Category Archives: camels

…why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?…

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…so there was an escape!!! …from the inner prison of this grander prison we all are in…ShukriLlah for the hazy respite into the desert…and to Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi for the timely nudge…which was taken literally…even though the metaphorical option is always there…wonder why we do not see…nay…do not BELIEVE  the door is always wide open?

…the intention was to ramble on about the timelessness of the desert…even though this particular place is rapidly transforming into a chaotic tent city…shanty places side by side occupying what was a few years ago vast open space…

…the intention was to ramble on about the wondrous camel…and to explain how Saudi nationals acquisition land…to chat about the majestic mountains…but while diving into Rumi gems all intentions seemed hollow…

Be empty of worrying.

Think of who created thought!

Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.

The wound is the place where the Light enters you.

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.

Only from the heart can you touch the sky

Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames.

If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?

Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.

Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.

When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.

You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?

Suffering is a gift. In it is hidden mercy.

You wander from room to room

Hunting for the diamond necklace

That is already around your neck!

Knock, And He’ll open the door

Vanish, And He’ll make you shine like the sun

Fall, And He’ll raise you to the heavens

Become nothing, And He’ll turn you into everything.

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.

Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure.

And you?

When will you begin that long journey into yourself?

Why do you stay in prison

When the door is so wide open?

JUMA’AH MUBARAK!

…a previous visit to this area…

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.

…sheen:kaf:ra:camels:gratitude…

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…excerpts from a most brilliant article by Imam Afroz Ali, via Seekers Guidance, where he elucidates and educates about the relationship between the exquisite camel, the exquisite Arabic language and the exquisite state of gratitude…

Well-documented properties of camel’s milk include:

Ten times more iron than cow’s milk
Three to five times more vitamin C than cow’s milk
Rich in B vitamins
High in imuno-globins (note- not goblins)
Very high in protein
Minerals
Low in fat – 1.8-2% fat compared to 3.5-4% in cow’s milk
Much lower in cholesterol
Anti-bacterial properties
Anti-inflammatory properties

That is pretty good for a desert roamer.

And do not worry; I have not side tracked into animal husbandry. All of this information is very important… crucial in fact, in order to understand shukr, or gratitude.

When the she-camel’s udder is full with milk, it is said to be shakar. The operative word is “full”, or “in abundance”, and which we will return to later. The camel with such full and wholesome udder is called shakira, despite the fact is it had only a small share of herbage and pasture to forage on and feed itself with.

The meaning of shukr lies in the entire process of the camel finally giving milk. The camel takes from the praiseworthy bounty of herbage, seeming to the eye scarce and insufficient, takes from it what it needs to sustain itself, but yields a significantly more praiseworthy gift called milk, that benefits everything else- its young as well as human beings. Its sincerity only sees abundance in what others see scarcity; its selflessness sees benefit from it for others in what others see profit for themselves. As a shakira, the camel manifests altruistic benefit. Its gratefulness for existence is seen and experienced in it using the bounties to produce beneficial result over and beyond its self.

Shukr is more than being thankful or grateful; in fact that would be seen as self-indulging and greed. Shukr is only gratefulness if from what one receives out of the beneficence of another, that the recipient utilise it only in ways that is pleasing to the benefactor, primarily that the recipient would utilise such a favour in a beneficial and good manner over and beyond himself. As such, gratefulness carries the condition of unconditional charity from what one receives, after thanking the benefactor. Thus, Shukr has an inward and outward reality; the outward being using the tongue to thank and using the limbs to effect unconditional and beneficial altruism.

The inward reality is a lot more complex. But before that, the use of the tongue to thank the benefactor is also an important element of shukr (unfortunately it is frequently the only aspect of it that is acted upon or known to most). There are three essential forms of the outward reality of shukr.

One must verbalise one’s gratefulness; to say thank you, truthfully.
One must acknowledge the beneficence of the benefactor by utilising the gifts appropriately.
One must commend and praise the benefactor for their beneficence they so generously gave, and to do so frequently.

Shukr therefore rests on five foundations.

Humility in the recipient towards the benefactor, rather than have a selfish expectation.
The recipient to have sincere love for the benefactor shown in limbic action, rather than intent of exploitation.
The benefit in the gift to be acknowledged by the recipient, rather than unchecked abuse.
The recipient to praise the beneficence of the benefactor, rather than heedlessness.
The recipient to verbalise thankfulness and praise, rather than silence and concealing it.

So we observe that there are three parts of shukr: the two outward that we have already discussed in length- the manifestation in the limbs (beneficial altruism) and the tongue (thankfulness). The third, the inward, is the manifestation in the heart, this being the pillar of the entirety of shukr. Without its manifestation in the heart in a specific way, the outward manifestations are futile and even hypocritical.
ALTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

The depths and heights of shukr is beholding a profound state of awe-inspiring consciousness of the benefactor. Its reality is not in the beneficence at all, but in the benefactor. Heedlessness of the benefactor is ungratefulness, regardless of how well what was granted to the recipient was used.

We need to return to the camel!

Continue reading from this brilliant analogy here…

…these magnificent creatures seen on while zooming along the Hijrah Highway…

…and learn of the amazing qualities of camel’s milk through this video series…

Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whatever is in the heavens and on the earth- the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the moving creatures and many from among the humans? (22:18)

…and while you are looking at the Seekers Guidance site check the inspiring list of online courses being offered in a few weeks…no excuse for not seeking knowledge with their Knowledge without Barriers…

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.

…ibbil…

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…random, rambling thoughts…vaguely stitched together by the sight, smell and sound of these camels…such is the workings of grey matter when its machinations are given permission to wander…dream…remember…

…to recall times long gone…and places so far away…loving the rhythmic cycle of milking goats…the intimacy of living with farm animals that provided natural goodness…commodities to barter for cow’s milk cream in order to churn butter…shearing fleece from docile sheep, spinning and dying with bush flora…honey from hives…seasonal veggies…free range eggs…all this flooded the inner screen on this nostalgic visit…

…as I stood in the crisp dawn desert air…moments from where Qaswa, following Divine Command, knelt at Hudaybiyyah…feasting on the tales of solitude and the simplicity of oneness with nature…whispered by the wind that was playfully billowing niqab and abaya…a yearning was stirred…a yearning that usually lives in some deep recess…rarely allowed expression…a yearning to spend time on the land…specifically with a camel…or some…

…what seems like centuries and yet seconds ago…I taught an extremely talented student art…she gave me a magnificent ink drawing of the detail of a camels face……I can still clearly see that drawing…but not her…she died as a young lady while searching for meaning in India…

…an affinity for animals seems an obvious disposition given I was raised on a farm…with ancestors and relations living ‘off the land’…love for camels began a little later as a young inquisitive child…intrigued by the exotic tales of turbaned Afghan cameleers arriving in the wide, and wild expanses of the vast Australian interior from mysterious places only known as coloured smudges in a faded atlas…decades later, they have multiplied to be a feral scourge…the Saudis trying to fathom out how to save them from culling and ship them back to their original habitats…

…fascinating that Allah Ta’ala asks:

Don’t they see the camels, how they are made? (88:17)

…not a kangaroo, giraffe, rhino or wombat…how noble to be singled out by Allah Ta’ala…certainly a verse that attracts refection and invites one to study the characteristics of the camel…how honoured was it to be the favoured means of transport by our Blessed Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam…if these creatures stir passions now, imagine the joy and elation of seeing Rasulullah SallAllahu alaihi wasallam astride Qaswa…swoon…

…imagine when the Hajj season saw multitudes of them ambling around the sacred precincts…or the image of thousands engaged in trade…war…raids…or merely munching on bitter scrubby thorn bushes…their weird padded feet anchoring the ‘ship of the desert’…the double row of eye lashes…the extra membrane that they can pull over their eye to keep sand out…nostrils they can shut to keep the sand out…oval shaped red blood cells so even if they are dehydrated their blood keeps flowing…

…and their nutritious milk…why we should drink it…and according to Hadith, the curative effects of their urine…camel milk soap…

…their beauty…their racing abilities….camel milk chocolate fashioned in their shape…and more and more…

and more facts here...

