Fallen Peach

"Smile. Speak beautifully or remain silent. Love your family. Greet strangers. Display kindness to..."

Sat, 25 May 2013 03:19:39 +0200

“Smile. Speak beautifully or remain silent. Love your family. Greet strangers. Display kindness to all. Forgive. Excuse others. Remain patient. Keep your promises. Maintain your ties. Give everything the right it deserves. Know your Lord. Know His rights. Be considerate. Purify your heart, soul and mind.”

- That’s Islam.

Afghan schoolgirls study during a lesson in Qala-i-Gudar village...

Sat, 25 May 2013 03:16:37 +0200

Afghan schoolgirls study during a lesson in Qala-i-Gudar village in Qarabagh district, Kabul province on April 2, 2013, which was built by Angelina Jolie, as a special envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. She retains an avid fan base among residents who have never seen any of her films and have no idea about her global fame as an actress. AFP PHOTO / SHAH Marai

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Fri, 24 May 2013 23:39:20 +0200

"Two things prevent you from happiness; living in the past and observing others. So many spouses have..."

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:32:45 +0200

““Two things prevent you from happiness; living in the past and observing others. So many spouses have a miserable marital life because they are unable to forget. The past haunts them while they are themselves negligent of their own shortcomings and faults. Many Muslims lead a miserable life because they can’t bear the idea of others enjoying things they don’t have. Envy is like wildfire; burning itself. It leaves the person restless and living in pain and agony. Learn to move away from the past and to appreciate what you have without envying others.””

- Shaykh Assim Alhakeem

"Never be discouraged by the bad actions of others. There may be a lot of hypocrites, liars, and..."

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:30:41 +0200

“Never be discouraged by the bad actions of others. There may be a lot of hypocrites, liars, and cheaters out there, but keep in mind that there is also greatness that lies in the hearts of many. Each time you are faced with a disappointment make a pledge to be a stronger person who will not fall into the same mess. Every time someone lets you down have it be a powerful motivator to establish more integrity and the highest ethics.”

- Dr. Haleh Banani

Afghan school girls play in the yard after their class at Ayesha...

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:24:27 +0200

Afghan school girls play in the yard after their class at Ayesha primary school in Mazar-i Sharif on April 12, 2013. Under the hard line Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, cinema was banned and girls were prohibited from attending school. AFP PHOTO / Farshad USYAN

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Fri, 24 May 2013 13:34:19 +0200

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Fri, 24 May 2013 13:32:47 +0200

Jummah Mubarak :)

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:28:17 +0200

Jummah Mubarak :)

Here are presented authentic texts from the Islamic tradition[1] and references of Islam[2] as the...

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:21:44 +0200

Here are presented authentic texts from the Islamic tradition[1] and references of Islam[2] as the middle way, neither extremist[3] viewpoints, nor modernist[4] interpretations, and the avenues of inferring expert legal rulings (ijtihâd) اِ جتها د are open until the last day, no “closed doors”.

Reality[5] is more than the eyes can see[6] or the mind can deduce by rational thinking[31]. Islam is true as it corresponds to all levels of existence; in this world (dunya) human life has three levels:
(1) the spirit, (2) the mind / soul and (3) the body.

This world is a manifestation of the Divine, it is originated each moment, ‘then’ vanquished ‘then’ renewed by none other than Allah ^{(may His Majesty be exalted)}. Nothing in the cosmos is ever a repetition or the same, instead this is the continuously ongoing new creation[7] - khalqun jadîd.

Man himself, unable to even lift his finger without Allah willing it, is – principally – blessed and guided by Allah and His Messenger, Prophet Muhammad[8] ^{(May Allah’s peace and blessings be with him)}, who is the perfect human being, a guiding light for all humanity.

Man has been given a trust, … and a ‘free will’ that he may choose right from wrong, but this ‘free will’[9] is not absolute or independant — in reality it is a Divine test: he should only choose what is conducive and beneficial to his human state and leave harmful thoughts and actions, (Halâl over Harâm).

As there is - in the whole universe - no might and power except by Allah, the principle for every creature, including man, is submission to It – Allah[10] - may His Majesty be exalted. The greater his knowlege of Reality (al-Haqq), the greater will be his reverential fear[11] (taqwa) and the more diligent his striving for the Divine Presence.

The point of religion is to promote the dîn (i.e. method of living by the prophetic example) in the lives of people → living Islam; for the religion of Islam constitutes the last valid, Divine response to the serious disequilibrium[12] both in this world and in individual beings in this period of history. Through living the dîn man can reach perfection by becoming what he was meant to be: the vice-regent of God[13] (khalîfatu - Allahi) in this world.

Certainly Islam cannot be reduced to a utopia[14] for the perfect society* in this world (dunya)[15], which is but a support (was.îlah) for the Hereafter[16] (al-âkhira) and Islam is neither limited to the domain of faith - imân[17], nor to its domain of law[18] (sharî`ah), instead:

There has to be a revival of Islamic haqîqah, which is the science of Reality[30] – i.e. Islam in its aspect of Divine truth and knowledge, without which man will be engulfed in the outer aspects of the law (sharî`ah) and will miss its inner dimension, i.e. the path of self-purification[19] (tarîqah).

