Sunday, April 28, 2019

ألستُ بربكم

Imam al-Shāfiʿī (may God have mercy on him) said:

In a stance of humility before Your supreme might,
With a hidden secret whose knowledge I cannot encompass,
With my head bowed low, confessing my lowliness,
With my hands outstretched, seeking the rain of generosity and mercy.

By Your Most Beautiful Names, some of whose descriptions—
By their majesty—overwhelm both prose and verse,
By an ancient covenant from “Am I not your Lord?”
By Him who was concealed, then made known through the Names—

Let us taste the drink of intimate closeness,
O You who, when You give drink to a lover,
Grant a draught that brings neither harm nor thirst.

قال الإمام الشافعي رحمه الله

بموقفِ ذلي دونَ عزتكَ العظمى

بِمَخفيِّ سِرٍّ لاَ أحِيطُ بِهِ عِلْمَا

بِإطْرَاقِ رَأْسي، باعتِرَافي بِذِلّتي

بمدِّ يدي، استمطرُ الجودَ والرُّحمى

بأسْمَائِكَ الحسنى التي بَعْضُ وصْفِهَا

لعزتها يستغرقُ النثرَ والنظما

بعهدٍ قديمٍ من” ألستُ بربكم”؟

بِمَنْ كَانَ مَكْنوناً فَعُرِّف بالأَسْمَا

أَذِقْنَا شَرَابَ الأنْسِ يَا مَنْ إذَا سَقَى

مُحِبّاً شراباً لاَ يُضَامُ وَلاَ يَظْمَا

Friday, April 26, 2019

هنيئا لنا رسول الله

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On the Day when everything flees from everything else, we will find no one except the one who says, “I am for it, I am for it.”

On that tremendous Day, neither prayer, nor supplication, nor fasting, nor charity will benefit us—rather, what will benefit us is the Messenger of God, the صاحب الشفاعة العظمى (the bearer of the Greatest Intercession), the possessor of the Praiseworthy Station, and the one under whom the Banner of Praise is raised.

So blessed are we to have the Messenger of God.

يوم يفر كل شيء من كل شيء ، لا نجد الا من قال انا لها انا لها .
فلم تنفعنا هناك فى الموقف العظيم صلاة ولا دعاء ولا صوم ولا زكاه ، وإنّما نفعنا رسول الله صاحب الشفاعة العظمى والمقام المحمود ولوآء الحمد المعقود ، فهنيئا لنا رسول الله

Thursday, April 18, 2019

قصة حزب البحر للإمام أبي الحسن الشاذلي

 


Image result for ‫حزب البحر‬‎

Ḥizb al-Baḥr (The Litany of the Sea) is a supplication.
The word ḥizb means a group of words that come together and unite. Supplication is a relationship between you and God; within supplication there is the meaning of hopeful expectation (ʿasham). When you come to know His generosity, you aspire to His bounty.

It also carries the meaning of praise, for your asking Him and knocking on His door is proof that you know He is the One who suffices you—so you are praising Him by affirming His richness.

It also carries the meaning of love. God placed within our very nature a neediness toward Him so that He would compel us to turn to Him and remain with Him always—and thus be happy. In attachment to God there is happiness, and in severing the relationship with Him there is sorrow and depression.

Sayyidunā Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī said about Ḥizb al-Baḥr:

“I was taught it by the Messenger of God, letter by letter,”
meaning that the Prophet ﷺ singled him out and taught it to him in a vision (dream).

But are visions truthful or not?

A vision contains images and sounds. Whoever sees the image of the Messenger of God ﷺ in a vision has truly seen him, because the Prophet ﷺ said:

“Whoever sees me has truly seen me, for Satan cannot take my form.”

As for the sounds we hear in visions, these may contain ambiguity, because a voice may come from Satan.

The people of God possess such light and inner clarity that they can discern whether this imparting is from the Prophet ﷺ or not. They speak only from certainty and true knowledge. Sayyidī Abū al-Ḥasan used to say:

“If your spiritual unveiling contradicts the Qur’an and the Sunnah, then hold fast to the Qur’an and the Sunnah and abandon the unveiling. Say to yourself: God has guaranteed infallibility for me in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, but He has not guaranteed it in unveiling, inspiration, or witnessing—except after presenting it to the Qur’an and the Sunnah.”

Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī used to perform pilgrimage every year, taking his route through Upper Egypt and the Sea of Jeddah. He would reside in Mecca during the month of Rajab and beyond it until the completion of the pilgrimage, then visit the Noble Grave and return to his homeland.

In the year in which he passed away, when the Shaykh intended to travel for pilgrimage from Cairo shortly after the pilgrims had departed, he said: “Find us a boat to travel by to Upper Egypt.” They searched for a boat and found none except one belonging to a Christian man and his sons, so they boarded it.

After traveling for two or three days, the wind changed direction and then died down, so they anchored on the bank of the Nile while they could see Mount Cairo.

Shaykh Sharaf al-Dīn, the son of Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan, says:
“We witnessed wonders of God’s power beyond imagination. We were looking at Mount Cairo while the wind was still, and the Shaykh—may God be pleased with him—was inside the cabin. He came out of the cabin and began this supplication (i.e., Ḥizb al-Baḥr), then said to one of the sailors, the son of the priest—his name was Mismar:
‘O Mismar of goodness, raise the sail and mention the name of God.’

He said: ‘Are we returning to Cairo?’
The Shaykh replied: ‘Rather, we are traveling, God willing.’

He said: ‘But the wind will drive us back to Cairo for the rest of the day, and it is impossible to set sail with it at all.’

The Shaykh said: ‘Raise the sails with the blessing of God.’

So he did. Then the wind turned and came at once as a fierce, violent wind, such that no boat remained on the surface of the water. Our boat rose and fell upon the water as though it were flying. We would look at a distant silhouette, and moments later it would be behind us. The Bedouins on the shore remained waiting for us to drown, convinced that the boat could not remain steady in that condition.

When the time for the afternoon prayer arrived, we saw dark shapes and traces, which those familiar with the land recognized—behold, it was Akhmīm. When we arrived, we lowered the sails and entered among the boats. The people were astonished at having traveled safely in such violent winds. The people of the town came out to receive the Shaykh—may God be pleased with him. The sons of the priest embraced Islam when they witnessed the عظيمة power of God. Their father hesitated, so the Shaykh—may God be pleased with him—called him and seated him before him. He began to tremble, so the Shaykh instructed us to recite Sūrat al-Mā’idah over him. God opened his chest, and he embraced Islam. That boat was then named after the Shaykh, may God be pleased with him.”

Travelers who passed through the Egyptian lands in the past would observe the students of Sayyidī Abū al-Ḥasan committing themselves to reciting Ḥizb al-Baḥr every morning, beginning their day with it. Ibn Baṭṭūṭah says:

“I saw them reciting every day after the dawn prayer a portion of the Qur’an, then reciting the litanies of Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī and Ḥizb al-Baḥr.”

To follow the full series of explanations:
https://goo.gl/n9uBTW

To listen to the explanation:
https://goo.gl/Amy6DY

To participate in the million-recitation campaign #Ḥizb_al-Baḥr:
http://bit.ly/2KD1p01

حزب البحر دعاء و معنى كلمة حزب أي مجموعة الكلمات التي تتحزب و تجتمع مع بعضها ، و الدُعاء علاقة بينك و بين الله في الدعاء معنى العشم ، فأنت لمّا علمت كرمه طمعت في فضله
و فيه معنى المدح ؛ فهو مدح لله لأن طلبك منه و طرقك لبابه دليل على علمك بأنه يغنيك ، فأنت تمدحه بالغنى
و فيه معنى الحب ؛ فالله جعل في ذواتنا الفقر إليه حتى يضطرّنا إليه فنكون معه دائما فنسعد ؛ ففي التعلق بالله السعادة ، و في انقطاع العلاقة معه كآبة

قال سيدنا أبو الحسن الشاذلي عن حزب البحر
” لُقّنته من رسول الله حرفاً حرفا ” يعني اختصه به النبي ﷺ ولقّنه في الرؤيا
لكن هل الرؤيا تكون صادقة أم غير صادقة ؟
الرؤيا يكون فيها صورة ، و يكون فيها صوت ؛ من رأى صورة رسول الله ﷺ في الرؤيا فهو حقيقة لأن النبي ﷺ
قال : ” من رآني فقد رآني ، فإن الشيطان لا يتمثل بي

أما الأصوات التي نسمعها في الرؤى هي التي قد يكون فيها إشكالات ، فالصوت قد يكون من الشيطان

