بين القراءة والكتابهْ * ومُلاعبٍ تهوى الجَنابه
أرخيت سمعي للصغير * يروم أن يروي طِلابه
ويجدد اللهو الجريَّ * بلحظة تذكي شبابه
لكنّ شيخ العمر أدركه فأولاه عتابه
يا أيها النزق الغوي أما اكتفيت من السحابه
وَكِفَت من الماء الغزير وقد تحريت انسكابه
واليومَ أولاك الغرامُ مشيبَ شعرٍ؛ يا خُلابه
خلِّ التقعر والفضول وخل للاحي ارتيابه
هلّا ارعويت وما ادّعيت ورُمت للأخرى مثابه
وحفظت ماء الوجه منك تركت للعين انصبابه
وخلعت أسمال الهوى ولبست للجدِّ ثيابه
طوبى لمن خلّى الصحاب ومَدَّ للأخرى طِنابه
وأقام بند المكرُمات وزمَّ لفظا ما استطابه
وعدا على الجهل المقيم بحزمه حتى أثابه
وكفى النفوس تطلعا وأقام عند الله بابه
بالذكر أشغل قلبَه أجرى بحرف الها رضابه
اللهُ ألهمهُ الصوابَ فحققَ القلبُ الإجابه
بالصدق يتصلُ المريدُ بدرب أصحاب الإنابه
هذا سبيل ذوي العقول وغيرهُ يعني ذهابه

وكتب
د. أحمد سعد الأزهري


Between reading and writing, a time’s divide;
And a playful one on indulgence side,
I let my ear to the little lad inside,
Aspiring to quench his desire with a ride,
To renew his fierce reckless games,
With a moment that sparks his youthful flames,
But the wiser older self, is there to tame,
It gently offered him some blame,
“O reckless, heedless one! Have shame!
Did you have your fill from the passing cloud,
Full of fresh waters, you got all its rain
But with pleasure gone, grey hair is all your share, fool!
Forsake pretension and idle talk, and blamers to their rule, 
Why not listen, be truthful and turn to akhira’s way!
And let disgrace depart but give your tears a stay!
Cast off the cloak of lust, and wear seriousness’ garb,
For blest is he who leaves vain and to hereafter throws his barb,
Raising the banner of nobility, curbing every idle word,
Storming his ignorance with his diligence spurred,
Stilling his chasing self, standing at God’s open door,
With God in his heart, a tongue with Hū will implore,
When He inspired him with the right, his answer came so clear,
It is truthfulness that connects a seeker with the path of those who fear,
This is the path for those whose hearts still alive,
Or else life will be but a risky drive,

Dr. Ahmad Saad Al-Azhari

"اجعل نظرك للناس نظرا إلى مادة تُدرَس لا إلى مخلوقات تعاشر ويصدر عنها ما يسوء أو يسر فلا تعجل بالذم أو السخط بل أجل عينك في الأمر لتراه من ناحية غير التي بدهتك فيتحول الموضوع من عمل أو قول باعث على الرضا أو الامتعاض إلى مادّة للتفكير وتذهب عنه الصبغة الشخصية فكأنك تمتحن نظرية لا تزن صنع إنسان أساء أو أحسن"

نصيحة من المازني

Let your look at people be one of looking at a life to study not actors/individuals who do things that annoy or please you. In this way, you will not rush to frustration or satisfaction but pause to see their actions from a perspective different from the one you initially adopt. Things that annoy or please you become a food for thought (rather than fuel for emotions) and you stop taking things personally. So you start perceiving this behaviour as if you are testing a theory not weighing the annoying or pleasing actions of a person.

Ibrahim Al-Mazini

For those interested, Shaykh Dr. Ahmed Saad’s thesis is now available on the University of Birmingham’s etheses archives. You can read and quote but please take a note of the copyright and the forthcoming book on the subject inshAllah.


https://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/14962/

الأدب تفسير الإنسان للحياة وهو يعمّق النفس ويوسّع الأُفُق؛ فلا غنى بأحدٍ عنه، إلا إذا كان يريد أن يستغنيَ عن فهم الحياة.

(إبراهيم المازني)

Literature is man’s interpretation of life. It deeps’ insights and widens perspectives. So no one can do without it unless they can live without understanding life.

Ibrahim al-Mazini

Source: A Muslim Guide to Modernity by Surkheel Sharif

إن قراءتك الكتب تفيدكَ الخُبرَ ومعالجتك الحياة ومواقفها دحضا وركضا تمنحك الخبرة ولابد لتحصيل النتاج من التأنيث والتذكير

Reading books give you narratives and dealing with life’s ups and downs give you experience. You need both to bring about good results.

كم مِنْ مرةٍ ينقدحُ خيالك وأنت تسمع قولة: أرأيت؟ كم تفتح من مجال لتائب ليتوب عن غيه، ولمهتد أن يستمسك بهديه، ولساع في الخير أن يستمر في سعيه؟! كم تبسط أمام العين من مهايع السلوك ومراتع العمل الصالح واحتمالات التحول الروحي والسلوكي والمعرفي. ما أعجب القرآن. (تدبر)


https://m.youtube.com/shorts/ojWPMCCfjvo

"إن تدبر النواحي المختلفة تجعل الجزم عسيرا وتغري بالتردد ومن طال وزنه للأمور وتقصّيه لوجوهها وتأمله في البواعث والاحتمالات قلَّ بتّهُ وعمله أيضا" إبراهيم المازني

“Attempting to account for every minute aspect of any matter makes decisiveness a difficult task and leads to hesitation. A person who tries to weigh every possibility, reflect on every scenario and meditate upon every incentive or risk, will be able to take only a few decisions and engage in even fewer actions in their life”

Ibrahim Abdul-Qadir al-Mazini (1890-1949)

بدأت بحمد الله وتوفيقه في نسخِ ما سنح للخاطر مِن أخبار سيرة الفقير - وكانت حبيسة كراس منذ مدة- لعل ناظرا فيها يجدُ فائدة تُقتنص أو عِبرةً تُقتَبس، أو طُرفةً تسلي المهموم وتنفسُ عن المصدور المكلوم، أو كلمة تنفع أو دعوة تدفع أو همة ترفع. والدعوات مرجوة أن يتمم الله المقاصد ويبلغ التمام بمحض جوده ووافر كرمه.

