The Holy Prophet (PBUH) used to entertain the people with edibles too. This is also a Sunnah. That is what is being followed by the Elders continuously.
(Tea time on Monday, January 31, 2011)
(Tea time on Monday, January 31, 2011)
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The Designated Chair
The holder stand (rahal) for the Holy Qur'an is specific and dedicated for it. Even religious books will not be kept on it. Even Tradition (hadis) books will not be kept on it.
(Sitting (majlis) on Thursday, January 27, 2011)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
What is Not Even Wrong?
There was a famous theoretical physicist his name was Wolfgang Pauli. Like Winston Churchill he is famous for making memorable statements. Obviously his statements are concerned with the life in physics. Another famous theoretical physicists Rudolf Peierls tells a story in which a budding young physicist went to Pauli and discussed his theory or proposition. After listening to him Pauli give his candid opinion. He told this young man that his theory is not even wrong. Meaning thereby that the ideas were really absurd. This statement has become a sort of catch phrase. Research, in theoretical physics or otherwise, is about unknown things and wrong ideas and false leads and incorrect steps are part of the game. To use such strong words will only put down a budding researcher. Clearly the assessment by Pauli leaves out not only humility but compassion too. When research is not guided my humane values there is no way of discouraging this type of actions. But this is not the main point of the present post.
A quotation from a blog called Not Even Wrong has been used in an earlier post here. It would have been out of place to go on a detour to say a few words about that blog. That blog itself is a negative blog about a theory in theoretical physics called the (super) string theory. String theory is the most fundamental description of theoretical physics and incorporates all of the most basic theories of physics at the smallest level of size of objects. Smallest sizes can be studied by highest of energies only. What ever we know at the highest available energies is already incorporated by string theory. The problem starts when question is asked whether string theory is falsifiable, that is, can we do experiments that can test whether string theory is true or not. It turns out that such experiments will require very large amount of energies, larger than the energies that are available to us today. Such energies may never be available to experimental physicists.
Can we trust a theory that has no direct experimental test? This is the point that divides physicists. String theorists believe that internal structure of string theory will be constrained enough to make it reliable. Others demand experimental verification. Among the later type of people is Peter Woit. He says, following Pauli, that string theory is not even wrong. That is, it is absurd. He wrote a book, that became a best seller, with same title and later on started the blog Not Even Wrong.
But where are the Signs of Allah here? Every where. He created the world that people are trying to describe in theoretical physics. He created these people who are trying to describe the world He created. He created their minds and brains. If the structure of string theory is wonderful then it is so because it was made so. The minds that understand it, they too are creation of Lord Most High.
A quotation from a blog called Not Even Wrong has been used in an earlier post here. It would have been out of place to go on a detour to say a few words about that blog. That blog itself is a negative blog about a theory in theoretical physics called the (super) string theory. String theory is the most fundamental description of theoretical physics and incorporates all of the most basic theories of physics at the smallest level of size of objects. Smallest sizes can be studied by highest of energies only. What ever we know at the highest available energies is already incorporated by string theory. The problem starts when question is asked whether string theory is falsifiable, that is, can we do experiments that can test whether string theory is true or not. It turns out that such experiments will require very large amount of energies, larger than the energies that are available to us today. Such energies may never be available to experimental physicists.
Can we trust a theory that has no direct experimental test? This is the point that divides physicists. String theorists believe that internal structure of string theory will be constrained enough to make it reliable. Others demand experimental verification. Among the later type of people is Peter Woit. He says, following Pauli, that string theory is not even wrong. That is, it is absurd. He wrote a book, that became a best seller, with same title and later on started the blog Not Even Wrong.
But where are the Signs of Allah here? Every where. He created the world that people are trying to describe in theoretical physics. He created these people who are trying to describe the world He created. He created their minds and brains. If the structure of string theory is wonderful then it is so because it was made so. The minds that understand it, they too are creation of Lord Most High.
How to Do Mathematics?
Dr Peter Woit is a permanent Senior Lecturer at the Mathematics Department of Columbia University, New York. He has a blog, a powerful one-getting more than five hundred thousand hits per month, called NEW, that is, Not Even Wrong. Here is a comment from that blog from a recent post,
And it is incomplete. Like after raising one of your legs you can not lift the other one also above the ground there are somethings that can not be done alone. You are bound to take help. It is unpleasant but a fact of life.
But this is also not the right way to think about mysticism, the Method, the Path, the Journey. The Companion (RA) completely handed over themselves to the Holy Prophet (PBUH). To do the same, to perfect your Islam, in modern times will be an act of Sunnah. Do-it-yourself route does not seem to be effective. There is a self-taught theoretical physicist who writes papers but the matter of fact is that there are very scathing assessments of his efforts. What is the use of reaching there when people only make fun of you. There is another incident that is relevant for the present point that is being made. Among the popular book publications, and there are loads of them, there is a fad to publish books for Learning English by self-help. The names are like XYZ English Speaking Course. For each publisher their version of this book is a best seller. But how many people have you seen who claim that they learned their English from such a book? there is no dearth of English speakers but one still has to meet a person who is product of one such book.
