The Long Road Ahead

 “Say: O Allah, Lord of power! You give power to whom You please, and You remove from power whom You please.You give honour to whom You please and You disgrace whom You please. In Your hand is all Good. Indeed, over all things You have power.”

(Qur’an: Translation of the meaning, 3:26)

Today I was stood in prayer and this ayah came into my brain and permeated my thoughts and made me contemplate on the embodied message for much of the afternoon and corresponding evening.

The reason being subhanAllah, that this past week, has embodied the message of these great Ayaat.

As per the past post, this past week we were given some serious VIP treatment by Ain Shams University. The reason being our skills were recognised for their scarcity in this country and the Department of Health experience we have, was seen as something of a novelty. As we walked the corridors of this institution, we were showered with Salawaat and a given privileged access to see what we wished and speak to whom we wished. This was quite bizarre, but was something of considerable honour. A weird feeling and something which led to us feeling quite good about ourselves, and allowed us to realise how two chaps from the Bronx of Bradford could come a long way from home and be awarded a respect, that some would question its need, and thus realise why it is the Most Merciful gives honour to whom he pleases. However, within just a few days we also came to realise the other part of the ayat. As we had our first exam. Yes, Shaikh Majdi, gave us our first exam since we started our course, three weeks ago.

Now this was something truly humbling. As I flicked through the pages of the exam paper and wiped the sweat from my brow and sought to control the eyrie feeling running up and down my spine, I realised just how small we really are and thus how perceptions of us can change. Now I assure you, even though our exams did not go as expected, ‘disgrace’ did not come upon us, however the fall from grace was there and very evident. We sat in our classroom, completed the paper as best we could and walked home as usual and contemplated just how different the experience had been from our previous few days. From being seen as two experts from the UK, within days we were suddenly two very humble students. From being able to lecture medical students, we were without warning two B grade students in Swisseri A (Cairo). Now even though we did quite well, the point I am seeking to make is that, through the process we were just another two random people striving hard to pull marks in an exam, and going through the normal exam emotions.

Therefore we sign out once again and call upon you to contemplate any highs you have and any lows and just remember that they are from Allah. We should celebrate any emotional stimulation with the Hamd of Allah. As a wise man once said,

“ I didn’t build my own self. So I have no right to be arrogant ”

Wasalamo’Alaykum,

Taqabal Allah Minna Wa Minkum.

Eid Mubarak!

And the Friday Cometh…

…Ahlain Ya Awal Dhull Hijja

O you whose hard heart is as dark as the night, is it not time that your heart was filled with light and became soft? Expose yourself to the gentle breeze of your Lord’s mercy during these ten days, for Allaah will cause this breeze to touch whomever He wills, and whoever is touched by it will be happy on the Day of Judgement.

Among the special seasons of worship are the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah, which Allaah has preferred over all the other days of the year. Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allaah than these ten days.” The people asked, “Not even jihaad for the sake of Allaah?” He said, “Not even jihaad for the sake of Allaah, except in the case of a man who went out to fight giving himself and his wealth up for the cause, and came back with nothing.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 2/457).

Among the good deeds which the Muslim should strive to do during the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah are:

Fasting.

It is Sunnah to fast on the ninth day of Dhu’l-Hijjah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) urged us to do good deeds during this time, and fasting is one of the best of deeds. Allaah has chosen fasting for Himself, as is stated in the hadeeth qudsi: “Allaah says: ‘All the deeds of the son of Adam are for him, except for fasting, which is for Me and I am the One Who will reward him for it.’”  (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 1805).The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to fast on the ninth of Dhu’l-Hijjah. Hunaydah ibn Khaalid reported from his wife that some of the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to fast on the ninth of Dhu’l-Hijjah, on the day of ‘Aashooraa’, on three days of each month, and on the first two Mondays and Thursdays of each month.” (Reported by al-Nisaa’i, 4/205 and by Abu Dawud; classified by al-Albaani as saheeh in Saheeh Abi Dawud, 2/462).

Takbeer. 

It is Sunnah to say Takbeer (“Allaahu akbar“), Tahmeed (“Al-hamdu Lillaah“), Tahleel (“La ilaha ill-Allaah“) and Tasbeeh (“Subhaan Allaah“) during the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah, and to say it loudly in the mosque, the home, the street and every place where it is permitted to remember Allaah and mention His name out loud, as an act of worship and as a proclamation of the greatness of Allaah, may He be exalted. Men should recite these phrases out loud, and women should recite them quietly. Sacrifice.

One of the good deeds that will bring a person closer to Allaah during these ten days is offering a sacrifice, by choosing a high-quality animal and fattening it, spending money for the sake of Allaah.

Sincere Repentance.

One of the most important things to do during these ten days is to repent sincerely to Allaah and to give up all kinds of disobedience and sin. Repentance means coming back to Allaah and foregoing all the deeds, open and secret, that He dislikes, out of regret for what has passed, giving it up immediately and being determined never to return to it, but to adhere firmly to the Truth by doing what Allaah loves.

Pursuit of Hasanat.

Adapted from: www.islamqa.com

What a Wonderful Day…

Alhamdulillah things are going well two weeks into our trip and we are making slow and steady progress inshAllah. We have a great teacher, Ustaadh Majdi, and he is helping us move slowly on the long road ahead of the luggah, and it is becoming a ‘Wonderful’ journey.

