And O my people, give full measure and weight in justice and do not deprive the people of their due and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption.
11:85
Take care of the responsibilities in your life. Do not neglect the rights of others. If you have authority over anyone, follow the example of our beloved (saws) and see that they get what is owed to them
No one is beyond Allah (swt)’s wrath. Especially not those with power.
Both an inside LOLspeak joke and squeaky related. Could it get any better?
One uses the “relative to my interests” meme when they wish to express interest in a subject on a message board (or mock the subject of a thread), without actually contributing to the conversation.
Last night, AbuS was working with me on my quranic pronunciation. I can’t even call it my tajweed – it’s merely me trying not to mangle the ﻉ in أَعْطَيْنَـكَ
Squeaky found my verbal contortions very relevant to her interests. She climbed up my chest and stuck her nose right up to my mouth, trying to figure out what the heck I was saying.
ps to non native arabic speakers memorizing Qur’an – if at all possible, make sure you check your pronunciation at the time you’re memorizing a surah. Otherwise you’ll come back years later and have to unlearn years of bad pronunciation. Not fun.
A person is like a flourmill, which is only useful if it churns wheat in flour. Likewise, a person is useful and worthy in this world only with dhikr. Just like stagnant, standing water becomes a breeding ground for filth, an empty and carefree mind becomes a hive for useless and scorned thoughts.
The shaytan’s first efforts are to make a person neglectful and forgetful of the remembrance of Allah
. In war, the first thing victors do is to disarm their prisoners of war. Likewise, the first thing that shaytan does once he overcomes someone is to make him forgetful of Allah
اسْتَحْوَذَ عَلَيْهِمُ الشَّيْطَانُ فَأَنْسَاهُمْ ذِكْرَ اللَّهِ
The shaytan got the better of them: So he made them forget the remembrance of Allah (58:19)
A hadith tells us that the shaytan says, “I ruined mankind through sin, and mankind ruined me through la ilaha il Allah.”
Sow the seeds of good deeds every moment of your life so that one day you will find a garden. Each second of time is like a piece of gold. Just as grains of sand together form a sand dune, seconds of time form a man’s life. You must have learned in your science class that celestial objects are always in motion, and so this is a sign from nature that we too should always be involved in work and not remain stagnant. Those who merely fill their stomachs are animals, those who do no work are without life, and those who have the habit of hard work are true men.
Only if we work hard in this life will we have peace and comfort in the Hereafter. People should work hard and be ill at ease so that they can be in comfort later. Protect yourself from distracting thoughts, and propel yourself forward in dhikr and suluk [spiritual development] with determination. A man must do one task very well, and not multiple tasks haphazardly. Our masha’ikh [elders] have referred to this as the main route of progress in tasawwuf.
Sh. Zulfiqar Ahmad concerning working hard from Wisdom for the Seeker
From where I sit, it seems like life has been one disaster after another, an uprising, a brutal dictator cracking down on his people, earthquakes, a tsunami, unjust laws being rammed through, famine, hunger, poverty, war.
I cannot let myself shut down. I cannot let myself become indifferent to the suffering of my brothers and sisters in humanity. Even if there is little I can do, I must do what I can.
Allah tells us:
وَأَنفِقُوا مِن مَّا رَزَقْنَاكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ فَيَقُولَ رَبِّ لَوْلَا أَخَّرْتَنِي إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ فَأَصَّدَّقَ وَأَكُن مِّنَ الصَّالِحِينَ
Spend (in charity) out of the sustenance that We have bestowed on you before that time when death will come to someone, and he shall say: “O my Lord! If only you would grant me reprieve for a little while, then I would give in charity, and be among the righteous.
死があなたがたを理う前に，われが与えたものから施しなさい。かれは，「主よ，何故あなたは暫くの間の猶予を与えられないのですか。そうすればわたしは喜捨〔サダカ〕をして，善い行いの者になりますのに。」と言う。
63:10
SubhanAllah, how important must charity be for our akhiras, if what we ask is for a little more time to give? I would think that I would instead ask for a little more time to say goodbye to my family, to see the places I have not seen, to do one or two or three more things, to finish what needs to be done.
