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Saturday, June 17, 2006

Tablighi Jamat


I came across this poem on Tablighis on one of the many websites. Enjoy...

The tableeghis,
easy target for criticism,
Attacks against them launched with cynicism
Politically unaware, Intellectually Docile,
Painted by some as simplistically puerile

But I must hasten to disagree,
And quote to you some history
To prove the nature of my claims
And perhaps to defend their noble aims

When Hinduism was spreading in Mewat,
And muslims were losing iman from the heart,
A spiritual man arose who stood apart,
And founded what we now know as tableeghi jamaat

Who knew this spark of love would spread like fire,
For the situation seemed quite dire,
It transformed darkness to illumination,
And rescued the sunnah from devestation

Empty masjids cried floods of tears,
As no worshippers made sujood for many years,
And then crowds came back and thronged their floors,
You can see angels smile, and the heavens echo with applause.

The dhikr of Allah is being revived by their crowds
Throughout the lands jam'aahs travel like rain-bearing clouds
Bringing much sought for water to thirsty lands,
And turning to luscious green arid desert lands.

Some people may be unaware of this information ,
That mawlana Ilyaas was an initiated sufi master
But he saw the mutasawifs and ulema remaining aloof from their congregation,
Whilst Indias muslims plunged into great disaster

So he took the da'wah out to the masses,
Like Bees flying on journeys making honey in stashes,
Unknown inhabitations became Honeycombes sweet,
Where millions of muslims gather and meet

They left their families and their abodes,
And embarked on difficult dusty roads,
Travelling for the pleasure of the divine,
To replace the darkness of postmodernity with the sunnah's shine.

Embryonic change happens in Forty Days,
Strange Indeed are Allah's ways,
Dont call this number a reprehensible innovation,
Perchance it be a sign of your lack of academic discrimination.

In the way of Allah each step they tread,
But only for jihaad this should be said?
Open the hadeeth work of bukhari- the chapter on JUMUAH,
ya akhee f'illah,
In that very chapter not about jihad, it quotes the hadeeth of the feet being covered with dust Fee sabeel illah

How many a former drug addict I have encountered in these lands,
Whose previously injecting hands are enshrouded with ancient sins
And now he sits in the house of God with a tasbeeh in his hands
Those same hands make dhikr on those beads of strings

How many a robber who used to steal,
How many a zaani who shamed the earth's surrounds
How many a musician singing profane sounds
Now recounts God's Jalal-it makes him yell out squeals
And now the earth begins to smile, as he prostrates and as he kneels...

How many a face- black white and yellow from every schism
Sit on a mat and eat together their repast
Whilst politicians talk of the problems of racism
Oh This is not out problem- a thing of the past.

He makes nadaama and in tawbah turns
His heart with Love of Allah yearns
God Bless you Oh dearest mawlaana ilyaas
How beautifully you turned Yaas Into Aas

From the orient to the occident
And from the south right to the north
Crowds emerge with intentions heavenly bent
And taking Allah's name alone, they come forth

Pakistanis, Caucasians, Mayalsians, Africans, And Turks
Chinese, Eskimo, and russian faces
Ethnicities unheard of fill masjids where traces,
Of their forefathers are written in historical works.

Whilst nations sit before cathode rays,
That titillate their eyes with their enticing ways,
These men rebel against satan's invitation
And turn to the work of the prophets-driving iblees to frustration

They sit of the floor as it indents their knees,
They know not of Nietzsche, Hume, Kant or Socrates,
They couldnt perhaps recount ghazzali or avicenna's complex kalaam,
But the dhikr of Allah makes their souls calm

This is not to deny the place of the mutaklimeen,
Without whom we would be in disarray,
But for the awaam such complex arguments can lead astray
So let dhawq and wijdaan provide them with yaqeen.

They are not by tales of Machiavelli's prince infected
The sahabas stories motivate their lives
Such dark political ideologies before such heros stand rejected
Upholders of truth and self sacrifice

They hold no huge political rallies protesting to creation
In the nights they stand in prayer before the answer of every supplication
And with tears flood the floors begging for mercy and rejuvenation
Once more gifting glory to the Ummah of the best of creation

Don't approach the worldy kings -they cannot protect,
A Pretzel falls into their tracheas, almost suffocating
Such a small little thing He cannot eject?
How will he give Honour to those who stand outside the white house waiting?

