The way we connect

I have plenty of people in my life who I can say I have truly connected with. I've been a part of their memories and they have been a part of mine. Most of those memories were happy memories, when we would laugh to the extent that we would run out of breath, get excited and hug the life out of each other, do something special together and wish for the world to stop that time or just simply do a notorious act and grin to ourselves.

There was a connection in all those moments that I felt with the other person who is mostly a friend. But the depth that I feel connecting with a person through pain, grief, and sadness feels much more closer to my heart than when done otherwise. It is not to say that we should dwell in sadness or something of that sort. It was just an observation I recently made and when I thought about it in retrospect it made some good sense to me.

So now when I recall how some of my friends became so close to me, I also recall the one memory of me being sad or them and we helping each other to come out of it.

Perhaps this is the reason why group therapy does wonders for some people or even people in disturbed zones because connecting through the similar experiences acts as a consolation for the heart that one is not alone in it and there are others going through the same thing more or less.

Oh well, thats about it.

Does it Ever Stop Hurting?

Last Friday evening after crying for hours thinking about some sad and bad memories of life, I asked this question my sister and my best friend who was online to cheer me up;

''Does it ever stop hurting?'' - It is a question not just about one particular thing, its like sometimes for unknown reasons all the bad things that may have ever happened occur to you and in that moment you cannot help but just wonder. When?

It can be a friend who deserted you at the time of need, somebody you love wholeheartedly and they just were with you for their selfish reasons, some glare, a stare, a bitter comment and there's this thing about people - not just people actually : let me be specific - The thing about Bad People. When you open up to them well you just do a BIG mistake, they know what exactly to say to prick the memory which hurts you the most.

There are parts of each one of us in our lives that we wish we could the erase the memory of from our mind. Because they hurt, a lot. I have realized what really matters at the end of the day is that you learn and lesson and be careful next time. Not get hurt by the same thorn again. Yet, as human beings we have a tendency to run behind the things and people that hurt us, with few people consciously and with some subconsciously. Don't believe me?
I am sure there's one person in everyone's life who has hurt them yet they want to get past that hurt and have the old relation with that person back again because they value the person more than their own pain. And hey, I am not judging anyone here. Whatever works for anyone. Although, sometimes we should be careful because the another thing with human beings is that they can forgive others and their mistakes easily but man! do they have tough time forgiving their own selves and their own mistakes.

Anyhow, Did my friend answer my question? Yes, she did. It was realistic, it wasn't flowery that one day it will or with time it will. Because I'll tell you one thing and I can vouch for it, the theory of time heals everything does not work in cases where your heart was left in pain. It is what it is. The pain is veiled by the business of life, by the new people that walk in it but once there's a moment of loneliness the wind of past memories remove that veil and then you feel like your back to square one.

My friend she told me more or less something like this - ''It is not going to stop hurting until we are in Jannah, for some time in your life you will try to ignore it and will cover it up. But from time-to-time something will trigger the hurt again and the gate will be open for every bad memory of your life to cause you pain for that period of time. You ignore it again and move on''

I cried for hours chatting to her. And you know how righteous company and friends are given such a high value in Islam? I couldn't agree more to it. This friend of mine and even my sister (in islam) has always given me the advice that I won't really get from anyone else. She's been there for me all along, so she suggested that I stop chatting with her for sometime, pray my Isha prayer and get back to her. Then She suggested that I cry my heart out in front of Allah swt and talk to him in sujood about everything that bothers me. Basically, just pour my heart out.

I just did that, and I think I had the best salah of my life that night. The tranquility followed by that prayer was just unbeatable, explainable.

Indeed it is true when Allah swt says in the Quran “When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them), I respond to the prayer of every supplicant when he calleth on Me”. (Al-Baqarah: 186).

Studying Tips?

Hello People
So I am not quite sure as to how many of you awesome people out there are currently studying. I stopped studying about 3 years back after I started working but for godknowswhat reason I decided to give a shot at some accountancy exams and to be able to enter that course I need to clear a test. And to clear that test I need to study which I find highly difficult =/

So I would like to ask you guys if you can please put in the comment box any tips or suggestions on how to manage studying and working. within less than 2 months I have that test coming up, I have 4 thick books to study from and I am just too lazy to do it once I am back from work around 6-ish in the evening. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH

Repentance

Allah doesn't need you, It is You who needs Him,

For your every single want, desire need or whim.

