THANKSGIVING!!!SHOULDNT IT BE UNIVERSAL???

Salaams,
Was chatting with my friend Zakera in MD,and she told me that her family was coming over this weekend..and i asked her why ..do u know she replied quite disdainfully..(with all those funny emoticons and smileys..bombarding my screen)... ITS THANKSGIVING!!!!{as if i should have been aware of the same!!!} and then she said that Abraham Lincoln had declared the 3rd thursday of November as Day Of Thanksgiving for the good they have recieved..
and i told her .."arre yeh kya American style adopt kiya hai tum logo ne!!!"...end of chat..
i went back to my normal chores and at night i sat up ..pondering..wasnt it really true.. werent WE as muslims supposed to do so..i mean Thank Allah SWT for all that we recieve AND what we dont recieve???

"La In Shakartum la azeedannakum" Ibrahim :14
"If you are thankful then I will increase my favours upon you.."

Surely we as insaan are forgetful and hasty as Qu'raan has termed us and
when we want our wishes fulfilled we cry out in loneliness ,in despair as the one who is base and deprived and the moment we recieve what we want then our "Attitude" changes..
i want to share a very touching mail i recieved..friends, it is not just about thanking Allah SWT its also important to remember your MOHSIN (the one who did ehsaan upon you)
This is the story of those Brothers and Sisters who were sent away from their homes in East Africa and were left with no worldly belongings.. They stepped on to the soil of the US and how the Lutheran Church helped them in those trying and difficult times..
It reminds us of the time when Prophet Muhammad in 622 C.E, sought refuge in Medina from Mecca to avoid annihilation and persecution. This migration is called Hijrah. The Islamic calendar today does not begin from when Prophet Muhammad was born 570 C.E or when he died, but it begins from when Prophet Muhammad first migrated from Mecca in search of asylum. While American are heir to the legacy of Mayflower, Muslims and Jews have the heritage of migration (Hijrah) of Prophet Muhammad to Medina and Moses to Sinai.
So Thanksgiving is just not a CHRISTAIN event.. Or something to be done on a set date.. as Slaves of the Nourisher and Cherisher.. the RABB
isnt this what is expected from us???? The least we can do ???


READ ON!!! I was totally moved...

Thanksgiving is a true American holiday, one that Americans of all races and religions should be proud to observe. It is also unique of all the American holidays. This is the festival to be welcomed, and not dismayed or resented.

Thanksgiving recalls the migration of people for the sake of worshipping God, and the kindness of the indigenous people who helped them through their first winter... .
This history of Indian migration from East Africa. (Kenya, Uganda & Tanzania) goes back to the fall of 1972 exodus .Asian of East Africa mostly originated from the Gujarat, Kutch and Kathiawar regions of western India and worked under British rule to build the railway from Mombassa to lake Victoria in Uganda. Later on many Asians migrants took jobs as civil servants, or became as traders, shopkeepers (Dukawalla) and merchants. Asians were discriminated against in relationship to the British, but were relatively privileged in the relationship to the indigenous/native Africans.

Doesnt it remind you of the "SUPERIOR" clans of the Quraish vis-a vis the followers of the DEEN??
The situation began to change after the independence of Uganda (1962), Kenya (1963) and Tanzania (1964). Many Asians began leaving especially during Zanzibar Revolution (1964) and Arusha Declaration. This period was known as “Asian Exodus” – “Asian Diaspora”. However the biggest exodus came in 1972 when Idi Amin gave the country’s 75,000 Asian (Muhindis) 90 days to leave. Idi Amin’s lunatic actions were certainly built up over many years of hatred, resentment ad mutual distrust..


This history of Indian migration from East Africa to Lehigh Valley goes back to 1972. When three families (refuges) left Uganda, amidst the turmoil and eventually relocated to the United States, where the St John’s Lutheran Church in Allentown sponsored them.
These three families established the tradition of holding services (Majalises) and religious observance in their homes, and at times held certain services such as Eid-ul Fitr and Eid-ul Adha at St John’s Lutheran Church. This continued for several years even as the community grew with immigrants from East Africa, India, Pakistan and Middle East. Although they had limited resources, their faith proved to pave the way to what is now the most vibrant and respected Islamic institution in this country.

