Self Development: Developing Love for Allah

We are working on our hearts and setting up disciplines and practices that will replace any negative things occupying our hearts with positive ones that will develop our love for Allah, subhaana wa ta'ala. We read the following and then did an exercise.

Developing Love for Allah

By Imaam Ibnul Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (d.751H)
 

Ibnul Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (rahimahullaah) said:

"People have discussed about mahabbah (love of Allaah); its causes and what brings it about, its signs and its fruits and its rulings. The most comprehensive saying about this is what Abu Bakr al-Kattaanee (rahimahullaah) relates about al-Junayd (d.279H).

Abu Bakr al-Kattaanee (d.322H) said:

"A discussion about mahabbah took place in Makkah during the Pilgrimage month. The Shaykhs who were present spoke about this matter and al-Junayd was the youngest of them. They said to him: O 'Iraaqee, what do you have to say? So he bowed his head and tears were flowing from his eyes and he said:

"A servant should overcome his soul;

And be continuous in the remembrance of his Lord;

Establishing the Rights of his Lord;

Focusing upon Him with his heart;

The late of fear setting a blaze upon his heart;

Whilst drinking from the vessel of true love;

And certain realities become unveiled to him;

So when he talks, it is due to Allaah;

When he speaks, it is from Allaah;

When he moves, it is by the command of Allaah;

And when he is serene, then it is from Allaah;

He belongs to Allaah, is for Allaah, and is with Allaah."

So the shaykhs began to weep and said: How can that be increased upon? May Allaah reward you with good, O crown of the knowledgeable ones!" [1]

Imaam Ibnul Qayyim (rahimahullaah) further said:

"The reason which cause the mahabbah (love of Allaah) to develop are ten:

Firstly: Reciting the Qur`aan, reflecting upon it and understanding its meanings.

Secondly: Drawing closer to Allaah through the performance of optional deeds, after fulfilling the obligatory deeds.

Thirdly: Being continuous in the dhikr (remembrance) of Allaah - in all circumstances - with the tongue, the heart and the limbs. The more constant the dhikr, the more mahabbah intensifies.

Fourthly: Giving precedence to what Allaah loves - when being overcome with desires - over what one personally loves and desires.

Fifthly: Causing the heart to contemplate over the Names and Attributes of Allaah. Being a witness to what they necessitate and causing the heart to be enlightened in the garden of this realisation.

Sixthly: Witnessing the blessing and the favours of Allaah; the apparent and the hidden.

Seventhly: Subduing the heart and humbling it before Allaah, causing it to be in awe of Him.

Eighthly: Being in seclusion during the time in which Allaah descends to the lowest Heaven; reciting the Qur`aan, and finishing this recitation with seeking Allaah's forgiveness and sincerely repenting to Him.

Ninthly: Sitting in the gatherings of the sincere and true lovers of Allaah; reaping the benefits of their teachings, and not speaking except when you know there is benefit in doing so and that such speech will increase you in good and benefit others as well.

Tenthly: Keeping clear from all those matters which will cause the heart to distance itself from Allaah - the Mighty and Majestic.

So these are ten matters which cause the lover to reach the station of true love for Allaah, so that he may then reach Allaah - his Beloved." [2]

Footnotes:

[1] Madaarijus-Saalikeen (3/9)

[2] Madaarijus-Saalikeen (3/17-18)

Self Development Exercise:

Make a beautiful little summarized reminder of these 10 points - either on an index card, bookmark, daily event on your phone, poster on the fridge, etc. - that will serve as a checklist on a DAILY basis. Use this as a reminder every day to include these things in your day and keep your whole day busy with something from them, trying to cover each thing on the list. 

This is a practical way to occupy your heart with Allah and all that He loves, and bring true happiness to yourself bi idhn Illah, ta'ala.

Self Development: Occupation of the Heart

We read this gem in our hadeeth class, and did a self development exercise afterwards.

An Occupied Space cannot Contain two Opposites

By Imaam Ibnul-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (d.751H)

A beautiful example of the contents of the Heart by the great scholar, Imaam Ibnul-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah.

