A is for Allah by Yusuf İslam

:) Such a beautiful video to a great nasheed. This is Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens

Last Sunday's Halaqa: Contentment

During the halaqa this week, our teacher said a few words about giving thanks and bieng content... which reminded me of the quote I have up on this blog, "Our problem is that were fundamentally discontended with what we have. This is the major fitna of the modern world" (Talib al Habib).

Try this excercise sometime (I think this was also mentioned in the same halaqa many months ago): On a drive home (no matter how long or short) start naming everything you have to be thankful for, outloud: everything and anything, from small to big, general or specific, material things, your good characteristics, certain people in your life, opportunities you've had, etc. etc. etc. When I tried this on a 20 min. drive home, I was completely shocked: there was not a moment -- not one -- where I had to stop and think, "Hmm, what else?" The words kept flowing and the list was endless: subhanallah. I never thought an excercise so seemingly innocent could have such a profound impact.

When we look at everything we have -- the clothes we wear, the houses we live in, the food on our table, our health, the fact that we have a personal home computer, the air we breathe, the free time we have to spend hours on the blognet, the friends, parents and supportive people in our lives... -- you can't help but wonder, what did I do deserve this? Specifically the part about bieng born a Muslim and inheriting Islam since our birth (or through conversion)... this was just a matter of destiny and Allah (swt) has blessed us by choosing us to be witnesses of His message.

What did we do to deserve this special rank? It could have been just as easy for Allah to have us born into a non-Muslim family, or for us to never find out about true Islam and the peace it offers... Alhumdulillah, I am a Muslim. I thank Allah for blessing me with his light, and pray that He, in his infinite mercy, grants me contentment with His prescence alone. Ameen.

Edit: I found this quote in an article/lecture, "Unity Through Schools of Thought," by Abdul Hakim Murad and thought it went nicely with this post:
"Islam, and this has always been my experience as a newcomer to Islam who knew for many years the alternative: Islam is a gift. This is how we have to see it. It is our most precious possession. It is through Islam that we strive for peace and justice and harmony in the world and it is through Islam that we strive also for eternal joy and serenity in the presence of our Creator."

Family Guy Annoying Stewie

This is really funny. I don't usually watch FamilyGuy, but this is seriously funny, and might I add annoying. Props to all the mom's out there who've had this happen to them countless times by kids like us... Patience indeed. ;)

Reflection

I love this quote, mashallah! Rumi has amazing poetry to begin with, and this is one of the best. The person who gave me the quote also sent along an explanation.

''Once the mirror of your heart is clear and pure, you will see images
beyond this world of water and clay. You will see both the image and Maker
of the images, both the carpet of the kingdom and Him who lays the carpet."
- Jalaleddin Rumi

The dusty veil of accumulation in our heart
prevents the reflection of purer presence. When we look at a mirror, what do we
see? We see an exact reflection of ourselves, it doesn't conceal anything. When
we look at the mirror of our heart, we see many defects we don't like about
ourselves -- egoic feelings of pride, envy, desire, arrogance, judgement about
others etc etc. Only when we are able to clean ourselves from such inner
pride and purify our souls, we can move closer to Allah (SWT). Only then, our
hearts will discover the lights within it, the purer light of Being will be
reflected. Our hearts will be filled with remembrance of Allah.

Funny thing is, just the other day in class, my Communications teacher was
talking about self reflection, and how a bit of introspection is just what
the doctor ordered -- keeps us on track and in touch with reality. He
gave us a tip: Try stepping outside yourself for a moment and ask how am I
doing? Where am I? Is this where I want to be? How/What should I change to
get to my destination? (Mind you, do this when your alone...otherwise others might think your a bit strange...)
One can apply this to anything in life: academics, spirituality, relationships, etc. I remember a lecture from Sunnipath where the Shaykh said the exact same thing: Life is like a train. You are the traveler on it. Your going along, trying to get to your final destination, but there are alot of stops along the way, things to get you distracted. So you have to keep asking yourself, Am I on the right track, the right train? Something along those line anyway. :)

Ok, now that the creative juices are flowing, I will push myself to go fill up that empty Word document, which will, inshallah soon, be my paper. Wasalaams!

RIHLA 2007

RIHLA 2007 is open for registration! Inshallah, one day I'll be able to go as well... but till then, I can at least help spread the word for others. :)

The Deen Intensive Foundation welcomes prospective students to apply to this special enhanced program.

LOCATION:

The program will commence in Taif on July 6th with ten days of intensive teaching and regular visits to the Haram of Makkah via trolley (during which the group will perform 'umrah), followed by 10 nights in Madinah. All accommodations within these cities are four-star hotels.

CURRICULUM:

The program will have a comprehensive schedule in which times for intensive study, tours, and worship are carefully integrated. Classes will include
The Circumstances of Revelation (asbab al-nuzul) followed by visits to the actual historical sites connected to these circumstances.
Etiquette with the Qur'an, The Sciences of the Qur'an, and classes on The historical development of the theological, legal, and spiritual sciences of Islam.
Integrated into this year's curriculum will be seerah-centric visits to various historical sites in the two holy cities. This provides students with the unique opportunity to experience the very places they are learning about in their classes.
The program will also have as its core classes focused on the Individual Obligations (fard 'ayn) of the religion: the legal aspects of Ritual Purification and Ritual Prayer from three schools of Islamic Law.

CONFIRMED TEACHERS:

Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah
Shaykh Abdallah al-Kadi
Shaykh Jamal Zahabi
Imam Zaid Shakir
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
Ustadh Yahya Rhodus
Ustadh Walead Mohammed

COST AND TRAVEL:

The program cost for this year is $2500 USD for the land package which includes:
Course materials, Hotel accommodations (4 star), 3 daily meals, All transportation within Saudi Arabia. (The above mentioned are covered for the duration of the program. Flight costs are not included and vary from your country of origin.)
The designated travel agency for this year is Dar as-Salam Travel which has affiliates in the US, Canada, UK and Saudi Arabia. Upon acceptance, students will be referred to the travel agency for flight confirmation. The preferred carrier from the US Canada is Saudi Airlines. UK students will be referred to our UK representative for flight details. Flight confirmations will only occur once you have received an official notice of acceptance from the Deen Intensive Foundation Rihla Committee. Also, please remember that depending on your country of origin your departure date may vary.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

The application process will be open to all eligible students until April 20, 2007, which is the deadline for application submission.For more details and to apply, please visit our website: http://www.deenintensive.com/

Tala'a Al-Badru Alayna

The version of Tala'a Al-Badru Alayna by Sheikh Mishary Rashid Al-Afasy... personally, I like the traditional versions better, but interesting video.

Salaams and Peace

Bismillah -- In the name of Allah
... So, my first blog entry. I'm not exactly sure why I signed up for a blog. But somewhere, down there, I'm sure its not because I LIKE to write. It's more of a necessity, really:
I need a place to post all the extremely interesting articles, videos, news, etc. that I find on the web. Instead of filling up friends inbox's with a dozen emails of things I'm sure they'd love, moreover, NEED to see, isn't it better to write it here, and at least give them the choice of choosing whether they'd like to see it or not? Of course, its also a place where I can sort out my thoughts.
Till next time (if indeed there is one),
Sumaiya