Time-Out

Just letting you all know that I will not be posting anything for the next few weeks. Alhamdullillah with the mercy of Allah I will be going to Makkah and Madinah to perform umrah. So that means a Time-out for me, from blogging and everything else!

Please remember me in your prayers, and since I won't be around I hope that you all enjoy the rest of Ramadhaan and have a wonderful Eid.

May the Almighty Allah be with you and your families.

Stay well!

As-salaamu-alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

Making the best of the month of Ramadhaan

It comes once a year, and it always seems to pass so quickly. Yes, we are now in the second ten days of the month of Ramadhaan already and it seems that time is just passing too quickly. Before we know it this Blessed month will be over, and we will all be involved in Eid Celebrations. Some of us may be wondering whether we’ve made the best of the month or if we just ended up wasting very precious time. Besides the obvious ways to make the best of the month of Ramadhaan, like Fasting, reading Quraan Sharief and performing all our Salaah, there are other ways to make the best of this Holy month.

So, how can we do this?

Well, I was just thinking that the second ten days of Ramadhaan are the days of forgiveness and surely we are all hoping and praying for the Almighty Allah to forgive us, I mean, what would we do if Allah (SWT) was not so willing to forgive us, we would certainly be doomed. This made me reflect though, and I started thinking about how willing people are to forgive each other. Why does it seem like it’s so difficult for us to forgive someone who has done something to us. Yes, it hurts when someone does something to you, but if we depend on Allah’s mercy and forgiveness, and if Allah The Greatest forgives us even though we continuously transgress, then why can’t we be the better person and forgive others.

The only thing stopping us from forgiving and letting go is our own egos and pride. When we believe that we have a right to feel the way we do, then it becomes very difficult to forgive others. So let’s try to gain more blessings from this wonderful month by forgiving those that we have grudges against. Let us remember that if Allah Almighty can forgive us so very easily, when we do all sorts of wrong, who are we to believe that we can’t forgive others? Let’s make an earnest effort to let go of all the negative feelings we have towards others, because this too is in the spirit of Ramadhaan, and indeed this is how Muslims should be all of the time.

May Allah (SWT) forgive us all for all of our sins, known and unknown, those committed intentionally and those done unintentionally, those committed in the light of day and in the dark of night, and even those sins which we do not recognise and consider to be sins! May Allah have mercy on us all, and make it easy for us to forgive others!

Best wishes for the Great month of Ramadaan

May Allah accept all of our prayers and efforts and make easy all of our difficulties in this blessed month and may it be easy for us to continue with the good long after the month has passed!

Image 1 from: http://ummabdurrahman.wordpress.com/2007/09/13/personal-ramadan-wishes/
Image 2 from: http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=420538

Every day should be Woman’s Day

 Yesterday was National Women’s Day in South Africa. The country went all out to honour women, focus on their achievements and celebrate their uniqueness. Parades were held against the abuse of women, speeches were made talking about gender equality, women’s rights and the fair treatment of women were emphasized. All that is great, really, but I wonder if people have still remembered that today, or have people simply gone back to their normal everyday lives, thankful for the public holiday yesterday and have they already forgotten all about women and the issues they have to deal with?

I’m not saying that Women’s Day is unnecessary, but I think that Women’s Day should be celebrated every single day. There should be no need for a special day, because the celebration of women should be in everyday actions. The way women are treated, cared for, the work they have to do, the issues they have to deal with, the abuse they should not be suffering, these things should be dealt with everyday.

I’m busy reading a lovely book called “Enjoy Your Life”, and in this book the author talks about the type of person you should be and how you can foster positive relationships with others. He specifically uses examples from the Sunnah to illustrate his points. One chapter is dedicated to the treatment of women and it really is beautiful when you understand the true Islamic way of how women should be treated. In today’s times people have many things to say about women and how Islam “proposes” women should be treated. All this negativity is contrary to the teachings of Islam and with a proper understanding of the Quraan and Sunnah, one will easily understand that women are celebrated all of the time, when Islam is practiced properly.

Men are cautioned about respecting a woman’s feelings, they are warned that a woman’s ways cannot easily be changed, they are asked to have patience, and they are forbidden from causing bodily harm to a woman. In addition, it is their duty to care for women, and protect them physically and financially. Yes, these are the teachings of Islam, which is really much more comprehensive than this. In a nutshell though, when people practice Islam properly, then truly every day is Woman’s Day.

So while it’s great for the country to recognise the importance of women in society, it doesn’t help to have one special day dedicated to women, but the rest of the year women and their issues are forgotten. Indeed Women’s Day should be every day, and Islam shows us exactly how this is possible, if we only follow the true way in completion!

Image from: http://funkydoodledonkey.blogspot.com/2009/08/womens-day-in-south-africa.html

Self-degradation

Every day I see self-degradation,

Disguised as liberation,

People boldly displaying their bodies,

Sometimes to the extent of complete nakedness.

False beliefs of freedom,

People disiullusioned and deceived,

They look at us and they condemn,

Yet real truth and purity they have not perceived.

It seems to me that they’re the ones who are truly trapped,

I wonder if they have self-respect,

Deceived into believing in individual free will,

Yet dominated and driven in ways so subtle.

I’ll rather cover myself and maintain respect,

I do not ever want to be like them,

Let them look at us and dissect,

Trying to find ways to criticise and condemn.

Islam is my religion, my faith...my life,

It will never degrade me, it will only uplift,

Deception and illusion is clearly rife,

But Islam will continue to keep us adrift!

If we could only follow the example of the Ansaar

The other night my family and I were having a discussion about the relationship between the Ansaar (People of Madinah) and the Muhaajireen (Muslims from Makkah who migrated to Madinah) in the time of the Prophet (SAW). My father mentioned something so relevant. He said that the example of the Ansaar is amazing, imagine people giving up half of what they had for their fellow brothers so easily. Half of what they had for people that they didn’t even know, people that they had just met! Subhanallah! Here we are in today’s time and we can’t even share our country with our fellow human beings from neighbouring countries because we’re too afraid that they’re taking our jobs, or our living place and so forth.

This was in reference to the recent news headlines here in South Africa. A really strange thing happened, the Soccer World Cup was hosted in South Africa this year as I’m sure you all know, and everything was great. Then just after the world cup, news begins to spread about xenophobic attacks. A few years ago there were terrible attacks on foreigners from neighbouring African countries like Zimbabwe, Somalia, Nigeria....countries in disarray. Local South African’s burnt their shops down, protested and drove foreigners out of their homes claiming that they are stealing resources, jobs and homes that are needed by South Africans. Obviously this comes from somewhere, and there’s no doubt that people are frustrated with poor living conditions that are not improving, but can you imagine how wonderful things would be if we were to adopt the example of the Ansaar towards the Muhaajireen.

This year it was reported that foreigners in South Africa were not willing to risk being attacked again so many of them packed up and left the country to go back to their home countries where they are offered no hope or solace. This was extremely saddening and it was disturbing to think that human beings could behave so negatively towards each other. Two things convinced me that the only hope for humanity is Islam.

I was performing salaah when a sister came to perform her prayers next to me. She was a foreigner, and at the time when the country is abound with discussions of xenophobia, this sister seemed so at peace, like she didn’t have a care in the world, sitting there performing her prayers, it was clear that she had a right to that space, just like everyone else. That reminded me that Islam does not have any barriers. In Islam we shouldn’t care about what country someone comes from and if we understand Islam, we won’t even think that they’re taking out jobs or living place, because we’ll understand that everything a person gets is willed by Allah. If we truly understand Islam then we will give more than we take and we will always think of others before we consider ourselves.

The second thing that reminded me that Islam has the perfect system, not only religiously, but socially as well, was a truck, parked outside a Masjid, filled with belongings of foreigners. I don’t know what the plan was for the truck, but it reminded me that the Masjid should be a place of refuge for all Muslims, and this once again shed light on the true teachings of Islam.

I sometimes wonder what things would be like if the whole world were Muslims who followed the teachings of Islam strictly. I think it would have been wonderful. I think that people would feel safe with one another and they would not have to fear for their lives or the lives of their family members. I think that everyone would be willing to share, like the Ansaar of Madinah did. I think it would have been wonderful. But Allah (SWT) in Allah’s infinite wisdom knows best and all I can do is try my hardest to practice the great examples of truly amazing and unselfish people, and in this I hope that maybe someone will understand the truth about Islam, because it really is something to marvel about.

May Allah (SWT) help us to become unselfish and generous in all ways. May Allah (SWT) also ease the plight of our fellow brothers and sisters who have to suffer difficulty after difficulty, moving around the world just to find some peace and make a decent living!

Image reference: http://www.clamlynch.com/blog/2005/06/