It is better for your mouths to be full of pus until it makes it go bad than to be full of poetry.

For a space to accept what is being put in it, it has to be emptied of the opposite. The same way this is relevant with individuals and objects, it is also true for beliefs and wills. So, if the heart is occupied with loving and believing in falsehood, then it has no space for loving and accepting the truth. Just like if a tongue is busy uttering what does not have benefit, then its owner will not be able to utter what has benefit for him except if he stops talking about what is useless. Also if the different body parts are busy doing what is not obedience then it is not possible to keep them occupied in doing what is obedience except if he (the owner) frees them of the opposite. In the same way, a heart full of loving other than Allaah, wanting him, longing to meet him, and enjoying his company cannot be occupied with love for Allaah, wanting Him, longing to meet Him except by emptying it (the heart) from attachment to anything other than Him (Allaah). And the tongue cannot move to remember Him nor can the body parts move to His service except if he (the owner) frees them from mentioning and servicing other than Him. So if the heart is full of occupation with creation and sciences that do not have benefit then there is no space for being occupied with Allaah and knowing His Names, Attributes, Laws. And the secret of that is that the Isghaa (listening in concentration) of the heart is like the Isghaa (listening in concentration) of the ears, so if he listens to other than the Hadeeth (meaning speech , words, subject) of Allaah, then there will be no room to listen to or understand the Hadeeth of Allaah. Just like if he is inclined in love towards other than Allaah then he would have no room to incline in love towards Allaah. If the heart utters other than the remembrance of Allaah then it will not have any space to utter His remembrance by using the tongue. And that is why we find in an authentic narration from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam):

"It is better for your mouths to be full of pus until it makes it go bad than to be full of poetry." [1]

So he made it clear that a mouth can be full of poetry and therefore it also becomes full of doubts, fictions and unexisting measures. Also the sciences that have no benefit, jokes, comedies, stories and so on. If the heart is full of that, then when the truths of the Qur`aan, and the sciences that can make it experience its full function and happiness, come to him, it will not find any space for itself and no acceptance (from it), so it bypasses it (the heart) and moves to another place. If you give advice to a heart full of its opposite, it will not find a way in and (the heart) will not accept it. It does not enter inside but it only passes by briefly and not from the inside. That is why it was said:

"Clean your heart from other than Us , and you will find Us

For our Highness is compatible with every clean heart

And patience is a chest for the treasure of being associated with Us

He who makes the chest compatible wins its treasure."

Footnotes:

[1] Narrated by Sa'ad Ibn Abee Waqqaas in Saheeh Muslim, Kitaabush Shi'ir (Book of poetry) (27/5610).

source: Troid.ca

Self development exercise:

What Occupies your Heart?

List the beneficial and the harmful things that occupy your heart. 

After listing the things occupying your heart, consider what needs to be evicted (kicked out) and what needs to be brought in, in order to make your heart clean and a source of happiness for you.

Self Discovery Exercise through Poetry

I am  (2 traits that describe you)
I wonder if  (what do you wonder?)
I hear (what sounds fill your ears?)
I see (what visions fill your head?)
I want (what desires fuel your actions?)
I dream (what might your dream?)
I worry (what bothers you?)
I feel (what do you feel?)
I am (2 different traits that describe you)

You can see my completed poem over at Mai to the Extreme in the post, Looking Inward...

Our New Schedule

Everything we do is, in some way, training for this life and the Next. We have changed our daily schedule for this school year, in order to prepare ourselves for the daily structure we will have when we return to Healing Earth next summer, inshaa Allah. We will have to stay up after fajr prayer to feed and milk the animals, our school day will be split up to ensure the the focal point - Islamic education - has greater weight, and the times are conducive to the milking and farm chores.

To get everyone's internal clock  adjusted, we all stay up after fajr prayer and walk to a local park. There are three within a 10 to 20 minute walk from our building. There, the children have a chance to play while we catch up on our reading. The school schedule is five days a week, but Arabic and Qur'aan are every day of the week, as they must be an integral part of our everyday life.

