Thursday, June 08, 2006

Power Stations

Summer is here (finally) and everything seems to be bright and 'alive'. It is one that time of the year where people like to be outside or make the most of the sunshine in whatever way they can, be it decorating, day trips, family outings or other activities. And most of all it seems as though the wedding season has begun.

During the weekend I was traveling to a wedding which took place in Bradford. I thought it was going to be a short drive but I was totally wrong about that. Nevertheless, the drive was good because of the weather and obviously the surrounding greenery and scenery.

Whilst driving on the M1 North I came across many things which I don't usually see on the M1 South (my usual motorway route). But the most meaningful thing that I saw on the motorway was the Nuclear Power Stations. It's an amazing site. Big 'chimney-pot-like, pillars with smoke coming out from within; showing its power, might and strength. The big pillar just took my attention off the road and other surrounding things. It made me realise that these were the things that provide us with our energy sources... Electricity.

POINT

When I saw these power stations I straight away imagined a doctor, a spiritual doctor. Someone who has that spiritual energy and distributes it as far and wide as he can. I realised that although we look at these strong pillars we fail to sometimes realise their value and need in the community and how they provide us with the energy that we rely on yet take for granted.

Our Shuyookh (Scholars & Spiritual Doctors) are our Power Stations. They are the ones that provide us with this energy; it is they that give us what we take for granted. Just as they power stations are constant in providing energy, we too need to realise that we need to receive constant spirituality and guidance from our scholars and Shuyookh.

May Allah give us all the inclination to realise the need of constant energy that takes us to his path and allows us to constantly produce acts of obedience for His happiness. Aameen

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

asalamualaikum
Amin to your duas. Alhumdulillah our shuyookh are amazing. May Allah increase them and grant them ease inshAllah!

:-D i have radar for this blog..i always happen to come to it the day u posted but even b4 the emails go out(the alert emails from bloglet or whatever) :-D

you know we dont have too many 'power stations' in the area, why dont you work on khilafat inshAllah and then re-locate? :-P you'll get it one day inshAllah. :) wait unless you already have and have done a good job keeping it secret :)hmmm, makes me wonder sumtimes...

publish if you wish..either way i'm sure i'll see a response from you via one of the various cyber mediums one can use to contact people today...

duas and take care.

walaikumasalam

Anonymous said...

Assalamu alaykum,

Mashallah an amazing post.
How true...The power of the dua that our shaykh puts into us and the effort that he puts into helping us is amazing..subhanallah..

Wassalamu alaykum

Anonymous said...

Salam,

the Ulama :) My fave ppl. May Allah reward em. Ameen.

Wassalam

Zain said...

As Salaamu Alaykum,

Anonymous

Aameen to the Du'as.

Alhumdulillah, it is good to know that you visit the blog before any e-mails and notifications are sent out. I pray to Alla that what I write is beneficial to all readers. Aameen.

As far as me being a power station, one thing for sure is that I am in need for all the power I receive from my Shaikh and other Ulamaa. I look around and feel that everyone is better in many ways and therefore I can't see myself in that position. I just pray that Allah shines His mercy on me and purifies me in the manner He wants me. Aameen.

Oh, and as far as communication is concerned, its amazing that despite so many methods of connection we still fail to to communicate and connect with Allah. I pray that just as we realise we have many methods of "online" communications we also realise that Allah is there waiting for us to communicate with Him.

Please remember me in your Duas.

Ummm Hamza

Jazakallah for the comments. Indeed the efforts of our Shuyookh are one of the many things we fail to realise and take advantage of. I pray to Allah that He give us the ability to recognise these diamonds before they are taken away from us. Aameen.

Please do remember me in your Duas.

Sister xmuslimahx

"Indeed the ones that fear Allah from amongst His servants are the 'Ulamaa"

I pray to Allah that He instills this fascinating and unique quality within the 'Ulamaa and that He instills love in the hearts of the people for such 'Ulamaa. Aameen.

Dua meh yaad.

Wasalaam

Anonymous said...

assalamualykum,i dint understand one of ure comments..."Indeed the ones that fear Allah from amongst His servants are the 'Ulamaa".
ive seen people who arent ULAMAA who are way more religious than some of the ulamma that are currently alive.so what youre trying to say is that "us" jaheel people dont fear Allah?please clarify your point because it would make me comprehend ure statement more..forgive me if i said said something wrong,assalamualykum.

Zain said...

As Salaamu Alaykum,

Jazakallah for sharing your confusion. The reference for this verse is: Surah Fatir [35:28]. I cannot mention the entire meaning for this verse but would like to clarify your concern and confusion.

Ibn Kathir has explained this verse in quite some detail. However, I will briefly mention what I feel is necessary to remove your confusion.

إِنَّمَا يَخْشَاهُ حَقّ خَشْيَته الْعُلَمَاء الْعَارِفُونَ بِهِ لِأَنَّهُ كُلَّمَا كَانَتْ الْمَعْرِفَة لِلْعَظِيمِ الْقَدِير الْعَلِيم الْمَوْصُوف بِصِفَاتِ الْكَمَال الْمَنْعُوت بِالْأَسْمَاءِ الْحُسْنَى كُلَّمَا كَانَتْ الْمَعْرِفَة بِهِ أَتَمَّ وَالْعِلْم بِهِ أَكْمَلَ كَانَتْ الْخَشْيَة لَهُ أَعْظَم وَأَكْثَر

1. The true fear of Allah is done bt the 'Ulamaa as they have recognised Allah through seeking the knowledge and reading and understanding the Qur'an & Hadeeth. Therefore, they are more aware of His wrath and punishment and therefore fear Him more.

وَعَنْ اِبْن مَسْعُود رَضِيَ اللَّه عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : لَيْسَ الْعِلْم عَنْ كَثْرَة الْحَدِيث وَلَكِنَّ الْعِلْم عَنْ كَثْرَة الْخَشْيَة

2. Ibn Mas'ood رضي الله عنه mentions that 'Ilm (Knowledge) is not through knowing a huge number of Hadeeth, but 'Ilm is the fear of Allah.

Furthermore, this verse has two meanings:

1. In general, the people that fear Allah more are the 'Ulamaa. Therefore, you will find people who fear Allah more than specific 'Alims. But as a whole the 'Ulamaa are more fearing.

2. The people that should fear Allah more are the 'Ulamaa as they have deeper and greater knowledge and awareness of Allah Ta'ala. Therefore, the true 'Ulamaa are those who fear Allah.

I hope this short answer clarifies your confusion. The oposite of an 'Alim is not one who is Jahil (ignorant), in this context it is one that has not studied the Qur'an and Sunnah to a deeper level like the 'Ulamaa have.

May Allah give us all the understanding of His religion and His verses. May He make us from those that fear Him, be it through being an 'Alim or through acquiring that knowledge that creates both fear and love for Him. Aameen.

Wasalaam

Anonymous said...

thanx 4 the essay dude :)

Zain said...

As Salaamu Alaykum,

You're welcome as long as it helped clarify the question and concern.

Please remember me in your Duas.

Wasalaam

Anonymous said...

assalamualykum,ok jazakAllah for replying.so if i spent my entire life trying to truly fear Allah and trying to recognize him,it would not be possible?so in short its not possible for me to truly fear Allah and recognize Allah like a Aalim,ect because im not a islamic scholar.so is there another way that i can reach the stage of truly fearing and recognizing Allah like the Ulamaa.Is there any kitabs i can read so i can also fear Allah and recognize Allah like the ulamaa or is it not possible for a normal person?

Zain said...

As Salaamu Alaykum,

I am pleased to know that I managed to clarify some of your concerns.

You seem to have missed a very important point which I mentioned earlier:

"...you will find people who fear Allah more than specific 'Alims."

If an individual, like you said, spent his "entire life trying to truly fear Allah" then no doubt He shall be classed as those who fear Allah. In a general verse Allah states:

وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتَانِ
(Surah Rahman:46)

"He who fears Allah for them there shall be two Gardens"

Therefore, the verse in talking about the majority of people, or people as a whole.

