"And enjoin upon your family prayer, and be constant on it."
Strange, no?
We are commanded first to enjoin prayer upon our family
and thereafter to regularly observe it ourselves.
The other way around in sequence I would have expected it.
One to think about and investigate.
That's verse number 132 of Surah Taa-Haa by the way; the 20th Surah.
Monday, 16 May 2011
O believer
O you who believe
Your Lord calls you
with a most endearing call.
Naught does He address you
except in that which is your connection,
'O you with belief in Me'.
Your Lord calls you
with a most endearing call.
Naught does He address you
except in that which is your connection,
'O you with belief in Me'.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Between hope and fear
Cautious, wary, treading carefully
the fearful.
Positive, active, yearning mercy
the hopeful.
Between the two
the faithful.
A perfect faith
Between hope and fear.
A balance struck.
Fear; so much as to counteract hope.
Hope; so much as to counteract fear.
The two wings of a believer flying him home to His Lord.
O Allah, apportion us with fear of You so much so that acts as a barrier between us and disobedience to You.
the fearful.
Positive, active, yearning mercy
the hopeful.
Between the two
the faithful.
A perfect faith
Between hope and fear.
A balance struck.
Fear; so much as to counteract hope.
Hope; so much as to counteract fear.
The two wings of a believer flying him home to His Lord.
O Allah, apportion us with fear of You so much so that acts as a barrier between us and disobedience to You.
Monday, 25 April 2011
Congratulations resistant soul...
Congratulations for the one who never found pleasure praying,
never throughout his life,
yet he persisted
in obedience to God's command.
Congratulations on him who continued praying
through compulsion and heaviness,
finding no enjoyment,
of an increased reward.
Congratulations
for enthusiasm was never demanded,
nor a condition for the acceptance of deeds,
only sincerity.
O Allah, accept from us our deeds. Indeed You are the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
never throughout his life,
yet he persisted
in obedience to God's command.
Congratulations on him who continued praying
through compulsion and heaviness,
finding no enjoyment,
of an increased reward.
Congratulations
for enthusiasm was never demanded,
nor a condition for the acceptance of deeds,
only sincerity.
O Allah, accept from us our deeds. Indeed You are the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
Sunday, 17 April 2011
Dhikr
A man who remembers God in his heart
builds on his relationship with God.
As the remembrance increases, deepens and strengthens
so the love of God starts to find settlement in his heart.
He begins to feel unease around sin,
distant from cruelty, unwilling to violate the rights of others.
His being begins to grow fit
for the peace, serenity and joy of Paradise that awaits.
(Some thoughts thought(!) whilst reading a passage in Mufti Taqi Uthmani's Spiritual Discourses Volume 4 about how 'Dhikr' is beneficial for us ourselves and does not benefit God or increase His dominion in any way.)
builds on his relationship with God.
As the remembrance increases, deepens and strengthens
so the love of God starts to find settlement in his heart.
He begins to feel unease around sin,
distant from cruelty, unwilling to violate the rights of others.
His being begins to grow fit
for the peace, serenity and joy of Paradise that awaits.
(Some thoughts thought(!) whilst reading a passage in Mufti Taqi Uthmani's Spiritual Discourses Volume 4 about how 'Dhikr' is beneficial for us ourselves and does not benefit God or increase His dominion in any way.)
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Muhammad - Example for the East and the West
Attended this course last Saturday ('Muhammad - Example for the East and the West') conducted by Shaykh Akram Nadwi and organised by Cambridge Islamic Science Seminars.
Nice course. Not too structured but beneficial nonetheless. (Or, to put it more positively, quite free in its delivery.) Anyhoo, a point I liked and wanted to share: He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did not come to teach us those things which we can learn from experience. He came to teach us 'uboodiyyah', i.e. how to be grateful slaves of the Most Merciful. One to think about it. There was also much emphasis on reducing the time we spend consuming/preparing food (three prepared meals daily the shaykh felt was unnecessary) and mention of discarding our televisions (and internet joy browsing I guess too) for increased productivity in our days/lives.
Nice course. Not too structured but beneficial nonetheless. (Or, to put it more positively, quite free in its delivery.) Anyhoo, a point I liked and wanted to share: He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did not come to teach us those things which we can learn from experience. He came to teach us 'uboodiyyah', i.e. how to be grateful slaves of the Most Merciful. One to think about it. There was also much emphasis on reducing the time we spend consuming/preparing food (three prepared meals daily the shaykh felt was unnecessary) and mention of discarding our televisions (and internet joy browsing I guess too) for increased productivity in our days/lives.
Thursday, 24 February 2011
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).
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