Describing Oneself

Assalamu Alaikum Dear Readers,

Many often we are confronted with this question: “Describe Yourself”. And we all know how difficult a question it is to answer.

There are two ways you can describe yourself. One is with respect to the external factors. And the other is with respect to the emotions you experience. You can write down the tags that you can think of yourself and classify it into two buckets. Just write down whatever that comes to your mind one after the other, without ‘thinking’ and being judgmental .

I described myself with respect to the external factors, and it followed this pattern:

Name, profession, place of origin, date of birth, income etc..

Then described myself with respect to how I felt, and tag cloud looked something like this:

Seeker, Weak, Lucky, Guided, Sinner, Forgiven, Loved, Happy, Ignored, Accepted, Bachelor,  Writer, Friend, Friendless, Sad, Depressed, Desperate, Angry, Lonely, Optimistic, Careless,  Insensitive, Empathetic, Bold, Stupid, In-calculative, Spendthrift, Chaotic, Grudger, Impatient, Tender, Loving, Lovable, Caring, Young, Mature, Immature, lustful, Tired, Unforgiving, Creative, …

(You can see positive and negative emotions and even conflicting tags, but they all fit in in different contexts.)

It is the second category that constitutes a life for any person, no matter who he is. And when Allah asks you to “Describe Yourself”, it is this category He is looking into.

When we inspect who we are, do our tags match with those of our Prophet whom we say we follow?

The Bestower of Grace

If Allah touches you with a hardship, none can relieve it except He. And when He blesses you, no force can prevent His grace. He bestows it upon whomever He chooses from among His servants. He is the Forgiver, Most Merciful.

-Qur’an 10:107

Layers of knowledge and Understanding.

Assalamu Alaikum ,

Three people, one totally blind the second a colour blind and the third with normal sight live in the same place. But no matter how much you talk to the blind, he cannot understand the concept of ‘seeing’. You can never make him understand what a ‘colour’  or ‘shade’ is. A colour blind person cannot understand colours, but he can understand shades. The normal people see things normally. So three different people ‘sees’ the world differently.

Even though they live at the very same place, one is living in a different world from the other. Think of the case when a blind person suddenly gets sight or a colour blind person gets the ability to see colours. Even though at the very same place, it wouldn’t be same any more for them. In fact it will be nothing like what they perceived or imagined before. They will be joining the ‘world’ of the third man thereafter.

This is the difference we get to experience when Allah opens up our heart and gives us a new ‘sight’ (which is why we we call ‘insight’). There are so so many layers of knowledge, awakening and enlightenment which gets revealed one after the other. And it is a supreme pleasure when Allah opens it. They form to be the new guidance and the new light with which you can live in the hitherto unknown ‘world’.

And at such moments I feel the rush of communicating it to others but I’m completely stuck. I know for sure that even if I speak out, they will not pick it up.

—-

When a family goes to watch a romantic movie, different people pick it up differently. For a child, he has his own understanding of the love portrayed in that movie. And for his mind, that is a complete understanding.. But grown up people are influenced in a totally different way.
It is of no use for a grown up man to try to convey the message of it to a child. The child’s understanding is going to be totally different. See how knowledge is protected!! Even if you try your best, you cannot transfer it to everyone. Allah will raise that child, cause changes in his body and heart and then he himself will start knowing those things!

It is the same way in spiritual understandings too. Thus Allah holds full copyright over his secrets!!  Such knowledge will reside only in the hearts which Allah chooses. May Allah include us all among such people.

The great Shaikh Abdul Qader Gilani (R.A.) (also called Ghousul A’zam) had said ” Allah has opened for me seventy doors within each knowledge. And each of the doors are as wide as to include the sky and the earth.”

Ali (R.A.) told,”If I were to write down my understanding of Al-Fathiha, it would be bulkier for seventy camels to carry it.” See, Al-Fathiha is after all a very small chapter in Qur’an with only seven verses. What is there in it which if you write down will be running into tons of pages? That was the knowledge residing in the heart of Ali (R.A.).

Our Prophet (S.A.) had once recited Bismi (meaning: In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. ) in prayer  twenty times where as it is recited normally only once. Each time it was recited at a different level, with a different state and understandings.

Where are those meanings? For us the entire Qur’an, let alone Fatiha, is only one small book.

Regards,
Abdul Muneer P.K.

To the seeker of Islam..

Be informed O seeker of Islam
That this fruit is not available in the market.
Fruits of this type that you may find there are
Either rotten or poisoned with pesticides.
And if you manage to find one that is neither,
You’ll quickly realize it is made of wax.
It is impossible to find it in the market
Because the Gardener never gives it to be sold.

This fruit comes from an exalted tree which has its
Roots firm on the ground and branches in the Heaven
And giving its fruits on all seasons
With the permission from its Gardener.
O seekers of this fruit, approach the tree first
And ask the permission from the Gardener.
Come snow, thunder or sand storm,
This fruit will suffice all your needs.

Al Fathiha

Assalamu Alaikum,

Usually the first meaningful word uttered by a baby will be a word which means mother in local language. Who teaches the baby to call his mother “mumm..”? Mother herself, right?

(How else will the baby know how to call his mother!!)

So the very word “mumm” (mummy, ma, ummi, umma .. whatever) that is meant to be spoken by baby to his mother is actually a word spoken by the mother to her baby.

