reminder to self

"If you never thank Allah after every smile,

Then you have no right to blame Him for every tear."

(via myquoteshome)

oh so true.

Approaching Ramadan

“How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. If God brings to mind mostly fear and blame, it means there is too much fear and blame welled inside us. If we see God as full of love and compassion, so are we.”

- The Forty Rules of Love, Elif Shafak -

Ramadan is approaching in 2 days' time.

1 more day to first night of terawih. :)

I'm pretty excited. :)

But this happens to me every single time. Will get all excited before the start of Ramadan, only to falter half-way through. Sigh.

And every single year I will make the same resolution - for my Ramadan to be better than the previous one. Hopefully this year I can be proud of my Ramadan.

Yang penting, niat tu ada eh. Hehe.

Whatever your niat may be,

may we all receive a blessed Ramadan this year.

InsyaAllah.

Allah is the best of planners; continued

so, for my dear readers who happen to stumble upon yesterday's entry would know that my day yesterday ended off on an awesome note. alhamdulillah. :)

what started off as an oh-so-emotional day (no surprises there, november is a melancholic month for me), ended with dearest cuzzie, Nadiah asking me to tag along to her ustaz's class.

it all started with her sending me an image of Barney Stinson (shall not elaborate on him today.. if you watch himym you should know.. shall not elaborate on himym also.. see, i always digress on nonsense things like this) & how he is getting more awesome despite everything else.

and then me replying to her on how emotional i am at that point of time because of something not-so-important but at the same time not-really-that-irrational (to me). am very thankful she understands this nonsensical emotional roller-coaster ride that i have at times. *hugs*

to cut the story short, the watsapp conversation ended with her asking me to join her for class @ al-falah after maghrib. and i agreed since i have nothing on at night & the class sounds interesting -- "The 10 Promised Paradise."

the moment i stepped into the class, the first thing that struck me was why were there so many Chinese people in this class. somehow it did not strike my mind at that point of time that Muslim converts comes from all races.
(this is what happens when you always go to classes full of makciks & pakciks.. 
you start to think that orang Islam = orang Melayu.. hahahahahaha)

so yes, i was in awe really to be surrounded by these converts. honestly, i would love to know each & every one of their story. what made them convert to Islam? how did they find Islam? was it challenging being a non-Malay Muslim? etc etc etc. you get my drift.

so these questions were just playing at the back of my head as i listened to the ustaz's presentation. my full concentration was on him, until someone diagonally behind me said something & i swiveled my head to look at that direction & noticed a guy with his whole left arm covered with tattoos (!)

and at that exact moment, pride & awe overcame me. this guy, with an arm full of tattoos (!) is attending this class!

(ermmm, you can say that i was a bit jakun la actually.. as i said my class always full of makciks & pakciks hence to get such a vibrant class is a bit overwhelming i might say.. hehehe)

so yes, once i got over myself, i managed to continue listening to ustaz's presentation.. he presents in English by the way, but of course. and this was the other (little) problem i had as i am very much used to other ustaz presenting in either Malay or Bahasa Indonesia.. i literally had to translate (in my head of course) some of the things he was saying to the Malay language.. hahaha..  
very kental i know!!!

like for example, caliphates = khalifahs, shroud = kain kafan, and then there's forbearance, magnanimity, emoluments & well, you get the idea.. hehe.. maklumlah, cikgu Melayu.. ;p

so yes, all in all it was really an awesome experience to say the least. :)

and something happened too (right after cuzzie asked me along) which made her said,

"alhamdulillah, see better things happen when we decide to do good things for ourselves :D"

so to you, i wanna thank you too for making my day with that sweet (but cheeky) message of yours. good luck with the making of the video montage. i miss you today.
(and who this person is? that, i shall not say, for now. hehe.)

to end this off, again i reiterate.. Allah IS indeed the BEST of all planners. :))

Allah is the best of planners

(via thesunalwayssets)

sometimes, we just need something to happen to be reminded of God's grand scheme of things.
After all, He is the best of planners. (Surah Al-e'Imran, Ayat 54)

like for me, today happened.

and i'm still delirious from the awesomeness of it all. syukur alhamdulillah. :))

story will have to wait till tomorrow.
for now, this lady needs her sleep.

toodles everyone!

be persistent in doing the things He loves

"If you desire Allah to be persistent in granting you the thing you love, be persistent in doing the things He loves."


- Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal -

(via thebeautyofislam)

need to remind myself time & again.

again & again & again.
:(

Pursue a path in search of knowledge, God will make easy for you a path to paradise.

"If anyone removes (one of the) anxieties of this world from a believer, God will remove (one of the) anxieties from him on the Day of Resurrection; 

if one smooths the way for one who is destitute, God will smooth the way for him in this world and the next; 

and if anyone conceals the faults of a Muslim, God will conceal his faults in this world and the next. 

God helps a man as long as he helps his brother. 

If anyone pursues a path in search of knowledge, God will thereby make easy for him a path to paradise."

(HR Muslim)

(via thebeautyofislam)

Dear Allah,

please help me in all of the above.

Thank you.

gratitude towards Allah

"Allah’s generosity is connected to gratitude, and gratitude is linked to increase in his generosity. The generosity of Allah will not stop increasing unless the gratitude of the servant ceases."

- Ali Bin Abi Talib (R.A.) -

(via thebeautyofislam)

patience is a virtue

via (thesunalwayssets)

i need to learn to be (MORE) patient.

help me please ya Rabb.

help me be MORE thankful to You.

"Then which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?" 
(Surah Al-Rahman)

I am as My servant thinks I am.

Allah Almighty said:

"I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I makes mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assemble better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed."

 - Hadith Bukhari on the authority of Abu Hurayrah r.a. -

(via thebeautyofislam)

Forgive me ya Allah when i forget,

Forgive me when i'm careless.

Forgive me for i have not been the best Muslim.

I need You, ya Allah..
help me be the best that i can be.

:'(

please, have heart.

(via islamicthinking)

please, i ask of you,
have heart.

istiqamah

(via redfallenpetals)

buatlah sekadar yang termampu, tetapi selalu.

insya-Allah rahmat Allah akan sentiasa memayungi diri.

Amin. 

:)

with God's grace

"What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now."

- unknown -

(via runawaytrain)

hence, we shall focus on the (starting over) right now.

Bismillah.

:)

sentiasa berbaik sangka dengan Allah

"Dan boleh jadi kamu benci pada sesuatu padahal ia baik bagi kamu". 

(Al-Baqarah: ayat 216)

Dari Abu Hurairah ra., ia berkata: Nabi s.a.w. bersabda:
“Allah Ta’ala berfirman: “Aku menurut sangkaan hambaKu kepadaKu."
(HR Bukhari)

Dari Jabir bin Abdillah r.a. bahwa ia mendengar Nabi s.a.w. berkata tiga hari sebelum wafatnya:
"Jangan seorang di antara kalian mati kecuali dia berbaik sangka kepada Allah.”
(HR Muslim)

 

(via tazkirah)

truthfulness leads to righteousness

An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different. He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you.”


The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. “I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!”


One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.


Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn’t have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by-still nothing in Ling’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.


Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn’t say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.


A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she persuaded him to go and be honest about what had happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful-in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kids laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, “Hey nice try.”


When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,” said the emperor. “Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!” All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. “The emperor knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!”


When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. “My name is Ling,” he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, “Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!” Ling couldn’t believe it. Ling couldn’t even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!”


The Prophet taught, “Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to Al-Fajur (i.e. wickedness, evil-doing), and Al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allah, a liar.”
[Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 8:116]

(via islamicthinking)

do right by others, speak the truth, and others will do right by you. :)

Tuhanku, hanya kepadaMu aku berserah

"Trials and tribulation are like feeling the heat and cold, when one knows that they cannot be avoided, he will not feel anger at theirs onset, nor will he be distressed or disheartened." 

(Ibn Taymiyya)

Nobody said it's gonna be easy.

