يَومَ تُبَدَّلُ ٱلأَرضُ غَيرَ ٱلأَرضِ وَٱلسَّمَـوَتُ‌ وَبَرَزُواْ لِلَّهِ ٱلوَحِدِ ٱلقَهَّارِ (٤٨) وَتَرَى ٱلمُجرِمِينَ يَومَذٍ مُّقَرَّنِينَ فِى ٱلأَصفَادِ (٤٩) سَرَابِيلُهُم مِّن قَطِرَانٍ وَتَغشَى وُجُوهَهُمُ ٱلنَّارُ (٥٠) لِيَجزِىَ ٱللَّهُ كُلَّ نَفسٍ مَّا كَسَبَت إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَرِيعُ ٱلحِسَابِ (٥١) هَـذَا بَلَـغٌ لِّلنَّاسِ وَلِيُنذَرُواْ بِهِ وَلِيَعلَمُوٓاْ أَنَّمَا هُوَ إِلَـهٌ وَحِدٌ وَلِيَذَّكَّرَ أُوْلُواْ ٱلأَلبَـبِ (٥٢)

On the day when the earth will be changed to other than the earth, and the heavens (also will be changed) and they will come forth unto Allah, the One, the Almighty, (48) Thou wilt see the guilty on that day linked together in chains, (49) Their raiment of pitch, and the Fire covering their faces, (50) That Allah may repay each soul what it hath earned. Lo! Allah is swift at reckoning. (51) This is a clear message for mankind in order that they may be warned thereby, and that they may know that He is only One God, and that men of understanding may take heed. (52)

SURAH IBRAHIM TAFSEER BY DR. FARHAT HASHMI 14: 48-52

14:48 Al Kahaar, comes from Kaahir: To subdue someone and debase them

14:49; Those that were partners in sin, and criminals on earth they will be tied together with chains.

Being chained is a sign of crime, thus the signs of criminals evident by their chains on the day of Judgment after they have been condemned.

14:50; Their clothes will be made of sulphur, Qataran is tarcoal, They will be hot and stuck to their bodies. The Fire will cover and veil their faces. Covering them like a curtain. And they will be chained and will not be able to remove the fire from them.

Sulphur, calcium, and phosphorus, is an ingredient of the human body.

14: 51 Every person will be awarded the payment of what he or she earned, for both good and evil. A person will be given swift reckoning, because Allah Subhanawataala is a swift Reckoner

Surah Luqman 28:

PICKTHAL: Your creation and your raising (from the dead) are only as (the creation and the raising of) a single soul. Lo! Allah is Hearer, Knower.

for Allah creating one human is same as raising all of humankind.

14:52 This is a message for all of humanity, that He is One so that people of wisdom take it to completion.

Balagha is maqsad (aim or goal) and end tak puhachna. (Take to completion).

This message should be conveyed to everyone. Everyone should be warned through the Quran about the Day of Judgment. So that they may know that He is the one God and so that those of understanding and wisdom will be reminded.

Do not disappoint them, but tell them the truth about the end and of jannah.

Keep the Quran in front of you when you give the message. The Quran is packed with information about life lessons. It is tightly woven such that nothing can be inserted nor can anything be removed without it becoming obvious. Yet it is open enough for all to reflect and understand and be reminded of.

Surah Ibrahim give us all about the Naimah of Emaan, and the outcome of Kuffar.

Main purpose: give the message to all mankind.

LESSON:

The transient nature of this life: One lives on the same earth where people have died who once lived like or even better than us.

From Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi:

Archives from Dhaka: courtesy:http://dhakadailyphoto.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_dhakadailyphoto_archive.html

It is one of the graces of Allha Subhanwataala that He not only forgives us for our misdemeanors but allows us to erase our sins with good acts. Many of us rely on our children to be our Sadaqa-e- jariya , though most of us will have to make sure we leave something worthwhile, useful and compassionate behind. Well……….you may say I am not dying, what is this leaving behind?

Those of us who suddenly lost a child, know that age is no barrier to receiving the pink slip which means retirement from this life as we know it. It also means that our book closes and no more can be done to atone for our sins and nothing further to enhance our chances to enter Jannah.

