بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله رب العالمين و الصلاة و السلام على الحبيب محمد المصطفى و على آله و صحبه و سلم
All praises belong to Allah alone, from whom we ask for guidance and protection, upon whom we depend, and to whom we will return by His grace, mercy, and will. Praise be to Him who has placed us in this world and has not created anything with idle purpose. Gratitude is owed to Him who has elevated human kind and made subservient all of His creations for our benefit. Transcendent is He whose rights over us are obvious and certain and whose mercy is encompassing and generous.
In recent days, He - most glorified and exalted is He - blessed this humble community with an honoured guest. Many sipped at the fountain of his knowledge, character, and his efforts to call people to strive towards states of greater insight and purpose. As I reflect on the last few days, I'm still very much at a loss for words as my heart still tries to absorb the whole experience. It is a sign, and signs by their nature point to something other than themselves. Shaykh Yahya Rhodus, in his talks that punctuated the lessons given to us by Al Habib Umar bin Muhammad bin Hafiz, - الله يحفظه - repeatedly mentioned that a return to prophetic guidance and Quranic teachings are not only possible but necessary. The only thing that holds us back from achieving anything of this sort is ourselves. And really, it requires a great deal of reflection on our current circumstances and what we want out of our lives, and it requires sincerity in making changes to reach our lofty potential.
It is not befitting for humans, those of sound intellect, to doubt their Lord's majesty, transcendence, and supreme power over all things. And we must recognize that in His infinite wisdom and generosity, He keeps opening doors for us, one after another, to improve ourselves and to cleanse ourselves of the stains, hardships, and angst that we adorn ourselves with as we label it reality. "Reality" is that we have a limited time to live in ways that call to good and that recognizes our position in this world. Interestingly, lessons in these last few days, as I saw them, cradle messages quite like those that distinguished revelations in the Makkan period. That is to say that they seemed to invite us to establish a firm belief in the Oneness of Allah, to recognize His Lordship, and to see His prophet - may peace and blessings be upon him - as one whom He has honoured and by whose example we can learn to rectify our states both outwardly and inwardly.
Taking a step back, we must ask ourselves: Why do we love our teachers? Why are our hearts moved by their presence, prayers, and words? Why do we feel as though opportunities are lost when we cannot attend gatherings with them? Why do we shadow them and wait anxiously for their counsel? Because they, unlike us, have grasped wisdom, revelation, knowledge, and understanding with a passionate ferocity and made it their life's concern to live in the service of that which is pleasing in the sight of Allah. They are the ones who when they read "..and these are the successful..." in the Quran, they heed the advice and persevere with Quranic counsel. They are the ones who do not belittle prophethood and its role in their lives. They are the ones who turn away from cheap prices that are offered for their soulful identities, and instead they live saying "labayka Allahumma labayk." This is where we all need to be. But at the beginning of all this rests one thing - knowledge.
Perhaps we look at our beloved shuyukh and teachers as some sort of GPS units that will lead us to the state of raised human conditions. Perhaps excitement for their company comes from the anticipation that they will lead us to our destination. In some ways, they will. But they're not "quick fixes" for us, and we must prepare ourselves to work, to learn, to struggle with ourselves rejecting all that is perceived as norms when they go against prophetic teachings. We need to be active in our movement towards greatness, but awakening an almost dead heart is not easy, and it is only by Allah's generosity and grace that we will find ourselves with the means to do so.
I like to look at the past few days as part of the means, and I pray that the good that has been gathered can be utilized and eventually increases with Allah's blessings. It is a great and severe error and a great and severe mockery of good to neglect striving to lead better spiritual lives.
As I say this, I know there will be many slips ahead, but Allah is generous, and we must maintain a good opinion of Him and depend on Him for guidance. And we must know that He will facilitate that which is best for us, and He will take care of us.
ربنا تقبل منا انك أنت السميع العليم و تب علينا انك أنت التواب الرحيم
يا ربنا اهدنا الصراط المستقيم يا أرحم الراحمين يا أرحم الراحمين يا أرحم الراحمين...آمين
الحمد لله رب العالمين و الصلاة و السلام على الحبيب محمد المصطفى و على آله و صحبه و سلم
All praises belong to Allah alone, from whom we ask for guidance and protection, upon whom we depend, and to whom we will return by His grace, mercy, and will. Praise be to Him who has placed us in this world and has not created anything with idle purpose. Gratitude is owed to Him who has elevated human kind and made subservient all of His creations for our benefit. Transcendent is He whose rights over us are obvious and certain and whose mercy is encompassing and generous.
In recent days, He - most glorified and exalted is He - blessed this humble community with an honoured guest. Many sipped at the fountain of his knowledge, character, and his efforts to call people to strive towards states of greater insight and purpose. As I reflect on the last few days, I'm still very much at a loss for words as my heart still tries to absorb the whole experience. It is a sign, and signs by their nature point to something other than themselves. Shaykh Yahya Rhodus, in his talks that punctuated the lessons given to us by Al Habib Umar bin Muhammad bin Hafiz, - الله يحفظه - repeatedly mentioned that a return to prophetic guidance and Quranic teachings are not only possible but necessary. The only thing that holds us back from achieving anything of this sort is ourselves. And really, it requires a great deal of reflection on our current circumstances and what we want out of our lives, and it requires sincerity in making changes to reach our lofty potential.
It is not befitting for humans, those of sound intellect, to doubt their Lord's majesty, transcendence, and supreme power over all things. And we must recognize that in His infinite wisdom and generosity, He keeps opening doors for us, one after another, to improve ourselves and to cleanse ourselves of the stains, hardships, and angst that we adorn ourselves with as we label it reality. "Reality" is that we have a limited time to live in ways that call to good and that recognizes our position in this world. Interestingly, lessons in these last few days, as I saw them, cradle messages quite like those that distinguished revelations in the Makkan period. That is to say that they seemed to invite us to establish a firm belief in the Oneness of Allah, to recognize His Lordship, and to see His prophet - may peace and blessings be upon him - as one whom He has honoured and by whose example we can learn to rectify our states both outwardly and inwardly.
Taking a step back, we must ask ourselves: Why do we love our teachers? Why are our hearts moved by their presence, prayers, and words? Why do we feel as though opportunities are lost when we cannot attend gatherings with them? Why do we shadow them and wait anxiously for their counsel? Because they, unlike us, have grasped wisdom, revelation, knowledge, and understanding with a passionate ferocity and made it their life's concern to live in the service of that which is pleasing in the sight of Allah. They are the ones who when they read "..and these are the successful..." in the Quran, they heed the advice and persevere with Quranic counsel. They are the ones who do not belittle prophethood and its role in their lives. They are the ones who turn away from cheap prices that are offered for their soulful identities, and instead they live saying "labayka Allahumma labayk." This is where we all need to be. But at the beginning of all this rests one thing - knowledge.
Perhaps we look at our beloved shuyukh and teachers as some sort of GPS units that will lead us to the state of raised human conditions. Perhaps excitement for their company comes from the anticipation that they will lead us to our destination. In some ways, they will. But they're not "quick fixes" for us, and we must prepare ourselves to work, to learn, to struggle with ourselves rejecting all that is perceived as norms when they go against prophetic teachings. We need to be active in our movement towards greatness, but awakening an almost dead heart is not easy, and it is only by Allah's generosity and grace that we will find ourselves with the means to do so.
I like to look at the past few days as part of the means, and I pray that the good that has been gathered can be utilized and eventually increases with Allah's blessings. It is a great and severe error and a great and severe mockery of good to neglect striving to lead better spiritual lives.
As I say this, I know there will be many slips ahead, but Allah is generous, and we must maintain a good opinion of Him and depend on Him for guidance. And we must know that He will facilitate that which is best for us, and He will take care of us.
2 comments:
salamunalaikum!
Mashallah a really beneficial post.
Glad to know about the guest and your zeal to learn.
May Allah make easy the affairs of life for you.A'meen
Allahu Akbar. Habib Umar is a pearl and when he speaks you want to hear no one else. May Allah(swt0 bless and preserve him for being a means to help us get closer to Allah(swt).
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