Blog | Nuruddeen Lewis

"Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest."

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:00:18 -0600

“Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest.”

- Leo Babauta in The Power of Less

If You Have The Ability To Practice Five Things, You Will Never Have To Worry About Being Amongst The Sinners Again!!!

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:14:44 -0600

A man came to Ibrahim Ibn Adham (Rahimahullah), who was one of the scholars whose words were profound cures for the heart, and said:

“I have repeatedly transgressed against myself by commiting sin; give me something that will inhibit me from continuing like this?

So Ibrahim said: “If you have the capacity to practice five things, you will never have to worry about being amongst the sinners again.” The man was athirst for this admonition so he said: “Ibrahim give me these five things!” So he said:

“Firstly: If you want to disobey Allah, then don’t eat anything from the provisions He facilitated for mankind!” The man was amazed at this comment and asked: “How can you say this Ibrahim while all of the provisions are from Allah?!” So he said: “Well if you know this, then how do you have the audacity to eat from His provision while you are disobedient Him?!!” So the man said: “No, you’re right, we shouldn’t have! Give me the second one!”

So Ibrahim said: “Secondly: If you want to disobey Allah, then don’t live in His earth!” the man was amazed at this comment, more so than he was the first comment, so he said: “How can you say that Ibrahim when all of the earth belongs to Allah?!” So Ibrahim said: “If you know this, then how do you have the audacity to live in His earth while you are disobedient to Him?! The man said: “No, you’re right, we shouldn’t have! Give me the third one!”

So Ibrahim said: “Thirdly: If you want to disobey Allah, then choose a place to disobey Him, where He can’t see you!” The man said: “How can you say this Ibrahim, when Allah knows the secrets of the heart and what is hidden! He hears the crawling of an ant on a smooth boulder in the depths of the darkness of the night!” So Ibrahim said: “Well if you know this, then how can you have the audacity to disobey Him?!” He said “No, you’re right, we shouldn’t have! Give me the fourth one!”

So Ibrahim said: “Fourthly: If the angel of death comes to take your soul, say to him: “wait on taking my soul until a later time!” So the man said: “How can you say this Ibrahim when Allah says:

“When their appointed time comes it will not be delayed nor will it be hastened before its time” (Surah Al A’raf 7:24)

So Ibrahim said: “Well if you know this, then how can you expect to be successful at the time of your death when you are disobeying Allah?!” The man said: “Yes, you’re right, give me the fifth one!” So Ibrahim said: “Fifthly: When the Zabaaniyah i.e. the angels who guard the Hell Fire, come to escort you to the Hell Fire, then don’t go with them!” The man couldn’t handle the fifth one and started crying while he was saying: “Enough Ibrahim! Enough! I seek Allah’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance!!!” He remained steadfast on obedience to Allah until his demise. _

Translator’s Note: This narration is taken from a book called Hilyat ul Awliyaa by Abu Nu’aim Al Asbahani (Rahimahullah) and it is a book filled with narrations about amazing events during the time of the Salaf. Some of these narrations may not be authentic or we may not know the authenticity of them, however the scholars use them in the realm of what is called At Targheeb wat Tarheeb (i.e. encouragement (to be obedient to Allah) and discouragement (from disobedience to Allah) and they have stipulated 4 conditions for using these narrations and I will provide them below for the reader’s clarification:

The First: The narration can not be used to establish and/or substantiate a legislative Islamic ruling. As the Islamic rulings in Islam are established and/or supported by authentic unequivocal and concrete texts from the Qur’an, Authentic Sunnah and the Ijma’a (i.e. Consensus) of the Sahabah and the Salaf us Salih (i.e. Righteous Predecessors)

The Second: The narration can not be attributed to the Prophet (Sallahu alaihi wa salam) or the narrator unless the Isnad (i.e. chain of narrators) is affirmed by those scholars who are proficient in that respective field. So that is why the scholars will say when narrating these types of narrations “It was reported….” Or “it was mentioned about…” but they will never say such and such said.

The Third: The class of the narration has to be clarified when quoted so as not to mislead the reader and/or listener to believe that it is authentic if it is not authentic.

The Fourth: It can only be used in the realm of what the scholars call At Targheeb wat Tarheeb, as it was mentioned before.

Translated by Abu Az Zubayr Shadeed Muhammad on Tuesday December 29, 2009
1431H./1/12 in the city of Riyadh, the Capital of Saudi Arabia
http://www.rawdah.org/read-5Things.html

"Forget the folklore. People can take a scientific approach to develop expertise."

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:04:10 -0600

“Forget the folklore. People can take a scientific approach to develop expertise.”

- The Making of an Expert by K. Anders. Ericsson

"Find a well-informed coach."

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:03:47 -0600

“Find a well-informed coach.”

- The Making of an Expert by K. Anders. Ericsson

"Invest time wisely. Engage in ‘deliberate’ practice."

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:03:34 -0600

“Invest time wisely. Engage in ‘deliberate’ practice.”

- The Making of an Expert by K. Anders. Ericsson

"There are no shortcuts. It will take at least a decade."

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:03:13 -0600

“There are no shortcuts. It will take at least a decade.”

- The Making of an Expert by K. Anders. Ericsson

"Experts are always made, not born."

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:02:53 -0600

“Experts are always made, not born.”

- The Making of an Expert by K. Anders. Ericsson

The Making of an Expert by K. Anders Ericsson

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:57:13 -0600

The Making of an Expert by K. Anders Ericsson

Video

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:25:28 -0600

Photo

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:24:56 -0600

"…make the simple admission that life is better when savored, that work is better with focus."

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:23:38 -0600

“…make the simple admission that life is better when savored, that work is better with focus.”

- Leo Babauta

Video

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:40:00 -0600

Olympus XA2

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:21:39 -0600

I recently purchased yet another camera, an old Olympus XA2.

It came with the A11 flash which doesn’t seem to work. It sports a 35mm f/3.5 lens with 3 focus modes. The thing that I like most about it is that it has a built-in cover for the lens which can slide open when inspiration strikes and it is time to take a picture. Its size and form-factor feels sort of spy-like. Here’s the most impressive shot (to me at least) that I’ve made with this camera.