Think About It!

In light of recent attacks on religious buildings in Malaysia, I ask myself whether these people who performed these attacks in so-called defending the name of religion...do they actually have a strong foundation of this religion we call Islam?

I do not call myself an expert of Islam as I too am still learning but one thing I know for sure is there needs to be education from an early age of the deep foundations of what our religion stands for..Unfortunately, the way religion is taught in schools during my time was 'recite the Quran'-khatam and that's probably the last time you'd read the Quran except for at funerals or Ramadhan. I don't think I truly appreciated the beauty and wonders of the teachings of our religion...In my humble opinion, learning about Islam when I was younger was more around the do's and don'ts and thus creating a fear that if you didn't do a certain thing-you would go to hell. Less emphasis was on creating a love of our religion and the teachings in which the Quran and the Sunnah represents....Also, I think the elders don't often preach what they say. Our Prophet Muhammad s.a.w (PBUH) led by actions rather than preaching and that was how he was able to influence people's behaviours.
We should all try and do the same...
Below is the link of a good article on Suhaib Webb's blog which I think touches on this issue...appropriately titled 'Think About It!'


Think About It!

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Making choices

In the last few months, I have made some big choices in my life which has surprised some people..
But these decisions have been on my mind for a while now..it is only in the last few months I have decided to take the steps needed to make these choices...

One of those choices has been for me to wear the hijab...My decision to wear it has been something I've wanted to do for a while. My past is not a perfect one..I have made some mistakes in my life and there was a period in my life where I thought Allah was punishing me for what I had done--All that I can try to do is repent to Allah and May He have mercy on me.

In the last few years, I have gone through a transition where I have tried to rediscover my faith.
Alhamdulillah through meeting, listening and talking to people who have the same concerns as me, I have built my faith around the love for the religion rather than the fear of the religion.
I may continue to make mistakes but Insya-Allah I'll have the strength to strive to do what is right.

When people saw me wearing the hijab for the first time people asked why? For those who do not know me well wondered: Did I just come back frm umrah?--Did my parents ask me to wear it? Was I getting married?
All of these assumptions did not happen....For me, it has been a gradual process that had started from the inside of my heart and wearing it is a symbol of how I feel inside.

So what were the key factors that led to me to wear it? It started with simple actions as trying to pray regularly, listening to Suhaib webb's wonderful audio on Mother of the Believers to being close to nature like visiting the Saharan desert in Morocco. To watch the vastness of the desert, praying at night in the desert, watching the stars glistening on a clear night with the full moon in the background and seeing the sun rise beyond the horizon were just a fewof the experiences where I truly felt Allah's greatness...
Also, there have been events that have happened in my life where I have questioned people who say they are alim people but their actions say differently and I do not want to be those types of people.

Ramadhan this year has been full of meaning for me...prayer is a wonderful thing where you feel you are able to connect with Allah and from there your iman translates into actions in your daily life. I started to read the Quran regularly and more importantly trying to understand its translation.
Unfortunately, there are people out there who view Quran as only a symbol which once you khatam qur'an once you don't have to go back to it again, something that you read during a funeral (like reciting the Surah Yaasin) or when you get married and you only read it during Ramadhan. I used to think like those people but I realised that the beauty of the Quran is so much more than that.

If you start to just take a section at a time once a day and start understanding the meaning behind the surahs you start to realise how wonderful the Quran is and its messages should be embedded in our daily lives. The challenge, however, its all good having knowledge but if your knowledge doesn't turn into correct actions and conducted in the right adab...the knowledge is useless.

I also started to listen about the life of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w , his companions and his wives. Suhaib Webb's lectures has been truly inspiring for me- I used to think companions of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. and his wives were these perfect people. They never made mistakes and were these ideal Muslims but when I started to listen about their stories and struggles I realised these people were human beings like you and I. They made mistakes and went through the same emotions and struggles in their daily lives as we did but it was their iman and their true understanding of the Quran that they became the best of people and should be role models for us.

