Tag Archives: Milad

March 25, 2010   Islam, Spirituality, Uncategorized   No comments

Reflections of a Seeker

August 16, 2003 / Jamad-uth-Thani 1424

Volume 1, Issue 2 (Part 4)

Harmony can be defined as a pleasing or congruent arrangement of parts, which in the human paradigm leads to inner peace.  The corollary would be that lack of congruency creates internal turmoil, and in severe cases leads to chronic depression.  Human beings are consciously or unconsciously in constant search of this harmony.  I have realized through my personal experiences that this harmony can be achieved by finding one’s place in the Court of the Creator, submitting to it, cherishing the relationships bestowed by the King and practicing unconditional love.

In the Muslim worldview, we believe in the reality of creation and design – that everything we see around us has One Creator – Allah Almighty and that He, the Most Exalted, has created a systematic world full of meaning and purpose.  Out of His Infinite Mercy, instead of placing His Message of Guidance directly into our hearts, He created the institution of Prophethood, where He chose special people to administer this awesome task.  It is essential and a matter of gratitude that we pay homage to this institution, primarily to its pinnacle and most perfect exemplar – Prophet Muhammad (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him).  He is the greatest Gift of Allah Almighty to us and it is imperative that not only are we grateful, but are also in constant show of this gratitude. Most people respond to this by emphasizing the importance of obeying His Sunnah (Practices), i.e. we must live our lives in accordance to the way He (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) lived it.  This is absolutely true. However, obedience out of love, as opposed to fear or compulsion, is the only true and lasting obedience.  So loving the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) needs to precede trying to imitate Him.  As a matter of fact, loving the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) is what completes our faith, as corroborated by the following Hadeeth:

Allah’s Apostle  said, “By Him in Whose Hands my life is, none of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father and his children.” (Sahih Bukhari Shareef)

The philosophy of love is a complex one.  To some people like myself, it is missing the Beloved (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him), wanting to see Him, yearning to be with Him and seeking His presence, desiring His approval and pleasure, attempting to make the Beloved (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) happy and making every effort not to displease Him.  This motivates me to try to follow everything He commands us to do.  Allah Almighty says in the Noble Quran:

Whoever obeys the Noble Messenger has indeed obeyed Allah              (Holy Quran, 4:80)

Those who fear that the expression of such emotions borders on shirk (i.e. associating partners with Allah Almighty) need to consider the fact that it is Allah Almighty Himself who chose to include His Beloved’s (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) name in the shahaada (the testimony that “There is no God but Allah and that Muhammad  is His Messenger”).  In addition, the Hadeeth (saying of the Prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace of Allah Almighty be upon Him) says that Allah Gives and His Prophet (prayers and peace be upon Him), distributes.  In other words, Allah Almighty is the Absolute Authority and the Prophet Muhammad (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) is His delegated authority in creation.  Therefore, to bypass Allah Almighty’s delegated authority and claim direct connection with Him is in the best-case naiveté and in the worst case impertinent and disrespectful to Allah Almighty, as one is not submitting to His System (Nizam). As the Persian saying expresses beautifully:

Bades Khuda Buzurg Tuhi Qissa Mukhtasar

After Allah, you are the greatest spiritual personality and that is the end of the matter

Unfortunately, today’s Muslim psyche has become plagued with what can be coined as “shirk-phobia”, due to the lack of understanding of the definition of the word shirk. Some think that praising and loving the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) should have a limit, after which somehow it can seep into the realm of shirk.  Nothing can be further from the truth. The more we love and praise Allah Almighty’s Beloved (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him), the closer we get to Allah.  These acts increase our love for the Beloved (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) and are highly recommended, such as sending copious salawaat (prayers) upon him, writing and reciting poetry and prose that praise Him, talking about His birth, life, love, message and personality and remembering and celebrating the most awesome day that He was sent to this earth.

The Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) epitomized unconditional love, which can be defined as genuinely wanting the best for others, doing something practical about it and wanting nothing in return except Allah Almighty’s love and rida (contentment and pleasure).  To those who make statements that He  was “just” a Messenger, that He  completed his “job” by conveying the message (may Allah protect us from such thoughts), need to consider that He (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) as the Messenger embodies Allah’s Message as reported in the famous Hadeeth by Sayyidatuna Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that He is the walking Quran.  In addition, He (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) is described as “Shaahid” (Witness) in the Quran [48:8] and therefore He is aware of all that we do on a daily basis and He continues to pray for His Ummah (community).

