Please bear with me.  I’ll probably complain my first few blogs because I have had little place to vent my frustrations to more than myself or the proverbial blank wall.  Sometimes my husband will be on the receiving end, but his ability to change my complaining voice into a lulling melody to which he can fall asleep does not move me towards resolution.

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

I have posted a true story of my Out of Body experience on the Darvish blog. To those interested, here is a link:
http://darvish.wordpress.com/2007/10/21/my-out-of-body-experience-a-true-story/

Ya Haqq,

Irving

Recently, I received an email from a frequent poster on one of the Muslim listervs I quietly follow. It appeared to be a short article, perhaps one he had posted elsewhere, but he had sent it to me annotated with the subtitle, ‘My advice to Muslims.’  The advice was more or less summed up in the principle title: It Is Not Enough To Be Good; One Must Also Show The Right Path To Others Who Might Otherwise Do Evil.

It began with a series of arguments which then led to the following observation:

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

RAMADAN KAREEM! – Below are 30 Daily Ramadan Prayers (Duas) that will, inshallah, make the fast easier, enlighten the mind, and ennoble the heart.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 1

ALLAH, on this day make my fasts the fasts of those who fast (sincerely), and my standing up in prayer of those who stand up in prayer (obediently), awaken me in it from the sleep of the heedless, and forgive me my sins , O God of the worlds, and forgive me, O one who forgives the sinners.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 2

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

The following is a question a brother asked in an email, and my answer. It is about love on the Sufi path, and is reprinted here with his permission.

Question:

Salaam Irving:

The First Muslims and the Christians

In the beginning of Islam, the Quraysh tribe of Mecca persecuted the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his followers. The Prophet therefore allowed eighty of his followers, together with their small children, to emigrate to Abyssinia in 615 CE. The emigrants were well received in Abyssinia, and were allowed complete freedom of worship.

The leaders of Quraysh, however, sent two emissaries to the Nagus, with rich presents for the Negus of Abyssinia and bribes for his generals. The two emissaries told the generals: