.:Bullet Proof Read:.

You know with love come strange currencies.

And here is my appeal…

These days I visit my own blog a lot mainly to get easy access to the Free Talha Ahsan campaign website. However everytime I visit this very page, I tend to scroll a bit further down to look at the picture of the pink demons (found in We won!). There’s just something about that image. Sure, it could be that I simply loved the first installation of Doom - I’d play the game time and time again until I got literally sick. But it’s really about how it’s so cute (come on, imagine the plush toy, all pinky, furry and cuddly!) and gory at the same time. Irony is so appealing in a paradoxical world.

So we are naturally attracted to strangeness. Everyone loves the hadith about al-Ghuraba - the Strangers. Outside of such a definition though, the strange can be dangerous and harmful (the linked article sheds light on the types of strangeness). Muslims love things that are out of the ordinary. This is where the problem sometimes lies. Just as strange incidents cause sensationalism in the media, strangeness can cause for deviant beliefs and practices amongst Muslims. Like, why do sunnah dhikr when you could have strange dhikr that’s accompanied/explained by bone structures and word dissections? Right? Uhh, no. May Allah guide and protect us :/

It’s become such a problem that the rest of us feel so wary of performing every new deed we learn of. “Wait, why is that word in that piece of du’a? Isn’t that word used by such-and-such a group?!”

These problems combine to give birth to extremism. Where one side can never “talk” to the other side. It’s funny, really. The ones who get all riled up about “deviants” online are the same to hang out with them in real life without even a remote flinch of an attitude. Talk about the MPD-ish Muslim. But I digress :P.

You know how it’s deemed bad/silly (boo!) when you talk about a problem but fail to post a solution(s) as well? (Like, move on, sister. We all know where all these BID’AH practices stem from. How about we talk about changes for a change??) Well, lately, I’ve begged to differ. When you discuss a certain problem, especially when you realise its roots, you may gain a new perspective, a better understanding from someone who has seen it differently. This, my fellow brothers and sisters, might actually lead to a more concrete solution rather than totally shutting up about the situation simply because you can’t articulate quite like a heroic solver. It is through mashwarah (consultation) that things really get resolved in the most effective way, bi idhnillah.

But that’s what’s strange, you see. People want to change this and that. But they fail to change themselves… to use the methods employed by the first Muslims when changing anything.

My personal advice here is to Seek to Understand. Then to be Understood. (it’s one of the 7 habits!). Everytime that we come across a brother or sister with a weird practice, we mustn’t assume he/she is just like the other brother/sister we met a while back. Start objectively, on a fresh page, to sincerely see where they are coming from. To understand them before making them understand you and the truth you bring.

May Allah help us in all our efforts - to put sincerity in them first and foremost.

- bLOOGIE ;-)

Heh.

This is a quote par excellence. Read it, ponder upon it and keep it in mind always.

Ibn Qudamah (rahimahumullah) once said that when one slanders you, you should be thankful that he spoke something about you which was untrue, for there are many blemishes on your account which are true which Allah hid from the world.

[originally posted here]

Living by Islamic Principles… It’s the only way to go.

Die, you pinky monster! DIE!

It feels good to win. When Italy won the cup last Sunday, it was sweet victory, albeit that controversial headbutt. But what was one aspect the Muslims would chat about regarding that “one heck of a header”? They’d say, “He could’ve controlled himself.” Control himself from the anger that was burning within him, the pride, the ego that would be bruised if he didn’t react as such. So who won in that instance? The answer is clear. Shaytan did.

All right. Some of you are getting excited from the mere mention of the World Cup incident. So before you let your itching fingers post a comment about whether Zidane is a practising Muslim (may Allah guide him and us), let me assure you that I could care less about what you have to say with regards to that :P.

The point here is when we know shaytan has deceived us, tricked us or (easily enough) led us into sin… what do we do? Well, hopefully, we’ll realise our mistake and seek forgiveness from Allah. But sometimes when we dwell on the fact that it was shaytan’s work, that his whispers are to blame… we fall into the trap of glorifying his apparently successful actions. We might mutter under our breaths, “Dang that shaytan!”

Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad, that a person who was riding behind the Prophet said, “The Prophet’s animal tripped, so I said, `Cursed Shaytan.’The Prophet said,
“Do not say, ‘Cursed Shaytan,’ for if you say these words, Satan becomes arrogant and says, ‘With my strength I made him fall.’ When you say, ‘Bismillah,’ Satan will become as small as a fly.”

[Ahmad 5:59]

Further, An-Nasa’i recorded in his book Al-Yawm wal-Laylah, and also Ibn Marduwyah in his Tafsir that Usamah bin `Umayr said, “I was riding behind the Prophet…” and he mentioned the rest of the above Hadith. The Prophet said in this narration,

“Do not say these words, because then Satan becomes larger; as large as a house. Rather, say, ‘Bismillah,’ because Satan then becomes as small as a fly.”

Or we might expose the sin to a friend (which in itself is wrong!*) and add words that we think humble ourselves before others - by blaming shaytan with harsh words. You have to realise one thing, even though the devil’s work is evil, that’s exactly it. When you acknowledge in any way that he has done it… you might as well praise him. Seriously. Instead you should just focus on how to correct yourself, to seek forgiveness from your Maker and to repent to Him. He will deal with shaytan… Busy yourself with what you’re told to and are able to do.

Sure, inevitably there is this “battle” against shaytan… and the believers are promised victory by following the guide that is the Qur’an. But it is an ongoing battle, and alongside the devil are our own desires, peer pressure and worldly temptations in general. So what a ride we are in for if we choose to approach this battlefield called life from that aspect. Rather, the Muslim’s life is a dash for mercy, a race to redemption, the continuous marathon to Jannah.

I fear that we as Muslims are so prone to mere rhetoric these days. Words that are seemingly heroic - to curse shaytan, the oppressors, the world - but are truly empty. Words that bring false comfort. To ease the blame of our own sins. And to lessen the guilt of our inactions. For ourselves and for our brothers and sisters locally, and worldwide.

When is the battle really won then?

In this life of poverty, hardship and trials, Abdullah asked his father one
day, “Abi when will we ever relax?” His father, one of the greatest
revivers of the Sunnah, a role model for all Muslims, looked him in the eye
and said, “With the first step we take into Jannah.”
[Memoirs from the life of Imam Ahmad]

A recap of Surah al-Mu’minun gives us a glimpse of the qualities of the successful. You may agree with me that the application of this particular ayah is severely lacking:

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ
And they who are to their trusts and their promises attentive.

[al-Mu'minun: 8]

Oh, the reminders. The reminders.

* Sins and its effects on the one who commits it. Refer to point #9 for the hadith on exposing sins. The whole article is beneficial too.

PS. About the image. I was thinking about DOOM 3 and battling “demons” but yea, forgot to incorporate it into this piece (more obviously), heh. But it still makes sense.