Riyadat an-Nafs

I’m supposed to travel today (Monday)… for about three weeks. And I’m not feeling good about it.

I feel like I should stay here.. that going will not be good for me… But Allahu a’lam. There’s things I need to do here. And I haven’t prepared anything for the trip really.

I can’t cancel, because my travel partners will kill me.. hehe.

So I ask everyone to please make dua’s for me, that Allah blesses this trip, and makes everything easy, and helps me achieve everything that I need to get done, either there or when I come back, and that I don’t end up wasting my time…

jazakum Allahu khayran.

اللهم صلّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا ومولانا محمد خير البرية

وعلى آله في كل لمحة ونفس عدد ما وسعه علم الله

لا إله إلا الله

إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون

“To Allah We belong, and to Him is our return“

Syed Muhammad Iqbal al-Abbaasi al-Qaadiri,  ( Shaykh al-Abbaasi) passed away last night.

He was the keeper of the Noble Rawda, the piece of Paradise on Earth, for more than 60 years. Imagine that… Allah chose for him to live his lifetime on Earth, on an actual piece of Paradise.

And not only that, but he was one of the very few  to clean inside the Noble Chamber of Rasool Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam.

There is a short and beautiful paragraph about him here.

 It is fitting that Peter Sanders put him on the cover of his upcoming work, Meetings with Mountains… For he was a true mountain: “And He has placed firm mountains upon the earth, lest it sway with you” (31:10).

I have heard wondrous things about him from two of my friends who are his mureeds.

I don’t know what to say to them.. Only to remind them that while this my cause them to cry, but this was his day of happiness.

As Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali wrote in his last poem, found beneath his pillow when he died:

I am a treasure, by a talisman kept hid,
Fashioned of dust, which served me as a shrine,
I am a pearl, which has left its shell deserted,
I am a bird, and this body was my cage
Whence I have now flown forth and it is left as a token
Praise to God, who hath now set me free
And prepared for me my place in the highest of the heavens,
Until today I was dead, though alive in your midst.
Now I live in truth, with my shroud discarded.

And I say to them:

Don’t think that you lost anyone. By Allah he is still there, in the world of the Barzakh which is here, connected to our world,  and now he is freed from the constraints of his body, so he can be closer to you wherever you are.

There is a famous saying:

When the wali dies, his sword is unsheathed.

اللهم صلّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا ومولانا محمد خير البرية

وعلى آله في كل لمحة ونفس عدد ما وسعه علم الله

“And do not sit, after the remembrance, with those who do wrong.” (6:68)

Or meaning: after remembering.

Or, after the ٍRevelation.

Shaykh Babikir, may Allah preserve him, has talked about this verse in the last two times I saw him: last week, and tonight.

He said that one of the greatest mistakes we do, is to think that we’re ok if we don’t do anything wrong, but sit in the company of those who do. We sit in places were alcohol is served, even with people who are drinking it, and think it’s ok, as long as we’re not drinking it. And the same with other sins.

But, just sitting with them, those who wrong themselves, and do wrong, is a great calamity. A horrible mistake. And no, you are not ok, and not safe, when doing that. It means you are condoning a sin. You are tactitly approving of an action that angers Allah, subhanahu wa ta’aala. Either you stay away from people who are committing anything that causes Allah’s displeasure, or you tell them that it is a sin. You command what is right, and forbid what is evil. It’s either this or that. But you don’t just “hang” with them or around them.

Which makes me think. A lot of times, I go eat in restaurants where alcohol is served. Of course I only eat veggie in such places, even if they claim they are halal. But still, maybe just being there, in a place where Allah is being clearly disobeyed, and where He Most High is looking at the place with the eye of anger, is to be in darkness.

It might be hard, only eating where alcohol is not served. But maybe I should try my best avoiding it. And not just that, but also sitting with people who engage in idle talk, and take religion lightly, and talk only about the dunya. Because they are wronging themselves.

والله المستعان

اللهم صلّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا ومولانا محمد خير البرية

وعلى آله في كل لمحة ونفس عدد ما وسعه علم الله

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم وبحمده

اللهم صلّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا ومولانا محمد خير البرية

وعلى آله في كل لمحة ونفس عدد ما وسعه علم الله

 The great Azhari imam, the shaykh of his age, the lover of the Rasool, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, and the Ahlul Bayt, sayyidi Saleh al-Jaafari (r.a.) left more then 12 volumes of poetry in praise of Allah Most High, His Prophet, and the Ahlul Bayt. But of all these poems, there were a select few that he valued very highly for his students, instructing them to memorize them. I will copy and translate one of them here, which the shaykh would have recited very frequently, and which he emphasized that his students should memorize. It is addressed to the Ahlul Bayt, may Allah be pleased with them.

The shaykh also wrote about it in one of his most important works, a book of aqeeda that he wrote for his students called  فتح وفيض وفضل من الله في شرح كلمة لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله

In this book he mentions the poem while discussing hadiths about the greatness of the Prophet’s two grandsons al-Hasan and al-Husayn. So the shaykh mentions the hadith “Husayn is from me, and I am from Husayn” (Narrated by Tirmidhi) and that Shaykh Muhammad Az-Zarqani al-Maliki al-Azhari, who wrote commentaries on the Muwatta of Imam Malik and the Mawahib al-Ladunniyya of al-Qastalani said it was sahih.

The shaykh then explains the hadith by saying:

“He, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, is like the sun. And “Husayn is from me” means: A ray that shone to the universe from the sun. And the meaning of “and I am from Husayn” is: I am connected to al-Husayn like the sun is connected to its rays, and this applies to all his Ahlul Bayt, radi Allahu anhum, because they are connected to him, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, as the rays of the sun are connected to the sun. He said, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam: “All lines of descendants and in-laws will be cut off on the Day of Rising except my descendants and in-laws.” Narrated by Ahmad. Our shaykh al-Shinqiti (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When sayyidna Umar, radi Allahu anhu, heard of this hadith, he asked the hand of sayyida Umm Kulthum from (her father) sayyidna Ali, radi Allahu anhu wa karrama wajhah, so she became his wife, may Allah be pleased with him and with her.

And I have said in a poem of mine:

 الجعفري له في حبكم أمل * ما خاب من جاءكم بالحب والأمل

يرجو بكم من رسول الله نظرته * تهدي الفؤاد لفهم العلم والعمل

إذ أنتم منه أنوار مباركة * لها اتصال به كالشمس في المثَل

Al-Jaafari has hope in loving you

He’s never dissapointed who comes to you with love and hope

Hoping for a glance from Rasool Allah because of you

That would guide the heart to understanding of ilm and action

For you are blessed lights from him

Connected to him, like the sun in simile.

And this poem has a great secret. And in the year  1392 A.H. (1972 C.E.) I saw my grandfather sayyidna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him and ennoble his face, in al-Madina al-Munawwara. So he said to me: “Do you have the poem  ‘Al-Jaafari has hope in loving you’ memorized?”  So I said to him: Yes.

Then I awoke from my sleep, and I knew that he was admonishing me for not mentioning his name in it. So I mentioned his name, may Allah be pleased with him and ennoble his face, and added the following verses:

 أذكر عليا إذا ما جاء مبتدراً * أهل العداوة في بدر بلا مهل

والسيف يلمع في يمناه ذو خطر * أردى الأعادي أهيل الرمح والأسل

له زئير كمثل الأسد في أجم * يردي الأعادي بوهم الرعب والوجل

And remember Ali when he took the initiative

In fighting the enemies at Badr, without delay

And the sword shining in his right hand, dangerous

It killed the enemies, armed with their spears and arrows

He has a roar like lions in their dens

that knocks down the enemies with terror and fright.“

 —————————————–

Here is the poem:

