A Muslim Convert Once More

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh  Muswlih ad-Din   Abu Muhammad Sa’adi ibn ‘Abdullah ash-Shirazi ( q.s. ) wrote:   “The sons of Adam are limbs of each other, Having been Created of one essence. When the calamity of time affects one limb, The other limbs cannot remain at rest. If you have no sympathy for the troubles of others, You are unworthy to be called human.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Once, the Mu’tazilah claimed that the Ahl al-A’araf , the People of the Heights, were those whom Allah (s.w.t.) deemed to good for the Fire, but not good enough for the Garden.   A thousand years later, these ideas have resurfaced again.   The following are the verses in question:   سُوۡرَةُ الاٴعرَاف وَبَيۡنَہُمَا حِجَابٌ۬‌ۚ وَعَلَى ٱلۡأَعۡرَافِ رِجَالٌ۬ يَعۡرِفُونَ كُلاَّۢ بِسِيمَٮٰهُمۡ‌ۚ وَنَادَوۡاْ أَصۡحَـٰبَ ٱلۡجَنَّةِ أَن سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَيۡكُمۡ‌ۚ لَمۡ يَدۡخُلُوهَا وَهُمۡ يَطۡمَعُونَ ( ٤٦ ) ۞ وَإِذَا صُرِفَتۡ أَبۡصَـٰرُهُمۡ تِلۡقَآءَ أَصۡحَـٰبِ ٱلنَّارِ قَالُواْ رَبَّنَا لَا تَجۡعَلۡنَا مَعَ ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ ( ٤٧ ) وَنَادَىٰٓ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلۡأَعۡرَافِ رِجَالاً۬ يَعۡرِفُونَہُم بِسِيمَٮٰهُمۡ قَالُواْ مَآ أَغۡنَىٰ عَنكُمۡ جَمۡعُكُمۡ وَمَا كُنتُمۡ تَسۡتَكۡبِرُونَ ( ٤٨ ) أَهَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ ٱلَّذِينَ أَقۡسَمۡتُمۡ لَا يَنَالُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِرَحۡمَةٍ‌ۚ ٱدۡخُلُواْ ٱلۡجَنَّةَ لَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَلَآ أَنتُمۡ تَحۡزَنُونَ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Huzan al-Qushayri ( r.a. ) wrote, in his ar-Risalah al-Qushayriyyah fi ʿIlm at-Taswawwuf , about Shaykh Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn Maslamah al-Haddad ( q.s. ), who came from the village of Kuradabadh, near the gate of the city of Nishapur, toward the direction of Bukhara.   He was a great Sufi master, and leader, who died around 260 AH. Shaykh Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn Maslamah al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “When you see a disciple who likes spiritual concerts, know that there is, in him, a residue of vanity.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Huzan al-Qushayri ( r.a. ) wrote, in his ar-Risalah al-Qushayriyyah fi ʿIlm at-Taswawwuf , about Shaykh Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn Maslamah al-Haddad ( q.s. ), who came from the village of Kuradabadh, near the gate of the city of Nishapur, toward the direction of Bukhara.   He was a great Sufi master, and leader, who died around 260 AH. Shaykh Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn Maslamah al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “Good manners on the outside is the sign of good manners inside.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Huzan al-Qushayri ( r.a. ) wrote, in his ar-Risalah al-Qushayriyyah fi ʿIlm at-Taswawwuf , about Shaykh Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn Maslamah al-Haddad ( q.s. ), who came from the village of Kuradabadh, near the gate of the city of Nishapur, toward the direction of Bukhara.   He was a great Sufi master, and leader, who died around 260 AH. He recorded that Shaykh Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn Maslamah al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “Whoever does not weigh his spiritual states, and deeds, at every moment, against the Book and the sunnah , while at the same time being suspicious of his true motives, should not be counted among the true.’’

