Samish - i love u :)
"Just to re-inforce, as i said in one of my previous posts: Be nice to kids... they also are the Ummah of Rasulullah Sal'Allahualayhiwasalam, these kids will hold the banner of Islam after us.... May we and they be able to do so with Pride, Honor, Love and respect for Allah, His Mesenger Sal'Allahualayhiwasalam, and this Deen."-http://www.journeyends.blogspot.com/
ameen.
:)
Decisions decisions decisions ...
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah,
Isn't it interesting how the smallest decisions can have lasting effects on your life?
I am graduating in a matter of months, and I can clearly remember myself just four years ago...
I was debating between NYU, Stony and St Johns...
each of these schools is located right here in NY, but I can't imagine how different life would have been
if i had chosen a different school...
Similarly today I had two places I had to be at a certain time, both located within the same building. One of these events, was a fundraiser type charity event with a bunch of stand-up comics, and the other a lecture with Shaykh Abdullah Adhami. I was sitting on the 10th floor eating dinner at the Comedy show when all of a sudden I just had a sudden urge to leave. The program had not even began, but something just didn't feel quite right so I took the elevator down two floors down and got there just as the Shaykh Abdullah event began.
As the Shaykh Abdullah event ended i thought about how Allah subhana wa ta ala protects us at times from certain things, and despite how much we plan how sometimes He allows our lives to take a different course. Perhaps from this different course your life will not change significantly but you will, along the way, pick up one or two things, whether they be gems of knowledge, glances and smiles from a stranger, or something completely different.
Sometimes things happen on a whim, and all of a sudden your life is changed... I think about all the times that I have by some chance avoided going to a certain place, only to later learn of events that had taken place that night, that even if I had tried to distance myself from at the time would have been virtually impossible to do so. But subhanAllah, at times Allah subhana wa ta ala removes us from this harm.
This leads to a whole different topic that I am constantly thinking about. Today I was talking to one of my friends and she subhanAllah said something so profound. She was mentioning something her husband had said to her about their relationship and she told me, "sometimes I wonder why Allah subhana wa ta ala is so good to me. What did i do to deserve this?" ... SubhanAllah I think if we begin to count the blessings in our life you really begin to question why ME? Why has Allah subhana wa ta ala chosen me to be Muslim? Why has He subhana wa ta ala granted me the company of so many righteous individuals? Why have I been granted the honor of being in the ummah of the most beloved of mankind, Muhammad salalahualayhi wa salam? What have I done to deserve any of these blessings?
And you realize, after all of these questions, that there is absolutely nothing that you could have done. It is out of his love and His mercy that He has chosen us to tread on this path of Islam.
Theres another dumb game that comes to mind that me and my friends always play: "what if we weren't Muslim".
SubhanAllah...if you really start to think about where you could have been its really really scary...and perhaps this isn't the best type of game to be playing, to try and guess what "could" have been. But what it does do, is make you realize how great of a blessing it is to simply just say that I am Muslim.
:)
wassalamualaikum wa rahmatullah
so i realized.... i have absolutely no control over my life...
subhanAllah.
Love Love and More Love...
assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah,
So almost every other post has to do with love, does it not? It's funny how so many of us think that we are in love with so many different individuals in our life. We wonder, what will come of this love? Will it solidify into a strong friendship? Will it lead to marriage? Many other times friends and family will mock our love, telling us that love is not just seeing a person once or twice, it is not based on the superficial, or that we don't understand love and are too naive.
That has lead me to think and think about what love is.
Ibn al Farid has said, "Surrender utterly, Love is no slight thing." So for what, or who would we really surrender utterly. This lead me to think and think and think. Of course one thinks of their parents and their family, and then the closest of friends, but Subhan'Allah there is an individual who in all his beauty and nobleness far exceeds any individual that has ever walked this earth, hearts that tried to contain or hide their love for him were unable to, and he, salalahualayhi wa salam is the most deserving of this love.
Many a times people have questioned what does loving someone entail. Today I actually had this discussion with one of my close friends. Once again we talked about love, what does it mean to love someone. Is love simply just a feeling that one has in their heart and keeps hidden and tucked away? Or is it something greater and deeper then that. I believe there are certain things that can not just be felt or experienced, some examples of these being knowledge, faith, and love. One can not just safeguard knowledge in their minds, leave it there and refuse to act on it. Knowledge is only knowledge in its truest form when it is practiced, or taught. If it is stored in one's memory, then what makes the knowledgeable different from the ignorant?
Similarly Allah subhana wa ta ala has said in the Quran, "Do men think they will be left alone on saying 'We believe' and that they will not be tested?" 29:2. Faith, like knowledge is not something that is tucked away, yet each and every day it is tested, in both major and minor forms. Those who persevere are those who have faith.
This brings us to love. Yes there are degrees of love, but what is the ultimate love? Is the ultimate love simply through the heart. Or is it through words, actions, and forms of expression....
Abu Hurayra said that the Messenger of Allah said, "Those in my community with the strongest love for me are the people who will come after me. Some of them would give their family and wealth to have seen me." (Muslim and al-Bukhari)
Subhan'Allah..........This is one of my favorite favorite favorite hadith. In this hadith, the Prophet salalhualayhi wa salam has elevated our status, us weak and frail Muslims that even if we tried could not compete with the Sahabah in their deeds, by stating that our love for him, salalahualayhi wa salam, is the strongest.
Sit back once again, and think...are we amongst those that the Prophet salalahualayhi wa salam has mentioned in this hadith. He, salalahualayhi wa salam, did not simply say those that love me are those that will come after me, yet he, salalahualayhi wa salam, followed it by that some of them would give their family and wealth to have seen me. This love, requires more then just an inkling of a feeling, it is expressed through sacrifice.
What are we doing on a daily basis to express our love for our Beloved (subhana wa ta ala)'s beloved, salalahualayhi wa salam?
I think about what is going around in the news, the images that are being drawn of our beloved Messenger salalahualayhi wa salam, and then I read about the comments that Muslims in this country are making. Comments like "oh its being blown out of proportion"....and I can't even begin to express how I feel. You know that sound of nails scratching a chalk board, its beyond that.
Tell me something, if someone who is more beloved to you then anyone that has ever existed, or will ever exist, is defamed openly in front of billions of people, would you just shrug it off? Then how does it not tear people up when the Prophet salalahualayhi wa salam's name is attached to an image so grotesque..........
Would you not sacrifice every ounce of your being to obtain his love, to sit in his presence for even a moment. How then would you tell him that you didn't even flinch when people insulted him such.
Are we really in that sad of a state that we are amongst those that make EXCUSES for those who propagate such acts.
How on the Day of Judgment will we ask him, Salalahualayhi wa salam, for his intercession when we could not even defend him with our lips?
Is our love really this weak?
wassalamualaikum wa rahmatullah
Back to square one...
Back to square one ladies and gentlemen....
im getting kinda used to this ...
:)
What is the matter with your heart?
"What has happened to your eyes, (the more) you tell them to stop, the more they continue flowing.
What is the matter with your heart, (the more) you tell it to come to its senses, (the more it is distracted).
Does the lover think that his love can be concealed.
While his eyes are shedding tears and his heart is glowing.
Had it not been for the love, you would not have shed tears at the ruins (of your beloved).
Nor would you become restless at the remembrance of the cypress (tree) the high mountain.
How do you deny love after the testimony.
Borne against you by (such) reliable witnesses as your yours and your illness.
Love has ingrained two lines of fear, and withered your face.
On your cheeks like yellow rose and the reddish tree.
Yes! Thoughts of the beloved came to me at night and kept me awake.
And love transforms pleasure into pain.
O you who reproach me, regarding my love, excuse me.
From me to you if you do justice, you would not reproach me.
My state (of love) has been expressed to you, (now) my secret is no longer concealed.
From those who malign (me), nor is there (something to) check my agony.
You have sincerely advised me , I did not heed it.
