Turn to Him~

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Allah says: "And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and most surely it is a hard thing except for the humble ones." 2/45

~ sesungguhnya , beruntunglah orng2 yg sabar . hbtnya orng2 yg sabar , dan Allah berikan pahala kpd orang2 yg sabar tanpa batas~ . subhanallah . .

Wallahu'alam.


Liana

The REMEDY to sorrow, grief, anxiety, depression, and etc.~~

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamualaikum w.b.t. and greetings to all,

In today's effort of spreading the words of God, I would like to share something great and very beneficial to all of us. This is especially for students and busy, working parents; these 2 categories always face challenges that leads to sorrow, depression, anxiety, grief, and many more. So, whenever you're hit with these feelings again, here's a quick and efficient remedy, insyaAllah -->

Recite this dua:

‘O Allah, I am Your slave, son of Your slave, son of Your maidservant, my forelock is in Your hand, Your command over me is ever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every name belonging to You which You have named Yourself with, or which you revealed in Your Book, or which You taught to any of Your creation, or which You have preserved in the knowledge of the Unseen with You, that You make the Al-Qur’an the life of my heart and the light of my breast, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety,” – but Allah will take away his distress and grief, and replace it with ease.’ He was asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, should we not learn it?’ He said, ‘Of course, whoever hears it should learn it.’

The Prophet [SAW] told us that if we find ourselves in a state of sorrow, anxiety, depression or sadness, we should make the afore-mentioned dua. 

“Make Al Qur'an the life of my heart and the light of chest!”

It’s as if Rasool Allah [SAWS] is saying that if you’re depressed/sad/anxious/sorrowful, then the way to relieve this is to make your life revolve around the Quran! Because once you read the Quran, you will find:

الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

• peace and tranquility of the heart [13:28]

وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاء وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلاَ يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إَلاَّ خَسَارًا

• physical and spiritual healing (shifaa), and mercy [17:82]

As for the one who turns away from it?

وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَن ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنكًا وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَى

“But whosoever turns away from My Reminder (i.e. neither believes in this Qur’an nor acts on its orders, etc.) verily, for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection.” [20:124]

Wallahuálam.

Liana

Why oh why do we tend to always wish for more?

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Salam alaik and greetings to dear readers,

I'm going to discuss on humans greed and lust (nafsu). So, we all aware that we should always give thanks to Him for everything that He has given unto us and yet, we still continue to always wish for more and always comparing ourselves to those who are better off or more fortunate than us. Why? Why are we not easily contented? I have to admit that I too wish for more at times although whenever I feel unlucky, I will always pick myself up back by reflecting on those who are way less fortunate than me, who lives a tremendously difficult life compared to mine. With this, I always get to be on my feet again with the feeling of overwhelming gratefulness with the life He has patched specially for me. However, I do wish for more on a few occasions; especially in times where I face a hard time understanding my learning materials. This is when I start to wish, "If only I could become smarter. Why didn't God give me a better brain? Can't You just help me understand these fast?" and it goes on incessantly, it never ends. And after I speak of these words, what follows after is this train of thoughts that plays in my mind:

--Am I not being grateful? My complains makes it look as if  I'm not thankful with what He has given to me. Is it wrong that I'm complaining and wanting to be more analytical and better in understanding what I'm studying? and bla bla bla.--

And this replays in my life every 2, 3 weeks or so. After complaining and expressing my wants, the same paragraph would play time and again in my head.

So, what's your verdict on this? Should we not wish for more? and just be contented with what we have? or we can continue to wish for more but couple it with investing our own extra effort to strive higher? but alas, if it's not meant to be for us, then, it'll never belong to us, no matter what you do or how hard you try~

I'm so confused. Yes, I am indeed~!!

Wallahu'alam.

Liana

I like to think Islam put my life in the right focus and path~

Bismillah.


