The Hilya of the Prophet: Selections from the Salam of Ala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Riza Khan Barelwi

as-salamu 'alaykum,

The Hilya of the Prophet: Selections from the Salam of Ala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Riza Khan Barelwi

---

Wheresoever it fell, Life itself was revived
Peace be upon that life-bestowing gaze

Whom did he see? Let someone enquire of Moses
Peace be upon the courage of one with such eyes!

Those ears which can hear from both near and from afar
Peace be upon that mine: rubies of charismata!


How delicate the petals of that holy rose!
Peace be upon the exquisiteness of those lips!

From his clustered pearls, radiate those roots of light
Peace be upon the enchantment of those stars!

A mouth whose ev'ry word: divine revelation!
Peace be upon the fount of knowledge and wisdom

Its water makes both spirits and gardens verdant
Peace be upon the moisture of such a mouth!

From it saline wells became sweet like syrup
Peace be upon that sweet, clear, spring water!

A tongue which is known to all as the key to `Be!'
Peace be upon its effective commandments

Countless blessings upon his lov'ly oratory
Peace be upon his heart-enticing eloquence!

Countless blessings upon the pleasure of his words!
Peace be upon the majesty of his sermons



A beard of pleasant length, a salve for the heart's wounds
Peace be upon the halo around the rarest moon!

A beard around the mouth – striking loveliness!
Peace be upon that beard of the stream of mercy!

From it are flowing streams of milk and honey
Peace be upon the freshness of such a throat!

Lofty nobility from shoulder to shoulder
Peace be upon the majesty of such shoulders!

The Black Stone of the Ka'aba of the heart and soul!
Peace be upon the Seal of Apostleship!

No partner, sum total, matchless, unparalled!
Peace be upon this unique, solitary pearl!

The arm oblivious to the weight of both worlds
Peace be upon the power of such an arm!

Two pillars of the Ka'aba of Faith, Religion
Peace be upon the two wrists of Prophethood

Wherever his hand was raised he made others rich
Peace be upon the waves of this Sea of Bounty

Fountains of light do cascade, and rivers flow out
Peace be upon the miracle of the fingers!

The crescent moon of the Eid of Succour glimmered
Peace be upon the good news of the fingernails!

Loftiest blessings on his zikr's majestic glory!
Peace be upon the cleaving of leadership's chest!

Your heart is beyond my ken but I shall say this:
Peace be upon the bud holding secrets of Oneness!

The world's his dominion yet he eats barley bread!
Peace be upon the contentedness of that stomach!

`Twas tightened with the intention of Intercession
Peace be upon the protection of that waist!

Messengers do bend their knees in their presence
Peace be upon the dignity of such knees!

Antiquity: his essence' stem; grace: his palm tree's branch
Peace be upon the candle of the Straight Path!

The Qur'an gave an oath by the dust of thy path!
Peace be upon the reverence of such a foot!

The shadow of mercy of his shadowless stature
Peace be upon that extended, kindly shadow!

He whose turtledoves are the birds of Paradise
Peace be upon his erect height and his stature

The heads of the rulers remain bowed before it
Peace be upon the crown on his towering head!

Dew from Truth's garden: beads of sweat from his face
Peace be upon his pure veracious brilliance!

Fragrant blessings be upon such delicate fragrance!
Peace be upon such lovely, lovely refinement!

© Asif Jehangir Naqshbandi-Jama'ati [May 2004]

---

wa'as-salam

Mas'ud
www.masud.co.uk

Rihla '07 now taking applications

as-salamu 'alaykum,

Applications for the Rihla 2007 are now open, visit the Deen Intensive website for further details.

wa'as-salam

Mas'ud
www.masud.co.uk

Mihrabi Rugs - Three to choose from!

as-salamu 'alaykum,

Over at Mihrabi Prayer rugs there are just three prayer rugs left to choose from all prices include postage and packaging (UK only)!

