Category Archives: Scholars

…tulips and roses…

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And Allah has made for you in your homes an abode. (16:80)

…Alhumdulillah for a home where tranquility and peace can be nurtured…where families can live in the shade of the Qur’an and the glow of the Sunnah…where the light of faith is alive in the hearts of all family members…

…and one of the ways to achieve this is for the family that lives together under the one roof to actually share in doing activities together…whether it be of the artistic creative way, or culinary delights, or gardening projects, or picnics or attending relevant exhibitions or museums…and naturally all aspects of Ibadah…and so on…to weave into the weekly or monthly family programs certain activities where the entire family are involved, Insha’Allah…gathering as one unit will promote unity and harmony…and surely this is what we all wish for on the grander social level…if the Muslim home were to reflect love, harmony, contentment, compassion then these qualities would be reflected on a social level and then Insha’Allah globally…

…the sharing can be a platform for discussing all sorts of issues…they may be directly related to the inner functioning of the household or big broader issues…social, religious, scientific, geographic, literary etc etc etc…and of course the crucial role of communal Salat in a corner of the home devoted to worship…a Musalla…reflect on the adage ‘the family that prays together stays together’…

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…this home schooling family has shared an art activity they did together…Masha’Allah…and JazakumuLlahu khairan Katheeran abada…each art piece draws one in, leaving one in a contemplative aura…Alhumdulillah!!!

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…a loved one gifted them these beautiful flowers which inspired the still life subject matter …each member drawing their own interpretation…resulting in these delightful and very diverse compositions…all stunning in their own style…SubhanAllah!!! Allahu Akbar for all the elements that coalesce to bring these art pieces to completion…

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…Insha’Allah work at making the Muslim home, where family members enjoy each others company…where kindness prevails regardless of squabbles and arguments…where shared beliefs and values based on Islamic guidelines are present…a home where all are protected and feel secure with the understanding that Tawakkul in Allah Ta’ala is sufficient for them all…

Ibn Abi Aldunia and others have said: “When Allah loves the people of a household, he introduces kindness among them.” Sahih al-Jaami…

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…Abdullah bin Umar RadhiAllahu alaihi reported: The Messenger of Allah, SallAllahu alaihi wasallam, said, “Every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. The leader of the people is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects: a man is the guardian of his family and is responsible for his subjects, a woman is the guardian of her husband’s home and of his children and is responsible for them, and the slave of a man is a guardian of his master’s property and is responsible for it. Surely, everyone of you is a shepherd and responsible for his flock.” Bukhari…

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…Insha’Allah we make effort to make the home a place of protection…firstly for oneself…keeping away from evil and to keep one’s own evil away from others…Insha’Allah it is the refuge prescribed by Islam at times of fitnah, strife, tribulation.

The Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam said: “Blessed is the one who controls his tongue, whose house is sufficient for him, and who weeps over his mistakes.” Bukhari

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…The Messenger of Allah sallAllahu alaihi wa-sallam said: “Hang the sticks where they can be seen by the people of the house, because it is a way of teaching manners to them.” Tabaree and Silsilah as-Saheehah…indeed…may we all have a rod hanging this speck has one in a prominent place for years…and SubhanAllah the wonderful stories that may be told over the years about the huge wooden spoon dangling from a box here…never used…but a mighty deterrent to many a rascally kid, who soon succumbed to good adab, Masha’Allah…

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…making the home a lush garden full of flowers of faith, contentment, tranquility, requires effort…a united and loving effort by ALL members of the family…the rewards will be riches in the Akhirah for all striving on this path of family happiness…may high morals and upright conduct be in the hearts and practiced by all…and gratitude for whatever states the individual or the family may be in…

If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]. (14:7)

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…The Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam said: “He, upon whom morning comes while being safe and sound, healthy in his body, and having the sustenance of his day, seems as if the entire world has been granted for him.” At-Tirmithi and Ibn Maajah.

