Category Archives: Uncategorized
IECRC Giyarhween Shareef – March 26-27 2010
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Rabi-uth-Thani is the month of Syedina Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani radiAllahu anhu. IECRC will be holding a special Giyarhween Shareef Mahafil in Surrey,BC (Canada), Bay Area and Sacramento, CA (USA).
If you would like to participate with a Naat Shareef or Manqabat, kindly let us know in advance. Children are especially encouraged to participate. If you would like to contribute to the event, please let us know.Â
Brief Introduction of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (May Allah be pleased with him)
August 16, 2003 / Jamad-uth-Thani 1424
Volume 1, Issue 2 (Part 3)
His name is Hazrat Abu Muhammad Muhiyuddin Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him). He was born in Jilan, Iran on Ramadan 1, 470 Hijri. He is the founder of the Silsila-e-Qadriya.
When Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him) was a young boy, on the day of `Arafah in his village of Jilan, he began ploughing the field behind a bull.  The bull looked at him and said, “O Abdul Qadir! You weren’t created for this.” Startled, the young Shaykh returned home and asked his mother to send him to Baghdad to acquire knowledge. His mother was extremely pleased and prepared to send him off. She brought him the 80 dinars that his father had left her. The Shaykh left half of it for his brother and his mother sewed the other 40 dinars into his garments. She exhorted him to speak the truth under any circumstances. She bid him farewell for the sake of Allah and said that she would now see him on the Day of Judgement.
Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him) proceeded for Baghdad with a small caravan that was headed in that direction. On the way, the caravan was attacked by 60 bandits. One of them came to the young Shaykh and asked if he had anything on him, upon which the Shaykh replied that he had 40 dinars sewed into his garments. The bandit [not being able to believe the boy’s honesty], thought that he was just joking. Another bandit came and had the same experience. They went and reported this to their leader who then called the boy and asked him what his motivation was in revealing his possession. The young Shaykh (may Allah be pleased with him) said that his mother had emphasized that he must always speak the truth and he couldn’t break his promise to her. These words penetrated and touched the heart of the leader of the bandits and he felt extreme remorse that this young boy was not breaking his promise to his mother whereas all these years he had been breaking his vows to his Lord.  The leader of the bandits repented at the hands of the young Shaykh (may Allah be pleased with him) and all the other bandits followed suit.
The Shaykh passed into the realm of Divine Presence on Rabi-uth-Thaani 11, 561 Hijri at the age of 91 and rests in Baghdad Shareef, Iraq.
Information Source
Translated from Urdu Text “Mazhar-e-Jamal-e-Mustafai†by Sufi Syed Nasiruddin Hashmi Qadri Rizwi Barkati published 1985, Pakistan International Printers Limited, Lahore, Pakistan.
IECRC Commemorates the Martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Husayn (May Allah be pleased with him)
Issue 10
February 2006 / Muharram 1427
Wa qul jaa al Haqqu
wa zahaqal baatil
Inna baatila kaana zahooqa
And proclaim,
“The Truth has arrived
and falsehood has vanished; indeed falsehood had to vanish.”
[The Holy Quran 17:81]
The timeless struggle between truth and falsehood, good and evil, is epitomized in no other chronicle of Islamic history than on the banks of the river Euphrates in the plains of Karbala, Iraq. What the soil of Iraq witnessed in 61 Hijra / 680 CE was a testimony and lesson for all time to come that sacrifices are inevitable on the Path of Truth and that those who are closest to their Lord and therefore most committed to the Path are to endure the severest of hardships.
To further this salient message, the Islamic Educational and Cultural Research Center of Northern California observed the momentous day of Ashura at its weekly Dhikr location in Fremont, California on Sunday, February 12, 2006. Derived from the Arabic word for ten, Ashura is commemorated on the 10th day of the Sacred month of Muharram, the first in the Islamic lunar calendar. This historic day carries in it the heartrending reminder of the martyrdom in Karbala of Hazrat Imam Husayn ibn Ali (may Allah be well pleased with them both), the most beloved grandson of the Beloved of Allah  Almighty, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Countless Peace & Prayers Of Allah Almighty Be Upon Him.)
The Crown of Saints, Hazrat Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (1077/8-1166 CE, may Allah Almighty be well pleased with him) narrates authentic Prophetic traditions in his magnum opus, “Al-Ghunya li-Taalibi Tareeq al-Haqq “ rendered into English as “Sufficient Provision for Seekers of the Path of Truthâ€, that Ashura is the day in which Allah Almighty created the heavens and the earth, the Tablet and the Pen; it is also the day in which Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) and his community were delivered from the unjust reins of the Pharaoh; it is also the day in which this world will come to an end; and above all it is the day that Allah Almighty chose to honor Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah be well pleased with him) with his pre-ordained martyrdom to grant him the elevated rank of the martyrdom of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (may Allah be well pleased with them). It is worth reflecting that despite the fact that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) had been made aware of this fatal fate of Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah be well pleased with him) by Angel Jibraeel (peace be upon him) as is taught to us through authentic Prophetic narrations; and despite the fact that any supplications by the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) to change this fate would have been accepted by Allah Almighty, no such prayer was made. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) chose and agreed to give up the life of His beloved grandson for the sake of His Ummah (community) so that we may learn the essential lessons of sacrifice. Peace Be Upon Him and His Noble Family! [For the benefit of our readers it must be pointed out here that committing suicide or taking the lives of civilians is completely antithetical to Islamic teachings.]
The great 11th century CE Sufi scholar, Hazrat Abul Hasan Syed Ali bin Uthman Hujweri famous as Hazrat Daata Ganj Baksh (may Allah be well pleased with him) writes in his encyclopedic treatise on Tasawwuf (Sufism), the “Kashf-ul-Mahjoob†rendered into English as “Unveiling the Veiledâ€:
“[Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah be well pleased with him)] is one of the great Awliya Allah devoted exclusively to Allah and famous for renunciation, patience and forbearance in the hours of extreme affliction, such as that experienced in the massacre at Karbala.â€
Hazrat Daata Ganj Baksh (may Allah be well pleased with him) further quotes Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah be well pleased with him) in the Kashf-ul-Mahjoob:
“We are the people called Ahl-e-bala (sufferers).
We love bala (calamities) and feel pleased with it.
We live for others and not for ourselves.â€
This is the foundational spiritual teaching of Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah Almighty be well pleased with him) and the essential message of unconditional service to others that the Islamic Educational and Cultural Research Center (IECRC) attempts to convey and promote to the community through its various conferences, events and especially the Urs (memorial) days observed for the Awliya Kiram (Noble Friends of Allah Almighty or Sufi Saints, may Allah have mercy on them all). This is the message of all the Sufi Saints of the Islamic tradition. IECRC’s commemoration of the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah Almighty be well pleased with him) in February 2006 in Fremont, California was no exception. Poignant couplets were recited by various community members including young children, reminding the audience of the great sacrifice that this luminary of the Islamic tradition gave in order to uphold the principles of Islam. He gave his head but did not pledge allegiance to the tyranny of the then ruler of the Muslims.
Seventy thousand angels alighted in the grave of Imam al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali (may Allah Almighty be pleased with them both) on the day when he was mortally wounded, and they will continue to weep over him until the day of Resurrection.
[Al-Ghunya li-Talibi]
The highlight of IECRC’s commemorative evening was a most informative talk by Hafiz Prof. Dr. Mohammad Abdullah Qadri who delivered his important speech via telephone in which he emphasized the importance of remembering that those who are martyred in the Path of Allah Almighty are not to be considered dead as is taught by the Holy Quran. He also highlighted that Muslims should hold on tightly to the obligatory prayers and principles of Islam for the upholding of which Hazrat Imam Husayn (may Allah Almighty be well pleased with him) gave up his life.
Also quoted at this spiritual gathering were the profound words of Hazrat Allama Iqbal (may Allah have mercy on him), the great 19th century Urdu poet-philosopher of Pakistan:
Qatl-e-Husayn asal mein
marg-e Yazid hai
Islam zinda hota hai har Karbala ke baad
The slaughter of Husayn [Truth] is in reality the death of Yazid [Falsehood]
Islam is revived after every Karbala
The above couplet is an intense reminder of the ongoing struggle between good and evil, truth and falsehood that not just played itself out on the plains of Karbala, but is the constant activity of the human soul. Every moment we are faced with an inner battle between the lower (falsehood) and higher (truth) self and whenever the higher self wins it revives a state of peace, a state of Islam.
