Love is Not…

Peace, one and all… 

‘Love is not lust.

Love is not sex.

Love is not a selfish gene.

Love is not deceit.

Love is not pride.

Love is not humiliation.

Love is not a tyrant.

Love is not hubb al-shahawat.

Love is not Hollywood romance.

Love is not a soap opera. 

Love, just is’.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Proactive Degeneration…

Peace, one and all…

I wanted to post a quick link to an article by the excellent Yursil (over at Mind, Body, Soul).  Please check it out, as it helps add to the importance of spirituality in these troubled times.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Once a Man, Twice a Child…

Peace, one and all…

‘Allah is the One who created you from weakness, and then made after weakness, strength, then after strength weakness and white hair. He creates what He wills, and He is the Knowing, the Competent’ (Surah al-Rum 30:54).’

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Prayers for Forgiveness: no. 2

Peace, one and all…

As promised (al hamdu lillah, one promise fulfilled at least), here’s the second du’a from Prayers for Forgiveness.  Please remember your poor brother in your du’as.

‘O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness for every sin that invites me toward Your anger, or draws me near to Your displeasure, or makes me inclined to that which You have prohibited, or distances me from [the bliss and success] to which You have invited me.

So send blessings and peace, O my Lord, upon our Master Muhammad, and upon the family of our Master Muhammad, and forgive my sin, O Best of those who forgive’

Sometimes, all you can say is ‘amin’.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Consult Your Own Hearts…

Peace, one and all…

In the midst of this crazy world, we need to listen to sound advice.  Mevlana always has something useful to say.  Enjoy…

‘The pleasures of this world are delightful
from a distance before the actual test.
Consult your own hearts.

To follow one’s own desires is to flee from God
and to spill the blood of spirituality
in the presence of His justice.

This world is a trap, and desire is its bait:
escape the traps quickly
and turn your face toward God.

When you have followed this Way,
you have enjoyed a hundred blessings.
When you have gone the opposit way, you have
fared ill.

So the Prophet said, ‘Consult your own hearts,
even though the religious judge
advises you about worldly affairs’.

Abandon desire, and so reveal His Mercy:
you’ve learned by experience
the sacrifice He requires.

Since you can’t escape, be His servant,
and go from His prison into His rose garden.
When you continually keep watch
over your thoughts and actions.

you are always seeing the Justice and the Judge,
though heedlessness may shut your eyes,
still, that doesn’t stop the sun from shining’.
(Mathnawi VI 377-384)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Tacitus’ Use of Rumour: a Means of Realism or Distortion?

Peace, one and all…

As promised recently, here’s an updated version of one of my academic papers.  This one looks at the Roman historian P. Cornelius Tacitus and his use of rumour.

Enjoy… 

Tacitus’ Use of Rumour: a Means of Realism or Distortion?
‘History’, in the sense of an account of the past and its underlying significance, is arguably as old as humanity itself.  Indeed, the construction of narratives aimed at making sense of what has gone before seems to be common to all human societies.  Thus, for example, in the ancient Middle East, the birthplace of literacy, ‘history’ was understood and written as an account of fundamental religious truths.  The stories of these early civilisations portray the deeds of mythic heroes and gods and use these narratives to say meaningful things about both the past and the present itself.  In the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh the action takes place outside of mundane time[1].  In some ways, Jewish ‘historical’ writing marks an important departure; Hebrew scripture thus attempts to demonstrate God’s activity in ‘real’ time[2].  Biblical historiography, in contrast to modern historical writing, is ‘driven by divine not humanly contingent forces’[3].

Islam Confused

Peace, one and all…

As most regular visitors to The Corner will know, I rarely make direct reference to current events.  This is entirely intentional.  Firstly, there are many blogs written by fellow Muslims who do that particular job better than I feel I can (Islamophobia Watch and Rolled Up Trousers, to name but two examples).  Secondly, any debate generated by such comment often degenerates into name calling and noisy argument.  I have no wish to feed the paranoia of others.

Occasionally, however, I am tempted to come out of my ‘shell’.  I recently commented on a current affairs thread at Rolled Up Trousers (regarding the MCB’s recent letter to the UK government).  The actual cut and thrust of these comments is not my concern here (follow the link above if you’re interested).  Rather, I wanted to discuss the mistaken confusion between Islam, culture and ethnicity.

Ibn Arabi

Peace, one and all…

I came across this rather profund and somewhat enigmatic poem of ibn Arabi (hat tip to Wahiduddin’s Web).  This is a very interesting poem, in that it seems to suggest that we have to assign meaning ourselves.  Or, at any rate, we have to find the connections for ourselves.

‘All that is left
to us by tradition
is mere words.

It is up to us
to find out what they mean’.
(ibn al-`Arabi, Tarjuman al-Ashwaq, in The Mystics of Islam, translated by Reynold A Nicholson)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Things Unequal…

Peace, one and all…

A short quote from the Quran…

‘Not equal are the blind and the seeing, nor are the darknesses and the light, nor are the shade and the light, And not equal are the living and the dead.  Indeed, Allah causes to hear whom He wills, but you cannot make hear those in the graves’ (Surah FatirL 35:19-22) .

