The analogy of Unicorn

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ 
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Unicorn is an imaginary creature. Do they exist? 

     The fact that we imagine them, do they have an existence? because they definitely exist in our mind. Because if I say unicorn, if you know the English language well enough, you have an image of a horse that has a horn, well we don't find it in nature but we have an image of it. So, where does that exist?. Does it have substantial existence? No. It has contingent existence. 

     Its existence is contingent upon my thought. And if I were move it from my thought, it no longer exist. And we believe this about the creation itself that Allah S.W.T creation is contingent upon his 'sustaining reality' and if Allah were move his sustaining reality from existence, existence disappear.

     So we not like Hindu. We don't say that the existence doesn't exist, that it's like an illusion. We don't believe that. 

     But It is dreamlike in that way that its existence is contingent and its also once you die this was seem like a complete dream to you in relation to the next world and that's why people feel like they woke up from a deep sleep and that's literally experience. 

     It were told in the Quran and Hadith. "People are asleep and when they died, they come to attention." He didn't say they wake up, he say they come to attention, and that's because it's like you're daydreaming. So life is like a daydreaming. You're not really asleep, it's not a complete dream but you're not fully awake, and when people die, they came to this full awakening and that's why the akhirat described as the true life as opposed to this world and that is the idea of Baqa'. 

     I mean I really feel like so inadequate talking about this thing. More as I get older it feels more absurd almost. Language just limit us and that's why some of our greatest scholar like Imam Al Ghazali, he got to the point were , it was difficult for him to even talk because of his realization about what he was speaking about, we're doing such a great injustice 

     and the Prophet he heard the Jewish man came, he was spoken about god wrapping up all the Cosmos in his hand and the Prophet laugh when he suddenly said, 'They haven't understood Allah. They have not given Allah any true estimation of Allah."

     And that somehow to me that is whatever we say about Allah other than what Allah have said about himself I really feel like we almost have to laugh that the prophet S.A.W the fact that it is a sunnah to see as humorous how we inadequate our words of in describing Allah is very refreshing for me  I feel very comforted by that.

Notes taken by me from one of Shaykh Hamza Yusof lecture. So any mistakes here, it was from me.

Learning for the sake of God

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

In the name of God the Most Gracious the Most Merciful.

The Prophet Muhammad S.A.W said, "Be a scholar, be a student of knowledge, be the helper of the two or be a lover of those (people).

     Some of the most beautiful human being in life I've ever met and this is a true story. I was in Western Africa, it was a very dark night. Our car get stuck in mud in the middle of the Sahara, literally, and we walk away and we found someone who was a sheep herder and illiterate. He was the only person out there with his goat and sheep. He was so happy to see us. He went and slaughter the goat, he fed us, it was an extremely windy night with a lot of rain. 

     When we woke up, he had stay the whole night holding the center piece of the tent to make sure that it didn't collapse on us. That was his hospitality 'cause we were his guest and..

The Prophet said, "Who ever believe in god and  the last day, let him honor the guest." 

     and that was.. somebody was there with me and we couldn't believe it. This man actually deprive himself asleep in order to ensure that we slept. 

     Some of the best people that I've met in this world have been illiterate, simple believers and that the truth and I have absolutely no contempt for those people at all. What I see is that some people are facilitated to learn, the circumstances are right for them to learn and other people are deprived of that. 

     The people that do have the gift of learning should actively being engaged and tried to spread that gift to other people because learning in the true sense of the word, not learning for a degree, not learning to become somebody of stature or somebody of wealth but learning really for the sake of God in our tradition, and..

The Prophet Muhammad S.A.W said, "One of the sign of the latter day is that people go to learn for other than the sake of god."

Notes taken by me Nurul Huda Rusdi from one of the lecture of Shaykh Hamza Yusof . So any mistakes here it was from me.

The story of the Amir (the ruler) and Sahabah

When one of the Amir (ruler) of the Prophet S.A.W, he got upset with his companion and they were told to obey the Amir. (the Sahabah were told to obey the Amir)

The Prophet S.A.W said, "Obey your ruler, even if he's a servant that become a ruler obey him".

So the Sahabah have this mentality of obedient. So they make a camp fire 'cause they're out like on a trip and he (the Amir) got angry with them. He said, "you'll have to jump in the fire."

Wallahi. There are people today that if the Amir said jump in the fire they will jump in the fire.

The sahabah have brain. That's one of the blessing of Allah's gave the prophet companion that were intelligent.

So one of them said "We join this religion to get out of the fire." and so they refuse to obey him.

When they got back to the prophet S.A.W, they told him.

The prophet said, "Don't obey a man, if it's means disobey the creator of men."

and Allah say, "Don't destroy yourself."

So the Sahabah, they were using their intellects. They don't just say, "O. he's the Amir we have to obey him."

Hikmah. This is Hikmah. It's a gift from Allah S.W.T just to have wisdom, Have intelligent and that's why this religion has to have naqal and aqal. It has to have the transmission, the hadith, then it has to have the aqal. There are hadith that when you read them then you know that it can't be the truth just by intellect. (the false hadith)

Notes taken by me, Nurul Huda Rusdi from one of the lecture of Shaykh Hamza Yusof. So anything wrong here, it was from me. If you're confuse by the story or the terms used, do ask a person who knows. Use your brain. 😉😊 Assalamualaikum. Peace be upon you.