''Indians are obsequious'' and other racist claptrap

For me, one of the biggest challenges of living 'abroad' has been having one's 'nationality' -- and all the positive and negative stereotypes that go with it -- rubbed in one's face several times a day. Never mind if you can't tie a sari to save your life or don't cook nihari for breakfast every weekend, people just assume that you do all the things desis are supposed to do in bollywood movies and tv serials, but are just too embarrassed to admit it in public.
How irritating is that?!
I've been brought up to be polite and considerate, to be solicitous of others' well-being before one's own, to never, ever be outright rude but to withdraw (from conversations/relationships) if they're heading towards a nasty, messy showdown.
To have regular good manners thought of as a racial characteristic, a vestige from years of being colonised makes me want to go up in smoke, honestly. Is this a sign of the times or what, when people are so used to being treated badly that plain ole good manners seem OTT?
This is just a waseeyah to my kids (in case good manners are extinct and completely out of fashion by the time they grow up): don't lose your adab just because people around you have lost theirs/don't appreciate/recognise good manners when they see some .

As Ustaadh Muhammad Al-Shareef writes: Rasul Allah, sal Allah alayhi wa sallam, said, "A believer mayachieve the status of one who fasts during the day regularly andspends the night regularly in prayer: through his good manners."
[Lessons from this Hadith]Ask yourself, what outstanding characteristic am I lacking inthe most? And then, for the next 10 days, just work on buildingthat blessed characteristic into your outstanding mannersportfolio!''

what if someone opened the door into your life?

Good reminder from Ustaadh Muhammad Al-Shareef:
Allah's Messengerصلىالله عليه وسلم said, "Be honest, for indeed honesty leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to paradise."
[Lessons from this Hadith] Live your life in a way that if someone was to open the door on you at any moment, you would have nothing to hide. This is true success. Think of something that you may be ashamed people will find out about, and take some action right now to stop doing it.

Friday khutbah I attended

For the past two Fridays I've had the chance to go for Friday khutbah, alhamdulillaah.

Usually Friday mornings are an impossible whirl of activity, but some days things work themselves out by the will of Allaah (subhaanallaah, there is no other explanation) and I find myself inside the masjid, surrounded by the scents of rayhaan and oud, the muted sounds of women softly reading the Qur'aan or their athkaar, others praying their tahaiyyatul masjid.

Earlier, I used to find it stressful getting ready on time and getting out of the house at X hour to catch the khutbah so I'd just bundle the kids out with Abu RR, but these days alhamdulillaah, the masjid seems like an istaraahah, a place to catch one's spiritual breath.

As if in congruence to my thoughts, there's a little computer print-out at the entrance of the masjid (in Arabic):

Imaam Ahmad was asked: mataa Raahah ? (When is Raahah i.e. when will there be an end to cares?)
He said: 'Inda awwal qadam adh'ahaa fil Jannah. (When the first foot is placed inside Jannah.''

essential Friday reading/listening

Besides Soorah Al-Kahf of course, there's this incredibly insightful tafseer (exegesis) of the soorah by Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi that you should try to get your hands on (if you haven't read it already that is).

I read it aeons ago and I'm looking to get hold of a copy again for Rasha-Rida to read, in shaa Allaah.

In other Friday news, nothing compares to listening to the soorah by one of my favourite reciters.
I'm convinced that the fastest way to learn a soorah is by listening to it as often as possible.
Try it.

Abdullaah bin Zubayr on the 8th of Thul-Hijjah

Abdullaah bin Zubayr, went out on the day of Tarwiyah (8th day of the month of Hajj) and made Talbiyyah in the best manner, then he praised and thanked Allaah and extolled Him, then he said:
'' To proceed: You have come from many different directions in groups to Allaah, the All Mighty, the All-Powerful, and Allaah has made it incumbent upon Himself that He honours His group; so whoever came to seek that which is with Allaah, if he asks Allaah, he will not be disappointed, so prove your words true by your actions, for the foundation of speech is action and the intention is the intention and the hearts are hearts, Allaah is Allaah during these days for they are the days during which sins are forgiven. You have come from many different directions, for a purpose other than trade or seeking the life of this world, hoping for what is here.''

Then he performed the Talbiyyah and none could be seen who was not weeping profusely.

(from:Child Companions of the Prophet)

oooooooold news!

