We were with Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) picking the fruits of the ‘Arak trees, and Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Pick the black fruit, for it is the best.” The companions asked, “Were you a shepherd?” He replied, “There was no prophet who was not a shepherd.”
This famous narration provides profound insights into Islamic theology, the methodology of prophetic training, and the nature of leadership.
1. The Secrets of Prophetic Training (Tarbiyah)
Scholars of hadith, including Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, explain that Allah chose shepherding for His prophets as a deliberate, hands-on leadership academy. Leading an unruly flock of animals builds the exact virtues needed to guide humanity:
Patience and Endurance: Sheep can wander, stubborn beasts resist order, and the weather is unpredictable. A shepherd learns to endure hardship without losing composure.
Gentleness Over Force: If a shepherd treats sheep with harshness, they will scatter or suffer injuries. This teaches the prophet to guide human communities with mercy and gentleness (rifq) rather than coercion.
Vigilance and Accountability: A shepherd must constantly watch for wolves and predators. This fosters a deep sense of responsibility (amanah), making the future prophet intensely protective of their people’s spiritual and physical well-being.
Individualized Care: In any flock, some sheep are weak, some are pregnant, and some are young. The shepherd must adjust their pace to the weakest among them—a vital skill for a leader managing a diverse society.
2. Divine Humility and Cleansing the Soul
Before taking on the immense burden of revelation, prophets were placed in a low-status, lonely profession.
Eradicating Pride: Spending months or years in solitary pastures away from high society purges the heart of arrogance, pride, and material attachment.
Contemplation (Tafakkur): The wilderness provides silence, allowing the future prophets to contemplate creation, look at the stars, and build an unshakeable, intimate reliance on Allah (Tawakkul).
Gov wants to end mandatory re-evaluation of pesticide risks
Ottawa is weakening pesticide oversight. I just signed a petition to express my concern. Will you sign too?In June, the federal government passed a law allowing cabinet ministers to greenlight the use of pesticides that would otherwise be banned due to environmental risks — overriding Health Canada’s science-based risk evaluations.Now, buried in an omnibus budget bill set to be voted on when Parliament resumes sitting later this month, Ottawa is proposing to eliminate mandatory 15-year pesticide re-evaluations. These re-evaluations are the main mechanism for comprehensive review of new data on pesticide risks.These changes represent the most significant overhaul of federal pesticide regulation in a generation – and would be a big step backwards. Will you join me in signing a petition opposing the pesticide law amendments in Bill C-31?Say no to permanent pesticide approvals
The amendments the government is proposing in Bill C-31 would undermine public confidence in how Canada regulates pesticides, harm public health and the environment and limit export opportunities for Canadian agricultural products.An official parliamentary petition opened for signature last week, calling on the House of Commons to reject amendments to the Pest Control Products Act that weaken oversight. Please consider adding your name to Petition e-7742.Thanks for your support.Lisa Gue National policy managerP.S. Sign now! MPs return to Ottawa on September 21. We need your help to gather as many signatures on this petition as possible before then! It’s one way we can demonstrate that people across Canada do not want to see pesticide risks deregulated in the name of expediency.
Support the David Suzuki FoundationYour gift will help push for bold climate action, protect nature so it can sustain all life and create resilient communities that benefit everyone.Donate Today
At least one in four former National Football League (NFL) players had evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, at the time of death, according to a new study from one of the U.S. research teams at the forefront of studying the devastating brain disease.
CTE — which can only be confirmed after death — is associated with repeated head trauma, often from contact sports. It can lead to debilitating symptoms ranging from severe memory loss and balance problems to major personality changes, including depression, aggression and thoughts of suicide.
A growing body of research has already shown exceptionally high rates of the disease in the donated brains of former NFL players. But researchers are quick to note that brain banks skew heavily toward people who experienced concerning symptoms during life and wanted their brains studied after death.
6.As for those who persist in disbelief, it is the same whether you warn them or not—they will never believe. 7. Allah has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and their sight is covered. They will suffer a tremendous punishment. – Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran
6. As for those who disbelieve—it is the same for them, whether you have warned them, or have not warned them—they do not believe.
