Love.Love.Love

The du’a of Love

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ حُبَّكَ وَحُبَّ مَنْ يُحِبُّكَ وَحُبَّ عَمَلٍ يُقَرِّبُنِي إِلَى حُبِّكَ

Allahumma Inni As’aluka Ḥubbaka Wa Ḥubba Man Yuḥibbuka Wa Ḥubba ‘Amalin Yuqarribuni Ila Ḥubbika

O Allah, I ask You for Your Love, and the love of whoever loves You, and the love of deeds that will bring me closer to Your Love.

 

 

Al-Latif: The Gentle

# RealTalk

 

Yasmin Mogahed

"It sounds comical, but the truth is, we put the needs of our body above the needs of our soul. We feed our bodies, because if we didn't, we'd die. But so many of us starve our souls, forgetting that if we are not praying our soul is dead. And ironically, the body that we tend to is only temporary, while the soul that we neglect is eternal." 

 

 

 

 

 

Anthropgenic LOVE

Bismillah

'Living an alternative life' - a rather popular preface to the world of organic and healthy living. Understandably, 21st century's ''first-world''  living kinda dictates the promotion of a wealthy and debauched way of life. As hyper-sensationalised as rap videos appear to be, there is however a truth behind this world of 'want' that young people are so hungry for. However, the face of hapless 60+ rock stars such as the like of Ozzy Osbourne, Mick Jagger is anything to go by - living the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll life does leave with a haggered pre-expiration date look.

Imagine, if we are so cruel to our selves - to simply achieve short-lasting enjoyment then yes imagine tirad of victims that have crossed our paths.

FACT:

The world, our home - the largest and perpetual abuse victim.  With a constantly changing environment, its inhabitants are so desperate to achieve a consensus in protecting the most violated living thing on earth. But where does this burderning responsiblilty originate from? From two quarters i feel, the ''religious space'' and the ''ethically conscious space'' - however thats not saying the two are mutually exclusive, the two are extricably linked.

So to find peace within ourselves and with the world around us, is a relationship so desperate to be translated into action. This 'secret' of an alternative life does add to its enigama and unfortuantly to its delay of action. We have become so fearful of change... and that ofcourse be GOOD change that we are willing remain blinded by our hunger and desire to satisfy the quick-tempered ego. Yet, we we delay and hinder ourselves from the greater goodness that resides in Love. Love enables us to do good and be good - all the will live in tranquility, something often described as utopia/heaven. But this is far from other-worldly - its acheievable and imagineable. So why do we fail to but the hard graft into this work?

Our distance from our Beloved Creator.

Lets learn to stop polluting anthropgenically...and start to produce a different kind of scent. A scent that can inspire, motivate us...and silence that quick-tempered ego that really is having alot of fun.

Good luck 2013, may Love be realised.

Ramblings Thoughts from a simple Tellurian...

'We come in peace...'

Here's assuming one would encounter an experience from some sort of extra terrestial being -  Hollywood however has sucessfully branded a sweet image of man greeting its foreign visitor with such cordial charm. Obviously, 80s sci-fi bare little social resemblance to our 21st Century realities, even if it attempts to imagine life in our age - (sadly hover crafts and metallic shell suits dont quite cut today's a la mode) - So how true is this? Can man be naturally hospitable, warm and receptive when faced with the 'other'? Ok, I wont try and saliently manovear this analogy from aliens to our current 'problem' of refugees and asylum seekers. Thats too easy, the old narrative playing off binarys is too reductive for now, rather, share my thoughts on the spiritual if possible.

The first account of man's relationship with his brethren (Cain and Abel) holds classical examples of rivalry, pride, greed, arrogance and all the grand ingredients of capital vices that would make a great read. Romulus and Remus founded in Roman mythology too shared similiar themes, man's sense of power and greed overpowered its affiity to the higher order of love or duty to kinsfolk is the clincher.

So, its no wonder that love and ones duty to their neighbour periodically echo's throughout the Torah, Gospels, the Qu'ran and many of the other sacred texts that strew this earth. So this is then a reminder of man's disposition or as it is called in Arabic al 'nafs (the inner desires) that must undergo a process where in which its true nature can flower while the desire for carnal pleasures is dispelled.

Allah the All-Mighty in Chapter At-Taubah (Seek Forgiveness) commands the believers to '...take zakat (charity) from their property  in order to purify and sanctify them' . To love your Lord by following His command to give, so that you and those around you may benefit from this sacred formula. While this relationship is achieved, this was not possible without a man whose legacy and virtue truly manifest on this earth. His embodiment of kindness, love, mercy, loyalty and all other wonderful superlatives I could write pages for, gives man that true practical knowledge of action. Our beloved Messenger, the Seal of the Prophets Mohammed (may peace and abundant blessings be upon him and his family).

Fastforward, 2012 - the world as we know it is increasingly hostile, in the span of a decade post-9/11, we have seen more wars in the world than ever before. The age of Terrorism has sparked a global twitch, where even countries ravaged by famine, poverty have managed to resort to religious fanatism the rich meanwhile rich and are also not shielded from this wave of benighted hate and have too developed their own 'ism'.

I always have believed that for a mathmetician, history is one predictable pattern. As much as our population may grow and we have advanced rapidly on a technological scale, no matter how much man decorates himself and how tall he can erect a building, we are deluding ourselves from the realities of this life. One gross example, but very small to the vignette of examples that exist, one Dubai multi-millionaire spent over £10m on etching his name on the arrad desert plains of the UAE so that it could be seen via satellite from the sky.

Have we reverted to our past, only to make the same mistakes?

I often despair about the cruelties of man and the unremitting circle we are facing. We can only begin by promising that we as an individual must try to live by the Prophetic example, if we are ever to live by anything. But we must strive for individual perfection and lead by example. Our neighbour or the 'other' are essential to achieving true love for our Lord, so serve them as you are serving Him. They are our kin no matter what way you look at it. 'You will not attain to virtue unless you spend of that which you love.' [111:92]

Worship God, assosicate nothing with Him, behave with excellence towards parents, near kindred, orphans, the indigent, the neighbour who is of kin and the neighbour who is not [4:36]

Genesis

Bismillahi-Rahmani-Raheem  (In the Name of the Most-Merciful, Most Beneficent)

This is the Genesis of all introductions for Muslims, without it, any idea cradles a hollow home.