Honey can quieten a child's cough better than any medicine, say researchers

When it comes to helping a child fight off a cough, the centuries-old remedy of honey is still the best, researchers said yesterday.
The natural sweetener is a traditional soother and remains better than costly over-the-counter medicines, they said.
In a study, a dose before bedtime easily outperformed a cough suppressant widely used in commercial treatments.
Honey was better at cutting the severity, frequency and disturbance from night-time coughs of those suffering upper respiratory infection.
It also helped their sleep, suggesting that parents may be wasting their money on expensive alternatives sold in chemists and supermarkets.
The study compared honey to dextromethorphan (DM), the active ingredient in many cough mixtures.

***

subhaanallaah..

walking the tightrope on a keyboard

This one's an absolute MUST as in M.U.S.T read: Marina Hyde on treading the thin line between being an 'escribitionist' and an 'exhibitionist' on the internet, in The Guardian.

excerpts:

"'Do you really keep a diary?" a besotted Algernon asks of Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest.

"I'd give anything to look at it. May I?"

"Oh no," replies Cecily with princessy disdain. "You see, it is simply a very young girl's record of her own thoughts and impressions, and consequently meant for publication. When it appears in volume form, I hope you will order a copy."

Wilde's jokes are so faultlessly crafted that they tend to retain their bite even a hundred years later, but the latter does lose something of its surreal edge when considered against the news that today there are four million bloggers at work in the UK alone. Four million! It feels like the magic number at which the inner monologue could be officially classified as endangered.

These days, if it's in our heads, out it comes, edited to varying degrees into words and pictures, and presented to a real or imagined audience. Self-important? Perhaps. Often tedious? Certainly. But that doesn't matter as much as people make out.

Even if there weren't the vaguest of ironies in newspaper columnists wondering why people feel the need to share their views on life with anyone, it does seem time to move beyond the sneering accusations of Pooterism that traditionally form the basis of mainstream media attacks on self-published alternatives. If all we had to worry about in this brave new world was preposterous self-regard comingled with a comic lack of self-awareness, then it might be an idyll indeed.

Far more intriguing, and progressively alarming, is the degree to which we have embraced the new exhibitionism. An early term for bloggers - back when it was a frightfully niche pursuit and the internet was all fields and so on - was "escribitionists", and though the word was never what you'd call common parlance, what it stood for has become common practice as personal sites and social networking communities have exploded.

How odd, I found myself thinking recently, that in an age when we seem more and more concerned with encroachments on privacy, we are so increasingly keen to invade our own. My mistake, of course, was to assume there is a "we" at all. According to those who understand far more about communications psychology than I do, the great generational dividing line has been drawn. And broadly speaking, if you're under 30, your private self and public self are interdependent in previously unthinkable ways. Time and again, in surveys of what young people want from their online experiences, keeping socially connected is ranked way above privacy.

[...]But the view that this is a cultural shift with which we must all make our peace is wrong. Naive and cavalier is a dangerous combination, and a disdain for their own privacy will leave young people immensely exposed.

Consider the case of the 23-year-old Muslim woman who was found guilty this week under new anti-terror laws. Samina Malik worked for WH Smith at Heathrow, but was given to writing poetry about beheading non-believers and martyrdom and suchlike. Not long after she had begun visiting chatrooms, calling herself the "lyrical terrorist" - she thought the name "cool" - the knock at the door came. Examination of her computer revealed she had downloaded, inter alia, something called "How to win in hand-to-hand combat". She lives in Southall, awaits sentencing.

When we live in a society where reactionary bedroom poets are found guilty under terrorism laws, it makes you wonder whether their rather more seasoned and significantly more brilliant predecessors such as Swift wouldn't, in a similar climate, have realised the folly of bunging their every move on Facebook, and made alternative arrangements.

The world may be shifting, but we must attempt to encourage in young people an understanding of the value of privacy, and a sense of the very real dangers that might attend them should they discard it."

don't be the devil's balloon!

from: a very interesting muhaadharah (lecture) I heard by Sh. Sa'eed bin Misfar Al-Qahtani.

The lecture was about the different ways Shaytaan and his tribe, the shayateen from among the Jinns and Humans try to get unsuspecting people to deviate from the way of Allaah, as-Siraatal-Mustaqeem, the Straight Way...and how to seek protection from them.