و أهل الله يكون عندهم من النور و الشفافية ما يعرفون به هل هذا الإلقاء من النبي ﷺ أم لا ؟ فهم لا يتكلمون إلا عن يقين و معرفة . و قد كان سيدي أبو الحسن يقول ” إذا عارض كشفك الكتاب و السنة فتمسك بالكتاب و السنة و دع الكشف ، و قل لنفسك : إن الله ضمن لي العصمة في الكتاب و السنة ، و لم يضمنها في جانب الكشف و لا الإلهام و لا المشاهدة إلا بعد عرضه على الكتاب و السنة

كان الشيخ أبو الحسن الشاذلي يحج في كل سنة ، و يجعل طريقه على صعيد مصر و بحر جدة ، و يجاور بمكة شهر رجب إلى ما بعده حتى انقضاء الحج ، و يزور القبر الشريف ثم يعود إلى بلده
فلما كانت السنة التي توفي فيها و أراد الشيخ السفر إلى الحج من القاهرة بعد خروج الحجاج بمدة يسيرة ، قال : اطلبوا لنا مركباً نسافر به إلى الصعيد
فبحثوا عن مركب فلم يجدوا إلا مركباً لرجل نصراني و أولاده ، فركبوا فيها ، و بعد مسيرهم بيومين أو ثلاثة تبدّل اتجاه الريح و سكَنَت فأرسوا على شاطيء النيل و هم يرَون جبل القاهرة
يقول الشيخ شرف الدين ولد الشيخ سيدي أبي الحسن : فرأينا من عجائب قدرة الله ما يُقضى منه العجب ؛ و ذلك أننا كنا ننظر جبل القاهرة و الريح ساكنة و الشيخ – رضي الله عنه – داخل الكيب ، فخرج من الكيب و استفتح هذا الدعاء [ أي حزب البحر ] ثم قال لأحد البحارة من ولد القسيس – و اسمه مسمار – : ” يا مسمار الخير ، افتح القلع و سمِّ الله تعالى
قال : نرجع إلى القاهرة ؟
قال الشيخ : بل مسافرين إن شاء الله تعالى
قال : و لكن الريح تَرُدُّنا إلى القاهرة بقية هذا اليوم و لا يمكن الإقلاع بها أصلاً
فقال الشيخ : افتح القلاع على بركة الله تعالى
ففعل ؛ فدارت الريح و جاءت في الوقت ريح عاصف شديد بحيث لم يبق على ظهر البحر مركب ، و بقي المركب يرتفع على الماء و يحطُّ فيه كأنه يطير طيراناً ، حتى إننا لننظر إلى الشبح البعيد ففي الوقت يصير وراءنا ، و بقي العُربان على البر ينتظرون غرقنا ؛ لتحققهم أن المركب لا تثبت على تلك الحال

فلما حان وقت العصر رأينا سواداً و آثاراً فتبين ذلك من يعرف تلك البلاد ؛ فإذا هي أخميم ، فلما وصلنا حط القلع و دخلنا بين المراكب و الناس يتعجبون من السفر في تلك الريح الشديدة و السلامة مع ذلك ، و خرج أهل البلد يتلقون الشيخ – رضي الله عنه – و أسلم أولاد القسيس لما رأوه من عظيم قدرة الله تعالى ، و تلكأ والدهم ، فدعاه الشيخ –رضي الله عنه- و أجلسه بين يديه فصار يتلون ، فأمرنا فقرأنا عليه سورة المائدة ، فشرح الله تعالى صدره و أسلم ، و جعل تلك المركب باسم الشيخ رضي الله عنه

الرحالة الذين كانوا يمرون على الديار المصرية قديما كانوا يرون تلاميذ سيدي أبي الحسن يلتزمون ب حزب البحر صباحا فيبدأون به يومهم ، يقول ابن بطوطة
“و رأيتهم يقرأون في كل يوم بعد صلاة الصبح حزبا من القرآن ثم يقرأون أوراد الشيخ أبي الحسن الشاذلي وحزب البحر “