Thus here is something special………….Dedicated to Nabeel, a child lost to his parents, but remembered in every good act:

A LETTER TO ACT ON………….

Mountain range outside Capetown

SURAH NAHL 16:15

وَأَلقَى فِى ٱلأَرضِ رَوَسِىَ أَن تَمِيدَ بِمۡ وَأَنہَـرًا وَسُبُلاً لَّعَلَّڪُم تَہتَدُونَ (

١٥)

And He hath cast into the earth firm hills that it quake not with you, and streams and roads that ye may find a way. (15)

TAFSEER FROM DR. FARHAT HASHMI

Allah Subhanawataala made Mountains to balance the earth, which is uneven and has depths and recesses as well as higher parts.

The mountains give it stability and prevent the earth from shaking and rocking like a stretched piece of cloth with no anchor e.g. with earthquakes

A natural path in the forest in the the base of the Airondack mountains

The rivers and streams on earth are a naimah (blessing) their intricate web covering the earth like arteries cover and nourish the body. Along with the natural paths all over the world.

Human beings have always used these natural paths to find ones destination and to thus in gratitude find and recognize God as our Creator.

Elsewhere in the Quran Allah Subhanawataala says regarding His creation of mountains:

Surah Naba 78:5-7

Verily, verily they shall soon (come to) know! (5) Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse, (6) And the mountains as pegs? (7)

Surah Naziaat: 79:32

And the mountains hath He firmly fixed― (32)

A camellia rose bravely blooming in winter/Winston-Salem NC

Thoughts and prayers from a dear friend…………….

The days are getting shorter

October has just a few days

and then a November too short

and 2009 slithers down the last few inches

to roll off ‘a playground slide’

a refrain from an old Janis Joplin song

‘when the night has been too lonely

andthe road has been too long

that you think that love is only

for the lucky and the strong

just remember…

in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows

lies the seed that with the sun’s love

in the spring…..

becomes a rose.

So much has happened this year

Shireen’s graduation

Shireen’s wedding

Shireen’s residency

the weddings…………….of Tariq’s friends

T’s heart attack

The retreats and the sisterhood

things only you know

your gentle side surfacing

you allowing the gentleness in you to surface

what ever is stirring deep within you

what ever is surfacing

ever present memories of Ammi

and Tariq

perhaps your father

and maybe Haroon

people you meet every day

people you remember every day

your humanity and goodness

the purification of your soul and body

the tears that wash off all stains

the grandeur of ‘nature’

that gladdens your soul

all that keeps you in synch

with the greater harmony

strengthen the core of peace you are becoming……….. with every day.

and the Rose with lyrics sung by Bette Midler

MINA CAMPS: Walking to the jamaraat: Courtesy Firdous

GUEST ARTICLE

Hajj……A Reminder of Another Journey

By Asma bint Shameem

This time the crowds were tremendous…..more, much more than the previous years. One couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the number of people at Hajj this year. And similarly, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the sheer number of lessons that I learnt on this journey – lessons of patience, lessons of compassion, lessons of humility and lessons of thankfulness to Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta‘ala.

Every corner I turned, every where I went, every second I spent during my stay in Mina had the potential to mould me for better or for worse.

When I saw the people on the streets, living under a sheet stretched across two bamboo poles, how could I complain about the size of my camp at Mina?

When I saw little kids rummaging through piles of garbage looking for something to eat, how could I be dissatisfied with all the multiple varieties of fruits and juices and foods that I had at my disposal?

How can I even complain about the same kind of food being served, or how bland it is or how spicy??!!”

And when I saw old, weak people and people in wheelchairs and people limping and crippled standing at the side of the street hoping to find a ride or walking with their legs so swollen that they were the size of their thighs, how could I even begin to complain about the few hours I was stuck on my air-conditioned bus, not to mention the snacks and cold water that I had readily available to me??

I remember the words of one of my teacher, Muhammad al-Shareef. He said once,

“Hajj is not a journey of the body such as one may take to a vacation spot or tourist attraction. It is a journey of the soul and heart.”

And certainly, how true those words are. It is indeed a journey of the heart….a journey to work hard…. to get your sins forgiven….to get to Jannah.

