This is Love…

From a talk given by Shaykh Habib Ali al-Jiffry last night (paraphrased).

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was on a journey with some of his companions and his wife ‘Aisha (ra). He (صلى الله عليه وسلم) noticed from Aisha’s face she was getting weary from the journey, so to comfort her he told the rest of the companions to go on ahead. Habib said this is the haya (humilty/shyness) Muslims should have, intimacy between husband and wife is not something to be shown in public view, other cultures have different levels of haya, this is the Muslim etiquette.

So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) comforted ‘Aisha (ra) then asked if she wanted a race? She replied yes, and they raced. ‘Aisha (ra) narrates that she won. Sometime later, ‘Aisha (ra) says when she had put on a bit more weight, they raced again but this time Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) won. He (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said this is for that time.

Habib Ali said by saying “this os for that time” the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is showing ‘Aisha (ra) that he remembers every little intimate moment they shared, no matter how long ago it was. These moments are special.

Another narration Habib told us, again narrated by ‘Asiah (ra) herself (paraphrased) -

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and ‘Aisha (ra) had a disagreement, ‘Aisha was angry with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) so the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) suggetsed they call ‘Aisha’s father, Abu Bakr (ra), to mediate between them. So they went to Abu Bakr (ra) and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) asked ‘Aisha (ra) if she wanted to go first (Habib pointed out this in an example of the courtesy of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم), even in a disagreement he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had the utmost adab). ‘Aisha (ra) replied “No, you go first but speak the truth!” Abu Bakr (ra) was shocked at this, how dare she speak to the Messenger of God (صلى الله عليه وسلم) like that?! He raised his hands to hit her and ‘Aisha (ra) ran behind the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) for protection. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said to Abu Bakr (ra) “No Abu Bakr, we didn’t call you for this, we called you to arbitrate between us!”

‘Aisha (ra) knew despite being in an argument with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), he is someone she can always turn to for mercy, he is a mercy to the whole world (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

 

Passwords

I counted approximately 48 things I frequently use, most daily, that require passwords -

Home and work PC
12 software programs for work
Work phone login
Work kitchen entrance code
4 private email accounts
3 forums
Blog
Online banking
ATM machine
Switch pin number
Mastercard pin number
Online card payment
Prayer facility code
2 online magazine subscriptions
Mobile phone customer service + online service
About 16 online shops (used at least once in the last 6 months)

I don’t have 48 different passwords, probably 15, but I change these every couple of months. Everyday repetitively typing the same meaningless randomly chosen words, an old password I once had was “butrosbutrosghali”?!! Anyone who has tried to learn a new language will know that repetition = memorisation.

So to utilise this banal action I thought it may be a good idea to change my passwords to words I want to memorise. Like difficult Arabic words I have trouble remembering, or even better, memorising words from a Quranic dictionary so as to better familiarise with the vocabulary of the Quran.  Could use the names of famous sahaba, short du’a etc etc…

Just an idea, may seem insignificant but everything we do, every moment will be accounted for.

Passwords

All Logic

A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it.

          Rabindranath Tagore

Teleportation? Invisibility?? Time Travel???

Teleportation and forcefields possible within decades, says Professor Michio Kaku

[The Abdal (people of the step) and other Awliya have achieved these things hundreds of years ago!!]

By Matthew Moore

Teleportation and forcefields could become scientific realities within decades, and time travel will also be possible in the future, according to one of the world’s leading physicists.

Professor Michio Kaku of City University in New York has studied a range of scientific “impossibilities” and concluded that most will almost certainly be achieved as our knowledge expands.

Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright Applying the rule that unless something breaks a law of physics “then it’s not only possible, it is sure to be built someday”, Prof Kaku has established a hierarchy of “impossibilities”, separating those phenomena that are sure to remain science fiction from those which are likely to become reality at some point in the future.
Teleportation, telepathy, forcefields and invisibility are Class 1 impossibilities, meaning they are likely to be realisable within a few decades or at most a century.Class II impossibilities may take centuries or millennia to perfect, while Class III impossibilities are truly impossible.

