The Origin of “InsyaAllah”

This is an excerp from a book I am currently reading titled “The Messenger; The Meanings of the Life of Muhammad” written by Tariq Ramadan.

The Qurasyh were at a loss about how to prevent Muhammad SAW ’s message from spreading further. They decided to send a delegation to Yathrib to ask Jewish dignitaries about the nature and truthfulness of this new Revelation. The Yathrib Jews were known to profess this same idea of the One God, and Muhammad SAW often referred to Moses, their prophet; they were therefore best suited to express an opinion or even suggest a strategy.

Consulted about the new prophet, the rabbis suggested the people of Mecca should ask him three key questions in order to find out whether what he said was actually revealed or wheather he was a fraud. The first question involved the knowledge of a story about a group of young men’sexile from their people; the second was about a great traveler who had reached the confines of the universe; the thrid was a direct request to define ar-ruh (the soul). The Qurasyh delegation left, convinced that they now had the means to entrap Muhammad SAW. Back in MEcca, they want to him and asked him the three questions. Muhammad SAW replied almost instantly: “I shall answer your questions tomorrow!”

But the next day, the Angel of Gabriel did not appear. There was no Revalation.  Nor did the angel come the day after, or during the next fourteen days. The Qurasyh gloated, certain that they had at last managed to prove the duplicity of the so-called prophet, who could not answer the rabbis’ questions. As for Muhammad SAW, he was sad, and as the days went by, he was increasingly afraid of having been forsaken, without doubting God, he again underwent the experience of self-doubt amplified by his opponents’ sneers. Two weeks later, he received a Revelation and an explanation:

Never say of anything, “I shall do that tomorrow,’ except: ‘If God so wills,’ and remember your Lord (Rabb, “Educator”) when you forget, and say: “I hope that my Lord will guide me ever closer than this to te right course.’         Quran, 18:23-24.

This Revelation once again involved a reproach and a teaching; it reminded the Prophet SAW that his status, his knowledge and his fate depended on his Rabb and that he must not forget it. This is how one should understand the meaning of the phase InsyaAllah, if God so wills; it expresses the awareness of limits, the feeling of humility of one who acts while knowing that beyond what he/she can do or say, God alone has the power to make things happen.This is by no means implies that one should not act but, on the contrary, that one should never stop acting while always being aware in one’s mind and heart of the real limits of human power.

Only later was the Prophet to receive the answers to the three questions he had been asked.

To be continued…insyaAllah.

Deceived

The other day I had a conversation with a colleague, when i learned that I was misinformed about certain facts which I so naively believed as fact.  I could sense that he was rather symphatetic with me being ‘fooled’ into the matter. To my surprise, I wasn’t a bit concern if at all she did lie to me. I told him (and mostly myself), I trust she had to do what she had to do, and indeed if she’s lying to me, I have faith in Allah swt. Only Allah knows what’s the truth, and I just do my job and tawakkal that I have indeed delivered my responsibilties to her.

Today, I watched Syeikh Hamza Yusuf during lunchtime. And ‘coincidently’ he quoted the same thing which I felt during the conversation above.

“If people are inclined towards reconciliation, then incline with them. WatawakkiltuallAllah. TRUST in God! And if they want to deceive you, if there’s some hidden ulterior motive, God’s enough for you. Don’t worry about that. That’s not your concern”.

He briliantly articulated what I had felt in my heart all along. May Allah swt bless Syeikh Hamza’s soul.

 

In the second part of his speech, he mentioned a few English Role Models, and I learned something new about my idols Florence Nightingale. Some excerpts from his speech:

“I fell in love with Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale said “England needs to go to the Sufis.” She wrote this in her book. Florence nightingale entered the Sultan Hassan Mosque, where our grand mufti gives the khutbah. And she said “for the first time, she found what she was looking for. I’ve never found this in the church of England (at this point Syeikh Hamzah started to choke with tears). She said “ I found equality and Oh! tehre is a place for women in this tradition. ” You know they chased her out with a stick. And she said “I don’t blame them”. She went to al-Azhar. She was struck by spirituality and she said in her diary “I heard in my heart, something telling me ‘Turn to Mecca, Face Mecca. All of humanity is one. We are all under one God. And there is salvation for all of us. I kept hearing in my heart, ‘there is no god but God’. Believe in the one true God. She was a unitarian. She was not a trinitarian. This is Florence Nightingale”.

 My next addition on “To read” list is definitely a biography of Florence Nightingale, or if any luck her actual journal on her struggle to seek the real truth. I hope my path will come across her writing, insyaAllah.

 

The silent cry of a WIFE

If ever there is a song which vividly describe the way I feel about being a wife, then ‘Home’ by Sheryl Crow is the one.