To conclude above comment from a current working Mathematician would give us a clear idea about the process to learn research level Mathematics. We suppose similar things can be said about other modern disciplines. Do we get an idea about the most efficient way to learn anything? Should we not follow that about spirituality? Yes? Good, go find a Shaikh. That is the first step.
In an odd way, mathematics has often been somewhat of an oral tradition, since the impenetrability of much of the literature often meant that the only way to learn about something was to find an expert and get them to explain it to you.This quotation is relevant for us. A pitfall of modern education is to do the things in a self-help, do-it-yourself method. The Sufi way, the Path, the Method, the Journey is opposite of this fad. It consists of handing over yourself to your spiritual guide. Now this concept is the basis and the root of the mystic way. And this is difficult to accept for those who have got the modern education. They would like to reduce their dependence on others completely. That is understandable. Dependability is debilitating. Hence we do not like. We did not like dependability on parents, it was constraining and hence we were desperate to grow up. This was the route to escape dependability. So this is all true and part of our experience.
And it is incomplete. Like after raising one of your legs you can not lift the other one also above the ground there are somethings that can not be done alone. You are bound to take help. It is unpleasant but a fact of life.
But this is also not the right way to think about mysticism, the Method, the Path, the Journey. The Companion (RA) completely handed over themselves to the Holy Prophet (PBUH). To do the same, to perfect your Islam, in modern times will be an act of Sunnah. Do-it-yourself route does not seem to be effective. There is a self-taught theoretical physicist who writes papers but the matter of fact is that there are very scathing assessments of his efforts. What is the use of reaching there when people only make fun of you. There is another incident that is relevant for the present point that is being made. Among the popular book publications, and there are loads of them, there is a fad to publish books for Learning English by self-help. The names are like XYZ English Speaking Course. For each publisher their version of this book is a best seller. But how many people have you seen who claim that they learned their English from such a book? there is no dearth of English speakers but one still has to meet a person who is product of one such book.
To conclude above comment from a current working Mathematician would give us a clear idea about the process to learn research level Mathematics. We suppose similar things can be said about other modern disciplines. Do we get an idea about the most efficient way to learn anything? Should we not follow that about spirituality? Yes? Good, go find a Shaikh. That is the first step.
Monday, January 24, 2011
"My Desire"
It has always been my endeavour and desire that the biographies of the eminent ΚΏulama of the Indian subcontinent be written in English for the benefit of the English speaking masses who would otherwise be unable to realize the lofty status of these eminent scholars directly from their Urdu and Arabic works.
Maulana Muhammad Saleem Dhorat
Source : Deoband.org via At-Tahawi
Maulana Muhammad Saleem Dhorat
Source : Deoband.org via At-Tahawi
Just a Single Glance
Today we are very particular about getting a glance of People of Allah and you can hear the requests that please just open the door so that we get just a momentary view of the Shaikh but what about the view of the Holy Qur'an? (No thought of that comes to our mind.)
(Sitting (majlis) on Monday, January 24, 2011)
(Sitting (majlis) on Monday, January 24, 2011)
A Thorough Cleanup
If you indulge in excessive asking for forgiveness then your heart will become very clean (saaf-shaffaf).
(Sitting (majlis) on Monday, January 24, 2011)
(Sitting (majlis) on Monday, January 24, 2011)
Not Innocent
Though the Elders (Masha-ikh) are not innocent but they are protected (from committing sins) by Allah Almighty.
(Sitting (majlis) on Monday, January 24, 2011)
(Sitting (majlis) on Monday, January 24, 2011)
An Humble Person
This is about Aslam Sahab from Haram. He used to bring food for High Hazrat (RA). He will come with folded hands and will say that Hazrat please do not deprive me (Hazrat mehroom mat kijiyega). High Hazrat (RA) too used to take this into consideration. When it was meal time his packet was the first one to be opened.
Now something about his stature. Once he said to High Hazrat (RA), when later was about to make a journey to Madinah the Shining, for presenting his Peace Salutation (Salam) to the Holy Prophet (PBUH). High Hazrat (RA) did that and was surprised to get an answer (by what ever mode of communication) that why did he not come himself?
(Sitting (majlis) on Monday, January 24, 2011)
Now something about his stature. Once he said to High Hazrat (RA), when later was about to make a journey to Madinah the Shining, for presenting his Peace Salutation (Salam) to the Holy Prophet (PBUH). High Hazrat (RA) did that and was surprised to get an answer (by what ever mode of communication) that why did he not come himself?
(Sitting (majlis) on Monday, January 24, 2011)
Servant of Money
Even the people of religious seminaries have become servants of money. Why did you turn him away-he was coming to my seminary (madarsa). (This is the type of bickering that we get to listen today).
(Sitting (majlis) on Monday, January 24, 2011)
(Sitting (majlis) on Monday, January 24, 2011)
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