It is mentioned in a hadith that when the Surah An'aam was revealed, Rasoolullah (saw) said, Alhamdulillah. And then he said:
"By Allah, so many angels came to convey this Surah that the corners of the heaves became covered with their great numbers".
One guy in the plane got up all of sudden and shouted "HIJACK" ...
the passengers got scared and put their hands up .....
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From the other end someone shouted Hi John... :) :)
I realised I need to update myself on exercise and fitness, and keep myself current with the developments in kenesiology, so what better way than to write about it?
I'll be posting a series of articles... stay tuned!
I had a million thoughts come at me from every direction. And I've become a piece of an exhausted, burnt out engine. I just wanted to travel very far, on a spiritual journey. And so I did.
With every step I took in my journey, I wanted to forget a moment in the past. Yet, my Exhaustion was too great to even help me forget my memories.
It seemed as If I had too many realities in life. A virtual reality, that I lived by, day and night. A physical reality that made me eat, and sleep. And an emotional reality that made me do everything else. Yet, I was so lost in these "realities" that I'd look for signs and reasons in everything.
Just like the other day, when I caught something falling out of my hand. Why is it that, I can catch them some times, and not at others? Or, when I stare out through the glass in my house, and see the trees, yet, when I stared at the wall, I saw nothing?
My sense of perception was uprooting my fears. Fears of my own thoughts. Sometimes, I couldn't sleep at night, scared, that I'd close my eyes, and my world in the dark will start to haunt me. I wasn't just scared. I knew that was the reality. Another kind of reality.
Today my friend said she didn't know how she lived all those years without her baby. She was on the journey of motherhood. I was on the journey for something else.
And so I reached the shore of time. It was strange. This shore. I mean, it was strange, because the time was a shore. Instead of a road. A road would seem more likely, wouldn't it? After all time is one dimension. We can only lose it, never again it.
I looked at the shore. I was so crushed. I fell to my knees. I was so ashamed of myself. In so many months I didn’t ask My Lord for my needs. All I did was to praise my Lord, hoping that, he knows my desires, he will give me what I want. But nothing changed. I was so overcome, I wanted to cry. But my Exhaustion refused me. How strange that my Exhaustion and my brain don't go together. I thought about all the people I had trusted.
Today in my journey, I witnessed the shore of time. And wherever I looked, no matter how hard I focussed to find the events in my life, the deeds I had done, the people I had met, the places I had visited- I would get a vision, and a wave would almost immediately take it away. There was nothing. Perhaps a speck here... but it was gone.
Oh Lord... I know what You're trying to tell me.
I see nothing because I wasted my time. And the amount of time I wasted, is very vast compared to that which I used. I could collapse. In fact, I wanted to collapse. My Exhaustion told me that I worked very very hard. But the shore said otherwise.
I didn't want to see, I didn't want to hear. This is not the journey I wanted to make. I wanted to lighten my burden. But now my Exhaustion is making me crumble.
In a flash, the little energy I had that allowed me to move, I was in a different place. There was no shore. I rubbed my eyes, because I thought I couldn't see well. But there was some light. It would dim, and sometimes flicker. Sometimes, I'd see more than one light, and that would give me some happiness. But all the lights would flicker, and all the lights would fade. I was quiet. I wanted to see what happens. Somewhere in me, my Faith was talking to my Exhaustion, "Look. You could have been worse, had it not been for me. Sometimes you have to think, right? Where would you be without me, and Hope?”. Faith and Hope were my two stones. They were so strong, that they imparted strength in me, though they were very very far away. I would often have to think hard, before I got to them. Faith, Hope, and Love were a unifying force. But again, it was a very strange force. Love would always let me down. I almost distrusted it. But then Faith and Hope would tell me not to. I always knew my Faith was the strongest, and my Hope was the most confused. So sometimes, my Faith and Hope together would tell me something different, and I would understand something else. Yet, I had to believe in them. For, if I didn’t, what other choice did I have? I really liked the lights, I thought to myself. I wished they were brighter. I wished that they were all around me. I wished that they were a more beautiful colour. Yet, I was happy. These lights were my knowledge. And my knowledge made me happier than my time did.
It seemed as if my time was up. I had to find my next destination in my journey, and I used these lights as a guide. Eventually, in my million thoughts, I forgot about following the lights. I was too busy thinking that “these sure are very strange trees!”. The trees had the characteristics of trees I had seen that were tall, and only grew in forests- the same leaves, the same bark texture. How strange. I walked around them. Wow… they’re mostly stunted. I had grown wise through my journey. And this wisdom told me that which I didn’t want to believe. My wisdom said: “These are beautiful trees. They have fine leaves, and strong roots. Your deeds in this world were beautiful, and amongst the best. But, when you would start the deed, you would doubt yourself. You would mix your intentions. Your intentions are your most important asset, you forget that sometimes. Your Hope would confuse you. And you distrusted your Love. So, they didn’t grow. These trees…” I stopped listening to wisdom.
I was sad. I wanted to return home. I wanted to stare through the glass and at the wall, and I wanted to discover what made them different. I wanted to think about all the times I tried to catch a falling object, and I missed, and it broke.
