Zeal for Zuhd

How is it possible to achieve a measure of zuhd from this world given our immense responsibilities?

We must always take the means to fulfill the responsibilities that Allah has placed upon us. Part of excellence is struggling and striving through the world whilst maintaining your iman and islam. From what I understand, everybody can leave excessive things in the world, but keep that which allows you to go on and fulfill the commands of Allah. With zuhd, as with all things, there are limits for what is praiseworthy and what is blameworthy. It is praiseworthy to attempt to remove arrogance from the heart but it is blameworthy to completely lose self-respect (izzatun-nafs).

* Salah is a temporary renunciation of the world. –> while doing takbir, it’s as though we put back all the dunya behind us, for us to face Allah
* Giving charity is renunciation of love of wealth.
* Preserving one’s chastity until marriage is a type of renunciation of worldly pleasures.
* Spending your time in dhikr or learning (sacred knowledge) is renunciation of other actions that you could be doing during that time.
* exercising great patience when losing loved ones – Allah said in the Quran everything in the world will perish except the face of your Lord

everything around us can be a means to improving our akhira, what is important is not to de blinded by these means and forget the bigger picture i.e. to increase our love for Allah.

From “A taste of tasawwuf” course page…..
“This path is not monasticism, eating barley and bran, or the garrulousness of affectation, but rather perseverance in the divine commands and certainty in divine guidance.”
-Ibn ‘Ata’ Illah al-Iskandari

Going Against the Anger

Hadtih # 16

What to do when being angry?

Outwardly
1) Say ta’awudzh
“I know a word, the saying of which will cause him to relax, if he does say it. If he says: ‘I seek Refuge with Allah from Satan’ then all his anger will go away.” [Al-Bukhari; Vol. 4, No. 502]
2) Stay silent

“If one of you becomes angry then he should be silent.”

This is an important advice because during anger, most of our actions and speech may not be correct.
3) If standing, sit
4) If sitting, lie down
5) Drink water
6) Make wudhu’
“When one of you becomes angry while standing, he should sit down. If the anger leaves him, well and good; otherwise he should lie down.” [Abu Daud; Book 41, No. 4764]

Inwardly
- Once calmed, ask youself:
“Am I being angry because of Allah, or because of myself?”

* One should not act while being angry
* This hadith teaches us to restrain anger and be patient. Our patience towards others who have been harsh on us may later lead them to think and change themselves to be better. Muslims need to set models for others to learn from.

Pre-Destiny vs. Free Will

To try our best is what we must do, then leave the rest for Allah to decide.

We are responsible for the actions we choose to perform. This is extremely clear in the texts of the Quran and Hadith. Any philosophizing beyond that is waswasa and of more harm than benefit.

Many times predestination being used as an (what I see as “illegitimate”) reason for not correcting a person’s behaviour i.e. that being his/her own behaviour. Actually this excuse people give is one of Shaytan’s tricks.

Foreordained destiny and the inefficacy of material causes and effects
Divine Determination or Human Free Will
Moral Responsibility and Divine Will. Re: Blaming Destiny?
Blaming Destiny?
Destiny and Supplication

The most vital information from the articles above is that we should remember food does not make us full nor drink make us thirsty, only Allah does.. and He has created a system whereby we associate it with those things. They only seem to be the cause or effect yet everything truly was done only by Allah!

One of my teachers told me that humans have limited control on destiny.We will be judged for the choices we make that are in our control irrespective of the outcome.
It is in adab with Allah (s.w.t) that we take the best means and actions in the light of Islam to handle our daily life affairs. Allah (s.w.t) has bestowed us with numerous gifts (mind, body, wisdom, understanding of right and wrong etc) and we should be grateful to HIM. Blaming our failures, misdeeds, bad decisions and mishaps on destiny are a sign of ingratitude towards Allah (s.w.t).
What HE wills for us is in our best interest and only HE, the creator truly knows whats best for us.
Also, we should constantly make dua and seek HIS assistance, guidance and protection. Only through our sincere dua’s and sincere righteous efforts together we can change our destiny, if Allah wills so.

Great Islamic theologians said: Allah has willed that you act based on choice.

Allahualam

God give me the strength to change the things I can;
and the patience to change the things I cannot;
and the wisdom to know the difference between the two.

love

What’s in the heart can’t be controlled and what’s in the hands can be.

At this stage, this pauper fears that she may become a disease in the heart which gradually affects one’s worship. Thus, the pauper highly hopes that whenever the one is getting any thoughts of her, he turns the thoughts into du’as to Al-Qahhar, for her (and himself too).

Human’s love is weakness. Allah’s love is strength. Seek for strength to overcome the weakness.

May He for Whose sake you love me, loves you!

Allahu ‘Alim

Gems from Garden of Gnostics

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could heed on Allah’s words just the same as we would faithfully follow the instructions given by GPS in our cars to reach our destination?

Why do we read Quran, even we can’t understand not even a single

This is beautiful story

An old American Muslim lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern
Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early
sitting at the kitchen table reading his Qur’an. His grandson wanted to
be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, “Grandp! a, I try to read the Qur’an just like you
but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as
I close the book. What good does reading the Qur’an do?”

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and
replied, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a
basket of water.”

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got
back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, “You’ll have to
move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with
the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket
was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his
grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he
went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, “I don’t want a
bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You’re just not trying hard
enough,” and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show
his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water
would leak out before he got back to the house.

The boy again dipped the
basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the
basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, “See Grandpa, it’s
useless!”

“So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the
basket.”

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized
that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old
coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.

“Son, that’s what happens when you read the Qur’an. You might not
understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be
changed, inside and out. That is the work of Allah in our lives.”

[Though we must all try our best to understand and follow the QURAN as much as possible and it is not difficult as we have many good tafseers around Alhamdulillah. Feel that many people embrace ISLAM after knowing Quran with open-heart. Lets do so!]

2 Pieces of Thoughts

Bismillah,

Things dawned on me today:

1) In the effort trying to relate EVERY encounters to Allah, I shall begin with being more sensitive to the Athan Call. Whenever I hear the Athan, I shall stop whatever I am doing at that time and think of nothing else save Allah.

2)At every tick of the clock, it is Allah’s test upon me. How do I go about it?

Allahumma, iftah lana fathann qariibann

Salaamun ‘Alaykum

This serves as a palce for this wayfarer to rest his thoughts, and contemplate…