Hikmah Disebalik Payah

Mencuci pinggan mangkuk bukannya suatu kerja yang digemari.

Namun apabila melakukannya di tempat selain daripada rumah,
terasa syukur kerana dilatih ibu sejak kecil.
Bukannya kerja perempuan,
tapi Sunnah Rasulullah juga,
dalam membantu kerja rumah sedemikian!

Yakinlah,
Apa yang rasa payah dibuat,
anda akan hargainya apabila anda bersendirian.
Sekalipun bergaduh dengan rakanmu,
kelak akan dirinduimu apabila kehilangannya.

Gugurlah Sakura atas tangan,
yang tinggal hanyalah kenangan.

~ 29:04:2015_10:12pm

Risiko

Tak tahu apa itu seterika, tak apa.
Carilah orang untuk ajarmu gunakan,
walaupun risiko kejahilanmu,
mengakibatkan nikah terbatal;

Kerana yang lebih penting,
adalah membina dirimu
menjadi hamba Allah berguna;
berhijrah demi cintaNya.

# inspirasi doa Umm Salamah r.a. #

Reflection From Vegetarian

Alhamduliah, had a meaningful conversation with a Buddhist sister who shared her journey towards becoming a vegetarian. 

After becoming involved in a Buddhist charity organization for some time, she became convinced about becoming a vegetarian in order to cultivate compassion. Hence, she made a vow to be fully vegetarian in two years time. 

However, she was also aware that her family could not accept such choice of dietary as they perceived it as lacking proper nutrition. This made her feel afraid to share her decision to them, especially her mother.

Yet, the choice she made, inspired me greatly. She explained that the problem is not about lacking of certain ingredients in dietary, but the way we manage the ingredients in our meals. In other words, "eat the right way".

As a result, her parents who initially could not accept her avowed decision, finally blessed her choice when they noticed the positive changes in her, and there was no sign in her that showed malnutrition either. As she recalled her experience, I noticed her air of confidence and enthusiasm there.

Along the way when I listened attentively to her sharing, Subhanallah, I was reminded of the journey taken by our reverted Muslim brothers and sisters who struggle to abstain from non-halal food especially pork. In most cases, they had to eat outside home. Sadly, many halal food outside are not always healthy. I myself survived the first two years oftentimes with nasi lemak breakfasts & mamak dishes. China Muslim restaurants were not popular back then.

In my humble opinion, it would be ideal to learn to prepare home-cooked meals ourselves, so that we can regulate what our food is made of.

The confidence executed and healthy output InshaAllah do work wonders in Dakwah to our family. Sometimes you don't even need to rehearse the reasons from Qur'an, but instead shine out your reason with smart meal management. That's proof that Islam is a natural faith. And Allah knows best

Motivation

Each & everyone is motivated by different things in doing their tasks. 
Do not ask them for motivation.
Ask the One who knows profoundly what you're going through. 
And let Him guide you to the right things that shall motivate you.

To Carry Everything

Never carry too many things at one time. Otherwise you are bound to left behind important part.
Do not leave them altogether. Workout each of them in steps.
Self reminder

Benefits in Volunteering

Through volunteering, we learn to selflessly treat others with compassion, trying our best to imitate the godly qualities of Ar Rahman -the Boundless Mercy of Allah Over All Creations That's Happening Right Now.

Through this action, we connect communities, narrow down negativity and spread positive impacts.

Self reminder.

The Beauty in Reverts' Parents

There is never a reason for us children to stop being filial to parents, even after we reverted to Islam.

Parents sacrifice their time and energy just to raise us up from womb to adulthood. Their beauty is doubled up by their efforts in taking extra miles to prepare halal meals, or choose to eat in halal restaurant with us. This is indeed another great reason for us as Muslim children to be extremely grateful of.

All praise to Allah, the Turner of all hearts. May Allah guide them into Jannah with Hidayah key.

Tiny Things Worth Larger Than Life

Perhaps you may have try before washing the muddy soil with a pan and jump in excitement to find tiny bits of precious minerals amongst the dirt.

Let's ponder about these tiny golden sand amongst the dark soil. See how it shines.

As I imagine this, I'm relating it to some happenings that came into my life lately.
Sometimes I feel nothing spiritually uplifting when being around certain friends I often hang out with. Work can be stressful. It's almost the same situation at home as well.

That made me set off to a journey of searching for a sanctuary, where I can rejuvenate and refresh my thoughts clouded by high pressurized environment. I patronized bookshops, cafes, and even slow down my car just to admire the vast mountains.

Is it true that I need to find a place that will fulfill this need? Yes, you may. There's nothing wrong in that.

Well, let's pause for a few minutes of reflection.
In your highly stressful working place, recall the few minutes or even seconds where someone said something positive to you, or just a pat on your back. Recall the few minutes or even seconds where you managed to accomplish something good, or able to help someone.
Feel it. Did these made you smile, or even tears of joy?

Realize that, even as the leaf falls off from tree with Allah's permission, Allah had also given you that opportunity to experience these positive things into your life.

Nobody is perfect, but by the moment they did something positive towards you, know that it's a priceless blessing bestowed by Allah Most Wise.

That's your sanctuary.
Use these blessings to strengthen your heart and radiate that with your smile. For our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) informed you & me, that a smile is a charity. Let your smile enriches everyone around you who are in dire need of compassion, InshaAllah.

"And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor];"
~Qur'an 14:7

And Allah knows best smile emoticon

Kasih Dalam Kerjasama

Demi memudahkan kerjasama saling bantu-membantu,
hendaklah dipupuk kasih Rahmat sesama kita dahulu.
Agar misi Dakwah di luar dan juga dalam
sentiasa diberkati Tuhan Sekalian Alam.

