Never losing the hope… – By Fareed Ahmed

The arabic word for sadness or grief is “Gham” – derived from the word “Ghaamama (the cloud) ” . Although there`s no apparent relationship between sadness and cloud, however there`s a hidden one. Just like a cloud blocks all the sun-shine coming down to earth, sadness or grief in a way or other also acts as a stumbling block for a man`s positive energy and performance.

It is very natural that when a person is happy and everything is going according to his whims and desires, his own wishful thinking, his performance is at it`s peak, but when he is tested or a calamity strikes him, he becomes pessimistic and isn`t able to give a good performance.
The real test lies in giving a good performance despite being in stress and crisis, despite failing in exams over and over again, despite having a fight with the fellow colleague or losing the beloved ones.

Click the link to continue…

Never losing the hope….

Facebook, shaping our lives!

Facebook has proved itself to be one of best Psychologist. It not only helps you analyze people in our friend lists, but provide detailed account of someone’s life. All of what we like, what we share, what we speak depicts our mentality and our lifestyles. And I am sure, we don’t want everyone to know everything about us. That is the reason there are some things that are private and some public. 

FB has enabled people to come and create a virtual personality, which indeed is a reflection of their actual personality. A virtual world that they want other people to see of them, showing that they are very happy all the time (or very sad in some casese), enjoying (or hating) the life. All those things that YOU want others to know.  

 Once our private life was considered private, FB has facilitated people to show their private pictures, memories, likes, dislikes, places you visit, resturant you dine in, friends you have, hobbies you have, to be shared with all those who are interested and all those who are not. Once you upload anything on FB, it has indeed been made public by yourself and you cannot expect people to not judge you because of that. Everything you do, everything you don’t, does leave an impact on people, so choose wisely. In the real world, we think atleast 10 times before speaking, but in the virtual world we just “share”!

To my experience, FB is the most extensively used, attention seeking tool in this world. You had an icecream! who cares? You visit that new cafe in town! Who wants to know that? You are listening to some song! Listen, we are not interested. You are sad and alone? Go and sit with your family, you won’t be anymore insha’Allah. Wallahi, such posts are pretty annoying and I think intelligent people don’t behave like that. Intelligent people should widden their center of influence by working on people around them instead of sharing useless (not all), fake (not all) and annoying things  (not all) on FB, wasting time, making fool of yourself. 

Anyhow, there are always good and bad aspects of everything. We should focus on the good but shouldn’t entirely ignore the bad ones. FB is an extremely powerful tool. Don’t let it shape your lives! Choose wisely!

 

 

If you but want to succeed as a person…

…Then you should not only uplift your standard of living but also help others to do so. Try to remove the feeling of inferiority in others by loving them and by exhibiting good behavior towards them especially when they aren’t getting it from others.

You’ll not only form a good relation with them but win their hearts, open to your inspiration.

This is your key to public victory!

This morning when I woke up…

Yesterday was a hectic day for me. I had much headache since morning and the whole time was extremely difficult. My eyes were swelling, my brain was beating with my heart beats. If I could just smack my head in the wall and it eased me, I would have done it. Didn’t want to go to office, but I had to obviously, hoping that it will settle down some time later.

At lunch time I took two tablets of Ponston from my office first aid box, praying to Allah SWT to ease my pain. Praying to Allah SWT that he will forgive my sins due to this pain according to the hadith of Rasullah “A believer does not receive (the trouble) of running a thorn or more than that but Allah elevates him in rank or effaces his sins because of that.” [Aisha RA, Sahih Muslim]

I had an apple and a carrot as lunch sitting in my office balcony, watching kids playing in the City school ground at Johar Town, feeling my pain. I decided I won’t be able to carry on some of my pre-commitments after office so I cancelled them all and decided to go back home as soon as office ends. So did I.

I reached home after buying some grocery and went to my room for a sleep. Though to myself, how will I sleep with this headache but managed somehow to get a little. After a while I woke up due to the irritating chirps of my parrot JJ. Its a beautiful grey cocktail with orange cheeks. We have placed a bulb for heating purposes in its cage as winter is approaching fast, but we discovered that the bulb kept it off from sleep due to light, so we made sure we switch it off at appropriate times so that it can rest properly. I longed for it keep quite but it didn’t. We are pretty used to that at home anyway.

Whats interesting was that a couple of days before JJ finally learnt how to jump from the sofa to our sholder once we show him reeori (Famous pakistani sweet) because it was fond of it. It was funny and yet amazing that how we can tame such birds. Had a wonderful time with it since almost 8 months when it came as a baby birdy.

But anyway, in my sleep, cursing its chirping, I kept on pretending to sleep. The night passed, I woke up in the morning today, took up my usual routine, shower, getting ready for office, and going down for breakfast that my wife prepares in the meantime. I went down and suddenly, my wife told me an extremely sad news that put me in deep sorrow and regret.

“Apko pata he, JJ mar gaya”.

and I was like,

“kia? kaise?”

and she told me that we don’t know it was perfectly fine last night, eating, running here and there, chirping, but in the morning my sister told her that it died. Wallahu aalam was happened to it. I was so shocked. And right then an ayah of the Glorious Quran stuck me like lightning.

هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ طِينٍ ثُمَّ قَضَىٰ أَجَلًا ۖ وَأَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى عِنْدَهُ ۖ ثُمَّ أَنْتُمْ تَمْتَرُونَ
It is He who created you from clay and then decreed a term and a specified time [known] to Him; then [still] you are in dispute.
Surah Anaam ayah 02

We read tafsir of this ayah that Allah has decreed a time for death for every human being and even every living or non living creature that He has created in this whole universe. He has not only decreed the individual time of death of all but has also decreed the collective time of everything واجل مسمی عندہ for the day of Qayamah when every human being and jin will be gathered in front of Allah for the detailed account spent in years of life span.

It was so unexpected that I could only remember my own death that we would all have to die like this. Allah knows best when is our time written. Allah knows best whether or not we will wake up tomorrow morning. Whether or not we will be able to see our loved ones tomorrow morning like I am unable to see my loveliest parrot JJ. My father took it out of the cage when my sister told him to bury him somewhere when she was leaving for her college. It was definitely sad for all the family as we all loved it very much. May Allah rectify our mistakes, make us true slaves of Allah by understanding true Tawheed from Quran and hadith and make us among the mutaqoon.

May Allah make our paths the correct ones. کہیں ایسا نہ ہو کہ دیر ہو جاءے
Ameen.

Dedicated to my cute little parrot, JJ
(Jadu Junior, inspired by our previous parrot whos name was Jadu)
With love!

Writing Wasiyah – A Forgotton Sunnah

“I have seen several families fighting over the issues of Virasat (inheritance) and Wasiyah (will) after the death of important people from among them. Wouldn’t it be great if people would follow the commandments of Allah in such affairs? There would be no fights if the wealth of the deceased was distributed according to the law of inheritance laid out in Islam. If the deceased left a will explaining each aspect in detail, there would be no dispute over family issues. There would be so much ease in fulfilling the missed obligations, promises and other commitments of the deceased by his surviving family.”

Click here to continue reading, Writing Wasiyah – A Forgotton Sunnah.

Balancing the equation – home chores

The best thing about getting married is partnership, isn’t it? Ask those who are married. Marriage may survive without money but cannot survive without the mutual partnership. Newly married couples enjoy their lives in the most halal way as Allah states in the Quran,  هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَّكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَّهُنَّ, 2:187  they are each other libas (garments), covering each others physically, covering each other faults and helping each other coping up with the external damaging factors, subhanAllah what great wisdom. [1]

Whilst they enjoy, they don’t realize the change they have not only brought in their lives but also in the lives of their parents and home buddies. If we see it from the groom’s perspective, before marriage, he just have to take care of his family and obey the parents. After marriage, he has to take care of his wife as well, keeping in view that she has come to live besides all of his negitive and bad habits, leaving her home and parents, far away.

In such situations, there may arrise conflict between the husband and wife or between the wife and the husband’s family, difference of opinion in doing things. Over kitchen affairs, may be over children, may be over how to handle the home chores, how to arrange and schedule daily tasks, handling the servants etc. In such cases, everyone especially the bride must understand that every home has some ways to work and the norms are pre-defined. One should try to adapt those even if there is some discomfort.

In such circumstances, comes the most important role of the husband. He has to balance between the wife and the mother. Following are some tips and tricks that I have observed through different experiences from my life and from the lives of others:

• Never say no to your parents. Especially if it doesn’t harm your personal life. وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حُسْنًا ۖ  “And We have enjoined on man to be good and dutiful to his parents”. [29:8] 

• In case of conflict between wife and parents, listen to both sides carefully and analyze who’s right. إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ “The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islamic religion). So make reconciliation between your brothers” [49:10] 
• If there happen to be any misunderstandings between the parties, then you’re the man you can really solve them. talk to each party separately and clear the misunderstanding by explaning. they won’t go mad on you insha’Allah. Trust me, they want someone to listen.
• Love your wife much and unconditionally without scolding her and explain the importance of being good to the your family and its benefits. the Prophet said: “The best of you is the one who is best to his wife, and I am the best of you to my wives.” [http://sunnah.com/urn/1262960] 
• Love you parents unconditionally and lower your wings of humility over them no matter what. They are old now, they have no other choice apart from behaving they way they want to behave. They still love and care for you.  وَاخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ الذُّلِّ مِنَ الرَّحْمَةِ وَقُل رَّبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِي صَغِيرًا “And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and say: “My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was small.” [17:24] 
• Make everyone understand that things shouldn’t be based on the way they are carried out, rather they should be based on results. Let them sit together and decide the outputs of things on which there is a conflict, as long as everyone is agreed upon the output, they do not have to fight on how things get done insha’Allah. [Principle taken from the book 7 Habits of highly effective people] 

• Forgive them and have no grudges. وَإِن تَعْفُوا وَتَصْفَحُوا وَتَغْفِرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ But if you pardon (them) and overlook, and forgive (their faults), then verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. [64:14]

May Allah make our homes among the gardens of Paradise and make our wives and children the coolness of our eyes.

[1] See Tafsir Ibn e Kathir 2:187 for details

24/7 Response!

I said: My sins are so many.

Allah said: “And who can forgive sins except Allah? ” [3:135]

I said: Do not leave me.

Allah said: “So remember Me; I will remember you.” [2:152]
…
I said: I’m facing a lot of difficulties in life.

Allah said: “And whoever fears Allah ? He will make for him a way out.” [65:2]

I said: I have many dreams that I want to come true.

Allah said: “Call upon Me; I will respond to you.” [40:60]

Aaa…I have an excuse! Do you have one?

Based on Br. Hassan Adnan‘s lecture on the weekly halaqah at Youth Club Lahore in Dewan e Khas mosque.
For audios and slides check out: CLICK HERE
Compiled by Br. Abdullah Intekhab. May Allah reward him and accept his hardwork.

Top 10 Excuses (to avoid following Islam)

Every single human being on the face of earth has one thing in common to every other human being: Time. This is one resource that we all have and we all have a responsibility to invest it wisely. Just like the student who waits till the last day to prepare and submit his assignment, we’re all waiting too. There’s a deadline, the clock is ticking and our time is running out. LITERALLY!

وَالْعَصْرِ (By the time that is running out), خُسْرٍلَفِي الْإِنسَانَ إِنَّ (indeed mankind is in loss.)

10. Family (I’m too busy with work and my loved ones)

In implying this reason we deny one of the most fundamental beliefs of religion that:

‘Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity…’ [2:286]

Things, whatever and whoever they be, are a part of the life not life itself. Life is bigger, it’s bigger than you and me and it’s getting bigger every day and we’re drifting further and further off.

‘Wealth and children are [but] adornment of the worldly life. But the enduring good deeds are better to your Lord for reward and better for [one’s] hope.’ [18:46]

Our family, as much as we love them, hindering us in doing what needs to be done becomes an enemy of ours. And we need to be mindful of these facts before we do or say anything or make any excuses or give any rationales. Anything will be an overbearing burden if we can’t control it; life is all about control. YOU have to be in control; your life should not be about “Why me” instead it should be about “HOW”. How do I get out of this situation; or how I do grasp this opportunity to do good?

 

09. Studies (They take too much time for me to make time for anything else)

Pursuit of knowledge taking you around the world?

Seeking “ilm” for the greater good?

Too much pressure to perform?

Allah says He’s the controller of your affairs; He’ll manage all your worries only if you submit unto Him. We have to also have a correct understanding of knowledge as well; knowledge is that which brings you closer to Allah. Saying that in NO WAY means that Muslims should not pursue sciences and technology; instead what it means is that the right kind of knowledge used for the good of Islam and the Muslims should be our pursuit and that in itself becomes your gateway to religion. So, the pursuit of knowledge instead of being an excuse becomes your reason for following Islam.

 

08. My Intentions are Pure

Whatever I do, however I live; it’s alright my intentions are pure. We’re just hanging out, we’re just friends, I was just consoling her through that break-up; but my intentions are pure.

بِالنِّيَّاتِ الأَعْمَالُ إِنَّمَا

We LOVE throwing this hadith around don’t we? The point is; actions are a product of intentions. Having a good intention implies a good action and vise-versa. Laws in Islam are based on human Fitrah and saying that one is above and beyond human instincts is like saying you’re supernatural, are you?

A good explanation follows here: http://bukhariexplanation.com/hadith-1/

 

07. I’m not an Extremist (Take a chill pill, man)

So, you don’t want to be extremists? Good for you! But what is extremism?

Would you call the Prophet PBUH an extremist? He was the best Muslim you see. Had a beard, his trousers hung above his ankles, He was aggressive in daw’ah, was always ready for Jihad. Neither was a mullah, a wahabi or a terrorist (auzubillahi min zalik).

So what is extremism?

The only middle path is that of the Messenger PBUH. Unfortunately we, the Muslims, do follow A middle path but it’s not THE middle path. Ours is a path somewhere between the Messenger and Satan.

‘And of the people is he who worships Allah on an edge. If he is touched by good, he is reassured by it; but if he is struck by trial, he turns on his face [to the other direction]. He has lost [this] world and the Hereafter. That is what is the manifest loss.’ [22:11]

On the other side; what the middle path signifies quantitatively is to not transgress the boundaries set by the Messenger PBUH; that is true extremism.

06. Mr. Goody Two Shoes

I’m a good person: I don’t drink, haven’t killed anyone, I don’t steal or fornicate. I’m a good person.

I’m from a good family; my father owns a business and runs it honestly; we don’t do harm to anyone; we give charity and I help my father in the business and we live a good life. Don’t tell me to be SO Islamic; we’re alright, we’ve been like this for generations. And whatever “family traditions” we have, I’ll uphold them, don’t tell them they’re not Islamic. They make me happy, how can something that makes me happy not be Islamic!

‘And when it is said to them, “Come to what Allah has revealed and to the Messenger,” they say, “Sufficient for us is that upon which we found our fathers.” Even though their fathers knew nothing, nor were they guided’ [5:104]

We put TOO much emphasis on Haqooq-ul-Ibad, don’t we? Take care of the people Allah will forgive you His rights, right?

Does it make any sense that the One Who gave you life; gave you EVERYTHING is the One you choose to ignore the most? It’s like you were hired to work under someone else but you report to some other guy and keep expecting the first person to overlook your transgressions.

Why would Allah burden you, He has put you in this world He knows you can handle the deen and dunya together. He opens up the avenues of good if we follow good; and will leave us free to whatever we will if we want to go astray. We mystify the good and the bad; Allah has demystified it for us.

‘As for he who gives and fears Allah – And believes in the best [reward], We will ease him toward ease. But as for he who withholds and considers himself free of need – And denies the best [reward], We will ease him toward difficulty.’ [92:5-10]

05. I love Allah… Don’t Judge Me

I love Allah, He will forgive me in’sha’Allah. Don’t bug me to pray and fast and what not.

‘Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah , then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”’ [3:31]

Allah’s love is manifest through the love of His Messenger and following what he commanded and did; Allah’s love is manifest in loving the Word that He sent down for us. Allah’s love is manifest through being what He wants us to be. There’s NO other way of loving Allah.

This is not to say that it’s too late; Allah IS all merciful; but ASK! Repent…

“Sons of Adam are all sinful except those that repent’

We all want that one person in our lives whom we can bug all we want and ask anything we want of and say anything to and they will still be happy with us, don’t we? We have Allah; and we miss out on that experience… loving Allah is a transcendent experience in itself.

04. Allah is Ghafoor & Raheem, He will forgive me

Allah IS intensely and extremely Merciful, Allah WILL forgive ALL sins except shirk, Allah DOES love you VERY MUCH… but there’s a deadline; there’s ALWAYS a deadline:

‘Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”

And return [in repentance] to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped.’ [39:53-54]

Could it be any clearer? Allah forgives, when you repent; Allah LOVES the repentance of His slaves. And it’s not like you can wait; we don’t know when the time will run out and the doors of His Mercy will be closed forever. Allah is just, what do you think that Allah is foolish (astaghfirullah) that you will spend your entire life in His disobedience and He will still forgive you?

“Migration will not end until repentance ends, and repentance will not end until the sun rises in the west.” [Classified as Sahi, Al-Albani]

03. No Compulsion in Religion

Yes, there is no compulsion is religion but Allah did show you the road, and success is only a consequence of walking this road.

‘There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.’ [2:256]

There is a clear division:

‘And We will present Hell that Day to the Disbelievers, on display – Those whose eyes had been within a cover [removed] from My remembrance, and they were not able to hear.’ [18:100-101]

Nothing else is acceptable to Allah; there is no compulsion is like Allah giving you a choice to go to Heaven or go to Hell. Who in their right mind would choose Hell, only if we knew! Only if we knew…

‘Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. And those who were given the Scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them – out of jealous animosity between themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allah , then indeed, Allah is swift in [taking] account.’ [3:19]

02. I’ll do it when I’m older

Who owns tomorrow, not even the best fortune tellers can tell what’s exactly going to happen (if you believe in that kind of stuff!). Who has till “old-age”?

Allah says about old people that they sometimes are not even in control of their physical and mental faculties; what use is servitude then? Giving your “party” years to dunya and when you’re bed-ridden hold a tasbih and start going “Haq, Haq”…

Again that is not to say that it’s ever too late to repent; but for us, NOW is the time, Here is the place. No matter if you’re old, young, healthy or stung; repent now and start anew. Like a new born baby in front of your Lord. But we like to plan our plans; we love this life, gotta get me a car, a house, a wife and kids, some property down the line and a solid retirement plan; THEN I’ll start praying five times a day and wake up for tahajjud, but:

‘…But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners.’ [8:30]

01. ALL Muslims go to Heaven!

Ok, I’ll grant us this fantasy for a while. But let’s first explore but this word “Muslim” means.

Muslim means the one who Submits in humble submission and worship. Worship to whom? Allah! Ok, so that’s established; we submit to Allah. What’s submission to Allah; Having Iman. What’s Iman; Iman is to recite the Kalimah and ACT on it!

Yes, all Muslims go to heaven; all those who hav said the Kalimah will go to Heaven. But we have to understand things in context here. Saying the Kalimah is a direct case study of بِالنِّيَّاتِ الأَعْمَالُ إِنَّمَا. Saying the Kalimah implies in and off itself faith in Allah, His Messengers, His Books, Angels, the Last Day and His Divine Decree. And having faith in anything is manifest in our actions. By being good Muslims is our faith manifest.

After the Battle of Badr interrogating the prisoners of war when the Messenger came to his uncle Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib (RA), the Messenger asked his uncle to set his own ransom price. His uncle responded by saying that I am a Muslim and I only joined the Quraish in Badr so that I could come join you in Madinah, but the Messenger was not convinced and he PBUH said (and I’m paraphrasing) that: We take people as they appear to be through their actions. Anyone who appears to have the actions of the disbelievers we will deal them as such and vice versa.

We pray that every Muslim upholds the values of Islam and can stand with faith and pride on the Last Day in front of His Lord; expectant of His Mercy and not despondent and awaiting His punishment.

POSTER – 7 Habits of Truly Success people

7 Habits of TRULY SUCCESSFUL people

Based on my lecture on the weekly halaqah at Youth Club Lahore in Dewan e Khas mosque.
For audios and slides check out: CLICK HERE
Compiled by a lovely brother. May Allah reward him and accept his hardwork.

Success

Fame, money, girls, cars, a huge mansion!

This is all you can ask for and more, right?

Some people had it all; and yet they were so dissatisfied with their lives that they ended it. And we’re no one to judge; we cannot say that given all this fame and fortune we would behave any differently, that is pure hypothesis!

So, if these are our yardsticks of success and yet those that have all this seem still to be missing something… Something whose void we fill in with drugs and porn and smoking and excessive socializing.
What, then, is that missing piece of life?

Here’re a few questions you need to ask yourselves: When was the last time when

1. you were depressed?
2. you failed in a test you worked hard for?
3. lost your girlfriend/boyfriend (missing her/him much)?
4. you were scolded by your parents?
5. you felt sick of the lack of discipline in your life?
6. you felt you are too fat to be productive, or too weak?
7. you felt jealous of your friend who has a Galaxy SIII and you only have an SII?

All this leads to depression. Some of its prevalent aspects are: No love from family and friends, hating your day-to-day routine, no contentment of the heart and always being angry.

But when was the last time that you fought! What have you done to tackle this looming uncertainty in your life?

The problem lies in life itself. We couldn’t grasp the concept of what life really is and how to live it. Modern philosophy would have us thinking of humanity as physical beings that need to go on spiritual journeys to find the meaning of life, universe and everything… the reality is in direct contradiction to this.

We are spiritual beings sent on a physical journey by our Creator as a test. This world is VERY real, very physical! We exist here with a dichotomy of the spiritual and the physical and both of these components need nourishment. Neglecting either would lead to starvation; depression is starvation of the soul.

What are the steps that you have taken to cure this affliction? Because, clearly, depression is a disease of a malnourished soul! Allah gives His stamp of certainty in this regard:

“And whoever turns away from My remembrance – indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind.” [20:124]

Real Success

“…So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion.” [3:185]

Make your goal akhira (the hereafter), with a pure heart and intention, and see how Allah brings the dunya (worldly life) humiliated to your feet. It is only then that you will have attained true success. A Successful dunya then becomes a by-product of akhira.

7 Habits of TRULY Successful People

1.      Correct your world outlook (spiritual beings on a physical journey)

Work on your Tauhid (Oneness of Allah); Understand what we mean by Tuahid and Oneness of Allah in every single Attribute and Name and Action and Ability. That there is NONE like unto Him.
There’s a great glad tiding for the believers when the Prophet PBUH said:

“None shall enter the Fire (of Hell) who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of Iman….” [Muslim]

If we try to understand Islam we would realize that instead of the five pillars, the religion actually rests on ONE foundation i.e. Tauhid on which stand the other four pillars (Prayer, Fast, Charity and Hajj).

Our outlook on the world changes dramatically when our belief in Tauhid is firm; We know nothing happens according to our best plans but by Allah’s plans that are best for us, we start believing in the act itself rather than the consequences (because consequences are in the hands of Allah).

2.      Seeking knowledge

You spent half your life preparing to be able to make a living in this world; and spend the rest working for it. Does it seem logically right that we put in all this time for something that we know, for sure, will end in a heartbeat and not for something that we know, for a fact, will last forever?

How does that appeal to a rational mind? Of-course Allah is all merciful but He shows His Mercy to those who give Him His right. It sends a shiver down my spine to say this but your Lord, your Creator, Allah has only ONE right over you: Tauhid! And we fail to give Him that.

For that we seek knowledge; Tauhid comes in a package form. You understand Tauhid; you learn Fiqh (Jurisprudence) and Qur’an and Hadith and you strive hard to be the slaves of Allah.

And know, we’re NOT servants of Allah; we’re His slaves! He says die, we die; He says be and we are. A slave does not have another option BUT to follow His master. All of this comes with knowing your Lord, knowing that you don’t need anyone as in intermediary to reach Allah; no graves, no Jesus son of Mary, no deity with an elephant’s or monkey’s head.

Seek knowledge; learn!

