Habib Ali's analogy on Rizq

Taken from Habib Ali's transcribed lectures ( in the book " Wayfarers to God"). On Page 133 of this wonderful book, he describes rizq with an analogy:

Allah has given us a task and He is aware of our needs. Can you imagine Allah Jalla Jalalahu entrusting us with a task whilst neglecting to guarantee our sustenance?If someone were to represent a company or an institution- a big company in the eyes of the people of the world-in his own country and abroad-in order to conclude a business deal, to make a bid, or for research purposes, would the representative bear the burden of the expense? No, because he is confident that his large, wealthy company-in his eyes-will provide him with a ticket, living expenses, travelling expenses and will also reimburse him for his entire journey. He will travel with very little worry about expenses because he is confident that his company, as long as it has contracted him to do this task, is duty-bound to fulfil his needs. SubhanAllah ( Glory be to Allah), such is our certainty in creation- who have no ability whatsoever to benefit themselves, or to keep harm at bay- such is the strength of certainty in our hearts that no room is left to worry about expenses. This is because a component, able company has given us a task. What then, do you think of an Able Lord possessed of Absolute Ability? The Sublime Jala Jalalahu, Who gave us tasks in our life? Can you imagine Him setting us a task whilst failing to supply the necessary resources? It is incumbent upon you to have this understanding, as opposed to such fear of poverty enters your heart, or doubt in Allah's promise of rizq.

Amazing! isn't it?

If possible, we should try to take the Habib Ali courses being offered on SunniPath, which are based on Habib Ali's recorded talks, ably supplemented ( in live sessions) by his student Shaykh Abdul Karim Yahya. The courses are being offered this summer ( staring June 3, 2008):

Journey to Allah Part 1
Journey to Allah Part 2

Seeking Perfection

The following post has been written by a person full of imperfections.

Perfection is very attractive. We like to seek perfection in others. Many have sought perfection in people, only to be let down later. The problem is not with the individual whom perfection was sought from, but the problem is the the one who sought perfection. If we think that people we like or look up to, will be perfect, then we should stop ourselves right there-- and check.

The first check would be to look at the mirror and see if we are perfect ourselves. The answer is almost certainly n0. We make mistakes. We have imperfections. We slip. We fall. How can we then expect perfection from others, no matter where we think they stand or where we think they should stand.

So should we seek perfection form ourselves.?Perhaps we should. We should hold ourselves against the highest standards (i.e. the Sunnah). But again we should not be down and self defacing when mistakes happen. We fall, we learn, get up again and keep walking the straight path.

We see some people who are very negative about others are also negative and self defacing about themselves when they make mistakes. So there is a balance. Hold yourself to a higher standard. But don;t despair when you fall cause there has to be some good in it. As Shaykh Faraz says on SunniPath:

When He gives us blessings, our duty is to be grateful to Him.

When He sends us hardships, our duty is to be patient.

When He tries us with sin, our duty is to repent.

When He gifts us with acts of good, our duty is to thank Him.

Expect nothing from others. If you can help them raise their standard then do something, otherwise keep doing what your doing and work on yourself to raise yourself ( in the sight of Allah, not of others)

The Islamic concept of Tawba is beautiful in that sense since it acknowledges the possibility of a mistake and gives us a means of returning to the One who matters. The One who is the One who is actually perfect.

Allah.

Shaykh Faraz Halaqa

For those of you around Toronto:

Living the Light;Understanding the Qur'an & Sunna

With Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Wednesdays 7PM

Shalimar Community Center -3024 Cedarglen Gate

(Dundas just East of Erindale Station Rd. Mississauga)

Topics being covered : (1) Understanding the Qur'an: Tafseer ; and (2) Understanding the Prophetic Example: Commentary on Nawawi's Gardens of the Righteous


All welcome.

Monthly fees: $20 (Individuals); $40 (Family)

(No one will be turned away due to lack of funds)

Handout provided upon registration.