 الجعفري له في حبكم أمل * ما خاب من جاءكم بالحب والأمل

يرجو بكم من رسول الله نظرته * تهدي الفؤاد لفهم العلم والعمل

إذ أنتم منه أنوار مباركة * لها اتصال به كالشمس في المثَل

أنتم شعاع لشمس المصطفى وبه * سدتم على الناس من حاف ومنتعل

 وكنتم آية في الكون بيّنة * تهدي إليه لذي عقل بلا عُقُل

يا رحمة في بقاع الأرض يصحبها * نور وأمن لذي عسر وذي وجل

دعاؤكم بلسم تشفى الصدور به * يفوق أدوية الأسقام كالعسل

وقولكم يا سادتي مسك يفوح به * يهدي العقول لهدي واضح السبل

ومن تولى تولى عن سعادته * وعاش في هاجس الأوهام والكسل

وما سمعنا محبا قد ألم به * جور الزمان مع الأغيار والفشل

وكل من زاركم نلقاه مبتسما * عليه نور كأهل الخلد في شغل

يلوح منه إذا ما قال حبكم * وإن أتى داركم يمشي على عجل

وإن رآكم بنوم نال بغيته * والنور يسري إلى الأحشاء والمقل

يا سادة هم شفاء للعليل ومن * يأتي إليهم شفي من سائر العلل

بالله يشفى وأنتم باب رحمته * بكم يجاب دعاء الخائف الوجل

الغيث أنتم وفضل الله يمطره * على المحبين في سهل وفي جبل

وحبكم سادتي من فضل خالقنا * للمؤمنين بفضل الله في الأزل

والقري والحب للأرواح في أزل * كان التعارف للآتين بالأول

من كان منكم قريبا جاء عندكم * والمبعدون لهم بعد لآل علي

أبشر بخير إذا ما كنت عندهم * قد حقق الله ما قد كان في الأزل

فالحمد لله هذا الحب جاء لنا * من الإله وليس الحب بالجدل

 أذكر عليا إذا ما جاء مبتدراً * أهل العداوة في بدر بلا مهل

والسيف يلمع في يمناه ذو خطر * أردى الأعادي أهيل الرمح والأسل

له زئير كمثل الأسد في أجم * يردي الأعادي بوهم الرعب والوجل

أنظر إلى الحسن السبط الذي كملت * له المحاسن مثل الشمس في المثل

أنظر حسينا تجد في القلب صورته * يكسى بنور بخير الخلق متصل

بدران في الكون بل شمسان نورهما * للذاكرين لدى الأسحار والأصل

يا سادة ما أحب القلب مثلهم * بالخلد سادوا وفي الدنيا لكل ولي

سادوا الورى بخيار الخلق جدهم * من ساد بالفضل للأملاك والرسل

خضر الثياب لهم عز ومكرمة * الله أكرمهم بالخلد والنزل

مقاعد الصدق نالوها معطرة * ملكا كبيرا جميل الدار والحلل

فإن رأيت رأيت الملك تبصره * ملكا كبيرا لآل البيت آل علي

آل الرضا لا تحل عن بابهم أبدا * وانهض إليهم على خيل على إبل

رحال أهل الهدى شدت لزورتهم * والمانعون لها يرمون بالفشل

يزور خير الورى بدرا بهمته * في كل عام وهذا واضح وجلي

والصحب جائوا لخير الخلق من بعد * يبغون زورته تشفي من العلل

ثم الصلاة على المختار سيدنا * والآل والصحب في الإبكار والأصل

والآل آل رسول الله سيدنا * كذا السلام سلام العز والأمل

ما الجعفري غدا بالحب مبتهجا * في مدح آل نبي أكرم الرسل

Al-Jaafari has hope in loving you

He’s never dissapointed who comes to you with love and hope

Hoping for a glance from Rasool Allah because of you

That would guide the heart to understanding of ilm and action

For you are blessed lights from him

Connected to him, like the sun in simile

You are rays of the sun of the Mustafa and through him,

You became masters of all people from poor to rich

And you were in the universe a clear sign (aya)

Guiding to him those who have minds that are not fettered

O mercy on earth that is accompanied by light,

and security for those of hardship or fear

Your du’a is a balsam with which chests are healed

Like honey it is superior to the medicines of disease

And your sayings, my masters, are accompanied by musk

They guide the minds to a clear path and way

And he who distances himself, has distanced himself from happiness

And has lived in the obsessions of delusions and laziness

And we have never heard of a lover whose destiny struck him

With injustice and failure, along with aghyar (the  people of otherness)

And everyone who visits you, we see him simling,

Like the people of Paradise, occupied (ref Q 36:55) and on him a light

It shines from him when he speaks of your love

And if he comes to your dwelling places he walks in a hurry

And if he sees you in his sleep he attains his desire

And the light travels inside his body and his eyes

O masters who are a cure for the sick

and he who comes to them is cured of all defects

By Allah he is cured and you are the doors of His mercy

Because of you the du’a of the frightened is answered

You are the rain, and the bounty of Allah which He rains down

On the lovers, in every valley and every mountain

And your love, my masters, is from the bounty of our Creator

A bounty pre-ordained for the believers from pre-eternity

And love and nearness happen to souls from pre-eternity

Those who come to visit you have met you back then

He who is close to you will come to visit you

And those kept away will remain far from the house of Ali

If you were at their place, then glad tiding!

