Category Archives: Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah

…when a servant knows his Lord…

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Madinah May 2013a

…today after Asr…the crowds exiting from Masjid Nabawi become a congested mass in the narrow walk ways between the hotels…pilgrims are present in large numbers Alhumdulillah, but the vendors spreading their mats and wheeling trolleys add to the crush…it is impossible to escape the markets and lure of Shaytan the minute one leaves the courtyard…this is disturbing…we as humans are already weak and come with so much ;baggage’ without this distraction immediately after Salat…maintaining a clear focus to Allah Ta’ala seems to dissolve…how does this impact on us as an Ummah?

Madinah May 2013b

…but I digress…looking at this diverse collection from the Ummah the wonder is: who from these thousands is free of problems or not carrying issues whether they be psychological, behavioural, emotional, financial, or some ‘disorder’ that seems to be rife in our troubled times…or various combinations of all of these plus more? Probably not one. And this would be the same all over the world…we all are running programs, some more deep and disturbing than others, that inhibit our true potential and block our way to Allah Ta’ala and His Nusrah and the way to being more intimate with our Blessed Propeht SallAllahu alaihi wasallam……

…books fill our home space…a rustic array of wooden boxes and cantilevered pieces of recycled wood and old drawers standing on the side constitute the shelving…arranged in a very haphazard way…bits added as this bibliophile’s addiction acquires more books…but I digress again…

…some one I love very dearly is facing a big life hurdle…as is often the reaction to hearing details a ‘stroll’ around the higgely piggley library ensures with no intention to find any particular book…but asking for guidance to words that may assist…going to Haram today the mind was occupied with wondering about the amazing states we as humans can be in…then upon returning and vaguely glazing over the library the following book not only jumped out, but the page flipped open to this wonderful advice…such beautiful, calming spiritual instruction to bring peace and solace to whatever trouble may be testing us…

…may we all benefit from reading this and then Insha’Allah try to implement the essence of these golden words…so we as servants may come to know our Lord…Ameen…

When the servant knows his Lord, all creatures acknowledge him and all things obey him. But God knows more.

The illustrious Shaykh our Master (may God be well pleased with him) used to say: “When your heart is emptied of beings it becomes filled with Being and from that moment love is born between you and other beings. If you act purely towards your Creator, all creatures will manifest goodwill toward you.” Nd we will add: when you are sincere in contemplation of your Lord, He will try you by manifesting Himself to you in all His aspects and if you continue to recognize Him and do not ignore Him, then the universe and all it contains will recognize you; it will love you and behave toward you with veneration and generosity; it will rally to your side, obey you and want you; it will rejoice in remembering you, show concern for you, be glorified in you, flock toward you, call you; all this you will see with your own eyes. But if you fail to know God when He manifests Himself to you, you also will be unrecognized by all things, denied by all things, humiliated, despised, diminished, made more despicable, worse, heavier, more remote; everything will insult you, shun you, be against you and overwhelm you.

You who are “poor”, if you wish that your wind may prevail over all winds and all adversaries, then be constant in contemplating your Lord while He is trying you, for He will change your ignorance into knowledge, your weakness into strength, your helplessness into power, your poverty into wealth, your lowliness into glory, your loneliness into intimacy, your remoteness into nearness—or, in a word, God be He exalted, will cover over your qualities with His qualities, for He is generous and bestows immeasurable graces.

Source: Letters of a Sufi Master The Shaykh ad-Darqawi.

 

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…one hundred yards of madness…

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…five years ago…and yet today this humble tailor shop looks exactly the same…three precarious steps lead to a single room full of decades of paraphernalia…the machine whirs as his white beard fuses with the white cloth he sews…and time stands still as it zooms…as threads of lustrous silk  weave mundane scenes with a deep and soulful ethereal intuition of purpose…of submission…of not being afraid to carry one hundred yards of madness to be fashioned by Geometer of the Heart…

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…his space is not part of a shopping area but an isolated business among an older suburb of rickety dilapidated buildings very close to Masjid Nabawi…around the corner from us…his clientele are regulars who appreciate his skilled work, humble setting, very reasonable prices and the quirky surroundings rather than the glitzy fashionable modern establishments…

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…there seems to be dozens of clocks…most set at the same time…filling the confined area with a soothing symphony of tick tick tick…all adding a different tone…and most days one may pass, a recording of our Divine Book imprints a glow in the heart…and recalling some Rumi eloquence…

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The Lover’s Tailor’s Shop: tomorrow I’ll go there

wrapped in my long cloak, with a hundred yards of madness.