They couldnt tell you about quantum mechanics or Hawkings
They couldnt refute Darwinian thought or the reductionism of dawkins
They dont know that much of Heisenbergs principle of uncertainty
For to them the kalimah is a deeply rooted certainty

They might not know Chomskys views on Linguistic Bayaan,
Or how Steven Pinker's instincts about neurolinguistics fit,
But they have of a surety read soorah rahman
And know that language is from Allah a merciful Gift.

And not the product of random forces without end,
Or indeed a blind watchmaker -No my friend
The blindness is in your hearts-not the maker of harmony
So with Ahsan-ul-qawl..They call To the Absolute with humility

On the Day of Reckoning when the Prophets say nafsee nafsee...
Perhaps Dawkins will smile, albeit, temporarily
Thinking "Ah My Selfish Gene Thesis was true"
Even these prophets are exhibiting ultimately a selfish hue

But Then Mustafa shall come and say Ummati Ummati...
Such selflessness which will cause his theory to terminate suddenly,
This is the beloved of Allah, and this maqam you cannot explain scientifically,
So Discard Dawkins Memes for Muhammad(saw)'s MEEM

They fall not prey to materialism or such bakwaas,
They see the divine hand behind each moving leaf,
In fact they are aboard a noah's ark constructed by mawlana ilyaas,
They hold on to the sunnah with their teeth

Of Freud's oedipus complex they remain unaware
Or indeed of changing uncertain paradigms
Imaan, Salaah, the 6 points are in the air
The kaafirs who promote intellectual kufr will pay for their crimes

Qiyamah is before their eyes
Not mere logical premises philosophers surmise
But deep rooted convictions that change their lives
You don't have to read volumes to be called wise

Those of us who study in intellectual arrogance
Forget rumi's tales of the lover's simple acceptance
The intellect is still looking for its transportation
Love has circled the ka'ba 7 times in dedication


posted by Niqabi at 2:19 AM | 13 caw-ments

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Petra



Having so much free time these days, I decided to indulge in my favourite pass time of crawling the cyber world and devouring historical information. Google is a true blessing and one that is not disguised. It has educated me in the true send of the word. I owe most, if not all of my awarness to Google.

Having read in the Quran, about the destroyed nations of the past that disobeyed Allah, I have always been interested in seeing the ruins of those cities. It has been said that Allah preserved remnants of the wreckage so that believers may learn from the mistakes of those before them. With this in mind, I set upon finding information about the nations of Aad and Thamud. Surely, there must be something of worth on the internet. I came upon a set of pictures of an ancient temple in Jordan called Petra. The name didn't mean anything to me, I had never even heard of it.

"Petra is the treasure of ancient world, hidden behind an almost impenetrable barrier of rugged mountains, boasting incomparable scenes that make it the most majestic and imposing ancient site still-standing nowadays. It has been said 'perhaps there is nothing in the world that resembles it', actually, for sure, there is nothing in the world that resembles it. The rock-carved rose-red city of Petra is full of mysterious charm, it was 'designed to strike wonder into all who entered it'."

But as far as the picture was concerned, it was breathtakingly beautiful. The temple, according to my search was carved out of rocks. This meant something because the people of one of the destroyed nations also used to carve houses out of rocks. This could be the ruins of the destroyed city mentioned in the Quran but I wasn't quite sure until I came upon this very interesting website. Please take a look at it.

Signs for the men of understanding

But before you go there, read this information that I got off another website :

The summary below has been drawn from the verses of Quran. I'm just quoting a few of them here but for further referance, please read the Quran.

Do you build on every high place a symbol, for the sake of vanity! And you take for yourselves strongholds, perhaps you will live forever? And if you attack, you strike ruthlessly?” (The Message 26:128-130)


“Did you not see what your Lord did to ‘Aad? Irum, with the great columns? The one which was like no other in the land? And Thamud who carved the rocks in the valley?” (The Message 89:6-9)

And recall that He made you (Thamud) successors after ‘Aad, and He established you in the land so that you make palaces on its plains, and you carve homes in the mountains. So recall God’s grace, and do not roam the Earth as corrupters.” (The Message 7:74)

And Thamud who carved the rocks in the valley?” (The Message 89:9)

And ‘Aad and Thamud (were annihilated). Much was made apparent to you from their dwellings. The devil had adorned their works in their eyes, thus he diverted them from the path, even though they could see.” (The Message 29:38)


'Aad' - People of Hud (AS)

1. Inherited the land after Noah (7:69);
2. Powerful Nation (41:15);
3. Homes are still visible (29:38);
4. Alters were built on 'High-Points' (26:128);
6. Main City 'Irum' boasts great columns (89:6-9).