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
5:30 – 6:45 a.m.	Walk to Park  (children play & parents read)	Walk to Park	Walk to Park	Walk to Park	Walk to Park	Walk to Park	Walk to Park
7:00 – 8:00	Shower & Breakfast	Shower & Breakfast	Shower & Breakfast	Shower & Breakfast	Shower & Breakfast	Ghusl & Breakfast	Shower & Breakfast
8:00 – 9:00	Arabic Lesson	Arabic Lesson	Arabic Lesson	Arabic Lesson	Arabic Lesson	Arabic Lesson	Arabic Lesson
9:10 – 9:55	Qur’aan & Tajweed	Qur’aan & Tajweed	Qur’aan & Tajweed	Qur’aan & Tajweed	Qur’aan & Tajweed	Qur’aan & Tajweed	Qur’aan & Tajweed
10:00 – 10:45	Hadeeth	Hadeeth	Hadeeth	Hadeeth	Hadeeth
10:55 – 11:40	Usool-ud-Deen	Usool-ud-Deen	Usool-ud-Deen	Usool-ud-Deen	Usool-ud-Deen
11:50 a.m. – 1:50	Break time to include lunch and salaat.	Break time	Break time	Break time	Break time
2:00 – 2:45		English	English	English	English
2:55 – 3:40		Math	Math	Math	Math
3:50 – 4:30		Science	Social Studies	Science	Social Studies

The Beauty of Cloth

Bism Illah wa as salaamu alaikum wa Rahmat Allah wa Barakatuh.

Ever read a single hadith about anyone having a paper napkin, paper towel, tissue, toilet paper, disposable diaper, flushable tampon, or disposable sanitary pad in the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him)? Well, I'm waiting. What? You cannot believe it? There isn't anything about Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) wiping up the mess with Bounty Extra-Strong? Nothing about Sumayyah (may Allah be pleased with her) digging a hole for her Stayfree with Wings? I guess you get where I'm heading with this then.

During the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), they used cloth for all these daily household and personal care things. The modern day "green" movement has already gone back to using cloth because, after killing off and wasting so many natural resources, it has become an environmental issue. Most of us know by now that the diapers and sanitary pads stay in landfills and don't decompose. We are simply filling up the earth Allah (subhaana wa taala) has entrusted to us with najiss (filthy) waste. How do we turn this thing around?

Napkins: Cloth napkins made from natural fibers such as cotton or linen. If you can, please buy them from a thrift or second hand shop like Goodwill. You will often find better quality and will put them to good use instead of them going to waste. You will also gain the reward of not spending more money than necessary, mashaa Allah. Better yet, use those extra sheets or cotton shirts and make your own; after all it's just sewing around a square of cloth. Recycling is an important Sunnah... yet another discussion to get to! I have seen some beautiful napkins at yard sales, etc. and have collected them from here and there, mashaa Allah. Some were given as gifts as well, so think of this when you need a gift idea for a family, newlyweds, or someone moving to a new home, inshaa Allah. Imagine how beautiful a gift they would make if you embroidered their initials, names, or small Islamic reminders of the etiquettes of eating on them! In our home, we have a nice little basket with napkins folded up in it and whenever they are needed, they are on hand. After use, they get thrown in with the laundry and are good to go again. We even take them with us on picnics with all our reusable plates, cups, and cutlery mashaa Allah.

Paper towels: Never let old cotton clothes, sheets, and towels go to waste; use them as cloths to clean. When it comes to cleaning, polishing, and wiping up spills, I have a big bag of cotton clothes that aren't fit for charity that I cut up and use. I never buy paper towels and the cloth is all natural cotton. Nothing beats a nice tube sock on the hand for wiping down cupboards and countertops...and since the odd socks keep turning up, our house is quite famous for our cleaning socks! When the cloth is dirty simply wash it, or if it is in a horrible state, throw it away or better yet, cut it up/shred the material and compost it. No more paper towel bills!