---

---

ITEM NUMBER: prug_007
DESCRIPTION: Very subtle colours, blues, reds and camel. Mosque and minaret design.
SIZE: 35" x 58"



Price: £120.00

---

ITEM NUMBER: prug_008
DESCRIPTION: Classic "Mecca and Medina" style mihrab.
SIZE: 34.5" x 58"



Price: was £120.00 now £100

---

ITEM NUMBER: prug_001
DESCRIPTION: Barjesta, prayer mat (similar to Turkish kilims), has slight imperfection.
SIZE: 34" x 58"



PRICE: reduced from £60.00 to £50.00

Visit mihrabi.com!

Some comments from our customers:

• "Masha'Allah I am delighted with my rugs; may Allah reward you for supplying them, they are so beautiful. " Umm Suhaib, Cairo.

• "Just wanted to write and say I am very impressed with the quality of the rug. I recieved it very promptly and I love the natural colours! I shall be recommending you to friends and family. Thank you." Tokeer Tufail, Peterborough.

• "The rug is a pleasure to look at. I was amazed by the size. It is more than what I expected. It will take some time to get used to praying on it because it is so rich. I am amazed at the workmanship. It looks like it will last me a lifetime and I hope it will somehow improve my salah as well!" Aisha Barkatullah, Cambridge.

---

wa'as-salam

Mas'ud
www.masud.co.uk

The Amman Message

as-salamu 'alaykum,

From the Amman Message website:

The Amman Message started as a detailed statement released the eve of the 27th of Ramadan 1425 AH / 9th November 2004 CE by H.M. King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein in Amman, Jordan. It sought to declare what Islam is and what it is not, and what actions represent it and what actions do not. Its goal was to clarify to the modern world the true nature of Islam and the nature of true Islam.

In order to give this statement more religious authority, H.M. King Abdullah II then sent the following three questions to 24 of the most senior religious scholars from all around the world representing all the branches and schools of Islam: (1) Who is a Muslim? (2) Is it permissible to declare someone an apostate (takfir)? (3) Who has the right to undertake issuing fatwas (legal rulings)?

Based on the fatwas provided by these great scholars (who included the Shaykh Al-Azhar; Ayatollah Sistani and Sheikh Qaradawi), in July 2005 CE, H.M. King Abdullah II convened an international Islamic conference of 200 of the world's leading Islamic scholars 'Ulama) from 50 countries. In Amman, the scholars unanimously issued a ruling on three fundamental issues (which became known as the 'Three Points of the Amman Message'):

1. They specifically recognized the validity of all 8 Mathhabs (legal schools) of Sunni, Shi'a and Ibadhi Islam; of traditional Islamic Theology (Ash'arism); of Islamic Mysticism (Sufism), and of true Salafi thought, and came to a precise definition of who is a Muslim.
2. Based upon this definition they forbade takfir (declarations of apostasy) between Muslims.
3. Based upon the Mathahib they set forth the subjective and objective preconditions for the issuing of fatwas, thereby exposing ignorant and illegitimate edicts in the name of Islam.

These Three Points were then unanimously adopted by the Islamic World's political and temporal leaderships at the Organization of the Islamic Conference summit at Mecca in December 2005. And over a period of one year from July 2005 to July 2006, the Three Points were also unanimously adopted by six other international Islamic scholarly assemblies, culminating with the International Islamic Fiqh Academy of Jeddah, in July 2006. In total, over 500 leading Muslim scholars worldwide—as can be seen on this website [click here to see the entire list]—unanimously endorsed the Amman Message and its Three Points.

This amounts to a historical, universal and unanimous religious and political consensus (ijma') of the Ummah (nation) of Islam in our day, and a consolidation of traditional, orthodox Islam. The significance of this is: (1) that it is the first time in over a thousand years that the Ummah has formally and specifically come to such a pluralistic mutual inter-recognition; and (2) that such a recognition is religiously legally binding on Muslims since the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) said: My Ummah will not agree upon an error (Ibn Majah, Sunan, Kitab al-Fitan, Hadith no.4085).

This is good news not only for Muslims, for whom it provides a basis for unity and a solution to infighting, but also for non-Muslims. For the safeguarding of the legal methodologies of Islam (the Mathahib) necessarily means inherently preserving traditional Islam's internal 'checks and balances'. It thus assures balanced Islamic solutions for essential issues like human rights; women's rights; freedom of religion; legitimate jihad; good citizenship of Muslims in non-Muslim countries, and just and democratic government. It also exposes the illegitimate opinions of radical fundamentalists and terrorists from the point of view of true Islam. As George Yeo, the Foreign Minister of Singapore, declared in the 60th Session of the U.N. General Assembly (about the Amman Message): "Without this clarification, the war against terrorism would be much harder to fight."

Finally, whilst this by the Grace of God is a historical achievement, it will clearly remain only principial unless it is put into practice everywhere. For this reason, H.M. King Abdullah II is now seeking to implement it, God willing, through various pragmatic measures, including (1) inter-Islamic treaties; (2) national and international legislation using the Three Points of the Amman Message to define Islam and forbid takfir; (3) the use of publishing and the multi-media in all their aspects to spread the Amman Message; (4) instituting the teaching of the Amman Message in school curricula and university courses worldwide; and (5) making it part of the training of mosque Imams and making it included in their sermons.

God says in the Holy Qur'an says:

There is no good in much of their secret conferences save (in) whosoever enjoineth charity and fairness and peace-making among the people and whoso doeth that, seeking the good pleasure of God, We shall bestow on him a vast reward. (Al-Nisa, 4:114).

--------------

Please endorse this message at http://www.ammanmessage.com/

wa'as-salam

Mas'ud
www.masud.co.uk

Fragrances perceived upon the Prophet’s Birthday

Fragrances perceived upon the Prophet’s Birthday
by Fariduddin Attar
done into English by Abdal Hakim Murad

The crown of all the kings is he,
with joyful heart declare!
The lord of all the Prophets he,
his acts beyond compare!

How would he be the Leader of the Poor,
if the slightest of desires had stained his heart?
Poor he remained, because that man’s a Boor,
whose wedding gifts his bride from him do part.

Because he had nothing, he sat on the sand;
Because he was hungry he tied stones to his waist.
Absolute poverty’s proof was in him,
Absolute wealth was his secret within.

The trusted of Prophets,
the proof of the Way;
The king with no seal,
no crown for his sway.

What more can I say?
For thy Qualities’ Array
Past ken of mind and soul,
O’er a hundred worlds hold sway.

If the poet’s reward is the dust on your road,
he receives in each mote a new sun.
He has praised with his soul the dust of your road,
Let him Join it, magnanimous one!

All Prophecy lacked the estate of one Brick,
A gap of greatest sanctity!
Our Prophet said: ‘That precious Gap,
I close for all eternity.’

During his Ascent, heaven’s veil was rent
Because he was God’s intimate for ever.
The very Firmament wished to offer him a Gift,
So God adorned the night with Stars forever.

Paradise is but a single Draught
Sipped from his crystal glass.
From the two M-Letters of his Name
Two worlds have come to pass.

When his religion gave light to the world,
The other rites halted and stayed, as God knows;
For what may become of the myriad Stars
When over the world a new Sunrise glows?

His miracles Astounding cannot rightly be described.
His essence cannot rightly be explained.

http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/FragrancesfromAttar.pdf

Praise of Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace)

Praise of Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace)
Considering the we are in the Blessed Month of Rabi al-Awwal, the month in which our Beloved Prophet Muhammad was born in, I would like to share with you an essay I wrote for the CD sleeve notes on Inayet Petker's CD called "Salutations"

I have modified it slightly for the purposes of my blog:

An essay on praising the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his Noble Names
by Mas'ud Ahmed Khan

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

All Praise is due to Allah, peace and blessing be upon the Chosen One, Muhammad al-Mustafa, upon his pure family and his righteous companions one and all.