I once heard a speaker at a conference say “It is better to be at the tail of Truth than the head of falsehood”.  At the time, the statement resonated with my heart but its full meaning did not descend upon me until I had the great honor of affiliating myself with the Qadri Tareeqat (Sufi Path) of  Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him).  Allah Almighty says about His awliya (Friends / Saints) that they have no fear of the future and no grief over the past.  I believe this is so because they have surrendered themselves absolutely, not in negative resignation but a conscious willing submission to their Infinitely Merciful, Beneficent, Wise and Loving Lord with the understanding that He Almighty does everything for the good of His creation whether that is immediately obvious to us or not.

In my limited understanding, the Path of Tasawwuf (Sufism) is about self-effacement, taming and eventual annihilation of the ego, considering everyone else as better than oneself, removing all prejudices and biases, breaking stereotypes, becoming completely non-judgmental, recognizing that we don’t know where any human being stands with Allah Most Exalted, that we mustn’t judge by the external as we don’t know what is in someone’s heart. This Path is a path of no claims, just pure and total surrender, longing and love.

The Path is a tough one for anyone who wishes to tread it, but it is the only way for those who yearn for their Lord and seek His and His Beloved’s (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) contentment and pleasure.

Syeda Shagufta Ahmad Qadri

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March 17, 2010   Canada, Culture, IECRC Chapters, Intercultural Communication, Islamic Months, Personalities, Prophets, Rabi ul-Awwal   2 Comments

PRESS REPORT – Interfaith Communication: A Bridge Among Nations

The Islamic Educational and Cultural Research Center (IECRC) and the Canadian Women Counseling Center (CWCC) jointly organized a grand gathering of an Interfaith Celebration of the Birth of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) titled “Interfaith Communication: A Bridge Among Nations” on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at York Conference Center in Surrey, British Columbia. The beautiful gathering was attended by over 450 men, women, and children of many diverse organizations, groups, faiths, and cultures from all walks of life.

Group Conference Speakers and Organizers

This was the 5th year in a row that the CWCC and IECRC have conducted this annual spiritual gathering commemorating the life and birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the final Prophet to humanity according to the Islamic tradition.  The conference was attended by interfaith representatives from several different religious groups including Pandit Acharya, Dr. Raminder Pal Singh, Mr. Allen Welding, along with representatives from the B.C. legislative assembly and the World Peace Federation, and heads of various social and political organizations.  The speeches delivered represented a wide variety of backgrounds and topics.

Audience

Mr. Allen Welding, President of the World Peace Federation and Christian Leader said that our heart is not bound by geography, and that “We are one family under God.” He added, “Cooperation is a way towards peace, and humanity is one body.  Humanity is not connected to God hence we harm one another. ”

Dr. Allen Welding

Dr. Raminder Pal Singh Kang, the well-known radio host of Sher-e-Punjab gave a direct message to the audience in which he mentioned the relationships between Muslims and Sikhs in history. Dr. Kang mentioned that the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest place in Sikhism, had its first stone layed by a Muslim, and that Hazrat Baba Farid’s (may God have mercy on him) writings are a part of the Guru Granth Sahib.  Dr. Kang reminded the audience that people have less time to read and study, and thus misinformation is spreading.  He shared his experience describing how he had became a student of Islamic Philosophy after he had hosted several shows with Dr. Qadri about Islam on Sher-e-Punjab where “you can always talk about other mazhabs (faiths). ”

Dr. Raminder Pal Singh

Pandit Acharya Shrinath Prasad Dwivedi, a Hindu scholar, said that peace on Earth starts with the individual, not with an organization. With the modern world, distances are reduced, but barriers within the heart need to be broken.  Pandit Acharya recited a self-composed piece of poetry in praise of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) that delighted the audience.

Pandit Acharya Shrinath Prasad Dwivedi

Senior government representatives were also present during the occasion.  Bruce Ralston, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Surrey-Whalley, briefly wished all conference attendees well and congratulated the organizers on the conference. He also mentioned that what impressed most about Islam was its prohibition of Usury and the establishment of Zakat (the poor due).

