Zaytuna - Spring's Gift - A Poem by Shaykh Hamza

Masha'Allah, what can't Shaykh Hamza do? May Allah increase him in all good, give him tawfiq, and grant him the company of the blessed Rasul (Allah bless him and give him peace) in Jannah...ameen.

Spring's Gift - A Poem by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

I envy the sand that met his feet

I’m jealous of honey he tasted sweet

Of birds that hovered above his head

Of spiders who spun their sacred web

To save him from his enemies

I envy clouds formed from the seas

That gave him cover from the heat

Of a sun whose light could not compete

With his, whose face did shine so bright

That all was clear in pitch-black night

I envy sightless trees that gazed

Upon his form completely dazed

Not knowing if the sun had rose

Or if the sky was one with those

Who knelt, who prayed, and fasted too

Simply because he told them to

With truth and kindness, charity

From God who gave such clarity

His mercy comes in one He sent

To mold our hearts more heaven bent

I envy all there at his side

Who watched the turning of the tide

As truth prevailed and falsehood fled

And hope restored life to the dead

And men and women found their place

With aspirations for God’s Face

I envy the cup that gave him drink

His thoughts that helped us all to think

To be one thought that passed his mind

Inspiring him to act so kind

For me this world is not one jot

If I could simple be a thought

From him to God throughout the ages

As revelation came in stages

I pity all who think it odd

To hear him say there is one God

Or he was sent by God to men

To hone their spirits’ acumen

It’s pride that blinds us from the sight

That helps good men to see his light

He taught us all to be God’s slaves

And he will be the one who saves

Humanity from sinful pride

Muhammad has God on his side

So on this day be blessed and sing

For he was born to grace our Spring

With lilies, flowers, life’s rebirth

In a dome of green like his on earth

- Sh. Hamza Yusuf

Thursday, April 21st, 2005

Uniting for the Prophet - LIVE BROADCAST!

[when I use caps, you know it's a big deal]

For those of us who were down and sad about not living the UK ever since we heard about the Uniting for the Prophet Event ... the next best thing is now available...

SunniPath will be webcasting the event live on May 2, 2005 and then replaying it on May 7, 2005. Sign up now and watch the event for free on www.SunniPath.com

s p e a k e r s
Shaykh Habib Ali al-Jifri | Shaykh Hamza Yusuf | Shaykh Mohammed Yaqubi | Shaykh Nuh Keller | Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad | Shaykh Mohammed Bashu’aib | Shaykh Ahmed Babikir | Shaykh Jihad Brown | Shaykh Muhammad Imdad Hussain Pirzada

p e r f o r m e r s
Ahbab al-Mustafa | Shaam | Harmonia Alcorani, Qari Hafeez ur-Rahman
And performers from the Balkans, Horn of Africa and Middle East

Organised by Mahabba Unlimited. Sponsored by HSBC Amanah Finance; Metropolitan Police; Islamic Relief; British Muslim Forum; Muslim Hands. Supported by British Muslim Forum, Q-News, Islamica, Muslim Hands, Shukr, Sunnipath, and Qasid Institute.

May Allah bless the brothers and sisters at SunniPath, and those organizing the event in the UK (please organize one in Canada next year!)

May Allah bless our Master, the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad salAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam, His family, companions, and all those who follow in his luminous footsteps, ameen.

Seeker's Digest - Free Qur'an Software to Download

Over the years, I've come to believe that Sidi Faraz Rabbani's suggested downloads are a must if one wishes to benefit and make their life easier.

WordWeb, Copernic, jet Audio, FireFox....and now...

Free Qur'an Software to Download - Holy Qur'an text, commentary, Islamic glossary, subjects, index of topics and full search facility [and translations from a wide variety of languages!]

Just awesome. Jazakum Allahu khayr.

SunniPath - Lonliness & Depression

Feeling very lonely and depressed, and far from Divine Mercy
Answered by Imam Suhaib Webb

See also:

Depression: "Truly, it is by the Remembrance of Allah that hearts find rest." Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

and

Salat al-Tibbiyya

www.SunniPath.com

SunniPath - The Balancing Act: Why are we fighting each other?

A timely question...

Part One of Two:
The Balancing Act: Why are we fighting each other? Answered by Imam Suhaib Webb

- SunniPath.com

DeenPort - Islamic Haiku!

DeenPort annoucement from Sidi Omar Tufail...

"It's here! My beloved Islamic Haiku! is now a section in it's own right here at DeenPort. Many thanks to Sidi Abdal Hayy for making this happen!

The man,
he,
be.

(Where is this new section? See above, just under the sub-sections menu, also click the [?] link [to the right in the Islamic Haiku! bar] for a nice intro from Sidi (Sensei?) Abdal Hayy Moore on this new addition to DeenPort)"

Alhamdulillah...I really can't wait to see this section grow! :)

The Invocation of Blessings and Peace upon the Prophet of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace.)

The Invocation of Blessings and Peace upon the Prophet of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace.)

Translated by Khalid Williams from ‘Abwab al-Faraj’ by the esteemed Sheikh Muhammad bin Alawi al-Maliki al-Hassani, may Allah forgive and be pleased with him, who died in Makkah in Ramadan, 2004

- courtesy of Sidi Masud's excellent site.

My Blog Link...?

Assalamu'alaykum,

Perhaps someone can help me out here...

For the last two days, once I've created a new post and click on "view blog" it goes to the Blogger Starter Page instead of my blog. Today I decided to check if other blogs' links to me work okay, and the same thing happens...it goes to the Blogger Starter Page, not my blog!

The only blog I've noticed anything similar with is Levantine Historian whose blog I have been unable to access for some time now.

Mine only seems to work now if you type the full: http://www.salikah.blogspot.com/
not http://salikah.blogspot.com/

Ideas on how I can fix this or why it's happening?

Wassalam,
Salikah

Last Moments in the Life of the Rasul (Allah bless him and give him peace)

A reader mentioned the death of the blessed Rasul (Allah bless him and give him peace) also being on the 12th of Rabi al-'Awwal. The birth and death of the Beloved of Allah were a Mercy, and in both are lessons for those who reflect.

Sunni Sister has posted a wonderful piece on Reflections on the Prophet: Upon His Death (peace be upon him).

I also *highly* recommend a lecture by Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui on Last Moments in the Life of the Rasul (Allah bless him and give him peace). It was his concluding talk at the RIS Conference this year where he moved himself and the audience to tears, at times trembling at the lectern himself. Check out the link to get a copy of the talk.

Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui on The Power of Prayer

The following are my notes from a talk by Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui a few years back. Nothing can capture the sincerity and experiential knowledge that poured out from his heart that day and is still etched freshly in my memory, but perhaps some benefit may come, insha'Allah, for I believe Allah had me stumble across my notes for a purpose...

The Power of Prayer

Salah, from wasilah connects Allah and the 'abd (servant), just as the umbilical cord connects mother and child, nourishing the baby. When we are not in dhikr (remembrance) of Allah, this cord is disconnected. This same cord is the distinction between the Mu'min and a non-Mu'min.

Five times a day Allah by His Infinite Rahmah invites us to break away from the things of this dunya (worldly life). Nothing of this dunya is worthy of being loved for its own sake. If we do love it for itself, then we are a slave to it. We must love what Allah loves. If we do not we are only claiming this hubb (love).

It is reported in a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), that "the most beloved of deeds to Allah is salah (prayer) on time". Therefore, we are showing our love for Allah by performing salah on time because it is beloved to Him. The most beloved of prayers to Allah is fajr on Jummah in congregation at the masjid.

The great knower of Allah, Rabia al-Adawiyya is reported to have said, "how can one who claims to love Allah, disobey Him? For the lover is ever-obedient to the Beloved". "Every love outside of His love, is pain", as Mawlana Rumi said.

So, brothers and sisters, perform wudu (ablution) properly and with focus. Stand with your heart and body focused on Allah 'Azza wa Jall. When a person stands before Allah with his heart not focused on Allah, Allah asks, "where is something better than I?".

The kibla of the body is Makkah, and that of the heart is with Allah 'Azza wa Jall.

I seek refuge in Allah, that I remind you of Him, yet I myself forget him. If there was anything good in what I have said, know that it was from Allah alone, and any errors were from my own nafs, and the influence of Shaytan upon me.

- 'The Power of Prayer', a lecture by Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui delivered at the ISNA Canada Conference in Toronto 2002.

Sufistic - Heroes

Everyday I check the Sufistic Thoughts & Readings Blog (one of my favourites) to see if more wonderful material has been added...after weeks of checking, to my delight, there's a new post on 'Heroes' from Maulana Jalalludin Rumi's Mathnawi IV, 2881 (translated by Kabir Helminski).

Heroes

Does any artist paint for the sake of the picture itself,
without the hope of offering some good?
No, but for the sake of the viewers and the young
who will be drawn by it and freed from cares.
Or does any potter hastily throw a pot or a bowl
without any thought of what it will hold?
Does any calligrapher write for the script alone
without any regard for the reader?

The external form is for the sake of something unseen
and that took shape for something else unseen.
Just as the moves in a game of chess
reveal the results of each move in what follows.
They make one move to conceal another move,
and that for something else, and so on and on.
So move on, aware of reasons within reasons,
one move after another to checkmate.

