Graduated.

The long pause was deliberate. Writing is addictive and sometimes we end up enlisting confessions that should have vanished .. perhaps, the key is to hold your horses; so, hold your pens, let the passage of time be at your service. Alhamdolillah, I graduated (masters degree) a couple of weeks ago. By Allah, every part of every endeavor I made by far was easy, very easy .. & by all means, I take it as a beginning. A beginning of a revitalized struggle to follow a true calling, an energetic devotion to a life of absolute servitude, and a passion to contribute with my abilities. I am not underestimating my experiences and successes, but I am not expecting things to soothe from now onwards. To be honest, there seems to be no stopping to this, and I like it as it is .. “easy” is boring :->

Inshallah, remember me in your prayers.
Asalamalaikum.

My Dawah Chronicles

Once upon a time, I learned a hadeeth. It’s all authentic, it’s as simple as it could be .. but I decided to witness a rampage – I decided to convey it!

Me: Bros, today I learned a hadeeth, alhamdolillah, praise be to Allah. Documented by yyy, narrated by xxx, Prophet Muhammad PBUH once said so and so about hoor al-ayn .. [interrupted]
F1: what? did you just utter the word “hoor” .. [LOL], what’s up with you? man, you should get married .. you should stop thinking too much about [quote]such things[unquote] [LOL by everyone else]
Me: Hey, let me complete.. please?! [still calm]
F2: Ok shout it out..
Me: So Prophet Muhammad PBUH said .. .. will be given to a person who’ll do certain good deeds.
F1: That reminds me of a joke.. once upon a time..
F2: [successfully ignored me]
F3: Ok, so what’s your point? huh!

…

The other day, I learned a hadeeth. It’s all authentic, it’s as simple as it could be .. but I decided to go on a war – I decided to convey it!

Me: Brothers, I learned a hadeeth today, It scared the hell out of me. Documented by xxx, narrated by yyy, Prophet Muhammad PBUH once told his companions a man who involve in .. pride/hypocrisy/backbiting .. will not even smell Jannah .. will be thrown in hell fire .. will regret unlike anything .. will face grievous torment in grave ..
F1: Hmm, wait a minute, are you sure you heard it right? I don’t think so.
Me: Yes, I can get you the source..
F1: I still doubt it.
Me: Doubt what?
F1: Nothing leave it..
F2: You never know who’s a hypocrite, and who’s not. You should not blame someone, that’s the problem of our society, we only advise, while we never act on our own advices. Islam is a religion of peace. One should pray, fast, and give out poor due, and enjoy life.. why do you always sound threatening? don’t you have something else to do. This reminds me of a story.. once upon a time, we had a friend [quote]JUST LIKE YOU[unquote] ..
Me: [absolutely lost]
F1 : So true, you’ve a strong point [about F2's advise]
F3: What’s your point? huh!

…

SubhanAllah, where is the respect for the words of Prophet Muhammad PBUH? Where is the seriousness? I just wonder if we’ll have the guts to show such disregard in the company of companions like Umar RA, he’ll surely straighten it out in a matter of moments.. if only we know. May Allah SWT guide us and may He make the Day of Judgement the best day of our lives.

Got Hired!

Yes, alhamdolillah! And guess what, the offer is far, far better than I the one I rejected earlier – alhamdolillah, I had no confirmation from anywhere when I took that step, “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the ‘Âlamîn.”

So, here’s the deal:

• Company Open Source Software Development.
  
• People My team lead is a Muslim, and religious obligations are highly respected.
  
• It’s a startup Immense learning!
• Location 15 minutes drive from my place, 10 minutes from the mosque, and 11 minutes from my sister’s place (I get food from her!)
• Pay Can’t be any better, alhamdolillah..
• Perks A Macbook Pro to start with! ;-]
  
• Start date Tomorrow, i.e. the second day of Eid.. a direct gift from Allah SWT :->

I seek refuge in Allah SWT from the whispers of Shayateen, the wandering thoughts, the pride in all of its forms, anxiety, and incompetence. Wa’salam.

p.s. SCW -> SW , SW -> S -> SW , SW -> S

My Ramadan

Asalamalaikum,

There’s a trend – Muslim bloggers just vanish from the blogosphere when it’s Ramadan, we know why, Alhamdolillah! But we’re almost done; I’ll break the silence, and I don’t want the memories to fade away.

