Dear Fellow Bloggers

For some reason I can no longer post comments using my name and when I try to post a comment on Blogger Blogs, it just ends up showing as anonymous even though I'm signed in as usual.

I've tried to find out what the problem is but unfortunately I have not found a solution. If anyone has experienced something similar happening to them and can advise me on this then please help. I really don't like anonymous commenting.

Anyway, in the meantime I will keep trying to post comments and I will try to remember to add my name to the comment so you know its from me even though it will say anonymous.

Just thought I'd let you all know in case you're wondering what's going on with my comments.

Peace to you all, and happy blogging and commenting.

Image from: http://ilikeellipses.com/category/openid/

Is This Really LIFE?

The other day my nephews and nieces asked me if they could play a board game called LIFE. I don’t know if all of you are familiar with this game, but for those who are not, it’s basically a board game reflecting “LIFE”. It starts where you have to make the choice between going to College or Finding a Career. Then you move through the various spaces of the game, borrowing money from the bank, getting money for things, receiving a salary, having to pay taxes and other expenses, getting money, losing money, getting married, having children, buying a starter home, then when you have enough money, moving on to a bigger house, then a mansion, getting divorced, getting married again, winning things or money, getting a pay raise, changing careers, going back to college, owing more money, having more expenses, getting more money, then paying for something new..... Eventually you end the game by retiring, with your fancy cars and big mansion (that is of course if you’re lucky enough or wise enough to have played the game well).

As I sat there watching these young innocent children, so eager and excited to play and so fascinated with the game, I honestly couldn’t help feeling completely freaked out! This isn’t what I want my innocent nieces and nephews to think life is all about. In fact, a more appropriate name for this type of game would have been “RAT RACE”. Really, where’s the meaning, the human interaction, the spirituality and religion. Where are the wonderful feelings you get when spending time with family, or the good you accomplish by giving charity, or the positive impact you make by doing volunteer work to help others. Apparently all these things have no value (that is no monetary or material value), and they don’t even deserve to be a part of life. So just like in the game, activities that don’t bring in the money are simply just not worthwhile and you basically end up being the loser. I have to ask; Is this really LIFE? Is this how we want our children to see life? Do we want them to think that life is all about material things and experiences, that our value at the end of the day depends on how big our houses are, or how smart our cars are and how much money we have in the bank? Are these even positive messages at all?

And of course, just like these things have been glamorized in the game, so too have they been made to look wonderful in real life. I know that we need money and a career and so on, but what happened to the essence of life? A life like this has no meaning; it’s a mechanical movement through time where people don’t even have to love what they do, just as long as it gives them the material things they need. What about having a passion for what you do, or doing something because you honestly want to make a real difference? The people who manage to step out of the “rat race” are very few, and they are the ones who are regarded as “odd”, “different”, and “eccentric”. In the meantime, there’s this system in place that has strategically managed to enslave us all in a world that has no meaning and value; a world of materialism, where money is the central part that makes the entire machine work. So people continue to work to get money, and before we even get our pay cheques at the end of the month the money’s already gone. And the house we live in will only belong to us after twenty years of hard work and regular payments. And similarly the car we drive can easily be taken away from us if we are unable to uphold payments. And prices of things continue to go up, and we get extremely tired every day, as we work just to pay for things. Is this really LIFE?

I was happy when my niece decided she wanted to be a teacher in the game instead of a computer designer, despite the fact that the teacher got paid much less. She loves school and teaching and always talks about how she wants to be a teacher. It was refreshing to see how innocent children still make choices based on meaning and value instead of money and materialism. Still though, the sceptic in me can’t help but wonder how long will that last? At what point will this enthusiasm and passion for wanting to do something you really love be drowned out by the glitz and glamour associated with a fancy career. I wish that I could say this will never happen. I wish that I could our future will be built on things that have values and meaning. I wish that I could say money will come to mean very little, it will be a means and not an end. I wish that I could say the definition of life will include meaningful experiences instead of a race through materialism. Perhaps one day my wishes will come true and people will discard the world of materialism for a world full of things that actually mean something.

In the meantime though, we can start with ourselves, we can try to make the difference, we can be different and re-define the definition of LIFE. For me, LIFE is not about a constant rat race, gaining wealth and possessions as we go along. I don’t care about the big house or fancy car. I don’t want the glamorous job in the Top Company. Inshaa Allah, through the mercy of Our Most Magnificent Lord, Allah Almighty, I wish to continue searching for meaning wherever I can find it. And Inshaa Allah, I wish to be able to only do actions that will please Allah, because one day when this material world will no longer exist, then what will I have to show? When money means nothing and all the fancy homes and cars are destroyed and useless, then what will I have to show? When a fancy career in the best company holds no value, then where will I turn? And when I stand before my Lord and have to answer about my life, what will I be able to say then? Who will really win the true game of life?

PS: Before people tell me that I'm spoiling all the fun and taking things way too seriously, I'm really not saying that we shouldn't play games or have fun. Its fine to even play this game for fun, as long as we don't start believing that this is all that life is about. That's all I'm trying to say here!  

May Allah make it easy for us all, Inshaa Allah


Image  1 from: http://www.boardgameratings.com/game/95/
Image 2 from: http://lyricsdog.eu/s/live%20action%20roleplaying

Butterfly Award

I am so delayed in posting this, sometimes it just doesn't seem like there's enough time, but Alhamdullillah there's some time now.

A very big Jazakallah Khayr to Sara @ sweet serenity for giving me the Butterfly Award.

I think it's great when people can share their thoughts openly and constructively in a positive way. 

I'd like to dedicate this award to all the wonderful women bloggers. This goes out to all those who are making an effort, sharing your thoughts and experiences and making the time, even when you get busy. 

Words have the power to make a difference, and positive words spoken or written lives on eternally. We will never know the full impact of our words, but despite this, inshaa Allah we will continue to share our thoughts, and voice our opinions, and we will hope and pray that Allah Almighty is pleased with what we do. 

Thanks to all of you who continue to inspire me! 

Great Women in Islam

The answer for this week's quiz question (Which of the Prophet's (PBUH) wives was entrusted with the great task of preserving the written verses of the Holy Qur'aan? ) is:

• She was the daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him).
• She was 1st married to a man known as Hisn ibn Hudhafah, who participated in the Battle of Badr and then fell ill at Madinah and died.
• She then became a widow and her father Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) became worried and decided to find her a suitable husband.
• Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) thus approached Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with Him) and asked him if he would marry Hafsah (May Allah be pleased with her). On this request Abu Bakr remained silent and Umar was distressed.
• Umar then approached Uthmaan (May Allah be pleased with him) for the marriage of his daughter Hafsah, but Uthmaan was still mourning the loss of his wife Ruqayyah (May Allah be pleased with her), the daughter of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
• The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) then saw Umar in this distressed condition and inquired about this.
• The Messenger (PBUH) calmed Umar down and said to him; “Hafsah shall marry someone who is better than Uthmaan and Uthmaan shall marry someone who is better than Hafsah.”
• Although Umar didn’t fully understand, he was calmed.
• When Umar told Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with them) what the Prophet (PBUH) had said, then Abu Bakr told Umar that the Prophet (PBUH) mentioned Hafsah to him and showed an interest in marrying her. This was the reason for Abu Bakr’s silence, and he said that he would otherwise have married Hafsah.
• Uthmaan was promised in marriage Umm Kulthoom, who was also the daughter of the Prophet (PBUH) thus the Prophet’s (PBUH) words were understood.
• That is the story of how Hafsah entered the household of the Prophet (PBUH) as one of the Mothers of the Believers.

• She was the closest to A’isha of all the Prophet’s (PBUH) wives. It was like the two of them were sisters, and they always agreed and never argued.
• Hafsah was somewhat stern and tough in nature.
• Due to her nature, the Prophet (PBUH) divorced her once.
• According to Ahadeeth, On this, the angel Jibra’eel (Gabriel) came to the Prophet (PBUH) and told him; “Take Hafsah back, for she frequently fasts and prays in the night. And she is your wife in Paradise.”
• The Prophet (PBUH) thus took Hafsah back .
• Hafsah could read and write. This was an accomplishment that was very rare amongst women and men at that time.
• An indication of the importance of this ability was that Hafsah’s house was the place where the revealed verses of the Holy Qur’aan (written on palm branches, slates and other material) was kept.

To read more you can download books at: http://www.kalamullah.com/index.html

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GREAT WOMEN IN ISLAM SERIES WILL NOW BE POSTED EVERY SECOND WEEK INSTEAD OF EVERY WEEK- INSHAA-ALLAH.

I guess change is inevitable

Depending on how we choose to see things, change can be either a positive or negative thing. Recently I have had to go through some changes in my life which I was not very willing to embrace at first. I have become comfortable with my life the way it is and the idea of things changing didn’t go down well at first. I made all types of excuses initially, but then at some point I realized that there was not much point in making excuses anymore, because we have to deal with change at some point, whether we like to or not.

The more I think of it, the more it seems that life is only about change. In fact, we may even describe life as a series of changes. We are born, and we spend the first few precious years of our lives being protected and nurtured by our parents and then that has to change when we go off to school. Going to school can be a scary and sad experience (my youngest sister will attest to this as she just hated school initially). But this is a change that we have to deal with. Then when we become comfortable in Primary School, when we finally feel happy and secure in our friendships, it’s time for another change and we have to go off to high school, or perhaps another primary school or maybe even another Town, or country.

After school more changes await us. We go off to University or to work, some of us get married. Whatever path we take, we have to go through changes in life. As we get older and progress through life, we will find that change is inevitable. There’s no getting away from it. Things cannot stay the same because without change there is no progression in life, and without progression in life we remain stagnant, and what is the point then, really, if we’re not learning and growing as we go through the wonderful journey of life?

I have found that the times we really don’t look forward to change are the times when we learn the most from the changes that we encounter. I read a quote somewhere; it said that “CHANGE BRINGS LIFE”. I always remember this, especially when I am not looking forward to change.

So truly I guess change is inevitable, but no matter what the change is, it has to be good for us in terms of growing to become stronger and better people. So perhaps the better thing to do would be to embrace change instead of run away from it, accept and appreciate change instead of moan about it and regard change as an opportunity to grow and a means to become a better person.

At this point I am recalling a verse from the Holy Qur’aan in which Allah (swt) states that no soul will be given a burden which he is unable to bear. SubhanAllah, Allah is indeed the Most Merciful and this assures us that no matter what the changes are that we have to go through in life, if we rely on Allah Almighty then certainly we will be able to bear all the changes that come our way. Inshaa Allah Ameen!

Image 1 from: http://selfpersonal.com/blog/2009/11/change-quotes-ignore-change-experience-decay/
Image 2 from: http://www.beliefquotes.com/graphics/change/
Image 3 from: http://cmm111-teng.blogspot.com/2011/02/motivational-quotes.html