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| reflections from sh. muhammad's tafseer class |
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| se7en |
| 08/24/04 at 15:23:38 |
| Walls Inspired by Sh. Muhammad’s Tafseer Surat al-Baqara class "The only limitation is in your mind." -- Sh. Muhammad Behind the high, ornate walls of the royal palace, in a room immersed in shadows, a young prince lay shrouded in layers of deep, heavy cloth. Each morning, noon, and evening he is fed by servants the most elaborate dishes, and he occupies his time with trivia, games and the like, deprived of nothing he requests, but never leaving the comfort of the palace in which he resides. His arms and legs become weak from disuse, and his skin takes on a pale pallor from being forever indoors. As he grows older, he grows restless and frustrated. From the arched windows of his home he watches the bright sun shimmer over green fields; the rain patter down, the flurry of snow in the wintertime, and the cycle of birth and death that comes with the seasons. Longing grows inside of him; but he is continuously assured that every comfort has been granted to him; and he is missing nothing. He begins to roam his constricted world, within the palace walls, finding satisfaction in nothing, embracing the overwhelming feelings of depression and hopelessness. One day he sees from his bedside window a young bird, perched upon a branch, facing the sun. It slowly spread its newly formed wings, and with careful deliberation began its flight to the heavens. Inside the young prince a flame was ignited; and he desired nothing more than to feel such freedom. You are imprisoned within the elaborate walls of this world. Each of your particular desires is catered to, and yet these cripple you without you knowing. Don’t you know what you are missing? Can’t you feel your restless soul, roaming in its internal cage, crying out for the freedom to soar? Your soul is of royal birth, ennobled by Allah the most High, enshrouded in dust, hidden away from its true purpose. And so you find yourself lost in depression because you have never seen beyond the palace walls. Come out from your comfortable existence. Why do you shut out the sun? What is it you are you so afraid of? Move beyond the limitations you have placed on yourself and embrace something new. Be courageous. Turn your face to the sun - let your soul take it’s flight. Like a young bird you may falter at first, but soon you will soar, and as you roam in the vastness of the heavens the palace walls will seem like nothing. -- |
| Re: reflections from sh. muhammad's tafseer class |
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| se7en |
| 08/24/04 at 15:24:08 |
| Gratitude Inspired by Sh. Muhammad’s Tafseer Surat al-Baqara class “Remember My favor which I have bestowed upon you, and fulfill your covenant with Me as I fulfill My covenant with you, and fear none but Me.” Surah Baqarah, Ayah 40. A Persian poet tells the story of a man who, in seeking the favor of his king, desired to give him a gift of forty horse-loads of gold. After many years and countless long hours of work, he saved up enough to bestow this gift on his royal leader, and so he set off with his life savings in gold and treasure to the palace. After a long and strenuous journey, fending off thieves and caravan raiders, enduring the weariness of travel under the sharp heat of the desert, he finally arrived at his destination. As he approached the palace walls he saw that they were glinting in the sun; and on closer inspection he saw that they were made entirely of gold. He stabled his horses and entered the palace; and he saw that the walls, the ceilings, and even the dust on the ground were all made of gold. He saw so much gold that gold lost any meaning or value to him. When the king learned of his gift, he laughed. “I never asked for or wanted gifts of this kind,” he said. All I ask from you is for you to be worthy of the gifts I’ll give you.” How many blessings do we experience each moment of the day? The feel of sunlight on your face as you look to the heavens in seeking guidance; the coolness of the earth as you worship, humbling your soul to the dirt from which you were made; the blurring of your senses in that moment before sleep overtakes you; the brush of cool water on your parched tongue as you cleanse yourself for salah.. Imbibe and feel each blessing as you taste it, and know that if you said ‘Alhamdulillah’ with each heart beat, it would be a million times deficient. Even your ability to recognize a blessing is, in itself, a blessing. Say Alhamdulillah each moment of the day and bring your self in line with the contract your soul made before you were born. Be true to this contract and know that He will honor you a thousand fold, and from your submission, gratitude and obedience you will be exalted. -- * And indeed Allah is exalted from analogies. |
| Re: reflections from sh. muhammad's tafseer class |
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| Learner |
| 08/25/04 at 11:03:50 |