‘Amr ibn Al-‘Aas narrates, :

“When Islam entered my heart, I went to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘Give me your hand so that I may pledge allegiance to you.’ The Prophet spread his hand, but I withdrew mine. He said, ‘What is wrong ‘Amr?’ I said, ‘I want to make a condition.’ ‘And what is that?’ he said. I said, ‘That Allah will forgive me.’ Then the Messenger of Allah said, ‘Did you not know that Islam wipes out what came before it, and that Hijrah wipes out what came before it and that Hajj wipes out what came before it!” – Sahih Muslim

When Allaah will forgive all our previous sins……yes, that’s right…..ALL OUR PREVIOUS SINS…….then is a little discomfort or inconvenience not worth it?

In fact, I think a lot of inconvenience is worth it. Actually, anything…..anything in this world is worth it

“(That Day) No loyal friend will ask another loyal friend, though they are in sight of each other. To ransom himself from the punishment of that Day, the sinner will wish that he might even ransom himself by his sons, his companion (wife), his brother, the kinsmen who gave him shelter, and whatsoever is in the earth, altogether, so that it might save him.” (Surah Ma’aarij:10-14)

And how dare we complain??

Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’ala chose us from among 6 billion of His slaves, and invited us to His Blessed House to undertake this Blessed Journey…..to perform this Blessed Worship that people only dream about once in their lifetimes and what do we do??

We forget this immense , immense blessing of His on us and instead of falling prostate on our faces, with unstoppable tears of repentance and gratitude…. thanking Him for inviting us there and guiding us to Islaam and giving us the opportunity to have our sins forgiven, we forget the big picture and complain???!!!!

Subhaan Allaah!!

But dear brothers and sisters, who is it that provided us with all the blessings that we enjoy in our lives, all the blessings that we use day in and day out? It is no one but Allaah!

And it is the same Allah that tested us on the plains of Arafah, during our stay in Mina, and during our bus journey to Muzdalifah.

We need to remember that indeed the greatest blessing that Allah has favored us with is Islam, and it alone suffices as favor.

“There is no blame upon you for seeking bounty from your Lord (during Hajj). But when you depart from Arafat, remember Allah at AlMash’ar AlHaram. And remember Him as He has guided you, for indeed you were before that among those who went astray.” (Surah Baqarah: 198)

So thank Allaah for His favors upon you and when that dust blows, instead of complaining….turn to Allah and hit back with patience and a whisper of gratitude to Allah. And ask Him to forgive you.

“Then let them end their untidiness, fulfill their vows, and perform Tawaf around the ancient House.” (Surah Hajj 22:29)

And remember, Hajj is just a reminder of another journey that you and I will eventually have to take…..a journey every soul is traveling, whether they know it or care to just remain heedless…..A journey to the Hereafter, to Paradise or Hell.

“And take sustenance (with you) for the journey; verily the best sustenance is Taqwa (piety and righteousness).“ (Al Baqarah :197)

What is the relationship of Heya (Modesty) in men and women, and emaan?

Here is an except from Shaykh Mokhtaar Magroui:

My daughter is fortunate, she wears these:courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/smcdevitt/3046533843/

I am a FOB( fresh off the boat) and starting my internship in Pediatrics in New England.  As a pediatric intern one of my duties is to “catch” the baby at Caesarian delivery and resuscitate it if needed.

This entails getting dressed in scrubs, with gown and mask.

I am doing my well baby Nursery rotation at one of the seven hospitals that I rotate through. This one is new to me and I am looking for the dressing rooms. I see two doors, one says “Nurses” and the other says “Doctors” I go into the one that says “Doctors” and pull on the scrub pants and shirt, stuff my pocket with my beeper, pen, the pediatric resuscitation dose card and show up at the OR (operating Room). The baby comes and is far more slippery than I remember.

On my third visit to the OR and the dressing rooms, the head nurse approaches me and tells me that the head of OB wants to speak to me.

I of course have no clue why, but am confident it has something to do with my stellar performance as a pediatric intern.

After a delivery I walk into his office………..now so many years later I do not even remember his face just the impression that he had grey hair, and his expression was a mix of sternness and sheepishness.

