The Language of God

I'm coming to the end of Francis Collins' 'The Language of God'. For one of the leading scientists in the world and who for 220 pages really impressed me with the way he balanced/juggled religion/spirituality and science, he now has me scratching my head in bewilderment. Having throughout the book described God as being not bound by (i.e. independent of) time, space and so on, he on page 221 not only states that God is (was) Jesus (who was bound by time and space of course) but also that Jesus was the son of God which of course contradicts God being Jesus (as claimed earlier in the page)! Going to finish this book insha-Allah and I've found new impetus to pick up and continue with Muhammad Ata'ur-Rahim's 'Jesus, Prophet of Islam' again. Going to write a mega article insha-Allah (mega in content not size!... insha-Allah) consolidating the two books and my own personal thoughts/reflections. Plan on making appointments and having discussions at the local churches and buddhist centres with the heads there (and elsewhere too insha-Allah) during the course of this article to figure out what people actually believe (i.e. the core fundamental "crux of the matter" stuff, not the "be nice to others" etc cliches which [almost] everyone religious or not accords to anyway).

Enjoying Bad Dreams

I had a sequence of bad dreams last night:
Things in my life falling apart.
It didn't feel too good at the time.
And then I woke up.
And I thought to myself:
It's not as bad as it seems;
Things make us stronger.
I had a pleasurable experience.

Paying wife's personal expenses for the year

Was just reading in Mufti Taqi Uthmani's 'Islam in Today's World' how the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would give to his wives, all in one go at the beginning of the year, their due money to cover their expenses for the year, for them to spend as they chose. Amazing maa sha Allah!

Man in his wanderings

"If water stands motionless in a pool it grows stale and muddy, but when it moves and flows it becomes clear: so, too, man in his wanderings."

I sent this quote out (attributed to 'an old Kurdish nomad' in Muhammad Asad's book 'The Road to Mecca') a few days back on my regular text-out and got this reply back - a saying of the Tablighis - "fil harakah, barakah (in movement there is blessing)", which could equally be worded "al-barakah fil harakah (the blessing is in movement)" or perhaps even "al-harakah lil barakah (movement for blessing)". Nice saying! Here's another, found/quoted in the book 'Jesus, Prophet of Islam', about how the desert wilderness removes false senses of security from a person and teaches him to rely on Reality alone: "In the barrenness of the wilderness, all other support falls and one is laid bare to the One God, the Power, the Constant Source of all life, and the Root of all security." Sweet!! :)>

Pain in the shins

Was up today for Fajr alhamdulilllah but couldn't make it to the Masjid. Was in incredible pain this morning (last night) and was struggling to walk, alhamdulillah. Was doing istighfaar and takbeeraat involuntarily like never before so it's all good insha-Allah, could feel the sins falling off me like the autumn leaves.

Aswesome Du'a which my mum showed me last night...

a-3oodhu bi 3izzati 'Llahi wa qudratihee min sharri maa ajidu wa u7aadhir(u)

"I seek refuge in the might and power of Allah from the evil of the pain I feel and fear."

Moonsighting the Wifaq ul Ulama Way

Found this booklet ('Moonsighting the Wifaq ul Ulama Way: The Cautious Way – a detailed explanation of why the Wifaq ul Ulama has chosen not to follow the Saudi Hilal authorities of Riyadh', compiled by the scholars of Wifaq ul Ulama UK) on the kitchen table and thought I'd give it a read. (One of those days: hungry for short booklets to read!) Found the emotive language at times a bit hard to swallow given the aims of the booklet, i.e. a scholarly document, but found some of the points rather persuasive. Would be curious to hear the other side at some point. Here are some of the main (non-emotive) arguments:

• If in the future the Hilal authorities in Riyadh Saudi Arabia were to adopt the 'cautious and strict' method followed by Wifaq ul Ulama UK, then Wifaq ul Ulama UK would have no objection listing them in the names of countries that can be followed.
• We should revive the forgotten Sunnah of making effort to sight the moon every month locally.
• If the hilal is sighted in clear conditions (meaning: the skies are clear and there are no obstructions such as clouds, mist or pollution), then a testimony of a large group (such that they can’t be lying) of Muslims will be needed to accept a claim of a sighting.
• The Wifaq ul Ulama UK will only commence the new Islamic month after receiving testimonies of actual and reliable sighting with the naked eye.
• If the hilal is not sighted locally, then Wifaq ul Ulama UK will take the news of a sighting from another country on the condition that Wifaq ul Ulama UK's 'strict' moon sighting criteria is met.
• Experts in astronomy may be used (but only) as a 'guide' or 'help' (to eradicate false or mistaken sighting claims).
• The majority of Arab countries including Saudi Arabia are believed to follow a pre-calculated calendar based on a moon birth time formula. For proof of this: the dates of 'Ummul Qura' and the 'Central Moonsighting Committee' of the past years can be compared and shown to match on every single month.

The Knowledge of Current Affairs

Found this booklet ('The Knowledge of Current Affairs' by Shaikh Muhammad Naasir ud-Deen al-Albaanee) on my shelf and thought I'd give it a (skim-) read. Quite a frustrating read. Doesn't seem to cover what the title/blurb implies, not very well structured and quite vague at times. At the end of reading it I still don't know what 'Fiqh ul-Waaqi' is! (which is the main point of discussion and a term used repeatedly throughout the booklet.) Definitely needed more edited before it went to publication.