Reflections

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Auzubillahi minash shaitan ir rajeem,
Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim,

Reflection 
Tafakkur 

Reflect upon the wondrous skill with which both land and sea are made
and contemplate the Attributes of Allah outwardly and inwardly. 
The greatest testimony to the limitless perfections of Allah 
can be found deep within the self and on the distant horizon as well. 
If you were to reflect on physical bodies and their marvellous forms
and how they are arranged with great precision, like a string of pearls; 
And if you were to think about the mysteries of the tongue and speech with it,
and how it articulates and conveys what you conceal in your breast; 
And if you were to think about the secrets of all the limbs 
and how easily they are subject and in thrall to the heart's command; 
 And if you were to reflect on how the hearts are moved to obey Allah
and how at other times they creep in darkness towards disobedience; 
And if you were to think about the earth and the diversity of its plants
and the great variety of all the smooth and rugged land in it; 
And if you were to think about the secrets of the seas and all their fish
and their endless waves held back by an unconquerable barrier, 
 And if you were to think about the mysteries of the manifold winds
and how they convey the mist and fog and clouds which release the rain; 
And if you were to reflect about all the mysteries of the heavens �
the Throne, the Footstool and the Spirit sent by Divine command. 
Then you would accept the reality of tawhid with all your being, 
and you would turn away from illusions, uncertainty and other than Allah; 
And you would say, "My God, You are my desire and the goal of my quest
and my impregnable fortress against evil, injustice, and deceit. 
You are the One I hope will provide for me and take care of all my needs, 
and You are the One who rescues us from all evil and wickedness. 
You are the Compassionate, the One who answers all who call upon You.
And You are the One who relieves the poverty of the poor faqir. 
It is to You, O High Exalted, that I have raised all my requests, 
so hasten to me the Opening, relief and the Secret, O my God. 
By the rank of the one in whom we hope on the day of distress and grief �
that terrible day when people come to the Place of Gathering." 
May Allah's blessings be upon him as long as there is a gnostic
who reflects on the lights of His Essence in every manifest thing, 
And upon his family and Companions and everyone who follows
his resplendant Sunna and all its prohibitions and commands. 
Selections from the Diwan of Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib

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Nausheen Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Female Joined: 10 January 2001 Status: Offline Points: 4251	Post Options Post Reply Quote Nausheen Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Reflections Posted: 27 April 2005 at 8:20pm
	Auzubillahi minash shaitan ir rajeem, Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim, Reflection *Tafakkur* Reflect upon the wondrous skill with which both land and sea are made and contemplate the Attributes of Allah outwardly and inwardly. The greatest testimony to the limitless perfections of Allah can be found deep within the self and on the distant horizon as well. If you were to reflect on physical bodies and their marvellous forms and how they are arranged with great precision, like a string of pearls; And if you were to think about the mysteries of the tongue and speech with it, and how it articulates and conveys what you conceal in your breast; And if you were to think about the secrets of all the limbs and how easily they are subject and in thrall to the heart's command; And if you were to reflect on how the hearts are moved to obey Allah and how at other times they creep in darkness towards disobedience; And if you were to think about the earth and the diversity of its plants and the great variety of all the smooth and rugged land in it; And if you were to think about the secrets of the seas and all their fish and their endless waves held back by an unconquerable barrier, And if you were to think about the mysteries of the manifold winds and how they convey the mist and fog and clouds which release the rain; And if you were to reflect about all the mysteries of the heavens � the Throne, the Footstool and the Spirit sent by Divine command. Then you would accept the reality of tawhid with all your being, and you would turn away from illusions, uncertainty and other than Allah; And you would say, "My God, You are my desire and the goal of my quest and my impregnable fortress against evil, injustice, and deceit. You are the One I hope will provide for me and take care of all my needs, and You are the One who rescues us from all evil and wickedness. You are the Compassionate, the One who answers all who call upon You. And You are the One who relieves the poverty of the poor faqir. It is to You, O High Exalted, that I have raised all my requests, so hasten to me the Opening, relief and the Secret, O my God. By the rank of the one in whom we hope on the day of distress and grief � that terrible day when people come to the Place of Gathering." May Allah's blessings be upon him as long as there is a gnostic who reflects on the lights of His Essence in every manifest thing, And upon his family and Companions and everyone who follows his resplendant Sunna and all its prohibitions and commands. Selections from the Diwan of Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib
	<font color=purple>Wanu nazzilu minal Qurani ma huwa Shafaa un wa rahmatun lil mo'mineena wa la yaziduzzalimeena illa khasara.[/COLOR]

