A spiritual Ishmaelite

Category: Dialogues with secularists/modernists

  • Sufi music by pious South Asian modernists

    O Most Generous One, O Greatly Forgiving One, O Most Merciful One,
    O Most Mighty One, O You Whose Favour is quickly achieved
    May I always remain pleased with what You have granted me
    O Most Generous One, O Greatly Forgiving One, O Most Merciful One,
    O Most Mighty One, O You Whose Favour is quickly achieved
    May I always remain pleased with what You have granted me

    This rosary of repentance that lies around my neck
    Please turn this into a means of heartfelt prayer and praise of Your perfection
    Please turn this into a means of heartfelt prayer and praise of Your perfection
    Please turn this into a means of heartfelt prayer and praise of Your perfection

    O God, I ask You by Your Divine Mercy
    O Majestic One
    My head is bowed in regret and shame at my actions,and my heart is grief-stricken
    If You don’t hear my plea, who else would I appeal to?
    You are the all-Hearing and all-Seeing Answerer of Prayers
    You are the all-Hearing and all-Seeing Answerer of Prayers
    You are the all-Hearing and all-Seeing Answerer of Prayers

    You are the Lord of Bilal’s call to prayer
    You are compassionate and You are also formidable
    And You are the one who commands the universe to ‘Be’, and it is
    You are the Lord of Muhammad Mustafa
    God is Great
    You are the Lord of Ali Murtaza
    God is Great
    The Lord of the Straight Path
    God is Great
    The Lord of the Ka‘bah
    God is Great
    I see the Ark of Noah
    I drown in the sea of repentance

    O Merciful One
    Please grant me closeness to Yourself
    O Generous One
    Please disregard my misdeed
    O Merciful One
    I am a seeker of Your Divine Mercy
    O Generous One
    I am Your flawed and sinful slave

    We are fated to burn in the river of fire
    But if you become our support, we can be saved

    You are the light that I became blind to
    By committing witting and unwitting sins, I gained nothing

    If You cast Your merciful gaze towards me, this difficulty too shall pass
    You are the Benevolent, the Knower of Unspoken Prayers, the Clement
    You are the Benevolent, the Knower of Unspoken Prayers, the Clement

    You are the Lord of Zulqarnain’s wall
    You are the Lord of the Prophet’s night journey
    You are the Lord of Ishmael and of Hagar’s well
    You are the Lord of Abraham
    God is Great
    You are the Lord of Gabriel
    God is Great
    The Lord of the angels
    God is Great
    The Lord of the fountain of Kausar
    God is Great
    Make us the humble servants of your true slaves
    O Supremely Great One, O Fulfiller of Needs

    I haven’t the capacity to picture the Day of Resurrection
    My deeds are not the kind to win Your favour and mercy
    I plea that You grant me closeness to Yourself
    Have mercy on this miserable beggar standing at Your door

    When all my grand schemes fell apart, I came to the realization
    That You alone determine what happens in Your kingdom
    For the sake of Your beloved Muhammad, please hear this humble prayer of mine

    You are the Nourisher, the Reckoner, the Resplendent
    You are the Nourisher, the Reckoner, the Resplendent
    You are the Lord of Ali and Hamza’s masterful strikes
    You are the lord of Moses’s staff
    You are present wherever we may turn
    You are the Lord of Jesus
    God is Great
    You are the Lord of Mary
    God is Great
    The Lord of the Prophet’s companions
    God is Great
    You are the Lord of the Five Holy Persons
    God is Great
    I see the Ark of Noah
    I drown in the sea of repentance

    O Merciful One, O Generous One
    O Merciful One, O Generous One
    O Merciful One
    Please grant me closeness to Yourself
    O Generous One
    Please disregard my misdeed
    O Merciful One
    I am a seeker of Your Divine Mercy
    O Generous One
    I am Your flawed and sinful slave
    Please grant me closeness to Yourself
    Please disregard my misdeed
    I am a seeker of Your Divine Mercy
    I am Your flawed and sinful slave
    Please grant me closeness to Yourself
    Please disregard my misdeed
    I am a seeker of Your Divine Mercy
    I am Your flawed and sinful slave.

  • Future of earth and Hadith

    Even according to rational standards, we do not have an infinite future. In Hadith the proximity of the end is compared to two adjacent fingers, and if we have ten fingers, compared to 13.8 billion years, it makes sense that life on earth will become extinct in the next billion years due to evaporation of all water as predicted by science.

  • Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow and thanato-conscious living

    Thanato-conscious living is the best way to live a life of flow. A critic of Islam said: ” I am like a character in a video game who gained a new skill and is now kicking ass against the bad guys. ” Overcoming the sadistic impulse is more liberating. Imam Shafi’i said: When I debate people, I never want to win the argument but pray and hope that truth becomes victorious at the tongue of my opponent.

  • What have three scientists sharing the graveyard in common with Muslims?

    Darwin married his cousin like Muslims, Newton died a unitarian like Muslims and Hawking opposed Israel like Muslims. They are buried in the same graveyard.

     

  • When ethical patience and tolerance will be considered a weakness

    When ethical patience and tolerance called hilm will be considered a weakness.

     

    The disciple asked: When will Antichrist emerge? The Ishmaelite leader of saints replied which includes: When prayer will die and when ethical patience will be considered a weakness.