…camel Kabsa, a traditional Saudi feast…feast your eyes here…but not here if you are squirmish…

…as faithful friends…as a pet (clip with music)…

…as a means of livelihood for many expats…mainly Sudanese, as they can happily contend with the harsh and lonely existence…

…the following photos were recently taken in the desert near Madinah Al-Munawwarah…

…with more from the camel archives…

Don’t they see the camels, how they are made?

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.

…a desert interlude…

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…stunning in the barren harshness…

Then do they not look at the camels, how they are created?

And at the sky, how it is raised?

And at the mountains, how they are erected?

And at the earth, how it is spread out?

SubhanAllah! The reminders are everywhere…couches…

…cups, cushions and carpets…

…and camels, camels camels…

Then indeed, upon Us is their account. (88)

From a ‘picnic’ to Baida, approximately 25 kilometers north west of Madinah.

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.

Eid Day

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Beauty and excitement symbolize Eid. Allah Ta’ala seemed to have magnified these qualities for the celebration of Eidul Adha in this City of Radiance and Light. Sitting in the courtyard under the velvety dark sky before Fajr until sunrise and Salatul Eid, watching the ever changing heavens, along with the joy effusing from thousands delights all the senses and fills the heart with Sakinah…an attempt to capture the stream of worshippers leaving Masjid Nabawi…a sea of black in the sisters area, which will gradually transform into a sea of colour when the new Hujjaj will assemble here…

…as families leave the courtyard children excitedly gravitate to the balloon sellers…

…the skyline became dotted with joyous little ones holding tight to strings and heads craned to watch the floating treat…

…later in the afternoon, after the first animals are sacrificed, hundreds of sisters line the main roads in the hope of receiving bags of Qurbani that are distributed over the next few days. For some of the poorer residents this is the one of the few times they eat meat. Most traffic light display reminders for Dhikr and Salawaat…

…it is always a treat to drive a little out of the city to nearby desert where the air is fresh with surroundings offering totally different perspectives on life…initially we thought such a sign was strange, as it would be impossible to speed on the rocky, rubble, sandy surface…but within minutes we realized why this isolated warning was there…we became bogged in the sand! A fun time for me as I get to drive while being pushed…I do miss driving…

…there are many of these temporary ‘weekenders’ dotted across the desert…shabby canvas tents, fences and roofs made with dried palm branches, with old couches adding that special touch of ‘home’…

…the sky has been a dramatic moving spectacle for many days…Allahu Akbar!

…a pen of young camels, separated from their mothers for part of the time as her milk is needed for sale…

…one concerned mother began bellowing as I approached her baby…

…and conveying in usual camel grunts and hollers that she was concerned, with the baby replying, SubhanAllah!

…the camel milk ‘shop’…

…with the adjoining ‘cafe’ of carpets laid on the ground…authentic decor with matching aromas and replete with very friendly flies…

…vendors offer bundles of firewood for sale as cooking in the open is popular…

…back in the city proper where the silhouette of star lights decorate lamp posts…may light saturate your Eid days and all days to come and light the way to an inner peace, 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.

The Road Most Travelled

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The road most travelled here refers to the physical path that leads to the centre of the Universe, as well as the parallel spiritual road we most travel that Insha’Allah leads Allah Ta’ala.

To consider ourselves of the Ummah of Al-Mustafa SallAllahu alaihi wasallam we need to be constantly and consistently on the spiritual road.

Faithful seekers traverse every imaginable terrain, oceans and skies, answering the call to present themselves to the Sacred House of their Lord, have journeyed and will continue to journey from all corners of the globe. And Allah the Almighty knows best whether the numerous roads leading to His House do constitute the ‘road most travelled’.

