Reflections Ibn Jawzi

8/11/2019 Reflections Ibn Jawzi

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WiththeNameofAllah,AllMerciful,MostMerciful.

REFLECTIONS

byUsamaHasan

(InspiredbySaydalKhatirofIbnalJawzi,KhawatirofSalmanalAwdahandContentions

ofAbdalHakimMurad)

1 AllPraisebetoAllah.(Q.1:1)

2 Say:HeisAllah(Q.112:1)

3 Say:HeisMostMerciful(Q.67:29)

4 Say:HeisOmnipotent(Q.6:65)

5 The quiet prayersareassociatedwiththebustleoftheday;the loud

prayersareassociatedwiththestillnessofthenight.

6 Allahdeprivesribaofblessing,butHegivesribaoncharity.(Q.2:276)

7 InterestisnegativeZakat.

8 Allahsays, FastingisforMe.Mansays, Fastingisnotforme!

9

TheHajj:

a

Journey

of

Love.

(Ibn

al

Qayyim,

Qasidah

Mimiyyah)

10 MeccaisMajesty;MedinaisBeauty.

11 TheKabahisclothedinMajestyembroideredwithBeauty.(Ibnal

Qayyim,QasidahMimiyyah)

12 IntheOldTestament,hisnameis Muhammad, aquantitativeaspect

(fromtheformfaala),appropriatefortheMosaicLaw.IntheNewTestament,

hisnameis Ahmad, aqualitativeaspect(fromtheformafal),appropriatefor

theChristianSpirit. IntheQuran,hisnameisboth Ahmad and

Muhammad, appropriatefortheBalanceofIslam.(IbnalQayyim,Jala al

Afham)

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13 AsurahofMajestyfollowedbyasurahofBeauty:alQamar(The

Moon)followedbyarRahman(TheAllMerciful).

14 Nuclearfissionisatypeoffalaq:donotuseittodisobeyRabbalfalaq.

(Q.113)

15 FromtheevilofthatwhichHecreated.(Q.113:2) Thereisevilinthe

worldbecausetheworldisnotGod.(MartinLings)

16 Ifwhatyousayistrue,mayAllahforgiveme! Ifwhatyousayis

false,mayAllahforgiveyou! (ReplyoftheCompanionsandFollowersto

peoplewhoabusedthem.)

17

The

Muslim

theory

of

relativity:

la

ilaha

illAllah,

all

is

relative

to

the

Absolute.

18 Theturbanisthesymboloftheamanah(trust,responsibility)borneby

Man.(ShaykhAbdalQadiralMurabit)

19 Everything(shay)isamanifestationofHisWill(shaa,yashau,

shayan).

20 HistoryisapowerfulwitnesstothefactthatMuhammad(mayAllah

blesshimandgranthimpeace)wasindeedtheLastProphet,fortherehasnot

beenapersonevenremotelycomparabletohimsince.

21 Fromthebaraka(blessing)ofknowledgeistomentionitssource.

(ImamNawawiandothers)

22 The[apparent]anthropomorphismofGodintheQuranimpliesthe

theomorphismofMan.(FrithjofSchuon,UnderstandingIslam. i.e.Theissueof

theAttributesofGodreturnstothehadith, AllahcreatedAdaminHisimage.

cf.Khan&Hilali,TranslationoftheNobleQuran,4:86)

23 Thenumbersoftherakaatandadhkarareinperfectbalance,likea

chemicalorculinaryrecipe.(ImamGhazzali,TheAlchemyofHappiness)

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24 Theprayershaverakaat:two,threeorfour. Theangelshavewings:

two,threeorfour. Therakaatofthebelieverarelikethewingsoftheangel,on

hisFlighttohisLord.(IbnalQayyim)

25 TheGardenissurroundedbyhardships;theFireissurroundedby

lusts. Anothertransmissionofthishadithwithanimportantvariation:The

Gardenisveiledbyhardships;theFireisveiledbylusts.

26 HebeganthesecondquarterofHisBookwithPraise:theopeningof

alAnam.(ImamSuyuti)

27 Thecongregationalsalatistherealgroupdhikr.

28

Does

wearing

a

turban

or

hijab

elevates

one

s

sense,

as

well

as

one

s

centre,ofgravity?

29 Islamislikeasocietyofmarriedmonksandnuns.(SeyyedHossein

Nasr,TheYoungMuslimsGuidetotheModernWorld) Thehomeisthe

monasteryofthebeliever.(Asayingoftheulama)

30 Whenyoufearforhim,throwhimintotheriver!(Q.28:7)

31 Profanephilosophy:chewingthecud.

32 TheWahhabisemphasiseTranscendence;theSufisemphasise

Immanence.

