Spent my sat afternoon having lunch with ishak at salamath, then off to Tampines for a while and then to Ust’s place. As usual, we sat there, built our rapport better and had a good chat. Ishak was there from like 4 to 6, then off he went to airport for thailand. Ust asked me to stay so yeah. We ordered kfc and ate till I’m super full, at night he told me to makan nasi. Haha
Stayed there till very late, had a fruitful discussion and somehow this topic came to highlight. We were comparing the systems of learning of old and new.
The old one was undoubtedly very different from the new. The old system requires the murid or the salik(seeker) to SIT by his Guide, and to always to always keep the physical presence of his Guide. This is the way of the traditional scholars, be they from yaman, morocco, uzbek and what have you.
In contrast, today’s system is markedly different, it adopts the lecture-tutorial system, during which, attendance is marked by paper or the scanning of cards. There is no camaraderie, or as ustaz said, barakah. The lecturer may very well not even notice who attended his lesson. Graduation or authorisation in this system comes in the form of certificates
But in the old system, authorisation comes in the form of an ijazah, usualy verbal, after thorough scrutiny by the guide. Suffice to say such an approach has its own spiritual significance.
The thing is, even in our age, we ought to search for such a guide, not just teachers who lecture in classes. For such a knowledge is likened unto how the Prophet POURED knowledge into THE HEART of ABU BAKAR. It makes all the difference. Period
Learn from as many schlolars as possible, but take your allegiance to one, the shaykh of tarbiyyah who is learned in BOTH the exoteric and esoteric sciences. One such shaykh is enough, more will only be extra burden we can’t bear.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ اللَّهَ يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَمَن نَّكَثَ فَإِنَّمَا يَنكُثُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِمَا عَاهَدَ عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ فَسَيُؤْتِيهِ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
48:10 Verily those who plight their fealty to thee do no less than plight their fealty to Allah. the Hand of Allah is over their hands: then any one who violates his oath, does so to the harm of his own soul, and any one who fulfils what he has covenanted with Allah,- Allah will soon grant him a great Reward.
im sure u all know, it is easier said than done ;)
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Our Beloved Prophet, seminar 3 may 2008 sat 2pm-7pm
do attend yeah, the keynote speaker is a great alim, sufi shaykh, the grandson of Qutb ar-Rabbani, Sultanul Awliya', Shaykh Abdul Qadir al Jailani, qaddasallah sirrahul' azeez.
Maulid @ Masjid Kassim 1st May 2008, Tariqah Ahmadiah Idrisiah
Assalamu'alaikum Wr Wb
Segala puji bagi Alah yang Maha Pengasih lagi Maha Penyanyang
Selawat dan Salam keatas junjungan kami Sayyidina wa Maulana wa Habibuna Muhammad salallahu 'alaihi wassalam serta ahli keluarganya, sahabatnya, isteri-isterinya, ahli zuriatnya dan segenap kaum Muslimin.
Dengan Segala hormatnya, pihak kami daripada Jemaah IT Ahmadiah Idrisiah Singapura yang berpusat di Masjid Kassim menjemput kehadiran tuan-tuan menghadiri acara sambutan Maulidur Rasul salallahu 'alaihi wassalam di Masjid Kassim
pada 1 May 2008 (Labour Day) bersempenaan 24hb Rabiul Akhir 1429
Majlis ini diadakan sempena majlis memperingati Hol seorang ulama tempatan kami, Tuan Shaykh Abdul Rashid bin Muhammad Sa'id yang telah wafat pada 23hb Rabiul Akhir 1413H sekitar 1992M.
Majlis akan bermula pada jam 830am di dewan Masjid Kassim dengan ketibaan para tetamu dan hadirin. Akan dibacakan Maulid Berzanji karangan Sayyid Ja'far al-Barzanji (seorang Mufti bagi mazhab Syafi'i di Haram pada zamannya).
Kemudiannya, akan dilanjutkan dengan Forum agama yang akan dibentangkan oleh
- Ust Ali Mohamed (Imam Masjid Khadijah) dan
- Ust Mohamad Hasbi (presiden Persatuan Ulama dan Guru-guru Agama Singapura).
Topik forum adalah
Rasulullah (s.a.w.) Cahaya Kerohanian - Adakah amalan kerohanian releven pada zaman sekarang?
InsyaAllah setelah forum... akan diadakan acara pelancaran website Tariqah Ahmadiah Idrisiah Singapura pimpinan Ust Mohd Hasbi.
Setelah Sholat Zuhur akan dijamukan makanan Nasi Briyani DAM
Kehadiran Tuan-tuan sangat dialu-alukan. Kami mendahului dengan ucapan terima kasih Jazakallahu khairan katsiran.
___________________________________________
Assalamu'alaikum Wr Wb
Peace and blessings upon our beloved Sayyidina Muhammad salalllahu'alaihi wassalam, and his family, Companions, Mothers of the Faithful (wives), descendants and all Muslims.
It is my great pleasure to invite you to the blessed occasion of celebration of the Maulidur Rasulullah salallahu 'alaihi wassalam organised by the Singaporean Ikhwan of Ahmadiah Idrisiah Order.
The maulid celebration will be held at the remises of Masjid Kassim (450 Changi Road) on 1 May 2008 which falls on 24 Rabiul Akhir 1429H. This celebration of Maulid is special because it is done in conjunction with the remembrance of the Hol - death anniversary - of our dear local scholar, Shaykh Abdul Rashid bin Muhammad Sa'id al-Linggi who departed on the 23 Rabiul Akhir 1413H... in 1992.
The pragram will start at 830am with the recital of Maulid Barzanji (authored by Imam Ja'afar al-Barzanji - Mufti of the Shafii Mazhab in the Haram during his time - who was coincidentally one of the teachers of Shaykh Muhammad Sa'id al-Linggi)
Thereafter, there will be a forum discussion with 2 notable local scholars
- Ust Ali Mohamed (Imam Masjid Khadijah)
- Ust Mohammad Hasbi (presiden PERGAS)
The topic for the forum is :
"Rasulullah (s.a.w.) the Light of Spirituality -- Are spiritual practices still relevant in today's context ?"
However, please note that the forum will be in Malay.
Thereafter, there will be launching of the Tariqah Ahmadiah Idrisiah (Singapore) Website before Zuhur prayers.
Food (Briyani Dam) will be served after the congregational prayers. InsyaAllah, your presence will be much appreciated and we look forward in meeting you.
Jazakallahu khayran katsiran
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Love for the Beloved Prophet
I would like to talk about 2 distinguished imams who, in my opinion, have succeeded to manifest their tremendous love for the Holy Prophet in their own writings, 2 of which remain a classic masterpiece in Islamic Literature.
