Imam Haddad - Meaning of La hawla wa-la quwwata illa bi’Llah
An explanation by Imam Abdullah al-Haddad, the great Shafii scholar and sufi, of the meaning of La hawla wa-la quwwata illa bi’Llah (’there is no might nor power except by Allah’), which the Beloved Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him, his pure family, and noble companions) called, “A treasure of the treasures of Paradise.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
A History of the making of the King James Bible - Review of Power and Glory by Adam Nicolson
“Adam Nicolson paints a compelling portrait of Jacobean England in his history of the making of the King James Bible, Power and Glory, says Nicholas Lezard…”
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Adam - Following a Madhhab - 1. What is taqlid?
The first in a series of four talks on the necessity of following qualified scholarship. The rest of the series:
2. The Life of Abu Hanifa
3. Scholarship in Islam
4. Related Q&A
Kids, TV and the risk of attention problems - OpEd from Boston.com
“The study of 1,300 kids found that 1-year-olds and 3-year-olds who watched just one hour of television daily had 10 percent more risk of attention problems by age 7 than children who watched no television at all. And the more television, the more risk. One-year-olds who watched three to four hours of television had a 30 percent to 40 percent increased risk of attention problems compared to children whose parents kept the TV off.”
The Wadhifa Shadhiliyya (Shadhili Litany) - Recited by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed - hosted by Deen Port
The Wadhifa Shadhiliyya, a litany commonly recited daily by those of the Shadhili spiritual path, is available at Deen Port (www.deenport.com) in their Downloads section, recited by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed, the Shafii faqih and student of Shaykh Nuh Keller.
Shaykh Muhammad Sa`id Ramadan al-Buti is one of the most greatest traditional scholars alive. Here, he sings a mawlid, celebrating the birth, life, and person of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace).
For khutbas and lessons of Shaykh Buti, check out his extensive site: www.bouti.com
Balagha al-`ula bi kamalihi
Kashafa al-duja bi jamilihi
Hasunat jami`u khisalihi
Sallu `alaihi wa aalihi.
“He attained the highest reaches with his perfection
He lifted all darkness with his beauty
Tremendous are all his traits
Send blessings upon him and his folk.”
Ya Nabi Salamun `Alayka, recited by Hajj Muhammad Mushtaq Qadri
Expressing love and yearning for the Beloved of God (peace and blessings be upon him).
How to deal with Islam and Muslim - Iviews.com
“If Islam and Muslims are not driven to greater democracy, modernity and compatibility with the contemporary international world order, the possibility of a clash between civilizations may become real, concludes a study conducted by Rand Corporation recently. Sponsored by the Smith Richardson Foundation and supervised by the National Security Research Division of Rand, Cheryl Benard wrote several recommendations for policy makers and planners.
… The report has serious repercussions about Islam, Muslims and the future events. Interestingly, the report has not generated any serious discussions among Muslim intellectuals and Islamic scholars in the country, many of whom seem to be unaware of the existence of such report.”
Articles of Faith — A Profile of Shaykh Ali Gomaa - Al-Ahram
Shaykh Ali Gomaa is one of the most respected traditional scholars alive. He is a scholar of usul al-fiqh, Shafi`i fiqh, `aqida, hadith, and is committed to the path of Sufism.
HSLDA | Homeschooling Grows Up
“Homeschooling Grows Up is the largest research survey to date of adults who were home educated. Over the last decade, researchers, professionals, parents, the media, and many others have asked repeatedly: How do homeschooled students turn out? Can a homeschool graduate get into college or get a job? How do they fit into society? Are they good citizens? Are they happy?
In 2003, HSLDA commissioned Dr. Brian D. Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, to conduct a study to answer these questions. The results of his research demonstrate that homeschoolers are succeeding.”
The Science of Hadith: An Introduction - by Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf
Based on classic primers, this is a clear and informative guide to the science of hadith.
– Dodging the Homeschool Stereotype - Susan Wise Bauer
“I’m not a militia-supporting separatist or a seven-day creationist. The reality is a lot more complex,” write Susan Wise Bauer (author of The Well Trained Mind and The Well-Educated Mind).
Archive of US Interventions Abroad: Hope and Memory — ADBUSTERS
Very interesting presentation on America’s promotion of “freedom and the pursuit of…” abroad.
Freedom, Jimmy, but not as we know it: American Marine “Ashamed” Of Iraq Experience - IslamOnline
“Massey cited instructions of commanders disregarding lives of Iraq civilians as one of many reasons still driving him nuts.
“Throw candies in the school courtyard, and open fire on children rushing to snatch them. Crush them,” he recalled officers as saying during drills.”
Democracy, English, and the Wars over Usage - David Foster Wallace - Harper’s Magazine
One of the best articles around on English usage.
Qasida: Ayyuha al-`Ashiq - Attributed to Shaykh al-Akbar Sayyidi Ibn Arabi
A lively rendition of Ayyuha al-`Ashiq Ma`na Husnina (O one longing for the meaning of our Beauty)
George Orwell: Politics and the English Language
“Best known for Animal Farm and 1984, George Orwell was also a fine literary and language critic. This essay is perhaps the best work on thinking and writing well.”
BBC - Radio 4 - Reith Lectures 2004 - Climate of Fear - Wole Soyinka
“What are we afraid of? Could fear itself be the greatest danger - damaging both the human psyche and the fabric of society?”
An engaging lecture series. You can listen to it online or download it in MP3 format.
Shaykh Amjad Rasheed, a sharp Jordanian Shafii faqih currently teaching in Tarim (Hadramawt), under the guidance and supervision of the great mufti, Shaykh Muhammad al-Khatib, gives this useful answer.
(Translated by Faraz Rabbani)
Deenport Interviews : Mas’ud Ahmed Khan — The Pioneer Promoter of Traditional Islam
So many lives have been transformed towards traditional, meaningful Islam through the patient and discerning efforts of Sidi Mas’ud Khan and his excellent website www.Masud.co.uk.
Sidi Omar Tufail, of DeenPort, conducted this interview with Sidi Mas’ud…
The Adab of Email - Email etiquette rules for effective email replies
And old-style title for this would be: “Guidance for Every Male and Female Regarding the Adab of Email.”
ABCNEWS.com : Ancient Islamic Texts Crumble in Africa
History to Dust: Ancient Islamic Texts Crumble in West Africa’s Desert North.
More worrying than the loss of books is the loss of scholars, for the Beloved Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him, his family, companions, and followers) said,
“Allah does not take away knowledge by lifting it from people. Rather, it is taken by taking the scholars, because with them goes their knowledge, after which ignorant persons remain who answer without knowledge–misguided and misgiving.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
حدثنا حرملة بن يحيى التجيبي أخبرنا عبد الله بن وهب حدثني أبو شريح أن أبا الأسود حدثه عن عروة بن الزبير قال قالت لي عائشة يا ابن أختي بلغني أن عبد الله بن عمرو مار بنا إلى الحج فالقه فسائله فإنه قد حمل عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم علما كثيرا قال فلقيته فساءلته عن أشياء يذكرها عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال عروة فكان فيما ذكر أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال إن الله لا ينتزع العلم من الناس انتزاعا ولكن يقبض العلماء فيرفع العلم معهم ويبقي في الناس رءوسا جهالا يفتونهم بغير علم فيضلون ويضلون
New York Times > Lexical Lessons: What the Good Book Says: Anti-Semitism, Loosely Defined
MERRIAM-WEBSTER found itself on the defensive recently over a 40-year-old definition of “anti-Semitism” in its Third New International Dictionary, the monumental unabridged edition originally published in 1961 and reprinted in 2002. In addition to the conventional sense of the word as “hostility toward Jews as a racial or religious minority group,” the dictionary included a second sense as “opposition to Zionism: sympathy with opponents of the state of Israel.”
A few weeks ago, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee asked Merriam-Webster to remove the second sense of the word and to insert a correction sheet into the current printings. But a company spokesman defended the definition as “a relic” based on a handful of citations from about 1950 in which anti-Semitism was “linked more or less strongly with opposition to Israel or to Zionism.” He said that the sense wasn’t supported by current usage, and added that it would probably be dropped when the company publishes a new unabridged version in a decade or so. (The modern college editions based on Webster’s Third all omit the second definition of “anti-Semitism.”)
“None believes until he loves for his neighbor and brother what he loves for himself”
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “By the One in whose Hand is my soul, no servant (of Allah) believes until he loves for his neighbor and brother what he loves for himself” (Bukhari and Muslim).
Kumushkhanawi comments: “By the One in whose Hand,” i.e. under whose Power and Disposal, “is my soul,” i.e., my entity and existence, “no servant (of Allah),” fully and truly “believes until he loves for his neighbor and brother what he loves for himself” (Lawami` al-‘Uqul, 4: 695, 713).
Al-Qari comments: The believers are one in soul though many in body—like a single light in differing manifestations, or a single soul in different bodies, such that if one is hurt, all are affected. This meaning is indicated by the Prophet’s saying (Allah bless him and give him peace), “The believers are like a single man. If his eye hurts, his whole body hurts. And if his head hurts, his whole body hurts.” It is reported from one of the sheikhs of the Naqshabandi path that he (suddenly) began to feel cold and said, “Cover me! Cover me!” So his students covered him. Then, a disciple of his came, who had fallen into cold water on a chilly winter day; the Sheikh told them, “Warm him up.” When the disciple began to feel warmer, so did the Sheikh. Similar to it is (the story that) once Layla began to bleed and blood came out of (Majnun) al-‘Amiri’s hand as he sang, “I am the lover, and the one I love is me / We are two souls that reside in one body.” This is so, because [in the case of true believers] their faith is … in reality from the light of Allah, which is the light of Divine Oneness (tawhid), from the reflection of the light of Solitude (fardaniyya), from the light of the Entity of Allah, so their souls are united by that light, leading to affection and mercy (Mirqat al-Mafatih, 8: 697 #4961).
Excellent Free Online Book: Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig
“Why does the Recording Industry Association of America bring enormous punitive lawsuits against high school kids who have used their browsers to download MP3s? Why do online archives grind to a halt in the face of a copyrighted poem? And why does Congress now enjoy the effective power to renew copyrights in perpetuity — even though no less an authority than the U.S. Constitution states flatly that such congressional grants can exist only “for limited Times”? Stanford law Professor Lawrence Lessig looks at these and other mysteries of U.S. copyright enforcement in “Free Culture,” a more judicial-minded sequel to his earlier book ‘The Future of Ideas.’” Chris Lehmann,A critical eye on copyright law, San Jose Mercury News, April 11, 2004
There is an audio book review at NPR: NPR Book Review: ‘Free Culture’ and Copyrights
Lessig has a website with some very useful articles:
www.Lessig.org
A Great Sufi of the Indian Subcontinent - Biography of Hazrat Syedna Pir Meher Ali Shah
Inspiring account of the life and teachings of a great spiritual master.
DeenPort - Qadiri-Khalwati Dhikr Majlis… and much more
There is a lot of good content on www.DeenPort.com, including (in the downloads section:)
* a Qadiri-Khalwati Dhikr Majlis
* a number of beautiful qasidas sung by Shaykh Diya’ of Amman
* a Hadra from Syria
* …. and much more…
Economist.com - The temple of Seuss | Theodor Seuss Geisel
A definitive biography of one of America’s best-loved children’s authors
A very useful book for parents.
From review:
“Anyone with children who have yet to reach high school should scoop up one now as it is the single most important book for parents to gage whether their children are learning what they should at school and the whole ranger of other issues parents face regarding the education of their kids.
What Bennett et al do that is so important - and valuable - is go year by year, subject by subject and list what students should learn.”
Even if you are one of those who have a lot of problems with William Bennet’s political and social views, benefit from this work.
Aljazeera.Net - IRAQ - In-Depth Report - Changing Face Of Iraq - What lies ahead?
Changing Face Of Iraq is an in depth look at major factors, crucial events and key players that are defining the face of Iraq, rewriting its past, reshaping its present and ultimately its future.
The Light of Faith, and the Way of Believers: They are are outwardly busy with worldly concerns, with hearts busy with Allah
Allah Most High tells us in the Qur’an:
024.035 Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is
as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as it were a shining
star. (This lamp is) kindled from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the East nor of the
West, whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself) though no fire touched it. Light
upon light. Allah guideth unto His light whom He will. And Allah speaketh to mankind in allegories,
for Allah is Knower of all things.
