I Am Superman - Ramadan 2011 Kindness Contest Theme Song

The Prophet said, "Nothing ascends to Allah except good."

Allah's Apostle said, "If somebody gives in charity something equal to a date from his honestly earned money ----for nothing ascends to Allah except good---- then Allah will take it in His Right (Hand) and bring it up for its owner as anyone of you brings up a baby horse, till it becomes like a mountain." Abu Huraira said: The Prophet. said, "Nothing ascends to Allah except good." 

(Bukhari :: Book 9 :: Volume 93 :: Hadith 525)

"I have been all things unholy. 

If God can work through me, he can work through anyone."

~ St. Francis of Assisi 

The Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace;

that where there is hatred, I may bring love;

that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;

that where there is discord, I may bring harmony;

that where there is error, I may bring truth;

that where there is doubt, I may bring faith;

that where there is despair, I may bring hope;

that where there are shadows, I may bring light;

that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted;

to understand, than to be understood;

to love, than to be loved.

For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.

It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.

Amen.

(found in  AA 12 Steps and 12 Traditions)

Zikr and Chechen women making zikr...

Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance (zikr) of Allah: 

for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.

(Quran 13:28)

Men who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, 

and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, 

(With the thought): "Our Lord! not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! 

Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire.

                             (Quran 3:191)

But those will prosper who purify themselves,And glorify the Name of their Guardian-Lord, 

and (lift their hearts) in prayer.

(Quran 87:14-15)

Feed the World

There but for the Grace of The Beloved go you and I.

“There is no Them. There are only facets of Us.” 

John Green

Bread for the World Institute

You can make the difference!

Clean Water --- In Honor of Rachel Beckwith

Rachel Beckwith's Mom Visits Ethiopia. from charity: water on Vimeo.

What Is Ramadan? An Explanation by Yusuf Islam

Ramadan Information from About.com
Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens)

image from Top Beautiful Islamic Wallpapers

Ramadan for Kids

Best Ramadan Crafts for Kids

My Ramadan Daily Journal

Ramadan Coloring Pages

More Ramadan Coloring Pages

Crayola's Ramadan Coloring Pages

Islamic Word Scramble

Ramadan Word Search Puzzle

Ramadan at Primary Games

Ramadan: Daily Lessons

5 Ramadan Books For Your Early Reader

Ramadan Books for Children

Popular Ramadan Books For Kids

I Can Only Imagine (Ramadan Re-mix)

MC Yogi - Give Love

Women As Imams

...Antonia Toni's Call to Prayer...

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...Women Imams in China...

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...Women Imams in Morocco...

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...Brother Shabir on women leading prayer...

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...Hamza Yusuf says women can lead the prayer...

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...Amina Wadud on gender equality in Islam...

Ibn Arabi's Twofold Perception of Woman

Woman as Human Being and Cosmic Principle

Dr. Ibrahim Farajaje

One of my heroes. This is the merciful way. This is the way of Love.




photo from Flickr
Dr. Ibrahim Abdurrahman Farajaje, provost and Professor of Cultural Studies and Islamic Studies at Starr King University.

Books, Papers, Publications and Films
Teaching for Peace in a Time of Impending War
Oceans of Mercy: African American Sufi Muslims in the San Francisco Bay Area (documentary)
Lighting a Fire in Paradise, Pouring Water in Hell (audio of the speech)




Faculty Summit Lecture - Ibrahim Farajaje from Starr King Acad Affairs on Vimeo.

My People Are Rising by Mohja Kahf

El-Farouk Khaki interview

Salaam Canada

Ya Dhat! Ya Sifat!

There is the essence of God and there are the attributes of God. 

 The essence is impossible for us to understand. 

 We can begin to understand the attributes.

 In fact, part of a Sufi education is to understand those attributes in yourself.

 God has said, "My servants will find Me as they see Me." 

 This does not mean if you think of God as a tree or as a mountain 

that God will be that tree or mountain. 

 If you think of God as merciful, or loving, or as angry or vengeful, 

 that is how you will find God. 