Your obedience doesn't make him strong nor does your disobedience make him weak,

You were created from a despised water, he gave you every ability even the one to speak.

You think He is merciful so why not persist doing a sin?

You give justifications, excuses, and make it all spin.

No, it is not okay; even minor sin becomes major some day

He is Al Muheet where are you going to run away?

Your sins bring upon you the pain,sadness and grief

Sometimes makes it so hard that you can barely breathe

You ignore these feelings and attribute it to stress

Forgetting that In His Remembrance Do hearts find rest.

So you turn on some music, search for some videos,

Thinking that a singer knows you more than Allah knows

He is your creator yet you conveniently forget,

Try opening the quran once, when you're upset.

This world is nothing, souls leave bodies every hour

Nothing in this world can stop it, No person or power

Except by Allah's will , His command and decree

Death is going to chase you wherever you may be.

Repentance is hard and ignorance brings you ease

Now is the time, to bring your soul some peace

Not when you are dying and the words don't come out

You knew the purpose of your life, what it was about

Yet, you let the days, weeks, and years pass by,

Thinking to yourself one day I'll repent and cry

How would you face Allah, The Most High?

You would beg him for just one more try..

One more chance to go back and mend your ways,

To stop sinning away your years,weeks even days

To say that one prayer, to do that one good deed

To praise Allah for every met and unmet need

But your request will not be accepted,

Foolishly, You expect the unexpected.

You forgot that Jannah does not come at easy price,

People have sacrificed for it, their wealth and life

They changed, left their old lifestyles due to His fear,

Not for once did they forget that He is The Most Near

As long as your breathing, you know that its not too late

Now is the moment, The One Chance, Don't Wait!

When The Red Light Stopped Flashing

If you are living in the Gulf, Certain parts of Europe and Even India and If you own a BlackBerry then you must have encountered a problem with your device. It was a system problem from the manufacturers and I got assured that today it has been resolved.

The thing that I noticed the most in these 3 days are the reactions of the people on this seemingly small issue. Living in UAE, BlackBerry is almost like a basic necessity and a wonderful tool to be in constant touch with the loved ones excluding the broadcasts in a language that you cannot even understand :P (well that tends to happen if you have arab friends and you have no idea about arabic)

I was always an iPhone person and just got myself a BlackBerry for the heck of it because my friends made it look like its the easiest way to be in touch and It was, Actually. But having said that, it is a curse as well as a blessing to have this device. Blessing because of easily accessible messenger and a curse because it is quite addictive and the red light that flashes every time there's an unread email, notification, sms, or a bbm message is QUITE annoying. Yet, I was surprised when I missed that flashing light for the past 3 days.

Talking to a bunch of friends over lunch the very next day of the problem I was amused at myself and at them, the level to which we have allowed technology to affect our lives. Both my friends attend classes after work in evening and my friend tells me ''O my god, it was sooo annoying I could ACTUALLY focus on the lecture and I understood each and every thing''

Another one chimes in the similar experience ''Throughout the class I opened my BlackBerry and replaced the battery like 20-30 times'' .. And I am no exception even I tried to remove the sim card and put it back and restart my phone like 5 times. On the other hand, Some people ended up spending more time with their families catching up with 'Actual conversations' instead of a conversation where a person constantly checks on their phone while talking to someone else. I personally find it very annoying and try my best not to do it.

And Subhanallah, It also made me wonder about what kind of an impact would it make on the lives of muslims if they opened and checked Quran at least half the times they check their BlackBerries. I know it sounds like a buzz kill. I also know that blackberry has that app but somehow even if we have it on our BB, it is rarely opened unlike the BBM.

Those are just my reflections and thoughts... feel free to comment or to give some input

VOTE FOR BRASS CRESCENT AWARDS

The Eight Brass Crescent Awards nominations are out over here http://www.brasscrescent.org/

I would request all of my 36 awesome people and the readers to take a minute of your time and go and vote for 3 blogs in any cateogory ;

1. Dear Little Auntie *- This is a Q&A blog with a dash of humor and sincere advice in it. I am sure just like my life the words of these aunties have touched many. If you need to check it for yourself then you can go here http://www.dearlittleauntie.blogspot.com/ for some good light-hearted advice on anything and EVERY thing! :P

* I love them so make sure to vote for them!

2. I Got It Covered - Just like blog above, IGIC is an online community of hijabis from around the world and this blog is run by a bunch of REALLY talented sisters except me :P so just click on the link and do some search http://www.igotitcovered.org/

3. Habibi Halaqas - This is a blog that has many feathers on their hat. They have articles, videos, audios, anything you name it, they have it. Also, they have Exclusive Online Webinars by some of the Best Shaykhs EVER and You can attend them too - Its all for free. Visit them on http://www.habibihalaqas.org/

WHY - Now, I know somehow many of us would end up procrastinating it or even wondering about why we should take the effort and vote after all? So for some of us, I'd like to remind that we always talk about dawah and about spreading Islam and helping the muslim nation but we mostly run out of time or the resources to do it. These people here they are just doing that and the least we can do for them is vote for them and encourage them so that they know that their efforts are recognized. Of course, it is all for the sake of Allah swt but what about our courtesy?

And feel free to vote for the other blogs that you like and the ones I haven't mentioned I am sure they all do a pretty amazing job.

Ps - Remember you have to confirm your vote via the email you would recieve after selecting your vote.

If it was upto me I would vote for the blogs like about 1000 times but sadly they do the email verification and I don't have 1000 email accounts :P

Ar Rahmaan; Ar Raheem - Part 3

Bismillah and Salamalaykum!

In the last post we were pondering upon the special kind of Mercy of Allah Ar Rahman and Ar Raheem. In this post I will write about the 9 ways of obtaining that special mercy.

Remember , It is not random people who are blessed with Allah's special rahma rather we have to take some steps to obtain it. We may have to fight a little with our nafs, beat shaitan and his whispers but as a result of all this striving when you taste the sweetness of emaan you'd look back at your struggle and be like ''Man! It was totally worth it'' and I can assure you will.

1) Ihsan - Allah SWT says in the Quran in Surah 'Araf, verse 56

And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order, and invoke Him with fear and hope; Surely, Allah's Mercy is (ever) near unto the (muhsinoon)good-doers.

Generally the world Muhsinoon is translated as good doers but the meaning of that word is much deeper. 'Muhsin' (good doer) comes from 'Ihsan' and 'Ahsana' which means ''Excellence''. So whenever there is a 'Muhsinoon' mentioned it means a person who does what he or she does with utmost excellence in the best manner possible. Now, what does excellence has to do with Allah's mercy?

"Al-ihsaan" or "excellence" in the arabic language is procifency in performing an action, while perfecting it with sincerity. In Islaamic law, Al-Ihsaan is what the Prophet, salallahu 'alaihi wa salam, has explained in his statement: "That you worship Allah as though you see Him, but since you are un able to see Him, then He most certainly sees you." (taken from abdulrahman.org)

You see Ihsan plays an importance role in our life ;

- Worship : with regard to our worship, when we do it . How are we doing it? It is the first thing that we will be asked about on the day of resurrection. Did we do it with excellence, did we try to give it our best shot? Or were we of those who treated prayer like an obligation which needs to be done with in a short span of 2 minutes like the automated movements of our limbs. We need to ask ourselves, was our heart moved? Did we feel like we just prayed the best prayer of our life? IF we didn't then we need to bring Ihsan in our prayer . Prayer is a good deed that we are presenting to our Creator, The Lord, The King of everything, Imagine this would you if given an opportunity of meeting a king present him something in a shabby manner out of laziness? Subhanallah, then how can we do it here? When we start trying to present our salah in the best manner, it will be from the outside. Now we need to question our inside, how are we inside? are we praying in the best manner? Is our mind in the prayer or are we thinking of some TV show or some chore that needs to be taken care of after salah or are we thinking of tasks that we need to finish and accomplish and by the time we are done scrutinizing every detail of our life we reach to 'aameen'? When we go in sujood, we should praise, thank Allah, talk to him because at that moment we are the closest to him. We can talk to people for hours and hours yet when it comes to our creator we couldn't care less, Subhanallah it indeed is a sorry state that we are living in.

We need our hearts to full of Khushoo - The concentration. Think about the Qudsi Hadith about surah fatiha. According to Prophet SAWS - When a person prays Allah turns His face towards him, as long as his heart is in the prayer.

- Ihsan with people : No, Ihsan is not just a concept limited to worship in Islam. It extends to many branches of life. What does it mean 'Ihsan with people?' well in simple words, it means that we must NOT backbite about them, talk nice about them, make dua for them and love them for the sake of Allah.

- Ihsan with our life : Excellence in our life simply put is the way we go about conducting the daily affairs. The way we drink? Eat? How we dress? Our jobs? Taking care of our bodies? Our homes/ Our kids? the way we live, our etiquette.. Everything in our life should be in an excellent manner.

When we do everything in the best possible way, it will become a means for us to attain Allah's mercy.

2) Al quran - The more we follow the quran the more special mercy we get. We should apply in our lives what we learn from the quran.

3) Listening to Al Quran - Listening to the Quran attentively is also a means of obtaining the special mercy. When listening to Quran we need to listen with the presence of our heart unlike the quran being played in the house as a background score while we all are sitting and chatting our day away without a moment of reflection on what's being recited.

Al Araf verse 204 -So, when the Qur'an is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you may receive mercy. [i.e. during the compulsory congregational prayers when the Imam (of a mosque) is leading the prayer (except Surat Al-Fatiha), and also when he is delivering the Friday-prayer Khutbah]. [Tafsir At-Tabari,Vol.9, Pages 162-4]

4) Surah Noor verse 56 (3 ways of obtaining the mercy and included in this 1 ayah)- And perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), and give Zakat and obey the Messenger (Muhammad ) that you may receive mercy (from Allah).

Prayer - When you really want that secial mercy from Allah through prayer then even the voluntary becomes easy. Remember, the beginnings are always tough. If we are not in the habit of praying then even praying mandatory prayers on time will seem as if moving the mountains of uhud. But once we keep up with the struggle and try to get better with each prayer. At one point we will reach to a stage whereby we will be like ''What just fard?! I wanna do the sunnah too'' Inshallah.

Shaytan is gonna try all the tricks up his sleeves to scare us because its like when we make plans, shaytan also makes plans. when we think to ourselves ''May be I should try to do all sunnah prayers today'' He starts planning of the things he can get us busy with and make us forgetful of our earlier plan. Simple way to get the mercy? Here you go :

1120. Ibn `Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "May Allah have mercy on a man who performs four Rak`ah before the `Asr prayer.''
[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi].

Commentary: These four Rak`ah can be performed in two couplets also, as was the practice of the Prophet (PBUH), according to the preceding Hadith. It can be performed with one Taslim also. Both forms are correct and permissible. Some scholars are of the opinion that the former method is better. `Ulama' have stated that these four Sunnah of `Asr prayer are Ghair Mu'akkadah (optional prayers). Its importance is however evident from the fact that the Prophet (PBUH) prayed for mercy on those who performed these Sunnah.

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah may Allah be pleased with him, who said that the Messenger of Allah said: Allah - may His Majesty be exalted ! - said:

".......My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him.

It was related by al-Bukhari.

Zakah- Although this is a mandatory obligation upon us it still is a means for us to obtain the special mercy of Allah.

Following the Messenger of Allah (saws) - we all say that we love the Muhammad (saws) but the problem comes for us when we have to extend our lip-service to limb service. Especially these days when everyone just wants to do the bare minimum, if you advise them on something they go like ''Is this written in the Quran?' or ''Is this fard?''. I mean, Quran states you need to take whatever the rasoolallah gives you and leave that which he has admonished you of. Subhanallah, I have met people who just are concerned with what is in the quran and when you talk about the sunnah they are completely against it. So yes, following the example of the best man (saws) ever to walk on the phase of this earth also becomes a mean for us to obtain the special rahma. And Alhamdulillah the sunnah way of life is documented and is easily accessible to those who which to acquire it.

5) Istighfar (seeking forgiveness) - He (saleh alayhis salama) said: "O my people! Why do you seek to hasten the evil (torment) before the good (Allah's Mercy)? Why seek you not the Forgiveness of Allah, that you may receive mercy?" Al Naml, verse 46

The more we seek istighfar not only are our sins forgiven we are also blessed with the special mercy.

Al-Imâm ibn al-Jawzi, may Allâh have mercy upon him, was once asked:

"Is it better for me to make tasbîh or to make istighfâr?" He replied, "The dirty robe is more in need

6) Taqwa - It is generally translated as ''Fear'' rather it means to have Allah's consciousness and being careful not to anger Him. Allah SWT says in Surah Hujurat in verse 10 ''The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islamic religion). So make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy.''

7) Visiting the sick - 'Ali said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'No Muslim visits a Muslim in the morning without a thousand angels praying blessing on him until evening, or visits him in the evening without a thousand angels praying blessing on him until morning and he will have fruits in the Garden.'" [at-Tirmidhi]

8) Mercy in our hearts towards others - The way we show mercy to others, Allah SWT will show mercy to us. It is also very important for us as muslims to practice being merciful and kind because these are the qualities that attract people and we all have the obligation of inviting people to Islam.

Aboo Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah, salallahu 'alaihi wa salam, kissed Al-Hasan while Al-Aqra ibn Haabis at-Tameemee was sitting near him. A-Aqra said, "Indeed I have ten children and I have never kissed any of them." The Messenger of Allah looked at him and said, "Whoever does not show mercy will not be shown mercy." [Saheeh al-Bukhaari, 426/10]

9) Dua - This is a shortcut for obtaining Allah SWT's mercy.

The above mentioned is a reminder for myself first of all. Remember to share the khayr. If there's anything in this post you benefit from it is from ALLAH and any errs and mistakes are my own.

Ar Rahman; Ar Raheem - Part 2

Bismillah

I am sorry to have kept you waiting for the part 2. There's just been so much going on and I need to prioritise BIIG time. But as promised in the earlier post here is the Brief explanation on Allah's Rahma (mercy) in relation to other aspects of Islam ;

I) Allah's Rahma in Relation to the Shariah Lesgislations of Do's and Don'ts : If you have ever noticed manmade laws aere not always merciful towards everyone. Example; paying a 200 AED fine just for a ticket that expired 10 minutes ago which you FORGOT to renew :P

Whereas Allah's Laws are full of Mercy for all mankind. Anything in Islam that Allah swt commands has mercy in it. Think about a caring mother denying something to her child out of mercy, It's not because she doesn't want her kid to be happy but she knows that the Bad in that particular thing outweighs the good. Now, think about The One Who is the Most Merciful when He forbids us something it is obviously because there's more harm in it than benefit. If you need proof you can google the harms of drinking alchohol, or eating pork or meat that's not slaughtered as per the Islamic rites.

And honestly, we forget about Allah's mercy so often that we keep questioning the commandments of Islam, the Do's and Don'ts and currently there are so many people who will mix their own philosophy of life with Islam to create a Custom-Made Islam to suit their needs. I mean, When you and I buy a laptop for example and see the instruction Manual, do we question on the instructions? Or do we question it like ''Oh let me put water on my laptop and see what happens?'' or ''I am just going to TRY it one time'' or ''Life's too short Let me Throw some water on it and see the nice sparks coming out of it'' .. Nope we don't because we know the manufacturing firm knows better about the product as they have created it. Then, whats up with questioning the instructions of Allah swt who has not only created us But everything that's ever been into existence?

II) Allah's Rahma in relation with the name Ar - Rab: Ar-Rab is often translated in english as ''The Lord'' whereas the meaning of this word is much more comprehensive thanks to the depth of Arabic Language. Rab is basically someone who nurtures you, takes care of you, looks after you, reforms you for better. When we see parents sometimes they reform their kids with mercy and sometimes when the kid repeats the same mistake over and over again, then they smack their butt or a little pinch on the ear although their intention is good it sometimes leaves the kid resentful temporarily. Allah swt who is Your Rab and My Rab is sooo merciful towards us that even when He has to reform us it is ALL WITH MERCY. It's not like I get 10 chances before He strikes me with something for not being a good muslim, no He is so Merciful that when you sincerely feel sorry and try again He is Happy about it.

III) Allah's Rahma in relation with the name Al-Ghafoor : According to Nouman Ali Khan, the term Ghafoor which means 'The Most Forgiving' comes from the word 'Ghafara' which in arabic means the act of covering something , for example their is a chair on the floor and when you cover it although you cannot see the chair you can still notice there's something underneath that cover, 'Ghafara' means covering something in such a fashion that you don't even notice that there's something underneath that cover its like you level the chair with the ground and nothing is noticable. How's the above explanation relevant? When Allah Al-Ghafoor forgives our sins, He Not only covers them for us, But He covers them in such a fashion that you wouldn't even realize that they ever were there.

Furthermore, you know there's this beauty when you know that someone is forgiving, that everytime you mess up you feel like apologizing to them because you know they will accept it. Example from my life, I have two friends one of them gave me the toughest time of my life to forgive me for doing something that she didn't like; that hurt her, after asking a few times I felt bitter and wanted to ask nomore since she was being so adamant about it. Another friend on the other hand is very quick to forgive so when I mess up with her it's easy for me to ask her because I know that she will forgive, no matter how many times I mess up with her I know I can still ask her to forgive me.

Allah swt is specially so merciful towards us that he does NOT hasten the punishment for us, even though we dwell in disobedience for years , repeating the same sins, not feeling even a bit of remorse like He did with Banu Isra'il. This however, does not mean that we can take it light and easy and keep on doing whatever we are doing. His mercy should make us amend our bad actions, not dwell in them because once the last breath ready to leave your mouth, you cannot repent that time.

IV) Allah's Rahma in relation to the name Al-Alim : Alim means The One Who Knows about Everything. You know how sometimes when something bad happens we talk to a couple of friends trying to tell them what we are going through, although they say they understand you, you still sometimes go a bit psycho saying ''No you don't know what I am going through''. Well its true they don't you know why because they are humans! But Allah, He knows EXACTLY what precise emotion you are going through and the knowledge of this brings such great comfort to the heart which is pretty much undescribale. I speak from experience and I am sure many others can relate too. The knowledge that HE KNOWS is a BIIIG Rahma in itself.

Finally - Some people like me have issues, we sometimes feel hopelessness. Like there's no escape from a situation, we feel like whatever situation we are in, it is anything BUT mercy from Allah swt and Shaytan adds fuel to this small burning fire with negative thoughts. We should know that Eerything from Allah is ONLY mercy, He never wrongs his believers, He tests them because He Loves them. We sometimes tend to let our problems and issues in life affect our relationship with Allah swt. In times like these, we should go back to the Quran, to the stories of the Prophets and see what did they do when they were tested with a calamity. Take Yaqub (A.s) for example, The man loses his Son Yusuf and few years later another one too yet His Hope with Allah and his relation is not affected at all. The story of Yunus (A.s), Imagine being swalloed by a whale, I don't know about others I'd pretty much give up and wait for death to come and take my soul away. But, Yunus (a.s) doesn't lose hope instead he supplicates to his Lord.

All that I have mentioned in this post is first and foremost a reminder for myself. May you all benefit from it too. Inshallah. Today in the class sister E is gonna teach us about the ways of attaining Allah's special rahma, the notes will be updated here.

PS : Share the Khayr.

My Favorite Verse

‘’I feel like my sins are haunting me’’
‘’Don’t worry man, you have changed now’’
‘’But what if Allah swt doesn’t forgive me?’’
‘’He will accept anyone’s sincere repentance, He is Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem’’

I convince a friend of mine knowing what she was going through. Not too long ago, in the deepest darkness at the back of my mind, a question prevailed that how can I or anyone be sure that Allah swt has forgiven them? There is a feeling of hopelessness that overtakes people like my friend and I who haven’t really been striving muslims all our lives and those who have recently been guided to Islam and have changed their personalities, left their old lifestyles for the pleasure of their Master - Allah swt. Allah, the most high assures to the somewhat confused/scared people like us,He says in Surah Zumar verse 53

“O ‘Ibadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Ar - Rahman ; Ar - Rahmeem

Bismillah,

Salamalaykum wr wb! :)

When we study about the Names and Attributes of Allah SWT at Al Huda classes that class is called 'The Greatest Delight'. When I initially started attending classes with them, I could not figure out why is it called The Greatest Delight. Sure, it is good to study the names and attributes of Allah SWT, but anyone can just memorize it and they are done. I tried it many times to myself, to memorize 99 names and just get done with it, and honestly it didn't work. At 9 or 10 names my train of memorization would stop, because all I wanted was the names and attributes because I knew it will get me hassanat.

But, Subhanallah, At our classes we study 1 name and attribute for sometimes upto 4 classes of approximately 1 hour each. Few of you might think how is it possible? Well, Alhamdulillah we have a super awesome teacher, who when we are studying the name gives examples from our real life situations and makes us ponder upon it. It is said that Once you learn the names and attributes of Allah, everything around you should remind you of Him. Like when you see somebody who has changed tremendously you ponder about the name Al-Hadi. When you see somebody changing from 1 stage slowly to another you ponder about the name Al-Lateef. You look at some amazing beauty, you must think of his name Al-Jameel and be awestruck, etc. Even when you do this pondering don't think you don't get hassanat, even this is an act of worship.

Anyhow, moving on, I'll be honest with you I haven't attended the past 3 classes because I wasn't well one week , I was in India, and I was just lazy. You know that feeling when the eman-o-meter goes down to '0'? Yeah, something of that sort. But, the good news is last night I attended the class and man! did I need that?! And... I wrote a lot of notes, for my wonderful readers :) May you All benefit from them, Inshallah.

So, what did I miss? The Intro; and the first type of 'Rahma' which is the General Rahma or Mercy. However, while searching for a picture to go with my post I found an interesting website which has in depth details on names and attributes of Allah SWT. Here's the link. I will be honest, I haven't really checked how great it is, you guys can check and let me know.

1. General Mercy or Rahma 'Amma - You can find that this kind of mercy is all around us. When we notice our surroundings, the nature, the animals. The way Allah swt shows his mercy to all of his creation. You can think about it and post in the comments section anything that pops up in your mind when you think about this kind of mercy.

2. Special Mercy or Rahma Khassa - This mercy is any kind of mercy that is related to the hereafter. So how to know if you or I have gotten this mercy or not? well here are some pointers; whoever receives this special kind of mercy, Allah will ;
- That person will be guided to the path of seeking knowledge
- He/She will be guided to good deeds
- They will be guided to worship Allah and Allah swt will beautiful this worship in their heart. What does it mean? well, you know how sometimes although we pray, it is out of laziness, after an hour's of procrastination, and well there really isn't any affect on us after that? Yeah! So when Allah swt beautifies our ibadah, we don't feel that way. There's no lethargy infact we look forward to it and it brings comfort to our heart.
- He/She will be firom upon the right guidance
- Allah swt will guide this person even with their decisions

Remember, we cannot measure His mercy. It is beyond that.Why do I say this? Because sometimes we unconsciously measure it when someone has a better job than us, or a better car that perhaps Allah swt is being more merciful towards them. If you recieve something from Allah, know that it IS mercy and even if you are deprived of something then know that it is mercy TOO. A believer always thinks good of Allah. But, how to do that?

You have to make an active connection between the Decree of Allah swt with His Mercy :
Allah knows better than you do about the thing in which there's mercy for you. Also, remember that Allah decree is surrounded by His Mercy. Whats the proof?
Think about this, At the time of Firawn or Pharoh he was so out of his mind when he got to know that one of the boys from his nation is going to defeat him that he decided to kill all the boys born every year. The Banu Israil were of course psyched out because they were the pampered people and always wanted slaves to take care of them, so they did not find it acceptable that all boys be killed. So Pharoh decided, that he is gonna kill all baby boys born every alternate year. So the year in which no boys were supposed to be killed, Haroon (AS) was born, the next year when the boys were supposed to be killed Musa (AS) was born. Now, how do we see this situation? As a bad one of course. Now, Musa (AS) mother could hide him somewhere in the house, make sure nobody sees him, keeps him in a small place, after all he was a small baby and could have been hidden anywhere. But Allah SWT inspires her to put Musa (AS) in a BOX, and then put it in the water. Atleast, if Musa (AS) was with her, she could spend her life whole and own life protecting Him, but putting him in a box and then in water looked like a sure shot invitation to death. Yet, she put her faith in it and did as inspired. Where's the mercy in this Decree of Allah?

The mercy in this decree of Allah swt is, while his mother was worried for his safety. Allah SWT's decree made it possible for Musa (AS) to be raised in the Most SAFEST places of that time. Pharoh's palace was AS Safe AS a person could get. See the beauty? we can even recall some of the events in our own lives which at first seemed like something so bad, yet with it came some good in it. I have had instances where I hated something that happened in my life to a great extent, but now when I look at it, I know it was for the best.

