Ramadhan links 7

I apologize for the delay with the links today as well as with the (How to deal with Allah) series. In the middle of country hopping again =) Will be back on track soon inshaAllah

Episode 7 of ISR



Chronicle 7 of Dr.Tariq Ramadan

Episode 7 of the Journey of happiness to heaven

Ramadhan links 6

Episode 6 of ISR



Chronicle 6 of Dr.Tariq Ramadan

Episode 6 of the Journey of happiness to heaven

Ramdhan links 5

Episode 5 of ISR



Chronicle 5 of Dr.Tariq Ramadan

Episode 5 of the Journey of happiness to heaven

Ramdhan links 4

Here's an article I read that really moved my heart =)

Episode 4 of ISR



Chronicle 4 of Dr.Tariq Ramadan

Episode 4 of the journey of happiness to heaven

How to deal with Allah (episode 3) - كيف تتعامل مع الله الحلقة الثالثة

As Salam Alekoum

An English translation of the episode:

Have you ever come across an individual, whom after lighting a great fire that burnt for three days without stop, ended up throwing his own son in the fire? Ofcourse not.

In that case, have a look at the following hadeeth

جاء رجل إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ومعه صبي فجعل يضمه إليه فقال له النبي عليه السلام:" أترحمه؟" قال: نعم فقال عليه السلام:" فالله أرحم بك منك به وهو أرحم الراحمين"

A man came to the Prophet (Allah's peace and blessings upon him) and with him is a little boy. The man hugged the child to himself, so the Prophet (Allah's blessings on him) said to the man: "Do you feel mercy on him?" The man said: "yes" The Prophet said: "Allah is more merciful to you than you are to the child, for He is the Most Merciful"

Allah is more merciful than to just throw you in hellfire. Allah is more merciful than that. But how does one deal accordingly with this mercy? How do you deal with Allah when his mercy is upon you?

This is a very important question that we must all know the answer to. But before we do, we first need to ask ourselves: how can we attain Allah's mercy? Glad tidings to you my dear brothers and sisters, for the attainment of Allah's mercy is easy with no hardship, for Allah's mercy encompasses everything. As to his anger, it does not encompass everything. For it is him, Subhanh, who said:

ورحمتي وسعت كل شيء

My mercy extendeth to all things

Surat Al-Aaraf, Verse 156

And this is what suits the Most Merciful, and if it were not the case then indeed we would all be at a great loss.

Know that, though you have been shown mercy by your family and loved ones, Allah's mercy on you is greater. He is the one to have initially bestowed them upon you, your friends and loved ones, out of His mercy on you. If you were to collect all the mercy that you have been shown by different people in your lifetime, Allah's mercy would be more and more encompassing. There is no at all that can succeed the mercy of Allah, Subhanh wa Ta'ala. The best of poets out there cannot properly or truley describe even a small part of Allah's mercy, which He has spread to the corners of his Kingdom.

Therefore, Allah has chosen to raise the status of His great mercy in the eyes of His creation. The Prophet (Allah's peace and blessings on him) once said:

لما قضى الله الخلق كتب في كتاب فهو عنده فوق العرش إن رحمتي غلبت غضبي

When Allah completed creation, he ordained in a book that is placed above His throne (my mercy dominates my anger)

Allah Akbar.

Notice how he has kept ths book with Him, over His throne. he could have placed this book in the heavens, or down on Earth upon a certain mountain for example. But he did not do that, and instead kept it with Him, honouring the status of mercy.

So why despair from the mercy of Allah, when it encompasses everything? How will it not encompass you? It is spread out to creations that are worse than you. Recall the hadith of the one who killed 99 human beings, and completed it to 100, and though all this Allah's mercy reached him when he repented. You have not killed anyone, so how can Allah not bestow His mercy upon you?

The entire univrerse from its beginiing to its end is filled with Allah's mercy, as the sea is filled with water and the atmosphere is filled with air. Say what you may of Allah's mercy, it is above and way more than what you say. Imagine what you may of Allah's mercy, it is more than anything you can think up.

