Dark to Light

 

There was a time

When the world was dark

And the seeker could not see

Though his eyes were quite sharp

Although he wished to hear

And myriad of things he heard

Yet what was his desire

Was never to him assured

Walk the path he tried

But astray he continued to feel

For no guide he had to follow

And his heart had yet to heal

But then came the day

When the seeker was at his lowest

When his tears had long ceased

When his path was the darkest

Mercy from the Most Merciful sent

A guide for the straying traveller

A shepherd for the lost sheep

The paths were to be dark no longer

For with him the guide brought light

That brightens the most daunting trail

No more this seeker is afraid

 For he trusts this guide will not let him fail

Take Out Some Time...

Sometimes something does not appeal to a person. Perhaps due to personal experience, perhaps due to the environment in which the person lives.

However, these factors should not stop a person from taking out some time and thinking over things, perhaps doing some research, and basically be willing to be open minded and  see things through another person's eyes.

In fact, many times this actually helps another person better understand and be tolerant of other people's views. 

Tolerance, by the way, does not mean that you have to compromise in your own views, or you start making halal things haram and vice versa. Where deen is concerned, one must always remain staunch.

Also, always remember, if any time you are finding yourself irritated because someone will not accept your view, know that he/she is probably irritated at you for the same reason. So, once again take out some time to explain things in a nice manner; this will be less stressful for both the one irritated and the one irritating.

 

A Gem, A Jeweller

I read this post on SF today --> Link

Subhan Allah. Hazrat is a gem indeed, but not only that, he is a jeweller. He will take into his hand even the most forgotten and blackened rock and polish it until it sparkles.

May Allah Ta'aala grant him the best of both worlds. Ameen.

Against the Flow

Sometimes it is hard to go against the flow. At that time, one must pause and ask oneself,

"Is my Allah happy with me?"

If the answer is yes, then good for you. Keep struggling against the flow. What you wish is beyond the strong current, but you can get it.

If Allah Ta'aala can give power to

• Fish that can swim up river to spawn
• Baby turtles that struggle three days out of the sand before struggling off the beach to the water
• Birds that fly through waterfalls to reach their nests

Then certainly He has given Ashraful Makhlooqaat the most power to follow His commands, no matter how much pressure there is against that person.

Visual Effect

It is interesting the effect that certain words have on the mind, and the visual effect they show. I like to listen to bayaan of Moulana Yunus Patel saheb and poetry of Hazratwala Daamat Barakaatuhum as well as Khwaja Majzoob Rahmatullahi 'Alayh while on Photoshop. It is very odd that I actually pay more attention to the audios while using photoshop than when I am doing nothing. Things actually stay in my mind and I understand them clearly. It is not background noise as it would be with other audios.

About two weeks ago, I made the following while listening to the audio Sukun-e-Dil (which I've linked to one blog post down).

After this, I was listening to the recital of Hazratwala Daamat Barakaatuhum's poetry being recited by different students of a Madressah in South Africa (I think Madressah Zakariyyah). During this time, I made this.

Nothing great from my side, that I am sure of. This is not tawadhu', by the way. Anything I make without listening to something about Allah Ta'aala and His Gradeur does not end up too interesting looking, or has many flaws.

Individuality is Nice, but to a Limit

It's interesting watching my pets. My eldest cat (almost 7 years) hates male cats with a passion, however with my female kitten she'll run around and make a fool out of herself, playing like a kitten. My budgies are way different. There are two males and two females. The females are pretty aloof of each other, only acknowledging the other with a bite if one come too close. The males aren't choosy with their friends, they'll warble, bobble, and feed whomsoever they please.

The canary is a loner and likes it like that; he sings all day and would at night too, if he wasn't covered. The finches, well they are so inconspicuous you don't really remember they are around. They spend most of the day huddled in one corner or the other.

The pets remind me a lot of human beings. We all have our own ways of doing things, what we like and when we like. There's no imposing on another person that you have to like bright shiny things, or it's wrong that you don't enjoy the taste of muton. Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala has made every person different and we should appreciate that.

However, the major way in which we differ from animals is that there should be no individuality when it comes to Allah and His Rasul Salla Allahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam. In this there is only one way, and that is to follow what Allah Ta'aala and Rasulullah Salla Allahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam tell us. There's no such thing as ones own opinions and likes and dislikes when Allah Ta'aala's orders comes in. Even if there is a dislike, we suppress our nafs and follow the command, because the dislike is due to own failure in understanding Allah Ta'aala's wisdom.

It's like Moulana Yunus Patel saheb Daamat Barakaatuhum says...

"We must be broad minded, but not so broad minded that the brains fall out!"

Dangers of the Rose Garden

Funnily enough, I did not actually like roses much when I was growing up, although that definitely changed. Then there was the time in 2000 when my father went for Hajj and bought me a bottle of rose oil. Masha Allah what beautiful scent. I still have some left. The first (so called) meaningful poem I wrote was a metaphor of a rose...




...Moving along...

Here's a beautiful poem I heard in one of Moulana Yunus Patel saheb talk named Sukun-e-Dil (Tranquility of the Heart). He mentioned that when he returned from India, he went to his uncle's house, who was an artist. He looked at the paintings and saw one with a hand holding a rose. The rose's thorns had injured the hand so it was bleeding. Moulana saheb told his uncle he wanted that painting. His uncle asked why, and Moulana saheb replied that it had great lesson in it.

I thought it was really nice so want to share the poem. It is in Urdu. I will attempt to translate it Insha Allah. (The explanation is basically what Moulana saheb said, in my own words.)

Think not the rose garden possesses no danger

Behind the veil of roses are thorns, hidden

Keep safe your clothes as you pass through

As there is no trusting of the thorns

This life is like a rose garden. There are many beautiful sights, many beautiful places to go and people to meet. However if this life is like a rose garden, then thorns will naturally be there as well. What are the thorns? They are the non mahram faces, the alcohol, the singing, the dancing... all that is haraam.

So while there are many wonderful things in this world, we must take care that no sin comes and taints us, in the same way we will protect our clothes to make sure they do not get snagged on a thorn. Enjoy the halaal, but always be cautious, because Shaytaan is there at every step, waiting for you to make a mistake and injure yourself on a thorn.