Allah has brought to be what had happened in pre-eternity

So praise is due to Allah for this love, it came to us

From Allah and love comes not from argumentation

And remember Ali when he took the initiative

In fighting the enemies at Badr, without delay

And the sword shining in his right hand, dangerous

It killed the enemies, armed with their spears and arrows

He has a roar like lions in their dens

that knocks down the enemies with terror and fright.

Look at al-Hasan the grandson who, like the sun

Has every beautiful attribute

Look at Husayn you’ll find his image in your heart

Covered in lights connected to the Best of Creation

Two full moons in this universe- nay two suns!

Their light is for the people of dhikr before dawn and in the early morn

O masters, the like of whom the heart has never loved

In Paradise they are masters, and in this world, over every wali

They are masters of all people because of their grandfather, the Best of Creation

Who is the master over all the Angels and Messengers

Their clothes are green, they have glory and honor

Allah has honored them with Paradise and its abodes

Their stations of security (Q 54:54) they have been given,  fragrant

A great domain of beautiful homes and jewelery

So if you see, you’ll see their domain, a great domain

 That shall belong to the Ahlul Bayt, the house of Ali

The house of contentment, never leave their door

And rise up and go to them, on horses, on camels

The  people of guidance travel to visit them

And those who forbid it are hit with failure

The Best of Creation used to visit the people of Badr

In every year, and this is clear and manifest

And the companions came to visit him from afar

Seeking by his visit to be cured from their defects

Then we ask Allah for Salat on the Mustafa our master

and upon his family and companions, at every time

And the family, the family of Rasool Allah our master

and likewise salaam, the greeting of hope and love

As long as al-Jaafari became joyful with love

In praise of the family of the Prophet, the noblest of Messengers 

والحمد لله رب العالمين على نعمه كلها

اللهم صلّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا ومولانا محمد خير البرية

وعلى آله في كل لمحة ونفس عدد ما وسعه علم الله

My friend just got me a Kyrgyz hat (kalpak).

On a Kyrgyz man it looks like this:

farm3.static.flickr.com/2183/1958127360_f8499ed71a_o.jpg

But on me it would look like this:

farm3.static.flickr.com/2147/2135423940_4f52fb1ef2_o.jpg

So I doubt I’ll be wearing it! But I do love it!

This last Sunday, Shaykh Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti, may Allah preserve him, came to London to attend and contribute to a workshop that I was also attending. He told us he had to leave in a very short time because he had lessons he was supposed to be teaching back at Oxford. So an hour or so into the day, he went outside the room to make a phone call and see if he has to leave or if he could stay a bit longer. At that moment I had to go to the bathroom so I left the room, and the shaykh was outside, just ending his phone call as I walked out. So I asked him if he was going to give a talk or not, because I didn’t want to miss that, and he said that he most likely had to go right away. So I was about to say goodbye and leave when he stopped me and said, “what is your name?”

I think he stopped me and asked me that because he wanted to know who this stranger was who stood in front of him earlier in the morning when he first arrived. I just stood in his way, and he looked at me, and I looked at him. Then I said assalamu alaykum and he replied, and he extended his hand to shake mine, so I quickly kissed it, despite his best efforts to pull it back. That’s probably why he asked. So I replied:

- My name is such and such. You know such and such a person, he studies with you. He told me all about you!

- Oh, I’m sure he was exaggerating. What do you…?

- Such and such.

- Who do you …?

- So-and-so, so-and-so, and so-and-so.

- Do you know so-and-so?

- I haven’t met him but I was thinking about such and such… do you know him?

- Yes, he is my friend.

- Do you think I should….?

- *nodd*

- Alright shaykh, it was great meeting you, but I have to go to the bathroom.

And that was it. A 30-second encounter, or thereabouts.

After I came back, I saw that the shaykh very generously decided to stay, and gave us a great and inspiring talk, even though he had to be in Oxford, but he felt that the topic being discussed was very important for the ummah and that he needed to make a contribution. MashaAllah! Then I had to leave before the event ended to get ready for the mawlid later that night, so there was no chance of speaking to the shaykh again that day.

