Here are some excerpts but, do read the article by full. Trust me, it will be time well spent.
"I’d like to start by addressing what I believe is the least important factor in this equation, and that is ‘what other people might think.’ It should never be the case that we alter our practice of Islam or our worship for the sake of other people, or what they might think or assume. People may be quick to judge or jump to conclusions, but whatever thoughts or opinions they have are strictly their responsibility, and not something we should be overly concerned with."
"Every single one of us has deficiencies and weaknesses, has made mistakes, has taken missteps or is presently taking them. We only do the best that we can, and any good deed that Allah grants us the opportunity to perform should be considered a blessing that we take advantage of. Instead of worrying about not being good enough, we can instead consider this as an opportunity to be thankful to Allah for concealing our negatives, and pray, “O Allah, forgive me for what they do not know about me, and make me even better than what they think.”
"About punishment from Allah: a better way of looking at this issue is not considering the smallness or pettiness of the sin, but the greatness of the One whom we are sinning against. "
"I remember a quote attributed to Yusuf Islam: “Islam is not a state of being but it is a process of becoming,” – becoming more, become better, striving to reach that state of perfect submission and connection with Allah Most High, and May He help all of us achieve that, ameen."
The second article holds so much truth. It made me realize why it is so hard to attain true constant happiness, because when our happiness is defined by something that is changing, something that is not temporary, something that will someday perish; our happiness and our inner peace will do so too. How can we hope to find constancy if what we hold on to is inconstant and perishing?
To attain true peace, don’t let your source of fulfillment be anything other than your relationship with God. Don’t let your definition of success, failure, or self-worth be anything other than your position with Him (Qur’an, 49:13). And if you do this, you become unbreakable, because your handhold is unbreakable. You become unconquerable, because your supporter can never be conquered. And you will never become empty, because your source of fulfillment is unending and never diminishes.
Perhaps it was the first time watching a football game in a big crowd, or the too-intense-for-words game. Finally deciding to go down to the college cafe after some blubbering tirades to my friends and deciding to ditch the idea of watching the game on an online stream after pacing down the room waiting for it to load; was one of the best decisions I've made in my life.
This was the first time I've (really) watched a football game in a crowd (most of my football game endeavours happens at 2.45 am, all aloneee) and seriously, the college cafe was SO SO PACKED and it was awesome seeing the celebration after the last penalty goal.
Anyway. Seriously, the game was PERFECT! Except for the diving part, ergh. Not one could expect what would happen at the end because it was down to 1-1 and when it was up for Malaysian team to score the 5th and final penalty goal, the current score was 3-3! HOW AWESOME WAS THAT and for a few seconds there it seemed like the Indonesian goalkeeper blocked the goal and somehow, the ball just rolled down at a speed of like 0.1m/s or something to the net!!!
HOW AWESOME WAS THAT!
@08:50
Alhamdulillah, congratulations to the Malaysian team! The victory would be even sweeter if all of us Malaysian football supporters remain cool about the whole thing and not rubbing it into the Indonesian side's faces. After all, it's not about where you are from and what is your nationality, it's about having good sportsmanship, and after all, we are fellow Muslims and forsaking our ties just because of a football game is quite silly, dontcha think?
Credits to bharian online for the picture and sorry for copying the title I've no ideas for one
Lunch at McD and to school for sijil SPM. The school is so different! No wonder it won the Sekolah Tercantik thing. Hazirah said we left our aura there that's why the school won haha. The funniest thing was the 'kubur' which was so strategically placed in front of the canteen as a reminder to never divulge themselves in drugs.
It was truly a walk down memory lane. Wished we had time to go to the surau, there were lovely memories etched there.
Probably the last time I'm going to meet them before I move :( Wasn't the same without @Amirah Shukri, @Airina Syahirah, @Mariyam Rashiddi and @Aishah Rashiddi.
Too much things spiraling inside my head tonight to put me to sleep. Perhaps of the aftershock of basking in the Hunger Games trailer's awesomeness might contribute some in this equation, but this doesn't usually happen. Sleep comes naturally for me. Perhaps too naturally Why is it so easy to make peace with anyone else, but with myself? I know I'm inclined to judge myself too severely. But I'm immensely flawed to begin with anyway. Sometimes I wonder why am I thrusted upon all these responsibilities, that seem to be too far within my reach and abilities. These responsibilities involve the very future of the very people I care most about in the world (in both states of being). Initially I came to the conclusion to improve myself first, more than anyone else, then only I'd sought out to help them to come to their senses. Unfortunately, it seem to take a much longer time than I anticipated. And as it seem to be happening in a very slow pace, I'm starting to think if it really happened at all. Maybe constantly improving myself and trying to help others should go hand in hand. But I don't know if I can do that. Ya Allah.
Verily Allah altereth not that which is with a people until they alter that which is with themselves. (Verse 11 of Surah Al-Rad)
* Edited: A few months later. I found this. Mashaallah :)
"Anas relates that, “We asked the Prophet ﷺ, ‘O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, shouldn’t we refrain from calling others to goodness if we don’t practice all good things ourselves, and shouldn’t we refrain from forbidding wrong things until we ourselves have abstained from all the bad?’ ‘No,’ he replied, ‘You should call others to goodness even if you don’t do all good, and you should forbid bad things even if you don’t abstain from all of them yourselves.’” (Al-Tabarani)"
It means way more than having every type of similarity there is to be, from the same preference of shade of lipstick lol omg i dont even wear lipstik ew i dont like the way it feels like and the first and last time i wore lipstick in public was when i was 10 or something for a school choir colour to the same passion to set out into the country to propagate the idea of an ideal world free of war and destitute.
It means way more than going out all the time, to the hippest malls and coolest hang-out spots in the dead of the night, and putting it on Facebook to show the world that we have a life, and a seemingly good one at that.
It means way more when we forsake our time with friends and appreciate more that of our family's, for whenever and whatever, family comes first, and have an understanding of that together.
1001 Inventions and The Library of Secrets - starring Ben Kingsley as Al-Jazari
How dare we say that we have all the knowledge in the world when all we do is sit so comfortably on a chair with mountainous stacks of homework and undone assignments spread all over the table? How dare do we say that we are superior than those living from hand to mouth and that it serves them right for not studying hard while they were still in school? How dare we say that by having a degree, we have more knowledge than those around us?
Have you ever put thought how scholars of the old ventured out into the deepest realms of the world, battling their lives and wealth to gain an inkling of knowledge? How they learn from masters of knowledge from every nook and cranny of this world?
Yet, they remain ever so humble, and say that they have much to learn.
And all we do is sit on our butts on a chair all night long and get a scroll after a few semesters and bragging about it, preferring to say our title first ever so boastfully when introducing ourselves. I'm sorry, I'm not degrading anyone, pursuing a degree is no easy task, and of course not all people do this, but rather, I'm just reminding you (and myself first and foremost inshaallah) that we always have much to learn. The more knowledgeable a person is, the more humble he or she became as he or she realizes how much he or she didn't know before, and sought to gain more knowledge.
I've seen a TV show "Ilmuwan Islam" on TV3 and I can't remember much of the details but I've learned that al-Jazari who lives in the 12th century is a scholar, inventor, mechanical engineer, astronomer etc who made amazing inventions that contribute much heavily to this modern world. I can't remember much of the details but he made an ingenious method to present his inventions to the public, for the fear of being accused of magic. He could fool all the people that he want, but he remained humble because of his imaan, his firm belief in God.
It was also revealed that the Pharaoh used practical engineering to fool his people like pointing his finger to his majestic gate to open it but the true fact is he used steam power or something of the sort to do so. He did this so as to make his people to believe that he is (a) god. This is not true for other Muslim scholars, their firm belief in God and the concept of 'islah' (to constantly improving oneself) lead them to use their amazing discoveries for the benefit of the people for God.
If I'm not mistaken, AL-Jazari's work is still being utilized in Oxford, and much of other Muslims scholars' work too.
P/S: Do spend 10 minutes or so to watch the video above.
1:Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? No closet. I love Monsters Inc., by the way. *tiba-tiba*
2:Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel? YES
3:Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? In.
