Taking Meaning - Living Islam / Living Islam Sat, 22 Mar 2025 15:01:48 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 The Real Dhikr /commitment-and-submission-a-prayer/ Tue, 22 Sep 2015 01:41:03 +0000 http://takingmeaning.com/?p=1189 Improving yourself is the real dhikr. ~Shaikh Husain ash-Shadhili ad-Darqawi

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]]> The Eating Place: A Short Story /intellect-and-heart-the-eating-place-a-short-story/ Wed, 16 Sep 2015 03:49:58 +0000 http://takingmeaning.com/?p=1164 Carnelian Lane was a dead end street. At the very end of the road, nestled among giant shade trees and a lovely fountain which sang its tune refreshingly, there was a very fine restaurant. As the phrase suggests, this dead end street was somewhat dead: not in the sense of life and death but rather…

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]]> Rumi’s Revolution: Mawlana’s First Night of Dhikr-e Samâ’, Adapted from The Forty Rules of Love /rumis-revolution-mawlanas-first-night-of-dhikr-e-sama-adapted-from-the-forty-rules-of-love/ Fri, 28 Aug 2015 19:29:58 +0000 http://takingmeaning.com/?p=1136 The following account of Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi’s first night of dhikr-e samâ’ has been adapted from the novel “The Forty Rules of Love”, by Turkish author Elif Shafak. There are those who say that dancing is sacrilege. They think Allah gave us music—not only the music we make with our voices and instruments but the…

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]]> Islam Image Quotes: Spiritual Excellences /islam-image-quotes-iq4-spiritual-excellences/ Thu, 13 Aug 2015 01:16:11 +0000 http://takingmeaning.com/?p=1126 From the Islam Image Quotes series: Islamic Wisdom, Sayings and Quotes Rest assured that abstract knowledge cannot be held with the hand. For example, a man is in the wilderness. He has ten lethal swords together with other weapons and he is brave and bellicose. A huge and ferocious lion attacks him. Now what is…

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]]> Islam Image Quotes: Earthly Challenges /islam-image-quotes-iq2-earthly-challenges/ Wed, 12 Aug 2015 18:33:49 +0000 http://takingmeaning.com/?p=1115 From the Islam Image Quotes series: Islamic Wisdom, Sayings and Quotes “And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient.” (Al-Qur’an 2:155) “Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such (trial) has not…

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]]> Islam Image Quotes-IQ2: Sincerity /islam-image-quotes-iq2-sincerity/ Sun, 09 Aug 2015 18:57:37 +0000 http://takingmeaning.com/?p=1110 If I had to choose the one phrase out of all of Shaikh Husain’s “oft-repeated phrases” that I hear the most, it could be this one. Such a simple statement – in theory – but in practice… Whatever you do, do it sincerely. ~Shaikh Husain Ash-Shadhili Doing sincerely is never forcing. There is no compulsion…

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]]> Beyond Words and Weapons: Muhammad’s Message /beyond-words-and-weapons-muhammads-message/ Sun, 09 Aug 2015 10:06:28 +0000 http://takingmeaning.com/?p=1094 Words in the Arabic-speaking world are powerful and effective weapons. While the Qur’an is the ultimate and unique masterpiece of the Arabic Language, Arabic poetry has been a highly influential force in Arab society and has been regarded as the Diwan ul-Arab: a literary heritage of Arab life collected by and recorded in the memories…

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]]> Islam Image Quotes-IQ1: One Truth /islam-image-quotes-iq1-one-truth/ Fri, 07 Aug 2015 03:21:02 +0000 http://takingmeaning.com/?p=1083 From the Islam Image Quotes Series: Islamic Wisdom, Sayings and Quotes The truth of Muhammad’s (pbuh) message and the guidance he brought by the Way of Islam transcends all divisions and leads us back to the recognition of our Lord, the One True Reality. In this spirit of Divine Unity, The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) lived…

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]]> Real-ization /real-ization/ /real-ization/#_comments Thu, 12 Feb 2015 20:07:35 +0000 http://takingmeaning.com/?p=1020 Not long ago, it came up in conversation: “Saying that we have the ‘Qur’an and sunnah’ is very vague. It is a cliché with no real-ity.” Because saying is saying. The quest of every soul who has been guided to the path of Islam, whether real-ized or not, is real-izing. “What the Creator has intended…

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]]> /real-ization/feed/ 2 Missed Opportunities: On My Becoming Muslim /missed-opportunities-becoming-muslim/ /missed-opportunities-becoming-muslim/#_comments Tue, 10 Feb 2015 11:06:10 +0000 http://takingmeaning.com/?p=978 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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