The Signs are Abundant

As I try to analyze my life – who I am, what brought me to the point I am now and where I can go and who I have the potential of becoming in the future – I have resorted to quick dua’s during periods of stress and I’ve kept my eyes open for any sort of sign. Any reassurance I’m going the right way, or any new enlightenment of some sort. Here’s some amazing things alhamdullilah that I have come across during this period of contemplation.

1. The ability to perceive, gain, or attain any sort of new knowledge - this is a sign from Allah(swt) in our lives because it stands firm with the idea that knowledge is never-ending. From this realization, we realize that us, as human beings, will never attain complete knowledge or understanding. Because knowledge is infinite and we are bound by our fate and the limits of time, there is no way that we can know everything that there is possible to know about this life, this universe. In simpler, everyday terms – why a bus route may change in our neighborhood,  the rules of basketball, research on space exploration, etc. While many of these everyday things seem trivial knowledge pursuits and we may be able to find out the answers to all of them quickly. It is those new ideas, thoughs, research in progress that we may never be a part of unless we dedicate time to develop our knowledge and perhaps even actively participate in pushing the boundaries of what we already know to discover something else that was already there. “Something else that was already there” – what does that mean? Think of it this way: space, stars, planets were already a part of this universe before man actually confirmed the discovery. Everything to reach a new level of knowledge is before us. It is there. It is up to us to discover it.

Why do I call this a sign? Have you ever just gone about your life and then come across something that changes the way you think, the decisions you make. It is this knowledge, whether you gain it by talking to someone, reading a newspaper, publications, etc., no matter how it comes to you – it shakes your world just by you ‘merely’ thinking about that piece of information. Nothing is trivial in the pursuit of knowledge. Knowing that most golf balls for example are white, whereas someone who’s never seen the sport before, doesn’t necessarily put you at an advantage of any sort, but this mere distinct difference, even though it is extremly minuate, actually helps develop your level of perception and reality. Reality is based on what we know to exist. Never belittle knowledge – it is a blessing, just like the five senses: touching, smelling, seeing, feeling, hearing.

My Take: This past week I had the opportunity to gain an inside view on the world of investment banking. Is this where I see myself in the future. To be honest, no. But then again I’ll leave all judgments to my lord. Even we can’t be sure that we know ourselves as well as might believe we do. Does this sound confusing? Think of it this way – have you ever though you wanted something, then realized down the road that you may have or may not have wanted it. Your confused – you don’t know what you really want from this life, because that knowledge is only with Allah(swt). But thankfully (shukar-Alhamullilah), He guides you if you have good intentions and you believe.  In this life we have many, many open doors and opportunities we can take that will in turn change our lives for the better or worse. But with all these opportunities comes the responsibility of thanking the One who has given them to us. And who will guide us to righteousness. The One I am talking about is Allah(swt) our creator. He knows us better than we know ourselves.

2. The Verses of the Quran – These are most definitely a sign. And I can bear witness to profound statements that I have come across in the Quran that I can relate to my life. The knowledge and the relationship between you and the Quran has potential to always be developed. Take the time to read it, to understand it, and to apply it. Take the time to just look at a translation of a few lines – even if your life is busy. This is a starting point. That’s all I did – I looked at a few lines a few days ago and Allahu Akbar – Allah(swt) spoke to me through the Quran. This is the Best of Signs. Believe and you will realize so much more than what you know now.

The verse that I found absolutely relevant, to the thoughts going through my mind about my life, at the time I was reading the Quran were the following from Surat Al-Kahf (The Cave) –

“Be patient with those who worship their Lord in the mornings and evenings to seek His pleasure. Do not overlook them to seek the worldly pleasures. Do no obey those whom We have caused to neglect Us and instead follow their own desires beyond all limits” (18:28)

3. The Signs you see everyday – Just today I said Bismillah before putting a golf ball and it aligned perfectly with one that was 4 ft away. Before saying Bismillah, I had tried to get it perfectly aligned several times with absolutely no success. Coincidence, I think not – this is a sign that my Lord is watching me and all of us.

Levels of Certainty

During a lecture, I attended last month, on the HereAfter it was mentioned that there are three ‘Levels of Certainty’ :

1. Knowledge of Certainty - you see it with your heart and where there are no doubts

2. The Eye of Certainty – if you don’t see it with your heart, you will see it with the ‘eye of certainty’ – refers to the phrase seeing is believing

3. Truth of Certainty – Quran

Here’s some of my further research on the topic:

Certainty is referred to as al-yaqîn

This concept is rooted in Sufism, an inner dimension of Islam (hopefully I’ll touch on this topic in another post) – where I believe the basic belief is to internalize the character of a Muslim: to be in constant remembrance of Allah (swt) and to work towards purifying the heart and soul of the believer- basically building Iman (Faith in a believer).

May Allah (swt) increase me in knowledge and forgive me if I am wrong, but so far in the research that I have done I believe that Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi was responsible for developing the concept of the ‘Three Levels of Certainty’.

Who is Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi?

“Mystic, philosopher, poet, sage, Muhammad b. ‘Ali Ibn ‘Arabi is one of the world’s great spiritual teachers. Known as Muhyiddin (the Revivifier of Religion) and the Shaykh al-Akbar (the Greatest Master), he was born in 1165 AD into the Moorish culture of Andalusian Spain, the centre of an extraordinary flourishing and cross-fertilization of Jewish, Christian and Islamic thought, through which the major scientific and philosophical works of antiquity were transmitted to Northern Europe. Ibn ‘Arabi’s spiritual attainments were evident from an early age, and he was renowned for his great visionary capacity as well as being a superlative teacher. He travelled extensively in the Islamic world and died in Damascus in 1240 AD.”       (Source: http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/ibnarabi.html)

What are the Three Levels of yaqîn (Certainty)?

1. Knowledge of Certainty, ‘ilm al-yaqîn (pronounced ‘illum al-yaqeen in arabic)- The first level of degree is known as the ‘knowledge of certainty’. At this level the “object of Certainty is knowledge just as the aim of knowledge is Certainty. Both together are in the soul uniquely, such that Certainty is the first degree of spiritual life and the last of speculative experience.”

2. The Eye of Certainty,  ‘ayn al-yaqîn (pronounced ‘iyn al-yaqeen in arabic) – The second level is known as the ‘Eye of Certainty’. This is when the “object of certainty” is present in front of the person. This knowledge becomes known as “‘ilm-hudûrî (Presence of knowledge)”  because it is within our reality before our very eyes.

3. The Total Reality of Certainty, haqq al-yaqîn – This is the third degree of Certainty. In this stage “certainty is the supreme truth” and “the object of Certainty is identical to the one who is experiencing it, knowledge being transformed into actual experience and actual experience into knowledge. At this stage, in fact, knowledge is not limited to the intellect, nor to the vision of the one who is contemplating it, it becomes one with the human being.” In other words, the supreme truth that we uphold as Muslims is the Quran and with its pages is a truth for all of mankind to understand and experience, no matter how intelligent they may be.

I hope this post enlighted you in some way or another. Try to personalize the concepts above to your own life to really define the meaning.

(Accessed: Monday, Nov 3rd, 2008. All quotes from above are from the SOURCE: http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/articles/osmanyahya.html)

Life’s Journey: To Understand Our Creator

One of the main aspects of the journey of life is to reconnect with our Creator and to understand where we came from. I want to share with you a powerful piece of writing, I came across this summer, about Allah (swt) and who He is. I can honestly say that because of how very direct and eloquent the writer is, for the first time ever in my life, my knowledge of who Allah (swt) is, jumped up to an extraordinary level of understanding. The excerpt may seem quite lengthy, but trust me, once you start reading you’ll just want to keep going until the end.

From Imam Birgivi’s ‘The Path of Muhammad (s.a.w.s): A Book on Islamic Morals & Ethics’ (pgs 3-5):

“ON ALLAH (MAY HE BE GLORIFIED AND EXALTED)

First, I beseech all Muslims to believe, say, and confirm this with their hearts: there is no god but God worthy and deserving to be worshipped, obeyed, and loved.

He has no partner, nor is anything like Him. He eats not, drinks not, sleeps not, begets not, nor is He begotten. He does not have a wife, son, or daughter. He exists neither in a place nor at a time. He is neither on earth nor in heaven, on your right or your left, under or above. He has no shape or form or color, nor face, hands or feet. He fears not, hurts not, is saddened not, changes not, and is free of all defects. He is other than all we know or can imagine.

He has no age. He was before always, and will be after the after, forever. He is self-existent, and does not depend on anything. His essence is only His. It is unknown to anyone but He, and is constant. He has priority over everything. He created all from nothing and can turn all into nothing. Nothing has the power to resist Him, and there is no difficulty for Him. For Him to create seven heavens and seven earths is the same as creating a fly.

No one can influence, dominate, or judge Him, and He governs all and everything. He needs no one, and all are in need of Him. No good or harm can come to Him from anywhere or anyone, even if all the faithless kept faith with Him or if all the sinners became obedient. All the worship directed to Him, from the beginning of time until the end, confers no benefit upon Him. If no one ever believed in Him, it would not harm Him at all.

He is One, Only and Unique. He is Ever-Living, All-Knowing, Aware of all that is in heaven and earth, whether it is observed by or hidden from humanity. He has the accounting of all the leaves on the trees, the number of wheat kernels and grains of sand. Nothing is unknown to Him. He knows the parts of every whole, and the past, present, and future of every existence. He knows what you do, what you say, think, and feel, what you show and what you hide. He knows all that is visible and invisible, what there is and what is yet to come. He cannot be mistaken, nor miss or forget anything that He knows. His knowledge existed before there was anything to know: it is uncreated, like Him.

God is All-Seeing and All-Hearing. He sees the tiny black ant walking on a black stone in the darkest of nights and hears its footsteps. If you whisper in someone’s ear and neither he nor even you hear your voice, know that God hears your voice loud and clear. He has no eyes, no ears, yet He hears and sees without senses.

All will is His. He does what He wills. Nothing happens or exists without His will. He has no needs or wishes. No one’s wishes no matter how strong can influence His will and make Him do things. Every atom in the universe exists because He willed it to be. Both good and eveil are His will. If He willed not, the faithful could not have believed and obeyed Him by their will. He is the one who wills the faithlessness of the faithless, and the sin of the sinner. If He did not, there would be neither sin nor evil. Not a fly can move its wing without His will. What man does, God makes him do. If He willed, all the people would have been pious. If He willed, all people would have been evil. Then why did He not will everyone to be devout, but made some sinners? The answer is that no one has the right to question Him. He is absolute, one, unique in His will and in His actions.

Yet there is a divine reason and wisdom in what He does that human beings cannot understand. There is always an advantage for all. Even if you cannot know, believe that there is a multitude of good hidden in the existence of poisonous snakes, scorpions, vermin and bugs, and all other things we associate with suffering and misfortune. It is an obligation for all faithful ones to believe this, and to believe that it has always been so, and always will be.

God’s will is eternal as He is, not created. God is All-Powerful: All power belongs to Him. His power is only conditional upon one thing: His will. Only what He makes comes to exist; only what He does, happens. There is nothing He cannot do. He has brought the dead back to life, made stones and trees talk and walk, made stars disappear and reappear, turned earth to gold and gold to earth, made rivers flow uphill, raised those He loved above the seven heavens and brought them back, transported them from the eastern end of the world to its western end in an instant. He is the one who does everything with His power, which is eternal like Himself, though created afterwards, and which is inexhaustible.