4:Have you ever stolen a street sign before? LOL WUT
5:Do you like to use post-it notes? I LOVE POST-IT NOTES. I have an infatuation with them, now more than ever. I love writing little notes to my friends particularly my roommate and the my balcony-neighbours at college whom I regard as roommates anyway.
6:Do you cut out coupons but then never use them? Ha'ah eh. Lol. Always misplace them.
7:Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees? Don't remind me
8:Do you have freckles? I'm Asian living in a hot climate. And proudly so.
9:Do you always smile for pictures? Of course. I dislike 'control ayu' poses. For me lah, I don't mind people doing it, but not me. Ayu pun tarak nak control macamana ehak
10:What is your biggest pet peeve? People who talk back to their parents and those who hurt my loved ones. Encountered some of these people recently and people are really surprised how menacing I'd get when someone I love was hurt haha. Racists, and disrespectful atheists. Now I respect atheists' views, but don't lash out other people's beliefs, it's disgraceful. Movies with uncomfortable scenes. -_-Hair in my food omg I'm a bit of germaphobe and I can't stand eating without washing my hands first.
11:Do you ever count your steps when you walk? haha 82 STEPS, ALYA NADLIN ;D
12:Have you ever peed in the woods?
...
13:What about pooped in the woods? NEVER IN MY ENTIRE LIFE
14:Do you ever dance even if theres no music playing? ...
15:Do you chew your pens and pencils? No.
16:How many people have you slept with this week?
Slept means just sleeping activity right??
I slept with my roomies..and they're countless
(LOL innocent gila airina)
17:What size is your bed? What's it to you
18:What is your Song of the week? Paul McCartney - I Want To Come Home since I watched 'Everybody's Fine' last night.Two or three weeks before was Cameron Mitchell's Your Song. I was lifeless last two weeks because of the finals ehak.
19:Is it okay for guys to wear pink? Errrrrrr.
20:Do you still watch cartoons? YES YES YES. Anything that my sisters put on though -_-' But I watch Disney movies all the time. I can quote some of the lines in the movies if you want.
21:Whats your least favorite movie? I don't know. I don't remember cause I don't put too much thought to the things I don't like that much.
22:Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some?
Inside my heart.. because that hidden treasure is my love :) AWW AIRINA! haha.
Anyway. If it were real treasure, I don't think I'd bury it. I'd donate them inshaallah.
23:What do you drink with dinner? I don't know. Depends.
24:What do you dip a chicken nugget in? Ketchup?
25:What is your favorite food? I DON'T HAVE A FAVOURITE FOOD. I JUST LOVE FOOD IN GENERAL.
26:What movies could you watch over and over and still love? This is a tough one. I'm a movie freak. Let's see. 1. Forrest Gump 2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 4. Stardust (omg yes) 5. Disney's Mulan 6. Spiderman 2 7. Marley & Me (need to watch this again) 8. My Name Is Khan 9. Wall-E 10. Flipped Loads more.
27:Last person you kissed/kissed you? My baby sister <3
28:Were you ever a boy/girl scout? Haha yes
29:Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine? Astaghfirullahaladzhim. =_=
30:When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? Last week.
31:Can you change the oil on a car? No.. It's not my fault, during driving class there were a lot of people crowding the car and I can't see anything.
32:Ever gotten a speeding ticket? I can't even drive properly yet.
33:Ever ran out of gas? I can't even drive properly yet. I can't even drive properly yet. I can't even drive properly yet. I can't even drive properly yet.
34:Favorite kind of sandwich? Omg I love sandwiches. ALL TYPES
35:Best thing to eat for breakfast? I LOVE FOOOOOD.
36:What is your usual bedtime? 11-12pm.
37:Are you lazy? Haha yes sometimes. But when I start something, I'll finish it up. Sometimes.
38:When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? Don't celebrate it.
IM ASIANNNN
39:What is your Chinese astrological sign? Rooster
40:How many languages can you speak? Bahasa and English. I'm baby-stepping on Arabic and Spanish.
41:Do you have any magazine subscriptions? No.. Subscribed to Reader's Digest though. I love reading those.
42:Which are better legos or lincoln logs? *googles lincoln logs* Oh so THAT'S what Mr Potatohead was saying in Toy Story 3. Everything is clear now.
