Monday 25 April 2011

Serious Socks

When I was a kid, my mum always told me: “don’t laugh too much, or you’ll end up crying.” True enough, any day where there had been an excess of giddiness and laughter, I’d end up crying by the evening. I really don’t know what about. A few years from there, and my teachers at madrassa warned me that excessive laughter hardens the heart. (Many years later I appreciated their words.) A couple of years on, and in fiqh you learn that one of the recommended times to do wudhu is after loud laugher.
Subhan Allah.

Our teacher Shaykh I reminds us time and again, this deen requires serious people. People like the 17 year old companion Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him & he with Allah), who at that beautifully tender age was able to truthfully proclaim: “I have divorced my soul from the dunya”.

Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani mentions in his autobiography, that when he would go out into the fields to play (as a 5 year old), he would hear a voice calling out to him: “you were not created for this!” – and being unable to comprehend this, he would run to seek comfort in his blessed mother Umm al-Khayr. A similar story one hears about Imam Nawawi, though I think he decided for himself that he wasn’t made for games and insisted on reading Qur’an instead! (Hero.) There are a few other examples in my head, but I can’t reference them so we will leave them be for now. But you see, there’s a theme going on here. These giants of the religion, that are so central to our tradition all these years later, were serious children, never mind serious adults.

 These are the people of success.

Need to pull up my socks.

Sunday 17 April 2011

Gentleness

Bismillah.

Something that has been bothering me for atleast a year is my absolute and complete lack of gentleness. Seriously, if you paid me to define the word I probably couldn’t. If it slapped me in the face (very ironically) I wouldn’t recognise it. I am the least gentle person I know. There are very many instances where my lack of gentleness creates issues to say the least, but I won’t mention them because Shaykh H said I have to keep my sins to myself.

“Allah is gentle and loves gentleness in all things.” [hadith]

That kind of puts a damper on things, and definitely should be a kick up the bum for myself.

I picked up a book on my sister’s shelf today: al-Fusul al-Ilmiyya wa’l-Usul al-Hikmiyya [Knowledge and Wisdom] written by the great Imam al-Haddad, may Allah have mercy on his soul. In it is a chapter on gentleness! – this surely I took as a reminder from my Lord (to persevere in this), because it has really been bugging me, particularly these past few days.

The Imam says: “Know that gentleness is required in all things. It is encouraged and approved by both Shari’a and reason. Things can be achieved through gentleness that cannot even remotely be done through severity and force. Gentleness is the attribute of the wise and the compassionate amongst those servants of Allah whom He has selected.”

I guess ultimately it comes down to adab. And I have none of that either.

Tuesday 12 April 2011

My Lady, Khadija

Sat in the library, in the middle of the night, attempting to write a paper about depression and acupuncture (please go ahead and raise an eyebrow), meanwhile gobbling chocolate biscuits, the silence is impressive despite the constant electric buzz of the overhead lamps. Being very little motivated, and much otherwise distracted, here I am.

Something that has been with me for a while is the yearning to be with sayyeda Khadija. May Allah be pleased with her, fill her resting place with light and beauty, and keep her in the company of her blessed family! An embrace. An embrace from that beautiful lady who so encompassingly embraced her husband (endless peace upon him!) on that fateful night he descended from Hira. Just imagine. What an embrace. I could dream of it for ever ...

I imagine it would cure all griefs, remove all worries, calm all fears. I even imagine it'd mend a broken heart.

And my hope is for this world, not just the next. And why not? Surely she has a spirit that can fly through the seven heavens, and throughout the earth. But where is my spirit at? Below my passions, hopes, and preoccupations; below my desire for this world; below chocolate biscuits, and medical degrees. It's not that her spirit cannot visit me, but rather mine is unable to greet hers.

O Allah: do not make this world my main aim, nor the extent of my knowledge.
O Allah: grant us the company of those whom we seek.

Saturday 9 April 2011

Syria 2.

I came across something beautiful, heart-breaking, and motivational (yes, all in one).

Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (endless peace and blessings upon him) said: "How blessed is Shaam!"  The companions (Allah be pleased with them, and they with He) around asked: "Why is that?" The Messenger (endless peace upon him) replied, "I see the angels of Allah the Most High spreading their wings over Shaam”.

[Narrated in Tirmidhi]

Allah take us.

Friday 8 April 2011

Notebooks

Bismillah.

"Whoever lives out that which he knows, Allah will grant him what he does not know." - said the beloved of Allah, and our Master, the Prince of Firdaws, the Leader of Prophets, Muhammad, endless peace upon him, his family, his companions, and those that follow him.

My notebooks are filling up, and yet my limbs are quite still. I have written this year more than I should have, I feel. I have done very little. Yet there is so much more to learn, but still more to do. I really do need to be more proactive.

A while ago, in class with Shaykh I, we were discussing the idea of always bringing every wrong/fault upon the earth back to yourself. i.e. I am the root cause of every evil manifest upon the earth. I asked Shaykh that, having once acknowledged that, how do we practically apply that, yani - what do we do with that? He (may Allah increase and preserve him, and allow me to benefit from him) said: "be your knowledge."

I really need to stop being so lazy.

Procrastination is the enemy of completion.