Burda Class 3

"There's much in Inshaad.
There's Ilm. There's meaning.
And it lifts the spirit and takes it to more than its normal everyday life.
...More than most people know!"
- Shaykh Jihad

(Ayywa, I missed the write up of the notes of chapter 2. This now makes this kinda disjointed as class 3 was a continuation of chapter 2, but ahh, the class was filled with many stand alone pearls too!... so here are some stand alone pearls...)


Don't say "I'm everything" and don't say "I'm nothing" as they are both about the I. Say Allah.

What we want is 'Arifeen. We want enlightened knowing. And knowing is different from knowledge as knowing is a state of being.

"Actions are like lifeless forms. And the life is the sincerity within them. This is the secret within them" - Ibn Attaillah

It is the responsibility of believers to protect their friends from their nafs.

If your friends are not telling you when you are stepping over the line, then they are not friends.

Muraqabah is not glamourous. It's not going to get you on TV. It will keep you off TV. But it's what keeps a believer real.

Were a person not to cry except over the moments lost in not worshipping Allah, this would be enough for one.

Don't be self satisfied. but know that the feeling of remorse is a blessing and a lot of people don't have it. You have been blessed with the Nafs-alawwamah! But don't stay there! Work at it!

Remorse is repentance. You should be crying over your situation and where you've got to. If you think about it deeply, it will be hard not to cry.

We are either in a moment of ibaadah or of tawbah. And the tawbah becomes the ibaadah of the moment. This doesn't mean we sin and reassure ourselves that we will settle for making tawbah. As we are not promised any next moments. And the last thing we want is for our last moments to make us lose.

Your job is to park yourself and wait on the doorstep. The Muslims' hanging on the door of the Kaabah is symbolic of Allah opening the door to the slave. And whether He Opens the door or doesn't, tell Him you don't care- you'll be there waiting.

Takleef is following something in which there is difficulty in it. A person can get to a point where they go head over heel for their beloved. They will do anything for them. One can get to that level in their ibaadah. Sometimes it's easy. Sometimes it's difficult. And there's beauty in it when it's difficult. Because it's for Allah.

"Contradicting the ego is the foremost level of ibaadah".

Look at what shaytaan did to Adam and he told Adam he was his friend. Yet the Shaytan has told you openly that he will deceive you! Shaytaan is the open enemy and the nafs is the enemy within.

Increase the 'Aql which you may need to go to. Learn and attend classes so when the ego striked, there is soundness in your 'Aql. Exposure to good gets us to that point.

Alhamdulilah for the following which answers thoughts that had recently been playing in my head for a while, namely about the Muslim living in the West and how we can stay balanced when seeking to be professionals and seeking to sell ourselves in an atmosphere where you had to be full of it (hey, I'm going into the legal sector afterall!)- alhamdulilah Shaykh Jihad discussed it with such clarity!!:
The non Muslim world is telling us to be confident in our own selves- in the nufus. The believer can still engage on these terms as their confidence is not in themselves but in Allah and their belief in the Rasool.
Rise to the challenge and do your best- if you are put in a situation which you did not solicit per se (e.g someone asking you to do something like teach a class etc), Allah has opened a door for you. So ask Allah for tawfeeq. And that is how a muslims can engage in a world which tell him to be confiden about himself. Remember, don't say "I'm everything" and don't say "I'm nothing", say "Allah!"

Rouse

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Every now and again, you may find that you're roused from your sleep. Not the sleep of your eyes, nor the rest of your body, but rather, the slumber of your soul. You may find that you are suddenly given a jolt of life, not like the gentle rousing from your physiological sleep, but like the striking of something solid, hard and cold, striking at your heart. You're struck and you sit, bolt upright, suddenly alert, and very, very awake.

[This message was written and emailed to me by a friend. MashaAllah, may Allah reward her. She doesn't usually like her words publicised, but has given permission this once. I would encourage you to read on, for the issue is too important and the sentiments too sincere to ignore!! Read and take action. Sign the petition & spread the message.]

When I refer to sleep here, then know that i refer to the slumber of the muslim ummah. and when i refer to being roused, then i refer to the times, the few, odd, occasional - but significant - times, where we, as an Ummah, as the Ummah of Muhammad [saw], rouse out of our deep slumber, and for some brief, sparing moments, we stand united, we stand tall, and we fight for a cause. a real cause.

So you may find yourself roused every time the muslims in palestine are massacred and butchered, you may find yourself suddenly awake, bolt upright, fire burning inside you, and your limbs expending all efforts to help your brethren. you pray, you encourage others to pray. you make sincere du'aa and your heart hurts. you give sadaqah and you invite others to give sadaqah. or then you may have found yourself roused when the earthquakes, landslides or floods hit indonesia, japan, somalia, pakistan. and you are not somali, or pakistani, or japanese, but it bothers you nonetheless. you struggle to see what's happening in the world around you, thousands of miles away from you, yes; but in your world, in your waking reality, as you watch. so you don't watch. once more you're roused, and suddenly you're awake, and again, your expending your efforts. you're making du'aa, your doing charity appeals, you're encouraging others to give of their wealth and you too are striving with your wealth.

So you see, every now and again, we, as an Ummah, we rouse out of our sleep, and we unite together, one body, fighting for one cause. we wake out of our deep sleep, and we make something magnificent happen to someone, somewhere on the other side of the world. someone, somewhere, who you'll never meet. someone, somewhere, whose house you'll never visit. but still it'll bother you; to see them cry, to see their children cry, to see their homes washed away. and so, for those brief moments, you, the glorious Ummah of Muhammad [saw], will stand together, and you will fight for a cause, and you will succeed in bringing some relief to the afflicted. MashaAllaah tabarakAllaah.

Well today, upon us is a cause that is not on the other side of the world. it is not to do with someone, somewhere, who you'll never meet. it's to do with someone, right here, in our midst. Someone who, if he was a free man, who knows? perhaps you would pass him by in the street some day. perhaps you would live near him. his is an ordinary face, like yours and mine. except, his is a face that has been shut off from the world - your world - right here, in the midst of your existence. His is the face, body, person and soul that has been locked up and deprived of the love of his parents, the love of his family, the salaam of a brother in the street, the adhaan in a masjid, for 7 plus years, as he sits, waiting to be extradited, whilst a single charge has yet to be brought against him. He is Babar Ahmad. Your brother, my brother.

And his is the cause, that today MUST rouse, nay, DRAG us out of our deep sleep. For it would be a mighty shame on you, and a mighty shame on me, if the 100,000 signature petition fighting to keep him in the UK, doesn't meet its target. it would be an enormous shame on each and every one of us, and the way i see it, the onus WILL be upon us.

Now alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, the petition is well on it's way, mashaAllaah tabaarakAllaah. And everyday, the number of signatures is increasing, and more and more sharply, to the degree that we now have 70,000 plus signatures, mashaAllaah walhamdulillah. However, we still have 30,000+ signatures to go, and little more than 10 days to do it in, so suffice to say, time is of the essence.

But I know, with certainty, that if we stand together, shoulder to shoulder, with a firm, sincere intention, expending all our efforts, and seeking the aid of Allaah [swt], beseeching and imploring Him, most High, for brother Babar's victory, for YOUR victory, I know that we'll definitely make it. Print off copies of the petition, go round to the local communities and have them signed. If you think you're dosing in and out of sleep, let me assure you the people around you are in a far more comfortable state of sleep than you. As far as they're concerned, if it's not happening at their doorstep, it's not their problem. MAKE IT THEIR PROBLEM. We Muslims, besides our love for sleep, also love to laze around generally! We can't be bothered to click that link on that website that everyone keeps talking about. And so what if i don't do it? Surely, someone else will. That's our mentality. And right now, it's gotta change. Real swift. So spoon feed those around you, do all the hard work for them, all they have to do is sign your petition, and you can upload the details on their behalf.

And beyond all that, if you feel that you have done all that you can [I haven't], and you have exhausted your limbs for the sake of Allaah [I haven't], then rest. Rest your limbs and put your heart to work. Supplicate for brother Babar Ahmad. Supplicate for his success, for his relief, for his victory. For du'aa is the weapon of the believer. In these blessed days of Dhul Hijjah, beg and beseech Allaah, even for a few moments, as no doubt his elderly parents will have, day in day out, for more than seven years, waiting in angst to see their son home again. Prophet Ya'qub alayhis salaam lost his sight due to the grief he felt over losing Yusuf alayhis salaam. And he said, let me alone, for I only complain of my sorrow to Allah.