43:Are you stubborn? Depends.
44:Who is better…Leno or Letterman? I dont know.
45:Ever watch soap operas? What kind?
46:Are you afraid of heights? Sometimes, which is weird.
47:Do you sing in the car? When my parents went out for something ehak.
48:Do you sing in the shower? ....
49:Do you dance in the car? lol.
50:Ever used a gun? Water guns. Aw missed playing those with my siblings.
51:Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? 10-12 can't remember.
52:Do you think musicals are cheesy? Lol I watched one and I think it was quite awesome.
53:Is Christmas stressful? I'M ASIAN
and a proud Muslim ;)
54:Ever eat a pierogi? ~~~YOR OBVIESLY NOT A-SI-AN~~~~
*Google-ing* Hmm is it good?
55:Favorite type of fruit pie? Only had apple and it was good. I LOVE FOOD.
56:Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? Lol loads. The usual, doctor, teacher, lawyer, policewoman, actor, singer, piano... player.
57:Do you believe in ghosts? Yes
58:Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? Lol once at the surau Pekan Siswa UM with a friend
59:Take a vitamin daily? Aww yeah! When I was at school. My mom gives two each of Ribena Pastilles thingies and Appeton multivitamin thingies to me and my siblings.
60:Wear slippers? I'M ASIAN
lol wat dat gotta do with anyzing
61:Wear a bath robe? Dulu. Sekali dua. Perasan matsaleh sekejap pastu tak suka,
62:What do you wear to bed? Apa punya soalan daaa
63:First concert?
Raihan concert. It was a long wait for them to start so I slept through the whole thing ;___;
WWHHYYYYYYY
I WAS SEVEN OKAY
64:Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart?
I'M ASIAN
65:Nike or Adidas?
ADIDAS FTW
66:Cheetos Or Fritos?
I'M ASIAN
Keropok and cekodok sounds good right now
67:Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?
I'M AS...
oh hmm both are good. I LOVE FOOD.
68:Ever hear of the group Tres Bien?
Sounds familiar. It's a greeting I presume?
69:Ever take dance lessons?
Lol no I'm to good for a lesson *break it down*
70:Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing? Never thought of that. Just wanted him to be pious inshaallah.
71:Can you curl your tongue?
NO, I'm recessive
YES, I'm dominant (Lol Airina)
72:Ever won a spelling bee?
Yes, first place, back in 2005 Airina, never knew that! Fourth place though.
73:Have you ever cried because you were so happy? After I went down the stage for my SPM results but it was just a hot sensation on my eyes nothing more. But alhamdulillah nonetheless :)
74:Own any record albums? My parents do.
75:Own a record player? My parents do.
76:Regularly burn incense? What
77:Ever been in love? I would say in love with God, but I don't think I've done much for Him...
78:Who would you like to see in concert? Hmmmmm. Maher Zain first and foremost then all my other favourite artists... I think. But I'm not much of a concert-goer tho.
79:What was the last concert you saw? Was my first as well.
80:Hot tea or cold tea? I JUST LOVE FOOD IN GENERAL
81:Tea or coffee? I JUST LOVE FOOD IN GENERAL
I JUST LOVE FOOD IN GENERAL
I JUST LOVE FOOD IN GENERAL
82:Sugar or snickerdoodles? I JUST LOVE.. what are snickerdoodles.
I'M ASIAN
83:Can you swim well?
Dulula. Sekarang tak sangat.
84:Can you hold your breath without holding your nose? Yes.....
85:Are you patient? Inshaallah depends.
86:DJ or band, at a wedding? Live band. But I don't think it's an important thing to think about in a wedding
87:Ever won a contest? Yes
88:Ever have plastic surgery? Lol wut no inshaallah never
89:Which are better black or green olives? Ok I know I said I love food in general but I'd go with black olives.
90:Can you knit or crochet? I can't do any.
91:Best room for a fireplace? I'M ASIAN
92:Do you want to get married? Inshaallah.
93:If married, how long have you been married? ...
94:Who was your HS crush? Errr
95:Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way? No, probably when I was kid, yes but not for long since 5 little rotten kids get in my way ehak
96:Do you have kids? I'm not even married yet
97:Do you want kids?
