کاشفی

KNOW YOUR LORD

kashfi80 — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:43:53 +0000

KNOW YOUR LORD

acc. to Amir al-Mu’minîn Hazrat Ali bin Abi Tâlib

(RaziAllahu Anhu)

Text extracted from : Hilyat-ul Awliya, Abu Na`im al-Asfahâni

On the subject of knowing the Lord of the universe, al-Nu`mân bin Sa`ad said: “I was in the city of Kufa, visiting the Prince and Commander of the Believers, `Ali bin Abi Tâlib, when Nawf bin `Abdullâh came to see him and said: ‘O Amir al-Mu’minîn, there are forty Jews at the door requesting to see you.’ ‘Ali replied: ‘Let them in.’ When the visitors stood before him, their spokesman said: ‘O `Ali, describe to us your Lord who is in the heavens, how is that, how was He before, when was He; and what is He.

Ali immediately straightened up his sitting posture, and he replied, ‘Hearken to me and do not worry! You need not to ask anyone else beside me about this subject! `Ali then added:

My Lord was there first, and nothing ever existed besides Him. He did not commence from what or was intermingled with what! His attributes cannot be fixed or limited. He is not an apparition that can be pursued or delimited, nor is He veiled to be contained. He did not issue from what was not, and thus He is not an occurrence.

Exalted and most glorious is the Creator and Maker of everything, Lord of the universe, Whose divine majesty is most awesome and beyond having to explicate His essence to His creation, and instead, we say (as He described Himself, Qur’an 57:3) that He was there from the beginningless beginning, and He is the eternal without end. He is not subject to changes, nor is He affected by what He causes to change.

How can He be described by an occurrence He created, and how can His divine being be limited to the best fathom of the greatest rhetoricians of all times. He did not emerge from something else that can lead one to assume His manifestation, nor did He emanate from anything else that brought Him into being. He is without how, and He is closer than one’s jugular vein, and yet, He is beyond description in the widest perceivable realms.

Not a single glaring of anyone of His entire creation combined is ever hidden to Him, nor the sequence of any uttering or a sound is ever veiled to Him or is unperceived by Him, and neither is a single progression of any toddler obscure to His divine knowledge, and nor is the stretch of the tiniest step taken by any of His creation in a dark gloomy night, or at any depth or layer of this world not visible by Him. The brilliant moon in its fullness does not veil His magnificent effulgent presence, nor can the radiant sun and the full gamut of its rays brighten and make His presence more luminous. The orderly changing stretches of the nights and what they bring, and the prolongation and shortening of the daylight hours are within His knowledge, for He alone has the knowledge of what He wills to exist, and the wisdom behind their alterations.

He is the omniscient Lord Who is full of knowledge of every space, time, sequence, duration and term. The time allotted for the existence of His creation is predetermined solely by Him, and boundaries are not His attributes. He did not create things from preexisting matters nor from elements that were known before Him; rather, He created everything from inception, He made their nature perfect for their respective needs, and He fashioned everything and rendered it its best complementary form. Exalted is He in His glory, for there is nothing that can prevent or limit His reach, nor can anything interfere in His will. He does not benefit from the obedience of His creation, and He is swift in answering their prayers. The countless myriads of angels in the heavens as well as the two earths are subservient to Him.

His knowledge of the annihilated beings and past souls is as intricate as His knowledge of the ever-expanding universe and changing lives. His knowledge encompasses everything in the highest heavens and what is in the deepest layers of the earth. He knows everything. He distinguishes the multitude of sounds He created, and each of them stands distinct from the others before Him. Languages do not preoccupy Him. He is the All-Hearing Lord and without the extremities of a body, and He alone manages the entire universe, and He is the All-Seeing Lord, the Living, and the sole Sustaining power behind the entire existence. Glory be to Him, He spoke to Moses with words without the need for limbs or tools, nor lips nor through the vibration of a uvular sound. Exalted is He beyond ascription of mechanical attributes. He who alleges that our Lord is limited is indeed ignorant of the Creator who is worshipped in the heavens and on earth. The one that imagines Him contained within boundaries will live his life confused and mixed up.

Instead, it is God Almighty, Allah, who encompasses everything. Therefore, if you are troubled, and if you have gone to the extend of asking questions to describe the Merciful Lord, seeking an explanation beyond what He already revealed about Himself, inquiring in excess of the manifest proof of His sovereignty, then describe to me the archangels Gabriel, Michael, or Isrâfîl. How can you? Thus, if you are incapable of describing the created (angels), then how can you describe the Creator? What you can understand is limited to recognizing the attributes and the essence of perceived matters, but when it comes to describing the One Whom no slumber nor sleep can seize, you will surely fail. To Him belongs what the two earths, the heavens and all what they embody, and He is the Lord of the magnificent throne.” (Also narrated by al-Nu’mân and Ishâq)

• Also on this subject, Ahmad bin Abi al-Hawwâri narrated that `Ali bin Abi Tâlib, God bless his countenance, said: “I would not be happy if I had died as an infant, and if I entered paradise without experiencing this life and growing up to know my Lord.”

