Barakah

In Islam, Barakah or Baraka (Arabic: بركة ‎ ) is a kind of continuity of spiritual presence and revelation that begins with God and flows through that and those closest to God.

Baraka can be found within physical objects, places, and people, as chosen by God. This force begins by flowing directly from God into creation that is worthy of baraka. These creations endowed with baraka can then transmit the flow of baraka to the other creations of God through physical proximity or through the adherence to the spiritual practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. God is the sole source of baraka and has the power to grant and withhold baraka.

Islamic mysticism

Baraka is a prominent concept in Islamic mysticism, particularly Sufism. It pervades Sufi texts, beliefs, practices, and spirituality. Sufism emphasizes the importance of esoteric knowledge and the spiritual union with God through the heart. Baraka symbolizes this connection between the divine and the worldly through God's direct and intentional blessing of those that are most reflective of Him and his teachings.

Sami Yusuf

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Sami Yusuf (Persian: ﺳﺎﻣﯽ ﯾﻮﺳﻒ‎‎, Azerbaijani: Sami Yusif; born 29 July 1980) is a British singer-songwriter, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist musician of Iranian Azerbaijani descent.

In 2003 Yusuf released his first album "Al-Mu`allim" at the age of 23. He released his second album "My Ummah" in 2005. In October 2010, Yusuf’s third official album "Wherever You Are" was launched. Sami calls his genre of music "Spiritique". "Salaam" is his fourth album, that was released on 22 December 2012. On 12 September 2014, Yusuf's fifth official album "The Center" was released. In January 2015, Sami Yusuf's sixth official album "Songs of the Way" was released.

Early life

The Prince

The Prince (Italian: Il Principe [il ˈprintʃipe]) is a 16th-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus (About Principalities). However, the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. This was done with the permission of the Medici pope Clement VII, but "long before then, in fact since the first appearance of The Prince in manuscript, controversy had swirled about his writings".

Although it was written as if it were a traditional work in the mirrors for princes style, it is generally agreed that it was especially innovative. This is only partly because it was written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin, a practice which had become increasingly popular since the publication of Dante's Divine Comedy and other works of Renaissance literature.

The Prince is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political philosophy, in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. It was also in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and scholastic doctrines of the time concerning how to consider politics and ethics.