Imam Sulayman al-Jazuli completed the highly regarded Dalail Khayrat, a book of prayers upon the Holy Prophet. And just by simply reading excerpts from the book, you can easily tell that the author has such a profound love for the Prophet. i mean,Imam jazuli started the book by making Salawat upon each and every of the Prophet's 201 names, peace be upon them all.
and then he begins a long liturgy of salawat upon the Prophet by first saying this:
Allahumma inni, nawaitu bissolaati alan nabiyikal mustafa
O Allah, i INTEND TO MAKE SALAWAT upon Your Chosen Prophet.
the thing is, how often do we say "i intend to make salawat upon the Prophet"? most of the time we just jump to the salawat.the fact that Imam Jazuli wrote it in such a way, shows his immense love for the Prophet. Splendid!
Going on further, you just can't help but to feel the love for the Prophet emanating from the words Imam Jazuli wrote in his Dalail Khayrat, a prayer liturgy for the Prophet saw.
Qadi Iyad and his book on the Prophet, asy-syifa, is yet another classic. it is divided into parts, each part dealing about characteristics or attributes of the Prophet,his exalted station,his miracles, about why and how much we NEED to love him. it's just excellent. it also narrates some less well-known hadith, explaining the high status of our Beloved Prophet.
Truly, faith is only complete when the Prophet is dearer to us than anything else.
lastly, just wanna share a vid on a very 'touching' mahallul qiyam for the prophet, it was very moving. shaykh afeefudeen jailani even made a surprise pop up, though the naqshbandi-qadiri mursyid, Kiyai Ahmad Asrory, was not present due to ill health, let us pray for yai's good health amin.
Imam Sulayman al-Jazuli completed the highly regarded Dalail Khayrat, a book of prayers upon the Holy Prophet. And just by simply reading excerpts from the book, you can easily tell that the author has such a profound love for the Prophet. i mean,Imam jazuli started the book by making Salawat upon each and every of the Prophet's 201 names, peace be upon them all.
and then he begins a long liturgy of salawat upon the Prophet by first saying this:
Allahumma inni, nawaitu bissolaati alan nabiyikal mustafa
O Allah, i INTEND TO MAKE SALAWAT upon Your Chosen Prophet.
the thing is, how often do we say "i intend to make salawat upon the Prophet"? most of the time we just jump to the salawat.the fact that Imam Jazuli wrote it in such a way, shows his immense love for the Prophet. Splendid!
Going on further, you just can't help but to feel the love for the Prophet emanating from the words Imam Jazuli wrote in his Dalail Khayrat, a prayer liturgy for the Prophet saw.
Qadi Iyad and his book on the Prophet, asy-syifa, is yet another classic. it is divided into parts, each part dealing about characteristics or attributes of the Prophet,his exalted station,his miracles, about why and how much we NEED to love him. it's just excellent. it also narrates some less well-known hadith, explaining the high status of our Beloved Prophet.
Truly, faith is only complete when the Prophet is dearer to us than anything else.
lastly, just wanna share a vid on a very 'touching' mahallul qiyam for the prophet, it was very moving. shaykh afeefudeen jailani even made a surprise pop up, though the naqshbandi-qadiri mursyid, Kiyai Ahmad Asrory, was not present due to ill health, let us pray for yai's good health amin.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Knowledge; increases when shared
There's one feature about knowledge itself that makes it such a beautiful thing. Unlike money, knowledge does not diminish when you share it, rather it spreads and increases.
When is knowledge attained? it is attained when there is understanding. and so we come to speak about the process of understanding. what exactly makes us understand, or rather allows us to understand? is it our own effort? the amount of time we spend mugging? well, to a certain extent perhaps it is true, God rewards those who have put in effort, ikhtiar. Even so, understanding itself comes as a Divine Grace. some people take a lot more time to understand, others much shorter. How to explain this? some people are just born smarter? if so, is there any part of it that we can take credit for? of course not. for verily understanding comes from Him. The One who taught Man what he knew not
would you agree that there is nothing to be proud of in using a key to open a lock for an unlimited number of times? because the key is expected to be able to open the lock. so opening the lock 1000 times does not make it a more impressive act than to just open it, say, a few times.
The same can be said about knowledge. Once it is attained, it is more or less going to be with you for a long time, unless you do forget it. as such, you are now able to use that knowledge again and again and again, with relative ease-almost effortless on your part. so then why do people arrogate themselves with knowledge, when they know that each time they apply that knowledge, it is easy or even effortless for them? On the contrary, one should say something like " O Allah, YOU have GIVEN me this understanding, after which things become easy for me, Glory be to You, i have not put in any effort, i deserve no credit"
One can perhaps commend a locksmith for creating a key that can open the lock, but one would not praise the locksmith for being able to use the key to open the lock many many times, that is expected and effortless.
as with issues of the heart, saying is always much easier than real action,
May Allah forgive us all and guide us.
When is knowledge attained? it is attained when there is understanding. and so we come to speak about the process of understanding. what exactly makes us understand, or rather allows us to understand? is it our own effort? the amount of time we spend mugging? well, to a certain extent perhaps it is true, God rewards those who have put in effort, ikhtiar. Even so, understanding itself comes as a Divine Grace. some people take a lot more time to understand, others much shorter. How to explain this? some people are just born smarter? if so, is there any part of it that we can take credit for? of course not. for verily understanding comes from Him. The One who taught Man what he knew not
would you agree that there is nothing to be proud of in using a key to open a lock for an unlimited number of times? because the key is expected to be able to open the lock. so opening the lock 1000 times does not make it a more impressive act than to just open it, say, a few times.
The same can be said about knowledge. Once it is attained, it is more or less going to be with you for a long time, unless you do forget it. as such, you are now able to use that knowledge again and again and again, with relative ease-almost effortless on your part. so then why do people arrogate themselves with knowledge, when they know that each time they apply that knowledge, it is easy or even effortless for them? On the contrary, one should say something like " O Allah, YOU have GIVEN me this understanding, after which things become easy for me, Glory be to You, i have not put in any effort, i deserve no credit"
One can perhaps commend a locksmith for creating a key that can open the lock, but one would not praise the locksmith for being able to use the key to open the lock many many times, that is expected and effortless.
as with issues of the heart, saying is always much easier than real action,
May Allah forgive us all and guide us.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Why so violent?
Fitna; the offensive video by a dutch minister about our beloved religion, islam.
to be honest, most of his points have been rebutted by traditional and mainstream classical scholars of islam, for verily islam is not a religion of violence. this post is also not intended to present the sort of cliched arguments against the video. i suppose many of us already know that the dutch fella quoted the quran out of context, never fully quote an entire verse etc.
My concern here is this: why are some muslims preaching hate and violence? what's even more repugnant is that they do so in the name of islam, this can very well constitute a fitna.
The fact that those militants advocate indiscriminate killngs of humans, be they Jews or Christians or Americans, have already indicated that such an action is unislamic. Islam teaches you to fight for the sake of God, and God has set out His set of ethics, not for the sake of your anger. this clearly needs to be distinguished.
here in this vid, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Haqqani lashes out at those violence-preachers:
When are you coming again to Singapore???
to be honest, most of his points have been rebutted by traditional and mainstream classical scholars of islam, for verily islam is not a religion of violence. this post is also not intended to present the sort of cliched arguments against the video. i suppose many of us already know that the dutch fella quoted the quran out of context, never fully quote an entire verse etc.
My concern here is this: why are some muslims preaching hate and violence? what's even more repugnant is that they do so in the name of islam, this can very well constitute a fitna.
The fact that those militants advocate indiscriminate killngs of humans, be they Jews or Christians or Americans, have already indicated that such an action is unislamic. Islam teaches you to fight for the sake of God, and God has set out His set of ethics, not for the sake of your anger. this clearly needs to be distinguished.
here in this vid, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Haqqani lashes out at those violence-preachers:
When are you coming again to Singapore???
Sunday, April 6, 2008
i feel trapped!!!!
i feel so saaaded, tonite got majlis haul for Sidi Muhammad Dandarawi, Sidi Ahmad ibn Idris's second successor and guess what? i've got to book in at 10. suck thumb lah ah.
Sidi Faiz is in town, leading the majlis. i really miss him, it's been more than half a yr since i last saw him.May Allah grant Sidi Faiz long life and good health! amin!
They say zikr must be kept consistent, and always maintain good adab with ur mursyid and be in his physical presence, ni dah lebih dari 6 bulan, tak polish hati pun, jialat, sure karat one. Sidi faiz, when he leads a zikr, it's really powerful and effective, ucan literally feel the closeness.
i still remember. it was 2003, sec 2 that time. Ust hafazah ahmad was having a class at istiqamah, reading imam ghazali's kimiya assaadah, alchemy of eternal bliss. a great book i must say. he thought the principles of tariqah, ie how much we need to have a mursyid etc. he himself was a student of kiyai fadhlullah suhaimi and ustaz taha suhaimi, founders of al maarif, he must have wanted marifatullah for u maarifians. btw, i heard abt ustaz taha suhaimi's book on christianity, any idea where are they avaiable? it would be a rare collectible...
after those lessons with ust hafazah, i was invited by my fren ishak and his dad to attend a majlis zkr at-tariqah ahmadiah idrisiah at mqm habib nuh. that was it. the first time i met Sidi Faiz, it left a very strong, indelible impression on me and i felt attracted to that Order. the thing is, this path, was set out so timely, macam so chun chun gitu. i then consulted a close ustaz and related everything to him, he told me go ahead carry on.
Btw, this 1st may, do come down to masjid kassim in the morning, got maulid, ust hasbi pimpin, plus an official launching of a new website! tak sabar guer!
Sidi Faiz is in town, leading the majlis. i really miss him, it's been more than half a yr since i last saw him.May Allah grant Sidi Faiz long life and good health! amin!
They say zikr must be kept consistent, and always maintain good adab with ur mursyid and be in his physical presence, ni dah lebih dari 6 bulan, tak polish hati pun, jialat, sure karat one. Sidi faiz, when he leads a zikr, it's really powerful and effective, ucan literally feel the closeness.
i still remember. it was 2003, sec 2 that time. Ust hafazah ahmad was having a class at istiqamah, reading imam ghazali's kimiya assaadah, alchemy of eternal bliss. a great book i must say. he thought the principles of tariqah, ie how much we need to have a mursyid etc. he himself was a student of kiyai fadhlullah suhaimi and ustaz taha suhaimi, founders of al maarif, he must have wanted marifatullah for u maarifians. btw, i heard abt ustaz taha suhaimi's book on christianity, any idea where are they avaiable? it would be a rare collectible...
after those lessons with ust hafazah, i was invited by my fren ishak and his dad to attend a majlis zkr at-tariqah ahmadiah idrisiah at mqm habib nuh. that was it. the first time i met Sidi Faiz, it left a very strong, indelible impression on me and i felt attracted to that Order. the thing is, this path, was set out so timely, macam so chun chun gitu. i then consulted a close ustaz and related everything to him, he told me go ahead carry on.
Btw, this 1st may, do come down to masjid kassim in the morning, got maulid, ust hasbi pimpin, plus an official launching of a new website! tak sabar guer!
Aslim Taslam
Submit and you will be safe.
The Prophet saw wrote this to the various rulers, inviting them to Islam. However, some critics take offence at such invitations, claiming that this does not endorse freedom of choice. The reality is this, regardless whether or not we like it, salvation is with God alone and hence if you submit to Him, you are safe. Then they say, " Why is God so not democratic? why am i not allowed to do what i want?" Democracy is about freedom to serve, the question now is who do you serve? Satan? Your Ego? or God? serving the first two shackles you, traps you and shuts you off in a pithole, whereas serving God earns you His Divine Grace and Favour.
People often say that the liberated person is he who is free to do as he wills, even if it is a sin. In reality, they are ENSLAVED by their own nafs.
Oriana Fallaci gave such a reply to the Prophet's invitation:
لن استسلم
Lan astaslim, I will not surrender.
Ah, LANtak kau lah, there is no compulsion in religion, no one is coercing, if you refuse upon invitation then so be it. Furthermore, it wouldn't serve any good to force a non-muslim to be a reluctant muslim.
Surrender, reminds me of a song by Celine Dion with the same title;
I'll swallow my pride and I'll be alive
DID you hear my call
I surrender all
'Cause I'd surrender everything
To feel the chance to live again
I reach to you
I know you can feel it too...
We'd make it through
A thousand dreams I still believe
I'd make you give them all to me
I'd hold you in my arms and never let go
I surrender...
The Prophet saw wrote this to the various rulers, inviting them to Islam. However, some critics take offence at such invitations, claiming that this does not endorse freedom of choice. The reality is this, regardless whether or not we like it, salvation is with God alone and hence if you submit to Him, you are safe. Then they say, " Why is God so not democratic? why am i not allowed to do what i want?" Democracy is about freedom to serve, the question now is who do you serve? Satan? Your Ego? or God? serving the first two shackles you, traps you and shuts you off in a pithole, whereas serving God earns you His Divine Grace and Favour.