Brother Babar's parents have never complained to you, they have never complained to me. But I have no doubt that they have complained to Allaah. And now is the time for their relief, by the mercy of Allaah. And though this is a magnificent test for them as a family, it is equally a test for us, to see how willing we are to wake out of our sleep, to drag one another out of our slumber, and to make a real difference to another Muslim bi'ithnillah.

How helpless do we feel, how much does it hurt, to see those children dying in Somalia, and to be stuck here, being able to do little more than raise money? How stuck did we feel, who's heart didn't cry when Aafia Siddiqui was given 84 years in a questionable trial and court hearing? And yet here is Babar Ahmad, at your doorstep, and here is your chance to stand tall, free of all restraints, and to do something, like you've always wanted to.

Wallahil adheem I have no doubt, absolutely no doubt, that when you and I stand together, sincerely, for the sake of Allaah, and strive in this cause, begging and beseeching Allaah all the while, I have no doubt that the Help of Allah will come. And when the Help of Allaah comes, nothing in the heavens and the earth can withhold it. Nothing can stop His relief and His Mercy descending. And Babar Ahmad will be victorious, inshaAllaah.

And may Allaah [swt] grant us success, and make this struggle a momentous occasion of strength and victory for the Ummah of Muhammad [saw]. Aameen Ya Rabbil 'alameen.

http://www.freebabarahmad.com/

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/885

Your Mirror

"If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?"- Rumi

Learn from Prophet Ayyub

Learn from the story of Prophet Ayyub, peace be upon him.

He faced trials, yet remained faithful. He faced tribulation, yet did not doubt His Lord. He faced tests upon tests, yet kept focused. He was sincere in love, sincere in patience and sincere in worship.

His wealth was taken. His children were taken. His health was taken. His support system taken.
And we have the audacity to complain about our situations. We must learn from the story of Ayyub alaihisalam.

It was Shaytaan who was jealous of Prophet Ayyub's devotion to his Lord. Shaytaan who thought he would flinch in the face of trials. And Shaytaan it was who sought to destroy him. But sincerity cannot be so easily destroyed. May Allah protect us, protect our faith and grant us sincerity.

Gather strength from the story of the trials of Ayyub. Gather courage from the stories of the Prophets. Gather love in your heart for them, and in the hereafter you will surely be with those you love.

(And who knows, Oh self, these moments may be the sweetest in disguise. A cleansing for us, though we know not, for we only see the apparent, while there is much work happening in the unseen world! And remember how we are advised that although we may not want something, it is good for us! Subhannallah. Appreciate the moments you are in and give thanks for giving thanks is a blessing and have trust in Him who Created you from dust!)

It's the circle of life

"This world is a mountain, and our deeds are a shout echoed back to us"

-Tales from the Masnavi

Concealed in words

An Iranian Prince once composed a verse of poetry...

"A black and white pearl is rare indeed"

He tried his best to add a second verse to this, but failed. He requested a number of other poets to help, but none of them succeeded. In desperation, he wrote to the King of Delhi, requesting for a second verse to be sent to him. The poets of Delhi were also unsuccessful. Zaibunisa Makhfi, the daughter of Alamgir Aurangzeb, was one day applying antimony and a teardrop fell from her eyes. Immediately, she composed the second verse:

"A black and white pearl is rare indeed,
Except in the surma mingled teardrop that falls from the eyes of the beloved"

The king sent the verses to the Iranian prince. After reading them, he requested that the poet be sent to him. Zaibunnisa wrote back with her answer in poetic verses:

"As the fragrance is concealed in the petals, I am concealed in my words.
Whoever desires to see me should read my verses"

~ A righteous and intellegent woman realises that her beauty is not to be subjected to the lustful glances of all and sundry. ~

-Khawatine Islam ke Iman Waqi'at, p230
as quoted in "Pearls from the Path", compiled by Moulana Afzal Ismail, Vol 2

Forget not your blessings

Lessons from Rabe'a Al Adawiyya

Once Rabe'a saw a man with a bandage tied around his head.
"Why have you tied the bandage?" she asked.
"Because my head aches," the man replied.
"How old are you?" she demanded.
"Thirty," he replied.
"Have you been in pain and anguish the greater part of your life?" she enquired.
"No," the man answered.
"For thirty years you have enjoyed good health," she remarked, "and you never tied about you the banage of thankfulness. Now because of this one night you have a headache, you tie the bandage of complaint!"