Here I come!

The world turned upright?

I was reading another blog (here), and I was reminded of a story I heard recently.

For the longest time, I remember being in classes, and the teacher would be taking role call (aka attendance). My last name is relatively easy to pronounce, especially based upon the following.

- "L" - "N" -
(Hint: It is not Jacketelenextremesports)

Anyway, the teachers would still ruin my last name on occasion, but I really feel bad for those poor Muslims who had their names butchered regularly. Although it doesn't seem that hard to pronounce the names since becoming Muslim and learning some Arabic, I remember it was very difficult to do previously. That is why the name Salman often became Salmon.

So my friend was telling me about one of the happiest days of his life. He was in a new college course, and he saw that the teacher was a desi uncle. The uncle/teacher began pronouncing names and would say: "Smite, S-s-Smith, Joe Haan (يعني Smith, John) or While Yam (William). He continued to straight up slaughter the non-Muslim names, but when he came to Muslims, he pronounced them exactly right (same with the Hindu names).

My friend was exuberant. He could believe what he was hearing. After years of living in a small town and having the first day of school being a guaranteed laugh fest at his cost, a day of being confused with a fish, he now had the tables turned. If only the uncles could get my last name correct instead of sounding like they're choking on a chicken tikka bone each time they try to say it.

A small glimpse…

السلام عليكم

Here is a small glimpse at what takes place in my tafseer class. This is typed from my notes that were taken in class. It is amazing how much knowledge my teacher has. It makes sense that his grandfather had praised him so much.

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً قَالُواْ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاء وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ قَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ <>2:30

And recall when your Lord said to the angels: I am making a successor on earth. They said: Are you making خليفة he who will spread mischief in it [the earth] and will shed the blood despite that we glorify You by praising You. He [الله] said: Verily, I know what you do not know.

• Previous verses, الله highlighted His qualities and ordered humans to only worship Him because only He is worthy of that worship
  
• الإنسان on earth is خليفة of الله on the earth
  
  • Has obligations and responsibilities to follow
    
  • If he goes right, whole world will go right
    
• الله is the king of the whole universe
  
  • Gave free will (إختِيَار) in this دنيا
    
  • Whatever man wants to do, he can do it à bad or good
    
• الله informed الملائكة
  
  • مَلَك
    à literally delegate (messenger)
    
  • They are a real creation of الله
    à some say they aren't real
    
  • الله uses them for different tasks à weather, wahy (sunnah of الله is to do things through means as a system although He can do everything)
    
  • Used angels as وصيلة/سبب and if الله تعالى always did everything himself, there would be no miracles.
    
• خليفة
  à appointed by higher authority and has some free will but cannot do everything
  
• تقدير
  à
  الله knows all of what will happen and planned before
  
  • Humans can do whatever to some extent
    
  • Sheep/goat à human ties a goat to a tree and give one-hundred yard rope
    
    • Within the hundred yards, goat can go anywhere but not past hundred yards
      
  • Humans have some room to move (each human has a different amount of room/opportunities) but can move within that
    
    • We don't know how much room we have (غيب)
      
• Angels did not raise objection against His rule (no free will) but raised question to understand the حكمة
  
  • Understand this would be the only one with free will
    
    • Will use free will to make فساد and shed blood
      
      • Jinn made فساد on the earth and angels used them as a basis
        
  • Not saying they wanted to be appointed, but saying that since we already glorify You and such, what is the need to create such creation that has so much risk
    
• Two words:
  
  • (1) تسبيح
    à (I) to swim (II) to purify
    
    • Separating the negative: In hadith, used differently à purify الله by eliminating those characteristics that don't fit الله. الله does not sleep, drink, become sad, etc.
      
  • (2) تقديس
    à to purify
    
    • Associating the positive: Associating those attributes that do fit الله
      علم الفيب, etc.
      
  • تسبيح is more important
    
    • لا إله إلاّ الله
      à eliminates شرك
      
• Despite angels fulfilling orders, الله has an objective to be fulfilled and angels cannot do it (no free will)
  
  • Have to choose between right and wrong
    

The Types of Heart

The Types of Heart

Imaam ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah rahimahullaah

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Just as the heart may be described in terms of being alive or dead, it may also be regarded as belonging to one of three types; these are the healthy heart, the dead heart, and the sick heart.

The Healthy Heart

On the Day of Resurrection, only those who come to Allah with a healthy heart will be saved. Allah says:

"The day on which neither wealth nor sons will be of any use, except for whoever brings to Allah a sound heart." (26:88-89)

In defining the healthy heart, the following has been said: "It is a heart cleansed from any passion that challenges what Allah commands, or disputes what He forbids. It is free from any impulses which contradict His good. As a result, it is safeguarded against the worship of anything other than Him, and seeks the judgement of no other except that of His Messenger. Its services are exclusively reserved for Allah, willingly and lovingly, with total reliance, relating all matters to Him, in fear, hope and sincere dedication. When it loves, its love is in the way of Allah. If it detests, it detests in the light of what He detests. When it gives, it gives for Allah. If it withholds, it withholds for Allah. Nevertheless, all this will not suffice for its salvation until it is free from following, or taking as its guide, anyone other than His Messenger."

A servant with a healthy heart must dedicate it to its journey's end and not base his actions and speech on those of any other person except Allah's Messenger. He must not give precedence to any other faith or words or deeds over those of Allah and His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah says:

"Oh you who believe, do not put yourselves above Allah and His Messenger, but fear Allah, for Allah is Hearing, Knowing." (49:1)

The Dead Heart

This is the opposite of the healthy heart. It does not know its Lord and does not worship Him as He commands, in the way which He likes, and with which He is pleased. It clings instead to its lusts and desires, even if these are likely to incur Allah's displeasure and wrath. It worships things other than Allah, and its loves and its hatreds, and its giving and its withholding, arise from its whims, which are of paramount importance to it and preferred above the pleasure of Allah. Its whims are its imam. Its lust is its guide. Its ignorance is its leader. Its crude impulses are its impetus. It is immersed in its concern with worldly objectives. It is drunk with its own fancies and its love for hasty, fleeting pleasures. It is called to Allah and the akhira from a distance but it does not respond to advice, and instead it follows any scheming, cunning Shaytaan. Life angers and pleases it, and passion makes it deaf and blind (1) to anything except what is evil.

To associate and keep company with the owner of such a heart is to tempt illness: living with him is like taking poison, and befriending him means utter destruction.

The Sick Heart

This is a heart with life in it, as well as illness. The former sustains it at one moment, the latter at another, and it follows whichever one of the two manages to dominate it. It has love for Allah, faith in Him, sincerity towards Him, and reliance upon Him, and these are what give it life. It also has a craving for lust and pleasure, and prefers them and strives to experience them. It is full of self-admiration, which can lead to its own destruction. It listens to two callers: one calling it to Allah and His Prophet and the akhira; and the other calling it to the fleeting pleasures of this world. It responds to whichever one of the two happens to have most influence over it at the time.

The first heart is alive, submitted to Allah, humble, sensitive and aware; the second is brittle and dead; the third wavers between either its safety or its ruin.

From here