My Exhaustion on the other hand, had enough. How could it, after seeing the shore, the lights, and the trees?
This book was recommended to me by Saleha Khan, who's an instructor with the Ontario Police College. And my friends gifted it to me before I left Toronto.
The style of the book is very simple, and the story goes very slow, so you're forced either to (1) think, or to (2) read really fast. I did a bit of both.
The entire book is trying to explain just the concept of self-deception; and if you can get it right, then you're set to be a leader. The book tells you to how to see people as people, and not as objects, so that you do not justify their attitude towards you as an excuse to cover up for your own shortcomings.
I really like the way they have put examples from all the realms of life- personal, family and work- to demonstrate the same concept. Also, the way the book starts off is very intuitive- Tom walks into his manager Bud's office not knowing what he's going to expect, except that some of his colleagues told him it's something wonderful about a discovery that solves people's problems, how no one really focusses on results, and so on. That's exactly how my thoughts were. What is this really all about?
However, because this book is only focussed on one thing- Self-deception- it idealises the concept too much and makes it simple to achieve. The reality in life is far from it. It doesnt talk about dealing with dishonest people, low performers etc.
Nevertheless, I would definitely want to get my hands on the other books by the Arbinger Institute.
The changes in life are projections
of decisions that know no influence
and those that are mine
Once I lived a life that drives
inspiration in those around me
Humbled was the soul
when effects of relentless efforts
did not get reflected on the self
And that's when doubts arose
And that's when thoughts diverged
Forced to think to self
'There's no motivation'
Hope lies alone in close relations
In my dark, dusty unrealities
He lights the fire within me
Amidst my uncanny doubts
His spirit interferes to revive me
Yet again when my heart drowns
The essence of his time fills me
And when I hold up my weak hands
His strength pushes them higher
'O Soul! Will you be my downfall?'
'O Soul! Won't you pick me up?'
'O Soul! Test me not this way
for I will sure fail'
'My Lord, have I earned from Your Mercy?'
'My Lord, have I accounted for my soul?'
'My Lord, when the end is near,
Can I not be told?'
the whispers....
the whispers say 'fear not,
'You have certainly fashioned indelible footprints
But you will only be raised in spirit
if you continue walking in your wavelength
And you continue to lead by example'
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
ya Allah, strengthen my burdened heart
I can't seem to carry further
There is weakening in resolve
I want to give up
My hands want to take up matters
I feel they are being satirical
My self refuses to wait
I want it to end
Yet I don't want to lose what I don't have
And I don't often feel this way
This life is grieved by the spear of contentment
Every moment it is embezzling the rich taste of martyrdom
If I attain the wealth of grief in Your path,
I'll be free of the grief of both the worlds.
ya Rabb, you are the Over-Turner of hearts
Illuminate my heart and soul
Make it firm on your path
dear Lord, You have in the days of my life winds of beneficence
Make me benefit from them
ya Rabb, You are the Creator of all that's Beautiful
Make me release what I hold on to
Oh Allah, You are the Most Merciful
Make me taste the fruits of forgiveness
I was tested with you
and you with me
You failed the test
And I was left broken
Stand by the ocean side
The future beholds what the eyes see
Like the sparkling foamy rich water
Infinite in love
Infinite in care
You were dear to me
Are you now collecting
Shattered pieces of glass
While the affair of my heart
is disowned by me?
You slipped into your tomorrow
And made me of the past
You were the moonlight in my window
The last crimson sun rays
The silhouette of mountain edges
Today all I have are dreams
Would they end without you?
The eagle set out
to conquer great heights
Spanning its majestic wings
from horizon to horizon
It swoops high and low
And in all its grace
cinches its preys with every launch
challenging the rules of time
Yet the pride of the eagle
brings its own downfall
Beneath all that grandeur
Lies the deluge of all that it expounds
In an artless dive for glory
Its wing ricochets the side of a rock
A loud cry reverberates through the valley
And leaves the eagle with a broken wing
With my broken wing
I have lost all strength
Every ruffle in my feathers
Reminds of the onset taint
'I must soar', I acclaim
Yet the end is here
End of great journeys
And my voice drowns in my fear
I am but a grim portrait of despair
Against the bright canvass of space
No longer able
to accomplish remarkable feats
To it belongs the conquered lands
To it is attributed all power
This creature smaller than beasts
Yet perfection it doesnt possess
Allah (swt) says in the Qur'an, 'And eat and drink but waste not by extravagance' [7:31]
Excess food is considered extravagance, and brings about ailments to the body. These few words are the key to staying healthy. How often have we eaten our full, and then continue to eat, just because of taste? Not thinking twice about what really goes on inside our body. Not thinking about stopping and thanking Allah, that he has given us bountiful, and that we have overcome our desires.
Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih:
Rasoolullah (saw) said: 'Two bounties regarding which many people cheat themselves: Health and free time'.
Preserving good health depends on many factors: eating and drinking sensibly, and on utilising one's clothes, place of residence, the air, sleep, being awake, mobility, idleness, relationships in the best possible manner.