ummziba Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Female Joined: 16 March 2005 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 1158	Post Options Post Reply Quote ummziba Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 April 2005 at 11:24am
	O Allah, only Your Kindness and Compassion can restore my brokeness. My poverty nothing can enrich but Your Gentleness and Goodness. Only Grace from You can calm my agitation. My frailty Your Power alone can strengthen. My longings, nothing but Your Bounty will ever satisfy. My destitution will be made good by Your Wealth alone. My need of You none other can fulfil. Only Your Mercy can gladden my distress. My sorrow of heart only Your Compassion will relieve. My thirst will not be slaked unless You reach to me, nor my fearing soul be set at rest except I find You. Only the sight of Your Countenance of Grace can meet my deepest yearning. It is only in drawing near to You that rest is truly mine. Your Spirit only will restore my broken heart: my sickness, only Your Medicine will heal. It is only when You are near that my grief is lifted. Only Your Pardon laves my wound. The stain in my heart only Your Forgiveness can take away. It is Your Command alone that stills the whispering in my bosom. For You are the Utmost Hope of the hopeful, the Goal of the Quest of the questioners, the Ultimate that petitioners seek, the crown of all that men desire. You are the Guardian of the well-doers, the Security of the timorous, the Treasure of the deprived, the Wealth of the destitute, the Succour of those who cry for help, the Satisfier of the needs of the poor and the wretched. On You I call, O Most Merciful and Gracious. I humble myself before You and make my plea. My cry and my yearning are that You would refresh me with Your Kindly Spirit and continue to me Your Good Pleasure. For here I am standing at the door of Your Goodness, setting myself in the way of Your Righteousness to breathe upon me, and taking firm hold of the strong rope - the sure grasp of one who clings to You. O Allah, do Mercy to Your unworthy servant, whose word is faint, whose deed is scant. In Your Rich Forbearance do well to her. Shelter her under Your shade, You who are Lord of all the Merciful, Kingly, Glorious and Mighty. ********* I do not remember where I found this beautiful prayer but I know it was not marked by any author. Does anyone know who the author is? Peace, ummziba.
	Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words...they break my soul ~

Suleyman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 10 March 2003 Location: Turkey Status: Offline Points: 3324	Post Options Post Reply Quote Suleyman Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 April 2005 at 2:45pm
	Es_Selam'un Aleykum ve Rahmetullahi ve Berakatuh Sister Ummziba, Absolutely i know the writer of this:he is Sir Anonymous,how you couldn't know him?,so famous all over the world...

Alwardah Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 25 March 2005 Location: South Africa Status: Offline Points: 980	Post Options Post Reply Quote Alwardah Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 April 2005 at 6:01am
	As Salamu Alaikum "Say: "Tell me! If Allah made the night continuous for you till the Day of Resurrection, which god besides Allah could bring you light? Will you not then hear? Say" Tell me! If Allah made the day continuous for you till the Day of Resurrection, which god besides Allah could bring you night wherein you rest? Will you not then see? It is out of His Mercy that He has made for you the night and the day that you may rest therein and that you may seek of His Bounty � and in order that you may be grateful." Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Qasas 28: 71-73
	�Verily your Lord is quick in punishment; yet He is indeed Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful (Surah Al-An�am 6:165) "Indeed, we belong to Allah and to Him is our return" (Surah Baqarah 2: 155)

Nausheen Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Female Joined: 10 January 2001 Status: Offline Points: 4251	Post Options Post Reply Quote Nausheen Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 April 2005 at 9:01pm
	Auzubillahi minash shaitan ir rajeem, Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim, Remember Your Origin and Goal Remember your origin and goal whenever daylight hits your floor, when a door opens to let in air, when the air is full and night is long, when a butterfly flies like an ignited origami in the air, whenever a leaf falls or rhododendron bursts into purple flame, when nothing happens at all, remember Him then, His Might and Majesty, Beauty, and all His Names, when a baby cries, a boat sails, a bird sails in the sky, a road leads down to the sea, ocean waves pile on top of each other like shingles on a roof, slopes of relentless energy, flash in a pale sun, sea-birds' cry, remember Him then, the long flat sea, the far horizon, endless sky, remember our Origin then, and how we've come this far, or not so far, come to a stop or still moving, remember in movement or stillness, the piston's pull and thrust, machinery's groan or purr, around that bend or on that straightaway, curled in a furry ball at the base of a tree, flying above the highest tree, leaf floor, carpet of golden leaves, dead leaves, remember in life and death, just before death takes all, pulls in the drawer, when no more remembrance takes place, all our luminous letters sent, ignited envelopes arcing through heaven, our heart an echoing mud mosque in a hot country, solitary believer sitting against a wall doing the ninety-nine beads, face of night full of sweet compassion, lips in constant remembrance, until we're remembered, until we sit still on any available edge and remember. Source: Open Doors, by Daniel Abdal Hayy Moore
	<font color=purple>Wanu nazzilu minal Qurani ma huwa Shafaa un wa rahmatun lil mo'mineena wa la yaziduzzalimeena illa khasara.[/COLOR]

