Peaceful Submission

Have you got Your Duaa List?

2010-08-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

You know, it's a fact that I have been blessed with many caring and wise people who would come at the nick of time and I would benefit from their wisdom and knowledge and become many fold better than I was before that encounter. May Allah allow me to be able to show my appreciation - if showing appreciation is something that pleases Him - to such people, some day. May Allah also increase them in

If our words could be silenced...

2010-07-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

If we ever knew Allah's greatness.If we ever glimpsed at the reality of our affairs.If the heavens opened up to reveal what occurs up above.If the mountains humbled themselves and showed their weakness.If we for once - just once - got to see what truly resides within our hearts.If the beauty of this world showed to us a glimpse of its ugliness.If our words - just for a moment - could be silenced,

Watchuwaaaaannn?

2010-07-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

You think my name is feminine? Let me clear all doubts you may have ... and say that the name is feminine-sounding in all cultures ... it's not a cultural thing. I am universally at a disadvantage in making a strong, first-time masculine impression.And I ain't changing the name. :)You think I smile too little? Well, I think you smile too much. There, we're even.So you wish me to cut-down on chai

To this end...

2010-06-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

I hope that perhaps one or two of you, maybe even three of you, will think hard about the highly simple message that I have been emphasizing through my past few months of writings: That your Lord, Creator and Worship-worthy Deity is only the One God. This was the message that Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Lot, David, John and Muhammad all preached, lived and died for...We all know what kind of critical

Cultures are a Beautiful Thing...

2010-05-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

I've been ranting on this blog way too much lately. However, I realized there was one more thing I needed to clarify.And that is the fear of me proposing some sort of importing of a foreign culture on our own.Your culture is my own culture, and why would anyone wish to do that in any case... In all honesty, we are a beautiful people. I mean that with the utmost genuineness. We are a beautiful

The Nature of Religion...

2010-05-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

It's unfortunate that the idea of religion has become so mundane and backward in our times. In the Muslim circles of scholarship Islam is often described as being much more than religion: rather, a way of life.And now that I think about it, I think that is what religion is supposed to be. It's just that we have today juiced religion out of all the good it brings to a society, and creamed it down

Romance

2010-04-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

An admireable figure once said that romance doesn't have to happen with some girl... Romance can be with an idea, a belief or a world view.It's that inner drive for a cause you believe in: an idea.You see, many people have ideas. Almost everyone speaks like a scholar or acadamian today, and nearly everyone has a perspective on how to fix this world's problems.But not every idea is worth believing

Understanding the Beauty of Allah

2010-04-25T09:13:00.001-07:00

So it perhaps frustrates many people how I always seem to speak so lowly of the human being. Why so anti-people?And really, the answer to this is that I'm not anti-humans. Having been one of that species for the past 22 years or so, I can relate ... however I have realized that we - the human being - have a very egoistic nature. Constantly our nafs (which can be translated better as Ego, here)

Response to "In Search of Solace"

2010-04-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

My dear son, how easily you forget.Were you not struggling with the truth some years ago, and when you thought you did not have the strength, He strengthed your heart, and gave you firmness?And when you lost your way, and fealt alone - and indeed you were alone - and you became a victem of your own thoughts, and your heart would jump at every fright, did God not raise your status, protect you and

Thoughts & Ponderings...

2010-03-30T20:59:00.001-07:00

You know, I was blessed with many wise teachers in highschool, one of them, my Careers teacher (who was a Music teacher, otherwise) on the first day of class drew a large pie chart on the blackboard; then, he chalked in an extremely thin slice in the pie, and said to the class, "this is how much we [as individuals] know." Then he chalked in a slightly bigger slice in the pie, and declared, "this

In Search of Solace

2010-03-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

What are we looking for? Peace? Wealth? Fame? Power?I look around me and I see sad people aiming for sad objectives. Some seek heroes to change their condition. Some seek power to get what is not sound. Complaining to a Lord that they haven't fully believed in; not taking the moment to see what they've become...O humanity when will you learn that your desires, your aspirations and all that you

A Mother's Moment

2010-03-23T11:35:00.001-07:00

While having small talk with my mom over chai (brown tea),I complain to her about how I always seem to forget which cup is hers and which one is mine, while making it - since I usually add the different sugar quantities in each cup at the beginning of the chai-making process - then, while essentially chattering on as she listens, I realize to myself and mutter aloud that I think I tend to put my

Solace...

2010-03-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

Some poet in the Urdu language once said, (translation): "Some people see this world's storms and tell Allah how agonizing and tremendous they are; and some people see this world's storms and tell them of the greatness of Allah."

