Sharing during Ramadhan~

Its already the 12th fasting day of the Holy month Ramadhan.How time flies really fast. In this course of 11 days of fasting i've been having my Iftar at home. I did received a few invitations from my friends but decided to break fast with my family instead.I don't mind hustling back home after enduring the traffic jam (especially in Putrajaya) back to Shah Alam eventho i normally arrived home just in time for break fast. As during this time we get to gather with the family and it just a blessing for me to be able to eat together with my mom and siblings despite the absence of the man of the house. It would definitely cheer her up.

After work last friday,i drop by at the gas station for fuel and received Bubur Lambuk (a porridge mixed with beef sauteed with spices n coconut milk) which is a giveaway for customers to break fast. I love the idea of giving and sharing during this month. I would imagine rite now at the Holiest Place on earth in Makkah Al-Mukarammah it would be a feast at Masjidil Haram during Iftar. With ppl from all walks of life sharing their dates,bread,tea or any meal they have. I love the fact that they eat together,the togetherness that bond us muslims during this time. Btw,my wishful thinking is to be at Makkah during Ramadhan,i hope it'll come true one day.

It is also highly encouraged to feed a fellow muslim for the sake of Allah during this time. It seems easy to gain all the good deeds and multiple it everyday. All praises to Allah if all the ppl out there is doing that without any intention to show off as sincerity is very precious.

Siti Muslimah handed out freebies to me with her sweet smile,very 'mesra' indeed~
*Mesra = warm

The Messenger of Allaah (salallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said,

quote:

"Whoever feeds a fasting person will have a reward like that of the fasting person, without any reduction in his reward."
[At-Tirmidhi, authenticated by Al-Albani (rahimahullaah).]

It has been explained by the people of knowledge that whoever gives a Muslim something to break his fast with, he will receive this reward that came in this hadith. "Breaks" is a general word and giving him dates is considered breaking. The sunnah is to break your fasting by dates, as has been narrated by Anas (radiallaahu ‘anhu), who said, "The Messenger of Allaah (salallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) used to break his Saum (fasting) before performing Maghrib prayer with three fresh date-fruits; if there were no fresh date-fruits, he would eat three dry dates; and if there were no dry date-fruits; he would take three draughts of water." [At-Tirmidhi]

Suggestion: Buy a box [or boxes] of dates, and hand it [them] over to the masjid, for the sake of none but Allaah, to provide to the worshippers at the time of breaking the fast.

Anas (radiallaahu ‘anhu) reported: The Prophet (salallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) came to visit Sa’d bin ‘Ubadah (radiallaahu ‘anhu) who presented bread and olive oil to him. The Prophet (salallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) ate it and said, "The observers of fast have broken their fast with you (this is the literal translation, but the meaning is: ‘May Allaah reward you for providing a fasting people with food to break their fast’); the pious people have eaten your food and the angels invoked blessings on you." [Abu Dawud]

Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih Al-’Uthaimeen (rahimahullaah) said,

"Those who have the ability should strive to feed those who are fasting (when it’s time to break the fast) either in the masaajid or in other places. This is since whoever feeds a fasting person, he will receive the same reward as the one fasting. So if a person feeds his brothers who are fasting, he will receive the same reward as them. Therefore, those whom Allaah has granted wealth should take advantage of this opportunity to obtain a great reward."

~Credit to The Ideal Muslimah for this article~

Smile at Life :)

My Life this week has been pretty rough and stressful, and lotsa heartache along the way. At the moment i'm observing Iddah,and only Allah knows exactly how i feel inside starting a new phase in my life. Nobody for sure wants to get married and get a divorce, i Always thought that i would get married and live happily ever after...But it turned to be Happily Never After... 6 Years of marriage,it doesn't even need to go through the 7th Year itch yet..:P

Anyway, i always know that things happen for a reason,maybe Allah have better plans for me...I Pray for great things in Life that leads me to a closer path towards the Creator...Insya Allah, Life would definitely be meaningful!

What i need to do now is to re-evaluate my life....Realistically enough Allah makes it quite clear that Life in this World is never gonna be Perfect, i want my life to be perfect (no dreams shattered, no misery and happiness 24/7,can?), but of course Perfection will only happens in Paradise.

Now i just need to find my own pursuit of Happiness. It is actually within my ability to find Happiness in my life, with the help of Allah, to make the most of what i have in this world and attain a level of contentment no matter what my lot in life is.

The important Lessons that i have learned is faith, hope, patience and acceptance....and to Never Underestimate the Power of a Smile :) So, Smile Everyone!!!!

Btw thanks Peter Griffin for dedicating me with that Song from Dewa Called 'Hadapi dengan Senyuman', it's a feel good song that and makes me live in a lalalala land for a second and leave all my worries behind... That is what i'm gonna do, Deal with the Pain, whilst Smiling....:) Ain't that fabulous, why need to frown rite? It's not the end of the World!!!