I can see that he is ill at ease and then he says in a firm voice as if on stage:

“The nurses have informed me that you are using the Doctors scrubs. You need to use the nurses scrubs”

I am surprised….”Why” I ask. He stammers I think no one; especially not a foreign female intern has ever questioned him.

“……………they run out of the doctors scrubs, you need to use the “female” scrubs.

I say “okay”, thinking that surely he is worried that I may come across a half dressed male doctor in the doctor’s dressing room, as there are no female physicians in OB.

Next call I traipse to the” female” locker room with “Nurses” at the door. My ego is a little bit bruised, but I brush it aside. Inside I look for pants and there are none. Finally I end up wearing the dress that the nurses wear which comes up to just a little below my knees and leaves my legs naked. My back is tied with a single string, which also leaves me feeling naked.

I go to scrub and gown for the C-Section and wrap my gown around so that my legs and back are covered but then I can’t reach into my pocket when the beeper beeps.

It is aggravating.

Thus begins the unraveling of “heya” a precious, elusive quality in every human being, until it is deliberately stripped under the guise of work, fashion, school, sports or an untamable desire for a brown bird to look like a white bird.

In my case it was surreptitious and gradual over twenty-five years until I did not even bat an eyelash at wearing a skirt that showed my, legs ………until I suddenly realized with a start, how much I had accepted the culture of “peeling off your clothes”.

Heya comes from the word “Life “in Arabic. It is an essential part of our Deen. It gives life to our spirit as it protects us from the harshness of the world and keeps our heart empathic, soft and caring of others.

As Heya is stripped from us, our deen is also stripped from us. As Prophet Muhammad pbuh said and I paraphrase: Heya is an essential ingredient of our Deen.

Prophet Muhammad pbuh had so much Heya that he would not hitch up his azar (the lower part of his garment) to do manual labor because that would expose his thigh and he would be mortified.

Heya is difficult to define in the English language because I guess the English-speaking west does not have the attribute of Heya and thus it does not need to be defined. There fore Heya is absent from the English vocabulary and to a large extent from the English-speaking world.

Heya is that feeling that prevents one from uncovering oneself physically, morally or verbally in a manner that makes the inner pure spirit uncomfortable. Loosely it is called modesty.

Heya is essential for both Muslim men and women. Without heya it is difficult to understand, and embody the spirit of our Deen.

Heya is not a Chador that one can throw on oneself when one reaches puberty. It is a purity of the inner self that is practiced by our parents as they raise us they endeavor to protect us from clothes that bare our bodies as children and expose us to potential pedophiles in the street and by carefully getting us into the habit of covering our bodies out of modesty, not shame.

Then as we approach puberty we are more inclined to protect ourselves from fahsah (open lewdness) by guarding our gaze as well as our bodies and hopefully our thoughts.

Heya is practiced differently in each Muslim country that I have been too.

In Pakistan and India at least when I grew up there (thirty years ago) All girls and boys of “good” families dressed and spoke in a manner that protected their heya. Their speech and their writings also reflected their level of heya.

They were judged by the elders by their level of heya or lewdness to be good or undesirable respectively.

Now it is a different story in Pakistan where the men and women have thrown off their clothes and their heya with them, without even being asked.

In the Pakistani TV programs of wanna be talk shows the hosts use swear words and insult the participating girls and treat them like whores. To my amazement the girls still continue to show up.

In the Middle East, heya is a chador that is suddenly put on the women when they reach puberty but not on the boys. Little girls are dressed resembling the half undressed western singers, by their own mothers. They go around in tank tops and mini shorts showing off their bodies to all, in their innocence. They are drooled on by potential pedophiles and then as puberty hits they not only have to cover their mini shorts but also their hair.

In my humble opinion heya is different from hijab. Heya cannot be put on as a quick body covering like hijab. You can be a hijabi without having heya.

In order to have Heya it is the innocence of the spirit that has to be protected from all evil display, lewd and violent acts (on TV, movies etc) and the development of a pure inner self that is trained to turn away from all that is impure and destructive to the spirit.