'Thamud' - People of Saleh.

1. Inherited the land after 'Aad (7:74);
2. Homes carved out of mountain (7:74);
3. Is a Continuation of the Empire of 'Aad (53:50-51);
4. Situated in a Valley (89:9);
5. Military Community (85:17-18);
6. Provisions of water and gardens available (26:147-149);
7. Homes still standing (29:38).


Conclusion for ‘Aad & Thamud:

All the information found in the Quran draws us to one single finding:

‘Aad & Thamud have continued after one another IN-THE-SAME place.
There are only two places in the Middle East that have distinct stone carvings (we chose Middle East because that is where civilization first began after the Earth's re-birth in Mesopotamia, and where the Arabs and Arabic language originated from - 26:195):

1.Medien Saleh - Northern Arabia;
2.Petra - South of Dead Sea.

Although both places are remnants of the 'Nabataean' Kingdom (the fathers of the Arabs), our research eliminates 'Medien Saleh' as being the central city for the following reasons:

* Medien Saleh has 'tombs' carved out of the rock, whereas Scripture tells us they carved 'homes' (7:74);
*Medien Saleh is situated in a 'flat-land' with 'rock-peaks' around it. The Scripture tells us to look for a 'Valley' (89:9);
*Medien Saleh has no water water source to host crops and gardens, while Petra has an advanced water system used for irrigation (26:147-148).


Thus we are left with 'Petra' which fits all our clues for being 'Irum' with the Great Columns (89:6-9):

Petra also happens to be situated in a 'Valley' (89:9) and is well described by all archeologists as being a 'Military Complex' (85:17-18). Also, an 'advanced' hydraulic water system was in place with the walls of the narrow entrance 'Siq' lined with channels (originally fitted with chamfered clay pipes of efficient design) to carry drinking water to the city, while a dam to the right of the entrance diverted an adjoining stream through a tunnel to prevent it flooding the Siq (26:147-149). Petra has only recently been attracting archeological excavations; however, excavations have only been done on less than 2% of the ancient city. According to some archeological research, Petra dates back to 3,500 BC:

"In Abraham’s time, Petra was known as Salah. It is located in the mountains of Seir, the land of the Edomites. Petra is the Greek name for Sela, or Selah, a city of ancient Edom. The Hebrew word sela means "lofty, craggy rock, fortress, stronghold, cliff."

The site of Petra seems to indicate the presence of multiple civilizations, the last of which were the Nabateans (Arabs) and the Romans (Byzantines) upto the 6th century A.D. when it was struck by a devastating earthquake in 551 A.D. and the city fell out of use.

Thus, in conclusion to this part of the research, it can be said with some certainty that the ancient city of Petra is indeed the location where the civilizations of ‘Aad and Thamud once lived and flourished.


posted by Niqabi at 9:44 AM | 47 caw-ments

Quote


'We plan and Allah plans and Allah is the best of planners.'


posted by Niqabi at 9:29 AM | 1 caw-ments

Monday, June 05, 2006

MSN nick


'The wind is blowing hard through the window but I, burning in hell cannot feel it'

This is my 12 year-old sister's MSN nick. A little more search in the dark corners of our pc revealed further quotes by her, one of them is:

'I want people to like me for who I am but what I am is COMPLICATED to tell...'

This is shocking, to say the least. I'm worried.



posted by Niqabi at 6:41 AM | 9 caw-ments

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Coincidence


I haven't posted in such a long time. It's probably my longest break from blogging here. I've been having exams, as you may or may not know. Not that they ever hinder me from doing anything but please let me use that as an excuse to mask my procrastination. Khyr, I have started two other blogs and they have this venting spirit, every time I log in there, I end up whining to my melodramaric heart's content. And I'm just not ready to share my idle, useless, selfish complaints with people as yet. So anonymity is a loyal friend these days.

My parents are expected to be back in pakistan on 08 th June and home by 22 nd June. It's been awefully long, more than four months and now I really want them back. So anticipation is growing and that somehow keeps me from feeling too low. In other news, I'm completely free and enjoying. I'm sleeping and catching up with old friends. Its a small world, really. I had this friend from Johannesburg, South Africa that I used to talk to back in 2003. I had a 200 plus contact list on Yahoo but it started to affect my real life so I decided to remove the messenger from the pc altogether. It helped alot and then I forgot about all the people that I talked to. Cyber world doesn't last and sooner or later, people lose contact. Khyr, I'm no exception, I did the same and went on with my life. Anyway, last December, there came a jamat to our house from South Africa. I got pally with almost all the 7 girls/women and the fact that 5 of them were in early twenties made the experience all the more enjoyable. I took down their addresses, phone numbers, every snippet of information that I could get my hands on so that we never lose touch. But we did, I never got 'round to writing letters. I also knew that postal mail between pakistan-south africa is frustratingly slow and most of the time, it doesn't even deliver. But I've kept the addresses and names, just in case I decide to go for vacations to south africa.

Last night, being bored out of my mind, I thought I'd reinstall my ole' Yahoo messenger and see if anyone remembers me. I signed in and saw that 97% of my contact population was offline. A few odd people were online but I wasn't up for chatting much so I didn't instant message anyone. Then this girl came online, I recognised her from her screen name but I had forgotten her name. I knew at one point in time I had talked to her in great length. I messaged her and we talked for long, sharing news, progress and life in general. I told her about the south african people that I met last year and how genuine and full of love they were. Fortunetly, I was able to dig up all the addresses and names I had saved, so I typed them up to her, hoping that she might know someone. Unfortunetly, she didn't. Then she stopped at one name and said she might know her...she gave me a few clues about her appearance and it turned out that my friend had met this entire jamat at Dubai airport, when they were about to leave for Pakistan and my friend was on her to India. She met them all because they stopped at the airport to do salah and one of the women of the jamat casually mentioned her that its her first time out and they're headed off to Pakistan. Then they parted ways. Its merely a pleasant coincidence that the same jamat came to our house! I rattled off more names but my friend didn't know anyone. I kept bringing in more information, little stuff that I remembered; husband's occupation, number of children, brother-in-law's name...just about everything that I could remember. In the same jamat, there was this lady who's brother-in-law worked for CII (Channel Islam International, South Africa) and apprently, he was famous there. I remember she kept typing his name on Google, hoping it would dig out his picture or something. But no picture came, although his name was slightly common on the internet. I tried remembering his name but I just couldn't get it. I knew one thing for sure, that he was a moulana. My dear friend emptied her mind and this is how the conversation went:



Niqabified : This guy
Niqabified : is a moulana I think
Niqabified : Do you know any moulanas related to that channel?
staarz_staarz : lol there are so so so many
staarz_staarz : unmarried?
Niqabified: No he's kinda big there
Niqabified : No, he's married
staarz_staarz : wait hold it
Niqabified : ....
sstaarz_staarz :Was he a****'s brother-in-law?
Niqabified : Yes...
staarz_staarz : Molana Moosa Laher
Niqabified : YEH!!!!
Niqabified :YESSSSS
Niqabified: hahahhaha
Niqabified : oh god, thank you.
staarz_staarz : jackpot!

Now, whats interesting is that my friend know this jamaty lady's brother-in-law, when she doesn't know the lady herself. But she has heard of her often. Turns out that the jamat lady's best friend is a student at the madressah where my friend teaches. That student was close in age with my friend and although they were in a teacher-student relationship, they did share stuff. So the student used to tell stuff about her best friend (jamaty lady) to her teacher (my friend) and thats how my friend knew about that jamaty lady's brother in law. But this connection is just so...out of the world! I mean, what are the odds?? My friend teaching a student who's a best friend of the woman I met. Its totally surprising and indeed wonderful too.

Then I gave my friend alot of messages to deliver but this little event was so emotionally refreshing; making connections worldwide. I loved it! :)


posted by Niqabi at 5:57 AM | 1 caw-ments
   Profile
Name: Niqabi
Location: Lahore, Pakistan
Occupation: Housewife
Religion: Islam
Interests: World War II, Jews, Hebrew, ancient sites, Muslim rule in Spain, revolutions, Vatican city and Islamic literature.
Books: The black album, Portofino, Ladies coupe, In beautiful disguises, The buddhist of Suburbia, The hidden life of Otto Frank.
Contact: niqabified [at] gmail [dot] com
Quote: "We plan and Allah plans and Allah is the best of planners"


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