People often say that the liberated person is he who is free to do as he wills, even if it is a sin. In reality, they are ENSLAVED by their own nafs.
Oriana Fallaci gave such a reply to the Prophet's invitation:
لن استسلم
Lan astaslim, I will not surrender.
Ah, LANtak kau lah, there is no compulsion in religion, no one is coercing, if you refuse upon invitation then so be it. Furthermore, it wouldn't serve any good to force a non-muslim to be a reluctant muslim.
Surrender, reminds me of a song by Celine Dion with the same title;
I'll swallow my pride and I'll be alive
DID you hear my call
I surrender all
'Cause I'd surrender everything
To feel the chance to live again
I reach to you
I know you can feel it too...
We'd make it through
A thousand dreams I still believe
I'd make you give them all to me
I'd hold you in my arms and never let go
I surrender...
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Puritans and Sincerity in Amal
People have been asking; Is there something intrinsic in Islam that either directly or indirectly condones extremism and militant actions? If not then why are they so prominent and seemingly able to fill the vacuum of authority in defining Islam in this modern age?
Chim, super chim question, but, Professor Abou Khaled El-Fadl says in his "The Great Theft, Wrestling Islam from Extremists" says as such;
There is this Jewish sect, the Karaites, founded in the 8th century and is a minority today. It rejects the Talmud and rabbanical teachings and claims to base their actions on literal and strict Torah reading. They also aspire to achive no human intervention in implementing God's Law. History has shown their implementation of that law to be severe and harsh.
Now supposed that this sact is currently being generouslysponsored by an affluent Jewish nation which controls the two holiest sites in judaism. Surely then it would not be difficult to fathom as to why the Karaites could have such great extent of influence and attention, on top of being a serious contender with other Jewish sects in defining what true Jewish Orthodoxy really is.
Balance and Moderation are among the Core values in God's creation. Ibn Arabi in his Misykatul Anwar quotes a hadith which reads "Life is about Balance, whosoever finds the right balanceinlife will enter paradise"
Two of God's Attributes, Jalal(Majesty) and Jamal(Beauty), seem to be opposing one another but God's Prefection integrates them.
Similary, at times, as His servant, we can feel an intense mix of emotions, thus leading to a feeling of total dependence on Him. For example, when we err, we fear His not being pleased at us and His Punishments, but at the same time we feel a little rejoiced upon knowing that He is Loving and Forgiving, despite our shortcomings.we ought to feel fearful and hopeful. It's really a complex relationship which makes it all the more "interesting" and somehow make us feel complete dependence on Him, whichever way you are talking about. Such mushy issues ae hard to explain in words, it has to be experienced, it's just, beautiful...
Puritans have this mindset when it comes to Amal, that our actions are perfectly quantifiable and that on the Judgment Day our good and bad actions will be weighed on a scale such that even if our bad actions are a tiny morsel heavier than our good actions, then hell we go. The thing is, we can't quantify our actions, plus there are a lot of other factors involved as well, such as, how could you measure sincerity in such a quantifiable manner? So don't expect to use a calculator to count all the pahala and dosa even though for certain actions, there are hadiths that proclaims a certain NUMBER of pahala or dosa. It is precisely for this reacon that we are not allowed to judge anyone. i recall a story of one sahaba who drank after the alcohol prohibition has come. The other companions were beating him but Prophet said "Stop, Verily he loves Allah and His Messenger"
Some extremists take a gun and shoot a couple having intimacy in their cars, in public, and say "i have executed the Hudud, God's Will" Hello, since when the Prophet mentioned a gun? similarly, honor killings are equally disgusting. Male family members will want to kill their female relatives upon knowing that she has fornicated and claim that this is God's Justice when in reality it is more like wanting to save the family from shame, ie selfish reasons under the guise of religion. by the way, just for information, finding the circumstances to allow for hudud is not easy at all, and there are a lot of mitigating factors. we are urged to look for reasons to throw the case out instead of zealously looking forward to punish, even simple reasons such as lack of thinking clarity can be a mitigating factor.
speaking about selfish reasons, my mind comes to this;
Sometimes people do good just because they want paradise and they avoid evil to avoid the torments of hell. where exactly is the sincerity in all these? It's just an empty, self-benefitting way of doing things that just revolves around the notion of human self-interest, "I wanna survive and live free" kinda attitude you know. I guess that is why Rabia once said " O my Lord, if i do something for your Paradise, then keep me out of it, if i do something for fear of hell, then throw me in it, but if i do something to get to You, then don't disappoint me."
Even so, we can't exactly say " Oh then, if i have done this for the Love of God, then i have done something great, a magnificent contribution on my part" Get my point? see how much we need to balance our feelings? it's a real topsy-turvy rollercoaster ride lah!
May Allah guide us all
Chim, super chim question, but, Professor Abou Khaled El-Fadl says in his "The Great Theft, Wrestling Islam from Extremists" says as such;
There is this Jewish sect, the Karaites, founded in the 8th century and is a minority today. It rejects the Talmud and rabbanical teachings and claims to base their actions on literal and strict Torah reading. They also aspire to achive no human intervention in implementing God's Law. History has shown their implementation of that law to be severe and harsh.
Now supposed that this sact is currently being generouslysponsored by an affluent Jewish nation which controls the two holiest sites in judaism. Surely then it would not be difficult to fathom as to why the Karaites could have such great extent of influence and attention, on top of being a serious contender with other Jewish sects in defining what true Jewish Orthodoxy really is.
Balance and Moderation are among the Core values in God's creation. Ibn Arabi in his Misykatul Anwar quotes a hadith which reads "Life is about Balance, whosoever finds the right balanceinlife will enter paradise"
Two of God's Attributes, Jalal(Majesty) and Jamal(Beauty), seem to be opposing one another but God's Prefection integrates them.
Similary, at times, as His servant, we can feel an intense mix of emotions, thus leading to a feeling of total dependence on Him. For example, when we err, we fear His not being pleased at us and His Punishments, but at the same time we feel a little rejoiced upon knowing that He is Loving and Forgiving, despite our shortcomings.we ought to feel fearful and hopeful. It's really a complex relationship which makes it all the more "interesting" and somehow make us feel complete dependence on Him, whichever way you are talking about. Such mushy issues ae hard to explain in words, it has to be experienced, it's just, beautiful...
