themusingmuslim

[themusingmuslim]

إِنَّ يَدَ اللهِ عَلَى الْجَمَاعَةِ

“...the Hand of Allah is over the united community...”

— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

(Sunan al-Nasā’ī 4020; Narrator: Arfajah ibn Shurayh)

[themusingmuslim]

وَالۡعٰدِیٰتِ ضَبۡحًا

By the snorting, panting horses

فَالۡمُوۡرِیٰتِ قَدۡحًا

Striking sparks of fire with their hooves

فَالۡمُغِیۡرٰتِ صُبۡحًا

As they gallop to make raids at dawn

فَاَثَرۡنَ بِہٖ نَقۡعًا

Raising clouds of dust

فَوَسَطۡنَ بِہٖ جَمۡعًا

Storming into the center collectively

اِنَّ الۡاِنۡسَانَ لِرَبِّہٖ لَکَنُوۡدٌ

Indeed the human being is ungrateful to his Lord,

وَاِنَّہٗ عَلٰی ذٰلِکَ لَشَہِیۡدٌ

And indeed, he is to that a witness

وَاِنَّہٗ لِحُبِّ الۡخَیۡرِ لَشَدِیۡدٌ

And violent is he in his love of wealth

اَفَلَا یَعۡلَمُ اِذَا بُعۡثِرَ مَا فِی الۡقُبُوۡرِ

But does he not know that when what is in the graves is scattered

وَحُصِّلَ مَا فِی الصُّدُوۡرِ

and the hearts' contents are retrieved

اِنَّ رَبَّہُمۡ بِہِمۡ یَوۡمَئِذٍ لَّخَبِیۡرٌ

their Lord will be fully aware of them all?

— (Qur'ān, 100:1-11)

[themusingmuslim]

Three different traditions, three different contexts, and three different meanings. The hag-gêr/gerim in the first, the xenos in the second, the garīb in the third probably refer to three different ideas of ‘stranger’.

And yet somehow, to me, they all refer to some form of estrangement. The first one is about remembering one's own estrangement so that one may embrace someone else in theirs, the second one is a recollection of being embraced in one's estrangement, and the last one, surprisingly enough, is about eventually embracing one's own estrangement, becoming it.

Loving one's neighbor is obviously a fundamental teaching in each of these three traditions. Everybody knows that. But you know what? I think I'm discovering that so is loving the stranger.

I am reminded of the famous narration from the Prophet ﷺ — “Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange, so glad tidings to the strangers.’”

[themusingmuslim]

"Smiling in the face of your brother is your charity..."

"Enjoining good and forbidding evil is charity..."

"Guiding a lost man through the land is your charity..."

"Lending your eyesight to a man who cannot see well is your charity..."

"Removing rocks, thorns, and bones from the road is your charity..."

"Pouring your leftovers into the vessel of your brother is your charity..."

"Charity is due upon every joint of the people for every day upon which the sun rises..."

"Justly reconciling two people is charity..."

"Helping a man with his animal and lifting his luggage upon it is charity..."

"A kind word is charity..."

— from the selected sayings of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (Tirmidhi, Bukhari, Muslim)

[themusingmuslim]

A Poem for the Prophet — a poem by Arctikos.

This poem is based on the nurturing quality of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ when it came to his ummah (the worldwide community of believers across time and space)

For more of Arctikos' poetry, follow him on Instagram here.

[themusingmuslim]

#islam #quotes #verse #muslim #quran #islam quotes

[themusingmuslim]

[themusingmuslim]

Mahomets Gesang is a German poem celebrating the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ written by the 18th century poet Goethe, one of the greatest German literary figures.

Goethe is particularly known for his acquaintance with Islamic works, especially the Quran, reading which boosted his interest in the Prophet ﷺ. He was also inspired by the Persian poet Hafez.

Goethe read the Quran several times and even wrote some surahs in Arabic. He collected these review essays under the name “Koran-Auszüge" (“Summary of the Quran”). This text, which appears to have studied at least two-thirds of the Quran, is currently in the Goethe Museum in Düsseldorf.

Mahomets Gesang starts with “See the rocky spring/Clear as joy” in reference to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The poem symbolizes the Prophet as a river of joy which takes its source from eternity.

Source | Full Poem in German and English

[themusingmuslim]

In the transactional sense, giving is an endeavour in loss. In the Islamic idea of giving, however, what we give away in charity is the only thing that remains with us.

What we share with others is what we truly benefit from, and what we put forth for others, is what we truly earn for our afterlife.

“Charity does not decrease wealth,” Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said.

In another narration, Aisha (ra) reported that they slaughtered a sheep and gave in charity from it. When they were done distributing the meat, the Prophet ﷺ asked her what remained of it.

“Nothing remains but its shoulder,” she replied.

The Prophet said, “All of it endures but its shoulder.”

The Prophet was indicating that what we consume for ourselves is consumed by us, but what we give away for the sake of God and for the sake of our fellow human beings is what really endures in the world and in the Hereafter, staying with us eternally.

[themusingmuslim]

— from The Way of Sufi Chivalry

[themusingmuslim]

Resolutions for 2024:

1. To never lose sight of the fact throughout the year that I'm as fallible as the people I will resent, and therefore I must try to forgive just as I'd like to be forgiven

2. To remember every day of the year that, in the larger scheme of things, winning arguments is less important than winning people over through love

3. To live by the Prophetic wisdom, “Speak good or be silent” and to always be aware of the harms of gossip and vain talk

4. To remember for the next 366 days that among the most important things in life is to be of service to those around you, those close to you and those you don't know

5. To work on my patience levels and try to transcend pettiness in everyday life and to cultivate vastness of the heart and bear with people's imperfections with grace

What do you have in mind for your year? I'm more interested in hearing about resolutions for “inner work” because we all need more of it, always.

#new year resolutions

[themusingmuslim]

Japanese Translation of Sura al-Ikhlas written in traditional Japanese calligraphy, 2.

Designed by Naoki Yamamoto

[themusingmuslim]

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”

— Jesus (peace be upon him), as quoted in Matthew 5:5

“And the end is (best) for the righteous”

— Qur'ān 7:128

#palestine #gaza 🇵🇸

[themusingmuslim]

Palestinian lady collects gas bombs fired by Israeli army. She grows flowers in these bombs.

[themusingmuslim]

Rachel Corrie was a 23-year-old American peace activist from Olympia, Washington, who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer on 16 March 2003, while undertaking nonviolent direct action to protect the home of a Palestinian family from demolition in Gaza.

I should at least mention that I am also discovering a degree of strength and of basic ability for humans to remain human in the direst of circumstances – which I also haven’t seen before. I think the word is dignity. I wish you could meet these people. Maybe, hopefully, someday you will.

— Rachel Corrie, in an email to her mother, February 28 2003

Remember her fortitude.

[themusingmuslim]

[themusingmuslim]

A Poem for the Prophet — a poem by Arctikos.

This poem is based on the nurturing quality of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ when it came to his ummah (the worldwide community of believers across time and space)

For more of Arctikos' poetry, follow him on Instagram here.