• `Ali bin al-Hussain narrated that his grandfather `Ali, God be pleased with both of them, said: “Among people, the most true in their advice, and the unsurpassed in their knowledge of who is God, are those who have the most love and reverence for the people of Lâ ilâha il Allah (Surely there is no god other than Allah).”

• Yahya Ibn Abi Kathâr narrated that the companions once asked `Ali, God bless his countenance: “Should we guard you?” He replied: “One is best guarded by his own destiny.”

The Blind Following the Blind

kashfi80 — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:00:35 +0000

There is no one worthy to be worshipped but Allah, Muhammad is His (last) Messenger.

The Blind Following the Blind

Source: Undisclosed

To be sitting in the Masjid-al-Haram, in Makkatul Mukarramah, is one of the great blessings of honour from The Almighty and a feeling of overwhelming gratefulness. As I was seated in the Masjid one day waiting for the Adhaan, two African women came and sat beside me making Dhikr (remembrance) of The Almighty. I turned towards them and made salaam, only to see that they were both blind. The woman who was sat beside me replied to my salaam and then continued with her Dhikr. Instantly my heart felt pity due to their blindness but at the same time it amazed me how blind people from around the world flocked to the Blessed City without the aid of their eyesight.As I waited for the Adhaan, questions ran through my mind, how did they manage at the airport? How did they travel to Makkah? How did they find their way to the Masjid? I paused and questioned myself at how weak my trust in Allaah was. He can make anything possible, especially for those who have full trust and reliance in Him, just like these women did.

As the words of the Adhaan began to echo, everyone rose to their feet. I noticed that both the blind women stood slightly away from the Qiblah (direction of Kaabah), so I gently held the shoulders of the lady nearest to me and turned her towards the direction of the Kaabah. She stroked my hand and thanked me. Her friend held on to her clothing and followed whatever her friend said and did.

Seeing their actions reminded me of the phrase ¡the blind leading the blind, unfortunately this phrase in English is used for mockery but to actually see this in reality is nothing but a miracle of our Creator.

When Salaah finished, I again turned to the blind lady next to me and spoke to her in broken Arabic. She paused for a moment and spoke in a sad and calm voice about Allaah and about her eyesight. Unfortunately, I understood very little but felt touched by the way she spoke about Allaah and about her blindness. As we departed we said our salaams.

As I was leaving the Haram, I saw them again asking the way to the Mataaf (area around the Kaa¢bah). I went across and took the woman, who was previously sitting next to me, by the arm, with her friend following, and told her that I would take them to the Mataaf. Upon recognising my voice she became extremely happy and gave me du¢aas. We walked up to the steps leading down to the Mataaf area, and each time I would say ¡step they took one step down reciting Bismillaah. They prayed Bismillaah for every step they came down. On reaching the Mataaf, we once again made our salaams and departed.

As they both walked away I was left wondering how they were going to continue, once again I found myself, reminding myself of how weak my trust in Allaah was. When these blind people I saw in the Masjid carried nothing but the praises and remembrance of Allaah on their lips, it was more than evident that Allaah was with them at every step. It was He who had fed them, clothed them, brought them to Makkah and was taking them to make Tawaaf, by whatever means He chooses.

The blind are seen doing Tawaaf (circumambulation) independently like free birds, with no worries or interest in other people or in what¢s happening around them, with no distractions continuing to glorify Almighty Allaah with full reliance and trust in Him. They are deprived of one of the greatest gifts from Allaah and yet they continue to abundantly praise and glorify Him at all times.

Here we are, drowning in Blessings from Allaah, yet we forget the Giver of all these blessings until we experience a loss of them. May the Almighty through His Infinite Mercy and Grace give us all the right guidance to value each and every one of His Blessings.

Everyone is a vendor of his own soul

kashfi80 — Thu, 31 May 2007 13:38:48 +0000

Everyone is a vendor of his own soul
On the authority of Abu Malik al-Harith bin al-Harith al-Asharee (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Purity is half of iman (faith). ‘al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah)’ fills the scales, and ‘subhan-Allah (how far is Allah from every imperfection)’ and ‘al-hamdulillah (praise be to Allah)’ fill that which is between heaven and earth. And the salah (prayer) is a light, and charity is a proof, and patience is illumination, and the Quran is a proof either for you or against you. Every person starts his day as a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or causing its ruin.”
(Sahih Muslim)