The Shaykh enumerated upto 15 ways that Shaytaan & Co. attack the human psyche and soul...and one of the ways he mentioned was by way of a person's hawa.
Hawa consists of a person's inclinations ...their hobbies (called Hiwaayah in Arabic)pursuits/interests.
He said that usually, these hobbies/interests take one away from Allaah and His remembrance unless one tries to align them on purpose with Allaah's commands by means of mujahada (striving within one's soul).

Another very interesting thing he mentioned was that the Prophet صلىالله عليه وسلم used to seek protection from Shaytaan, from "hamazatihi, wa nafkhihi, wa nafthihi" (from his touch, his breath and his exhalation).

What is the nafkh (blowing) of Shaytaan?
It is the feeling of false pride/haughtiness/arrogance by which he puffs up people into believing that they are better than what they really are.
He said the man-fookh, the thing/person who is puffed up with pride, is for all practical purposes like Shaytaan's balloon.

Actually, the balloon in itself is a small thing, but once it has been blown into, it assumes huge proportions, which in reality is nothing but air...something without any substance.

I really liked the lecture because the Shaykh had an infectious air of sincerity about his words and a wonderful sense of humour...it was obvious that he was enjoying the lecture as much as the people who were listening to him.

ending Ramadhaan on a clean slate

Imaam Suhaib Webb has two brief, but powerful posts on mutual forgiveness: Mending Fences and Forgiveness Notes.

The latter is a particularly good idea, where people are encouraged to write notes seeking forgiveness from people they might have wronged knowingly/unknowingly.

It's interesting how (relatively) easy it is to turn to Allaah seeking His forgiveness again and again after wronging our souls, but how difficult it is to approach another human being.

Is it because we're hard-wired at some intrinsic level to humble ourselves before the Lord of the Worlds, who in turn, is oft-Forgiving and the Most Merciful?

I think it's an excellent idea to detox our souls of any accumulated negativity against people -- particularly fellow Muslims -- no matter how hard it may seem.

If we can't bring ourselves to actually say/write words seeking/granting forgiveness, the very least we can do is pray:

رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِالْإِيمَانِ

وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِي قُلُوبِنَا غِلًّا لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا

رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ رَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

"Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith,

And put not in our hearts any ill-feeling/hatred against those who have believed.

Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful."

'Umar bin Abdul Aziz's definition of Taqwaa

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

"O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may achieve Taqwaa."
(Soorah Al-Baqarah, 183)

'Umar bin 'Abdil 'Aziz was once asked:"When does a person reach the peak of Taqwaa?"
(variously translated as self-restraint, God-consciousness, God-fear)

He, may Allaah have mercy on him, replied: “If he put all his thoughts and desires in his heart on a plate and then wandered around in the market, he should not feel ashamed of anything there.”

And another time, he said: “None can reach the station of Taqwaa until he possesses neither action nor words that can be exposed to his embarrassment either in this world or the Hereafter.”

must-have, wish-list

promises to be a good read: 'Detoxing Childhood' by Sue Palmer (of 'Toxic Childhood' fame) to be published by Orion, August 16 (£9.99). It is available from Times BooksFirst at £8.99, free p&p.

(anyone out there in an obliging mood? :P)

Quote and extracts from an extract in 'The Times': "...as an internet philosopher put it: “If you died next week, the company you work for would fill your place within a week or so. Your family would miss you for ever.”

One of the most pernicious myths of recent decades is the myth of “quality time”, those odd snatched hours with one’s children, when everyone’s supposed to be on best behaviour, “enjoying quality interaction”. But this isn’t how close family relationships work;

children aren’t like business acquaintances or casual dates who can be slotted into a busy diary.

Although special outings and occasions such as a “family viewing night” are great fun, it’s more important just to spend day-by-day time together, hanging out in the same place, following family routines and rituals, getting on with household chores or enjoying a hobby.

These are the times when you can communicate freely with your child, letting conversation develop naturally from whatever’s going on. It’s also the time when you pass on skills and leisure interests to the next generation. Your child is, in a way, your apprentice; by watching as you do daily tasks, such as making a cup of tea, checking e-mails or enjoying a hobby such as fishing or sewing, he or she learns life skills and life enhancement. If you let your child have a go, and give lots of praise for effort, your knowledge will soon be passed on.

