Personal Revelations

Look out for the signs that Allah gives each one of personally. It’s hair-risingly amazing!

It’s like a hand that constantly pulls you back up when you fall, not wanting you to be abandoned in this Dunya.
It’s like Our Lord talks to you directly, showing you ways and remedies to rectify yourself!

Look out for these very evident signs. Nothing happens to you by chance. It is all preplanned. You simply need to be prepared for it.
So the next time something stares at you in the face very vividly, open your eyes and heart and read the signs.

It can be an Ayah while reciting the Qura’n, it can be some random article you happened to click (It wasn’t random at all!), it can be stuff you see on the street which make you reflect, it can be some lecture you attended with half a heart and then ended up realizing how beneficial it actually was, it can be somebody’s company which makes your whole being want to change…

It can be anything.

Watch out for it, recognize it, bring it close to your heart and accept it. And bring about the change that it intended.

It is your very own, personal, revelation.

Thoughts on an Eid Morning

Eid morning was blessed with a brightness that could only be linked to the supernatural.
The breeze; cold, refreshing and delicious, had just the right amount of coolness, enough to make me close my eyes, curve my lips and simply cherish its presence around me.
I could slowly sense the unexplainable connection between my inner being and the outer forces.

Stepping out of home, had that unbelievable sense of belonging, of being recognized and consoled even by the wind that hugged me from all sides. Seeming to express love, or perhaps a reassurance?
Like it knew there were too many things on the mind, like it knew the heart was craving for change, like it knew playing around, cooling my physique would calm me and put me at ease.
And that feeling deepened as the legs moved towards the chanting, the soothing rhythms of glorification and praise. The lips moved, as if in a trance, uttering, repeating, catching the rhythm, and intensifying that sense of well-being.

The uncertainty of a particular phase in life was meant to culminate here. Amidst this chanting. Amidst the voices of those who relentlessly praised the One, who instilled the ability to produce the sound. Amidst those who came to celebrate this blessed day.

It wasn’t a moment of understanding, but one of self-realization.

The bits and pieces still have to connect and make the larger picture. But this moment, this point in life, is one that is being cherished and surely one which will go, I hope, a long way.

To Sit With The Beloved

When we sit with somebody we love and who loves us even more, we listen to each and every word that they have to say.

Our heart swells and opens up, to soak in every emotion, every tone and every detail of the narration, not wanting to miss out on even a bit of their passionate talk.
We gasp at the right places, smile at others, nod attentively, sympathize with the eyes, or widen them otherwise.

When we sit with the Qur’an, do the Words of our Beloved Lord pierce our hearts much the same way? When every single word is being personally spoken to each one of us, do we open up our hearts to absorb the Beauty, Power and Wisdom of the One Who Loves us more than just about anybody else?

He narrates, as we sit down with Him. Do we gasp at places? Do we smile at the bounties He has promised us? Do we nod, acknowledging the blessings? Do our eyes widen at the punishment having disobeyed? Do our hearts throb with hope when He speaks about the depth of His Forgiveness and Pardon? Do our eyes fill with tears when He asks us why we remain ungrateful, refusing to Thank Him or even remember Him for every single one of the blessings that we selfishly accept and yet are too arrogant to acknowledge?

The narration goes past us. When Our Lord wishes to embrace us in His infinite Mercy, we, with our hearts constricted, eyes blind and ears deaf, push Him away.

Sit with Him. Hear His words and let it console your heart. Make an effort to not miss out on a single story that He tells us. For when we finally meet Him, we can say, with pride- We heard, Ya Rabb, and we obeyed.

Is It Me?

The vast stretch of emptiness
sober eyes look on,
Engulfed by a smothering incompleteness
of being painfully alone.

The wetness blurs vision
searching for what may be,
Then trails down the trembling lips
that whisper; is it me?

There’s not a soul to proclaim
belonging
No one to shakingly embrace,
The realization dawns as the inside
heaves
As strength abandons, leaving no trace.

Weakened, stricken and choking
within,
Senses struggle to be free
Ardent expressions die in its wake,
Submissively bent to agree.

