"It was necessary that the truth be told"

At a Jumm'a the Khateeb postulated that the ummah at large is need of intellectual and material growth and not necessarily spiritual growth. Now the Khateeb in my opinion is a well intentioned and pious man; however, I respectfully, but strongly disagree with this assertion.

If I look within and without, I see weakness of character and weakness of spirit directing the individual and the community towards spiritual and material destruction. And if we were to compare our current state of affairs, I think it would be most appropriate to compare ourselves to the golden standard, i.e. the community of Madina at the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Take the community of Madina and compare them to their contemporaries - the Persians, Byzantinians, etc; one will see that the community of Madina was materially weak and not extraordinarily intellectual. However, it was without a doubt the most spiritual community on the face of the earth and within a few decades or less it toppled all the intellectually and materially powerful communities. Not only did we topple civilizations, but unlike the Mongols hordes, we also replaced them as the intellectual giants.

I don't think creating more scientists, technologists, philosophers, religious scholars etc would alone improve our situation. I think such individuals are a sign of improvement of a community, but not the cause of improvement, for if it were then we would have been headed in that direction by now.

I am not discounting material and intellectual resources and abilities, they are certainly important, but it would be foolish to think that we are doing good when it comes to spiritual matters. Instead, today we are better materially and intellectually than we are spiritually and herein lies our problem.

I must clarify why churning out "religious scholars" is not a panacea to our problems. It is because we churn bad quality milk to produce our butter (scholars).

If the hearts are not pure and strong what matters how much Quran one knows?

We need man of character and leaders, those who are capable of infusing in us the Prophetic character, make our souls as strong and evergreen like the date tree. Such are the scholars that we need, not ones who have spent four years in a college and received a bachelor degree.

"O Ibn Umar! Take care of your religion! It is only your flesh and blood. Take from those who are upright and do not take from those who have swerved."
Narrated by Imam Al Khatib in Kifyat al Rawi
http://www.marifah.net/articles/conversation-shaguri-sirajuddin.pdf

The most successful people in this world and the next were the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his community. Ever since it has been downhill as mentioned by the Prophet (peace be upon him) - "No time will come upon you but will be followed by a worse" and "The best of my people are my generation, then they come after them, then they that come after those". Therefore, it is impossible for us to reach the perfect utopia setup by the Prophet (peace be upon him). However, the society of Madinah will always remain our beacon and our moral standard, from which we can and must judge ourselves as a community.

See this post about Modernity by Martin Lings:

http://cyclewalabanda.blogspot.com/2009/06/spiritual-significance-of-civilization.html

Ali and the Angels

Ali and the Angels

"The Imam Ali, Lion of the Faith,

Have ye not heard his giving?

What he had the poor had,

for he held his gold and goods

As Allah's almoner. Ali it was

Who in the Mecca mosque at evening prayer-

Being entreated by some needy one -

Would not break off,

yet would not let the man

Ask him in vain for what he asked of God,

Favor and aid; wherefore - amid the words -

He drew his emerald, carved with Allah's

praise,

From his third finger, giving it; and prayed

With face unturned ...

by Edwin Arnold

Above is an excerpt from Ali and the Angels by Edwin Arnold, which appeared in Seasons Journal . Edwin Arnold praises the two events in Imam Ali's life:
1. Charity while bowing in prayer
2. His business transaction with Angels after having helped a needy person.

The first one is actually mentioned in the Quran:

"Your patron is God only, and His Messenger, and the believers who establish prayer and pay the alms, bowing down"

Quran (5:55) Translation by Royal Ahl-e-Bayt Institute (from Altafsir.com)

Commentary:

"He (Prophet peace be upon him) saw a beggar in the mosque and he asked him: ‘Did you get something from anyone?’ The beggar replied: ‘Yes, I got a ring of gold’. The Prophet asked him: ‘Who gave it to you?’ The beggar said: ‘That person who is standing in prayer’, and he pointed to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib. The Prophet asked him again: ‘In which position did he give it to you?’ The beggar said: ‘He gave it to me while bowing in prayer’."