Some of the skills you teach can eventually become your child’s responsibilities in the home. Seen like this, they are less like chores and more like a valued contribution from a family member who is growing up.

FORGING A FAMILY
The simple truth is that if children are to grow up happy and resilient, they need love, time and attention from the significant adults in their lives. Those adults don’t need to be parents – they could be grandparents or other relatives, nannies, childminders – but the care on offer has to be loving and consistent, and the adults have to be happy spending time with the child in their care.
Another simple truth has emerged from history: the best institution for providing loving care is the family. So whether you look after your child yourself, or find other carers for some of the time, you need to forge a strong family base to offer protection against the many risk factors inherent in 21st-century life.

Friday reminder

صلوا وسلموا على من دلكم على الله فعرفتموه

Salloo wa sallimoo 'ala man dallakum 'alaAllaah fa'raftumoohu

صلوا وسلموا على من دلكم على المسجد بيت الله فدخلتموه

Salloo wa sallimoo 'ala man dallakum 'ala almasjidi baytillaahi fadakhaltumoohu

صلوا وسلموا على من دلكم على الصراط المستقيم فسلكتموه

Salloo wa sallimoo 'ala man dallakum 'ala ass'iraat almustaqeem fasalaktumoohu

من صلى عليه صلاة واحدة صلى الله عليه بها عشرا، ومن صلى عليه عشراصلى الله عليه بهامئة

man salla 'alayhi salaatan waahida

sallaAllaah 'alayi biha 'ashara

wa man salla 'alayhi 'ashara

sallaAllaah 'alayhi biha mi'ah

ومن صلى عليه مئة صلى الله عليه بها ألفا، ومن زاد زاده الله من فضله

wa man salla 'alayhi mi'ah,

sallaAllaah 'alayhi biha alfa

wa man zaada,

zaadahullaahu min fadhlih

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا

الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيماً

"Indeed Allaah and His Angels send salutations upon the Prophet...

O you who believe, send blessings and salutations of peace upon him."

اللهم صل وسلم على نبيناوحبيبنا وقدوتناوصل على بشيرٍنذير وسراجً منير

Allaahummaa salli wa sallim 'ala nabiyyina wa habeebina wa qudwatina,

wa salli 'ala basheerin natheer

wa siraajim muneer

وأعرض عليه صلاتنا وسلامنا وتحيتنا، يا من جل وعلا يا قدوس يا سلام

wa 'aridh 'alayhi salaatana wa salaamana wa tahaiyyatana

yaa man jall wa 'ala

yaa Quddoos, yaa Salaam

----------------------------------------

This is the way the Shaykh begins the Friday khutbah, by sending salutations (salah and salaam) upon the Prophet, صلىالله عليه وسلم

the meaning of this is:

Send salutations (salah and salaam) upon the one who guided you towards Allaah, so that you came to know Him;

Send salutations (salah and salaam) upon the one who guided you to the masjid, the house of Allaah, so that you entered it;

Send salutations (salah and salaam) upon the one who guided you to the Straight Path, so that you followed it

Whoever sends salutations upon him (the Prophet, صلىالله عليه وسلم) once;

Allaah sends salutations upon him ten times

Whoever sends salutations upon him ten times,

Allaah sends salutations upon him a hundred times

Whoever sends salutations upon him hundred times,

Allaah sends salutations upon him a thousand times

And whoever exceeds that

Allaah increases him in His favour

Our Allaah! Send salutations of peace on our Prophet and our Beloved and our Leader,

and send salutations upon the Bearer of Good News and the Warner,

and the Source of Light, the Radiant One

and show him our salutations (salah and salaam) and our greetings

O Majestic, Exalted One

O Holy One, The Source of Peace

on spreading salaam

*points taken from a khutbah by Sh. Ahmad bin Muhammad bin 'Abdullaah al-Hawwaash/
Imaam and Khateeb, Al-Jaami'a Al-Kabeer, Khamees Mushayt

(Before I start with the actual khutbah, I'd like to mention something about the character of the shaykh's masjid -- it's bang in the centre of a very busy souq surrounded by all kinds of big and small shops. Unlike other masaajid, it's not very opulent (no foot-deep plush carpets, no crystal chandeliers, no ACs on full-blast); it has separate entrances for men and women and a very large women's section and there's a flight of some steps before the entrance to the women's section.