Prophet Yusuf: To Resist Temptation

Dua of Prophet Yusuf:

A reminder to all those who believe that they are safe from worldly temptations:

He said: “Oh my Lord! Prison is dearer to me than to which they invite me. Unless you turn away their plot from me, I will feel inclined towards them and be one (of those who commit sin and deserve blame) of the ignorant.”

“So his Lord answered his invocation and turned away form him their plot. Verily He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.”

[Surah Yusuf: 33, 34]

We deem ourselves to be above all temptations. We believe we can control our desires if we make up our minds not to do so. This dua of the Prophet Yusuf shatters all our self-created notions of our eternal invincibility and makes us realize just how vulnerable we humans are.

Prophet Yusuf, despite being chosen to be above all others at that time and despite being given wisdom and character, called upon Allah, the Almighty to save him from the temptation, ACKNOWLEDGING the fact that he is but a mere human who would fall for his desires if his Lord does not protect him.

Allah then answers his dua and pulls him out from vice to virtue.

We need to understand that we are vulnerable. We need to constantly ask Allah to save us from ourselves. From our un-halal desires. From our relapse in deen. Nobody can do that except with Allah’s help.

Prophet Yusuf, the most beautiful of creations, the one blessed with Wisdom and Knowledge, has made it clear.

An Awaited State

Existence,
Amidst solitude
Survival,
By accepting fate.

Trials innumerous,
Patiently endure
Tranquility,
An awaited state.

Heart restless,
Soul awake
Reality cripples,
The feelings opaque.

Yearning profound,
Emotions encased
Visions recurrent,
Its vibrancy effaced.

Consciousness cringes,
Decisions merged
Opinions linger,
The illusions unfazed.

Confidence rebuilt,
Fears unwind
Doubtfulness detached,
With Hope,
To bind.

To Rise Again

People pull you down to your knees. They make you feel tarnished.
They do not give you even what you’d call a ray of Hope.
They reprimand you. Scold you. Humiliate you, till you sink so low that it would be an impossibility to rise up again.
They tell you that you can never be clean again. That you can never get back your sense of honor and Izzath again.
They tell you that you are worth nothing. That you have nothing more to live for. That you are the worst of creations possible.

Your heart becomes heavy with the pain of having faltered. You want to change, but you are submerged in humiliation and a loss of honor.
You want to tell them that, people slip. That they fall down at times, because nobody is perfect.
You wish to cry, to go back, to rip your heart out and say “Give me one more chance!”

And what makes you think that people will give you that chance?

They won’t.
And you don’t need them to give it to you.

The only One you need to prove yourself to, is to Your Lord. Who created you. Who gave you life. Who watches you day and night.

The only hope we can ever have is in the remembrance of Our Creator.

He is the Oft-Forgiving. The Most Merciful.
He is the One Who loves to Pardon.
He is the One who accepts sincere Repentance.

He loves it when his slaves return to him in a state of humility and in repentance. And He will forgive them if they are sincere. Even if their sins are as high as the sky. Even if their sins are like the foam of the sea.
As long as tears of repentance still flow from their eyes.

The ones who are doomed are only the most wretched of creations.

For those who even have a tiny sense of regret and whose hearts bleed thinking of the wrongs committed against themselves, and want to change for the better, there is still infinite hope.

The fall would bring you closer to Allah, because you constantly think about it, feel bad about it, and you end up bowing down in utmost submission, crying and asking for Pardon.

And who loves to Pardon, other that Allah, the Most High?

“ Allahumma Innaka Afww’un, Tuhibbul Afw’ Fa’fwu Anni”
“O Allah, You are the Pardoner, and you Love to Pardon, so Pardon me.”

Pardoning means to erase off the sin, to remove it from our record, like it never was there.
Forgiveness is to conceal or hide the sin, even though it will appear in our records.

Once a man came to the mosque of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) complaining about his sins. The man was so overcome and saddened by his sins that the Prophet (p.b.u.h) said to him, “Say this: “O God, Your forgiveness is greater than my sins, and my hope in Your Mercy is greater to me than my (evil) actions.”
The man said this and the Prophet said to him, “Say it again.” The man repeated it. Then the Prophet (p.b.u.h) said to him, “Arise, for God has forgiven you.”

SubhanAllah!

What more Hope do we need?

When people drag you down, know that Your Lord wishes to purify you. He loves His creation and His Mercy encompasses everything.

Arise. Have hope. Repent. Weep and flow your tears. Beg for His Mercy and Pardon.

He will Pardon you.

Spiritual Time Machine- Ramadan!

Adapted from Al-Jumuah, by Ahmad Haleem.

Physicists say that time travel is logically impossible unless we can move information or matter from one point to another faster than the speed of light, which thus far has been an unproven possibility for human beings.

Yet from the Japanese legend of the fisherman Uroshima Taro to H.G. Well’s depiction of a time machine, time travel has captured the heart and soul of man.
And it has been a persistent wishful fancy of ours across the generations. Unfailingly, it fills so many aspects of our daily lives.

How often do we rebuke ourselves by articulating our sincere desire to go back in time and not say things we’ve said or do things we’ve left undone? And do we all not become nostalgic for the chance to relive the time and space of precious moments of joy we’ve known with our families, friends and loved ones, especially with those who are no longer with us? Sometimes I find myself recreating or erasing something past.

Well, glad tidings, for the concept of time travel is actually not completely implausible!

Who would ever think that this universal dream, this fantastical time machine would manifest itself as an interval of time, as a month? The truth is that every year, we are presented with the gift and miracle of time travel. On a consistent basis, we are continually reminded that human beings can go back in time. In fact, we are given the option of not only going back, but going all the way back to the start, the clean, unsullied beginning human state of mind.
Brothers and sisters, Ramadan is a time machine, the very best and most real of them.

So how does the time machine work? Let’s go into the nuts and bolts of the mechanism. Okay it goes something like this: Person X faithfully and sincerely fasts Ramadan and seeks his or her reward from Allah. Person X prays during Ramadan’s nights with faith and seeks reward. Person X passes through the time compression of Laylat Al-Qadr in prayer with faith and seeks his or her reward from Allah. Person X goes back in time and becomes the equivalent of an innocent, clean neonate. And simultaneously, person X goes forward in the space of that night offering a lifetime of worship- a thousand months, or 83 and a third lunar years, or just over 81 solar years.

It is as simple as that!

So do you understand now when I say that Ramadan is a time machine?
In a short month’s time, Allah provides humanity, the believing, working, worshipping portion, that is, wit the chance to travel all the way back to its clean and untarnished primordial state- with no immoralities or even their telltale spiritual cicatrices. And at the same time, it takes one forward to spend a long lifetime standing in salah before the Creator of man and Space- Time, and bowing, and bowing down to the ground extolling, exalting, and supplicating Him.

You may ask how a month allows us to travel back in time. Well, think about it for a second. One has the potential to go back and return to their original state of purity.

SubhanAllah! What a blessing it is to be able to be refreshed and clean after months and months of committing voluntary and involuntary misdeeds. And in this fashion, after every Ramadan (when it is done right), we get the unique and awesome experience of being new again.

In essence, Ramadan functions as a kind of spatial and temporal defiance. How so? Well, Ramadan, if it can effectively blast us back to the past, outright defies and stands in powerful contradiction to how we human beings conceive time.

For us, time is concrete and unchallengeable and, thus far, material-bond time machines do not exist (i.e. it is not possible to erase your past and take back what you have said and done). But in Ramadan, things happen, miracles happen.
Time is thrown back and subsequently defied as past records are eliminated, and a lifetime of new ones are created, as we, in essence, time-travel to a stage in life in which we were purer in moral makeup.

And so, brothers and sisters, we should really try and struggle not to get lost in the magnificent, yet large time machine that Ramadan represents.
For one month, we must sincerely maintain our fasting, our prayers, and our intention to complete our Laylat Al-Qadr salah and maintain that consciousness.

So who is ready to climb aboard the acclaimed spiritual time machine called Ramadan?

What Lasts Long?

It wasn’t supposed to die. If something had the zeal to live long, it was that beautiful creature. How could a thing of such amazing energy, such enthusiasm and such unbelievable vitality lose everything in a matter of minutes? Above all how could it be no more on this Earth? It was life in itself. And life was taken out of it.

There has to be a reason.