Note to myself:

as,

Muhasabah ~On Being Honest with Yourself~

“Take account of yourself before you are taken to account”
-Imam Ali (radiallahu anhu)

To take account of oneself, that is, to undergo honest selfcriticism, is part of the Muslim practice al-muhasabah, or self-inventory.

According to the Companion Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, to engage in al-muhasabah is to "assess and adjudge yourselves before you are assessed and adjudged on the Day of Judgment, and to weigh out your deeds, before they are weighed out for you."

Umar, a man of his word, reportedly used to whip his right foot at night and say to it "What have you done today?"
Another Companion, Maymun ibn Mahran, said: "A pious person cautiously examines and adjudges himself more than he would a tyrant ruler or a tight-fisted partner!"
The notable first Islamic century sage, Al-Hasan Al-

Basri, offers a more detailed explanation of al-muhasabah. "A believer polices himself [or one might say, his own soul]. He assesses and adjudges [himself] for the sake of Allah.The Final Judgment [of God] may end up mild for some simply because they were quick to adjudge themselves in this life. Or the Final Judgment on the Day of Resurrection may end up a tough ordeal for some who were unconcerned about what they did in this life, thinking they would not be called to account."

What we see from these sterling predecessors of ours is that honest self-criticism is an important way to purify our souls and to light the path of blissful success. Allah states in His Book: "Truly he has succeeded who purifies it.And truly, he has failed who defiles it" [91:9-10].

Self-criticism seems like a fairly straightforward concept.The activity that makes it possible, however-namely, honesty with oneself-is exceedingly hard to come by, for it requires admission of our wrongdoings whenever such actions escape us.

It means acknowledgement within ourselves that we have committed a sin, whether against our own souls or others, be it our Creator or anyone or anything in creation. For most of us, such a confession is an incredibly tough thing to do. Pride prevents some of us from owning our faults, especially before people when that is necessary.

The souls of others grow facile at justifying any indecent behavior or false belief. Another problem, particularly for those of us still surging with youth, is the misconception that honest self-criticism prevents us from that ultimate youthful quest, "having fun."

It behooves us to recall that being honest with ourselves is actually a way to enjoy life, rather than make it tougher. It is a fact (scary for many) that the very best way to prevent ourselves from committing haram acts is to really investigate whether or not such activities are permissible in Islam. For one, many of the things people classify as socially forbidden are actually very much halal, which we deny ourselves to escape the judgment of people, not Allah.

More deeply, haram acts, knowingly committed or not, for a fact necessarily result in making life truly less pleasurable, if not immediately for us then for many others, for their nature is to damage the human spirit, the condition of individuals and societies, and the balance of the world.

The Qur'an states this beautifully about those who reject its revealed truth on pretext: "Who is further astray than one who is in uttermost schism [with its truth]?" [41:52].

It is a superficial reading to look at this as merely rejecting Islam. Rather, it is about denying within ourselves what our souls know to be truth-like denying we've done wrong even though we know we did.The Qur'an says such people live a life of misery, full of contradiction, which is a great source of mental pain.

So carefully questioning our actions-past and present- makes life easier because it makes the path to God, the path to peace, much smoother.

It is redundant to say all human beings err, but not admitting our specific mistakes, now that is playing with fire.

An honest approach to our behavior is to willingly acknowledge the shortcomings in our actions and, at least to ourselves, the flaws in our character.This is the first step to disburdening ourselves of guilt, which has its function, but which left to fester can quickly and lethally metastasize.

The Qur'an tells us clearly and often that our books of deeds are like meticulously preserved records, precise chronicles of all that we ever said and did, righteous or not.With the exception of a rare few, everyone will stand witness in the Divine Judgment of their own earthly deeds.

Hence, in this life, it makes profound sense to take note of our own deeds, with most of our focus on the actions we need to improve or eliminate, seeking forgiveness for all our substandard performance.

Remembering what may be less than perfect about us is a prime way to prepare for the Day of Judgment. Indeed, confessing our faults, to ourselves and God, and then doing our best to eliminate them from our behavior is an act of high eman, one we shall see again on the positive side of our records.

Sins are a legitimate source of worry, no doubt.To reflect on them is actually necessary, for coming to terms with our sins, that is, acknowledging them-that we are at fault for our offenses against God or His creation is to affirm our proper belief and faith.

The pathway to this proper faith is to assess our own actions with total honesty, which requires of us genuine (and frequent) meditations in self-criticism. That is muhasabah. I have found that verbalizing these unpleasant realities about my deeds and myself is invaluable in my muhasabah sessions. Statements like: "I have a tendency to berate others when I don't get my way," or, "I have been yelling at my parents for far too long now."

The next step entails planning to counteract these unfavorable tendencies until they are altogether eliminated. Take heed! Without self-honesty, there is no muhasabah.

I like the way a famous French proverb puts it: "A fault denied is twice committed."

Taken from; Al-Jumuah