one of those days that warrants thinking about blessings.
so hurrah for: shiny pretty notebooks and patient understanding friends and crisp fall weather and learning and libraries and tidy surroundings and mail by post and random run-ins and kindness and warmth and knowledge and smiles and new experiences and little brothers and strength and growing and courage.
Categories: Gratitude · Reflections
Jum’ah Mubarak! I hope you all had a fabulous day full of tranquility and peace. As part of today’s Friday celebrations I wanted to share the video below. Make a pot of tea, grab a pen and a blanket, and sit down to the wonderful words of the shaykh..it’s an investment of 35 minutes that will reap beautiful fruits of smiles and reflection insha’Allah! I’ve never heard Shaykh Abdal Aziz Fredericks speak before this, but am so glad I heard this talk-he is a wonderful teacher and there are beautiful pearls of wisdom in what he says. May Allah increase him and his family in all good. In sum, the shaykh talks about his intention in coming to the lesson, the importance of making clear intentions and how that defines what you get from your actions, the intentions for learning that Imam Haddad advises, entering a marketplace and the duas that are advised to make when you are shopping, how the way in which you dress are part of the mental framework in which you approach certain tasks, the difference between a hal and a maqam (did you know that the root of maqam is the same as iqama?) and repentence as an experience. And there is so so much more in the lesson that I didn’t even mention! Two things I really loved about this class: the way that Shaykh Abdal Aziz absolutely radiated happiness and contentment, and the way that he translated Arabic phrases. It increased my desire to learn Arabic, because I realised once again that translations into English truly convey only a shadow of the Arabic language. Please keep me in your duas as I start my first Arabic course ever in 7 days insha’Allah!
Gratitude: a new semester/new challenges and things to learn/patterned prayer rugs/mustard seeds/libraries/useful nasihah/heaters/friendship/carrot cake/smiles from strangers/smiling shuyukh/pens that write well.
Categories: Gratitude · Reflections · Videos..
Last Saturday SunniPath had a special lecture on the 19th Hadith from Imam Nawawi’s Forty Hadith collection. In the spirit of the hadith of the Prophet (may peace be upon him) “Let him among you who (was present and) saw, inform him who was absent”, here are some gems from my notes of this mubarak event. 
Firstly, a bit about Imam Nawawi:
Imam Nawawi is from Syria, and is called Nawawi because he was from the village of Nawa. He was born in 1233 C.E and is an Imam of the later Shafi’i school. He was the scholar of his time, and a master of the hadith sciences in particular. He is known especially for his book Riyad as-saliheen (Gardens of the Righteous), and his Kitab Adkar (a book of invocations). He compiled his collection of Forty Hadith however, because he wanted Muslims to have access to the foundational hadiths of Islam.
The narrator of this hadith is ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet and the son of the Prophet’s paternal uncle. He was born 3 years before the Hijrah, during the difficult time when the nascent Muslim community was being boycotted. It was a source of hope for Muslim community to have children born in this time, and the Prophet made dua for ibn Abbas and asked Allah for knowledge and understanding of the deen for him.
The text of Hadith #19 is as follows. (translation from the SP event)
Abu al-Abbas ‘Abdullah bin Abbas (radiyallahu anhuma) reported: I was behind the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasalaam) when he said: Oh young man, I will teach you some words (of wisdom). Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask of Allah; if you seek help, seek help of Allah. Know that if the whole community were to gather together to benefit you with anything, it would benefit you only with something that Allah had already prescribed for you, and that if they gather together to harm you with anything, they would harm you only with something Allah had already prescribed for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried.”
According to a line of transmission of other than that of al-Tirmidhi, it reads:
“Keep Allah in mind and you will find Him in front of you. Get acquainted with Allah in times of ease and He will know you in days of distress. Know that what missed you could not have hit you, and what hit you could not have missed you. Know that victory comes with patience, relief follows distress, ease follows hardship.
