Swords of the Last Prophet

The Swords of the Last Prophet

Feb16

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The swords of the Last Prophet from God in the Topkapi collection in Istanbul, Turkey. Along with various simple objects, items of clothing, shoes and even hair clippings these objects have been preserved and treasure through the ages.

During the life of the Holy Prophet (may the peace and blessings of God be upon him) these swords were simple objects, however at some point over the generations they have been lavishly decorated.

(from Abode of Mercy)

A great old Hamza Yusuf article on Tolerance and Generosity

Feb18

I noticed this old article on Sheikh Hamza Yusuf’s Sandala website. It is well worth a read.

Generous Tolerance in Islam

and its Effects on the Life of the Muslim

(from Abode of Mercy)

Sheikh Zayed and the Birds

Feb20

(Sheikh Zayed as a Young Man)

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (1918-2004 CE (ra), was the founding figure of the United Arab Emirates and the Emir of Abu Dhabi. He was a figure who guided his country on a journey from the middle ages to the space age and from material poverty to material riches all in a single life time. 

He was loved by his people and is generally remembered as a sincere and devout Muslim. He brought highly learned scholars of Islam to UAE from many lands and ensured that Abu Dhabi would be a city full of Mosques. He also set an example of religious tolerance in his country towards people of different faiths.

Last year Sheikh Hamza Yusuf narrated a fascinating story about the Sheikh that was told to him by a cousin of this Emirati elder statesman, who had travelled with him in Europe many years ago.

Sheikh Zayed was staying in a particular city for two weeks. Every day he liked to go to a particular coffee-house and whilst he was there the birds would fly down and he would feed them.

Each day he went more birds would come than they day before. Noticing this the Emir said to his cousin that these birds must be telling each other that bread was there.

At the end of the Sheikh’s stay of two weeks, many birds would come and wait for Sheikh Zayed (ra) to feed them each day, but this worried the Sheikh as soon he would be leaving. After considering what to do he came up with a solution that only one with a generous hand and a large purse would come up with.

He said to his cousin ‘tomorrow these birds will come expecting food and we won’t be here to feed them. So go and ask the man who owns this coffee-house how much he wants to feed them for a year, until we come back for our next visit.’  

(from Abode of Mercy)

Who is Timothy Winter, Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad?

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Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad is one of the leading scholars of traditional (Sufi) Islam in the British Isles and Europe, indeed he is listed by the Royal Jordanian Strategic Studies Institute as one of the 50 most influential Muslims in the world. His very Englishness is complementary to his very Muslimness and the Islam he represents with such dedication is the antithesis to both the extremes of modernism and fudamentalism.  He is a role model and a voice for British Muslims, and an eloquent supporter of the tradition of mainstream classical Islam.

He was born at the start of the 1960′s CE and gained an education at Westminster School before going on to study Arabic at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He graduated with a double first  in 1983 CE and then went on to the Al-Azhar University, Cairo.

During his time in the Middle East he also worked in Jeddah and more importantly gained a connection to the well loved and inspiring figure of Sheikh Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad (ra) of the Yemen and a number of other important scholars.

In 1989 CE Sheikh Abdul Haklim Murad returned to the UK and studied Turkish and Persian at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Later going on to a life as a notable academic and as an Islamic teacher.

He is the Dean of the Cambridge Muslim College, the Shaykh Zayed Lecturer of Islamic Studies at Cambridge University and the Director of Studies in Theology at Wolfson College. He is  also director of a number of projects related to the study of traditional Islam and other Muslim issues.

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further reading

Khutbas (sermons) by Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad

Online Lectures by Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad 

(article from Abode of Mercy)

Muslim Countries Need Something Better than the Revolutionism of Iran and the Consumerism of the Gulf

True Islam is a beautiful way of life. Wise sages such as Rumi, Al-Ghazali and Bediuzzaman taught later generations how to live such beautiful lives that are inspired and guided by Islam, that are filled with worship, understanding of humanity and mercy.

Wise Muslims have always followed such a beautiful path, right through the centuries. They demonstrated some very good things for modern human beings to emulate. Seven of these are listed below.

1. They were constantly aware of the Divine and thus they lived their lives in harmony with it. They did this through many ways, but one of the most special things that they did was to live in accordance with the Sunnah (way) of the Last Messenger who was sent by God to guide humanity.

2. They did everything in a balanced and moderate way, doing things according to correct priorities.

3. They neither harmed others nor allowed others to harm themselves, or innocents, if they had any say over the matter.

4. Indeed they were kind and merciful with all living beings, from small animals to the Children of Adam and Eve.

5. They lived in harmony with their neighbours and their environment, knowing that God has made humanity care takers of the world. Where they lived they avoided harming eco-systems and instead they improved them through tree planting, falaj systems, reservation and garden making. Their traditional ways of agriculture and horticulture benefitted both human beings and wildlife alike.

6. They were peace-loving but were prepared to stand up for what was right.

7. They possessed two special treasures. The first treasure was empathy which allowed them to “stand in another’s shoes and see the world through their eyes”. Through this skill one may understand another’s feelings, motivations and needs and one may communicate in a deeper and more satisfactory way – it was something possessed by most ancient people but which has been tragically lost by many modern ones. Empathy is a foundation of human wisdom.

