A Muslim Convert Once More

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Does God make mistakes? ”   A God that is Omnipotent and Omniscient cannot make mistakes.  Mistakes are caused by lack of knowledge or a lack of control of a situation.  An Omnipotent God does not lack control and an Omniscient God does not lack knowledge, so that precludes God making mistakes.  He is Perfect.  Attributing a mistake to God is a form of anthropomorphism, and is predicated on the lack of understanding of what a “mistake” is and the Divine Nature.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Divine teaches us that there is an etiquette involved in dealing with the king.  There is a particular way to approach the throne.  We must keep our eyes down.  We may have to drop to our knees, and if the king appoints someone to represent him and vests authority in that person, you cannot refuse to accept.  That is the protocol for kings in this world, and that is the protocol in dealing with Allah ( s.w.t. ).

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ When it comes to religion, paths and faith; Each one of us is as if a homeless waif. We all begin at the same house on a hill. And seek a return to the ocean until, We are dissolved in it an encompassing embrace. Yet we have turned that sojourn into a race.   There are many paths that take us home, But people argue on roads best to roam. And supposing there is a group that agreed a route, They would bicker on the method of return to boot. And supposing they all agreed to take a car, Surely a fight on the colour and make by far.   And if that all be done and tried, And the vehicle of choice they did decide, But every single one wants to take the wheel. A meaningless title they want with zeal. And by this time, they did forget the return. And that Loving Embrace they did truly spurn.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) related that Sayyidina Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn al-Khaththab al-Faruq ( r.a. ) said, “Judge yourselves before you yourselves are Judged; and weigh yourselves in the Balance before you yourselves are Weighed in the Balance.  When you are Brought to account tomorrow, it will be much easier for you if you have already brought your selves to account today.  So, do so, before you come to the Final Gathering for on that Day you will be exposed, whatever you have hidden will no longer be hidden.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ A man was carrying a heavy load.  Tired, he despairingly called out, “Death, please come here and take me!”   Upon hearing this, the Angle of Death appeared and asked, “Did you call me?”   Bewildered, the man said, “Uh, yes; can you help me load this merchandise back on my shoulders.”   A sage heard of this and said, “Even if a person is lamenting of his misfortunes, he usually prefers life’s miseries to death.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani ( q.s. ) said, “A man once came to the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I love you!’   So, he replied, ‘Prepare for the dress of poverty.’   Another man came to the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) and said, ‘I love Allah ( s.w.t. ).’   So, he replied, ‘Prepare for the dress of misfortune.’   Love of Allah ( s.w.t. ) and the love of His Messenger ( s.a.w. ) are linked to poverty and misfortune.  This is why some of the righteous have said, ‘Misfortune is assigned to friendship, lest it be merely pretended.’  If it were not so, everyone would claim to love Allah ( s.w.t. ), so He has Made constancy in the face of misfortune and poverty an indication of such love.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Charles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement, and younger brother of John Wesley, the actual founder of the Methodist revivalist movement, which arose from the Anglican Church.   The following is an excerpt from Charles Wesley’s hymn, “For the Mahometans”:   “O, may thy blood once sprinkled cry For those who spurn thy sprinkled blood: Assert thy glorious deity Stretch out thine arm thou triune God The Unitarian fiend expel, And chase his doctrines back to Hell.”   This hymn dates from the 1700s.   Here, he acknowledges that Muslims are monotheists, and speaks of the “Triune God”, inadvertently admitting to their polytheism.   He composed over 6,500 hymns, and several were of sectarian flavour.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi ( q.s. ) said, “Without love, all worship is a burden, all dancing is a chore, all music is mere noise.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The bay’ah , in the Naqshbandi thariqa’ , is given to the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) through Sayyidina Abu Bakr ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Utsman asw-Swiddiq ( r.a. ).   For all other thuruq , the bay’ah is through Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib ( k.w. ).   After the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), all the swahabah , including Sayyidina ‘Ali ( k.w. ), gave bay’ah to Sayyidina Abu Bakr ( r.a. ) as the first of the Khulafah ar-Rashidin .