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The Tailor snips you from Jones and stitches you to Smith,

pairing you with one, separating you from the other,

sew your heart to one of them for a lifetime –

such silken thread! wonderful stitches!

miraculous hand!

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Then, when your heart is fixed, he rips out the seam,

snick! snick! With the scissors of “Get ye down from it!”*

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All this sewing together and tearing apart

bewilders me,

my mind reels at the variegations of

affirmation and obliteration.

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The heart is a dust-board, He the geometer of the heart:

what a marvel of figures, numbers, realities,

and names He inscribes!

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When He multiplies you, like a number,

by somebody else,

what a sum He manifests with his arithmetic!

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You’ve seen multiplication — now study division:

how He parcels up one drop into an Ocean!

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By the algebra of Fate He balances all equations:

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Silence! for thought itself breaks down at such wonders.

*Quran 11:38. Allah Ta’ala’s command to Adam and Huwwa.

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…may thought itself break down at such wonders as we ponder the grand stitching and snipping of Allah Ta’ala’s Miraculous Hand in the fabric of our days…

JUMA’AH MUBARAK!

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.

…all in a days walk…

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…summer has definitely arrived after a rather prolonged few months of bearable temperatures…but now the 40′s have begun…and so have the supplies of melons…trucks weighted down line the popular roads…but this is a hazard as the usual habit for people here is to suddenly stop to buy form the street vendors without caring that they may be triple parking and holding up traffic or causing car behind them to swerve dangerously…all adding to the colour and charm of being in Al Madinah Al Munawwarah…how the days of camels would have been safer and a different level of chaos…

…it stirs the soul to see that pigeons are cared for…containers of fresh water are filled throughout the day…they seemed to take it in turns to splash about…

…hard manual labour in the searing sun…the law requires all outdoor work to cease during the intense midday hours…Insha’Allah employees abide by this and also remember the Hadith about paying their workers before the sweat dries from their brow…surely Madinatun Nabi is the place where this is respected…

…a soft early morning light caresses the minarets while highlighting the new street lighting…

…the last remains of green framing the new Qiblah hotel…this garden has been reduced to a few trees…the bird song reduced…preparing for another hotel excavation I presume and for the vast changes this southern side will see as the new fly over is constructed and the old one demolished opening the land for development…

…one of the main facades of the huge Qiblah complex…the largest hotel in the city…it is ten years since it was started…Insha’Allah it will be functioning for the crowds in Ramadhan…

…a unique coach…wonder if it travels at the speed of the magnificent leopard?

…the diversity of groups with their distinct creative ‘uniforms’ adds the to visual spectacle while stirring the soul knowing that Allah Ta’ala brings pilgrims from every nation to our two sacred places, SubhanAllah!

…’self portrait’…he he he…to prove this humble speck has been blessed with some mobility…Alhumdulillah Alf ShukriLlahu!!!

…the constant round the clock cleaning of the umbrellas…

…trying to conjure how much water is used in and around the Masjid is boggling…these trumpet shaped nozzles deliver a high pressure flow to deal with the dust…

…they are filling in all the gaps…ghasp…soon there will be no place to see the developments unless one has access from higher floors in the nearby hotels…why prohibit people from seeing the progress??

…previous visit was about ten days ago…crash::bang::rumble::dust…the stripped buildings are still standing as the focus is on clearing the area of the mangled steel and flattening the site…hence dozens of earth moving trucks are lined up to be filled with the excess earth…what blessed secrets may this earth be holding??