Furthermore, the 'Alim is a person who seeks knowledge and learns the principles and deeper knowledge of Islam. Nevertheless, this knowledge is such that it cannot be totally 'self-studied' for in Islam there is great importance placed in Isnaad (chain of narrators) and furthermore the teachers do not only part with their knowledge, but also the Nur that they have received from their teachers and so on.

As a final note, it is advisable to stay away from the term "Jahil" to address one's self. A Muslim should never class himself as Jahil and should strive to seek knowledge so that such a title does not befit him.

I hope this further clarifies you questions.

Please remember me in your Duas.

Wasalaam

Anonymous said...

Salam

Mashallah, Jazakallah for such a informative reply to the question. I have learnt alot Alhamdulillah.

Wassalam

Zain said...

As Salaamu Alaykum,

Jazakallah for the comments. It was good to ascertain that the answer provided was useful and Insha Allah will aid in removing any doubts from the questioner's mind.

Please do remember me in your Du'as.

Wasalaam

Anonymous said...

Assalamualykum.jazakAllah for taking your time out of your daily life to answer my questions.so its not possible for me to recognize Allah like the ulaama because they have deeper knowledge?does Allah choose whom he wants to be a Alim,hafiz,mufti ect at the time of a persons birth or is it up to a person?say if a person wanted to be a Aalim but he quit cause his memory was not that good,does this mean that Allah did not choose him to be Aalim?does Allah choose whom he wants to carry this knowledge of islam?do you know anyone online who gives lessons in spiritual discourses(tazkiyah,tassawuf)..like what you have to read,ect..jazakAllah once again,ameen.assalamualykum.

Anonymous said...

salam,can anyone on this blog please translate the following nasheed for me if its no problem.i would greatly appreciate it.
http://www.projecthaq.com/
AlWidaa (full)

Zain said...

As Salaamu Alaykum,

It is a pleasure for me to be able to take some time out to answer people's questions and help them understand the religion of Islam better. Jazakallah for giving me the opportunity.

Question 1

so its not possible for me to recognize Allah like the ulaama because they have deeper knowledge?

Answer 1

A 'normal' (non-'Alim) person will not fear Allah more than a 'true' 'Alim (as explained before. But there will be cases when a 'normal' will be more fearing of Allah than an 'Alim (because he may not be practicing or putting in as much effort).

Question 2

does Allah choose whom he wants to be a Alim,hafiz,mufti ect at the time of a persons birth or is it up to a person?

Answer 2

I have written a small article on this on my wordpress blog. www.zain121.wordpress.com. It is the under the 'event' of the Bukhari Graduation Ceremony.

In short:

‏من يرد الله به خيرا ‏ ‏يفقهه في الدين

"The person whom Allah intends good for, he given him understanding in Deen"

Therefore, yes, Allah Ta'ala does choose his bondsmen for this great act.

In another Hadeeth it is mentioned:


وان الله ليؤيد هذا الدين بالرجل الفاجر

"Allah takes aid for this Deen (of Islam) from (even) a Fajir (sinning) person."

So it is the choice of Allah whether He chooses a person and gives Him knowledge to serve this Deen or whether He chooses a sinner and gives Him this honour. It could be due to the people of knowledge not having appreciation, or the fact that an individual may in the sight of Allah have specific qualities... etc.

Question 3

does Allah choose whom he wants to be a Alim,hafiz,mufti ect at the time of a persons birth or is it up to a person?

Answer 3

There are two types of Taqdeer (destiny). Without going in too deep I will briefly mention how it relates to your question.

1. Fixed Taqdir
2. Changeable Taqdeer.

A man sometimes has a choice in the actions he makes and at times he has not choice as it is fixed by Allah. It is mentioned that a person once came to Hadhrat Ali رضي الله عنه and questioned him regarding fate. He replied, "raise one foot", and after doing as he was told, Hadhrat Ali رضي الله عنه said, "now raise the other", which he was obviously not able to do so.

