A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following article, originally in Arabic, is adapted from “Are We Serious about Facing Takfirist Ideology?” from the 19 th September 2013, by Habib ‘Ali Zayn al-‘Abidin ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Jifri.   Three years ago, in the Southern Turkish city of Mardin, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Mahfuzh ibn Bayyah’s ( r.a. ) Global Center for Renewal and Guidance, in association with Artuklu University, convened a conference.   It had two primary purposes: first, to carefully examine and review the classification of diyar , domains, in Islamic law and how this pertains to the concepts of jihad , loyalty and enmity, al-wala’ wa al-bara’ ; citizenship and emigration; and second, to discuss the fatwa of Shaykh Taqi’ ad-Din Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Halim ibn Taymiyyah ( r.a. ), commonly known as “The Fatwa of Mardin”, in which he deduced a new ruling for a jurisprudential classification of the world into domains of dar al-kufr , unbelief; dar al-islam , Isl...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is adapted from Signs on the Horizons by Shaykh Harun Michael Sugich.   “Amongst the group was a strange but devoted Meknesi tinsmith who was known for his eccentric behaviour and sudden, inappropriate outbursts in which he would leap up in the middle of a gathering and begin a solo hadhrah .  He would always volunteer to wash the hands of the fuqara’ , carrying around a pitcher and an aluminum basin with a soap dish for hand-washing after a meal.  In his case, once all the fuqara’ had washed their hands and mouths, he would lift the basin to his lips and drink down the used soapy water with relish, for the ‘ barakah ’, or blessing.  We always watched this odd spectacle with a mixture of amusement, revulsion and, I have to say, a kind of admiration at the mad devotion this faqir exhibited.  There is a false assumption among the uninitiated and outsiders that the spiritual path is the exclusive domain of s...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is extracted from Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani’s ( q.s. ) Jila’ al-Khathir .   Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani   ( q.s. ) said zuhd , abstinence, is what gives comfort to the hearts of obedient abstainers.   The burden of abstinence is borne by the physical constitution.   The burden of ma’rifah , intimate knowledge, is borne by the heart.   The burden of nearness to the Lord is borne by the sir , innermost being.   We must be abstinent, be satisfied, and be grateful.   We should be pleased with our Lord, and do not be pleased with ourselves.   We should think well of other people, give up thinking the worst of other people, and not hold a high opinion of ourselves.   We should refrain from gratifying the desires of the flesh, for the effects of such restraint are healing and purifying to the heart.   To satisfy one’s appetite for lawful fo...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is taken from Marmaduke Pickthall: A Brief Biography .   Gerrard Winstanley said, “Action is the Life of all, and if thou dost not Act, thou dost nothing.”   Before we consider the life-story of the British Muslim and Qur’an translator, Shaykh Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall ( r.a. ), it is as well to recall that aspect of the practice of every believer without which there are only ashes: holiness of life.  In the case of Shaykh Pickthall ( r.a. ), this was a luminous, steadily progressing reality which impressed all who came into contact with him.  Even his unbelieving first biographer, Anne Fremantle, opined that “had he changed from evangelical or even from high church Anglicanism to the Roman faith, doubtless the machinery of sanctification would have by now been set to work.”  He was a man of discreet charity, the extent of whose generosity was only discovered after his death.  He turned down lucr...