Monthly Archives: August 2008

Reality of love

 

Baba Najam Ahsan (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

“Love increases, eventually to a stage that its sensation annihilates and it is assimilated into the entity of beloved. (That is, our feelings & emotions (hal) undergo metamorphosis and the state (maqam) of keeping the beloved really happy emerges.)

I provide a few simple examples to make it understandable. Perceive it in your self (assuming that you are a perfectly content couple), neither do you verbalize your love for your wife nor does she articulates it for you, whereas in reality you both are true soul mates. (Your attitude and interaction towards each other is demonstrative of this love, more than the speech.)

Similarly, it is not essential for an individual to put into words feelings of love for his/her mother. (Your appreciation and affection are evident by your behavior and interactions.)

The blessed Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were similarly immersed in the love of Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) to such an extent that its feelings (verbalization and emotional expression) were gone, leaving them only with their awareness of servitude (bandagi). (Their ‘love’ was to perform with utmost sincerity all that is agreeable and abstain from all that is disagreeable to the beloved. Their goal was to keep the beloved well pleased.)

Zikr e Ahsan ra, page 198

We should reflect on this and examine ourselves!

What kind of love, if any do we have for Allah, His Beloved Prophet and friends?

Do our emotional feelings rule this realtionship or the pleasure of one whom we claim to love does so?

‘Umrah in the month of Rajab

masjid-jarana.jpg

Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) writes,

“Ibn ‘Abidin, the well-known scholar of the Islamic jurisprudence, has mentioned that the people of Makkah (in his days) used to perform ‘umrah in the month of Rajab. Perhaps they believed that performing ‘umrah in this month is more meritorious than in other months. Then Ibn Abidin himself has rejected the authenticity of this practice, because no tradition of the Holy Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) is found to this effect. Conversely Sayyidah ‘Aishah, Radi-Allahu anha, has expressly negated the presumption by saying that the Holy Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him)never performed an ‘umrah in the month of Rajab (Sahih Muslim 1:409)

However, Ibn ‘Aibidin has quoted a narration that ‘Abdullah ibn Zubair, Radi-Allahu anhu, completed the renovation of Ka’bah shortly before 27th of Rajab, and as a sign of gratefulness he performed ‘umrah and slaughtered some animals. But this report cannot form the basis of a recognized annual practice, firstly because the report is not very authentic, and secondly because it does not mention that Abdullah ibn Zubair, Radi-Allahu anhu, had adopted it as a continuing practice. At the most, he performed ‘umrah once as a sign of gratefulness on the completion of Ka’bah. It does not mean that he performed it as a characteristic of the month of Rajab. Therefore, performing ‘Umrah in this month is like performing it in any other month and no special merit can be attached to it merely because it has been performed in the month of Rajab.”

Rajab: Islamic months