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“Whoever recommends and helps a good cause becomes a partner therein, and whoever recommends and helps an evil cause shares in its burdens” Qur’an:4:85

“Be quick in the race for forgiveness from your Lord, and for a Garden (paradise) whose width is that of the heavens and of the earth, prepared for the righteous – Those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity or in adversity, who restrain (their) anger and pardon (all) men – for God loves those who do good.” Qur’an:3:133-134
“Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, verily, to them will We give a new Life, a life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions.” Qur’an:16:97

The parable of those who spend their wealth in the way of God is that of a grain that sprouts into seven ears, each bearing one hundred grains. God gives manifold increase to whom He wishes. God has boundless knowledge. Those who spend their wealth in the cause of God, and do not follow their charity with reminders of their generosity or injure the feeling of the recipient, shall get their reward from their Lord; they shall have nothing to fear or to regret.Kind words and forgiveness are better than charity followed by injury. Qur’an:2:261-263)

its how u deal with it

Imagine you have a little boat. And you want to tie it to something because you found a perfect harbor with a beautiful beach and nice clear water, and you want to spend some time there and have a picnic.

But the wind is blowing, and there are rocks, and you don't want to smash your boat on the rocks. You brought a rope with you, and you also brought a big block of Styrofoam that floats on the water. So you tie your boat to it, and you're happy, smiling. The boat is secured to the Styrofoam.

Is everything okay? No problems? Big problems! The boat is going to drift because the Styrofoam is going to drift. If you don't want the boat to drift, you must find something that doesn't drift. That's why people use an anchor. They throw the anchor into the water, set it, then pull on it to make sure it is caught on something that doesn't drift.

What is there in your life that does not drift?

Everything is going to change. You're not going to want it to, but it is going to change. Your face is going to change, your ideas are going to change, and the way you view things is going to change.

This is the nature of the world you live in. It is bound by time, and time changes everything. And you are looking not to drift.

So what is there that does not drift? To find that answer, you need to find your true self, because the true self does not drift.

Find the changeless and tie well this boat of life to the changeless. Then relax. Isn't that why you came into the harbor? Deep question. Isn't that why you're here with this incredible power to enjoy life in hand?

 I don't want to change your job. Do whatever you have to do, but know the difference between the permanent and the temporary.

There are all the things that are relative, and there is one thing that is not relative, that's absolute. And the absolute is within you. No variables.

You have life. That is absolute. One day you won't. But as long as you are alive, as long as breath comes into you, it is absolute. And as long as you are alive and can feel, as long as you have the capacity to be conscious, I say to you: be conscious of what is the real life.

Of all the things you could be conscious of, be aware of the existence that you have. Being aware of your existence brings joy, happiness, peace. Real peace."

21 ways to APPRECIATION

1. "There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread." - Mother Theresa

2. "If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice." - Meister Eckhart

3. "The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated." - William James

4. "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." - William Arthur Ward

5. "I would rather be able to appreciate things I cannot have than to have things I am not able to appreciate." - Elbert Hubbard

6. "Celebrate what you want to see more of." - Tom Peters

7. "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others." - Cicero

8. "Correction does much, but encouragement does more. Encouragement after censure is as the sun after a shower." - Goethe

9. "The aim of life is appreciation; there is no sense in not appreciating things; and there is no sense in having more of them if you have less appreciation of them." - G.K.Chesterton

10. "Appreciate everything yourassociates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune." - Sam Walton

11. "Next to excellence is the appreciation of it." - William Makepeace Thackeray

12. "Encouraged people achieve the best; dominated people achieve second best; neglected people achieve the least." - Anonymous

13. "Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart." - Seneca

14. "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." - Leo Buscaglia

15. "I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among men the greatest asset I possess. The way to develop the best that is in a man is by appreciation and encouragement." - Charles Schwab

16. "You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink." - G.K. Chesterton

17. "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." - Thornton Wilder

18. "In every person who comes near you look for what is good and strong." - John Ruskin