For details & directions email: rabbanihalaqa@gmail.com

Directions: Go North on Cedarglen Gate from Dundas. Take immediate left. Drive to end of lane. You'll end up in an open-air parking lot. The Shalimar Community Center is straight ahead. Cedarglen Gate is West of Mavis, just East of Erindale Station Rd.

Shaykh Zahir's zero second Adab Class

At a program this weekend, Sh Zahir was scheduled for a class on "Adab". However due to circumstances he could not hold the class in the morning and instead had a class in the afternoon. So anyways, at the start of his afternoon class, he said, that even though the class this morning was canceled, there was an adab class that happened in his absentia. . He said that when he did not show up in the morning we should have been:

1. Patient.
   
2. Assume only the good about the Shaykh in his absence.
3. All of us should have made dua for his health/safety/etc.

And all said and done, he said, now that he had showed up and we know that he is okay: we learned that: collective duas are answered! He said thats the best adab class you'll get. :-)

Alhamdulillah he did go on to cover a part of Imam Haddad's "Good Manners" text :) in the afternoon.

May Allah SWT preserve our Shuyukh! ( and their good humor!)

5 years of SunniPath

My reflections on SunniPath's role in my life are posted here.

SunniPath has been a cornerstone of my life since 2004 with it’s Q & A service and it’s online Academy....................READ MORE HERE

Shaykh Faraz: Ibn Rajab on what made Prophet's (peace and blessings upon Him) character great

In this lecture titled " Being a Real Man" ( from the Radical Middle Way website) Shaykh Faraz quotes Ibn Rajab on what made the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon Him) character great. Ibn Rajab listed five matters and said that the Prophet's ( peace and blessings upon Him) character was great because he:

1. Full filed the rights of others
   
2. Avoided harming people
3. Acted with people with excellence (i.e. positive, cheerful and with full attention yet was firm as and when required)
   
4. Responded to good of others with the good or that which was better (while also appreciating the good others did)
5. Responded to wrong of others with nothing but the good. (Shaykh Faraz said this is the most difficult of the five).
   

May we gain the desire of learning and implementing the above. Allahumma Ameen.

Salawat on Him ( peace and blesssings upon Him).

Din reads: Nutrition Action Newsletter

I recently heard Sh Nuh recommend this newsletter ( called Nutrition Action) in one of his talks. Having browsed though their website, I found many useful articles. You can access the site here. The selective archives are at this link.

The articles I have really liked to date are:

• You Are What You Drink-Editorial by Michael Jacobson
• Lost in Translation --Special Feature ( eating real vegetables/fruits instead of juices, etc.)
  
• Ten best and worst foods

You can subscribe to the magazine through this link

From "Who" to "What"

For every task we do in our lives there is usually a "who" to it and a "what" to it.

When one assigns tasks in a team we should make sure that the person "who" is assigned with a task is capable of doing "what" he or she is supposed to do. Many a times half way through a task the focus of people can become "who" should have done it rathar then "what" we are doing as a team. While the "who" is important to define, one shouldn't be caught up in it so much so that one is distracted from "what" one is doing as a team or an individual. The best teams I have worked in are ones where when the"who" disappears the "what" still gets done. At the end of the day you do want the people "who" could have done better to learn, but one shouldn't make them look bad or embarrass them but instead help them so the "what" can be done and perhaps if required, someone ( suitable) could sit with the "who" later to tell them "what" they should/could have done.

Another connection between the "who" and "what" is that one does "what" one is doing based on "who" else is doing it. So when the "who" else disappears, the "what" one is doing also dissipates. So the motivation in that task was really "who" and not something higher or noble.

At the end of the day, "who" should we be doing "what" for?

Allah.

Iqbal: Sitaroon sey agay jahan Aur bhee hain ( Beyond the stars, there are yet other worlds)

A very uplifting "ghazal" written by Allama Iqbal ( translation is below)

The original is on this website. And here is the translation:

Beyond the stars are yet other worlds:

There are yet more trials of love ahead!

These extensive vistas do not exist in the void of lower life:

There are hundreds of other caravans here!

Do not be content with this world of colour and scent:

There are yet other gardens; other nests!

Why grieve if this one nest be lost?

There are yet more places for clamor and complaint!

You are the royal falcon; soaring is your pursuit:

Before you are yet other firmaments (to soar up to)!

Do not lose yourself by being enmeshed in this day and night (i.e. in serial time):

You have yet another Time (as pure Duration) and yet other spaces (to conquer)!

The days are gone when I was alone in thin gathering:

Now here I have confidants as well!

Back on the Road: Lessons from the Road Part 2

Sh Abdul Hakim Murad says: " The companion before the road, and the road before the destination. But without the destination there is no road, and without the road there is no companion."

I continue my series "Lessons from the road" Life goes on and the wheels of my car keep turning. And so I keep reflecting on how/what I can learn about life from driving.

The best car

The best car isn't the one which is the most expensive. The best car isnt the one which is most economical. Those may be factors to consider but no matter what one drives, the judgement of how good the car is has to be based on where it is going. The best places that you an go to locally on a regular basis is the local masjid. Where are you headed in your life? If your on the highway and someone asked you where you were going, what would you say. " I don't know" or say"just to the next exit and then I'll see". No! Typically you would know where your going.

Other lane better?

Many times one ends up in the wrong lane. Such that the lane slows down to a standstill, such that one feels that one couldn't have made a worse decision in one's lane-choice. While one may learn from the decision ( and may choose differently if given same circumstances in the future), one should not regret being in the lane one is in because Allah has placed you there and that was meant to be. What hit could not have missed and what missed could not have hit.

Give room for mistake

We can get too close to cars ahead of us, such that we don't give the person ahead of us a chance to make a mistake. And if h/she does make a mistake then you both may get harmed. Always give those around you, some room for mistakes....

Generalize

Sometimes we see a person ahead of us make a mistake. When and if we get a chance most of us like to see who the driver was. And if it's a woman. We might say "oh women". If its a youngster then " oh these kids". if its a a certain race then we may say " oh that race" I think we should be deeper then that and judge a group of people on more then just one incident.

What can you drive

A person with a normal license cannot drive a truck without training. One needs to know that one needs training and also to know whom one can learn form. No matter what the topic is, one has to learn from one's teachers.

Needs and aims

If your planning a long road trip you need to know what you need ( how much gas, money, food, time) to get where your going. One needs to know what one needs to get to where one wants to be.

Indicators

If a person in front of us has a left indicator on but does not turn, would you trust them the next time, if they have the same indicator on? If someone indicates something by words but does not practice through deed, how much would you trust them? Can others trust you?

Sabar in traffic jam

You need patience in a traffic jam. You cant force the issue. Again your stuck where your stuck because that was meant to be. now deal with it ( legally). Don't start reversing the car on the shoulder or doing something silly. Same thing in life. Do the best you an but if you get stuck don't start doing something atrocious to get out!

Compete if someone goes ahead of you

Sometimes we pass people on the highway and they increase their speed as you pass them because they don't want to be slower than you. I guess in life, it depends on what your competing for and who you are competing with. Some things are worth competing for and there are others which are not. Make your own call.

Big picture

In the same token, if someone wants to pass you because they want to go faster then you let it be. If its a 2 hour journey, getting there 5 minutes late is not worth your life. Or is it? Keep the big picture in mind so you don't get distracted by things that may not matter.

Leave at right time so get there on right time

If you want to get somewhere at the right time then you have to leave at the right time. So to archive your goal of punctuality you need to seek the means of punctuality.

Long journey more provisions

You need more provisions on a longer journey so you don't run out of gas, food, etc. on the way. You need to plan your journey according to it's length.

Best way middle way

On a 3 lane highway, I always find the middle lane the most balanced. One can increase one speed or exit though lanes on either side and one is probably safer too because one avoids the highway entering and highway speeding cars. Islam is the middle way...

When lanes merge make room

Give way to others when 2 lanes are busy and they are merging into one. One leaves one's immediate/personal benefit to let the other through, to keep the traffic flow going. Live and let live.