Here is how the Pakistani and Indian girls take off their heya without even being asked………….Why? And to what end? I am perplexed:

In the United States………which is a secular country and the melting pot of many religions and faiths, if one wishes to protect one’s heya there are ways of doing so, and educating others in the process. One has to be aware and educated in ones own Deen to know and understand the significance of heya in both boys and girls before doing so.

Heya is a sign of purity in a person. Allah Subhanawataala chooses the pure of heart, the pure of spirit, those with a soft heart, and those with Heya.

Why wouldn’t human beings?

I am in Syria and I ask my christian guide if he has heard “Ave Maria”, he looks at me perplexed, “No” he says shaking his head. I know now why this devout catholic young man did not know what I thought was a Catholic prayer. Listen and then read the rest.

It is the Christmas Season in the south and what I had always thought to be a catholic prayer turn out to be a haunting rendition of a Maiden’s prayer…………………..

Strange as it seems when ever I listen to it, it reminds me of the desert outside Mecca………

Ave Maria, or Ellens dritter Gesang, was composed by Franz Schubert in 1825. The song, contrary to popular belief, was not originally composed for the melody of the Roman Catholic prayer.

Instead, it was composed and used as a setting of a song from the poem Lady of the Lake written by Walter Scott.

According to Wikipedia:
Franz Schubert’s Ellens dritter Gesang (D839, Op 52 no 6, 1825) is often misidentified as “Schubert’s Ave Maria” because it opens with the greeting “Ave Maria” (“Hail Mary”), even though it is not a setting of the traditional Ave Maria prayer.

The original text of Schubert’s song is from Sir Walter Scott’s The Lady of the Lake and was translated into German by Adam Storck. Adding to the confusion, the traditional Ave Maria prayer is often sung to Schubert’s melody of Ellens dritter Gesang; and in Walt Disney’s Fantasia, the tune is used with yet another text beginning with the phrase.

(Who knew that the Ave Maria translation could be so confusing?)

Below you will find the Latin version of the song, as well as the English translation of the German.

Ave Maria Gratia plena
Maria Gratia plena
Maria Gratia plena
Ave, ave dominus
Dominus tecu

Benedicta tu in mulieribus
Et benedictus
Et benedictus fructus ventris
Ventris tui Jesus

Ave Maria
Ave Maria Mater dei
Ora pro nobis pecatoribus
Ora, ora pro nobis
Ora ora pro nobis pecatoribus

Nunc et in hora mortis
In hora mortis, mortis nostrae
In hora mortis nostrae
Ave Maria!

English Version
Ave Maria! Ave Maria! maiden mild!
Listen to a maiden’s prayer!
Thou canst hear though from the wild,
Thou canst save amid despair.
Safe may we sleep beneath thy care,
Though banish’d, outcast and reviled -
Maiden! hear a maiden’s prayer;
Mother, hear a suppliant child!
Ave Maria!

Ave Maria! undefiled!
The flinty couch we now must share
Shall seem this down of eider piled,
If thy protection hover there.
The murky cavern’s heavy air
Shall breathe of balm if thou hast smiled;
Then, Maiden! hear a maiden’s prayer;
Mother, list a suppliant child!
Ave Maria!

Ave Maria! stainless styled!
Foul demons of the earth and air,
From this their wonted haunt exiled,
Shall flee before thy presence fair.
We bow us to our lot of care,
Beneath thy guidance reconciled;
Hear for a maid a maiden’s prayer,
And for a father hear a child!
Ave Maria!

I wrote this letter in response to a beautiful description of the two  marathons and one race that this young muslim woman ran after fajr several cities away from hers, and did very well Alhamdollilah.

Dublin narathon: Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/michalo/283653500/in/photostream/

My dear N,

It was a pleasure to read your inspiring account of your marathons, your prayers and your jihad with your Nafs, and your early morning travels. Thank you for sharing them with me.

Inshallah this Jihad e Nafs will be successful if the goal is eventually to be directed to the Path of Happiness, which is the Path of Allah Subhanawataala

Prophet Muhammad said pick one good thing and do it consistently and then pick a second. Alhamdollillah in all these years of running and your self-discipline to prepare for it, you have demonstrated consistency.