We see in this hadith the Prophet in the role of a father figure, as ibn Abbas is very young when this incident occurs. There are so many images in the media of the Prophet that are not favourable, and with representations it is important to be conversant with the hadith collections of the Prophet so we are able to counter these images with knowledge.
There are two different versions of this hadith, and it is important to reflect on the meanings of these two different narrations.
We brainstormed as a class about these differences, but one key difference is in the manner that the hadith talks about divine destiny. Each hadith gives us a different understanding of destiny. This is noteworthy because qada and qadr are fascinating topics that have fascinated Muslim theologians for centuries, and in this hadith we have a couple of different glimpses of this concept.
(Refer back to the hadith of Jibril to get an explanation of Qada and Qadr)
This hadith explain divine decree as knowing that what has passed you by was not going to benefit you. In other words, Allah is in control of our affairs and creates means and outcomes. This does not mean that Muslims are fatalists, but that with complete and total trust in Allah, whenever difficulties/sadness occurs, we have trust in Allah although we take the means available to us.
This hadith offers encouragement, something that is a common feature of the hadiths of the Prophet. We have many examples of hadiths where the Prophet lays out appropriate behaviour and encourages believers. Rarely do you find statements where the Prophet prohibits actions and does not offer alternatives. Here for example, we see the Prophet saying be mindful, and mindfulness has its own reward.
In this hadith we are taught about proper adab (etiquette) which is that as Muslims we rely on Allah in all affairs. This means that we take the best means possible, but we leave the outcome to Allah. Supplication is a powerful tool however, and it is possible that through supplication Allah will cause our destiny to unfold in different ways. Through supplication it is possible that Allah may ward off harm or cause some benefit. Which is why when we ask, we ask Allah.
Book recommendation: Reflections of Pearls.
What is Mindfulness?
To be truly mindful, one is cognizant and conscious. It means to respect Allah’s limits, and adhere to the sacred law and have taqwa. At the highest levels, it is to have scrupulousness, (wara’a).
Mindfulness is a covenant between us and Allah. If we remember Allah, Allah will remember us. Deeply reflected upon, this hadith acts as a balm for troubled hearts.
Verse for contemplation: Ali Imran: Verse 186 (3:186)
Categories: Class Notes · Reflections · SunniPath
I read this article in the WashingtonPost recently and it’s a wonderful read. One of the main reasons: it challenges common perceptions of Muslim women with concrete examples from the faith/lived experience. Too too often, we discuss how representations of women/islam are inappropriate, but don’t counter common understandings with an explanation of Islam. We cry out: “People don’t understand Muslims! Can you believe the stereotypes that people hold about Islam?”, but then we don’t give people the tools to learn more about the faith. One thing I’m learning more and more (and have been spending a lot of time thinking about) is that you can’t really improve the image/understanding people have of Islam without delving into the religion/theological conversations- the way to combat Islamophobia and the low knowledge of Islam that currently exists, is to improve our own knowledge and practice of the religion. And it’s not fair to evaluate Islam based on practices of people, we need to turn to the teachings of Islam and see what they are for themselves. In every time, there are people who polish their hearts and illuminate their communities with the light of Islam and the failure of others to do so doesn’t negate Islam as a viable way of life. I mention this because many times when people celebrate Muslim men and women they are knocked down/attacked because not all women are treated properly. That is true, and it is important that we all undergo a process of critical evaluation to ensure we have equitable communities, but where we find gaps doesn’t have anything to do with faults in Islam..if anything it indicates a lapse in emulating the Prophetic model.
Side note about the hijab: Please if you don’t wear the hijab, let’s stop talking about it. I promise to not criticize/bother you about your choice to not wear it, (none of my business) and please show me the same courtesy. I’m so so tired of discussions where women who don’t wear the scarf rail against it, and go on and on..it’s offensive and makes me want to run away! Even if your intentions are good, unless you wear the hijab it’s really hard to understand what wearing it is like. I’ve had several conversations with friends about this topic. During one conversation in particular, a friend was discussing about how it is hard coping with people’s comments/perceptions of the hijab, but also especially hard when other muslims are so critical/vocal about it. Support outside of Muslims can sometimes be hard to find, and when you can’t find support among Muslim sisters, it can be an alienating and isolating experience.
