Category Archives: Islam
Responding to Tribulations in Our Times
Issue # 12
April 22, 2007 / Rabiuth Thani 1428
Immensely Blessed is He in Whose control is the entire Kingdom, and He has authority over everything. He, Who has created death and life that He might test you, as to whose work, is excellent among you. And He is the Esteemed One the Forgiving. [The Holy Quran 67:1-2]
It is clear from the aforementioned blessed verse of the Holy Quran that trials and hardships that face the human condition in the form of tests from Allah Almighty are a part and a parcel of His Divine Plan on this earth. Who has not experienced some type of hardship in life, be it in the form of loss of a loved one, loss of one’s health, or wealth. The question then arises: what is the purpose of the test? Is it ultimate harm or ultimate good? The answer lies in the same verse above. It is to see how one responds to the test. Whether the ultimate result of the test is harm or good depends on one’s own response to it. Does one exhibit patience (sabr) recognizing that the test is from the Almighty, Loving Creator and therefore can only carry goodness in it despite the apparent signs of harm? Does one express gratitude (shukr) to Allah Almighty appreciating the fact that one was considered worthy of such a weighty examination? Does one appreciate the fact that this opportunity for reflection (tafakkur), purification (tazkiya), repentance (tauba) and seeking forgiveness (istaghfar) will make a better, stronger person out of us? Or does one simply complain about the outward temporary losses not being able to see Allah Almighty’s Wisdom?
One simply has to turn the pages of history and observe the lives of the greatest people who have walked this earth – the Prophets (peace be upon them all), and the Saints (Awliya – may Allah Almighty be pleased with them and have mercy on them all) to see that when Allah Almighty wishes to grant His knowledge (marifat) & closeness (qurbat) to His servants, He Almighty sends hardships. One must remember, however, that the Prophets and Saints are Allah Almighty’s chosen people and their role on this earth is that of guiding the common folk. Therefore, the hardships they face are instructional for others and for the purpose of increasing them in infinite spiritual ranks with their Creator. The Crown of the Saints, Hazrat Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (b. 1077 CE, may Allah be pleased with him) says in his famous Sirr-ul-Asraar, “Allah created the spirit (rooh) in the finest formation in the realm of Divinity. Then He wished to reduce it to the lowest of the low, for the purpose of increasing intimacy and nearness.â€
The pious Hazrat Syeda Zaynab (May Allah be pleased with her), the beloved grand-daughter of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) experienced so many hardships in her life that she earned the title of Ummul Masaib, the “Mother of Hardships.†When she was six years old, her beloved Grandfather – our Beloved Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), who had honored her with the name Zaynab and placed His Blessed Saliva in her mouth, passed onto the Realm of Divine Beatitude. Six months later, her blessed mother Hazrat Syeda Fatima Zahra (May Allah be pleased with her) too joined her Blessed Father (Peace Be Upon Him). Upon reaching early adulthood, she witnessed the martyrdom of her beloved & respected father, Hazrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with him). Ten years later she witnessed the martyrdom of her dear brother Hazrat Imam Hasan (May Allah be pleased with him). And on the battlefield of Karbala, she lost her dear brother Hazrat Imam Husayn (May Allah be pleased with him) and nearly the rest of her entire family. However, in the face of such immense hardships she always stood tall for the Truth against the wrong-doers. Her words of fortitude, courage, and resilience reverberate the passageways of history providing inspiration to both women & men today.
There is a famous narration regarding the great 8th century CE Saint Hazrat Rabia Basri (May Allah be pleased with him) regarding the response to hardships. A Saint was asked about how one should respond to hardships and he said, †with patience (sabr)â€. Another Saint was asked the same question and he replied, “with gratitude (shukr)â€. When Hazrat Rabia (May Allah be pleased with him) was asked the very same question, she said that one should be so engrossed in love (ishq) for Allah Almighty and His Messenger (Peace Be upon Him) that one cannot even see the hardship!
