The Path of Worshipful Servants

 ".....You must realise, Oh my brethren (may God favour you and me with His Good Pleasure), that worshipful service [ibada] is the fruit of knowledge ['ilm], the benefit of life ['umr], the income of strong servants, the stock in trade of the saints [awliyah], the path of the truly devout, the allotted portion of the mighty, the goal of those endowed with aspiration, the emblem of the noble, the vocation of real men and the choice of those with faculties of vision. It is the way of good fortune and the path [minhaj] of the Garden of Paradise. God has told us; "And I am your Lord, So Worship Me" (21:92).  He has also said" "Behold: this is a reward for you. And I am your Lord, so worship Me" (76:22)

The path of worshipful service is indeed a rugged path and a hard road, fraught with many obstacles, serious hardships, remote distances, enormous difficulties, frequent hindrances and impediments. It is beset with deadly perils and interruptions. This is exactly how it needs to be, since it is the path of the Garden of Paradise and this represents a confirmation of the saying of The Prophet (peace be upon him),  "The Garden of Paradise is indeed surrounded by things that are repugnant [makarih], while the Fire of Hell is surrounded by objects of lustful desire [shahawat]". He (peace be upon him) also said, "The Garden of Paradise is indeed a rugged ground on a hill, while the Fire of Hell is indeed a smooth ground in a sequestered courtyard."

Then in addition to al of that, the servant [of the Lord] is weak, the time is difficult and religious commitment is subject retrogression....."

~Al Ghazali - The Path Of The Righteous Servants - To the Garden of the Lord of the Worlds
Translated by Muhtar Holland

HeartBreak

As said by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf.

InshaAllah Khayr.

As another saying goes "Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light".....

In order to receive

"When he has renounced the world so that he does not take to it on account of his (own) desire nor in compliance with the urges of his own self but just to fulfil the commandment of God, he is then commanded to talk to the world and establish contact with it because now there is a portion for him in it which cannot be discarded and which has not been created for any other reason."
- Abdul Qadir Gilani

"Keep Working For Good" - Imam Zaid Talk, UK, 2011

Asalamalaikum,

So the below notes are a selection from notes taken during Imam Zaid Shakir's visit during his trip the UK in Summer 2011, at the Traditional Halaqa, arranged by Shifa Trust.

The talk was entitled "The End of Time" and was largely about the Signs and the Mehdi, though here I detail some more general and inspiring notes of advice and wisdom given.

As with all notes uploaded on here, please forgive any mistakes, all of which are reflective only on the inabilities of the one who heard the message [myself] and not on the one who conveyed the message.

---

"The best way of preparing yourself for the end of times is to follow the ways of Rasool.

The Prophet didn't give the sahaba a list of signs to look for, but asked them what they had done to prepare for it.

The Prophet (saws) said, "You will be with those whom you love" and so we follow Allah's command and the Prophets example. That's the best we can do to prepare ourselves.

Divorce your heart from this world as Allah will love you - The love of Allah shouldn't be in our heads, it should be in our hearts. But with the dunya, we must keep it in the thought process (working on projects, working hard etc) and not in the heart.

The dunya can be in your hand and you use it for good. If it doesn't affect your heart, that's fine

One should always look to the direction He is sending one in. Maybe if you accept what Allah has given you, He will Give you through acceptance what you look for through divergence.

If we have good ettiquettes with Allah, He will give us what we are looking for, in the situation we find ourselves in.

Keep working for good, even at the end of times- if the final hour is coming and you have a seed in your hand, you should plant it. Stay in a good state.
--

Whoever acts on what they know, Allah gives them knowledge of what they don't know.
If Allah Gives us knowledge, then what we can achieve is limitless.

The first stage towards this is the person acknowledging thier need for Allah.
We say we rely on our brainpower and intellect- yet what have we done for the deen? Yet look at [the success of] those who relied on Allah! Give yourself to Allah. He Will Enrich you. Uplift you. Empower you. No one humbles themselves for the sake of Allah except that He Elevates them. How much further can we go replying on ourselves? How much more of a mess can we make?

To overcome challenges we have to humble ourselves.

--

The Prophet (saws) gave us a distinction which he didn't even give to his sahaba- that of being his brothers and sisters despite never seeing him (saws). This is a bushra [glad tiding] for us!!!

"Amongst people most intense in love for me in this Ummah are those who do not see me but love me. And they give their family and wealth just to see me" - wheras the sahaba saw his noor in its entirity.

The Prophet (saws) thus extends to us and praises us in love for hum and places its worth higher than that of the Sahaba. This is a class dinstinction. However, in regards to individuals, the best were them, the khulafaah al rashideen.

We must invoke, "Oh Allah, forgive us and those who preceeded us in Islam and don't place any ranquer in our hearts against them" --> we must have good opinion of all believers, people have been honoured with Islam and only those worthy are honoured.

We should thus uphold the 'izzah [respect] which Allah has given to the believers. We have to love the people who say La illah illAllah. Remember the parable of the believers, that we are one ummah, likened to one body. We don't have time for a bad opinion. This is a violation of others' rights! This puts a barrier between you and this is not right.

Give people the benefit of the doubt that they are atleast as good a muslim as you are if not better. --> we are all in this together.

--

If we don't appreciate the advantages we have, Allah will take them away.

Allah didn't Put you in a refugee camp. He Put you here. He Gave you the opportunity to serve the people. To work for Islam. We have to know our place. Shed light for people. Be light for people.

--

Realise that who you marry is part of a historical process.

If someone comes and you are pleased with their religion and character, marry him; or there will be great fasaad on the earth.

