Ramazan

Ramazan is only a month away……

How much are we ready to face the holy month of Ramazan……

It’s the month in which observant Muslims fast for Allah SWA.

It’s the month during which Allah’s numerous blessings flows.

It’s the month in which all evil Jinns are shackled

It’s the month in which all Muslims are encouraged to read the entire Quran.

It’s the month in which all Muslims should strive to be a better Muslim.

It’s the month in which all Muslims should learn more about Islam.

It’s the month in which all Muslims pay Zakaath, obligatory charity …which is one of the pillars of Islam…..

It is also the month in which Quran was brought down

This all adds up to the specialty of this month…….Anyone who does not make use of this holy month should think twice…..should think again…………

Eating good and healthy food during Ramazan is something Muslims should do and it is better if we share the food with relatives and give to the needy…

Food should never be wasted during Ramazan or during any other month……..

People have a tendency to waste food during Ramazan, However we should try to avoid this.

Muslims should not spend half of the day sleeping when they are fasting….

The aim of ones fast is minimized when one spends half the day sleeping……….feeling no hunger…..

Muslims should not give in to temptations of the Shaythaan or to the desires of the mind either especially during the month of Ramazan. Contentment from breaking the fast comes, when we perform obligatory prayers, control negative emotions and feelings in us…......

The feeling of contentment during the moment in which Muslims break fast is indescribable

The satisfaction and the feel of achievement that comes after having fasted completely during Ramazan is indescribable…

We all should makeup our mind, to get ready for the month of Ramazan, not only by buying stuff, and making up our house…..(that too is a good thing as long as no wasting is done…..) .

We should not think up of ways in which we can entertain ourselves during Ramazan……

We should avoid watching TV as much as possible during Ramazan, especially unnecessary and useless stuff...Instead we should make up our mind to get spiritually ready for Muslims holy month……and all Muslims at the end of Ramazaan, should make up our mind to take ahead the lesson we learned from fasting for Allah SWA ….to take ahead the contentment and peace one gains from fasting during Ramazan…….to let go of negative feelings like, envy, jealousy, anger, hatred, backbiting etc……..to work solely to attain Jannah……to worship Allah, who blessed us with numerous blessings……

Death, the doorway is ever near

Death is something we all fear but it is surely a reality. When and how it comes, we never know.

Here I am at last
I knew this day would come
My new home for a time
'til the trumpet shall blow
and once again I stand
upon an earth renewed

Dark and still
I wait
Time has gone
Asking my lord for refuge
As I did in days gone by

The call will go on
Long after I've gone
What did I leave behind?
Was I a carrier of light or a player of dreams?

Whose feet walk above me now?
Where do they go? From whence do they come?
Do they carry on the work
Or waste themselves in illusions?
Death, the doorway is ever near

Do they not think of the day?
They shall be like me
Locked in a tomb
Awaiting life
The life that never ends?

source -http://www.islamicgarden.com

How do Muslims treat the elderly?

In the Islamic world there are no old people's homes. The strain of caring for one's parents in this most difficult time of their lives is considered an honor and blessing, and an opportunity for great spiritual growth. Allah SWA asks that we not only pray for our parents, but act with limitless compassion, remembering that when we were helpless children they preferred us to themselves. Mothers are particularly honored: the Prophet SAW taught that 'Paradise lies at the feet of mothers'. When they reach old age, Muslim parents are treated mercifully, with the same kindness and selflessness.

In Islam, serving one's parents is a duty second only to prayer, and it is their right to expect it. It is considered despicable to express any irritation when, through no fault of their own, the old become difficult.

Meaning of verse 17:23-4 of Holy Quran - Your Lord has commanded that you worship none but Him, and be kind to parents. If either or both of them reach old age with you, do not say 'uff to them or chide them, but speak to them in terms of honor and kindness. Treat them with humility, and say, 'My Lord! Have mercy on them, for they did care for me when I was little'. (17:23-4)

source - http://www.islamicity.com

Hulhumle' ferry service - no room for improvement?

The complaint of people who travel between Hulhumale’ and Male’ is the inconvenience of the service and its arrangements. The service provider no doubt, is serving Maldives or Maldivians….May be there is no other party who can provide the service to the same limit either…..But does that mean, that the service is perfect?

Should not they listen to their customers or people who use their service?

