A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Arabic numerology is known as abjad .   This article is about the spiritual meaning of the letter, Ha’ .   The Arabic letter “ Ha ” is almost equivalent to the letter “H” in the English alphabet.   It is the sixth letter in the Arabic character set.   “ Ha ” in abjad has the value of 8.   This in reference to the eight angels who carry the Throne on the Day of Judgement.   The letter “ Ha ” is one of the letters of muqatha’at .   “ Ha ”, along with the letter “ Mim ”, is used as the opening letter of seven chapters in the Qur’an as “ Ha Mim ”.   The letter “ Ha ” is also the 11 th and 17 th letter in the Basmallah .   The letter “ Ha ” is for hamd , praise.   al-Hamd is for Allah ( s.w.t. ), the Rabb of the Worlds.   These are the opening words of Surah al-Fatihah in the Qur’an.   They are the most repeated words.   In other words, “The Praise is for Allah” is repeate...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following was taken from “A Brief Biography of Shaykh Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn ‘Abd al-Qadir ath-Tharabulusi ar-Riyahi ( q.s. )”, by Ustadz Muhammad Naswir ad-Din Andrea. Shaykh Ibrahim ar-Riyahi ( q.s. ), the Imam of the Zaytuna University and the Maliki Shaykh al-Islam of Tunis from 1832, stands in the later Ottoman period of intense social and intellectual change as one of the most noteworthy testimonies to the richness of Zaytuna scholarship.   He was an enlightened mufti, a dedicated and innovative teacher and an accomplished poet.   He also discretely cultivated a profound spirituality throughout his life, and was the man who introduced the Thariqa Tijaniyyah in Tunisia. Shaykh Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah Niyas al-Kawlakhi ( q.s. ) said about him: “Were Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani to have no other follower but Abu Ishaq Ibrahim al-Riyahi, it would suffice us as proof to also follow him.” His full name was Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn ‘Abd ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is adapted from “New Kharijism” by Dr. Jibril Fu’ad Haddad.   Among the signs of the Hour mentioned by the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) in the well-known hadits of Jibril ( a.s. ), in Swahih al-Bukhari , is “when the destitute camel herders compete in building tall structures.”   Another version in Swahih al-Bukhari has, “when the barefoot and the naked are the heads of the people.” In Swahih Muslim , there is “you shall see the barefoot, naked, indigent shepherds compete in building tall structures.”   Another version in Swahih Muslim says, “when the naked and barefoot are the top leaders of the people.”   A third version in Swahih Muslim has, “when you see that the barefoot and naked, the deaf and dumb are the kings of the Earth.”   Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani ( r.a. ) wrote, in commenting this passage of the hadits in Fath al-Bari , “It was said that ‘barefoot and na...