 ~ Sheikh Muzaffer


<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3


Everything will perish, save the Face of God.
--Quran 28:88

<3 ::: <3 ::: <3 ::: <3 ::: <3 ::: <3 ::: <3 ::: <3 ::: <3 ::: <3 ::: <3

The Seven Name Prayer

by Meher Baba

Hari, Paramatma,

Allah, Ahuramazda,

God, Yezdan, Hu

Say: "Call out to Allah or by the name of Ar-Rahman (The All-Compassionate).
It is all the same because to all the Most Beautiful Names belong to HaShem.
When you pray to The One Who Goes By Many Names,
pray neither too softly or too loudly.
The moderate way is best so seek a way in between."
(Surah al-Isra 17:110)

Sheikh Kabir Helminski of the Mevlevi Order discusses zikr

The Threshold Society: Mevlevi Order of America
One Through Love

And remember your Protector and Sustainer,
O beloved Muhammad,humbly and with awe.
Use then a gentle voice, the words carried softly on your breath,
to praise Me in the morning and evening.
And do not be negligent in your remembrance.

--Quran al-A'raf 7:205--

Love Poem by Irving Karchmar

Love Poem

Gladly then did the world arise
By that one mighty word of power… Love!
From any other word quite apart
It rejoices in the willing heart
And binds the planets to their skies
And shines in You the brighter to my eyes

Night, come bring the dippers and Orion’s belt
To gird the firmament and bind us to His boundless will
That my heart, which has never felt such sentiment
May feel it then the deeper still

Give it not to chance then, nor say instead ’twas fate
That we have met in time who might have met too late
In the understanding of two hearts that may for earlier years amend
As our time flows like a river, unfelt til journeys end

– Irving Karchmar, 1986

Master of the Jinn, a novel by Irving Karchmar. 
Irving is a Sufi from the Nimatullahi Sufi Order
 His blog is Darvish.  

The Gayatri Mantra

The Gayatri Mantra is a prayerful Sanskrit chanting of a verse from the Holy Vedas, one of the Sacred Texts revealed to the people of India in ancient times.

Here is the Prayer in Sanskrit

ॐ भूर्भुवः॒ स्वः ।

तत्स॑वितुर्वरे॑ण्यं ।

भ॒र्गो॑ दे॒वस्य॑ धीमहि। ।

धियो॒ यो नः॑ प्रचो॒दया॑त्॥ ।

and now a transliteration:

Oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ
tát savitúr váreṇ(i)yaṃ
bhárgo devásya dhīmahi
dhíyo yó naḥ pracodáyāt




In the Gayatri Mantra, the seekers ask the Creator of the Universe to enlighten us, to guide our intellects toward wisdom and the ability to behold a deep understanding of Truth.

One of the more literal translations would be:

May we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the god:
So may he stimulate our prayers.
---The Hymns of the Rigveda


Among the many beautiful interpretations:

O Creator of the Universe! 
We meditate upon Thy Supreme Splendor. 
May Thy Radiant Power illuminate our intellects,
destroy our sins and guide us in the right direction! 

O Divine Mother,
Our hearts are filled with darkness.
Please make this darkness distant from us
and promote illumination within us.

May the Supreme Light
that illuminates the three worlds,
illumine our intellect also, fully,
and direct the rays of our intelligence
to the path of virtue 

We meditate on the Divine Light
of that adorable Sun of Spiritual Consciousness.
may it illumine our intellect just as the
splendorous sunlight dispells our darkness. 

Earth, sky, heaven.
Let us meditate on these
and on the most excellent
Light of that adorable Sun.
We pray that they may
guide our intellect.