Praising the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace)

Allah (ta'ala) says in the Glorious Qur'an (Surah 33:56):

"Surely Allah and His angels bless the Prophet; O you who believe call for (Divine) blessings on him and salute him with a (becoming) salutation."

The very name "Muhammad" means "the one who is praised, often praised" and the name of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is also known as "Ahmad" meaning "the one deserving of praise".

Imam Jalaludin as-Suyuti mentions:

His name is Muhammad and Ahmad; his people are the people of praise (hamd)- and his prayer rite and the prayer rite of his people is opened with praise (hamd). In the Preserved Tablet in God's abode it was written that his Caliphs and his Companions in writing the Sacred Volume, should open it with praise (Surah 1:1). And in his hand on the Resurrection Day will be the banner of praise. And when he then prostrates himself before God in intercession in our behalf and it is accepted he will praise the Lord with a new song that shall then be revealed to him, for his is the Heavenly Station of Praise (al-maqam al-mahmud, Surah 17:79)-and when he rises up in that Station all the assembly shall praise him, Muslims and misbelievers alike, the first and the last, and all meanings and modes of thankful praise shall be gathered up and offered to him. [quoted from And Muhammad is His Messenger by Annemarie Schimmel p. 107]

There are those naysayers that may object on the grounds that too much praising will lapse Muslims into the major sin of shirk, to this Imam al-Busiri in his amazing Qasidah al-Burdah says:

Leave what the Christians have said about their Prophet!
And then affirm what you will in praise, and do so with excellence.

It is clear that sending praise, blessings and salutations on the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is a general obligation on each and every Muslim as mentioned by Qadi Iyad in the Shifa, and if we keep Imam al-Busiri's principle in mind then there is no danger of falling into the trap that the Christians have fallen into with Sayyidina Isa (AS).

Unfortunately, we live in an age where very few Muslims actually know their Prophet. He is the fountainhead of our guidance and the light by which we tread the straight path, and yet Muslims in general and Muslim children in particular, know more about their favourite pop star, footballer or film actor and our Prophet is as a stranger to them. How can this be? Why have we forgotten the one whom Allah has commanded us to send salutations and blessings upon? Again it comes down to the age in which we live; no more are there special chairs in our masajid where the Sirah or the Shifa' of Qadi Iyad or the Shama'il of Tirmidhi are read in perpetuity to the faithful as was once the practice throughout the Muslim world. The Mawlid-celebrations of the birth and life of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace)-are frowned upon by certain sections of the community. Our mosques are ill equipped to teach our children anything besides the reading of the Holy Qur'an and the very basics of the faith, which, while important, are insufficient to the long term spiritual and religious development of our community and especially our children who are our future. We have to look at ways in which we can help to nurture the love and familiarity that are missing. From hadith literature we know how important it is to love the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace): Bukhari and Muslim report- "None of you believes until he loves me more than he loves his children, his parents, and all people." In another hadith in Bukhari the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "None of you believes until he loves me more than he loves himself."


The Names of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace)

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) has many names and titles. Although it is common to list 99 of the most well known names and titles that people should be familiar with, the Holy Qur'an actually lists 77 explicitly and 121 in total if you include verbs. Hadith and other ancient literature take the count of names to 333. But the count doesn't stop here since names and titles that are appropriate and do not go against the blessed and sacred person of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) can also apply. Imam al-Jazuli's Da'ail al-Khayrat, for example, contains another 84 and Shaykh Barkat Ali Ludhianvi (RA) in his 5 volume masterpiece Asma al-Nabi al-Karim lists over 1400.