Home – Sheryl Crow

I woke up this morning
Now I understand
What it means to give your live
To just one man
Afraid of feeling nothing
No bees or butterflies
My head is full of voices
And my house is full of lies

[chorus]
This is home, home
And this is home, home
This is home

I found you standing there
When I was seventeen
Now Im thirty-two
And I cant remember what Id seen in you
I made a promise
Said it everyday
Now Im reading romance novels
And dreaming of yesterday

Chorus

Id like to see the riviera
And slowdance underneath the stars
Id like to watch the sun come up
In a stranger arms

Chorus

Im going crazy
A little everyday
And everything I wanted
Is now driving me away
I woke this morning
To the sound of breaking hearts
Mine is full of questions
And its tearing yours apart… 

The Hijab: To veil or not to veil

Before I decided to cover my head, I was always in awe of fellow muslimahs who were able to cover their heads. I remember feeling small, inadequate (in term of eeman) whenever I was around them.  The boys at school (boarding school) were very adamant of their self pointed role to finger point at my lacking of ability to embrace the veil. The Ustazs too. Which made me despise them even more.

I came across this on youtube, an interesting view of the Hijab. Brother Hamza Yusuf articulated my feelings & thoughts which I have had in me, since I can remember.  Thank you Brother Hamza, I pray Allah will repay you on your effort to bring us all back focus to what Islam truly is.

 

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Q: I would like whether the Hijab is traditional or religious. And if women don’t wear the hijab, are they going to hell because of that?

 

Hamza Yusuf:

To not wearing a hijab…nobody can say anybody is going to hell. Nobody can say that. The hijab is shar’ie, there’s no doubt about that. It’s not traditional. There is a traditional forms of the hijab, which is a different matter. But the hijab itself, the covering, wearing the hijab is part of our deen. And women who do not wear it, they should just recognize that they are in the state of maksiah like many things. For all of us, we are in the state of maksiah. We left jihad, we don’t give our money for this deen, we don’t do a lot of things we should be doing. So a lot of us are in the state of maksiah… and the women who take off their hijab, is only a symptom of a much deeper disease.

 

That is the ‘….:’ (purpose) of the hijab, since women are treated as sexual object. That is why Allah gives women the hijab, to honor them. If they choose to dishonor themselves, that is their choice. The idea of muslim throwing acid at women (and this has happened) is sick. Tey are just sick people!.

 

In traditional history of Medina, they were women who walked bare breasted. And that is a historical fact. Muslim should get out of this obsession with women! Really! It is just a sicness in our own hearts. Just lower your gaze. If the sisters are not wearing the hijab, her husband should be responsible for that. You can give somebody nasihah, but you just lower your gaze. And we are living is a society people walking around naked. And we are worrying about somebody not wearing a scarf on her head?! Go out there and look at these animals (referring to scantily dressed women) out there! Serious! Go out there and look at them! Unbelievable!

 

And another thing; Allah makes the hijab between a woman and her eeman.

 

And another thing, I challange any of you (addressing the brothers) to go out there and wear a turban out here (America). Just go out there and experience what it’s like to be identified as a muslim…… when you wear something which identify yourself as a muslim, that itself is putting yourself in their face. And for a woman, it’s a lot harder. Because of the steoretype that they are stupid, they are backward, they are ignorant,  and that’s the message that they are being given. They get stares, they get laughed at. Go out and experience that!! You should put your turban and robe on and  go out on the subway, and have a feel of what it’s like to get the stares.

 

We should be more compassions for our sisters. Wallahi. And the reason why a lot of women are leaving Islam, it’s because we’re chasing them out of Islam. And that’s the truth! And evertime has its place. We should know the time we’re living in. It’s very difficult to be a muslim. It’s like holding on to a hot fire. And we are in that time. If you’re not thinking it, that you are just dilluted. This is the age we are living in. So we just have to have mercy on our sisters. Really, have mercy on them, defend them, prtoect them! Because they are out there in the front line, and these are bunch of wolves out there. The society of wolves. And that’s what they prey on, innocent people. And our women has a lot more innocence than their women. And that attract them, cause they are sick (the predators)!! Muslim women hasinnocence, even the women not wearing a hijab, cause we grew in a cleaner atmosphere & environment. And we should do our best to protect that innocence, and to guard our women. They are our responsibilty. That’s ‘…’ (responsibility) of teh muslim male..is to guard and protect his sisters.

Bismillah

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

This is my humble effort to get my soul closer to you, my Lord. I dedicate my writings only to you, eventhough you are All Hearing and All Knowing, I need writing as means to clear my head and focus my thoughts. I don’t know what I hope for out of this blog, but I have good faith in your mercy and love that it will be a good outcome. For all actions is based on intention. And my intention is clear; to be closer to you.

Your humble servant,

unpurified soul