…may blessings pour on the Muslim family who realize that to have the world in their hands and not in their hearts, as the Sahabah RadhiAllahu anhum lived, is far better than being attached to worldly conditioning and traps …and may blessings pour on the Muslim family who have the realization in their hearts of this Hadith: “Work for your worldly life as if you would live forever, and work for your Hereafter as if you would die tomorrow.” Ibn Al-Mubaarak in Az-Zuhd…sharing all the words of wisdom as a family will bring comfort and serenity…and angels will dip their wings of obedience and tranquility into the home based on the shade of the Qur’an and the glow of the Sunnah…Ameen.

…two excellent sites on this topic: Raising Muslin children by Umm Sahl, and The Muslim Family.

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.

…maxims…

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…He who is illuminated at the beginning is illuminated at the end… Madinah miscellaneous3

…Your being on the lookout for the vices (al-uyub) hidden within you is better than you being on the lookout for the invisible realities (al-ghuyub) veiled from you…

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…Appeal to no one but Him to relieve you of a pressing need that He Himself has brought upon you. For how can someone else remove what He has imposed? And how can he who is unable to free himself of a pressing need free anyone else of one?…

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…A sign of the heart’s death is the absence of sadness over the acts of obedience that you have neglected and the abandonment of regret over the mistakes that you have made…

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…Let not obedience make you joyous because it comes from you, but rather be joyous over it because it comes from Allah Ta’ala to you.

Say: In the grace of Allah and in His mercy, in that they should rejoice. It is better than that which they hoard. (10:58)

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…The best that you can seek from Him is that which He seeks from you…

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…If you want to know your standing with Him, look at where He has made you abide now…

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…Whoever finds the fruit of his deeds (thamarat ‘amalihi) coming quickly (‘ajil) has proof of the existence of acceptance (al-qabul)…

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…When He gives you obedience (at-ta’a) making you unaware of it because of Him, then know that He has showered you liberally with His graces both inwardly and outwardly…

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…One of the signs of delusion is sadness over the loss of obedience coupled with the absence of resolve to bring it back to life…

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…Sometime He gives while depriving you, and sometimes He deprives you in giving…

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…When He loosens your tongue with a request, then know that He wants to give you something…

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…Among the signs of success at the end is turning to Allah Ta’ala at the beginning…

Source: Sufi Aphorisms, Kitab al Hikam, ibn ‘ata’illah Rahmatullahi alaihi.

…Ya Rabb, may these gems of wisdom truly pierce hearts…

AMEEN

…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?

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…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.

…hardships…contentment…

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…intercession is guaranteed for those who endure hardships in this City of Radiance (read the Hadith from Malik’s Muwatta)…SubhanAllah…

…passing this brother on returning from Haram the heart recalled a similar ‘cardboard’ abode from a few years ago… (photos below, click for the context)…

…choosing to live in what many consider extreme conditions may astound the passer by…

…an old vehicle covered with cardboard during the hot afternoon sun…all of one’s possessions cramped inside and on the roof…and a meagre living made from selling dates from the ‘tailgate shop’…see how close to Masjid Nabawi he is parked…SubhanAllah…

…Allahu ‘alum…Allah Ta’ala knows best…maybe these are Wali who have been blessed with the deep understanding that hardships open the doors to Rahmah…maybe their hearts and souls follow previous greats who have left us with sayings and teachings to assist us on our journey through the hardship obstacle course of valleys and ravines…see profound sayings shared here…

Sayyid Abu Bakr ibn Ali Ibrahim al-Bayti asked Imam al-Haddad about the saying of Shaykh Yahya ibn Mu’ath al-Razi: “Abandon all the world and you will find all the world. To take it is to abandon it and to abandon it is to take it.”

He answered: The words are clear and show not the least obscurity. They mean that whoever abandons the whole world in renunciation, God will compensate him with repose both in his heart due to giving up avidity and preoccupation, and in his body due to giving up striving and seeking. Reasonable men only wish for repose in the world, for this do people strive and aspire outwardly and inwardly, but they miss the way to it which is only found by the renunciates. This is indicated by the saying of the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam: “Renouncing the world rests the heart and body, while the wish for it increases worry and sadness.” A sage was once asked: “To whom does the world belong?” He said: “To those who abandon it.” And: “To whom does the hereafter belong?” He said: “To those who pursue it.”

From Imam al-Haddad, The Sublime Treasures

…what of the unseen trials many residents face in the Enlightened City of our Noble Nabi SallAllahu alaihi wasallam?

…the past few months have seen raids on workplaces and in the streets checking the legality of people…matching their residency permits with the jobs they are doing…checking if their workplace corresponds to their ‘sponsor’…snatching those without visas…photos of people rounded up in trucks for deportation are being circulated…what of the hundreds…ney…thousands who have followed the dictates of the law in obtaining work only to be left without work or money or the means to return to their home country…for months…sometimes years on end…too many employers owe employees months and months of back pay…the push for ‘Saudization’ sees the tightening of the screws but few and slow resources to address the vast problem…may all affected take heed and remember…

No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah. And whoever believes in Allah, He will guide his heart. And Allah is knowing of all things. (64:11)

…whatever the hardship…and wherever you may be…may all that Allah Ta’ala promises those who remain steadfast and follow His commands and the Sunnah be successful with the understanding that all will disappear with no recollection the second one enters the Garden…Insha’Allah…

…and avail yourself of the wisdom being shared by Qibla Outreach with The Islamic Art of Problem Solving this Sunday 28th April…

You ask ….. Allah gives.

You cry ……. Allah listens.

You call …… Allah runs.

You sin ……. Allah forgives.

You knock ….. Allah opens.

You attend ….. Allah welcomes.

You request …. Allah accepts.

You question …… Allah solves.

You plea ………. Allah resolves.

You take ………. Allah provides.

You insist ……. Allah grants.

Everything you do is about you and
everything Allah does, is about you. So..

Which of the favours of your Lord will you deny? (55: 13)

How amazing is the case of the believer; there is good for him in everything, and this is only so for the believer. If he experiences something pleasant, he is thankful, and that is good for him; and if he comes across adversity, he is patient, and that is good for him.” [Muslim]

Is not Allah sufficient for His servant? (39:36)

…draw closer…

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…much inspiration, along with small steps of drawing closer, has been glittering the heart with reading the MABDA publication On Invoking the Divine Name, available as a pdf downlaod, MashaAllah. The volume includes a Treatise by the esteemed Shaykh Ahmad ibn Mustafa al-Alawi Rahmatullahi alaihi, two sections by Shaykh ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari Rahmatullahi alaihi and a short extract from Iman Abu Hamid al-Ghazali Rahmatullahi alaihi. These sections focus on the practice of invoking the name ‘Allah‘ expounding upon the grammatical, legal, logical, and metaphysical, with copious references to Qur’an, Ahadith and moving stories from the noble Salaf. The following excerpt is from the chapter The Pure Goal Concerning the Knowledge of the Unique Name by Shaykh ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari, translated by erudite Khalid Williams, whose translations (see below) are providing English readers with such rich and lucid works. May Allah Ta’ala continue to bless his pen, Ameen.

One special distinction of the Name is that it is perfect in its letters, complete in its meaning, unique in its mysteries and singular in its quality. Originally it is Allah; if the initial alif is removed, it leaves lam-lam-ha, which spells lillah, ‘to God.’ If the first lam is then removed, this leaves lam-ha, which spells lahu, ‘to Him.’ Finally, if the second lam is removed, this leaves the letter ha, which signifies the third person pronoun hu, ‘He,’ Thus every letter of the name has a complete meaning and a perfect distinction, and its meaning does not change. When the letters are separated, no benefit is lost, nor any wisdom removed, and each successive word has a strange and marvellous meaning of its own.

continuing:

We have spoken about this Name according to the light of what has been taught about it, and the understanding God has inspired of it. Now you should know that the point of all this is to encourage that this Name be invoked, and invoked more often than anything else, because of the love God has for it, and its tremendous standing in His sight, and the special virtue and nobility He has assigned to its invocation above all others. The purpose of this is to provoke meditation on its mysteries, so that its resplendent lights are shone upon the heart and the body, and so that the gnosis and love of the one who invokes it is strengthened, and he is drawn ever closer to God. The sign of love is the frequent invocation of the Beloved; the sign of increase is the frequent offering of thanks to Him; the sign of grace is obedience to His commands and prohibitions; and the sign of contentment is the offering of worship to Him at the appropriate times, and the preference of good to evil.

…and while being captivated by the brilliance of Shaykh ibn Ata Allah’s wisdom…here is more to ponder anabling us to draw closer…

Hikma 23

Do not look forward to being free of alterities (al-aghyar)* for that is indeed what cuts you off from vigilant attention (al-muraqaba) to Him in that very state He has assigned to you. *The word ‘alterities’ implies multiplicity, which is characteristic of the world. It refers to all that which preoccupies the heart and prevents it from being exclusively attentive towards the Divine Presence. The word being multiple by its very nature, there is no point in looking forward to freedom from its attractive pull; rather one should be vigilantly attentive now to the Presence in the heart, for that is what really counts.

Hikma 24

So long as you are in this world, be not surprised at the existence of sorrows. For, truly, it manifests nothing but what is in keeping with its character or its inevitable nature. Note: This Hikma is related to no.23, for it spells out the nature of the world, which is not God. Not being, on its own plane, the Divinity, it is necessarily compounded of joys and sorrows, for God alone is pure bliss. Useless, is it then, to wish an absolute perfection for the world: not being God, it cannot be but be imperfect. If it were perfect, it would be God, which is an impossibility, for there are not two ‘Gods,’

Source: Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari’s Kitab al-Hikam (or from Book Depository offering free world wide shipping )

…and must have on the bookshelf, Sidi Khalid Williams translations:

Muhammad: The Perfect Man

Our Master Muhammad two volumes.

O you who believe, remember Allah with much remembrance (33:41)

JUMA’AH MUBARAK!

…apologies for not knowing the source of the image…but sincere appreciation to the photographer…

…when the diamond came to the world…

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…such a magnificent blessing from our Rabb Subhanahu wa Ta’ala…gifting the world with the most illustrious of gems, SallAllahu alaihi wassalam…

As a prism that opens light’s essence

and voids it on the sea of manifestation,

beautifying all that it shines on.

…allow this radiance to permeate your being with the following excerpt…

If worship is the purpose of creation, then the Founder is the purpose of creation

The baby cries for its mother because it knows that without her it would not exist. Everything in the universe cries likewise, brokenhearted when she is out of sight, exhilarated when she is present. This is the heart of ‘praise’. The Qur’an reminds us that ‘God if the light of the heavens and the earth,’ and shortly after adds this:

Have you not seen that all that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies God? The birds as they spread their wings? Every creature knows its prayer and its praise, and God knows what they are doing. (24:41)

In several famous Hadith the Holy Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wassalam picks up some pebbles and allows the Companions to hear them praising God in his hand. Imam al-Suyuti explains that tasbih al-hasa, the praise of the pebbles, is not in itself classified as a ‘norm-breaking’ miracle, since pebbles, like all else in God’s world, are constantly praising Him:

There is not a single thing that is not chanting His praise, it is just that you do not understand their praise (17:44)

Instead, the miracle comprises the Companion’s ability to hear it.

This is confirmed by the following description of the Prophet David Alaihis Salam:

We subjected the mountains with him, which would glorify God by evening and morning (21:79)

The phrasing of this, according to the commentaries, indicates that he could hear them; and this was his miracle.

Praise and worship, being an entity’s highest testimony to its own nature, compromise the real function of the world, and display each entity in its truest, that is, most beautiful state. But because each entity represents a different degree of interaction among the Divine names, some entities praise their Source more ‘beautifully’ than others, Where the interaction reflects the greatest degree of plenitude, the praise is most beautiful, and hence the Holy Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wassalam is the ‘man of praise’, as his names Muhammad and Ahmad indicate. In himself he shows why things exist.

Before the making of stars and oceans,

Reality created a light from Its Light,

a perfect mirror of Eternal Beauty,

a pearl of never-breaking whiteness.

From it all colours arise,

As a prism that opens light’s essence

and voids it on the sea of manifestation,

beautifying all that it shines on.

And when the diamond came to the world,

the most perfect creation in human form

gathered in himself the beauty of the whole universe,

the fullest mercy of the All-Merciful.

His names comprehend but one point of his essence:

The Beloved of God, he who always forgives,

The Torch of the path, the Praised one.

He where everything gathers.

It’s impossible to understand any virtue

but through his perfect example;

in him the most beautiful qualities

were completed in their purity.

(Emilio Alzueta)

…from Commentary on the Eleventh Contentions by Abdal Hakim Murad

…more contentions from the genius mind of Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad here, and an insightful article via from Seekers Guidance here.

…celebrate your love for the diamond that was sent to the world to illuminate hearts, by contributing to Imam Zaid’s initiative of sending a billion salawat on our Beloved Messeneger SallAllahu alaihi wassalam…

JUMA’AH MUBARAK!

[click images for source]

…Hadramawt connections…

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…sitting here with blessed visitors the conversation was constantly glittered with SubhanAllah superlatives…the heart and soul tugging strings that were anchoring us to how we were perceiving what was around us…however allowing these strings to be released one is able to descend beyond the real and to be free to be transported back in time…imagine…even a thousand years before our Beloved Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam a letter being stored in the area approximately corresponding to the right edge of this photo…the place marking where the house of Abu Ayyub Ansari RadhiAllahu anhu’s house was…imagine even then, of some one realizing the sacredness of the Mubarak dust of this Enlightened City (link to a moving five minute clip with Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Efa…a MUST watch!)….imagine a love so intense for one who was a thousand years away from entering this world, and yet believing in him and seeking his intercession…read of the incredible story of a Yemeni King who sent a letter to our Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam a thousand years before his birth, seeking his intercession! And Allah the Almighty knows best of the authenticity of this account…

They took the soil of Medina and smelled it…they wished to live in Medina and stated that if they were fortunate, one day they would meet the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. But if they didn’t, the dust from the Holy Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam’s sandals would land on their graves. This at least, they thought, would bring blessings and be their salvation.

~*~

…imagine hearing the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam saying: ‘I can smell the beauty of my friend from the land of Yemen’…and ‘I feel a sweet, peaceful breeze (naseem-e-rehmat) from Yemen’…while referring to the esteemed Owais al-Qarni who never sighted our Beloved Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam, but whose love was so intense and would invoke Allah Ta’ala:

“O Allah, You created me when I was not worthy of mention;
And You provided for me when I had nothing;
And I wronged my soul and sinned, and I confess my guilt.
If You forgive me, that will in no way diminish Your sovereignty;
And if You punish me, that will in no way augment Your authority.
You can find others to punish besides me,
But I can find no one to forgive me but You.
Truly, You are the most merciful of those who show mercy.”

~*~

…imagine the immense blessings and honour that Allah the Most High has bestowed upon the lands of Yemen and giving it a unique status that no other place, besides the two sacred cities of Makkah and Madinah, enjoys…read about these from the serene and tranquil Tarim, where the family of our Beloved Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam continue with teaching and living his noble Sunnah… whose gems and treasures can be found in these pages: Habib ‘Umar, Habib Ali, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf…may Allah Ta’ala preserve and sanctify their secrets, Ameen…

…so vicariously sit right now…give freedom to the heart and soul to journey back in time and space and imbibe in Hadramawti love and belief…and then access the wealth of knowledge that continues to flow from this Mubarak land via the noble lineage of our Beloved Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam…and Insha’Allah make Du’a for them and for all students sacrificing for the Deen as they study there, Ameen…

JUMA’AH MUBARAK!

…an archival photo…