Case in point: I was taking part in a class about representations of Islam a few months ago, and the first class was a general introduction to the topic. We spoke about common perceptions of Muslim women (oppressed, powerless etc etc) and went over some ways that Muslim women deal with these stereotypes. At one point in the class, one of the participants (the students was predominately non-muslim) turned and said, “hang on, is the scarf required in Islam?”. I was the only hijabi in the room, and the teacher basically said, “no, it’s more about having a scarf around your shoulders, although there are people who take the verses more literally”. A few moments later, she asked me to share my parents response to my decision to wear the scarf, and asked what that journey has been like. A very personal question and not one that I could really avoid answering..though I pretty much spoke in generalities. More importantly, when you have someone in authority making definitive statements like that to an audience that really doesn’t know much about Islam, it’s not fair because other people don’t understand where that opinion is coming from. And the hijabi seems like a crazy person with an ‘ultra-conservative’ understanding of Islam. The next day I wasn’t well, but even when I felt better, I didn’t return because of my discomfort and disappointment in that first session. And such experiences are all too common.
And that’s all! Going to try and post some happy positive stuff to counter this rant.cos I’d really like to keep rants OFF this blog.
Categories: Muslim Women · Reflections
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 
Categories: Random · Reflections
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.
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
Categories: Readings · Reflections · Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad
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.
Categories: Readings · Reflections · Videos..
“A freedom fighter learns the hard way that it is the oppressor who defines the nature of the struggle and the oppressed is often left with no recourse but to use methods that mirror those of the oppressor. At a certain point, one can only fight fire with fire.”
~Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela.
A book that should be required reading before people graduate high school. I read about half of it before my trip, and now I think it is time to insha’Allah find the book again and finish the other half! It contains so many wonderful points to reflect upon, and truly helps you begin to think deeply about the word apartheid, and the very specific point people like President Carter are making when they use the term. (That’s another book I’ve been meaning to read).
p.s-this post reminds me of a nutrition course I took during university and a lecture we had one day about food systems in Zimbabwe. Before the prof launched into her lecture though, she stopped and said, “now, since the vast majority of you haven’t learnt about Africa in your elementary, high school and university education, we are going to have to have a atrocious 40 minute history lesson about an entire continent, to gain a rudimentary understanding of events that shaped Zimbabwe’s development and that specifically have led to food problems.” It was an embarassing moment, because the majority of really didn’t know very much. What I remember of elementary and high school history lessons were mind numbing classes about the exact same European countries and not very much about the rest of the world..
Categories: Books · Reflections
In just a few days students all over the world (except places where the school calendar is structured differently of course) return to school. And for the first time in my life, I’m not one of them. I’m happy I graduated in May alhamidullah, but it is strange not to be thinking of school supplies right now, or agonising over lovely stationary and pens and notebook purchases. And it’s strange not to feel anticipation and excitement and nervousness about school–the feelings I usually have around this time of year.
Insha’Allah I will return to university soon for more schooling.
In the meantime though, this is a good opportunity to use the time I have to learn things I’ve wanted to learn for a while, and devote more time to things that haven’t received much attention in the past several months with the intensity of uni involvement and graduation.
For instance: Insha’Allah I finally have time to devote to SunniPath! Not all the courses for the fall term are up yet, but I’m having a really hard time choosing what I want to take from the current courses offered. A few courses I’m wrestling with..
1) Introductory Arabic 1: This is a class I’ve been wanting to take for a while now, but with uni classes, I always thought I didn’t have enough time. Also, in the past I’ve been a bit apprehensive about learning Arabic (can I really do it? But everyone says Arabic is sooo hard! What if the Arabic in the class doesn’t have diacritic marks and I can’t read it?) On the Rihla though we had a lovely Arabic class, I was surrounded by arabic during the trip, and generally, it finally dawned on me that if I don’t just start, I really won’t learn the language. I’ve got to stop making excuses and roll up my sleeves. So insha’Allah this semester will be my first foray into the structure of the Arabic language. Please make dua it goes well!