There are no rules, no orders, no major arrangements, no priorities in the ferry terminal…A point worth noting is that there is exactly no difference between the person who purchases th ticket first and the person who purchases the ticket last.....Many a times its the person who comes last who goes in through the exit first...Cos if all the seats are full, he just goes and wait near the exit............

It’s the strong and it’s the people who do not mind mixing up with others who win in the struggle to get through the door first and fast….. It seems like chaos till you get seated in the ferry.

Can’t they implement a rule or arrangement so that there is some sort of order and smoothness in entering the ferry…..? All people are mixed up .Elderly people, kids, pregnant ladies, women, men etc etc…….

People of all sort use this service….But people who prefer some decency, or elderly people, people who are sick etc.. too cannot afford to be seated in the ferry terminal till the door opens, unless he or she does not mind if the ferry is missed or not…….The only option for everyone most of the time is to go and stay behind those who are near the exit…..Of course this is not all the time…..but many a times..

The complaint of most of the people I think is not the amount of time one has to spend on the sea but the lack of arrangements in the terminal...Ofcourse if the amount of time can be decreased many would be happy...But the complaints go beyond that..

The complaint goes on and on……..But is there anyone who cares!

How much assurance does one have that he can purchase a ticket say 15 mins before the ferry after a days work, and relax in the terminal a little and still get on the ferry with out any pressure…..?

In other countries people who travel to work or school have a choice, ie to take a taxi or bus etc etc…For people who live in Hulhumale, they have no choice, no options....but to go through this chaos.....

In spite of this due to the rise in price of oil, may be the price of ferry tickets will go up soon….But the service will it get better, or remain the same or get worse?

Ten Things We Waste

1. Knowledge: Wasted when not taking action with it.

2. Actions: Wasted when we do anything without sincerity. Intentions count.

3. Wealth: Wasted when used on things that will not bring us âjr (reward). We waste our money, our status, our authority, on things that have no benefit in this life or in âkhirah (the Hereafter).

4. Hearts: Wasted when empty from the love of Allah, and the longing for Him/Her, and devoid of peace and contentment.

5. Bodies: Wasted when we don't use them in ibâdah (worship) and service of Allah in serving humankind.

6. Love: Wasted when our emotional love is misdirected, not towards Allah, but towards something/someone else.

7. Time: Wasted when not used properly, by not doing what is righteous.

8. Intellect: Wasted on things that are detrimental to society and the individual, not in contemplation or reflection.

9. Service: Wasted when in service of someone who will not bring us closer to Allah.

10. Dhikr: Wasted when it does not effect our hearts.


( Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah)

Unanswered questions...........

Did you ever wonder what could be the root of all ills of society we see in Maldives? The social issues range from housing problems to gang fights and drug abuse etc..etc….The young generation is too carefree…..trying to adapt western styles and copying their way of life……!

Why are there so many drug abusers in Maldives, which is defined as a dot in the Indian Ocean?

Why do so many people fall off from the right path? Why?

Why is western way of life being introduced to us?

Why are young people so confused?

We often hear from the media “dhivehivanthakan”……..What exactly is “dhivehivanthakan”? Is it what we see in the society now?

What have we preserved during the past few decades? Our culture, our religion?

Once Maldives was defined as a safe haven..no violence, no crimes…

Can we still define Maldives as such?

Housing problems too is a major social issue..Houses are so packed up, no privacy, no space, …and to add up to all this country is facing severe inflation!

And there are endless talks about corruption….

The people who look forward for a change keeps hoping that a good change will come after this years presidential election……..!

Let’s hope there will be good and major changes…..

But how long will it take for this country to put everything in it’s place?

After this years election would there be a better future for Maldivians?

What is the root of all the problems we see around?

These are all questions……..unanswered questions………..

Honey.

Introduction...

Honey is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by honeybees from the nectar of flowers. "The definition of honey stipulates a pure product that does not allow for the addition of any other substance. This includes, but is not limited to, water or other sweeteners," according to the United States National Honey Board 2003 and other nations' food regulations. Honey is significantly sweeter than table sugar and has attractive chemical properties for baking. Honey has a distinctive flavor which leads some people to prefer it over sugar and other sweeteners.