I’d watched those kittens grow. Three tiny, lovely creations. The white, being the most lovable of the lot, held a special place in our hearts. Mornings began by watching it embrace its existence with sweet innocence and playful energy. It made one want to sit back and wonder if things could be created so beautiful?

But nothing was to last long it seemed.

That night wasn’t like any other. Just like how the weak ones always fall prey to those stronger, this little kitten was ripped away from its secure, unsuspecting, tranquil environment, into the sharp jaws of an animal much bigger, much stronger and much more in line with life as it came by.

Dawn came with that unbearable sense of loss, pain, and a deep, profound realization that everything simply has an end.

No matter how beautiful, no matter how young and no matter how vibrant, nothing lasts long.

We aren’t made to last long.

We try to make our lives perfect, finding happiness in things that we think would last for eternity.
But none of that is ever here to stay.

There is nothing called as a stable sense of existence. Happiness will give way to sadness. Comfort will give way to discomfort. Joy will be overcome by sorrow.

So what is it that we expect from life and what are we expected to give back?
Knowing that we will never last here forever, just as people and nations have passed away before us.
Even they might have been under the impression, just like us, that, they will live on for eternity.
They are mere memories now, or not even that.

The essence would be to find a medial path. To show gratitude for the blessings and to be patient during hardship.

Understanding that our lives can never be perfect, since it is not in our hands.
But we can perfect our characters.
Making an effort to give unconditionally, never expecting to get anything back.

Realizing that every breath we take could be the last one.
.

The Ultimate Choice

We crave for certain things in life. Sometimes we crave for it so bad that we feel we might not be able to live without it.

And that happens when we fail to understand, that maybe the choices that we make aren’t actually good for us. We are but faltering Creations with limited knowledge.

When we want something real bad, we face a dilemma on how to proceed in acquiring it. Because we do not know how it would be linked to our fate, whether it would be good or bad for us. At other times we are just confused as to which would be the best choice.

Do we go for it? Do all we can to make it ours? Or be more cautious in case it turns out bad for us in ways we know not?

Whatever be the case, We, as mere Humans are helpless when it comes to knowing our destinies. What do we do then? How do we go about trying to gain something in this Dunya?

Our Lord teaches us the Dua of Istikhaara. The complete, total and perfect Dua to ultimately leave the Choice to Him.

It is so complete that we end up leaving just about EVRYTHING with Allah, The Most High, including our restless hearts.

We first Praise Him. Acknowledge that He is all Powerful. That He is the Knower of the Unseen. The One with Whom inexhaustible Bounties lie. Bounties from which we, as His humble Creation ask from in this Dunya.

We tell Him that we are weak. That He is Most strong.

We tell Him that we have absolutely no knowledge. That He knows All and we do not.

We tell Him that we are liable to make mistakes. That He is Perfect.

We tell Him that we are incomplete. That He is Complete and Pure.

We then ask Him to bring the thing that we are beseeching Him for, closer to us, if it is good for us in this Dunya, in our lives, in our Dheen and ultimately in our Aakhirah. And not only to give it to us, but to also bless it in our lives.

We ask Him to remove it from us and us from it if it is bad for us in our lives, in our Dheen and ultimately in our Aakhirah.

The most fascinating thing here is asking Allah to remove it from us in both ways.

It would do to say just once-to remove It  from Us. But to remove Us from It  implies that sometimes even when a thing is removed from us, we might have the tendency to go behind it in yearning. Not knowing that it would harm us.

So He asks us to pray for it to be taken away from us in every possible way.

Then we ask Him to decree for Us that which is much MUCH better. Because, when we lose a thing we want so bad, we feel disheartened and depressed.

But if we get something way better, it keeps us happy. It makes us grateful.

The ending of the Dua is what is the MOST beautiful.

We ask Him to make us pleased and satisfied with what He decrees for us instead of what we prayed originally for.

Because, we might get depressed for not getting what we wanted and even after getting something else, we might still long for the former.

So we need to make Dua for us to be pleased with what has been decreed for us by the One Who has our Souls in His Hand. Since Who would know better but Him? And where do we stand in terms of knowing the Ghaib?

This Dua leaves no room for depression or confusion. Everything has been covered, right down to consoling the Human heart which would still long for what it wanted in the beginning.

