Wednesday 31 October 2007

First Day Of Forever

27 Ramadhan, 611 C.E

It is a typical day in all respects. The inhabitants of Makkah wake up to the fierce rays of the Arabian sun. In the Batha quarter of the city, the chiefs of the Quraysh slowly begin to recover from the hang overs which last night bought. The recovery rate from repeated nights of drinking, and vibrating music is nearly static.

A group of men leave the rich segment of the city and make their way towards the depression in the central part of Makkah. Here lies the Ka'aba and the house of Hubal. The men enter the circled arena, bow down with respect and one by one kiss the unclothed red-agate statue. Hubal remains unmoved. The group begins to stroll up and down the Ka'aaba, bowing to statues of various shapes and sizes; the rising sun throws immense shadows of the men over the 365 stone gods.

Right adjacent to the Ka'aba a household is in mourning. The rising sun bought an addition to the family; a daughter. Two men leave the house, with the baby wrapped in muslin. With their faces down they walk with the crying child towards the cemetry. In the centre of the city a caravan arrives; camel after camel loaded with spices and silk, wines and perfumes, followed by, in a slow single line, a multitude of slaves. Some local men dance and sing as the slaves march towards the market. The Makkan market is a place for the deaf and the blind; a continuous irritation to the ears, a constant offence to the eyes, a pleasure (if somewhat crude) to the nose, the pungent odour of aromatic liquids, distilled elsewhere, diffused through an ob scene, spectacle of gamblers, habitual drinkers, and barterers of slaves. Commodities as well as wealth and property change hands. A young man, after losing his wealth, gambles his freedom away.

Free from the attachment to self, to social games, to Makkan indulgence, to worldly awareness and even to this moment, a middle-aged man leaves a modest dwelling of the city. Avoiding the centre of the city, he sets out on a long, narrow road which slopes gently uphill. That half hour, between his house and the end of the city, was one of the most irritating moments of his day; and for hours afterwards he would brood over its pestiferous existence and pray for the end of this godlessness in Makkah.

The man- of middle height, slim but with broad shoulders and wide chest- walked with steps quick and elastic, yet firm, towards the henna-coloured mountain. His dark, slightly curled hair flowed in a dense mass down almost to his shoulders. His long arched eyebrows d ominated his bearded face. He walked quite undisturbed by camel dwellers gathering their flocks. The dust raised by the herds caught the last rays of the setting sun, turned into gold, and scattered in the night air.

From the peak, the man looked down on Makkah. A city at the bottom of an abyss. The moonlight could hardly do anything for a people so deep in darkness. He turned his face, thereby turning his whole body away from the city, looked towards the desert, and gazed at mountains lined up one behind the other. The man remained at the summit for several hours, then he moved down to a cave, a place of retreat, some fifty yards from the peak. There he laid himself down to rest.

He was in a state of meditation and prayer when a vivid light shone into his eyes. He opened his eyes in fright, and heard a commanding voice: 'Muhammad!'

Sweat broke out all over his body.Trembling, he answered;
'Who is it?'
' Read!' said the voice.
' I am not of those who read.'
The angel Gabriel took hold of Muhammad, hugged him vehemently and then released him.
' Read!'
' I am not of those who read.'
Once again Muhammad was hugged till he was exhausted.
'Read!'
' I am not of those who read.'
He was hugged for the third time.
' Read!'
' What shall i read?'
' Read in the name of your Lord who creates, created man from a clot of b lood.
Read, for your Lord is most generous, ( it is he) who teaches by means of the pen, teaches man what he does not know.'

Muhammad recited.
The rays of the emerging sun embraced his trembling voice.

Saturday 27 October 2007

Dhikrullah

Kalimataan Habeebatani Ilar Rahman
Kafeefatani Alal Lisaan Thakeelatani Fil Meezan

Do Kalimay Hain Jo Rahman Ko Mahboob Hain
Zubaan Par Halke Pulkey Hain, Tarazoo Main Bharee Hain

There Are Two Phrases That Are Beloved To Allah
Light To Speak Yet Weighty In The Scales:

1)SubhanAllahi Wabihamdihee
2)SubhanAllahil Adheem

(Rawah-al-Bukhari)

Friday 19 October 2007

A lesson from disabled people...