Companionship of books transforms the person into something similar to them such that, it seems, he is only in need of a cover and to be placed on a shelf next to them. Long company of books makes the self age before the hair turns grey. It takes away the brightness of the eyes, hinder physical flexibility and ignites a continuous silence and bewilderment. Even worse (sarcastic tone), it attaches the person to the love of perfection and great ideals. When one turns to life, he stumbles and gets a shock with every step like a person who is traversing a path while holding into a map of a totally different one.

Ibrahim al-Mazini

Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger

Tawhīd in Fragmented World:

Living in the age of fragmentation, the homo modernus struggles to find who they are and what they want.
Tawhid, the core tenet of Islamic theology and the message of all prophets, is the cure for man’s fragmentation.
Understood as undividedness, Tawhid teaches its adherents not to be distracted or dispersed in their vision. Unmoved by the turbulence of the modern spiritual, psychological and intellectual mayhem, a believer finds inner peace at the rock of “surety” or tama’nīnah. The Quran tells us that in God’s remembrance, hearts finds tama’nīnah.

Modern life creates multiple gods for man to serve; his multiple desires and attachments which pull him in every direction. Torn between these gods, one finds neither fulfillment not rest. Tawhīd realigns him with the words of the Quran: “Allah sets forth the parable of a slave owned by several quarrelsome masters, and a slave owned by only one master. Are they equal in condition? Praise be to Allah! In fact, most of them do not know.” (Al-Zumar: 29)

A fragmented human needs completeness; attempting to achieve this completeness through appealing to another fragment (something from this earthly world) is like a thirsty person who tries to satiate their thirst by eating more. A fragmented being cannot fulfill another fragmented being. Only the indivisible One; the knowing of Whom makes the picture complete. Ibn Ataillah says; “My Lord! What does he find the one who lost You or what has he lost the one who has found You”.

Many are looking today for the ‘how’, they need the true ‘why’. Nietsche says, “He who has a why to live for can bear any how” and Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad tells us that “modern life enjoys abundance of everything except the indispensable”. It is in seeking the ‘abundance’ that Tawhīd tries to save us from and sufficing with the indispensable that we are being told to hold unto.

May God show us truth as truth. Ameen.

A wise man does not overburden himself with that which his self cannot handle and does not pursue what he can never achieve. Equally, he does not concern himself with what is not his business or spend beyond what he can benefit and does not expect a recompense from a person beyond that person’s capacity.

العاقِلُ يفكر فيما يقولُ قبل أن ينطق به، ويزنُ الكلامَ قبل أن يرميَ به، ينظرُ أولا في نيته، ثم في إمكان خطأه في نظرته، ثم في إعماله لحسن الظن، ثم في قيمةِ من يوجه له الكلام وموضعه منه، ثم في الضرر الذي يوقعه ذلك الكلام على علاقته مع من يحب، ثم في الفائدة الكبرى من ذلك والمصلحة والمفسدة المترتبة عليه. ولعله يجد بعد ذلك أن الصمتَ أحسنُ له وأنفعُ لنفسه وأرضى لربه.

A wise man thinks about what they say before saying it, and weigh their words before uttering them. First, one looks into one’s intention, then the possibility of being mistaken in one’s thinking, then whether one has used “husn al-dhann” or “finding excuses and good opinion’. Then one should think about the value and the position of the person to whom they are directing their words, and the impact of such words on their relationship and the harm that it can cause, then the larger benefit of what they say. The benefit and the harm balance. After all of this, one might realise that silence is better and more beneficial to one’s heart and pleasing to God.

As-salāmu ʿalaykum to you all

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Ihsan Institute

O God's Messenger! A longing slave
No blamer can exceed him with a blame
You are sufficient to him, to your cave
His heart has headed, with tears aflame
He has buried his sleep nights into the grave,
And fasted from anything other than your name,

O empty hearted, here is the Prophet
His radiant light, is one that inspires
His house is the house, his Rawdah is heart’s rest,
And gifts overflow, it is given what it aspires,
And guidance that polishes off all the rust,
Pleasure is complete, for Taha is what it requires.

Dr. Ahmed Saad al-Azhari

Travelling without Comparisons:

‘Exploration is a personal venture’ says Wifred Thesiger in the Arabian Sands. This sentence reminded me of how a spiritual journey is a very personal venture too. People may think that having followed a spiritual path or a tariqah, they are now wayfaring in a group, but the truth is you are wayfaring alone.

The groupish mentality of many modern seekers trigger comparison and ignite ill-spirited travelling. In a spiritual path, one should never compare or attempt to measure their development by contrasting it to others. Neither should they do in life in general. One is travelling alone even if one is in a group. The role of a community is to encourage, help or advise but not to act as a standard for speed or development; for there is no standard speed on God’s path. Everyone travels as God wills and this makes it a very personal venture. Masters of the past reiterated that God’s paths are as many as the breaths of creation. This effectively means, everyone has their own spiritual journey; it is exploration and exploration is a personal venture.