024.036 (This lamp is found) in houses which Allah has allowed to be exalted and
that His name shall be remembered therein. Therein do offer praise to Him at morn
and evening.
024.037 Men whom neither merchandise nor sale busies from remembrance of
Allah and constancy in prayer and paying to the poor their due; who fear a day when
hearts and eyeballs will be overturned;
024.038 That Allah may reward them with the best of what they did, and increase
reward for them of His bounty. Allah giveth blessings without stint to whom He will.
Aljazeera.Net - Israeli whistleblower nears freedom
In less than three weeks, Israel’s most notorious prisoner will be released, writes Jonathan Cook…
“Mordechai Vanunu, the man who exposed his country’s secret nuclear weapons programme, will walk free after 18 years behind bars - most of them in harsh solitary confinement.”
“… it is hard not to be reminded of Gibbon — especially now that his old university’s Center for Islamic Studies has almost completed work on its new premises. In addition to the traditional Oxford quadrangle, the building is expected to feature ‘’a prayer hall with traditional dome and minaret tower.'’
When I first glimpsed a model of that minaret, I confess, the phrase that sprang to mind was indeed ‘decline and fall.’”
Former Archbishop of Canterbury’s attack reveals scant regard for the word of God - Sunday Herald
Muslim academic Yasir Suleiman explains why Lord Carey’s call for reform within Islam insults a great tradition…
A Series of Interviews with Fethullah Gulen — Zaman Online
Fethullah Gulen has some striking and strong things to say on Islam, Turkey, and other topics, whether one agrees with him or not…
Worth a read.
The Observer | Comment | Vision of a new Islam - Fareena Alam
“Vision of a new Islam: British Muslims need new leaders who can connect with the realities faced by today’s ‘global’ young people…”
Sr. Fareena, of Q-News, makes some very good points…
Ustadh Amin Tirmidhi sings, “If a beheld but a glance of You…” (Law badat li nadhratun)
A beautiful song, performed by Ustadh Amin Tirmidhi (of Aleppo, living in Amman), one of the living masters of inshaad.
On The Verge: From Internet Explorer to Firebird FireFox
Yes, FireFox really IS better then Internet Explorer. It is fast, flexible, free, and NOT Microsoft…
The Path of Taqwa: Avoiding Differences of Opinion
It seems that many think that the way of traditional Islam is about baraka surfing and dispensation hunting…
Rather, the basis of the way of Sunni Islam–the way of those who walk on the footsteps of the Beloved Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings unlimited be upon him, his family, companions, and lovers)–is turning sincerely to Allah outwardly and inwardly, and taking all possible means to seek Allah’s pleasure and love, through thankfulness and becoming realized in one’s slavehood.
And Allah alone gives success.
Al-Ahram Weekly | Muslims in Spain — When the voiceless speak:
When the voiceless speak - Will the new Spanish government respect the civil rights of Moroccan immigrants following the 11 March attacks? Serene Assir investigates
Israeli Forces Storm Aqsa Mosque - Islam Online- News Section
May Allah bring peace and justice in the way most beloved to Him.
Attaining the reality of faith
Imam Ghazali quotes Sahl ibn Abd Allah al-Tustari, one of the masters of the spiritual path, as saying,
“One does not attain unto the reality of faith until one has four traits:
1. Performing all obligatory acts, in accordance with the sunna;
2. Eating only the lawful, with scrupulousness;
3. Avoiding all prohibited matters, whether outward or inward; and
4. Remaining steadfast on the above, till death.” [Ihya `Ulum al-Din]
وقال سهل التستري: لا يبلغ العبد حقيقة الإيمان حتى يكون فيه أربع خصال:
أداء الفرائض بالسنة،
وأكل الحلال بالورع،
واجتناب النهي من الظاهر والباطن،
والصبر على ذلك إلى الموت.
Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language–Online Chat with Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker is a professor of psychology in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences department at MIT, Steven Pinker is the eminent author of many books on mind and language, including The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language, Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language, and How the Mind Works. He writes frequently on language for the New York Times, Time, Slate, and other magazines. He is on the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary. His book The Language Instinct won the Public Interest Award from the Linguistics Society of America and was named one of the ten best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review.