The inner road most travelled is a perpetual journey of the heart and soul seeking Oneness. We may be neglectful but we never leave this road. Constant effort is exerted as we contemplate all the challenges that steep inclines and the deep valleys present us in our attempt to reach Allah Ta’ala.

The outer is the relatively easier to negotiate. Vast expanses of geographical space colour the road; hills, mountains, ravines, rubble, desert, cityscapes, forests, oceans, urban bustle, manicured parks, highways and gardens. Add to this the rich layer of diverse conditions and hazards that impede and challenge, regardless of historical time; storms, heat, sun, rain, snow, wind, stillness, illness, bandits, thieves, crooks, not to mention the hidden enemies, nafs and Shaytan lying in ambush. Add yet another layer that represents our human predicament; endurance, will, determination, courage, sincerity, wisdom, love. Top all this with Allah Ta’ala’s Plan for us all. A marathon indeed. But one filled with joy that illuminates the heart.

Ultimately our physical journeying leads to an ‘end’ signalling the finish of the road for this earthly existence, whilst at the same time opening a new chapter and adventure for the spirit. The terrain of this segment of the road most travelled being determined on how we have availed ourselves on the earthly road.

The physical destination of this road most travelled, the apex of our desires manifest on earth is the Ka’abah, and to reach it is fulfillment. A momentary home coming of the heart after a long and arduous journey. And once physically reached the desire is sparked all over to travel the road again and again, to once more be part of a movement in orbit to Him.

Alhumdulillah for the gift of prayer where we can step on the esoteric ‘road most travelled’, aiming to perfect our journeying to Allah Ta’ala repeatedly throughout the day and night.

Once Rabi’a Al-Adawiyyah Rahmatullah alaiha was on her way to Makka, and when half-way there she saw the Ka’ba coming to meet her. She said, “It is the Lord of the house whom I need, what have I to do with the house? I need to meet with Him Who said, ‘Who approaches Me by a span’s length I will approach him by the length of a cubit.’ The Ka’ba which I see has no power over me; what joy does the beauty of the Ka’ba bring to me?”

Imam Ghazzali Rahmatullah alaihi in Minhajul Abideen elucidates many of the perils one can face on the inner road most travelled, followed by recommended preparations for the traveller to attain Eternal Bliss.

A man traversing on this path must know that provision for the journey is indispensable which is nothing but worship and obedience. If anyone has not provided himself with this provision in this world, he cannot get it after death. One who has furnished himself with it will reach the goal of success and will be prosperous in both worlds. He who remains deprived of this provision is grievous in loss and doomed to perish. So this is a very difficult and perilous path.

…the path lies very straight and illuminated before him who wants to follow the path of His worship and obedience. All kinds of proof and guidance are clearly available to those who possess a discerning vision. However it is only Exalted Allah Who has the exclusive power to guide on the straight path of guidance or to push into the darkness of error and straying whomsoever He wills. He knows very well who are following the straight path of guidance who are in error.

The path leading to Paradise is difficult and hazardous, as according to our Beloved Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam:

Paradise has been covered with unpleasant and undesirable things, while Hell has been covered with desires and lust.

Also: Beware! Paradise is situated on a high steep ground while Hell is situated on a smooth low ground.

SubhanAllah! When the reality of these facts resides deep in the heart, as it did with the Sahabah, RadhiAllahu anhum, as they begged for greater hardships, then conditions experienced by most these days seem to be covered with desires and lust and on smooth low ground. May Allah Ta’ala’s Mercy be showered upon us all, Insha’Allah, Ameen.

The following represent some of the contrasting conditions along the road most travelled from Madinah to Makkah last week. Recorded Images and details from along the inner road most travelled continue to be filed away to be revealed on the Day of Qiyamah. May Allah Ta’ala’s Mercy override His Wrath Insha’Allah. Ameen.

May the steps you take along both roads most travelled lead to success in both Worlds, Ameen.

JUMA’AH MUBARAK!