"Whenever a believer is stricken with any hardship or pain, anxiety or sorrow, harm or distress, even it be a thorn that has pricked him, God redeems thereby some of his failings."

(Al Bukhari & Muslim)

we can only plan, namun Allah yang menentukan segalanya.

"Although they plan, Allah also plans. And Allah is the Best of Planners."

(Al-Anfal 8:30)

so help me God

"Apakah manusia itu mengira bahawa mereka dibiarkan (sahaja) mengatakan: "Kami telah beriman" sedang mereka tidak diuji lagi?"

- Surah Al-Ankabut, 29:2 -

seek & spread

Abu Nu’aym, Hilyah Al Awliya’, Vol3, p283.

(Source: b0nds0fl0ve)

(via islamicthinking)

today, i was reminded that i not only seek knowledge, but after that i have to spread that knowledge (in whatever means i'm capable of) so that more people will benefit from it.
Insya-Allah.

:)

seeking knowledge

Today was my 1st day (after a very very very long absence) *covers face in shame* attending 'kuliah' or lecture at a mosque..

and i must say i'm loving it, alhamdulillah.. :)

learnt abt 'Qarin' today.. something that i've never known before & wouldnt have found out if i had not attended 'kuliah'..
syukur ya Rabb.. :)

it's never too late to seek knowledge.. and i'm glad i took this important first step..

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala has commenced the revelation of the Holy Qur’an by mentioning regarding the importance of Knowledge,

“Read and your Lord is Most Honorable, who taught (to write) with the pen, who taught man what he knew not.”

(Holy Qur’an, Al-'Alaq, 96:3 - 5)

The Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam encouraged all Muslims to acquire knowledge and share it. He said:

“Acquire knowledge, for he who acquires it in the way of Allah performs an act of piety; he who speaks of it, praises the Lord; he who seeks it, adores Allah; he who dispenses instruction in it, bestows alms; and he who imparts it to others, performs an act of devotion to Allah.”

(Bukhari, Muslim)

(via islamicthinking)

May every step we take in seeking for knowledge be a blessed one.

insya-Allah :)

striving to be a better muslimah

is not gonna be easy.
i'm bound to face with many challenges, which may come in all forms.
but insya-Allah, with determination & will power as well as help from Allah s.w.t, i know i can do this. :)

"O Allah, put a great distance between me and my sins, as great as the distance You have made between the East and the West. O Allah, cleanse me of sin as a white garment is cleansed from filth. O Allah, wash away my sins with snow and water and hail."

[Bukhaari, 711; Muslim, 598]

"O Allah, correct my religious commitment which is the foundation of my life, and correct my worldly affairs in which is my livelihood, and grant me good in the Hereafter to which is my return. Make my life a means of accumulating good, and make death a respite for me from all evil."

[Muslim, 2720]

(via islamic-quotes)

patience, strength, prayer

And whatever it is I'm going through right now, i have faith that Allah knows what is best for me.

"...Bear with patience whatever befalls you...." (Qur'an 31:17)

"Be not sad, surely Allah is with us." (Qur'an 9:40)

Our Prophet (pbuh) said: "Verily, if Allah loves a people, He makes them go through trials. Whoever is satisfied, for him is contentment, and whoever is angry upon him is wrath." [Tirmidhi]

I know He loves me, and He knows what i know not.

Dear Allah, strengthen my Imaan and let me be among whom you favour.

"Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs. So they returned with Grace and Bounty from Allah. No harm touched them; and they followed the good Pleasure of Allah. And Allah is the owner of Great Bounty." (Qur'an 3:173-174)

By leaving your affairs to Allah by depending on Him, by trusting in His promise, by being pleased with His decree, by thinking favourably of Him, and by waiting patiently for His help, you reap some of the greater fruits of faith. When you incorporate these qualities, you will be at peace concerning the future, because you will depend on Allah for everything.

Semoga hati ini tidak putus daripada menerima hidayah dan rahmat dariMu ya Allah. insyaAllah, amin.