Ya-seen

Peace:
A word from a Merciful Lord

(36:58) 

Has Man not seen that We
have created him from a drop?
Yet there he is, an open disputer!

And he makes similes for Us,
forgetting his own origin:
he says, "Who can enliven rotten bones?

(36:77-78)

Interesting narration.

When God created Adam and his descendents the angels said "The Earth can not contain them"
and He said: “I am creating death.”
and They said “Then they shall find no pleasure in life.”
and He said: “I am also creating hope.”

Narrated by Hasan Al Busri

unnamed poem By Li Po (8th C. tang poet)

That famous waterclock
The jade toad fountain
Drips too fast
Chokes itself

The dancing girl’s hair
Gets so thin
She’s afraid to comb it

The eyebrow of autumn
Will turn green again

Why do we waste ourselves at twenty
Scrambling for positions
Just so we can work for someone else?

"The world can point to more than itself"
TJ Winters

Letter by Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani

Dear friend, 

   Your heart is a polished mirror. You must wipe it clean of the veil of dust which has gathered upon it, because it is destined to reflect the light of divine secrets.

   When the light from Allah (Who) is the light of the heavens and the earth … begins to shine upon the regions of your heart, the lamp of the heart will be lit. The lamp of the heart is in a glass, the glass is as it were a brightly shining star… Then within that heart, the lightning-shaft of divine discoveries strikes. This lightning-shaft will emanate from the thunderclouds of meaning neither of the East nor of the West, lit from a blessed olive tree … and throw light upon the tree of discovery, so pure, so transparent that it sheds light though fire does not touch it. Then the lamp of wisdom is lit by itself. How can it remain unlit when the light of Allah’s secrets shines over it?

   If only the light of divine secrets shines upon it, the night sky of secrets is lit with thousands of stars… and by the stars (you) find (your) way…  It is not the stars that guide us but the divine light. For Allah has … decked the lower heaven with beauty (in) the stars. If only the lamp of divine secrets be kindled in your inner self the rest will come, either all at once or little by little. Some you already know, some we will tell you here. Read, listen, try to understand. The dark skies of unconsciousness will be lit by divine presense and the peace and beauty of the full moon, which will rise from horizon shedding light upon light, ever rising in the sky, passing through its appointed stages as Allah has … ordained for it mansions, until it shines in glory in the center of the sky, dispersing the darkness of heedlessness. (I swear) by the night when it is still… By the glorious morning light… your night of unconsciousness will see the brightness of the day. Then you will inhale the perfume of remembrance and repent in the early hours of the morning of unconsciousness and regret your life spent in sleep. You will hear the songs of the morning nightingales and you will hear them say

They were In the habit of sleeping but little by night, and in the hours of early dawn they (were found) praying for forgiveness.

Allah guides to His light whom He pleases.

Then you will see from the horizon of Divine Reason the sun of inner knowledge rising. It is your private sun, for you are the one whom Allah guides and are on the right path and not the one He leaves in error, And you will understand the secret that

It is not given to the sun to catch up with the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day. Each swims along in (its appointed) orbit.

Finally, the knot will be untied in accordance with the parables which Allah sets forth for men, and Allah is the Knower of all things, and the veils will lift and shells will shatter, revealing the fine beneath the coarse; the truth will uncover her face.

   All this will begin when the mirror of your heart is cleansed. The light of the divine secrets will fall upon it if you are willing and ask for Him, from Him, with Him.

 

Good Opinions

Reflecting on if you should care what people think of you and I recalled the following sayings of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):

Sahih Al-Bukhari - Book 23 - Chapter 85

Narrated Anas bin Malik (RA): A funeral procession passed and the people praised the deceased. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "It has been affirmed to him." Then another funeral procession passed and the people spoke badly of the deceased. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "It has been  affirmed to him." Umar bin Al-Khattab (RA) asked, "What has been affirmed?" He (Peace and blessings be upon him) replied, "You have praised this one, so Paradise has been affirmed to him; and you have dispraised (spoken badly of) the other, so Fire (Hell) has been affirmed to him. You people are Allah's witnesses on earth."

Narrated Abu Al-Aswad: I came to Al-Madina when an epidemic disease had broken out. While I was sitting with Umar bin Al-Khattab (RA) a funeral procession passed by and the people praised the deceased. Umar (RA) said, "It has been affirmed to him." And another funeral procession passed by and the people praised the deceased. Umar said, "It has been affirmed to him." A third passed by and the people spoke badly of the deceased. He said, "It has been affirmed to him." I asked, "O chief of the believers! What has been affirmed?" He replied, "I said the same as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had said, that is: if four persons testify the piety of a Muslim, Allah will grant him paradise." We asked, "If three persons testify his piety?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) Replied, "Even three." Then we asked, "If two?" He replied "Even two." We did not ask him regarding one witness."

It goes without saying, this does not in the least way suggest you should do anything for people's good opinion. Intentions for your actions should always be kept pure. You should however not give people a reason to think ill of you.

"No one will enter paradise by his/her actions alone."
Perhaps God will allow me in The Garden by his mercy because two or more people thought better of me than I am.

Please have a good opinion of me.

Excerpts from "Mutual Reminding"

"Mutual Reminding" by Imam Abdallah ibn Alawi Al-haddad

Sayings of the Prophet (Sal-allah alaihi wa sal-lam):

"Had this World weighed with God the wing of a gnat, He would not have allowed a disbeliever a sip of it's water." 

"God keeps the world away from His believing servant, just as a careful shepherd keeps his flock away from dangerous pastures."

Quote of Ali Ibn Abi Talib (radhiallahu anhu)

"I found this world to be six things: That which is eaten, the best tasting is honey, and it is the secretion of an insect; that which is drunk, the best is water, and in this both the righteous and the depraved are equal; that which is smelled, the most fragrant is must, and it is the blood of an animal; that which is worn, the softest is silk, and it is the weaving of a worm; that which is ridden, the worthiest is the mare, and it is that on whose back men are slain; those which one marries, it is but base fluid in base fluid. It is sufficient for you to know that although the woman adorns herself with the best she has, your desire for her is for the basest she has!"