Today, I took a very important decision in my life and acted upon it, that is all based on that 30 second encounter! It would not have happened had the shaykh not stopped me and asked my name, etc. Also, that fact that the person he asked me about is his friend made the enactment of the decision happen with great ease, alhamdulillah!

“So, I was speaking to shaykh Afifi, and he said you’re his friend…”

And just like that, I was saved from committing a horrible mistake: being stuck with something very unsuitable for me, and instead diverted me to a new path that will change and shape the rest of my life for the better, inshaAllah. A path that is perfect for me, and Allah knows best.

And just like that, Allah changes people’s lives with simple touches by His awliya and righteous slaves.

It makes you think… forget all your own efforts, forget all your planning, forget all your attempts at changing your life, and spiritual riyada… perhaps all you need is the right company…

In the words of the great shaykh Abu Madyan al-Ghawth:

ما لذة العيش إلا صحبة الفقرا *** هم السلاطين والسادات والأمرا

The pleasure of life is only in the company of the fuqara.

They are the sultans, the masters, the princes.

والحمد لله رب العالمين على نعمه كلها

اللهم صلّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا ومولانا محمد خير البرية

وعلى آله في كل لمحة ونفس عدد ما وسعه علم الله

Excerpt from Al-Imam Ibn al-Jawzi’s mawlid, known as Al-Aroos.

———-

الحمد لله الذي أبرز من غرةِ عروسِ الحضرةِ صبحاً مستنيراً… وأطلع في أفلاكِ الكمالِ من بروج الجمالِ شمساً وقمراً منيراً… واختار في القدم سيد الكونين حبيباً ونجيباً وسفيراً… وأخذ له العهودَ على سائر مخلوقات الوجودِ تعظيماً له وتوقيراً… وجعل لجمال غرته بطوناً اختارها لحمله وظهوراً… وجعلها لصون لؤلؤة نفسه النفيسة بحوراً …وجعل منها عذباً فراثاً وملحاً أجاجاً حكمة منه وتقديراً… واجتباه وحماه من الدنس والرجس وطهره تطهيراً… ونقله من الأصلاب من آدم إلى نوح وشيت وإبراهيم وإسماعيل وكل نبي غدا به مستجيراً… وما منهم إلا من أخذ عليه العهد والميثاق ليؤمنن به ولينصرنه وكان ذلك في الكتاب مسطوراً…

صلــوا عليه وسلمــــوا تسليمــــــا

فآدم لأجله تاب الله عليهِ ..وإدريس بسببه رفعه الله إليهِ.. ونوح في الفلك به توسلَ.. وهود في دعائه عولَ …والخليل به تشفعَ.. وإسماعيل به تضرعَ ..وموسى أعلم قومه بمكالمتهِ وسأل ربه أن يكون من أمتهِ وله وزيراً.. وعيسى بشر بوجودهِ وطلب المهلة إلى زمانهِ ليكون له نصيراً.. والأحبار به أخبرتْ ..والكهان به أعلنتْ ..والجن برسالته آمنتْ ..والآيات باسمه نطقتْ.. ونار فارس من نوره أخمدتْ ..والأسرة بمولوكها تزلزلتْ.. والتيجان من رؤوس أربابها تساقطتْ.. وبحيرة طبريا عند ظهوره وقفتْ ..وكم من عين نبعت وفارتْ.. وانشق إيوان كسرى وشرفاته تساقطتْ.. وملائكة السبع سماوات بمولده تباشرتْ ..والسماء شرفاً له حرستْ ..والشهب إكراما له لمسترق السمع رجمتْ.. وإبليس صاح ونادى على نفسه ويلاً وثبوراً…..