لمتابعة أجزاء الشرح كاملة
من هنا ⬅ https://goo.gl/n9uBTW

للاستماع للشرح
من هنا ⬅ https://goo.gl/Amy6DY

للمشاركة في مليونية #حزب_البحر
من هنا⬅ http://bit.ly/2KD1p01

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

السموات السبع


There is no doubt that the Arab-American group of specialists in science and those interested in the language and religion, which is behind this effort, possesses an integration of knowledge, which makes it steadfast in front of the exhibitionists and critics, but the question leads to try to understand channels of their funding, and their reluctance to communicate with the Islamic scientific boards. There is a schism between the Muslims of the school and the Muslims of the mosque, but the fault must be bridged for the development of the entire Muslim community. More than 80% of Muslims still owe loyalty to the sheikh at mosques, between anguish Fatwas and anomalous practices
مما لا شك فيه أن المجموعة العربية الاميريكية من المختصين في العلوم والمهتمين باللغة والدين ، والتي تقف وراء ها العمل ، تملك من التكامل المعرفي ما يجعلها صامدة أمام المعرضين والمنتقدين ، لكن السؤال يقود لمحاولة فهم قنوات التمويل لها من جانب ، وعزوفها عن التواصل مع المجمعات العلمية الاسلامية من آخر.. نعم ، هناك شقاق بين مسلمي المدرسة ومسلمي المشيخة ، ولكن لابد من رأب الصدع لتطوير المجتمع المسلم قاطبة ، حيث لازال أكثر من 80% من المسلمين يدينون بالولاء للمشيخة ، فيما بين الفتاوي الشاذة والممارسات الشاذة

After the black hole… you must come to know the seven heavens

There are those who claim that the Qur’an says the Earth was created before the heaven, attempting to fabricate a troubling point of contradiction between the Qur’an and science. But far from it—far from it. The Qur’an is the written universe of God.

They rely on God’s saying in Sūrat Fuṣṣilat:

“…Then He turned to the heaven while it was smoke…”
and His saying in Sūrat al-Baqarah:
“He is the One who created for you all that is on the earth, then He turned to the heaven…”

We say to them, simply, that the meaning of “then He turned to the heaven” is that the heaven already existed before the Earth.

Accordingly, the phrase “so He completed them as seven” means that the heavens were completed as seven—it does not mean that God created seven heavens anew after the Earth.
Likewise, the phrase “so He fashioned them as seven” means that the heavens were completed into seven in an ordered, leveled state—it does not mean that God created seven heavens anew after the Earth.

Thus, the Qur’anic model of the creation of the universe is as follows:

  1. The creation of the heaven, to which the Most Merciful turned, then

  2. The completion of the Earth at two-thirds of the age of the universe, then

  3. An expansive increase of the heavens into seven.

This matches exactly the model of the creation of the universe in physics, which is as follows:

  1. The existence of space, then

  2. The completion of the Earth at two-thirds of the age of the universe, then

  3. An expansive increase in space.

Finally, physics has informed us that the story of the creation of the universe is the story of regions in space, each region playing a specific role in the process of creation, and all of them still existing to this day and observable from space. The Qur’an likewise tells us that the story of the creation of the universe is the story of seven heavens, each heaven playing a specific role in the process of creation, all of them still existing to this day and observable, and that in each heaven its command was revealed.

The order does not matter to you: the first heaven from your perspective is the seventh in the order of creation, and the first heaven in the order of creation is the seventh from your perspective—it all depends on where you begin counting.

There will certainly be those who argue and say: You are now saying that the story of the Big Bang and the origin of the universe is the story of seven regions in space. Suppose tomorrow science says they are eight, or nine, or six, or five—what will you say then, and what will the position be?

We say to them:
First: The Qur’an said seven, and up to this moment, in the most well-known representations of the Big Bang on physics and astronomy platforms, they are seven regions.
Second: In truth, the number is not important at all. What matters is that science and religion have agreed that the story of the creation of the universe is the story of regions in space, each region having played a specific role and still existing to this day.

That is, they did not fulfill their role and then disappear. The Qur’an called them heavens, and science called them regions in space.

وبعد الثقب الأسود.. لابد ان تعرف ال٧ سموات

هناك من يدعي أن القرآن يقول إن الأرض خلقت أولاً ثم السماء ، من أجل أن يوجد نقطة خلاف مقلقة بين القرآن والعلم
لكن هيهات هيهات.. فالقرآن هو كون الله المسطور

يستند هؤلاء إلى قوله تعالى في سورة فصلت: “.. ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاءِ وَهِيَ دُخَانٌ …….”. وقوله في سورة البقرة: “هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ ……” نقول لهم ببساطة إن معنى “ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاءِ” أى أن السماء كانت موجودة أصلاً قبل الأرض

وبذلك تكون كلمة “فقضاهن سبعة” اى اكمل السموات لسبعة وليست معناها ان الله خلق سبع سموات من جديد بعد الارض
وبذلك تكون كلمة “فسواهن سبعة” اى اكمل السموات لسبعة فى وضع مستوى وليست معناها ان الله خلق سبع سموات من جديد بعد الارض

وبهذا يكون نموذج خلق الكون فى القرآن كالتالى
١) خلق السماء التى استوى اليها الرحمن ثم
٢) اكتمال الارض عند ثلثى عمر الكون ثم
٣) زيادة توسعية في السموات لسبعة

مطابقا تماما لنموذج خلق الكون فى الفيزياء الذى هو كالتالى
١) وجود الفضاء ثم
٢) اكتمال الارض عند ثلثى عمر الكون ثم
٣) زيادة توسعية فى الفضاء

وأخيرا أخبرتنا الفيزياء ان قصة خلق الكون هى قصة مناطق فى الفضاء كل منطقة قامت بدور معين فى عملية الخلق ومازالت موجودة الى الآن ويمكن مشاهدتها من الفضاء وأخبرنا القرآن ان قصة خلق الكون هى قصة سبعة سموات كل سماء قامت بدور معين فى عملية الخلق ومازالت موجودة الى الآن ويمكن مشاهدتها ، وأوحى فى كل سماء أمرها
ولا يهمك الترتيب فالسماء الأولى بالنسبة لك هى السابعة بالنسبة لترتيب الخلق والسماء الاولى فى ترتيب الخلق هى السابعة بالنسبة لك فهى تتوقف على من أين تبدأ العد

وهناك من سوف يجادل بالتأكيد ويقول أنتم الآن تقولون ان قصة البيج بانج أو الانفجار العظيم ونشأة الكون هي قصة سبع مناطق فى الفضاء، ولنفرض غدًا أن العلم قال أنهم ثمانية أو تسعة أو ستة أو خمسة فماذا ستقولون وقتها وماذا سيكون الموقف اذن؟؟؟

نقول لهم
أولًا: القرآن قال سبعة والى هذه اللحظة وفى أشهر صور للانفجار العظيم أو البيج بانج على مواقع الفيزياء والفلك فهم سبعة مناطق
ثانيا: في الحقيقة ان العدد غير مهم على الإطلاق.. المهم هو أن العلم والدين اتفقا معًا على أن قصة خلق الكون هى قصة مناطق فى الفضاء كل منطقة قامت بدور معين وما زالت موجودة إلى الآن
أى أنها لم تقم بدورها واختفت أسماها القرآن سماوات وأسماها العلم مناطق في الفضاء

Saturday, April 13, 2019

Muslims arrived in America 400 years ago

 

as part of the slave trade and today are vastly diverse

By Saeed Ahmed Khan | –

04/13/2019

Most Americans say they don’t know a Muslim and that much of what they understand about Islam is from the media.

It’s not surprising then to see the many misunderstandings that exist about Muslims. Some see them as outsiders and a threat to the American way of life and values. President Donald Trump’s controversial policy to impose a ban on Muslims from seven countries entering into the United States played into such fears.

What many don’t know, however, is that Muslims have been in America well before America became a nation. In fact, some of the earliest arrivals to this land were Muslim immigrants – forcibly transported as slaves in the transatlantic trade, whose 400th anniversary is being observed this year.

The first American Muslims

Scholars estimate that as many as 30% of the African slaves brought to the U.S., from West and Central African countries like Gambia and Cameroon, were Muslim. Among the difficulties they faced, were also those related to their faith.

As a scholar of Muslim communities in the West, I know African slaves were forced to abandon their Islamic faith and practices by their owners, both to separate them from their culture and religious roots and also to “civilize” them to Christianity.

Historian Sylviane Diouf explains how despite such efforts, many slaves retained aspects of their customs and traditions, and found new, creative ways to express them. Slave devotionals sung in the fields, for example, kept the tunes and memory of a bygone life alive well after the trauma of dislocation.

Diouf argues that blues music, one of the quintessential forms of American culture, can trace its origins to Muslim influences from the slave era. She also demonstrates how the famous blues song, “Levee Call Holler,” has a style and melody that comes from the Muslim call to prayer, the “adhan.”