Puritans have this mindset when it comes to Amal, that our actions are perfectly quantifiable and that on the Judgment Day our good and bad actions will be weighed on a scale such that even if our bad actions are a tiny morsel heavier than our good actions, then hell we go. The thing is, we can't quantify our actions, plus there are a lot of other factors involved as well, such as, how could you measure sincerity in such a quantifiable manner? So don't expect to use a calculator to count all the pahala and dosa even though for certain actions, there are hadiths that proclaims a certain NUMBER of pahala or dosa. It is precisely for this reacon that we are not allowed to judge anyone. i recall a story of one sahaba who drank after the alcohol prohibition has come. The other companions were beating him but Prophet said "Stop, Verily he loves Allah and His Messenger"
Some extremists take a gun and shoot a couple having intimacy in their cars, in public, and say "i have executed the Hudud, God's Will" Hello, since when the Prophet mentioned a gun? similarly, honor killings are equally disgusting. Male family members will want to kill their female relatives upon knowing that she has fornicated and claim that this is God's Justice when in reality it is more like wanting to save the family from shame, ie selfish reasons under the guise of religion. by the way, just for information, finding the circumstances to allow for hudud is not easy at all, and there are a lot of mitigating factors. we are urged to look for reasons to throw the case out instead of zealously looking forward to punish, even simple reasons such as lack of thinking clarity can be a mitigating factor.
speaking about selfish reasons, my mind comes to this;
Sometimes people do good just because they want paradise and they avoid evil to avoid the torments of hell. where exactly is the sincerity in all these? It's just an empty, self-benefitting way of doing things that just revolves around the notion of human self-interest, "I wanna survive and live free" kinda attitude you know. I guess that is why Rabia once said " O my Lord, if i do something for your Paradise, then keep me out of it, if i do something for fear of hell, then throw me in it, but if i do something to get to You, then don't disappoint me."
Even so, we can't exactly say " Oh then, if i have done this for the Love of God, then i have done something great, a magnificent contribution on my part" Get my point? see how much we need to balance our feelings? it's a real topsy-turvy rollercoaster ride lah!
May Allah guide us all
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Biomimicry & Biomimetics
It has always been a seriously awakening thing to observe for ourselves how the most up-to-date scientific advancements have their roots of conceivement firmly embedded in the things around us, ie nature itself. Because of this, scientific journals have been published bearing titles connotative of that very idea; "Science is imitating Nature" and " Biomimicry:Genius that surrounds us" are just a few examples.
And it is not just books or journals that are speaking about this. Documentary channels such as National Geographics and Animal Planet too share this magnificent knowledge, in an of course, a more engaging form of media. My tafsir class Ustaz Ahmad Shamsuddin, the one i label "ustaz gelak", never fail to mention either one of these channels in every of his lessons. it was fun though.
My favourite program when it comes to this topic of Biomimetics or the excellence in the design of these splendid creations would undoubtedly be " The Most Extreme" where the narrator counts down the top 10 animals in the kingdom possessing the most extreme qualities with regards to the criterion chosen for that particular episode.
One of the episodes was about the top 10 inventions in nature:
so here goes, to the best my memory serves
10: Wasps and paper making, millions of years ahead of the Chinese
9: Dolphin's sonar, 4x more powerful than the best human version
8: Jet powered squid that employs Newton's 3rd Law
7: Infra-red equipped beetles that can sense fires
6: Air bags used by high speed water diving birds
5: Stealth flying owls, almost perfect silence
4: High-end swimsuit that sharks use to minimise friction with water
3: 100x more sensitivity in flies' hearing
2: Geckoes and their super hairy feet that acts as a powerful suction, using van der Waals forces
1: Frogs frozen alive, ability to prevent ice damage and execute antifreeze properties in their cells
subhanallah, those are just 10, plus we do not know ALL the creatures completely. Cognizance of such knowledge can only make us more humble, for we tend to consider ourselves smartest in the animal world yet their functional mechanisms can at anytime light up the candle to our face and say " we have smoked you in this regard!"
Oh well, atheists now have come to admit a rather shameful admission. All these while they have been conjecturing the most simplistic and underestimated perceptions about Allah's magnificent creation. They once said that bacteria are JUST SIMPLE SINGLE CELLED ORGANISM that generate spontaneously in decaying matter or dirty places until the microscope shows them otherwise, then they take back their words. Similarly, they thought that chance produced all these grandeur and they are now admitting that humans are stupider than chance, YES they have admitted such things, i've read it somewhere.
Their argument, well it's not exactly a shameful thing to say that chance is smarter than us and have produced wonders more brilliant than ours because chance had millions of years to strive for perfection whereas we humans comparatively only had thousands of years. Perhaps the Cambrian Explosion in the fossil record can highlight that the most advanced creatures appear all of a sudden and FULLY FORMED and functional which until today remain identical. Bees were bees millions of years ago just as they are bees today, the same can be applied for other animals.
If truly chance can produce intelligence, then surely a tornado blasting through an enormous pile of metallic garbage could produce a Boeing A380 with the materials therein. Scientists have calculated the probability of a cell being formed by chance to be lesser than 1 in 10 to the power of 100, that is 100...with 100 zeoes behind it. And in maths, anything smaller than 1 in 10 to the 50 is zero probability, aka absolute impossibility.
fatabaarakallahu ahsanul khaliqeen
Glory be to Him, the Best of Creators
And it is not just books or journals that are speaking about this. Documentary channels such as National Geographics and Animal Planet too share this magnificent knowledge, in an of course, a more engaging form of media. My tafsir class Ustaz Ahmad Shamsuddin, the one i label "ustaz gelak", never fail to mention either one of these channels in every of his lessons. it was fun though.
My favourite program when it comes to this topic of Biomimetics or the excellence in the design of these splendid creations would undoubtedly be " The Most Extreme" where the narrator counts down the top 10 animals in the kingdom possessing the most extreme qualities with regards to the criterion chosen for that particular episode.
One of the episodes was about the top 10 inventions in nature:
so here goes, to the best my memory serves
10: Wasps and paper making, millions of years ahead of the Chinese
9: Dolphin's sonar, 4x more powerful than the best human version
8: Jet powered squid that employs Newton's 3rd Law
7: Infra-red equipped beetles that can sense fires
6: Air bags used by high speed water diving birds
5: Stealth flying owls, almost perfect silence
4: High-end swimsuit that sharks use to minimise friction with water
3: 100x more sensitivity in flies' hearing
2: Geckoes and their super hairy feet that acts as a powerful suction, using van der Waals forces
1: Frogs frozen alive, ability to prevent ice damage and execute antifreeze properties in their cells
subhanallah, those are just 10, plus we do not know ALL the creatures completely. Cognizance of such knowledge can only make us more humble, for we tend to consider ourselves smartest in the animal world yet their functional mechanisms can at anytime light up the candle to our face and say " we have smoked you in this regard!"