Al Wahidi in Asbab Al Nuzul (for details see link).

what ails thee ...

"O thou grave, to thee I resort for paying homage to thee.

O thou, the repository of my beloved, thou answer me not.

O thou beloved tomb, what ails thee-

Thou respondeth not to my supplications.

Art thou of humor, because of the love that I bear thee?"

One of the many verses by Imam Ali for his honorable wife.

Book of Character by Camille Helminski

Islamist

Allah is our Lord

Muhammad is our Leader

The Koran is our Constitution

Jihad is our Way

Martyrdom is our Desire

The above was sticker Ed Husain had in his early days of  "radicalism". His father once saw this sticker and broke down in tears. He said, "My son, the Prophet was not leader, he is our master, the source of our spiritual nourishment. Leaders are for political movements, which Islam is not. The Koran is his articulation, as inspired by God, not a political document. It is not a constitution, but guidance and serenity for the believers heart. Jihad is a just war against tyranny and oppresion, fought by the Prophet after persecution, not a way. Why do these people call for martyrdom when their sons are in the best universities across the West?"

"Beware of extremism in religion; for it was extremism in religion that destroyed those who went before you"

A Hadith quoted in the Islamist by Ed Husain.

An Ummayyad Anomaly - Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz

Son of Abd al-Aziz! Were eye to weep
for an Umayyad, I would weep for you.
You rescued us from insult and slander.
If reward were possible, I would repay you.

Saying of Al-Sharif Al-Radi. (This could be the Shia author of Nahjul Balagha, but not sure about it).

From Knowledge and Wisdom by Imam Al Haddad

Divorced the world thrice ...

It has been related that Mu'awiya asked Dirar ibn Damra to describe Ali to him. "Exempt me, O Commander of the faithful!" Dirar said. But Mu'awiya said, "I shall not exempt you!" He then replied:

Then I will say this. He was, may God be pleased with him, farsighted and of mighty strength. His words were decisive, and his judgement just. He liked coarse food and short clothes, felt estranged from the world and its beauty, and was intimate with night and its darkness. I bear witness that I once saw him when night had fallen, and the stars had risen, wakeful in his prayer niche, like a man that had been stung, restless as though wounded, weeping sorrowfully, holding his beard, and saying, "O world! Deceive other than myself! Is it for me that you beautify yourself? Is it for me that you manifest yourself? I have divorced you thrice; there can be no return, for your span is short, your worth insignificant, and your danger great! Ah! The scarcity of provision, the length of the way, and the estrangement of travelling!"

Mu'awiya wept raising his sleeve to his face to stem his tears as best as he could, and then said, "May God have mercy on Abu'l Hasan. He was, by God, truly so!"

There is evidence to indicate that Mu'awiya regretted opposing and warring with Ali, and others regretted it too, like Aisha and al-Zubayr, may God be pleased with them. Abdallah ibn Umar (married to the grand daughter of Ali r.a.) regretted his abstention from fighting alongside Ali r.a. "but the command of God was a destiny decreed" Quran 33:38. May God be pleased with every companion of the Messenger of God.

From Knowledge and Wisdom by Imam Al-Haddad

Imam Ali Abu Jafar Muhammad bin Ali bin Hussain al-Baqir

Note: The book Kashful Mahjub relates this incidence to Imam Al Baqir; however, Shaykh Ninowy in his lectures has associated the story of Yaqub a.s. (mentioned below) to Imam Zain ul Abidin. The translation of Kashful Mahjub may have some inconsistencies. Also, the beautiful prayer below and the story of Yaqub a.s. all point towards Imam Zain ul Abidin as he was known to have recited the most beautiful prayers, and it was he who was present at the battle of Karbala.

