A Muslim Convert Once More

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.  One day a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.  Then it seemed to stop making any progress.  It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.   Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.  The butterfly then emerged easily.  But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.  The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.  Neither happened.  In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.  It never was able to fly.   What this man in his kindness and haste did...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   In Christianity, it is taught in many places that Satan was originally an angel named Lucifer, who turned on God, and was Cast down after the War in Heaven.   However, this story is found nowhere in the Bible.   The one time Lucifer is mentioned, is from a relatively new translation.   Isaiah 14:12 12 What, fallen from Heaven, thou Lucifer, that once didst herald the dawn?   Prostrate on the earth, that didst once bring nations to their knees?   12 πῶς ἐξέπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὁ ἑωσφόρος ὁ πρωὶ ἀνατέλλων συνετρίβη εἰς τὴν γῆν ὁ ἀποστέλλων πρὸς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη   12 Quomodo cecidisti de cælo, Lucifer, qui mane oriebaris?   Corruisti in terram, qui vulnerabas gentes.   In reality, this verse is a result of misinterpretation and mistranslation.   In the original Hebrew text, the actual story is not about a fallen angel, but about an unnamed Babylonian king who figuratively fell from his thr...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Habib ‘Ali Zayn al-‘Abidin ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Jifri, said, a battle always has two sides: a side that thinks they have a right to might, a right to exert power; and a side that sees that their right is truth itself.  Those from the first side see that as long as power is in their hands they possess all the rights, while the other side sees that their strength and their power lies in their standing with the truth.  The world which we occupy is a stage for this battle, and it is the Custom of God that those who side with the truth and see their right as truth itself, it is them upon whom God will Confer custodianship of this Earth.  If a Muslim thinks like the one who has aggressed upon him, what is then the difference between them?  How can he await Success from God?  God’s Success is Bestowed upon those who side with the truth, uphold it and remain steadfast with it.  His Way is not given success through violating H...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ A king who told some of his men to dig a pond.  Once the pond was dug, he made an announcement to his people, commanding that one person from each household was to bring a glass of milk during the night, and pour it into the pond. One man prepared to take milk during the night.  He thought that since everyone would bring milk, he could just hide a glass of water, and pour in into the pond.  Because it was dark at night, no one would notice.  He quickly went and poured the water in the pond. In the morning, the king came to visit the pond, and found that the pond was only filled with water.  Everyone thought like that man.  It is the same with everything in this world. When it comes to helping the Religion of Allah ( s.w.t. ), we all think that others will take care of it.  Rather, it starts from each of us.  If we do not do it, no one else will do it.  So we must change ourselves, and that w...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ According to our shuyukh , the following is recited three times as protection from black magic:   سُوۡرَةُ یُونس فَلَمَّآ أَلۡقَوۡاْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ مَا جِئۡتُم بِهِ ٱلسِّحۡرُ‌ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَيُبۡطِلُهُ ۥۤ‌ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُصۡلِحُ عَمَلَ ٱلۡمُفۡسِدِينَ (٨١) وَيُحِقُّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡحَقَّ بِكَلِمَـٰتِهِۦ وَلَوۡ ڪَرِهَ ٱلۡمُجۡرِمُونَ (٨٢)   Falammaa al-qawa qaala Muusaa maa jintum bihi as-sihru inna Allaha sayubthiluhu.   Inna Allah laa yuswlih ‘amala al-mufsidiin.   Wa yuhiqqu Allahu al-Haqqa bikalimaatihi wa law kariha al-mujrimuun.   When they had their throw, Moses said, “What you have brought is sorcery: Allah will surely Make it of no effect: for Allah prospers not the work of those who make mischief.  And Allah, by His Words, does Prove and Establish His Truth however much the sinners may hate it!” (Surah Yunus:81-82)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ A wise woman who was travelling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream.   The next day she met another traveller who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food.   The hungry traveller saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him.   She did so without hesitation. The traveller left, rejoicing his good fortune.   He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime.   But a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.   “I have been thinking,” he said, “I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious: Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.”   He was speaking of generosity.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is extracted from “The Purification of the Soul”, compiled from the works of Imam ibn Rajab al-Hanbali ( r.a. ), Imam ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah ( r.a. ) and Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali ( r.a. ). Loving Allah, the Glorious, the Exalted, is the ultimate aim of all stations, and the summit of all states.  Having attained the state of true love for Allah ( s.w.t. ), each station that follows it is one of its fruits and a branch from its roots - such as longing, intimacy and contentment.  Each station that precedes it is a step towards it - such as repentance, perseverance and doing without, or zuhd . The most beneficial, the most sincere, the most elevated and the most exalted kind of love is most certainly the love of the One Whom hearts were Created to love, and for Whom Creation was Brought into existence to adore.  Allah ( s.w.t. ) is the One to Whom hearts turn in love, exaltation, glorification, humility, s...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is from the words of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Baz himself, in response to a question on the hadits of the Seven Granted Shade on the Day of Judgement.  ibn Baz was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1993 until his death in 1999.  His opinion on a matter is, therefore, the Wahhabi position, and this highlights the vast difference in the ‘aqidah of the Wahhabi sect, and Sunni Islam.   The following was taken from Issue Relating to the Attributes of Allah ( s.w.t. ) - The Shadow of Allah ( s.w.t. ) . A rough translation of the text above, begins with a question posed: “Regarding the narration of the seven in the shadow of Allah on the Day where there is no shadow save His Shadow, does this mean Allah Ta’ala has a shadow?”   ibn Baz answered, “Yes, as is reported in this narration and in some transmissions, ‘in the shadow of His Throne’.  However, in the Swahihayn , it is, ‘in His shadow’ for ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ In his book, Akhbar Makkah , the 3 rd century historian of Makkah, Shaykh Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah al-Azraqi ( r.a. ), mentioned as one of the many places in Makkah in which the performance of swalah is desirable, mustahab , the house where the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) was born, Mawlid an-Nabi .  According to him, the house had previously been turned into a mosque by the mother of the caliphs Musa al-Hadi and Harun ar-Rashid.  The Qur’anic scholar, Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Hasan an-Naqqash ( r.a. ) mentioned the birthplace of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) as a place where du’a by noon on Mondays is Answered.  He is quoted in Imam Taqi’ ad-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Fasi’s ( r.a. ) Shifa’ al-Gharam bi Akhbar al-Balad al-Haram , and others.   With regards the earliest mentions of the public Mawlid , the oldest source that mentioned a public commemoration of the Mawlid is in Shaykh Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Jubay...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ When it comes to discerning whether a scholar or preacher is from the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah , or from the Wahhabi sect, the following guidelines can help.  The first thing we scrutinise is the ijazat and the curriculum vitae.  In Islam, we know our scholars by their teachers.  As such, it is important to know the teachers and the chains of transmission.  A graduate from the University of Madina is likely a Wahhabi.  It is their premier institution set up by the Saudi state to promote their version of Islam.  The following are some of the more famous graduates from this institution: Mishari ibn Rashid al-‘Afasy, Abu Ammar Yasir Qadhi, Abu Aminah Bilal Philips, Zakir ‘Abd al-Karim Nayk, Isma’il ibn Musa Mink and Fa’iz Mohammad.  This also includes graduates of derivative programmes by the alumni of the University of Madina such as Bilal Philips’ Islamic Online University.   The Saudi Wahhabi state also...