Oh well, atheists now have come to admit a rather shameful admission. All these while they have been conjecturing the most simplistic and underestimated perceptions about Allah's magnificent creation. They once said that bacteria are JUST SIMPLE SINGLE CELLED ORGANISM that generate spontaneously in decaying matter or dirty places until the microscope shows them otherwise, then they take back their words. Similarly, they thought that chance produced all these grandeur and they are now admitting that humans are stupider than chance, YES they have admitted such things, i've read it somewhere.
Their argument, well it's not exactly a shameful thing to say that chance is smarter than us and have produced wonders more brilliant than ours because chance had millions of years to strive for perfection whereas we humans comparatively only had thousands of years. Perhaps the Cambrian Explosion in the fossil record can highlight that the most advanced creatures appear all of a sudden and FULLY FORMED and functional which until today remain identical. Bees were bees millions of years ago just as they are bees today, the same can be applied for other animals.
If truly chance can produce intelligence, then surely a tornado blasting through an enormous pile of metallic garbage could produce a Boeing A380 with the materials therein. Scientists have calculated the probability of a cell being formed by chance to be lesser than 1 in 10 to the power of 100, that is 100...with 100 zeoes behind it. And in maths, anything smaller than 1 in 10 to the 50 is zero probability, aka absolute impossibility.
fatabaarakallahu ahsanul khaliqeen
Glory be to Him, the Best of Creators
Saturday, March 29, 2008
i was soo fortunate!
just last week, i had some remaining free time before my new posting and so went out to chill with my jc friends. one of them actually brought me a rare, precious and indelible piece of jewel. a VCD version of a VHS so old and rare and invaluable - a clear video recording of Sidi Abdul Rasyid himself giving a syarahan at masjid kassim sempana maulid Nabi SAW in the year 1985, 4 years before i saw the first sunlight.
i was like, OMG, so far i've only heard stories, seen pictures of him and now get to see him lecturing! i felt sooo fortunate! i immediately watched it back at home and then shared it with a pakcik who is an ikhwan and a student of Sidi Abdul Rasyid.
his first expression when he saw the vid - he teared out, air mata berlinangan, "Inilah dia Tuan Guru kite Sidi Abdul Rasyid, tak de orang lain lah macam dia " Such was the love, bond, attraction, camaraderie the pakcik had for his mursyid, murabbi, his Guide. one is encouraged to learn from as many scholars as possible, but one is only encouraged to follow one Shaykh of Tarbiyyah, the one mursyid who will guide your spirituality - and Sidi Rasyid was the one, there can be no similar replacement.
he then started telling me more about Sidi rasyid's charisma, idiosyncracies and simply his style. i was amazed and engrossed listening. he also asked " wan dapat jumpe sidi? salam tangan sidi?" i said no.
"tak pe lah wan, ini bukan ape, ini semua bahagian masing-masing"
i pondered deeply upon those words, " at least i do kiss the hand of his nephew, Sidi Faiz"
Sidi rasyid was truly respected not just in the entire Malay Peninsula, but also in Mecca and Cairo. he became his teacher's favourite student and top the cohort for his batch. Diakui kealimannya dan kesholihannya oleh semua guru-guru beliau. walaupun berkelulusan tinggi dalam bidang agama dan juga bidang kerohanian, sidi rasyid apabila kembali ke tanah air tetap memakai baju melayu telok blangah dan kain pelekat sehinggakan tariqah yang beliau pimpin digelar tarekat orang melayu. juga telah mengambil ba'iah daripada Sidi Rasyid ialah Shaykh abdul wahid Pallavicini and Shaykh yahya sergio Pallavicini from italy. really, i was just mesmerised and speechless throughout the entire video. Maqam sidi rasyid terletak di negeri sembilan.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Ah, It's here again!
The month of rabiul awal, the month when we celebrate the birth of our dearly beloved Prophet saw. No words can adequately and justly describe his great character, for God Almighty himself has praisd him and that carries infinitely more weight than anything else. As for us, who have not the chance to see his visage,surely we are missing on something so beautiful and sweet.
but don't worry, he consoles us when he says in holy hadith: "when do i get to see my Beloved?"
Companions then asked " are we not your beloved?"
Prophet saw answered " You are my companions, my beloved are those who do not see me and yet believe in me and my message."
that beloved is us.
I've always envied the way our christian brothers express their intense love for Christ, they make the love so intimate and personal and are always so enthusiastic about loving Jesus. that's good. perhaps we could learn form them about loving ;)
Oh Allah, grant us the honour of seeing your Holy Prophet saw in this world, before the next, whilst we are still alive, be it in our sleep or in our consciousness, and grant us the opporunity to visit His Maqam many more times to come, that we may visit him and send our salutations upon him and be overwhelmed by his presence and also to make istighfar in his presence, for You, O Allah, have mentioned those who come to the holy Prophet to repent and You forgive them all. Amin
is there any wonder why we love the Man who on the Day of Reckoning, is the only one who can provide Syafa'ah? when all the other prophets say "no, i cannot support, go to so and so", Sayyidina Muhammad will be saying "I am the one"
Ya Sidi Muhammad, Ya Sidi Muhammad, anta laa haa Ya Sidi Muhammad!
And when we cross the bridge,the Sirat, he will be the one imploring his Lord for the safety of the Ummah, "Rabbi sallim, sallim"
Peace and Salutations upon the Most beloved Prophet, in every breath and in every blink of the eye, to the number that only God's knowledge can comprehend.
but don't worry, he consoles us when he says in holy hadith: "when do i get to see my Beloved?"
Companions then asked " are we not your beloved?"
Prophet saw answered " You are my companions, my beloved are those who do not see me and yet believe in me and my message."
that beloved is us.
I've always envied the way our christian brothers express their intense love for Christ, they make the love so intimate and personal and are always so enthusiastic about loving Jesus. that's good. perhaps we could learn form them about loving ;)
Oh Allah, grant us the honour of seeing your Holy Prophet saw in this world, before the next, whilst we are still alive, be it in our sleep or in our consciousness, and grant us the opporunity to visit His Maqam many more times to come, that we may visit him and send our salutations upon him and be overwhelmed by his presence and also to make istighfar in his presence, for You, O Allah, have mentioned those who come to the holy Prophet to repent and You forgive them all. Amin
is there any wonder why we love the Man who on the Day of Reckoning, is the only one who can provide Syafa'ah? when all the other prophets say "no, i cannot support, go to so and so", Sayyidina Muhammad will be saying "I am the one"
Ya Sidi Muhammad, Ya Sidi Muhammad, anta laa haa Ya Sidi Muhammad!
