Poetry of Sheikh Jalaluddin Rumi rahimahullah

The follow is poetry of Sheikh Jalaluddin Rumi rahimahullah that I came across. I found it very nice; 

You stepped on the ground on the earth,
Pregnant with joy, gave birth to infinite blossoms.
The cheering spread up to heaven,
The moon glanced... amazed at the stars.
You came suddenly and stole three things from me:
The patience of my heart,
The colour of my face,
And the sleep from my eyes.
Oh I bless the hand that no mind can conceive.
Everyone has someone: a friend, a love, some skill or work.
But I am alone with the dream of my beloved hidden in the corner of my heart.
The back of hope is bent by separation,
The hands of longing tied by cruelty,
But the lover never despairs.
For a committed heart, everything is possible.
The treasure I hold in my heart is the envy of all...
I swear to God none could be more joyous than me!
I hear about sorrow but it means nothing to me.
To live without you, is to be robbed of love...
And what is life without it?
To live without you is death to me, my love... but some call it life...

Event: The Life of Eesa alayhis salaam

Brief Tafsir - Surah At-Takāthur

The following is a transcript of the Tafsir of Sūrah At-Takāthur.

Written down and edited by Umm Sakina.

Brief Introduction to Tafsīr

The Qur'ān is extra ordinary and needs us to ponder over it. Allāh f reveals various verses in the Qur’ān and various Sūrahs in the Qur’ān, sometime in parts and sometimes fully due to occurrences which were happening in the lives of the Ṣaḥābah j at that time or in the life of the Prophet g.

Verily briefly, let us ask the question, ‘What is a Makkī Sūrah and what is a Madanī Sūrah?’

A Makki Sūrah are those surahs which were revealed upon the Prophet g whilst he g was a resident of Makkah. He did not necessarily have to be in Makkah at the time of revelation. The Madini Sūrahs are those Sūrahs which were revealed to him g when he was a resident of Madīna.

The Makki Sūrahs tend to be shorter and focused on the polytheists, where as the Madani Sūrahs tend to be longer in length and tend to be focused on the Muslims, Christians and the Jews.

Sūrah At-Takāthur

According to the majority of the scholars it is a Makkī Sūrah

This Sūrah is a warning to mankind. It is telling them that their time on this earth is very small and limited. Therefore one needs to utilise their time before they get to their grave. One should not be deceived by the Dunyā and the love for its wealth. Rather, it is important to take use of one’s time in this world for a person will be in utter shock when they reach the grave. This will serve as a wakeup call as to what a person should have been doing but it will be too late to go back to Allāh f for redemption. This is the summary of the Sūrah in contention.

The reason for revelation?

It was revealed due to two tribes of Makkah; Banū ‘Abdi Manāf and Banū Hāshim. They were constantly at war with each other due to money and wealth. They wanted to have a high position of power in society. Due to this, the leaders would always be at war with one another which would result in bloodshed and people dying.

Allāh f clearly mentions in Sūrah ‘Āl-‘Imrān that He f gives respect to whomsoever He f wants and that He f gives disgrace to whomsoever He f wants. He f gives land and the sovereignty to whomsoever He f wants and He f takes it away from whomsoever He f wants. For Allāh f, alone is complete sovereignty and the leadership is with Him f. He f is in charge of everything and no one acquires anything without Allāh f willing it. No one can take something away from someone without Allāh f willing it.

Thus a person should realise that whatever he is going to acquire is not going to be pass him by and whatever is not willed for a person, will not be acquired by him.

Allāh f begins this sūrah by stating,

أَلۡهَٮٰكُمُ ٱلتَّكَاثُرُ

(1) You are distracted by mutual competition in amassing (worldly benefits),

This is meaning to say that ‘you have been deceived by trying to gain as much wealth as you can; to the extent that even when you have something it is not enough and you want more and more. And even when you have acquired that which is considered to be ‘more’, you still want more.

What is ‘takāthur’?

Ibn ‘Abbās k and Hassan al-Baṣrī r are of the opinion that the word takāthur highlights the amassing of worldly benefit. Thus, the verse is highlighting that you have gained deception through amassing worldly benefit.

Other commentators are of the opinion that the word takāthur is actually in the meaning of tafākhur which means to boast due to worldly gain. I.e. A person has become blinded and deceived in his pursuit to gain wealth, just so he can boast.

Allāh f is saying don't be deceived in regards to this. If a person’s is not of the right mentality and character, there is a huge possibility that his wealth will end up being utilised on something that is not permissible.

