Inspiration from Past & Present
O People of the Scripture, why
Do you the signs of God deny,
When you yourselves are witnesses?
[The Holy Qur’an, A Poetic Translation 3:70]
When they assaulted you from every side,
When eyes with fear were petrified,
And hearts were leaping unto throats,
And you began entertaining some thoughts,
Vainly diverse concerning God.
And there it was that the believers,
Who had been horribly shaken, were tried.
[The Holy Qur’an, A Poetic Translation 33:10-11]
لستُ إلا طُوَيلب علم
I am but a small student of knowledge.
—Shaykh Nāṣiruddīn al-Albāni [d. 1420/1999]
فنوم على القفا وهو نوم الأنبـياء عليهم السلام يتفكرون في خلق السموات والأرض، ونوم على اليمين وهو نوم العلماء والعباد، ونوم على الشمال وهو نوم الملوك لهضمهم طعامهم، ونوم على الوجه وهو نوم الشياطين
Sleep on the back is that of the prophets, reflecting on the heavens and the earth; sleep on the right side is the sleep of the scholars and worshipers; sleep on the left side is that of the kings—who need to digest their food; and sleep on the stomachs is that of the devils.
—Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī [d 505H/1111CE]
Iḥyā ‘Ulūm al-Dīn