Decisions you make

At the end of the day, its your car and the decisions you make while driving not only affect you, but also have impact on those around you on the road. Are you willing to face the consequences and responsibility that your decisions entail?

The signs are not the destination

The highway is full of signposts but would we get anywhere if we got hung up on these signposts? The signs of Allah in this world point us to him. Us getting distracted by the signs ( such that we only seek the signs in themselves), is a matter of grave concern.

Ready for the bad times.

You should have a spare tire in your car because, even if you think its unlikely you might get a flat tire. In the same way we should have a reasonable plan for things when they don't go according to plan.

Till it's gone

Have you woken up in the morning, having planned your day, gone to the car and found that it doesn't start. Its only then that you realize what you took for granted. It only then that you realize what you weren't thankful. We should be thankful to Allah and the people around us for what we have because before you know it, it may be gone to never to return. If there is ( next worldly) good in things around us, then we should strive for them.

The colors of life....

For those who have experienced watching Black and White TV know that color on TV makes the image much closer to reality.

Just like that in our own lives, treating people and situations in different colors makes it easier and better for everyone involved. The problem is that life isnt simple. Life is not always like math, where if its not A, it has to B. Its not that someone can only be totally good or totally bad. The irony of this is that we like to be judged as per our own realities ( in color) but like to simplify our judgments when it comes to other people are around us ( black or white?).

We see the colors we look for in another. If you look for black and white, you will find those ,but if you look for other colors you will see those in others. The colors you see might not be perfect but who said everyone has to perfect. Plus perfection is subjective. Sometimes we build our images of what good is ,or, that good is supposed to be how we are and anything different is bad.

I think its the nature of society today that we are so busy with ourselves that we don't always have time to judge others properly. What may make the problem worse is that we don't admit that we don't know enough about a person ( or the situation) to form a proper opinion.

Last but not least we should see and seek good in others around us. If you look for good in a person, you will find it. If you look or bad in a person, you will find it. It is pertinent that we focus on the good and always start with the good( even if you criticize someone).

The strength of Prophet Muhammad ( peace and blessings be upon him) was exactly in this. He always saw good in the people around him and we can see the affect he had on the sahaba (may Allah be pleased with them). He was a mercy to mankind and we should have mercy towards those around us.I will end with his ( peace and blessings be upon him) words:

635. 'A'isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whenever kindness is in a thing it adorns it, and whenever it is removed from anything, it disfigures it." [Muslim]

Turning to the Prophet ( peace and blessings upon him)

Havent had the best of days lately. Alhamdaulillah, however, over the last couple of days Allah paved a way for me towards the learning/thinking of the sunnah whenever I felt sad. One thinks of all the difficulties one has and compares it to the challenges that the Prophet ( peace and blessings upon him) faced in his daily life. There really is no comparison. How did he deal with his challenges?

He did not complain at all and his character towards those around him did not change---in good or bad times. For example:

636. Abu Hurayra said, "A bedouin urinated in the mosque. The people moved towards him and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Let him be and pour a bucket or pail of water onto his urine. You were sent to make things easy and not to make them difficult.'" [al-Bukhari]

Imagine what we would do if someone started doing that in the masjid today?

And another example:

606. Al-Aswad ibn Yazid said, "I asked 'A'isha, 'What did the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to do in his house?' She said, 'He would serve his family. When it was time for the prayer, he would go out to the prayer." [al-Bukhari]

How are helpful we in our houses? And are we busy as the Prophet ( peace and blessings upon him) was?

In difficult times, one of the best things one can do is to send salawat upon the Prophet ( peace and blessings be upon him). One can read about his seerah. One can read his sayings. One can read/listen/watch lessons on his life/character. All of the above truly humbles one into being thankful for what one has and shameful for being sad despite all the blessings.

May we all strive the best we can to achieve noble goals through noble means (i.e. sunnah) with noble intentions. And may we not lose hope when we think we have failed. The best of hopes is in Allah SWT and it is he who grants/judges sucess and failure. Our job is to strive (our best) and the results are in his hands!

Practical Adab

Perhaps the best 8 minutes I have spent this year was watching this interview of Sh Naquib Al Attas where he defines Wisdom, Adab and Knowledge:

Wisdom is knowledge of the proper places for things; and adab is conformity with that knowledge.

Amazing isnt it? Before listening to this, adab to me meant being "nice". But based on this definition I think you can say that you can be nice and yet have no adab; and vice versa.

So a fake smile to someone, when you dont feel that way is not proper adab. To say what others like to hear from you, when you dont really mean it is not proper adab. To not take the proper means to achive something is not proper adab. To say the right things at the wrong place and right things at the wrong time is not proper adab. To be in prayer and not really being attentive is not proper adab. To have clutter all over the house when there are places assigned for those things is not proper adab. To be driving, changing lanes and cutting someone else off is not proper adab bcause at that moment the proper place for you was your own lane. To know that you have sinned and not make repentance is not proper adab. To promise something and not fulfil it is not proper adab. To promise that one will be at a certain place at certain time and not be there is not proper adab. To not lower your gaze when you should is not proper adab. To let others harm your next worldly interests is not proper adab....

To learn proper wisdom, knowledge and adab, you have to read about and learn from one example: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). May Allah grant us all proper adab.

Dua (Sh Abdul Aziz on Deenport)

A cool document from Deenport, authored by Sh Abdul Aziz Ahmad:

My favorite part from it:

Certainty that the prayer will be answered
One should pray with attention and certainty in your heart that Allah – Exalted be He - will answer you supplication. The Messenger, upon him be peace said:

"ادْعُوا اللَّهَ وَأنْتُمْ مُوقِنُونَ بالإِجابَةِ، وَاعْلَمُوا أنَّ اللَّه تَعالى لا يَسْتَجِيبُ دُعاءَ مِنْ قَلْبٍ غافِ لٍ
لاهٍ"
Call on Allah with certainty of an answer and know that Allah the Exalted will not answer the supplication from a heart that is inattentive and oblivious.
(al-Tirmidhi on the authority of Abu Huraira)

Islamica: 4 Keys to Success

I have posted this before but this is something that myself and others need to be reminded of. An article by Sh Faraz on 4 Keys to Success:

Guaranteeing Success by “True” Conditions

by FARAZ RABBANI

The idea of striving for success is a central theme of both the Qur'an and Prophetic teachings. It is something ultimately sought by every human. But how is success achieved?

Shaykh al-Islam Shabbir Usmani, one of the great Muslim scholars of the 20th century and a leading voice in the Independence Movement in the Indian subcontinent, said we can understand from the Qur'an and Prophetic teachings that, if the following four conditions are present, success is guaranteed.

The Four Keys

1) One’s intention must be true;
2) One’s goal must be true;
3) The means one takes must be true; and
4) The way one takes the means must be true

How are these four conditions made “true”?

READ ON TO FIND OUT

What is my state: solid , liquid or gas?

Anyone who has taken basic chemistry knows that there are three basic states substances exist in : solid, liquid and gas.

I was wondering the other day that if I ever had the choice would I want to be like be? Solid? Liquid? or Gas?

A solid is very concrete, however it cannot take the shape of the container it is put in. It may break if you put too much pressure on it. It is basically very stubborn and unable to qucikly adjust to varying conditions.

A gas on the other hand is too fluffy and might just flow away without anyone even noticing. In fact a gas may harm others without them knowing it. SOme gases might not do anyuthing for a long time but might explode all of a sudden if you put a mtch in them.

As for liquid:it flows. Flows towards it's goal if you give it the right slope. It can also flow around obstacles. It can adjust to varying conditions. It can turn into gas and solid if conditions require it to be and can be a liquid again at room temperature. It can react with liquids and gases as required. It can acquire a lot of good substances and yet still retain it's essence.

Needless to say-I would choose to be a liquid............