One of his close friends has said that when a portion of the night had passed Imam Baqir would finish his recitations (awraad) and invoke God's mercy loudly in the following words:

"My Lord God! Night has fallen; the reign of the Kings is over, the stars are up in the sky; all mankind has gone to sleep and disappeared; quiet prevails; the needy have stopped knocking at the doors of the rich. The Ummayyad rulers are resting, with watchmen guarding their gates; and those who wanted benefits from them have retired. But my Lord thou art the Eternal, the Living, the Knowing, far from sleeping and dozing. He who does not believe in these qualities is not worthy of receiving anything from Thee. There is nothing which can stop Thee from doing what Thou intendeth to do; the doors of Thy treasures are open at all times, and day or night do not make any difference. He who comes to Thy door never goes empty handed. Thou art the Lord who drives none away from Thy court, nor can any one else in the world stop him from knocking at Thy door. How can I rest when I remember death, grave and accountability on the day of judgement!
Therefore, I beg everything of Thee as there is none else to give; I beesech Thee to allow me to rest in the grave free from torture, and I implore Thee forgive me on the Day of Judgement."

The whole night Imam Baqir would pray like this and weep. His friend said to him "Sir, why do you weep and cry like this?" His reply was, "Prophet Yaqub lost just one son and wept till he went blind. How can I help weeping when I have lost eighteen members of my family, including my grandfather Hussain at Karbala. Have I suffered in any way less than Prophet Yaqub which caused his blindness?"

From Kashf ul Mahjub by Syed Ali Hujweri

Imam Zain ul Abidin and the Emperor of Ignorance

The Ummayyad emperor, Hisham bin Abdul Malik visited Makkah for Hajj. He wanted to kiss the Holy Stone, but was unable to reach it due to the great number of people present. And then came our Imam Zain ul Abidin with "his face shining like the moon, his cheeks glowing with light and his garments fragrant with perfume". When he moved towards the Holy Stone to kiss it, the crowd moved to make room for him and he was able to kiss the stone with perfect ease.

A friend of the Hisham Bin Abdul Malik asked him "Who is that person who commands so much respect among the people?" "I do not know", said he out of jealousy.  This provoked the anger of Al Farazdaq, the poet, who came forward and said "I know who the personage is, listen to what I say about him and his family." He then recited the poem.
From Unveiling of the Veiled (Kasful Mahjub) by Syed Ali Hujweri.

He is the man whose feet,

The lands of Arabia know well.

He's the man whose face

Makkah and Ka'bah aspire to see.

He's the man dearest to Zahra,

He's the man whose grandfather the Prophet is,

Whose face is the candle of night,

Like the sun which tears darkness,

His grandeur men could bear not,

His smile would give bliss to all,

His position none could reach,

His dignity none could covet,

Best among Prophets and all men, 

Is his grandfather thou knoweth not?

Holy Stone which emperors miss,

His hand would Ka'bah covet to kiss. 

Al Farazdaqwas imprisoned by the King midway between Makkah and Madinah. Imam Zain ul Abidin felt sorry for him and sent him 12,000 dinars saying he was sorry he could not do more. But, Al Farazdaq returned the money saying, "I have amassed enough wealth by falsely eulogizing kings and nobles and sinned. What I have said in your praise is the result of the love which I bear for God and for the sons of the Prophet peace be upon him, so that the Almighty may be pleased, and forgive me." But the Imam sent the money back to him saying, "If you love us, do not force me to take back what I have once parted with.". Al Farazdaq accepted the gift.

"Speak to me, oh Aishah!"

"No one degrades women except vile and contemptible men."

"I was made to love three things from your world: women, perfume, and the comfort my eye is in prayer."

- Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

"Made attractive to men is love of desires...

God has made (woman) attractive, so how can men escape her?

Even if a man is Rustam and greater than

Hamza, still he is captive to his old women's command.