Dear friends, isn’t it the same with the opening chapter of Qur’an, Al-Fathiha ?

 

Allah teaches us the best way to speak to Him.

 

Pray for me.

Love,

Abdul Muneer

Khalifa Ali (RA)

 

 

Assalamu Alaikum,

In a battle, Islam’s fourth Khalifa Ali (RA) had almost conquered an attacker. Ali (RA) had got on top of the befallen enemy and was about to kill. It was then the other guy spat on Khalifa’s holy face. To his extreme surprise, Ali (RA) quickly got up and left. Unable to perceive this gesture he went back to Ali (RA) and asked explanation,” One would have killed me at once. I made such a provocation and you instead left me free. What made you do that?”

The Khalifa replied, “I’m fighting for the sake of Allah and acting according to His will. When you spat on my face, I got angry. If I were to kill you then, it would have been out of my anger. I would be guilty in front of Allah for ending the life of a human for my sake.”

That was the level of purification Rasool (SAW) gave to his disciples. It was a test from Allah and Ali (RA) could recognize it in that very nick of time. He never ever let his nafs take over him. Any ordinary man would have failed there.

If we are not purified like that, our first job is to attain that purification. Fighting against our own nafs is the real fight. Rasool (SAW) described it as the greatest battle.

But what is happening now? Fanatics, powered by nafs and fuelled by shaithan, hijack Islam. They call themselves Jihadis. They say they are fighting for Religion. But what they really do is just venting their cultivated anger and hatred. They will have to answer before the Lord for killing His creations and destroying His Religion.

In Islam anger and hatred towards the creations of Allah has no place. Even a tree should not be cut without a proper cause.

If it was not for His immeasurable Love toward the creations of Allah, lakhs of people wouldn’t have surrendered their hearts and whatever else they had at the feet of Rasool (SAW).

May Allah guard His Deen through us, May Allah make us true copies of our beloved Prophet (SAW). Aamin.

Love,

Abdul Muneer

ISLAM / Ahl-u-Sunnath val Jama’ath..3

 

Assalamu Alaikum,

Allah says

Didn’t You see one who belies his religion?
That is he who repels the orphan
And urges not feeding the needy (107:1-3)

Subhanallah..

It is to be noted that even if one happens to miss one of the compulsory prayers, he doesn’t go out of the religion. It attracts displeasure from Allah and he makes himself at a loss. But those who repel the orphans and turn away from needy people are out of Islam itself..

If they are out, who cares about their ‘worships’?

Notice that Allah addresses them as ‘they/that is he’ in the second verse, indicating the separation.

All the compulsory prayers, and other actions are applicable only for those who satisfy the more basic condition of being kind towards the creations of Allah.

This is Allah’s Love towards His creations.

This is the Real Islam.. This is the way of our leader prophet Muhammed(SAW) and His followers.

Alhamdulillah (All Praise to Allah).

Love,

Abdul Muneer

POSTMAN..

Assalamu Alaikum dear wanderer and my wayfarers.

Before the creation only Allah was there. Therefore whatever we perceive and experience-all those creations and all those powers we see-came from Him. It is Allah who is fulfilling all need of all creations.
Consider an example of a couple.
A person works abroad and sends money to his wife every week. The wife receives money from a postman. After receiving money from the postman, the wife would call her husband and acknowledge (or thanks). Never would she think of the postman as her master. If she is in some urgent need, it is her husband whom she calls, not the postman.
Apparently the postman helps, but in reality it is the husband who helps (La ilaha illallah). A postman will not give even a penny to any one as he doesn’t have any. He will give a million which is sent by the one who have it. Will the husband tolerate if she gives her heart to the postman on the account of the apparent help from postman? Their kid who sees the postman giving money to his mother might be tempted to ask more from the postman.

All creations we see around including our mother and father are postmen from Allah. There is really no creation that can satisfy any of our needs on their own. What is seen by the mortal eyes is false, we see a postman helping a woman!! ‘Indeed this world is a treachery..’ says Allah. May Allah save us.

Prophet Ibrahim (A) didn’t ask help from the postmen. But Yusuf(A) tended to ask. And Allah was angry. (Allah sets thing like that only for our lesson. We should not forget that Yusuf (A) is a prophet.).

===================================================================

That reminds me of an old joke..

“A lover sent letters to his object of his desire, twice daily. She finally married the postman!”

🙂

Love,

Abdul Muneer

TWO PROPHETS AND ONE LESSON..

Assalamu Alaikum,

Today, the Imam during Friday Qutubah (Speech) told: Nabi Yusuf (Alaihissalam) asked help from one of his fellow prisoners. Prophet Ibrahim (Alaihissalam) refused to turn to the ‘creations’ and left things to his Friend Allah(SWT) even when thrown into fire.

Ibrahim (A) got timely help. Yusuf (A) had to stay in prison for much much longer.

Love,

Abdul Muneer

OF BURDENS..

Assalamu Alaikum..

Allah gave me three sentences today to present to my loved ones. They are:

• Allah has declared that he has only khair (good) in his hand.

• Prophet Muhammed (S.A) used to pray to Allah not to leave anything for Prophet (S.A) to take care of even for the duration of an eyeblink.

• This teaches us that our burdens are self chosen.

I know Allah has filled my heart with some amount of love for you people. Otherwise I wouldn’t be loving you..

Love,

Abdul Muneer