Martin Luther King: Serve!

"Everyone can be great...because anybody can serve. You dont have to have a college degree to serve. You dont have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."

-Martin Luther King

Punjabi Wise Sayings 10: Never Returns

Gae gal zaban thee teer chuta

Gae roh qalboot na anday ne

Once a word escapes the tongue or an arrow is released from the bow

Or the soul comes out of the body(cage), they never come back

-Waris Shah

Time Management Advice

Here is advice on time management from some scholars:

1. Imam Ghazali:on Careful Use of Time
2. Mufti Taqi.On Using Time Appropriately
3. Shaykh Yaqoubi.On Time Management
4. Shaykh Faraz On being a Productive Muslim (amazing stuff!).

WiFi: Connecting to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)

Last week Lote Tree had a wonderful program on Raising Pious Children and Loving the Messenger (SAW) during which Sahykh Zahid Ally stated that we should be connected to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). This connection should not only work when we are in Medina but it should work all over the world no matter where we are. He said lets get away from the wired connection and switch to Wi-Fi.

Subhnallah.

Shaykh Faraz: Trials and Blessings

"Trials are a blessings and blessings are a trial."

said Shaykh Faraz Rabbani in Seekers Guidance course Gardens of the Righteous: the Sunnah of the Sunnah

Quantifying Baraka

Shaykh Ramzy had his weekly halaqa at Risalah last weekend. In it he quoted Shaykh Yahya from Shaykh Yahya's talk at ISNA on Friday (which I was unable to attend) where Shaykh Yahya had said that:

"Doing a lot does not result in Baraka but it is Baraka which results in a lot."

Shaykh Ramzy commented that this could mean that you sleep less but your still not tired. It could mean that you eat less but still be full. It could mean that someone said a few words but their impact was a lot. Subhnallah. May Allah increase us in Baraka.

Whats Halal Meat?

A person I know asked us the difference between halal meat and other meat. To make a long story short we told him that the wisdom behind halal meat is that intentions are important in Islam and that as God created the animal, we could only kill the animal if it was done in the name of God (i.e. by saying Bismilah). If we dont kill the animal in the name of God then we really have no right to take the animal's life. We mentioned there were other details to halal meat as well (in terms of how you do it,etc.) but this was probably the overarching wisdom in being commanded to eat halal meat.

Allah sent us this explanation and it seemed to have worked well (better then anything we have said to anyone else before about halal meat) and so we decided to share it.

Pointing Fingers

Be it your personal life or otherwise, online or offline, we deal with all kinds of people and issues.

When trying to complete a task/project/etc. we want things to go and get fulfilled in a certain way but if Allah wills otherwise that we get annoyed at the person we are dealing with, rather then trying to resolve the issue at hand and trying to get the task/project/etc. done. We make people issues and everything becomes about I and you and fault rather then the issue at hand.

Inshahallah next time we fall in a situation where there is a conflict/issue we can focus on resolving the issue rather then fixing the blame while learning from our fast.

Everything comes from Allah so pointing fingers and blaming doesn't help. As a Shaykh once said when you point one fingers at other four fingers are pointing at you.

Pearl and Sea

"If you wish for a pearl

you must leave the desert

and wander by the sea;

and even if you never find

the gleaming pearl, at least

you wont have failed to reach the water"

- Sama'i

The Restart button and Tawba

We were reflecting on how restarting our computer can sometimes help the functioning of our computers and speed up things and help us start afresh. Sometimes, the closing of non functional programs is not good enough and one has to start with a clean slate.

Restarting our computers almost seems like its repentance (tawba).

Things are usually much better after we restart, alhamdulillah. We want to restart our computers and keep them in running condition before they deteriorate to a point where the restart button wont do the trick and they will be shut forever.

Death of a schoolmate

A schoolmate who was one year junior from me in high school was killed in the mosaue attack in December last year.

On a page dedicated to him I said:

"Was a year ahead of him in A levels. Have very positive memories of him: A person of good ikhlaq and very well rounded (sports, studies, social skills, etc.).

May he be granted Jannat and may his family/friends be granted patience in dealing with this immense loss.

"To Allah We belong, and to Him is our return"

His best friend talks about the loss in this BBC article and probably speaks for many over there. May Allah make things easy for the people who ware overloaded with many hardships.

"When the number of victims in such attacks gets reported in the news, it doesn't really reach your heart. But these people are real people, they are not just numbers. I lost someone I love, he is not here any more and it's unbearable at times.
It's such a loss, not just for the family, but for the country. He was an exceptional human being, a professional who had so much potential."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8408684.stm

Malcom Gladwell on Arranged Marriage

"Not surprisingly, interview specialists have found extraordinarily difficult to persuade most employers to adopt the structured interview. It just doesn't feel right. For most of us, hiring someone is essentially a romantic process, in wich the job interviews functions as a desexualized version of a date. We are looking for someone with whom we have a certain chemistry, even if the coupling results in tears and the pursuer and the pursued turn to have nothing in common. We want the unlimited promise of a love affair. The structured interview, by contrast, seems to offer only the dry logic and practicality of an arranged marriage."

From "What the Dog Saw" Malcom Gladwell p.390-391 (October, 2009) and from the article "New-Boy Network", The New Yorker (May, 2000)

Join me & support the Feed Me Winter Campaign

Join me & support the Feed Me Winter Campaign

Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi : Child Rearing and their Adherence to the Canon of the Sacred Law

Child Rearing and their Adherence to the Canon of the Sacred Law

An extract from the book Proximity’s Ladder by Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi

Be aware that the child is a sacred trust placed in the hands of his parents. His pure heart is a priceless innocent soul that is devoid of impressions and images; however, it has the potential to be inscripted upon and to incline towards whatever takes its fancy. Therefore, if he grows accustomed to good and acquires knowledge of what is right, growing up in this manner, then he will be felicitous in this world and the next and his parents, teachers and caregivers will share in the reward. However, if evil is inculcated in him and he becomes neglectful, like an animal, then he will be wretched and damned and the sin is upon the neck of his caregiver and guardian. Indeed, God, exalted be He, has said, “ Protect yourselves and your family from a fire.” (66:6). And just as the father shields him from the fire of this world then it is obligatory that he protects him from the fire of the other world, with the latter actually being of greater importance.

Protection constitutes disciplining, cultivating as well as teaching him the excellencies of moral character. He should be protected from evil companions, never allowed to become accustomed to luxuries, neither should he have evoked in him the love of finery nor the means of comfort such that he squanders his entire life in pursuit of them, thereby earning eternal damnation.

However, it is imperative that one pays particular attention to him from birth, only

entrusting a pious religious woman, who eats what is lawful, with his custody or with his nursing, as milk that is the product of the unlawful is bereft of divine blessings. Therefore, whenever a child is nourished by it during this critical growth period it is kneaded into his essential nature such that he will naturally incline towards vile things.

When the imaginative period of discernment first appears then one should ensure that a careful eye is cast over him. This occurs when the signs of modesty first appear in him. So, if he is bashful and shy and abandons certain actions then that is indeed due to the emanation of the light of the intellect upon him such that he perceives some things as repulsive and different to others and thereby exercises modesty in the face of some things as opposed to others. This is guidance for him and a gift from God, indicating good moral character, a pure heart and that he will possess a wholesome mind when he attains puberty. Thus, a bashful child should never be held responsible; rather his modesty and discernment should be used to assist his moral development.

As soon as gluttony is noticed in him then he should be taught not to eat quickly, to chew his food well, to not eat continuously and to neither soil his hand or his clothes. He should be fed plain bread regularly as not to become accustomed to eating a condiment alongside it. Eating great amounts should be reviled in front of him by comparing one who does that to animals and a child that eats a lot should be rebuked in front of him whilst a well-mannered child who eats frugally should be praised in his presence.

He should be made to love preferring others when eating and to have little regard for it as well as being satisfied with course food regardless of what type of food it is. Preference of white clothes as opposed to coloured ones or silk should be inculcated in him. And it should be often repeated to him that they are peculiar to women or effeminate men and whenever one sees a child wearing coloured or silk garments then it should be declared loathsome and rebuked (in his presence).

It is then imperative for him to be registered in school so as to occupy himself with the

learning of the Qur’an, the words of prophets, the stories of the righteous and good folk

and what is similar to it. He should be prevented from listening to sensual poetry and

made to stay well clear of people of literature who erroneously claim that it is considered essential for the attainment of an elegant and compassionate disposition, as it will indeed sow corruption in the hearts of children.

Whenever a child displays excellent character or praiseworthy acts then it is imperative

that he is honoured, praised in public and rewarded in a manner that is pleasing to him. If he sometimes behaves in an unbefitting manner then it should be ignored and never revealed, nor should we attempt to disclose it or convey that it is conceivable that people could shun the like of him. This is especially the case if the child hides it and goes to lengths to conceal it as its disclosure could indeed inculcate insolence in him such that he consequently would not care whether he was caught or not. However, if he persists then he should be punished, privately, and be made to understand the importance of the matter at hand. It should be said to him, ‘if this gets out then you will be humiliated, publicly!’ However, be careful not to regularly scorn him as it could cause him to ignore censure and to engage in foul acts and to make words ineffective.

The father must ensure that the awe-inspiring effect of speech is preserved by only

scolding him occasionally. Mothers should strike fear into the child through the threat of

the father’s involvement and by preventing him from committing foul acts. Sleeping

during the daytime should be prohibited as it bequeaths laziness. One should, however, never bar them from sleeping anytime during the night but should deny them of a comfortable mattress in order to harden their limbs and to prevent obesity such that he is impatient in the midst of comfort, rather he should be habituated upon roughness in beds, clothes and food.

It is incumbent that he is prohibited from doing things in secret especially when he knows it is wrong, as if he is left alone then he will become accustomed to foulness. Likewise, on certain days, he should be given a routine of walking, exercise and sport so that he does not become bone idle. It should be made habitual in him during which he exposes the extremities of his body, doesn’t walk fast or let his hands hang loose, but keeps them close to his chest.

He should be prevented from boasting to his friends about anything that his parents own or about his food, clothes or other amenities. He should be inculcated with humility, generosity to everyone he interacts with and gentleness when speaking to them. He should be prevented from initially accepting anything from other children as it is unbefitting of a modest child, moreover, he should be told that loftiness is in giving, not taking and that taking is an iniquity even if he is poor. He should know that taking and greed are humiliating and disgraceful and they are habitual in dogs, look at how they wag their tails in anticipation of a morsel of food.

In general, it is reprehensible for a child to love or covet money. They should be warned

against it more important than warning them about snakes and scorpions, as the danger of child loving and desiring money is more severe than the danger of deadly poison, this stands true for adults also. Likewise he should become accustomed to avoid spitting in gatherings and to not blow his nose in the presence of others nor to cross his legs. He shouldn’t strike his chin with his palm, nor turn his back towards anyone. Neither should he touch his head with his forearm, as it is a sign of laziness. He should be taught how to sit and prevented from speaking too much, clarifying to him that it is a sign of impudence and a trait of the children of sordid folk.

Harvard Negotiation Project: 5 Lasting Rules For Negotiating Anything

How to negotiate! Cool:

I picked it up. As my friend suggested, it’s as relevant as it always was, a common sense approach to effective negotiation rooted in five basic ideas. And if you can manage to absorb and apply these five rules, you’ll be much better off going into your next deal.

Read here.

Pillars of Religon

Hafiz Abu'l-Hassan Tahir ibn Mufawwiz al-Muaffiri al-Andalusi wrote:

The pillars of the din for us are four expressions from the Best of Creation:

Beware of ambiguities

do without,

and leave what does no concern you

and act with intention

The Compedium of Knowledge and Wisdom Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali(translated by Abdassamad Clarke)

Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad: Bicycle

While covering Book 31 of Ihya in his Travelling Light DVD series, Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad said religion is like riding a bicycle i.e. we are in a constant state of motion.

This made us reflect as we have heard other scholars say that one has to be in a constant state of increase in knowledge and effort to attain divine closeness. If we stop then we start going backwards. Perhaps its like walking on an escalator which is moving in the opposite direction or a treadmill.

Habib Ali: Spiritual Thirst

Habib Ali @ a gathering in Toronto last night:

"When you drink outwardly, your thirst is quenched. When you have spiritual drink, however, your (spiritual) thirst only increases."

Ice, slipping and life.

My friend and myself were walking on an iced area in a parking lot when I almost slipped. My friend asked if I was okay? I said I was okay and it wasn't bad as I expected to slip and was thus able to adjust immediately. The worse fall is when we fall when we don't expect to slip!

I was wondering how that is true for our lives too. We usually fall the worst when we think everything is under our control and things are going well. We usually do better when we take careful deliberate and considerate steps. This also made me reflect on the Quranic ayah:

"Turn not thy cheek away from men in scorn, and walk not in the earth exultantly; God loves not any man proud and boastful. Be modest in thy walk, and lower thy voice; the most hideous of voices is the ass's.'" Surah Lokman

Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad: Dua for Good Company...

"We ask Allah SWT to bring us to people who will bring us to Him"

From Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad's dua in this talk.