The second treasure was Wisdom itself and through it they understood the nature of the world, why we are here, what we are here for, how we should behave and all the sensible attitudes that one should take in life.

Between them these two treasures are worth far more than gold and diamonds for the one who posess them, yet they may often seem incomprehensible and intangible to the one who does not.

(from Abode of Mercy)

Divine Religion

The wise always had three practices;

1. To help all living beings.

2. To give out the bounties from God in the places where the people assemble to remember Him.

3. To awaken the people to God through wise words.

(Dho’l Nun al Misri (ra).

For much of ancient human history the majority of the Children of Adam were good believers who formed loving wholesome communities in tune with the needs of humanity whilst respecting God’s creatures and the environment.

Living in such a wonderful era of natural spiritual peace, tranquility and well being meant that most of these communities were peaceful and pleasant places to live, however there were always some foolish Children of Adam who would lustily listen to the whispering of Satan and cause troubles.

When the Children of Adam first arrived upon the Earth they followed the pure, true faith of Prophet Adam and his wife Eve (Hawa) peace and blessings be upon them both), but gradually some people began to adopt false religious ideas, whilst others merely forgot parts of the Revealed religion.

Thus God sent Prophets (may God bless him and give him peace) to guide the people to the straight path and although these Prophets (may God bless him and give him peace) brought many different Divine Laws they all taught that there is no ‘god’ other than God and that worship was for Him alone.

Over the course of history some foolish people rejected the Prophets that God had sent to them and they subsequently fell into the depths of depravity and instead of worshiping the One True God they gradually developed invented Pantheons of idols made up from distorted memories deceased Prophets (may God bless him and give him peace), deceased heroes and Angels and/or through contact with various spirits.

These false pantheons typically consisted of various ‘human like’ idols who were associated with different parts of the world such as the sun, the moon, the sky, the stars, fire, water, weather, war, fertility and death etc.

Oftentimes malevolent or mischievous semi-immaterial beings would deliberately use their unusual form of materiality to make it appear that the worship of these false idols had real benefits, but those people of good hearts were able to gradually see through the corruption of these false religions and to return to the worship of God.

Bediuzaman Said Nursi once explained how genuine knowledge can easily develop into superstitions when it falls into the lap of people with insufficient knowledge. He quoted the story of how when he was young a lunar eclipse occurred and the people of his village responded by firing rifles and ringing cans together.

Upon asking why the people were doing these strange things he gained the explanation that a snake had swallowed the moon. He asked then why could it still be seen and was given the response that the snakes of the sky were made of glass and were therefore transparent.

A few years later Bediuzzaman studied astronomy and learned that lunar eclipses actually occurred when the earth blocks out the light of the sun due to these three celestial bodies coming into alignment.

Such wisdom is held by Prophet (may God bless him and give him peace), who have inspiration from the Divine (such as in the case of the eclipse that occurred after the passing of the blessed son of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and give him peace) and which he explained to the Muslims who thought it was a direct sign – that it was simply an occurrence as the celestial bodies moved through their courses).

It is a bad investment to seek worldly gain.

He whose hope is placed in Heaven never shall see pain.

The stratagems employed for worldly gain are vile,

But stratagems for gaining heaven are worth our while.

Blessed stratagem is that which bursts a prison door.

Cursed stratagem is one that spreads a dungeon floor.

The world’s a dungeon. We are all in prison here.

Burst, then, thy prison gate, and free thyself from fear.

What is the world? Unmindful of our God to be;

Not gold or silver, wife or children, things we see.

The wealth we hold at service of our God is blessed.

‘The riches of the just are pure,’ Ahmed confessed.

The water from a leak is danger to a ship;

The sea beneath her keel is just what makes her skipage.

Great Solomon despised wealth, sway, with all his heart.

With countless treasures poor he named himself. Best part!

An empty jar will float upon a raging sea,

The air that fills it will not let it sunken be.

The afflatus of true poverty man’s soul will buoy.

Above the troubles of the world he rides. Ahoy!

Should all earth’s boundless riches by him be possessed;

The whole is viewed in his pure sight as naught at best.

Close then the inlet to thy heart; seal it with love;

First filling it with wisdom’s spirit from above.

Endeavour is from God ; so sickness, and its balm.

He vainly strives who would deny this truthful psalm.

(Rumi)

Through observation we can see that the historical spread of urban living was linked to an increase in Paganism and false greedy priesthoods based around immoral ignorance and hunger for power.

These tended to develop a corrupt status quo in which gullible plebeians were the dupes of false religious guides and the serfs of the Kingly henchmen who were need to keep the doubters at bay, thus was born the archetype of the tyrannical Pharaoh, to be embodied all over the world from Nimrod in the time of Abraham (may God bless him and give him peace), to Pharaoh in the time of Moses and Herod in the tile of Jesus (may God bless him and give him peace).