Just want to share a dialog I came across and I was really touched by it. I kind of feel the same way too. =)

When asked by someone: When you guys have exams in school, really hard ones and important ones, do you cry? Waaaaa....


A muallaf's reply: I used to - but not after becoming Muslim alhamdulillah - but in my ignorant days i would cryyyyy when i got bad marks or under school stress

I like to think Islam put my life in focus and made me my priorities straight alhamdulillah, or at least now bigger more significant things make me cry now



Alhamdulillah, I am beyond happy whenever I discover other mualafs =D


Salam,
Liana

Stressing and worrying about school exams?

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamualaikum and greetings to all,

You may know someone who is studying for final exams these days. Final exams are always a nice time to focus on the true exam of life (Allah's Exam)

How to get an A Grade Final Exam?

By Muhammad Alshareef

1. In school, you can often redo your exam if you fail. In the

hereafter, if one fails there is no going back.

2. In school, you often do not know what questions will be asked. In

the hereafter, there are only 3 questions: Who is your Lord? What is

your Deen? And who is this man who was sent to you? But the answers

are answers you live by.

3. In school, we stay up at night to prepare for the exam the next

day. So too in Allah's exam, we should be staying up in night prayers.

4. In school, we pray and hope and work for an outstanding mark. So

too should be our attitude towards Allah's exam.

5. In school, when we get a great mark, we erupt with happiness. So

too will the believers erupt in happiness when they get their books in

their right hands. Work for it.

6. In school, when we get a bad mark, sadness can be seen on our

faces, and we dislike to face others. So too in the hereafter. Protect

yourself from that.

7. During a school exam, you cannot ask anyone for help. In the

hereafter, you can prepare from now to get assistance from Allah's

Messenger, the Quran, and other ways of intercession.

8. In school, when exam time draws near, we banish distractions to

focus on what is really important. In Allah's exam, isn't death within

1 heart beat? Banish distractions and focus.

9. In school, until exam results come out, we worry about the result.

In Allah's exam, we don't know what our result will be, so we spend

our days in hope and worry until the results come out.

10. In school you have to do lot of exercises in order to be better at

the subject. So are the trials and tribulations that Allah put in our way,

 they are there to make us better humans beings if we recognized 

them and make us succeed.

11.  In school, we are offered bonus points, curves, and other grade

boosters. Just as these special effects ease our way to an A, so too 

do the bonuses Allah grants us in the hereafter. These include

 parasols/shades above our heads, glow-in-the-dark bones wherever

wudu water touched, among many others; all of these freebies ease 

our way to Jannah.

12.In school, if we do good result or secure a good position in the class,

we are rewarded and promoted to a senior class. In the same way, if we

do good deeds in this world, follow our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)'s sunnah

and obey Allah the Almighty to the fullest, we will be rewarded Jannat in the

Life Hereafter.....the best of all rewards! Inshallah... 

With best wishes to see you succeed at the highest level!

Wallahu'alam.

Liana

Want some comforting?

In need of comforting? Then, go here:

please click on me

shared by an akhwat =)

Liana

O My Lord~

Please be with me. Help me through difficult, bumpy, and challenging moments. Please show mercy and grant me strength, wisdom, faith, patience, calm mind, knowledge, and whatever more that You deem is necessary for me. I am only a mere slave of Yours trying to face and lead life as best as I can in the way of truth i.e. Islam. Hence, I seek from You opportunities and chances. Please watch over me O Allah Almighty~! Allahu akhbar~ Glory and all praise to You~

Amin.

Rabbuna yusahhil (moga Allah permudahkan segala urusanmu)~

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Salam alaik and greetings to all,

I hope everyone is in the pink of health. So, I'm pretty sure many students are having their exams now or maybe just finished or some are going to start their exams soon. Anyway, here's a good prayer for all:

"allahuma la sahla illa ma ja'altahu sahlan, wa anta taj'alul hazna iza shikta sahlan" - (Dear Allah, there is no comfort except with things that You allow ease; You make difficulties a simple journey if You are willing) - yaAllah, tidak ada kemudahan kecuali sesuatu yang Engkau permudahkan, Engkau menjadikan kesusahan itu mudah jika Engkau kehendaki -

Thanks to an akhwat(sister-saudara semuslim) who was very kind to share this prayer with me. JZKK.

Wallahu'alam.

Liana

Balance is the key; you don't have to be an extremist~!

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Salam alaik and greetings to all,

I will be sharing with you guys a post by an ikhwah(brother-saudara semuslim). Hope you will enjoy and benefit from it as well.

By ikhwah Jazli Aziz, link to post: http://alittlereminder.blogspot.com/2010/12/balance.html

Are you leading a balanced lifestyle? =)

Last week I attended the 3rd International Conference on Advancement in Science and Technology (iCAST) and I even presented a paper. So while preparing for my presentation, I showed my slides to a friend asking for an opinion, and he asked me "Is this an Islamic conference or something?", while referring to my slide with Quranic verses that I used to incorporate an Islamic perspective into my presentation. I said no. It may have been organised by IIUM, but it was open to everyone including non-Muslims, we even invited non-Muslim speakers and students to the conference. I told him "Just because it's a scientific conference, doesn't mean we should ignore the Islamic aspect of science". He told me "You should put that in your blog", so I did.

As Muslims we need to remember that Islam is more than just a religion, its a way of life, and everything we do can be related to Islam, even science. That's what IIUM means by Islamisation of knowledge I believe. Islam should not be practiced only in masjids and suraus, not only on Friday, and not only in Ramadhan. We should not act "Islamic" only when we pray or mengaji.Being Muslim is a full-time thing, not part-time and not based on a contract. We tend to forget that sometimes.

However, there are some people who take the "full-time" thing a bit too far, and live only for Islam and neglect every other worldly thing. No music, no "western dressing", no standing for the national anthem even. True Islam is and should be #1 on our priority list, but moderation works both ways; we can't be too duniawi, and we can't be too Islamic (some may term this as extremism). Balance like I say all the time, is the key to everything. Students shouldn't be too nerdy and study around the clock, at the same time they shouldn't be too laid back either. Its OK to eat junk food and fast food once in a while, as long as we stay fit and eat healthy every other time. The same should go with our way of life, its OK to have fun, as long as we do it how Islam teaches us. We should work towards jannah, but at the same time not at the expense of a comfortable life. The concept of balance can be summed up by the following verses;

"O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic): That is best for you if ye but knew! And when the Prayer is finished, then may ye disperse through the land, and seek of the Bounty of Allah. and celebrate the Praises of Allah often (and without stint): that ye may prosper." Quran 62:9-10

So remember, Islam is a part of everything we do, but remember to maintain a good balance, like Hannah Montana said, "You get the best of both worlds".

Wallahu'alam.

Liana

sharing is caring~

Bismillah.

Would like to share a link shared by an akhi.

http://www.owhsomuslim.com/osm/types-of-shirk-we-must-avoid/

Happy reading~!

Salam,
Liana

AQ Reading (8:27,29-30) ~~

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.


Salam and greetings to all,


Let's do some AQ reading for today.


Surah Al-Anfal -->


27. O you who believe! Do not be unfaithful to Allah and His Messenger, nor betray your trusts(amanah-duties upon you) while you know(of its wrong).

29. O you who believe! If you are careful of (your duty to) and fear Allah, He will grant you a distinction(between right and wrong) and will rid you of your evil thoughts and deeds, and will forgive you; and Allah is of infinite bounty.

30. And when those disbelievers devise plans against you that they might confine you or slay you or drive you away; they plot, but Allah too plots; and Allah is the best of Plotters(planners).


Wallahu'alam.


Liana

IT GOES THE OTHER WAY ROUND~

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

IT IS NOT MUSLIMS THAT MAKE ISLAM GREAT, IT IS ISLAM THAT MAKES MUSLIMS GREAT~!!!

GLORY TO ALLAH THE ALMIGHTY. ALLAHU AKHBAR~~

Salam,
Liana

ISLAM -- truly magical & miraculous~

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Salam to everyone and thanks for your precious time to read my average blog,

In today’s battlefield of my blog, I would like to share the feelings poured out by a fellow revert, Abdulmalik Clare(known as Jerome Clare). I’m also taking this opportunity to thank my fellow akhwah for sharing about this with me. May Allah bless him for his good deeds.

Message à        The dunia is a prison for the believer and a paradise for disbeliever. We’re taught to be patient and steadfast and have takwa for Allah, that you might be successful like there’s no end… and Allah S.W.T. said, “say to my servants: Do not despair the mercy of Allah, Allah forgives all sins.” We’re taught these things in the Qur’an. We’re taught them in the sunnah, and we’re taught ‘em by the companions of Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him).  So there’s no end to the encouragement that we’ve been given, there’s no end to it and especially looking at who’s giving you the encouragement? subhanAllah..it’s not just some random people; people get twisted when we think that the AQ is just a book where we read it in a nice voice and we recite it in Ramadhan; however, it’s the kalamullah of Allah, literal speech of Allah. Hence, who better to encourage you than Allah S.W.T. right? Anything you know like being blind, whether you’re in a wheelchair, poverty, whatever your issues happen to be; who’s better at encouragement than Allah? I mean, we can remind you but the source is Allah Taala. Reminders benefit only the believers.

THOSE WHO BELIEVE AND DO RIGHTEOUSNESS, ALLAH PROMISE THOSE PEOPLE PARADISE AND GARDENS UNDER WHICH RIVERS FLOW. THAT IS THE TREMENDOUS VICTORY! There is no victory besides that victory. How it looks doesn’t matter, who cares that people may see them as being defeated, they weren’t defeated, it only looks that way.  No one in Jannah is defeated~ Absolutely nobody~!

Do YOU want to be promised paradise as well? Then, what do you think YOU have to do? Simple as ABC, 2 things à OBEY ALLAH & OBEY HIS MESSENGER~~!!

P/S: Coming from a person who found Islam with His Hidayah (Guidance & Light)~ What mualafs get/feel from/about ISLAM is truly magical & miraculous~

Closure prayer/recital: Allah is He, than whom there is no other God – Who knows all things; both secret and open; Allah Most Gracious, Most Merciful //Allah is He, than whom there is no other God – the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace and Perfection, the Guardian of Faith//The Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: GLORY TO ALLAH~!! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him.

Wallahu’alam.

Liana

If you love Him~~

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.


Salam alaik and greetings to all,


"If you love Allah, follow me; then Allah will love you & forgive your sins. Remember, Allah is Most Forgiving & Most Merciful," said Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)



When you look at everything from your Lord,Who created everything,Who befalls tests,that angers your heart and sometimes even excruciating pain,that causes your entire desires to be not within your reach,plus making your life more difficult with hardships,THEN, it's for certain that your heart will be at peace;cos for sure His destinies are not for nothing.

It's not that He doesn't know of your life's sufferings,
your disturbed(not at peace) heart; 
BUT maybe THAT IS WHAT HE WANTS, 
because HE KNOWS,
hearts like these are the ones that are highly prone and easier to be intimate(akrab) and close(dekat) to Him. 


SO, PUT YOUR FULL TRUST IN HIM, HAVE FAITH AND DON'T EVER LOSE HOPE~~! ALLAH KNOWS BEST, ALWAYS~~


Wallahu'alam.


Liana 

WINTER GATHERING 2010~

Salam alaik and greetings to all readers!


If you so happen to be in Canada, well this post would surely appeal to you~! ^_^


I would just like to let you guys know that there's a "Winter Gathering" event organised by MASAT (Malaysian Students' Association of UofT) and it will be held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. and the awesome thing bout this gathering is that it's taking place right after your (referring to Canadian U students) exam fever~!! WOW! What a great way to get away from all that stress eh? *winks* it's on the 27th and 28th December 2010 by the way. =)


For more information, just click on me~! =D


Registration fees is only $10~ You can expect loads and loads of fun and beneficial stuff planned out for this MASAT's event of the year~! **excited!!**


Pergi, jangan tak pergi, nanti rugi aje~ ^^ 


oh and not to forget, right before this event, RIS (Reviving the Islamic Spirit's Convention) will also be held in TORONTO~!! THIS IS DEFINITELY A MUST FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CANADA~! God has helped to bring such a wonderful event so close to you, what else are you waiting for?!! 


For more details on RIS event, please click on moi ~! =D


Let's all grow closer together for the sake of Allah~ Salam ukhuwah~! 


Wallahu'alam.


Liana

Daily AQ Reading (Book/Chapter 7. Al-A'raf)~~

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Salam alaik and greetings to all readers,

Just to share a few verses from the AQ. By reading this post, you’ve done yourself a great deed i.e. “reading” the AQ since these are the interpretations/translation of the words of God. Awesome right?! =)

Here goes:

7:42-43 à but for those who believe and work righteousness (good deeds), no burden do We place on any soul but of which it can bear, - such are the rightful inhabitants of the Heaven, therein to dwell(forever). And We shall remove any lurking sense of injury or whatever rancor and vengeance from their hearts. Rivers flow beneath them and they shall say: “Praise be to God, who has guided us to this felicity. We could never have found true guidance had it not been for the guidance of Allah. Verily, the Messengers of our Lord did bring the truth to us.” Then, it is cried to them – “Behold the Heaven before you! You inherit it for the goodness you have worked and done previously!”

7:45 à Those who would hinder men from the path of Allah and wishes them to go astray, -- they are the disbelievers of the Hereafter and also who denies the Hereafter!

7:51-52 à and those who took their religion as mere amusement and play (as a casual lifestyle/fashion kind of thing – like taking religion for a sport and pastime), and were deceived by the life of the world, -- hence, on the day of Judgment (Kiamat), We shall forget them as how they forgot the meeting of this Day and as they used to deny (reject) Our signs (words of God) that We had certainly sent to them - a Book based on knowledge in which We explained in detail, - a guide and a mercy to all believers.

Alright, that’s it for today before I continue to go on writing anymore. I don’t want to bore my readers with lengthy posts as I know how busy everyone is these days. However, just a piece of advice; no matter how occupied you are, remember Him. Always remember and MAKE TIME FOR HIM as HE MAKES TIME FOR THOSE WHO MADE TIME FOR HIM! And vice versa.

aseef jiddan if I had made any wrong choices of words (please correct me if there’s something utterly wrong. I admit I’m an amateur in Islamic knowledge)

Wallahu’alam.

Liana

Why Islam? Why should I be a Muslim?

 

Bismillah.

THINGS THAT CAN BRING YOU PEACE IS  I S L A M ~ ! !

Assalamu alaykum and greetings to all. 

(NOTE: I hope many of you will take the time to read this post fully as it is very mind awakening~! it also makes you become more aware of the simple aspects that we tend to neglect and forget~! this is also the post that took me the longest time to write. I spent at least 5 whole hours writing it while referencing a video from theDeenShow site. So, I really hope that many ppl will benefit from this because that is my ULTIMATE PURPOSE & REASON for writing this post here)

Today, I would like to share with EVERYONE (of any race, religion, gender, colour, etc.) something that's indeed going to touch your heart deep down~!!! Trust me! Well, at least I know very well that it moved my heart in the most piercing and poignant way.

Here's a list (probably many are thinking the same thing) written by a non-believer (a non-Muslim) to Eddie of theDEENshow -->>

1. I don't like to be religious because it makes me depressed. I would not be able to live your life, it's boring. Living Islam is boring.
2. What do you do for fun? Everything is forbidden in Islam. You can't date, you can't meet your soul mate. C'mon, you can't go clubbing. You can't have occasional drinks, you can't have sex if you feel like it. You can't get down when you want to. That's boring life Eddie. 
3. Women in your religion cover from head to toe; there's no freedom at all but men can have more wives as far as I know. This is ridiculous man, it's the best not to follow any religion. I feel sorry for the Muslim females. Men can have more wives and they put the women down.
4. Like I said, I really love my life and the things I'm enjoying right now. After we all die, we go to heaven anyway.

Eddie: This is something that an average person thinks of the Islam religion. 

Nouman Ali Khan's response::

The fundamental problem of this email isn't one of not being convinced of Islam. The problem is that this person is looking at Islam from the point of view of how is it going to serve me? But the very fundamental question in Islam is HOW DO I SERVE GOD? and once you come into that submission, you are showered by all sorts of benefits and favours that you couldn't even have imagined. The ULTIMATE one of which is PEACE WITHIN YOURSELF!

There's a great scholar of Islam that once mentioned: there are 2 fundamental obstacles that come in the way of people that want to reach the truth i.e. DOUBTS & DESIRES. Some people are not sure if this is the truth, and if they became sure, they would follow it. Other people, even if they were made sure that it's true, that still wouldn't be enough for them to follow it because THEY ARE TOO ADDICTED to their own desires (the nightclub, drinking, etc.). Your major issue and main problem is HAVING TO GIVE UP WHAT YOU LOVE; one's own desires and inclinations. Now the thing is, religion, in our times is almost looked like a casual lifestyle, fashionable kinda thing. And the idea behind it is, I'm going to do it, basically to find some entertainment for myself. So now, the first fundamental question or concern we have for such a person is: You haven't sorted out why you're put on this Earth. It is a reality of a human being that he/she is here to eat, drink, sleep, have sex, have fun and die. Is that the purpose of your life? And if that is the purpose of your life,and there is nothing coming, I mean you're saying there's a heaven afterwards; so everybody goes to heaven no matter what they do? What kind of God would it be that would let just any of this people to get away with their crimes? The thing is, however bad deed is committed, you would not think it's bad because your mind thinks in a way where you'd say, "No, this is not too bad. There are people far worse than I am. So, I shouldn't be worried." So, without knowing, you've become the judge of what's right and what's wrong. What Muslims are arguing, with all sincerity and humility; is that you and I are not in a position to decide even what is good or harmful for our own selves. And you saying confidently, that you want to have fun i.e. doing whatever you want(turning this life into a life of pleasure for yourself), to you is heaven right?  and then you argue, I'm gonna party here and when I die, there's more coming. THIS SHOWS THAT YOU'VE DECIDED TO MAKE A PAST JUDGEMENT ON SOMETHING YOU HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF. You never know when you will be stripped off your life, but many ppl die before they get to live their life the way they had planned. And so, your false hopes and false aspirations; you think these things are going to bring you happiness? You know why you keep going back to the club? and you keep keep going back to these desires? It's because YOU NEVER FIND SATISFACTION. You're never satisfied. You're never going to be fulfilled, never gonna be content. What we are offering in Islam, what we have found in Islam for ourselves is the means by which our hearts are at peace, they're at rest, they're not discontent, we are pleased with what we have; and I promise you, one of the most beautiful things in Islam is finding your soul mate. That's one of the most beautiful gifts in Islam. 

You said earlier that one of the things is that you can't meet your soul mate. You see, what is a soul mate? It's not just about physical desires, physical pleasures; I'm sure you and other people you know have had the experience of "thinking" they found their soul mate, getting used, getting abused and getting manipulated like some kind of toy, and then being thrown off/left. and when this happens to someone who has been disregarded and used, you lose respect for yourself and you lose respect for others as well. So, the next time around, you're going to do it to someone else and not going to feel so bad about it either: because you've lost a bit of your humanity every single time. WHAT ISLAM IS SAYNG IS SO POWERFUL, WE TREAT OUR WOMEN WITH THE UTMOST RESPECT. Our Messenger, Rasullulah SAW said: "the best of you are the ones who are best to their spouses." So, he teaches us to be most merciful, kind and lenient towards our spouses. This is ONE OF THE MOST PRICED RESPONSIBILITIES or one of the highest responsibilities a man has in this life, as a Muslim, IS TAKING CARE OF HIS WIFE.It is one of the things he's going to be interrogated about in front of Allah (how did you take care of her, did u protect her, did u teach her, did u honor her, etc.) These are the things that a Muslim man are supposed to take very very seriously. but the bottom line isn't even this issue, the bottom line is: FORGET MEN ! This religion is not about men vs women. That's not the issue. The issue is: You & your LORD, you & your Provider, He gave you all of these things to enjoy and His asking you: You can be deluded by these things, you could adrift by these things, OR YOU CAN HAVE ETERNAL PLEASURE, ETERNAL LIFE. A pleasure far beyond what these few things that you're obsessed with can ever help you with. You know you're gonna get drunk, you're gonna throw up and you're gonna have a hangover, you're going to go to the club, you're gonna wake up somewhere, you don't even know what happened to you the night before. You're gonna do these things thinking they're going to bring you pleasure; and it's going to end up causing you, if it hasn't already, cause you a lot of pain. You think you're happy, YOU'RE KIDDING YOURSELF. 

Why do people love alcohol so much? Here's my personal take on it. It may or may not be true, but it's as an escape from reality. Why do ppl get into drugs? It's an escape from reality too. Your life is so bad, you got so many problems, you got nothing to look forward to in your life, the only thing that you have to look forward to is that time, where you will jump around like a wild animal, drink something to lose touch with your problems, your reality on purpose. So, from weekend to weekend, you're just looking to get high or get away from this world and reality around you.You don't want to take responsibility for why you're put on this Earth. That's what it is, you're trying to escape from the reality.

Even if you're trying to find pleasure, physical pleasure or monetary benefits; you know, ppl who run after money their entire life, they're still not happy, they still don't find happiness. They will buy something that they thought they'd love, and after a couple of months having that something, they will find somebody else having a nicer something than theirs then they say: "oh man, I don't have that and there's void in their heart." IT'S NEVER GOING TO BE FULFILLED. Your greed, your lust, it's never gonna be fulfilled. FAITH, REAL FAITH, TRUE FAITH on the other hand, OFFERS SOMETHING that nothing else can offer: IT CAN FILL YOUR HEART WITH CONTENTMENT~! That's what we're offering, so, you have to fight your desires, you have to for a moment, maybe for a day, for a week we ask you to just to put your desires aside, just put them aside for a while, and JUST DEEPLY REFLECT ON THE TRUTH, reflect on your real purpose in life; and see if that can push you in a different direction. There are many people like you who did this, and many found the truth and they're now at more ease and peace than they were ever before. Why do you think a young Muslim man, a young Muslim woman, good looking, healthy, smart, making good money, etc. is not going to go to the club? He has all the power to. What's stopping him? What is so powerful that it's not tempting him like it tempts you?! Why is it that he's able to fight that? He's got something that is so powerful that nobody else can see and we wanna share that treasure, that's what we want YOU to EXPERIENCE~!! 