When I heard these stories, I tried to related the stories to what is going on in my life. I realised that if they could overcome their struggles what is stopping me? And so, the hijab is a symbol of what I'm striving for. I started wearing it in the last few weeks when I was in KL..I didn't tell anyone not even my parents. One day I came down wearing the hijab and said this is what I wanted to do and alhamdulillah they were happy for me. For those sisters who are thinking of wearing it, if you are doubtful about wearing it do not do it out of force...wearing hijab should be something that comes from within.

People's reactions to me wearing hijab have been varied..Some have been happy for me alhamdulillah, others have been more sceptical but to those who are sceptical it may be due to their own insecurities..For me,my decision is sincere and I am doing it for Allah.

I did have doubts initially upon returning to UK whether I woud wear it at work. I wondered that what would my work colleagues think if I wore it and whether I should wear it. But then I thought if wearing hijab is something that I'm doing sincerely and it is for my love of Allah insya-allah Allah will make things easier for me in this transition.

And syukur alhamdulillah, people at work have been receptive in me wearing the hijab. Of course people are always going to ask questions and some of my colleagues didn't even recognise me but I think people in the UK are tolerant people and if your actions are with the sincerest intentions then people will see you for those good actions.

Wearing the hijab comes with it responsibilities, I am always reminded on how my adab and daily conduct should be and I hope Allah will try to keep me in the right path...

It is nice travelling on the tube and when you see another fellow Muslim sister wearing the hijab by just smiling to her--both of us have a connection without us even knowing who we are or what we did...the Muslim bond is truly a strong one that overcomes race, background or nationality.

I am not here to preach or start going on a campaign to get everyone wearing the hijab but my reason for this post is to share with you my experience wearing it and hopefully continue wearing it for as long as I live and trying to follow the message of the Quran and the Sunnah of prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

The week I fell in love with Morocco-Part 8- Fes

Fes was wonderful...but you definitely need a guide to gain the benefits of this wonderful city. I don't think any guide map would help you find your way..

Khalid II was our guide in Fes- recommended by our driver Khalid I.

We started out by visiting the previous Kings official palace followed by a tour in the souk...
If you thought pasar malam was crowded you haven't seen anything until you visit the souks in Morocco...

It is a maze whereby you could go in one entrance and come out another without knowing how to get back to your original point.In the meantime the lanes are so narrow and there is constantly a donkey passing by carrying goods...chickens running around and people shoving you out of their way...a true experience indeed...

The locals know the souks in the back of their hand which was very impressive....it is a truly medieval city.

After Fes, we visited Rabat and Casablanca which was more of what you expect any normal town would look like with the modern buildings...this could have been because there was more of a British/French influence in the architecture.....
The only place which we thought was interesting to visit was the mosque in Casablanca...but parts of the mosque was going through renovation but it was nice to visit it nonetheless..

Alhamdulillah, during our trip we had visited the main mosques in the cities we visited in Morocco which was interesting in their own way.

Morocco has been the BEST place I have visited in my life so far because of the group of friends I went with were good travel companions and our guide Khalid was so welcoming in showing us the beauty of Morocco. Morocco is soo full of culture and most importantly trekking in the Saharan desert was a humbling experience for me...I truly felt closer to God by being close to nature in its purest form...

When you lie down and watch the vastness of space,the stars moving before your eyes, the sun setting and the sunrise one can't help feeling the greatness of Allah in creating this world and all that comes with it...To some people this may sound corny but I really felt humbled by the whole experience...

If one ever wants to be close to God just experience what is around us..the sky...flowers...the earth...and by going to Morocco I truly felt that....

Spirituality

It's been a while since the last update: I've been going through changes both personally and career-wise. I'm not in the mood to talk about it here. Instead I want to write about spirituality and what it means to me....

As a Muslim-spirituality is part of how I lead my life. I was discussing the issue of spirituality and the idea of having religious beliefs with a colleague of mine who is a fellow aetheist.

