Imagine

Assalaamu Alaykum Warahmatullah Wabarakatuh,

I hope this reaches you in the best of health/imaan......

Take a moment and picture yourself in this: It is 10:44 PM, you just took along warm shower and are getting ready to sleep. There is no struggle, sleep comes to you so fast as if you were tired and needed it the most. Your soul leaves your body, you're lying there asleep----that soul of yours was supposed be back by morning but it never returns. You're no longer sleeping, you breathed your last and watching the journey of your soul.

It travels through the heavens with a terrible smell. Your soul is fearful and you now see what you've been warned of. You try to plead with the angles, you try to ask for a second chance---but to no avail. You reach the top heaven in which you're given your verdict. You're found guilty on all accounts. Your life flashes through your eyes..... you remember the hours you spent in the club, the days you were disrespectful and mean to your parents, the prayers you have missed. You remember the time you wasted running after Dunya, you remember saying "insha'Allah one day I will start following Islam."  You remember all the excuses you gave on  why you don't follow Allah's commands. You remember saying "yea, when I get old, I will be a better Muslim." You remember sometimes making fun of those who followed Islam, you remember how you mocked their hijab or their beard. You remember all the hearts you have broken--destroying the real meaning of love.You start to tremble because now it is all there before your eyes and what you see is not good.

You know you're guilty on all accounts and that you were not judged unjustly. You remember the verses of the Qur'an... how they warned you of this day. Your eyes begin to swell with tears, you know what is going to come next, but you cannot bear the thought of it. You cry loud, you plead, you ask for forgiveness----nothing seems to work. Your soul is sent back to the grave, you now hear the foot steps of those who buried you. You try to scream, but they don't hear you. Your companion comes to visit----dressed in rough clothes, dark and scary looking. You ask "who are you." He utters the most dreadful response which is "I am your deed...I am what you have done in the world." You lie there in the dark hole with no hope or a second chance.

Now imagine your life flashed right in front of you....every moment that you have lived on screen, your deepest secrets out in the open. Imagine the feeling that would go through your heart, the thoughts in your mind---imagine yourself standing before the king of the kings. Imagine hell and heaven right before your eyes, everything clearer to you than they have ever been! Imagine the agony of not knowing whether or not you will receive your book in the right hand or the left. Imagine seeing the angles in their truest form, imagine YOU on the day of judgement. Your heart beat increases, all you ask for is a second chance---you say "Oh my Lord return me back so I may do good." You repeat this time and time again crying-------

BUT wait-----you realize it was just a dream! You wake up in the middle of the night--catching your breath. You whisper "Alhamdullah" because now, after being awakened, you see your second chance. You're living NOW, TODAY, why not start following your deen? Why not change yourself and paint a better eternal life through your good deeds today while you still have a chance? Why wait for tomorrow when you know that it may never come. Lets start living in the moment---lets start our journey now and see where it takes us. Go ahead, pick up that Qur'an on the shelf, prepare to go the Jumma Salah this Friday---yes YOU get up and start fresh by repenting to Allah while you still  have the chance.

REMEMBER YOU ONLY HAVE TODAY----TOMORROW IS NOT A GUARANTEE!!

Who are the believers....?

Bismillah...in the name of God I start...

Assalamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh..peace be upon ya'll.

The Qur'an mentions the qualities of a believer in different chapters and verses..but last night the following verses have touched me deeply. I hope that insha'Allah we'll all benefit from them. This is the interpretation and meaning of Surah Al-furqan (chapter 25 verses 63-77). 

And the servants of (Allah) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say "Peace!" (63) Those who spend the night in adoration of their Lord prostrate and standing; (64) Those who say "Our Lord! avert from us the Wrath of Hell, for its Wrath is indeed an affliction grievous― (65) "Evil indeed is it as an abode, and as a place to rest in"; (66) Those who, when they spend, are not extravagant and not niggardly, but hold a just (balance) between those (extremes); (67) Those who invoke not, with Allah, any other god, nor slay such life as Allah has made sacred, except for just cause, not commit fornication― and any that does this (not only) meets punishment (68) (But) the Penalty on the Day of Judgment will be doubled to him, and he will dwell therein in ignominy― (69) Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (70) And whoever repents and does good has truly turned to Allah with an (acceptable) conversion― (71) Those who witness no falsehood and, if they pass by futility, they pass by it with honourable (avoidance); (72) Those who, when they are admonished with the Signs of their Lord, droop not down at them as if they were deaf or blind: (73) And those who pray "Our Lord! Grant unto us wives and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes and give us (the grace) to lead the righteous." (74) Those are the ones who will be rewarded with the highest place in heaven because of their patient constancy; therein shall they be met with salutations and peace (75) Dwelling therein how beautiful an abode and place of rest! (76) Say (to the rejecters): "My Lord is not uneasy because of you if ye call not on Him but ye have indeed rejected (Him) and soon will come the inevitable (punishment)!" (77).

In these verses God not only talks about the believers...but His greatest mercy shines through here. He describes the mistakes a believer might make (commit fornication, associate partners with Allah, and take a life that is sacred)...and then says He will forgive as long as they repent and do righteous good deeds. Here we learn the condition of repentance. That the sin must be stopped and followed by a good deed. Subhana'Allah, how easy is it to serve our Lord the oft-forgiving most merciful? He knows we will make mistakes, sin time and time again....so He gave us the criterion to get back up again giving us hope in His greatest mercy! The lessons I have learned reading these verses are the following...I am no scholar but as everyone reads the Qur'an....it speaks to them in different ways, touches them from different angles and clarifies different aspects for different people. So, with that said, I dont want anyone taking my words as the ultimate truth! The lessons are the following: 

1. Prayer during the night is important : Allah says "Those who spend the night in adoration of their Lord prostrate and standing" and we also know that the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray the last third of the night to the point where his feet got swollen! The last hours of the night is when everyone is asleep and the servant is alone with his/her creator. 

2. To balance our spending: You know a lot of us like to go shopping especially if you're a female! you know exactly what I am talking about. We like to spend money on what is a "want" which makes us extravagant spenders. We cant be stingy as well....we have to balance between the two. 

3. Avoid nonsense arguments: Indeed we know that in this time and age, many people who're ignorant about Islam and who seek to argue for the sake of argument usually post stuff to anger us. Allah jalla wa'ala has provided us with the tool and the ways to react. We ignore them and reply with words of peace! We as Muslims are not people who get angry and get down to level of those who wrong us. There are important things for us to worry about than the words of the ignorant. Alhamdulillah for Islam and its guidelines.

4.Repentance: Allah is indeed the most forgiving....and we're indeed created week. None of us can avoid committing crimes against our nafs (soul). We're prone to sin time and time again...and sometimes repeat the same one! but Islam gives us the solution. We cant despair and give up on the rahma (mercy) of Allah. He is ar-rahman the most merciful. In another verse Allah says "Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful" (39:53). So, lets remember the condition of repentance: dont repeat the sin, and follow up with good deed:)

Happiness?

Bismillah...(in the name of God) I start.....
Assalaamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh, peace be upon you all!
I am generally happy person, but there are days when I am sad, upset or just plain angry. I came to wonder why my happiness cannot last longer and began to do a little writing. Insha'Allaah, this new perspective of life can give us many many reasons to smile.Before I begin anything, I'd just like to define happiness.


Happiness...its a word that carries many different definitions. The general meaning on the dictionary is "pleasant feeling and expression of joy" but just like love, to many people happiness is indescribable. It is that you-know-what-I-mean- feeling- all of us have....some more than others. Happiness for some people is a destination and for others, it is just a mood that does not last for a lifetime. However, what is happiness really, who is the happy one and what brings happiness to the soul.


Normally, I'd say that happiness is having all that you want and need in your life...but the truth is, one can possess things and yet be miserable. For me, happiness is a state of mind. It is brought by the little unnoticed moments of life such as hearing the laughter of a child, giving a helping hand to another person, and of feeling loved by those around you. Like most emotions, happiness is just a mood which cannot last for such along time because remember happiness is just that-------a state of mind.
 Many of us teens and young adults seek the quickest pleasure from the life of rock and roll, sex and drugs. Pleasures that satisfy us for just a limited time-for just that one moment we're engaging in. In our search of peace and contentment, at some point in our lives we stumble upon religion. And here many of us find the ultimate bliss, the actual heaven on earth. 


I found mine in the religion of Islam  which is literary away of life.....we're taught what our sole purpose of life is, where we're headed, the different paths and of course how to attain the destination we choose. Everything is laid down for us....and we're given the choice to follow that which we want or not. If one chooses to follow the path of Islam, they're obliged to enter it completely! As Allah the glorified said "O ye who believe! enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the Evil One; for he is to you an avowed enemy" (ch2:207). So happiness comes from knowing who you are, where you're headed and the ways to achieve your ultimate goal .It takes along hard search to find our own unique identities for most of us are lost trying to be "wannabes" but once we find that unique person within us-we have reached the point in which we can dictate where we want our life to be, how we want it to end and what kind of foot prints we want to leave behind. The guidance is in the message of God to man kind....and it is crystal clear for any searching soul to understand. 

Ones we as humans know, are convinced and accept that there is God with great power and might...who has not left us to wonder around this place called "universe" without first providing us with guidance and mercy then and only then will we begin to feel the blessings and start appreciating.
Happiness comes from being content with what we have, appreciating the fortune that we have been given, and most of all loving and being grateful to the one who has blessed us. 
So lets remember the following:
Created: to worship and please our Lord
Follow: Qur'an and Sunnah
Destination: Jannah


When we start to put Allah first in everything we begin to taste the sweetness of faith. And like our beloved prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) we'd always smile. 
My search of happiness is not done yet for I struggle to please my Lord everyday. I fall and get up again trying to do that which is good for my soul. The ladder to happiness is long, but with patience and persistence anyone can reach it with the mercy of God almighty.