Names, titles and descriptions serve the outward purpose of familiarising and knowing the thing named and since Islam has never been a religion of iconic images, Muslims have by and large preserved the physical description and characteristics of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) in written form and in such detail that an artist could probably come up with a close approximation of him (Allah bless him and grant him peace) if it wasn't forbidden (in Shariah) to do so. Inwardly, however, the names and titles serve a different purpose. Countless powers of healing (shifa), benefit (faiz) and blessings (barakah) are associated with some of the names when contained in salawat or salutations. It is well know that if one forgets or looses something then reciting a specific salawat aids the memory, enabling the reciter to recall the thing forgotten or misplaced. Other salutations can bring about peace and tranquillity to a troubled heart and have curative properties as well. Therefore, we should try and acquaint ourselves with the names and titles of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the various salawat in the hope that maybe a small portion of the love and familiarity can settle in our hearts too.

Hassan ibn Thabit, the Poet of the Prophet in one of his poems - as quoted by Qadi Iyad in his seminal al-Shifa - shows the direct relationship that exists between the Divine Names and the Names of the Prophet. For example, he shows the relationship between the Divine attribute mahmud and the name Muhammad:

[God] derived for him, in order to honour him, part of His name - Thus the Lord of the Throne is called mahmud, and this one muhammad

[quoted in And Muhammad is His Messenger by Annmarie Schimmel p. 106]

Further evidence to suggest the relationship between The Divine Names and the Prophetic Names is the fact that the Shahada is incomplete without the testification "Muhammadan Rasul Allah" and that Allah has followed His Name with that of His beloved so that faith is incomplete without either component and it is worthy to note that wherever the Divine name is mentioned so to is the name of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), since it is the Prophet that is our link to the Divine.

So what can we do to bring the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) back in to our lives and into our hearts and minds? How can we get to the stage of the Sahabah who said "we hear and obey" and for whom the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was dearer to them than the world and all that it contained included their own selves?

In recent years there has been a trend to use songs and melody to educate and inform Muslims about their Prophet and these have been quite successful, alhamdulillah. Modern times are replete with music and singing. We are bombarded by it everywhere we go and 90% of the music that we are exposed to is highly questionable in form and content - often abhorrent to any decent mind let alone the Muslim one. An alternative is thus needed for a Muslim audience, particularly those in the west.

Mihrabi Handmade Prayer Rugs now open!

as-salamu 'alaykum,


I am pleased to announce that Mihrabi Prayer Rugs now has a small selection of handmade prayer rugs for sale.

wa'as-salam
Mas'ud
www.masud.co.uk

Do you know anyone who fought in WWII?

as-salamu 'alaykum,

Lion TV wants to speak to Muslim World War 2 veterans who served under the British/Indian Army for a television documentary.

We are keen to broadcast personal testimonies of these often forgotten fighters who were essential in fighting the Axis Powers and winning the war.

If you or any of your friends or family served during this time or you served with Muslim soldiers, please contact Tom Williams on 0208 846 2068 or tom.williams@liontv.co.uk



wa'as-salam

Mas'ud
www.masud.co.uk

EXCLUSIVE! al-Shama'il al-Muhammadiyya of al-Tirmidhi

FORTHCOMING BOOK:
The Shama'il al-Muhammadiyya of Tirmidhi translated by one of the world's premier translators, Muhtar Holland published by Fons Vitae with notes and commentary by Shaykh Mohsen al-Najjar. The book is due out in October 2007 insha'Allah.

masud.co.uk has an exclusive excerpt of Chapter One [PDF] : What has come to us concerning the physical constitution [khalq] of Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace):

“Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) was neither very tall of stature, nor short. His skin was neither pale white, nor tawny, and his hair was neither crisply curled, nor lank. Allah(Exalted is He) sent him [to serve as His Messenger] at the end of forty years of life, so he stayed in Mecca for ten years and in Medina for ten years, and Allah took him unto Himself at the end of sixty years, with fewer than twenty white hairs on his head and his beard.”

[read more]

wa'as-salam

Mas'ud
www.masud.co.uk