No, instead we will be asked about charity. Do not delay in this, especially when there are so many who are in need of it.
Islamic Relief has set up funds to address many of the disasters and tragedies that fill the nightly news. Give generously to those, and do not forget about those closest to you who are also suffering. Our sadaqah should not only help those far away, but also those in our local communities.
With all that is going on in the world, be it in Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Wisconsin (btw if you haven’t watched this clip from Monday’s the Daily Show, please do), and in our own backyards, it’s hard to keep up. I know I mentally exhausted myself during the Egyptian uprising.
One of my dear readers, Sr. Winnie is a fellow WOE (wife of an Egyptian) who’s lived for many years in Egypt. She was kind enough to share with me her family’s experience during the Egyptian revolution, and has agreed to let me share it here with you all.
Her son was interviewed by the National Post about participating in the protests:
Q: What has been one of the most memorable moments?
A: Christians were guarding Muslims as they prayed during the protest from the security thugs. I still am grinning from the continuous displays of amazing solidarity.
And Sr. Winnie and her husband also have an online gallery of photos they took:
Tahrir on Jan 30
cleaning up after the revolution:
The tyrant is gone, and now the hard work begins. Paradise does not come after revolution. Instead, the struggle continues.
Things are still tumultuous in all of these areas, and even if we cannot devote every waking moment to following every little detail, we can still help by keeping those who struggle with our dua. It doesn’t take more than a few minutes each day to add a line to our dua after salat, asking Allah to guide those who are seeking good leadership and justice, and to help them to change themselves so that they are worthy of good leadership.
Allah has told us in the Qur’an:
ان الله لايغير مابقوم حتى يغيروا مابانفسهم
Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.
[13:11]
The change we must make in ourselves, in our ummah, does include striving for justice. But it also must include a reflection on ourselves, our character, how we treat others, and how well we strive to emulate the example of our beloved messenger 
.
So even if we are not on the ground in Egypt, in Libya, in Bahrain, in Yemen, or in any place where people are striving for justice, we should still take this opportunity to reflect on ourselves and how we can change for the better, so that Allah will make a change in our condition, inshaAllah.
Not just today, but always.
No one has reached Allah (swt) except through Allah (swt). And the path to reaching Allah (swt) is following al-Mustafa.
Junayd (from Nur Sacred Sciences)
Allah (swt) and His Angels send prayers upon the Prophet. O you who believe, invoke prayers upon him and greet him with a salutation of peace.
Qur’an 33:56
Allahumma salli ‘ala sayyidina Muhammadin
O Allah shower Your blessings upon our master Muhammad
wa ‘ala ali Muhammadin wa sahbihi
and the family of Muhammad and his companions
bi-‘adadi kulli awraqi-l-ashjar
as many times as there are leaves on (the) trees (of Paradise),
wa amwaji-l-bihar
and waves upon the ocean (of Love),
wa qatarati-l-amtar
and drops of (the) rain (of Allah’s Mercy),
wa barik wa sallim alayhi kathiran kathiran kathira
and bless him in abundance, in abundance, in abundance!
from the book of Salawat from the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order
calligraphy by HajraMeeks of DeviantArt
The text of the Mubarak speech to the Egyptian People has just been leaked:
(cannot take credit, saw it on twitter, had to share)
I’ve been muslim for nearly a decade. As a new muslim attending a christian university, I didn’t shout my shahada from the cathedral bell tower. I didn’t even seek out any real life muslims – the only ones I knew from campus were all male international students from a gulf country that shall remain nameless, who seemed (to an outsider) to be more interested in designer clothing labels, fast cars and blond co-eds than they were about their religion.