The Prophet, to whose speech the whole world

Was enslaved, used to say, "Speak to me, oh Aishah"

The Prophet said that women totally dominate men of intellect and possessors of heart

But ignorant men dominate women, for they are shackled by the ferocity of animals.

They have no kindness, gentleness, or love.

Since animality dominates their nature ...

She is the radiance of God, she is not your beloved. She is the Creator -

you could say she is not created."

Maulana Rumi

Ibn Arabi writes:

"In relation to the Prophet, women are as the Universal Nature is to God in which He revealed the forms of the Cosmos by directing toward it the divine will and command, which, at the level of elemental forms, is symbolized by copulation ... Whoever loves a women this way loves with divine love, while he whose love for them is limited to natural lust lacks all true knowledge of that desire ...

... a man is really in love with pleasure itself and, in consequence, loves its repository in women, the real truth and meaning of the act being lost on him. If he knew the truth, he would know whom it is he is enjoying and who it is who is the enjoyer; then would he be perfected."

The preceding text are quotations that Hamza Yusuf used in his scholarly piece titled: Climbing Mount Purgatorio, which was presented at a conference on the harmful effects of pornography.

Futuwa'a of Ahl-e-Bayt

If you want to understand the Ahl-e-Bayt and to love those who love the Ahl-e-Bayt, you have to understand their rid'a and you have to understand their futuwa'a (chivalry) 
- Imam Jafar as Sadiq

Futuwa'a has been associated with Imam Ali's r.a. sword, the zulfiqar - the sword of futuwa'a, the sword of the zahir and the sword of the batin. (It was a two bladed sword).

(from Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad's Khutba at http://cambridgekhutbasetc.blogspot.com)

There is no hero, but Ali 
and no sword except Dhu'l-Fiqar

The broken hearted companions

The following are from Ash Shifa.

"Zayd Ibn Aslam said, "Umar went out at night to observe the people and saw a lamp in a house where an old woman was teasing some wool, saying:

The prayer of the good be upon Muhammad,

may the blessed bless him,

I was standing in tears before dawn, 

If only I knew when death gives us different forms,

Whether the Abode will join me to my beloved?

She meant the Prophet (peace be upon him). Umar sat down in tears." ...

"When Bilal was near death, his wife called out, "O sorrow!" Bilal said, "What joy! I will meet those I love, Muhammad and his party!"

In Ash Shifa, Qadi Iyad explains that giving life to the Sunna is an indication of perfect love, and then he mentions "Anyone slightly lacking in it is imperfect in his love while not entirely devoid of it. The proof of this is in what the Prophet said about the man who was given hadd punishment for drinking. A man there cursed him and the Prophet said, "Do not curse him. He loves Allah and His Messenger."

And if you see me in Al-Firdous

"Ali said that the Prophet peace be upon him took Hasan and Husain by the hand and said, "Whomever loves me and loves these two, and their father, and mother, will have the same degree as me on the Day of Rising."
-At Tirmidhi
(From Ash Shifa)

If earth shows restraint when
crushing me in my tight grave,
it will be for my love for Ali.

If a sliver of light enters
my dark and gloomy abode,
it will be for my love for Husnain.

And if you see me in Al-Firdous
dancing with joy, know it is for my
love for the Beloved of Allah.

For a sinner like me carries
no weight in front of His Majesty
to earn such delight and ecstacy.

- Khaadim

Husnain = Hasan and Hussain

Eternal Love like this ...

A man came and said, "Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), I love you more than my family and my possessions. I remember you and I cannot wait until I can come and look at you. I remember that I will die and you will die and I know that when you enter the Garden, you will be raised up with the Prophets. When I enter it, I will not see you."

Allah then revealed, "Whosoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, those are with those whom Allah has blessed among the Prophets, the true ones, the martyrs and the right-doers. They are the best of Companions." The Prophet peace be upon him called the man and recited the verses to him.

