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Thirty Years, Six Lessons

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ   وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍۢ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا ۚ كُلٌّۭ فِى كِتَـٰبٍۢ مُّبِينٍۢ Wa mā min dābbatin fil-arḍi illā ʿalallāhi rizquhā wa yaʿlamu mustaqarrahā wa mustawdaʿahā; kullun fī kitābin mubīn. Hūd 11:6   —There is no moving creature on earth whose provision is not guaranteed by Allah. And He knows where it lives and where it is laid to rest. All is written in a clear Record. There is an old report about Ḥātim al-Aṣamm and his teacher Shaqīq al-Balkhī. Before entering the story in detail, it is useful to place two transmitted forms of the report side by side. In the six-lesson version, Shaqīq asked Ḥātim, “Since you have accompanied me, what have you learned?” Ḥātim replied, “Six things. I saw people uncertain about their provision, so I trusted in Allah, because He has said that the provision of every creature on earth is upon Him. I saw that every person has a frie...

Does the honey make you forget the well, and everything else?

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ   كُلُّ نَفْسٍۢ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلْمَوْتِ ۗ  وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوْنَ أُجُورَكُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ ۖ  فَمَن زُحْزِحَ عَنِ ٱلنَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ ۗ  وَمَا ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَآ إِلَّا مَتَـٰعُ ٱلْغُرُورِ Kullu nafsin zaaa’iqatul mawt; wa innamaa tuwaffawna ujoorakum Yawmal Qiyaamah; faman zuhziha ‘anin Naari wa udkhilal Jannata faqad faaz; wa mal hayaatud dunyaaa illaa mataa’ul ghuroor. Al-Imran 3:185 — Every soul will taste death. And you will only receive your full reward on the Day of Judgment. Whoever is spared from the Fire and admitted into Paradise has indeed triumphed, whereas the life of this world is no more than the delusion of enjoyment. ( Quran.com ) There is an old story, known in many traditions, of a man who was walking through the wilderness. Perhaps he was travelling. Perhaps he was searching for something. Perhaps, like most of us, he was simply passing through life without fully knowing how...

The Smell of Food and the Sound of Money

    بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ وَلَا تَأۡكُلُوٓاْ أَمۡوَٰلَكُم بَيۡنَكُم بِٱلۡبَٰطِلِ وَتُدۡلُواْ بِهَآ إِلَى ٱلۡحُكَّامِ لِتَأۡكُلُواْ فَرِيقٗا مِّنۡ أَمۡوَٰلِ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلۡإِثۡمِ وَأَنتُمۡ تَعۡلَمُونَ Wa laa ta’kulooo amwaalakum bainakum bil-baatili wa tudloo bihaa ilal hukkaami lita’kuloo fareeqam min amwaalin naasi bil-ithmi wa antum ta’lamoon. Al-Baqarah 2:188 — Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly, nor bring it before the authorities in order to consume a portion of people’s wealth sinfully while you know. In the old books of adab there is a small story preserved by Ibn ʿĀṣim , but like many small stories it contains a large mirror. A man stood one day near a cook. The pot was boiling, and the smell of the food filled the air. Perhaps it was meat. Perhaps it was stew. Perhaps it was one of those simple dishes whose fragrance reaches the hungry before the food itself ever does. The man had only bread with him. Dry bread is not easy to eat when the sto...

Act. Implement.

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  بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ثُمَّ جَعَلۡنَٰكُمۡ خَلَـٰٓئِفَ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مِنۢ بَعۡدِهِمۡ لِنَنظُرَ كَيۡفَ تَعۡمَلُونَ Thumma ja’alnaakum khalaaa’ifa fil ardi min ba’dihim li nanzura kaifa ta’maloon Yunus (Jonah)  10:14 - And thereupon We made you their successors on earth, so that We might behold how you act.   Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi was among the notable scholars and political activists of South Asia. Among his many roles, he served as the Home Minister of the first Provisional Government of India established in Afghanistan in 1915. But that effort did not continue for long, and under indirect British pressure he was compelled to leave for Russia. It is sometimes mentioned that he met the ailing Lenin, though the evidence for such a meeting remains uncertain. What is clear, however, is that his writings show a serious engagement with the socialist movement and its concern for justice.   Before the Russian government, Maulana Ubaidullah mad...

Hold fast to the rope of Allah and never lose hope

  بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ     ضُرِبَتۡ عَلَيۡهِمُ ٱلذِّلَّةُ أَيۡنَ مَا ثُقِفُوٓاْ إِلَّا بِحَبۡلٖ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَحَبۡلٖ مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ... Duribat ‘alaihimuz zillatu aina maa suqifooo illaa bihablim minal laahi wa hablim minan naasi  Part of Al-Imran(Family of Imran) 3:112:Overshadowed by ignominy are they wherever they may be, save [when they bind themselves again] in a bond with God and a bond with men !      قُلْ يٰعِبَادِيَ الَّذِيْنَ اَسْرَفُوْا عَلٰٓى اَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوْا مِنْ رَّحْمَةِ اللّٰهِۗ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوْبَ جَمِيْعًاۗ اِنَّهٗ هُوَ الْغَفُوْرُ الرَّحِيْمُ Qul yaa’ibaadiyal lazeena asrafoo ‘alaaa anfusihim laa taqnatoo mirrahmatil laah; innal laaha yaghfiruz zunooba jamee’aa; innahoo Huwal Ghafoorur Raheem Az- Zumar  (The Troops) 39:53 Say, "O My slaves! Those who have transgressed against themselves, (do) not despair of (the) Mercy (of) Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives the sins all. Indeed...