Any decree, any situation, anything that you even hate, just know there's Allah's decree in it which by default means there is some mercy in it which also kinda means that you can't winge about it. It is a reminder for me before anybody else. Any decree that even if you don't like might become your means of attaining jannah..NOTHING THAT THE MOST MERCIFUL DECREES FOR HIS SLAVES WILL BE BAD. That's the belief we all need to engrave in our minds. Remember that when Allah swt deals with us, it is 100% mercy. Any decree that happpens from now on, we must remember to associate Allah's mercy with it. And not everyone will understand it.

We have to remember that Allah is more merciful than any human being, hence don't make conditional dua. Don't think ''Oh how can I ask for Jannatul Firdaws? I am such a sinner, I will be fine even if I stay at the lowest levels in Jannah'' because Allah's mercy is beyond measure. So when you ask of Him something, out His mercy He can give you anything that you ask for, even if it looks like a far fetched dua. And when we are complaining about any situation that happened with the decree of Allah to a human being, it is as of you are complaining about the Most Merciful which is why Qadr Allah should always be associated with his name and attribute Ar- Rahman - Ar Raheem.

I still have more notes to go, Inshallah I will post the following tomorrow ;

Allah swt's Mercy in relation to the Shariah
Allah swt's Mercy in relation with the name Ar-Rub
Allah swt's Mercy in relation with the name Al-Alim
Allah swt's Mercy in relation with the name Al-Ghafoor

And! Remember to 'Share' the Khayr.

Taraweeh Terror - Taraweeh Tales Part 2

As promised, here's another glimpse of one of the Taraweeh Times.. If you don't know what I am talking about then you need to go here.

I wish the poster that I posted in this blog entry was pasted on every masjid's entrance. However! There's one rule missing that is ''You CANNOT CANNOT reserve the seats for Anyone''. It's the Masjid, generally built by the Awkaf or by the community as a whole.

If I am doing any of my salah in the masjid, then be assured to encounter my obsession of praying in the first row. A and I are nerds like that and we just don't compromise on it, even if it means reaching at the masjid even before the call for prayer is called out. Also, because we are very greedy and the first row-ers get more hassanats. So the 1st day as we reached to the masjid, that is Shamsi, Anee and I, I started throwing a first row tantrum constantly mumbling to myself how we should have come earlier and pretty much tested the girl's patience.

The 2nd day, we reached there early and I was beaming to myself. It felt soo good to enter in the masjid while the first row was still not occupied. YAY-ing to myself we proceeded towards the first row, everyone adjusted themselves, got our spot right under the fan, things just couldn't get any better. I was content, finally. Because, first row also meant not headbumping to someone's feet and feeling someone's head bumping at your feet, no running kids in front of you. As a sigh of happiness escaped my mouth, I heard a lady calling us from a distance coming towards our side and it goes like this ;

She - Excuse me, Please don't sit here. This place is for the aunties.

Me - But, we came here before.

She - Yes, But they have been coming and sitting here ONLY for the whole of Ramadan

Me - But, there's no reservation in the masjid

She - Please just move a row behind this one

Me - But this is not even fair, the chairs are going to block more space than people standing in the first row. Chairs should be kept towards the end of the room. *Fuming like mad*

Out of NOWHERE *reaches for my hand*

Shamsi - Accha, okay fine we'll go the other row

Me - *SHOCKED* what are you saying man! why should we go?! we came here first?!

Shamsi - Leave it man, be patient

Me - *complaining out loud* This is SO not FAIR!

Shamsi - We'll get hassanaat for being patient too man

As we were about to leave the GANGSTA AUNTIES walk in, while they were mumbling to themselves how they have always prayed in THAT SPOT. I can go to the metro and sit in the same place everytime, but that doesn't mean if someone's sitting there I'll ask them to get up! This was plain TARAWEEH TERROR. Hats off to Shami and Anee's patience, Although they were mad they could keep their cool, I couldn't help but throw the biggest attitude and piercing stare in their direction.

As the Imam started the tafseer of the verses we were about to read in the Taraweeh, My anger was calmed down and I could just feel nothing but happiness to be enjoying the tafseer and the chance to pray with the people who value the most in my life - My friends. And, Ofcourse to make up our moods after Taraweeh, we purchased some books at the masjid's mobile book stand, and then bought ourselves some Quality Wall's ice cream :D

Oh well something interesting happened there too, nevermind wait for the next entry ;)