A Beautiful Supplication

A beautiful supplication by the Prophet Mohammed, PBUH, on love:

"Oh Allah, I ask you for Your love and the love of the one whose love benefits me with You,
            Oh Allah, whatever You have bestowed upon me of what I love, let it be a strength for me in what        
            You love
                       Oh Allah, whatever You withold from me of what I love. let it be a void (to be filled) with              
                       what you love"

A Kind of Friendship

Imagine a friend who came to you at speed the moment you turned their way in seeking help and guidance 

Or a friend whom we wronged so much so to the point -that they couldn't possibly forgive us, but did so 
anyway 

Or a friend who loved us more than our own mother 

Or a friend who knew us better than our own selves 

Imagine a friend who called us 5 times a day to join them in conversation 

so that we may ask them whatever we so pleased, 

Subhannallah. 

And all they ask of us is that we remember them and call on them.

Angry

Your pace quickens

Your temperature rises

Your breath deepens

Your voice quivers

Your fists clench

Your teeth grind together

Your thoughts race

Withheld tears and a clouded mind testament to a soul overcome by the tormenting disease.

The tumultuous, ever familiar disease.

Anger.

Your mood swings violently from one end to the other,

And amidst the confusion you wonder

How the monster within you could have been released

As you cease

The expression of any rational thought or behavior

Behaving as though any bout of sound reasoning had been rationed

As your passion drives you further and further away from a place

Alien to sentiments of rage

Of hate

And ultimately of regret

Yet we forget

This poison that has entered our minds, bodies and souls

Controls these very faculties

Harming none other than the vessel within which it is consumed

And still you are unable to resume

The routines of daily life

Presuming others are in the least bit affected by your mood

Failing to realize your discomfort is the fuel to their fire

As they desire your complete and total control

Of a being wanting nothing more than an extended guest list in his abode in the next life

As the best life is hidden from your view

Because you

Harboured an ignorance so deceiving

Clearly assuming

That this life and those in it were made perfect

Free from faults as though none erred within it

And the minute

Your “perfected” plan takes a turn for the worst

You seek out excuses and these causes you curse

Yet to nurse a pained heart hurts you more 

Than to restore it all back to before 

Your four valves rushed blood out

and your temperature soared

Anger confuses and leaves hidden bruises

Abuses the soul, left battered and looses 

all sense of control, disarrayed so you lose it

Your driver-satisfied

Your actions, his amusement

So, before you take a ride in the passengers seat 

Take a deep breath 

Relax

and remain in control

For one never knows the outcome of their actions 

While they are angry 

-----

It has been narrated by Abu Huraira (May Allah be pleased with him) That Allah's  Messenger Muhammad ( PBUH) Said:
 “ The strong is not the one who over comes the people by his strength
But the strong is the one who controls him while in anger." [Bukhari]

Too Late

I`ve heard too many times that it`s too late.

That it`s too late to go back and change your mistakes. Erase everything one by one until not a single memory exists of whatever it is that you are trying to forget. That it`s too late to start all over again. That it`s too late to set your life back on track. But what`s worst is that I`ve heard too many times that it`s too late to turn back to Allah, to ask him for forgiveness and set your life straight. As if we were at the end of our road, and our soul had already been taken from us. Or as if we were "too bad" for Allah. Honestly, if you have let shaytaan convince you of this, then you have been fooled. Fooled by one of his most deceitful tactics. As if the ability to judge lay in his hands.

But it's hard. Because in your mind, your actions were more than just inexcusable. Condemning yourself before the judge has even had a chance to review your case.

It's hard forgetting everything that has happened in the past. We cannot delete, nor can we rewind to the moments prior to these regretful experiences. After all, our brains are not computers.

But our souls, they were created by Allah, Glory be to Him, the Most Merciful. And in his mercy He has given us countless chances, again and again and again.

Every breath we take, every step we make and every morning we rise is yet another chance. Chances left for self-reflection, and ultimate improvement. The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him) even told us himself that a man who's two days is the same is a Loser. Does this not prove to us, then, that life does not exist as a mere straight, unaffected line? On the contrary, In His mercy, God always leaves space for improvement. Those bumps? They were placed there for a reason.

Seeking his forgiveness was one of them. We were never meant to live perfect, flawless lives. In fact, we were meant to MAKE MISTAKES, so that we would ultimately turn back with full humility to the one who had created us in the first place.

Believing yourself to be at the end of a long road makes apparent your loss in trust in Allah.

You will never know how long your road in this life will be, that knowledge is with Allah and Allah alone. What we do know, however, is that there is only one straight path to Allah, and until our souls have been taken from us, we will always have a chance to set our sights straight on this path. And until our souls have been taken from us, it is never too late.

When the World Remains Silent

When the world remains silent

While hearts break from ill fate

commit crimes for God's sake

And our hearts do not shake

But an ounce for their pain

As our eyes have been trained

Strained from realities we pray

We don't encounter someday

And we pray empty prayers for those lives filled with sorrow

An arrogance unknowing of what'll come tomorrow

We row on and row on expecting smooth sails as we go

Feeling pity for those having fallen off the boat

Then only can we expect a world drowning in its shame

When the world remains silent

At the expense of those unable to speak

Weak and defeated they plead

To fill mouths left to feed

We grow food in abundance to save our own souls

Yet we're starving ourselves of a mercy foretold

Indeed we know nothing, and Allah only knows

Each test in this life and for whom he chose

When the world remains silent

Violent echoes will remain

Until a day

When our souls are placed before the All-knowing

And our silence is broken

And our tongue speaks on our behalf

Bearing witness to all that was contained in our souls

The Prophet (SAW) said: "If one of you sees something wrong, let him change it with his hand; if he cannot, then with his tongue; if he cannot, then with his heart and this is the weakest faith. [Some versions add:] There is no part of faith behind that, not even so much as a mustard seed." --- Al-Bukhari

