Ibn 'Ata Allah on comprehensive supplications and sending blessings on the Prophet

"Whoever approaches the end of life and wants to make up for what he has missed, let him busy himself with comprehensive supplications. For if he does this, his short life will become long in effect. For example, he might say, "Glory be to God Almighty, and may He be praised, as plentifully as the number of His creatures, in proportions that please His self, on a magnitude as great as His Throne, and as expansively as the scope of His words. Likewise, one who has failed to engage in much fasting and night vigils should preoccupy himself with sending blessings upon the Prophet. For should you fulfill God's every commandment throughout your life then God should send a single blessing upon you, this single blessing would outweigh all of the acts of obedience that you have performed throughout your entire life. This is because you send blessings upon the Prophet in proportion to your capacity, while He sends blessings upon you in proportion to His lordship. This is the case if He sends a single blessing. So what if, as indicated in the sound hadith, He was to send ten blessings upon you every time you send a single blessing upon the Prophet? How beautiful a life is when lived in obedience to God or sending blessings upon the Prophet!

-Ibn 'Ata Allah al-Sakandari, Sufism for Non-Sufis? Taj Al-'Arus (The Bridge-Groom's Crown), trans. Sherman Jackson, pg. 59-60.

1 Billion Salawat Day Initiative - Nov 4th, 2012 (tomorrow)

http://www.1billionsalawat.com/

Proclamation
of
Worldwide Salawat upon Muhammad Day

---

Sunday, November 4, 2012 / 19 Dhu'l Hijja 1433

ﺑﺴﻢ ﺍﷲ ﺍﻟﺮﲪﻦ ﺍﻟﺮﺣﻴﻢ

Whereas, the sanctity of Islam and Muslims is being violated in myriad ways -innocents are being killed, graves are being desecrated, the social fabric of many Muslim societies is being torn asunder, and the honorable life and legacy of our Prophet, Muhammad, peace upon him, is being assailed in unprecedented and increasingly egregious ways; whereas, collectively, these outrages demonstrate a lack of mercy, compassion and empathy, along with a demeaning of the prophetic legacy; whereas, one of the greatest means we possess to invite the mercy of God into our lives and into our world is the Salawat on the Prophet (peace upon him); we declare Sunday, November 4, 2012, Worldwide Salawat upon Muhammad Day.

To commemorate this day, we encourage all Muslims to gather in their mosques, centers and homes for Magrib prayers and then to individually or collectively recite 2,000 Salawats on the Prophet (peace upon him) using the following formula:

اللّهُمّ صَلّ عَلَى مُحَمّدٍ

Allahumma Salli 'Alaa Muhammad

(O Allah! Bless Muhammad)

We believe that by collectively sending tens of millions, if not billions of Salawats on the Prophet (peace upon him), the silent majority of the world's Muslims can make an unprecedented appeal in the real theater of power. By so doing, we will, Insha Allah, invite the direct aid of our Lord, bring about a cosmic shift that will affect the balance of worldly power and bring about a divine opening that will bring comfort and healing to the hearts of the believers. Join us in this historic event.

Dr. Sherman Jackson: Muslims as a Marginal Minority in America | ALIM

http://www.alimprogram.org/articles/muslims-as-a-marginal-minority/

Hajj 2012, a Sacred Journey, in Pictures

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/10/hajj-2012-a-sacred-journey/100394/

فضل زيارة المدينة المنورة

by Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah, translated by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86MLO_caKDs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

زاد المسلم بعد الحج

Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah's advise after Hajj with translation by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=127t7II0xas&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Scholarship of the Indian Subcontinent- Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad

via Rich!