…the green area is where they are currently working…as can be seen it is a fraction of the whole design…the pink is the area of the current Masjid Nabawi…maybe the three inner open courtyard areas of the new plan will mean that these parts corresponding to the northern courtyard will remain as the foundation of these three sections…Allahu ‘Alum…

…the heat and dust bleach the scene…

…if one is seeking a quiet calm while visiting our Radiant city then Insha’Allah it forever resides in the heart and no clanging or crashing of machinery can affect this…

…the only door into the site from the Baqi side…there may come a time when courage is found to ask if a quick step inside is OK to snap some quick shots…guess one will only hear mamnou’…Alhumdulillah…

…leaving…

…entering…bags to be checked…

…arriving…a 24/7 choreography at the eastern sisters section…Alhumdulillah…

…brothers sit at all the main gateways to the Masjid selling the Mushaf…many donate copies to the Masjid as well as purchase for gifts to take back to their home lands…

…this was a row of about ten brothers outside the King Fahd gate mid morning…the early bird getting the shade…

…while others used cardboard and prayer mats to cover their head from the intense heat…

…the mist fans operate during the hottest part of the day…considerably lowering the temperatures underneath the umbrellas…

…bringing relief to those lining up to fill containers with Zamzam which is transported from Makkah on a daily basis and available at this filling station at the north west corner of the courtyard…

…Insha’Allah Du’a flows during this auspicious month where Allah Ta’ala’s promised forgiveness for our repentance is most high…Insha’Allah be steadfast for Hidayah to pierce hearts and for the Deen to flourish in the Haramain as it was during the times of our Noble Nabi SallAllahu alaihi wasallam, Ameen…

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.

…Rajab 1434…

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…the new marble courtyard in front of Babul Baqi…a shiny mirrored lake…shimmering reflections with a most intimate closeness portrayed in the touching father and sons huddle…affected by the intensity of love radiating from our Beloved Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam…brothers pondering the reality of being so near…hearts united in the calm and serenity…contemplating the blessing of being drawn so close…embraced and caressed with the softest of touches and the most fragrant of perfumes…

…a little further away the same awe is felt as sisters sit and stare blankly…who needs to see when one can feel…all but longing and yearning is left in the heart as it finds stillness in the moment…every thought, other than of Al-Mustafa SallAllahu alaihi wasallam, dissolved into a blank void…a nothingness of no meaning, no significance…a veritable bliss piercing ones whole being…

…here we all are…planted on this earthly orb by the gift of gravity…protected as we swirl around and around…our rizq has been decided…our destiny scribed long long ago…so why worry…why fill hearts with anything but the love and adoration of our Rabb and His Habib SallAllahu alaihi wasallam…be daring…submit even more during the month of Rajab…be open and ready and WILLING to receive Allah Ta’ala’s Mercy…this is His month of pouring His Mercy on the penitent…daily diligent pleas of

Rabb ighfir li w’ arhamni wa tub ‘alayya

Oh Allah forgive me, have mercy upon me, and grant me repentance.

seventy times after Fajr and after Asr…Insha’Allah so little in exchange for mountains and mountains of forgiveness…SubhanAllah…(other recommended acts in the third link below)

JUMA’AH MUBARAK!

 …may your profits be enormous during this Mubarak month of Rajab, Ameen…

…return to Allah Ta’ala in repentance…

…previous Rajab posts…here with the date loaf recipe…celebrate…here with a gallery of nostalgic Makkah…and here for spiritual ways of preparing the body, mind and soul for Ramadhan, SubhanAllah…

 

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.

…exalted perfection::perfection exalted…

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…as the thunder roars…the clouds frolic in an ecstatic dance…the lightning electrifies the air…the heart swoons in wild abandon mesmerized by the shifting shafts of light on this most precious of places in the entire creation…the Abode of the the most exalted in  perfection SallAllahu alaihi wasallam…perfection most exalted…SubhanAllah!

Verily you are of a tremendous nature. (68:4)

His virtues are perfect, and were he to gift

His resplendence to the moon, it would never be eclipsed.

Despite their skill, those who have described him

Need all of the time to do so – and there is more they have not described.

Source: Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wasallam the Perfect Man.

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He is like the sun: to the eye at a distance

it seems small, but when near,

it dazzles the sight.

Lift your head from your Yemenite cloak,

For your face is the sunrise of life! Jami

Source: The Mantle Adorned verse 49, page 65.

…may the tangible light the eye perceives be transferred so as to illuminate the heart to receive the Light of Truth from Allah Ta’ala through our Blessed Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam Ameen…

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.

…crash::bang::rumble::dust…

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…this is the eastern tunnel accessing the the underground carpark…the fence to Jannatul Baqi is on the left and the blue fence to the right is the barrier to where the work is now happening…the new eastern side of the expansion will occupy the area now seen in this photo, but reach far back to the north (right) incorporating the area where you can see the tops of the hotels which will be demolished…one can ascertain the distance from the Green Dome which is seen just peeking over the far left umbrella…this is a GIGANTIC PROJECT…no drawing or artist rendering or model or google representation conveys the massive scope of this expansion…

…Source: Skyscrapercity where you can find more images and the latest updates, SubhanAllah Sister Roukaya does an amazing job sharing so much about the Haramain, may Allah Ta’ala reward her immensely for her efforts in benefiting the Ummah, Ameen…(the intention was to photo shop the eastern area to clarify where they are working now but unfortunately I do not have access to photo shop at the moment but work now is confined to the sqaure of the open courtyard on the left along with the area to the left of it)

…buildings stripped of the marble facade and ready for implosion…Insha’Allah I try to be there for one of them going down…

…gone are all the ornate decorations and hotels hardly been occupied…and this is just the beginning…SubhanAllah!!!

…some ask where is all this happening in relation to the present Masjid…this photo was taken at the same place as the above two…just turning 180 degrees…

…all the fences between the site and the courtyard are covered in plastic to lessen the dust so looking into the actual area is difficult…unless of course for brothers who can ask for entry…clearer photos here…

…there are a couple of places along the fence where one can look through dusty window…

…most of these buildings will soon be gone…

…Jannatul Baqi directly opposite the above photo…

…it was a very cloudy day so photos are gloomy…but easy to see how close to the eastern umbrella courtyard is the demolition site…

…recycled steel companies must be very happy…

…again…Janntul Baqi fence to the left and the Ottoman minaret and Dome of Peace outlined in the distance…I still find it difficult to comprehend the sheer scale of this endeavour…and this is only the eastern side…the same area is to be added on the western side as well as the long northern area…

…palaces come and go…Insha’Allah our final Blissful Abode will be for ETERNITY…and even the expansion will be dust…

…twisted steel mountains…the roar of bulldozers, diggers and the monster looking arm that lifts all this mangled mess creates an alien scene…

…Insha’Allah I will try to be frequent with updates…

…I wonder what will happen to the hundreds of umbrellas currently shading the north, east and west courtyards?…

…how many of the 1.8 million pilgrims expected to fill the new design will hope to actually step inside Rowdha Shareef? How will this be managed in the future? Especially for sisters where it is so chaotic now?

…scroll down here for other concerns regarding the extent of the expansion…plus Madinah already has a water shortage so how will the system cope with the addition of millions? not to mention the congested traffic problems…pilgrim buses line the narrow streets between hotels to drop and collect pilgrims as cars, pedestrians and taxis impatiently try to negotiate the dangerous jams…Insha’Allah the plan to construct a metro linking the airport to the Masjid is a positive plan…as is the rail link from Makkah…but how people move from the station, which is a distance from the central area, to their hotels may mean relying on buses which seems to defeat the efficiency of a railway…the situation requires forward thinking of scales not seen before…look back to just over two years ago when the exact area being dug up now was being filled and then paved to accommodate the overflowing crowds…and how do the elderly, the differently challenged move within and around such a massive complex…some say there are carts, Alhumdulillah, but from experience they are limited in the services they provide…and are only outside in the courtyard…how much courtyard will there be with the new plans?

…so many questions…may Allah Ta’ala guide and save us all, Ameen…your comments welcome on this topic…

JUMA’AH MUBARAK!

 

 

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.

