God is the Light…

I know most of you must have heard this nasheed and might know the lyrics. (In case somebody doesn’t here’s a link for it u can find many different nasheeds here).

Anyway, I was just listening to the nasheed and thought of puttin up the lyrics since I love the poetry. So here’s to uncle Yusuf Islam!

God is the Light
How great the wonder of the heavens
And the timeless beauty of the night
How Great, then how Great, the Creator?

And its stars like priceless jewels
Far beyond the reach of kings
Bow down for the shepherd guiding him home

Yet how many hearts are closed?
To the wonder of this night
Like pearls hidden deep
Beneath a dark stream of desires

But like dreams vanish with the call to prayer
And the dawn extinguishes night
Here too, are signs
God is the Light!
God is the Light!

How great the beauty of the Earth
And the creatures who dwell on her
How Great, then how Great, the Creator?

As its mountains pierce the clouds
High above the lives of men
Weeping rivers for thousands of years

Yet how many eyes are closed?
To the wonder of this sight
Like birds in a cage
Asleep with closed wings

But like words stop with the call to prayer
And the birds recite
Here too, are signs
God is the Light!
God is the Light!

How great the works of man
And the things he makes
How Great, then how Great, the Creator?

And though he strives to reach the heavens
He can barely survive
The wars of the world he lives in

Yet how many times he’s tried?
Himself to immortalize
Like his parents before him
In the Garden of Eden

But like the sun sets with the call to prayer
And surrenders to the night
Here too, are signs
God is the Light Everlasting!
God is the Light Everlasting!
God is the Light Everlasting!
God is the Light Everlasting!

Do you ever get constipated?

I hope the animation works coz I’ve never tried uploading stuff. Lol. I got this thing from a cousin’s cell phone and exported it to my PC…heeh…ENJOY!

P.S. it’s gross, I know. I just felt like uploading something on my blog since I’ve never done that and since most of the pics I have are of people I can’t paste worldwide, I picked this one! Hehe

An import obviously…

WAYS TO INCREASE OUR IMAAN:

 Recite and ponder on the meanings of the Quran. Tranquility then descends and our hearts become soft. To get optimum benefit, remind yourself that Allah is speaking to you. People are described in different categories in the Quran; think of which one you find yourself in.

 1.     Realize the greatness of Allah. Everything is under His control. There are signs in everything we see that points us to His greatness. Everything happens according to His permission. Allah keeps track and looks after everything, even a black ant on a black rock on a black moonless night.

2.     Make an effort to gain knowledge, for at least the basic things in daily life e.g. how to make wudu properly. Know the meanings behind Allah’s names and attributes. People who have taqwa are those who have knowledge.

3.     Attend gatherings where Allah is remembered. In such gatherings we are surrounded by angels.

4.     We have to increase our good deeds. One good deed leads to another good deed. Allah will make the way easy for someone who gives charity and also make it easy for him or her to do good deeds. Good deeds must be done continuously, not in spurts.

5.     We must fear the miserable end to our lives; the remembrance of death is the destroyer of pleasures.

6.     Remember the different levels of akhirah, for instance when we are put in our graves, when we are judged, whether we will be in paradise or hell.

7.     Make dua, realize that we need Allah. Be humble. Don’t covet material things in this life.

8.     Our love for Subhana Wa Ta’Ala must be shown in actions. We must hope Allah will accept our prayers, and be in constant fear that we do wrong. At night before going to sleep, we must think about what good we did during that day.

9.     Realize the effects of sins and disobedience- one’s imaan is increased with good deeds and our imaan is decreased by bad deeds. Everything that happens is because Allah wanted it. When calamity befalls us- it is also from Allah. It is a direct result of our disobedience to Allah.

Uncle Rum again…

Sometimes in order to help He makes us cry.
Happy the eye that sheds tears for His sake.
Fortunate the heart that burns for His sake.
Laughter always follows tears.
Blessed are those who understand.
Life blossoms wherever water flows.
Where tears are shed divine mercy is shown.

-Rumi, “Mathnawi”

When people address God in words – in the form of intimate conversation, petition and pleading, gratitude, remorse and repentance, and so on – they are in a position of separateness from God. When they address God directly through the heart, and when they listen to him in the heart, they are in a position of union with God.

-Qushayri, “Risalah”

RUMI??

HOT!!

GORGEOUS GORGEOUS GORGEOUS POETRY!! so lovely it made me actually come back to my poor neglected blog n post it up so that my million readers can benefit n appreciate him! Wah!!