7. God has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and over their vision is a veil. They will have a severe torment. – Surah Baqarah
Hypocrites Hearts –
8. Among the people are those who say, “We believe in God and in the Last Day,” but they are not believers.
9. They seek to deceive God and those who believe, but they deceive none but themselves, though they are not aware.
10. In their hearts is sickness, and God has increased their sickness. They will have a painful punishment because of their denial.
11. And when it is said to them, “Do not make trouble on earth,” they say, “We are only reformers.”
12. In fact, they are the troublemakers, but they are not aware.
When Nabi Musa/ Prophet Moses Reveals a Murderer
73. We said, “Strike him with part of it.” Thus God brings the dead to life; and He shows you His signs, that you may understand.
74. Then after that your hearts hardened. They were as rocks, or even harder. For there are some rocks from which rivers gush out, and others that splinter and water comes out from them, and others that sink in awe of God. God is not unaware of what you do.
75. Do you hope that they will believe in you, when some of them used to hear the Word of God, and then deliberately distort it, even after understanding it?
76. And when they come across those who believe, they say, “We believe,” but when they come together privately, they say, “Will you inform them of what God has disclosed to you, so that they might dispute with you concerning it before your Lord?” Do you not understand?
77. Do they not know that God knows what they conceal and what they reveal?
Sahih International: So whoever Allah wants to guide – He expands his breast to [contain] Islam; and whoever He wants to misguide – He makes his breast tight and constricted as though he were climbing into the sky. Thus does Allah place defilement upon those who do not believe.
Surah Az Zumar – Groups
Can ˹the misguided be like˺ those whose hearts Allah has opened to Islam, so they are enlightened by their Lord? So woe to those whose hearts are hardened at the remembrance of Allah! It is they who are clearly astray. 23
˹It is˺ Allah ˹Who˺ has sent down the best message—a Book of perfect consistency and repeated lessons—which causes the skin ˹and hearts˺ of those who fear their Lord to tremble, then their skin and hearts soften at the mention of ˹the mercy of˺ Allah. That is the guidance of Allah, through which He guides whoever He wills. But whoever Allah leaves to stray will be left with no guide.
Are those who will only have their ˹bare˺ faces to shield themselves from the awful torment on Judgment Day ˹better than those in Paradise˺? It will ˹then˺ be said to the wrongdoers: “Reap what you sowed!”
Those before them ˹also˺ rejected ˹the truth˺, then the torment came upon them from where they least expected.
So Allah made them taste humiliation in this worldly life, but far worse is the punishment of the Hereafter, if only they knew.
#Islam, #Hearts, #Believers, #Disbelievers, Quran Kareem; #Guidance, #Misguidance, #Faith,
Work with Tellwell’s talented publishing team to design, edit, distribute and market your book. Focus on writing, we’ll do the rest.
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Your professionalism and support has been fantastic and I really felt heard and supported at every stage along the process of producing my first book. The videos and phone calls were helpful and explanatory which was important because I was stepping into a world unknown to me. Thank you.
Garrett Carr’s debut adult novel is big-hearted and welcoming, opening with a collective voice that immediately sets the tone for the rest of the novel.
We were a hardy people, raised facing the Atlantic. A few thousand men, women and children, clinging to the coast and trying to stay dry. Our town wasn’t just a town, it was a logic and a fate.
The story is told through the “we” of the fishing town of Killybegs in Donegal, and it works brilliantly, filled with lovely, unforced colloquialisms that feel completely true to the place and the people.
Sahih International: It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion. And sufficient is Allah as Witness. – Surah Al Fath – 48:28
Sahih International: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah ; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration. That is their description in the Torah. And their description in the Gospel is as a plant which produces its offshoots and strengthens them so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks, delighting the sowers – so that Allah may enrage by them the disbelievers. Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds among them forgiveness and a great reward. – Surah Al Fath 48:29;
We’re building Ellipsus as a platform that prioritizes transparency, trust, independence, and creative freedom. Writers shouldn’t have to trade their privacy or their ownership for good tools. The rise of AI scraping and big tech overreach only made that more urgent for us. —Rex at Ellipsus
Whatever your attitude toward emerging technologies, we can probably agree it’s tough to be online these days. The tools available seem to be multiplying for some and dwindling for others—particularly for those who don’t want to use generative AI. A growing distrust of big tech is leading people to search for less exploitative options than Google or Microsoft.
Fortunately for them (and also me), new developers are creating tools that don’t push AI without the opportunity to opt-in. One of those new tools is Ellipsus, a writing tool created by a small group of writers who wanted better collaborative document options, and who are solidly for transparency, privacy, and writers’ rights to their own work.
As a text editor, Ellipsus is a lot like Google Docs, but more focused on better performance for large docs. It’s got a git-style feature for better version control, richer permissions, flexibility, and creative customizations. It’s got a unique knack for supporting real-time collaboration, and is simple enough to start using right away.
How Ellipsus Addresses Concerns about AI, Privacy, and Access
Ellipsus has been very clear on their stance: no generative AI in the program, ever. They believe writers’ work shouldn’t be harvested to train models without consent. Generative AI, when built on creative labor, undermines originality, and they believe putting it inside a writing tool would be fundamentally counterproductive to fostering genuine voices. Ellipsus’s creators want it to be a safe space for writers, and are working on offering better encryption and privacy protections, too.
Things that Make Ellipsus Fun
Ellipsus has a vibrant Discord community of writers providing mutual support, betas, collaborators, and the opportunity to commune. Collaboration options in the documents themselves are pretty fun too—I love being able to create different drafts for different beta readers so no one has to feel put on the spot.
And another small but mighty feature is the variety of different skins you can apply to your program.
284. To God belongs everything in the heavens and the earth. Whether you reveal what is within your selves, or conceal it, God will call you to account for it. He forgives whom He wills, and He punishes whom He wills. God is Able to do all things.
285. The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, as did the believers. They all have believed in God, and His angels, and His scriptures, and His messengers: “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and we obey. Your forgiveness, our Lord. To you is the destiny.”
286. God (Allah) does not burden any soul beyond its capacity. To its credit is what it earns, and against it is what it commits. “Our Lord, do not condemn us if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord, do not burden us as You have burdened those before us. Our Lord, do not burden us with more than we have strength to bear; and pardon us, and forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our Lord and Master, so help us against the disbelieving people.”
#Surah Baqarah; #Allah/ God does Not burden a #Soul beyond what not can bear; #Faith #Islam;
A Book about the Communist “Hell” (political prisoners sent to Siberia) – during communist hell – by the political prisoner and teachers Alexandr Solzhenitsyn;
EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn did not write a book called Road to Siberia, but he wrote extensively about the Soviet penal system and his own imprisonment. His most famous works documenting the brutal labor camps include The Gulag Archipelago and the novella One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Key Details on Solzhenitsyn’s Exile and Works
Imprisonment: Arrested in February 1945 for criticizing Joseph Stalin in a private letter, spending eight years in labor camps and subsequent internal exile. [1, 2]
The Gulag Archipelago:A monumental three-volume historical investigation of the Soviet forced labor camp system, drawing on testimonies from 227 survivors and his own time inside. [1, 2, 3]
Return to Russia: After the fall of the Soviet Union, he famously returned to Russia via a train journey from Vladivostok in 1994. [1, 2]
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn[a][b]ⓘ (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008)[6][7] was a Soviet and Russian author and dissident who helped to raise global awareness of political repression in the Soviet Union, especially the Gulag prison system. He was awarded the 1970 Nobel Prize in Literature “for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature”.[8]His nonfiction work The Gulag Archipelago “amounted to a head-on challenge to the Soviet state” and sold tens of millions of copies.[9
During the Khrushchev Thaw, Solzhenitsyn was released and exonerated. He started writing novels about his experiences and repression in the Soviet Union. In 1962, he published his first novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich—an account of Stalinist repressions—with approval from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. His last work to be published in the Soviet Union was Matryona’s Place in 1963. After Khrushchev lost power, Soviet authorities unsuccessfully tried to discourage Solzhenitsyn from writing. His novels published in other countries included Cancer Ward in 1966, In the First Circle in 1968 and August 1914 in 1971. The history The Gulag Archipelago was published in 1973. The last outraged authorities and, in 1974, he was stripped of his Soviet citizenship and flown to West Germany.[12] He soon moved to Switzerland and then, in 1976, to Vermont in the United States with his family. He continued to write and his Soviet citizenship was restored in 1990. He returned to Russia four years later and remained there until his death in 2008.