Sukh Dhaliwal, MP of Surrey, mentioned that all religions emphasize social justice, that the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was about social justice, human rights, and equality, and similarly that of Guru Nanak. Mr. Dhaliwal said that we can believe in different values, come from different cultures, and be different, yet at the same time love each other, respect each other, and thus “we have taken ourselves beyond tolerance, we have accepted each other.” He said that religious organizations are instrumental in providing social services, and congratulated Dr. Qadri and the attendees for promoting justice, accepting all communities, and conveyed greetings on behalf of the assembly.

Vice Consul General Tipu Usman of the Pakistan Consulate in Vancouver emphasized the need for dialogue as a way and basis to promote trust, and not as a platform for argumentation.

MLA Bruce Ralston

MP Sukh Dhaliwal

Vice Consul General Tipu Usman

Shakyh Ismael Khaleeq, Imam of the Kautharriyah Hussayniyyah Islamic Center, said that different cultures are like different colors in a garden; a garden is more beautiful with a variety of colors. He exhorted the audience to understand that ends do not justify the means, and to live a compassionate and loving life with each other.

Sheikh Ismael Khaleeq

Maulana Tayyib Qasmi, Principal of the Chilliwack Islamic College gave a brief but effective speech on the importance of remembering and honoring the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), especially in the spirit of coming together as one community. He humbly prayed that his presence in this blessed gathering would become a means for his forgiveness on t he Day of Judgment.

Maulana Tayyib Qasmi

Mr. Tanveer Choudhary of the Pakistani Cultural Association spoke about the impact Allamah Iqbal, Pakistan’s famous national poet also known as the Poet of the East, had in a unified view of man and his place in the world. Maulana Abdul Lateef Nomani, Imam of the Fiji Islamic Center, highlighted the compassionate and self-sacrificing nature of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Syeda Zille Humma and Fatima Sharaaz, both IECRC representatives from the United States, spoke about the meaning of love for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and how the Prophet (peace be upon him) elevated the status and esteem of women by introducing essential women’s rights that have now been taken for granted, respectively.  Dr. Syeda Saiqa Zubeda, Founding Director of the CWCC, spoke about the importance of love in Islam, saying that Sufism, the spiritual dimension of Islam, was Islam with love, and the real representation of Islam.

Youth from both the surrounding Surrey area, as well as those who had traveled from the USA to attend this event waved flags and recited the Naat poetry that describes the attributes of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Among the youth and children were Abdullah Ayyaz Qadri, Abdurrahman Ayyaz Qadri (both studying to commit the entire Holy Quran to memory), Zaynab Ayyaz Qadri, Roha Imran, and Khizr Abbasi.

Both adult and youth groups from Surrey and the United States recited beautiful and heartfelt poems honoring the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on this sublime occasion including Adeeba Iqbal, Amber Imran, Sohail Rana Qadri, Imran Qadri, Shaanawaz Khan Qadri, and Ismael Rajput.

Zaynab Ayyaz Qadri

Roha Imran

Khizr Abbasi

Amber Imran

IECRC Naat Group from Surrey

Recitation of Burdah Shareef

Ismael Rajput

Mr. Charan Gill, Executive Directory of PICs, a progressive social welfare organization in Surrey, presented IECRC with an award for outstanding community service. Various other awards were rewarded to groups and individuals working to promote peace and social justice.

Mr. Charan Gill

To conclude the conference, Prof. Dr. Mohammad Qadri, a world renowned scholar from the family of the Bani Hashim (the family of the Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him), and Founding Director of the Islamic Educational and Cultural Center delivered the concluding remarks about the universal message of brotherhood that Islam conveys with references from the Holy Quran and the Life of the Prophet (peace be upon him).  Dr. Qadri said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) conveyed the message of Islam to make our ethics the ethics of God. He said that if we pay respect to others, we and our community will be respected by others. Dr. Qadri stated, if you love humanity, God will love you. He reminded the audience to follow the Prophetic example and to be forgiving and merciful.

Dr. Qadri reminded the audience of a very important communal requirement that is aimed at supporting those in need under the most trying circumstances.  He called to pass a resolution in favor of an endowment fund for funeral costs, which was passed by the community with no opposition.

