beautiful photos.

A beautiful set of photos of Ramadan worldwide.. You can view them here

And apologies for not posting for ages! I will be a better blogger from now on insha’Allah

well put

Westerners have singularly narrowed the history of the world in grouping the little that they knew about the expansion of the human race around the peoples of Israel, Greece and Rome. Thus they have ignored all those travellers and explorers who in their ships ploughed the China Sea and the Indian Ocean, or rode across the immensities of Central Asia to the Persian Gulf.  In truth the larger part of the globe, containing cultures different from those of the ancient Greeks and Romans but no less civilized, has remained unknown to those who wrote the history of their little world under the impression that they were writing world history.

~Henri Cordier

bbc thought of the day

The BBC thought of the day for September 1st 2008 featured Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad. It’s well worth a read/listen. After the Rihla, he has become one of my favourite thinkers ever ever.

The text can be found below, and the audio can be found here. If you search his name, his other appearances on this BBC programme come up as well.

Thought for the Day, 1 September 2008

Abdal Hakim Murad

Good morning.

Today is Day One of the annual Muslim Challenge known as the month of Ramadan. It’s always a tough endurance event: no food or drink from dawn till dusk, and since God is the referee, cheating is not possible. So simple, but so compelling is the idea, that even people relaxed about the other duties of the faith make an effort. The result is that should you take a walk across London, tomorrow morning at about half-past three, you are likely to see lights on in about a tenth of the capital’s households. Those within are eating a very early breakfast, fortifying themselves for the rigours of the day ahead.

This might seem like a private Muslim eccentricity. But the Koranic verse which brought this commandment indicates that in fact there is nothing original about it. ‘O you who believe!’ it tells the Muslims, ‘Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was for those who came before you.’ And even the slightest study of most major religions will confirm that just about every faith, in one form or another, recognises the advantages of fasting.

But what, exactly, are the advantages? The same verse goes on to explain: we are to learn self-restraint. And this is, generally-speaking, the key benefit of fasting, recognised by most of the sages and saints of every religion. We have a tendency to binge, to splurge, to splash out; while religion wants us to be focussed on much higher things. Perfect stillness in meditation is not easy if one is able to reach for a doughnut. Tell the beast within that it must wait, and there is some chance that the soul will find the calm which it needs.

Nowadays we would probably call this ‘impulse control’. True, our secular age is often more worried about the health and beauty consequences of a supersized diet, than it is about the wellbeing of the soul. But even the most devoutly secular person will recognise that self-restraint is precious.

Yesterday, I returned to my endless conflict with the weeds in my garden. I know that when tackling the mortal enemy that is ground elder, or convolvulus, I have two options. Either I slice it off at ground level, which is quick, and fun, but allows it to reappear all too soon. Or I reach for the roots, which takes time and effort.

Weak human beings, Muslim or not, know that long training is needed before we gain the patience to uproot our tendency to crave and yearn for what is unnecessary. Fasting, in Ramadan, is a rigorous discipline, an opportunity to gain in self-restraint. We are unlikely to abolish the weeds in our souls, but when properly trained by this annual endurance event, we can keep them under control, and hope that, with God’s help, we can start to enjoy the experience of detachment.

copyright 2008 BBC

great article..

An excellent read.

You can find it here.

Ramadan Mubarak!

It’s finally here! Ramadan has actually begun! (insert sparkly Ramadan happiness here) I’m excited and delighted and nervous all at the same time. I’ve resisted writing a get ready for Ramadan post because..well, there are just so many blogs that have done that far better than I could, and it makes sense for you to read them instead.

S0, instead, here are some random posts that subhanAllah, are fantastic, and are a nice way to begin Ramadan.

Post 1: I Close My Eyes and I’m in Madinah: I’m always in awe of articles and blog posts that describe doing Hajj, being in Makkah or being in Madinah. Whenever I try to describe the experience, the words I use sound flat and not really reflective of the experience… So instead I read the words of more talented writers and feel really uplifted. This is one of those posts that makes me feel warm and cosy.

Post 2: Pursuit of Knowledge: Putting it Into Perspective :This is a truly wonderful article. I’ve been thinking a lot about the acquisition of knowledge and how that does/should impact our lives, and also about the implications of taking more classes, and reading and listening to more lectures as you consolidate what you’ve already learnt. I like what sr Aysha has to say on the topic. (insha’Allah Ramadan will be a time of emptying my buckets)

Post 3: This isn’t actually a post, but the Hanafi Ramadan Fiqh lectures (both Part 1 and 2) by Imam Tahir Anwar in the Zaytuna Ramadan Section are excellent. I highly recommend a listen.

Post 4: This last resource is a video, and from the wonderful folks at MeccaOne. I’m still watching this one, but it’s excellent!

And that’s all. Not sure how much I’ll be blogging this month, but insha’Allah will check in from time to time. I’ve been cleaning my room over a couple of days, and have found a lot of random notes/quotes that I wanted to post. So there may be some random posts coming up soon.

Deen on..and hope each day of Ramadan is going well.