I Envy

I envy the sand that met his feet
I’m jealous of honey he tasted sweet
Of birds that hovered above his head
Of spiders who spun their sacred web
To save him from his enemies
I envy clouds formed from the seas
That gave him cover from the heat
Of a sun whose light could not compete
With his, whose face did shine so bright
That all was clear in blinding night
I envy sightless trees that gazed
Upon his form completely dazed
Not knowing if the sun had risen
But felt themselves in unison
With those who prayed, and fasted too
Simply because he told them to
With truth and kindness, charity
From God who gave such clarity
His mercy comes in one He sent
To mold our hearts more heaven bent
I envy all there at his side
Who watched the turning of the tide
As truth prevailed and falsehood fled
And hope restored life to the dead
Men and Women through him found grace
To seek together God’s noble face
I envy the cup that gave him drink
His thoughts that helped us all to think
To be one thought that passed his mind
Inspiring him to act so kind
For me this world is not one jot
If I could simply be a thought
From him to God throughout the ages
As revelation came in stages
I pity all who think it odd
To hear him say there is one God
Or he was sent by God to men
To hone their spirits’ acumen
It’s pride that blinds us from the sight
That helps good men to see his light
He taught us all to be God’s slaves
And he will be the one who saves
Humanity from sinful pride
Muhammad has God on his side
So on this day be blessed and sing
For he was born to grace our Spring
With lilies, flowers, life’s rebirth
In a dome of green like his on earth
... In Honour of the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw),

Shaykh Hamzah Yusuf Hanson

I am here

Each moment contains
a hundred messages from
God: To every cry of
"Oh Lord," He answers
a hundred times,
"I am here"

... Mevlana Rumi

Leave Sleep for Prayer

"And during part of the night forsake sleep by prayer, beyond what is already incumbent upon thee; maybe thy Lord will raise thee to a position of praise and glory" ... al-Isra' 17:79

Forgiveness

On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: Allah the Almighty said:

'O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it.'

It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal). Its chain of authorities is sound.

A speech at the UN Assembly

An ingenious example of speech and politics occurred recently in the United Nations Assembly and made the world community smile. A representative from Palestinian began:'
Before beginning my talk I want to tell you something about Moses. When he struck the rock and it brought forth water, he thought, 'What a good opportunity to have a bath! 'He removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and entered the water. When he got out and wanted to dress, his clothes had vanished. An Israeli had stolen them.'
The Israeli representative jumped up furiously and shouted,
'What are you talking about? The Israeli weren't there then.
'The Palestinian representative smiled and said
'And now that we have made that clear, I will begin myspeech.'

Dont miss this chance!

The opportunity of Laylatul Qadr is here Inshallah. Life is about people that take advantage of their opportunities to win the love of Allah, and this is indeed one of those chances.
Abu Dah Daah was one of those who found an opportunity and won that which is greater than the heavens and the earth. An adult companion of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) cultivated his garden next to the property of an orphan. The orphan claimed that a specific palm tree was on his property and thus belonged to him. The companion rejected the claim and off to the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) went the orphan boy to complain. With his justness, the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) measured the two gardens and found that the palm tree did indeed belong to the companion. The orphan erupted crying. Seeing this, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) offered the companion, 'would you give him the palm tree and to you is a palm tree in Jannah?' However, the companion in his disbelief that an orphan would complain to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) missed the opportunity and went away angry. But someone else saw the opportunity, Abu Dah Daah (may Allah be pleased with him) . He went to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and asked, 'Ya Rasul Allah, if I buy the tree from him and give it to the orphan shall I have that tree in Jannah?' The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) replied, 'Yes.' Abu Dah Daah chased after the companion and asked, 'Would you sell that tree to me for my entire garden?' The companion answered, 'Take it for there is no good in a tree that I was complained to the Prophet about.' Immediately, Abu Dah Daah went home and found his wife and children playing in the garden. 'Leave the garden!' shouted Abu Dah Daah, 'we've sold it to Allah! We've sold it to Allah!' Some of his children had dates in their hand and he snatched the dates from them and threw them back into the garden. 'We've sold it to Allah!' When Abu Dah Daah was later martyred in the battle of Uhud, Rasul Allah (Peace be upon him) stood over his slain body and remarked, 'How many shady palm trees does Abu Dah Daah now have in paradise?' What did Abu Dah Daah lose? Dates? Bushes? Dirt? What did he gain? He gained a Jannah whose expanse is the heavens and the earth. Abu Dah Daah did not miss his opportunity, and I pray to Allah that we do not miss our opportunity of standing to Allah on Laylatul Qadr.