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi ( q.s. ) said, “If your heart is dead, know that the One Who can Give life to the dead body, can Give life to your dead heart.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah al-Khathib at-Tabrizi ( r.a. ) wrote, in Mishkat al-Maswabih , that Sayyidina Ziyad ibn Hudayr al-Asadi ( r.a. ) reported that Amir al-Mu’minin , Sayyidina Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn al-Khaththab al-Faruq ( r.a. ) asked, “Do you know what can destroy Islam?” Sayyidina Ziyad ( r.a. ) replied, “No.” Sayyidina ‘Umar ( r.a. ) said, “It is destroyed by the errors of scholars, the argument of the hypocrites about the Book, and the opinions of misguided leaders.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ In a hadits qudsi recorded in Swahih al-Bukhari , Allah ( s.w.t. ) Says, “He who is hostile to a friend of Mine, I Declare war against.  My slave approaches Me with nothing more Beloved to Me than what I have Made obligatory upon him, and My slave keeps drawing Nearer to Me with voluntary works until I Love him.  And when I Love him, I am his Hearing by which he hears, his Sight by which he sees, his Hand by which he seizes, and his Foot by which he walks.  If he asks me, I will surely Give to him, and if he seeks Refuge in Me, I will surely Protect him.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ In the nineteenth century, the middle class on both sides of the Atlantic were caught up in the hysteria about masturbation and its evils.  Doctors then declared that removing the foreskin prevented masturbation, cured bed-wetting, and continued to add imaginary benefits.   This hysteria and the popularity of removing the foreskin, subsided in Europe; but circumcision has continued to be a preference in the United States long after the reason for it was forgotten.  Circumcision prevents masturbation about as well as wearing a condom on your head prevents pregnancy.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “You must fill up your time with acts of worship so that no period of time elapses, whether by night or by day, without being used in some act of goodness.  This is how the barakah within time is made manifest, the purpose of life is fulfilled, and the approach to Allah ( s.w.t. ) made constant.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Everything we do speaks of love: songs, stories, books, movies ...  And yet, few know anything of it.  Most people are enamoured with the idea of being in love.  To be enamoured is not to be in love.  To love is to remove the self since the capacity to love is Divine, and what we have is but a reflection of it.  As long as we address the “other” as the “other”, there is separation.  All of us love the idea of being in love.  Most of us have not loved.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad asw-Swadiq ( q.s. ) said, “One of your sins should seem weightier to you than a thousand of your virtues.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) wrote, “Knowledge is based on research and analysis, but states are based on believing and conceding.  When the knower speaks from the standpoint of exoteric knowledge, we measure his words against the Book, the sunnah , and the pronouncements of the predecessors, for knowledge is measured against its sources; but when he speaks from the stand point of his state, we concede his experiences to him, for it can be reached solely through the same manner and is based on his experience.  Such knowledge is accepted on the authority of the honesty of its possessor, but it is not followed, since it is not binding save on people of similar states.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Sayyidina Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn al-Khaththab al-Faruq ( r.a. ) said, “Death is enough as an admonition; certainty is enough as richness, and worship is enough as an occupation.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ George Bernard Shaw, as quoted in “The Genuine Islam”, said, “The medieval ecclesiastics, either through ignorance or bigotry, painted Muhammadanism in the darkest colours.  They were, in fact, trained both to hate the man Muhammad and his religion.  To them Muhammad was the Anti-Christ.  I have studied him — the wonderful man, and, in my opinion, far from being an Anti-Christ, he must be called the Saviour of Humanity.  I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much-needed peace and happiness.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Junayd ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi ( q.s. ) said, “One of the Marks of Allah’s ( s.w.t. ) Wrath against a servant is that He Makes him very busy with what is of no concern to him.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Ahmad az-Zarruq ( q.s. ) has said, “ Taswawwuf has been defined, described, and explained in approximately two thousand ways, all of them related to the significance of genuine dedication to Allah ( s.w.t. ).  They are only points of view in that regard, for Allah ( s.w.t. ) Knows best, of course.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Segregation, as is culturally practiced, was not rigorously practiced in the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) mosque in his time.   The women prayed in rows behind the men, without a screen.   Other than that, they were free to conduct their business and interact with people as required.   Not as a frivolity.   That is because their hearts were clean and there was no suspicion of each other’s motives.   Why is there such an emphasis on segregation by certain Muslims?   And one would notice that there is an excessive focus on the hijab , the way women dress, the way they talk, the way they walk, the way the wear their hair.   All this, mostly by men.   These are the same people who focus so much on the discussion of polygamy, but only on the sexual nature of it.   These are all signs of hypocrisy, and a sickness in the heart.   It does not matter how much the men and women are segregated if there is no segregation in their hearts, and no lowering of their

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani ( q.s. ) said, “The beloveds have this term ‘ faqir ’, due to the fact that the Rewards of all their worship, and all they did, including what was Promised to them in the Hereafter, is distributed to sinners of the ummah of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), so that on the Day of Qiyamah they will be totally poor of any Rewards, being totally dependent on the Wishes of their Beloved, Who is Allah ( s.w.t. ), and not on the worship.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Shams ad-Din Muhammad at-Tabriz ( q.s. ) wrote, in Manaqib al-‘Arifin , “At a gathering, people were discussing whether the world had existed eternally.  Shams ad-Din said, ‘Of what importance is the eternity of the world to you?  Find out whether you are eternal or newly Created!  Use your time in this life to discover your own situation, not to research the eternity of the world!   The purpose of the world is for good works, because a good action brings tranquillity to the soul.  Tranquillity of the soul opens one's need for God, and it causes faith in the life of the Hereafter.  A person might have a hundred thousand skills and artful knowledge, but if there are no good works, there is no need for God or belief in the Hereafter; one has nothing.  If there is no knowledge, no Arabic or Turkish, but there are good works, it is the honour and glory of this world and the world to come.  Everyone is pursuing knowledge and profit; purs