Tissues: Buy or make cotton or linen handkerchiefs. I'm stressing cotton because we really need to get back to natural materials and they are best for blowing noses on and being absorbent. I strongly recommend you look in thrift stores and yard sales for these simply because the old ones are exquisite, masha'Allah, The embroidery work, the designs, the workmanship... all are outstanding. My mother had a big collection of handkerchiefs she was happy to share with us. I also bought a big lot from e-bay and distributed them to my children. The girls all know which ones are theirs because they each have different designs. The "men" of the house have their own as well. They are washed, returned and we never have a problem about running out of tissues. Personalized hankies are a lasting, environmentally friendly gift that will last for years.

Toilet tissue/paper: Small washcloths or hand size towels for drying oneself. Have separate, color coded, marked, or named ones for each family member. As Muslims, we should use water to wash ourselves after using the toilet, so they are really for drying purposes only. There is also the practice of simply having a box of cut up cloths for single use in the toilet and another box or basket for them to be put in for laundering. This causes more laundry and, but is a great solution for those with small children and/or large families.

Diapers: Get cloth diapers. Get cotton, nice and absorbent, no allergy problems for your baby's behind, simply throw into a dry bucket and when you have a few, wash them with soap nut powder, a little homemade natural washing soap, or eco wash balls. You will never have to buy a disposable diaper again. I've done it and am currently cloth diapering, so I can advise about all the ins and outs of making it easy, inshaa Allah.

Baby Wipes: Use small baby washcloths or cut up soft cotton and a spray bottle of water. You may want to make up a concoction of water with a little aloe vera juice, a few drops of tea tree and lavender essential oils, and a 1/4 teaspoon of Castille soap. Spray and wipe your baby's private parts, then simply wash the cloths to be used again and again. Your baby will get used to being washed with water from day one, making istinjah a natural thing.

Sanitary pads: Hemp or cotton washable sanitary pads are comfortable, natural, and the Sunnah. Go read ahadith about it and you'll clearly see that the women simply used pieces of cloth to catch their menstrual blood. I bought mine 8 years ago, before I had my second daughter and I've never looked back since. They don't move around, they are comfortable and breathe, and mashaa Allah I haven't had to buy a single sanitary pad since that day. If you hate to see stains, then go for dark colors. For a discount on LunaPads, just send your order or questions to herbalummi@yahoo.com. For the sewing sisters, there are patterns online for ones with wings that you can sew up simply. You can even buy thick hemp knit material and just cut it to size. Looking for an even easier solution. Fold thick terry washcloths into three and use them. Believe me, it is simplicity itself. Just have a little bag to collect them in, wash them, and you are all set again. I have found that having my girls reuse outgrown t-shirts, pajamas, favorite nightdresses, etc. to make their own sanitary pads is a very nice project. It not only prepares them mentally and physically for the onset of menstruation, but it is fun and they get to choose different colors, patterns, and sizes to make.

Shopping Bags: Get strong canvas bags from thrift stores, freecycle, or unearth the ones hanging around your closet or basement and use them for your shopping instead of the plastic bags. They are stronger, can safely hold more, and not only save money but also the environment mashaa Allah.

Children's toys, doll clothes, and stuffing: My daughters have made many little dolls, doll clothes, quilts, and pillows from scraps of leftover material and the little bits or smaller scraps can be used to stuff them

Mashaa'Allah, going back to some of the simple living of the sahabah not only brings about a healthier lifestyle, but also saves the earth, puts a stop to the huge waste we perpetrate every day, and eliminates many expenses. You will find that you eliminate a notable amount in expenses by going back to cloth and making use of every scrap of cloth you have in your house before throwing it away. Remember that we must answer for everything we did in this life: our wastefulness, extravagance, the part we play in polluting and destroying the earth, and the distance we have put between our lives and the life of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him).