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Taking the Road to Antalya…

Peace, one and all…

I wanted to post a passage from Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi.  It’s taken from Rumi’s Fihi ma Fihi and deals with the subject of yearning.  Enjoy…

‘Night and day in this world you are searching for rest and peace, but it is not possible to acquire them in this world.  Nonetheless, you are not without this quest for even an instant.  Any peace you find in this world is as unstable as a passing lightning flash.  What kind of lightning?  A lightning full of hail, rain, snow, full of tribulation.  For example, say someone wants to go to Antalya, but takes the road to Caesarea.  Although he may never abandon hope of reaching Antalya, it is impossible to get there by the road he has taken.  On the other hand, if he does take the Antalya road, though he be lame and weak, eventually he will arrive since that is where the road ends.  Since neither the affairs of this world nor the affairs of the next are accomplished without suffering, then suffer for the next world lest your suffering go for nought.

You say, ‘O Muhammad, tae my religion away, for I find no peace’.

‘How can our religion turn a person loose before it brings him to the goal?’ he will answer.’

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

An Unhappy Neighbour

Peace, one and all…

‘Rockets fall and cannons roar,

‘The land is ours, now and forever’, they say.

Utter foolishness!

Who truly has a claim to the earth,

Striding across the sand as though he were a living god?

Utter foolishness and again, utter foolishness!

The earth belongs to the One who brought it forth from the void,

As for us, we own nothing.

Naked we have arrived

And naked we shall depart.

In all truth, we are merely tenants,

Our occupancy fleeting at best.

Would, then, that we might accept the terms of our tenancy;

‘Give Me justice and right dealing’;

Or else face eviction. 

Buildings topple and children weep,

Homes crumble and the old stagger on,

Homeless and afraid.

How long will you live thus,

An angry and unhappy neighbour?

Remember the adab of your ancestors

And forget your proud claims…’

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Do Not Resent Him…

Peace, one and all…

Just read an excellent post at Sunnisisters.com on Qadar: check it out.

Ma’as salama
Abdur Rahman

On Religion…

Peace, one and all…

I wanted to post a second chapter from Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet (subhan Allah, two in one day)!!  This chapter is called ‘On Religion’; again it does exactly what it says on the tin!

On Religion

And an old priest said, “Speak to us of Religion.”

And he said:

Have I spoken this day of aught else?

Is not religion all deeds and all reflection,

And that which is neither deed nor reflection, but a wonder and a surprise ever springing in the soul, even while the hands hew the stone or tend the loom?

On Prayer…

Peace, one and all…

Here’s another chapter drawn from Khalil Gibran’s excellent work The Prophet.  This chapter is called ‘On Prayer’.  Given the title, the subject matter is perhaps obvious.  Anyway, enjoy…

On Prayer 

Then a priestess said, “Speak to us of Prayer.”

And he answered, saying:

You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.

For what is prayer but the expansion of yourself into the living ether?

And if it is for your comfort to pour your darkness into space, it is also for your delight to pour forth the dawning of your heart.

And if you cannot but weep when your soul summons you to prayer, she should spur you again and yet again, though weeping, until you shall come laughing.

Prayers for Forgiveness…

Peace, one and all…

I recently purchased a short book called Prayers for Forgiveness: Seeking Spiritual Enlightenment Through Sincere Supplication.  It was complied by Allama Qutb al-Din al-Hanafi and is a collection of istaghfirat supposedly written by Hasan al-Basra.

Forgiveness is something we all need (and me most of all), so I thought I’d post one of these du’a every couple of days or so to share the baraka…

Prayer no. 1 

‘O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness for every sin that my body, empowered by the good health that You had granted, was able to commit; every sin that came within the reaches of my power only due to the grace of Your bounties; every sin to whcih my hand, nourished by Your ample sustenance, extended. And while sinning, I hid myself behind Your veil from the people; and when fearing You, while engrossed in my sin, I relied on Your assurance of safety and forgiveness; and I took refuge in You, with Your clemency, not to smite me, and I depended on You, with Your noble countenance and pardon, to forgive me.

So send blessings and peace, O my Lord, upon our Master Muhammad, upon the family of our Master Muhammad, and forgive my sin, O Best of those who forgive’ 

Ya Ghafur!  Ya Afuww!

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

A Yemeni Bard…

Peace, one and all…

I’ve just read a small and really deep poem about Islamic extremism at Tabsir . I thought it was great, so I’m sharing it with you all…

O, you who kidnap our guests,
Your house will refuse you,
These violations are against Islam

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

A Step Forward, A Step Back…

Peace, one and all…

‘A step forward, a step back…

Like a feather thrown into the desert,

Fallen from the bird’s wing,

Lost amidst a spiralling tumble,

I should spare myself this turbulence.

But, after landing with a thud, I cannot in all conscience remain on my knees;

Up with your beard, Durin’s son

The Path remains, despite your stumble.

And your Lord is still One’

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Find the Way

Peace, one and all…

I’ve just written a post that seems to have vanished into the ether!! Oh well…

‘Look and do not turn away,

Do not let your gaze falter,

You may not be able to change every evil within yourself, yet…

But, see them, own them, understand them,

Look into your heart and realise that it all starts there.

Face your shadow-self, calmly and steadily, don’t run…

For within its poison, there lies healing.

It’s just your dark-half; it’s neither God nor the Devil

Come now, are you that important?’

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman