3. PART 1/2: What is Love?

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim - In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.

Let's seek His Love~

Assalamu ‘alaykum & Greetings to all,

Hope everyone’s in the pink of health and for us Muslims, may we all constantly be in our highest state of Imaan, inshaAllah. So for first timers, this post addresses the 3^rd topic of  “Towards the Truth Conference 2011” Series that I wrote around mid-2011.

Please note that the following are based on my note-taking coupled with my annotations. Thank you.

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Speaker 1: Shaykh Zia Ullah Khan

• So what is Love? – It’s a mixed of emotions. Something that you can’t see, it’s not tangible. It’s painful, beautiful, sweet but most of all, Love is unexplainable. It is something indescribable.
  
• People who are in love are insane. Love is an illness/sickness à the only cure is marriage i.e. to have the person and you can’t deny it, don’t try to be righteous in this matter.
  
• But the Question is: Is it halal for us to love that person? Love IS PERMISSIBLE in Islam cos it is not something you can control. It is something that Allah SWT put and plant in our hearts. The only thing Islam is asking of us is to control love, to handle it. One thing men should drill into their head is that: If a lady dislikes a guy, they just don’t love you. Women are full of compassion, yes, but they can be hard core cold-hearted when it comes to this. And this is the time you got to be a man. Find someone else or go down on your knees and say the syahadah.
• Most of the time, human face downfall when they fail/fall in this field. But when you have Allah & Islam in your heart, you will be able to pick yourself and regain you confidence, inshaAllah. Devote yourself to Him, to the Prophet (pbuh) and ask for forgiveness for having loved someone so much to the extent that you forget the meaning of the one true, sacred love – i.e. His Divine Love.
• Allah approves love. He created from yourselves wives, husbands (spouses), mawaddah (love), ar-Rahman(compassion/mercy), etc.
• What people misunderstand is that they fall in love and think that after getting married, it will be the likes of what’s displayed in the movies these days, believing it will be happily ever after but what happens a lot nowadays instead are arguments, that often lead to divorces/unhappy marriages. 
• We need to understand and acknowledge; women express feelings and men are dead. We (referring to male race) don’t know how to express feelings like women. That's just how God created us men and women different. Women express love much better than men, in most cases. Smile for your wife even if you don’t know why she’s happy. HE place love and compassion in you, make use of it well, at the right time, with the right people~!
• So what’s the problem then? It’s how we see it!

2. PART 2/2: Call On Me

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim - in the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Beneficient

Salam alaiki & Greetings all,

Hope everyone's in the best of health and in your highest state of Iman, inshaAllah. Anyway, here's the continuation to the previous post.
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Speaker 2: Shaykh Navaid Aziz

• "PAIN OF REGRET" àYou need to avoid this in life. (When I first heard him mention "pain of regret", I could connect with it right away. It is so true that regretting always bring you pain and if you don't stop regretting, the pain will never come to an end. *Shivers at how powerful 'regret' can be*) "Pain of death" àYou should also prevent this BUT the worst is the combination of these two~! Never ever allow this to happen to yourself. Always remember that sincere repentance is constantly accepted by Him. Allah forgives all sins. 
• Allah calls on you to change. But what goes on in many minds are: "What is the point of changing my life? What is the point of asking Allah to forgive me? I have committed too many sins. I'm too full of sin and I'm not worthy anymore." Now, my dear brothers and sisters, Surah Al-Araf shows us du'a taubat: "O' Allah, we have oppressed ourselves and if you do not forgive us, then we are losers."
• YES, it will be difficult but if you put your trust & faith in Allah fully, He will make it easy for you, inshaAllah. He is Most Merciful, Most Loving. Let's not forget that.

• How to heed Allah's Call on you? It all starts with reconnecting to Allah SWT~! It starts with the heart. All changes begins with the remembrance of Allah and the rebuild of your relationship with Him! You have to recreate your trust in Him. You are not created for anyone else but Me. You are for Me. 
• Remember that our hearts belong to Him. The key to opening your heart is turning to Allah SWT because the heart is His. The heart is God's and it is He who allows light in you. -Shaykh Hamza Yusuf-
• When things seem to be messed up and horrid for you, remember His Call. Your messed up life is not what He wants for you. For example, if your marriage seems to be full of arguments, you need to sit, take time, and reflect. You have and need to understand the opposite gender. It really helps avoid many common arguments. You need to have the basic understanding of the other gender like acknowledging the fact that talking is an important element in life for women but not men. When men are stressed, they prefer to be left alone. Don't go approaching them the way you approach other females. God made men and women to be different. Our differences are to complement each others' lacks. You just need to know how to make the best out of it. This is just one example. There are many kinds of things that may be bothering you. Turn, seek Him and inshaAllah, all will be well. He will guide those who seek Him. 

That's it for this speaker. Hmm, it is kinda short eh.. I guess I was listening more than taking down notes for this Shaykh. Or maybe he speaks very fast, so I'm not enough of a speed note-taking person. 

Anyways, I will be addressing "What is Love" topic in the next "post on conference". I know I enjoyed this talk a lot and Sh Rageah is one of the speakers too. Hehe. As for the very next post, I have a very nice and touching video by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf that I'd like to share with all. May more people benefit from his sermons. May Allah bless him too for his good deeds.

WAllahua'lam.

2. PART 1/2: Call on Me

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

Assalamu' alaykum and greetings I bid to all,

Today, I'll address the 2nd topic (which corresponds to Session #6 in the Conference) entitled "Call On Me".
*Btw, the "no-update" is due to some circumstances I'm under atm. My apologies.

Please note that my writings are based on my note-taking coupled with my annotations. Thank you.
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Speaker 1: Shaykh Tahir Anwar

• There's a hadith by the Prophet (pbuh) that says that DU'A IS ESSENCE OF ALL WORSHIPS. Call upon your Lord in a state where you are humble. While you're talking to Allah, that is the time He loves you most. 
• Allah WILL ALWAYS listen to you as long as you turn and seek Him.
  
  Bila berharap, carilah Allah
  Bila kesusahan, mintalah padaNya
  Bila kesedihan, adulah kepadaNya
  Bila gembira, kongsilah dan berterima kasihlah kepada Allah SWT
  DEKATKAN DIRI kpdNya
  Barulah Allah akan sentiasa bersama kita~! -part credits to Merah-
• We need to be conscious! (Shaykh Hamza Yusuf addressed this in the video I posted in the post before this) ALWAYS! Don't be unaware or be in a heedlessness state. SEEK ALLAH'S BLESSINGS~! Make du'a to Allah so things are made easy for you. Make 'em du'a when you leave home, travel (btw, musafirs should pray more as I heard that you get more erm.. ajr/pahala is it? Oops hehe, I forgot what the extras are exactly.. but just pray a lot if you're a traveler ok? No harm doing it =D), etc. Basically, practise performing supplications. =) 
• As we make du'a, also don't forget to make du'a for people around you, make du'a for goodness. Try not to just make du'a for yourself only all the time. It's kinda selfish no? Others want and need your du'as too^^
• Do you know that today we are blessed and fine because there is someone out there who makes du'a for us? WE HAVE TO BE CONSCIOUS of that; that there are people praying for us, hence we should also make prayer for others. PARENTS' PRAYERS especially, are ALWAYS accepted. WE FAIL TO REALISE that it is not "I", it is the du'a of the people around us! Make du'a for everyone: for someone who has done us something good, who did us favours, who are always so kind and thoughtful, willing to share knowledge with you and YES, even for those who has wrong against you~! Make du'a for them, for Allah to guide them to entail a new, improved journey/path. Du'a for your country! WE NEED TO REALISE THE CONSCIOUSNESS IN "MAKING DU'A FOR PPL AROUND(NOT LITERALLY) YOU"~!!
• Do you also know that we can start making du'a for our children, even if they're not born into this dunya yet. You don't actually have to wait till they are around for you to make du'a for them. You can gradually & continually du'a for your child so as to how you wish them to be and not to be, etc.
• REMEMBER TO THANK ALLAH. Giving thanks to Him is a must for me, everyday! How do I ensure so as to not forget thanking Him? Well, simple as ABC, I just include "this" in my solats and since solats are compulsory everyday, putting "this" into your prayers will ensure your gratefulness to Him EVERY SINGLE DAY! MashaAllah, He will be pleased with you! =)
• DO NOT be discouraged if your prayers do not get answered once in a while. Whoever said that life's gonna be a smooth sail huh? =p And you know, sometimes, your prayers don't get answered at that time, maybe the reward will come later or in another form that you don't expect and yada yada.. Just trust & have faith in Him. After all, He Knows what's best for us!
  
• Another point I'd like to highlight that is mentioned by the Shaykh is that Du'as don't need to be made in any certain language. Just talk to Him. Du'a for Him to give you the ability to trust & understand His reason for placing you here on Earth, know your purpose of life, protect your Iman and etc. 

Okay, this is the end for this speaker. I have prepared the notes on Speaker 2 as well but my fingers are stinging quite a bit due to playing some music earlier. Shikes~ Anyway, I will continue in the next post aight~ inshaAllah.

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.
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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?