Rumi: Love

THE SHIP SUNK IN LOVE
Mawlana Rumi

Should Love's heart rejoice unless I burn?
For my heart is Love's dwelling.
If You will burn Your house, burn it, Love!
Who will say, 'It's not allowed'?
Burn this house thoroughly!
The lover's house improves with fire.
From now on I will make burning my aim,
From now on I will make burning my aim,
for I am like the candle: burning only makes me brighter.
Abandon sleep tonight; traverse fro one night
the region of the sleepless.
Look upon these lovers who have become distraught
and like moths have died in union with the One Beloved.
Look upon this ship of God's creatures
and see how it is sunk in Love.

Mathnawi VI, 617-623
The Rumi Collection, Edited by Kabir Helminski

Love is the Water of Life
Mawlana Rumi

A lifetime without Love is of no account
Love is the Water of Life
Drink it down with heart and soul!

Divan-i-Shams 11909

(found via SunniPath)

Mawlana also said that "all love, but His Love, are pain".

Al-Wakil: The Trustee

Al-Wakil: The Trustee

"Allah suffices as a Disposer [of affairs]." (Qur'an 4:81)

Allah is All-good and All-powerful; all our affairs are best entrusted in His care, for He is the best Guardian of all interests; He is free of all the shortcomings that render human beings untrustworthy. "In Allah let the believers put all their trust." (Qur'an 3:160)

Putting one's trust in Allah means that one should take all possible precautions and then leave the results in the hands of Allah, who knows the working of events better than any human mind can conceive of. "When you are resolved, put your trust in Allah; surely Allah loves those who put their trust in Him" (Qur'an 3:159).

A true believer, like the Prophets, realizes that the fruition of his efforts comes only from Allah; therefore He turns to no one else for that.

With such a Disposer of affairs to take care of him and of his well-being, the servant of Allah leads a life free of the burden of anxiety. "Allah is sufficient for us; He is an excellent Disposer [of affairs]." (Qur'an 3:173)

The Prophet, peace be upon him, recommended this prayer before sleeping: "Allahuma! I surrender myself to You; I turn my face to You; I commit my affairs to You; I rely on You, in hope and in fear of You; there is no shelter, no escape from You, except in You. I believe in Your Book that You revealed, and Your Prophet whom You sent." (Al-Bukari, Muslim).

"I desire only to set things right, so far as I am able. My succour is only with Allah; in Him I have put my trust, and to Him I turn, in repentance." (Qur'an 11:88)

- Taken from The Most Beautiful Names of Allah

Couple Relationships - Part 2 (Islamica)

Couple Relationships (Part 2) By Dr. Ibrahim Kreps

There is little doubt about it. Marriage,and couple relationships in general, are in crisis. The chance of a first marriage ending in divorce over a 40-year period is 67%. Greater than twothirds. As to second marriages, the chances go up another 10% to three-quarters. And “cohabiting”couples, an increasingly popular option in the West, are even less successful.What’s going wrong? In this second of a two-part article, Dr.Ibrahim Kreps analyzes the psychological nature of the problem and explores the Qur’anic ways of resolving relationship issues.

(Click the title to read the full text of this excellent article)

Hope in People (Spiritual Tendencies)

In a letter to his student, Shaykh Muhammad ‘Uthman al-Mirghani, Shaykh Ahmad Ibn Idris—may Allah bless their souls—wrote:

“Understand my son, that although your contemporaries appear to be flattering you, their hearts are filled with feeble intentions, which will bring no profit from God. That which God, may He be Praised and Exalted, commanded the Prophet (S) was that he should be patient only with. ‘Those who call upon their Lord at morning and evening desiring His countenance (Qur’an 6:52)’. The company of mean people who desire not the company of God and His Messenger is a deadly poison which instantly kills faith, save only that God prevents it. So try your utmost to stay away from your contemporaries since their affection (for you) is not sincerely directed towards God. May God protect you from such people.

Beware, beware. and above all beware of the conceit (al-ightirar) which may arise from the attention the people pay you and their exaltation of you, for that is a temptation and a trial. To watch their attention to you is a deadly poison and a barren lightning accompanying torrential rain. Do not be preoccupied with them and do not place your hopes in them, but turn towards your Lord with your whole self, body and soul. Indeed, there is nothing more harmful to a true faqir than his hope in people, for hope in people is a sword which cuts from God.”

Time by Zain Bhika ("Our World")

Time by Zain Bhika ("Our World")

Driving past, walking fast
To the field of dreams, hear the children screams
Every corner represents, a different image in my mind
A momentary emotion, space banked in time
In time
Memories fade like a dusty window pain
And you can't see your past no more
The only thing that remains is that feeling of warmth
In your heart that will always be there… be there
An immortal smile, stays only for a while
But down the line, it strengthens us inside
We all live the illusion of many days to come
Not realizing that tomorrow lies with Allah
The only One,
The Only One
Time goes by on the wings of a butterfly
And what goes with it is all that you have
So take the best of every moment, take the best of every man
Then move on and don't ever look back.. Don’t look back

Verily in the remembrance of Allah, do hearts find tranquility

Verily in the remembrance of Allah, do hearts find tranquility

Someone mentioned that the margins on my blog seem skewed and the posts are far down the page. I looked into this...the site's been optimized for FireFox because I'm on FireFox and quite dislike Internet Explorer since mine was hijacked by SpyWare. So if you're having the problem too (and even if you aren't), I suggest you GET FIREFOX! :)

And no, this is not paid advertisement!

I have servants among my servants who love me....

Verily, I have servants among my servants who love Me, and I love them, and they long for Me, and I long for them, and they look at Me and I look at them... And their signs are that they preserve the shade at daytime as compassionately as a herdsman preserves his sheep, and they long for sunset as the birds longs for his nest at dusk, and when the night comes and shadows become mixed and the beds are spread out and the bedsteads are put up and every lover is alone with his beloved, then they will stand on their feet and put their faces on the ground and will call Me with My word and will praise Me with My graces, half crying and half weeping, half bewildered and half complaining, sometimes standing, sometimes sitting, sometimes kneeling sometimes prostrating, and I see what they bear for My sake and I hear what they complain for My love. [Hadith Qudsi]

- Text from Thoughts and Readings
- Image from Spiritual Tendencies (Kun Ma'a Allah - Be with Allah)

The Prophet's Last Sermon

The Prophet's Last Sermon - A Reminder to us all, insha'Allah. Peace and Blessings be upon the best of creation, his family, companions, and all those who seek to follow him, until the Last Day.

O People
Lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefor listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

O People
Just as you regard this month, this day, this city as sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest); therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity.

Allah has Judged that there shall be no interest and that all interest due to Abbas Ibn ‘Abd al Muttalib (the Prophet's uncle) shall henceforth be waived.

Beware of Satan for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O People
It is true that you have certain rights in regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives, only under Allah's trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat you women well and be kind to them, for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with anyone of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.

O People
Listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat.

Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black, nor a black has any superiority over a white- except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim, which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not therefor, do injustice to yourselves.

Remember one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone. People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well therefore, O people, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and the Sunnah (Hadith), and if you follow these you will never go astray. All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listened to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people."

It is better to blush in this world than in the hereafter

Sister Fareena Alam from Q-News, Allah bless her, posted the following on DeenPort:

When the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him abundant peace) was dying and came for the last time to the mosque in Madinah he said to the assembled people: “If there is anyone among you whom I have caused to be flogged unjustly, here is my back. Strike in your turn. If I have damaged the reputation of any among you, let him do the same to mine. To any I may have injured, here is my purse… It is better to blush in this world than in the hereafter”. A man claimed a small debt and was promptly paid.

New Look!

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

Assalamu'alaykum wa Rahmatullah,

Alhamdulillah, the blog has a new look (it's all in the details, folks!). Brother Shaik Abdul Khafid from Spiritual Tendencies kindly offered to split my Links/Blogs up on the sidebar, and went further and changed some headers and added a beautiful still background of brown Arabic calligraphy of the Qur'anic verse "Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find tranquility"...and there's a new "Islamized Blog" button.

May Allah reward him for his sincerity in helping out. Please visit his blog, use his banners, and make du'a that Allah facilitate the path for him and grant him all good. Amin.

Hope you like it as much as I do!

Wassalam,
Salikah

Red-Sulphur ...The Mega Blog

Red-Sulphur

It's arrived. The mega-blog. Three of my favourite blogs all on one site. Congratulations to Brothers Mubarak, Shaik Abdul Khafid,and Riadi on what has turned out to be a beautifully designed domain.

(Now I really must update my links section...)

On Unenlightened Feminism and Praying for Show (Mere Islam)

Mere Islam with yet another excellent post, masha'Allah. Please do check out:

On Unenlightened Feminism and Praying for Show

Advice from Shaykh Nuh Keller and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

Advice from Shaykh Nuh Keller and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf can now be downloaded. Check it out!

Eid Mubarak!