صلــوا عليه وسلمــــوا تسليمــــــا

فلما ولد صاحب الناموسْ بدا في الحضرة كالعروسْ.. بوجه يحكي القمر ظهوراً ..وشعر يشبه في سواده ديجوراً.. وجبين أطلع منه ضياءاً ونوراً.. وقد أمسى الجمال به قريراً ..وأنف أحسن من حد الحسام مشهوراً.. وشفتين كالعقيق وثغر حكى لؤلؤاً منثوراً ..وجبين كالفضة أبدت بهاءاً ونوراً ..وصدر أضحى بالإيمان معموراً.. ويدين فجر منهما ماء النعيم تفجيراً ..وقدم صدق أن له في سعي السعادة تأثيراً.. واضطرب الكون عند ولادته وكان مخموراً ..ونشر السعد على الوجود نشوراً ..وأصبح موطن الإيمان مغموراً.. وجاء بشير الوحي إلى أهل الأكوان وقرأ قارئ الوصل ونادى في الأقطار جما غفيراً: “يا أيها النبي إنا أرسلناك شاهداً ومبشراً ونذيرا.ً وداعياً إلى الله بإذنه وسراجاً منيراً. وبشر المؤمنين بأن لهم من الله فضلا كبيرا.ً ولا تطع الكافرين والمنافقين ودع أذاهم. وتوكل على الله وكفى بالله وكيلاً”….

صلــوا عليه وسلمــــوا تسليمــــــا

ولما وضعت آمنة ولدها محمدا صلى الله عليه وسلم وضعته مكحولاً مدهوناً مسروراً.. مطيباً مختوناً ..قد شرح الله له صدراً .. وحفت به الملائكة عن يمينه وشماله فرأوا جبيناً وحاجبا يفوق حسناً ونوراً وضياءاً وعطراً.. وثغراً قد أودع الله منه قلوب العاشقين خمراً.. فيا آمنة لك البشرَى ..فهذا جد الحسنين وأبو الزهرَا ..وكان يسبح الله في بطنها سراً وجهراً …فسبحان من خلق هذا النبي الكريم سلطان الأنبياء ورفع له في الملكوت قدرا وذكراً ..ومن صلى عليه كان له المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم شافعا ومشفعا وصلى الله عليه بكل صلاة عشراً..

صلــوا عليه وسلمــــوا تسليمــــــا

ولما خلق الله آدم عليه السلام ظهر نوره واسمه مكتوب على ساق العرش سطراَ.. فلما انتقل النور إلى شيث عليه السلام أظهر ذلك النور جمالا وحسنا .. ولما انتقل النور الى نوح عليه السلام أمسى بنوره على الجودي مستقراَ.. ولما انتقل النور الى ابراهيم الخليل عليه السلام صارت النار عليه بردا ونهراَ.. ولما انتقل النور الى اسماعيل عليه السلام فدي ببركته ووجد صبراَ.. ولما انتقل النور الى عبد المطلب وجد بعد عسرٍ يسراَ.. ورد بنور المصطفى الفيل وكسر ابرهة كسراَ.. واهتز البيت الحرام طربا واشرق الصفا بنور المصطفى يمولد عروس الجمالِ وخذراً…

صلــوا عليه وسلمــــوا تسليمــــــا

حن الجذع اليابس اليهِ.. وسلم الضب عليهِ.. وتزلزل تحت قدميه الجبلُ.. وخاطبه الجملُ.. فنوره أنورُ.. وسره أظهرُ .. وذكره أحلى وصوته اجملُ.. ودينه اكملُ .. واسمه في السماء أحمدُ .. وفي الأرض محمدُ .. هذا نبيٌ وفيٌ عفيفٌ راكعٌ ساجدُ.. مليح الهامةْ.. معتدل القامةْ.. مدور العمامةْ .. شريف الهمةْ.. عالي الدرجةْ.. صادق اللهجةْ.. واضح الحجةْ.. من الطيب انفاسهُ .. ومن الصدق لسانهُ .. مكة مولدهُ .. والدلدل بغلتهُ .. والعضبا ناقتهُ.. تكلم الذئب لهيبتهِ.. وسعت الاشجار والاحجار لخدمتهِ.. واختار شفاعته لأمتهِ.. وسبح الحصا في كفهِ.. ونبع الماء من بين أصابعهِ.. والعنكبوث نسج عليهِ.. والحمام عشش عليهِ.. والرب صلى وسلم عليهِ…

صلــوا عليه وسلمــــوا تسليمــــــا

فيا بشرى لكم أمة محمد لقد نلتم خيراً كثيراً في الدنيا وفي الأخرَى.. فيا سعد من يعمل بسنة أحمد فيلقى الهناءَ والعز والخير والفخراً.. ويدخل جنات عدن بتيجان من در تحتها خلع خضرا..ً ويعطى قصورا لا تعد لواصف وفي كل قصر حورية عذراً… فصلوا على خير الأنام فقد نشرت الحسنى بمولده نشراً.. وكل من صلى عليه مرةً يجازيه ربنا بها عشراً…

صلــوا عليه وسلمــــوا تسليمــــــا

So there is a syrian munshid with an incredible voice who will be singing on the sunday mawlid. I met him last night in the little mawlid in wembley, and he wanted to try out my voice to see if i can join them on sunday. i think i quickly proved i was hopeless. which is a shame, because the Jaafariyya Ahmadiyya Muhammadiyya tariqa is in a way like a school for creating maddaheen (aka munshideen).