33 TheWahhabisemphasiseMajesty;theSufisemphasiseBeauty.

34 TheWahhabisemphasisethefirstshahadah;theSufisemphasisethe

second.

35 TheWahhabisareasectoftheJews.(AcontemporarySufishaykh)

Inthatcase,theSufiswouldbeasectoftheChristians.

36 Thesonisthesecretofthefather.(IbnArabi)Thedaughteristhe

secretofthemother. (U.H.)

37 Everythinghasalreadybeensaid.(FrithjofSchuon)

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38 IsntitironicthatSchuon,anextreme,PerennialistSufirefutesthe

AsharisanddefendsIbnHanbal,appreciatingthedepthofhisapparently

superficialstatementswhilsttheorthodoxAshariscontinuetoattackthe

Hanbalis?

39 Alghuslminaljanabah:everypartofyourbodyhasenjoyedtheclimax

withanothercreature,sowasheveryinchofyourskintostandbeforeMein

purity!(IbnArabi)

40 Nofear,exceptofHim.Nohope,exceptinHim.(IqbalNasim)

41 Thewomanistheincarnationofthehome.(FrithjofSchuon)

42

The

madhhabists

forget

that

it

is

possible

to

stand

on

the

shoulders

of

giants.

43 TruerecitationoftheQuranistoactualiseitsteachings,fortilawah

meanstofollow:cf.Q.91:2(ImamAjurri)

44 MenreflectTranscendence;womenreflectImmanence.

45 MenreflectMajesty;womenreflectBeauty.

46 Prophethoodhasfortysixaspects.(Hadith) Everyhumanbeinghas

fortysixchromosomes,intwentythreepairs. ThePropheticqualitiesarelikea

spiritualDNA.

47 So,wehaveTheWahhabiwholovedBeauty.WhereistheSufiwho

fearedMajesty?

48 Hallajsaid,IamGod! Darwinsaid,Iwasanape! Each

accordingtohisownaspiration!(AkbarofAllahabad,satiricalpoet)

49 Thekharijisaremiskharijisofjustice.

50 Islamisthetariqa.

51 HebeganthesecondhalfofHisBookwithPraise:theopeningofal

Kahf.(ImamSuyuti)

52 Celebratingbirthdaysischildish.

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53 Ifanybirthdayhadbeenworthcelebrating,itwouldhavebeenhis

(mayAllahblesshimandgranthimpeace).

54 Thesunisthesiraj,theblazinglamp. Themoonisthenurmunir,the

reflectedlight. TheProphet(mayAllahblesshimandgranthimpeace)isSiraj,

NurandMunir.

55 Waveparticleduality:theparticlereflectsalHayy(TheLiving);the

wavereflectsalQayyum(TheSelfSubsisting).(AdaptedfromAishaBewley)

56 AnIslamicquantumtheory:lahawlawalaquwwataillabiLlah,thereis

nohawl(changeofstate)orquwwah(force),exceptbyAllah.

57

Sufism

and

Advaita

Vedantism

are

essentially

the

same,

with

a

surface

differenceofterminology.(MartinLings,WhatisSufism?)

58 WhatisSufism?IfitisotherthanIslam,thenwewantnothingtodo

withit. IfitisnothingbutIslam,thenIslamistheonlywaybywhichwereach

Allah.(ShaykhAbuBakrtheAlgerian,ofMadinah)

59 WhatisSalafism?IfitisotherthanIslam,thenwewantnothingtodo

withit. IfitisnothingbutIslam,thenIslamistheonlywaybywhichwereach

Allah.

60 ThefalsesufisshouldcelebrateChristmas,too.

61 Noonecancontainthewholetruth,excepttheMessengerofAllah.

(ShaykhHamzaYusuf)

62 Lifesajourney takeaguide. (Coverslogan,mailordercatalogue.)

63 Betterapollutedjamaahthanapuresect.(ShaykhHamzaYusuf)

64 Thefitnahamongsttheulama(Ibn Arabi,IbnTaymiyyah,Subki,etc.)

islikethefitnahamongsttheCompanions wewithholdourtonguesandpray

forthemall.(ShahWaliullahofDelhi)

65 Everythingisoutwardlycreated(khalq),inwardlyaresultoftheDivine

command(amr). (ShaykhNuhKeller,cf.Q.7:54)

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66 Whoeveropposesfalsehood,wins.(MottoinscribedonanArabic

audiocassette.)

67 Raisingthehandsinprayersymbolisestheraisingoftheveilbetween

usandGod. (ShaykhIbnUthaymin)

68 MostpeopleoftheFirearewomen isnotthesameas, Mostwomen

arepeopleoftheFire. Aslongtherearemorewomenthanmenintotal,the

twosexeshaveanequalchanceofsalvationordamnation. StudyBayes ruleof

mathematicalprobability!