Class 1

Teleportation is likely to be achieved through “quantum entanglement”, a property that allows connections to be formed - and information transmitted - between particles many miles apart.
Applying the process to larger objects like people is just a scientific “engineering problem”, that is likely to be solved in time, Prof Kaku writes in his new book Physics of the Impossible.
Similarly, telepathy will be made possible by improved MRI machines that can effectively read minds, and electrodes that can then pass the information into the brains of other humans.

Invisibility will probably be achieved using a recently-built “metamaterial” capable of bending light rays, he argues. Alien life will most likely be discovered within decades as our ability to analyse the universe improves.

Class II

Time travel is a Class II impossibility because, while it need not break the laws of physics, science still has major knowledge gaps to cross to make it a reality, Prof Kaku believes.
“What makes them [Class II impossibilities] so difficult is that they generally require vast amounts of energy, and their underlying physics is not totally understood,” he writes in this week’s New Scientist magazine.
The research of Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein and the physicist Kip Thorne has shown that time travel is theoretically possible, but no-one has yet found a way to produce the energy necessary to keep a “wormhole” open.
“This technology is only achievable for a civilisation significantly more advanced than ours,” Prof Kaku writes.
Parallel universes and travelling faster than the speed of light are also Class II impossibilities, he argues.

Class III
The only two science fiction phenomena which Prof Kaku believes are truly impossible - Class III impossibilities - are perpetual motion machines and telling the future (precognition), both of which break the fundamental laws of modern physics.
“In considering what the future may hold, then, we should keep an open mind to Class 1 and Class 2 impossibilities,” Prof Kaku writes.
“What is unthinkable today might not be forbidden in a few decades or centuries.”

Source

Centre of the Universe

Rest In Peace Stephen

Stephen Lawrence 13 September 1974 - 22 April 1993

Master of the Self

“He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still”

Lao Tzu

Social Evils

A report published by The Joseph Rowntree Foundation lists the top 10 social evils in UK society as: decline of community; individualism and selfishness; consumerism and greed, a decline of values, the decline of the family, young people as both victims and perpetrators, drugs and alcohol, poverty and inequality, immigration and responses to it, and crime and violence.

BBC article - Report lists new ’social evils’

It will be interesting to hear what solutions they come up with to tackle these social problems. Change in a society’s ethical values happens slowly and I can’t imagine it can be reversed quickly or easily. Especially if we don’t recognise what the root causes of each problem are. For example how do you deal with the problem of consumerism and greed? A commentator on the BBC website wrote:

“The egalitarian principles of liberty, brotherhood and justice have been consumed by social Darwinist greed”.

Food for thought…

Why We Are Not Given Victory

I’m going through the Seerah of Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), reflecting on the part where the Muslims were given victory in Mecca or fathul-Makkah (opening of Mecca).

The way in which the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) entered Mecca - humble because victory is granted only by God. The way he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) dealt with those that fought against the Muslims - he forgave them and said they are free, even though they killed many of his companions and his own uncle (ra), they were by all means war criminals. 

He (صلى الله عليه وسلم) didn’t take retribution for all the wrongs committed against him (صلى الله عليه وسلم). For he was not sent for this, he was sent as a mercy to mankind (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

It’s called the “opening of Mecca” and not “conquering Mecca”. It wasn’t about defeating the enemy to take their wealth and land (in this case take back their own land). It was about opening the hearts of enemies to the truth.

Fight them if they fight you, we have been given the right to defend ourselves from aggression, but when we are given the upper hand we are taught the best way is to forgive and show mercy.

Just think if Muslims were given victory over our perceived enemies in these times, how would we react? What if Israel was defeated how would the Muslims deal with the Israelis? How about America? Would we follow the example set by the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and show mercy or would we take revenge?

Victory is granted by Allah alone, the way the Muslims behaved after the opening of Mecca proved they were sincerely fighting for the sake of Allah, not for any other worldly reason, they deserved victory.

Maybe we are not yet given victory because we don’t deserve it.

Allah knows best.

 

Patience for the Sake of Allah