So I just sat home, opened the diwan of shaykh Saleh, and read the next poem that I haven’t read yet, and recorded it on my phone. Turned out to be a long poem.. the recording is over 17 minutes long.

I just finished listening to it right now… I’m not too impressed. haha.

InshaAllah I’ll keep working on it. As the munshid said to me, you learn not by practicing but by listening. The more you listen, the better you become.

However your duas and well wishes are also appreciated.

والحمد لله رب العالمين على نعمه كلها

اللهم صلّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا ومولانا محمد خير البرية

وعلى آله في كل لمحة ونفس عدد ما وسعه علم الله

See link for details

www.biasa.org.uk/

This is a tombstone for a woman by the name of Abbaasa bint Jurayj, who died in the year 71 A.H., or 691 C.E., may Allah have mercy on her. That is about 60 years after the death of Rasool Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam.

It says:

Bism Allah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem.

The greatest calamity of the people of Islam (ahl al-Islaam) is their calamity in the death of Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam.

This is the  tomb of Abbaasa bint Jurayj ibn Sadd, may Allah’s mercy, forgiveness, and satisfaction be upon her.

She died on Monday the 14th of Dhul Qi’dah  of the year 71, confessing that there is no god but Allah, alone without partner, and that Muhammad is his slave and Messenger, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam.

www.islamic-awareness.org/History/Islam/Inscriptions/abasa.html

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Do you know why the tombstone begins by saying that the greatest calamity for the Muslims is the death of the Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam?

The Messenger of Allah, the beloved of Allah and of all creation, said:

إذا أصيب أحدكم بمصيبة فليذكر مصيبته بي فإنها اعظم المصائب

If anyone of you is hit by a calamity, then let him remember his calamity at (the death of) me, for it is the greatest of calamities.

(hadith sahih)

We are also told by sayyida Aisha radi Allahu anha that in the Prophet’s final illness, salawat Allah wa salamuhu alayh, he opened a curtain between himself and the people in the mosque, and saw the people praying behind Abu Bakr. So he thanked Allah for the good state he saw them in, and then he said:

يا أيها الناس أي ما أحد من الناس ، أو من المؤمنين أصيب بمصيبة فليتعز بمصيبته بي عن المصيبة التي تصيبه بغيري ، فإن أحدا من أمتي لن يصاب بمصيبة بعدي أشد عليه من مصيبتي

Oh people: Whenever any of the believers is hit by a calamity, then let him find strength with his calamity of my death, over his calamity at other than me. For no one from my ummah will be hit by a calamity after me, harder for himself than my calamity (my death).

The tombstone is a direct application of the hadith, using the same words. It is as if the tombstone is saying:

Do not cry over me! My death is nothing… nothing compared to the death of Rasool Allah! If you are going to cry, then cry over his death! Remember his death, and then my death will be lost in that sadness, and it will not hurt you anymore.

The early ascetic poet Abul Atahiya (d. 828 C.E.) said in verse,

اصـبر لكـل مصيبة وتجلـدِ   ***   واعلم بأن المـرء غير مخلـــد
أو مـا ترى أن المصـائب جمة   ***  وتـرى المنية للعبـاد بمـرصـد
من لم يصب ممـن ترى بمصيبة   ***   هـذا سبيل لسـت عنه بأوحـد
فإذا ذكرتَ محمـداً ومصـابه  ***   فاجعـل مصابك بالنبي محمــدِ

Have patience at every calamity, and endure

and know that Man lives not for ever.

Do you not see that calamities are many

and death awaits the slaves in ambush?

Who do you see who has not been hit by calamity…

this is something in which you’re not alone

So if you remember Muhammad and his calamity (death)

then let your calamity be that of (the death of) the Prophet Muhammad!

اللهم صلّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا ومولانا محمد خير البرية

وعلى آله في كل لمحة ونفس عدد ما وسعه علم الله