It is clear from the writings and sayings of all the great scholars and saints that the foremost response to hardships in life is patience. Indeed Allah Almighty Himself commands us in the Holy Quran to seek help from prayer and patience. [Al-Quran, 2:45] As Hazrat Syeda Zaynab’s (May Allah be pleased with her) blessed father, the Gate of Knowledge (Babul-‘Ilm), from whom she directly learnt, Hazrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) writes in his famous Nahjatul Balagha that the relationship of patience (sabr) to faith (iman) is like that of the head to the body. He (May Allah be pleased with him) further says as is reported in the famous Kashful Mahjoob of the 11th century CE scholar and Saint, Hazrat Daata Ganj Baksh (May Allah be pleased with him) that, “I have recognized my Lord (marifat) in the breaking of plans.â€
Allah Almighty also states in the Holy Quran that He appreciates gratitude [Al-Quran, 4:147] The scholars have said that one must say “Alhamdulillah ‘alaa kulli haal,†i.e. all praises are to Allah Almighty in every condition. When one adopts such a response to one’s hardships then the angels pray for one’s forgiveness and deliverance. Whether Allah Almighty has given us an apparent blessing or an apparent hardship, in every situation one must say “Alhamdulillah.†It is also very important to remember that what may seem as an apparent blessing may also indeed be a test. As Hazrat Daata Ganj Baksh (May Allah be pleased with him) warns us in his Kashful Mahjoob that, “a blessing is truly a blessing when it guides you towards Allah Almighty. If it veils you from the Giver, then it is a hardship (bala).†In the eloquent words of the great 12th century CE Persian poet, Shaykh Saadi (May Allah be pleased with him) (translated):
Aysh vo kya jo halaakat ka sabab ban jaae
Jis ka anjaam ho raahat vo museebat achchi
May Allah Almighty give us the guidance (taufeeq) to follow in the footsteps of our pious predecessors and may He Almighty grant us a portion of their patience in our hardships and may He grant us that spiritual station (maqam) that we are so engrossed in His and His Beloved’s (Peace Be Upon Him) love that the hardships become invisible to us. Ameen.
Syeda Shagufta Ahmad Qadri
Respecting Cultural Values – A Criterion for World Peace
Issue # 13
May 25, 2008 / Jamadul Awwal 1429
Culture is the identity of every nation. It is the sum total of the shared values, emotions, and expressions of a people. Our global world today is a rich collection of ancient and modern cultures.
According to the Islamic tradition, the cultural diversity that comprises the world today is a blessing and by Divine Design. Its purpose is to interact and acquaint ourselves with one another. This interaction allows for increased understanding and subsequent enrichment which in turn contributes towards the promotion of peaceful relations between various communities.
It is the mandate of every religion to protect culture and promote cultural norms. Islam stresses co-existence. The Holy Quran clearly exhorts Muslims to protect the Christian church, the Jewish synagogue, and places of worship of all other peoples as much as they defend their own mosques. This is clear evidence of the emphasis that Islam has laid on tolerance and co-existence with other religions and civilizations. Islam also commands its followers to ensure the protection of all educational, charitable and cultural centers of other civilizations. It may be deduced that the non-profit organizations working in the field of education, health and social welfare all fall into this category. One can also refer to the word Sawamiah used in verse 40 of Chapter Al-Hajj of the Holy Quran, which stipulates that all establishments of other civilizations must be protected.
Whenever Christian scholars came to visit with the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) for a dialog, he (peace be upon him) arranged their stay in Masjid-e-Nabawi (the blessed mosque of the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, in the holy city of Medina). On such occasions, the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) not only held talks there, but also allowed the Christians to perform their religious rituals within the mosque.
However, one of the greatest problems in the world today is that we have stopped respecting cultures. We have adopted an “us versus them†approach. The modern world is facing serious challenges due to this single reason leading to class wars and unrest in the world.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) respected every culture. While he established an Islamic state in the Holy city of Madinah, he (peace be upon him) did not denigrate the cultural identities of any religion. On the contrary, he promoted the various Arab tribes. He protected synagogues and churches and directed his followers to pay respect to them. Whenever the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) went out of the Holy City of Madinah with his noble companions (may Allah be pleased with them all), he did not trespass on the lands that belonged to the Jews and Christians. He (peace be upon him) did not allow the horses to even step foot on those lands that had agricultural crops on them. But he (peace be upon him) commanded his noble companions to protect these lands. In this way he laid the foundations for international law and peace. It is chilling to see that behaviors today are so antithetical to the teachings of this great final Prophet of God who is a Prophet for all of humanity. Peace Be Upon Him.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) practically proved the motto of the Peace Culture which is to “Live and let others live.â€Â “Peace for all†was not just a slogan but he proved it with his pristine teachings, stellar example and kind and forgiving nature that made everyone around him fall in love with his personality, and even his enemies were in awe of him (peace be upon him).
In the society that he created he adopted many techniques to transfer his knowledge to the people. He sent out delegations of His Companions who reflected the culture of peace and respect they had learnt from him. When the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) met people, he would stand up out of respect for them.
He created an Administration Culture which centered on truth and honesty. Honesty is the best policy for the government, the legislature, and judiciary. The culture of Islam is that of balance of power and it negates any authoritarian school of thought and promotes a culture of tolerance and peace. In this culture, contrary to popular belief, Allah Almighty and the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) have given tremendous amount of respect to women and children in the context of human rights. In this culture the use of force is prohibited. “Might is right†is not a component. The teaching of Islam is that everyone is equal. Modern culture includes language, ideas, beliefs, norms, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals, ceremonies and symbols. Islam has incorporated these into its fold. Islamic principles teach to take what is good and leave out that which is not good. It is a dynamic body with its foundation anchored on a core firm set of values—the crucial recipe for any religion, culture, institution or individual to survive— the ability to adapt and include.
Today’s IECRC Conference is a bridge between the West and the East, a bridge among nations. The valuable research articles and presentations being made here will be a source of learning and eliminating many stereotypes. Conferences such as this are instrumental in the transformation of international cultural norms.
It is time we let go of the wars of the battlefield and psycho warfare and make working for humanity the aim of our lives. For social and world change it is imperative that the differences between the major world cultures and religions are put on the backburner and the similarities are highlighted. The world is our home and we are all brothers and sisters. All Prophets of God (peace be upon them all) have brought the same message of forgiveness, purification, tolerance, peace, and love. It behooves us to increase our intercultural communication and understanding so that we can make the world a better place for our children.
Prof. Dr. Mohammad Ahmed Qadri
Dr. Qadri is the Founding Director of the IECRC. He is the recipient of many international awards such as the prestigious “Ambassador for Peace†Award presented by the Universal Peace Foundation and Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace in Canada. Please see the section on Speaker Biographies for more details. He can be reached at ahmedq19@yahoo.com.
Hazrat Maulana Rumi (May Allah be pleased with him)Â (1207-1273Â CE)
Issue #11
July 8, 2006 / Jamaduth Thani 12, 1427
Hazrat Maulana Jalaluddin Muhammed Rumi (1207 – 1273 CE, may Allah Almighty be pleased with and have mercy on him) is one of the greatest Saints in Islamic history and the most famous in the West because of his spiritual and mystical poetry emphasizing love of Allah Almighty and His Beloved Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).
Maulana Rumi (may Allah have mercy on him) was born on the 6th of Rabbi al-Awwal in the Islamic Hijri year 604 in Balkh, present-day Afghanistan. His father, Hazrat Bahauddin Walad (may Allah have mercy on him), was a great Muslim scholar and also a Sufi saint who came from the family of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), First Caliph of Islam. Maulana Rumi (r.a.) grew up in this learned household and was a fully accomplished scholar himself. His family migrated from Central Asia towards Eastern Turkey and completed the Hajj pilgrimage, after which Hazrat Bahauddin Walad became the head of a seminary school (madrasa) in Konya, Turkey. When he passed away, Maulana Rum (r.a.) took his place at the head of the school. During this time, Maulana Rum (r.a.) was a spiritual disciple of first his father, and then Syed Burhanuddin Mahaqqiq (may Allah have mercy on him) until the latter passed away.
One version of the famous meeting that Maulana Rumi (may Allah have mercy on him) had with Hazrat Shams Tabrez (may Allah have mercy on him), was that once Maulana Rumi (r.a.) was teaching a group of his students and referring to his handwritten books and notes while Hazrat Shams Tabrez (r.a.) happened to come along and asked him about those notes. Maulana Rumi (r.a.) replied that the books and notes were beyond the understanding of Hazrat Shams Tabrez (r.a.). Then Maulana Rumi (r.a.) continued his class, meanwhile Hazrat Shams Tabrez (r.a.) threw all the books into a nearby pond of water. The students noticed this and started beating him. This caught the attention of Maulana Rumi (r.a.) who complained about losing his knowledge. Hazrat Shams Tabrez (r.a.) replied that he could return the books, so he recited Bismillah and retrieved the books from the water and they were intact. Now Maulana Rumi (r.a.) was surprised and asked how this was possible – to which Hazrat Shams Tabrez (r.a.) replied that such knowledge was beyond that of an external scholar.
Thus began the relationship between Maulana Rumi (may Allah have mercy on him) and Hazrat Shams Tabrez (may Allah have mercy on him). Maulana Rumi (r.a.) is reported to have mostly retired from his public life and spent a lot of time with Hazrat Shams Tabrez (r.a.). Once Hazrat Shams Tabrez (r.a.) was driven from Konya but returned. The second time that Hazrat Shams Tabrez (r.a.) disappeared, it was permanent. There is a famous Persian couplet:
Maulvi hargis na shud Maula e Rum
Ta ghulame Shams Tabrizi na shud
Maulana (religious teacher) Rumi could
never have become Maula Rumi
Without submitting to
Spiritual Guide Shams Tabrez
Maulana Rumi (may Allah have mercy on him) then formed companionship with Hazrat Saladin Zarkub (may Allah have mercy on him) and then later Hazrat Husam Chelebi (may Allah have mercy on him). The latter encouraged the Maulana to write the famous Masnavi-ye Manavi or Mathnawi Shareef, which is a very long poem containing as many verses as the Iliad and the Odyssey put together. Among Maulana Rumi’s other famous works are the Diwan Shams-e-Tabrez, and Fih ma Fih (What is in it, is in it).
In his commentary on the Mathnawi Shareef, Maulana Abdur Rahman Jami (may Allah have mercy on him), the famous 15th century CE Persian Sufi Saint and poet, writes:
“The word ‘ney’ (reed) in the first couplet of the Mathnawi (“Listen to the reed, how it tells a tale, complaining of separations…”) means a perfect and exalted human being brought up in Islam. Such people have forgotten themselves and everything else. Their minds are always busy seeking the rida [approval] of  Allah, The Most Exalted.”
Maulana Jami (r.a.) says that ‘Ney’ also means non-existent, because these men are emptied of themselves. Finally he says ‘Ney’ refers to the reed-pen. A pen’s writings are fully controlled by its writer, which also points to men emptied of existence and perfectly submitting to the will of Allah, The Most Exalted.
This brings up the point that Maulana Rumi (may Allah have mercy on him) Â was a true Muslim scholar and Sufi. Unfortunately, there have been many mistranslations or misrepresentations of Maulana Rum (r.a.). He himself writes in his Diwan:
man banda-yé Qur’ân-am, agar jân dâr-am
man khâk-é rah-é Muhammad-e mukhtâr-am
gar naql kon-ad joz în, kas az goftâr-am
bêzâr-am az-ô, w-az-în sokhan bêzâr-am
I am the servant of the Qur’an
as long as I have life.
I am the dust on the path of
Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the Chosen one.
If anyone quotes anything
except this from my sayings,
I am quit of him and
outraged by these words.
Maulana Rumi (may Allah have mercy on him) was a poet, jurist, theologian and scholar of the highest accord. He emphasized however that true knowledge is not found in books, but at the feet of the Noble Friends of Allah Almighty. For any given individual that person is his or her Shaykh or Spiritual Guide (Murshid / Pir). Maulana Rum (r.a.) mentions the importance of the Shaykh when he writes:
Sad kitaboh, sad waraq, dar nar kun
Aur jaan-o-dil rah, janibeh, dil daar kun
Throw all (100) your books into the fire
And turn with heart and soul to the Awliya
[For without them one cannot reach perfection.]
In the Mathnawi Shareef, Maulana Rumi (r.a.)Â writes the following:
“Seeing a man who was tilling the earth, a fool, unable to control himself, cried out, “Why are you ruining this soil?” “Fool,” said the man, “leave me alone: try to recognize the difference between tending the soil and wasting it. How will this soil become a rose garden until it is disturbed and overturned?”
This verse brings to mind the importance of the Shaykh who is the tiller, where he may test the spiritual disciple (Mureed) in order for the Mureed’s full inner potential to be realized.
Maulana Rumi’s (may Allah have mercy on him) importance continues throughout the centuries and across cultures. Hazrat Allamah Iqbal (may Allah have mercy on him), the great 19th century CE poet-philosopher of the Indian Subcontinent, separated by six centuries of time, famously attributed Maulana Rum as his Pir when he wrote “Pir-e-Rumi, Mureed-e-Hindi” and also about himself:
Tu bhi hai us qaafla-e-shawq mein Iqbal
Jis qaafla-e-shawq ka salaar hai Rumi
You too are a member of that
caravan of longing Oh Iqbal
That caravan of longing
whose guide is Rumi
Maulana Rumi (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away into the realm of Divine Beatitude on 5th Jamadi-u-‘l-Akhar 672 Hijri in Konya, Turkey and his tomb is near to that of his Shaykh Hazrat Shams Tabrez (r.a.). This shining star of the East however lives on through his legacy of love, devotion, and piety, which continues through the centuries to fragrance, nourish and heal the broken hearts that it encounters. May Allah Almighty give us the ability to learn from him and follow in his footsteps. Ameen.
Naveed Agboatwala
Mr. Agboatwala has been with the IECRC since its inception and is one of its most dedicated and hard working contributors. He is a Software Engineer by profession and a research scholar by nature. Brother Naveed leads the IECRC Friday (Juma) prayers. He handles all of IECRC’s audio releases and is an invaluable technical support resource to the rest of the IECRC team.
Biography of Maulana Rum (rahmatullahi alayhe):
- Hazrat Maulana Jalauddin Rumi (ra) – Part 1 (Urdu)
- Hazrat Maulana Jalauddin Rumi (ra) – Part 2 (Urdu)