In reading your narration of your early am departures to another city to join a marathon, I am reminded that not many women in the world can travel independently at 3 am in the morning, leave alone run unaccompanied or unchaperoned by family in a strange and new city, and remain unmolested and without being accosted by the bad elements of society. You are truly blessed!

This in my opinion is not only a blessing of where Allah Subhanawataala has placed you geographically but also that He has given you personal protection in a place where a woman is violated every minute of the day (as per American statistics on rape).

So my prayer of thanks to Allah Subhanawataala is for protecting you wherever you go and may he provide the Angels for your safety in all you do.

Many times children are successful in their worldly affairs and feel that it is only by the dint of their own effort. Most certainly what you have done is by the consistent strengthening of your inner self against your Nafs (The Nafs basically wants you to while away your life in eating, sleeping and the hedonistic pursuits of life) and thus Allah Subhanawataala has helped you every step of the way and more when you became obedient to him in remembering not only one salaah but all five.

He (Subhanawataala) says if you take one step towards Him He will take ten towards you.

My prayer of thanks to Him for blessing you with success in your goals of running.

Prophet Muhammad pbuh said that one of the most potent prayers and one that is immediately given audience and granted at the optimum time is: the prayer of the parent, the prayer of the traveler and the prayer of the oppressed.

So when you travel to these marathon sites, please keep my family and me in your prayers.

There are so many women who aspire for the position you have attained, and they may have same or even better attributes than you but have not fulfilled the goals that you have Alhamdollillah!……….I am told the difference is Dua.

Your father tells me that he prays on a regular basis for his children. Thus I observe that all three of you are doing well in this world and have been protected from any major physical or mental catastrophe. I am confidant that your mother also prays for you all and perhaps it is their prayers that have warded off the “Bala’s “ from your life, some that you may not even be aware of.

So I would love for you to pray for your parents and be respectful and obedient to them unless they ask you to leave your Deen or distract you from it. For that is surely the most harmonious path in this world and brings the promise of the Gardens in the Hereafter.

MashaAllah your idea of running for a cause is wonderful, and is a sadaqa of your body as well as a sadaqa e jariya with what you raise. Prophet Muhammad pbuh said that we should give sadaqa of each joint every day; this can be done by acts of kindness, words and deeds.

I know that politics is your thing, but politics change with time, the one thing that does not change and every human being and living thing craves is the feeling of peace.

Thus even before we wish joy for a loved one, we first wish for peace, because joy is not lasting without peace.

So the exhilaration, love, happiness and joy that you feel when you run and when you accomplish your goal, do share that in your everyday life with others, and make dua for them that they too get the peace they crave.

Muslims shower peace on each other just by uttering their salutation of “Asalaam o alaikum” May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon you” What a lovely gift you can give to others and receive effortlessly so many times a day.

You can share the essence of peace easily with everyone you meet, see and exchange words with. You will see the world change around you as you do this consistently.

You drive the airport bus and people from all over the world come to ride with you. The weary, the irritated the disgusted the exhausted, and the sad, you can bring a moment of peace to them too.

Give them a smile, a mint, a salaam and perhaps if you have the guts, wear hijab to work and give the nonverbal message of peace, just with your sweet smile, politeness and consideration. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said, “Smile is a charity” what an easy charity to give!

Contrary to what the American media says, in my polling new hijabis, when a woman dons hijab, people actually become sympathetic, kind, chivalrous and polite. They feel the aggressor is the Muslim man who is making this “poor woman” wear hijab.

Allah Subhanawataala has given the Muslim women of America a special window of time where they can open the door of dawah by donning the hijab and as an American man or woman opens the door for her out of respect, pity or chivalry, give them the message of Allah verbally or non verbally just by smiling and reflecting harmony and peace in your demeanor.

Finally I pray that :

Allah Subhanawataala give you peace, health, safety, happiness and a focus towards His path for that is where true happiness lies.

May He reward you for your efforts of dawah and for fulfilling His rights and being grateful for all that He has given you and protected you from overtly or covertly.

Thank you for sharing your inspiring moments in, before and after the marathons and races, I wish I were there with you.

With lots of love,

Your Aunt A