2020 Day of Arafah – Du’a Arafah and Prophet Muhammad’s Last Sermon

2020 Day of Arafah – Du’a Arafah and Prophet Muhammad’s Last Sermon

As-salaam wa-alaikum, brothers and sisters.

Yawm al-Arafah (Day of Arafah)

This is a bonus episode of the 17 Verses Podcast.

Today marks the second day of the Hajj, which is the pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims must make once in their lifetime. It is also known as the Day of Arafah or Yawm al-Arafah.

By SFC Larry E. Johns, USA (http://www.dodmedia.osd.mil, DASD0512324) [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsOn this day, Shi’a Muslims recite and chant Du’a Arafah which is a prayer first recorded by Husayn ibn Ali, the third Imam of Shi’a Islam. Imam Husayn was also the grandson of Prophet Muhammad and the son of Ali, the fourth recognized Caliph of Sunni Islam and the first Imam of Shi’a Islam, and Fatima Zahra, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad. The du’a goes as follows:

Glory be to He whose Arsh is in the heavens!
Glory be to He whose will operates in the earth.
Glory be to He who examines (the dead) in the graves!
Glory be to he who surfaced a path over the ocean.
Glory be to he who has total control over the fire!
Glory be to he who surrounds paradise with his mercy.
Glory be to he who will do justice on the Day of Judgment.
Glory be to he who raised the sky!
Glory be to he who spread the earth.
Glory be to he from whom there is no running away unless (one takes refuge) with him.

Also on this day, in the ninth year of the Islamic calendar (which corresponds to March 6, 632 AD in the Gregorian calendar), Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) gave his last sermon in the ‘Uranah Valley of Mount Arafat in Mecca.

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BONUS: Milad-un-Nabi – The Prophet’s Last Sermon

As-salaam wa-alaikum, brothers and sisters.

Summary

This is a bonus episode of the 17 Verses Podcast. Today is Milad-un-Nabi or Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (pbuh). The Prophet’s birthday is celebrated with varying degrees throughout the Muslim world so I thought it would be fitting to relay to you the Last Sermon of Prophet Muhammad.

By Morgan Phoenix (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

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Muhammad Ali, Extremism in Islam and the “Other”

As-salaam wa-alaikum, brothers and sisters.

This is a re-release of a bonus episode of the 17 Verses podcast, originally from June 20, 2016, shortly after Muhammad Ali’s passing and the Omar Mateen Orlando shooting spree. I’ve still released a Qur’anic recitation for today so feel free to download that episode as well.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about peace and loss and violence and the myths we teach each other about the existence and lives and beliefs of the “other”. Muhammad Ali’s life, the devil quoting scripture… how do we reconcile ourselves, live our Deen and in Peace. Read More

Astaghfirullah – An Holistic Approach to the Qur’an

As-salaam wa-alaikum, brothers and sisters.

This is a bonus episode of the 17 Verses podcast. I’ve still released a Qur’anic recitation for today so feel free to download that episode as well.

But after doing over 200 episodes, I wanted to share some of my impressions on this journey. I am also grateful to each and everyone who has downloaded a podcast or shared feedback.

If you enjoy the podcast, HELP SPREAD THE WORD! Tell your friends and family, subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher and write us a review.

This project, to create a podcast and do a daily recitation of the Qur’an, is not my first attempt to finish the good book. So I’m not unfamiliar with it. I first finished the Qur’an in 1996 at the age of 16. It had probably taken 2 years of on/off reading to get to that point and I remember almost skimming the last one hundred or so pages. I just wanted to get done!

Astaghfirullah - I seek the forgiveness of Allah
Astaghfirullah – I seek the forgiveness of Allah

Since then, it’s usually taken about 1.5 years for each finish, done in fits and starts. When I first started the podcast, I would record a few days at once, take a couple days break, record a few days at once, etc. Because I went out of town for Thanksgiving, I once had to record 8 episodes in one-go and schedule them in advance. But I’ve found that recording almost every single night has made the biggest difference. Not from a programmatic/production standpoint; but a regular daily reading has proven to be best from a learning and spiritual growth standpoint. It lets me think, everyday, about what I’ve just recorded. And then I listen to the recordings themselves, sometimes at the gym or on the bus from/to work. Yes, I listen to my own podcast; more so just to make sure it sounds alright.

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