When we leave our choices to Allah, after doing all we can, we end up getting more blessed. We wouldn’t know the depth.

But we just need to know this: Our Lord will never forsake Us. He will give us only that which is good for us. We need to put our complete trust in Him.

Only then can we live our lives knowing that whatever we get in life, is but a Mercy and Blessing from the One Who Loves His Creation more than just about anyone else in this World.

And we could smile in Sajdah, saying, Alhamdulillah for giving me what I truly deserve.

[The translation of the Dua, to be said after two units of Prayer:

“O Allah! I seek goodness from Your Knowledge and with Your Power (and Might) I seek strength, and I ask from You Your Great Blessings, because You have the Power and I do not have the power. You Know everything and I do not know, and You have knowledge of the unseen. Oh Allah! If in Your Knowledge this action (which I intend to do) is better for my religion and faith, for my life and end [death], for here [in this world] and the hereafter then make it destined for me and make it easy for me and then add blessings [baraka’] in it, for me. O Allah! In Your Knowledge if this action is bad for me, bad for my religion and faith, for my life and end [death], for here [in this world] and the hereafter then turn it away from me and turn me away from it and whatever is better for me, ordain [destine] that for me and then make me satisfied with it.”]

We Sleep

A young man found himself not able to sleep at night. His heart bled thinking about the condition of his people.

This young man would climb the heights of mountains, while everybody slept, to take refuge in the solitary peace that the surroundings had to offer.

But it still couldn’t put his troubled heart at ease.

The night that this young man was made a Prophet, was also on another one of those sleepless nights.

What was it that made him stand out? What was it that made Muhammad a Prophet?

It was the unconditional love that he had for his people. Not just those during his time, but to all of us here, today. The heart which was filled with mercy and compassion for a people he had never even seen.

He persevered, so that you and I may get enlightened.

He suffered, so that you and I may get salvation.

How did we let ourselves turn away from his selfless message?

And how is it that we sleep, seeing the condition of our world today?

Patience and Hope-Personified

You wouldn’t say that the smile was from somebody who had been bedridden for more than five years. There was just so much Noor and enthusiasm in its depths.

The room itself was sunny and bright, complementing the great man who was lying there. He was the epitome of radiance.

When I looked at him, I couldn’t find any trace of sadness or depression that you’d expect to find in one who had no hope of getting back on his feet again. He was cheerful and unbelievably lively.

I greeted him with salaam and moved closer. I needed to know, to understand and absorb what it was in him that gave him this strength. This unwavering Patience. This undying Hope. The trials in his life weren’t small, I knew.

He talked to me like a father would. Firm, delightful and reassuring. Funny it should have been me doing the consoling. But he wasn’t in need of it. He knew exactly where he was.

Though I did feel obliged to reassure him by saying that sins would be forgiven for the pain that one goes through in this life. But his answer amazed me.

“This is a gift to me from the Almighty. Nobody else could have been there at the receiving end. It was purely intended for me. And I have accepted it. There is a higher meaning to this. So it does not get me down. I might not be able to move, but I still have my intellect and my thoughts. And I intend to put it to good use.”

By now I was hanging onto his every word.

“You use the media; Facebook, Twitter, blogs…Yes?”

I answered in the affirmative.

“So by having such a powerful weapon in your hand, what message do you send across, to the World?”

For a moment the question stunned me. I could feel myself almost hyperventilating. I’d never thought it that way. It shook me.

Wasn’t Facebook all about keeping in touch with friends? Liking their latest snaps? Commenting on statuses? Watching funny videos and dying over endless choices of DP’s?

Could there be something else?

“Do you realize how blessed your generation is? You have just about everything you need to make your thoughts, opinions and voices reach out to every nook and corner of the World! You have the Power to change the condition of a people. You have what it takes to be the Best of Ummah, by putting your abilities and resources to excellent use! Would you waste it?”

That’s when I realized that the reason I was there, in that room, looking at him, was for JUST this purpose. And it went through me.

“Even if it be just five people whom you impart good and beneficial knowledge, it’s a treasure for you in the here-after. Live for it. You will never be let down.”

I looked into the face of a man who had lost something irreplaceable. Something I took for granted. Something you take for granted.

And yet, looking at him now, he hadn’t lost anything. And neither was he lost. In fact he very much knew where he was going. Much more than you or me. His faith had grown stronger and unshakable. It made him realize his true potential. It made him understand his purpose as a Creation. And he left it to his Lord to grant him the patience and Mercy to bear with it.

As I turned to go, my eyes fell on the beams attached to the ceiling, reaching quite low, for him to hold on to, as a part of his physiotherapy. He smiled when he saw me looking.

“That’s just the physical support, that people feel obliged to give me. And it just goes so far. Who would understand the ultimate, never-ending spiritual support that My Lord gives me, to live through every moment of everyday?

I left knowing my visit there was destined. That I had to see him. That it would affect me in more ways than one. That it would leave a lasting impact.

I write this hoping to be among those who would help my Ummah and ultimately myself, by understanding what it takes to strengthen my faith and making the best use of all the resources which I had at hand and yet never properly realized its true essence.

And I ask Allah to grant Brother Haroon His Shifa. I ask Allah to give him the  patience to outlive his trial with just the same strength and faith. I ask Allah to forgive him and grant his family the Hidaya and Saboor to bear with the hardships that they ever have to face. Aameen.

[Haroon P was the Jamaath-e-Islaami Kannur Area Organizer before he met with an accident that broke his back and left him paralysed waist down. He continues to be just as active as he was, with his blogs and his involvement with bedridden patients, giving them hope and love. He also attends programs when he is upto it and imparts wisdom to all those thirsty for it. I visited him while taking part for a camp].

Good Vs. Good

“Is there any reward for good, other than good?

[Surah Ar-Rahman: 60]

Every time I come across this Ayah, a very small Ayah infact, I’m struck by its HUGE message! Especially the way it ends as a question! Making us agree and accept its implication that there can never be any other way.

You know those times when you put in that extra effort to help somebody out? Or selflessly exhaust ourselves to make somebody else happy when you KNOW you’re never going to get anything from it? Or a small ‘I-forgive-you smile’ given to the one who hurt you bad? Or letting off an argument even though you are in the right, just to make peace? Do you think nobody sees that? That you will not get repaid? Maybe not from people, No.

But Allah makes us a promise. He says, If you do good, what other reward do you deserve from Me other than Good? You’ve earned it! And this promise comes from One who breaks no promise. It holds good.

For every minuscule good that you do, Allah rewards you with something better, in this world and multiplied infinitely in the HereAfter!

Do good. Smile. Forgive. Be patient. Allah is simply waiting to reward you for it.

War Against The Wrong People!

I was shocked or worse saddened to the core of my heart, while coming across this article in the Arab News the other day. Of course, maybe I did over-react a bit, I know this has been happening for quite some time, but still it did hurt to know that such happenings are going on around the world, but  nothing is being done to stop it!

Excerpts from the article:

“Over the past few months, serious violent clashes have taken place on the streets of Britain. They have been instigated by a group convinced that ‘ The Root Of All Problems occurring in the World is Islam.’ It is a new group intent on preventing the Islamisation of Britain. A leaflet handed out by the group, stricken by Islamophobia, said:’ Islam is a Threat to all. Don’t let this oppressive religion go unchallenged. Time to make a stand.”

Whoah!! Hold on, Oppressive? Threat? Root of All Problems? Islamophobia?

When did this happen? Or rather, how did we Muslims let this happen?

It continues:

” An investigation has revealed that a group of freelance Terror Trackers who promote stories about threats from violent ‘Islamists’ have been fabricating stories and making commentaries in the media aiming to create a fear of Islam and to point out that Islam promotes Terrorism.”

Whoa again! Islam? Terrorism??

The article goes on to say how stories against Islam were fabricated and published without even verifying the credibility of the documents, showing just how keen the tabloids are, to print stories demonizing the Muslims!

So, I stand here, take a deep breath and do the thing that I, as a dutiful Muslim should have done a long time ago: Clear out every misunderstanding about Islam!

I won’t, ofcourse, be able to cover every aspect of the religion but I can guarantee one thing: Islam does not promote Terrorism!

Islam condemns killing of oneself or others. It really is sad that Islam is judged by a few misguided people who kill in the name of Jihad. In reality, their very actions are against the principles of the Islamic Jihad. The real Islam should not be painted with the same brush.