Forgive Me O Allah

2010-03-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

How far have I fallen. Pathetic.Who is beautiful? I will tell you who is beautiful.The beautiful one is the one who is content with Allah's decree. Not merely content, but pleased with God's decree. O Allah I have truly failed my tests!So pathetic do I feel today, I cannot express in any number of words.I was recently heading home in the 19S bus from SqureOne, and it was a bit late in the night..

The King of kings

2010-03-07T15:33:00.001-08:00

To the fools who think they posess the keys of this earth; they should know that they do not posess keys but are loaned a heavey loan from Allah.They have nothing that is imperrishable and have niether created a thing nor can destroy it, except by His will. While He holds supreme control over everything and has brought them to life and will cause them to die.Anyone given abundance in this world

Truth is seen from the heart

2010-03-06T18:36:00.001-08:00

... And today we have forgotten the heart.Indeed the heart, or the soul as some like to refer to it as, is such a crucial element of the body, capable of influencing so many decisions, but we tend to give it little recognition.You know, our infatuation with the human mind is such that we consider the realization of the ultimate truth to be primarily a function of the mind as well.I realized this

Crazy World...

2010-03-01T19:01:00.000-08:00

My life is truly a phenomena on it's own. Something I cannot describe in all the words I've been blessed with.It's as though God has given me the keys of the world and said do as you wish and you will be helped. The only irony is that I have no real wishes.Every day I am puzzled at my own state of affairs as I realize I am more and more unlike others. The keys people of the world are chasing; I

The Pen can't Splurt Ink...

2010-01-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

Aight, so first of all ... Yes. I am not as righteous as I like to portray myself ... i.e. I haven't reached such high levels of zuhud that I 'forget the world,' nor is it true that I never delve into others' errors.In fact, I contradicted myself in the very second sentence of my last post by showing frustration over the excessive chattering and the wastage of words that burdens my my hearing oh

What is worship?

2009-12-31T21:55:00.000-08:00

Silence is wisdom.It truly is. I have a hard time understanding why we destroy our image by speaking too much. SubhanAllah.Sometimes I wish we could grab the Quran - English or Arabic - and simply spend our spare time reflecting on it.I swear music is such a killer. Alhamdulillah I was never into Music ... my first album was Dawud Wharsby Ali's "Colors of Islam' ... but slowly nasheeds (Islamic

You Don't Have to Love What I Say...

2009-11-28T18:44:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me, tend to realize fairly quick that I'm a highly sensitive individual..As with many other qualities, sensitivity has its pros and its cons...And one of the cons (atleast for the one who has this quality) is that it hurts ... a lot ... at times. I actually admire people with thick-skins, at times ... nothing seems to scratch them. For me, you show one sign of disapproval,

Some Qualities of the Message

2009-11-22T19:54:00.000-08:00

When Prophet's came to towns and people, they usually came with a message that was unexpected, and radical to the people. You can talk at length about how their message was different and why it was so powerful (like how it wasn't based purely on a social/political/economical cause, but rather, and in fact, primarily, on the cause of submission to The One God); however, I like to focus on two

All over $6.99...

2009-11-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

SubhanAllah, it was as though I was meant to witness this...I walk into a local fastfood dine-in restaurant at a time of heavy traffic and high tension...This young father gets up from his table and starts addressing the manager in a harsh and irritated tone requesting his money back due to the excessive wait. The manager tries to reason with the young man, but to no avail. From the background

Your Smile

2009-11-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

You did charm me with your flair, but when I walked closer, and when I looked into your eyes, I saw the hollowness that resided their in.Your smile was deceptive. Your laughter, frightening. Your voice, ever so threatening. Every step I chose to take towards you, my heart pained and my mind drained (of its functionality).Every step I took towards you, I wondered why I took it, until I was so near

Clarification on my Father's statement

2009-11-04T08:16:00.000-08:00

I recently realized the statement I paraphrased from my father, dating back several years could be very easily taken out of context!Whoa! First of all, that was my dad's point-of-view, not necessarily mine. I quoted that statement to show his depth of insight and the strong intellect that I was always impressed by mashAllah.Second, whatever he said applied to a specific era and context he was

The World Isn't Crazy

2009-09-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

...But I was nearing madness.Alhamdulillah, I like to say, I'm back inshAllah.I wasn't traveling. But a part of me had disappeared.Many of you, close to me, I'm sure noticed strange and shocking changes in my personality lately. And so I like to publically delcare that by the will and persmission of Allah, I will be returning back to the way I used to be a year or two ago ... well, for the most