Once, a visitor was being shown around a leper colony in India. The colony was built to provide a shelter for those people who were poor and had various physical disabilities. At noon, a gong sounded to gather the inhabitants for the midday meal. People came from all parts of the compound to the dining hall. Suddenly, everyone started laughing at two young men, one riding the others back, pretending to be a horse and a rider. They seemed to be enjoying the charade. As the visitor watched, he was told that the man who carried his friend was blind, and the man being carried was lame, and was unable to walk. The one who couldn't see, used his feet; the one who couldn't walk, used his eyes. Together, they helped each other and reached their destination.

Let us use each other's strengths to make up for the weaknesses of others. Our strength is in Unity, not in division.

Wednesday 17 October 2007

The Role Of Women In The Work Of Tabligh

People who like to mock and disagree with the work of Tabligh often bring up the role of women, in households etc where the men folk are Tablighi. There are a lot of mis-conceptions on this subject and id like to post a link to an article written by Barbara Metcalf on this matter, its extremely enlightening, not to mention, an extremely interesting read.

http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/5-1/text/metcalf.html

Monday 15 October 2007

Look After Your Rocks...

A professor of Philosophy stood before his class, lazily picked up a large, empty jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So, the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly and the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up all the remaining spaces.

'Now,' said the professor, ' This is your life. The rocks are the important things like family, health, children, things that if everything was lost and only they remained, your life will still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, and your car etc. The sand is everything else, the small stuff.
If you put the sand or pebbles into the jar first then there is no room for the rocks. The same goes for your life, if you spend your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have time for the things that are important.'

So, pay attention to the things that are critical, worship Allah, bring up your children properly,Look after your health, spend time with and look after your family.
There will always be time to go to work, clean the house and do errands...

Take care of the rocks first, the rest is just pebbles and sand!

Thursday 11 October 2007

Eid-Al-Fitr

Eid Mubarak!!!



Wednesday 10 October 2007

What Do I Want...?

Knowledge of God be my capital
Reason be the root of my faith;
Love be my foundation;
Enthusiasm be my horse;
Remembrance of God be my friend;
Firmness be my treasure;
I find compassion in sorrow;
Science be my weapon;
Patience be my mantle;
Contentment be my booty;
I find pride in poverty;
Devotion be my art;
Conviction be my power;
Truth be my redeemer;
Obedience be my sufficiency;
Struggle be my manner; And
My pleasure be in my prayer...

Friday 5 October 2007

Whats New?


Assalamu Alaikum

Well,its the 23rd fast today!Ramadhans just flown by,as i mentioned in a post beforehand!Last night was one of the odd nights,and although i didn't do enough of Ibaadah (worship) i hope it was enough,and that my prayers were accepted.I sincerely hope this Ramadhan finishes with 30 fasts and not 29,Eid on a Friday would be awfully hectic!But khair,whenever Allah wills.

Iv been thinking about my birthday which is approaching soon.il be hitting 20,you know,the big 2-OH,and i really dont feel it.i'm still 16 at heart and probably look it too:P But yeah,i hope i haven't wasted the years and that i wont waste the years to come.
On a completely different note-thinking of the one-ness of God (Tawheed),i came across a couple of couplets that caught and held my attention.
In everything there is a sign
Which attests to the fact that He is one.

When the droppings (of a camel) indicate the presence of a Camel
And the footprints (of a human being) indicate the presence of a human
Then why would the heavens and the earth,with all their magnificence and glamour
Not point to the existence of a Mighty Creator!

eloquently spoken by a Bedouin when he was asked how he knew that Allah exists.

InshaAllah i will be going for Hajj this year-:) i thought id include a beautiful picture of one of the Holy mosques,Masjid-e-Nabawi (the prophets mosque) in Medinah.