Category Archives: Islam

Islam, Spiritual Practice, Sufism

The Fundamental Struggle

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There is the Divine Will.It is transmitted to us through the revelations of the Prophets a.s. ,through the teachings of the Saints(awliya) and through our personal moment-to-moment inspirations,when our hearts are clean.

Then there is the “nafs’.It is socially programmed and run by fear, anger and desire.It constantly fights against the Divine Will.It wants to be Lord.Estaghirullah.

Of course,in the long run, the Divine Will wins out.bIn the short term,however, it might look like the ‘nafs’ is winning(wars,bloodshed,cruelty,corruption everywhere).But Ultimately the Divine reigns supreme.It is our obligation to believe that and realize that in the deepest recesses of our being.That is Tawakuul(trust in God) and that is Tasleem(submitting to our Creator).

Salaams,Ibrahim

Islam, Modern Living, Sufism

Muslim nde

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A Muslima’s nde! Alhumdulillah.For those who do not understand French,this lady tells of meeting the Prophet Muhammad saws in the heavens.The essence of his message is the following”This is the reality.The worldly life is simply a place of testing.Don’t believe what you are hearing on the news and social media(i.e. all the bad things about Islam).Get closer to your religion and practice it more.That is the way to the heavenly stations”.Mashallah!

Islam, Psychology, Spiritual Practice

Epistemology-The Three Doors

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Most modern people have been trained to think that the way to knowledge is to accumulate data and then analyze it logically.I have found that way to be most often inefficient,defective and misleading as  protocol.Watch the justice system operate if you don’t believe me.

So what do we learn from Sufism and Islam about this question?As I see it there are three principal doors to knowledge-the deeper knowledge and the one that counts ultimately.

The first is the opening of the heart.We are talking here about the subtle heart -not the one of gross feelings like anger an d sadness and even joy.I won’t address the question of love for now as that can be very confusing and misleading itself.

Then there is seeing”basirat’-the inner vision.Once that is developed we can see the inner aspect of what is going on-the good and the evil of it,the sincerity and the hypocrisy,the darkness and the light.

And finally there is the hearing and developing ‘the ear of truth’ that hears ‘the sound of truth’.When we hear that, we have to act on the truth we hear.(Remember the formula-ilm(knowledge),amal(action) then hal(state).Without the action,there is no change in state!)Our nafs will surely object but our hearts will say ‘yes!’

Now the Quran tells us about this.It talks about “those whose hearts are sealed” and those who are “deaf,blind and dumb”.And we can understand that this is not outer blindness nor outer deafness but rather the inner senses.If our hearts are sealed and we are blind and deaf,we will surely make wrong decisions and that is what we see all around us.

Is there a corrective?Yes,there is.It is spiritual practice beginning with what is obligatory in our religion and proceeding to dhikr and wird and listening to wise ones and opening our hearts to the hidden and the invisible.There is no other way! Reason will not get us there.Psychotherapy will not get us there.Motivators like Antony Robbins and Steven Covey will not get us there.

Only proper spiritual practice and virtuous ways will get us there.For then, as a reward,Allah will cleanse our hearts to feel properly,clear our vision to see what is real and remove the ‘wax’ from our inner ears so we can hear ‘the ring of Truth’ when it chimes.

May Allah have mercy on all of us and give us this clarity from His Generosity.Salaams,Ibrahim

Islam, Modern Living, Psychology

In Defense of Judgment

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In the Biblical story of Adam and Eve in Genesis,they are told not to eat the apple.This apple is from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.They disobey and are sent down from the heavens to Earth.

What does that tell us about judgment which IS the discernment between good and evil? As far as I can understand ,this says that judgment is intrinsic to our existence on this planet just as their covering of their private parts tell us that modesty is intrinsic.Non-judgmentalism is the rule of the heavens where everything is taken care of for us.Judgment is the rule of the Earth-plane where we are responsible for our choices and our actions.

