Category Archives: streets of madinah

…one hundred yards of madness…

6 Replies

thuluth-intro-copy

Exif_JPEG_PICTURE

…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…

madinah tailor1

…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…

madinah tailor2

…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…

madinah tailor3

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

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

madinah tailor4

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!

madinah tailor5

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

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

madinah tailor6

All this sewing together and tearing apart

bewilders me,

my mind reels at the variegations of

affirmation and obliteration.

madinah tailor7

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

what a marvel of figures, numbers, realities,

and names He inscribes!

madinah tailor8

When He multiplies you, like a number,

by somebody else,

what a sum He manifests with his arithmetic!

madinah tailor9

You’ve seen multiplication — now study division:

how He parcels up one drop into an Ocean!

madinah tailor10

By the algebra of Fate He balances all equations:

madinah tailor11

Silence! for thought itself breaks down at such wonders.

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

madinah tailor12

…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.

…hardships…contentment…

4 Replies

 

…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)

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.

…today’s walk to Masjid Nabawi…

13 Replies

O Allah! Bestow blessings on Sayyidina Muhammad,
who is the best among Prophets sent by You
and the most noble among Your chosen people,
the leader of the saints, and the Seal of the Prophets,
and the beloved of the Lord of the Worlds,
a witness for the Messengers of Allah (on the Day of Judgement)
and the intercessor for sinners,
the leader of all the children of Prophet Adam Alayhissalaam;
whose remembrance has been exalted among the highest angels,
who brings glad tidings (of heaven) and warns (against hell-fire),
a shining light, truthful, trustworthy, manifest truth,
most kind and merciful, the guide to the straight path,
whom You gave the seven often-repeated verses of Surah Fatiha
and the magnificent Qur’an,
the Prophet of mercy and the guide of the nation,
the first one to be resurrected and to enter paradise,
and one who is supported by angels Jibril and Meekaail,
whose coming had been foretold in the Torah and the Bible,
Mustafa, Mujtaba, the selected one, the father of Qasim,
Muhammad, son of ‘Abdillah, son of ‘Abdil Muttalib, son of Hashim.

Source

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.

…gone…going…

5 Replies

…the building on the left and below has gone…

…what was a colourful and distinct landmark for telling people where to turn off the main Qurban St, that leads out of Madinah, how to get to our place is history…along with so many other places…and with many more about to be reduced to rubble…

…the majority of visitors to the Kingdom wear expressions of disbelief when they realize that there are no street directories, no street addresses and no postal delivery…prominent landmarks are the only means of describing any location…finding places can be like a treasure hunt…often with the same elation of actually arriving at your destination being akin to discovering a treasure!!

…the demise of buildings along this very narrow congested stretch is preparing for roadworks that Insha’Allah will eventually improve the access from Haram towards the Quba area and the Hijrah Highway…

…meanwhile the disruption requires patience…

…and forbearance…especially for the elderly and the vendors, as no passing traffic means a slump in trade…

…interesting how previous little hidden abodes become exposed..but I guess not for long…lessons in how temporal life is…a sort of similitude to lessons on Tazkiyatul Nafs…as we ‘demolish’ one thing  another layer is exposed for attack, and hopefully conquer, by clearing the rubble away…before yet another and another is revealed…and so life goes on…Insha’Allah Allah Ta’ala gives us Tawfiq with this process of going going gone…

…looking across to Masjid Bilal…

…while a little further towards Haram this food outlet defies all the activity around it and still serves fired foods and tea…but how long can it last?

…the flimsy construction now sits on a precipice that is part of the works related to what will be the new Ring Road…

…it is now within the boundary of the work behind concrete blocks…within a very confined area…but still customers sit there…

…scenes from this same area last October…also photos of the ‘cardboard house’ (see below) which was just opposite this tea hut…

…and going…the overhead bridge that eventually will be demolished when the new section is complete…

…all that remains of the ‘cardboard’ house…backtracking to when it was ‘lived in’…1…2…a mystery why even these two items remain…

…and going…Dear Khala and Chacha who have been in this humble building in Awali, running a Madrassah for young girls and small boys for nigh on thirty seven years are moving this week…previous related posts…1…2…

…all those years living with a tree growing from within the kitchen and the open sky in one section of the house, SubhanAllah!! the Madrassah will continue as it benefits so many girls in that area and Khala and Chacha’s new abode is too far away for them to attend there…

…gone are the quirky features that have defined their home for so long…Insha’Allah make Du’a for a peaceful and relaxing adjustment in their brand new accommodation…

…may all who have been blessed to study here, or visit, continue to keep Khala and Chacha in their Du’a and may all their sacrifices made for the sake of Allah Ta’ala be as huge as mountains and as deep as oceans in their Akhirah…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.

…snap::twenty-eight…

Leave a reply

…snap twenty-eight…a street vendor’s trolley…

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.

…snap::twenty-four…

Leave a reply

…snap twenty-four…one of the almost extinct lived in examples of earlier architecture…such past elegance still shining through…

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.

…snap::twenty-three…

3 Replies

…snap twenty-three…this morning’s sunrise ruby…with a dash of Rumi Rahmatullah alaihi…

In the early morning hour,
just before dawn, lover and beloved wake
and take a drink of water.

She asks, “Do you love me or yourself more?
Really, tell the absolute truth.”

He says, “There is nothing left of me.
I’m like a ruby held up to the sunrise.
Is it still a stone, or a world
made of redness? It has no resistance
to sunlight.”

This is how Hallaj said, I am God,
and told the truth!

The ruby and the sunrise are one.
Be courageous and discipline yourself.

Completely become hearing and ear,
and wear this sun-ruby as an earring.

Work. Keep digging your well.
Don’t think about getting off from work.
Water is there somewhere.

Submit to a daily practice.
Your loyalty to that
is a ring on the door.

Keep knocking, and the joy inside
will eventually open a window
and look out to see who’s there.

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.