That which God said to the rose,

and caused it to laugh in full-blown beauty,

He said to my heart,

and made it a hundred times more beautiful.  

-Mathnawi [III, 4129]

From “Jewels of Remembrance,” by Rumi

Inspiration…

Gabriel Garcia Marquez: 

(On process): “When I sit down to write, which is the essential moment in my life, I am completely alone.  . . .Whenever I write a book, I accumulate a lot of documentation.  That background material is the most intimate part of my private life.  It’s a little embarrassing–like being seen in your underwear. . . .  It’s like the way magicians never tell others how they make a dove come out of a hat. . . .  There isn’t anything more wonderful than writing when you truly have a book in your grip.  That is what I call inspiration.  There is a definite state of mind that exists when one is writing that is called inspiration.  But that state of mind is not a divine whisper, as the romantics thought.  What it is is the perfect correspondence between you and the subject you’re working on.  When that happens, everything starts to flow by itself.  That is the greatest joy one can have, the best moment.”

Intentions…

Question:
I forget to form the intention when doing most deeds. What should I do?.

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.

Intention (niyyah) is an important matter, as it is the spirit of deeds through which deeds become valid, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Actions are but by intentions and each person will have but that which he intended.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1) and Muslim (1907).

The intention turns permissible deeds into acts or worship, hence we should pay attention to it and make it for the sake of Allaah, free from any element of showing off.

It should be noted that intentions are of two types:

1 – Obligatory intention, without which an act of worship is not valid, such as the intention in doing wudoo’, praying, paying zakaah, fasting and doing Hajj. This intention is something that no one can do without. If a person does wudoo’ to pray, touch the Mus-haf or in order to be pure (taahir), he has formed the intention. Intending to pray or intending to remove impurity is forming the intention when doing wudoo’.

When a man stands to pray, knowing that this is Zuhr prayer, for example, and he intends to offer the prayer and gets up to do it it, then he has formed the intention. It is not essential – and in fact it is not prescribed – to say out loud, “I intend to pray Zuhr prayer” etc, as some people do. This was not narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and the place for the intention is in the heart.

Similarly, if a person decides at night that he will fast on the following day, then he has formed the intention of fasting. In fact, his eating sahoor shows that he is intending to fast.

It is difficult for a person to forget to form the intention in such cases.

2 – The second type of intention is that which is mustahabb in order to attain reward. This is what some people forget, which is to keep the intention in mind when doing permissible things, so that they will be acts of worship, such as eating, drinking and sleeping with the intention of strengthening oneself to do acts of worship, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “You will never spend anything that you spend for the sake of Allaah, but you will be rewarded for it, even the morsel of food that you put in your wife’s mouth.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (56).

Mu’aadh (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I sleep and I get up (to pray at night), and I seek reward for my sleep as I seek reward for my getting up. Narrated by al-Bukhaari (4088).

He (may Allaah be pleased with him) sought reward for his sleep just as he sought reward for his getting up to pray at night, because he intended by sleeping to gain strength to do acts of worship.

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said in al-Fath: What this means is that he sought reward by resting just as he sought reward by striving, because if the intention in resting is to enable one to do acts of worship, one attains reward. End quote.

What helps to keep this intention in mind is deliberating, thinking and not being hasty. So you should think about what you are intending to do, take stock of yourself before acting, think about whether it is halaal or haraam, then look at your intention: what do you want from this? Every time you take stock of yourself and think before acting, this will remind you about forming the intention, until it becomes second nature and a habit that you adopt, so that you will not enter or exit, eat or drink, give or withhold, without having an intention in doing so, thus most of your time will become times of worship.

We ask Allaah to help us and you to do that.

And Allaah knows best.

 

psssssssssssssss! heheh!

ISNT THIS ONE AWESOMEEEEE PICTURE?

I JUST GAVE IT “THE BEST PICTURE I’VE SEEN FOR A WHILE” AWARD!

AALA!

P.S. “I love my blog post titling ability.”

Sorrow…

I’ve just decided I’m as smart, or maybe a trifle smarter than Rumi. I mean, read this philosophy of his. Doesn’t it seem like I wrote it? LOL…At least it sounds like my philosophy in life! I know Z will disagree, but that’s what I think. Hehe 

The most secure place to hide a treasure of gold
is in some desolate, unnoticed place.
Why would anyone hide treasure
in plain sight?
And so it is said,
“Joy is hidden beneath sorrow.”-Rumi, “Mathnawi” [III, 1133-1134]