Also associated with this misguided system would be the production of vain monumental constructions, temples, palaces and idols – a pattern that would be seen across the world, even in the modern age.

These pointless products are still with us today along with various iniquitous systems that were developed in these societies, yet so too is Divine Religion and the final form of the inspired Religion ofIslam that was brought through Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of God be upon him) has been preserved through the mercy of God for the good of humanity. 

A key duty of the believers is to spread the good word of genuine Islam in the best of ways. It is written in the Holy Qur’an…

‘Call to the way of your Rabb (Lord)

with wisdom and lovely admonition

and disagree with them (the non-Muslims)

in ways that are better.’

(Surah an-Nahl 16,125)

God has instructed the Muslims to invite the non-Muslims to Islam in the best of ways, but ultimately if they reject the truth our message should be this.

In the name of God the Merciful and Compassionate.

Say O you that reject (true) Faith!

I worship not that which you worship,

Nor will you worship that which I worship.

And I will not worship that which you have been worshiping,

Nor will you worship that which I worship.

To you be your Way, and to me mine.

(Surah Al-Kafirun)

(article from Abode of Mercy)

General Ignorance About Islam

Today I was reading some posts on WordPress blogs by non-Muslims about Islam and Muslims. One thing that struck me was the amazingly powerful hatred some people have for Muslims when they don’t personally know any. Another thing that struck me was the amazingly powerful hatred for Islam that is held by many people who clearly know very little about the religion other than distortions and calumnies.

Now, of course there are plenty of people who are racist and who see Islam bashing as a publicly acceptable form of black bashing,

and there are also many neo-McCarthyan paranoids out there for whom the Muslims are the new ‘Reds under the bed‘, the ‘Greens under the bed‘ I should say.

and of course there are also many Zionist Hasbarats out there (for many it is a paid full time job) who have been instructed to attack and incite hatred against Muslims and Islam as this is considered part of the offensive effort that is useful to justify Israeli oppression of Palestinians and which prepares the groundwork for the dream invasions that they hope will one day lead to the establishment of a greater Israel stretching right across Arabia to Iraq (including many delectable oil wells).

and of course there are plenty of people who follow certain money-dominated Evangelical churches through which they are fed Islamophobic claptrap every time they go to Church or watch their religious TV stations.

and as well as these there are Secular Fundamentalists who consider it their job to attack all religions through every means at their disposal (distorted coverage being a favourite method).

All of these I can understand. All of these people I would expect to be playing such games (may God guide them as He wills and to wherever He wills)

But what makes me feel a little sad is when I hear the Islamophobic claptrap that is spread around by the above mentioned groups being repeated by misinformed but genuine and well meaning people who have simply been taken in by the overwhelming weight of vicous (and subtle) hostile output against Muslims and Islam.

Today I would like to tell them somethings important things so much.

The first of these is that the Muslim Ummah is not involved in some super conspiracy against the West.

Another thing that I wish these people could know is that most Muslims grew up well exposed to Western culture through film and television, and that they admire much in the West. Furthermore most Muslim aspire to similar things as do people in the West and they share very similar values to those of the current generations in the West in most areas and hold views similar to the grandparent generations of the current Western people in some other areas.

I wish these people could know that they have been fed several big fat lies by many major politicians and media organizations who have been engaged in a war on Islam for various unscrupulous reasons.

I wish they could know that the picture they have of Muslims is a conglomerate of negative stories and stereotypes that have been chosen as part of this campaign.

I wish they knew that really the vast majority of Muslims are fine good people and that the best Muslims are those who follow their religion.

I wish they could understand that the broad movement of Islamic revival is a benevolent and civilizing influence that can bring peace and a more enlightened and egalitarian society to the Muslim lands, a society where the people would have greater well being and personal and economic freedom and security than they currently do in the Muslim lands – a society that would work with rather than against other societies.

I wish they could understand that al-Qaeda and other violent extremist groups are nothing to do with true Islam and that they are everything to do with ignorance (and in many cases hatred of) true Islam.

I wish they could know that the Iranian Shiite Republic, although started with high ideals, is also nothing to do with true Islam and that in fact it has everything to do with hatred of true Islam.

I wish they could know who is really the aggressor on the world stage and who it is who has become the ever useful scapegoat, the one to drop bombs on when an election is near or approval ratings need a boost, and I wish they knew who are really the biggest terrorizers of the innocents, but really I am not going to try top tell them as it would be like swimming up stream.

I wish they could know the reality of the plight of the Palestinians, the facts of what has really gone on there and the facts of what is still going on there, but the megaphone of Fox, CNN and BBC and the pro-Israeli press have already conditioned the minds of these people beyond my puny ability to convince them otherwise.

I guess all a little creature like me can do is try to do my little bit and make supplication to the Creator and remember that it is He knows best who deserves illumination and who deserves ignorance.

Maybe my mistake today was to let these things in the world bother me.

Things will be as they will be, and a sensible person once made the point that there is no point in getting bothered about these type of things unless it energizes one to perform properly directed and effective benevolent actions (actions that really help). I shall make it a point to remember that in future God willing.  

(re-blogged from Abode of Mercy)