…Quba::rain::another exhibition…

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…blissed and blessed with the most welcomed Rahmah…rain…rarely seen, heard, felt, tasted…or smelt…bringing the usual shrieks from children…seemingly echoed across the entire city…SubhanAllah…a perfume added to the already wondrous fragrance of our Madinatun Nabi…blissed and blessed…

 …but even with only a short time of deluge the streets become treacherous…white water rivers…

…with the sensible of drivers taking care…but Du’a for the ‘others’ who do not seem to care about not only endangering their own lives but those of all else on the roads…AstaghfiruLlah…

…heading for Masjid Quba…with the billowing grey clouds hovering overhead…thunder and lightning added to Allah Ta’ala’s dramatic theatrics…the power in the storms reminding us of His Qudrat…His Dominion over all…ALHUMDULILLAH ALLAHU AKBAR…

…this building, beside Masjid Quba was a struggling commercial site renovated for the special Cultural City celebrations…

…traditional decorative features break the austerity of the rectangular structure…

…along with newly landscaped areas…including much needed park benches…the building is currently used for another excellent exhibition…Ma’araz al-Eiman…The Refuge of Iman…one of the many names for this City of Light…

…people seem to remain indoors when it rains here…but this humble speck loves storms and revels in the refreshing air…the billowing abaya and the shine the rain leaves on every surface…ALHUMDULILLAH ALLAHU AKBAR…

…so it was no surprise to find the entrance to the exhibition empty…the first encounter as I walked inside was with a policeman saying it was closed due to the roof leaking very badly in one of the rooms displaying larger models of various stages of Madinah’s development…security brothers were running hither and thither with huge rolls of plastic to protect the models…

as-salatu wa salamu alaika Ya Sayyidy Ya Rasulullah SallAllahu alaihi wasallam

…Alhumdulillah for their preoccupation with the problem as it meant my presence was ignored for some time…so I quickly clicked a few photos…more can be seen here, from the official Cultural City site…

…like the Seerah exhibition the effective display design uses back lit panels from many diverse aspects of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah…

…including geological features…maps…diagrams…charts…(an account of the volcano that threatened Madinah in 654 AH/1258 AD)

…old and contemporary photographs…including this stunning image by Brother Noushad…Brother Noushad is regarded as the official photographer of our Radiant City…his work is exceptional…please support his art by purchasing prints and/or maybe discussing publishing his work as an exclusive coffee table edition…Insha’Allah this dream becomes a reality for Brother Noushad…

…this aerial photo is of the two government buildings…the pinkish one in the foreground is the Amarah and the bluestone, fortress-like one on the background is the Amanah…situated opposite the Ottoman railway station to the south west of Haram…

…this photo and the one below form one huge map based on a 3D design…the interesting feature being that almost every street and every important building from the Ottoman times is named!! Masjid Nabawi in the above photo…

…Masjid Nabawi to the top right…the lower left shows details of the Musalla area with the Turkish Barracks on the bottom left…

…it was while trying to get snap more details of this fascinating map that my presence was noticed and I was kindly asked to leave…Insha’Allah another visit is planned…

…the dull monochromatic grey tones exuded a soothing peace…

…and the ‘shed’…looking somewhat bedraggled and dilapidated…refer back to this specks reaction to this structure…

…now that the brouhaha of the official visit is well and truly over it seems the space is neglected and a dismal blight on the beautiful Masjid beside it…

…the sweepers were seen inside and outside in the courtyards busily dealing with the accumulated water…

…as Maghrib approached the stormy clouds moved south and a serene silence filled the vitalized air…

…the few pilgrims present struggled with umbrellas and wind blown hijabs and abayas…

…while street vendors had retreated leaving their ‘shops’ securely covered…

…new shoe racks have been installed beside the major doorways of both the sisters and the brothers areas…

…and it wasn’t long before the marble was dry with children coming out to play and iPad photographers appeared…along with the mandatory Haia ‘vice brigade’…

 [Prophet] you should rather pray in a mosque founded founded from its first day on Taqwa: in this mosque there are men who desire to grow in purity-Allah loves those who seek to purify themselves. Which is better, the person who founds his building on Taqwa and desire for His good pleasure, or the person who founds his building on the brink of a crumbling precipice that will tumble down into the Fire of Hell, taking him with it? (108-109)

 …Imans and Khateebs of Masjid Quba:

  • Sheikh Salih Bin ‘Awad Al Mughamisi
  • Sheikh Muhammed Khalil
  • Sheikh Muhammad Ayyub And Adil
  • Sheikh Ahmed bin Ali bin Abdur Rahman Hudaify

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…rain and reflections…rain on the Dome of Felicitiy in 2008…SubhanAllah!!!

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.