I have also made a network of friends here that have become my family–and many of them are international students. I have made friends from Sudan, India, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tibet. Alhamdulilah I love learning about the issues within these cultures and I love meeting new people on the whole.

People ask me if I miss home and wonder why I don’t go home as often as I could. I want to explain to them that my home is where my ambition is. Home is where my hopes and ideals are. It may not be tangible, because I can feel at home with a new friend in a foreign country. Feeling at home for me is to be at ease. To be happy, and to be content with your surroundings. May God preserve the ease within our surroundings and homes. Ameen.

The fear of ignorance, the fear of slavery.
An escape from the grasp of the world.
A means to achieve it requires much bravery.
This sweet drink; rich with wisdom unfurled.

All I ever craved lies within these hands.
How I longed to drink in endless bliss.
No care have I for the beauties in the lands.
Of mirage, deception; items I dismiss.

I dive head first into the drink of pure musk.
It taste and aroma warm as the sun.
My heart finally matured, like the onset of dusk.
An instrument played solely by One.

Bend over and peer at this seedling
That has now blossomed into a rose
The fragrance; amorous and giving
Entranced me into an unstable pose

Wandering aimlessly, I am drunk
Tears and smiles fall from my eyes
My filled heart has sunk,
Heavy with images, actions, and sighs

The deceitful forms are so beautiful
So transitory, yet mighty
I sing to the rose aiming to lull
Hoping it will notice me

But I am not enough
To contain its flouncing soul
It is unstoppable and tough
Bound to the laws of its role

“I am but a guide” The rose says
“But I want to keep you” I respond
“I am but a reflection” The rose says
“I know, but I am weak” I respond

The rose shakes its head
And flutters away in the wind
I am alone and stagnant as lead
But with a heart brimming and unpinned

http://sandala.org/blog/2011/06/21/where-are-the-no-smoking-signs-in-medina/

The article is about the blindness of our hearts to certain realities in Medina that deteriorate the environment–physical and spiritual.  We have become so obsessed with material acquisition and forget that we are merely here on earth for good character acquisition.  Thus, we should not complain about the West but rather we should look inward to rectify our inner selves.  Why are we so greedy, heedless, and selfish?  We seriously need to fix our hearts before Allah helps us change our societies at large.

The Most Harmful Thing

These days I have been listening to a series of lectures based on the topic of how to become an excellent teacher of Quran. Surprisingly I have learned things which I had not even expected. For example, the concept that external problems or hurdles are not the real obstacle in the way of success… Rather it is our sins which have the most damaging effect on our lives. This reminded me of the countless times I have told others that I could not do such and such thing or could not complete the target I had in mind because of this problem or that hurdle… sometimes blaming people, other times crying over health problems… always a string of excuses which are nothing more than that… excuses! Because If I had truly wanted to do something and sincerely asked Allah, then why would he not let me do things which I want to do only for his sake? Surely there must be something wrong inside my own self?

I remember a few years ago I had gone to visit my parents. The next morning there was no water in the taps… very strange!!! Because the night before they had got the water tank refilled… so where did those gallons of water disappear? Plumbers were called and they began digging to find the leakage… the whole house was in an uproar, with people coming in and out… nothing else could be done because everything depends on water. Finally the broken pipe was discovered and repaired, the tank was filled again and life restored back to normal.

But when the same story happens with our tank of faith and knowledge; it never becomes an issue of concern. We fill our hearts and minds with the knowledge of Quran and Hadith… but the next day when we face any situation and open the tap, nothing comes out… no patience, no gratitude, no kindness with others… where did all the knowledge go? No body is worried… no one tries to find the leakage of the heart…

But we must realize that just as life stops if there is no water, similarly the soul dies if there is no faith… our very survival depends on it… so if the knowledge is not coming out in deeds then it means that there is some serious leakage problem. For me it remained a mystery for many years but Alhamdulillah I just found out that every sin for which we do not feel guilty nor do taubah nor correct it… then it creates a crack in our heart from where faith keeps dripping out and we don’t even realize it. So whenever we feel lack of motivation, lack of energy, then immediately we should pray to Allah to show us where we went wrong and then honestly and sincerely ask Allah for forgiveness. So as to mend the crack and ensure that our tank of faith remains full.

May Allah protect us from our self conceit and give us insight with which we might realize our mistakes and correct our ways. Because no one else can do it for us. Each one of us has to be responsible for his own life.

By: Shaheen Ahmad

Wassalam,
Al Huda Institute, Canada

‘Aatikah al-Makhzumiyyah (R) : Whenever she would tire from how much she cried, she would say: “It is not befitting that the one who fears the Fire has a dry eye, until he is certain that he is safe from it.”

‘Ufayrah al-’Aabidah rahimahaAllah : When it was said to her, “aren’t you tired from crying so much?” She said, “How can man tire from his medicine and his cure?!”

Fatimah al-Naysaburiyyah rahimahaAllah : She would say, “the truthful one who is close to Allah calls upon his Rabb like he is drowning; asking his Rabb for safety and salvation.”

Lubabah al-’Aabidah rahimahaAllah : She said regarding the sweetness of her prayer in her mihraab, “I persisted in my worship until it became how I sought comfort and rest. When I became tired of the people causing me to forget His Remembrance, and when I would become exhausted of their talk, my tranquility would be in separating myself to worship Allah and to be in His service.”

Habibah al-’Adawiyyah rahimahaAllah : She would say during her night prayers, “My Lord, the stars have disappeared, and the eyes have gone to sleep, and the Kings have locked their doors – while Your Door is open, and every loved one has gone to their beloved, so this is my station in front of You.”

She used to say, “O Allah, forgive me for my lack of manners in my prayer.” (Allahummaghfirli soo’a adabi fi salati)

‘Ajradah al-’Amiyah (R) : Rajaa’ ibn Muslim said, “We used to be with ‘Ajradah in her house, and she would pray at night, sometimes from the beginning of the night until the time before sunrise. She would then say in a loud voice filled with sadness, “to You the worshipers have spent the darkness of the nights until the dusk, racing to Your Mercy and to the bounty of Your Forgiveness. Only You, my Lord – none other than You – I ask to make me in the first group of as-saabiqeen (the forerunners) to You, and that You raise me among the ranks of the Muqarrabeen (those who are close to Allah), and that You enter me with Your righteous slaves for You alone are the Most Generous of those who are generous, and Most Merciful of those who show mercy, and the Greatest of those who are great, Ya Kareem!” Then she would go into sajdah, and she would continue to cry and make dua in her prostration until the sun rose. This was her habit for 30 years.”

When it was said to her, “Did you sleep at all last night?” she would cry and respond, “The remembrance of death kept me from sleeping.”

‘Amrah (R) : She woke up one night while her husband was asleep, so she woke him up and said, “Wake up, the night has left and the morning has come. A long road is ahead of us, and the provisions are few. The righteous have left us behind, while we still remain.”

A’ishah bint Sa’eed al-Hiri (R) : She said to her daughter, “Hold fast to having good manners externally and internally. Whoever is wrong internally will be punished internally.”

Umm Talq (R) : Ibn Shu’bah ibn Dhukhan said, “Umm Talq used to pray 400 raka’at every night and day, and she would recite from the Qur’an whatever Allah willed.”

Umm Hayyan al-Sulamiyyah (R): Abu Khaldah said, “I have never seen a man or woman stronger and more patient in lengthened standing than Umm Hayyan – she was like a date-palm that was swayed to the right and left by the wind!”

-Taken from Mukhtasar al-Thamarat al-Basiqaat min Hadith al-Salihaat

This heart laughs at every ravishing form
it communicates with.
Every illusion, obstacle, companion in a dorm,
it lavishes with.

This heart satiates every one of its fibers
with the pleasure of its scene.
It drinks up the happiness it gains
from the beautiful illusions of others.

As a result this heart has become sick.
The mind cries at night when the reality
approaches it.
Yet it is also content with the little
Happiness it receives.

How foolish this heart
when it can be free from flaws
by satiating itself with Dhikr-
clear-flowing water that nourishes
every living thing in its path.

satiated with
Love and Constancy,
Enveloped in
Sincerity and Longing,
for divine connection and
Consummation.

The Ka’ba is the spiritual heart of the terrestrial world, and it is also the projection on the material plane of all the Houses in the higher heavens up to the Populous House, which is the heart of the Universe. The Ka’ba therefore corresponds outwardly to what the heart is inwardly, and this is why we term the Ka’ba the ‘heart of the world’, and the Populous House the ‘heart of the universe.’ Thus the Qur’an verse, Purify My House for those who circle around it, retreat in it, bow and prostrate (22:26), is taken by Imam al-Haddad to refer to the heart with the various influences from the surrounding dimensions revolving around it. Similarly, the physical heart which sends blood and warmth throughout the body is a symbol of the heart of the man of God which radiates lights. The Ka’ba, which radiates the blessings it receives from the higher world throughout the terrestrial world, and the Populous House, which radiates light throughout the universe, are also symbolized by the heart.”

Excerpt from Man and the Universe, by Dr. Badawi

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the most beloved creature on the face of the earth and in the history of mankind to God, yet he was also tried with the most calamities and tribulations.  Whenever he got sick, his illness would be 3X as worse than that of a regular person (mentioned in a hadith).  Tribulations are meant to make us strong individuals, purify us of our sins, and make us strong Warriors in the way of Allah.  This warrior is not meant in the narrow-minded way of fighting on the field.  It is the warrior of the soul, the capacity to have great morality, great generosity, great manners, and great character towards others.  A true warrior of God never looses control over his emotions, he never allows his anger to take hold of him.  He never allows his miserliness to prevent him from giving to others.  How do we reach this level?  Certainly not by being pampered and being treated like a prince/princess for the rest of our life.

Thus, tribulations given to us from Allah are also a mercy from him.  It is better to undergo tribulations on earth, rather than to endure tribulations in Jahannam (hellfire).  The Prophet (pbuh) had the toughest life on earth but he also had the highest place in Paradise.  Our response to Allah’s tribulations is what determines our place and worth in Paradise.

Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said:
“Never a believer is stricken with a discomfort, an illness, an anxiety, a grief or mental worry, or even the pricking of the thorn but that Allah will expiate his sins on account of his patience.”
Al Bukhari and Muslim

Muhammad (pbuh) said: “If somebody reproaches you and makes you feel ashamed of any of your defects, do not make him feel ashamed of any of his defects.” [Abu Dawood]

Usually, when somebody points out one of our shortcomings, we immediately become defensive and start finding faults with him/her. But the advice of our beloved Prophet (pbuh), is that we should listen quietly and evaluate what we are being told. If there is something we can improve about ourselves, it is only to our own advantage to do so. If the criticism is unjustified, then we are rewarded for our patience and good behavior in not retaliating. The angels will take care of defending our honor. Starting a counter attack opens the door for Satan to come in and take over.

Once Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) was sitting with the Prophet (pbuh) when a man came and started to abuse Abu Bakr.Abu Bakr remained silent. Finally, he started to speak in his defense. At this point the Prophet (pbuh) got up and left.  Abu Bakr immediately went after him and inquired if he had done something wrong.  The Prophet (pbuh) replied that as long as he had been silent, angels had been speaking on his behalf, but when he started to respond, the devil came and sat down next to him. As the Prophet (pbuh) could not remain seated where the devil was sitting, he left.