,but for the last couple of months I have been following your blog.And I love it.Your entry on the respected Sheikh Hamza Yusuf was splendid.It honestly made me cry , as I reflected on Allah`s immense mercy for guiding us with Scholars of the like of Sheikh Hamza.May Allah swt increase him in rank, blessings and health.
I feel upset at the comments that were made by the two users.However ,it is important to realise that we live in an age of ignorance.One frequently comes across "ignorant" and "awkward" remarks made against the most esteemed Scholars.Therefore I pray that "silly" comments left on your blog don`t sadden you.
Keep up the good work.
I look forward to "The Noble Man from Zaytuna Part 2" and Part 3 as well. :)
May Allah swt bless you with health and a long life.Insha`Allah.
wasalam
yasmeen
Sunday, June 24, 2007 5:02:00 PM