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Arabic numerals we us were created by Imam Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi ( r.a. ), a Persian scholar of the natural sciences, and mathematics.  These numbers were based on the number of angles in the digit, as can be seen here.  As part of the decimal system, they are the foundations of our modern society.   Imam al-Khwarizmi ( r.a. ) was appointed the chief astronomer in the House of Wisdom, in Baghdad.  We are indebted to his contributions to navigation, from inventing much of the mathematics we use, to writing extensively on cartography, celestial movements, and calculating the size of the Earth, and distances between cities.  His work also allowed for a more accurate calendar, which became more important, as civilisation advanced.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Should Singapore’s shari’ah court punish local Muslim apostates to protect the Malay-Muslim population? ”   The assumptions of the questions are wrong on many levels.   You should be disabused of certain notions, and misconceptions.   Firstly, Singapore is a secular state.   It does not promote, or protect one religion at the expense of others.   We allow the free market of ideas, and people have the right to choose their faith traditions.   If we allow such rules, preventing Muslims from converting out, we should allow the same for every other religion, meaning there will be no conversion to Islam.   Secondly, the shari’ah court in Singapore is a tribunal, established under the auspices of the Administration of Muslim Law Act, Cap 3.   It is not a full court, and may only render judgements through the requisite courts, such as Family Court f...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ In Arabic, a rooster is “ ديك ”, “ diyk ”.  And that is why a dick is a cock.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah ( q.s. ) said, “Go on the path of truth, and do not feel lonely, because there are few who take that path.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Of taswawwuf , Shaykh Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah Niyas al-Kawlakhi ( q.s. ) said, “As for its founder, he is the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), to whom Allah ( s.w.t. ) Made it known, by means of Revelation, and inspiration.  Jibril ( a.s. ) came down to him, firstly, with the shari’ah .  Then, once it had been established, he came down, a second time, with the haqiqah , so the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) used it to motivate some of his aswhab , rather than others.  Of those who spoke of taswawwuf , and demonstrated it in practice, the first was our master, ‘Ali ( k.w. ), and from him, all the Sufis have received it through their chain of transmission, which is celebrated in their books, with the exception of our master, our patron, our shaykh , and our means of access to our Lord, Shaykh Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad at-Tijani al-Hasani ( q.s. ), whom Allah (s.w.t.) Blessed with receiving from the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), mushafahatan , without mediation of a...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Here lies the body of a pious fool. In lieu of his Lord, He worshipped his school. lf he went to Heaven above, Bid goodbye to peace and love. And if he sought a lower level, May God have mercy on the Devil.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani ( q.s. ) said, as recorded in Jila’ al-Khawathir , “The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) is reported as having said, ‘Part of the excellence of a man’s Islam is paying no attention to that which does not concern him.’   To busy oneself with that which is irrelevant is the distraction of idle fools.  Deprived of the Good Pleasure of his Master is he who fails to put into practice what He Commands, and who occupies himself with things he has not been Instructed to deal with.  This is deprivation its very self, death its very self, and banishment its very self.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Dr. Jibril Fu’ad Haddad wrote, “The expression ‘ Ahl as-Sunnah ’ is reported from ibn ‘Abbas ( r.a. ); and ibn ‘Umar ( r.a. ); by Shaykh al-Lalika’i ( r.a. ), in Sharh Uswul ‘Itiqad Ahl as-Sunnah ; Imam Muslim ( r.a. ) narrated it from Imam Muhammad ibn Sirin ( q.s. ), in al-Muqaddimah to his Swahih ; and Imam ad-Darimi ( r.a. ), in his al-Musnad , from Shaykh Hasan al-Baswri ( q.s. ).”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Battle of Badr was prophesied, in the Bible, by the Prophet Isaiah ( a.s. ).   It was described as a battle between the sons of Ishma’il ( a.s. ); the children of Tema who settled in Yatsrib, and the children of Kedar who settled in Bakka.   Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) was rejected by his people in Makkah, known in the Old Testament as “Bakka”, and migrated to Madina, which was previously called Yatsrib.   The specific passage is here:   Isaiah 21:13-17 13 The burden in Arabia.   In the forest at evening you shall sleep, in the paths of Dedanim.   14 Meeting the thirsty bring him water, you that inhabit the land of the south, meet with bread him that flees.   15 For they are fled from before the swords, from the sword that hung over them, from the bent bow, from the face of a grievous battle.   16 For thus says the Lord to me: “Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, all the glory of Kedar s...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Yann Martel wrote, in “Life of Pi”, “Hindus, in their capacity for love, are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are bearded Hindus, and Christians, in their devotion to God, are hat-wearing Muslims.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The majlis belongs to the ones who are Called.  People who organise the congregational dzikr , or the Mawlid , sometimes imagine that they, as the hosts, own the ‘ibadah , and want to determine who is invited, and who is not.  Perhaps, the argument is that they provide the venue, the food, or the funds.  But then, they forget that whatever they have, is from Divine Generosity, and they are mere vessels of Divine Mercy.  This destroys their ‘ibadah , and causes separation from the Divine.  There cannot be two “ Malik ”.  The majlis belongs to the ones who are Called.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It is reported by Imam Abu ‘Isa Muhammad ibn ‘Isa as-Sulami at-Tirmidzi ( r.a. ), Imam Abu ʻAbdullah Muhammad ibn Yazid ibn Majah ( r.a. ), and Imam Abu Dawud Sulayman ibn al-Ash‘ats as-Sijistani ( r.a. ), that the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, “At the end of time, there will be days called the days of patience.  One holding onto their religion in those days is like one who holds onto a burning coal.  The Reward of one continuing to practice is like the reward of fifty men.”   The companions asked, “From amongst them, or from amongst us?”   The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) replied, “From amongst you.”   These are those days, where the Reward for keeping the religion alive, of reviving a sunnah , and being in the Path, is the Reward of fifty of the companions of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Wahhabi, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Baz, former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, added modifiers to the Divine Attributes, which is the position of the sect.  For example, Wahhabis assert that Allah ( s.w.t. ), “ istawa ‘ala al-‘Arsh haqqan ,” variously translated as, “He Established Himself over the Throne in person”, or “actually” or “literally”.  “ Haqqan ” is an innovated addition, which violates the practice of the true Salaf consisting of asserting the Divine Attributes “ bila kayf ”, “without a how”; since any modifier is a modality.   If Allah (s.w.t.) is literally on the Throne, it means He must possess a jism , body.  This is clear anthropomorphism on the part of ibn Baz, and is explicit shirk .  This is an example of why Wahhabis are kuffar , and mushrikin .