Instead, I turned to the interwebs. Boy oh boy, was the online ummah different back then. If there were blogs, I didn’t know about them. I spent a lot of time in the yahoo islam chat rooms, which were probably not the best soil to plant my young iman in. I devoured everything on websites like themodernreligion, and had already decided that the islam on salafi websites just wasn’t for me.
It was also the age of Napster, and amongst the thousands of songs from the 80s and 90s I pirated, I found nasheed. Not speaking arabic, I gravitated towards songs that were in english. But, I found the sounds of arabic beautiful, and among the Soldiers of Allah (oh dear Lord, why did I ever listen to that?) and Yusuf Islam, a few nasheed spoke to my soul, even if I didn’t understand.
10 years later, I’ve revisited those first mixed CDs I burned in the early days of my islam and the songs that fed my ruh during those uncertain days as a new muslim with no direction. This is one that is ingrained in my heart, one that I didn’t understand, but somehow, I just knew that it was something special:
It took me many years to fully understand and appreciate what this song was – Love and Praise of Allah’s beloved.
Being a muslim often isn’t easy. Being a convert definitely isn’t easy, judging from my own experience, the issues my friends have faced, and from the entries in the convert truths blog carnival.
But amidst all the turmoil, the disappointment at muslims failing to live up to our vision of islam, snubbed friendships, discrimination, and worse, one thing anchors me – the character and person of our beloved Messenger .
It’s taken me a long time to realize the importance of the Messenger and what it means to follow him. After 10 years, I believe I’ve come to a quiet peace about the importance of the sunnah – both it’s inward and outward aspects – and how we cling to it as a means of reaching Allah (swt). And 10 years on, the words of an arabic language nasheed still sing in my heart – Salatullah, Salamullah!
That is my convert truth, that no matter what, in the Prophet we have a most excellent example. To that example I cling, and inshaAllah through that example, I will walk siratul mustaqeem. No matter what bumps in the path I encounter, no matter the failings of muslims who demoralize and deflate my convert zeal, in the Prophetic example I will always find rest and a way to the Divine . Because in the end, if we love Allah , we should do what He asks of us, and He has asked us to follow Mustafa
Say, “If you should love Allah , then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”
3:31
Allah says:
Whomever is hostile to a friend of Mine I declare war against. My slave approaches Me with nothing more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him, and My slave keeps drawing nearer to Me with voluntary works until I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he seizes, and his foot with which he walks. If he asks Me, I will surely give to him, and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely protect him. I do not hesitate from anything I shall do more than My hesitation to take the soul of the believer who dislikes death; for I dislike displeasing him”
[Bukhari]
Islam, Submission, is the inward and the outward. We know that inward and outward from the words of Allah and from the actions of our beloved Messenger . It is obligatory and voluntary acts done solely for the pleasure and sake of Allah . The means is annihilation of your own self, until you reach the goal of a state where you are a friend of Allah .
This is my convert truth. I strive for the pleasure and love of my Beloved . I will reach it through the example of my beloved example .
And for that I praise him .
Blessings and Peace upon you, O Muhammad, my guide, my example, best of mankind, Blessings and Peace!
He who created me and guides me;
He who gives me food and gives me drink;
and when I am ill, it is He who heals me;
He who will cause my death, then give me life;
He who I sincerely hope will forgive my mistakes on the Day of Reckoning.
Qur’an 26:78-82
calligraphy by savianty
…Salam Aalayka!
via Allahcentric (although the post has disappeared at present):
Ya Habibi, ya Muhammad (Oh my love, oh Muhammad)!
Ya Nabi salam alayka (Oh Prophet peace be upon you)!
Ya Rasul salam alayka (Oh Rasul, peace be upon you)!
Ya Habib salam alayka (Oh my love, peace be upon you)!
Salawatu Allah alayka (Praises of Allah on you)!
Some may say that we love the Prophet (saws) too much. I say that one can never love him enough. After all, he is the most beloved of Allah (swt), and whomever my Beloved loves the most, so too should I.
If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your faults, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful”. [3:31]