With faith in God and persistence they as a community were able to build a new place of worship, which stand out as a symbol of their devotion, thanks and praise to Lord (Allah).
As Muslims of Lehigh Valley they use this and every Thanksgiving as a day to be grateful for all that America has given them. America embraced them and they embraced America in order to make it a better place for all of them. In particular, as they reminisce ,they wish to thank the Lutheran church that gave refuge to the first immigrants to Lehigh Valley.

On this Thanksgiving Day AND on every single day let’s all remember our own shortcomings, and give thanks for the Infinite Rahmah, Maghferah of our Creator.Let us remember those who are the have nots..For those people who are in the midst of war,strife and uncertainity... Let’s pray for peace and justice.
Happy Thanksgiving...

"O my Lord! grant me the gratitude that I may be thankful for Your favour which You have bestowed upon me,both my parents,and that I may work towards good deeds,that YOU may approve;And be gracious to my offspring.." Ahqaaf:15

Until tommorrow..Keep Smiling...

SALAWAAT ALA MUHAMMAD WA AA'LEHI....

Salaams,
Another week gone.. and not much achieved in terms of our onward and final journey!!!
I just managed to squeeze in some time in between majalis/milaads..lots of nikaahs ..mashallah..still few more to go... but the reading continued..
Talking about the Meezaan..Allah SWT says:
"Wal Wazno yaumaezinil Haqqo,fa man Thakolat mawadheenahu fa ulaayeka homul mufleehoon.." {Araa'f:9}

"and the weighing on that day will be just,then as for the one whose measure of good deeds is heavy,those are the successful ones"

Of course our Masoomeen As have shown us the way to increase the weight/Meezaan and do you know??? One of the deeds which will REALLY help us at that time is Salawaat upon the Holy Prophet SAW and His Holy Progeny AS!!!!

We have often misused this bounty at some point in our lives ..let me give you few scenarios right out of our lives..


Scene 1) Mosque.. Majlis being recited..child runs across the room.. zakir/zakira: "Salawaat"

Scene 2) Imambargah..Khushali Night..Dinner has been served..everyone is catching up with friends about clothes ,hairstyles et al..chairman decides to make some imp announcement..say what for timing??? the mike booms :"Salawaat"

In both instances the replies to the salawaat range from audible..to barely audible..half hearted in most instances.. you with me???


And then I read in Uyoone Akhbaare Reza AS (Sk Saduq AR) that Imam Ridha AS said :
"If a momin does not have the means to reduce his bad deeds ,then he should send Salawaat upon the Holy Prophet SAW and His family AS"

Have a look at this one... its abs.. amazing!! {esp for students /teachers.}

The Holy Prophet SAW said :
"If any one writes my name in a book and sends salawaat upon me and my progeny,the angels will seek forgiveness for him until my name remains in that book"
Imagine this.. we take down notes on a regular basis and we preserve our madressa books/sheets etc and if we start acting upon this hadith..can you even imagine the weight at Meezaan???

Did you know this one???
In the ayat "Innallaha wa malaekatahu wa salluna alan-nabi.." According to Allah SWT its Blessing or Rahmah, while to the angels it is Safety or Hifazat and for the momin it is supplication/Du'a..
So when we recite salawaat we are actually supplicating for our own selves!! get it!!!!
its past midnight but i cant stop here like this.. i have to jot this down..

We have heard that famous conversation b/w an angel and the Holy Prophet SAW on the night of Ascension about the counting of the raindrops that fall..yet the angel said that he could keep an account of everything in the world EXCEPT the rewards that Allah SWT writes for the momin when he gathers in congregations and recites salawaat upon the Masoomeen AS...
So, people... the next time you hear "SalawaaT" in the mosque you know what to do rite???!!!

It will be the Yaume Maood.. The Promised Day.. deeds are being weighed..and according to Imam Sadeqayn AS ..when the scale of good will be tipping on the lower side..our Salawaat will be brought forward and be placed on the scale to make it Thaqeel/Heavy..(Sk Kulayni AR)

Ofcourse "Al Amaalo bin niyyah" so rectify that niyyah and increase the recitation..and lets thank Allah SWT for the wilayah of this Noble Family(Peace be upon them all)
until next time... keep smiling...and praying for each other...

HONESTY AT WORK!!!!

Salaams...
first things first... the right click on my mouse finally started working..guys u know what...Honest/good business ethics makes Bill Gates the millionaire that he is ..i went to the Microsoft service centre this morning,with my poor optical mouse and waited until the engineer set it right..all the while i was thinking of how big a hole would it cast in my purse.. and when the engineer came back with the mouse nicely serviced i asked him for the bill and...what a pleasant surprise..he said that under the microsoft purchase policy,it was repaired at NO cost!!!
And i hadnt even bought the mouse from them.. it was bought in New York in 2004!!! He said that if he charged me and i reported to Microsoft their dealership would be cancelled..
Obviously i was totally unaware and I would have never reported this to Microsoft..we are Desi remember!! and he could have easily charged it to me ..but he said that the company believed in transparency in work ethics!!
Point to ponder.. Holy Prophet SAW preached and practiced Honesty and Amanatdaari{Trust}...and expected the same from the followers..but how come the ethics promoted by our Masooms have been adopted by Gayre Muslims!!!
This maybe one of the reasons why Goerge Bernard Shaw has said Islam is the best religion ..but has the worst followers..
think about it..isnt its time to wake up and smell the coffee????
but me.. im happy..mouse bann gayaaaa..

AS SALAAMO ALA MEEZAANIL AA'MAALE

Salaams,
Just taking our thoughts further ahead..discussing death as an END and the things that will save us on the Yaume Hisaab - I just came across a really inspiring and thought provoking statement in Manazelul Akherah written by Sh Abbas Qummi (AR). He writes that in one of the Ziyaraat, that Imam Ali (AS) is referred to as Meezaan..

In fact it is as:

Assalaamo ala meezaanil aa'maale..

And when we say we are the Shiah of Ali (AS) heres a shocker!!!!!

'The prayers of all of mankind will be weighed with the prayers of Imam Ali (AS)!!!"

Imam Sadiq (AS) says "The weighing scales (in which our prayers and deeds will be weighed) are the Ambiyaa (prophets) and Awsiyaa (their successors).. "

Confused arent you??? so was I...

However, Alhamdulillah, I found something in Ma'ad by Ayatullah Dastghaib (AR) which sorted out all the confusion..mashallah. Imam Sadiq (AS) explains this and said that on the Day of Judgement our prayers will be compared with the prayers of Imam Ali (AS)

Relax guys .. I know there is NOTHING that can compare to the Ibadaah of the Imam of the Muttaqeen -Amiral Momeneen (AS). Dont get me wrong; what is being conveyed here is that when our (Shiah of Ali AS as we CLAIM to be!!) prayers and deeds are weighed ,the parameter will be Ali AS's Sincerity,his humility,his tawwajjoh were these factors present in our actions or were we merely saying that we EMULATED him!!!

Were our deeds full of the generosity,bravery against all odds,mercy and forgiveness like his or not???

If we previously spoke of ACTION, now it is about our deeds not being CONTRARY to our verbal claims of being Ali (AS)'s Shiah!

If our deeds will have no trace of the exemplary character of these sublime personalities (AS), then wont our claims be "TALL CLAIMS" in order to be saved by their Shafa'at?

We cant be contrary to them. We do our best, in prayer,in aam'aals, in our day to day dealings in the family and outside; do everything for their REZA and then, the result will manifest itself: in Duniya and in Akherah!!

As Allah (SWT) Himself says:

"Then as for him whose measure of good deeds is heavy ,he shall have a pleasant life.and as for him whose measure of good deeds is light,his abode shall be the fire..." {Al Qa'ariaah:Verses 6-9}

So now along with ACTION, its all about being in accordance to our CLAIM!!!!!
That's food for thought - until next week:

How to make our Meezaan heavyyyy!!!!!

salaams & keep smiling!

Iltemaase dua...

INNA LILLAHE WA INNA ALAYHE RAA'JEEOON....

In the Wee hours of last Saturday morning, the sad news of the passing away of one of Mumbai's pioneer Zakeras - Maryam aunty Vakil shook us from our "slumber". She was a mominah par excellence and she proved that what she spoke from the pulpit was put into action. Her kind words soothed a heavy heart and her charitable nature helped many a family survive stressful days!

It is said that Death is the 'END". Similarly many schools of thought have called it a Termination of man's journey {Amre Adami}.Of course, this is the physical end of the human being but the end is different for different people.

The Holy Qura'an talks about a certain group of people when they are caused to die:
"Those whom the angels cause to die in a good state, say Peace be upon you,enter the garden (of Paradise) for what you did."

Surah Nahl: Verse 32

Did You notice the words of the ayat?
"FOR WHAT YOU DID"..

It is all about action my friends -thats the bottom line.. You do what you are commanded to do and let Allah SWT do what He deems fit; and ofcourse, He is not going to let any of our actions go in vain!!! And where our actions are lacking, for a variety of reasons the Intercession of certain personalties will be our saviour..

Coming back to Maryam aunty.. those of you who can read gujarati and have access to Ithna-ashri magazine(from Mumbai) you will find tafaseer translated by her. A tremendous effort - keeping in mind that she was a very busy zakera until just a couple of years ago...

(i have been trying to do some tarjuma..and its moving at snails pace!!)

I was asked to recited her Soyyum ki majlis and i was at a loss for words..what could one say about a lady so great in darajaat and akhlaaq??

Well, I just read a tradition from Bihaar ul Anwaar vol 3, and all of you will most certainly understand the status of a practicing Aalim.

The Holy Prophet SAW is reported to have stated that

"3 groups of people will be allowed to intercede on the Day of Judgement
1)Prophets (Anmbiya)
2)Scholars (Alims)
3)Martyrs (Shohada)

He goes on to say that

"Donot under estimate the Shia of Ali (AS),for each of them will intercede for the people equal to the tribes of Rabi'ah and Muzar"

We really feel so happy and complacent that we are the Shia of Ali (AS) and probably the misdaaq of the above hadith. However, in order to be in that esteemed list{death is certain- though we feel that it is not for us-according to traditions it comes "suddenly" and there is no time to repent, due to lack of Action or Intention!! probably Riyakaari or Hubbe Shoharat!!!(recognition among the people)}

so many thoughts crossing the mind..forgive the confused writing..but im sure most of you understand this..

Our amaals will be weighed according to our Niyyah and we will find our selves faltering and slipping on the Siraat,and we will find ourselves lonely and full of despair. At that time the Holy Prophet (SAW) says that his Shafa'at will be for certain people:
A) Those who respected and honoured his Progeny AS.
B)Those who fulfilled the desires of his Progeny AS.
C)Those who work for their cause.
D)Those who love them from their hearts and their tongues and in their actions...
(note the difference in the tone and meaning of the 2 traditions - where one talks of those who can do Shafaa't the second talks of the ones who will recieve it)

When we experience death of loved ones we realise how helpless we are in that situation, no amount of wealth or status can stop the angel of death from doing his job.. but surely we can ensure that we have a smooth passage?

We take pride in the fact that we are followers of the Saaqiye Kauther Ali (AS) and all of us desire that "cup of eternity" at those honourable hands. But let us see what this same Imam (AS) says regarding the status of his followers

"We shall all be at the Haudh..whoever desires to meet us there should strive to EMULATE our ACTIONS and our WORDS..their is a house for every believer..who acts nobly.."

{ref Khisaal: Shaykh Sadooq AR}
All of them have metioned one common thing and that is ACTION!!

Isnt it time we started moving in that direction??

Let's not be misdaaq of Surah Asr :2 "Innal Insaana lafi khusr.."

UD-'OONEE ASTAJIBB LAKUM....

Just a few thoughts that Post Mahe Ramadhan - the holy month has left us sorrowful and with a sense of unaccomplishment. Neither were we able to ask for Maghferat nor were we able to supplicate to the Almighty.. But surely we realised that the doors of Rahmah NEVER shut; and though we have missed the opportunity that Shahrullah presented, we can still knock on the door that calls us Laylan wan Nahaar!!!

We just passed one of the greatest days of the week: Yaumul Jumu'ah,also quoted as one of the five 'Eids viz ,Adha,Fitr,Ghadeer and Mubahila.

Fortunately, last night I read a thought provoking tradition from our 6th Imam Sadiq (AS) on the same context - about what Allah SWT wants from His 'Abd (devotee), and how the slave responds by placing his hopes in mere mortals; just compare our actions vis a vis Allah"s command:
"Allah SWT doesnt like the people to be persistent in their beseeching EACH OTHER,However He LOVES that we beseech Him all the time"

{ref: Usul Al Kafi, Kitaabud dua,tradition # 4}

Let us do some self introspection. And actually, wasnt that what the Holy Month was all about??? Dont we really pin our hopes in others who are equally helpess and needy just like You and me?

Allah SWT wants us not only to beseech, but beseech persistently...and He has called this beseeching as the highest form of Ibadaah!! So why do we plead and beseech Him??

Obviously for the removal of difficulties and hardships surrounding our lives...

But the biggest calamity/hardship/difficulty is OCCULTATION..GHAYBAH..that is why we are ordered to lament and wail; and particular reference is made to Dua Nudbah:
In Dua Nudbah we recite, فَليَبْكِ الباكونَ، وإيّاهُم فَلينْدِبِ النّادِبونَ "the bewailers should cry and the wailers should wail."

Aynal Mudhttarul ladhi yujaabo edha da'aa?
Where is the distressed one,who is answered when he calls?

Our prayers and lamentation should be with the sincere hope that He - in His mercy and Lutf -will change our grief into happiness with the Dhuhoor of the Master.

Even the Qaum of Bani Israel could get salvation/Faraj after intense/continuous/persistent pleading, as the tradition says;
"Then when the period of chastisement on Bani Israel lenghtened,they cried in front of Allah for 40 mornings and Allah revealed to Moosa and Haroun to give them salvation from the evils of Firaun.due to this persistent wailing/nudbah,17o years were reduced from that DESTINED OPPRESSION.."

If all of us wept and prayed in the manner of the Israelites of the time of Moosa AS, surely the faraj would be close at hand!!

Go ahead give it a thought!!!

HOW SHOULD WE REMEMBER HER!!!!!

YAUM E GHAM (8th Shawwal)..

We all commemorate and then go back to our routine ,mundane lives..but yet when a problem or calamity befalls us in our loudest wailing voices we say "YA ZAHRA" and she is always there ready to help us along with her children..our saviours and guides in Duniya and Akherah..

There are 2 points worth pondering over:
1)When we remember the destruction of Jannatul Baquee we curse the people who destroyed the graveyard where the Holy Prohet SAW's kith and kin are buried...But is this cursing enough ?? are we going to be silent spectators to the most atrocious crime committed in Islamic History???
What shall we tell her when we face her on the Yauma Tublaus Saraaer??? (Day when deeds will be unravelled with reference to Surah Taariq : Verse 8)

I dont know if it will be of any use or not..or is it going to cast any bearing over the decision makers all over the world..but may be we could send out mails,letters to all those agencies,goverments,peace organisations demanding the reconstruction of this honoured and revered site.

2)On a deeper insight into the demolition.. those who destroyed the graveyard and even in her lifetime ,the ones whose actions annoyed her and made her weep , we often find ourselves cursing but shall we not ponder over the fact that arent we doing those things which would most likely make her weep and be annoyed with us?

We shed copious tears over her masaeb,over the tragedy which befell her family in Shaam and Kufa..and then teary eyed we step out of the majlis... our CHADORS.... gone with the wind..we cry over the Adha'aan of Ali Akbar and ..snuggle deeper into the comforts of our beds at the time of Fajr..

I often wonder.. DO WE REALLY HAVE THE RIGHT TO CURSE OTHERS...WHILE OUR ACTIONS ON DIFFERENT SCALES DO INCUR HER ANGER????