‘Abdullāh Ibn Shikīr g narrates that he passed the Prophet g and the Prophet g was reciting Sūrah at-Takāthur. After reciting verse ‘You are distracted by mutual competition in amassing (worldly benefits)...’ The Prophet g commented:

يقول ابن آدم: مالي مالي! وهل لك يا بن آدم من مالك إلا ما أكلت فأفنيت، أو لبست فأبليت، أو تصدقت فأمضيت

“The Son of Ādam says, “My wealth, my wealth!” And O Son of Ādam, what is there from your wealth except that which you eat and therefore use. Or that which you wear and then it is worn out, or that which you spend, and once you have spent it, it is gone.” (Muslim)

How strange is it that the very thing we fought for in this world will be fought over by our inheritors? You cannot take your wealth with you when you pass away, it gets passed on to someone else. Mankind does not have anything to call his own except his good deeds.

Allāh f says that this greed you have within yourself to attain the wealth of the world has deceived you from the reality. And when will you realise this?

حَتَّىٰ زُرۡتُمُ ٱلۡمَقَابِرَ

(2) Until you reach the graves.

This is when a person will receive his wake up call. People say that you don't have regard for something until it’s gone, and similar is the life that we live. We waste this life until it comes to an end. The mud being put into one’s grave signifies the end of his test. He cannot do anything after this last full stop.

The word زُرۡتُمُ comes from the word zāra which means to visit. Why has Allāh f used this word for the grave? This is because your grave is essentially a place of visit because you will not be staying there forever. Your abode will either be Heaven or Hell.

The Prophet g said:

لو كان لابن آدم واديان من مال لابتغى ثالثاً ، ولا يملأ جوف ابن آدم إلا التراب ، ويتوب الله على من تاب

"If the son of Adam (the human being) had two valleys of money, he would wish for a third, for nothing can fill the belly of Adam's son except dust, and Allāh forgives him who repents to Him." (Bukhārī)

كَلَّا سَوۡفَ تَعۡلَمُونَ

(3) No! (This is not a correct attitude.) You will soon know (the reality).

And just to emphasise this point again Allāh f says,

 ثُمَّ كَلَّا سَوۡفَ تَعۡلَمُونَ

(4) Again, you will soon know.

This shows the severity of this verse. Allāh f is warning us that we will see the grave and that there is no doubt in this so be careful. It doesn’t matter what belief a person holds, everyone unanimously agrees that they will have to die one day.

Thereafter, we will stand in front of Allāh f on the Day of Judgement. These warnings and things that Allāh f describes to us are real and they will take their real form on the Day of Judgment.

The Qur’ān is not a story book but rather, it is solid fact.

كَلَّا لَوۡ تَعۡلَمُونَ عِلۡمَ ٱلۡيَقِينِ

(5) No! Only if you knew (it) with a sure knowledge!

لَتَرَوُنَّ ٱلۡجَحِيمَ

(6) You will certainly see the Hell,

ثُمَّ لَتَرَوُنَّہَا عَيۡنَ ٱلۡيَقِينِ

(7) Then you will see it with full certitude.

Allāh f is mentioning two things here:

1) Allāh f  mentions عِلۡمَ ٱلۡيَقِينِ this is that knowledge that gives you certainty that it is going to happen.

2) Then Allāh f mentions عَيۡنَ ٱلۡيَقِينِ and this is that what you see with your eyes.

Allāh f says that He f has given you knowledge about the grave but when you go to the grave you will have see it as a reality.

The Prophet g said:

"The grave is either a pit from the pits of the fire of Hell or a garden from the gardens of Paradise.” (Mishkātul Maṣabīḥ)

Allāh f says that a person will certainly see Hell.

There are two opinions in regards to when this person will see Hell. The most accepted opinion amongst the scholars is that we shall see Hell in two places (if Hell is one’s abode in the Hereafter): 1) The first place will be in the grave. It will be told to the person that this is your abode in the Hereafter. (2) On the Day when everyone shall be resurrected.

Then Allāh f finishes off the Sūrah by saying,

ثُمَّ لَتُسۡـَٔلُنَّ يَوۡمَٮِٕذٍ عَنِ ٱلنَّعِيمِ

(8) Then you will be asked about all the pleasures (you enjoyed in the world).

Allāh f will ask you about every bounty you had in this life, did you use it correctly or did you misuse it?

Abū Hurayrah h narrates: "Once Abū Bakr and ‘Umar were sitting outside. The Prophet g passed by and saw the two; He asked them, “What has kept you both outside?” Both of them replied, “O Rasūlullāh g nothing has kept us outside except for the fact that we are extremely hungry. And this hunger has kept us out in the thought that maybe if we leave our houses, we may see someone that will give us an invitation (to eat). “O Rasūlullāh g said my situation is the same as yours. They then came to the house of an Anṣārī whose wife was at home but he had gone out.

The woman of the household invited them in and said, “Welcome! Welcome! I have never had guests in my house better than you three!” She then told them that her husband had gone out to get some food and that he will be back soon. Finally, her husband had come back with a small sheep which was then sacrificed and Rasūlullāh g the Ṣaḥābah j and the family of that Anṣārī ate together. Cold water was then presented before one of the Ṣaḥābah j, and as he was putting it before his mouth Rasūlullāh g said, “On the Day of Judgement you will be asked in regards to those bounties and the favours of Allāh f that you enjoyed within the world.”

The Ṣaḥābah j were stunned and asked Rasulullah g that they have gone without food three-four days, would they then still going to be asked in regards to this?

Rasūlullāh g said, “Yes, as to whether you were thankful to Allāh f with regards to those favours or whether you were thankful." (Tafsīr Qurṭubī)

The Prophet g said:

"On the Day of Resurrection the feet of mankind will not move from its spot until he has answered five questions (about): (1) his life and how had spent it, (2) his youth and how he lived it (3) his wealth, where did he acquire it and (4) where did he spend it, (5) and whether he acted upon that which he knew." (Tirmidhī)

Why has a person’s youth been the old portion singled out from his entire lifespan which is to be questioned anyway?

This is because it is in one’s youth that one has the capacity to do everything one wishes to do. We have the ideal opportunity to commit Ḥarām and this is also where we have to control our Nafs the most too.

One of the people who will be under the shade of Allāh f on the Day of Judgement will be a young person who spent his youth in worship.

A Virtue of this Sūrah

The Prophet g mentioned to the Ṣaḥābah j:

“Does anyone amongst you have the capacity to recite one thousand verses of the Qur’ān every day? The Ṣaḥābah j replied, ‘Who is their amongst us who can recite one thousand verses of the Qur’ān every day?’ Rasūlullāh g said, ‘Recite Sūrah at-Takāthur.’” This is because its weight is like one thousand verses of the Qur’ān. (Tafsīr Qurṭubī)

May Allāh f give us the ability to rectify ourselves before our deaths. May He f accept our majlis. Āmīn.

Event: Tafseer of Surah Maryam - ONE DAY COURSE

Assalamu alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu,

For the second year running inshahAllah UCLU Islamic Society will be holding a tafseer course delivered by Shaykh Abdus Subhan Dalvi (Graduate of Jamia Siraj Al-Uloom). This year it will be a Tafseer of Surah Maryam course on Saturday 17th November 2012. Tickets are available to buy here. There will be a limited amount available to buy on the door so buy online to avoid disappointment. To book your ticket to buy at the door please register your interest by emailing mail@uclisoc.com . 

Don't miss out on this fantastic course which will provide an indepth look and discussion into the Quranic Chapter: Surah Maryam. This chapter of the Qur'aan is named after the mother of the Prophet Eesa (Jesus) Alayhis Salaam and holds host to a whole range of lessons, meanings and emotions for the keen of mind. Reliance in Allah, etiquettes of Dua and relationship with ones parents are just a few of the insights in this not to be missed course! Make sure you Buy Tickets Here to avoid disappointment! 

When: Sat 17th November
Time: 9.30am-5pm
Where: UCL , Pearson Lecture theatre
Tickets: £5 - BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE NOW!
Visit FB for more information: Tafsir Of Surah Maryam

Nearest Tube Stations: Euston Square-(Circle, Hammersmith and City, and Metropolitan line)
Warren Street-(Northern and Victoria line) 

For more information contact mail@uclisoc.com

Check the tfl website for information on Travel Disruptions and Journey Planning!

WDTO Part 2 - Sneak Preview

The following is a chapter from the book, When Desire Takes Over - Part 2. For more details, please click --> Available for pre-order at Azhar Academy.

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Good Company

I begin this book with a chapter about friendship; Rasūlullāh g said, “A man will follow the religion of his friend; so be careful as to who you make friends with.”[1]

We’ve all had friends with whom we spent our childhood, attended primary school with and stuck with through secondary school and perhaps even college. A lot of the time, people change in college/university and as a result, friendships are broken and new friends are made. This is quite normal, as new friends are bound to be made in new places. The more popular a person becomes, the more friends he makes (he also gets more enemies)!

