MUSLIM SALAD
By: Aaron Haroon Sellars © 2007
Before Islam I was lost
And after Islam I was lost
Between this and that group
Was I tossed
A bookstore Shaykh
Not even worth a dollar
With do-it-yourself Islam
Who needs a scholar?
Tossed so much
Might as well been a salad
I was quoting Hadeeth
But my wudu was invalid
If I can’t purify my outer
Then what about my inner?
Piles of books
But still a big sinner
What I know, doesn’t show
And now I know better
That’s what happens without the spirit
And only the letter
So attach myself I must
To scholars with unbroken chains
For this is the means
By which pure knowledge remains
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
A New Chapter
I have a range of friends, some closer than others and some as mere acquaintances whom I can't help but refer to as friends, but I never cross the line to categorize my friends as 'best friends' I believe there is no such thing. I remember as a child every school year would come with a new best friend and every year I'd be teased because I could never just have one best friend 'forever'. Then I grew up and saw the beauty of friendship. I saw the ups and downs and experiences a whole range of events until I finally learned my lesson, your friends are human. They have flaws, but it is in your power as their friend to accept them with those flaws. I also learned that people wont seclude themselves from the rest of the world just to be with you and only you. You can't confine people to yourself only, others have rights upon them also.
I made a decision, a mature and well thought out decision. A new chapter in my life began this year, perhaps the last chapter of this volume, but a new chapter indeed. With this new chapter came a new environment, new people, new reactions... reactions I wasn't forced to confront too often before due to the environment in which I lived and spent most of my time in. It was time to face the real world, face people... different people. The thought remained, what is my intention? The decision became..."I am a seeker of knowledge, not a seeker of friends." I enjoy meeting new people, I enjoy getting to know where people are coming from and things that will prove your whole first impression of them to be completely wrong, but I also believe we should be distant. Attachment to people is a dangerous thing and if it's what you are seeking you need to rethink that intention. Also, talk of drama that would be found in this new environment wasn't too pleasing to my ears and so I made a decision to remain distant enough to fulfill my task. I was writing this chapter not to seek other beings, rather seeking what would benefit me in the long run... but at the same time open to anything that came my way along this journey because I was not oblivious to the truth of the situation. Little did I know, I knew nothing.
I continue on jotting down the moments in this same chapter and the beginning is absolutely and ridiculously the opposite of the present and even more different to what may be the end. I'm stuck, I'm glued for a life time. This new step has become a part of me forever, an unforgettable memory... some parts being horrid but indeed unforgettable.
But not to forget, I also had that whole... "What is the purpose of friends..?" aspect. Although some parts of that thinking remain, I think it's a healthy aspect of it that still lingers in my mind, one that causes us to trust Allah (swt) and cause us to turn to Him (swt) than to those who have no power to help us. But this whole thing in itself can turn into a confusing thing if I try to convey it here in writing. Moving on...
From day one 'til now, I have come across a wide range of people. Never did I think I would be friends with people who are so much older than me yet be so close to them. People who are married, people who have children, people who live in another state or even continent, people younger than me, people my age, people completely different than me, people who've been through tremendous amounts of trials, and people who are enjoying life as if death will never knock on their door... each one of them has a place in my heart. I feel blessed to know those whom I know and remain in anticipation of those whom I'll get to know someday.
I was reading a friend's blog and she repeatedly mentioned the fact that she has met a tremendous number of sisters since Allah (swt) guided her and it has strengthened her even more along her way. I cannot help but agree in the fact that the amazing sisters I've come to know have had an impact on me, have contributed in some sense to some change within me, and I admire almost all of them for their determination to get through their trials and tests with the pleasure of Allah (swt). They seek and look for ways to please Him (swt), they look for ways to unbind themselves from the wrongs within their lives to attain His (swt) Love. They make sacrifices and take risks to obtain the characteristics of the Beloved Prophet (saw). I love them for the sake of Allah and my admiration of them cannot be expressed in words. I pray Allah (Swt) continues to Guide them and Grants them khayr in all their endeavors and the good of this world and the Ultimate good of the hereafter. Aameen
We're all equally the creation of Allah (swt), but the question is.... what are you leaving behind? Are these friendships only of name or actually of some effort? I stepped into this new 'world' with one thought in mind... I want to do what I can with what I have as much as I can. Dawah is a duty... a task to fulfill by any means possible.
But am I doing it?
May Allah (swt) reunite us with those whom we love in the highest maqaam in Jannah. Aameen
Aren't friends awesome? We can use 'em... abuse 'em... use 'em again... :P Just Kidding!
I made a decision, a mature and well thought out decision. A new chapter in my life began this year, perhaps the last chapter of this volume, but a new chapter indeed. With this new chapter came a new environment, new people, new reactions... reactions I wasn't forced to confront too often before due to the environment in which I lived and spent most of my time in. It was time to face the real world, face people... different people. The thought remained, what is my intention? The decision became..."I am a seeker of knowledge, not a seeker of friends." I enjoy meeting new people, I enjoy getting to know where people are coming from and things that will prove your whole first impression of them to be completely wrong, but I also believe we should be distant. Attachment to people is a dangerous thing and if it's what you are seeking you need to rethink that intention. Also, talk of drama that would be found in this new environment wasn't too pleasing to my ears and so I made a decision to remain distant enough to fulfill my task. I was writing this chapter not to seek other beings, rather seeking what would benefit me in the long run... but at the same time open to anything that came my way along this journey because I was not oblivious to the truth of the situation. Little did I know, I knew nothing.
I continue on jotting down the moments in this same chapter and the beginning is absolutely and ridiculously the opposite of the present and even more different to what may be the end. I'm stuck, I'm glued for a life time. This new step has become a part of me forever, an unforgettable memory... some parts being horrid but indeed unforgettable.
But not to forget, I also had that whole... "What is the purpose of friends..?" aspect. Although some parts of that thinking remain, I think it's a healthy aspect of it that still lingers in my mind, one that causes us to trust Allah (swt) and cause us to turn to Him (swt) than to those who have no power to help us. But this whole thing in itself can turn into a confusing thing if I try to convey it here in writing. Moving on...
From day one 'til now, I have come across a wide range of people. Never did I think I would be friends with people who are so much older than me yet be so close to them. People who are married, people who have children, people who live in another state or even continent, people younger than me, people my age, people completely different than me, people who've been through tremendous amounts of trials, and people who are enjoying life as if death will never knock on their door... each one of them has a place in my heart. I feel blessed to know those whom I know and remain in anticipation of those whom I'll get to know someday.
I was reading a friend's blog and she repeatedly mentioned the fact that she has met a tremendous number of sisters since Allah (swt) guided her and it has strengthened her even more along her way. I cannot help but agree in the fact that the amazing sisters I've come to know have had an impact on me, have contributed in some sense to some change within me, and I admire almost all of them for their determination to get through their trials and tests with the pleasure of Allah (swt). They seek and look for ways to please Him (swt), they look for ways to unbind themselves from the wrongs within their lives to attain His (swt) Love. They make sacrifices and take risks to obtain the characteristics of the Beloved Prophet (saw). I love them for the sake of Allah and my admiration of them cannot be expressed in words. I pray Allah (Swt) continues to Guide them and Grants them khayr in all their endeavors and the good of this world and the Ultimate good of the hereafter. Aameen
We're all equally the creation of Allah (swt), but the question is.... what are you leaving behind? Are these friendships only of name or actually of some effort? I stepped into this new 'world' with one thought in mind... I want to do what I can with what I have as much as I can. Dawah is a duty... a task to fulfill by any means possible.
But am I doing it?
May Allah (swt) reunite us with those whom we love in the highest maqaam in Jannah. Aameen
Aren't friends awesome? We can use 'em... abuse 'em... use 'em again... :P Just Kidding!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