One may ask "How can I attain this mercy?" There is nothing standing between you and Allah's mercy but of you to ask Him of it, and He will grant it to you.

مايفتح الله للناس من رحمة فلا ممسك له

What Allah out of his Mercy doth bestow on mankind there is none can withhold

Surat Al-Aaraf, Verse 2

Allah's mercy is so close to you that all you have to do is think of something you would like Allah to grant you, and it will be given to you according to your expectations of Allah. You think of Allah as having mercy on you, it will be granted. You think of Allah as sheilding you away from hellfire, it will be granted. You think of Allah blessing you with the Firdous (highest Paradise) then it will be granted to you. There is no hassle to it, the situation is actually more simpler than you could have imagined. These are not my own words and musings, but are the words of Allah Subhanh. It is what He said about Himself, otherwise how could I know of all this. Listen to Him in the hadeeth al qudasi:

أنا عند ظن عبدي بي فليظن بي ماشاء

I am as my Salve thinks of me, so let him think of me in whatever way he wants

There is no grey area to the matter where one might wonder "will Allah answer my prayers?" No, it is absolute certainty. The Prophet (Allah's peace and blessings upon him) said:

ادعوا الله وأنتم موقنون بالإجابة

Pray to Allah and you are sure of an answer

Allah will end up giving you even more than what you initially wanted. But there is one condition to it, that it be hope and not wishes. What is the difference between the two? Hope comes with action, I hope for Allah's mercy by complying to what he has ordained. As for wishes, they are simple thoughts with no compliance attached to them.

Just consider how merciful Allah is in how, when His mercy is bestowed upon you, you begin to feel it surround you and bring utmost peace in your heart. This on its own is a great act of mercy. Now consider that this is only in duniya (current life). When it comes to akhera (after-life), we have great hope in Allah that His creation on that day will finally witness the greatest acts of mercy that has never crossed their mind before. Forgivness, pardonings, and overlooking acts of sin. We should summn great hope with such a thought. We must also work hard to attain this mercy. This is the condition that Allah has set:

وإني لغفار لمن تاب وآمن وعمل صالحا ثم اهتدى

But, without doubt, I am (also) He that forgives again and again, to those who repent, believe, and do right, who are ready to receive true guidance.

Surat Taha. Verse 86

Comply with the conditions, and welcome the good news of mercy. After having said all this, and brought to light the nature of Allah's mercy, showing how open its door is and how it ends up turning acts of sins in good deeds, pointing out how one could attain it ... after all of this if a person still insists on being disobidient and turning a blind eye on Allah, thus losing Allah's mercy that encompasses all, then he does not deserve Allah's mercy.

How does one get close to Allah's mercy? My dear brothers and sisters if you have reached a status in yout life where you show great mercy to people and are kind to them, then Allah's mercy will truely be close to you. And not only close, but extremely close. The Prophet (Allah's peace and blessings upoon him) said:

الراحمون يرحمهم الرحمن

Those who show mercy will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful.

And if a person does not do that, then he will not be shown mercy.

من لايرحم لا يُرحم

He whom is not merciful, will not be shown mercy (by Allah)

In closing, I would like to ask of all of you with a pleading heart, that we all be together under Allah's mercy on the Day of Judgement. Let us make a pact right now, that we do our best during our life on Earth to attain this great mercy, so we may all, with the permission and will of Allah Subhanh, meet toghether in Paradise, with the prophets and the martyrs and the best of people, for they truley are the best of companions.

Ramadhan links 3

As Salam Alekoum

I apologize for the post being late. I had my hands full today at home <3

Episode 3 of ISR



Chronicle 3 of Tariq Ramadan

Episode 3 of Journey of happiness to heaven

How to deal with Allah (Episode 2) - كيف تتعامل مع الله الحلقة الثانية

As Salam Alekoum

An English translation of the episode:

Our Lord brings down from the heavens many things that are beneficial to us, the very best of which is guidance (heedaya). There is nothing more beautiful than for Allah to guide you to him, because you will not find anyone or anything better for you than Him, Subhanh,

Therefore, if you are of those whom Allah has guided to Him, then I say congratulations to you with all my heart, and I ask Allah to continue blessing you my dear brothers and sisters.

Now, this brings us to the question of this episode:

How do you deal with Allah if he has guided you?

I ask Allah to set you on guidance, to continue blessing until its light is complete upon you. If you are of those whom Allah has guided then I ask to please preserve and maintain yourself on it because you now have something that most of the people on Earth lack. It is guidance ... and the degree of guidance is an indicator of Allah's love for you. Similarly, Allah's love for a person becomes less as the guidance of that person becomes less.

One may ask: "How do I know if Allah has guided me or not?" The answer is rather simple. If you know that the halal is and what the haram is, and you choose to do the former while leaving the latter, then Allah has guided you. If you are guided then you are close to Allah. If Allah blesses you with a guided heart and is with you throughout your days, what else would you want or need after it?

One may also ask "Well, how may I become guided by Allah?" You will not be able to become guided unless Allah Himself brings it down upon your heart. If Allah does not bless you with it, then you can never get guided, Allah has mentioned in the Quran on the people of paradise:

وَقَالُواْ ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى هَدَٮٰنَا لِهَـٰذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَہۡتَدِىَ لَوۡلَآ أَنۡ هَدَٮٰنَا ٱللَّهُ‌ۖ

And they say: The praise to Allah, Who hath guided us to this. We could not truly have been led aright if Allah had not guided us.

Surat Al Aaraf, Verse 43

It has also been said by the scholars:

If goodness is one hand, and my heart is in my other hand, I would not be able to put goodness in it except if it is Allah who does it.

I know what some of you may say to me after I mentioned the previous point on guidance: "If this is the case, then what can I do? There is nothing that I can do to become guided" I say to them no, on the contrary there is something you can do. Ask guidance of Allah and he will give it to you. Don't just stand around, with arms folded waiting for guidance to just drop down on you. Our Lord Allah loves you to ask of him so he can give to you:

وَقَالَ رَبُّڪُمُ ٱدۡعُونِىٓ أَسۡتَجِبۡ لَكُمۡۚ

And your Lord hath said: Pray unto Me and I will hear your prayer.

Surat Ghafir, Verse 60

Ask of Him guidance, and He will give it to you. Have a look at the best Sura in the Quran, Surat al Fatiha

إِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسۡتَعِينُ

Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.

Notice that Allah did not say

إياك نعبد واياك نرجو

Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we plead

Nor did he say

إياك نعبد واياك نخاف

Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we fear.

The reason for this, is that you are not able to properly worship Allah unless He aids you and supports you with it. Therefore, you will not be able to be properly guided unless Allah aids you with it. Hence, you should ask Allah of this aid. Also, notice what is the aya after

ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٲطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ

Guide us to the straight path

So you see the beauty of the Quran? So you see the beautiful consistency?

Allah says in the hadith al Qudasi

يا عبادي كلكم ضال إلا من هديته فاستهدوني أهدكم

O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you

My dear brothers and sisters, there is a skill and etiquette when it comes to dealing with Allah in a proper way, because to heal with Him, Subhanh, is different than anything else you have dealt with. Within the etiquette of dealing with Allah is that we are the ones who go to Him and seek becoming closer to Him. The proper way is that we should take the first step, it is not Allah who comes to us. Allah says:

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوۡمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنفُسِہِمۡ

Lo! Allah changeth not the condition of a folk until they (first) change that which is in their hearts

Surat Al-Rad, Verse 11

Allah is the Lord and the Master and the Kind ... any king has people coming to him and not the opposite. If you take the first step of going to Allah, Subhanho wa Ta'ala, then Allah will also come to you but with a bigger step, i.e: more closer. Allah says in the Hadith al Qudasi:

من تقرب إلي شبرا تقربت إليه ذراعا ومن تقرب إلي ذراعا تقربت إليه باعا وإذا أقبل إلي يمشي أقبلت إليه هرولة

And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed

Allah Akbar! (Allah is great)

It is then that Allah will bless you with what you need and even more than what you could have imagined. He will not leave you, even though you are the one who went to Him initially. He will aid you and less you and be with you all the time. Except in one situation. If you leave Him ... and if you leave Him then Allah will leave you.

ذَٲلِكَ بِأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَمۡ يَكُ مُغَيِّرً۬ا نِّعۡمَةً أَنۡعَمَهَا عَلَىٰ قَوۡمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنفُسِہِمۡ‌ۙ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ۬

That is because Allah never changeth the grace He hath bestowed on any people until they first change that which is in their hearts, and (that is) because Allah is Hearer, Knower.

Surat Al-Anfal, Verse 53

Be sure that Allah, Subhanh, will not leave you unless you are the one to have left him first.

فَلَمَّا زَاغُوٓاْ أَزَاغَ ٱللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمۡ‌ۚ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يَہۡدِى ٱلۡقَوۡمَ ٱلۡفَـٰسِقِينَ

So when they went astray Allah sent their hearts astray. And Allah guideth not the evil-living folk.

Surat As-Saff, Verse 5

And I know that once any of us tastes the true sweetness of Guidance, he will not want to ever leave it. I swear to Allah, that us humans have not found happiness nor complete peace until we are close to Allah, Subhanh. And the closer we get to him, the more happiness we feel.

A question to you: "Who created happiness?"

Allah. So will He give it to someone whom has steered clear of Him, or one who has been guided to Him?

I ask of Allah to make all of us of the guided ones.

One last point in regards to how we should deal with Allah when we are guided by Him. My dear brothers and sisters, no matter how minute a good deed you do as a result of Allah's guidance, you must immediately attribute this favour to Allah Subhanho wa Ta'ala. In addition, another proper action one must do when blessed with guidance is to spread this guidance to others. Give dawah to Allah, because if you are guided and also invite others to become guided by Allah, then there is no one better than you.

Allah says:

وَمَنۡ أَحۡسَنُ قَوۡلاً۬ مِّمَّن دَعَآ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَـٰلِحً۬ا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِى مِنَ ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ

And who is better in speech than him who prayeth unto his Lord and doeth right, and saith: Lo! I am of those who surrender (unto Him).

Surat Fussilat, Verse 33

However, be aware that giving dawah to Allah is an art on its own. One needs to have a pleasant and calm demeanour, to have knowledge, to speak in a caring way, with a smile on the lips.

وَلَوۡ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ ٱلۡقَلۡبِ لَٱنفَضُّواْ مِنۡ حَوۡلِكَ‌ۖ

for if thou hadst been stern and fierce of heart they would have dispersed from round about thee.

Surat Aal Imran, Verse 159

Know that one of the best actions a person can do for Allah's sake when properly guided is to give dawah and to make Duaa for the guidance of others. You spread guidance to them face to face with your speech, then you ask guidance for them with your Master. Just as the Prophet (Allah's peace and blessings upon him) used to make Duaa for us during his prayers and supplications to Allah.

I ask of Allah to join us all with Heedaya (guidance to him), so we may reach the most beautiful place in this universe

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ يَہۡدِيهِمۡ رَبُّہُم بِإِيمَـٰنِہِمۡ‌ۖ تَجۡرِى مِن تَحۡتِہِمُ ٱلۡأَنۡهَـٰرُ فِى جَنَّـٰتِ ٱلنَّعِيمِ
دَعۡوَٮٰهُمۡ فِيہَا سُبۡحَـٰنَكَ ٱللَّهُمَّ وَتَحِيَّتُہُمۡ فِيہَا سَلَـٰمٌ۬‌ۚ وَءَاخِرُ دَعۡوَٮٰهُمۡ أَنِ ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ

Lo! those who believe and do good works, their Lord guideth them by their faith. Rivers will flow beneath them in the Gardens of Delight
Their prayer therein will be: Glory be to Thee, O Allah! and their greeting therein will be: Peace. And the conclusion of their prayer will be: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds!

Surat Yoonis, Verse 9-10

Ramadhan links 2

As Salam Alekoum

In the Shade of Ramadhan episode 2



Dr Tariq Ramdhan's Chronicles part 2

The journey of happiness to heaven episode 2

How to deal with Allah (Episode 1) - كيف تتعامل مع الله الحلقة الأولى

As Salam Alekoum

I have chosen a series to translate to English for my fellow Muslims out there with whom Arabic is not their language. The show is titled (How to deal with Allah), and is given by a young sheikh named Mashari Al Kharaz.

I apologize for any short comings in my translation. Please free to point them out if you come across any <3

In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All Praise goes to Allah, and His peace and blessings are on His Prophet Mohammed and on his family and companions.

How do we deal with Allah? This is probably one of the most important questions we ever come across in our life. Though we live with many things in our life, the most important thing in this universe to us is Allah, Subhanho wa Ta'ala. You will not be able to find anyone more kinder to you, more nicer to you, nor the best to you in dealings than Allah Subhanho wa Ta'ala. The odd thing with all this is that we do not feel this, even though Allah deals with us everyday in different acts of kindness. He covers our sins, He blesses us with great joy, He is merciful to us, He grants us many bounties ... just the simple act of having water to drink is a great kindness of Allah. And throughout all of this, He does not wait for anything in return from us, for we do not have anything that He, Subhanho wa Ta'la does not already have.

So why does Allah do all this for us? Because he is the Affectionate one, with whom there is no limit to his affection. He is the kind, with no end to his kindness. We are the ones who are in need of Allah, while He is independent of us:

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلنَّاسُ أَنتُمُ ٱلۡفُقَرَآءُ إِلَى ٱللَّهِۖ وَٱللَّهُ هُوَ ٱلۡغَنِىُّ ٱلۡحَمِيدُ

O ye men! It is ye that have need of Allah. but Allah is the One Free of all wants, worthy of all praise.

Surat Fatir, Verse 15

So if the one who deals with us is the Greatest, the most Merciful and the most affectionate, there should be a way for us to deal with Him properly also. I am not talking about the general dealings with Allah such as prayer and thikr (remembrance), but there are specific and minute actions that we need to be aware of, so we deal with Allah accordingly to how He deals with us.

So how do you deal with Allah if he covers your sins? If Allah has covered your sins then you should accept this great gift. You might ask yourself though: "What is this gift? And how do I properly accept it?" Allah might also take away this cover after a period of time, however there are certain dealings, if done properly, will make sure this cover stays with you even on the Day of Judgement.

You speak to people everyday in a certain way, but you do you properly speak to Allah? There is a proper way to speak to the Almighty, and when perfected will lead to Allah giving you what you ask for and perhaps even more.

Have you ever wondered, how do I deal with Allah when he is angry? Allah's wrath is great, and if it befalls anything it destroys it. So if Allah is Angry with me, what should I do? There are certain actions that Allah loves of his slave to perform in order for His anger, Subhanho wa Ta'ala to dissipate. And t's not only tawbah, but there are other actions as well. On a side note, Allah Subhanho wa Ta'ala is satisfied quickly, simple things makes him satisfied with His slave. Hence, we need to know how to deal with Allah properly when He is angry with us.

Alot of people have the idea that once they have attained the satisfaction of Allah with them, that their mission in life is complete. This is a misconception. You should be just as concerned about how to deal with Allah when He is satisfied with you as your concern for when he is angry with you. Reaching the satisfaction of Allah is one step, and the continuation of this satisfaction is another step on its own. But how does one actually know whether Allah is actually satisfied with him or not?

Then there is a higher step than satisfaction only, and Allah does not bestow this except upon a few. It is the attainment of Allah's love so you become Allah's beloved and this love spreads to the heavens with the Angels and spread to the Earth so people love you. But how do you deal with Allah when you have attained such a status?

People always love to visit the place of their beloved, and Allah has placed on this Earth his house, the Mosque, where his beloveds may flock to Him and stand between His hands in prayer and submission. How does one deal with Allah when he enters His house? I know of a certain individual, whom after having learnt the secrets of how to properly enter Allah's house, has said "I swear to Allah when I implemented the actions, it was as if I am entering the Mosque for the first time" (meaning his perspective and attitude changed).

A human being, throughout his lifetime, will go through certain situations and with certain people where he will feel shy. There is nothing out of the ordinary with this. The odd and amazing thing though is that Allah sometimes is shy of us! I myself would not have learnt of this had I not read a hadith of our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah upon him). How does one know if Allah is shy of them, and does one deal with Allah in such a situation?

This and other questions mentioned previously are some of the topics that will be covered with our show (How to deal with Allah). We always hear of books and programs and training courses that revolve around the topic of how to deal with your husband or wife, how to deal with your children, how to deal with your boss, with customers, etc. But we have not heared of one that revolves around the topic of how to deal with Allah.

We first presented this topic in a lecture about a year ago in Kuwait city. We were surprised that the number of attendees reached over 35,000 men and women! This is the biggest gathering for a lecture in Kuwait's history. It happened that during this lecture, two Arab non-Muslim girls passed by the area where the lecture was happening. They heared the words being spoken, and both started gathering. They walked up to us and made their intentions of wanting to enter Islam known. The news reached me inside the Mosque where I was giving the lecture, and I immediately gave the good news to the gathering. (The video of this lecture gathering can be seen starting at minute 8.22)

And now the question: How do you deal with Allah? What is the answer to this question? I am sure that this answer, without exaggeration, will change your life completely with Allah's will.

So what is the answer? Keep watching the series for it =)

As Salam Alekoum

Ramadhan links 1

As Salam Alekoum

A series that I greatly enjoyed last year is back again, and with a wonderful start =)



Dr Tariq Ramadan's chronicles for the holy month, here's part 1

And finally, Amr Khalid's show for Ramadan this year is called (The journey of happiness to heaven). It's in arabic, but am sure an English translation will be coming soon on Amr Khalid's site in the future for those intrested inshaAllah =)

Ramadhan goals

As Salam Alekoum

Ramadhan has been announced tomorrow in Malaysia =D Al 7amdulillah that we have been given another chance to see through this blessed month, and I would to extend my congratulations to Muslims all over the globe with the coming of Ramadhan <3



I love the idea that is being presented in the previous video, as it resonates true with what I am thinking also. I have written up my list of Ramadhan goals about a week ago, and I have it open in front of me right now, considering the different means by which I will achieve them all inshaAllah.

The list is long, but here are some points from it:

• Work on having the best Kushoo during prayers (Al 7amdulillah the series I linked in my last link has been an excellent help with this)
• To memorize a large section of the Quran
• To spend my days reading and listening to an array of lectures (have built my library, just a few pieces missing that will be filled in the coming days inshaAllah =))
• Qeeyam al Lail and lots of Quran reading

In addition to a list of goals, I have written out a list of things I will make Duaa for. Ramadhan is the month of Mercy. It is the month where Allah may forgive the sins of His worshipers and give them a clean slate to start with. It is our chance to redeem ourselves, and to increase our Eman and Taqwa.

Get yourself a piece of paper and a pen. Sit down and think, what would I like to achieve by the end of the thirty days. How do I want to improve myself, what would I like to ask of Allah, what do I need in my life. It need not be a long list of goals, just set something realistic for yourself so you may start slow and power onwards as time goes by.

May it be the best Ramadhan for all of us in terms of our Ibada, inshaAllah =)

As Salam Alekoum

Anniversary Reflection

As Salam Alekoum

Today is the one year anniversary of my blog =) Warning: following post contains tracings of mushiness.

Image credit lifeshadows

Subhan Allah, one whole year has past, and it has been an amazing one. Al 7amdulillah, this blog has served has my gateway to speak my thoughts about my religion, for me to share my excitement with fellow readers as I delve deeper into Islam, and for me to just simply share my love for Allah, all his prophets (peace and blessings on them all) and the religion of Islam. I have asked Allah to give me success in my endeavour, because I really do take it seriously as I want to make sure to not offend or insult or share wrong information, but instead share the beauty that is in the Quran and Sunna. I have made to Duaa to Allah several times for my current endeavour (and future planned endeavours) to be a success, and I ask Him, Subhanho wa Taala, the same again. Ameen.

Reflecting on the past year personally ... I have completed my University life and got my degree successfully, I have come back, found a job that I enjoy, and I am going to spend the first week of Ramadhan with my family in Malaysia, rather than on my own in New Zealand like last year. However, Al 7amdulillah, the greatest thing to have happened to me for sure is the Hajj trip when I first got back home from NZ. I thank Allah for having made the whole thing possible so easily. Like I said in my post about the trip, it was a jihad, but the sights you see and the emotions you feel during it is beyond indescribable. Lol, I'm tearing up right now, thinking about it. Praise be to Allah for having granted me this blessing, and inshaAllah I will be granted the blessing of another Hajj trip in my lifetime. One important thing I have learned in my past year is that the power of Duaa truly is great, and the blessings that we have been granted with is endless.

وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا

“[...] and if you should count the favor of Allah, you could not enumerate them,”

(Surat Ibrahim - Verse 34)

In terms of reflecting on the blog, it started out as a portal for me to just share material I have come across about Islam, i.e: videos, audio files, etc. I suppose it still is somewhat such a portal, but I have also been typing up my own material. I rather enjoy that, as it gives me a chance to use my brain for thinking hehe =P To reflect, as Allah has commanded us to ... to research, to read, to share myself with you my dear readers.


I hope that this blog has benefited people out there, and will also continue benefiting inshaAllah. To all my returning readers and followers: Thank you for putting up with the ramblings of a random Muslim girl =)

Haha, sorry if I started becoming a little formal up there, it's just me simply pouring out honest thoughts. Praise be to Allah, for blessing me and fellow Muslims with Islam.

رَبَّنَا لاَ تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ ٱلْوَهَّابُ

"Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate now after Thou hast guided us, but grant us mercy from Thine own Presence; for Thou art the Granter of bounties without measure"

(Al Imran - Verse 8)

As Salam Alekoum

[Links]

_The new Ramadhan Issue of Modest Beautiful Muslimah is out.

_Brother Suhaib Webb gave a lovely lecture on how to welcome the coming month of Ramadhan. Here's the transcript of part 1 and part 2.

_Must read: How to Taste the Sweetness of Prayer, by sister Jinan Bastaki. I realize that alot of us out there have problems with Kushoo during prayers (I admit that I do as well) . It's a series, and I have just gone through the first two parts, but its worth dedicating a whole afternoon to improve your state during Salah (and your Iman ultimatly, inshaAllah)

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI|Part XVII | Part XVIII | Part XIX | Part XX | Part XXI | Part XXII | Part XXIII | Part XXIV |Part XXV | Part XXVI | Part XXVII

_Another good read, what with the rise of people glorifying such things: Who is your favourite Celebrity?

_You know how I am a big fan of brother Nouman Ali Khan's tafsir series (podcast here)? Well, I got directed to a blog that has transcripts of the lectures given by brother Nouman =) InshaAllah it will benifet many people out there.

_Finally, a poem that I really loved, taken from verbage =)

[Source ~ Unknown]

I asked for Strength:
And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for Wisdom:
And God gave me Problems to solve.

I asked for Prosperity:
And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.

I asked for Courage:
And God gave me Danger to overcome.

I asked for Love:
And God gave me Troubled people to help.

I asked for Favors:
And God gave me Opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted;
I received everything I needed.
My Prayer has been answered.