Liquid honey does not spoil. Because of its high sugar concentration, it kills most bacteria by crenation. Natural airborne yeasts cannot become active in it because the moisture content is too low. Natural, raw honey varies from 14% to 18% moisture content. As long as the moisture content remains under 18%, virtually no organism can successfully multiply to significant amounts in honey, though, importantly, enough bacteria survive to make honey dangerous for infants (especially Clostridium botulinum).

The study of pollens and spores in raw honey (melissopalynology) can determine floral sources of honey. Because bees carry an electrostatic charge, and can attract other particles, the same techniques of melissopalynology can be used in area environmental studies of radioactive particles, dust, or particulate pollution.

A main effect of bees collecting nectar to make honey is pollination, which is crucial for flowering plants.

Islam and honey More than 1400 years ago Allaah and His messenger told us that honey can heal a variety of medical problems.

Allaah Says (what means): "And the Lord inspired the bee, saying: Take your habitations in the mountains and in the trees and in what they erect. Then, eat of all fruits and follow the ways of your Lord made easy (for you)'. There comes forth from their bellies a drink of varying colors wherein is healing for men. Verily in this is indeed a sign for people who think." [Quran 16:68-69]

The Prophet has also told us of the healing found within honey for a variety of medical problems, including stomach ailments. It is reported by Al-Bukhaari that a man came to the Prophet because his brother had a stomach disorder. The Prophet said: "Let him drink honey." The man returned a second time complaining that no improvement happened in his brother’s case, and again the Prophet responded: "Let him drink honey." The man returned again, and said: "I have done that but to no avail." Thereupon the Prophet responded: "Allaah has said the truth, but your brother's stomach has told a lie. Let him drink honey." He drank it and was cured.

It is also reported that the Prophet said: "Make use of the two remedies: honey and the Quran." (At-Tirmithi)

Modern medicine has only recently discovered the fact that honey is a remedy to many diseases. Traditional uses of honey have included honey mixed with lemon for sore throats. Honey coats the throat and reduces throat irritation. Research has already shown that honey blocks the growth of oral bacteria.

Honey has also been used for stomach pains and problems. Modern research shows that honey is effective when used in the treatment of gastric or peptic stomach ulcers. Research has also revealed that honey is effective in the treatment of various wounds and infections because of its antimicrobial (antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal) properties.

Researchers are not absolutely sure why honey heals but they are learning new things about honey everyday. As mentioned in the beginning, honey contains a variety of sugars and minerals. Honey is also considered an antioxidant. This means it allows the blood to circulate better and provide more oxygen to areas of the body such as the brain.

Honey can also be used externally to promote healing when applied to wounds, even postoperative wounds. Honey has also been effective in its use to treat burns. It has even been shown to be low in calories and useful as a sweetener for diabetics, people with heart disease or those overweight.

Although there is healing in honey for a variety of medical disorders, certain precautions should be taken:

1- Children under the age of one year should not be given honey due to the possibility of infant botulism. This type of food poisoning can be deadly, however, it only seems to affect infants under one year of age.

2- If you have any known allergies to specific plants, then you should make sure the honey you are using is not produced from that plant.

3- People with allergies to bee stings should be careful when using other bee-related products such as propolis or royal jelly.

However, if these precautions are followed, then honey may, Allaah willing provide healing for you.

Conclusion

Muslims acknowledge and accept that Allaah and His Prophet know better and that our Creator Has revealed the truth. Therefore, we study the research that is available, not to confirm or deny the truth that has been revealed by Allaah and his Prophet but to learn of new ways we can use honey.

source - http://www.islamweb.net

Today yet another day........!

Today yet another day……..

Yesterday gone, tomorrow faraway……..only an anticipation

Another day begins……….

As you open your eyes……..

First thing what comes to your mind?

First thing what do you hasten to do?

Do you stop for a second?

To think, to take a break!

Do you wonder about the fact that you lay half unconscious and now you are up on your feet?

Do you just start running?

With the thought who cares? Here I come!

Do you wonder?

Why, How!

how the universe goes on in the same pattern…….

Life goes on………

At last the day comes to an end……

What did you gain!

What did you learn!

What did you think!

Whose hand did you hold!

Which path did you take!

A day comes and a day passes by!

Would you let today be just another day

Even after knowing for sure it takes you only a step closer to death..

Wouldn’t you take a break and think !

When our father irritate us?

