Page 8 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 8 Page 9 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 8 Mr. Abd al-Hayy Moore has two books of poetry published by City Lights under the name Daniel Moore. He’s traveled extensively, living in England, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria and Spain. Mr. Moore is a talented writer and poet, and has turned his talents in writing for Islam. He is a contributor to ‘The Minaret’ and other publications. His more recent publications are ‘The Chronicles of Akhira’, ‘Halley’s Comet’, and ‘Holograms’. His writings and publication may be obtained from Zilzal Press, 126 North Milpas Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. I became a Muslim when it seemed I had already accepted Islam in my bones, as if beyond choice, and I only had to make a leap to embrace it formally. Outwardly I was content: inwardly I was coasting. My three-years-old theater company was disbanded after a hilariously chaotic production for a Tim Leary Benefit at the Family Dog in San Francisco, circa ‘68 - naturally the orange juice everyone had passed around was spiked, so that chorus members were doing the final scene in the first ten minutes - and for six months I had been methodically typing out poetry manuscripts in my attic in Berkeley preparatory to a big publishing push. I considered myself a Zen Buddhist. But I was other things as well. My normal routine was to get up, sit zazen, smoke a joint, do half an hour of yoga, then read the Mathnawi of Rumi, the long mystical poem of that great Persian Sufi of the thirteenth century. Then I met the man who was to be my guide to our teacher in Morocco, Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib, may Allah be pleased with him. At first the meeting was simply remarkable, and my guide was simply a remarkable man. But soon our encounter was to become extraordinary, leading to a revolution in my life from which I have never recovered and never hope to. The man looked like an eccentric Englishman. He too had only recently come out of the English version of the Hippie Wave. He was older, refined in his manners spectacularly witty and intellectual, but of that kind prevalent then who had hobnobbed with the Beatles and knew the Tantric Art collection of Brian Jones firsthand. He had been on all the classic drug quests-peyote in the Yucatan, mescaline with Luara Huxley-but with the kif quest in Morocco he had stumbled on Islam, and then the Sufis, and the game was up. A profound change had taken place in his life that went far beyond the psychedelic experience. For the three days following our meeting, two other Americans and I listened in awe as this magnificent story teller unfolded the picture of Islam, of the perfection of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, of the Sufis of Morocco, and of the 100-year-old plus Shaykh, sitting under a great fig tree in a garden with his disciples singing praises of Allah. It was everything I’d always dreamed of, it was poetry come alive. It was the visionary experience made part of daily life, with the Prophet a perfectly balanced master of wisdom and simplicity, and historically accessible Buddha, with a mixture of the earthiness of Moses, the other worldliness of Jesus, and a light all his own. The prophetic knowledge our guide talked about was a kind of spiritual existentialism. It was a matter of how you enter a room, which foot you entered with, that you sipped water but gulped milk, that you said, “Bismillah” (In the name of Allah) before eating or drinking, and “Al-hamdulillah” (Praise be to Allah) afterwards, and so on. But rather than seeing this as a burden of hundreds of “how-to’s,” it was more like what the LSD experience taught us, that there is a “right” way to do things that has, if you will, a cosmic resonance. It is a constant awareness of courtesy to the Creator and His creation that in itself ensures and almost visionary intensity. It is hard to put forward any kind of explanation of Islam, to try and suggest the beauty of its totality, through the medium of words. The light of Islam, since it is transformational and alchemical in nature, almost always comes via a human messenger who is a transmitter of the picture by his very being. Face to face with our guide, what struck us most was his impeccable, noble behavior. He seemed to be living what he was saying. Finally the moment came, as a surprise, when he confronted me with my life. “Well,” he said one morning after three full days of rapturous agreement that what he was bringing us was the best thing we’d ever heard. “What do you think? Do you want to become a Muslim?” I hedged, “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve heard about so far. After all my Zen Buddhism, all my yoga, Tibetan Buddhism and Hindu gurus, this is certainly it! But I think I would like to travel a little, see the world, go to Afghanistan (then unoccupied), maybe meet my Shaykh in a mountain village far off somewhere.” “That’s not good enough. You have to decide now, yes or no. If it’s yes, then we start on a great adventure. If it’s no, then blame no one, I’ve done my duty, I’ll just say goodbye and go on my way. But you have to decide now. I’ll go downstairs and read a magazine and wait. Take your time.” When he had left the room I saw there was no choice. My whole being had already acquiesced. All my years up to that moment simply rolled away. I was face-to-face with worship of Allah, wholly and purely, with the Path before me well-trodden, heavily signposted, with a guide to a Master plunk in front of me. Or I could reject all this for a totally self-invented and uncertain future. It was the day of my birthday, just to make it that much more dramatic. I chose Islam. The Prophet’s Daughter - Zainab (R.A.) Zainab (R.A.) was the eldest daughter of the Prophet (PBUH) and was born in the fifth year of his marriage to Khadijah (R.A.), when he was thirty years of age. She embraced Islam and was married to her cousin Abdul-As-bin Rabi. Her husband fought in ‘Badr’ for the Qureysh and fell a captive to the Muslims. Her husband also embraced Islam later and joined her in Madinah. She had a son named Ali and a daughter named Amamah. Ali died during the lifetime of the Prophet (S.A.W.). This was the same Ali who sat behind the Prophet’s camel at the time of his triumphal entry into Mecca. Amamah frequently hanged on the Prophet’s back as he prostrated in Salaat (prayer). When the Qureysh were paying ransom to secure release of their prisoners, Zainab (R.A.) gave over as ransom for her husband the necklace she had received in dowry from her mother Khadijah (R.A.). When the Prophet (S.A.W.) saw the necklace, the memories of Khadijah came to his mind and tears were in his eyes. After consultation with Sahabah, he returned the necklace to Zainab (R.A.) and released her husband without ransom on the condition that he would send Zainab to Madinah on his return to Mecca. Two men were sent to stay outside Mecca and bring Zainab (R.A.) safely to Madinah when she was made over to them. Her husband asked his brother Kananah to take Zainab outside Mecca and make her over to Muslim escort. As Zainab and Kananah were riding out of the town on camel’s back, the Qureysh sent a party to intercept them. Her own cousin Habar-bin-Aswad flung a spear at her which wounded her and made her fall from the camel. As a result of this fall, Zainab, who was pregnant, miscarried. Kananah started sending arrow towards the interceptors, when Abu Sufyan said to him: “We cannot tolerate the daughter of Muhammad leaving Mecca so openly. Let her go back and you can send her secretly after a few days.” Kananah agreed. Zainab (R.A.) was dispatched after a few days. She suffered long from that wound, and at last died of it in the beginning the 8th year after the emigration of the Prophet (S.A.W.). The Prophet (S.A.W.) said at the time of her death: “She was my best daughter, for she has suffered much on my account.” The Prophet (S.A.W.) buried her with his own hands. As he went into the grave to lay her down, he looked very sorrowful but, when he came out of the grave, he was quite composed. On the query by the Sahabah, he said: “In view of the feebleness of Zainab, I prayed to The Almighty to remove from her the tortures of the grave, and this prayer has been answered.” Just imagine, even the daughter of the Prophet (S.A.W.) who sacrificed her life for Islam needed a prayer from the Prophet in the grave. What about us people who are so much steeped in sins? It is but necessary that we should always seek protection from the difficulties in the grave. The Prophet (S.A.W.) would often seek refuge in God from the horrors of the grave. Birth of Prophet Ishaq (pbuh) The Prophet Ibrahim had two sons - Prophet Ismail and Prophet Ishaq (peace be upon them). The Prophet Ishaq (pbuh) was his second son born of Sarah, his wife. When the Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) passed through an ordeal of sacrificing his affectionate son, Prophet Ismail, the glad tidings of the birth of another son, Prophet Ishaq, was conveyed to him. The Holy Qur’an says: “And We gave him the good news of Isaac-a prophet,- one of the righteous.” (Qur’an 37:112) The Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) had attained the age of one hundred years and Sarah was ninety. They had practically lost all hope of having an issue at this advanced age. When the angel came to Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) with the happy news of the birth of a wise son, his wife laughed and did not believe it. She remarked that she had passed the age and now it was simply a folly to expect a child. The Qur’an tells us how this news was imparted to Prophet Ibrahim and his wife: “And his wife was standing (there), and she laughed: But when We gave her glad tidings of Ishaq (Isaac), and after him Yaqub (Jacob). She said: “Alas for me! Shall I bear a child seeing I am an old woman and this my husband here is an old man? That would indeed be a wonderful thing!” They said: “Dost thou wonder at God’s decree? The grace of God and His blessings on you, O ye people of the house! For He is indeed worthy of all praise, full of all glory.” (Qur’an 11:71-73) The Prophet Ishaq (pbuh) was born as God willed. He was the chosen servant of God and his descendants were men of high spiritual rank and character. He was inspired to do noble deeds and establish right worship. He was generous at heart. Marriage and Death The Prophet Ishaq (pbuh) was married to Rebecca when he was forty years old. His wife gave birth to Esau and Ya’qub. When the Prophet Ishaq (pbuh) grew old he lost his eye-sight. He passed away at Hebron at the age of 180 years. He was buried beside his father and mother. Why I Embraced Islam The Prophet Ishaq (Isaac)
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