On Friday, you'll have women coming in with little sprigs of rayhaan (scented herbs) and mint and twigs of miswaak to hand around the masjid...just for the sheer ajr and pleasure of sharing something with others. There are copies of the Qur'aan in old-fashioned niches in the wall, boxes of tissues and cups of bottled water provided for free by worshippers. Some of the women are regulars -- the women in the front rows who attend almost every Friday prayer there...and possibly stay for the evening dars (lecture); others whose presence is incidental. One elderly sister I've noticed in particular, stays back after the prayer and cleans up the entire musalla, picking up bits of tissue and carelessly discarded water cups and bottles, making sure that the entire praying space is clean before she leaves.

After ending the khutbah, the shaykh makes it a point to remind people to turn off their mobile phones in case they've been left on, before getting ready for the 'ittsaal al akbar' (the highest communication) with the Lord of the Worlds. It's actually such a small gesture, but it makes a big difference to the quality of concentration and focus during the prayer.

I'd really like to write about the nature of the prayer led by the Imaam, but in the past he has been very upset with people who prayed with him and talked about the prayer in a manner of eulogy...he specifically mentioned it one Friday and warned against praising someone in matters of deen without knowledge -- and who knows the inner states of hearts except Allaah, The All-Knower?

Suffice to say that he strives to follow the Sunnah of prayer of the Prophetصلىالله عليه وسلم to the best of his ability, with Ihsaan (excellence).)

------

*One of the first words that the Prophet, صلىالله عليه وسلم is reported to have said on entering Madeenah were: "O people! Spread Salaam (glad tidings/greetings of peace), feed (the poor and needy), maintain the ties of the wombs, and offer prayer when the people are normally asleep, and (thus) enter Paradise in peace."

What is the meaning of spreading salaam? Is it merely to say the words: As-salaamu'alaykum (peace be upon you) to one another by way of greeting? Or does it have a deeper meaning?

Muslims who understand the true meaning of afshus-salaam (spreading salaam) will try and keep others secure from their sharr (evil) by thought, word and deed.

That means: they will not act on the evil suggestions of their Self, by not thinking evil thoughts about others,such as harbouring envy/jealousy/enmity/suspicion/unlawful thoughts of a sexual nature. They will safeguard the tongue and stop themselves from speaking evil like lies/slander/gossip/backbiting/vain talk about others. They will control their bodies and restrain themselves from physically harming others -- by way of physical assault or taking an innocent life that is forbidden by Allaah; or by indulging in unlawful physical contact.

If a Muslim does all this, he has actually extended salaam to others.

*salaam is a basic right of one Muslim upon another

The Prophet صلىالله عليه وسلم said: "When one of you meets his brother, he should salute him by sending blessings of peace upon him" (Hadeeth transmitted by Abu-Daawood)

In another hadeeth, Abu Hurayrah quotes the Prophet صلىالله عليه وسلم as saying: “A Muslim has a right against his fellow Muslim in six ways.” Asked what were these, the Prophet صلىالله عليه وسلم said: “When you meet him, greet him; if he invites you, accept his invitation; if he seeks your advice, give him an honest and sincere advice; if he sneezes and praises Allaah, bless him; if he falls ill, visit him; and if he dies, attend his funeral.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhaari and Muslim).

It is also the right of a Muslim that his greetings be returned in a better manner: “When a greeting is offered to you, answer it with an even better greeting, or (at least) with its like. Allaah keeps count of all things.” (4: 86).
The better greeting and reply are illustrated in the following Hadeeth. Umar reports that he was riding with Abu Bakr on one mount. When they passed by people, Abu Bakr greeted them saying: “Assalamu 'alaykum” and they replied: “Wa 'alaykum assalam wa rahmatullaah.” Or he may greet them saying: “Assalamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullaah,” for which their reply was: “Wa 'alaykum assalam wa rahmatullaah wa barakaatuh.” Abu Bakr commented: “Today, people have gained much more than us.’” (Related by al-Bukhaari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad)

The Prophetصلىالله عليه وسلم called returning a fellow Muslim's greeting one of the "rights of the road" and called the person who initiates greeting a fellow Muslim after an altercation/disagreement has occurred between them, the better Muslim. "It is not lawful for a Muslim to desert (not to speak to) his brother Muslim for more than three days while meeting, one turns his face to one side and the other turns his face to the other side. Lo! The better of the two is the one who starts greeting the other". (Saheeh Al-Bukhaari)

*people who set out to spread the opposite of salaam

There are people who deliberately (or unknowingly) set out to spread the opposite of salaam. They create discord between husbands and wives, parents and children; among extended families, neighbours and communities, among nations and the Ummah.

