Thursday, June 21, 2012

Seeking Refuge


It is reported from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, "I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, at Safa, facing an individual in the form of an elephant whom he was cursing. I asked, 'Who are you cursing, Messenger of Allah?' He replied, 'This is the accursed shaytan.' I said, 'Enemy of Allah, by Allah, I will kill you and relieve the Community of you!' He said, 'This is not my repayment from you.' I asked, 'And what is your repayment from me, enemy of Allah?' He said, 'By Allah, no one will hate you at all unless I had a share of him with his father in his mother's womb.'

From the Tafsir of Imam Al Qurtubi, Seeking Refuge from Satan.
http://bewley.virtualave.net/ulum4.html

Saturday, June 16, 2012

O where is he? The Prophet, the Hashemite

O where is he? The Prophet, the Hashemite, the Splendid Full Moon!
So cry out with your loudest voice and with your benedictions upon him, purify your hearts!

Sunday, June 10, 2012

An-Naziat

And say, "Hast thou the will to purify thyself";
Quran 79:18
Translated by A.J. Arberry 

Whoever they are, wherever they are ...

"The people who have the best claim to me are the pious, whoever they are, and wherever they are."

Said the Prophet, peace and blessings upon him, to Muadh ibn Jabal r.a. when bidding him farewell.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Under the Banner of Ahl ul Bayt



Hold your Guide's hand and chant the name Allah Hu Allah
Under the banner of Abu Turab, the Master of Men, chant the name Allah Hu Allah
O Hayderis, step on your hawa (nafs) and soar in hawa (air)

Hold your Guide's hand and chant the name Allah Hu Allah
Gather at the Prophetic Pond, drink the sustenance of Men, chant the name Allah Hu Allah
O Hayderis, drink from Hasan and Husain the cup bearers at the Prophetic Pond.

Hold your Guide's hand and chant the name Allah Hu Allah
Love the sons of Fatima, the resident of Jannah, chant the name Allah Hu Allah
O Hayderis, love of Hasan and Husain is faith, says Allah Hu Allah

-Khaadim



Friday, June 8, 2012

Jalal wa Jamal

If Makkah is Jalal, then Madinah is Jamal. 
Makkah is effort (tawaf etc) while Madinah is rest with the Beloved.
- Khaadim

Thursday, June 7, 2012

True Friend


Your true friend is he who is always with you,
And he who harms himself in order to help you,
And he who, when calamities of the time break you,
Scatters his cloak in order to save you.

- Imam Ali, may Allah enoble his face

Found in Bidayat Al Hidayah by Imam Al Ghazzali

Ascetic Activism

"Ibrahim ibn Adham used to ask his companions about the price of food, and when told that it was expensive, he would reply: "render it cheap by abandoning it."

- Imam Al Ghazzali, from The Breaking of the Two Desires.

One cannot abandon a thing one does not have the ability to acquire. Therefore it is the responsibility of the rich to abandon in solidarity with the poor.


Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Protecting the Stomach


Sayyidna AlÄ«, may  Allah  ennoble  his face, said, ‘a  man who aspires  to what enters his  stomach will  be  valued  to  the extent  of  what comes out of it.’
- Imam Al Hadad, from Protecting the Stomach

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Al Baqir, the Revealer

Someone asked Imam Muhammad Baqir, "Sire! 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 any way less than Prophet Yaqub which caused his blindness?"

- Syed Ali Hujweri, Kashful Mahjub


The Life of the Awliya


Happy is he whose name dies not! He who sleeps beneath the earth with a heart that lives is better than he who lives with a soul that is dead, for the former remains forever.
Shaykh Saadi, Bustan

True Worship

The wife of an officer of a king said to her husband, “Arise, and go to the royal palace, that they may give you food, for your children are in want.”
“The kitchen is closed today,” he answered. “Last night the Sultan resolved to fast awhile.”
In the despair of hunger, the woman bowed her head and murmured, “What does the Sultan seek from his fasting when his breaking the fast means a festival of joy for our children?”

From the Bustan of Shaykh Saadi 

Monday, June 4, 2012

Repentance

"What can an old prostitute do but vow to become chaste ... "
From the Gulistan of Shaykh Saadi