A Muslim Convert Once More

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Said the Beloved to the Lover: “So come back to Me when it is Time.   Though the world thinks you crazy.   With just one call, I Will Be there.   For I have never left.   And if you walk to me, I will Run.   And if you move nearer one step, I Move nearer seventy steps.   I have Always Answered your call.   Because I Know you.   Even when you have no more faith in yourself.   Your pain is My Pain, your joy is my Joy.   Indeed I am the Friend.” Said the Lover to the Beloved: “I will Return; my Light, my Sun, my Moon, my Eleven Planets.   I will Return; my Reason, my Heart, my Desire.   Return to me, my Glimpse of Paradise.   Because the Garden is not the Abode.   I seek only You.   You are my Treasure in dunya, and my Treasure in akhirah .   My pain is Your Pain, My Joy is Your Joy.   I do not exist in your Presence.   There is only You.   And I know ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ People are most likely to change their religion in early adulthood.   This would be from about eighteen to twenty-five.   And such people are also very vulnerable to radicalisation.   The young always want to change the world, without realising that they have to change themselves first.   And that is why it is very important for a new convert to have a support network ready to steer them away from these fancy ideas. I knew this guy once who converted in his late teens.   He had barely converted when he was caught up in this talk about re-establishing the Caliphate.   This was the period when  ‘Imran Nazhar Husayn  was the flavour of the month in the Muslim talk circuit, the Americans were threatening to invade Afghanistan, and some entity called al-Qaeda had allegedly committed mass murder in the name of Islam.   The Muslim community was understandably restless.   We had no idea what was going ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It is related by Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas ( r.a. ) that he once stayed the night as a guest of Sayyidatina Maymunah bint al-Harits al-Hillaliyyah ( r.a. ), who was his aunt, and the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).   They slept on their blanket lengthways, and he slept at the end, crossways.   After they had all slept for a while, the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) rose in the middle of the night to pray tahajjud , and Sayyidina ibn ‘Abbas ( r.a. ) joined him. They both performed wudhu , and he prayed eleven rak’ah with the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).   Then they both went back to sleep again until dawn.   Sayyidina Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi ( r.a. ) called the adzan and the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) did another two short rak’ah , before going into the mosque to lead swalah al-fajr . Sayyidina ibn ‘Abbas ( r.a. ) said that one of the ud’iyyah that the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) made during this night was, “O Allah, Place light in my heart, light in my tongu...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ A Wahhabi is defined as one who follows the creed of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab.   This definition is accepted by most Muslims worldwide.   It is also a documented in many books of Western Academia.   For example, the Encyclopaedia Britannica states, “ Wahhabiyyah , the Muslim puritan movement founded by Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, in the 18 th century, in Najd, central Arabia …” The Wahhabis, however, object to being called Wahhabis under the pretext that “al-Wahhab” is one of many of Allah’s ( s.w.t. ) Attributes.   This argument is nonsense.   There have been numerous sects named after their leaders, whose names mentioned one of Allah’s ( s.w.t. ) Attributes as a name.   For example, “al-Karram” is one of Allah’s ( s.w.t. ) Attributes.   There is the Karramiyyah sect who were named after their leader, Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Karram. Deviant groups were also named after something they may have de...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi ( q.s. ) wrote: “You have no idea how hard I have looked for a gift to bring You. Nothing seemed right. What is the point of bringing gold to the gold mine, or water to the Ocean? Everything I came up with was like taking spices to the Orient. It is no good giving my heart and my soul because You already have these. So, I have brought you a Mirror. Look at Yourself and remember me.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ O people, you do not believe in dirt you cannot see, And yet you claim to believe in God and His Decree? The mirror of your heart is covered in dust, So, who is this god that you claim to see thus? You say you only need to read the Qur’an, By yourself, you claim will know Him then. Do you not realise that all you have been Given is the key? A tremendous Gift but of no use if you cannot see The Palace whose door it unlocks to the Presence. Or the gate to the Ocean where you will come to drown, Losing yourself so your God can be Found. So, clean yourself of yourself so you can see That you see Creation by Light but Light itself you cannot see.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Muslims believe that the Qur’an is for all time.   It is without error and irrefutable for those who have taqwa .   If Allah ( s.w.t. ) has Stated the characteristics of the mu’minin , it is for all time.   If Allah ( s.w.t. ) has Stated the characteristics of the mushrikin , it is for all time.   Thus, if these are the characteristics of the Ahl al-Kitab , they are for all time.   The Qur’an is not just for Muslims but for all mankind.   It is thus addressing the Ahl al-Kitab now as well. There have been some asatidzah who have said that the Christians in the Qur’an are not the same as the Christians now.   Christianity as we know it was already settled in its doctrines, liturgy, and the composition of the Bible by the time of the Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ).   The last of the Ecumenical Councils were over by the middle of the 3 rd Century C.E.   There is little doctrinal difference between Chri...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ A lot of people have opinions about the Ahl al-Kitab .   I have even heard some asatidzah speak with authority about them, and yet speak nonsense.   The Ahl al-Kitab refers to three main groups of people in the Qur’an: Sabeans, Christians and, Jews.   It was the opinion of Sayyidina Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn al-Khaththab al-Faruq ( r.a. ) that the Zoroastrians are included in this group, and he dealt with them as such. سُوۡرَةُ البَقَرَة إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَٱلَّذِينَ هَادُواْ وَٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰ وَٱلصَّـٰبِـِٔينَ مَنۡ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأَخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَـٰلِحً۬ا فَلَهُمۡ أَجۡرُهُمۡ عِندَ رَبِّهِمۡ وَلَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَيۡہِمۡ وَلَا هُمۡ يَحۡزَنُونَ (٦٢) Those who believe (in the Qur’an) and those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures) and the Christians and the Sabians, any who believe in Allah and the Last Day and work righteousness, shall have their Reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they ...