2) Introduction to Classical Logic: I can’t decide whether to take this class, but I really really want to. It’s taught by Shaykh Hamza Karamali who is an amazing teacher masha’Allah, and I’ve always left every class I’ve taken with him with lots to think and reflect upon. In his class “Finding the Straight Path” ( I don’t think it’s offered this semester) he spoke a great deal about the importance of thinking critically about issues and just generally using our brains, rather than being reactionary to whatever we read. I think a course devoted on sharpening my brain could be a wonderful learning opportunity, but it’s part of the SP transitional curriculum, which means technically I should be finishing the Foundations and Seekers curriculum before taking the course. But i really really want to take it now…
3) A Hanafi fiqh class: My confusion is over whether or not to take the Essentials class, or the Intermediate class. They seem pretty similar, but the Essentials class covers basic aqida, an intro to ihsan and prayer, whereas the intermediate class covers purification and prayer in detail. There is lots to learn from a beginner class, but I tried taking the intermediate class last year and didn’t get very far (too much going on!), so it would be a cheaper option..Aaah decisions!
Also the Ramadhan class on the spiritual aspects of Ramadan looks good too. Actually everything looks good..which is why it’s always agonising making SP decisions!
There is also a Saturday morning creative writing class at one of the local universities that looks lovely. I would looove to take it, but it’s an expensive course. Would it be better to get a book on creative writing?
so many debates.
To end off, things I love: ramadan excitement/shehzad’s roy new song laga reh/chaat papri surprises/mithai/sunshine/lipgloss/new SP course discoveries/meccaone lectures/comfy abayas/cosy lunches/solitude/yellow walls/newly vacuumed floors/reflection time/creamy moleskine pages
Categories: Random · Reflections · SunniPath
Travelling back home this summer, I made the marvelous discovery that a new novel has been published the 44 Scotland Street series! The name of the book is The World According to Bertie, and I actually yelped for joy in the Heathrow airport Borders bookshop when I saw it on the shelf. It’s not as satisfying as the other novels, (after 3 books you can guess what is going to happen to the characters) but it is full of delicious words that make it an enjoyable enough read. (the words that follow are the words that I looked up afterwards).
apocryphal: of doubtful authenticity
quotidian: occurring every day
crowstepped: any of a series of steps at the top of a gable wall
paysage moralise: moralized landscape
fluted: having or marked by grooves
mullions: a slender vertical member that forms a division between units of a window, door, or screen or is used decoratively.
casus belli: an act or event that provokes or is used to justify war
dramaturge: A writer or adapter of plays; a playwright casus belli: an act or event that provokes or is used to justify war
echt: true, genuine
synaesthetic: A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color
fey: lots of meanings..which can be found here.
pugilist: the skill, practice, and sport of fighting with the fists; boxing
mots justes: exactly the right word or expression
atavistic: The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.
pellucid: transparently clear in style or meaning
dalliance: frivolous spending of time; dawdling. 2) playful flirtation
mendacious: lying; untruthful 2) false; untrue.
My favourite paragraph in the book is one that I want to implant firmly in my mind and heart. It is near the end of the book and occurs when two of the characters are trying to decide what to name painting. I’ve wrote it out to remember it better..
” Domenica turned away from the stove. ‘It’s a line from Auden,’ she said. ‘”If equal affection cannot be/let the more loving one be me.” ‘
They were both silent for a moment. Behind Domenica, the pot on the stove simmered quietly; there was a square of light on the ceiling, reflected off window glass, shimmering, late light. Angus thought: yes, this is precisely the sentiment. That’s it exactly. That’s all we need to remember in this life, two lines to guide us. “
Categories: Readings · Reflections