First thing first – this was the best Ramadan of my life, I mean it, seriously. I don’t want to fake up anything.. a weaker faith, the distortions of a messed up mindset, serious lack of guidance, and the hopelessness are a few things that kept me away from staying up in the nights of previous Ramadans.

I am sure that my conclusions won’t be novel enough, but still, I am literally fearing as the last few hours of Ramadan are passing by. I discovered that the actual marathon hasn’t started yet, and that it’ll only end by the start of next Ramadan.. some of us might not see it. The distractions would be numerous and the shayateen would be all out to corrupt our pure thoughts. I seek help from Allah SWT, I am begging for it, I cried for it.

Following few things, I believe, are essentially what I practiced frequently. I pray to Allah SWT to bless us all with the motivation and consciousness to continue the Ramadan lifestyles, Inshallah.

1- TAHAJJUD PRAYERS

Abu Hurairah reports that the Messenger of Allah said: “Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven during the last third of the night, inquiring: ‘Who will call on Me so that I may respond to him? Who is asking something of Me so I may give it to him? Who is asking for My forgiveness so I may forgive him?’” [bukhari]

Take this Hadeeth in a literal sense! It’s not a fantasy and there’s nothing hypothetical about it. Alhamdolillah, can there be anything better than your ability to respond to Allah SWT’s above call by enlisting your halal desires?! And to add to it, think for a second – those who begin their days with such prayers, can there be any sort of satisfaction more worthy than the inner peace they get blessed with?! Subhanallah.

2- DESPAIR NOT THE MERCY

From Surah Al-Talaq (#65): “.. And for those who fear Allah, He (ever) prepares a way out [2] And He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine. And if anyone puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is (Allah) for him. [3]

Focus; just try to focus on the words of these verses for a moment. Our biggest misery strikes us, when we try to “imagine” the ideal solutions to our problems. But Allah SWT gives us a straight-forward answer – the best of solutions, often a times, are unimaginable. This must end the story for a true believer because there is no logic that could justify that feel of despair – it’s not our responsibility to specify the solutions to Allah SWT in our supplications, and I repeat – it’s not, not at all! But, what’s the pre-condition? Just one – Fear Allah!

3- ASK FOR NOTHING BUT PERFECTION

Scholars try to bring us back to the realization that we need to compromise by coming out of the fantasy where we seek only the ideals – be it a wife, a job, or just about anything else. To a certain extent, I disagree. Compromise and Idealism can go together – realistically, we might have to give up on certain features, but in our supplications, we must not! We must not ask for anything lesser than a perfect outcome!

So our wordings do matter – never settle for less, at least in your duas. Ask Allah SWT to bless you with the best of the bests as per His criteria, and not your own understanding. Finally, what follows is Allah SWT’s decree and that’s where your compromise might come into play.

4- IF YOU ARE LIVING ON A TIGHT BUDGET, GIVE OUT SADAQA!

From Surah Saba’ (#34): “Say: Verily my Lord enlarges and restricts the Sustenance to such of His servants as He pleases: and what you spend in charity He replaces it: for He is the Best of those who grant Sustenance”. Saba 34 : 39

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) related that Allah’s messenger ( PBUH ) said, “No money ever decreases because of charity; when a servant of Allah forgives, Allah increases him in dignity; and whenever a person humbles himself to Allah, Allah will elevate his status” [Bukhari & Muslim]

This one applies to poor freaks like me. If you are tight on budget to a point where you’ve to cut on your eating-out feasts, it’s about time to follow the strategy suggested above! Just give it a try, I am a living proof! Get rid of the taboo that Sadaqa isn’t for students!

5- BEG FOR FORGIVENESS

From Surah At-Tahrim (#66): “O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance: In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills .. [8]“

Abu Bakr Al siddiq (May Allah be pleased with him), narrated: “I heard Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) saying: ‘There isn’t a man who, when he commits a sin, rises, makes ablution, and offers two rak’as of prayers, but Allah forgives his sins.’

From Surah Az-Zumar (#39): “Tell them (oh Muhammad): ‘My (Allah’s) Servants who have committed excesses against themselves, do not be in despair in the mercy of Allah – surely, Allah forgives all sins. Verily Allah is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful [53]’”

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Every son of Adam is a sinner, and the best of sinners are those who turn (to Allah) in repentance.” [Mishkatul-Masabih, Vol. 3, p. 360]

For the sake of brevity, I wish to convey just one idea – You don’t have to commit a sin and you don’t really have to recall some old sins as a pre-condition to seek forgiveness! Shouldn’t we be seeking forgiveness for lack of our thankfulness for the blessings of Allah SWT? Just for a moment, think once – would you have been able to be like one the strong companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), if you were living back then? if not, then shouldn’t you be repenting out of fear that you wouldn’t be able to catch up with them on the day of judgment?

With this state of mind, you’ll always be forcing yourself to rise up from your sujoods – and in such a case, Allah SWT will take care of your worldly matters to start with! :->

6- INNER PEACE & A SATISFIED HEART

I don’t have guts to write about this – I am no’t capable enough. Perhaps, there isn’t anything more important than it. It’s not rare that we desire for something (thinking that it will result in ultimate happiness) and when we get it, we are exactly the same person with just one change – we pick a new goal while tricking ourselves to run after it for happiness. All our lives, in general, we run after things one by one, the trail never ends.. we take wrong turns.

To end it, I picked up few quotes from “Don’t be Sad” by Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni:

“It has been said that happiness is an art that needs to be learned. And if you learn it, you will be blessed in this life.. The opposite of being content is being shortsighted,.. Basic to the art of happiness is to bridle our thoughts and to restrain them, not allowing them to wander, stray, escape, or go wild. For if you were to leave your thoughts to wander as they wish, then they will run wild and control you. They’ll open the catalogue of your past woes.. If your thoughts are left to roam, then they will bring to you images of past difficulties and images of a future that is frightening. These thoughts will shake your very being and will cause your feelings to flare. Therefore bridle them, and restrain them by directing them to the concentrated application of the kind of serious thought that begets fruitful and beneficial work.”

Few related supplications:

“O Allah! It is Your mercy that I hope for so do not leave me in charge of my affairs even for a blink of an eye and rectify for me all of my affairs. None has the right to be worshiped except You.”

“O Allah, I take refuge in you from anxiety and sorrow, weakness and laziness, miserliness and cowardice, the burden of debts and from being over-powered by men.”

Just got the news, it’s Eid tomorrow

May Allah SWT accept our fasts and duas at the commencement of this blessed month,  Assalaam alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuhu!

Pretentious Distances.

In my childhood, we used to listen to a Na’at called “Faslon Ko Takaluf” (Distances being pretentious) by Waheed Zafar. Then, I was way too young, ignorant, and lazy to dig deeper in the words of this marvelous and praise-worthy poem; but, somehow the words left an inexplicable impression on my love for such music-less masterpieces. A couple of weeks ago, I thought of giving it a one more try. Beyond doubt, I loved it far more than I used to. I am paying tribute from the depths of my heart to the lyricist, Qari Waheed Zafar. Following are the lyrics, in Urdu and English. I found the English translation here and it’s a very good effort worthy of being appreciated.

Faslon ko takalluf hai hum se agar, Distances, if pretentious to us,
hum bhi bebas nahin besahara nahi. Neither we helpless, nor despairing.