Prof. Dr. Mohammad Ahmed Qadri

Sharaaz Qadri, Director of IECRC in the USA, was emcee for the evening. Throughout the evening, Mr. Sharaaz Qadri gave references from the life of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) that reminded the audience of the tradition of compassion, mercy, respect, tolerance, in Islam. As is tradition in Milad Shareef gatherings, the program began with a recitation from the Holy Quran, the Muslim holy book, and poetry in Praise of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Sharaaz Khan Qadri

The vote of thanks was given by Mr. Ayyaz Yousaf Qadri, Managing Director of IECRC-USA. He thanked all the guests for their participation, and thanked all the volunteers of IECRC and CWCC for their immense dedication and hard work for making this spiritual, educational, cultural, and social event a great success.

Dr. Mohammad Ahmed Qadri finally led everyone in a standing salutation (Salam) to send greetings and blessings to the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Salaam and Dua

Salaam and Dua

For feedback on this conference you may write to info@iecrcna.org or cwcc04@yahoo.ca.

One thing is common about quality social justice, sk brought diversity, Canada Aa a nation fortunate charter of rights india mother Teresa social justice equal presence participation of women teachings of saw keep serving humanity… Good wishes.
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March 17, 2010   Canada, Culture, Intercultural Communication, Islamic Months, Language, Personalities, Prophets, Rabi ul-Awwal, Uncategorized   No comments

یارک کر سٹل ہال سرے (کنیڈا) میں عید میلاد النبی

Source: http://www.aalmiakhbar.com/index.php?mod=article&cat=specialreport&article=13311
15.03.2010, 12:05am , سوموار (GMT)

عالمی اخبار کینڈا بیورو

اسلامک ایجو کشنل اینڈ کلچرل ریسرچ سینٹر امریکہ کے زیر اہتمام پانچویں سالانہ کانفرنس یارک کر سٹل ہال سرے (کنیڈا) میں عید میلاد النبی  منانےکے سلسلہ میں منعقد ہوئی ۔ اس مرتبہ خصوصیت یہ تھی کہ  اس کامو ضوع تھا “انٹر فیتھ کامنیکیشن اینڈ برج امانگ دی نیشنز “ اس لیئےاس میں غیر مسلم حضرات کو بھی شرکت کی دعوت دیگئی تھی۔ لہذا جناب سکھ ڈھلیوال ممبر پارلیمنٹ ، مسٹر بروس ایم ایل اے۔ ڈاکٹر ایلن ورلڈ پیس مشن ، جناب پنڈت دیویدی جی ( مشہور اسکالر ، شاعر، ہندی لٹریری سو سائٹی کنیڈا کے صدر اور مذ ہبی رہنما)
اس کے بانی جناب ڈاکٹر محمد قادری  کی تقریر سے پہلے  قرآن پاک کی تلاوت ہوئی ،پھر مختلف لوگوں نے حمد اور نعتیں  پڑھیں  اور اس کے بعد انہوں نے اپنی افتتا حی تقریر آغاز کیا، جس میں مسلمانوں اور غیر مسلموں کے در میان غلط فہمیاں دور کر نے کے لیئے اس قسم کی کانفرنسیں منعقد کر نے کی ضرورت پہ زور دیا ،جو کہ اسلام کے خلاف ایک چھوٹے سے طبقہ کی حرکتوں وجہ سے دنیا پیدا ہوگئی ہیں۔

اس تقریب  میں جناب ٹیپو نائب کو نسلرجنرل آپ پاکستان خطاب فرمایا اورجناب شیراز قادری  نے بھی تقریر فر مائی جو دوسرے بہت سے لوگوں کے ہمراہ اس میں شر کت کے لیئے کیلیفورنیا سے تشریف لائے تھے ۔بعد میں انہوں نے ہی نظامت کے فرائض بھی انجام دیئے ۔ جبکہ مقامی علما ء میں سے مولانا عبد الطیف نعمانی امام فیجی اسلامک سینٹر ، مولانا طیب قاسمی  سر براہ اسلامی اکیڈمی  چلیواک اور امام خلیق اسمٰعیل(  امام الکوثر حسینیہ سینٹر اور العباس سینٹر) نے تقریر فر مائی،  جبکہ خواتین کی نما ئندگی ڈاکٹر ساعقہ  صاحبہ نے کی ۔ ان سب نے  حضور (ص) کی حیات ِ  طیبہ پر  سیر حا صل روشنی ڈالی۔