Wikipedia includes some of the following interpretations:


Let us adore the supremacy of that divine sun, the god-head who illuminates all, who recreates all, from whom all proceed, to whom all must return, whom we invoke to direct our understandings aright in our progress toward his holy seat.
(Sir William Jones)


Unveil, O Thou who givest sustenance to the Universe, from whom all proceed, to whom all must return, that face of the True Sun now hidden by a vase of golden light, that we may see the truth and do our whole duty on our journey to thy sacred seat.
(William Quan Judge)


We meditate on the worshipable power and glory of Him who has created the earth, 
the nether world and the heavens (i.e. the universe), and who directs our understanding. (Sivanath Sastri)


We meditate on the glory of that Being 
who has produced this universe; 
may He enlighten our minds.
(Swami Vivekananda)

We meditate on the effulgent glory of the Divine Light; 
may he inspire our understanding.
(S. Radhakrishnan)








O Lord, you are the Almighty, the Omniscient, the Omnipresent one. You are imperceptible, exists beyond the peripheries of mind; but present in earth, in cosmos, in all the galaxies. You are all pervasive. Your luminosity sustains the life of all the living beings on this earth. You are the source of light. O my Lord, bless us, so that our intellect may get illuminated.


From Wahiduddin.net , several other translations are found:


We meditate on the glory of the Creator;
Who has created the Universe;
Who is worthy of Worship;
Who is the embodiment of Knowledge and Light;
Who is the remover of all Sin and Ignorance;
May He enlighten our Intellect.
(Swami Shivananda)

We meditate upon the radiant Divine Light
of that adorable Sun of Spiritual Consciousness;
May it awaken our intuitional consciousness.
(S. Krishnamurthy)

Where Is the Love by Black Eyed Peas

What's wrong with the world, mama
People livin' like they ain't got no mamas
I think the whole world addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma

Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK

But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah

Madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate

Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love, the love, the love

It just ain't the same, always unchanged
New days are strange, is the world insane
If love and peace are so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong

Nations droppin' bombs
Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones
With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young
So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone

So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong
In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin' in
Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother
A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover

The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love
Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the love, y'all

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)?
Where is the love (The love)?
Where is the love, the love, the love?

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder
Most of us only care about money makin'
Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction

Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema

Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality
Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading us away from unity

That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down
There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under
Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found
Now ask yourself

Where is the love?
Where is the love?
Where is the love?
Where is the love?

Father, Father, Father, help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love?

Sing with me y'all:
One world, one world (We only got)
One world, one world (That's all we got)
One world, one world
And something's wrong with it (Yeah)
Something's wrong with it (Yeah)
Something's wrong with the wo-wo-world, yeah
We only got
(One world, one world)
That's all we got
(One world, one world) 

(Black Eyed Peas, Where is the Love?)

Upon watching Ode to Great Mother

The Prophet, peace be upon him said, 

"Allah loves us more than 70 mothers love their children."

*** *** ***

Grant Us Union With Her Always

Has the light of the sun appeared from the world of the Unseen,
or have the veils of Layla been lifted from Her essence?

Yes. The longing of Layla for Her beloved friend has grown
until She has revealed Her love,

So that he has become a captive of Her ardent desire and the
longing which are Her goblets called out to him.

She did not leave until She had given him a drink from Her
goblet. There is no blame. Drink! for the wine is Her speech.

And She is naught but the presence of Truth (hadratul-haqq), alone, who
manifests Herself through forms whose every light varies.

She has manifested the unique beauty of the form design in the
depth of Her being. Look at the attributes of the Beloved manifested in you.

By Allah none have attained complete bliss except the one who
becomes a humble slave and seeks Her out.

And thus, She immersed the ugliness of his nature in the beauty
of Hers, and lights shone from him, their rays appearing -

So that he withdrew from the sensory which was a barrier and
embraced a meaning from which it is unlawful to separate.

Therefore let your goal be to commit yourself, oh my brother,
and avoid otherness and Her gentle breeze will waft over
beloved ones from you.

You will open the hearing of the wayfarer's heart (fu'aadi min saalikin) because the
subtle knowledge of Her is Her proof.

Grant us union with Her always and cause us to withdraw from
every sensory existence.

- Songs of Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib, may Allah sanctify his Sirr

Woman is a beam of the divine Light
She is not the being 
whom sensual desire takes as its object.
She is Creator, it should be said.
She is not a Creature. 

 ~~Rumi  

The Prophet, sal allahu wa salaam, said,

 "Paradise lies at the feet of the Mother."

