25 JUNE 2024

Eid Ghadeer Part 2

The  meaning of the words RELIGION, ISLAM & FAVOUR as in Aya 5:3

“This day  I have perfected your religion and completed my favour upon you, and chosen for you Islam as your religion.”

RELIGION

That’s your life transaction. That which you have exchanged your life for. In other words it is that which drives you to do what you do. 

ISLAM

Peace with God, Submission to God is the general translation…. In essence it is submission to divinity which is perfection. Which mean you persist in driving towards what you perceive is perfection.. He says “I am what you believe Me to be” (Haidth Qudsi). The higher you aim, the more barriers you break.

FAVOUR (BLESSING)

Ni’ma, Baraka & Hasanaat are all words that mean a favour or blessing from God. However, Ni’ma refers to a specific blessing and is only called a Ni’ma (sometimes referred to as ne’mat by Urdu, Gujarati speakers) when the recipient is intelligent enough to recognise it as a favour…

..So here He is saying what He says in 14:34 “And He gives you of all that you ask Him; and if you count Allah’s favours, you will not be able to number them………..”

MAY HE ALWAYS KEEP YOU IN THE SHADE OF THE QUR’AN AND THE AHLULBAYT

17 JUNE 2024

EID AL GHADEER MUBARAK

An EID that gives me my identity. Teaches me to LIVE, LOVE, LEARN AND MORE IMPORTANT LEAVE A PROTECTED  LEGACY.

This is the Eid when we got the best of presents and as children we waited for it all year. My grandmother would give us brand new coins (twice more than the other Eids ) and my father would fill the room with presents…

 Here’s  my simplistic take on it-

1. I was created with a goal – to reach my full potential (to recognise the awesomeness of HIS creation and thus HIM) 
2. Instruction manual  downloaded from the server in the sky through an awesome flawless  man who has the password and showed how to live as a perfect human being
3. Needed life long support & guidance that was flawless as well  so HE said announce the company  to the world on Ghadeer 5:67  that the support would be headed by Imam Ali
4. Life long support announced and accepted by those present on behalf of themselves and those who would come after them. Divine confirmation 5:3

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5. Some decided to switch companies and are still suffering from power outages, error messages and well just about everything….

6. I for one rejoice at the wisdom of my parents and teachers to have taught me to stick to this company – THE AHLULBAYT and thus GHADEER ….

MAY HE ALWAYS KEEP YOU IN THE SHADE OF THE QUR’AN AND THE AHLULBAYT

16 JUNE 2024

THE DAY OF ‘ARAFAA

And so we are at the best day of the year.

Inshallah your lists are ready and waiting for after Salatul Zhuhr and ‘Asr to present  to Him

 The limit of what is asked is set by oneself… Divinity puts no boundaries…..The angels descend to raise whoever wishes to ascend… 

I suggest you read The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn and take out the drug from the equation replacing it with access to Divine energy (The movie Limitless is based on this book)

Here’s some hand positions for dua that might help

1. The first method is to raise hands in a way that your palms are in front of your face and your fingers are pointing to sky. This is for requesting something that affects your life plan (taqdeer).
2. The second method is where your palms face the sky, and your lips are near your hands. This is for asking for something to be given to you in your hands.
3. This is where the back of your hands are in front of your face with the palms on the other side with the thumbs close to each other. It is saying  that  all your worldly means  are exhausted and you have no one except Allah to turn to.
4. The fourth method is to fully stretch the hands and keep them apart from each other. This denotes desperation and is for when you wish for something to be taken away from you eg. An illness, pain, etc….
5. The fifth method is to raise the hands so that the last two fingers are folded and the first two to be moved whilst asking. This is when you are asking with the waseela of Imam Hasan & Husayn (pbut)
6. The sixth method is to fold all of your fingers except your index finger (Shahada finger) and ask Al Ahad (the One and Only)

15 JUNE 2024

THE DAY OF ‘ARAFA Part 3

“The greatest sin on the day of ‘Arafaa is leaving thinking that one has not been forgiven of past sins” Prophet (pbuh)

Now the heavy stuff…

Let’s start with the hadith “man ‘arafa nafsahu, faqad ‘arafa rabbahu” One who has recognised His Rabb (Nourisher, Cherisher, Sustainer) has recognised himself.

Ma‘rifa, is defined as  ‘realization’,

The word is derived from the root verb, ‘arafa, which means ‘to know’, ‘to recognize’, ‘to differentiate’ and ‘to perceive’. The concept is to understand the meaning of one who surrenders to Divinity).

‘Arafa is not to add more knowledge (information overload) but to recognise reality.

“Show me things as they are.”

It is accepting that there is a highly intelligent conscious creative source of energy that runs like a thread weaving through the tapestry of life. There is nothing that is not touched by Divine intelligence.

Imam Husayn in Dua ‘Arafa makes us realise that


1. We as human beings are incredibly   powerful and intricate creations capable of reaching Divinity.

2. Realisation comes by looking within the quietest aspects of one’s being.
3. Life will always throw a curve ball at us to keep us alert and awake.
4. The mind can hide from the truth and create all sorts of illusions about what Truth is, without really surrendering to what is here now.

5. Deep down the ego knows that it is not real, and that one day it will die but you don’t have to wait…you can transcend the ego now….

6. The keys to reaching one’s full potential lie in SHUKR (Thankfulness)

The thread through the whole dua is SHUKR “: ‘If you are thankful, surely I will increase for you” (Qur’an 19:7)   

Bottom line
Give out of yourself as much as possible….

