Gaza

Our prayers are with you.

May Allah relieve your pain and suffering.

Feeling poorly.

- this is how I feel.
Influenza hasn't spared me.
Please pray I get better, inshallah.

Can Islaam change the world?

We Muslims have a way of asking the unnecessary questions that need no answer. Rather, we should be asking ourselves, has Islaam changed my world?

And the majority of the time, we have to ponder a little while before we reach a definite conclusion. The answer doesn’t spring from our hearts like it should, it doesn’t pour forth with the absolute conviction that it should. It’s sad and I think we can all agree on that.

We are human, therefore we will instinctively wish the best for the world and in our case, we’d love to give Islaam to the world. But, we need to review if we have actually granted ourselves Islaam. Maybe it’s a human thing to bite off more than one can chew and therefore we cannot be blamed for it or questioned about it. Still, that’s an explanation, a consolation and not, definitely, not an excuse.

Moving on, have we granted our parents Islaam, our spouses, our siblings, our beloved friends, our acquaintances, our workmates?

When is the last time we sat our little nephew or niece on our laps and taught them of the bunyal Islam (pillars of Islam)? Can we remember the time we advised our ‘erring’ cousins and siblings about the truth of following Al Islaam correctly with kind words and gentleness? Let’s talk of a little away from home. Can we honestly say we ardently carry Islaam in a positive light in the way we conduct ourselves in public? Do we show politeness to the elderly woman where nobody else does? Do we assist a fellow human being in the load they carry?

We are all aware that charity starts at home. Before we even entertain the thought of changing the world with Islaam , we should concentrate on changing the immediate world, that is our family, our home , our close circle of links. Our beloved Prophet (pbuh) with the grace of Allah spread Islaam the way he did by steps. It didn’t all happen at once. It started with his family. And who are we to get carried away with ourselves thinking we shall change the world in such a manner that does not befit logical thinking.

Saying that, never give up hope in that notion. Invoke Allah that he allows the light of Islaam to guide the world but at the same time let us all contribute to that worthy hope by doing our own little bit. Why? Because we may be accountable on a Great Day for not passing on the knowledge we have acquired. And , as if we didn't know, Islaam is worth it , :).

Salam alaykum.

Grant me a stimuli .......

..........and I'll be forever grateful to you.
My brain, I think I have numbed it. Its dying in the sense I have found nothing to stimulate it. I'm afraid it will deteriorate into a mesh of nothing if I don't find the will to think again.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
You know, supplications, brain exercises, food items etc.

Jazzakalah khayr.
Salam alaykum.

That terrifying journey.

Can I tell you of a journey I once took with a stranger? Their name need not be mentioned at this moment. This stranger was a terrifying character and I do not know what possessed me to keep with them for so long. This stranger told me many things for which I am thankful for. In between tears of fear and sighs of relief, I managed to remember what they told me that night I met them.

They said to be careful of the power and might of their wagon; the media.
Play a simple yet smart move; for false hope was their game.
Like a plant needs water to grow, it grew on whispers.
When patience was scarce, they would call on their trustworthy friend, lust.
They told me that the aims of men were far and many; but his sole aim was corruption.
Hearts, he longed, to blacken.
In times of weakness, Shaytaan was his master and he let him take over the reins.

The stranger had a photo in his hand; they stared at it and looked back at me with a grimace on their face. I was breaking in sweat, I could feel my heartbeat rising uncontrollably through my chest, I feared they could feel it to.

“To every coin , there are two sides”, they said. ‘But we are far apart, worlds apart relative to the mere distance that separates head from tail.’

They paused.

‘Need I be brave and dare I say we are infinitely apart, however hard I try to imitate it. Successful, I shan’t be but I’ll exist through trying, I get enough pleasure from it’ .He started, ‘This real thing….

Race, colour and creed it transcends.
True happiness and felicity it cultivates.
The heart is its vessel with no walls except the limit of its giver.
With me, I operate in the confines of one’s head, access is never granted to the heart for it welcomes the real thing and repulses at me every time I try to infiltrate it.
It’s an attribute of the Most High, now there is something I cannot compete with.
However successful I am, the grave I can never live in.
It unites enemies, how can I compare?
Its media are fluid and far, through marriage, motherhood and the like.
Effortlessly, it allows a mother to forget the pangs of labour while she stares into her child’s eyes.
I use whispers to grow, it grows through nurture.
My furrow is not tangible, never permanent. However, it enjoys an eternal home in the crevasses and furrows it creates in the hearts of men.

‘It would be foolish to deny its power, its grasp but remember this’ the stranger said, ‘How many hearts have I corrupted in my attempt to imitate it?’ .
My legs were shaking now, there was nowhere to run.
He continued, ‘Tell them of me, tell them of the illusion of False Love and tell them of my quest to climb the first rung of the greatness of True Love’.

That bright ball in the nightsky

As I sat at a bus shelter on a cold Tuesday evening, after coming from work, I stared at the gleaming moon and wondered. I wondered what would happen if the moon suddenly defied His leave and plummeted to the eternally dark abyss we know as space/time. It’d mean no more gazing at the moon as I spent lonely nights pondering about life, no more sightings of the moon marking the beginning of a new universal month. No more English granddads telling their grandchildren of the man on the moon and certainly no more kids jesting at the idea of the moon being made of cheese. I would not be able to wish upon the moon in guilty escapism. No more telling people that the gravitational pull of the Moon is 1/6 of that of the Earth’s.

These thoughts then turned to imagining the non-existence of the Earth itself and everything else I take for granted. I giggled to the dismay of the man sitting next to me. I was opposite a car rental shop that was surrounded by guarding gates. I foolishly imagined what would happen if the Earth itself decided to plummet and wondered if it was physically possible to grab onto the gates. Was it possible to defy the laws of the gravitational fields and be removed from the Earth’s tumultuous pull? My mind then did a somersault as the plethora of ideas and fantasies running through my mind themselves plummeted into the hazy ground that was my conscious.

*take a look outside and silently marvel at that bright ball in the sky*

*smile now :)*

Salamu alaykum

On death...

This evening I was reading people’s thoughts on the issue of death on a forum I am active on. The question - are you scared of death. The overall verdict - no. Then I asked myself the same question for the millionth time as I do when I get into those moods.


My answer was this - I am more scared of death than anything else in the world. Life experiences and the passing of close ones have taught me things and despair does come over me in moments of weakness. I remember being put under general anaesthetia for an operation I was to undergo, and begging my sister not to leave my side, although this was a few months ago. And to be totally honest, I cannot remember what was scaring me to that extent. Was it the possiblity of leaving my mum behind? I do not think it could have been because I have faith in the British system of anaesthesia and the like. No, it couldn’t have been that. If I am answering honestly , it was probably the thought of the unknown. I was entering something I didn’t know much about and it scared me silly.

Allah (swt) has promised every human being the taste of death, and I am no different. Yet the belief in that is set in stone, its just the acceptance of the aftermath that is rather troubling and worrying. I often think to myself that there is so much out there that I have no clue about, death being one of them. Islam brings me peace and sakinah and I am happy. What I am probably trying to say is that, the issue of death is going to take some maturity to understand and I must get to grips with it , as I do not know when it will approach.

And what did I learn .... to go and find out about what Islam says about death and Al Ghaib - the unseen. Surely, knowledge is a worthy companion to faith, for it may bring comfort to it in times of weakness.

Salam alaykum.

On being passionate ....

I was reading something today to do with the blessings of Allah. It wasn’t so much a case of ‘hidden’ blessing, but of the blessings that are blatantly present that we have been blinded against.The example I read today was that concerning the love of different things Allah has placed into the hearts of the believer and non-believer. Hopefully, people will find something that they are passionate for in life, whether it be seeking islamic knowledge, art, writing, science, cooking, history e.t.c .

It went on further, saying it was this difference in passion that is one of the bases of human civilisation. And if you think about it , as I did, it is completely true. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of mathematics at school, but imagine life without the thrill that maths may bring to a lover of all things numerical. I’m not that fond of languages either,however, where would I get the ancient translated books that are so vital in my study of history. The examples can carry on forever, something you may not be so fond of will bring heaps of joy to someone else and this passion is vital. For, if there weren’t mathematicians in the world, engineering would be no more, actuarists would not be able to calculate insurance claims… you get the point. Things we take for granted are constantly of benefit to us, from the local milkman to the neurosurgeon that performs life-saving surgeries.

Basically, I underwent brain exercise today, I actually did some thinking which says a lot for my state of mind at this present moment in time. We ought to be truly thankful to Allah that we have desires and loves for a different variety of things because if we didn’t, life would be very two dimensional and dull. I hope that made sense because I want others to understand this very beautiful yet important blessing. On that note, I have not figured out what I have a passion for, *hmmm*.

My Eid day

(1) A wonderful enriching Eid Salat at a mosque I've never been to in my life.
(2) A depressing 3 hour practical at university that one could not worm themselves out of.
(3) A meeting with a sweet sister as we were the only two who used the prayer room that day.
(4) Surprised to spot individuals who I never thought were Muslims turn up to university in a full set of thobes.Mashallah.
(5) 5 tube rides in the space of 45 minutes.
(6) And a hot mug of coffee to die for while chatting away to a dear friend.
(7) Slept on the train back home and had to be woken up by an old gentleman...the embarassment.

I couldn't have asked for anything more today. Apart from 39 hours of no sleep. The bed beckons me....

How was yours? is all I can manage to type.

Salam alaykum

Asbab al-Nuzul

As a lover of all things historical , this is a branch of the Quranic sciences I have taken interest in lately. Allah help me increase in knowledge but a pretty interesting branch.
Must learn more, I tell myself.
Salam alaykum.

Eid mubarak.

Oh, Allah, you're so great.
Oh Allah, thank you for a great Yawmil Arafat
Oh Allah, thank you for great friends
Oh Allah, thank you for arranging the prayer times for the mosque I shall attend tomorrow to be in line with university commitments.
Oh Allah, thank you for making me understand yet another verse of your Quran
Oh Allah, thank you for making me smile a million times these past 10 days
Oh Allah, thank you for making me increase in knowledge
Oh Allah, thank you for making me taste the sweetness of the first third of Dhul Hijjah

:).
I'm so happy.
Salam alaykum.

P.S Eid Mubarak . Smile.

I met a sister today...

a revert, at that. I couldn't help but crying. Its their humility that does it , I think. I couldn't speak to hear in fear of welling up. I juct couldn't control myself. Oh Allah, guide the reverts to the straight path for they (by your Will) have taken the first few steps towards you.
Ameen.
Salam.

Essay to self.

When did it happen to me? I always ask myself, internally searching for the point in my life where I found Allah as I know him now. I'm searching for the time in my life where God seized to be a reminder and a reminder at that. When Allah (swt) received my full devotion and attention. Where God stopped being thought of as only existing during madrasah and had disappeared out of my mind as I had left. I remember the times the Islamic rituals were just that - ritualistic practices that had no meaning to me at all. Where and when did Allah decide to guide me, a now thankful servant, out of relative darkness and into searing light (to use such a term).

I tell myself it was when I finally turned an adult and that I could excuse my neglect of Allah due to ignorance and infancy. But that didn’t suffice as I grew up and learnt of the many young devout companions of the prophet (pbuh) who practiced Islam with more fervor than ever imaginable. No, I tell myself. It couldn’t be because of that but I’ve stopped asking myself ‘why’ anymore, it wastes too much time thinking of the past but I am still able to reminisce about my journey to the Islam that I now know. The answer is simple – Allah (swt) chooses to guide whomsoever he wills and when He wills, it was that straightforward.

So, it happened. Worship had meaning now; the all important reality of sincere intention had found a furrow in my once bare heart. A language that would serve to move me where I was once stern. A dialect that would make me tear where I was once as emotionless as a stone. An understanding that would instill in me love where blind obedience once had a stronghold.
I began to see the world differently, at first I plainly accepted it. Then, I appreciated it that way. I saw potential in affliction, the wisdom behind tribulation and the growth behind conflict. It all added up – Allah is All Wise, after all. A delicate balance lay bare and Qadr (fate) was its pivot, its focal point.

I found myself smiling more than usual, my friends noticed too. Why ever not? I used to reply. I would relate a famous hadith Qudsi – the one that spoke of how close Allah came to the one who took a few steps towards him. How could I stop smiling, I ‘d found a jewel – Al Islam. I would now appreciate it, polish it and through time, perfect it. Alas, I’d finally stumbled upon a wonderful nurturing for my soul, all by the Will of Al Wadud, the Loving.

And now, I’ll admit it, it’s a struggle at times, as any Muslim would expect and my faith is constantly tested and seen to. But, I’ve learnt to accept that it is natural to feel this way. How can one expect to grow without being tested, to strengthen without suffering lost, to appreciate without working hard for something? Everything has reason now although I’m not sure about them all. However, it is adequate enough for me to know that I am not expected to be perfect, for Allah alone is free from imperfection.

I often ask other, how you came to the Islam that you now know.