Instead of acknowledging this essential function of judgment(call it discernment or discrimination, in the good sense, if you will) we are told over again not to be judgmental.Is that even possible?! I don’t think so.

Everytime we come to decide on an action we have to make a judgment.”Do I want to go into business with that man?” “Is he honest and trustworthy” we ask.
“Do I want to be in a relationship with that person.Are they kind and loving?” Do I want to move to that area of the city.Is it safe or picturesque or lively enough? We are always posing judgments.It is inevitable in the decision-making process.

So where did this idea ,so common nowadays,that we should be non-judgmental come from? It has become an essential component of political correctness.It is another one of those ideas that I call “Democratic Illusions”.

From the psychological point of view,we could say it comes from Freud and the psychoanalysts.They underlined the excesses of the superergo which is the moral dimension-the judger if you will and they thought”This is oppressive”.Let’s help liberate people from these fetters.Fritz Perls says”Lose your mind and come to your senses” He meant your sensual pleasures.That’s it- just go out and have a good time.That’s the purpose of life, isn’t it.From Perls point of view,that’s the value system.And itr’s a value system that has become endemic in our society”enjoy yourself,it’s later than you think.” I see eighty and ninety-year old retirees at the Pharmacy(of course!) still talking about the next show in the park as if that has become their meaning in life.

From the political,Marxist point of view non-judgmentalism ,is a ruse of the bourgeoisie.Don’t judge the capitalists and the governments that work hand in hand with them.Don’t judge the greedy capitalists .It’s their right to be billionaires even if it’s on the backs of the workers who are becoming poorer and poorer as  the rich are getting richer( a proven statistical fact!)’It’s all cool”right.Don’t be judgmental.They have a right to be rich- no matter how they made their money,n’est-ce pas? Then we complain that the Donald was elected!

From the spiritual point of view,.it’s even more dire!All atheists can skip the next bit as they will find it objectionable.And btw don’t believe for a moment that the atheists are any more non-judgmental than the believers.Just look at what they say about religion! From the believers standpoint,this non-judgmentalism is directly from the shaytan(the devil).What a wonderful tool in his armamentarium. And he is enjoying it immensely! “He’s not cheating on his wife or performing adultery.It’s just an affair,Don’t be so judgmental.”She’s not promiscuous going from bar to bar and sleeping with every available guy.She’s just having a good time-enjoying herself,right.Don’t be judgmental.As long as it’s two consenting adults,or 3 or 4 it’s o.k right.Don’t be judgmental.be chill,be cool.Let it be.And the young lads smoking dope and playing computer games into the wee hours of the morning,driving their parents crazy.Well,there are now scientific  luminaries out there telling us of the wonders of pot as a medicinal agent and the positive neurophysiologic effects of playing computer games.No problem of indolence and addiction there.Our moral compass has never been weaker!And shaytan(the dark forces if you prefer) has never been happier! And he never rests!

At this point,people inevitably ask me”So what do we do,then?”Fair question,I guess although it should be more or less obvious.Develop your discernment.Learn to make sound judgments.Especially,don’t buy into the social consensus of moral neutrality.In Islam the teaching is “amr bil marouf wa nehi al munkar”Encourage the good and discourage the reprehensible” .That means make a sound judgment,act accordingly,and try to encourage(in a wise and thoughtful way) those around you to do likewise.May Allah grant us from His Furqan(discernment).

 

 

Islam, Politics

“Kill them wherever you find them”-Context is everything

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Bismillah Erahman Erahim.In last night’s Quran study group we came across an ayat that has caused considerable consternation and criticism from non-Muslims and thus defensiveness on the part of Muslims themselves.This is ayat 4:89 which says…”Then ,if they turn away,seize them and kill them wherever you find them….”
This ayat has been used to portray Islam as a violent and aggressive religion(Estagfirullah) but that is because it is taken out of context.

