A Detour~

Bismillah.

Just FYI, this post has nothing to do with the conference topics. Asif (sorry) for going off the runaway today, but I wanted to share this so yeah.

"I think that making girls more like men is actually the wrong the way to go, it’s the other way around.  It’s actually the men that need to learn how to be more like those natural qualities that women have:  Mercy and compassion.  This is the humanization process.  We don’t call our schools alma-maters for nothing.  The nurturing mother.  That’s what a school is supposed to be, it’s supposed to give you your humanity." -Shaykh Hamza Yusuf-

Source: http://sheikhhamza.com/biography/

Today's community are full of people who are heedless and unaware of their surroundings where everything only revolves around them and "It's me, me, me!" for each and every one who forgets their main purpose in life. If you have no purpose in your life, in what you're doing, then you're playing. You do your activities without knowing why or your goal or what you want to achieve out of it, meaning it's serving just as an entertainment. That's what games are --> simply to entertain people. Why use the term "game"? Well, cos just before this, we mention that "you're playing."  What we beings should do is to set out on a journey and reap the rewards later. 

Nowadays, many people aren't well, but remember, WE ARE human beings, this is Bani Adam. We're not insignificant creatures BUT we're meant to be people of discipline, and that's why Allah gave us this religion - 5 prayers a day at specific times.

Anyways, all this is from Shaykh Hamza Yusuf's sermon. What I wrote above is just part of what I loved most from this sermon. Do watch it if you're free/bored. It's pretty entertaining too, not too rigid. No worries, I'm sure his witty sarcasm will keep you interested and going till the end. If not, well, too bad for you on missing out on some awesome stuff here then.

ENJOY~! 

WAllahua'lam.

1. PART 2/2: Justice Vs. Excellence~

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim - in the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Salam alaik & Greetings,

Hope everyone's doing great and if not, just try to look on the bright side aight. You can always come up with something positive about anything in the world. Anyway, here's the cont. to the previous post~

• We all have dreams & aspirations. "I want to bring about change," is something that has definitely crossed every person's mind BUT everyone tends to get set in due to complacency in life! What we should be doing is NURTURE & DEVELOP ourselves in terms of character, attitude, mind maturity, and life views~! Allah has given us many talents and we are responsible to find ways to use them to our advantage and make the best out of it à NOW THAT'S EXCELLENCE~!! And in achieving that level of excellence, we have to find the area that Allah has created for us where we can excel in! THIS IS WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT, TO LIVE YOUR PERSONAL LEGEND! We all need to be aware of our personal calling and what is a personal calling? It's God's blessing. It is the path that God chose for you here on Earth. Whenever we do something that fills our heart with enthusiasm, we then know that we are following our legend (excerpt from "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho) However, this is where the problem lies: We don't all have the courage to confront our dreams and hence we fail in transitioning from being average to becoming an outstanding individual~! If you do not work to have progress in your life, day in day out, just like that, everyday pass you by, then it merely shows that YOU'RE NOT ALIVE~
• Allah has given us the power & ability to make change and to NEVER SETTLE FOR AVERAGE. A Muslim cannot & should not live without having great ambitions. That's not the life for great people and it is also not the original life that Allah wants for you!

"Excellence is a habit, not an act. It takes practice and perseverance."

• Islam has several levels - 1) the basic level of believe with basic actions, 2) the level of higher Eman (what's in the heart is only part of Eman)

1. PART 1/2: Never settle for average! Go for high Excellence~!!

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim - in the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Assalamu' alaykum warahmatullah wa barakatuh & greetings to all,

Hopefully everyone's in the pink of health and for us Muslims, may we always be in our highest state of Iman. So, as I've mentioned the other day, I'd like to share what I gained from the Islamic Conference that I attended recently and alhamdulillah, today Allah has given me the opportunity and the time to write on one of the topics.

Okay, before I dive into today's post, I'd like to outline the topics that I will address in the few next posts:

1. Justice vs Excellence (This post)
2. Call on Me (Part 1, Part 2)
3. What is Love? (Part 1, Part 2)
4. Raising a Child
5. The Walking Qur'an
6. The Perfect Storm

Please note that my writings are based on my note-taking coupled with my annotations. Thank you.
____________________________________________________________

Speaker: Shaykh Moutasem Al-Hameedi

• When an ordinary Muslim takes the initiatives to undergo a transformation by taking a leap in lifestyle or habits in order to become an outstanding Muslim à this is what we call Islam ! ISLAM (A Muslim) IS OUTSTANDING~!! 
• Halal & Haram are the bottomline in Islam BUT when a person mentions Islam, the first thing they speak of is the "Halal & Haram" subject. WHY SO?!! Why are you trying to hit the bottomline? Once you are under this, you are clearly in trouble and a dangerous state! Allah teaches us great things above line, so why do we always look at the most bottom requirements? Why do we constantly set that as our benchmark?! ISLAM IS PERFECTION, reaching the outstanding level~!!

~Excellence is the result of striving each day to do better than the last~

• What are my obligations towards Allah SWT?

the joy of telling your family~

Bismillah.

Yesterday, I discovered someone who reverted into Islam recently.  Subhan Allah, Allahu akhbar~! I'm feeling overjoyed for her for successfully finding her way to Islam, the true religion, and embracing it! Mabruk~!(congrats) It is all thanks to Allah as well for He chooses those who gets His Hidayah and I am very sure that all reverts are always thankful for the hidayah that we get. Alhamdulillahi lathee bini matihee tatimmus saalihaat~~

However, today's post is mainly to address how fortunate it is for this new revert because she has already managed to inform her family about her reversion and they're taking it pretty well and in a very civilised manner. MashaAllah. If I were to follow my heart, yes, I would envy her so much and be utterly jealous of her but nah, it's not right to be envious of ppl's joy. haha. I guess my time just hasn't come yet. Hmm. But yeah, I'm ecstatic for her cos she doesn't need to do things in hiding any longer. Alhamdulillah.

Salam

People think More money = More Happiness~~

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim - in the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Assalamu' alaykum warahmatullah wa barakatuh and greetings to all,

Many think that with money comes happiness: More money = More Happiness. (How sad and lame~!) Unfortunately, this equation does not hold true. *Tsk tsk* Sure, I acknowledge that it's not wrong in its entirety, but generally, that's not how happiness works. It’s how people live their life here, on Earth, which will determine what they achieve in this world and more importantly, how they will be treated and what they will be given in the Hereafter. However, most people in this world are fooled by this world's glamour and satan fools them by making the world appear oh-so-sweet and all that great. Satan also makes people think that they’re here just once, so you might as well enjoy yourselves whilst you are still around and another thing to highlight as well: people think that the more things they own, the better their life will be - the more cars, the more money, the more clothes, food, bigger/better houses, the better will be the quality of their lives. And people generally think that to have more money, they need to work harder. The harder they work, the more money they will earn and with more money, more things can be acquired. So how does the function look like in most minds? Well, more money --> more things --> more happiness --> better life --> live a great life (somewhere along that line). But this is where people are wrong and are greatly mistaken in their understanding. We must acknowledge and etch in mind that Allah has already ordained everything. Allah has written what Allah wants to give to each and every one of us. Allah has the power to give people things without even money and Allah has the power and the Kudrat to provide people with happiness without things. He is capable of providing human races with money and wealth.

(10:94) - If you were in doubt as to what We have revealed/given unto you, then ask those who have been reading the Book from Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt.

(10:107) - ...:if He designs some benefit for you, there is none can keep back His favour: He causes it to reach whomsoever of his servants He pleases. And He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Now, try pondering on the many cases throughout the world in history where people haven’t done much but they acquired great wealth, there are many cases where people don’t have many things but they’re very happy indeed, there are many people who have a lot of things in this life but they’re still not satisfied, and then there are the group of people in this world who work crazy hard but they don’t earn as much money. Allah says, “Do people think that they can decide how things are distributed? And Allah says, “I have distributed different things in the world, different amounts to different people.” Allah has given people different statuses here in the Dunya. Allah has put people in different positions in society so that people can complement (complete each others' lacking) and get along with one another. Can you imagine if everybody in this world are well off, then those many things/jobs that only poor and simple people(those who people think are in the low class society.) do will not get done. And if everybody is poor in this world, then mashaAllah, so many things, so many projects that need money and funding, but because no one has the money, these jobs also don’t get realised/executed. So, Allah has made some rich, some poor, some in between so that we can all help one another. The rich need the poor and the poor need the rich.

Just a quickie~

Bismillah.

Salam alaik and greetings all,

So the athan for subuh just ended. Btw, I love subuh's athan the most (the athan software that I'm using seems to have different bilals for athan calling for every prayer time) Anyway, I just attended a 2 days Islamic Conference during the weekend and I have so much to share with all of you~! You can expect a series of interesting posts in the near future, inshaAllah, if time permits and most importantly, if HE permits.

By the way, if one strives to become a great Muslim, where his Eman increases by the day, at one point, his Eman will be too much for his body to contain that it overflows; and THIS IS KNOWN when you actually feel a sense of calmness or some sort of peace/chills down your spine when you're within his/her circle. SubhanAllah, the feeling is amazing~! Hope each and every one of you get to experience the same someday. =)

Salam,
Liana

THE PERFECT MUSLIM~! MASHA ALLAH~!!

Bismillah.

SubhanAllah~! Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for giving me the opportunity to meet such a noble and perfect example of a Muslim, a Muslim who portrays what Islam really is~! He is striving towards becoming a walking Qur'an. It is more than obvious that he is the kind who is working towards achieving the highest rank among the Muslims (if you're not aware, in Islam, the Muslims(people) are divided into levels). He is climbing that ladder, aiming to attain that highest position to be the closest to Allah. I am sure he works so hard and sacrifices so much to constantly change, moving forward with keeping in mind that there's rewards for his struggles, perseverance, and patience in his journey. I never knew Muslims like this exists! His gaze was lowered all the time~!! MashaAllah, today, I'm officially melted by a man, here on Earth and just being within his diameters, hati rasa sejuk dan tenang teramat~! MASHA ALLAH, ALHAMDULILLAH FOR ALLOWING ME TO MEET SUCH A GREAT MUSLIM~! ALLAHU AKHBAR~!!

WAllahua'lam

Share a Quote Series~

Bismillah.

Never do I argue with a man with a desire to hear him say what is wrong, or to expose him and win victory over him. Whenever I face an opponent in debate, I silently pray - "O' Allah, help him so that truth may flow from his heart and on his tongue, and so that if truth is on my side, he may follow me; and if truth be on his side, I may follow him."

(Imam Al-Shafi'e)

Salam,

Liana