Ibn ‘Arabi says that Rahman and Rahim are connected to Rahem, the womb of an expecting mother. He says it’s “as if” the whole cosmos, all of us, each and every single being and all of the beings, are contained inside God’s womb. It’s “as if” we are being nurtured, protected, guided, loved, and provided for every instant from That Beloved. May God open our hearts and souls and mind to the beauties. 

---Omid Safi

"And when the angels said: 
O Mary! Lo! God hath chosen thee 
and made thee pure, 
and hath preferred thee 
above (all) the women of creation."
(Quran 3:42)

My very precious children, let us speak further about the language and qualities of the child. My precious children, when a baby emerges from its mother, it cries, "Amma, Amma!" That sound gladdens the mother's heart and brings joy to all those nearby. Isn't it a sound which makes everyone want to pick up the child and kiss it? Isn't it a sound which makes everyone happy? Does it make people cry? Certainly not. In fact, the same kind of sound is also made by sheep, by cows, and by many other animals. No matter what language you speak, that sound brings coolness, comfort, and gladness to the heart. Even though a mother may suffer and scream in pain and torment, even though she may come close to death when giving birth, as soon as she hears the sound of the baby's cry, she is soothed, she forgets all her pain, and her heart is comforted. She lifts the child to her heart, embraces it, and kisses it as soon as she hears that sound.

In just the same way God is both our Father and our Mother.

-- Bawa Muhaiyaddeen --

 List of Shia titles for Fatima

Muhammad, salallahu alayhi wa salam, said, 

"Fatima, alayhi salaam, is the Mother of her father."

One of Fatima's Names is Fatima-Fatir.

She is Fatima-Creatrix.

 A Sufi Ode to the Divine Mother

On the face of the earth there is no one more beautiful than You
Wherever I go I wear your image in my heart
Whenever I fall in a despondent mood I remember your image
And my spirit rises a thousand fold
Your advent is the blossom time of the Universe
O Mother you have showered your choicest blessings upon me
Also remember me on the Day of Judgement
I don’t know if I will go to heaven or hell
But wherever I go, please always abide in me.

One day the Prophet was in one of the markets of Medina. He left the market and so did I. Then he asked thrice, “Where is the small child?” Then he said, “Call Hasan.” So Hasan got up and started walking with a necklace of beads around his neck. The Prophet stretched his hand out like this, and Hasan did the same. The Prophet embraced him and said, “O Allah! I love him, so please love him and love those who love him.” Since Allah’s Apostle said that, nothing has been dearer to me than Hasan. 
(Bukhari, Libas) 

One day a person from the desert came to the Prophet Muhammad and said, “You are kissing children but traditionally we don’t kiss them.” The Prophet replied, “What can I do if God removed mercy from your heart?” 

(Bukhari, Ahlaq; Muslim, Kitab al-Fadail) 

A man once came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) carrying a wrapped-up piece of cloth. He told the Prophet: "I saw a group of trees and heard the sound of young birds. I took them and put them in my garment. Their mother then came and began to hover around my head. I showed (the baby birds) to her, and she fell on them. I wrapped them (all) in my garment." The Prophet then said to his companions: "Are you surprised at the affection of the mother for her young?...God is more affectionate to His servants than a mother to her young." The Prophet told the man to put the baby birds back where he got them.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 1359

 

The Beauty of Pollination...

Have they not seen the birds above them 
spreading out their wings and closing them? 

Naught upholdeth them save the Beneficent. 

Lo! He is Seer of all things.  

(Quran 67:19)

And thy Lord inspired the bee, saying: 

Choose thou habitations in the hills 

and in the trees and in that which they thatch;
 Then eat of all fruits, and follow the ways of thy Lord, 
made smooth (for thee). 
There cometh forth from their bellies a drink divers of hues, 
wherein is healing for mankind. 
Lo! herein is indeed a portent for people who reflect. 

(Quran 16:68-69)

It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, 

nor doth the night outstrip the day. 

They float each in an orbit.

  (Quran 36:40)