Abu Bakr (ra) said that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say, 'Ask Allah for certainty and good health; for indeed, no one will have a better possession after certainty of Faith than good health.'
This statement of our beloved Prophet (pbuh) joined the well being of this life, with the next life.
The Prophet (pbuh) did not restrict himself to eating one type of food. This would be harmful to one's nature. Abu Hurairah (ra) narrates that the Prophet (saw) never criticised a food, even if he disliked it.' If he did not like it, he would refrain from it. Once he was offered lizard meat, that he declined and said, 'No, but this food is not among the foods that my people used to eat, and I do not have an appetite for it', when asked if it's disallowed.
The Prophet (saw) used to especially like eating the arm and upper parts of the sheep. (This was also the part that was poisoned and offered to him).
The lightest part of the sheep is the neck, arm and thigh, and is most easily digested.
The sunnah method of eating involves:
- The food should be beneficial and helpful to the nature
- Light on the stomach
- Quickly digested
Meat, honey and sweets are the best foods and the most beneficial for the body, liver and various organs.
The Prophet (saw) used to eat bread with whatever type of condiment was available- sometimes with watermelon, meat or dates.
Eating barley with dates is one of the wisest decisions.
A lot of the times only vinegar was available, and the Prophet (pbuh) used to praise it.
He also used to eat the fruits of the season. Allah's wisdom has it that every land has it's own fruit, in every season. Eating fruits from your own land is very beneficial.
Fruits should be eaten after the food has been digested, to avoid constipation.
The Prophet (pbuh) said:
'I do not eat while leaning on m side.' He also said, 'I only sit like the slave sits and eat like the slave eats'.
He used to place his knees on the ground and would place the bottom of his left foot on the upper part of his right food in humilty for the Lord. This is the best way of eating.
The Prophet (pbuh) used three fingers while eating. How beautiful. If you used lesser fingers, the food in a bit would not be enough, and if you used all five, it would be more than the stomach could handle.
One final note before I depart- The Prophet (pbuh) never mixed fish and milk, milk and sour foods or two hot dishes, or two cold dishes, two sticky dishes, two constipating dishes, two laxative dishes, two heavy dishes two liquid foods or two types of food that produced the same condition.
He did not eat salty or rotten foods, such as pickles. Also, he neither ate a food when it is rather hot, nor old food that was heated for him the next day.
He did not join foods that cause opposite reactions, such as diarrhea and constipation, dry with fresh foods, eggs and milk or meat and milk, easily digested with heavy foods broiled with cooked foods.
All these types of food are harmful and cause the health to change for the worst.
La ilaha illallah.
Let go, and set yourself free
Let go, and fill yourself with ecstasy
Let go, you only feel you need it
Let go, and the future's brighter without it
Let go, 6872.26 miles away from you
Let go, it's time you have to
Let go, for you're worth more than this
Let go, because your chronic situation insists
Let go, for these are your fears
Let go, and don't test your tears
Let go, life is begging you to move on
Let go, and you'll be long gone
when life will reveal
this step wasn't a big deal
and you're meant for better things
This is one of the best changes ever.. towards creating environmentally aware citizens. I'm so happy, Alhamdulillah and I bought my first bag as well!
In a push to reduce the millions of plastic bags that pollute the UAE's ecosystem every year, MAF Hypermarkets (Carrefour) today introduced reusable bags at their checkout counters as an alternative to plastic bags.Shoppers will be encouraged to purchase their own big reusable bags from Carrefour at the checkout for 2 Dirhams (cost price). If damaged at any point, the bags can be replaced at any Carrefour outlet free of charge.
"My Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But only speak a word and my servant will be healed".
Jeewan said the Alchemist was a really good book from the Tazkiya point of view. That surprised me. In fact, when I took up the book, I was suprised that the main character in the story meets a lot of Muslims, and goes through Muslim lands. However, there's no mention of the name of Islam, or anything of that sort. The author does write some very interesting things about Islam, such as a crystal merchant's dream to go to Mecca for Pilgrimage; the tribal leaders' talk of Yusuf (upon him be peace) and his interpretation of the dream; and that Allah created all this in 6 days.
The backdrop in the story is superb. The blend is very smooth. You don't have to remember a single name. The destination is the Egyptian Pyramids. And personally, having been to the pyramids, the journey the shepherd makes through the dangerous desert to see the Pyramids is definitely worth it.
The story is very simple, and nice. The elemental forces in nature speak to the shepherd, and it's for the reader to reflect.
As Muslims, we should already know all this from our beliefs, and the book should serve as a pleasant reminder.
The underlying theme of the book is to realise your dreams no matter what it takes. Even if you have let go of all the gold you have.
In the first few pages of the book, the shepherd's father says that people come back to the town after all the travelling, and they don't change. And in the Qur'an, Allah encourages men to travel so that they may reflect and learn lessons. And that's what the shepherd believed in, as he started his journey. A journey where he was tested again and again, but he always always shown signs, that once you make a decision, the best thing is to stick to it, to get through it.
