New Art

ar-Rahman

It's finally done!

And I'm quite happy with it.

Enjoy

The Lantern of the Path

I found out recently that one of my favourite books, The Lantern of the Path, by Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq [as], may not be 100% accurate.

hmm.

The transmission chain is apparently not 100% reliable, and the book was recovered from sufis. However, it is still beautifully eloquent. And contains pearls of wisdom that could only have come from someone divinely inspired. So I will continue to read it. I just have to be very careful in making sure I do not attribute every single word as having coming from my blessed Imam [as].

It is 9 days into Rajab now, and whilst I haven't done much more than I used to before in terms of prayers, I feel a lot more calmer and peaceful. I hope this feeling remains.

I've discovered, or rather, rediscovered one of my favourite sets of lectures. These are on Irfan, by Shaykh Bahmanpour. This is the first set I downloaded. And I'm happy I've rediscovered them now, the timing is perfect.

Enjoy [link]

EDIT: I found another set of fantastic lectures, by Shaykh Arif AbdulHusayn, on the same theme, spirituality. [link]

Rajab

Rajab is here.

I was feeling...impatient (?) as the final hours passed, but now...I'm just happy to be in the blessed month.

Insha Allah I will be able to fast and pray a lot in this month... and improve my spiritually as well. 

God knows how much I need to....

Al-'Ajal, Al-'Ajal, Ya Mawlaya Ya Sahib uz-Zamaan

I've recently come across a very powerful recitation of Dua Ahad, which I now have on constant play. Recitation is by Sadiq Ahangaran:

I love especially the way the dua ends, from about 9 mins onward. I want to learn to recite like this.

To turn this YouTube into an MP3, go here

I've also made a related art:

Putting first things first

X marks the spot....

I've been wasting way too much time... Its time to revert back to the way I used to be.

The time management matrix above is a good place to start. basically, the things to do instead of procrastinating would be the important stuff in your life that are not urgent. They don't press you to do them, which is why you have to proactively do them yourself. If you don't... they become important as well as urgent, thus forcing themselves on you. As such, this can also be called crisis prevention. Often such things are the things that would really make a difference in our lives, but we do not do them, because we are overwhelmed with urgent stuff, whether it be important or not.

Credit for this ingenious paradigm goes to the Covey company.

Update: I showed someone this, and decided that something else needed to be added.

How to know what kinds of things go into the marked quadrant? Perhaps this story will help:

One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high powered overachievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz." Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class said, "Yes." 

Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?" By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

"No!" the class shouted.

Once again he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"

"No," the speaker replied, "That's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all." What are the 'big rocks' in your life? Your children; Your loved ones; Your education; Your dreams; A worthy cause; Teaching or mentoring others; Doing things that you love; Time for yourself; Your health; Your significant other? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all. If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your life with little things you worry about that don't really matter, and you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks). So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your jar first."

Again, from the wonderful guys at the Covey Company. I totally recommend reading their book on time management, called 'First Things First'. I'm sure they'll be able to explain it a lot better than I did, I who still am yet to implement what I know....