Khud unhi ko pukarengey hum door se, We ourselves shall beseech Him,
Raaste mein agar paon tak jayengey. En route, if our feet be weary.

Hum Madine mein tanha nikal jayengey We companionless, shall enter Madina,
Aur galiyon mein kus dun batak jayengey We shall in streets, be deliberately lost.

Hum wahan jakey wapas nahin ayengey Having reached, return we shall not,
Doond te doondte log tak jayengey In search for us, weary folk shall grow.

Jaise hi sabz Gumbad nazar ayega Whence the green Minaret is sighted,
Bandagi ka kareena badal jaye ga The flower of slave-hood shall change.

Sar juka ne ki fursat miley gi kisey Who shall have the opportunity to bow?
Khud hi palkon se sajdey tapak jayengey Of themselves shall from eyes prostrations drip

Naamey Aaka jahan bhi liya jayega The liege-lord’s name wherever shall be mentioned,
Zikr unka jahan bhi kiya jayega His remembrance wherever shall be made,

Noor hi noor seeno mein bhar jayega Naught but light shall fill the breasts,
Sari mehfil mein jalwe lapak jayegey Majesties shall leap the entire gathering.

Eh Madiny ke zahi KHuda ke liye O sojourner of Madina! For God’s sake,
Daastaan ne safar mujko yumad suna The journey’s epic do not describe.

Baat bhar jayegi dil tarap jayega The matter shall exceed, the heart left bereaved,
Mere mohtat aasoo chalak jayege My cautious tears shall flow forth.

Unki chashme karam ko hai iski khabar His generous vision has knowledge of,
Kis musafir ko hai kitna shaukey safar Which traveler to travel how greatly aspires.

Hum ko Iqbal jab bhi ijazat mili, Iqbal! Whenever granted permission,
Hum bhi Aaka ke darbar tak jayegeney We too shall visit the court of the liege-lord.

Faslon ko takalluf hai hum se agar, Distances, if pretentious to us,
hum bhi bebas nahin besahara nahi. Neither we helpless, nor despairing.

Khud unhi ko pukarengey hum door se, We ourselves shall beseech Him,
Raaste mein agar paon tak jayengey. En route, if our feet be weary.

A poem by a 17 year old sister!

Taken from MuslimMatters (direct link):

What is happening to Muslims today?
Why are we imitating the western way?
Are we forgetting a crucial part of Islam,
Following the Prophet (alayhi  salaatu wassalaam)?

Although entertainment may bring about pleasure,
The Quran and Sunnah is what we should treasure.
What we commit to memory instead of ayaat and ahadith,
Are lyrics of songs that only weaken our belief.

When asked about Sahabah who struggled for this deen,
The response will be a shrug from many of the teens.
Biographies of singers and athletes fill their minds,
While daily adhkaar are sadly left behind.

Instead of preparing for our inevitable end,
We find ourselves spending endless hours with our friends.
Gossiping about celebrities and fellow kids at school,
Only so that we can be among the ‘cool’.

We find ourselves submitting to fashion and fame,
Instead of praising Allah with His glorious names.
Is it just me, or is the hijaab getting smaller?
Diets to get slimmer and high heels to look taller?

This ummah is in danger, and something must be done,
But first we must remember that as an ummah, we are one.
Like a single body undergoing trials and tests,
When one part feels the pain, it is felt throughout the rest.

Let’s go back in time to the seventh century,
And take examples from a people full of faith and purity.
The first Muslim generation knew divided they would fall,
So they stood together, may Allah be pleased with them all.

Abu Bakr al-Siddiq was the Prophet’s closest friend,
Supportive of his mission till the very end.

Umar bin Khattab was a companion strong and fierce,
But due to taqwa of Allah, he could not hold back his tears.

And Uthmaan bin Affaan would always give more than take,
So he was known to spend  in masses, solely for  Allah’s sake.

And there’s another who submitted when he was just a lad,
Unshakable faith was what Ali bin Abi Taalib had.

