beauty

Thikr (Rememberance) – a thought by Imam Abdul Latif Finch

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zikr

Many of us find it terribly hard to enjoy thikr.

Remembrance is a good thing, we know it, but we don’t actually enjoy it.

We do other things for pleasure, frankly.

What we need to understand is that thikr is God’s pleasure.

When we please God our souls are pleased.

When our souls are pleased we are content.

When we are content we always remember why.

When we remember why we are thankful.

This causes us to say, “al hamdu lillah” from our soul to its Creator…pleased and pleasing, inshallah.

Imam Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch

July 2015

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Mercy, a Gift to Mankind – a Thought by Imam Abdul Latif Finch

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The Prophet, ﷺ, has called himself simply an absolute gift. Abū Hurayra, may God be pleased with him, reported Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ said,

“O People! I am only mercy gifted to you!” [1]

gift box

That is to say, if one were to ask just what the Prophet, ﷺ is, the answer is a gifted mercy. Whatever is beyond the right of a dependent is a mercy. A gift is beyond the rights of the needy. Therefore a gift is a mercy. Hence, in this tradition he stated, ﷺ, to all people without exclusion that he is but compounded mercy.

To compound something is to multiply it. The increased mercy here epitomizes the nature of his relationship with God’s dependents. These creatures have no foreseeable limit, as even the inhabitants of Paradise are dependent on God.  Therefore, the compounded mercy mentioned in the tradition of the Prophet ﷺ has an unqualified nature. With this point in mind, it may be said that he, ﷺ, is nothing more than unqualified mercy.

Imam Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch

May 2015

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[1] al-Darimi 1:21 Hadith #10 ;Ibn Abi Shayba in Al-Musannaf,6:325 Hadith #31782;Al-Hakim Al-Mustadrak 1:91 Hadith #100;Al-Tabarani in Al-Mu’jam Al-Awsat, 3:223 Hadith #2981; Al-Bayhaqi Sh’ab al-Iman 2:143 Hadith #1402;Al-Haythami in Majma al-Zawaid 8:257

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Tragedy to diamond – a quote by Imam Abdul Latif Finch

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“Sometimes we mistake tragedy as punishment from God but diamonds are made from compressed coal. Mercy in disguise.”

– Imam Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch 2015

diamond

Muhammad Abdul Latif converted to Islam at the age of 20 and has earned ijazas in Islamic Sciences including Quranic Sciences, Hadith, Maliki and Shafi’i Jurisprudence, Usul al-Fiqh, Seerah, Logic, and Arabic Grammar and Morphology under the tutelage of numerous scholars, including Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Shaykh Salik bin Siddina, Imam Zaid Shakir, Shaykh Abdur Rahman Taahir, Qari Umar Bellahi, Shaykh Abdullah Ali, and Shaykh Yahya Rhodus.

Imam Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch co-founded the Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland, California where he served as the Imam till for 3 years until he resigned in 2012 to focus on his graduate studies. In addition, he was a teacher and a program developer for Deen Intensive Foundation, Seekers Guidance and has assisted Zaytuna College ‘s Summer Arabic Intensive program for three years in a row.

Imam Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch has recently attained a Master’s degree in Philosophy at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, a member of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.

Many thanks to Imam Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch for contributing to this blog.

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Birth, God & Unlimited Mercy – a Thought from Imam Abdul Latif Finch

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Absolute free will is total freedom to do whatever one wants whenever one wants.

However, no one has the ability to choose when to be born.

Therefore, no one has absolute free will.

Without absolute free will human beings are left with relative free will.

That which is relatively free is fairly restricted.

That which is fairly restricted requires something that limits it.

This limitation may be natural to it or imposed.

That which is limited is necessarily incapable of imposing this same limitation.

So, that which has a restricted free will has its limitation imposed upon it necessarily.

That which necessarily chooses when the human being is to be born, it follows, has absolute free will regarding her.

That which has absolute free will does not suffer limitation.

The Creator has absolute free will.

Therefore, the Creator necessarily imposes a restriction on the human being without limitation.

Therefore, in an unlimited fashion, God imposes His absolute free will on her.

Quote by Imam Abdul Latif Finch

Quote by Imam Abdul Latif Finch

Something presented to another freely is a gift.

That which is presented absolutely freely is an unqualified gift.

An unqualified gift is an unlimited mercy.

The Creator, as indicated above, chose me to be born when He did as a mercy without limitation.

In this sense, birth is itself a proof for a Creator characterized with unlimited mercy.

Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch

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Quote by Imam Abdul Latif Finch

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“If your nose is blocked, does that mean the rose isn’t fragrant?”

– Imam Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch 2015

Rose quote May 2015

Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch converted to Islam at the age of 20 and has earned ijazas in Islamic Sciences including Quranic Sciences, Hadith, Maliki and Shafi’i Jurisprudence, Usul al-Fiqh, Seerah, Logic, and Arabic Grammar and Morphology under the tutelage of numerous scholars, including Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Shaykh Salik bin Siddina, Imam Zaid Shakir, Shaykh Abdur Rahman Taahir, Qari Umar Bellahi, Shaykh Abdullah Ali, and Shaykh Yahya Rhodus.

Imam Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch co-founded the Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland, California where he served as the Imam till for 3 years until he resigned in 2012 to focus on his graduate studies. In addition, he was a teacher and a program developer for Deen Intensive Foundation, Seekers Guidance and has assisted Zaytuna College ‘s Summer Arabic Intensive program for three years in a row.

Imam Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch has recently attained a Master’s degree in Philosophy at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, a member of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.

Many thanks to Imam Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch for contributing to this blog.

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