An old man was sitting in the courtyard of his house along with his son who had received a high education. Suddenly a crow perched on a wall of the house. The father asked the son: What is this? The son replied: It is a crow. After a little while the father again asked the son: What is this? The son said: It is a crow.

After a few minutes the father asked his son the third time: What is this?

The son said: Father, I have just now told you that this is a crow.

After a little while the old father again asked his son the fourth time: what is this?

By this time some statement of irritation was felt in the son’s tone when he rebuffed his father:

Father! It is a crow, a crow.

A little after the father again asked his son: What is this? This time the son replied to his father with a vein of temper. Father: You are always repeating the same question; although I have told you so many times that it is a crow. Are you not able to understand this?

The father went to his room and came back with an old diary. Opening a page he asked his son to read what was written. What the son read were the following words written in the diary:

‘Today my little son was sitting with me in the courtyard, when a crow came there. My son asked me twenty-five times what it was and I told him twenty-five times that it was a crow and I did not at all feel irritated. I rather felt affection for my innocent child.’

The father then explained to his son the difference between a father’s and a son’s attitude. While you were a little child you asked me this question twenty-five times and I felt no irritation in replying to the question twenty-five times and when today I asked you the same question only five times, you felt irritated, annoyed and impatient with me.

Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him) mentions in Noble Qur’an:

“And your Lord has commanded that you shall not serve (any) but Him, and goodness to your parents. If either or both of them reach old age with you, say not to them (so much as) “Ugh” nor chide them, and speak to them a generous word. And make yourself submissively gentle to them with compassion, and say: O my Lord! Have compassion on them, as they brought me up (when I was) little.” Noble Qur’an (17:23-24)

Imam Zainul Abideen (pbuh) says: “It is also said that once a man came to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and asked: “I feed my parents, carry them on my back and clean them, have I fulfilled my duty towards them? The Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) answered: No, because, you are serving them in anticipation for their death while they served you wishing you a long life”.

source - http://moralsandethics.wordpress.com

What is it that makes a bigger difference……………?

What is it that makes a bigger difference……………?

It’s the smaller things that we do, that makes a bigger difference, many a times………………………….

This is a simple truth, we fail to understand most of the time ……

For example , parents, spend on their kids for education, health etc…….They do a lot for the happiness of their children……But when it comes to giving them a hug, giving them a little some time and listen to them……..they fail to do so…….Can a maid listen to the pleas of your child, ? Parents can pay high salary and keep a maid to look after kids, but can never replace the love a kid needs from parents……..So in fact it’s the little something we could do that makes a bigger difference………Iistening to your children, spending some time with them etc………

A husband can pour his wealth on his wife, but can never make his wife happy, if he cannot give sincere love……..Sincere love includes listening, sharing, caring………spending time etc……..Likewise, a wife can do all cooking, ironing, and cleaning etc.. for the husband….But it’s the little time she spends, listening, little time she spends trying to understand her husband, with out judging him, which makes a bigger difference……….

A child can spend wealth on his/her parents when they are old…..But its not what you spend that would make a difference to them………It’s what’s in your heart that can be felt by them….It’s how sincere you are that matters……..a little time spent with them listening to them, it’s what matters…….. A little time spent listening could make a difference more than a little time spent talking……..

Hence a little quality time spent with your loved ones could be, more valuable than anything that can be purchased with money…………….

This applies to all relationships in general……

A sincere smile could make a difference……….A sincere greeting could make a difference……..

Salaam……….Have a nice day! Insha Allah………

Patience

Patience……….

Is the key……….to everything that’s good in life……….

If you are patient…..you face life’s challenges with faith and courage.

If you are patient, you teach others to be patient……..

If you are patient, you and everyone around you can experience the fruit of patience…….

If you are patient, through out life’s ups n downs your faith remains unaltered…….

If you are patient, you never fall in to Shaithaans trap………

If you are patient, you find much more pleasure in giving than in receiving……….

If you are patient, you seek that which is eternal not that which is temporary………….

If you are patient, you know in your heart that only Allah SWA can help you………

If you are patient, you can acknowledge your mistakes……

If you are patient, you do everything for the sake of Allah…………..

If you are patient, no one can beat you…………

If you are patient, you seek strength from Allah only!

If you are patient, everything that’s good comes your way……..

So let’s learn to be patient, which is the key to everything that’s good……….

