Another great video!
I watched another amazing quality video (Allahumma Barik Lahu) by Imam Ammar Shahin. You can watch it here.
This video was truly enlightenment on a new level that opened new questions and brought many answers.
The imam goes into talk about yoga, reiki, mediation , the works.. I already questioned reiki from an islamic lens and was already aware of yoga being a practice we should not welcome into our space. But mediation, I thought this was an okay practice, I learned more than I ever considered and have left the idea of modern meditation in favor of meditative worship.
So the point of this post was to share the video for the inquisitive ones always seeking to learn more and some of the points I could sum up from what I took away from this video.
One: Always question where you get your information from. Who is teaching it? Where did they learn? Who backs their content?
Two: Be weary of religious text or new era books on teaching any ideology of any form of exercise (yoga, meditation, ect.) and the ect.
Three: The Shaytaan has a ton of new ways to lead us astray and is doing his best. So stay shielded and protected. Pray, dhikr, athkaar, constant remembrance (what I relay as meditative worship).
What resonated with me is I was reading a book from someone I follow who shares 'islamic' content and was teaching something that I could understand but also slightly questioned. I wont share it here because what it was is not the point. What I took away from it is.
It's so simple, I question how I ever missed it.
The Prophet (SAW) tells us to keep our lips moist with remembrance.
Abdullah ibn Busr reported: A man said, “O Messenger of Allah, the laws of Islam are too many for me, so tell me something I can hold onto.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Keep your tongue moist with the remembrance of Allah.”
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3375
Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani
Mediation tells us to silence our minds. The idea of mediation appears nice and with purpose but that's the part where now I see from a new perspective. When you silence your mind you open yourself to whatever comes. You leave a part of you open and persuasive. Dressed up in light it can come and you won't even notice it.
We already have a criteria for anger, anxiety, and the likes of emotions. And now I see what I missed. We already have a way to inner peace given to us by the One that designed us.
Remembrance
In stillness; concentrate, on creation. Observe the world around, the people, the sky, the elements. Take it all in. Contemplate and remember...
Alhumdulillah - "All praise and thanks are due to Allah"
Subhanallah - "Glory be to Allah"
Allahu Akbar - "God is Greater" (or The Greatest)
and there are many more.
"those who believe and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah. Surely in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find comfort." ~Ar-Ra'ad:28
I thought when I embraced Islam and have lived upon it I knew peace. Turns out I was missing something pretty detrimental. I try to complete my dhikr but now I have a more elaborated understanding of it.
You don't need silence. Remembrance is where we find true healing.
"We send down the Quran as a healing and mercy for the believers, but it only increases the wrongdoers in loss." ~ Al-Isra:82
"They will have a known provision:" ~ As-Saffat:41