Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Dates!
Follow the Noble Prophet - make dates a basic staple of your diet!
It's amazing that we think eating meat distinguishes us! Really most Muslims, especially the ones in warmer climes, should eat more dates, as dates were part of the Prophet's staple diet, peace be upon him. As our Mother Ayesha may God be pleased with her, narrates [they] "would survive on the 2 black ones- dates & water."
In better times they would also have barley and goat's milk, other fruit such as quinces, pomegranates etc. Meat is permitted, but was rarely eaten by the Prophet peace be upon him. He advised "He who eats meat for 40 days, hardens his heart, and he who does not eat meat for 40 days, weakens it."
At least those who can should eat more dates, as well as other nutritious fruit for food.
One easy way is to replace one cooked meal with a "raw food" meal... i.e. basically fruit [esp. at breakfast] or salad & nuts/seeds [esp. for lunch].
This is easier on one's digestive system as well as the environment, and not to mention in the long term on one's health and wallet.
God bless.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
All the Wars of the Prophet, peace be upon him
BATTLE/ENEMY/CASUALTIES/MUSLIMS/CASUALTIES
Badr 950 ... 70 ... 313 ... 14
Uhud 3000 ... 22 ... 700 ...70
Khandaq 12000 ...8 ... 3000 ... 6
Khaibar 20000 ... 93 ... 1500 ... 15
Muta 100000 ... unrecorded ...3000 ... 13
Hunain unrecorded ...70 ... 12000 ...70
Taif unrecorded ...unrecorded...12000 ...12
All together, less than 500 people killed.
From the excellent Pir of Italy website:
"the word Sufi means Al-Hikma al-ilāhīya, in other words the Divine Wisdom. Divine Wisdom is certainly not involved with paramilitary militancy by definition. The Divine Wisdom is the same that has guided the Holy Prophet, SAWS, who in all his military expeditions has limited the number of causalities as it can be seen from the ... table.
"Muslim and theirs Opponents casualties all together occurred in nine years of military operations, the total amount of losses from the two opposing sites are equivalent to more than 463 while in three years of “freedom war” the casualties in Iraq from both sides are well above ten times. This is due to the fact that the Muslims Rules of Engagements were dictated by Allah SWT while the rules of engagement of modern wars are decided by men. Of course objection can be made on the fact that in the VI and VII century DC there were not depleted Uranium bombs or Daisy-cutter bombs, just to mention two weapon systems of the anti-terror forces used at present. But in Khyber Muslims used war-machines capable of provide a certain destruction force to the fortress. One can compare the death toll occurred between Muslims and Arabs to regain Spain to Christianity since was methods and weaponry in the XIV century were not dissimilar.
All the above not to show any military or paramilitary interest but to demonstrate that men of Divine Wisdom (i.e. Sufi and the Holy Prophet, SAWS, is the Emperor and Chief of all the Sufi, these where present in this earth now, those who have come and these to come) do not like killing because they are afraid of Allah SWT even when He Himself gives the order to fight."
Badr 950 ... 70 ... 313 ... 14
Uhud 3000 ... 22 ... 700 ...70
Khandaq 12000 ...8 ... 3000 ... 6
Khaibar 20000 ... 93 ... 1500 ... 15
Muta 100000 ... unrecorded ...3000 ... 13
Hunain unrecorded ...70 ... 12000 ...70
Taif unrecorded ...unrecorded...12000 ...12
All together, less than 500 people killed.
From the excellent Pir of Italy website:
"the word Sufi means Al-Hikma al-ilāhīya, in other words the Divine Wisdom. Divine Wisdom is certainly not involved with paramilitary militancy by definition. The Divine Wisdom is the same that has guided the Holy Prophet, SAWS, who in all his military expeditions has limited the number of causalities as it can be seen from the ... table.
"Muslim and theirs Opponents casualties all together occurred in nine years of military operations, the total amount of losses from the two opposing sites are equivalent to more than 463 while in three years of “freedom war” the casualties in Iraq from both sides are well above ten times. This is due to the fact that the Muslims Rules of Engagements were dictated by Allah SWT while the rules of engagement of modern wars are decided by men. Of course objection can be made on the fact that in the VI and VII century DC there were not depleted Uranium bombs or Daisy-cutter bombs, just to mention two weapon systems of the anti-terror forces used at present. But in Khyber Muslims used war-machines capable of provide a certain destruction force to the fortress. One can compare the death toll occurred between Muslims and Arabs to regain Spain to Christianity since was methods and weaponry in the XIV century were not dissimilar.
All the above not to show any military or paramilitary interest but to demonstrate that men of Divine Wisdom (i.e. Sufi and the Holy Prophet, SAWS, is the Emperor and Chief of all the Sufi, these where present in this earth now, those who have come and these to come) do not like killing because they are afraid of Allah SWT even when He Himself gives the order to fight."