Every word, every sound, all that is said and heard are His. His commands, His ordinances and judgments that apply to His creation, are in His words. These are contained in the last divine book, the Holy Qur’an, which includes all the other preceding holy books. The Qur’an is His final word, whose meaning is infinite and eternal.

God’s word is soundless. It does not need a tongue or lips to pronounce it, nor does it need ears to be heard, nor does it need letters to be written or eyes to be read.

God is the creator of all and everything. There is no other who created but He. He is the one who created the eye and what it sees, the hand and what it does, the tongue and what it says. He is the one who created us and our deeds – the whole, the parts, the essence and the attributes of men and jinn. The worlds and the heavens, devils, beasts, plants, rocks and jewels, all that can be seen, felt and imagined, and the invisible and unimaginable, are created by Him from nothing. Only He existed before anything existed. He created the creation not because He needed it, but to manifest His Love, His Will, His Wisdom, His Power, and His Compassion.

So: He is before the before. He did not become; He always was. He is after the after, eternal: He will always be. He is one, only and unique, without partner. He is the cause of all and everything. All are in need of Him, while He needs no one and nothing. He said “Be” and all became. Everything will be gone when He says “Be gone.” He is the creator, bearing no resemblance to what He created. He is the self-existent, independent, without any needs.

These are the essential things that human beings can understand about the perfection of their Sustainer, whom they should believe, love, and obey.”

—

(*Please excuse spelling errors. I typed it word for word. Also Please Note that I will rarely publish an excerpt of this length.)

To learn more:

“The Path of Muhammad (s.a.w.s): A Book on Islamic Morals & Ethics”

By Imam Birgivi, Shaykh Bayrak, Birgivı̂ Mehmet Efendi, Tosun Bayrak

Published by World Wisdom, Inc, 2005

ISBN 0941532682, 9780941532686

Contemplating on the Existence of Mankind

We do not have to exist.

If you really think about it, our very existence, the existence of the human creation is on a fine line.

We do not have to exist, but the reason we do exist is solely by the will of Allah (swt).

Allah (swt) does NOT need us. He does not ask us to provide sustenance, he provides it. We are in NEED of him, therefore, him alone do we worship. He gives us the breath of air that we need to survive and in less than a second he can take it away from us.

We did not exist out of nothing. We did not evolve and come out of something that is less then who we are. No. We came solely from the will of Allah (swt). He shaped us by his own hand and gave us, the human creation an honorable amount of dignity. The angels were told to bow before Adam (pbuh). This is one of the best examples that shows how much honor Allah (swt) bestowed upon us (mankind). And it is for us to uphold that honor by praising Allah (swt) and keeping ourselves free from impurities.

(The story of the creation of mankind with the Beginning of Adam (pbuh), inshallah, I will cover in a future post because there is so much more to the story then what I have, of course, mentioned (quickly) above.)

Allah (swt) is all powerful. He could of just said ‘Be’ and Adam (pbuh) would have been created. But Allah (swt) did not, he created him by his own hand. And he did the same with the heavens (he did not just say ‘Be’ and it was).

All good and all evil come from Allah (swt). By his will there are those on earth who are rightly guided on the straight path. And by his will there are those who never will be guided. The knowledge of this lies with Allah (swt). He knows that of which we know not. In all truth, as deep as this concept might seem, we have no right to question Allah (swt). If he wants us to know the truth of this matter he will let it be known. If not, that is probably best for us. For Allah (swt) is the one who truly knows what is best for us.

