And the party begins

SO yesterday was the absolute worse day to be on the roads of Johannesburg, if I had known this then I would’ve stayed in my home. Later on I came to hear that it was by far “The Busiest Day of the Year”. This is because since today is a public holiday and next week is Christmas, followed by New Year the week after, most people worked for the last day yesterday and so almost everyone got off from work early and people made their way, trying to sort out last minute things before the holidays. It was madness, and I am really not exaggerating. I felt as if I was in a movie scene where everyone is trying to leave the city at the same time, you know one of those movies where the aliens come to earth or there’s some disaster looming and everyone just wants to leave, that’s what the streets of Johannesburg was like yesterday. I came home with a headache, completely hot because the summer heat was intensified tenfold while stuck in unmoving traffic, but I was grateful that I was not one of the people rushing to go off on holiday. The peace of my home was welcoming and today the quiet streets of Johannesburg seem like a blessing.

All this preparation and planning reminded me that most people have begun their partying. Yes, it’s that time of the year when everyone goes away on holiday, the schools are closed, people are off from work and everyone is enjoying the end of year partying, because after all we’ve all worked hard the whole year and we deserve the break!

 Now I have no problem with this, I understand that people work hard and that a good break is welcoming, but somehow it just seems that all the partying and the spending of money just makes people heedless. We spend so much money at the end of the year that we have to spend half of the new year trying to make up for all our spending, and after all the partying and holidays, what do we really have to show for it? If we’re lucky then we benefit from this for a short while, but as soon as the New Year kicks in, we’re back to struggling to make ends meet.

There’s something else about all this mindless spending though, once again it’s selfish. It makes us forget that there are millions of people in the world who have never had a holiday. Millions, who have No break from poverty, starvation, disease and oppression. Millions, who spend year after year without any celebrations, with no peace and definitely without any partying. So it just doesn’t make sense to me that year after year when it comes to December, masses of people in certain places plan for their holidays and their parties, spending huge sums of money in doing this, while this is unfathomable for so many others.

I know I might sound like a boring old prude, but all I’m trying to say is that while we’re thinking about our holidays and our breaks, perhaps we should also consider other people across the world who are suffering and then maybe, just maybe we would be inclined to scale down a bit and share. If we give even a small percentage of our end-year bonuses to those in need, it will make a huge difference to them and we can still enjoy our holidays. Imagine if all those people on the streets of Johannesburg yesterday had to share just a little with someone in need, how many people would have a meal to eat because of this, or some water or clothes. If so many of us can afford to party and go for holiday then surely we are not of those who are in need. If we share even a little then more people may have the chance of having some happiness and relaxation at the end of the year, even if it is only temporary.

So while I hope that people have a good holiday, I hope more that those people in need throughout the world could also have a holiday. And while we are enjoying our holidays, let us not forget what our purpose on this earth is, and that purpose does not include living for ourselves only.

May everyone have a wonderful holiday season, and let us try to remember to share!

Image from here

Something worth emphasizing

As I drove past the shiny, two-door sports car, my first instinct was; “Wow! That’s a smart Car!” But then I took a closer look...

The car was so small that probably only two people could sit in it. There seemed to be no space for anything else. This was definitely not a car someone would take to go shopping or run everyday errands, it just didn’t seem suitable or practical for this at all. Then I realized that was the point. A car like this was not intended for doing the groceries or picking kids up or anything else to do with other people at all. A car like this can be termed “An Individualistic car”.

What is the point though, I wonder, of having something that drives extremely well, looks really good, has all the latest gadgets and features, if you can’t use it to benefit anyone else, except yourself. I know many people will disagree with me. These days I feel like all my ideas are old-fashioned, even archaic, but it just doesn’t seem like any fun to have something that you can’t share with others.

This goes for anything though, anything new, expensive and modern. Take someone’s house for instance. If you have a smart house, with all the latest modern furniture, glass doors, priceless ornaments, etc, then how can that be a home for anyone? You can’t really share that with others because if they come to your house they’ll be too afraid to even sit somewhere because everything looks like a catalogue showroom.

Sharing is supposed to be a fundamental aspect of society. We are not meant to live individualistic lives, we are meant to be individuals who are an important part of other groups. The family, community, society, all these groups are supposed to work together so that we have a world in which people help each other and take care of each other.

Today everything is in reverse, it’s abnormal. The emphasis is on an individualistic lifestyle, and because of this, people in our very own families, communities and societies are suffering. Because of this individualistic mindset, teenagers are getting involved in all types of vices, they’re taking drugs, drinking, clubbing, etc. because they have no support system. Because of this focus on individualism, parents don’t spend enough time with their children and children are left wondering where they fit in. In this individualistic society, your neighbours can be evicted right in front of you and you don’t do a thing to change things. Your family members may have to travel with public transport and walk very far and wait very long, while you drive around town in your shiny convertible.  Within this individualistic society, all we think about is ourselves, how we can better our own lives, and we hardly consider how we can better the lives of others.

It shouldn’t matter if you drive a run down, old car, as long as it gets you where you need to go. It shouldn’t matter if your house is plain and simple, as long as you have a comfortable place to live. It shouldn’t matter if you’re not wearing name branded clothing or the latest fashions, as long as you have clothing to cover your body. It shouldn’t matter if you don’t get to eat out every week, or if your meals are plain and simple, as long as you have food to eat. What should matter are all the people out there who don’t have food, homes, clothes or cars! What should matter are other people! We are not meant to live individualistic lifestyles,   we are all put on this earth together to help and support each other and we will all be answerable for what we do.

The world would be a better place if we all stood together and helped one another, if we shed our individualistic attitudes and stop obsessing about , “me,me,me”, and start thinking about others, that’s when the world will become a better place. Until then...well, it really doesn’t matter how much we think we are improving our own lives, if we only think about ourselves then all we are, are selfish individuals. We may have the smart car, the fancy house, the designer clothes and shoes, and the three course gourmet meals, but that’s all we have, and in the end that doesn’t count for much at all.  

Image 1 from here

Image 2 from here

My Ramadhaan of Sharing

It’s only a few days after the Blessed month of Ramadhaan has left us, and I have to admit that I really miss it. The peace and serenity, the heightened spirituality of people around you, the sound of the Glorious Quraan, the moderation in eating, drinking and sleeping. Things can just never be the same out of Ramadhaan, no matter what we do. But, nonetheless, we have to be thankful for everything and if we didn’t have this special month and all months were the same then we would never know the difference. Ramadhaan might be over, but Alhamdullillah (Praise be to Allah) the lessons that we have learnt in Ramadhaan can stay with us forever.

This Ramadhaan I found myself having to share, but the sharing that I had to do was very different from what you would expect to share in Ramadhaan. See, my grandmother came to stay with us in the first week of Ramadhaan, and so I found myself having to share, not my food, or money, but my time and space. This type of sharing is something that I think I have taken for granted. I mean, it’s easy to give someone some of your food, or to give them some of your money, but having to give up your comforts and share your space with someone and having to spend time seeing that someone else has all that they need  is a bit of a different story.

So it was that I found that the things I usually take for granted, suddenly appeared to me as real gifts. Whereas usually I am at liberty to spend my time as I want to, now I found that I had to make special time to do the things that I wanted to do. And whereas before my granny arrived, my space was my own, now I had to be mindful of her needs as well. For instance, before using the bathroom I had to make sure that my grandmother didn’t need to use it, and instead of staying up late and reading or doing whatever I usually do, I had to make sure that the lights were out early because being an old lady, my granny had to sleep early. I found that nothing was my own anymore, the prayer mat I usually perform my salaah on was given to my granny so that she could perform her salaah, even my hairbrush was now being shared with my grandmother since she had forgotten to bring her own one with. I have to admit that initially I found it strange to have to share everything , but after a while something strange happened, it didn’t matter anymore, I just stopped caring, Alhamdullillah!

One day we heard the story of a man who hit his son when his son said to him that he would bring “his pillow” for the father. The father hit the son because he told him that nothing in this world belongs to us. This is such an important lesson and Alhamdullillah that I was given a chance to learn it.  The things that I had believed to be mine was actually not mine at all, it had only being given to me through the will of Allah Almighty, and now Allah wanted someone else to make use of it as well, and I had to be thankful for that, because at least Allah had not taken it away from me completely, and besides this was only going to be a temporary situation.

So in addition to this Ramadhaan teaching me how to share, it also taught me how to be grateful for all the comforts and all the ease that I usually have in my life. Also, the price of having to share was a small one to pay when we consider the blessings you get for having guests over and taking care of old people.

So yes, Ramadhaan may be over for this year, but I truly hope that these important lessons I’ve learnt will never leave me. Inshaa Allah.

PS: I apologise for the long dealy, but Inshaa Allah I hope to be starting with my Great Women in Islam posts again very soon.

Image from: http://laughingsquid.com/sharing-is-caring-hd-dvd-hex-code-t-shirt/