Friday, March 12, 2010
Superb Sufi poem in Praise of the Prophet PBUH
http://sufipoetry.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/kithe-meher-ali-kithe-teri-sana-pir-meher-ali-shah/
Great effort posting this classic.
Great effort posting this classic.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Pakistan's Zoroastrian Ambassador: some interesting revelations
Source [interview by Anjum Niaz]
Cyclewala: interesting how Mr. Marker's assessment is the same as that of Hazrat Qudratullah Shahab regarding key figures.
************************************
Paris was like a femme fatale. Ambassador Jamsheed Marker loved being in the company of artists, writers, fashion designers and intellectuals. He counts conductor Zubin Mehta and actor Omar Sharif among his good friends. But one sad incident clearly stays in his memory of those bucolic days; the untimely death of Shahnawaz Bhutto. Marker sketches the details of the tragedy as though it happened yesterday.
Begum Nusrat Bhutto lived in Cannes, in the French Riviera. The lodgings were loaned to her by the then French minister of justice. The minister was a good friend of the Bhuttos as was President Gaddafi of Libya. Gaddafi had given large sums of money to the Bhuttos. One evening during dinner in a restaurant, the two boys — Murtaza and Shahnawaz — entered into an argument over the division of the money.
“Benazir tried to calm them down but she didn’t succeed,” remembers Marker. In the end she took her mother and sister back to their home, while Murtaza followed Shahnawaz to his flat. The fight turned ugly. At some point the French police came to arrest the inmates. By that time Shahnawaz was unconscious. He had taken an overdose of drugs. The police could not arrest Murtaza because he had a Syrian diplomatic passport. Later that night the younger brother passed away. The police arrested his Afghan wife for “not coming to the aid of a dying man.” She hired a lawyer but the case was quashed by the bereaved family when she threatened to spill the beans.
“The whole affair was so sordid; so grim; so grisly,” says Marker who was given all the details by the head of the French intelligence police. But General Naseerullah Babar, who was later Benazir’s interior minister, claims that General Zia had a hand in the murder. He had sent a death squad to eliminate the younger son. Babar says Shahnawaz was poisoned, I ask Marker: “No, that’s not true at all. Zia had nothing to do with it.”
Ambassador Marker, 88, sits in his airy study at his Bath Island home, surrounded by photos of world leaders he has met. It’s like an interview with history ...
“Sycophancy is the single factor in our failure to progress,” he says. He remembers how one day he and his wife went to have lunch with Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan and Begum Raana. The host was missing. After a while he came in seething with rage. “Normally Liaquat didn’t lose his cool. But that day he fumed,” says Marker. “How dare these evacuee fellows present me with a number of properties saying that I can have them in lieu of my properties I have left behind in India?” the prime minister told Marker. “I threw back the folder at them saying that they should never raise this subject again until they had provided shelter to each and every refugee living out in the open air all over Karachi.”
Marker says Liaquat Ali Khan was an honest man. “When he died he did not own a single house and had just Rs4,000 in his bank account. Look at our leaders today… they are corrupt and surrounded by sycophants whose only job is flattery. It’s been the death of our value system. Few have the guts to speak the truth before the rulers.”
How come Marker is meant to be in the Guinness Book of Records as having been Ambassador to more countries than any other person if he was not a sycophant? “Well, I’m not sure if I’m in the Guinness Book, but all I can say is that I never jockeyed for a job. I really didn’t care and in fact each time the government changed I resigned.”
....
The rot according to Marker began with Ghulam Mohammad. The bureaucrats became very powerful and in collusion with Punjabi politicians like Gurmani and others ruined the system of governance. “People are like sheep led by wolves,” Marker quotes a friend. “Pakistan after Liaquat has never been ruled by a genuinely elected leader.” says Marker. “Those who ruled were never true representatives of the people.”
He wanted to resign when Benazir Bhutto became the PM the second time. “She came to Washington on a state visit. In our private meetings where we discussed Pakistan’s national interests, she always had her lobbyist Mark Segal and friend Peter Galbraith sit in. I was most unhappy about it. They had no business to be there.”
Cyclewala: interesting how Mr. Marker's assessment is the same as that of Hazrat Qudratullah Shahab regarding key figures.
************************************
Paris was like a femme fatale. Ambassador Jamsheed Marker loved being in the company of artists, writers, fashion designers and intellectuals. He counts conductor Zubin Mehta and actor Omar Sharif among his good friends. But one sad incident clearly stays in his memory of those bucolic days; the untimely death of Shahnawaz Bhutto. Marker sketches the details of the tragedy as though it happened yesterday.
Begum Nusrat Bhutto lived in Cannes, in the French Riviera. The lodgings were loaned to her by the then French minister of justice. The minister was a good friend of the Bhuttos as was President Gaddafi of Libya. Gaddafi had given large sums of money to the Bhuttos. One evening during dinner in a restaurant, the two boys — Murtaza and Shahnawaz — entered into an argument over the division of the money.
“Benazir tried to calm them down but she didn’t succeed,” remembers Marker. In the end she took her mother and sister back to their home, while Murtaza followed Shahnawaz to his flat. The fight turned ugly. At some point the French police came to arrest the inmates. By that time Shahnawaz was unconscious. He had taken an overdose of drugs. The police could not arrest Murtaza because he had a Syrian diplomatic passport. Later that night the younger brother passed away. The police arrested his Afghan wife for “not coming to the aid of a dying man.” She hired a lawyer but the case was quashed by the bereaved family when she threatened to spill the beans.
“The whole affair was so sordid; so grim; so grisly,” says Marker who was given all the details by the head of the French intelligence police. But General Naseerullah Babar, who was later Benazir’s interior minister, claims that General Zia had a hand in the murder. He had sent a death squad to eliminate the younger son. Babar says Shahnawaz was poisoned, I ask Marker: “No, that’s not true at all. Zia had nothing to do with it.”
Ambassador Marker, 88, sits in his airy study at his Bath Island home, surrounded by photos of world leaders he has met. It’s like an interview with history ...
“Sycophancy is the single factor in our failure to progress,” he says. He remembers how one day he and his wife went to have lunch with Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan and Begum Raana. The host was missing. After a while he came in seething with rage. “Normally Liaquat didn’t lose his cool. But that day he fumed,” says Marker. “How dare these evacuee fellows present me with a number of properties saying that I can have them in lieu of my properties I have left behind in India?” the prime minister told Marker. “I threw back the folder at them saying that they should never raise this subject again until they had provided shelter to each and every refugee living out in the open air all over Karachi.”
Marker says Liaquat Ali Khan was an honest man. “When he died he did not own a single house and had just Rs4,000 in his bank account. Look at our leaders today… they are corrupt and surrounded by sycophants whose only job is flattery. It’s been the death of our value system. Few have the guts to speak the truth before the rulers.”
How come Marker is meant to be in the Guinness Book of Records as having been Ambassador to more countries than any other person if he was not a sycophant? “Well, I’m not sure if I’m in the Guinness Book, but all I can say is that I never jockeyed for a job. I really didn’t care and in fact each time the government changed I resigned.”
....
The rot according to Marker began with Ghulam Mohammad. The bureaucrats became very powerful and in collusion with Punjabi politicians like Gurmani and others ruined the system of governance. “People are like sheep led by wolves,” Marker quotes a friend. “Pakistan after Liaquat has never been ruled by a genuinely elected leader.” says Marker. “Those who ruled were never true representatives of the people.”
He wanted to resign when Benazir Bhutto became the PM the second time. “She came to Washington on a state visit. In our private meetings where we discussed Pakistan’s national interests, she always had her lobbyist Mark Segal and friend Peter Galbraith sit in. I was most unhappy about it. They had no business to be there.”
Man is both Body & Soul: Hazrat Maulana Wahid Bakhsh RA
"...In plainer language man is the combination of the body and soul. The body belongs to the earth and has the tendency to pull us down to its inferior origin while the soul is of Divine origin and has a tendency to pull us up to the regions of Divine proximity. The body’s food is material. The soul’s food is celestial e.g. love of God and remembrance of God, nearness of God and union with Him. When food is denied to the body it gets restless.
The same is the case with the soul. It gets equally, or more, restless when it is starved. Consequently, the present unrest, frustration and loss of peace of mind in the world is due to the fact that while everything is being done to feed the beast in man, pretty little is being done to feed the angel. In other words while the horse is feasting, enjoying itself and getting fat, the rider is fasting and getting too feeble to control the beast. The result cannot be different from what is before us. All the leaders of the warring nations are trying their best to restore peace and order in the world but to no avail. They are unsuccessful because they are trying to treat the symptoms rather than the causes of the disease. The cure lies in restoring the balance between the horse and the rider, by catering for the needs and requirements of both the body and the soul."
***********************
From Hazrat's commentary on the Kashful Mahjub:
"...Thus the Khanqahi Nizam, or creation of a network of monastaries by the Sufi shaikhs in the length & breadth of the world of Islam, mentioned in the Kashful Mahjub which has become the butt of criticism by the shortsighted "progressives" was meant to turn beasts into men and men into angels- to behave as peaceful & honest citizens, quite contrary to modern civilization which tends to turn the angels into men and men into devils, and thrives at the expense of weaker peoples.
No amount of legislation, police & courts, of justice are able to eradicate crimes, injustice & cruelty because the very civilization based on the spirit of national superiority and national aggrandizement at the expense of weaker nations is a civilization
based on the principle of injustice & cruelty that cuts across all the pious notions of universal brotherhood & equality of mankind."
********************************
"... Human intellect [aql] is considered to be a veil because it is through this power of reasoning that he finds himself bound in the shackles of time & space and cannot break free from them. It is after extreme purification [tazkiah] that he is able to finally eradicate himself and soar unto the realms of Divinity."
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