Papa's Doa

My memory is a bit fuzzy on this,

for it is after all a childhood memory..

but

I remember 

after solat maghrib 

Papa letting me sit on his lap

as he makes doa.

He says it out loud deliberately

(I suspect)

so I could hear him say:

"Ya Allah, 

make my children good people,

grant them success 

in this world and the next"

Sometimes we feel that our success

comes from 

our own intelligence,

our own effort,

or just being at the right place

at the right time.

Forgetting that all help comes from Allah

and that help came via

the help of friends,

a 'lucky break',

or the sincere doa of a father.

Thanks pa :)

What Sort of Budak Surau?

But what sort of budak surau?

One who doesn't only frequent the masjid

but is also able to

argue his stand in an intellectual debate,

jog a few miles without a problem,

and lead society with the principles of Islam.

For, after all, 

Islam itself is holistic, perfect, and synergistic.

Should we not, then, question the state of our tarbiyyah

if our tarbiyyah is not consistently churning out

the main ingredient of a strong ummah: 

the well-rounded individual?

Shall We Let Them Win?

Manifestation of khalifah?

Shall we let them win?

They;

who are enemies to

non-Muslims and 

Muslims alike.

Enemies to non-Muslims

as they in the name of Islam

behead, bomb, and gun down

innocent souls.

Enemies to Muslims

as they behead, bomb, and gun down

innocent souls

in the name of Islam.

Shall we let them win?

The trick they play is the

exploitation of ignorance,

to sow fear and hatred,

for the purpose of causing division;

in a misguided jihad for the khilafah.

And 

we are letting them win

as governments  "declare war" on them

when that is the very thing they want:

a reinforcement of their narrative

that "the West" is at war with Islam,

and so Muslims must kill the Westerners.

President Hollande announces the French declaration of war on ISIS

We are letting them win

as we discriminate against Muslims even more,

making them even more alienated in European society.

We are letting them win

as we keep Syrian refugees out,

leaving them vulnerable to the allure of violence.

In so doing,

we are serving them new recruits on a silver platter;

we are letting them win.

Shall we let them win?

We shall not;

but only if ALL of us

Muslim or non-Muslim,

reject the idea they are selling:

the idea that

Islam is a religion of violence,

eternally at war with the West.

To the non-Muslims of Europe,

I advice you to have sabr

and hold on to your principles of

justice, freedom and tolerance.

To the Muslims of Europe,

I advice you to hold on to the Islamic principles of

justice, freedom and tolerance

and have sabr.

Do not let them win.

This, actually, is the manifestation of khalifah

Redefinition

Perhaps we don't find peace in our solat

not because we have forgotten "how"

but because we have forgotten "why".

The irony being 

that the answer to the question "why solat?" 

is, actually,

"Why"

You see,

it is the nature of the dunya 

to make us fixated on 

the "how"s of life:

how to get a girlfriend,

how to raise our kids,

how to graduate from uni;

so much so that

we start defining ourselves 

by those "how"s: 

"I'm a lover,

a mother, 

a student."

Against this background,

the solat is, actually,

a redefinition of self

prescribed 5 times a day;

because, you see,

it is the nature of the solat

to make us remember 

the "why" of life:

"I'm an abid of Allah."

But it can only be so

if we stop misperceiving it as

as a mere ritual,

and stop the "how"s of life

from intruding into it.

Perhaps then

we shall find peace in our solat.

Credit

On niat:

credit

it can make
the smallest of acts
big in the sight of Allah,
or
the biggest of acts
small in the sight of Allah.

Even something as big
as a hijrah.

#letshijrah1437

Meetings

As we change through Life
constantly
from one moment to the next,

every one of those moments is a meeting
between the past you
and the future you

at a time called Now
and a place called You.

So
how will you change today?

The Iman System

The body's defence is the immune system;

the heart's defence is the iman system.

Just as the immune system has to be maintained by

eating well,

stopping smoking, and

exercising;

so the iman system has to be maintained by

doing ibadah well,

avoiding sins, and

doing da'wah.

✌🏻😎