Ivy Muslim Conference, Feb 6-7, 2010

Al-hamdu li-llah, we are very excited about the upcoming Ivy Muslim Conference, Feb 6-7, 2010. I encourage Harvard students to contact the Islamic Society about logistics (e.g. coordinating transportation to New Haven).

A lovely excerpt from Imam Muwaffaq al-Din al-Maqdisi's Wasiyya [Advice], a 6th/12th century work on spiritual excellence (ihsan).

[Imam Muwaffaq al-Din al-Maqdisi said:] al-Hasan ibn Ja`far, may Allah have mercy on him, related that his father proclaimed:

“I prayed the `Eid prayer in the desert, then I stayed by myself in a secluded area and I happened across an old woman who was making supplication. She was saying, ‘The people have left my presence, but my heart does not shiver in devotion! Hope is lost! Possessor of all Goodness and Truth! I turn away from the truth, increase me in devotion and longing! Lord! Have mercy on me in my weakness and old age! I go out among the people, but I hope for You! Do not let my hope be lost according to what I am hoping for!’” The man said, “If this is her state, what should I be doing right now?” (From al-Maqdisi, Muwaffaq al-Din, A Word of Advice (Canada: HTS Publications) 2006, 73-74.)