Poem – Rayyan or Shaytan?

The joy that filled the air

Now lies silent, in despair

Was it freedom you sought?

Its false promise you bought

 

Obedience to you a term obsolete

Left on the pile of terms to delete

The pair that brought your fore

Within you, their respect no more

 

For every choice you make

There is a turn you take

Either towards the door of Rayyan

Or to the embrace of Shaytan

 

Your friends write on your soul

Your very heart firmly in their control

His call a distant ding

To you perhaps an echo of nothing

 

In your silence who do you hear

Your friends or those near and dear?

Do tears to your eye flood?

Or does rebellion boil in your blood?

 

Is the glitter of this world all you see?

The mirage of the river of glee

Or do you pang for the road

That leads to widest final abode?

 

Isn’t it time for the volcano to cease?

For you to find inner peace?

Heedless in your rush you ran

To the cliff’s end your final span

 

Let the words of wisdom leave

Their marks on chests that heave

Like a gentle draft time slips

Will repentance embrace your lips?

 

Poem – Ocean Islamia

Islands of ice glacial in their poise

Frozen by foreign eyes

This ocean lies dormant in arrest

Devoid of its breath and heaving breast

 

Silence is beauty we are told

As each form stands foreign and bold

Only bitter biting winds blow

Over flimsy fluttering flags they flow

 

Where are’thou O samoom?

Shall we meet later or soon?

Restless in this cocoon are we

The time has come for a churning sea

 

Our hearts weak and fragile

Neither dead nor agile

Forgotten not are our passions past

To Him we turn first and last

 

Isn’t the dew of dawn due?

The darkest hours are few

Soon the beating hooves shall sound

Unfettered upon a fertile ground

Poem – Where are they going?

Where are they going?

Squash court, tennis, friends?

In, out, to work or other errands?

None of the above they say

As they quietly make their way

 

Where are they going?

Pausing their thrilling lives,

With a polite smile they leave their wives

Kids brawling, screaming and calling

But forward still they are proceeding

 

Where are they going?

Some on foot or cars shiny and black

Others on two wheeled horseback

Are they after a prize?

Where are they heading is it a surprise?

 

Where are they going?

Some once, others twice

For a few fortunate ones five times

Winding over pathways

Across lawns and down hallways

 

Where are they going?

Responding to the floating call

That arrives at every fortified wall

Through the air comes the calling

But few are found listening

 

Where are they going?

To His house where furniture there is none

To stand in rows in unison

They arrive with every step growing

As the angels stand recording

 

Where are we going?

At the next invitation to success

Let it not slip into a dark recess

From our houses to His let us proceed

And plant in our records a righteous seed

 

Palestinians in Israel – some simple facts

Bismillah, alhamdulillah:

Just read an informative article in the Guardian called “Britain’s duty to the Palestinian people” written by a Israeli passport holder who had succeeded in drawing the attention of Theresa May. Here is a quote on the effect on the distribution of resources regarding education between fellow Israeli citizens:

Education is only one of several areas in which Palestinian citizens face discrimination in Israel. The Israeli government allocates less money per head for Arab children’s education than it does for that of Jewish children. One devastating consequence is that the drop-out rate from schools is three times higher among Arabs than among Jews.

 

Machiavelli’s advice on ruling others: reduce them to rubble, live there or install puppets

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

A short comment piece from the Guardian on the amoral rather than immoral nature of the modern world. Of course from an Islamic point of amorality is itself an immorality.

“Machiavelli’s moral universe is not one of unredeemed or unredeemable immorality, therefore. It is subtler, more amoral than immoral. By all means, govern well, execute sparingly, respect institutions, and invite honest advice, Machiavelli says, while in the same breath telling the prince that he must execute some of the coldest and most brutal acts of political violence.

So, for example, he reports that there are three ways of keeping control over newly conquered but previously self-governing states: “Reduce them to rubble ? go and live there yourself ? let them go on living under their own laws ? and install a [puppet] government.” Each has its own merits but “the truth is that the only sure way to hold such places is to destroy them”. That isn’t mandatory. You may decide not to raze them, in which case “the best way to hold a previously self-governing city it with the help of its own citizens”. But it is still an option.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/16/machiavelli-the-prince-benevolence

Are you swimming face down or face up through life?

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

As humans we face a unique and amazing test with tantalizing rewards, Paradise, and the threat of terrible failure, Hell. The test is all the more difficult because of the attractiveness of this world and the seeming distance of the next. As humans our brains are divided into two broad categories when it comes to decision making. We have a thinking side the ‘outer brain’ and an emotional side or the ‘inner brain’. The inner brain technically known as the limbic brain and other associated areas is key in storing our emotional and pleasure side. The outer brain is the one we use to weigh things up i.e. make rational decisions.

Many experiments have shown that consumer behavior is mainly driven by emotional decisions. Once the decision has been made we use our rational capacities to disguise our real reason for making a decision. An example of this as follows: In one experiment a group of subjects are asked to do a task in return for one of two rewards. The first is an immediate reward of cash as soon as they have completed their task and the second is to have double the cash reward but it will be delayed by a week. Unsurprisingly or surprisingly – depending on how you think – the vast majority of people opt for the immediate cash reward. Such experiments have been repeated and form a growing body of evidence in the field neuropsychiatry. The studies reveal the underlying process that lie behind the many decisions that we make.

So what does this have to do with Islam and what could it possibly have to do with swimming? Well we know, having been informed repeatedly in the Quran and the Sunnah of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that this world is a mere passage to the next. A few fleeting moments compared to eternity. We know that our purpose in life is to worship Allah and fulfill this duty in the most comprehensive sense possible. We have been invited by God to build our hereafter in this world. Yet many a time the attractions of this world prove alluring and divert us from our journey to our final destination. The underlying reason this happens is our emotion decision making process. If we are not vigilant our brains default position is prefer immediate reward over later and greater reward. Being aware of this helps us resist this errant decision making process.

But that leaves swimming. As the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has informed us our provision is destined while we are still in the wombs of our mothers. The reason we are told this is so that we can apportion an appropriate amount of time to preparing our hereafter without being worried by the fact that we may be losing out on our portion of the world. But many a time we forget this hadith because the fear of losing our portion of this world is a powerful emotional motivation that dictates our behavior. So in those moments, for some many and other less so, we focus our greater attention back to wading our way through the world.

So to cap it all off – swimming to me as an interesting analogy of our passage through life. Looking down into the water is the example of a man whose primary focus is the world whereas looking up at the sky is like a man whose main focus is the hereafter. As is well known to anyone swims, doing a breast stroke allows a person to swim quickly but every now and then he needs to grab his little portion of the hereafter and he pulls his face out of the water and takes a short breath but then returns to facing the world so he can proceed quickly to his worldly destination. Speeding to his next acquisition from this world is what dictates his choice of stroke through the water. On the other hand doing a back stroke is like a person who has prioritized his hereafter as his gaze is directed towards the sky. He has traded his ability to speed to the next worldly destination and acquiring his next worldly provision for his ability to concentrate more on the hereafter. The only reason he does not panic that everyone is beating him in the worldly race is his trust and deep belief that God has fixed his provision in this world and whether he races to it or goes at a more measured pace he will get what is destined for him.

In both strokes we go forward, in both we have to make an effort to pass through life. But the wise one realizes that the fear of losing out on our provision of this world is not true. We have to resist our emotional brain. We don’t have to swim face down, swimming face up is as good from the worldly point of view and much better for our Hereafters. May Allah make us realize this fundamental truth and steady our hearts on His religion.

Poem – The Poor by Anonymous

Bismillah alhamdulillah,

A very nice poem written by someone who prefers to remain anonymous came into my mail box today. Thank you to the author:

The poor and destitute we remember not

Even though they toil through the cold and hot

We must remember every blessing we have got

and pay heed to the Day when all friends and family will be forgot.

 

The outstretched hand is a blessing indeed

Ne’er look away,’ tis a person who is in dire need.

Even a smile will be counted as a charitable deed

Let us  remove from our heats all traces of greed.

 

We will need the blessings of the poor, on the Day when we will quiver

to give to the poor is a blessing to the giver.

They will pray for us, from the Almighty Forgiver

We pray that Allah Almighty, to Heaven He will deliver.

Taming the Internet – Part 1

Bismillah alhamdulillah.

The internet has gone from being an esoteric experiment by the US Department of Defence to a vital fourth utility for many after water, electricity and gas within the space of around 20 years. As a result the flow of information around the world and consequent interaction has increased tremendously. The available content has grown exponentially fuelled in large part by the advent of Web 2.0 technologies. Web 2.0 for the uninitiated are the wide range of websites that have allowed every day people to add to the growing body of content that constitutes the internet. Examples include blogs (Blogger, WordPress, video blogs through YouTube etc.), micro blog sites (i.e Twitter) and wikis (the most famous being wikipedia). For parents the internet has become an awkward challenge.

Continue reading →

Hajj Charity in Makkah

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

Situated on the 4th floor of the shopping centre in the middle of the Hilton Towers Complex this charity can distribute charity to the poor of Makkah as part of the Hajj and Umrah rites.

Below is their brochure.  Money can be transferred to their bank account directly. Make sure any instructions are in Arabic. Ask someone to translate the words if you do not understand. Don’t expect any communication back. The alternative is to give money directly in their office. They have people who speak Arabic, English and probably other common languages of the Muslim world.

Brochure for Hajj Charity in Makkah