Of course inshaallah.
98:Whats your favorite color? Teal, turqoise, light blue, dark purple.
99:Do you miss anyone right now?
My loved ones. Particularly my high school buddies right now...
I watched Everybody's Fine last night.I wanted to watch a movie that's just relaxing so I shoved 'Captain America' and 'Hanna' to my later-to-watch list and went on to watch 'Everybody's Fine' thinking that I really need a comedy right now.
How terribly wrong I was.
This movie is heart-wrenching, I tell you.
It's about this guy who I conveniently forgot his first name, so I'll just call him Mr Goode, who has four children and recently lost his beloved wife. All of his four children who lives all across the United States were supposed to gather and have dinner at his home. He prepares for this supposed night (and happily so) and ending up having all his children to cancel at the VERY. LAST. MINUTE. He then decided to visit all his four children who lives in New York, Chicago, Ifojotwat and Las Vegas respectively ignoring his doctor's advice who worries about his current health. Throughout the trip, he "boasted" of what his children do for a living, an artist, a successful ad agent with her own company (partly), a conductor and a dancer.
It was a heart-wrenching trip and all his children were shoving him off (not literally) because they were far too busy with their oh-so-important lives, starting off with his son, David who wasn't even home when Mr Goode came to visit.
They lied to their Father about their lives and say that they were happy with what they are doing now and Mr Goode realizes that each and every of his children had lied to him where they went to the extent of lying about what they really do to borrowing their friends' luxurious apartments and claim it as their own, but he didn't say anything about it. It was really sad to see him hopping on a bus or a train to the other after his children after another politely declined his stay. Throughout the movie, we could discover why they do so through voiced-over phone calls between his children and they did all this to protect their Father of the truth that happened to their brother, David, who got arrested.
We soon discover that he was a really strict father ensuring that each of his children to work really hard, secure good jobs and make him proud. Each of his children weren't really happy of their current lives because of their strict father and we soon discover that some of his children weren't really successful as they had claimed to be.
He was especially strict on David, the artist and Mr Goode always found him to be troublesome and worries about him the most out of all his children. The kid wanted to be a painter but Mr Goode said "Painters paint walls, dogs pee on walls. Be an artist." In the beginning of the movie, it was revealed that David became quite a successful artist and had his work on a gallery where his father really beamed at upon seeing his initials on a painting on a quite night.
On Mr Goode's flight home (for a particularly heart-wrenching reason) he suffers from a heart attack and wakes up in a hospital with his three children surrounding his bed. David wasn't there and to make the story short (and supposedly spoiler-free) because he died. Mr Goode finally realized that he was too harsh on his children and finds out the reason why his children took a liking to tell their late mother everything but to him. He went to his wife's grave and made peace with everyone. He finally had all his children gathered together and spends his Christmas with them and their acquaintances that we discovered throughout his trip.
He then decided to visit David's gallery and to buy his painting. The clerk said someone had recently purchased it and when she realizes that she's talking to his father, she said that David was a good person and that he was glad that his father pushed him to be where he is now, and thanks his father for that. He then made peace with himself.
Well the movie taught me that well, to shape a person is tough and the toughest of all is no one but ourselves. This movie particularly tugs me at the heartstrings because I can relate to this movie particularly the events that has happened before I watched it. It's amazing, how, upon confronting a certain dilemma, we tend to have a need to change others but ourselves. We made excuses and reasons for the way we acted and lashes out other people's beliefs at that.
We blame the ones we love to the way we are now, to the way why we are doing what we do now.
It taught me sometimes, we can change people. Sometimes we can change ourselves. And sometimes, we can't do either So, how do we know what to do? How do we know which child to be strict to, or to be proud of them no matter what?
We won't know, and sometimes, won't ever. Because life, most of the time, is not fair. It could be sunny on the other side and not on the other. It is unconditional, and unpredictable. We may work our butts off to reach a certain goal but discovers that other people reached there first without even wanting it to happen. So the only thing we could do is, make efforts as best as we could possibly do, and let God do the rest for He knows best. We won't ever know of our destiny in coming years, so might as well do the best that we could do when we still have the time.
