Asma Maryam Ali

A bit of black now colours the ends of my red belt. Every so often I dare to touch it, wondering if the day will come when that dream is fulfilled. Please pray for me!

Choong Moo is the black belt pattern. 

“CHOONG-MOO was the name given to the great Admiral Yi Soon-Sin of the Lee Dynasty. He was reputed to have invented the first armoured battleship (Kobukson) in 1592, which is said to be the precursor of the present day submarine. The reason why this pattern ends with a left hand attack is to symbolize his regrettable death, having no chance to show his unrestrained potentiality checked by the forced reservation of his loyalty to the king.”

Source: www.itf-information.com/patterns10.htm

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I flipped through an Islamic magazine today and came to an article entitled “Managing Stress – An Islamic Perspective.” It recommends several ways in which a person can relieve stress, such as faith (& conviction), prayer, recitation and contemplation over God’s revelation, and more. A few additional recommendations are listed in point form at the end of the article. One of them is “- DO NOT make an abrupt conclusion that Allah hates you”.

I say yes.

Here are (only) some of Allah ’s (God’s) words:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (PBUH), from among the things he reports from his Lord (mighty and sublime be He), is that he said:

A servant [of Allah 's] committed a sin and said: O Allah , forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them. Then he sinned again and said: O Lord, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them. Then he sinned again and said: O Lord, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for sins. Do what you wish, for I have forgiven you.
(It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari).

On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: Allah the Almighty said:

O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it.
(It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal). Its chain of authorities is sound. )

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:

A man sinned greatly against himself, and when death came to him he charged his sons, saying: When I have died, burn me, then crush me and scatter [my ashes] into the sea, for, by Allah , if my Lord takes possession of me, He will punish me in a manner in which He has punished no one [else]. So they did that to him. Then He said to the earth: Produce what you have taken-and there he was! And He said to him: What induced you to do what you did? He said: Being afraid of You, O my Lord (or he said: Being frightened of You) and because of that He forgave him.
(It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa’i and Ibn Majah).

The ahadith qudsi are a collection of Allah ’s words related to us by His messenger, Muhammad (may God’s peace and blessings be upon him).

www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/hadithqudsi.html

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“Hwarang” is most often translated as “Flower Knights” or “Flower Youths.” Hwa is the Sino-Korean (hanja) character for flower or the act of blooming. Rang means man, sometimes used as a suffix in Silla official titles.

The Hwarang were an elite group of male youth in Silla, an ancient Korean kingdom that lasted until the 10th century. They were educational institutions as well as social clubs where members gathered for all aspects of study, originally for arts and culture steeped in Buddhism and Taoism. These groups developed into a more military organization as the Silla court centralized political power and battled to unite the Three Kingdoms.

According to the Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa, two bands of females called Wonhwa, “original flowers” preceded the Hwarang. Women played a much more prominent social role in pre-Confucian Korea, especially in Silla, which had three reigning queens in its history.

Both sources record that during the reign of King Jinheung, groups of beautiful girls were chosen and taught filial and fraternal piety, loyalty, and sincerity (no firm date is given for this, and some scholars express doubt this even occurred during Jinheung‘s reign). However, the leaders of the two bands of Wonhwa, Nammo and Junjeong, grew jealous of one another. When Junjeong murdered her rival the Wonhwa were disbanded.

At some point thereafter, according to the Samguk Yusa, the Silla king, “concerned about the strengthening of the country … again issued a decree and chose boys from good families who were of good morals and renamed them hwarang.” This suggests that the Hwarang were not originally military in character, as the Wonhwa were not soldiers.

Two youths, Gwisan  and Chwihang, approached the Silla monk Won Gwang seeking spiritual guidance and teaching, saying “We are ignorant and without knowledge. Please give us a maxim which will serve to instruct us for the rest of our lives.”

Won Gwang, who had gained fame for his period of study in Sui China, replied by composing the Five Commandments for Secular Life (Sae Sok O-Gye). These have since been attributed as a guiding ethos for the Hwarang:

Loyalty to one’s lord (sagun ichung)
Love and respect your parents and teachers(sachin ihyo)
Trust among friends (gyo-u isin)
Never retreat in battle (imjeon mutwae)
Never take a life without a just cause (salsaeng yutaek)

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I took a refreshing autumn walk today around the pond behind our house.

The path was laden with clover and I recalled an verse of the Qur’an that I had read only an hour before: “Who has made for you the earth, like a bed, and has made for you roads therein.”

The clover was so soft beneath me that I took light steps; nonetheless I saw tiny flies and little bugs jump up as my feet trampled their world. How amazing it is that I have the right to do this to them.

I saw butterflies jump from leaf to leaf in patterns that made no sense to me. I admired them for their flight and their journey and I envied the ease with which they flew.  

The water was still and peaceful and when the wind blew, there were tiny ripples. A crane stood in the shallow part looking out with such dignity and grace. Where did it come from and why was it there?

The stunning red, yellow and orange leaves on the trees were whispering that change is a part of life. The landscape remains and its features are transformed.

I walked slowly at times, taking the time to connect with the ground I walked on. Because I thought, there’s nothing on this earth that’s guaranteed, except that we have a little ground beneath our feet to stand on at this moment. and one day, that ground itself will crumble beneath us.

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In the name of God, the Compassionate and Merciful.
Ramadan mubarak!

I often get annoyed by love songs, but I haven’t heard one as silly as “Drive My Soul” in a long time. I love the singer’s voice and I love the melody, but no matter how hard I try to appreciate it, the words ruin the song for me every time.

So many love songs present a man or woman (usually a woman) whose meaning and existence depend on and/or are almost entirely defined by a lover. In this song, a woman gets her sense of meaning, direction, guidance, her bearings, her discipline, her vision from her lover. The very thought of her is so empty that its frightening. Who is she if she doesn’t drive her own soul? What is there to love within her if all of this is missing?

Who or what really drives our souls? What road are we on?

“Seems somebody put out the moon
Now the road is a minefield
I can’t follow the way she moves
I can’t see past the shadows
You make the darkness disappear
I feel found when you stay near
I know where I am when you are here
My way becomes so clear

When you are gone
Will I lose control?
You are the only road I know
You show me where to go
Who will drive my soul?

Seems somebody burned out the signs
I can’t expect the hard curves
There is no borders
There are no lines
How can I know where to turn?
You make the street lights reappear
I feel bright when you stand near
I know what I am when you are here
My place becomes so clear…”

I prefer this piece of poetry:

I must conquer my loneliness alone.
I must be happy with myself,
or I have nothing to offer.

Two halves have little choice but to join;
and yes, they do make a whole.

But two wholes when they coincide. . .
That is beauty. That is love.

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Dear Ms. Ali,

Thank you for everything. I want you to know that I care about you, and you are very important to me. Jazakallah-ho-khairun.

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Yesterday was the last day of school. These words from my Grade 4 student touched me so deeply. She could have said many other things about my teaching, but she thought it important to tell me this. Could I matter any more.

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4:30 left work
5:15 arrived home and had dinner
5:40 took my ‘flintstones’
5:48 had a couple of minutes to review my pattern online before my lesson
5:55 a friend called to say goodbye before she leaves the country for the summer
6:07 left for taekwondo twenty minutes early…accidentally…I still can’t figure it out
6:23 stopped at my aunt’s to visit and pray asr
7:08 arrived at taekwondo 8 minutes late
7:10 master waved peace at me when I entered..no push-ups for tardiness
Remembered my pattern
50 pushups anyway
Had an epiphany
8:10 got to give my instructor a penalty for not having her uniform 1 pushup
Sat back in the club and chatted with a good friend
8:32 dropped in at dollarama…teacher heaven…and bought a broom and dustpan for my classroom and my neighbor’s
8:33 a friend sang me caribbean queen over email
8:40 Drove home in the twilight
9:02 arrived home and settled in
9:40 prayed and made duaa
epiphany :O
10:00 had tea and watched the funniest episode of Frasier ever with my mom
10:40 looked in my mirror…a light had turned on
hung out in my room and thought
the light’s still on

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Open my eyes…Now:

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My favourite animal is the tiger. I wish that I could have a tiger for a pet. I imagine having one in jannah (paradise), if I get there, if Allah wills. I also dream of flying. If you go to the Ontario Science Centre there’s a feature in the Living Earth exhibit which simulates an eagle’s flight. Its very cool. I wish that we’d dream more of jannah, but I know that there’s this overarching perception in our minds that jannah is beyond us. I agree with that completely, but I think its worth it to dream. Like the dream of meeting the prophet and sitting with him, feeling his keen eyes and ears take in every word I say and being comforted by his gentle words. How I love that dream. I loved how a nine year old in my class reacted when I told him he might meet the prophet. His face lit up and he hugged himself as though he was hugging his beloved! I also dream of meeting the people whom I love the most. And there is nothing which can match this: knowing that we might meet again in perfect happiness makes this physical existence irrelevant. And then, the dream that I might one day stand in His very presence. My heart stands in awe from here. What more is there.

So this, my dream, is really a simple prayer from the depths of my heart, now published on this one page because I want to say that I want to get there. And I want everyone I love to be there too. Oh my Lord, please accept my prayer.

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