Their situation is like the ones mentioned in the Qur'aan: "And when it is said to them: 'Do not cause discord/corruption on earth', they say: 'Rather, we are but reformers'. Unquestionably, it is they who spread discord/corruption; but they do not perceive it." (2: 11-12)

Has not the time come to take stock of ourselves? Are we among the ones who spread salaam or do the opposite? Do we not know that Allaah does not love the mufsideen (the people who spread discord/corruption)? Then, let us make sincere repentance to Allaah and return to that which is pleasing to Him and not persist in disobedience and spreading discord/corruption on the earth.

*salaam is the greeting of the blessed people of Jannah

The people of Jannah will be received with the words of Salaam: وَيُلَقَّوْنَ فِيهَا تَحِيَّةً وَسَلَاماً

( سورة الفرقان , Al-Furqan, Chapter #25, Verse #75)

They will be greeted with the words: Salaamun 'Alaykum! Tibtum (the translation of which means: "Peace be upon you! You have been purified!"(39:73)

Indeed, the greetings of the people of Jannah amongst themselves will be salaam :

وَتَحِيَّتُهُمْ فِيهَا سَلاَمٌ وَآخِرُ دَعْوَاهُمْ أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

the translation of which means: And their greetings therein will be Salaam and the culmination of their request will be: Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabbil-Aalameen (All Praises belongs to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds( سورة يونس , Yunus, Chapter #10, Verse #10)

This is because Allaah will have purified their hearts of all rancour and ill-feeling and they will be at peace with themselves and each other.

*Allaah is the ultimate source of salaam

In the duaa after saying salaam in salah, we affirm that Allaah is As-Salaam and from Him is all peace. The state of discord around us -- in our Ummah and in our own lives -- is because of the great distance from the Source of all peace. We hear increasing reports of the spread of mental, psychological and stress disorders because people lack mental peace. The cure for that is to approach the original Source of peace and try to attain nearness to Him through repentance, prayer and righteous deeds.

-------------

(I've looked up and added detailed references where I could. Please bear in mind that these are *points* from the khutbah and not the actual khutbah itself. I'd be grateful for corrections/recommendations if you spot any mistakes in the references/translation. I pray this will be of immense benefit to the readers...please keep us in your prayers!)

coming soon: Friday khutbahs

R-R are on an important and particularly strenuous leg of their studies these days, which is why they're in short supply on the blog (duaas, please) but in shaa Allaah, come April they'll have a lot more time on their hands.

I was hoping to get them to translate the weekly khutbah that they attend for the blog...maa shaa Allaah the khutbah is recorded and available immediately after salah on audio cassettes (which they get home for me to listen to), so it should be easy to transcribe and I feel it'd be a good way for them to develop their language skills.

That apart, our khateeb and Imaam (may Allaah preserve him and make him a source of guidance for many others) is amazing...maa shaa Allaah...laa quwwata illaa billaah.

He is someone who lives Islam -- not just talks/teaches about it...whenever I go to the masjid and stand for salah, there is an incredible surge of nostalgia -- someone who, by living the Sunnah of the Prophet,صلىالله عليه وسلم can evoke such intense emotion makes me understand the intensity of love and devotion that he صلىالله عليه وسلم inspired in the Companions.

in shaa Allaah, I'll try and look up and post (an abridged version) of one khutbah sometime today...

Muhammad Asad, his first Hajj...

"...And there I stood before the temple of Abraham and gazed at the marvel without thinking (for thoughts and reflections came only much later), and out of some hidden, smiling kernel within me grew an elation like a song.

Smooth marble slabs, with sunlight reflections dancing upon them, covered the ground in a wide circle around the Ka'bah, and over these marble slabs walked many people, men and women, round and rouns the black-draped House of God. Among them were some who wept, some who called loudly to God in prayer, and many who had no words and no tears but could only walk with lowered heads...

It is part of the Hajj to walk seven times around the Ka'bah: not just to show respect to the central sanctuary of Islam but to recall to oneself the basic demand of Islamic life. The Ka'bah is a symbol of God's One-ness; and a pilgrim's bodily movement around it is a symbolic expression of human activity, implying that not only our thoughts and feelings -- all that is comprised in the term 'inner life' -- but also our outward, active life, our doings and practical endeavours must have God as their centre.

And I, too, moved slowly forward and became part of the circular flow around the Ka'bah...I walked on and on, the minutes passed, all that had been small and bitter in my heart began to leave my heart, I became part of a circular stream -- was this the meaning of what we were doing: to become aware that one is merely a part of a movement in orbit? Was this, perhaps, all confusion's end?

And the minutes dissolved , and time itself stood still, and this was the centre of the universe."

----
Writing about the Hajj is daunting, b/z there are so many voices, much better in richness of experience and eloquence than mine could ever be.

If the mark of a good writer is that his/her words bring about an instant resonance within a reader, strike the same chord, then I think Muhammad Asad's experience evokes that emotion. I'm always amazed by the straight-from-the-heart spirituality; the complete lack of contrivance and pomposity in his words.

If you haven't read The Road to Makkah...read it today!

The Ways of our Fathers

By Yahiya Emerick

When the Umayyad Governor of Egypt, ‘Abdul-Aziz ibn Marwan, was near death, he said to his assistants, “Bring the burial shroud that I will be covered in to me so I can inspect it.”

When it was brought before him, he looked at it and said, “Is this all that I’m going to have from this life?” He then turned his back and cried while saying, “Damn you, life! Your abundance is meager, your meagerness is short lived, and you tricked us.”

As I passed by a graveyard the other day, I found myself looking at the headstones as I whizzed by at sixty miles an hour. Ironic, really. But I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on the irony of the world and how so few people ever ‘get it’. I’ve taught in Muslim schools nearly fifteen years and I see the parents. They’re just like any non-Muslim parents. Some think ahead and in broad terms for their children’s futures, while others are like a bunch of bumblers who can barely conceive of the notion of packing their kid a decent lunch. Most are somewhere in between. I’m probably right in the middle, myself.

What are you supposed to teach your children? What will live on after you when nothing you build or acquire will remain? We already read frequently in the Qur’an that only taqwa and morally upright deeds live on to our credit in the Afterlife, and we’ve heard from the Prophet that three things can continue in the world after our deaths (useful knowledge we uncovered, a charity that keeps on giving, and the prayers of a righteous child,) but how do we conduct ourselves, knowing these things? How are most of us structuring our lives, given that nothing we establish will outlast us or preserve us? You know the answer. Just look at your own life. Until you can accuse yourself honestly, and find yourself guilty, you’ll never make any progress.

When we look at our children, how are we preparing them for the future? Shouldn’t we first recognize that they have no future – at least in this life? Shouldn’t we realize that they, too, will be in our predicament? They’re only alive for a while, just as we, and then they’ll have to confront the reality. No one ever, ever, ever wants to contemplate losing a child. Some people do lose their children and they are filled with sorrow. Could you imagine your child ever passing away. The thought horrifies you, repels you, and you don’t even want to think about it. But your child will die, just most likely after you have. Have you wept over the death of your child, who will die one day? Is the fact that you won’t be around to see it somehow making it less painful for you to think about. The truly loving parent weeps for their child’s death whether they die before or after them.

After you’ve learned to weep over what could be and what will be, so then what are you left with? What are you doing with your life? Are you trying real hard to make sure your child will get rich when they’re an adult? Is this dominating your every thought? Have you taught your five year old to say, “ophthalmologist” or “Surgeon”? Do you set the example of how to live by buying not just a good car, but the “best” car? Do you do what the “successful” people do, so you can pat yourselves on the back and say, “I’ve made it”? Have you really made it? Has your success been assured? Are you now in a secure place, from which you will never come down, or be kicked out?

How do I love thee?

I began writing these pages when I was in Madeenah, in the holy precinct, where I had the good fortune to complete some useful studies on Sunnah and the life of the Prophet...I must point out that the distance between the Muslims and their Prophet is wide indeed, no matter what love they have in their hearts and what prayers they offer for him.

I saw them visiting his grave with zeal and yearning before returning to visit their homelands those who envy them for their good fortune and long for the same chance.