The lesson was that some things we have control over, although Allah has knowledge of that also, but some things we have no control over.

At times Allah can choose any of His slaves to acquire this knowledge for no apparent reason whatsoever, and at times it may be through the actions of the individual. Either way, we have been told be the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم to carry on with doing good and Allah will make it easy upon us.

Question 4

do you know anyone online who gives lessons in spiritual discourses(tazkiyah,tassawuf)..like what you have to read,ect...

Answer 4

I am not aware of anyone who gives actual lessons on spiritual discourses. I know there are many articles as well as Bayaans (lectures) online. Furthermore, Tasawwuf is such that one needs to create the contact with the Shaikh, take pledge with him and thereafter keep contact with him so he can help and guide you. It is not a something which consists of 'lessons'.

I hope you have found the answers to your Questions. Please remember me in your Duas.

Wasalaam

Zain said...

As Salaamu Alaykum Ajnabi,

At the moment, there is only me on this blog. But Alhumdulillah I have managed to translate the Nasheed you requested.

Do you want me to e-mail it or post it in the comments section?

Please remember me in your Duas.

Wasalaam

Anonymous said...

Assalamualykum.jazakAllah for answering my questions.thank you so much.yes can you please post it in this comment section,jazakAllah.i have one last question if you dont mind answering,its kind of a weird question and may Allah forgive me if its something wrong that im asking....since it is Allah who gives and chooses people whom he wants to give this knowledge of islam too then why is it that an alima gets more reward for certain actions she does like the salat she performs carries more reward than that of a normal lady?i mean other people also try the alima course but never get through one year of it because Allah dint choose them so why does the alima whom Allah chooses gets more reward.Dont bother accepting this comment if its incorrect of me to question something like this but i just thought maybe theres something im missing or maybe its just something to do with envying alimas.who am i to question what Allah does? i was just wondering.jazakAllah once again for answering my questions,ameen.assalamualykum.

Anonymous said...

Assalamu Alaikum Molana,

May Allah Ta'ala grant you Jannataul Firdows for all of your hard work. Ameen. Truly YOu deserve it. Alhamdulillah, you have answered the brother's questions so well. May Allah Ta'ala shower his blessings, mercy, salamaty on you and may He protect you and keep you in good health always. Ameen. Subhanallah, I'm glad that Allah Ta'ala has blessed us bloggers and non bloggers with an Aalim like yourself, who can help us all. May Allah Ta'ala keep you smiling always. Ameen.

Wassalam

Aishah
PS: If you wouldn't mind, could you post the meaning to that naat here please or wherever possible? Jazakallah.

Anonymous said...

Walekumusalams Aishah.may Allah accept your dua,ameen.yes brother zain has a great heart,mashaAllah.jazakAllah brother zain.forgive me for asking so many questions because you might be going through troubles and have other stuff to do as well.May Allah reward you.assalamualykum.

Zain said...

As Salaamu Alaykum,

Sister Aisha

Jazakallah Sister Aisha for the compliments and comments and Aameen to the Duas. May Allah always keep you happy and I pray that He takes aid from us all for His religion Islam and makes me those that He showers His favours upon us. Aameen.

It pleases me to know that the question and answers are helping the readers and that they are learning something from what has been written.

Jazakallah once again and Aameen to the Duas.

ps. I will be posting the translation for the Nasheed in this posting secition.

Ajnabi

Jazakallah for Duas and comments that you posted. Alhumdulillah the question you posed is a very good one that occurs to many people and should be understood. Insha Allah I will address your question in the next couple of days and also post the translation for the Nasheed.

It is a pleasure for me to be able to help people understand and answer the questions that they really need answering. Don't worry about the trouble, but please do make Dua to Allah that He accepts the effort.

Jazakallah once again.

Please remember me in your Duas.

Wasalaam

Zain said...

As Salaamu Alaykum Ajnabi,

Question 1

I have one last question if you dont mind answering,its kind of a weird question and may Allah forgive me if its something wrong that im asking....

Answer 1

First of all, the question you asked is not weird at all for many people have these types of questions in their mind. There is nothing wrong with addressing these questions and removing the doubt and confusion that one has in mind. However, if the question is Taqdir (fate / destiny) related then one should not ponder too deep into this topic as it has lead many astray. May Allah save us all. Aameen.

Question 2

since it is Allah who gives and chooses people whom he wants to give this knowledge of islam too then why is it that an alima gets more reward for certain actions she does like the salat she performs carries more reward than that of a normal lady?

Answer 2

I have not read than an ‘Alim / ‘Alima gets more of a reward for the worship they carry out. If you have come across a Hadith with that meaning then please do let me know. However, I think you may have heard this from scholars or read this in a book.

The reason some scholars might say this is because the ‘Alim / ‘Alimah is has more knowledge and is aware of minute details and ‘extras’ of every worship. Therefore, he/she would know what were the Sunnats of the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم in a particular Salaah; similarly, they would be more aware of other Dua’s and things that we are able to pray in Salaah. Hence, they receive more reward.

Nevertheless, let me mention a Hadith that may be of benefit to us all:

It is narrated by Hadrat Aisha رضي الله عنها narrates that Rasulullah صلي الله عليه و سلم once said, "One who is well versed in the Qur'an will be in the company of those angels who are scribes, noble and righteous; and one who falters in reading the Qur'an, and has to exert hard for learning, gets double the reward."
[Sahih al-Bukhari]

This Hadith shows that a person who encounters more difficulty receives the reward for that difficulty. Now we may ask, what about the person who reads fluent, well his reward will be greater in a sense that in the same time the faltering person has read one surah he will have complete three.

Therefore, the justice system of Allah Ta’ala is such that He does not oppress any person nor does He every deny them from the reward that they have earned.

Question 3

i mean other people also try the alima course but never get through one year of it because Allah dint choose them so why does the alima whom Allah chooses gets more reward.

Answer 3

It is through the choice of Allah that we are able to become ‘Ulamaa. However, like I mentioned before, we do have a certain part in what happens within our lives. It is through these choices that sometimes we are denied what Allah Himself had written for us:

“Indeed a servant (of Allah) denies himself from sustenance due to sins that he commits”
[Sunan Ibn Majah]

This Hadith shows that there was Rizq and sustenance written for a person, maybe he was in the middle of acquiring it, but then due to some sin he committed (which he may not even be aware of) he is deprived from that sustenance of Allah.

Applying that to our question, we can relate to the number of sins we commit, and one of those sins could be the reason why Allah chose us not to complete the course. However, another reason could be that Allah has knowledge of everything, and within His knowledge it was known to Him that it would be better for that particular person not to have completed the course… It could well may have been a cause to destroy (through pride / arrogance / quarrelling and arguing etc).

Question 4

Dont bother accepting this comment if its incorrect of me to question something like this but i just thought maybe theres something im missing or maybe its just something to do with envying alimas.who am i to question what Allah does? i was just wondering.jazakAllah once again for answering my questions,ameen.assalamualykum.

Answer 4

Alhumdulillah, like I mentioned before, the question was one that was valuable and gave me an opportunity to think about something also. May Allah reward you for your intentions and your questions. Aameen.

As a final note, it is good to be envious of someone with knowledge as is also mentioned in a Hadith. Furthermore, we should all try and create love for such people as the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم has said “a man will be with whom he loves”.

May Allah give us all the inclination and true understanding. May He forgive our shortcomings and accept our efforts. Aameen.

I pray that my answers were helpful and provided the information you required.

Please remember me in your Du’as.

Wasalaam

Anonymous said...

Assalamu Alaikum,

Ameen to the duas. May Allah Ta'ala guide us all, keep us guided and make us of those hwo undertand His deen well. Ameen.

Wassalam

Aishah

Anonymous said...

Assalamu Alaikum,

Ameen to the duas. May Allah Ta'ala guide us all, keep us guided and make us of those hwo undertand His deen well. Ameen.

Wassalam

Aishah

Anonymous said...

Assalamualykum.Thank you so much for answering my questions.your answers have help me understand things better,jazakAllah khiran,ameen.would you mind if posted the answers on my space?sorry again for giving you trouble to answer my quesions.May Allah reward you abundantly and may Allah fill your life with blessings and may Allah illuminate your grave with noor and may he grant you jannatul firdaus with his mercy,ameen.Thank you brother zain.Assalamualykum.

Zain said...

As Salaamu Alaykum Ajnabi.

I am pleased to hear that the answers were helpful towards the questions you asked. Feel free to post the answers on your space.

Jazakallah and Aameen to the Duas. please do remember me in your Duas in the future also.

Wasalaam

Zain said...

As Salaamu Alaykum,

As promised, here is the translation of the Nasheed, Al Wida. It is a mixture of both 'word to word' translation and 'understandable' translation. It is not the best of translations however but allows one to understand what is being said in the Nasheed.

al Wida

My feet are bilal, today, unable to walk... (x2)

Here it is, it is my farewell, it is my farewell. (x2)

Here take my Qur’an, here take my Sunnah... (x2)

Now these will show you the path to Jannah. (x2)

If you face difficulties… Then bear its burden. (x2)

But never hurt the feelings of anyone.

Remember this one advice of mine. (x2)

Here it is, it is my farewell, it is my farewell. (x2)

I will come personally to meet you on the Bridge of Sirat. (x2)

I will not let my Ummah fall from it. (x2)

There I will look after you.

Here it is, it is my farewell, it is my farewell.

If I am not there, I shall meet you at the well of Kauthar. (x2)

I will not let my Ummah go from there thirsty. (x2)

I will quench your thirst. (x2)

Here it is, it is my farewell, it is my farewell.

If I am not their, I will meet you at the Mizaan (the scales).

I will not let the scales of sins drop down in weight. (x2)

I will drop down the scales of piety for you.

Here it is, it is my farewell, it is my farewell.

If I am not there, I shall meet you at the Arsh (throne of Allah). (x2)

I will make pledges towards Allah whilst shedding tears. (x2)

There I will make excuses for you. (x2)

Here it is, it is my farewell, it is my farewell. (x3)

Anonymous said...

Salams,

Im glad I came across this blog and in particular this discussion. I have learnt alot Alahmduallilah.Jazakallah khair maulana. Sister Ajnabi, would it be possible to give the address to your 'my space' site, so that I and others may follow the discussion etc. Jazakallah

Anonymous said...

Assalamualykum.jazakAllah for the translation.i have posted it on my space so others can benefit from it as well,inshaAllah.Thank you so much once again,i have also put a dua for you on my space,may Allah accept it.
Walekumusalams brother Adam,there is no discussion,i'll just be posting the answers,ect on my space.sorry to let you down.i dont have comments enabled on my space so well no discussion.anyways jazakAllah for everything.Assalamualykum.

Zain said...

As Salaamu Alaykum,

Ajnabi

Are there other Islamic articles or topics that would be beneficial to the readers? If so, please do share your space with us so that we can all benefit, Insha Allah.

Please do remember me in your Duas.

Brother Adam

Jazakallah for the comments and I pleased to read that the comments and articles have proven to be beneficial for you.

Please remember me in your Duas.

Wasalaam

Anonymous said...

Assallamu Alaikum Warahmatullah;

I tried to comment earlier but timed out;

anyhow; Maulana Zain would it be possible if i were to use your al widaa translation? [after numerous requests from visitors...ive never got down to translate it]

Jazakallahu Khayr

the "Chimney Pots" just outside Sheffield?

Dua Mein Yaad;

Assallamu Alaikum Warahmatullah
Your Brother - ProjectHaq

Zain said...

As Salaamu Alaykum Brother

Good to see you around again. It's lucky that I have email notification in place as I wouldn't have come back to this post.

Feel free to use the translation. I done it for someone who requested it in the comments section.

I believe the chimney pots were near sheffield... Big Chimney Pots... Power Stations.

Please remember me in your Duas and you are also in mine.

Wasalaam