This is an open invitation to all my brothers and sisters;

To my brothers and sisters in faith: WAKE UP! Rejuvenate your faith and Spread the Truth!

To my Non-Muslim brothers and sisters: Islam is not what the media portrays it to be!!

I invite you to learn more about Islam and trust me, you will will end up saying ” This is so not what I heard!”

Let us start with the word ‘Islam’. What does it mean? Hold your breath, it means-“Peace.”

Is it synonymous to the word ‘Terrorism’? Which religion would teach other wise when it is named so? It is like saying you are a Christian and accepting Buddha as God!!

Islam promotes peace in all aspects of life. Islam also means “submission.” Submitting our will (read: everything) to the One God who created everything that is in the Heavens and the Earth. The Almighty, All-Powerful God, Allah.

Islam is a practical religion. When I say ‘practical’ I mean practical in every sense of the word. There is no confusion, since by simply acknowledging that there is just ONE God solves half the problems as we accept that everything takes place by His Will.

We believe that the Almighty God sent down messengers with the Truth since the beginning of human life on the Earth. The first Man, Adam, was the first Messenger.

The final Messenger is Prophet Muhammad who came with the message of Truth. The entire way of living life is inscribed in the Scripture given to him by God, The Holy Qur’an.

Anybody who takes time to read the Qur’an or at least summarize on its message will end up opening their eyes WIDE and the thoughts: Oppression, Terror, Threat will vanish with the snap of a finger and will acknowledge a set of rules which is a complete, beautiful way of living.

We also believe in the Day of Judgment and Life after Death, when mankind is judged by their deeds on earth and they will be rewarded or punished accordingly.

To a practical minded person this will sound extremely justifiable, because, we know now that the World Court of Justice is corrupt to the point of explosion. I wouldn’t flinch if our courts sentence a two year old for felony and murder.

Individuals engaged in crime against Humanity is left to go scot-free whereas innocent billions are being murdered every moment. Its pointless to look to our prevalent Justice system for-justice!

I call you once again to learn about Islam because this misunderstanding is costing innocent people their lives and the world is at war with the wrong people!!

I conclude by correcting the misguided notion of the Islamophobic group: “The Rooted Solution to All the Problems occurring in the World is ISLAM.”

Was it your Life, or Mine?

If I even had the vaguest of ideas of what I was up for, I reckon I would have been prepared.

Maybe no, not even prepared.  The events were too powerful and too strong to the extent that when I think about it now, I still feel dazed.

It wasn’t easy, to leave the choice of a lifetime, literally, to somebody else. What ever be the choice made, I was to live with it. Forever.

Marriage was all about finding the right partner, settling down, having kids and all those happy occasions that are synonymous to one ‘getting married.’

But all this comes down to the one thing: Who exactly do we choose? And what options do we have?

Our hearts would cry out for somebody who can love us, care for us, respect us and make us feel special.

When it comes to actually choosing the right guy, we might have to make certain compromises, or so I was told.

We had nothing in common. Yet, everybody thought it the best match. Being inexperienced and with a heart to please all those I loved, I found myself being pulled into something which I had no ability to control-then.

Days passed and I realized just how much strain I was taking-to try and stay happy, but couldn’t.

To call everything off would mean serious reprimanding from all those around me. I wasn’t even sure of what I wanted at this point.

Go for it and live a life devoid of sincere affection just to please others? Or say no to the whole thing, no matter what the consequences, and know deep down that it would be the best decision that I have ever taken?

The pressure was just about a little too much, and I decided in the end that I couldn’t take it anymore.Who exactly did I fear? The society? As to what they would think? And what limits did they set out for me?

It hit me then that others cannot really force you or even make decisions for you as to what you should do with your life.And giving in to what they want for you would only make you less confident with yourself.

I realized that in a life given to you to live, you are responsible for the choices that you make and you alone will live with it. People would appear in the initial happy stages and they all go away, having their own lives to live.

I sit here now, feeling very much at peace and very much content, knowing I did not have to be untrue to myself and of not having to subject myself to lifelong discontentment and dissatisfaction.

Why compromise on happiness for something lesser?