And let’s not forget Musab bin Umayr, Abu Dharr al Ghifari,
Abdullah bin Masood, Bilal and Abu Ayyub al Ansari.

Enemies of islam did what they could to stop the call,
But the Sahabah stood together like a firmly fixed brick wall.
The same can be said for Islam in modern days,
Being attacked from many angles, and in many different ways.

The media tries its best to make this way of life distorted,
Pointing fingers at those who try hard to support it.
So let us all unite and show the whole world that we’re bold,
And spread Islam and its teachings to people young and old.

Btw, my intention is to pay tribute to the sister by reposting it, so that more people should go through it inshallah =)

Divine Speech: Literary Characteristics of the Qur’an by Nouman A. Khan [Day 3]

Under construction..

Divine Speech: Literary Characteristics of the Qur’an by Nouman A. Khan [Day 2]

Under construction..

Divine Speech: Literary Characteristics of the Qur’an by Nouman A. Khan [Day 1]

Asalamalaikum!

Last weekend, I attended this seminar series by brother Nouman Ali Khan. No doubt, the experience of attending it is far better than listening to anything while driving or eating junk food.. far better, & alhamdolillah I was blessed to be a part of it.

In this post, I have tried to recollect all the gems I could jot down and that I could remember by now. Inshallah, please correct me if I am mistaken in anyway. More importantly, it is not easy for me to organize this in accordance to the flow of the actual seminars delivered, like I said, the best experience was being a part of it. Here it goes:

Quran is a speech by Allah SWT, and speech is different than written text. Speech doesn’t go through editorial process, so there is a high chance of saying things that you didn’t intend to. Written text goes through this editorial process, and there is always plenty of time and resources to make it perfect. So, mistakes in speech are fatal as we know from the examples of many politicians, and celebritites around us. But, at the same time, Quran’s speech is impeccable in its truest sense, SubhanAllah.

ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the ‘Âlamîn.

This is the first verse of Surah Al-Fatiha. Some scholars believe that it’s the second (first being بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ), but for the purpose of this session, we adhere to the previous stance. The word Alhamdolillah is an all inclusive word. Thanking someone doesn’t imply that we are also praising him. Ibraheem A.S. thanked his father (because Allah SWT commanded us to do so), but didn’t praise him. Allah SWT is worthy of being praised and thanked at the same time. And, in the word hamd, praise and thankfulness are simultaneous.

Then the translation of Alhamdolillah is “Praise be to Allah”. The word praise here is a noun, not a verb. One question that we can raise is that why can’t it be “Praise Allah” and not what it is. This is because if the verb form of praise is used, it implies a time factor. But, praise of Allah is timeless, it was there before we were here, it is here, and it will remain here. So when we say Alhamdolillah, we are admitting that Praise is for Allah SWT even if are here or not, and even if we do it or not.

So, in sum, Allah SWT didn’t throw the ball in our court, everything Allah does is praiseworthy, and even if are not grateful for that, praise is for Allah.

Rab-il-Aa’lameen

Closest meaning of the word rab in english is Master. But, Allah SWT is not like a typical master because in general, no other master is praised or thanked for anything. The word rab here is more related to Huda which means guidance. Your first act as a slave is to ask the master for guidance. Huda is related to Hadiya which means gift. To arabs, guidance was also a gift. For a bedouin lost in desert, nothing’s more worthy for him than guidance.

Then, why Rab-il-Aa’lamin, why not anything else? Because again, it encompasses the mastery of Allah SWT in space and time simultaneously.

ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Rehmaan and Raheem are derived from the word Rahma. Why two words here if they are essentially from the same root? what’s the difference?

In Rehmaan, “aan” relates to Transience, Occurence, and Hyperbole-extreme. Whereas, in Raheem, “eem” relates to permanence. In short, Rehmaan covers immediate mercy of Allah SWT, and Raheem covers long-term mercy. So why this order? why not Raheem then Rehmaan? that’s an easy one. Human being in general hasten, so we are more interested in knowing about something that’s of immediate interest to us, then, we want to ensure the long-term interest. :>

Christianity is primarily about hope, and little about fear. Islam is balanced in this regard. Quran’s all about glad tidings and warnings, and it maintains the balance. Surah Al-Fatiha is sort of proof-of-concept in this regard. The first three verses are describing Allah SWT. Then there is a shift, and the middle part is where we are addressing Allah SWT and conveying our state of submission. Finally, we seek help in desperation, where the prayer implies everything we need help for.

ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٲطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ Guide us to straight path!

One argument might be that why is it Siraat, why not the word Sabeel or Tareeq. Sabeel means a small path and Tareeq means a long path. However, Siraat relates to a path that’s unique, long, wide, straight, and dangerous – i.e. you need protection! So sabeel and and tareeq lead to siraat, but essentially, we are interested in passing through siraat with Allah SWT’s protection.

Then, why the word mustaqeem appears again, which is also a manifestation of the word path (?!). Mustaqeem comes from Qama (remember Istaqama?) i.e. to stand. So, it doesn’t only mean straight, it means vertically straight. Think of a weight balance, it’s supposed to be straight vertically, but if you want to cheat, you add hidden weights to tilt it – no longer vertically straight!

So, you are seeking Allah’s guidance along a path that’s vertically straight. When you move along such a path, what is it that you leave underneath yourself? it’s Dunya and the temptations of it. At the same time, the higher you get, the dangerous it gets if you fall.

We can notice one thing here that everything that follows this surah in the Quran is essentially Allah SWT’s response to this plea of ours. The response, where we are informed about ways to travel along this path!

صِرَٲطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ غَيۡرِ ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ

- The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went astray.

For some, the path was made easier by the grace of Allah SWT, we seek the same. On the other hand, Allah SWT distanced himself from some, and they received His rage – we seek His refuge from such a destiny. They had knowledge, but they didn’t use it. In the same way, we have knowledge, so we seek refuge from His punishment after we know about such people.

Finally, this is a surah of balance – about master and slave, about praise and thankfulness, and about knowledge and action.

That’s it. Again, I take all the responsibility for anything that I’ve misquoted here, may Allah make it easy on us, ameen.

The Resume for Here, and the Hereafter.

We all are in a sense managing to beautify two different resumes throughout our lifetimes.

The first resume, i.e. for the Here, adapts to various stages/aims of our lives with two of the foremost importance being the job-search-resume, and the spouse-search-resume (actually with my limited vision, I couldn’t think of any other :>).

The second resume, i.e. for the hereafter, goes above the level of worldly aims. It’s the one that we are preparing to strengthen our case when we would face Allah SWT. His decision on this resume would be final and unquestionable. Allah SWT would be the only one to decide on this resume, unlike all of our worldly resumes that we forward to numerous potential candidates (wives and companies). May Allah decide in favor of us all, and may we be blessed with the shadow of His Throne and Janat-ul-firdous, ameen.

Recently, Alhamdolillah, I added one item in each of my poor little resumes! For the job-search-resume, I was blessed and honored when one of my research works got accepted for publication in a prestigious journal, and presentation in a highly competitive conference; Alhamdolillah. I am also offered a decent grant to go and present the paper, and on my way, to visit Pakistan I never deserved any part of it at all, .. may Allah SWT make it good for my deen. I was thinking but wasn’t sure about how much of this job-search-resume, I am supposed to copy-paste to my spouse-search-resume, but I really hate the idea. Anyways, these two documents should remain mutually exclusive (in my geek terms)!

Now for the ultimate resume-for-hereafter – I’ve memorized Surah Naba Yessssss! It took me a while, but it helped me to figure out my pace in this regard and I am making sure to continue to progress despite the stupid well-known ‘busy schedule’. I’ve already started Surah Naziat, which is apparently a little easier, Inshallah, I’ll keep up the pace.

That’s it :> asalamalaikum.