Now I am using the word ‘wonderful’ because a dear contact today used it, and it was absolutely ages since we heard this word. Going on to his blog, it became apparent how and why he had so casually used this word. Being a thinker I gather, he takes the time to contemplate the world around him, and thus it is clear why one such as himself, may be intimate with the word.

Allah has created the world in a way which is truly ‘wonderful’. To stop and contemplate this is a wonderful experience. As I sit writing this, I am sat on a wonderfully carved piece of wooden furniture with a wonderful Islamic design. I cast an eye to my right and through a wonderfully position serving hatch in this wonderful apartment, Allah Azza’Wajal has blessed me with, I can see a wonderful companion preparing what smells like a wonderful meal, Alhamdulillah. Furthermore as my fingers glide across the wonderful matrix of steel and black plastic that this laptop is carved from, I can say its truly wonderful that Ar Rahman has bestowed his wonderful mercy on us and granted us this wonderful ADSL internet connection which allows us to be a few clicks away from our families, friends, contacts and you guys – that is if your none of the above.

Wonderful is something that if you truly contemplate your world you will use innumerably, and will inevitably cause you to make the hamd of Allah. Wonderful are your surroundings, wonderful are your abilities, wonderful are your companions and wonderful are the opportunities you have. The reason ‘wonderful’ transcends any individual trials you have, be you in the sacred lands of Palestine, the barren lands of Darfur or the urban jungles of any European city, is that, this is what was ordained for you. And what is wonderful about that, is he who knows what is best for you, ordained it for you.

Bi’ithnillah I draw an end to this post and its testimony to the word wonderful. I pray you have a wonderful day, I pray Abu Abdul Wahab and Abu Abdur Rahman hear the wonderful news their Hajj visas have been granted, and I pray Akh Muhammad has a wonderful journey as he departs on his Hajj today.

Therefore this post is dedicated to Bobby, AKA Abu GG.

From Heathrow to Helliolopolis….

This week we had the pleasure to run into a brother from London, Br. Dawood. The brother has a nice story, which we thought we should share…

Dawood is a Hindu revert. He was working at Heathrow airport two years ago, accepted Islam and set about a journey to learn about the deen he had accepted; Al Islam. In order to do this after learning the basics of his faith in London, he came to Cairo and settled here and within 8 months he has decided he does not want to go back to the UK.

He now speaks good Arabic, is learning the religion and InshAllah is soon to marry an Egyptian women and start life here as an estate agent and ebay power-seller. MashAllah the brother is very motivated and has a genuine love for this land because of the Muslims that live here and his ability to spread the salaam.

For those who have reverted to Al Islam, why not follow Dawood on his journey, those of us who have grown up with this bounty, why not ask why you shy away from the motherlands? And those of you who have not accepted Islam, May Allah guide you to it and the world’s greatest fraternity….

The Journey Continues..

…Azim & Tehseen

Egypt is a strange country, fusing a history of idolatry with a rich pedigree of Islamic knowledge, hijaab with nakedness, and Masaajid with McDonalds. However within this matrix of contradictions, By Allah, you can find some beautiful gems, which are amazing and keep you going, and refresh your faith and give you the Red Bull you sometimes need.

Last week, as we were walking upon Abas Al Aqad (central Nasr City, Cairo) Tehseen and I, found one of these gems. His name, Allah knows best, but to us, as it made us say, ‘Ya Salam’, we call him ‘Abd Salaam’. He was a 61 year old, British Bengali from Ilford. He has spent the last 11 months living in a very, very basic apartment in Cairo, learning Arabic, seeking the pleasure of Allah and achieving his goal; to understand Al Quran and acquire the knowledge of the language of Al Jannah. His face had an amazing glow, his voice a bizzare excitment and an all humbling manner.

We asked him how his experience had been, he said;

” Alhamdulillah”

and then went about trying to explain to us someuseful lessons, navigating through a combination of Arabic, English and Urdu. When we asked him, why he had come out, he said something which genuinely shook us, and gave us a great inspiration in a day, where exhaustion was close to overcoming us;

” I thought now I have the time, what am I gonna do, spend the rest of my time watching TV? No, I am going to learn the language of the Quran”

We then parted company, and Mr Khan and Myself left and made dua for this great brother, and we say, Taqabal Allah. May Allah accept from him. We genuinely hope his example turns others hearts too and others are inspired to strive, make some effort for their religion and learn the language of Al Islam…

Asalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatu

Alhamdulillah we arrived in cairo safely, although we had a few problems and consequently learnt some valuable lessons for you all;

Question 1: Why have you got a beard; sisters should be okay lol?

Answer: Cos ma dad said!

Question 2: What books do you read?

Answer: None, dont read books!

Question 3: Do you listen to music? 

Answer: No

Question 4: What do you watch on TV?

Answer: Erm Simpsons and Football and Cricket(like anyother Baki)  

Question 5: Whats your opinion on the one who shaves his beard?

Answer: Thats his own business..

The above is just a few questions that could be asked, keep to these answers and after 3 hours you will get a: WELCOME TO EGYPT!

Try your own answers and be prepred to come home early, oh and dont get scared from the black room with only a glimmer of light and a FAT man smoking Cigars…