The context was a group of hypocrites that were leaving Medina to join up with the Quraysh in Mecca at a time where the Qujraysh were the sworn enemies of Islam.Remember,this is a time of war.If the Allies in WW2 were faced with soldiers deserting to join the German occupation forces in France,what would be the ruling?! Treason and deserting to join the enemy has usually carried execution as the natural punishment.So let’s get real! There is nothing unusual in this ruling.It was a time of war- a time where survival was the first priority.BTW the same is true for apostasy(murtadd). At the time of the Prophet saws the apostates joined the ranks of the enemy.So the punishment was death.This is no longer the case but the Islamic authorities,at least in some countries,have not caught up with the times.What else is new?!

Islam, Modern Living, Psychology, Spiritual Practice

Priorities-1

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It’s hard to help people who have spent their whole life on the wrong path.That path is the path of ‘shirk'(idolatry- where something other than God is the priority).It can be wealth and financial security,the arts,science,chasing the opposite sex or even caring about the family which is good in itself but bad if it becomes a higher priority than our relationship with our Creator.I pray that peoples eyes and hearts open more to what the Real priorities are.

Islam, Spiritual Practice

Ramadan Jewels

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Ramadan lessons: I get “patience” (from the hadith).That is obvious and Ramadan requires a lot of it.So much for those ornery Muslims who like to say:”It was so easy.It passed so quickly”.Then tell them they missed the point! But what about “taqwa”(from the Quran) -translated as piety or God-consciousness.The Christians would say God-fearing?If you look at the root of the word ‘taqwa’ it is ‘waqaa’ which has to do with protecting and safeguarding’.So we are safeguarding our relationship with God by not indulging our desires.Sometimes I think of Ramadan as a form of death-the death of the ego that feeds on worldly pleasures.A true blessing, in the guise of a hardship! Eid Mubarak to all.

Islam, Politics

Another Source of Terrorism

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A friend of mine,who also happens to be a well-trained and reflective alim was shocked when he returned to Pakistan to study Islamic Economics .He mentioned how the people he met were fanatical about issues such as the length of pants men were wearing.If your pants went down to the ankle,you were already a kafir(unbeliever).In thinking about this, I realized another important source of terrorism besides the despair factor-fanaticism.There are strains of this fanaticism throughout the Islamic community nowadays.Whether it concerns how much hair a woman needs to cover(look at the old pictures of women in Pakistan and Palestine and you’ll know what I mean),how the sunnat has to be performed,what the meaning of ‘Isma’ is in respect of the Prophets a.s and what is halal in food and medicine,this strain of fanaticism runs deep in the Muslim community,especially in Third World countries.Although most of these people do not advocate murder as the remedy.when you look in their eyes at their reaction,you feel like they do want to kill you.This non-terroristic fanaticism needs to be addressed as well.After all,our Prophet saws did teach that ours is the Middle way,the way of moderation.

Islam, Spiritual Practice, Sufism

Statement of Purpose

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Statement of Purpose:

Sufi Pilgrim’s Progress is designed to provide a context and tools for the path(As-sair) of self-improvement and self-knowledge in all its dimensions(biological,social,psychological and spiritual).The ultimate goal is to attain the pleasure of Allah(God) and the knowledge of God experientially.Although the former is reachable through the outward religion of Islam ,the latter requires the practice of Sufism.

(Anyone interested in pursuing this path should join our Facebook closed group at Sufi Pilgrim’s Progress.Ahlan .)

Islam, Sufism

The Definition of Sufism

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I have thought for a long time about what it means to be a Sufi.People have searched the history of Sufism and the Arabic lexicon to come up with a definition.It has included the people of Purity(from ‘safa’ in Arabic) to those who wore only woolen clothing(‘suf’ in Arabic) to the people of the bench.But this is the definition I have come up with and believe to be the best.”A Sufi is a Muslim who is preoccupied by the Unitive experience”(also called ‘fana’ and ‘marifat’).Hope that settles the issue once and for all!