And if all the trees on Earth were pens, and the ocean, with seven oceans added to it, were ink, the words of God would not be exhausted: for God is Exalted in Power, full of Wisdom.
Holy Qur’an, Sura Luqman Ayah 27
Posted by: wasim | 26th Mar, 2012
If all the trees were pens
Posted by: wasim | 24th Aug, 2010
List of Muslim victims of 9/11
American Muslims bear no collective guilt or blame for the crime of 9/11. We have nothing to apologize for and everything to be proud of, including our loyalty and hard-earned livelihoods. We are not guest citizens, we are not second-rate citizens; we reject marginalization and require no validation. We are equal citizens living and worshipping in our country. (Ahmed Rehab, Huffington Post)
1. Samad Afridi
2. Ashraf Ahmad
3. Shabbir Ahmad (45 years old; Windows on the World; leaves wife and 3 children)
4. Umar Ahmad
5. Azam Ahsan
6. Ahmed Ali
7. Tariq Amanullah (40 years old; Fiduciary Trust Co.; ICNA website team member; leaves wife and 2 children)
8. Touri Bolourchi (69 years old; United Airlines #175; a retired nurse from Tehran)
9. Salauddin Ahmad Chaudhury
10. Abdul K. Chowdhury (30 years old; Cantor Fitzgerald)
11. Mohammad S. Chowdhury (39 years old; Windows on the World; leaves wife and child born 2 days after the attack)
12. Jamal Legesse Desantis
13. Ramzi Attallah Douani (35 years old; Marsh & McLennan)
14. SaleemUllah Farooqi
15. Syed Fatha (54 years old; Pitney Bowes)
16. Osman Gani
17. Mohammad Hamdani (50 years old)
18. Salman Hamdani (NYPD Cadet)
19. Aisha Harris (21 years old; General Telecom)
20. Shakila Hoque (Marsh & McLennan)
21. Nabid Hossain
22. Shahzad Hussain
23. Talat Hussain
24. Mohammad Shah Jahan (Marsh & McLennan)
25. Yasmeen Jamal
26. Mohammed Jawarta (MAS security)
27. Arslan Khan Khakwani
28. Asim Khan
29. Ataullah Khan
30. Ayub Khan
31. Qasim Ali Khan
32. Sarah Khan (32 years old; Cantor Fitzgerald)
33. Taimour Khan (29 years old; Karr Futures)
34. Yasmeen Khan
35. Zahida Khan
36. Badruddin Lakhani
37. Omar Malick
38. Nurul Hoque Miah (36 years old)
39. Mubarak Mohammad (23 years old)
40. Boyie Mohammed (Carr Futures)
41. Raza Mujtaba
42. Omar Namoos
43. Mujeb Qazi
44. Tarranum Rahim
45. Ehtesham U. Raja (28 years old)
46. Ameenia Rasool (33 years old)
47. Naveed Rehman
48. Yusuf Saad
49 and 50. Rahma Salie & unborn child (28 years old; American Airlines #11; wife of Michael Theodoridis; 7 months pregnant)
51. Shoman Samad
52. Asad Samir
53. Khalid Shahid (25 years old; Cantor Fitzgerald; engaged to be married in November)
54. Mohammed Shajahan (44 years old; Marsh & McLennan)
55. Naseema Simjee (Franklin Resources Inc.’s Fiduciary Trust)
56. Jamil Swaati
57. Sanober Syed
58. Michael Theodoridis (32 years old; American Airlines #11; husband of Rahma Salie)
59. W. Wahid
Posted by: wasim | 2nd Aug, 2010
14:33-34
And He has made the sun and the moon both constantly pursuing their courses, to be of service to you; and He has made the night and the day to be of service to you. And He gave you of all that you asked for, and if you were to count the blessings of God, never will you be able to count them. Qur’an 14:33-34
Posted by: wasim | 5th Nov, 2009
22:5-6
You see the Earth, barren and desolate. But when We pour rain upon it, it is stirred, it swells, and puts forth every kind of beautiful growth. This is so, because God is reality: it is He Who gives life to the dead, He has power over all things. Qur’an 22:5-6
Posted by: wasim | 3rd Jul, 2009
Two Gems: Imam al-Ghazali, Mevlana Rumi
“Know, O beloved, that man was not created in jest or at random, but marvelously made and for some great end. Although he is not form everlasting, yet he lives for ever; and though his body is mean and earthly, yet his spirit is lofty and divine”
— Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali ابو حامد محمد ابن محمد الغزالی
“If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?”
— Mevlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi جلال الدین محمد بلخى
Posted by: wasim | 9th Jun, 2009
Jumu’a Prayer Locations in Downtown Washington DC
as-salaamu alaikum
New-comers and visitors to Washington DC often have a difficult time locating Friday Prayer (salaatul jumu’a) downtown. This issue comes up most frequently at the beginning of the summer, when interns have to hear about Friday services by word of mouth (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing) instead of being able to find a list somewhere. Unfortunately, the information on http://www.islamicfinder.net is out of date, and http://www.salatomatic.com is incomplete.
But for now, here’s what I can share, having lived in DC for the last three years:
Posted by: wasim | 6th Apr, 2009
Panel Explores Tradition of Interreligious Dialogue
From Jesuit Heritage Week:
http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=39842
“Georgetown values people who are of different traditions, it recognizes that society is diverse,” he said, discussing some of the values that attracted him to working as a Muslim chaplain at a Catholic and Jesuit university.
When discussing his decision to come work with Georgetown students, he addressed them directly saying, “(Georgetown recognizes) you should be exposed to the ideas I have to bring; you should be able to dialogue with me.”
Posted by: wasim | 26th Nov, 2008
10 Useless Matters: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyya
I used this list during my khatira during the 27th night of Ramadan taraweeh service at Georgetown, and thought it would be beneficial to promote here:
There are ten useless matters:
- Knowledge that is not acted on
- The deed that has neither sincerity nor is based on following the righteous examples of others
- Money that is hoarded, as the owner neither enjoys it during this life nor obtains any reward for it in the Hereafter
- The heart that is empty of love and longing for God, and of seeking closeness to Him
- A body that does not obey and serve God
- Loving Allah without following His orders or seeking His pleasure
- Time that is not spent in expiating sins or seizing opportunities to do good
- A mind that thinks about useless matters
- Serving those who do not bring you close to God, nor benefit you in your life
- Hoping and fearing whoever is under the authority of God in His hand; while he cannot bring any benefit or harm to himself, nor death, nor life; nor can he resurrect himself.
However the greater of these matters are wasting the heart and wasting time.
– Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyya
Posted by: wasim | 7th Aug, 2008
Random Lessons from Philadelphia
- Islam is an African American religion in Philly.
- For all Philadelphians, the dessert of choice is water-ice (pronounced wooter-ice), and is basically some soft-serve ice cream with a snow cone.
- Not every African-American male with a long sunnah beard is Muslim, but many are. The ones who are will probably make eye contact with you, and possibly say salaam if they can tell you’re Muslim.
- Old City Cab comes a lot more often than Quaker Cab. As everywhere else, most of the drivers are Pakistani, Sikh Punjabi or Bangladeshi.
- The “Rocky” statue no longer sits atop the Philly Art Museum steps. It was moved recently, disgracefully placed along the curb.
- Muslim clothing is trendy here, to the point where some non-Muslim women occasionally wear headscarves and the pants-above-the-ankle look is trendy for black men (called the Philly capri).
- Strangely the imam of the largest mosque in West Philly cannot speak a word of English, and often yells during the Friday Khutba (otherwise I’m sure he is probably a very nice, learned man).
- There are no halal pizza places in West Philly.
- The Germantown Mosque brothers are a really loving group who enjoy life in a halal way. Just don’t take photos of them or their mosque — they follow the salafi ruling on photography.
Posted by: wasim | 20th Apr, 2008
Upon a Mountain
لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
Had We sent down this Qur’an upon a mountain, you would certainly have seen it humbled, splitting asunder out of fear of God, and We set forth these parables to men that they may reflect.
Surat al-Hashr v. 21
Lau anzalna hadha-l qur’an AAala jabalin laraaytahu khashiAAan mutasaddiAAan min khashyati-llahi wa tilka-l amthalu nadribuha li-lnnasi laAAallahum yatafakkaroon