One step is for the sake of another,
like the rungs of a ladder, to reach the roof.
The hunger for food produces semen;
semen is for procreation, and the light in the parents’ eyes.
Someone with dulled vision sees no further than this:
his intelligence has no movement; it vegetates.
Whether a plant is summoned or not,
it stays planted within the soil.
Don’t be deceived if the wind bends it.
Its head says, “We obey the zephyr’s request,”
while its feet say, “Leave us alone!”
Since he does not know how to move,
he advances on trust like the blind.
Consider what acting on trust means in a war:
it’s like the gambler trusting the throw of the dice.

But if someone’s insight is unfrozen, it penetrates the veil.
He sees with his own eye in the present
What will come to pass in ten years’ time.
In the same way, everyone sees the unseen and the future,
both good and bad, according to the measure of his insight.
When the barriers in front and behind are removed,
the eye penetrates and reads the Tablet of the Unseen.
When he looks back to origin of existence,
the beginning and all the past display themselves,
including the argument between the angels of earth
and the Divine Majesty, their resistence
to recognize our Father Adam as God’s steward.

And when he casts his eyes forward,
he sees all that will come to pass until the Gathering.
Therefore he sees back to the root of the root,
and forward to Day of Decision.
Anyone, to the degree of his enlightenment,
sees as much as he has polished of himself.
The more he polishes, the more he sees,
the more visible do the forms become.
If you say purity is by the grace of God,
this success in polishing is also through that Generosity.
That work and prayer is in proportion to the yearning:
People have nothing but what they have striven for.

God alone is the giver of aspiration:
no rough brute aspires to kingliness,
nor does God’s gift of good fortune preclude
one’s own consent and will and choice.
But when He brings trouble upon some ill-fated person,
he ungratefully packs off in flight.
Whereas when God brings trouble upon a blessed man,
he just draws nearer to God.
In battle the cowardly, from fear of their lives,
have chosen their means of escape.
But heroes are borne forward by their fear and pain.
From fear, too, the weak soul dies from within itself.
Tribulation and fear for one’s life are touchstones
to distinguish the cowardly from the brave.

From The Rumi Collection. Barak Allahu fi kum.

Alexandalus - Selections from the Lamiyat al-'Ajam

Sidi Alex finally turned the lights back on...the blog now looks like its good old self again! Jazak Allah khayr...it's funny how much a little change in colour scheme can do so much...

In celebration of the Mawlid, see Alexandalus:
On His Birth a Thousand Signs - Selections from the Lamiyat al-'Ajam

For an audio of Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad singing these lyrics, see Sidi Masud's excellent site. (it currently seems to be unavailable...but keep checking...it's worth it!)

The Burda...in Chinese!

I came across a new blog called al-Burda, via Shaykh Faraz Rabbani's blog.

Check out this picture of the first page of the Burda...in Chinese! Subhan'Allah, the light of al-Mustafa truly did penetrate every corner of the universe. Seeing things like this really make me smile because they are a reminder of that fact :)

Mawlid - The Birth of the Best of Creation (peace and blessings be upon him)

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate.

May abundant peace and blessings be upon the Best of Creation, a Mercy to the Worlds, the Beloved Messenger of Allah, his family, companions, and those who follow him until the Day of Judgement.

We are now nearing the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal, the Mawlid. Insha'Allah this Wednesday Night-Thursday is a day to make much shukr to Allah for having sent us the best of examples, and for blessing us with Iman as members of the Ummah of the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). I pray we all take advantage of this blessed time by reading extra Qur'an and worshipping Allah to our utmost abilities. Please remember myself and my family and loved ones in your prayers.

Please see this comprehensive list of articles and answers to questions on "The Birth of the Beloved of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) -- The need to love, venerate, and celebrate the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace)" - Courtesy of SunniPath.com

If readers have articles, poetry, and the like to share in light of the Mawlid, please feel free to post them here.

May Allah bless your every moment with His Good Pleasure, ameen.

DeenPort ...Rocks! :)

DeenPort...rocks! :)

Sign up to be a DeenPort member (or if you're already a member, change your screen name to your full name) and Q-News will give you 12 free issues if you're in the UK, 6 free issues if you're anywhere else! See the site for details.

Also, check out the Interviews section to see an interview with Shaykh Abdur-Rahman Ibn Yusuf, author of the wonderful work Fiqh al-Imam: Key Proofs in Hanafi Fiqh and others. Shaykh Abdur-Rahman also answers on SunniPath. May Allah reward him generously for his excellent work and wisdom...ameen.

Go DeenPort! Barak Allahu fi kum!

Amal Press - Presentations (and Forthcoming Titles!)

A number of Power Point presentations courtesy of Amal Press...

(Also, check out the Forthcoming Publications...many great books to come! Including Sending Blessings on the Beloved of God, translated by our very own Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.)