“You will never achieve your full potential of goodness unless you give out of what you love the most” 3:92

12 JUNE 2024

PREPARATION FOR THE DAY OF ‘ARAFA Part 2

“There are no days when Allah is as pleased with good deeds as in the first ten days of Dhulhijja ” Prophet (pbuh)

“In days there is no bigger day than Arafa and in Nights there is no greater night than Laylatul Qadr!”


The day of ‘Arafa is fast approaching and it is important that we prepare for it.

1. “The best dua is the dua on the day of ‘Arafa” Prophet (pbuh)
2. “The day of ‘Arafa is a day of forgiveness of sins”. Imam Sadiq (pbuh)
3. It’s like a ‘blue cross sale’ of vibes that facilitate the reaching of one’s full potential.
4. A hadith says “Those who weren’t able to achieve their purpose and goal in Laylatul Qadr or those who weren’t forgiven on that day, ‘Arafa is the last opportunity for them”.

This day in its blessedness, and sacredness weighs the same as the Night of Qadr.

Practical Preparation

1. 4 columns – Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual – Write down where you want to be at the end of Dhulhijja 1441 ; then in quarters until next ‘Arafa.  Set targets eg.
2. Remember it’s all about Living, Loving, Learning & Leaving a legacy….
3. Wipe the slate clean on the day of ‘Arafa. Make some calls, wrote some messages and ask for forgiveness from those you have hurt for it will remove the hurdles…..
4. Read & study  Dua’ Arafa of Imam Husayn (pbuh) for it has the prescription that ensures one reaches one’s full potential )
5. ‘Arafa is called ‘Arafa because it is the day of “ma’rifa”, it is the day of knowing your Rabb and recognizing Him and therefore ourselves.

Imam Husayn (pbuh) in the dua of ‘Arafa says:

“O Rabb! what has he lost who has gained You, and what has he gained who has lost You?”.

10 JUNE 2024

PREPARATION FOR THE NIGHT & DAY OF ARAFA…
The Prophet (pbuh) said: “The Hajj is ‘Arafa- because of the abundance of God’s Rahma and forgiveness of every sin on that day…”
…. Imam Sajjad heard someone ask of something from another on the day of ‘Arafa. He said “Today you ask of another?” “Today if you were to ask Allah for change in a baby in the womb to become righteous; He would oblige!”
Make the longest dua list you have ever made… At least an A4 page filled with small handwritten numbered requests. Remember what Allah tells Prophet Musa (pbuh) “Ask for the salt in your dough the laces for your shoes…” then seal the requests using the appropriate Asmaul Husna
Use Dua ‘Al ‘Arafa as your foundation for the list…
There is ONE request Imam makes at the end which covers everything:

Yaa Asma’as Saami’een (O the One Who is The Listener) 👂
Yaa Absaran Naazhireen (O the One Who is The Observer) 👁️
Yaa Asra’al Haasibeen (O the One Who is The Accountant) 💻
Wa Yaa Arhamar Raahimeen (And O the One Who is The Most Kind) 🤗
Salli ‘alaa Muhammad wa aali Muhammad (Send blessings on Muhammad & the progeny of Muhammad)
Wa asaluka Allahumma (And I ask You O Allah)
Haajatillatiy in a’taytaneehaa lam yadhurraniy maa mana’taniy (A request which if You give me none can take away from me)
Wa in mana’taniyhaa lam yanfa’niy maa a’taytaniy (and if You do not grant it to me, nothing can benefit me)
Asaluka fakaaka raqabatiy minan naar (I ASK YOU TO FREE MY NECK FROM THE FIRE (AGITATION)

The secret here is in first in the 4 Asmaul Husna – so remember Ears, Eyes, Numbers & Hugs
Then a salawat on the Ahlulbayt
After that tell Him this is something only HE can grant:
Ask for freedom from the fire (which means asking for total freedom from agitation)
Recite this dua all the time (not only on ‘Arafa)

It means to have reached a place where the poet Allama Iqbal describes beautifully:
“Khudi ko kar buland itna, ke har takdeer se pehley
Khuda bande se khud puche, bata teri raza kiya hai. “
A very rough translation with apologies to the poet:
”Increase your selflessness to such heights that before creating each destiny, God himself would have to ask the human ‘What is your opinion about this’ “.

6 JUNE 2024

1-10 Dhulhijja

We are on the threshold of the 10 most important nights of the year

In Suratul Fajr (89) Allah swears by them

“And I swear by the 10 nights” 89:2

“Remember/Celebrate the praise of Allah during the appointed days”.2:203

In Sura Al Hajj they are called Ayyamul Ma’lumaat 22:28

Imam Sadiq says the appointed days are the first 10 days of Dhulhijja

Talk to Him opening your heart and desires.

Duas in these 10 nights are always replied with a positive response.

Recommended to

1. Fast from 1-9 Dhulhijja (At least on one of the days).
2. 2 rakat salaa between Maghrib & Isha (after Suratul Fatiha and Ikhlas recite 7:142)
3. Recite Suratul Fair (Rasulullah (pbuh) has said: “Allah forgives the mistakes of  whoever recites, Suratul Fajr on the ‘Ten Nights)
4. Aamaal ‘Arafaat on 9 Dhulhijja (The Prophet (pbuh) said: “The Hajj is ‘Arafa- because of  the abundance of God’s Rahma and forgiveness of every sin on that day…..”)