Halaqa 4-30-08: Further Explanation of Surat Al-Kahf, Part II

Joint Halaqa

April 30th, 2008

Speaker: Br. Tarif

Topic: Further Explanation of Surat Al-Kahf (The Cave), Part II

(Surat Al-Kahf, Chapter 18, Holy Quran)

————

OUTLINE:

1. What we Learn from Surat Al-Kahf About Knowledge

2. The 3rd Story about Musa (aka Moses) (pbuh) and Khidr

————

1. Surat Al-Kahf and About Knowledge

- From the story of ‘the youth’ we learn that life is full of mysteries. We wonder why certain things happen to us or why certain things are the way they are. If we look deeper and strive to gain understanding by getting closer to Allah (swt), inshallah, he will make the truth apparent if he so wills and he will give us knowledge and wisdom.

- Don’t ever think knowledge is limited and you know everything – knowledge has no limits. We keep learning until we die.

-Knowledge is Hard to get

1. you need to seek it
2. In the 3rd story in this Surat we learn that Musa (pbuh) was sent on a journey to attain knowledge

- There are two types of knowledge:

1. Wisdom – it can only be found in ones heart and only Allah (swt) can give it to a person
2. Observation – what we learn from seeing things in our lives (ex. this knowledge we can easily pick up in school)

2. The 3rd Story about Musa and Khidr

Allah(swt) sends Musa (pbuh) on a journey to seek knowledge. He tells him that he will meet a man at the junction of the two seas.

- Musa’s (pbuh) journey to find Khidr

1. Allah (swt) tells Musa (pbuh) before they go on the journey to take a fish and put it in a basket. When it comes alive and jumps into the water, that will be the place where he will meet Khidr.
2. Musa (pbuh) comes to a place, with his servant, to rest.
3. The fish jumps out of the basket into the sea.
4. The Servant forgets to tell Musa (pbuh) about this sign and they continue on their journey.
5. Musa (pbuh) asks for food and then the Servant opens the basket and remembers.
6. They travel back to the same spot that they had left.
7. Allah (swt) froze both sides of the sea where the fish jumped in and it created a tunnel. That is where they meet Khidr.

- What Musa (pbuh) learns from Khidr

1. First, who is Khidr? – He is a humble servant of Allah (swt). Allah (swt) taught him of his own knowledge. Explanation in Quran:

Then found they one of Our slaves, unto whom We had given mercy from Us, and had taught him knowledge from Our presence. (18:65)

Moses said unto him: May I follow thee, to the end that thou mayst teach me right conduct of that which thou hast been taught? (18:66)

Realize that Musa (pbuh) is a Prophet whereas Khidr is not. Musa (pbuh) displays good character by being humble and not boasting.

Khidr replies:

Lo! thou canst not bear with me. (18:67) How canst thou bear with that whereof thou canst not compass any knowledge? (18:68 )

Khidr knows that Musa (pbuh) will not be patient with him. He had previous insight to make this judgment.

ASIDE: Some critical thinking questions that we can ask ourselves while we read this story in this Surat : What is Patience? When do people lose patience? – when they are frustrated by that which they don’t understand.

- Three Actions that Khidr takes

1. Sinks the Ship
2. Kills the young boy
3. Fix the Wall

After the last one, Musa (pbuh) loses his patience, again, because he doesn’t understand. Khidr explains the reasoning behind each of his actions:

He said: This is the parting between thee and me! I will announce unto thee the interpretation of that thou couldst not bear with patience. (18:78 ) As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working on the river, and I wished to mar it, for there was a king behind them who is taking every ship by force. (18:79) And as for the lad, his parents were believers and we feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief. (18:80) And we intended that their Lord should change him for them for one better in purity and nearer to mercy. (18:81) And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure belonging to them, and their father had been righteous, and thy Lord intended that they should come to their full strength and should bring forth their treasure as a mercy from their Lord; and I did it not upon my own command. Such is the interpretation of that wherewith thou couldst not bear. (18:82)

This story of Musa (pbuh) and Khidr is in this Surat under the title Al-Kahf (The Cave) because it also deals with knowledge and looking beyond what one sees on the surface. From this Story we learn that it is important not to judge others. And there is wisdom behind every action. Khidr was blessed with knowledge from Allah (swt), that no one else during his time had.