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh ‘Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ahmad ash-Sha’rani ( r.a. ) said, “Make more supplications for your brethren than for yourself; you will receive what you would normally ask for yourself, and more.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It is found, in Swahih al-Bukhari , a hadits narrated by Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib ( k.w. ), where he said, “I relate the traditions of Allah’s Apostle ( s.a.w. ) to you for I would rather fall from the sky than attribute something to him falsely.  But when I tell you a thing which is between you and I, then no doubt, war is guile.  I heard Allah’s Apostle ( s.a.w. ) saying, ‘In the last days of this world, there will appear some young foolish people who will use the best speech of all people,’” meaning the Qur’an, “‘and they will abandon Islam as an arrow going through game.  Their belief will not go beyond their throats, so wherever you meet them, kill them, for he who kills them shall get a reward on the Day of Resurrection.”  And this refers to the Wahhabi sect.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Sulthan Swalah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( r.a. ) said, to the young Muslims of his time, “An oppressive leader is, in actuality, a weak leader.  He attempts to defeat his rivals with tyranny and violence or by creating greed for wealth.  You are the future; we are the past.  The enemy, by terminating the coruscate past from your minds, is trying to stuff it with their own blackening ideology and welfare so that the future of Islam is hazy.  Recognise your importance.  The enemy is trying to suspend you because you are bloodcurdling.”  That warning went unheeded.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The great 11 th century mystic of Khurasan, Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ), was once asked why he refused to perform the haj like all other good Muslims. Shaykh Abu Sa’id ( q.s. ) replied, “It is no great matter that you should tread, under your feet, a thousand miles of ground, in order to visit a stone house.   The true man of God sits where he is, and the Celestial House comes several times in a day and night to visit him and perform the circumambulation above his head.   Look and see!”   All who were present looked and saw it. On another occasion, he is reported to have said, “If God Sets the way to Makkah before any one, that person has been cast out of the Way to the Truth.” This is recorded by his great, great-grandson, Shaykh Nur ad-Din Muhammad ibn Munawwar ( r.a. ), in his Asrar at-Tawhid fi Maqamat ash-Shaykh Abu Sa’id .

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Sayyidina Abu ‘Amr ‘Utsman ibn ‘Affan ( r.a. ) said, “The believer has five types of fear: Allah ( s.w.t. ) may Take his faith away from him; the recording angels may write down something that may expose him on the Day of Resurrection; Shaythan may cause his deeds to become invalid; the Angel of Death may come to him without warning; and the world may tempt him and distract him from the Hereafter.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Baba Thahir ‘Aryan Hamadani ( q.s. ) wrote:   “I am troubled by the thought of Judgement Day, For I have more sins than trees have leaves. Tomorrow, when each reads out his book of deeds, My head will slump into my book with shame.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ As a convert to Islam, a refined understanding of theology helps us reconcile ourselves with different faith traditions, and yet, know our place in relation to the Creator.  The inadequacy of many born- Muslims, especially some of our asatidzah , is that they are afraid to think, to consider and to ponder.  They invoke the fear that contemplating God will lead people astray, without considering the fact that it was contemplation of God that brought us to Islam.  They say that we should be cautious about speculation on the Nature of Divine since He is “unfathomable”.  If that were so, why do we need the study of ‘aqidah ?  There are many of those who teach converts who say we should not question anything, but just “submit”.  On that thought, are we submitting to God, or are we submitting to their understanding of God?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi ( q.s. ) wrote:   “If you want victory, eternity, Then burn in the fire of love, do not sleep. You slept a hundred nights, what did you gain? For God’s Sake, tonight do not sleep until dawn.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ A pamphlet, published in 2007, by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs, and endorsed by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abdullah ash-Shaykh, called for the dome over the Rawdhah to be demolished and the graves of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), Sayyidina Abu Bakr ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Utsman asw-Swiddiq ( r.a. ), and Sayyidina ‘Umar ibn al-Khaththab ( r.a. ), to be flattened.  The reason cited is that the pilgrims visiting the Rawdhah are committing shirk by sending salutations upon the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).   Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Swalih al-‘Utsaymin, perhaps the 20 th century’s most prolific Wahhabi scholar, made similar demands.  As did Muhammad Naswir ad-Din al-Albani, and ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Baz.  On at least two occasions, they actually tried to do so, but were rebuffed by Divine Miracle.  And yet, they still try.  This is the kufr of the Wahhabi sect, and proof that they are the enemies of Islam.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Najm ad-Din Abu al-Jannab Ahmad ibn ‘Umar al-Kubra’ ( q.s. ) said that the salik should always surrender, taslim , to the Command of Allah ( s.w.t. ).  “ Taslim ”, means, “to surrender to Allah ( s.w.t. ) both with the heart and the body, both of which are under His Ownership”.  To surrender a property to its owner is an essential condition of submission.  The Owner has the Right to Control His Property, and Dispose it in any way He Deems proper.  It is up to Him whether He Honours, or disgraces His slave, Breathes life in him or Kills him, Causes sickness or Bestows health on him, Makes him rich or poor.  Hence it is required of a salik not to raise any objection against His Will.  He should not complain overtly or covertly, for the protest against the real owner is absurd and violation of all norms.  Complaint against the Lord by someone who claims to be His slave and lover is a shortcoming in one’s love, servitude and devotion.