IslamicSolutions.Com

Conversations with God [Quote 430]

Admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:24:08 +0000

Life is about ongoing conversation – and interaction – with God Almighty. And it does not matter whether you are Muslim or non-Muslim, believer or nonbeliever.

The most formal and mostly one-way communication from God to his creation is Wahy. This is what people generally call “revelation.” But in reality it is God directly talking to his creation – which he does in many ways, and choosing and pressing into service modalities and instrumentalities he likes.

Of the highest form of this Wahy is the communication – messages – God sent to the men he chose as his trusted prophets and messengers. May God bless them all!

I am saying “chose,” using past tense, because the office of “Prophet” or “Messenger” was ended with the advent of Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, in this world over 1400 years ago.

I also said “men” because God declares in the Qur’an that all prophets and messengers were men. End of story.

God’s communication to his creation – including human beings – takes several forms. One is direct interchange of “talk” between God and his creation.

When God Almighty spoke to Moses, it was direct communication between the two without any intermediaries of any kind.

Otherwise, people talk to God all the time. Using languages and methods and devices they know.

And God “talks” to them too. Note how I have put the word “talks” in quotes as it refers to God.

Because who can ever characterize God’s communication in any way other than what he himself has chosen to tell us – in the Qur’an and through his prophets and messengers, may God bless them, last of whom was Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam.

The greatest contribution Islam made to human civilization was to tell human beings that they – each and every one of them, male as well as female – must try and learn to communicate with God directly and personally – and without intermediaries of any kind.

This was total and most sweeping revolution in the way humans were used to doing business with God.

Muslims communicate with God directly and in person – and following a most formal set of routines – during what is called the five daily “prayers” or Swalaat.

Starting from that most glorious and formal pinnacle of divinely sanctioned and tutored human discourse with God, in the form of Islamic “prayers” or Swalaah, Muslims, and all other people of all faiths or no faith, “talk” to God the way they see fit and as needs and circumstances – and trouble and emergencies – come calling, which they do all the time in this world with regard to all people.

And God "talks" to them all how and when he sees fit.

And the Qur'an is a continuous and unceasing flow of conversation stream from God directed at human beings -- and all the worlds. Whoever gets upstream with this nonstop flow of light and love, reaches God, where he will find God ready and waiting for him with a great welcome.

Some merely cry out to him in heart-rending screams as pain strikes them in a plethora of forms and situations. His guarantee to them all is: “I respond to you when you call me.”

And as for the cries of those in pain and in distress, Allah says, he hears them too, when no one else can or will.

And when it comes to those suffering from any kind of oppression, injustice and egregious wrongdoing on the part of their fellow-human beings, especially those in positions of power, wealth, authority and influence over them, then his doors are open all the time – and their cries reach him without hindrance.

What a God! Who would want a God besides him?

END

(Dr. Pasha)

Pasha Hour International – Live from America! – May 14, 2013

Admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 01:13:34 +0000

All Sports: Part Skill, Part Heart [Quote 429]

Admin — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:50:06 +0000

Here is a general call to all varsity athletes and others in my classes.

Ladies & Gentlemen: Sport – any sport – is part skill, part heart.

And so is life, if you ask me.

Skills take you into the competition. But it is hearts that win matches and deliver games.

Some athletes are ALL skill and ALL heart – ALL at the same time. Michael Jordan of basketball was all heart and all skill, all at the same time.

Time after time, what his skill could not do – there was not much Jordan’s skills could not deal with – his heart delivered.

Andre Agassi of tennis fame was all heart and all skill and it was hard sometimes to figure out which part got the better of him as he oscillated perfectly from one to the other.

Tiger Woods of Golf is a master of stroke play and green strategy, but when Tiger hits a rough patch, it is the heart that drives him to victory.

Lance Armstrong of bicycling fame – and notoriety – is a sorry name to invoke in this context on account of how he pedaled his world bicycling championship career into a doping disgrace.

By any standard, Armstrong's conduct was reprehensible and utterly inexcusable.

But dope or no dope, here is a sober truth that cannot be lightly dismissed: No one beats cancer and then turns around and beats the entire world, not once or twice, but seven times over, to win the impossible odds of Tour de France, without a thorough mastery of cycling skills and a will and determination that can bend steel by just looking at it.

Skills will help you to outperform the opposition. But it is your hearts that will enable you to outstare the “enemy” and seal victory.

So, go ahead and outperform and outstare everyone who is lined up against you today – and this entire season.

Class or no class, this is my lecture to you today. And, I am sure, you have heard it before.

And, by the way, do bear in mind that for my students Not-Winning is not an option.

It never was. And it never will be.

END

(Dr. Pasha)

To Student Athletes in My Classes [Quote 428]

Admin — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:44:21 +0000

Ladies & Gentlemen:

I see no difference between a classroom and a baseball field, or tennis or basketball court or a swimming pool.

Do you? I don’t. To me, they are all the same: places for toiling mightily – and excelling and winning.

If life is a sport, excellence is the name of the game.

And to me excellence is not an abstract idea, it is a concrete plan. It is about winning games and delivering results. It is about beating the odds.

Odds are the “enemy.” Beating them is what life – any sport – is all about.

Beating odds is what you go to college to prepare and get the training and skills for.

END

(Dr. Pasha)

Dr. Pasha to His Students [Quote 427]

Admin — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:38:36 +0000

Here is a bit of general advice to you all. Not that you have to take it; or read it in the first place; or pay any attention to it once you read it.

Yet, all those caveats notwithstanding, here is the advice:

“Don’t obsess. Don’t let it go to your head. But, with regard to anything, if it is not the best, don’t touch it. Even though there is some merit to saying take whatever is out there and use it as basis to work your way forward.”

END

(Dr. Pasha)

Islam Builds a Better World for All [Quote 426]

Admin — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:35:59 +0000

Allah is Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem: the most loving, compassionate and merciful.

That is God’s first introduction of himself in the Qur’an: 1:2. That is Surah 1, Aayat 2.

Have you heard of a One-Two Punch? This is it. Left followed by Right, like lightening follows thunder, except that in this case – coming from Allah and involving Allah – both are Right.

Kiltaa Yadaahu Yameenataani.

A divine one-two punch for love – and mercy and compassion – from the maker of the world to the world he made.

Sent down at the hands of a man, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, whom he calls love and mercy: Rahmat.

For, when the Muslims – I am sorry I have to say "True" and “Real” Muslims – are done building a Better World, it will be, God Willing, a world that is the best for everyone.

And by that I mean every Jew, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, believer, nonbeliever, man, woman, child, bird, beast, plant and everything else on this earth.

For, it will reflect the kindness and compassion of a Rabb that is Rahmaanur Raheem and a Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, that is Rahmat.

The time has come for the world to feast on that Manna of Rahmat from Heaven – once again.

And that time is now.

And we, Bi-Idhnillahi, are the people to do it.

Waffaqanallahu Lima Yyuhibbu Wa Yardwa.

May Allah guide and help us to do and say what is right and true and good – for all of God’s creation.

END

(Dr. Pasha)

Qur’an and Hadith Is All You Have in This World [Quote 425]

Admin — Sun, 12 May 2013 10:53:27 +0000

You do not, you cannot, see God in this world. But you see the Qur'an.

The Qur'an is all you have in your hands in this world. And the Qur'an is all you will ever see in this world.

Not God.

In other words, let me put it to you straight: The Qur'an is the closest you will ever come to seeing God in this world.

And that opportunity and that common blessing and Rahmat – to see the Qur'an; to hold the Qur'an in your hands; and to read and understand the Qur'an – is given to all in this world. People are limited or excluded only by their own will, ability and inclination.

So also, the Hadith is all you have in your hands. It is all you can see.

The Hadith is the closest you will ever come to seeing Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, in this world. Except of course in dreams, a boon and a privilege that is not granted to everyone.

Only very, very special people get to see Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, in their dreams.

But the Hadith is for all: to see; to hold in their hands; and to study and understand.

So, for everyone everywhere, while you cannot see God in this world, you see his speech in Qur’an, and everyone has been given full and direct access to it.

Just as we can no longer see Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, in flesh and blood in this world, everyone everywhere, has been given full and direct access to his life and legacy – his actual words and the most direct and unadulterated record of his actions – in the form of Hadith in a way that simply cannot be matched or paralleled.

So, you do not see God, but you see the Qur’an. And you do not see Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, but you see the Hadith.

Do we even begin to understand any of this? And do you think this entire thing has any equal anywhere?

And do you think any of this is a mere accident or coincidence?

And does all this not make Islam most self-evident?

And does all this not make Qur’an and Hadith the most compelling arguments for God?

And for Islam?

END

(Dr. Pasha)

Allah and His Creation [Quote 424]

Admin — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:39:02 +0000

Maybe this is how some Muslims earn their "Kafir" credentials. But what needs to be said must be said, regardless of how someone takes it.

The fact is that the Universe is lit up with Allah's light. Creation is the mirror in which Allah reflects himself.

So, those who hanker to see Allah in this world must look intently at the Universe that Allah created, and which then he caused to radiate with his own light.

Allahu Noorus Samaawaati wal Ard.

No, Allah does not incarnate. That is the error in which Christians and Hindus and others allowed themselves to be trapped.

Nor is any part or aspect of the universe an incarnation of God Almighty in any shape or form.

Instead, what the Universe does is mirror the most glorious attributes of Allah, in every detail, each and every one of them.

Consequently, those who investigate and study any aspect or part of the Universe will inevitably find God's face looking at them, no matter where they turn, provided they take into their search bodies, minds, hearts and souls that are pure, humble, honest, true and meticulously cleansed.

END

(Dr. Pasha)

A-Laisallahu bi-Kaafin ‘Abdahu? [Quote 423]

Admin — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:03:34 +0000

Is not God Almighty enough for us? Why do we chase the mirage of Ma Siwallah, things other than Allah, when all we need is him: God Almighty?

To those of us who aspire for all things sublime and wonderful, not just in this world, but also in the next world, I suggest we try God Almighty.

Maybe, once you have him, you will have all and you will need nothing besides. And you will need to chase shadows and phantoms no more.

And I submit two words to your consideration that will help you find God:

1. Qur'an

2. Hadith.

Once you have those two, Qur'an and Hadith, and you decide to take them seriously, as seriously as they should be taken, or as seriously as you can take them, you will find God.

Those two -- Qur'an and Hadith -- will take you to God, provided you take them the way they should be taken and you handle them the way they should be handled.

Here now are a couple of hints with regard to them that will help you handle them right:

(a) Don't forget, this is the same Qur'an that if God had placed on a mountain, the mountain would have gone to smithreens.

Lawu Anzalnaa Haadhal Qur'ana 'Ala Jabalin, La-Ra-Aytahu Khwaashi-an Mutaswaddi-an Min Khashyatillah.

(b) And don't forget that Hadith has to do with Allah's most beloved creation, Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, for whom the gates of heaven were thrown open, right here in this world.

(c) And don't forget that Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, is also a man whom not only God's angels, but also God Almighty himself blesses and exalts and glorifies.

Innallaha Wa Malaa-ikatahu Yuswalloona 'Alan Nabiyyi!

What more can anyone want, especially those who say they want Allah and they are working for him?

What more can anyone expect to get?

END

(Dr. Pasha)

Pasha Hour International – Live from America! – May 07, 2013

Admin — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:40:26 +0000

Use Qur’an as Model [Quote 422]

Admin — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:09:53 +0000

Writers and scholars – both Muslim and non-Muslim – must use Qur’an as model for their writing. The Qur’an has not one error in it.

Laa Rayiba Feehi!

But Qur’an is perfect not because someone proofread it carefully, but because it is from God.

In sending his own perfect speech to earth in the form of the Qur’an, God Almighty, as in everything else, set a standard for all of us humans – Muslim and non-Muslim – to emulate.

God Almighty made the Qur’an the beacon of perfection toward which all of us humans must strive to move.

Allah’s beloved Prophet, Sayyidina Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, said:

Takhallaqwoo Bi-Akhlaaqwillah.

Call me, Ma’adhallah, Kaafir if you will, but I am going to paraphrase it as:

“Be God-like in who you are and what you do! Cultivate in yourself the most beautiful attributes of God.”

And that in the present context means – in the writing context I mean:

“Write the way God writes and speaks in the Qur’an.”

And that means, Wallahu A’alam, two things, among all the infinite billions and trillions of things it means:

(a) Let your content be perfect in every way.

(b) Let your style be absolutely superb and impeccable.

How can anyone go wrong with “Guidance” (Hudan) like that illumining their path and directing their steps?

And don’t forget the river of Mercy that the Qur’an is laps at everyone’s door, both Muslim and non-Muslim!

END

(Dr. Pasha)

Working for Allah Is Strange Business [Quote 421]

Admin — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:06:48 +0000

Working for Allah is strange business. To say the least, it is a one-way traffic.

Those who say they work for Allah give everything and receive nothing in return. Except, of course, from their God – provided their intentions are pure and their actions are good and right.

Time and again, In Ajriya Illa ‘Alallah, is how the Qur’an puts it.

“My reward will come from God, and from no one else,” is how we can paraphrase that Aayat.

And again the Qur’an says, repeatedly, in Surah Ash-Shu’araa’:

Wa Maa As-alukum ‘Alaihi Min Ajr.

Paraphrase:

“I ask you not for any reward or recompense.”

In other words, working for Allah, and inviting people to come to Allah, is hard work. Only the most privileged ones are chosen for it.

And their numbers are always very small.

END

(Dr. Pasha)

Qur’an and Us [Quote 420]

Admin — Wed, 08 May 2013 22:04:38 +0000

The Universe – entire creation of God in the form of all the countless worlds that exist and that are being continually created and recreated – is nothing if not an actualization of the Qur’an in real life. In interlocking space-time continua as it were.

Everything that is in the Universe is in the Qur’an first.

You can either explore the Universe in detail or you can read the Qur’an. They will both take you to the same place.

You will find them both – the Universe and the Qur’an – to be limitless manifestations of God Almighty’s infinite attributes, one in book form in our hands, the other in the form of endless layers of reality all around us.

No matter where you start, and no matter which one of the two you decide to read and decipher first, other things being equal, you will arrive at the same conclusion: They are both miracles – infinite number of them – that point to God in everyone of their minutest detail.

END

(Dr. Pasha)

WORLD DAY OF DEMOCRACY— Fa-Hal Antum Muslimoon? Will You Submit?

Admin — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:41:20 +0000

We call on the world – the entire world, Muslim as well as non-Muslim; in the East as well as in the West – to declare and celebrate Thursday, May 23, 2013, as WORLD DAY OF DEMOCRACY.

This year, May 23 falls in the blessed month of Rajab Al-Murajjab Al-Ahsab Al-Asamm.

For, democracy is Islam and Islam is from Allah! No matter how much the world refuses to see this and no matter how confused the Muslims are about it.[...]

Allah’s Decisions in Our Lives [Quote 419]

Admin — Sun, 05 May 2013 13:40:27 +0000

When Allah makes a decision pertaining to us human beings – when he does; as he does; which he does all the time – those blessed by Allah say “Alhamdulillah!” and move on, their sundry duties to perform.

On the other hand, those who have worked to take themselves out of the downpour of Allah’s mercy and blessings don’t know what to do or how to react.

So, instead of panicking and running to Allah, and throwing themselves on Allah’s mercy, they wail and gripe and try to run away from Allah and his mercy.

Thus, they only make their predicament worse.

Some of them even curse themselves and everything and everyone in sight. They scream in their foolish arrogance and rage and fear and panic: “Why? Why? Why Me?”

Compared to all this, Alhamdulillah is perfect language for all times – none better – and for all seasons, as some would say. It means – among all the wonderful things it means – things like “Thank You! We Accept!”

That in slave language translates to: “Yes, Master! Thank You Master!”

And it means: “Of Course, Master! Whatever You Say, Master!”

And it says: “We Submit! We Surrender!”

Of course many people don’t understand the fact that all time is Allah’s Decision Time. And Allah’s Decisions are ongoing, ever-present.

And the functioning of the Universe, to the extent we are able to see and grasp it, as per every micro-, nano- or picosecond, or in Planck Time, is nothing but a mirror of the unfolding of Allah’s Supreme Will.

The Qur’an attests to this, over and over, in its most glorious Aayaat:

Kulla Yawumin Huwa Fe Sha'n;

Kun Fa-Yakoon;

Fa'aalul Limaa Yureed;

Yaf’alu Maa Yureed;

Yaf’alullahu Maa Yashaa-u;

Khaaliqu Kulli Shai-I;

Al-Khallaaqul ‘Aleem.

END

(Dr. Pasha)

Things Happen When and as Allah Wants Them to Happen [Quote 418]

Admin — Sun, 05 May 2013 00:13:23 +0000

Those working for Allah must put their heads down and persist in their efforts. Results will come when Allah wants.

All time is Allah's time and the right time for everything is precisely when Allah decides it is time.

END

(Dr. Pasha)

Pasha Hour International – Live from America! – Apr 30, 2013

Admin — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:45:23 +0000

A Continuing Challenge before Those Who Say They Work for Allah [Quote 417]

Admin — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:44:46 +0000

One of the biggest ongoing challenges before those working for Allah -- you, me and anyone else who say they are -- is this: How long will we continue on this difficult and rather lonely path of Allah's work?

Hazrat Nuh, Alaihis Salam, stayed forever.

Hazrat Ibrahim, Alaihis Salam, took every challenge and hardship life threw at him and stayed the course.

Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, never looked back, even under the severest of tests and tribulations.

Hazrat Husain, the Prophet's beloved grandson, may Allah be pleased with him, gave his life fighting for justice and liberty, rather than submit to a life of bondage and injustice.

So, the question always is, who will stay the course; who will be steadfast; and who will blink or buckle?

END

(Dr. Pasha)

Pasha Hour International – Live from America! – Apr 23, 2013

Admin — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:36:53 +0000

The Reason Why God Does What He Does [Quote 416]

Admin — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:25:18 +0000

(Inspired by a comment from Dr. Firdaus)

How tempted we all get to speak words like the following:

"The reason why Allah did this.”

And “The reason why God did that.”

Astaghfirullah! As if we know. As if anyone knows.

As if his will and his intent can ever be known or fathomed – by anyone, with regard to anything.

And that is assuming it is not blasphemy of the worst kind, which I have not a doubt in my mind it is, to pretend to be privy to the working of God’s mind.

But facts are facts. And we are humans, endowed with a brain and equipped with a sense of curiosity without bounds.

And we are commanded, explicitly, in the Qur’an, never to stop pondering the mysteries of the universe.

Also, let us not forget that Allah had taught our father Adam “All the Names” – Al-Asmaa-a Kullaha, as the Qur’an puts it.

So, given all that background, and notwithstanding all those caveats, who can stop us from wondering and making all manner of inferential leaps, even about the unfolding of God’s plan in his creation?

Thus, we know for a fact, because the Qur’an tells us that it is so, that when Allah wanted to create Adam he went to dingy, smelly clay, not stardust or a piece of the rainbow.

Min Hama-in Masnoon, the Qur’an calls it.

Now, proceeding from that same premise, when God Almighty wanted to educate the world, where do you think he will go? To a Harvard professor?

Or to a Greek philosopher?

Or to a German scientist?

Or to an Indian Rishi, Egyptian sorcerer or Chinese sage?

Qur’an tells us God went to a Nation of Illiterates in Makkah, Arabia, and from among them fashioned an Illiterate Messenger, untutored by any human agency, and charged him with the task of educating the world.

And commanded him: “Read!”

Anything less would not make sense, would it?

That is the kind of stuff miracles are made of, are they not?

END

(Dr. Pasha)