(At Tabarani from Ash Shifa)

'Tis love - a fire in the heart, a pain in the breast, and dust on the face. The thought of paradise is not sufficient, the Beloved is the only aim.

A Reminder ...

Ash-Shab’i said: “Zayd ibn Thabit prayed in his mother’s funeral prayer and then brought his mule near so he could mount it. Ibn ‘Abbas came and took hold of the stirrup. Zayd said, ‘Let go, nephew of the Messenger of Allah!’ He said, ‘This is the way we act with men of knowledge.’ Then Zayd kissed the hand of Ibn ‘Abbas. He said, ‘This is the way I was commanded to act with the people of the House of the Prophet.’”

http://www.livingislam.org/k/ab_e.html

Shaykh Saleh in his book says that it was mentioned by Ibn al-Qayyim in his commentary of al-Suhrawardi’s Awaarif al-Ma’aarif,

and Ibn Abbas said: “this is what we were commanded to do with your ulama” (the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: The most knowledgeable of you in inheritance matters is Zaid).

then zaid says: “this is what we were commanded to do with Ahl Bayt Nabiyyinna”

(salla Allahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam).

http://riyada.hadithuna.com/bunks-beds/comment-page-1/#comment-887

Moon sighting, confusion, when is Eid?

To sight, or not to sight: that is the confusion:
Whether tis nobler in the mind to calculate or suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous Ulema,
Or to take arms against the accusations
And by opposing end them? To sight; to globally sight;
No more; and by a pact let us end this
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time
if we were not to end this madness?

- I know I have butchered Shakespeare here :)

It is that time of the year when we have
two Eids in two masjids facing each other
on the same street, yet opposing in decision.
It never ends because they cannot agree
so that we may meet, greet, and eat the same day.

- Khaadim

Rabia Al Adawiyya

"O God the stars are shining;
All eyes have closed in sleep;
The kings have locked their doors,
Each lover is alone, in secret, with the one he loves,
And I am here too; alone, hidden from all of them – With You”

- Rabia Al Adawiyya 

Curator of the Holy Cities

Dr. Sami Angawi is the closest thing to a curator of the two holy cities and this appears to be his blog:

http://amarinternational.blogspot.com/

If it weren't for him, we would'nt have heard of or seen the excavation of Syeda Khadeeja's house.

Many treasures lie buried in Hijaz.

Joseph lives today

Like incense Joseph was burned by brothers,

his fame spread like fragrance in the Kingdom

of Eygpt; something tells me there exists a Joesph

In the dry udders of mother earth where
grows his spirit; formidable.

-Khaadim

* dry udders = empty wells

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moazzam_Begg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Saar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Wilkerson

Beloved

If my sweetheart associates one moment with strangers

It wants but little and I die of jealousy.

She said similing: "I am the lamp of the assembly, O Sa'di,

What is it to me if a moth kills itself?

- Saadi

So much competition to attract your attention, so many suitors madly in love that it causes me grief to know that I am not even a moth - willing to consume myself for the Beloved. Will I ever be known to the Beloved? But, why should I be known? Not an atoms worth of work have I done and am pretentious in my love.

But, how do I transform? How do I become a moth?

I tell myself that no amount of beseeching will help, but have I ever really begged? No amount of weeping will do, but have I ever shed a tear of anguish?

Perhaps Ghalib was right when he said, "Ishq par zor naheen, hai ye woh aatish Ghalib, k laagaye na laage aur bhujhaye na bhuje".

my poor translation: Love is uncontrollable, it is a fire, Ghalib, that cannot be lit if tried, nor extinguished if tried.

Then what is it - a gift?


- Khaadim

If it weren't for the Messenger of Allah

What Makkah? What Madinah?

If it were not for the Messenger of Allah.

What Hashmi? What Qureshi?

If it were not for the Messenger of Allah.

Serenity of Madinah would not be

If it were not for the Messenger of Allah.

What care Khaadim of paradise

when his destination is Madina?

- Khaadim