Refining Our Character

Being a Muslim requires of people that they should discover the reality, essence and nature of this world the way it actually is. Whoever really discovers the nature of this world will never become infatuated or lose their heart for its sake. Neither will they be deceived; its power, its wealth and various allurements, nor will they become the slaves and prisoners of this world. Once a person reaches this understanding and seeks the help of Allah by following His guidance, he or she further needs the guidance and direction of a true Shaykh to work on the weakness of the nafs and uncover the purity of the heart.

This essay explores the qualities of the Shaykh and his responsibilities to the murid, as well as the responsibilities of the murid to the Shaykh. The result of this giving up of ones life to Allah and surrender to the teaching and the teacher should produce a person of truly refined character, looking upon the whole creation, as ‘Ibn l’Arabi said, with good will – accepting, approving, forgiving, serving, loving.

Details: Green Cover, 5.5″x8.5″ | Hadiyah: $4.44

Suhbah and the Oral Tradition

Tasawwuf is keeping company, then tasawwuf is listening, then tasawwuf is acting upon what you hear. There is only one enemy and that is your self. The nafs have very little good in them. The worst of all things to the Sufis is the recognition of their own good qualities over and against that of other people; it is what sets them back and smashes them on the rocks of destiny. This essay, stemming from the supreme example of the quality of the Prophet a with his companions and the effect they had one one another, urges the seeker to remember that the company of the Shaykh and that of the fuqara is the highest company, and to seek it above everything. “Seek the people of knowledge, seek the people of love of Allah and the people of love of Rasul. To take the adab of the great ones you have to sit with them, you have to sit with the people of knowledge. It is by their company that you are purified.”

Al-Bay’ah

“This can be understood by means of an example. A light bulb is connected by a network of wires linked by poles. The electricity that originates from the generator in the powerhouse is transmitted to the bulbs through the wires stretched between the various poles. By entering into the transaction of the bay’ah, a person links him or herself through the wires connecting one Shaykh to another Shaykh (the poles) all the way back to the Prophet a from whom all these teachings and blessings originate – the generator in the powerhouse. In this way the teachings of ‘Islam are kept forever green and alive in the most personal of ways – from human to human – across time…This is not ‘book learning’, though some things can be learned from books, but rather it is the teaching that reaches from heart to heart.” May Allah make us all to be receptors of this teaching.

Details: 1 CD | Hadiyah: $5.00

The Straight Path

Muslims in every salaat ask Allah to keep us on the Straight Way, and yet everywhere in the world we find Muslims living under Allah’s wrath, from the ravages of war and flood to the contempt and plundering of corrupt rulers whose Islam is mainly for show. This essay explores the meaning of the straight way: sincerity, honesty, focus, and the honest examination of the self. It points out the counterpoint in the history of Islam between the family of the Prophet a, specifically Hussein ibn Ali, and those who sought and gained worldly power, specifically Yazid. Two parallel paths, one straight and fought with danger and other crooked and surrounded by the temptations of the dunia, and one must choose.

Details: Green Cover, 5.5″x8.5″ | Hadiyah: $4.44

Kerbalaa: Action, Reaction, Action

“Remembering the Struggle of Sayyidina al-Husayn and Sayyida Zaynab from the perspective of ‘Ahlu-s-Sunna wa-l-Jama’a” This essay reclaims the life and struggle of the Prophet’s family a as the birthright of all Muslims, not one sect or another. It recounts in moving words what happened up to, during, and after the fateful journey to Kerbalaa by S Husayn and 72 followers and family members, which concluded in the tragedy of the massacre and which also concluded in the victory of Truth, summarized in the moving and powerful speech of S Zaynab. This journey was one of the great acts of bravery and heroism in all history. To quote from the essay: “Had he not done what he did at Karbalaa, the way of life of Yazid (and the all too many Yazids who have followed him in the present – and one glance at the so-called Muslim world will reveal just how many Yazids sit on seats of power in how many lands) would have been the norm, the accepted standard of behavior from Muslims. If al-Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet a, had put his blessed hand in the hand of Yazid, then surely little would be left of truth, of honor, of nobility, of chivalry, of selflessness, or decency and grace. The Qur’an would have been stood on its head and the batil would be seen to have overcome the haqq.”

Tarbiyyah

The word tarbiyya is derived from the root tarabb, which means to foster, nourish and care for. A person who does this is called al-murabbi in Arabic. The first and greatest murrabi is the Prophet a, but after him the true Shuyukh are the educators, trainers, fosterers – the murabbi of their muridun. Were this not so they could not have connected their students to the knowledge of Allah and the Way of ‘Islam. As such, tarbiyyah is not a process of learning “about” Islam but it is the process of learning to “be” a Muslim. Following the practice of the Prophet a, the Shaykh seeks to bring his muridun to the point where they abandon their self-indulgence and illusions. In this essay the Shaykh specifically recounts, through story and example, the surprising practices of some of the Shadhdhuli Shuyukh in the perfecting of their students.

Details: DVD | Hadiyah: $ 10.00

The Inner & the Outer

We must come to uunderstand with certinlty that behind the external and outer dimension of all eventsthere is a hidden wisdom in an inner dimension, and understand the wisdom that exists behind and within inner events since, in time, they show up in the future as 3events in the outré dimension.; the example of this is that Muhammad a exists before Andam a is between clay and water, and yet Muhammad a at the same time is born on a Monday in Rai’a al-Awwal in the Year of the Elephant in Makkah.this can only be understood by how the inner is in the outer and outer in the inner and know the first and the last are folded in time. Just so, pain and suffering exist with bliss and tranquility separated only by a wall in which is a gate which opens in both dierections, to which Allah has thoughtfully provided us with a key – the Key of Dhikr.

Details: DVD | Hadiyah: $10.00

Differences Are a Blessing

The Prophet a said, “Leave me as I leave you, for the people who were before you were ruined because of their questions and their differences over their prophets. So, if I forbid you to do something, then keep away from it. And if I order you to do something, then do of it as much as you can.” In our time parts of the Ummah are torn by disagreements over issues of fiqh and madhab, to the point of cursing one another and even killing one another.

There is a pressing need to remember the many hadiths and Qur’anic ayat which advocate tolerance, no coercion, humility and the value of knowing one another: “The differences in my Ummah are a blessing.”

Details: Green Cover, 5.5″x8.5″ | Hadiyah: $4.44

Ikhlas / Sincerity

The Prophet a said, “Religion is sincerity.” We asked: “To whom, O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “To Allah, His Book, His Messenger, and the leaders of the Muslims and to the common Muslim.” Sincerity has been defined as ‘showing yourself as you really are,’ and ‘being inwardly what you show yourself to be’. This topic is developed through the example of the Prophet ha himself and the righteous Companions and followers, and then through the symptoms of insincerity and sincerity by the signs of a sick heart, and its cures, and the signs of a healthy heart and its manifestation.

Details: Green Cover, 5.5″x8.5″ | Hadiyah: $4.44

The Necessity for the Shaykh

The poet said, “In the domain of Love, do not take even a step without a Guide, For on this road, he who has no Guide will lose the way for sure.” This essay covers such topics as finding a Shaykh, the benefits of becoming a murid, the qualities of a true Shaykh, and a very useful list of 40 points, guidelines on how a murid, indeed all Muslims, ‘should spend their nights and their days.’ It concludes with a recounting by Shaykh Nooruddeen of some of his personal experiences along his path to meeting his Shaykh.

Details: Green Cover, 5.5″x8.5″ | Hadiyah: $4.44

Check back soon for more upcoming titles and order information.