However, the group of friends we make from the time we hit puberty till the end of university really form who we are. They are the people who go through thick and thin with us. They are the people whom we phone late at night to empty out the sadness or the happiness of our hearts and they are the people who we share cheesy jokes with. As soon as we enter college/university, they are the first thing we think of and our hands immediately grab our phones in order to text them, “I’m here, where you at?” Quite simply, our friends know our private life more than anyone else. They may not know our private habits but they sure do know the details of our private life. By this, I mean to say that our family know our secret household habits (i.e. refusing to throw out the trash, leaving the bathroom floor wet, leaving the toilet seat down etc) but our friends are the ones who know what is going on in our minds (i.e. what we are worried about, what we are looking forward to).

Inevitably, when a person becomes so close to a group of people, his mind and thoughts coincide with theirs. What they seem to do and wish always appears to be acceptable no matter how insane it may be. We have been made in such a way that we are heavily impacted by those people who surround us.

Thereafter, people are of two types; some are leaders and others are followers.

By leaders, I am referring to those individuals who hold the strongest opinion within their social groups. For example, if they were to put an opinion forward in relation to an outing, the majority of their friends would adhere and listen.

On the contrary, there is what is known as the follower; this is in reference to that person who doesn’t really hold any strong opinion within their social group. They just go with whatever is decided and rarely makes any fuss about the decision.

Having understood this, it is now important to understand the importantce of maintaining good company in Islam.  Rasūlullāh g said, “A man will follow the religion of his friend; so be careful as to who you make friends with.”  In this ḥadīth, Rasūlullāh g is highlighting towards the huge impact friends can have upon a person. Rasūlullāh g highlights that a man follows the religion of his friend. This means that a human being generally follows what his friend does; if he sees his friend as a person who neglects prayer, he generally will do the same. Take the example of a boy who goes to play football with his friends; if at the time of prayer, nobody is bothered to pray, that young boy will ignore the call for prayer too. However strong a person’s friend is in his religion, this will be reflected in oneself. Similarly, however weak a person’s friend is in his religion, this too will be reflected in oneself. Having said that, this is a generalised approach, there are obviously a minority who are an exception to this.

Then in the ḥadīth Rasūlullāh g said, ‘Be careful as to whom you befriend’. Why was Rasūlullāh g so worried about the friends we make? The answer is quite simply down to the impact they can have upon our religious beliefs which is central to our lives. If we befriend people who doubt Allāh f, they may bombard us with questions to which we do not have the answers and as a result, they will influence us to join their path. As a result, a person will take his friend to be knowledgeable and follow him all the way into the fire. Similarly, if a person has friends who are of a pious disposition, he will immediately feel strong within his beliefs for if he has any doubts, his friends will help him remove these feelings.

Furthermore, friends tend to dress similarly to one another. You will generally see people who have beards hanging out with each other in the Islamic Society prayer room. Similarly, the sisters who wear ‘abāyah and ḥijāb all hang around together too. The reason to this is quite simply down to the fact that we have created classes amongst us; you will notice that in every college/university there is the ‘IT group’, ‘the art group’, ‘the religious group’,  ‘the Asian group’, ‘the Black group’ and so on. If you look at the interests and appearance of each group, you will find them separate from each other but those who are actually part of the group, all look similar. There may be some differences but generally, they all look the same.

Thus, if a person wants to be pious, the best companionship they can gain is that of pious people. Imām Shāf’ī r said, “There are three things that will increase you in your knowledge: (1) the gatherings of the scholars (2) the gatherings of the pious (3) leaving that which does not concern you.”[2] Therefore, if a person sits with a group of people who are pious, it becomes easy to be pious.

During my final year of university, I had a coursework to submit for one of my modules. Alḥamdulillāh, I completed my work well in advanced but there were some brothers (some of whom were practising and some of who weren’t) who were doing a ‘deadline day mission impossible’. I felt some compassion for them as I remembered being in tight situations myself only to be helped by brothers and so I stayed back in the library and ICT room to help them. There was a good amount of practising brothers in the room, and one brother who was not so practising. Whilst we were discussing the work, the time for prayer arrived and we all got up to go and pray. It was at this point that the non practising brother uttered some words that struck my heart; whilst in the elevator he said, “You know, normally, I would have said ‘you guys go’ and I would have stayed behind.” I immediately realised that he was finding it easy to pray because he was with a congregation of brothers who found it easy to pray.

If you want to be pious, then hang around with the pious. A person who joins a group of complete nutters will act like one. Thus, it is established that keeping good friends contributes highly towards how pious a person will be.

The reason I have mentioned this at the beginning of this book is because many of the problems I have written about from here on can easily be remedied if a person keeps a good set of friends. However, we find it difficult to part from those people whom we have known for years despite them being terrible people and sinful Muslims. The reason why we can’t change for the best is because the people whom we revolve our lives around quite simply won’t let us. I know tons of individuals who have been ridiculed by their alleged ‘mates’ when they have chosen to take the path of the Prophet g. As a result, they just stop practising altogether or if they do practise, they still end up doing dodgy things because they just can’t part with bad company.

Thus, many friendships in our society are based upon sin and to be frank, ‘if you start on the wrong foot, you are more than likely to finish on the wrong foot.’

If a person really wants to change, it is important that he ditches the wrong type of company. It may be hard at first; a person might really want to go and reminisce but if a person is damaging for you in your life as a Muslim, then quite frankly, you should not be with them. Allāh f highlights the state of those people who lived their lives with the wrong company on the day of Qiyāmah. He says,

وَيَوۡمَ يَعَضُّ ٱلظَّالِمُ عَلَىٰ يَدَيۡهِ يَقُولُ يَـٰلَيۡتَنِى ٱتَّخَذۡتُ مَعَ ٱلرَّسُولِ سَبِيلاً۬ يَـٰوَيۡلَتَىٰ لَيۡتَنِى لَمۡ أَتَّخِذۡ فُلَانًا خَلِيلاً۬ لَّقَدۡ أَضَلَّنِى عَنِ ٱلذِّڪۡرِ بَعۡدَ إِذۡ جَآءَنِى‌ۗ وَڪَانَ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ لِلۡإِنسَـٰنِ خَذُولاً۬

“And (Be mindful of) the Day the wrongdoer will bite his hands saying, ‘Would that I had taken a path along with the messenger! Woe to me! Would that I had not taken so-and-so for my friend! Indeed he led me astray from the advice after it had come to me.’ And the Satan is man‘s betrayer.”[3]

We shouldn’t wait for such a time to come but rather, we should rectify our friendships now so that on the day of Judgement we can be those people upon whom Allāh f has bestowed His favours. They are those from amongst the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the pious; Rasūlullāh g wasallam said, “You will be with those whom you love.” Anas h said, “Nothing made us more happy than the statement of the Prophet g, ‘You will be with those whom you love’ for I love Rasūlullāh g, I love Abū Bakr, ‘Umar and Uthmān j and so I hope to be with them in the hereafter’.

Those people whom we unconditionally love should be people who will help us straight into Jannah.

The underlying message here is that we must analyse our life and the people within it; we must hold onto those who are doing good for us and take a step back from those who aren’t. This doesn’t mean that you have to completely cut off from them but rather, it just means that you should keep your distance. It will be hard but Allāh f will reward you with better friends inshā’ Allāh.

Some people find religious people annoying; however, if you listened to them and acted upon what they say, you won’t find them annoying but you will find them as your best advisors. You’ll be thanking them when your imān is buzzing and your life is back on track. However, first, it requires you to swallow the bitter pill.

May Allāh f give us the ability to make good friends. Āmīn. I remember writing a poem about this issue and so I will put it here:

My best friend is always there for me,
He makes du’ā and Istighfār just for me.
He yells out 'Salām' when he sees me,
And will always smile as he embraces me.

My best friend always has time for me,
He will always ring and check up on me.
If I haven't spoken to him he will email me,
And if he hasn’t seen me he will surely contact me.

My best friend always spends freely on me,
He does not think twice when feeding me.
When we are together he will look after me,
And when it's ‘Īd he will buy gifts for me.

My best friend always prays in Jamā’ah with me,
He hasn't got time to take drugs with me.
He will always have a good influence on me,
He will never say anything bad about me.

My best friend is most dear to me.
 I stay around him because it is good for me.
I make more du’ā for him than he does of me,
I care for him because he’s a part of me...

"A man will follow the religion of his friend, so be careful as to whom you make friends with."[4]

---

[1] Abū Dāwūd

[2] Sharḥul Arba’īn lil Ḥumayḍī

[3] Sūrah 25:27-29

[4] Abū Dāwūd