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!

 

 

Tell a story…

People already know what are the features of your product. You’ve marketed it enough through your marketing schemes. Tell them something from which they can relate to. Tell them what you believe.
Tell your customers the story why you introduced this product in the market.

Focus on why, not what and how

think about the difference between Microsoft and Apple. both have products of same utility, only one has a story. 

Sense of direction…

“When you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there” – Lewis Carroll, Alice in wonderland

No pain no gain

You can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pocket…

When education fails – The obsession for high grades – By Nisaar Nadiadwala

There are three surah in the Qur’an which are named after insects, Surah Nahl, ch 16, Surah  Naml ch 27, and Surah Ankaboot, ch 29. Each insect has a special quality regarding striving without giving up, which we must learn from them. None of them give up.

Note, how many times the honey comb is emptied by men ! Everytime it is filled by the efforts of bees who swarm whole day in fields and farms to collect few drops of honey, men take away leaving the honey comb  like an haunted hoUse. 

Note, how many time an ant falls down of a wall while carrying small grains of food !

Note, how many times the house of a spider is wiped away by our brooms ! The Qur’an testifies that  the web of a spider is the weakest of all the houses.

Inspite of all the efforts of these half inched, or smaller than that, insects  go in waiste yet they never undergo any depression nor commit suicides losing away all hopes. Each of these insects have stronger immune system than man when it comes to failure. Compare it with our responses in a faiure. If you misplace your motor car’s key and can’t find out when it is getting late, how do you respond? Many of us will be irritated or behave rudely, some even spit out obscene words!

  Consider this : Your young daughter is getting trained in the  kitchen and  she misses to lookout when the milk was boiling. You get irritated. Your son has got just few marks less than last exams but you cannot tolerate that loss too. All around us we see impatient behaviour. One of the main reasons for traffic jams in the streets of India and Pakistan is that people cannot  wait for green signals even  for a few seconds. Our life style has become impatient. Success is the only thing we look for.

  Indian surveys report that : 45% of people comitting suicide in India are between 15 to 29 years of age. This was in 2007. In 2010 India lost around 2 hundred thousands ( 2,00,000) of its population to suicide. Almost half of them were between 15 to 29 ! ( Gujarat Samachar Sunday, 15 Nov 2013, Mumbai edition)

  Mahatma Gandhi failed as a Barrister and could not even get a job of a teacher. That man uprooted entire British Empire from the Indian subcontinent.

  It took a Prophet of the calibre of Mohammed, peace be upon him, more than two decades to establish the supremacy of Islam on the Arabian land. Prophet Noah carried and tarried his duty till 950 years. Ibn Umar took many years to complete just the study the tafseer of Surah al Baqarah. These men never underwent depression.

  Our education system burries the children under the mountains of books and syllabus and this further is added with more burden of hopes and expectations of grades.  If you study a cat teaching its kitten how to catch a mouse, you willnotice that many a times the kitten misses the punch of its claws and the mouse escapes. The mother cat doesnt slap its kitten , it goes hungry without that hunt but the teaching goes on.  We cannot give a second chance to our kids if they perform better instead of best. This is not how we shoullld teach. That cat has not done any Bachelors in Education, but it knows how to teach its kitten.

Our education system only talks about acheiving grades and super grades. Nothing less is accepted. So we have a generation of Academic brilliants but not pyschologically strong educated graduates. We have graduates and post graduates who are still frustrated because  of not reaching their dreams. After all education is not only about producing graduates and post graduates but it should be about graduating one’s  enduring system and patience in efforts. Those few insects and that cat mentioned above have never been to schools but when it comes to facing crises they are more educated than our best products from World class Universities.

  Author Nisaar Nadiadwala can be responded at nisaar_yusuf@yahoo.com

Want it! Want it bad!

If you want it
And you want it bad..

You’ll have it! (Insha’Allah)

Being Muslims, we have been taught one of the greatest lessons of being successful which is consistency in deeds. That’s where success lies in this dunya (and akhirah as well):

RasolAllah salallahu alaihi wasallam  said:

“The acts most pleasing to Allah are those which are done continuously, even if they are small.”
[Aisha: Sahib Muslim 783 b; http://sunnah.com/muslim/6/258%5D

CHOOSING A CAREER : QnA by an enthusiastic brother! – By Mohammad Ali

Bismillah, in the words of Br. Mohammad Ali, as follows:

Asalam o alaykum wr wb

A good brother asked me a question related to career counselling. Its a very good question and there is a good message for everyone in this question, therefore im pasting it here, and also im replying this question here as i believe most people going through this age have such questions.
Question:
As salam o alaikum Brother Ali
My name as you know already is …… and i am 18 years, I am currently preparing for 2nd years board exams (Federal board ) and having aspirations to join either NUST,PIEAS or UET for Mechanical engineering.
As you yourself have done ME through GIKI and gone through the phase i am going through so i ask you to advise me over some issues i am encountering as you yourself might have tackled them out.
1.Time management and getting an absolute concentration when studying
( I can hardly sit for 2 hrs consecutively )
2.How to prepare for University admission tests . Will you recommend academy for it ? How you did that for yourself ?
Alhamdulillah i have scored 934 marks in Metric and 424 in F.S.c (Part 1) Physics and Maths are my Favorite subjects and Chemistry is hmmm …ahh Not likely my good hold .
I also want to tell you that my plans for opting higher studies is not only for getting a good job but also to be an example among the people that ISLAM is compatible with every aspect of life and modernization ; its not a barrier on the way to advancement . I also pray that May ALLAH give me taufeeq to shorten the barrier between the upcoming modern youth (Holding Secularistic and athiestic views etc) and the young scholars and daaee’s of today !
I would also make mention of that you are one of the person (though we dont know each other properly) whose advice i can not reject and whose words and moral teachings i always try to follow . May ALLAH increase you in khair and give you more taufeeq ! Jazakumullahu khairan !

Answer:

1- First of all, my advice to all such youngsters going through this age is to make their intention like yours. i-e to serve Islam through whatever beneficial knowledge you get. For ive witnessed that if the intention is to do it for Islam and the focus is Allah’s raza in the Hereafter, then all affairs become easy and whatever u do constitutes barakah. As Prophet (pbuh) said:
“Verily, whoever takes the Hereafter as is his concern, Allah makes his richness in his heart and makes his affairs easy and this worldly life will come to him forced. And whoever has this worldly life as his concern, Allah makes his poverty between his eyes and makes his affair difficult and he will not gain from this worldly life but only what is destined for him.” (Ibn Majah. Declared as Sahih by Al Albani)

2- Secondly, avoid blind following of friends and peers. Do not go where ur friends going, nor do what they doing. First see through which field you can benefit Islam the most. Then just do an assessment of yourself and see your interests. Then discuss with experienced and mature people (friends and peers do not come in experienced and mature people).

3- If you ask me, i do not advise to do engineering. Because engineers, though enjoy a good social status in our society and people say wow an engineer, but in reality engineer is a white collar slave. The job nature of an engineer is too demanding and literally sucks the life blood outta you. I would advise any young brother to be a doctor, or go to teaching side, or social sciences (all leadership positions are held by social scientists), or administrative positions in public sector by doing css, pms etc.

4- Okay if you wanna do engineering, then atleast do masters in it and then go to teaching side.

5- Time management and concentration:
Its a great sign that ur thinking abt it at such a time and taking it seriously. Well brother, all my life ive been a very non serious student. But then i learned my lessons. Css taught me lots of things. I was a guy who used to run from books. Anyways, alhamdulilah, during preparation of css, i would sit for 5 hours continuously (and sometimes more than that) and read a book with full concentration. Thats how it all changed by Allah’s grace. How to do it?
(i) Try to be away from virtual world esp fb as much as u can. Only use when very necessary. Relax urself with nature and exercise (exercise helps a lot. Check this out:http://jworldtimes.com/Article/122010_Benefits_Of_Exercise). When you cut down ur interaction with virtual world, you’ll be amazed to see how much time u get.
(ii) When you study, kill all distractions. The best place to study is masjid. Trust me. Try it. Then library. Then a quiet room where no internet, pc etc. Switch off cell phone as well.
(iii) Its very important that what u read, u build interest in it. So read it with the intention that all good knowledge is from Allah Almighty and u must learn this knowledge and use it for good.
(iv) Make a time table. And try to follow it as much as u can. Organize urself. Keep your room clean and ur cupboard organized.
(v) Give challenges to yourself. Example : Today i will finish 100 pages of this book on every condition! Automatically u will see that u gain concentration cz of this challenge.
(vi) I do not advise continuous reading. 2 hr max is good, then take a break of 15-30 min. Do something refreshing. Then again 2 hrs. And go on as much as u can.

6 – How to prepare entry tests.
(i) Yes academy is fine because by going to academy u come to realise the competition when u see other students and this motivates u. Also academies keep taking mock tests (practice tests) so one becomes confident.
(ii) But i do not suggest academy for too long. Just learn the basics from academy and tats enough. Need not spend too much time in academies.

7- Some useful links:
http://jworldtimes.com/Article/82009_8_Ways_to_Keep_Your_Mind_Sharp
http://jworldtimes.com/Article/112010_Motivate_Yourself_5_Tips_to_Help_You

Counter Strike: Identifying 7 Deadly Traps Of Shaytan

Based on my lecture at Youth Club Lahore Halaqahs.

Published on saudilife.net, here

Audio can be grabbed from bit.ly/yclhalaqas

It was a beautiful, calm morning , when suddenly, there was the screaming of jet planes followed bythe big bang of a bomb. In a few minutes, the battleships at the harbor were destroyed in the deadly strike at Pearl Harbouron Dec 7th, 1941.

Later, it was revealed that Japan had planned long before the actual attack. They created models of the US naval base in Hawaii and conducted numerous practice strikes before finally sending hundreds of jet fighter planes to attack the base when everyone was asleep. If you study the story, you realize how easy it is to eliminate a target if the enemy has planned and prepared while the target is unprepared and caught unawares.

Similarly, Satan, who is a plain enemy to humankind, is constantly plotting to trap us while we sleep unawares. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him) identified the following traps of Satan:

1. The Evil of Kufr and Shirk

2. Bidah – Innovation

3. Major Sins

4. Minor Sins

5. Occupying oneself in permissible things

6. Occupying oneself in deeds of lesser reward

7. Causing harm through Jinn and human beings

The Evil of Kufr and Shirk

This is the most effective trap of Shaytanas he wants us to lose everything by committing acts of Kufr (disbelief) and Shirk (polytheism).

Allah says in the Quran:

“Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases…”[Surah Nisa 4:48]

Shirk is something that will not be forgiven and we need to make sure we are not involved in the following activities of Shirk:

• Believing thatsome other created being can listen to your secret prayers besides Allah

• Believing that some other created being is watching our deeds besides Allah

• Believing that Allah has delegated His powers of forgiveness in this world or in the Hereafter to someone else

• Sacrificing for someone else other than Allah

Bid’ah – Innovation

Now come Shaytan’s camaflouged soldiers, crawling in the grass, who are always difficult to locate. They creep in our lines and attack when we are most inactive. So you better keep your eyes open against such deadly soldiers. Read the following hadith:Narrated Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s Peace and Blessings be upon him) said, “If somebody innovates something which is not from our religion, that thing is rejected.“ [Bukhari 2697 – Ibn e Majah  Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith 14 – Muslim  Book 18, Hadith 4266 English version]

The drink of Al Kawthar and Innovators:

In another narration, Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s Peace and Blessings be upon him) mentioned the Lake Fount (Al Kawthar) which has been gifted to him by Allah as follows:

Narrated Anas: The Prophet (may Allah’s Peace and Blessings be upon him) said, “Some of my companions will come to me at my Lake Fount, and after I recognize them, they will then be taken away from me, whereupon I will say, ‘My companions!’ Then it will be said, ‘You do not know what they innovated (new things) in the religion after you.“ [Bukhari 6582]

Major Sins

Major sins are Shaytan’s finest artillery. They are big, mighty and can easily rip of the good deeds of a person. It is reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace be upon him) observed:” Avoid the seven noxious things.”

It was said: “What are they, Messenger of Allah?” 

He (the Prophet) replied: “Associating anything with Allah, magic, killing one whom Allah has declared inviolate without a just cause,consuming the property of an orphanandconsumingusury,

turning back when the army advancesand slandering chaste women who are believers, but unwary.” [Sahih Muslim]

Go over your life and see if there are any sins you’ve committed from this list. Ask Allah’s forgiveness right now, as He promises to forgive all the sins if one repents. Indeed, He is Ar-Rahman and ArRaheem.

GOOD NEWS!!!

Are you feeling bad that you have committed so many sins and don’t know if Allah will forgive you or not? Look at the following hadith:

Suhaib narrated that he heard Abu Hurairah and Abu Sa’eed say: “The Messenger of Allah addressed us one day and said:

‘By the One in Whose hand is my soul’ three times then he lowered his head, and each of us lowered his head, weeping, and we did not know what he had sworn that oath about. Then he raised his head with joy on his face, and that was dearer to us than red camels. Then he said: ‘There is no one who offers the five (daily) prayers, fasts Ramadan, pays Zakah and avoid the seven major sins, but the gates of Paradise will be opened to him, and it will be said to him: Enter in peace.”‘ [Sunan an-Nasa’i 2438]

Minor sins

Minor sins are Shaytan’s infantry! They have comparatively lesser impact than the cavalry that is why they are always greater in number. Just think: what is the value of a simple stick of wood if it is set on fire? It is easy to handle that small fire. However, if we accumulate such simple sticks of wood in hundreds and set them on fire, it will be very difficult to handle it.

Beware of the small sins that are greater in number.

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Messenger of Allah said, “If anyone performs Wudhu’ properly, then comes to the Friday prayer, listens to the Khutbah (sermon talk) attentively and keeps silent, his (minor) sins between that Friday and the following Friday will be forgiven, with the addition of three more days; but he who touches pebbles has caused an interruption. ” [Muslim  Book 9, Hadith 1148 ]

Occupying oneself in permissible things

Doing things that have neither a reward nor sin is also a trap of Shaytan. He wants you to waste your time by NOT earning any reward. Remember, all your deeds are going to be weighed in the end, the good ones as well as the bad ones. If you are failing to do good and wasting your time, how will the balance go up?

Occupying oneself in deeds of lesser reward

You might ask, “Isn’t itbetter to do something good even if it is small, instead of nothing?”.

I say, “Yes it is. But would you rather have silver if gold is available for the same price?”

Some examples of this:

• Giving da’wah to friends instead of parents and family members, which is of primary importance. Allah Says in the Quran in Surah Tahreem:

O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones. [66:6]

• Praying Qiyamul-Layl at night and crying, sleeping late and missing Fajr

• Reciting 10 pages of Quran daily, but not studying one page of Quran daily with Tafsir

• Praying at  home instead of the masjid and missing 27 times more reward

Causing harm through Jinn and human beings

Allah has given Shaytan some powers in the Unseen (Ghayb). He will definitely come to us in the form of nightmares and other such things in order to stop us from following Islam. You might even feel very tired and physically/emotionally unfit to perform a certain duty that is enjoined on you by Allah but beware this is only a trap of Shaytan. Do not fall prey to it.

Some examples through which Shaytan overtakes us:

• Going to people who pretend to be religious to cure your ailments or because you are unable to have a baby

• Not doing proper Taharah (ritual purification).Jinns love dirty things and places andShaytan would never want you to make proper Taharah so that the Jinn can attack you

• Thinking ill about your brothers and having bad feelings about them in your heart? This will make a spiritual void in your heart towards everyone and you won’t be able to think good about anyone.

We pray to Allah Subhan wa Ta’la to protect us and enable us to save ourselves from Shaytan and his army (Ameen).

How To Motivate A Demotivated Team

Published at saudilife.net

“NO one responds seriously to my emails and phone calls. I am always trying to motivate them to do their work either by conducting presentations and workshops on topics such as ‘Organizational Professionalism’ and ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ or by taking them out on trips. But somehow things don’t seem to float smoothly. I feel if I won’t be in office, my team would only waste their time on Facebook or by gossiping about the latest mobile phone their friend bought. I seek a solution. Rather, I badly seek a solution. What do I do?”

Click here to read full article: How To Motivate A Demotivated Team.

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.