For verily a lover is deaf to those who advise him.
...
I transgressed the sunnat of him (Nabi, Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) who passed the night (in ibaadat).
Until his feet complained of injury due to being swollen.
And he tied and folded, on account of hunger, around hi stomach.
A stone beneath which is his delicate skin.
And high mountains of gold (tried to) tempt him.
Towards it, but he was (completely) disinclined due to his high courage.
His piety increased inspite of his need.
For verily need never prevails (overpowers) the infallible.
How can the necessities of such a noble personality incline him towards this world.
For had it not been for him this world would not have come out of non existence.
[verses 11- 18 are well known- always being recited, sometimes in jum’ah, also audio in naats, ]
Muhammad ( Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) is the leader of both worlds and both creations (man and jinn).
And of both groups, Arabs and non Arabs.
Our Nabi, the one who commands (good), forbids (evil). There is non (parallel to him).
More truthful than him in saying "No" or "Yes".
He is (Allah’s) most beloved, whose intercession is hoped for.
For every fear (and distress) that is going to come (on the day) of agony (and fears).
He called (people) towards Allah, so those who cling to him.
Clinging to a rope which will never snap.
He transcends the Ambiyaa, physically and in (noble) character.
And (the other Ambiyaa) cannot come near his in knowledge and noble nature kindness.
They all obtained from Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam)
(Like a) handful (of water) from the ocean or (a few) sips from continuous rains.
And they all stopped before him at their (assigned) limits.
(Either) of a point of knowledge or to gain one wisdom from (his) wisdom.
For he is the on e with whom, ended all outward and inward perfection.
And then the creator of all creation chose his as (His) most beloved.
He has no equal in his magnificence.
The jewel of (excellence) in him is indivisible.
Discard what the christians claim about their Nabi
Then decide and say what you wish in praise of him (Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam).
And attribute towards his personality whatever you wish of excellence.
And attribute to his dignified status as mush greatness as you wish.
For verily excellence of the Messenger of Allah has no (limits)
Bounds, that a speaker might (be able to ) express with his mouth.
If his miracles were proportionate (according ) to his rank, in greatness,
Then his name would have, when called out brought decaying bones back to life.
He did not try to (test) us with that which would confound our minds.
Out of keen interest (kindness) for us, neither were we suspicious 9about the truthfulness of his mission) nor were we confounded (by his doctrines).
His perfect inner nature made people helpless from comprehending, so it was not understood.
Those near and far, except according to their (helpless) imperfect understanding.
Like how the sun is seen by the eyes from far.
Verily small, yet hurts (dazzles) the eye (when you stare at it).
And can the reality of him be comprehended in this world.
A sleeping nation whose description of him are (like interpretations of) a dream.
So the extreme depth of (our) knowledge concerning him, is that he is a man.
And verily he is the best of all the creation of Allah.
Every miracle which all the Nabi’s showed.
Verily they have been derived from his NUR.
For verily he is the sun of virtue (and ) they (Ambiyaa) are its stars.
Which show their lights to people only in the dark.
Until when the sun rose his light spread.
Universally and gave life to all the nations.
How noble are the physical qualities of Nabi Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam, adorned with good character.
(Who) was vested with beauty and disguised by pleasant temperament.
(He) is like a blooming flower in its freshness and the full moon in splendour.
And the ocean in generosity and time its fearless courage.
Even when alone, it appears sue to his grandeur.
As though (he is) in the midst of a large army and its retinue.
It is like pearls well preserved in oysters.
From the two mines, of his speech and his smiles.
No perfume equals the dust (earth) which is touching his (Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam’s mubarak ) body.
Glad tidings be to the person who smells it (the dust) and kisses it. "
Qasidah Burdah
My room, Google Earth and Afghanistan :)
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah,
This post will be completely and utterly random...