~ Çelebi Kirişci
6:6:15_11:13

A Higher Aim [Kirişci Çelebi Collection]

Droplet of Hope, Diamonds of Mercy [Kirişci Çelebi Collection]

Droplet of Hope, Diamonds of Mercy

The lake was about to freeze,
when a flower petal dropped
creating ripples on its surface
as wide as lake itself.

A heart humbled by what he lacks,
suddenly humbled by His abundance.

A heart shattered into pieces;
into pieces each becomes diamonds.

Let your heart be heard by Lord,
Lord of All Hearts.


~11.05.2015_21.14

Precious Words After Gone

Every single words and actions of your loved ones suddenly becomes precious when they passed away.
Isn't every words and actions of our Messenger Muhammad precious to us too?
1400 years plus ago...

When was the last time I shed tears upon recalling what he taught? :'( 
May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

Recharge

A dynamo does not have electricity.
Instead, it generates electricity.
You don't have happiness.
Instead, you generate happiness, inshaAllah.

When your handphone runs out of power,
you plug it to be recharged.
What are you waiting for,
when you feel very down?

~ inspired & adapted from Brendon Buchard's motivation talk

Stucked Speech & Awakening Awareness

Having gone through a depression-kind of setback, I discovered how greatly it has impacted on my speech.

Going through the gloomy moments made me think a lot of things in mind. Then, there's being disappointed by friends whom I expected to be offered a listening ear and good advises.

In the end, all these had driven me into silence. I thought keeping my mouth shut would be better in enduring the pain patiently, waiting for the heavy rain to stop soon.

However when the sun is rising, I found myself struggling to open up. This is made obvious when I attended an interview. I notice I had a hard time expressing my thoughts. Furthermore, having recently come out from the cocoon, I was still in a daze with no clear plans on how I would like to drive my future. I was terribly stuck at that point.

Nevertheless, I'm thankful that Allah has pointed out the shortcomings that I need to improve.
Whether I will be accepted or not is one thing, but whatever the outcome, I pray that Allah strengthen my heart with Sakinah & to be more concerned in pleasing Him than anyone else.

Alhamduliah, unexpectedly yesterday I had a meaningful discussion with my friend on Tawakkul. Here, I still had difficulty expressing my points in thoughts, but the fruits produced in this 'usrah' style discussion had greatly encouraged me to keep pushing forward and break the barrier wall in my mind.

Alhamduliah the discussion proved to have open the next road to me in getting closer to Allah, especially the conviction to complaint to Him when falling into setback, because previously as someone from freethinker background I always feel like talking to the wall whenever I try to cry to Allah. Jazakumullah khairan Ali Muhammad Sabri & Ng Kuan Beng for your time and sharing

Precious or Priceless

You may have lost something precious,
but you will gain something priceless.

What a great blessing it is!
To have his long struggle be eased by Him.

What more can he ask for,
even if it's his most desired hope?

14 : 6

Expect yourself to be deeply disappointed,

when you're overwhelmed with love

over another worldly being.

Recall the blessings of Allah upon you,

everytime you're overwhelmed with love

over another worldly being.

Then you're set to live the stronger life

in this temporary world.

Remember how Allah care for you

with His personal touch,

that leaves you in tears.

Let yourself be overflowed with tears

because of His attention upon you,

than to be overflowed with tears,

because someone disappoints you.

Words

It was really tough to say something that is full of emotions. No words can be used to describe it in any simple manner. People may misunderstand it.

To say out one of the reason, may be misunderstand as bias.
To say out everything, is just an awful lot for such small conversation space.

Silence may be the only answer. Bersangka baik is the conclusion cap.

But to Allah, He knows already from A to Z of your heart.
None but You knows best what I am going through.
Let not my heart be panic,
Let not my heart be panic.
Nothing happens except by You will, isn't?

The End is not an End

The end is not an end of something,
It's just a beginning of something.
The end of the world,
is just an end of this world,
and a beginning for Hereafter.
There is death,
and there is birth.
Where there is snow fall,
There would be spring bloom.
Nothing here is permanent.
The best has yet to be locked,
until you're in Hereafter.
Alhamduliah

Flashbacks & Forgiveness

Shared from Wives Of Jannah Facebook page :

My husband and I were having a conversation the other night about a subject which had caused some tension between both of us.

Seeking to find harmony again, we talked, and dug, and talked, and dug some more. The meanings, metaphors, and beliefs being explored in this conversation kept taking us deeper and deeper into ourselves.
We learned a lot about ourselves and each other in that moment. It was Fearless Vulnerability (which I talk about in all of my training programs) at it's best.

Why am I sharing this with you?

Because I want you to remember that no human being is simple, especially in matters of love, areas of conflict, and places where there is hurt. We are all these intricate beings, built with thousands of memories, meanings, and moments that we carry with us, all into a single moment.

While talking, I even had a flashback to an event in high school! Something that was not related at all, a memory that took me back to band practice out on the football field. It was crazy, but despite the irrational connection, there was an emotional one.

When there is tension, slow down. Understand that the tension is beyond this moment, and yet at the same time, all about this moment. Stop looking at your husband (or wife for the men who follow this page) as a person out to hurt you, out to get you, and in your life just to be an unchanging, complicated and stubborn person.

In the flash of emotion, it can be hard to remember all of this. So take two steps:

1) Say 'authu billahi min ash-shaitanir rajeem
2) Ask yourself "How can I show Fearless Vulnerability right now?"

Both of those will transform any conversation, and allow you to focus on yourself and what you can offer in the moment.