Blues has also influenced a host of other American music genres, from country to rock ‘n’ roll, and the most well-known of American musical forms, jazz. The famous jazz player John Coltrane, known for his seminal work “A Love Supreme,” appears to be influenced by the cadence of Islamic prayers and devotionals.

Scholar Hisham Aidi, author of “Rebel Music,” along with a host of jazz musicians, argues that Coltrane is singing “Allah Supreme” in the Islamic devotional style of “dhikr,” or remembrance of God.

The Muslim communities of America today

Today’s America incorporates a large diversity of Muslims, who have immigrated from many parts of the world. Many immigrated after the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965.

They are from Africa and the Middle East, as well as South and Southeast Asia. African American Muslims, descendants of the slave generations in this country, comprise a sizable chunk – about 20% – somewhere between 600,000 to 850,000 – of the total Muslim population in the in the United States.

In this diverse mix are also those who belong to the Nation of Islam – a political and religious movement founded by Elijah Muhammad in the 1930s. Muhammad, son of former slaves, wanted to promote black empowerment in the face of racism. The number of those who belong to the Nation of Islam have greatly declined since then.

This diversity is reflected in the customs, interpretations and rituals practiced by the many denominations here. It is also reflected in the racial, ethnic and cultural composition of the community, or perhaps more accurately, a group of communities.

All these differences can make interaction between these communities a challenge. But American Muslims, despite their complex histories, have learned to blend experiences that are truly unique.

As more recently arrived immigrant Muslims interact with their coreligionists whose legacy dates back 400 years in this country, new engagements inform the new reality.The Conversation

Saeed Ahmed Khan, Senior Lecturer, Wayne State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

—–

Bonus video added by Informed Comment:

The Secret History of Muslims in the U.S. | NYT Opinion

خلق الخلق

FB_IMG_1490438794463

O servants of God, we want to be builders, not destroyers.
For when God created creation, He created it for three purposes:

First: Worship

“I did not create the jinn and mankind except that they worship Me.”
(Qur’an 51:56)
Because one who does not acknowledge the Divine nor worship Him is in great danger and close to spreading corruption on earth.

Second: Cultivation and stewardship of the earth

“Indeed, I am placing upon the earth a successor.”
(Qur’an 2:30)
“He brought you forth from the earth and settled you in it.”
(Qur’an 11:61)
Meaning: He asked you to cultivate and develop it. This concept has no true equivalent in any language of the world—the cultivation of the earth—because it includes the human being, buildings, and the entire cosmos. It is not limited to material construction alone.

Third: Morality
One must be a person of noble character, for the Prophet ﷺ said:

“I was sent only to perfect noble character.”

عباد الله إننا نريد أن نكون معمرين ، وألا نكون مدمرين ؛ لأن الله عندما خلق الخلق خلقهم لأهدافٍ ثلاثة

أولًا: العبادة {وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الجِنَّ وَالإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ} لأن الذي لا يعترف بالإله ، ولا يعبده على خطرٍ كبيرٍ ، وقربٍ من الفساد في الأرض

ثانيًا: العمارة {إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً} ، {هُوَ أَنْشَأَكُمْ مِنَ الأَرْضِ وَاسْتَعْمَرَكُمْ فِيهَا} أي طلب منكم عمارها ، وهذه الكلمة ليس لها شبيه في كل لغات العالم ، عمارة الأرض ؛ لأنها تشمل الإنسان، وتشمل البنيان ، وتشمل الأكوان ، وليست قاصرة على العمارة المادية

ثالثًا: الأخلاق ، يجب أن تكون صاحب خلقٍ فقد قال ﷺ: إنما بُعثت لأتمم مكارم الأخلاق

فَإِنَّكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا

eb203fb61d50c8cac814cc8dab06dca1

Imam al-Ghazālī (may God have mercy on him) said:

If you see that God withholds the world from you and increases for you hardships and trials, then know that you are precious to Him, that you hold a special rank with Him, and that He is guiding you along the path of His friends and chosen ones. He is watching over you. Do you not hear His saying, the Exalted:

“So be patient for the judgment of your Lord, for indeed you are under Our watchful eyes.”
 