The road most travelled by rail; the restoration of the Hijaz line between Turkey and the Kingdom, the Hajj circuit and the Makkah-Madinah proposal (1) Insha’Allah.

More from this trip in subsequent posts Insha’Allah.

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.

al yaum wa ghadan

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As the Hujjaj made the exodus from this Radiant City to Makkah and Mina, local visitors from throughout the Kingdom and the neighbouring Gulf States soon began enliven the precinct with a different atmosphere altogether. For a few days the diverse array of cultures and nationalites will be absent. The rainbow colours adorning the area around Haram are no longer. Black abayas dominate the sisters areas, while the men appear to be a mix of the tradional white thobe sprinkled with a very western flavour of youth in the latest designer label ‘cool’ gear, with matching geled hair, sunglasses and footwear that seems as though it is about to launch the dude wearing them into space! An amazing transformation.

Traffic was at a standstill on all roads leading to the main hotels in the central district as more and more families arrived seeking accommodation. Businesses welcome this time of an Eid shopping bonanza.

We went to the animal market where the hustle and bustle was of a different nature. Small children were scurrying from one enclosure to the next excitedly choosing an animal for sacrifice. And with such a variety available it was not an easy decision; sheep, goat, shaggy, cow, camel, colour.

Men were literally stuffing wriggling animals into the boot of cars, the back of SUVs and tying them to the back of pick up trucks. Shepherds waving prospective buyers to their flock. Animals looking unbelievably passive and happily resigned to their fate. SubhanAllah! While this speck revelled in the smells! I love the animal market at any time, but more so when reflecting on the Ibrahim Alaihis Salam and the ultimate sacrifice he was prepared to make for the sake of following the command of Allah Ta’ala. Such a reminder for the Ummah.

And the latest ‘innovation’ available for half a million pilgrims….

This year for the first time pilgrims will get the necessary pebbles in pre-packed bags to spare them the effort of searching for the stones!!!!

A special hajj committee organized the collection, washing and packaging of the pebbles after first obtaining a fatwa, permitting the initiative, the Al-Watan daily said. I am still thinking I have dreamt this! It reminds me of those who rent the exclusive 5 star tents in Mina where the service includes trays of ‘selected’ pebbles delivered to them so they can choose the best ones for throwing. Shaytan would be laughing rather than being humiliated.

This is a scan from Al-Watan of the pouches.

An amazing image from the BBC. The shadows from the Abraj Al-Burj towers on pilgrims in Sajdah in Masjid Al-Haram. The photo below is a scan from Al-Watan of the complete view.

And sadly yet more nefarious Hajj deals. Unimaginable that so many use this Mubarak time to dupe pilgrims, and the scams seem to increase each year. 1, 2.

While about 5,000 pilgrims on 180 buses were stopped at the checkpoints of Al-Sail Al-Kabeer for not having Haj permits and were forced to turn back to Taif.

And the Mina Towers, the new form of accommodation at the foothills of the mountains hugging the tent city in the Mina valley are posing a problem due to the lack of payment of rent. So far there are six towers of more than 800 rooms with the capacity of accommodating more than 25,000 pilgrims. Plans have been submitted for dozens of such towers to be constructed replacing the sprawling tent complex. While it is envisaged that the Plain of Arafat is developed into a more substantial tented plain. Allahu ‘alum.

Tomorrow the Ka’bah will be adorned with a new Kiswa. “The Kiswa consists of 47 pieces of cloth and each piece is 14 meters long and 101 cm broad. The Kiswa is wrapped around the Kaaba and fixed to the ground with copper rings.”

And Insha’Allah tomorrow is Hajj.

“Hajj is Arafat” said our Beloved Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.

Do read over and over the Farewell Sermon ’listen well to my words’… do allow the words to deeply resonate once more in the heart.

And Insha’Allah make the intention to fast tomorrow, the day of Arafat: 

“Fasting the day of Arafat expiates the [minor] sins of two years: a past one and a coming one.” said our Blessed Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.

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.