Paul Salahuddin Armstrong, Founder and Director of Wulfruna Sufi Association
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Remember My favour wherewith I favoured you!
“O Children of Israel! Remember My favor wherewith I favored you, and fulfil your (part of the) covenant, I shall fulfil My (part of the) covenant and fear Me. And believe in that which I reveal, confirming that which ye possess already (of the Scripture), and be not first to disbelieve therein, and part not with My revelations for a trifling price, and keep your duty unto Me.
Confound not truth with falsehood, nor knowingly conceal the truth. Establish worship, pay the poor-due, and bow your heads with those who bow (in worship). Enjoin ye righteousness upon mankind while ye yourselves forget (to practise it)? And ye are readers of the Scripture! Have ye then no sense?
Seek help in patience and prayer; and truly it is hard save for the humble-minded, Who know that they will have to meet their Lord, and that unto Him they are returning. O Children of Israel! Remember My favor wherewith I favored you and how I preferred you to (all) creatures. And guard yourselves against a day when no soul will in aught avail another, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be received from it, nor will they be helped.
And (remember) when We did deliver you from Pharaoh’s folk, who were afflicting you with dreadful torment, slaying your sons and sparing your women: That was a tremendous trial from your Lord. And when We brought you through the sea and rescued you, and drowned the folk of Pharaoh in your sight.”
Holy Qur’an 2:40-50 (M.Pickthall)
“And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal- zephon, over against it shall ye encamp by the sea. And Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel: They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he shall follow after them; and I will get Me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.’ And they did so. And it was told the king of Egypt that the people were fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned towards the people, and they said: ‘What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?
And he made ready his chariots, and took his people with him. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over all of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel; for the children of Israel went out with a high hand. And the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were sore afraid; and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses: ‘Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to bring us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we spoke unto thee in Egypt, saying: Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.’
And Moses said unto the people: ‘Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work for you to-day; for whereas ye have seen the Egyptians to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD will fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.’ And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Wherefore criest thou unto Me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. And lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the sea, and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go into the midst of the sea on dry ground. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall go in after them; and I will get Me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten Me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.’
And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud removed from before them, and stood behind them; and it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud and the darkness here, yet gave it light by night there; and the one came not near the other all the night.
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
And it came to pass in the morning watch, that the LORD looked forth upon the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of cloud, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians. And He took off their chariot wheels, and made them to drive heavily; so that the Egyptians said: ‘Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.’ And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Stretch out thy hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.’ And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, even all the host of Pharaoh that went in after them into the sea; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore. And Israel saw the great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the LORD; and they believed in the LORD, and in His servant Moses.”
Exodus 14:1-31 JPS (1917)
For a child has been born to us…
“For a child has been born to us,
A son has been given us.
And authority has settled upon his shoulders.
He has been named
‘The Mighty God is planning grace;
The Eternal Father, a peaceable ruler’ –
In token of abundant authority
And of peace without limit
Upon David’s throne and kingdom,
That it may be firmly established
In justice and in equity
Now and evermore.
The zeal of the Lord of Hosts
Shall bring it to pass.”
Isaiah 9:5-6 JPS Tanakh (1985)
Commentary: “The Mighty God … ruler”: This long sentence is the throne name of the royal child. Semitic names often consist of of sentences that describe God; thus the name Isaiah in Hebrew means “The Lord saves”; Hezekiah, “The Lord strengthens”; in Akkadian, the name of the Babylonian king Merodach-baladan (Isa. 39:1) means “the god Marduk has provided an heir.” These names do not describe that person who holds them but the god whom the parents worship. Similarly, the name given to the child in this verse does not describe that child or attribute divinity to him, contrary to classical Christian readings of this messianic verse.
The Biology of Belief – TIME
By JEFFREY KLUGER Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009
Most folks probably couldn’t locate their parietal lobe with a map and a compass. For the record, it’s at the top of your head — aft of the frontal lobe, fore of the occipital lobe, north of the temporal lobe. What makes the parietal lobe special is not where it lives but what it does — particularly concerning matters of faith.
If you’ve ever prayed so hard that you’ve lost all sense of a larger world outside yourself, that’s your parietal lobe at work. If you’ve ever meditated so deeply that you’d swear the very boundaries of your body had dissolved, that’s your parietal too. There are other regions responsible for making your brain the spiritual amusement park it can be: your thalamus plays a role, as do your frontal lobes. But it’s your parietal lobe — a central mass of tissue that processes sensory input — that may have the most transporting effect. (Read “Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs”.)
Needy creatures that we are, we put the brain’s spiritual centers to use all the time. We pray for peace; we meditate for serenity; we chant for wealth. We travel to Lourdes in search of a miracle; we go to Mecca to show our devotion; we eat hallucinogenic mushrooms to attain transcendent vision and gather in church basements to achieve its sober opposite. But there is nothing we pray — or chant or meditate — for more than health.
To continue reading, click here…
Source: www.time.com
Trust Only In Allah!
Narrated Ibn Abbas:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The people were displayed in front of me and I saw one prophet passing by with a large group of his followers, and another prophet passing by with only a small group of people, and another prophet passing by with only ten (persons), and another prophet passing by with only five (persons), and another prophet passed by alone. And then I looked and saw a large multitude of people, so I asked Gabriel, ‘Are these people my followers?’ He said, ‘No, but look towards the horizon.’ I looked and saw a very large multitude of people. Gabriel said. ‘Those are your followers, and those are seventy thousand (persons) in front of them who will neither have any reckoning of their accounts nor will receive any punishment.’ I asked, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘For they used not to treat themselves with branding (cauterization) nor with Ruqya (get oneself treated by the recitation of some Verses of the Qur’an) and not to see evil omen in things, and they used to put their trust (only) in their Lord.’ ” On hearing that, ‘Ukasha bin Mihsan got up and said (to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him), “Invoke Allah to make me one of them.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “O Allah, make him one of them.” Then another man got up and said (to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him), “Invoke Allah to make me one of them.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Ukasha has preceded you.”
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 8, Hadith 549
But They Perceive Not…
“And of mankind are some who say: We believe in Allah and the Last Day, when they believe not. They think to beguile Allah and those who believe, and they beguile none save themselves; but they perceive not. In their hearts is a disease, and Allah increaseth their disease. A painful doom is theirs because they lie. And when it is said unto them: Make not mischief in the earth, they say: We are peacemakers only. Are not they indeed the mischief makers? But they perceive not.
And when it is said unto them: Believe as the people believe, they say: Shall we believe as the foolish believe? Are not they indeed the foolish? But they know not. And when they fall in with those who believe, they say: We believe; but when they go apart to their devils they declare: Lo! we are with you; verily we did but mock.
Allah (Himself) doth mock them, leaving them to wander blindly on in their contumacy. These are they who purchase error at the price of guidance, so their commerce doth not prosper, neither are they guided.”
Holy Qur’an 2:8-16 (M. Pickthall)
Knowledge Or Conviction Opposed To Opinion
Little is known by any one but the spiritual man,
Who has in his heart a touchstone of vital truth.
The others, hovering between two opinions,
Fly towards their nest on a single wing.
Knowledge has two wings, opinion only one wing;
Opinion is weak and lopsided in its flight.
The bird having but one wing quickly drops down,
And again flies on two steps or more.
This bird of opinion goes on rising and falling
On one wing, in hope to reach his nest.
When he escapes from opinion and knowledge is seen,
This bird gains two wings and spreads both of them.
Afterwards he “goes upright on a straight path,
Not grovelling on his face or creeping.”
He flies up on two wings even as the angel Gabriel,
Free of opinion, of duplicity, and of vain talk.
Though the whole world say to him,
“Thou art firm in the road of God’s faith,”
He is not made more ardent by their saying this,
Nor is his lofty soul inclined from its course.
And though all say to him, “Thou art in the wrong way,
Thou thinkest thyself a rock who art but a blade of grass,”
He relapses not into opinion at their rebukes.
Nor is he vexed at their malevolence.
Nay, even if sea and mountains should cry out,
Saying, “Thou art mated with error,”
He would not relapse one jot into vain imaginations.
Nor would he be grieved by the reproaches of his foes.
Extract from: The Masnavi, Book III Story VII,
by Mawlana Jalal-ud-din Rumi, translation by E.H. Whinfield
Bad Principles Always Produce Bad Acts
Fools laud and magnify the mosque,
While they strive to oppress holy men of heart.
But the former is mere form, the latter spirit and truth.
The only true mosque is that in the hearts of saints.
The mosque that is built in the hearts of the saints
Is the place of worship of all, for God dwells there.
So long as the hearts of the saints are not afflicted,
God never destroys the nation.
Our forefathers lifted their hands against the prophets;
Seeing their bodies, they took them for ordinary men.
In you also abide the morals of those men of old;
How can you avoid fearing that you will act like them?
The morals of those unthankful ones dwell in you,
Your urn will not always return unbroken from the well.
Seeing that all these bad symptoms are seen in you,
And that you are one with those men, how can you escape?
Extract from: The Masnavi, Book II Story XIII
by Mawlana Jalal-ud-din Rumi, translation by E.H. Whinfield
Be Kind To One Another!
“Then will he be of those who believe and enjoin patience (constancy and self-restraint) and enjoin deeds of kindness and compassion. Such are the Companions of the Right Hand.” Holy Qur’an 90:17-18 (Yusuf Ali)
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle (peace and blessings be upon him) kissed Al-Hasan bin Ali while Al-Aqra’ bin Habis At-Tamim was sitting beside him. Al-Aqra said, “I have ten children and I have never kissed anyone of them.” Allah’s Apostle (peace and blessings be upon him) cast a look at him and said, “Whoever is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully.” Sahih Bukhari, volume 8 number 26
“He who pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honor.” Proverbs 21:21 RSV
“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:36 RSV
“For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgment.” James 2:13 RSV
Allah, Al-Ghafur; God, The All-Forgiving!
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu’z-Zinad from Al-Araf from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “A man said to his family that he had never done a good action, and that when he died, they were to burn him and then scatter half of him on the land and half of him on the sea, and by Allah, if Allah destined it for him He would punish him with a punishment which He had not punished anyone else with in all the worlds. When the man died, they did as he had told them. Then Allah told the land to collect everything that was in it, and told the sea to collect everything that was in it, and then He said to the man, ‘Why did you do this?’ and he said, ‘From the fear of You, Lord, and You know best.'”
Abu Hurayra added, “And He forgave him.”
Al-Muwatta Imam Malik, hadith number 52
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