So last night me and Miss Dora Lee were sitting in my bed and examining the huuuuuuge Afghanistan map I recently put up on my wall. Huh? A map of Afghanistan you may ask.....wellllllllll its true I am not Afghani, but I am taking a class on Afghanistan and the Professor recommended we put the map up on our walls to familiarize ourselves with the region...
lol so when I did put it up on my wall, me and Dora began to laugh because.......if the CIA were to pop in and give us a surprise visit this is what they would see : a wall with a HUGE map of Afghanistan, with many different places circled and starred (haha), surrounded by various pieces of Arabic calligraphy, books on "Terrorism", Palestine, Iran, Iraq (and now Afghanistan) sprawled on the floor, and in the bookshelf, accompanied by many Islamic texts in Arabic and English....not to mention that i am the President of the Islamic Center ......i like the way I am falsely convicting myself via blogspot :)
oh yea also above Dora's bed (who is Chinese) I put one of my calligraphy pieces I got from China, it says "even a smile is charity" in both Arabic and chinese, but ofcourse our CIA bretheran wouldn't know that and think that the only reason that a Chinese girl would be living with three brown Moslems would be cuz she's in on it too...
anyway we had a nice fun laugh..
the point to this was that we couldn't find a certain city and when googling didn't work Dora suggested that new Google Earth thing.....and so I typed in the city in Afghanistan and lo and behold there it was, a satellite picture of the town, so i zoomed in further and further and futher and sure enough it was there crystal clear....maaaaad scary ...subhanAllah....
the even funnier part was that afterwards I tried my hometown in Long Island, and they hadn't gotten around to quite perfecting the image......weird na? The fact that every city, and town in Afghanistan was crystal clear via satelitte yet my town in the US of A was not.......yes i am a politics major, and yes i go to the most liberal school ever...lol.
Anyway its kind of amazing though google earth..check it out when u get a chance :)...
i think im done now :)
beace in the middle east
wassalamualaikum wa rahmatullah!
Let God deal with the things they do...
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah.
There is something about the word HATE that i absolutely ...hate :), or rather strongly strongly dislike.
I think people fail to realize what the word means, and when Muslims use the word towards another Muslim my heart just literally feels like its been smashed to pieces.
Please let us not waste our time discussing our hatred towards one another, really honestly its just a BIG waste of time.
If i've realized anything it is that when you hate someone, it does absolutely nothing to that person, but in essence all it does is eat you up inside, and affect your imaan, and your well being.
So just leeeeeeeeeet it go, and "let God deal with the things they do, cuz hate in your heart will consume you too" (first person to name who said this gets a prize :)).
Honestly though, I don't think I can name one person whom I hate... and yes people name people like "Bush" or "Saddam" but honestly man I don't know these dudes. So for me to hate them would be quite the statement, yea I may hate some of their actions but HATE them, and their complete being, thats way too intense of a statement.
I bet tons of people hate me :) so please if you're reading this, how bout some mercy :)
Forgive, forgive, forgive, inshaAllah the more merciful we are to one another in this world, perhaps Allah subhana wa ta ala will be just as (and if not much much much much more) to us in this world, and more importantly the hereafter. How can we expect Allah subhana wa ta ala to shower us with his mercy, when we ourselves hoard it. So let it go, and inshaAllah you will get nothing but love in return.
(paraphrased) Anas ibn Malik says: Rasool (salalahualayhi wa salam) once advised me, "Oh my son, if you can do this, every morning and every evening, make sure you carry no hard feelings towards anyone. Oh my son this is my sunnah, (this is my way of life too). A person who loves me, loves my sunnah, and follows my sunnah, and he who loves me will be with me in Jannah."
What more can we ask for then to be amongst those that love the Prophet salalahualayhi wa salam, and his sunnah, and those who follow his sunnah, and most importantly those who yearn to be with him in the hearafter...so if not for anything do it for your love for Allah (subhana wa ta ala) and his most beloved Beloved, Muhammad al Mustafa salalahualayhi wa salam :).
May Allah subhana wa ta ala open our hearts and allow us to forgive those that have wronged us, may He allow those whom we have transgressed against to forgive us, and May He continually shower us with His Mercy and His Blessings, because without this we would be completely and utterly lost ...
wassalamualaikum wa rahmatullah