And when we cross the bridge,the Sirat, he will be the one imploring his Lord for the safety of the Ummah, "Rabbi sallim, sallim"
Peace and Salutations upon the Most beloved Prophet, in every breath and in every blink of the eye, to the number that only God's knowledge can comprehend.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
I've Seen
I wish you were here
Here next to me
Been missing you so
So desperately
But lately I feel
Like you feel and
I see what you see
How I'm missing you
What happened to the ummah once known so well
Greatness was known, but now can u tell
Kids in Africa are starving - can't afford to cry
I'll pay interest for a car I can't afford to buy
What happened to the ummah once known so well
Greatness was known, but now can u tell?
We used to smile at each other, with faces full of light
Now we frown at each other, we bicker and we fight
Pops in the mosque praying, kids in the streets hating
Kids on the corner selling, pops in the mosque preachin'
What happened to the ummah once known so well
Greatness was known but now can u tell?
The Quran has left out hearts stranded, hanging on out walls
6232verses, so strong
9 out of 10 of us can't even read or write
1924 feels distant like way before Christ
Here next to me
Been missing you so
So desperately
But lately I feel
Like you feel and
I see what you see
How I'm missing you
What happened to the ummah once known so well
Greatness was known, but now can u tell
Kids in Africa are starving - can't afford to cry
I'll pay interest for a car I can't afford to buy
What happened to the ummah once known so well
Greatness was known, but now can u tell?
We used to smile at each other, with faces full of light
Now we frown at each other, we bicker and we fight
Pops in the mosque praying, kids in the streets hating
Kids on the corner selling, pops in the mosque preachin'
What happened to the ummah once known so well
Greatness was known but now can u tell?
The Quran has left out hearts stranded, hanging on out walls
6232verses, so strong
9 out of 10 of us can't even read or write
1924 feels distant like way before Christ
Saturday, March 8, 2008
When You hear hoofbeats, think of a zebra (not a horse!)
This book, by Shems Friedlander, is an excellent expose on Sufism. It uses a lot of short stories to illustrate and elucidate the many teachings of tasawwuf. One thing why it is important to understand tasawwuf lessons through stories is that they elude the barrier set up by our own ego. Our own ego most of the time will not accept direct, personal criticisms arrowed at ourselves, but it can readily and perhaps you can say wisely, take heed from other people’s mistakes. This fact is also made known to us by Jesus, peace be upon him, who preaches a lot of parables, in fact the Quran too is never short of parables and stories. The lessons conveyed here are very practical and not to mention impactful. A lesson on Sufism as learned from Turkish Shaykh Muzaffer. An excellent short read to kill time during bus or MRT rides ;)
$28 at Wardah Books
Sunday, March 2, 2008
My personal reflection about the concept of reflection, mirrors and symmetry in Islam and nature.
It has always been very intriguing to appreciate for yourself how much islam employs the concept of reflections and mirrors in its literature, and equally perplexing would be the same kind of phenomenon observed in nature itself! Subhanallah!
1) Allah says that He created Adam a.s in His Image, and that He taught him His Names. Teaching here is not just superficial teaching like those we had while still a toddler, teaching here entails cloaking Adam with His names. Man is the khalifah of Allah, His representative in this world.
And of course, we are enjoined to pick up the attributes of Allah, that is to say, be forgiving as God is forgiving, be merciful as God is merciful.
Off track for a while, taking on the attributes of Allah does not mean trying to wrestle those attributes from the truly rightful Owner, it means striving to be good since God is good. So, an inevitable question arises, what about attributes that are solely His? Such as al Mutakabbir, the One who Boasts? Are we allowed to be takabbur then? Answer is no.
In such cases, we ought to celebrate the name by taking the opposite, ie humble yourself so that Allah al Mutakabbir is well appreciated by yourself.
This reality of taking on the Names of Allah is best exemplified by none other than the Beloved Prophet himself, upon whom be peace. The Prophet has reached the highest maqam, or station, by truly being the servant of Allah, A’bdAllah, in all Its meanings, for the Glorified Name of Allah represents all the Attributes of God, and Allah not only has 99 names, He revealed 999 in the Torah plus some 2000 in the Gospel.
Those Arifbillah, people who know God, say that God’s Names are infinite, every instant somewhere out there his creations, the angels etc, are praising Him with a different Name. Think about it this way, if the number of electrons in this Universe can be so astronomical as to be incomprehensible to us, why not the Celebrated Names of God Himself?
In being Abdallah, the Prophet has successfully manifested the attributes of Allah, the best among all of creation to do so. Peace and blessings be upon our beloved, perpetually and infinitely!
The Prophet has reached such a high station that he ceases to see his own existence. In Isra’ and Miraj, while in the Presence Of Allah in Siddratul Muntaha, Allah asked the Prophet, “Who are you?” And the Prophet replied “You, my Lord”.
At first glance, the answer of “You, my Lord” to the question of “who are you” seems contradictory. To answer “You” means to negate your own existence, but to say ‘MY’ Lord means to subtly or subconsciously acknowledge your own existence, hence the ‘MY’. This is Fana’ Fillah.
2) and He created everything is pairs.
Everything in the world is paired, from nouns to adjectives. You only have two extremes when talking about a spectrum of qualities. Of course you can fall anywhere in between, but quintessentially, there are only 2 extremes. Everything in nature is paired, and made a matching opposite, males and females, protons and electrons, and lastly, the biggest umbrella, matter and anti-matter. So as long as you are talking about matter, there is always anti-matter as opposite. He made things in Pairs such that one half cannot be properly defined without the other. Hence, the dependence on the opposite. Here Allah made Himself stand out by being the Odd One Out, the One and Unique, the truly Independent. Refer to al-ikhlas
3) and the heart as a mirror that reflects Divine Light.
A well polished heart, and the best of heart polish is zikrullah, is like a well polished mirror, able to reflect any light that shines upon it. That is why when the Companions were with the Prophet, they felt close to God. That is also why one of the criteria of a saint is that when you see him, you are reminded of God, this was what the Prophet taught us about saints. Why? Because they reflect God’s Light and manifest His Names.
4) and the believer is a mirror to the other believers
Don’t slander a believer of kufr! Most likely that calumny will go back to you! Here lies a lesson for us, we need to learn from each other as much as possible, we can’t see our own faces without mirrors. That is why the Quran is never short of stories and parables from previous civilizations.
5) the concept of symmetry and reflection, as can be seen in nature
In nature, we can observe spirals in flowers, and they are either clockwise or anti-clockwise, again, reflection. Our palms are also similarly reflected, they are mirror images but not identical perfectly, you can’t superimpose one palm on the other if you are to observe the rule such that the 2 palms must face the same direction.