No believer would dispute that love for the Prophet is compulsory and that love for him would vanish only from the heart of a stubborn hypocrite. How should one express this love and show allegiance to him: this is the question that needs clarification...I write about the life of Muhammad as soldiers would write about their general or pupils about their teacher...I am not, as I said, a neutral historian unrelated to whom I write about...

Muhammad is not a story to be read on his birthday...nor can love for him be expressed in poems of praise ...the ties to him are stronger than that..Muslims have indulged in these acts only when they neglected the essentials of faith and contented themselves with outward manifestations and formalisms...This would never occur if the Message were clearly understood and the life of the one who conveyed it, followed.

How cheap is love when it is only talk! And how dear it is when it is an ideal, safe and assured!

(Preface to Fiqh-Us-Sunnah/Muhammad al Ghazaali)

What did I see in Madeenah?

I flew towards Madeenah on the wings of eagerness. The hardships of the way seemed to be a blessing to me,and before my eyes was drawn the soul-stirring image of the earlier traveler whose camel had passed through the same route.

The first thing I did on reaching Madeenah was to offer two Rak'ats of Salah and express my sincerest gratitude to the Almighty for granting me the good fortune to be there.

After it, I betook myself into the presence of the Holy Prophet صلىالله عليه وسلم .

I offered salaam and affirmed that he had conveyed the Message of the Lord of the world, proved true the trust He had placed in him, showed the straight path to the Ummah and strove till the last breath of his life in the way of Allaah.

Then, I sent salutations to both the trusted friends whose selfless devotion was without a parallel in history.

From the Prophet's mosque, I went to Jannat-ul-Baq'ee. What a priceless treasure of truth and purity, of love and dedication is buried in this plot of land! Asleep here are those who had sacrificed the life of this world for the life of the future...

Thereafter, I visited Uhud where the most spectacular scenes of love and fealty were staged...on reaching there, it seemed that I heard the words of Anas bin Nadhr: "I feel the sweet smell of Paradise coming from Uhud"...It was here that Abu Dujaana made his back serve as a shield for the Prophet صلىالله عليه وسلم ...Talhah had taken the arrows meant for the Prophet on his arms until they were paralysed...Hamzah was killed and his body cut to pieces and Mus'ab bin 'Umayr martyred in such a state that even a shroud could not be provided for him...

Would that Uhud gave something of its treasure to mankind! Would that the world got a small particle of the faith and steadfastness of those glorious times!

(Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi/ Fee Mahd-i-Rasool)

the outsider/ajnabee

MINORITY

I was born a foreigner.
I carried on from there
to become a foreigner everywhere

I went, even in the place
planted with my relatives,
six-foot tubers sprouting roots,
their fingers and faces pushing up
new shoots of maize and sugar cane.

All kinds of places and groups
of people who have an admirable
history would, almost certainly,
distance themselves from me.

I don’t fit,
like a clumsily-translated poem;
like food cooked in milk of coconut
where you expected ghee or cream,
the unexpected aftertaste
of cardamom or neem.

There’s always that point where
the language flips
into an unfamiliar taste;
where words tumble over
a cunning tripwire on the tongue;

where the frame slips,
the reception of an image
not quite tuned, ghost-outlined,
that signals, in their midst,
an alien.

And so I scratch, scratch
through the night, at this
growing scab on black on white.
Everyone has the right
to infiltrate a piece of paper.
A page doesn’t fight back.

And, who knows, these lines
may scratch their way
into your head –
through all the chatter of community,
family, clattering spoons,
children being fed –
immigrate into your bed,
squat in your home,
and in a corner, eat your bread,
until, one day, you meet
the stranger sidling down your street,
realise you know the face
simplified to bone,
look into its outcast eyes
and recognise it as your own.

--Imtiaz Dharker [Postcards from God]

Abou ben Adhem

ABOU BEN ADHEM
by Leigh Hunt

ABOU BEN ADHEM (may his tribe increase)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw- within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom-
An angel, writing in a book of gold.

Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,

And to the presence in the room he said,
'What writest thou?'- The vision raised its head,
And, with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, 'The names of those who love the Lord.'

'And is mine one?' said Abou. 'Nay, not so,'
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still, and said, 'I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men.' -

The angel wrote, and vanish'd. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And show'd the names whom love of God had blessed,
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest