The necessity of Religion- period.

Many in today's world have completely walked away from religion because of some logical appropriate reasons. Unfortunately, fanatics have taken over the meaning and structure of different religions, esp. Christianity and Islam, and have reinterpreted them in such a way that people who are formerly religious find no validity and it gives those who were never religious reasons to not want to be.

What is spirituality? Broadly, it is the belief that one has a spirit and is concerned about it. Where does spirituality come from? Billions of people believe that spirituality comes from the creator. For thousands of years people have thought extensively about the spirit, the creator, and the afterlife. From ancient Chinese spirituality to Islam, the belief in Allah, Heaven and every other name the creator has given himself, people have sought solace in spirituality through religious practice. However, modern people have decided to take it upon themselves to develop their own spirituality and "connection" with the creator. Talk about making the biggest mistake first, which is the lack of humility due to extreme ego inflation! How can anyone face the creator through their spirit when they are still completely controlled by their ego?

Instead of seeking religious affiliation, many, esp. in the West are seeking spirituality, which is the heart of all religions. People are wanting all the benefits of religion without wanting to take responsibility in this existence for their actions that are moderated by the direction that the creator has given to us through religion.

As I am a Muslim, and one who initially did not want to assimilate religion with spirituality, I cannot help but to promote my opinion with arguments based on 1400 years of Islamic thought. When I was reintegrating myself into spirituality I thought that it would be possible to just practice the spirituality of Islam without having to follow the laws of Islam, quickly I realized that without the discipline that the religion gives me, I would not get anywhere with my spirituality. I began to ponder why it was that I needed to follow these 1400 year old ideas in my modern life. Outwardly, in the west, Islam appears to be mid-evil, uncivilized, and even static. One has to swallow a lot of pride to follow the general rules of Islam if they are reverts in the west. I, myself, had to give up going out on dates along with flirting, eating haraam food, my very cool bicycle, alcohol, and my general status in culture. I had to also give my friends, not because Islam dictates it, but because I know longer had anything in common with them. I knew though, that if I wanted to develop any form of spirituality whether directed by Western religions or Eastern, I was going to have to give up all of my ego through ritualistic discipline first before I was going to taste any spiritual "wine".

As of yet, I have not met any real spiritual person who is not deeply religious, not to say that it cannot be, but that the odds are far greater if one has developed the strong discipline of religious ritual and rites first or in conjunction with spiritual development. Understandably, when people who seek to know their spirit have to contend with narrow-minded religious zealots, instead of trying to understand that religion, they immediately walk away. Instead, what our spirit is truly asking us is to educate ourselves about the religion, humble ourselves to the fact that we know so little, and find the truth.

Islam, is a religion based on law, enlightenment, and justice. Prophet, saaws, was immediately enlightened by the light of the creator and was immediately purified spiritually. Others around him, the sahabis, also became enlightened when they received the undeniable word of Allah. It was only in subsequent generations, that people turned away from enlightenment and became fully immersed in ego aggrandizement and personal idol worship, instead of following the path to enlightenment that Islam offers.

The right of practice of Islam is essential to enlightenment. It is by far the quickest path and most explicit. The path to enlightenment, sirat al-mustaqim, is begged upon in every prayer, essentially one who practices Islam puts intention to have enlightenment 40+ times a day. That's INCREDIBLE! As a practicing Muslim, one says that they want the straight path to Allah (enlightenment) so often. Although, not everyone is making true intention when they ask for the path, the fact is that what passes the lips still has an affect on the heart. It is healthy for the heart to feel those words. In our human life, we walk easily with 2 feet, religious practice and spiritual servitude are the 2 feet that we use to walk on the path to enlightenment. If one only practices religious doctrine they will have a struggle to know Allah, if one only uses "spirituality" they miss the whole point of life and thus will struggle in the long-term to know Allah. When one uses both their lives will become meaningful and if Allah wills it, their path to Him will be easy.

The whole point of Islam and sunnah of rasul, saaws, is to facilitate spiritual development and social harmony and illumination. It recognizes the fact that ALL deserve to find the Creator in their lives right now. Islam (synonym for spiritual work) is for everyone, not just priests, fathers, popes, pastors and monastics, it is the right for all in humanity. It is a right that Allah has on us that we try to know Him, through his generous and loving nature, he has created this miraculous universe and the way to him through 140,000 prophets and through the exemplary human P. Mohammad, saaws. Why waste time constructing your own spirituality, when the quickest path to spirituality has been given to the world?

I would be surprised to hear any reason that is not based on ego attachment. The path to spiritual success is a well trodden path especially amongst the Muslims. May Allah guide us all on the sirat al-mustaqim so that we can experience enlightenment here and now.

jzk.

Fashion Controversy

It's clear that our worlds- "Sexy" Secular and Religious Modesty- are crashing.

Many modern Muslims have decidedly come to fashion in droves. The Hijab, as a fashion tool, has even drawn our non-Muslims brothers and sisters closer towards our customs. Practically, every 15-30 year old in the world sports the Arab keffiyeh around their necks, although I don't think it's for solidarity with the Palestinian/oppressed Arab movement.
There's no reason to be bothered by kids throughout this world wearing Arab/Muslim garb. What we should be concerned about is whether we are abandoning the issue of Modesty to be fashionable.

We all know HIJAB is not an attire. We all know that Prophet did not forbid men and women from looking their best around their maharram, but he did forbid them wanton display of extravagance. In Hadeeth Sahih Muslim 2128, "There are two types of people I have not seen, (until he mentions), and women who are clothes yet naked, they will not enter paradiseor even smell its fragrance." Besides the social ramification of wearing hijab as a fashion by coupling it with tight jeans, exuberant scarf coverings, bright colored tops that show off the female chest, being overly concerned about what you look like damages your heart.

The health of your heart is far more important than the outward appearance of your face and body. Truly, if you were disease-free at heart you could go naked and still be in complete obedience and submission to Allah, swt. Unfortunately, there are few amongst us who are near to having strong health of Ihsan.

If you are not concerned about developing your Ihsan than continue to be concerned about your outward appearance whether fashionable or truly modest. If you are trying to kill your ego, you will have to let go of this idea of appearance. Remember Allah can see you heart and hear your niyat (intention).

May Allah guide us all.

JZK.

What do you listen to? Your ego? Your heart? or Your brain?

Just to touch bases in regards to unexplainable and dubious events that peoples experience in life are coming from three distinguished parts of our existence. These experiences get to be ignited from three parts. A: heart. B: Aqhel. C: Nafs or Nafess.

As we know, Allah(s) granted us these parts for our advancement:

First part is the Kingdom, the heart, Ruhh, spirit, whom we originally are, the driver with in our car, body, a divine light, a specific glory from the reflection of the reflection of one of His Holy attributes. A thing that came from another universe, universe of Ruhh, a place below the Throne, something that does not share anything of physical or chemical attribute similarity to what this universe is made of. It was created 650 billion years ago. This is what angles are adoring and it is the angelsʼ domain. This being, the Ruhh, was offered to go outside of its universe in the day of ALASTO BE RAB BECOOM ( Al-Quran) to explore the divine beauty of His Holiness and attributes. (This is one of the purpose of this creation.)

It is the heart of lovers, one area, that people see incredible things. These experiences are colorful, restful, and physical phenomena. We can say that this is experience of Lovers of Allah(s).

(2), Second part called in Quran is Aqhel, mind or brain, within that is Wegdan, a part in which the brain can enable us to see the right and wrong, and Manteqh, logic, and the power to think.

It is some thing that Allah(s) also granted the angels. This chemical, electrical, and neurological phenomena has its own colorful, test full, and physical experiences, so people see things. Intellectual people like Socrates, Dr. Hugo, and many other who talked about their vision in complete silence. Is that the same as experience of Ruhh ? NO!

(3) Third part is called Nafess. It is made of three parts in our body, the sexual organ, digestive organ and the area of the brain that records the end results of our six senses activities.

A colorful way to describe it is: We know that the (WHITE HOUSE,) the kingdom of our heart is watching our activities. What ever we experience through our 6 senses, (THE CONGRESS,) liver releases carefully an order, a particular enzyme or drug for that activity. That enzyme travels through the courts, all law enforcement, to oxygenation in lung (THE SUPREME COURT.)

After receiving its energy, it runs through its offices, cells, and then it changes its form from order to a law, a drug or chemical to electrical wave. Once it got to the brain, library of congress, it gets recorded as a picture with color, test and physical feature for future usage. This is what we share with animals.

If we use the Heart, we are better then Angels. If we use the Aqhel, we will be full of tricks for our own desires, so we will abuse others, we are in the hand of Shaytans.

If we use the Nafess we are worse than Animals.

As Imam al-Ghazali and other lovers report to us that there are four type of Nafess:

1) Nafess of domestic animals, they only move, eat, and sleep such as cow, sheep and ect. There are people like that.

2) Nafess of wild animals, they kill, torture and destroy so they could eat, move, or sleep. There are people like that.

3) Nafess of those, they enjoy to trick, play games or to kill, to destroy, to hurt, to abuse others, and also push others directly or indirectly to do the same. This is the Nafess of Shytani. There are people like that.

4) Nafess of Rahmani, whom practices is rahma, mohabat, love under the law of shari'a. This is the nafess of Saleheen, Moa'meneen, Sadeqheen, true believers. They are the people that Allah(s), Rasul-c-, all lovers and Angels are proud of. There are people like that.

Allah(s) give us the ability to be any one of this 4 type or a mix of them but THEY wish the last one for us. Because we have been given the freedom of choice to choose our behavior and deed so we could establish our own station, Allah(s) had planned for a judgment day. May Allah(s) bless you.

Upgrading or Reverting- I'm Muslim

I would like to share with you all how I came to know those words and why they are so important to me. In 2000 I was living in Sana’a, Yemen, which is where I said the Shahada. What I witnessed amongst the Yemenis is a truly beautiful culture and way of living that is dictated by Islam. People follow the Sharia and Sunnah because they know that it helps to develop spiritual relations with the One God. I witnessed how this beautiful society was so able to promote spirituality and not just rigid religion. The women that I was associated with carried with them a peace that is hard to find amongst my friends here. In fact, I admit that I never knew what true friendship was until I met a sweetheart of Allah, Maha Al-Qerbi. There is special care that is felt amongst spiritual people of which is extra powerful amongst the true lovers of the One God.

Although, when I returned to the States in 2001, I had a hard time cultivating Islam. I found it easier to go back to my old life. I hadn’t follow develop the discipline to be a Muslim. In the beginning of 2007, my heart started to be pulled back to Islam. After years of not praying, not thinking about G-d, not caring about anything in life, but my own, something just changed. I suddenly felt empty. No longer did I care about all the things that kept me locked into this culture. Not my bike, not my knowledge of beer, nor my ability to attract good-looking people towards me, was satisfying in any way to me. One night in that winter of 2007, I attended a zikr-Allah. I put on my abaya and hijab and suddenly remembered Allah. I wept when I heard other people saying the name of G-d. With their hearts and not with their ego, people declared their love to the Beloved.

That summer, I crossed the Asian world. I visited tombs of saints in Central Asia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. I prayed at the great Ottoman Masjids and saw the faces of my brothers and sisters looking for Allah. When I arrived back in the States from that fascinating travel, I looked deeper into my heart to see if I was truly ready to submit to Islam. The world around me had not changed, but I had. I knew that I would be able to listen to my heart and truly give myself to G-d.

What does it mean to give oneself to Allah? It means that one must follow the life of the Prophet Moh’d, sws. How does one do that? For me it meant, to stop listening to my ego and start listening to my heart and spirit. I started praying all of my prayers and even more. I found out much about the saints, the women, and the lovers of Allah. Their stories and poetry vibrated through me.

One such saint is Rabia Adawiya, a woman from Basra, Iraq. She was kidnapped and forced into prostitution at a young age. Through the hardship of her life, she kept her heart turned to Allah and came to know Allah as her Beloved.
In one stanza in one of her classic poems she writes: “O Allah, If I adore you out of fear of Hell, burn me in Hell. If I adore you out of desire for Paradise, Lock me out of Paradise. But if I adore You for yourself alone. Do not deny to me your eternal beauty.”
I had previously been under the impression that Allah was separate from humanity, her words gave me new insight. Being in Love with Allah is a hard emotion to take on. How does one fall in love with G-d? I looked towards different Sufi tariqats to understand how the saints invoked such emotion. I found it easily in them. For hours I sat and listened to highly spiritual beings explaining what Islam really is. What Allah is and What his Attributes are and Why it’s important to cultivate those Names into ones life.
There are thousands of stories, fables, and parables written by Muslims since the time of the Prophet that put so vividly the world of Islam. Another beautiful stories goes as followed.

There was once two young children who played with one another. As they grew up the boy fell in love with this girl. He would never be allowed to marry her. He became a majnoon, wandering from forest to forest, living in caves because of the pain of seeing his beloved with another. One time he without thought passed in front of a man praying, almost knocking him over. The man yelled at him. Majnoon points out to him, that one must not be in love with Allah if he is so distracted by such a fly, as he was so in love with his Layla that he never noticed this man praying.
This story illustrates the perfection of Ishq that one must shoot for in this life. We must not pray just because we feel obligated, one must pray and live ones life in sincerity to develop enlightenment and ISHQ for Allah.

I don’t know if I will ever be able to express all the beautiful aspects of Islam and what it means to me to be a Muslim. It is such a blessing to know that I have an extremely supportive community who accept you regardless of your color, background, or social standing. Purity comes rapidly to the heart for the lovers of Allah and a special clarity comes to the mind. After a few months of seeking to know Allah, I was able to confidently give up many aspects of my ego in return of my spirit.

Today, as I sleep I find myself remembering Allah, through prayers. When I dream, I hear words of my Beloved. When I walk through the day, caring for my father, I see the duty that Allah has sent me to fulfill. In fact, because of the practice of Islam, I have gained special attributes myself. When needed, I can see through the eyes of others and feel their hearts beat as my own. I am more in check of my feelings and more able to feel comfort with one breath. In-Allah. Out-HU