You don’t have to be born patient, you can learn it, you can practice it consciously, till it becomes abided in your nature……………..

Picture Taken From Deviant Art

The Search for Inner Peace (part 1 of 4): The Obstacles to Achieving Inner Peace

The topic of inner peace addresses a universal need. There is nobody on this planet that does not desire inner peace. It is not a desire that is new to our time; rather, it is something that everybody has been searching for throughout the ages, regardless of color, creed, religion, race, nationality, age, sex, wealth, ability or technological advancement.

People have taken a variety of different paths in trying to achieve inner peace, some through accumulating material possessions and wealth, others through drugs; some through music, others through meditation; some through their husbands and wives, others through their careers and some through their children’s achievements. And the list goes on.

Yet the search also goes on. In our time we have been led to believe that technological advancement and modernization will produce for us physical comforts and through these we will attain inner peace.

However, if we were to take the most technologically advanced and most industrialized nation in the world, America, then we would see that what we have been led to believe is not factual. The statistics show that in America some 20 million adults suffer from depression yearly; and what is depression but a total lack of inner peace? Furthermore in the year 2000 death rate due to suicide was double the rate of those who died from Aids. However, the news media being what it is, we hear more about those who die from Aids than we do about those who die by committing suicide. Also more people die from suicide in America than from homicide, and the homicide rates themselves are massive.

So the reality is that technological advancement and modernization have not bought inner peace and tranquility. Rather in spite of the comforts that modernization has brought us, we are further away from inner peace than our ancestors were.

Inner peace is for the most part of our lives very elusive; we never seem to get our hands on it.

Many of us mistake personal pleasures for inner peace; we achieve elements of pleasure from a variety of things, be it wealth, sexual relations or other than that. But these do not last, they come and go. Yes we have personal pleasures from time to time and we are pleased with various things from time to time, but this is not inner peace. True inner peace is a sense of stability and contentment which carries us through all the trials and difficulties of life.

We need to understand that peace is not something that will exist in this world around us because when we define peace according to the dictionary definition it states that peace is freedom from war or civil strife. Where do have this? There is always a war or some sort of civil unrest happening somewhere in the world. If we look at peace in terms of the state level then peace is freedom from public disorder and security, but where in the world do we have this in a complete form? If we look at peace on a social level, family and work, then peace is freedom from disagreements and arguments, but is there such a social environment that never has disagreements or arguments? In terms of location, then yes, we can have a place which is calm, peaceful and tranquil, some islands for example, but this external peace only exists for a small amount of time, sooner or later a storm or a hurricane will come.

Allah says:

“Verily, I have created man in toil (struggle).” (Quran 90:4)

This is the nature of our lives; we are in toil and struggle, ups and downs, times of difficulties and times of ease.

It is a life full of tests as God says:

“And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to as-Saabirin (the patient ones, etc.).” (Quran 2:155)

To deal with our circumstances, the circumstances of toil and struggle in which we live, patience is the key.

But if we go back to the inner peace that we are looking for, then patience cannot manifest itself if we do not have that inner peace.

We are living in a world of toil and struggle, but yet within ourselves it is possible to attain inner peace, peace with the environment, with the world in which we live.

Obviously there are some obstacles which prevent us from attaining peace. So first we have to identify the obstacles in our lives which prevent us from achieving maximum inner peace and develop some kind of strategy to remove them. The obstacles will not be removed just by thinking that we need to remove them; we have to develop some steps to achieve this. So how do we go about removing these obstacles so that we can achieve what is possible of inner peace?

The first step is to identify the obstacles themselves. We have to be aware of them, because if we cannot identify them then we cannot remove them.

The second step is to accept them as obstacles within ourselves. For example anger is one of the biggest obstacles to inner peace. If a person is angry, worked up and has blown a fuse, how can he or she have inner peace in that circumstance? It is not possible. So the person needs to recognize that anger is an obstacle to inner peace.

However, if a person states that, “Yes, it is an obstacle but I do not get angry”, then such a person has a problem. He has not accepted that obstacle as a problem and is in a state of self denial. As such he cannot remove it.

If we look at the obstacles in life we can put them under a variety of headings: personal problems, family issues, financial dilemmas, work pressures and spiritual confusion. And there are many issues under these headings.

soure - http://www.islamreligion.com

(to be continued.....insha Allah.....)