Exposure

Bism Illah wa as salaamu alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

Exposure is a POWERFUL thing. It can cause dissatisfaction, greed, misery, materialism, divorce, corruption, and great haraam. However, handled with care and forethought, exposure is the key to positive outcomes, halal pursuits, and pleasure in the most simple things.

Part of the reason children like the things they do is simply due to exposure. If they are exposed to TV, music, video games, amusement parks, and shopping as forms of recreation, then they will be the things they choose from, along with the things they have seen through those media. You will find them constantly wanting the things they have seen advertised or in the shop windows. You will find them often inactive and considering Wii a viable form of sports.Rather than sit and talk face to face, they will communicate via the latest app, be it Whatsapp, Instagram or the ever present Facebook. Bad exposure results in parents hearing those awful words from their children, "I'm bored. There's nothing to do," because they always require entertainment from an external source.

However, when you expose your children to nature, playing in the park, making things out of mud, cooking, crafts, knitting, sewing, building things, growing things, physical activities and games, pretend role playing, and reading to learn about real people, places, and situations, you will find them choosing from those things as forms of recreation.The larger their repertoire of skills, abilities, intellectual and physical outlets, the more healthy, balanced, and competent they will be. Good exposure results in parents finding that their children are never bored; rather they don't have time to do all the different things they'd like to do.

When we were preparing for a trip to Makkah to meet up with my oldest friend and her family, my 7 and 10 year old daughters got out their knitting book and knitted a handbag and a phone cover for her youngest daughter - my namesake - Mai. They also knitted a purse for her older sister. We made them gifts of homemade coco-mint lip balm and honey and orange body bars. I baked them brownies. They don't think about having money to buy gifts for others, they think about what they can make - a gift made with love and thought and real effort on their part, maashaa Allah.

Exposure is something that can be done on a larger scale when socializing with other families, too. We went to the park and had knitting lessons. We had a monthly girls gathering where we cooked something healthy and delicious. We crafted rag rugs. We had theme nights where everyone dressed "prairie" and we cooked prairie food and learned about life back then for the pioneers.

I talk about my eating philosophy with friends and acquaintances, but it is never simply that. I feed them. I show them that you can eat halaal, tayyibaat, truly healthy and nutritious food that tastes wonderful, without compromise. I expose them to foods that are simple to make, so if they say they love them, I can give them the recipe and they can make it themselves easily with few ingredients.

Exposure is also da'wah. In sharing my thoughts and struggles publicly, I expose others to a positive approach to life's tests. I can expose them to better knowledge and understanding of Allah and His Perfection,  and how that can be applied in real-life situations, bi idhn Illah ta'ala.

So, consider the power of exposure, and seek not only to expose others to good and positive things, but also to ensure that you are being exposed to beneficial things... for this life and your ultimate success in the aakhirah inshaa Allah.

Purifying Planting

How does planting heal us and the earth? Planting is purifying.

Allah says in Surat-ul-'Abasa:

Then let mankind look at his food -

How We poured down water in torrents,

Then We broke open the earth, splitting [it with sprouts],

And caused to grow within it grain

It is Allah, alone, the Creator and Sustainer, Who causes things to grow. If we want our crops to grow, we need to ask Allah. In asking anything of Allah, we must make sure that we open the door to our du'a being accepted by purifying our intentions. We cannot ask of our Creator, while in a state of disobedience to Him. We cannot ask of our Creator for things that will harm us or displease Him. We cannot ask of our Creator for things while joining partners with Him - the All Knowing, the One Who has Power over all things. So in seeking sustenance and planting, we need to purify ourselves, heal the sicknesses inside us. We are pulled into a deep and true meaning of tawakkal (reliance on Allah for everything).

We plant -> we purify our intentions -> we ask Allah to grow the plants -> our du'a are accepted-> Allah grows our food -> provides us with plants for nourishment and healing illnesses -> provides life giving oxygen and purifies the air we breathe -> provides different balancing minerals and nutrients to the earth -> we thrive on it -> are able to worship Allah -> and purify our intentions....
It is a cycle of purifying perfection, al hamdul'Illahi Rabbil aal ameen!