| [slm] :) Just wanted to say a BIG Jazakillah khair for the above posts on Surat-ul Baqarah. Please continue your posts as its very enlightening and very nutritious for the soul. [wlm] |
| Re: reflections from sh. muhammad's tafseer class |
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| se7en |
| 09/03/04 at 14:47:37 |
| as salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah, these are just some reflections from Sh. Muhammad al-Shareef's double weekend seminar, conducted under the [url=http://www.almaghrib.org]al-Maghrib Institute[/url].. the topic of which was Tafseer Surat al-Baqara.. I'm not sure how many reflections I have left inside of me from it :P but if I come up with more I will post them. jazak Allahu khayran :) wasalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah, 7 |
| 09/03/04 at 14:48:26 |
| se7en |
| Re: reflections from sh. muhammad's tafseer class |
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| AyeshaZ |
| 09/10/04 at 02:39:52 |
| [slm] JazakAllah khyran! Alhamdullilah Turn your face to the sun - let your soul take it’s flight. Like a young bird you may falter at first, but soon you will soar, and as you roam in the vastness of the heavens the palace walls will seem like nothing. |
| Re: reflections from sh. muhammad's tafseer class |
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| se7en |
| 09/13/04 at 12:26:48 |
salaam, this is weird but it just came to mind... I went to an under funded, ‘inner city’ middle school in upstate New York. Buses rolled in from all parts of the city a little before eight in the morning each weekday, pouring out youth from every ethnicity in that awkward age between childhood and maturity. We lined up outside the formidable walls of what was once a mansion for one of the city’s richest in the 1900s, converted some time ago to a middle school due to the pressing need of a growing population. The bare architecture still retained its original elegance, though the sign posted out front and the graffiti on the steps indicated its new use. Kids did back flips off an incline towards the side of the building, and security guards watched warily as students in puffy jackets gave each other high fives and exchanged glances with hidden meaning. The girls wore tight jeans, Timberlands, and an attitude, played double-dutch and gossiped, waiting for the first bell to ring, and the guys had beepers, fast talking tongues trying to imitate the latest Jay-Z, and wore jeans so baggy they had to hold on to them when they walked. I witnessed a great many things in this middle school; I got to see first hand the struggles underprivileged American youth have with authority, race, poverty, drugs, the opposite sex, and a drifting sense of purpose and identity. Living in a society in which they already knew they were at a disadvantage left many youth bitter, angry, and hard. One day we prepared to attend an assembly. Loudly we streamed into the auditorium, ready for another ‘Just Say No’ lecture from the local DARE officer, or the principal’s routine speech about achievement and success. Instead this big, beefy black man, in his mid thirties, wearing a lot of gold, approached the podium and introduced himself as a one time popular rapper. He talked about his life, immersed in material success, and how he was pulled sharply from it when he was shot in the chest in a street fight. His success drained away with his hospital bills, and he came to understand life in a deeper, more meaningful way. He gave up his life as a rap star, and dedicated himself instead to counseling for youth. His message was not one we hadn’t heard before -- you have value, and something to contribute to society; don’t sell yourself short; aim high and strive for success, etc etc -- but the response from the students was extraordinary. Tough guys with big chains looked the other way; quiet filled the auditorium, and girls started crying. I’ve never seen anything like that, before or since, with an audience. There must have been at least six hundred students present, and he held everyone’s rapt attention. He penetrated people’s hearts, and I believe he really was a catalyst for change, or at least some introspection, for a group of youth many others dismissed as a lost cause. For some reason, as I attended Shaykh Muhammad’s Al-Maghrib course these past two weekends, this memory surfaced back into my consciousness. Somehow Shaykh Muhammad blended psychology with tafseer; personal development with the most sacred learning. And as I sat in an audience with some three hundred other students, I saw that same penetration of hearts that I witnessed for the first time those years ago in middle school. I think it has to do with the sincerity of the teacher, connecting with the sincerity of the student. --- more later insha'Allah |
| Re: reflections from sh. muhammad's tafseer class |
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| jannah |
| 09/13/04 at 12:42:49 |
| [wlm] wow........ how come nothing like that happenned when i was going to school there!!! ps... u forgot to mention how it was built on a former jail and the rumors of bodies being in the walls ;) |
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