(now the covering from head to toe response):

And it's really, that a lot of times, our sisters don't realise that in humanity, is that they're actually being used. THey think they're dressing how they want, but you don't want that, you just want to dress in a way that's appealing to the desires of men. That's what they(men) want, NOT what you want. They want it more than you do, they want you to dress half naked . and so the thing about hijab and covering and modesty; first and foremost, it's a commandment in Islam. But just to speak about clothing a little bit. In Islam, there are 3 purposes of clothings: PROTECTION, BEAUTIFICATION, & MODESTY. But the priority is different. In Islam, the priority first is MODESTY: You have to have decency. you shouldn't be objectified. 2nd is of course protection from the weather and together with beautification. There's nothing wrong with wearing nice clothes, so long as you're guarding your modesty. However, what happens in a non Muslim culture, is that a lot of times ppl don't care about modesty, at all they don't even care about protecting themselves from the weather(you see ppl dressing skimpily even in the freezing cold during winter), what are they concerned about? What THEY THINK is beautification. And when we say modesty, it's an aspect of humility. And why does a Muslim have to have humility? Because they've acknowledged that they're not in charge of their life. There's a higher power(God). Therefore, even in their speech, even in their daily life, they spend their time and their clothing; clothing is just one manifestation of humility but we argue that humility is something that has to be a part of your speech, your demeanour, your mannerisms, the way you speak to ppl, the way you deal with your family, the way you deal with your Lord, THERE HAS TO BE HUMILITY ALL AROUND. and one of those aspects is humility in clothing. 

(misconception on Islam as a man-made religion):

Just because there are religions that are man-made, all the religions are judged as man-made. That's not a fair assessment. Just like we don't judge people in that way like you don't meet 2 ppl from a certain race and then past judgment on the entire race. you don't meet 2 ppl of that gender, and then pass judgment on the entire gender. Same thing with religion, you come across a certain religion and you're not satisfied with it, you didn't find it convincing; it's not fair for you to just brush off all other religions. (That's just an oversimplification and intellectual laziness on your part). "So, I kinda tried out a religion and tried to submit to my Creator but then I didn't find something satisfying, so I'm just going go back to my old distractions." But let me give you an analogy: you're only going to dig into something, spend your time and effort in something when YOU think it's worth it~~Like if I asked you to dig a hole into the ground for 5 dollars, you wouldn't do it. But if I say, dig 10 feet and I'll give you $20,000, you'll start shoveling~! So, YOU ONLY PUT TIME AND EFFORT INTO SOMETHING THAT YOU THINK IS WORTH IT~~ hence, if YOU THINK THE TRUTH & FINDING THE PURPOSE IN YOUR LIFE IS WORTH IT, you'll dig and not find, you'll dig and not find, and you'll dig until you find it; u're gonna keep on digging. But this attitude of "Oh, generally, without even any incurring, without even caring to look into the matter, you just say, "Oh, you know, I don't have to look into it, I already know that it's all man-made, we're all gonna go to heaven, well, the idea of heaven comes from religion anyway, so where'd u get that idea? **lol**

But the problem is, maybe deep inside you, you're scared that if you find the truth, it's going to ask you to change yourself, and you don't want to change yourself.Allah said in the Qur'an, "No, to the human being who wants to continue to disobey and explore in his disobedience that is in front of him"

SO, you just need to be sincere with yourself and ask yourself, what is the purpose of your life and many ppl have found the truth and accepted Islam but there are also ppl who just past by these responses and said "No, my desires, my temptations, my seductions are just too powerful for me; I'm going to stay in this mess."

YOU HAVE TO DECIDE IF YOU'RE STRONGER THAN YOUR DESIRES~!! 

(sense of URGENCY):

So, we have to have a sense of urgency to finding our purpose because once that clock stops ticking, and we leave this Earth, then like one of the companions of the Prophet said, "people are sleeping and when they die, is when they wake up." That's when their eyes open and so we ask that you wake up before you go into the grave, where everybody else think you've been put to sleep, the reality will be, you've actually been woken up at that time. and we don't wish that upon you, we don't wish that you wake up at that point, we wish upon you, that you wake up now, to think and reflect on the purpose and reality now. And it's not fair to your Creator or an analogy:  You go to your boss and he told you and gave you a list of responsibilities, you neglected it and now you want to get paid at the end. That doesn't make sense~~!!! 

THINGS THAT CAN BRING YOU PEACE IS  I S L A M ~ ! ! 

Wallahu'alam.  

Liana