Paradise One

Imam ibn al-Qayyim says on page #230

” An experienced person told the following remarkable account: I once saw an ant that found a half locust; she tried to move it, but she failed to carry it from the ground. So she moved a little distance and called a group of ants. The narrator adds: I took away that half locust from the ground, so that when the ant and its companions came she went around and they went around, but could not find it, so they went back. Then I replaced the half locust, and when the ant came, she saw it, she tried to carry it but failed. So she walked a little distance, bringing her group. They came and went round the place and when the group did not find anything, they made a circle round the ant, attacked it and cut it limb from limb. I sat there observing all this. “

SubhanAllah.

Asalamu Alaikum,

Amazing quote I came across on brother Yursil’s blog:

“And when, as a result of this soul searching you begin to read from books of Sufi knowledge, of the Prophet (S), of Abu Bakr (R) and Ali (R), of Rumi, of Attar, you only feel your longing more strongly and feel that you are even thirstier. Through all this reading you have tasted only a trickle, just enough to know how sweet a spring this is. By now you must realize that books are not the best vessel for wisdom of the heart, for the heart itself is the vessel, and the precious draught is passed from heart to heart. Where may such heart springs be found in a time that has turned verdant fields into desert wastes? Wandering through huge desert wastes, how many of us may just happen to stumble upon an oasis? First you may stumble upon one hundred mirages! But you must keep on, don’t turn back saying, “I have found only illusions.” No, no one said you have embarked on an easy journey, so you must be perseverant.”
- Shaykh Maulana Nazim al-Hakkani

Heres an interesting story related to us by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani:

(So an Egyptian grad. student is sitting at the da’wah table at the University of Toronto, when a fellow student walks up to him..)

Atheist: “I don’t believe in god”

Egyptian grad. student: “I do not believe in the god that you don’t believe in, but I believe in a God that you do not know about”

..SubhanAllah, this is definitely something to ponder over.

Salamu Alaikum to those reading,

I know its been a while since my last post, but a lot has happened since then, some things good and some bad.

Alhamdulilah, I spent the past weekend at a camp where I met many awesome brothers and created strong bonds of friendship. It really was a great trip and I’m so glad I went. I guess sometimes you just need to be out in nature to be able to clear your heart and mind of all the frustration and stress you get in the material world.

In other news, my laptop broke :[
Actually, the main problem is with the hard drive and fan, and it would definitely help if I added some ram to it. This really creates a problem because all my files are saved on it and I was too dumb to re-save them on my desktop.

Lesson Learned: Never buy a Dell Notebook

I’m actually debating whether I should buy the new parts and get it fixed or switch to Apple. After all, the new Macbooks are definitely hot, and I’ve heard nothing but good reviews about them. So let me know what you think, inshaAllah.

If you’re still reading this, may Allah (swt) reward you for your patience with me. haha, I know I take a good minute to actually get to the point.

So at the end of todays Khutbah, the Khateeb told us a short story that really caught my attention. Although the story is only a few lines long, the meaning is incredibly powerful.

There was a very old man who was laying on his death bed. As he was taking his las few breathes he called out to his sons so that he may teach them one final lesson.
When they came to him he told them to go outside and bring back some sticks. They came back soon after and gave him what he asked for.

He gave a stick to one of his sons and told him to break it. The boy broke it.

He then put two sticks in the child’s hand and told him to break them. With some effort, the boy broke the sticks.

Next, he handed the boy a third stick and told him to break all three. With much more effort than before, they boy was able to break the sticks.

Finally, the old man gave the boy four sticks and told him to break them. Despite all his effort, the boy could not break the sticks.

SubhanAllah, of all the lessons he could have left his children with, I feel that he chose one of the greatest and most beneficial. He taught them the power of unity and companionship.  A trait that we as an Ummah are in such dire need of.

May we also take heed of the old man’s advise.

And may Allah (swt) unite us as One Nation. One Ummah. (ameen)

Salamu Alaikum guys,

I just wanna start out by saying i feel great, Alhamdulilah. It’s currently 7:48 am, I read some Qur’an earlier and now I’m about to go out to breakfast with the little brother :]

What a great way to start a day.

I was feeling pretty down last night, but as the sun rose this morning so did my heart. These beautiful summer days are truly a blessing from our lord, Allah (swt).  After all, we could be living in Alaska. [much love to my Alaskan brothers!!]

Anyhow, I was looking through a few sites this morning and stumbled upon Faraz Rabbani’s blog. Not only is it awesome that he actually has a blog, but his posts are actually pretty interesting too. As I was looking through it I saw a quote that stuck out to me. I liked it a lot and thought I would share it with you guys. It’s truly something to reflect upon.

Ibn Ata’illah said,
“The heedless arise and think what they will do. Those of understanding arise and wonder what Allah will do with them.”

And as you ponder over this I will be eating pancakes :-D !

Take care guys,

Masalam.