One practical, daily observation of this reality is about shoes, your left shoe and right shoe and mirror images of each other, but I bet you wouldn’t be satisfied if the cashier gives you 2 left shoes or 2 right shoes, because one leg will not fit. This same practical concept of optical isomerism dealing with enantiomers is also applied in chemistry. Molecules of the same formula do not necessarily take up the same 3D conformation in space, hence they can have markedly different properties. For example, our body mostly uses only left-handed proteins and not the opposite right-handed proteins. That reminds me of school work, dextro-rotary, laevo-rotary, R and S. For everything declares the Glory of God.
It is no wonder then, why we observe a multitude of Islamic art so engrossed and well into the concept of reflection and symmetry. The next time you come across intricate and mesmerizing Islamic art, which until today remains a wonder among professional mathematicians for its wondrous employment of high-level mathematical concepts, take some time to see for yourself how many planes of symmetry it has, how many rotational symmetry, axes of symmetry, points of symmetry, planes of reflections etc. Superb geometry I must say.
Then, ever wondered where the great Muslim artists found their inspiration? From the Islamic concept of mirrors, images and reflections of course! Subhanallah! Breathtaking!
To be honest, this topic can extend further, especially about the tasawwuf perspective of mirrors and images, about the angels etc, but I’m exhausted of what to write due to my limited knowledge in this field. Find out more from better authorities. Surely you will see more reflections and images, everywhere. I just love chemistry...
1) Allah says that He created Adam a.s in His Image, and that He taught him His Names. Teaching here is not just superficial teaching like those we had while still a toddler, teaching here entails cloaking Adam with His names. Man is the khalifah of Allah, His representative in this world.
And of course, we are enjoined to pick up the attributes of Allah, that is to say, be forgiving as God is forgiving, be merciful as God is merciful.
Off track for a while, taking on the attributes of Allah does not mean trying to wrestle those attributes from the truly rightful Owner, it means striving to be good since God is good. So, an inevitable question arises, what about attributes that are solely His? Such as al Mutakabbir, the One who Boasts? Are we allowed to be takabbur then? Answer is no.
In such cases, we ought to celebrate the name by taking the opposite, ie humble yourself so that Allah al Mutakabbir is well appreciated by yourself.
This reality of taking on the Names of Allah is best exemplified by none other than the Beloved Prophet himself, upon whom be peace. The Prophet has reached the highest maqam, or station, by truly being the servant of Allah, A’bdAllah, in all Its meanings, for the Glorified Name of Allah represents all the Attributes of God, and Allah not only has 99 names, He revealed 999 in the Torah plus some 2000 in the Gospel.
Those Arifbillah, people who know God, say that God’s Names are infinite, every instant somewhere out there his creations, the angels etc, are praising Him with a different Name. Think about it this way, if the number of electrons in this Universe can be so astronomical as to be incomprehensible to us, why not the Celebrated Names of God Himself?
In being Abdallah, the Prophet has successfully manifested the attributes of Allah, the best among all of creation to do so. Peace and blessings be upon our beloved, perpetually and infinitely!
The Prophet has reached such a high station that he ceases to see his own existence. In Isra’ and Miraj, while in the Presence Of Allah in Siddratul Muntaha, Allah asked the Prophet, “Who are you?” And the Prophet replied “You, my Lord”.
At first glance, the answer of “You, my Lord” to the question of “who are you” seems contradictory. To answer “You” means to negate your own existence, but to say ‘MY’ Lord means to subtly or subconsciously acknowledge your own existence, hence the ‘MY’. This is Fana’ Fillah.
2) and He created everything is pairs.
Everything in the world is paired, from nouns to adjectives. You only have two extremes when talking about a spectrum of qualities. Of course you can fall anywhere in between, but quintessentially, there are only 2 extremes. Everything in nature is paired, and made a matching opposite, males and females, protons and electrons, and lastly, the biggest umbrella, matter and anti-matter. So as long as you are talking about matter, there is always anti-matter as opposite. He made things in Pairs such that one half cannot be properly defined without the other. Hence, the dependence on the opposite. Here Allah made Himself stand out by being the Odd One Out, the One and Unique, the truly Independent. Refer to al-ikhlas
3) and the heart as a mirror that reflects Divine Light.
A well polished heart, and the best of heart polish is zikrullah, is like a well polished mirror, able to reflect any light that shines upon it. That is why when the Companions were with the Prophet, they felt close to God. That is also why one of the criteria of a saint is that when you see him, you are reminded of God, this was what the Prophet taught us about saints. Why? Because they reflect God’s Light and manifest His Names.
4) and the believer is a mirror to the other believers
Don’t slander a believer of kufr! Most likely that calumny will go back to you! Here lies a lesson for us, we need to learn from each other as much as possible, we can’t see our own faces without mirrors. That is why the Quran is never short of stories and parables from previous civilizations.
5) the concept of symmetry and reflection, as can be seen in nature
In nature, we can observe spirals in flowers, and they are either clockwise or anti-clockwise, again, reflection. Our palms are also similarly reflected, they are mirror images but not identical perfectly, you can’t superimpose one palm on the other if you are to observe the rule such that the 2 palms must face the same direction.
One practical, daily observation of this reality is about shoes, your left shoe and right shoe and mirror images of each other, but I bet you wouldn’t be satisfied if the cashier gives you 2 left shoes or 2 right shoes, because one leg will not fit. This same practical concept of optical isomerism dealing with enantiomers is also applied in chemistry. Molecules of the same formula do not necessarily take up the same 3D conformation in space, hence they can have markedly different properties. For example, our body mostly uses only left-handed proteins and not the opposite right-handed proteins. That reminds me of school work, dextro-rotary, laevo-rotary, R and S. For everything declares the Glory of God.
It is no wonder then, why we observe a multitude of Islamic art so engrossed and well into the concept of reflection and symmetry. The next time you come across intricate and mesmerizing Islamic art, which until today remains a wonder among professional mathematicians for its wondrous employment of high-level mathematical concepts, take some time to see for yourself how many planes of symmetry it has, how many rotational symmetry, axes of symmetry, points of symmetry, planes of reflections etc. Superb geometry I must say.
Then, ever wondered where the great Muslim artists found their inspiration? From the Islamic concept of mirrors, images and reflections of course! Subhanallah! Breathtaking!
To be honest, this topic can extend further, especially about the tasawwuf perspective of mirrors and images, about the angels etc, but I’m exhausted of what to write due to my limited knowledge in this field. Find out more from better authorities. Surely you will see more reflections and images, everywhere. I just love chemistry...
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