Nausheen Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Female Joined: 10 January 2001 Status: Offline Points: 4251	Post Options Post Reply Quote Nausheen Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 13 May 2005 at 11:22am
	Auzubillahi minash shaitan ir rajeem, Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim, Tears of Life There is surely magic in our capacity to articulate thought, but beyond that country of words lies an ocean of tears where unchartered depths give birth to currents of great complexity to which language only can allude through concept- heavy crafts that skim the surface across life�s sea where emotional tides run heavily in all directions. Intensely, we feel disparity between what can be said and that which silently flows through inner paths that mark boundaries of vulnerability. We stand before Being clothed in asymmetry, like a homeless pauper in a city of the powerful and wealthy. Feeling a dynamic electricity in Being�s presence, we are overwhelmed with a sense of inadequacy, and tears begin to spill as theory�s levee springs leaks in efficacy by which we wall away painful realities. Or, beauty rises in our souls like a harvest moon that illumines night fall so brilliantly we can do nothing but shed tears of gratitude for being given leave to see Divinity in action through landscapes of conscious alchemy. Transcendent realms project shadows which weave illusions that form this worldly space, and, intuitively, we cry in response to the mystery which plays hide and seek with our lives. A variety of inclinations form the sluicegates from which tears flow � from: anxiety, to: joyous jubilee; from: death�s finality, to: creativity. Tears are indemnity for the limitations of language and reason. Poet: Unknown
	<font color=purple>Wanu nazzilu minal Qurani ma huwa Shafaa un wa rahmatun lil mo'mineena wa la yaziduzzalimeena illa khasara.[/COLOR]

Nausheen Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Female Joined: 10 January 2001 Status: Offline Points: 4251	Post Options Post Reply Quote Nausheen Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 13 May 2005 at 11:45am
	Auzubillahi minash shaitan ir rajeem, Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim, Excerpts from Fath ar Rabbani - by Shaykh Abdal Qadir Jilani English Translation by Muhtar Holland Do not be deceived by these learned men who are ignorant of Allah. All their learning counts against them, not in their favour. They are learned in the laws of Allah, but ignorant of Allah himself. They give people orders which, they themselves do not carry out, and forbid them to do things from which they themselves do not abstain. They summon others to their Lord of Truth, but they flee from him. They rebel and sin against him flagrantly. (P. 85) As the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said: Love Allah for providing you with his blessings, and love me because of the love Alah has for me. (P. 149) When you speak, speak with a good intention and when you are silent, be silent with a good intention. If anyone does not make the intention before the deed he is not accredited with the deed. (P.185) One of the wise is reported as having said:"The real meaning of pious devotion (taqwa) is that if you were to gather up everything that is in your heart, set it on an uncovered tray, and then walk all around the market with it, there would be nothing there to make you feel in any way embarrassed. (P. 348) The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is reported as having said: In every specialised craft, you should seek the help of a qualified expert. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is recorded as having said: Part of the excellence of a man's Islam is paying no attention to that which does not concern him. (P. 406) Surely you have heard His saying (Almighty and glorious is He) in one of his books: When someone is too busy remembering Me to ask Me for anything, I give him the best of what I give to those who ask. (P. 298) As Allah has said in one of His utterances: I am the boon companion of one who remembers Me (P. 298) He has also said: I am with those who are broken - hearted on account of Me. (P. 298) There is no escape from trial and tribulation, especially for those who make pretentious claims. Were it not for tribulation and trial, many people would lay claim to saintship. This is why a certain wise man said: 'Tribulation has been put in charge of saintship, so that it cannot be pretended.' One of the marks of the saint is his patience with the insults of creatures and his tolerant attitude toward them. (P. 354) Someone asked him "Which is more intense, the fire of fear or the fire of yearning ?" To this he replied: The fire of fear in the case of the seeker and the fire of yearning in the case of the sought. The former is one thing, and the latter is something else. Which of the two fires do you experience, O questioner?
	<font color=purple>Wanu nazzilu minal Qurani ma huwa Shafaa un wa rahmatun lil mo'mineena wa la yaziduzzalimeena illa khasara.[/COLOR]

Alwardah Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 25 March 2005 Location: South Africa Status: Offline Points: 980	Post Options Post Reply Quote Alwardah Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 14 May 2005 at 7:45am
	As Salamu Alaikum Masha Allah a very informative article. Something to really reflect upon. It reminds me of this Hadith of the Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) Narrated By Anas (Radhi Allahu Anhu): I will narrate to you a Hadith and none other than I will tell you about after it. I heard Allah's Apostle (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) saying: From among the portents of the Hour are (the following): 1. Religious knowledge will decrease (by the death of religious learned men). 2. Religious ignorance will prevail. 3. There will be prevalence of open illegal sexual intercourse. 4. Women will increase in number and men will decrease in number so much so that fifty women will be looked after by one man. (Al-Bukhari Book 003, Hadith Number 081) May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala guide us to the Straight Path Ameen!
	�Verily your Lord is quick in punishment; yet He is indeed Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful (Surah Al-An�am 6:165) "Indeed, we belong to Allah and to Him is our return" (Surah Baqarah 2: 155)