ThoughtPad

This is all from the past few days. I wonder how much of this is innocuous, how much a smokescreen, how much backup plan and how much the real deal.

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U.S. President George W. Bush has given Israel an “amber light” to begin preparations for a military attack on Iran, a Pentagon official told The Sunday Times this week. “Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate attack and tell us when you’re ready,” the official said.
(from http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1001526.html)
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Last week, Mossads chief, Meir Dagan, was here to make the case for war on Iran. This week, Defense Minister Ehud Barak visits Dick Cheney and maybe Bush. Next week, it is the head of Israels armed forces.
(from http://www.buchanan.org/blog/2008/07/pjb-a-phony-crisis-and-a-real-one/)
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In false-flag news, the internet is buzzing with speculation about (more…)

The more knowledge we have, the more potential there is for shayateen to attack our faith by planting doubts (shubh) in our minds.

This applies to deeni knowledge as well as knowledge of the secular sciences. So knowledge on its own may not lead to an increase in faith. It has got to be accompanied by a recognition of where this knowledge fits in the larger scheme of things. In the case of deeni knowledge, put it into practice and make constant dua to Allah SWT to make us of the ‘oolul albaab‘, of those who ponder (’tafakkur‘) over His Signs.

I hadn’t thought of it this way before.

Reference (first line): Offhand comment by Sh. Yasir, Chicago, June 2008.

OK that’s long enough a break.

Last weekend packed in a couple dozen hours of ‘ilm with Sh. Yasir Qadhi in Chicago. Alhamdulillah. The majority of the next few posts will be tidbits from class and outside. I won’t cover the whole course; just some gems that really grabbed me.

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Iman-o-Meter

Q: How do you assess the level of your iman?
(paraphrasing) ShY: Obviously there is no easy, accurate, always-applicable way of measuring one’s iman level, but a good approximate way is to look at your salah.

• Are you praying consistently?
• Are you praying on time?
• Are you praying the Sunnah prayers?
• Are you praying with khushoo’?
• Do you get distracted easily?
• How much of what is said/recited during prayer is truly reflected on?

The quality of your salah is a good way to assess the level of your iman. Perhaps not an earth-shaking revelation, but a good thing to keep in mind.

Reference:
Sh. Yasir, 15 June 2008. Lecture at Orland Park Masjid, Chicago (Fruits of Eman).

Side note: I was highly impressed with the Orland Park masjid. It was well-constructed, the space was well-managed, the outside was well-maintained and pleasant on the eyes, the women’s prayer area was an entire floor with a balcony (not a dingy room in the corner) and the AV systems were fantastic with live feeds (from a camera) on huge flatscreens at multiple locations inside the main prayer area and outside.
They handed out DVDs of the lecture minutes after it ended! One of the local brothers attributed the admirable sync with technology to the number of youth involved with the masjid. Arab youth, that is. He said desi youth were pretty much .. well, useless. He might be onto something there ..

Some short but weighty ahadith. May Allah make it easy for us to do these consistently.
I remember there are some more ahadith about post-salaah dhikr but I’ve forgotten them and can’t locate them either. If you know of any, please post them in the comments

In Quran 58:19 Allah SWT talks about the hypocrites who support the enemies of Allah and His Messenger. He mentions that Shaytaan has caused them to forget the remembrance of Allah, and because of that and their other actions they are “Hizb-ush-Shaytaan” - the Party of the Shaytaan - who are the Losers.
InshaAllah, we are not of the hypocrites, but I thought this points to the need for us to be vigilant against Shaytaan when he tries to make us forget the remembrance of Allah. There is so much “nothing time” in our day that we can use instead to get hasana and wipe out our sins.

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Aboo Umaamah (radiyallaahu ‘anhu) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “Whoever recites Aayatul Kursee following every obligatory prayer, nothing prevents him from entering Paradise except dying.” (more…)

If I ever randomly brought up camels in the middle of a discussion, it’s because of this hadith. You can tell it’s one of my favorite ones

“One day Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم), noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it. He asked the Bedouin, ‘Why don’t you tie down your camel?’ The Bedouin answered, ‘I put my trust in Allah’ The Prophet then said, ‘Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah’”
[Tirmidhi]

Sometimes I get the feeling many people (including myself at times) don’t quite get the concept of tawakkul. Sometimes we use the notion of “trust in Allah” as a justification for being slightly fatalistic. Sometimes we put in less than 100%, and expect Allah SWT to carry us through the rest. At other times we don’t act in time. Putting in the effort to come to a decision is our responsibility, not that of Allah SWT.

An excerpt from this article: (more…)

I have three projects due next week I will continue writing after that inshaAllah. There are quite a few things on my mind.

For now, these are some of the more interesting news articles and blog posts I came across in the past few days:

People of the Book - http://fatimahye.muslimpad.com/2008/05/06/people-of-the-book/ (from Ijtema)
A nice discussion of the kind of people who read and follow Qur’an, and a reminder to keep it the central focus of our faith.

Arrogance of Certainty - http://brnaeem.blogspot.com/2008/05/arrogance-of-certainty.html
Food for thought, humility reminder

Ibadah - Is More Always Better?
http://muslimmatters.org/2008/05/05/ibadah-is-more-always-better/
A very nice brother from Chicago writes about the importance of keeping our sources of guidance straight and not relying on what think should be more rewarding. It reminds me of this hadith: (more…)

(The Umayyad caliph) Umar ibn abd al-Aziz (rahimahullah) was asked:

When does one reach the peak of taqwa?

He replied:

“If he put all his thoughts and desires in his heart on a plate and then wandered around with it in a public market, he would not feel ashamed of anything there.”

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Another anecdote I heard recently about this righteous ruler:
It was ‘Eid time and kids all around were getting gifts of clothes and such. The caliph of the time however was unable to buy expensive clothes for his kids. On being goaded by some people to get money from the State Treasury, he humbly presented himself at the Treasury and asked for an advance on next month’s salary. The Treasurer replied Yaa Ameer-ul-Mumineen, I’ll give you the advance if you can give me a document guaranteeing you will be alive for the next month. Umar walked away.

SubhanAllah .. there are lessons in the way these people conducted themselves. Umar didn’t order the Treasurer to come to him. The Treasurer was unfazed at dealing with the ruler; he didn’t give him especial treatment. And the ruler himself realized his mistake and walked away.

(more…)

This is Br. n4s33r’s first post. He will also be posting here every now and then inshaAllah.
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The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said:

“Before me, every Prophet was given a miracle and they practiced it during their lifetime: e.g. Eesa (alaihis-salaam) used to cure the sick and make the dead alive. Moosa (alaihis-salaam) was given the stick (to perform “magic” bi ‘ithnillah) etc. and I have been given the permanent miracle of the Qur’aan until the Hour is established, so I hope that my followers will be more in number than those of all the other Messengers as my miracle will last till the Day of Resurrection, and it is the Glorious Book. When anyone reads it, even if he is a pagan, he is convinced that it is produced by none but by the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.” [Saheeh al-Bukharee and Saheeh Muslim]

How well do we know this miracle given to us ? Are we able to appreciate why it is considered a miracle ? Why were the best poets of the prophets time were not able to come up with even a single verse to match it ? (more…)

SubhanAllah, when it comes to matters of the heart and purification (tazkiyyah), classical scholar Imam Ibn-ul Qayyim (rahimahullah) had some very deep things to say. I don’t know much at all, but in my limited reading I’ve found no one dealing with it more beautifully than him. InshaAllah I will continue posting excerpts from translations of his works. It’s definitely something I’d like to be remember and be reminded about.

Imam Ibn-ul Qayyim (rahimahullah) said: “There is no doubt that the heart becomes covered with rust, just as metal dishes - silver, and their like - become rusty. So the rust of the heart is polished with dhikr (remembrance of Allaah), for dhikr polishes the heart until it becomes like a shiny mirror. However, when dhikr is abandoned, the rust returns; and when it commences then the heart again begins to be cleansed. Thus the heart becoming rusty is due to two matters: sins and ahafah ( neglecting remembrance of Allaah ). Likewise, it is cleansed and polished by two things : istighfaar (seeking Allaah’s forgiveness) and dhikr.”

Speaking of dhikr, here are two things I came across recently and have been trying to regularize, inshaAllah: (more…)

Is there a difference?

Thousands flock to exhumed body of saint
Kashmir shrine attracts devotees, offerings over rumours
(If the second link doesn’t work, please check the cached copy here.)

This is kind of peripheral, but I thought it was interesting that people following two monotheistic faiths end up doing the same kind of shirk.