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Zayn ad-Din Abu al-Faraj ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn Rajab al-Hanbali ( r.a. ) said, “There is nothing more to chasing after wealth than the wastage of a person’s noble life for that which has no value.  Instead he could have earned a high rank in Paradise, and everlasting bliss, but he lost this due to his craving after provision – which had already been Assured to him, and Allotted to him, and it was not possible for anything to come to him except what was Decreed for him – then on top of this, he does not benefit from that, but rather abandons it and leaves it for someone else.   He departs from that, and leaves it behind so that he will be the one held accountable for it, yet someone else benefits from it.  So, in reality, he is only gathering it, yet someone else benefits from it. So, in reality, he is only gathering it for someone who will not praise him for that, whilst he himself goes on to One Who will not excuse him...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah Niyas al-Kawlakhi ( q.s. ) said, “I learned Qur’an and ahadits first from my shaykh , my father, and he, from his father.  I received an ijazah first, from my father, in both Qur’an and ahadits , then from ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-‘Alawi, and another ijazah from Shaykh Ahmad Sukayrij, who himself had earned some six hundred ijazat from six hundred different shuyukh , whose names are mentioned in his book, where he writes, ‘The first one to whom I gave authorisation in all these chains of transmission was the khalifah , al-Haj Ibrahim Niyas.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote, in Manthiq ath-Thayr , “One day, Majnun was sifting earth in the middle of a road.  A pious man said to him, ‘O Majnun, what are you seeking here?’   ‘I seek Layla,’ replied Majnun.   ‘How can you find Layla here?’ said the other.  ‘Could a pearl so pure be found in such dirt?’   Majnun said, ‘I seek her everywhere, so that one day I may find her somewhere.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh ‘Utsman Nuri Tufbas wrote, in “The Prophet Muhammad Muswthafa the Elect ( s.a.w. )”, that Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sakhr ad-Dawsi az-Zahrani al-Azdi ( r.a. ) was known for his boldness in asking the Messenger of Allah ( s.a.w. ) about things others would not dare.  One day he inquired, “What was the first sign you saw, Messenger of Allah, concerning your Prophethood?”   The Blessed Prophet ( s.a.w. ), the guide to happiness in both worlds, answered, “Since you ask, Abu Hurayrah, I shall explain.  I was once out in the desert; I must have been about ten.  I was suddenly alarmed by a voice coming from above my head.   ‘Is that him?’ one man was asking another.   ‘Yes. That sure is him,’ the other answered.   They then appeared right in front of me.  Their faces resembled nobody I had ever seen before; so were their clothes.  Approaching me, each of them then held me by the a...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani ( q.s. ) said, “The seeker must know that the shaykh will make some mistakes, but that this will not prevent him from lifting up the murid to the Divine Presence.  So, the murid must excuse the shaykh as the shaykh is not the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).  Only prophets are free from error.  Though it is rare, just like a doctor might make a mistake in treating a patient, so too the shaykh might make a mistake in treating the murid ’s spiritual illness.  And this must be excused.  It is said that whoever is not happy with the order of the shaykh , and does not keep good conduct, and adab with him, will never keep good conduct with the Qur’an, and sunnah of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “Patience is tested through resignation to sorrow, sufferings, and disaster, without murmur, or disclosing one’s pains to others.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Shams ad-Din Muhammad at-Tabriz ( q.s. ) said, “A life without love is of no account.  Do not ask yourself what kind of love you should seek: spiritual or material, divine or mundane, eastern or western.”  He also said, “Divisions only lead to more divisions.  Love has no labels, no definitions.  It is what it is, pure and simple.  Love is the water of life.  And a lover is a soul of fire!  The universe turns differently when fire loves water.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Taj ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari ( q.s. ) said, “If you desire repentance, it is necessary upon you not to be void of reflection throughout your life.  Reflect on what you have done during your day.  If you find obedience, show gratitude to Allah ( s.w.t. ) for it.  If you find disobedience, reproach yourself for that, and seek forgiveness from Allah ( s.w.t. ), and repent to Him.”