A needless and even dangerous endeavour is to venture on the ‘terrain of doctrin’[20], or towards a reinterpretation of holy scripture of the Quran[21](or for example of the texts of hadith), wheras the Quran is guarded by the Muslim Ummah (community) and lastly by Allah ^(swt) Himself. Therefore we don’t need a reformation[22] of Islam, what we need is a reformation of our deficient understanding of Islam.

The foremost instruments of guidance for man (and woman) everywhere and in every age is the Holy Quran[23], which is the direct Word of God, timeless and transcending time and secondly the prophetic Sunnah[24], which is the realized Word:

To follow the Sunnah[25] is the way of the foremost interpreter of the Divine Will, the Messenger of [26] ; and this is the root of worship - piety[27](asl-ul `ibâdati).

/Reservations for a warning[28] and ‘la harb wa la hirâbah’: Neither war nor terrorism: The Islamic Response To Terrorism And War[29].

*
Islam is not a utopian religion, it believes that there is a utopia, but you have to wait for it, it is not in this world. Sh. H.Y.

And:
It is sometimes suggested “that God’s purpose in sending a long chain of messengers, with holy scriptures and revealed laws (shari`ah), was to establish a just (`adil) social order and to eliminate injustice and tyranny (zulm).”
While such achievements are much desirable they can only be ‘the side-effects’ of the Divine message:
Instead those messengers were all sent and the holy scriptures revealed for the supreme purpose to guide man on a right way (sirât) to save him from the Fire and to make him pass the Judgement so he may enter the Garden (jannah) and dwell in the Divine Presence.

Source: http://www.livingislam.org

"The reduction of intellect to reason has made sacred knowledge inaccessible and to some even..."

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:07:15 +0200

“The reduction of intellect to reason has made sacred knowledge inaccessible and to some even meaningless.”

"It is through the hardship that we gain strength It is through the sadness that we find..."

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:19:18 +0200

“It is through the hardship that we gain strength
It is through the sadness that we find compassion
It is through the disappointments that we find self-reliance
It is through the frustration that we find patience
It is through the tears that we find new hope When we focus on the good things that come out of these so called negative experiences ( hardship, sadness, disappointment, frustration and tears) we can embrace each event in our life with acceptance and contentment regardless of how difficult it is awaiting the gem at the end of the struggle.”

- Dr. Haleh Banani

"Generally when something bad happens to us we automatically ask questions - even in our minds. Why..."

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:15:30 +0200

“Generally when something bad happens to us we automatically ask questions - even in our minds. Why me? Why do bad things always happen to me? Why am I so unlucky? These are very disempowering and negative things to ask. They program your mind to search for all the negativity in your life. Your mind will reaffirm anything you say to it in order to maintain your sanity - it will NOT contradict you. Knowing that your mind will always reaffirm you - use it to your benefit. Ask questions that empower you by shifting your perspective: What could I learn from this experience? How can I do it better next time? What is the lesson I need to learn? What is good about my circumstances? These questions will get your mind to focus on solutions not problems. How have you used the power to ask constructive questions to shape your life for the better?”

- Dr. Haleh Banani

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Wed, 22 May 2013 15:05:42 +0200

"When you reflect on the examples of the greatest people, you see that even their tests didn’t last..."

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:03:04 +0200

“When you reflect on the examples of the greatest people, you see that even their tests didn’t last forever. It took only a moment of true firmness, trust, faith, sacrifice, and then they were saved. The fire was cooled for Ibrahim (AS), the Sea was split for Musa (AS), and a lamb descended to replace Ismael (AS), as soon as Ibrahim (AS) made the right choice. Just one moment of firmness, trust, faith and sacrifice, and their opening came. Just one moment of firmness, trust, faith and sacrifice…and your opening will also come.”

- Yasmin Mogahed

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Wed, 22 May 2013 14:46:43 +0200

الحمد لله على نعمة الاسلام

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:46:33 +0200

الحمد لله على نعمة الاسلام

mini-mal-me: Seon Hwang by Aaron...

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:41:43 +0200

mini-mal-me:

Seon Hwang by Aaron K

http://www.aaronkphotography.com/

qanafir: Ottoman Art and Coffee By Linda Mcquarrie

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:17:37 +0200

qanafir:

Ottoman Art and Coffee By Linda Mcquarrie

"The noise of the lover is only up to the time when he has not seen his Beloved. Once he sees the..."

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:12:22 +0200

“The noise of the lover is only up to the time when he has not seen his Beloved. Once he sees the Beloved, he becomes calm and quiet, just as the rivers are boisterous before they join the ocean, but when they do so, there are becalmed forever.”

- Mu’īnuddīn Chishtī (via abir-ibrahim)