قال الإمام الغزالي رحمه الله

إذا رأيت الله يحبس عنك الدنيا ويكثر عليك الشدائد والبلوى ، فاعلم أنك عزيز عنده ، وأنك عنده بمكان ، وأنه يسلك بك طريق أوليائه وأصفيائه ،وأنه يراك ، أما تسمع قوله تعالى

{وَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ فَإِنَّكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا }

العارف

Muslims arrived in America 400 years ago

 

as part of the slave trade and today are vastly diverse

By Saeed Ahmed Khan | –

04/13/2019

Most Americans say they don’t know a Muslim and that much of what they understand about Islam is from the media.

It’s not surprising then to see the many misunderstandings that exist about Muslims. Some see them as outsiders and a threat to the American way of life and values. President Donald Trump’s controversial policy to impose a ban on Muslims from seven countries entering into the United States played into such fears.

What many don’t know, however, is that Muslims have been in America well before America became a nation. In fact, some of the earliest arrivals to this land were Muslim immigrants – forcibly transported as slaves in the transatlantic trade, whose 400th anniversary is being observed this year.

The first American Muslims

Scholars estimate that as many as 30% of the African slaves brought to the U.S., from West and Central African countries like Gambia and Cameroon, were Muslim. Among the difficulties they faced, were also those related to their faith.

As a scholar of Muslim communities in the West, I know African slaves were forced to abandon their Islamic faith and practices by their owners, both to separate them from their culture and religious roots and also to “civilize” them to Christianity.

Historian Sylviane Diouf explains how despite such efforts, many slaves retained aspects of their customs and traditions, and found new, creative ways to express them. Slave devotionals sung in the fields, for example, kept the tunes and memory of a bygone life alive well after the trauma of dislocation.

Diouf argues that blues music, one of the quintessential forms of American culture, can trace its origins to Muslim influences from the slave era. She also demonstrates how the famous blues song, “Levee Call Holler,” has a style and melody that comes from the Muslim call to prayer, the “adhan.”

Blues has also influenced a host of other American music genres, from country to rock ‘n’ roll, and the most well-known of American musical forms, jazz. The famous jazz player John Coltrane, known for his seminal work “A Love Supreme,” appears to be influenced by the cadence of Islamic prayers and devotionals.

Scholar Hisham Aidi, author of “Rebel Music,” along with a host of jazz musicians, argues that Coltrane is singing “Allah Supreme” in the Islamic devotional style of “dhikr,” or remembrance of God.

The Muslim communities of America today

Today’s America incorporates a large diversity of Muslims, who have immigrated from many parts of the world. Many immigrated after the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965.

They are from Africa and the Middle East, as well as South and Southeast Asia. African American Muslims, descendants of the slave generations in this country, comprise a sizable chunk – about 20% – somewhere between 600,000 to 850,000 – of the total Muslim population in the in the United States.

In this diverse mix are also those who belong to the Nation of Islam – a political and religious movement founded by Elijah Muhammad in the 1930s. Muhammad, son of former slaves, wanted to promote black empowerment in the face of racism. The number of those who belong to the Nation of Islam have greatly declined since then.

This diversity is reflected in the customs, interpretations and rituals practiced by the many denominations here. It is also reflected in the racial, ethnic and cultural composition of the community, or perhaps more accurately, a group of communities.

All these differences can make interaction between these communities a challenge. But American Muslims, despite their complex histories, have learned to blend experiences that are truly unique.

As more recently arrived immigrant Muslims interact with their coreligionists whose legacy dates back 400 years in this country, new engagements inform the new reality.The Conversation

Saeed Ahmed Khan, Senior Lecturer, Wayne State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

—–

Bonus video added by Informed Comment:

The Secret History of Muslims in the U.S. | NYT Opinion

Saturday, April 6, 2019

إلهي

 

إلهي :
أى باب أقصَد غير بابك ؟
وأى جناب أتوجه إليه غير جنابك ؟

Friday, April 5, 2019

التعامل مع المثليين

Image result for gay parade

She asked me, and she said:

There is currently a trend in Western societies to make homosexuals a familiar, normalized image everywhere, and now they openly declare and take pride in their homosexual identity.

