A Muslim Convert Once More

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is from Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi’s ( q.s. ), Matsnawi I, 866-867, and was translated by Shaykh Kabir Edmund Helminski and Shaykha Camille Adams Helminski:   “Water and clay, when fed on the breath of Jesus, Spread wings, became a bird and flew. Your praise of God is a Breath From Your body of water and clay. Make it a Bird of Paradise By breathing into it your Heart ’ s sincerity.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ If my thanking God for His Blessings is a Blessing, Then I must thank Him in the same measure again. How can one thank Him save by His Grace, As time goes on, and life goes by? If a good thing comes, I rejoice heartily, If a bad one comes, I receive a reward. In both cases He gives me a Gift too large For the minds of men, and the land and sea. From Imam al-Bayhaqi ( r.a. ), 'The Seventy-Seven Branches of Faith'

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ As extracted from “The Garden of the Matsnawi - Rumi Selections”; Sayyidina Hakim ibn Hizam ( r.a. ) was a relative of Sayyidatina Khadijah bint Khuwaylid ( r.a. ), the wife of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).   He was renowned for his mercy and generosity.   Before the rise of Islam, he used to buy the daughters of those families who wanted to bury them alive and graciously assumed the responsibility of taking care of them.   Sayyidina Hakim ( r.a. ) asked the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) about these good deeds which he had done prior to his declaration of faith in Islam.   The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) replied: “These good deeds are but the reasons that brought you the honour of being Blessed with Islam.”   To be a Muslim is an Honour that Allah ( s.w.t. ) has Dressed us with.   It is not us accepting Him.   We must never take that Divine Dress for granted.   And we must not be arrogant in the faith.   It is sunnah to be...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following was translated by Shaykh Kabir Edmund Helminski, and Shaykha Camille Adams Helminski.   Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi ( q.s. ) wrote, in his Matsnawi :   “When your heart becomes the grave of your secret, That desire of yours will be gained more quickly.   The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said that anyone, Who keeps secret his inmost thought, Will soon attain the object of his desire.   When seeds are buried in the earth, Their inward secrets become the flourishing garden.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The story was told to us by my shaykh from his shaykh .   The details above are abridged.   In the actual story, Shaykh Bayazid Thayfur ibn ‘Isa al-Bisthami ( q.s. ) had a dream where he was dressed as a Christian.   He was disturbed and went back to sleep whereupon he had the same dream.   This time, he awoke and said that if this is what Allah ( s.w.t. ) Willed then so be it.   He went to the monastery, which was having a conclave of bishops.   And there, he sat.   The cardinal said, “There is a Muhammadan amongst us,” but although they looked around perplexed, he was not initially identified.   Using a stratagem, the cardinal mentioned the name of Muhammad ( s.a.w. ), Shaykh Bayazid stood up and loudly said, “Peace and Blessings be upon him,” and was thus discovered.   He was then questioned.   If he could answer them, he was free to leave.   Otherwise, they would kill him. ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following are selected quotes from Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani ( q.s. ), the murshid of the Naqshbandi Haqqani in his time.   “I do not change anyone, I do not add to anyone.   I only pass on Divine Knowledge.   I give from you to you, from within yourself.   I make Connections.”   “If you refuse all and accept the One, You are not proud.   If you accept all and refuse the One, you are proud.”   “We are holders of the Attributes of God, not His partners.”   “The difference between you and your Master is that you are proud.”   “What shall I say about myself?   I am like the Moon.   When the Sun goes, the light of the Moon goes.   If the light of my Master leaves me, I am in darkness.   I am nothing.   Whoever sees me as this one or that one sees me through the Light of my Master.”   “You are burning.   And what burns you is love or it ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   There was a shaykh I knew, who sat at a particular mosque, and sometimes, people would come to him with their problems.   He told me, “Once, a lady came and said she was worried that her two daughters are unmarried.   She was told to recite Surah Thaha:125.   al-Hamdulillah , within a month, both her daughters, someone had asked for their hand.”   سُوۡرَةُ طٰه قَالَ رَبِّ لِمَ حَشَرۡتَنِىٓ أَعۡمَىٰ وَقَدۡ كُنتُ بَصِيرً۬ا (١٢٥)   He will say, “O my Lord!   Why have You, Raised me up blind, while I had sight (before)?”   (Surah ThaHa:125)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيم When drinking zamzam , it is recommended to drink one’s fill as a sign of gratitude for Allah’s ( s.w.t. ) Bounty.   It is drunk with a specific intent, and not frivolously.   To do so, face the qiblah , mention the Name of Allah ( s.w.t. ), then say, “O Allah, it has reached me that Your Messenger ( s.a.w. ) said, ‘The water of Zamzam is for that which it was drunk for.’   O Allah, I drink it so that You may Forgive me.   O Allah, Forgive me.’”   Or, “‘O Allah I drink it seeking Healing from illness; O Allah, Heal me.’”   We may also ask for whatever it is that is our need. It is recommended that one drink it in three breaths like with any other beverage, and when done, to praise Allah ( s.w.t. ).   There are numerous ahadits on this issue.   Sayyidina Abu Dzar Jundub ibn Junadah al-Ghifari ( r.a. ) reported that the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, of zamzam , “It is Blessed.   It is nourishing food, and ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said to Sayyidina Mu’adz ibn Jabal ( r.a. ), “ Ya Mu’adz.”   And Sayyidina Mu’adz ( r.a. ) replied, “Yes, O my Prophet.”   They rode on, and the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, “ Ya Mu’adz.”   “Yes, my Prophet.”   Again the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) did not say anything, indicating that what he was about to say was extremely important.  A moment later, again the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, “ Ya Mu’adz.”   And again, Sayyidina Mu’adz ( r.a. ) said, “Yes, yes, my Prophet, at your service.”   The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, “Know this: For anyone who says ‘ Laa ilaha illa Allah , Muhammad ar-Rasulullah ’, there will be no Punishment, and all will be Forgiven.”   Sayyidina Mu’adz ( r.a. ) quite excitedly said, “Is this something I can tell everyone?”   The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, “No, do not tell it, because they will ease off on their work, and they will ease off on their prayers.” ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   There was once where we were in a state so we spent much of the nights in prayer.   There was a fever and for three consecutive days, there were very vivid dreams.   On the first day, I saw a forest with very tall trees.   There was a path through the forest made of paved stones.   At some parts, there were shallow drains near the stones.   Everywhere, there were beautiful, coloured snakes of all sizes.   Some wee smaller.   Some were as big as pythons.   I knew they were deadly and poisonous.   As I walked, some snakes I carefully avoided.   Others, I carefully used the staff I carried to push them away from the path.   And then there were those I leaned on my staff and crushed their heads.   Behind me were a multitude of people.   I kept calling them to stay on the path.   Not only were they running all over the grassy forest, some of them were actually picking up...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   On the 10 th and 11 th December 2011, we held an event called “D’Apprentice: You Don’t have to be an Ustadz to do Da’wah ” .   It was held at the Marina Barrage’s Courtyard Room.   I was one of the presenters for Session 1: “Intention of performing Da’wah ” along with Shaykh Amin Teo.   The title of my presentation was “The Concept of Da’wah - Marketing a System of Belief”.   This was a summary of many of my previous posts in this blog.   The following is a short summary.   The actual presentation had some stories to illustrate various points and much time was devoted to questions.   We believe that Islam is the best religion; it is indeed, more than that.   It is the complete way of life, here and beyond.   It is a system of belief and we are ambassadors of faith.   What is da’wah ?   Da’wah basically means an invitation.   In this case, it is an invitation to the Ultimat...