“The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it to others.” [Bukhaari]

Learn Qur’an in any capacity, you have a computer, you have internet, spread Allah’s words in any way you can. Learn and whatever you learn, teach. Seeking knowledge and understanding your religion is the biggest blow that we can deal to sectarianism in our society. As Allah says:

“O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.” [4:59]

3.      Commit yourself emotionally

“By Him in Whose Hands my life is, none of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father and his children.”  [Bukhaari]

‘Say, [O Muhammad], “If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and jihad in His cause, then wait until Allah executes His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.”’ [9:24]

This is the emotional commitment Islam requires of us. Have you ever thought about it this way; do we really love “The best man who ever lived” (as we like to say so often) like we should? We cringe at the thought of looking like him, dressing like him PBUH…

Invest yourself emotionally and bring the Messenger’s character into every aspect of your life.

And talking of emotions; Cry! Cry in front of your Lord; He listens, TALK TO HIM! You don’t need to raise your hands to talk to Allah; talk to him on your way to school, on your way to work; on your way to the grocery store. Cry… Real men cry!

Drench yourself in اللَّهِ صِبْغَةَ: the colour of Allah. And what is better than the colour of Allah.

Trust Allah; stop being an apologetic Muslims; OWN your religion. Ours’ is a religion of Salah, as much as ours’ is a religion of Jihad as much as it is of Dawah and Qur’an!

“…And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty).” [65:2]

That’s Allah’s promise; what else do you need! The Guy Who wrote the script says He’s got your back; just trust Him.

Work on your Taqwa; Strive in Allah’s cause; Listen to the Qur’an; Purge Haram from your life, one little thing at a time; Remember death.

4.      Patience

We associate patience only with calamities and although that is the ultimate opportunity for patience; patience also needs to be manifested in times of ease.

“No calamity befalls a Muslim but that Allah expiates some of his sins because of it, even though it were the prick he receives from a thorn.” [Bukhaari]

5.      Modesty: shyness, haya, etiquette

“Faith (Belief) consists of more than sixty branches (i.e. parts). And Haya is a part of faith.” [Bukhari]

Modesty is a broad concept and applies to every aspect of our lives; modesty is not just wearing a hijab and lowering your gaze (although they’re a major part of it). Modesty is when you show manners to your elders; modesty is when you spend no more than you earn; modesty is when you humble yourself before Allah.

Do you really think that Jannah will be a place of immodesty and that the women of Paradise will be roaming around naked (astaghfirullah)? The women of Jannah are clad in modest clothes; they wear a Burqa **add American accent here** so you might as well get used to that in this world; or your Jannah will be quite boring.

6.      Contentment

“Look to one who is lower than you, and do not look to one who is above you. For indeed that is more worthy (so that you will) not belittle Allah’s favors upon you.” [Tirmidhi]

Compare what you don’t have with what you DO HAVE. Every single thing around us is a blessing that is dearer than anything we can EVER do to repay for it. How can you pay Allah back for the sun, water and the skies!

The Messenger of Allah (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) was sitting with a group of the Sahabah (RA) in the masjid and he said “A man will now enter [who is] from the people of Paradise.” and a Sahabi walked in. It happened again the next day, and then a third time. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘aas (RA) wanted to find out what was so special about this man, so he asked the man if he can stay over at his house for a few days. (He made up an excuse). The man allowed him to stay. ‘Abdullah noticed that the man didn’t do anything out of the ordinary: He didn’t fast all the time, he slept some of the night and prayed some of the night, and so on. So after the 3 days, ‘Abdullah told him the real reason why he requested to stay with him, and he asked what it was that could be the reason why he was from the people of Jannah.

The man (RA) couldn’t think of anything, but after a while he said “Every night, before I go to sleep, I forgive whoever has wronged me. I remove any bad feelings towards anyone from my heart.”

That is the consequence of a contented heart; Paradise! Practice contentment, practice forgiveness…

7.      Sacrifice

Religion requires sacrifice: Namaz and Riba (Interest) cannot co-exit; Iman and fornication cannot co-exist!

• Sacrifice; your time, wealth and efforts.
• Find halal ways to enjoy.
• If you’re having girl problems; GET MARRIED!
• Make the decision right now; change is a decision away.

“Verily, Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their properties; for the price that theirs shall be the Paradise.” [9:111]

Now when Allah OWNS you, you are sold goods, who do you serve? Allah! No other way to success but to obey the Master.