A conversation took place between me and one of the Muslim women about the fact that when I deal with them in the context of my work, I treat them kindly on the surface like anyone else, give them their due rights, and do not show them any aversion. However, inwardly I feel intense discomfort, aversion, and disgust toward what they are engaged in as a sin. I feel sorrow for them and wish that God would guide them. This woman’s response was that this should not be the case—that although we know what they do is forbidden, we must accept them and should not feel distress or disgust toward what they are doing. Rather, our feelings toward them should be the same as toward anyone else. She was disturbed by my feelings.

She then asked me a strange question that I could not answer, so I am putting it to you, perhaps you know the answer and can guide me as to what I should feel regarding this trial.

She said to me:
If the Messenger of God ﷺ were to meet them, would he feel aversion toward them? And what would his feelings and his manner of dealing with them be like?

So I answered her:

Your feeling of aversion is correct, and this aversion is natural. It is different from contempt of the heart. What is natural is beyond one’s control, whereas contempt for people is forbidden. The Prophet ﷺ did not eat the desert lizard and said, “I find myself averse to it.” And God said, “He has made disbelief, wickedness, and disobedience hateful to you.” So we feel revulsion toward sins, not toward the sinner. But for us, the two feelings—toward the sinner and toward the sin—often overlap, and we are unable to distinguish between them. Those who have attained spiritual completeness honor creation while also honoring the sacred symbols of the Truth.

سألتني فقالت
هناك اتجاه الان في المجتمعات الغربية لجعل المثليين صورة معتادة في كل مكان والان يجهرون ويتفاخرون بهويتهم المثلية
و جري حديث بيني وبين احدي السيدات المسلمات عن أني حين اتعامل معهم في إطار عملي فاني اعاملهم معاملة طيبة ظاهريا كأي اَي حد وأوفي اليهم حقهم ولا أشعرهم باي نفور ، لكن إحساسي الداخلي يكون في اشد الانزعاج والنفور و الاشمئزاز من ما هم عليه من معصية واشعر بالأسف تجاههم واتمني من الله ان يهديهم ، فكان رد هذه السيدة علي ان هذا لا ينبغي و اننا نعرف ان ما يفعلونه محرم و لكن يجب علينا ان نتقبلهم ولا يصيبنا الضيق او الاشمئزاز من ما هم عليه ، بل احساسنا تجاههم يكون كأي شخص اخر وانزعجت من إحساسي ، وسألتني سؤال عجيب لم استطع الرد عليه واطرحه عليك لعلك تعرف الإجابة وترشدني ماذا يجب ان اشعر به تجاه هذا البلاء

قالت لي
هل لو قابلهم رسول الله صَل الله عليه وسلم كان سينفر منهم ، وكيف سيكون احساسه وتعامله معهم ؟

فأجبتها
احساسك صحيح فى النفرة
وهذه نفرة طبعية
وهي غير الازدراء القلبي
فالطبيعي لا حيلة فيه
والازدراء للاشخاص منهيون عنه
وسيدنا النبي لم يأكل الضب وقال اراني اعافه
والله قال وكره اليكم الكفر والفسوق والعصيان
فنحن نشمئز من المعاصي لا العاصي
لكن يتداخل الشعوران عندنا بين العاصي والمعاصي فلا نستطيع التفريق بينهما
واهل الكمال يعظمون الخلق ويعظمون شعآئر الحق

علامة محبته لك

Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

If He withholds from you what you love, and instead turns you toward what He loves, then that is a sign of His love for you.

Its meaning:
That God not giving you—O servant—what you want is due to the limitation of your wisdom in perceiving where your true benefit lies. And His redirecting you and granting you what He loves for you comes from the perfection of His wisdom and His knowledge of what is best for you, O servant. This is the clearest proof of His care for you and His guardianship over you, and He does this only out of His love for you.

 أبو الحسن الشاذلي رضي الله عنه :

إذا منعك ما تحب ؛ وردك إلى ما يحب ، فهو علامة محبته لك

معناه : أن عدم إعطآئه لك أيها العبد ما تريد لقصور حكمتك عن إدراك ما فيه مصلحتك ، وردك وأعطاك ما يحب هو لكمال حكمته في علمه بما يصلحك أيها العبد ، فهذا أدل دليل على عنايته بك ورعايته لك ، وما فعل هذا إلا لحبه لك

تعريف الكبائر

  لعل هذا المقطع والتعليقات عليه تدل بما لا يدعو للشك أن غالب الناس لا يملكون متطلبات النقاش العقلاني والمنطقي، منذ أن قاموا ضد محمد شحرور، ...