یہ سرے کی تا ریخ میں دوسرا مو قعہ تھا کہ اس قسم کا اجتما ع منعقد ہواجس میں غیر مسلموں نے بھی شرکت کی۔  اس سے پہلے  جناب شمس جیلانی نے دس بارہ سال پہلے فیجی اسلامک سینٹر میں ایک نعتیہ مشا عرہ کرایا تھا۔ جب وہ اردو ایسو ایسشن کے صدر اور ہندی لٹریری سو سائٹی کے جنرل سکریٹری تھے ، اس وقت پنڈت دیویدی جی ہندی سو سا ئٹی کے صدر اور سرے ہندو مندر کے مہانت تھے ۔ جواُس موقعہ پر بھی مو جود تھے ۔پنڈت جی نہ صرف اچھے شاعر بلکہ اچھے انسان بھی ہیں ۔

دوسرے قابل ِ ذکر اسپیکر سکھی ڈھلیوال  ممبر پارلیمنٹ اور مسٹر بروس ایم ایل اے (سرے ) تیسرے ورڈ پیس مشن کے فا در ایلن تھے۔ آخر میں جناب شمس جیلانی نے  لوگوں کو ان کی خدمات کے صلہ میں اسناد ِ ستا ئش  سینٹر کی طرف سے تقسیم کیں ۔ جن میں سے منیجنگ چیف  “ایڈیٹر مریکل “ جناب نصیر پیرزادہ  اور مقامی ریڈیو پر پاکستانی پروگرام کے میزبان جناب سلیمان ناصر (سابق انا ونسرریڈیوکوئٹہ) اسناد وصول کرتے ہو ئے تصویروں میں میں نظر آرہے ہیں ۔

آخر میں جناب شمس جیلانی نے اپنی تقریر میں جناب ڈاکٹر محمد احمد اور ان شریک ِحیات کی ملی  اورانسانی کو ششوں کو سرا ہااور کہا کہ  “مشک کو کبھی تعریف کی ضرورت نہیں ہو تی ہے ،اس کی خوشبو خود ہی ہر ناک کو معطر کرکے لوگوں متوجہ کر لیتی ہے ۔ ابھی محمد صا حب اور  ان کی شریک حیات ڈاکٹر صا عقہ  صاحبہ کو یہا ں آئے ہوئے صر ف تین سال ہو ئے ہیں اور وہ دونوں خدمت خلق میں بہت سوں سے سبقت لے گئے۔

یہ ہی در اصل اسلام کا مشن ہے کہ محبت سب سے نفرت کسی سے نہیں اور جو ایسا کرے گا تاریخ میں اس کانام تابندہ رہے گا کیونکہ اس کی گارنٹی قرآ ں نے سورہ ہود کی  ایک آیت میں دی ہے جس میں اللہ سبحانہ تعالیٰ نے مسلمانوں کو پانی یا دھات بننے کی ترغیب دی ہے، جھاگ بننے سے منع فر ما یا،  جوکہ پانی یا دھات سے ہی بنتا ہے  اوربغیر کسی کو فا ئدہ پہونچا ئے، اپنی موت آپ مر جا تا ہے۔ انہوں نے مزید کہا حضور کاپہلا مشن بلا تخصیصِ مذ ہب اور ملت، خدمتِ خلق کرنا تھا ۔

اس لیئے کہ حضور (ص) رحمت صرف مسلمانوں کے لیئے ہی نہیں بھیجے گئے  تھے ۔بلکہ تمام عالموں کے لیئے ر حمت اللعالمیں بنا کر بھیجے گئے تھے ۔ ہم سب کوانکا اتبا ع کر تے ہوئے انسانیت کی خد مت کر نا چا ہیئے۔

جو لوگ عید میلاد النبی منانے کو بدعت کہتے ہیں انہیں اپنا جائزہ لینا چاہیئے کہ انہوں نے سو سال میں اسلام کی کیا خدمت کی ہے؟۔ جبکہ عید میلاد ِالنبی منانے والوں نے  صحابہ کرام (رض) اور اولیا ئے عظام  (رح)کی راہ اپنا کر  (  محبت سب سے اور نفرت کسی سے بھی نہیں )ایک کھرب سے زیادہ مسلمان بنا ئے ،جبکہ انہیں بدعتی کہنے والوں  نےصرف مسلمانو ں کو کافر بنایا، بدعتی بنایا، با تیں بنا ئیں یا پھر دنیا کو شدت پسندی کا تحفہ دیا۔  یہ تقریب دو بجے سے نو بجے شام تک جاری رہی ۔







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