    الامام علي(ع
    سلوني أيها الناس !.. قبل أن تفقدوني – ثلاثا – فقام إليه صعصعة بن صوحان ، فقال : يا أمير المؤمنين !.. متى يخرج الدجّال ؟..
    فقال له علي (ع) : اقعد !.. فقد سمع الله كلامك وعلم ما أردت ، والله ما المسؤول عنه بأعلم من السائل ، ولكن لذلك علاماتٍ وهيئاتٍ يتبع بعضها بعضاً ، كحذو النّعل بالنّعل ، وإن شئت أنبأتك بها ؟..
    قال : نعم ، يا أمير المؤمنين !..
    فقال (ع) : احفظ !.. فإنّ علامة ذلك إذا أمات الناس الصلا
    ة ، وأضاعوا الأمانة ، واستحلّوا الكذب ، وأكلوا الرّبا ، وأخذوا الرّشا ، وشيّدوا البنيان ، وباعوا الدين بالدنيا ، واستعملوا السفهاء ، وشاوروا النساء ، وقطعوا الأرحام ، واتّبعوا الأهواء ، واستخفّوا بالدماء .
    وكان الحلم ضعفاً ، والظلم فخراً ، وكانت الأمراء فجرةً ، والوزراء ظلمةً ، والعرفاء خونةً ، والقرّاء فسقةً ، وظهرت شهادات الزور ، واستعلن الفجور…

  • Friendship with non-Muslims and the forbidden wilayah

    Forbidding Wilayah is not forbidding simple neighbourly friendship. It is about being a religious mentor or political ally. Muslims should not take western guidance in spirituality nor should they join murderous alliances like NATO. Quran 60:8 teaches being kind and just towards non-violent non-Muslims.

  • Protestant reformation, Muslim revivers and divisive traditionalists

    Ishmael Abraham

    To an apostate calling for ‘reform’ of Islam: Protestant reformation was actually a deformation because it led to both secularization and still clinging to Catholic trinitarian heresy so western idea of reform is to become a hypocrite. Islam has revivers in every century. For example, Afghani, Nadwi, Shariati, Azad and Iqbal who taught ummah to be honest in the face of hypocritical modernity as well as divisive traditionalism.

    Hussain Murtaza Azad and Shariati were more of corrupters than revivers, if at all they were revivers – a claim which I am.highly skeptical about.
    Ishmael Abraham Better than divisive sects leading to bloodshed of Syria and Yemen.
    Hussain Murtaza Ishmael Abraham Do you honestly believe that Abul Kalam Azad’s pro Congress liberalism was a viable solution to the sectarian problem. Such artificial solution never work. I would rather have a more authentic mainstream reformer like Shah Waliullah.
    Hussain Murtaza Ishmael Abraham And Ali Shariati was practically a communist, feigning Islamism to intrude into the mainstream of Islamic discourse.
    Ishmael Abraham Shah Waliullah’s son rejected Twelvers rather than embracing the Prophetic family.
    Martson Amjorn Both practices should be audited to make it fair. Some religious practictices are completely too radical for me to tolerate. Particularly things that limit free will. 
    Ishmael Abraham Mutazilah rationalists preferred freewill over determinism. Modern self-deification is too radical for the pious. To make both fair, we should criticize both fatalism and modern grandiose delusions.
    Alperovich Anatoly

    The dialogue with Muslim world , the sane majority , has crucial importance.
    It is not a fancy dream of peace of previous generations, but vital necessity of them today

    Ishmael Abraham We should reject the divisive traditionalism of previous generations and grandiose delusions of future generations for future of dialogue about God’s rights and human rights.

  • How both Reham Khan and Imran Khan are cultural dangers to Pakistani spirituality?

    Although I am happy that cultural threat of PTI is exposed, which should ideally be evidence-based, but her argument is contradictory. If PTI believes in sexual license, which it does due to westernized personality of it’s leader, then PTI does not follow orthodox Islam. The criticism of sexual license should have been leveled by orthodox Muslims, but she fills the vacuum of their criminal silence. She should be specific whether the sexual encounters were consensual or coercive. She might be conflating the two to satisfy her ego. PTI may believe in consensual sexuality which orthodox Islam hates, but she herself condones that so both Reham and PTI are cultural and spiritual threats to Pakistan. PTI is based on slogan of western justice, but they do not fulfill the ideals of both western and sacred justice, so Pakistan needs open-minded truth seekers to avoid Pakistan’s future to be ruined by a  personality cult, like PPP has already done. May God save land of the pure from both and all impure sides.

  • To an Icelandic philosopher

    To

    Óttar Norðfjörð 

    Peace on truth seekers. I am an orthodox Muslim electrical engineer from Pakistan. I read about you so I was curious. Philosophy means wisdom and our faith teaches learn wisdom from everyone. I have an obsession with ice so I am curious to learn about your geography and culture more.

    I like the fish more than electricity because nature is better than machines.

  • Quran 2:143 and the middle way: Spartans and underemployment

    I was introduced to spartans while studying FPGA design and I identified with it. I am also underemployed. My father chose to be underemployed and he returned from US after studying on a scholarship of business administration. Our faith community is described in our Scripture as the community of the middle way. Buddhism may preach the middle way but it verges on asceticism like Sufism and secular Buddhism tries to balance, but that balance is already built into orthodox Islam. In western history we can see both extremes of celibacy and sexual revolution, so learning about our faith can help western civilization to find the middle way. The extra free time offered by underemployment helps me in spiritual growth and reaching out to fellow humans like here 🙂

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201210/underemployed-resilient-and-proud