Only a few days left until Eid-ul-fitr. But have we really fill-up our Ramadan to the fullest? These last few days should be filled with more ibadahs and reading the Qur’an (along with understanding it).
Note that: The Prophet(s.a.w) used to strive hard in worship during the last ten days of Ramadan in a way that he did not strive at any other times.
I came across this article, but couldn’t find the link to it.
(al-Bukhaari, 1074). It was also reported (in Saheeh al-Bukhaari) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to wake ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) when he wanted to pray Witr. (al-Bukhaari, 952). But when he woke his wives during the last ten nights of Ramadaan, this was more persistent than at other times of the year.
The fact that he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did this indicates the importance he attached to worshipping his Lord and making the most of this special time.
The Muslim should follow the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), for he is the best example, and he should strive hard in worshipping Allaah. He should not waste the hours of these days and nights. For we do not know, perhaps this time will never come again, for the spoiler of pleasures, i.e., death, which must come to all men, may come and snatch him and his life will end; then he will feel regret at the time when regret will be of no avail.
I just came back from a really really long taraweeh. It was really nice as the Imaam was an Arab. (no offense to the local Imaaams) The recitation was really beautiful and to me, inspiring. oh, and it was REALLY FAST too. I wonder if he can rap too. hehe.
Halfway throughout the prayer, i found myself lost in my own thoughts and in my own world. I didn't get the khusyoo' fil salah that I've been longing for. Was it the kids screaming so 'softly' at the back? Or was it the Sister next to me that kept swaying left-right and back-forth? Or was it the Brother in front that kept sneezing so loudly? Or maybe it was just me? I'm in a desperate need of a 'soap' that can clean my heart so that InsyaAllah I'll get the khusoo'-ness I need in my prayers.
Almost halfway throughout the prayer, I was annoyed by the big (as big as me) gap in front of me, in the saff. I wonder if these Sisters understand the real meaning of solatul jamaah. Isn't it supposed to be shoulder-to-shoulder, or something like that? The Imaam kept reminding about it, but maybe they're just being ignorant. It was the I'm-not-sharing-my-prayer-mat-with-you attitude. And they even have the don't-come-too-close look. If they are in need of a bigger space to pray, than it's better to pray at home, than to annoy the hell out of others, especially me. Astaghfirullah.
After the witr, the Imaam recited a really long du'a. He was so emotional that I felt like crying too.
With a hijab comes a big responsibility and high expectations from the people around you a.k.a the Public. And with a certain type of Hijab, comes a certain type of responsibility.
I don’t know about you, but those short-sleeved hijabis in my country aren’t so well-respected by the opposite sex, as well as my own sex too. It’s a matter of whether you want to cover it all or not to cover. There is no rule such as ‘partially covering’, which in this case, refers to those short-sleeved (SS) hijabis. Oh, and these SS hijabis can be grouped under the same categories as those hijabis with super-tight/body-grippin shirts/blouses/dresses.Oh, have u seen them in super-tight abaya? I don't even know that an abaya can show all sexy curves on the body. And I thought that abaya is the most non-body-revealing outfit. Guess i'm wrong then.
These hijabis do not get high expectations from the Public. The Public won’t expect them to pray 5 times a day, nor to follow all the teachings in Islam. Trust me, because I’m the Public too, we all are. I’ve heard people calling these hijabis with lots of names that you do not even wanna know. So with little expectation comes only a litlle respect. Sorry girlfriends, but to gain the respect, you just have to lose the outfit. Get a new wardrobe yaa?
The second type of hijabi is the real hijabi, which means those who wear hijabi the right way, the way said in the Quranul Kareem, the way that Allah approves it. By covering the chest and not revealing the curves of the body.The perfect way to avoid unwanted stares from the XY species. We all know how scary the stares from this species can be right? It’s like they are raping you just by staring, pardon the metaphore, my dear friend Hado came up with this.
So for these Sisters, the full hijab comes with great responsibility and expectations. We as the Public, of course, will expect these Hijabis to be dutiful, faithful, or whateverful. They are also expected to have noble characteristics. These Hijabis are an example of the right dressing code in Islam, which in other words, they represent true Islam itself. So here comes the big responsibility for these Hijabis. So, they have to talk in a good way, do this in a good way, do that in a good way, and do everything else the right way. How these Sisters act shows the world how Islam is, or what Islam is. As the saying goes, you are what you act (taken from ‘you are what you eat’, recipe book. hihihi). Kudos to the Sisters that have shown the world the perfect way of living in Islam. Oh yes, and with big responsibilities comes big rewards. Likely rewards from the Most Giving. Jannah waiting in the Hereafter, insyaAllah.
I do not know if this can be a category too; the Hijabis without souls (they wear it the right way,like the real hijabis, but has no faith in Islam). What I mean is the Hijabis that wore Hijab just because it’s a part of the tradition, or just to be mysterious, so that they can play hard-to-get. Or just to simply earn respects. I am not here to write my negative thoughts about these Hijabis, if that is what you are thinking right now. But if we really think about it, and observe, these type of Hijabis are growing up their own community at the speed of light somewhere in any part of the world now as we speak(read?). So, are you wondering what wrong does these Hijabis do that I am slightly disapproving them?
Well, not all, just a few of them. The few that do not meet the requirements of how a real Muslimah should be. For example, Diyanah, who looked like an angel during the day, but a total smokin-hot-sexy-chick during the night, likely at parties wearing a dress that her little sister can fit in too. Oh and not to forget, it’s partially see-through. Forget about the SS hijabis, because these hijabis like Diyanah, physically represent the true Sisters in Islam. I say physically because in general, when you’re fully covered, you will be known as a dutiful,faithful Muslimah, and thus representing Islam. The Public won’t have the time to judge you based on your level of faith. In Diyanah’s scenario, even we Muslims must have bad impressions on her. Then think about those non-Muslims, what will they think of Islam when they meet Diyanah?
