February 24, 2014

Forgive yourself

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Forgive yourself. It’s okay to let go of the past...
Self respect and dignity come from who you are right now. Don’t carry guilt and shame around in your heart like a poisoned dagger. Constant regret for the past is a waste of spirit...

If you feel that you have been corrupted by sin, then the glory of Islam is that innocence can be yours again, with TAUBAT. In other words, your soul has not turned into an evil thing. It is not totally lost. It is just at a point when it is not feeling remorse or sorrow for its actions.

But that can be changed!
The soul can be softened through prayer, dua’, Dzikir, fasting, reciting Quran, doing good to others, and other acts of worship, until your soul once again feels remorse, and can return to a state of purity. SubhanAllah....

Allah knew exactly what He was doing when He made you. If you don’t trust your own judgment, then trust Allah’s.

Wake up and thank Allah, and do your best every day. Have faith in Allah’s love and mercy, and reflect that in your actions toward others. Be peaceful, and strive to be happy...

February 14, 2014

The Word “Muslim” – What it Means to Me

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This is a piece that I just published on Zawaj.com that maybe belongs more on this website, but ma-sha’Allah.
The word alone triggers such different reactions in different people.
The literal definition of the word Muslim is “one who submits,” meaning one who submits to Allah, believing in Him and obeying His commandments.
More specifically, the word Muslim is the participle of the same Arabic verb of which Islam is the infinitive. The feminine form is Muslimah, though a female Muslim is often referred to as simply a Muslim.
There are many false stereotypes about Muslims in the West, or one might say in the non-Muslim world in general, and also many misconceptions among Muslims themselves; but I will not go into those in this article.
Instead, I’d like to share my thoughts and feelings on hearing the word Muslim and contemplating its meaning. I am using the word in a gender-inclusive sense.

Muslim

Faithful. Allah is his Master, and the Quran is the wellspring of his life. Muhammad ibn Abdullah (pbuh) is his beloved Messenger, and all the Sahabah * (see glossary at bottom for explanations of many terms) are his guiding stars. Tawheed is his creed, taqwa his garment, imaan his cool summer rain, and ihsaan his aspiration.

Muslim

Harmonized. She has chosen to live as Allah created us to live, in harmony with all around us, including nature, human beings, and the earth itself. She is plugged into the reality of the universe.

Muslim

Peaceful. His manner is gentle. He is not angry or violent. He would never raise his hands except to defend himself, his family, or other innocents.
Malcolm X in prayer
Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz (Malcolm X) in prayer

Muslim

Generous. If I knock on his door, he will invite me in to his home and offer me honey tea and baklawa. He will ask about my family, and be a believer with me, remembering Allah so that his house remains a place of life. When the salat(prayer) time arrives he’ll spread themusallas and pray with me.

Muslim

Kind. His eyes are soft and smiling. He shakes my hand firmly, with a brotherly openness. If I need help, offers it. He is charitable, ready to give his last coin to someone hungry or ill, knowing that it will return to him seven hundred fold, and that all deeds are recorded and nothing is lost.

Muslim

My brothers and sisters. Arab, African, Indian, Thai, Filipino, Chinese, European, American, Latino, and anyone around the world who says, “Laa ilaaha il-Allahu, Muhammadan Rasul-ullah” (There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah)… they are my family, my Ummah, my nation. If they are free, I breathe easier. If they are fed, I sleep better. If they are mentally and spiritually conscious, I am liberated.

Muslim

Feeling each other’s pain. If she is suffering or oppressed, I feel it like the pain in my own limbs. If she is sad, lonely or confused, I do whatever I can to guide and help. I can never ignore her agony, any more than I could ignore a sliver in my own eye.

Muslim

Friends, compatriots. When I see him, I feel comfortable and at ease, whether I know him or not. I greet him with “As-salamu alaykum” and I smile. I can engage him in conversation, even if I know nothing about him. I know his language no matter what it is. If he tells me something good I say ma-sha-Allah. If he mentions some blessing or favor in his life, I say Alhamdulillah. If he mentions something he hopes to do, I say Insha’Allah. We understand one another.

Muslim

At home in Allah’s house. He can walk into a masjid anywhere in the world and feel at home. He can perform wudu’, prostrate himself to Allah, take a copy of the Quran off the shelf and read it, stand shoulder to shoulder in prayer with strangers, and feel a sense of rightness and belonging.
Noha Abd Rabo, Muslim female Olympic athlete
Noha Abd Rabo of Egypt reacts after her fight against Sarah Stevenson of Britain in their women's + 68 kg taekwondo bronze medal match during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing on August 23, 2008.

Muslim

An Islamic worldview. She shares my world view and cultural understanding, no matter her nationality or race. She knows that this life is only a test, a moment of frenzy between a sleep and a sleep, like a desert flower blooming and wilting in a single afternoon. She knows that the aakhirah is the home that calls; her heart is filled with hope and fear of Judgment.
She steps out of her door each day and does the right thing, because that is her covenant with Allah, and because she loves to do good. She sees the signs of Allah in the miracle of a hummingbird or the majesty of Mt. Kilimanjaro; in the swirls of her fingertips, and in the knowledge of Allah that lives in her heart.

Muslim

Pursuing excellence. Doctor, teacher, farmer, engineer, human rights worker, taxi driver, tour guide, seamstress, Olympic athlete. Striving for excellence in all things as a matter of worship and a way of life. Truth-telling, fair, sincere in business and in love.

Muslim

Family. Mother, father, giddo (grandpa), nena (grandma), niece, nephew, cousin, wife, daughter, son. Respecting their elders, kind to their youth. Full of love like the sunrise. Embracing like the warm Mediterranean. Laughing like light on the water. Supporting like the granite of the earth.

Muslim

Seeker and guide. Da’iyyImam, Quran reciter, submitting in prayer, fasting in Ramadan, performing the Hajj. A voice calling in the darkness. Footsteps to follow in the sand. A bringer of truth. Promoting good and forbidden evil, with the hand, the tongue or the heart.

Muslim

Patient and grateful. Striving her utmost but never trying to force the outcome because the end belongs to Allah. Never giving up; patient; strong.
If she has suffered, if she has been beaten or abandoned, if she has been hungry or confused or lost, she comes through it stronger, knowing that Allah is on her side.
If she has been blessed to live in wealth and ease, to have a loving family, rich food, tailored clothing and a beautiful home, then she thanks Allah, knowing that everything she has is a blessing and a trust from Him, and knowing that the way to show thanks is to give and share.
No matter what, she is humble before Allah, never arrogant, never looking down on others.
Chinese Muslim girl from Xinjiang, China
A Chinese Muslim girl from Xinjiang, China. Muslims are found everywhere, but are one Ummah (nation).

Muslim

Standing up. He is concerned that the image of his religion has been hijacked by a few extremists, and by those who practice ignorant cultural traditions. He stands up for human rights, freedom, and the dignity of all human beings. He stands against terrorism in all forms, against oppression of those who follow other religions, and against “honor killings”, racism, female genital mutilation, intolerance, and destruction of churches or monuments of other religions.

Muslim

Suffering. Battered by war. Torn by sectarian strife. Oppressed by tyrants and dictators. Invaded by foreign powers. Massacred. His land stolen, his homes and farms bulldozed, his holy places demolished, his leaders arrested, his people driven from their ancestral homes.
Starving. Politically imprisoned. Tortured by his own nation’s police, tortured by foreign invaders.
Crying out for freedom, struggling valiantly, never giving up, never accepting subjugation, never submitting to anyone but Allah.

Muslim

Submitting to Allah.


February 7, 2014

Practical Steps to Waking Up For Fajr

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There are many different techniques to try to wake up for Fajr.  They vary from person to person, depending on what prevents a person from waking up.

Physical Preparations
There are various physical preparations:

  • winding down before bed and sleeping early,
  • setting multiple alarms out of one’s immediate reach,
  • simplifying one’s bedding,
  • drinking ample water so one is forced to the washroom, or
  • having a family member or friend wake you up when they rise.


These are some of the main suggestions, of which sleeping early is perhaps the most common remedy.

Mental Preparations
Then, there are mental preparations:

  • before bed, visualizing oneself rising, washing and praying,
  • telling the mind with firm resolve before bed that there is an important appointment at Fajr that one must attend [with Allah], or
  • warning the mind beforehand that the body will indeed be tempted to close its eyes “for just a few more minutes” when the alarm rings- and not to give in to it.


Spiritual Preparations
Finally, there are the spiritual preparations:

  • filling the heart with the importance and love for praying Fajr and the fear of missing it,
  • begging Allah Most High before bed for the ability to wake up the following morning,
  • a feeling deep-seated regret and sadness if one misses it and immediately making it up, and
  • trying to avoid other major sins in one’s life and repenting from them to try to gain divine assistance [tawfiq].


If one accidentally misses Fajr however, while they should feel regretful, they should never feel despair and hopelessness such that they feel dissuaded from trying to wake up the next morning, since it is a sign that they were relying on themselves, and not on Allah Most High as they should be.

The Reality of Fajr
Few people find it hard to wake up if there is a plane to catch the next morning, or a lucrative job interview.  This is because we are so desirous to take that trip or get that job, so our eyes open with vigor when the alarm rings.  Some people might awaken even before the alarm, due to their anticipation.

The only reason this does not happen as often for Fajr is because we haven’t attached the same importance to the Hereafter as we have attached to our worldly lives.  Our awe and sense of duty to Allah Most High might be weaker than our desire for the ephemeral things around us.

Those who are attached to Allah, however, see Fajr as more important than the rest of the day’s affairs put together, and so they find it easy to rise to worship their Lord, in submission and gratitude.  They then find peace from this, which spurs them to rise again, in a positive cycle.  Thus, its about breaking bad cycles and establishing good ones.

May Allah Most High make us all among those who rise and pray Fajr easily and consistently, out of submission and gratitude.
Abdullah Anik Misra

www.lionfofAllah.com

ISTERI AMANAH BESAR DARI ALLAH...

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ISTERI AMANAH BESAR DARI ALLAH...

Untungnya seseorang lelaki jika dapat menikahi seorang wanita yg tahu tuntutan agama, terutamanya dari segi pakaian, jika tuntutan ringan dari Allah itu dpt dipatuhi, inShaaAllah dia mudah taat pada suaminya....

Tapi, jangan sampai tidak ambil tahu apa yang isteri pakai, mahupun dia berniqab sekalipun, lihat dari semua segi, jubah, tudung, mahupun perhiasannya. Dia juga wanita biasa, lemah dan nafsu untuk cantik2 itu ada, tidak hairanlah dia mudah jatuh dengan pujian lantas lalai dengan pakaiannya sendiri. Jika sudah hanyut dengan nafsu ingin cantik yang berlebihan, risau teguran menjadi cacian. Makeupnya yang berlebihan menjadikan dia badut mainan umum tika syaitan menutupi matamu.

Suami, Jangan tidak ambil tahu bagaimana isteri mengendali laman sosialnya, ambil tahu juga gambar apa yang isteri upload. Jangan biarkan dia menjadi fitnah kerana membuka aibnya sendiri.
Ambil tahu jumlah gambar yang dia paparkan sewenang-wenangnya tanpa kawalan, jika terlalu banyak, tandanya dia mulai hanyut... lupa tentang fitnah yang mudah sekali menjentik wanita akhir zaman.

Suami, ingatlah semuanya akan dipertanggungjawabkan pada kamu nanti... Jangan buat tak tahu...

Ambil tahu hal isterimu walau seringan-ringan warna pakaiannya,
Apatah lagi sebesar-besar fitnah yang terbuka mudah sekali...

Wanita insan kuat, tapi mudah lemah dengan hal-hal keindahan dunia,
Itulah tugas suami melengkapi kekurangan,
menguatkan kelemahan,
memperingatkan ketika lalai..

Jagalah isterimu sebaiknya...
Sungguh ISTERI AMANAH BESAR DARI ALLAH...

February 6, 2014

Bestnya Pakai Niqab ^^

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Niqabis? I give them so much respect. They go through so much for Allah swt. We need to be strong enough to achieve it. They give up the freedom of letting the breeze hit their face in extreme heat. They give a different message, that you don’t have to show your face to interact. Your face is just skin, it doesn't expose your occupation, or your level of education, or your wealth, and so on. They send the message that you don’t have to see someone’s face to love them, you don’t have to see their face to respect them... (^_−)−☆

Sahabat...

.......

 

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