Taking Meaning - Living Islam

Missed Opportunities: On My Becoming Muslim

TM — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 11:06:10 +0000

Al hamdulillāh [i], when Allah led me to the wellspring of Islam, I recognized the sweetness of its cool, refreshing water. Al hamdulillāh after much time spent wandering the desert of my inner life, I didn’t think: “Well, maybe there is a deeper, clearer pool over there somewhere.” A dear, Muslim friend and teacher whom…

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Inspiration Plus Angle

TM — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 10:54:40 +0000

He’s lost some weight, our boy. Earlier, I had been trying for some time to get him to drink – he doesn’t drink easily. I approached, as usual, head-on from the front – and then I remembered: “This is how I do it,” he said. “Watch.” Wisdom is like that: there’s a subtlety of angle,…

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The Way of Words: Light or Darkness?

TM — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 09:37:32 +0000

The way of words is a journey from the written to the read, from the spoken to the heard. As travelers 3: writer, word, and reader (or speaker, word, and listener), we venture, en rapport, from heart to words to heart. The wonder of this adventure is that something subtle emerges: message. So we meet…

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Waxing Lyrical: On a Personal Note

TM — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 10:28:09 +0000

Waxing Lyrical: On A Personal Note Waxing lyrical about me, In a corner of the garden where foliage grows thick, where vines ramble, Twisting and weaving: on the way to the top Then back down. Here, obscuring thorns, sometimes even roses, There are more weeds, Perhaps, because it is left to me and I…

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Waxing Lyrical: A Sister’s Story

TM — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 16:39:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered, when separated, which holds more truth: absence makes the heart grow fonder or out of sight, out of mind? The Prophet (saw) taught that maintaining our connection with family is part of noble behavior and of utmost importance. With an outstretched heart, here is a sister’s story of one attempt at…

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Dedication: Al-Mu’allim Shaikh Husain Ash-Shadhili Ad-Darqawi

TM — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 17:54:01 +0000

“O Allah, grant me to love You, to love those who love You and to love whatever brings me nearer to Your love. Make Your love more precious to me than cool water to the thirsty.” A prayer taught by The Prophet (saw) to his companions. Shaikh Husain Ash-Shadhili Ad-Darqawi This journey is dedicated to…

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Everlasting Companions: Remember the Grave

TM — Thu, 29 May 2014 09:38:25 +0000

Everlasting Companions After the tumble, after the fall, even, she remembers the grave. Lying bare in the dust, motionless, she knows pure, cold loneliness like even she, Ms. Lonely herself, never knew before: separation from all that is familiar; known. Her only companions now are those whom she sent before: every utterance in Remembrance, every…

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Mother’s Nature: What Kind of Mom?

TM — Thu, 29 May 2014 08:44:33 +0000

Mother’s Nature: “What kind of mom was I?” She asked. “Please forgive me,” I said, “as I boldly correct you: ‘What kind of mom AM I?’ She asked… Present tense. You never stopped and never will stop being my mom. Even after your physical body leaves this plane, you will continue, forever, to be the…

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