Money makes the world go round

On Friday I got a call from someone offering me funeral insurance or something like that. Some people might not have a problem with this, but I was irritated to think that people today will try to make money out of any situation, including death. They make everything sound so wonderful, like it’s going to be a huge benefit to you and they’re not going to profit that much. Like they’re all “do-gooders” trying to make sure that people’s basic needs are met. Yet, the truth is that they make a whole lot of money from innocent people who are working hard just to keep their heads above water.

It’s the same thing with all types of insurances, there’s always some loophole or hidden clause and the insurance company or financial institute ends up getting a large amount of money that you have been paying for months on end. It really irritates me. Recently my brother needed to claim from his car insurance. They’ve been paying car insurance for like the past 8 years, and the amount the insurance company was willing to pay was not even a small fraction of the amount that they’ve already paid. So what happened to all that money they've paid? Of course the insurance company gets it, how else do they make their business?
It’s a really ridiculous system, and I’ve always believed that if you just save up money on your own then Inshaa Allah when a need arises you’ll have the money that you require.

At least the person who tried to sell me the “funeral plan” on Friday was not as persistent as some other people who call you. She accepted it when I told her that I wasn’t interested. Some of these sales people are very persistent and they sometimes act like there’s something seriously wrong with you if you’re not interested in what they’re selling.

I have to wonder...Where did all of this come from, insurance, medical aid schemes, hospital insurance...when did it all start? I mean, things used to be simple, people actually used to care about each other, and then the economic boom came along and changed everything, and now people only care about each others’ money! The more money you can get from someone, the more valuable they become. The strange thing is that the rich people never get caught up with things like insurance or medical aid schemes or the likes. The rich man understands too well that these things take more from you than what they give to you and we all know that the rich man does not like to part with his money. So it’s the working class people who get caught up in all this. We work hard to earn an honest living and then we end up giving a big part of it away and when we need to claim it back, they tell us that we’re only entitled to a small percentage. This entire system makes no sense at all.

Anyway, it sounds like I’m ranting too much so I’ll stop writing about this issue now because I think you get the point. There’s just something else that strikes me with regards to this, and this is how it relates to our reliance on Allah (SWT). Somehow things like insurance make people feel secure. So if I had to go ahead and sign up for the funeral insurance they offered me on Friday, then I would be secure and comfortable believing that my funeral expenses are all sorted out. Or if I have insurance, then I’m secure because I believe that if something happens to my belongings then the insurance will cover it, and so on. Yet, these things do not guarantee anything and in fact creates a very false sense of security. When we rely on Allah Almighty completely for all our needs, then we have true security and we most definitely have a guarantee that all our affairs will be in order, because Allah definitely isn’t interested in making money off us!

Money makes the world go round, yet it has so little to offer us, and it has so little value!

Image taken from: http://arguellezins.com/gallery/

Inspiration Award from a truly Inspiring Sister

I Received The Inspiration Award and I have to say that the sister who gave me the award is truly an inspiration to me. she embodies a true Muslimah, someone who is able to be great at home and in her chosen field of study. While she cherishes her role as a wife, this does not stop her from excelling in her studies. This balance is rare and indeed inspiring. There is so much more to this sister though, and I am not doing her justice, so I suggest you see what I mean for yourself.

 Rose Water, Thank you for the lovely award!  

Now for the rules...


Thank and link back to the person that awarded this to you. (Which I've already done above)

Link posts by you and fellow bloggers that YOU find inspirational.
(I too find it strange to find my own posts inspirational, so I'm just going to add the posts of other people here).


There are many inspiring posts, but the following ones stand out for me: (in no particular order).


Crossing the Road - From Prejudice to Knowledge (Marie)

Be Patient (Xenia)

Vanity (Amira)

Noor (Rose Water)

My Parents (Blue Pearl)

While I was away...part 4/5 - Pimp my ride Malaysian version! (Ati)

Awakening your inner beauty (Asma)

****************************************************************************************************

Now... I give this award to 10 blogs which are all inspiring in their own way. Some inspire me for the humour and wit, some by the wise words, some by the great images and videos, some by the interesting stories and poetry, and some for their goals and ambitions,  but all are an inspiration.

Again in no particular order...

Reflections 4 Muslimahs

Sweet serenity

True Colours Revealed

Stay Blessed

Black Jubah

The Colour of our skin

Muslimah Bloggers Directory

Xo Xo... Sweet Success

Bubblez Island

Dear Little Auntie

Flowers Image from: http://www.thefemininitycoach.com/getting-rid-of-the-mask-tgirl-personal-style-tips/ Teddy bear image from: http://www.coolfreeimages.net/thank_you.php

The Favoured Ones

Recently during a session of our women’s workshops we got into a very important discussion. Two of the women present were reverts to Islam. They both married men who were born Muslims and they became Muslim before they married. These women shared a little bit about their lives with us, and they mentioned that as a revert into Islam, things are not very easy. They explained how certain people in their families and community were not willing to accept them as equals and how they always had to work hard to prove themselves as worthy Muslims.

It was disappointing to hear their accounts of the negative reactions they receive from fellow Muslims, especially because those people who are fortunate enough to be born as Muslims are supposed to be the one’s working harder to attract people towards Islam instead of turning them away. In any case, I loved the reply that was given to them by one of our very knowledgeable and experienced facilitators. She told them that they were the ones who had been favoured by Allah. Allah chose them to come to Islam and they were blessed, and they would be given great reward in the hereafter, Inshaa Allah. She then urged all of us present that day to treat our fellow Muslim sisters in the manner set out for us by the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). She reminded us that those who have come to Islam should be welcomed with open arms, and these people will indeed be favoured by Allah on the day of Judgement, and she emphasized how we shouldn’t take things for granted simply because we were born as Muslims because we all have to work hard to attain Jannah (Paradise). Alhamdullillah, I thought that was an amazing answer, and it seemed like it really helped our two sisters to feel more positive about their lives.

I decided to write about this because it really is such an important topic. I have always admired people who have come to Islam. I find it amazing that they have such a zeal for knowledge and they follow the rules of Islam with such urgency and strictness that you can’t help but be amazed. The thing I’ve noticed is that those of us who were born as Muslims have tended to become too comfortable in our lives, and we take many things for granted. Sometimes we even carry out acts of worship in ritual fashion, and we believe that since we are Muslims all our lives we don’t need to gain more knowledge about Islam. We thus tend to become complacent and remain in a static state.

In contrast, those who have reverted to Islam are continuously striving to better themselves. They regard the religion as a beautiful gift; they hold fast to it and work hard not to ever lose it. They appreciate what they have been given and they see the true beauty in it, and what’s more, they want to share it with everyone so they tend to do more daw’ah work. In fact, most of the people who work the hardest to spread Islam in today’s times are revert Muslims. This should make us wonder, shouldn’t it? Especially when it is the duty of every single Muslim male and female to spread Islam.

Those who revert to Islam read more and learn more, and they insist on doing things exactly how they should be done. The Islam they portray is true Islam because it is not tainted with cultural or familial ideas of things. They focus only on Sunnah and Qur’aan and their understanding of Islam is not based on old traditions. I remember hearing about someone who became a Muslim and within months this person had already learnt Arabic and could speak the language well. SubhanAllah, this is amazing! I am still struggling to learn Arabic and I know very, very little of the language.

I have to agree that those people who have reverted to Islam are indeed the favoured ones! There is so much that we need to learn from them and so much inspiration that we can gain from them. The ideal should be for us all to come together and love one another, as true Muslim brothers and sisters should love one another, purely for the sake of the Almighty Allah. There should be no differentiation, it doesn’t matter if you are a Muslim your whole life, or if you have recently become a Muslim, the only thing that matters is whether you are going to die as a Muslim! (May Allah save us all from death without Imaan (Faith).

I can’t remember whether I heard this from someone or if I read it, but I remember that there are 3 types of people; Those who live with Imaan their whole lives, but die without it. Those who live without Imaan their whole lives, but die with Imaan. And those who live with Imaan and die with Imaan. May Allah make us all of these people who live with Imaan and die with Imaan, Inshaa Allah!

Image from: http://islamandthemoslimworld.blogspot.com/ (Check this site out, it's very interesting)

The Old Tree Fell Down

There was an old tree which had been standing outside my house for ages. The leaves and foliage had been cut off long ago and the trunk and branches remained. The tree was old, thick and heavy. Although it seemed to be dead, there were sometimes new branches that sprouted from it. Anyway, about a week ago I came home to find that the tree had fallen down. It had become uprooted, probably due to recent rains and it just fell down, leaving a big hole in the ground.

The workers from City Council struggled to pick this tree up. First they spent hours trying to saw the tree into smaller pieces because it was just way too big to lift up as a whole. They struggled to do this, and their electric saw seemed useless, but eventually after coming back a number of times, they managed to cut it into three pieces. Then they struggled to life it up. They had a truck with one of those crane things and despite this; they spent about two hours lifting it up. Still one piece of the tree is lying in wait for them to pick it up, because it was too heavy for them to take all at once.

SubhanAllah, imagine that, just one creation of Allah Almighty’s and it’s causing people so much difficulty to sort it out, and yet Allah was able to make it fall so easily. Truly All Power lies only with Allah (Swt). This is a reminder to us that things in our lives can be so difficult if we do not have Allah’s help and when we turn to Allah and ask for help; then everything can become so easy.

There were other reminders that this old tree gave me as well. Firstly, it’s that everything in life is a process. Sometimes we lose patience and we forget that things take time and everything happens on its own time. But if we remember that life is a process then things begin to make more sense. Take this particular tree for example. First it was a big strong tree with lots of leaves and branches. Then it lost its leaves and branches (I think it was due to lightning). Then even though it seemed useless, Allah still knew its purpose and it continued to stand strong. And then finally, when Allah decided it’s time on this earth was up, the tree fell down.

But this tree left a mark in the ground where it once stood. A huge hole serves as a reminder of the tree that once stood. Slowly this mark will disappear. It will probably be filled up; maybe grass will be planted again, and in years to come people will not know that a strong tree once stood there. Yet, the impact of the tree on things around it will never be fully known to us. For instance, we will not know how many birds and other things the tree gave shelter too. We won’t know how many people received shade and solace from the tree when it was very hot. We won’t know whether the tree was a source of nourishment to the earth around it. We may not know this, but Allah definitely knows it all!

This is an echo of life. We go through the process, it may seem like it will never end, but the time will come for change to happen, and then before we know it will be time for us to depart from this world. What type of a mark will we leave on this earth? Will people easily be able to fill up the gaping holes that we leave as a mark of our existence? What difference would we have made in this world?

Just like we will never know the true impact of the tree, I don’t think it matters if people in the world never know the true impact that we have made. What I mean is that we do not need to be famous, and our good actions do not need to be openly displayed for the whole world to talk about, and perhaps even other people may not need to understand Allah’s purpose for having us around. The important thing however, is that Allah knows the full impact that we have made. Since all our deeds are supposed to be only for Allah, in the end, Allah’s complete knowledge of us is all that matters, just like Allah Almighty has complete knowledge of the old tree so does Allah have complete knowledge about every single one of our lives, and I think that is amazing. I think that is something we should be thankful for.

Nothing and no one is insignificant in the sight of Allah Almighty, and Allah knows exactly what is going on with every single thing. Allah controls everything and will allow everything to happen on its own time. This is the biggest reminder I have received from the old tree that I could once upon a time see standing strong outside my window, and Alhamdullillah, I have to say that this thought brings a smile to my face and warmth to my heart, because indeed there is no one better to be in control of our affairs.

All Praise is Due to Allah, The Almighty, The Creator of everything. There is None worthy of worship besides Allah, The One, The Eternal! From Allah do we come and to Allah do we return. May Allah always remind us about things that are important, Inshaa Allah Ameen!

The tree as it once stood standing strong (It was beautiful, even without the foliage)

The fallen tree and the big hole in the ground

( Photo courtesy of my sister Khadeeja)

The last remaining piece of the tree. It looks so empty without the tree.

Muslimah Bloggers Directory

As-salaamu-alaykum (Peace be upon you)

Sister Rabia Ashraf has a great new blog. She has decided to create a directory of Muslimah Bloggers. The blog looks great Alhamdullillah. Check it out- http://muslimahbloggers.blogspot.com/

For those who are interested in adding their blogs to this directory. See the details below. This is from Sister Rabia's Blog:

If you somehow found this blog, and you're a muslimah and would like to submit your blog, please e-mail me at: rabiaaisrabiaa@gmail.com

When you email me make sure you include:

Blog Link
Blog Title
Name(it can be a nickname)
Blog Category

Personal Information

Country
Any interesting fact about yourself