69 NeverUnderEstimatethePowerofthePrayerStation.

70

The

false

salafis

veil

the

Prophet

with

his

Sunnah.

(Shaykh

Abdal

HakimMurad) ThefalsesufisseparatetheProphetfromhisSunnah,andveil

himwithbidah.

71 Hewasneitherveiledbyunityfrommultiplicity,norbymultiplicity

fromunity. Thisiswhy,andAllahknowsbest,hekepthiseyesopenduring

salat. (ShaykhNuhKeller)

72 Theheadhascaughtfirewithgreyhair!(Q.19:4)

73 TheSunnahwithinIslamislikeIslamamongstthereligions.(Asaying

oftheSalaf) TrueIslamisnothingbutthetrueSunnah.Hence,Islamisthe

SunnahandtheSunnahisIslam.(AnothersayingoftheSalaf)

74 PoliticalIslam:politicalactivitybeforelearningIslamproperlyislike

marriagebeforepuberty.(ShaykhAbdulGhaffarHasan)

75 Loveyourbeloved,butdontgetcarriedaway:perhapshellbeyour

enemyoneday.(Alib.AbiTalib,mayAllahbepleasedwithhim)

76 HebeganthethirdquarterofHisBookwithPraise:theopeningsof

SabaandFatir.(ImamSuyuti)

77 Hateyourenemy,butdontgetcarriedaway:perhapshellbeyour

belovedoneday.(Alib.AbiTalib,mayAllahbepleasedwithhim)

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78 IslamisneitherIslamismnorSufism.

79 WhatwouldthefalsesufisdoiftheyevertookoverinMecca,God

forbid? PerformagianthadraharoundtheKabah?

80 Criticismisinfectious.(ShaykhAbdalHakimMurad)

81 Backbitingiscowardly.

82 Sarcasmisthelowestformofwit,andoftenthegreatestchasm

betweenfriends. (Englishsayings)

83 TheqafiyahoftheQasidahBurdahismim,forobviousreasons. Every

ayahofSurahMuhammadendswithmim,exceptfortwothatendwithalif.

84

To

some,

it

is

unbearable

that

Islam

has

more

than

one

madhhab.

(ShaykhAbdalHakimMurad) Toothers,itisunbearablethatweshould

benefitfrommorethanonemadhhab.(U.H.)

85 Hesaidtothefire, Becool! anditwas.Hesaidtothem, Beye

apes! andtheywere.WheneverHedecreesamatter,Hemerelysaystoit,

Be! anditbecomes!

86 AlQadr(Fate;Predestination)isasecretofAllahinHiscreation.

(SayingofAlib.AbiTalib&ofImamTahawi,Aqidah)

87 Theliteralmeaningofmortgageisthegripofdeath.

88 PeopletodayattackingImamsGhazzaliandIbnTaymiyyah:goats

buttingmountains.

89 Thesalafiideaofprogress:letsstartatthebeginningeveryday.

(ShaykhAbdalHakimMurad) Themubtadiideaofprogress:letskeepgoingin

thewrongdirection.

90 MenreflecttheOutward;womenreflecttheInward.

91 Islamophobiaisbecomingourequivalentofantisemitism:astickused

tostiflelegitimatecriticism.

92 Afterthereformersandreformers,wehavethedeformersofIslam.

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93 ThedeformersofIslamreplacethebreadthandflexibilityofthe

Sunnahwithanarrow,rigidmadhhabism.

94 ThedeformersofImanpollutethelightofrevelationwithconvoluted

kalam. (ThisislikedrinkingsewageinsteadofmilkandhoneyIbnalQayyim,

QasidahNuniyyah)

95 ThedeformersofIhsanabandonthespaciousStraightPathleadingto

Allahinfavourofalabyrinthofnarrow,cultlike,bidahriddledtariqahs.

96 Thebloggerhaskilledbalaghah.

97 ThecrescentisnottheonlysymbolofIslam. Alltheayatullah,the

Signs

of

God,

are

symbols

of

Islam.

In

inter

faith

or

multi

faith

forums,

please

note!

98 Wheneverhesawme,hesmiledatme. (Jarirb.Abdullah,mayAllah

bepleasedwithhim).

99 ToAllahbelongtheMostBeautifulNames:calluponHimbythem.

(Q.7:180)

100 ToHimbelongsPraiseintheend.(Q.34:1)

London,29thShaban1426/3rdOctober2005(updated8thJune2009)

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Reflections Ibn Jawzi