‘Muslims are hypocrites’
Even this will be my first impression on her too. How can u ‘physically’ be a Muslimah only during the day and a total non-practicing Muslimah at night? Make up your mind, Sister! Go gain your faith. You are giving negative impressions on Islam, enough of the negative impressions we had on the concept of Jihad, the concept of treating women, treating ones wife, and more coming into the list by the second I write this.
Fourth : the Hijabless. Not much to comment.Yes they are hijabless, but that doesn’t mean they are faithless. In every little heart there is faith, be it strong or weak. Hope that the faith will grow stronger. insyaAllah. Ameen.
Sorry if this post hurts any little hearts out there. (Wondering if I even have a reader for this post) These are just some thoughts wandering in my little brain. I do not intend to point out bad points of any Hijabis.
It’s so weird. Now I’m in the mood of listening to Boyz II Men, Babyface and KC & Jojo. This is so depressing. Erkkk.I know it's Ramadhan, but a little bit of entertainment won't hurt the faith, InsyaAllah.
This is a shout out to anyone who kept criticizing me because I listen to Boyz II Men :
Boyz II Men is not just any ordinary boy band; it’s a band with beautiful voices and musical geniuses. This band, in my opinion, deserves a better position and media coverage than the Jonas Brothers, who survived in the music industry merely because of their gay-ish physical attraction and awesome music producers. To wrap it up, Boyz II Men is beyond the valley of awesomeness.
I can’t write about Boyz II Men without writing about the ultimate boy band/rock band/super rock star /Patrick Stump’s band. It will be a total insult to my forever-in-my-heart band.
Fall Out Boy: From my slightly blurry point of view, FOB deserves awards for the music that Patrick Stump composed. The music is just awesome, it’s undeniable. Yes the videos are interesting, but shouldn’t they be appreciated for the music they’re making? But still there’s nothing wrong with winning awards after awards for their music videos. Kudos to Alan Ferguson, if i'm not mistaken is the director. Whilst Pete Wentz should write some more beautiful and non-understandable lyrics. No matter how much I hate Petey, I still can’t deny his lyrics are genius. The meanings are so deep that you have to keep reading it till you get the light. Unique is the word.
Pssst: Jut found out (officially) that Patrick has a girlfriend. Good for him. God bless you, Patrick. FYI, he’s an atheist. Hoping that he’ll get the light. Ameen.
And I just found a hidden treasure from Youtube; a band called Ahmir. I think they can absolutely pass for Boyz II Men Jr. Check out the cover they did of Miley Cyrus' The Climb. BEAUTIFUL.
‘salaam, why the hijaab?’ I asked the short-sleeved hijaabi.
‘Oh, I believe in the Hereafter, I fear my Lord Allah, and I have faith in Him,’
‘then why are you wearing short-sleeved shirt? Aren’t you aware that hijab comes in a package? It’s not just about covering the hair,’
‘yes I know, but it matches my scarf today,’
What the???
The brains of our sisters today need to be cleaned, or, if possible, reproduced. A huge misconception about hijaab. What’s the use of wearing a hijaab when we can see every inch of your curves? Astaghfirullahalazim.
“O you Children of Adam! We have bestowed on you raiment to cover your shame as well as to be an adornment to you. But the raiment of righteousness, that is the best. Such are among the Signs of Allah, that they may receive admonition.” (Quran 7:26)
“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear therof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, or their brothers' sons or their sisters' sons, or their women or the servants whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex, and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers, turn you all together towards Allah, that you may attain Bliss.” (Quran 24:31).
“O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go abroad). That will be better, so that they may be recognised and not annoyed. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.” (Quran 33:59)
I was born a Muslim, but lived a life without feeling the joy of praying or reading the Quran for years. Praying 5 times a day was never a burden, but never was a real joy too. Reading the Quran means reading the Yaasin on Friday nights, suratul Mulk every night (just because it’s obligatory at school), and practicing tajweed from the ustadz every fortnight. It was rarely more than that. Reading it was never out of my own will. As sad as it sounds, it showed that I never tasted the joy of performing those ibadahs.
It’s funny how the light of Islam came to me. By watching people kept making wrong decisions, choosing the wrong way, wrong crowd, all the times. Watching these people that doesn’t give a damn about what religion is, it just showed me how ‘lost’ can a human be. Watching Muslims ignoring the teachings so that they can have all the fun in dunya, to an extent that some of them denied the teachings, questioning the Hereafter and ignoring advices and da’wahs. Then I realized that they may have all the fun they want, but they never will achieve the happiness inside. They looked happy from outside, but lonely inside. Frankly, they are like humans without souls. So i stood, contemplating myself in my prayer, and thought, I have a soul, and I want to cherish it.
Being the type that never spills out problems made me feel like I’m in need of someone to talk to. This brought me closer to Ar-Raheem, hence closer to this deen. Alhamdulillah, the faith grew stronger, but it was never strong enough and not even for a long period. Peer pressure was always the reason. Do not ask why, but the faith grew weaker and weaker to a point that I lost the joy of being a Muslim, again. I was 16 and yes, stupid.
It took me quite some time to ‘regain’ the faith. The saying that gave me the biggest change in my life was this, ‘do not wait to change for the better, build up your faith as it won’t come to you by itself’. So here I am today, surviving each day trying to be a better Muslim than yesterday. InsyaAllah.
psssst : i'm still super-obsessed with Fall Out Boy and anything RnB.