He was intrigued on what made me do the things I do e.g.

1. Why do I not drink?
I said to him it is because in the Qur'an it said that we should stop drinking when it exceeds our tolerance level. For me, I don't know when I will become intoxicated so rather than getting drunk I do not drink at all. He found that difficult to understand because to him a glass of beer won't make me drunk. In this case, we agreed to disagree.

2. Why do I not eat pork?
Again, in the Qur'an we are banned from pork. Even strict Jews do not eat pork. Pigs are known to be the most unhygienic animal in the world. We can eat a medium rare beefsteak but you can't do the same with bacon if it's not cooked properly. Before refrigerators existed, it was practical to avoid eating pork altogether and we as Muslims have avoided eating it altogether until this day.

3. Why do I pray?
I pray when things are good and when things are bad. Apart from the five daily prayers,we can say a little prayer at any time of the day i.e. before we go to bed or the first thing we do when we wake up. I think praying is a form of spirituality which as corny as this might sounds connects us to God.But this is soo true...

My colleague admitted to me that although he is an aetheist: he prays. I asked him how does he do it. He said if he wishes for something , there is something in his subconsciousness which makes him connect to something he can't explain. I said to him what he did is a form of praying.The difference is when I pray it is to Allah.

He said that religion is good for the soul because it provides a structure and purpose in one's life. He compared his experience growing up without any religious beliefs-at times he feels lost and is still wondering why are we on this world.

For me: Islam provides a way of life for me...it is up to me whether I choose to follow it...I know I'm not a perfect Muslim but the beauty of this religion is it allows us to evolve and improve our wellbeing as we go through this journey called life...

I'm glad I was born a Muslim because the teachings and its ideals allows me to have a purpose in this life and the Hereafter...I am not a preacher nor would I call myself an expert in religion but at least I have a set of principles that I can follow in times of need and guidance.

I do hope my colleague will continue his spiritual journey for the truth....May he find it...I think I have...

Blessed Month of Ramadhan

As a little girl, I never really appreciated the spiritual side of Ramadhan..at the time I thought of it as just a month without food and drink during the day. At the end of the month we would all raya sakan and get lots of duit raya and good food.

It has only been in the last few years I've started to appreciate more of the spiritual sense of this holy month we call Ramadhan.
My most memorable Ramadhan to date was after graduation when I went back home for a year before starting work in UK.

It was my first time spending raya & puasa with the family after a LONG while...
How I miss it..my mom would wake up everyone and make hot drinks for everyone but it was usually just me & my dad who would have something to eat for sahur. In the evenings, we would berbuka bersama and go for tarawih prayers as a family.


When I was back home in Malaysia, throughout the whole month a new English show was being aired on Al-Jazeera for the first time called "Parables of Qur'an ". It was hosted by a guy called Moez Masoud. The idea of the show was simple...every day Moez would discuss a parable from the Qur'an with a group of young men & women.

What made this show interesting was that Moez was not a preacher or ulamak of any kind. He is a normal guy like you and me who have made mistakes in life and may have been on the wrong path at some point of our lives but with Allah's guidance managed to get back to the straight path.

The guests on his shows are open minded & intellectual modern people and in each parable Moez gets each guests to relate the parable from the Qur'an to their own experiences. Audience of the show (myself included) would be able to relate to the experiences shared by the guests in one way or another.

In the modern society that we live in today, there are many young Muslims out there who are lost, feel out of place and do not feel the Qur'an has any relevance to the world we live in today. But Moez's show was able to highlight the fact that the Qur'an and its beautiful verses are as relevant today as it was when it was brought down to us all those thousands of years ago.

The show had an impact on the way I looked at my life and Moez is a true inspiration to all young Muslims. I wish there would be more shows like this . In Malaysia there are many religious shows but I don't know whether their traditional approach is able to inspire young Muslims like Moez's shows can. There should be more shows like his.

Keep up the good work Moez!

Happy Ramadhan Al -Mubarak to all Muslims around the world!