Self-Realization: Our Ticket To Paradise

It is mentioned in Ibn Atha’illah As Sakandary’s famous work, the book of Al-Hikam: Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated: While we were in the company of Rasulullah, he (SAW) suddenly said, “There would be a member of Paradise who would be the one performing the solat with you at dawn”. Abu Hurairah hoped therefore that he would be the one whom the Prophet (SAW) referred to as the member of Paradise. When the dawn came, he prayed behind the Prophet (SAW) and still remained in his company even after the congregation.

Suddenly, a black slave with tattered clothing appeared and offered the customary handshake to the Prophet (SAW). And the Prophet (SAW) recited a prayer for him while all those in the presence of the black slave noticed that there was fragrance emitted from his body. The Prophet (SAW) acknowledged that he was a slave from a particular tribe. Abu Hurairah then asked, “Why did you not free him from slavery then, O Messenger of Allah?”

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Meditations On The Fragility Of Life

The other day, a lecturer in the Kuliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design at IIUM was killed in a freak accident. Eventually, the campus community became aware of the unfortunate mishap, although it took some time. A friend who was on campus at the time had heard nothing about it, until he had left campus later in the evening. This news evidently did not travel very quickly.

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How Long Before We Break?

No community of well-meaning people can long endure with any small segment of themselves perpetrating mindless violence, no matter what the pretext. No healthy community should even tolerate such behavior. Continual eruptions of violence gradually erode the spiritual equivalent of the myelin sheath that protects our most sensitive nerve pathways until every small motion or gesture becomes excruciatingly painful, and “pain management” becomes impossible for a long time.

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Ramadhan Sunset

The Qur’an speaks of ultimate reality in highly charged terms: “And what will express to you what the ultimate reality is?” (Surah Al-Waqiah, “The Crashing Blow”). We must realize from this that human beings really only have two choices with every step they make. The choice is either toward Heaven, or else toward Hell.

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Polishing The Mirror of The Heart

So know that the heart is a polished mirror – all of it is a face – that does not (itself) ever “rust”. So if someone should say about it that it rusts – as in the (Prophet’s) saying: “Certainly hearts tarnish like iron,” in the hadith that concludes “the polishing of the heart is through remembrance of God and recitation of the Qur’an…” – that is because the heart has become preoccupied with knowing the secondary causes (al-asbab), the apparent workings of this world, instead of with knowing God. So its attachement to what is other than God has “rusted over” the face of the heart, in that it blocks the self-manifestation (tajalli) of the Truly Real in that heart.

For the Divine presence is perpetually manifesting Itself, and one could never imagine Its ever veiling Itself from us. So when this heart fails to receive that (divine Self-manifestation) from the direction of the praiseworthy and relevatory divine addressing (speaking to us), because it has received something else instead, then its act of receiving that something other (than God) is what is referred to (in the scriptures) as “tarnishing”, “veils”, “locking”, “blindness”, “rust” and the like. For in fact the Truly Real Himself is (perpetually) bestowing this knowing on you in the heart, except that (your heart) is (preoccupied with) knowing something other than God – although the Knowers of-and-through-God know that in reality (that distracted heart) too is actually knowing of and through God.

Excerpt from Ibn ‘Arabi’s “The Reflective Heart” chapter 2 (II, 82-83)

Violation of the Geneva Convention

JAN 6 – The increasing ferociousness and brutality of the Zionist regime has been laid bare during its ongoing attacks on Gaza.

The shameless air strikes, willful destruction of homes and property, and deliberate killings of innocent non-combatants, particularly women and children are indeed aimed at terrorizing the global population and give no prospect of an end to the violence in Palestine.

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There is relief and wisdom in hardship

Recently, I had to undergo epidural lysis procedure as a treatment for my back pain due to prolapsed discs.

The procedure was to help decrease chronic low back pain due to adhesions and scar tissue formation. The physician inserts a catheter into the epidural space in order to access the area of adhesions. This is usually done through the caudal canal, which is located at the base of the spine, via the sacral hiatus (quoting the surgeon’s exact words). The sacral hiatus is a natural opening in the spine near the tailbone. Aided by real-time X-ray imaging, the catheter can be seen on the monitor and directed precisely to the affected nerve root. Once the tip of the catheter is in place, medication can be injected to relieve pain at the source and dissipate the scar tissue.

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ABIM condemns the use of Internal Security Act

The Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM) strongly affirms that Malaysia is a country of laws not of men. We are a country which respects the rule of law and its equal application to all citizens under our Constitution and our guiding Islamic principles.Continue reading “ABIM condemns the use of Internal Security Act”