The Bright Side

I truly believe that being able to see on the bright side of things is really one of the best ways to live one's life. The ability for one to be able to judge quickly and criticize only reminds me of the human being's continued dissatisfaction at the many blessings Allah has bestowed on them. As though somehow they were guaranteed a life of ease and the companionship of perfect people. If we were to make a mistake, then how would we want those around us to respond to us? Nowadays, it is almost as though treating people the way you'd like to be treated is a way of the past. We assume the actions of others are done with ill intentions, as if we gained insight into their exact thoughts and motives. We judge the actions of others as though Allah is in need of assistance in his role. Even he doesn't  pass judgement until the person has left this earth, so then how is it fair that we pass judgement while everyone is still a work-in-progress? We mask assuming the worst of every possible situation by "preparing for the worst". But preparing for the worst only distances us in placing our full hope in Allah swt. How can you trust in him and believe in him to the best of your abilities if we always assume he has the most unfortunate plans laid out for us? Negativity only breeds negativity, and nothing more. Having faith in Allah swt means you believe wholeheartedly that he will always guide you to that which is best for you. If you expect Allah to forgive you for your shortcomings, then would it not make sense that you forgive others of their shortcomings, especially seeing as their shortcomings matter a lot less than those of yours to Allah swt. This life and the people in it were never meant to be perfect, so try and look past the imperfections you are faced with on a daily basis. Instead, look to those things in life which are going well, and the qualities in those people which are good. This way, all that lies ahead of you will look a whole lot brighter
:)

***

As always, a BIG reminder to myself before all others 

Beauty: Whose standards do you live by?

As a young woman growing up in the west, I am constantly reminded that in the eyes of my society, I will never be good enough. I will never be good enough because I will never look good enough. And I will never look good enough until I chain myself to society's endless list of demands.  

Standing in line at a checkout, I am told that I have not yet achieved my skin's ultimate glow. 

But not to worry, there is something for that.

I am told that my weight is not ideal. 

But not to worry, they have tips and tricks for that. 

I am told my curves are unnatural, further reminded by the frustration felt after countless shopping trips. 

I am not thin enough nor am I tall enough. My nails need work, my eyebrows need work. My clothes would also look a bit better if they hugged me a little tighter. Forget the scarf, I am told of my beauty's inverse relationship with my clothes- in this case, the less the clothing, the more beautiful I will appear in the eyes of others.  

And if society's demands weren't bad enough as they were, they continue to change. The length of my hair no longer complies with society's standards, neither does the length of my skirt, leaving me chasing after demands with seemingly no end in sight. What I failed to realize all these years, however, is that these ideals of beauty have been changing for as long as humans have been in existence. 

And that is when it finally hit me. 

These very ideals that have caused young girls to starve themselves, to cut themselves and to torture themselves mentally and emotionally were ideals devised by human beings. A product of societal construction, women are forced into literally buying into a notion of beauty crafted intelligently by men willing to exploit these women on behest of their gain. Not only do they set a bar so high women are left gasping for air from the cruel physical and mental exhaustion experienced thereof, they set the bar in relation to THEIR perception of true beauty. How then, am I supposed to buy into society's definition of beauty when its definer shares not a single demographic with me? How could I ever feel satisfied complying with standards that would continue to change, as they are nothing more than a product of human creation? It was the realization of this simple fact that allowed me to discover the reasons behind society's faulted, unattainable notion of beauty. 

I suddenly felt the biggest wave of relief I had felt in a very long time, for it was at that moment when I realized the incredibly simplistic nature of my Creator's standards for me, the only one who truly even mattered in the first place. To him, neither the colour of my skin nor the size of my hips mattered, so long as my character fell beautifully in line with his demands of holding myself upright as a virtuous Muslim woman. In complying with these standards, I would find the honour, respect and beauty we had been told to search for in all the wrong places by all the wrong people. The very people who would constantly remind us that we would never attain beauty, so long as we refrained from living up to their standards. Their oft-deceiving standards. In the eyes of my Creator, I would always remain testament to the beauty of all that He had created. For I was yet another example of a masterpiece created by none other than the Master himself. The Master of the Day of Judgement, a day when I will be asked not of the colour of my skin, nor the numbers that had appeared on scales throughout my lifetime, but of content of my heart and the weight of my good deeds. On that day, I realized that I would not be judged for the colour or the plumpness of my lips, but of the words that they spoke, be they good or bad. Allah set the standards for me so low, yet promised to elevate me to a status so high in comparison to the women who my society told me to emulate. 

The mind is a beautiful thing, and a single belief can alter with such force one's entire outlook on life. My convinced belief in Allah (SWT) frees me from the slavery my society continuously tries disguise as the truest example of liberation for women. We all have our insecurities. However, the real problem lies in one elevating the importance of their physical blemishes and insecurities over the more important issue at hand.

 

I am beautiful and I have found beauty in a faith that frees me from living up to illusory standards. If I can remind myself of this everyday, then God Willing, I will find pleasure solely in the recognition I receive from my Creator and none other. This type of beauty is attainable and ever-lasting. This is a type of beauty that is inspired by faith. And that is all I aspire to be. Beautifullyfaithful. 

And whatever thing you [people] have been given - it is [only for] the enjoyment of worldly life and its adornment. And what is with Allah is better and more lasting; so will you not use reason? [28:60]

*a reminder to myself before all others*