--

If we were more spiritually connected, we wouldn't be so deeply haunted, not would we have so many faults.

Ask Allah for His lufdh- His Gentleness as He Unfolds His decree in our life.

If we want good and seek good, we will find good and find it wherever we are.
"I am as My Servant Thinks I am." This is encouragement.

--

Wherever water flows, flowers grow...

When God desires to give us His assistance,
He moves our tendency to lamentation.

O happy are the eyes lamenting Him!
How blessed are the hearts that burn for Him!

When weeping ends there is a smile at last.
How happy is the man who is far-sighted!

Wherever waters flowing, flowers grow,
and mercy flows wherever tears are flowing.

Groan like the water-wheel and be moist-eyed
that green may grow the meadows of your soul.

If you want tears, show mercy to the tearful;
if you want mercy, show the weak your mercy

(Masnavi 1.821-826)

Conversations like these

Sibling3: "Imagine walking on the Siraat...Its thinner than a hair! That's well scary."
Sibling1: "First we have to get through the Day of Judgement."
Sibling3: *GULP*
*Silent Reflection*

Realities are great. Reflection required. Reminders best shared.

Lifelong bitterness vs. Lifelong sweetness

"The pleasure of sinning is short. Then, the consequences are very dreadful. The Muslim Scholars say, “A sin will breed another sin”. When you perpetrate a sin, what happens? The pleasure and delight precedes the sin and the bitterness comes after. Whereas the doing of the good deed, the bitterness/ hardship precedes and the pleasure comes after. When you want to commit a something shameful, something haram, a misdeed, you are thinking only of the pleasure, the fun you will have. The moment you finish such a horrible act, you feel bad about yourself, you hate yourself, you might cry. You feel your chest tighten like someone is squeezing your chest. That is the bitterness you will have until you enter the grave. The sweetness which you think of is limited and short, while the bitterness will remain the rest of your life. The opposite is true of good deeds. It is difficult at first, you feel bitterness only. Something against the nafs. But, for example, if you get up for fajr, despite the cold, difficulty in leaving the bed and making wudu, if you do so, what do you feel after the Salah? Sweetness, goodness, lightness. In Tarawih, with the long rakah, you feel tired, you feel hardship. But afterwords, you feel sweetness. The sweetness comes after doing the good deed. The opposite is true with sin, whereby the bitterness follows, and lasts forever."

As explained by Dr Salem Al Amry -"The Satanic Trap Talk"

Holding their hands for a while... their hearts forever. Mother.

It is said that under a mothers feet lies paradise. For the months which she held you, in our case held two. She would talk to us and tell us to look after each other. In reality she was the one taking care of us. Allah was Taking care of her. For the hours in labour she faced in pain, and yet for such an assault never did she complain. For the years spent weaning, caring and raising, for us to take our fathers name. Why did she only work part time? So her face we’d see after school, be there rain or shine. For the patience endured during moments of rebellion, for the wisdom which penetrated through any advice given. For the warm hugs, the warm words, the warm smiles, for making me feel like her most loved child...and when there are 4 adult children each claiming to be the most loved, that says something.

In her eyes I see love, my mother.

In her arms I feel protection, my mother.

And under her feet I envisage paradise, my mother.

Life Outlook

"It is amazing how people overlook the blessings bestowed on them by the Grace of God and covet what the wealthy enjoy. Had they observed those inferior to them they would have seen the wonderful gifts with which God Blessed them.

More amazing is the fact that they notice those inferior to them in religion, but seldom those who are better than themselves."

-Al Ghazzali, Ihya Ulum Id-Din

True Friendship

A friend is not a true friend
unless he protects his friend in three situations:
in his misfortune
in his absence
and at his death

Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib

'Revolution of the hearts'

Asalamalaikum

Below are some notes taken of Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murads timely reminder about charity and change. He gave the short talk at the Shaam Tour for Orphans, these are a few notes from the London event at Friends House.

"All fasaad is to do the the corosion of the soul. Allah has created all creation to obey Him, except human beings (free will). They are capable of being the highest of all creatures or the lowest, both physically and spiritually. This is the paradox of humans. It is part of the greatness and the tragedy of the human.

If we look at 'doing good', it is overwhelmingly done individually or by organisations. But people who are such are people whose religion is upbeat and whose hearts affect others. They have been brought up to a high decree. "Allah has slaves singled out for discharging the worries of others". This is why out civilisation is distinguished from others.

The Ulema, when they are with those who can help the needy, they are upbeat, with good news, so they give happily to the needy, not because of (feeling pressured from) guilt, as is used by many christians.

Corruption on the earth is not new, but exassperated. The solution must be a classical one --> the restoration of the quality of peoples souls --> so they are refuges for the poor, the widows, the orphans.

The real revolution that is required in this day and age is the illumination of hearts.

The Ummah has tremendous resources, but equal poverty. The solution, is through living holy lives. We need to tuen within, create a revolution within and then Allah will do great things.

There is a culture of blame among us. Rather than pointing the finger of blame on other people, organisation, sects, we have to point the finger of blames at ourselves. "Allah will not change the condition of people until they change themselves".

The revolution required is the revolution of the hearts.

Rather than always talking about guilt factors and sins, seeing beauty in the deen and Allahs attribute of being Arhamurahimeen, are qualities that melt the heart."

The Reality of Life

"The adhan is made in the baby's ear at birth
While the prayer is delayed till death
A sign that life is short
Just like the time between adhan and prayer."

A pearl among pearls, found in the excellent book,
'The Value of Time' by Shaykh Abd' al Fattah Abu Ghuddah