19. "There are two things people want more than sex and money -- recognition and praise." - Mary Kay 20. "Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary." - Margaret Cousins

21. "Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." - Buddha

Blessings

“Whoever recommends and helps a good cause becomes a partner therein, and whoever recommends and helps an evil cause shares in its burdens” Qur’an:4:85

“Be quick in the race for forgiveness from your Lord, and for a Garden (paradise) whose width is that of the heavens and of the earth, prepared for the righteous – Those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity or in adversity, who restrain (their) anger and pardon (all) men – for God loves those who do good.” Qur’an:3:133-134
“Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, verily, to them will We give a new Life, a life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions.” Qur’an:16:97

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Religion is very easy, and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded.” Bukhari:V1N38

Its FRIDAY

INSPIRATION 

UL  NEVER LEAVE WHERE YOU ARE TILL YOU DECIDE WHERE YOU WOULD RATHER BE 

EvEryThng U cAn ImAgInE iS REAL

how beautiful is the morning full of innocence and blessings
its beauty is not only seen but felt
watching the darkness fade away
and the birds starts singing as the clouds becomes bright
and the sky becomes clear
and fresh breeze blowing innocently with no destruction
the paths are clear and the environment is very clean
time to refresh the mind
another beautiful day allowing people chances to get back to their Lord , view life in its original form
indeed Allah loves his slaves as He made each morning as  a chance to see His Blessings and His Greatness
strangers dont take this for granted they dont let the beauty of giving life yet  another chance to get back to Allah  instead they use it to contemplate, think ,appreciate and use the morning as the booster of the day  and chance to live again .
they say successful people are never asleep before sunrise because the beauty of life is seen in the morning and to them its another day to explore visions and make reality n have new dreams .

StRaNgErs DEATH

Death in Sujood on Her Wedding Night

True story told by Shaykh “Abdul Mohsen al Ahmad”, it happened in Abha (the capital of Asir province in Saudi Arabia)
“After performing Salat Al Maghrib, she put her make-up, wore her beautiful white dress preparing herself for her wedding party, Then she heard the Adhan of ‘Ishaa and she realized that she broke her Wudu:

She told her mother : “mother, I have to go to make wudu and pray ‘Ishaa”

Her mother was shocked : “Are you crazy?!! Guests are waiting for you, to see you! what about your make -up? It will be all washed away by water!!” then she added:

” I am your mother and I order you not to perform salah now! wallahi if you make wudu now, I will be angry at you”

Her daughter replied :”wallahi I won’t go out from here till I perform my salah! Mother you must know that “There is no obedience to any creature in disobedience to the Creator.”!!

Her mother said:”what would our guests say about you when you’ll show up in your wedding party without make-up?! You won’t be beautiful in their eyes! and They will make fun of you!”

The daughter asked with a smile :”Are you worried because I won’t be beautiful in the eyes of creations? What about my Creator?! I am worried because, if I miss my salah, I won’t be beautiful in His eyes”

She started to make wudu, and all her make-up was washed away, but she didn’t care.

Then she began her salah (prayer) and at the moment she bowed down to make sujud (prostration), she didn’t realize that it will be her last one!

Yes! She died while in sujud! What a great ending for a Muslimah who insisted on obeying her Lord! Many people who heard her story were so touched!!
She put Him and His obedience first in her priorities, so He granted her the best ending that any Muslim would have!

She wanted to be closer to Him, so He took her soul in the place where Muslim are the closest to Him! Subhana Allah!

She didn’t care if she would be beautiful in the eyes of creatures so she was beautiful in the eyes of Her Creator!

O Muslim sister, imagine if you are in her place! What will you do? What will you choose : pleasing creations or your Creator?

O dear sister! Do you guarantee that you will live for the next minutes? Hours? Months?!!

No one knows when their hour will come? Or when will they meet angels of death? So are you ready for that moment?

O non hijab sister! What do you choose : Pleasing yourself by not wearing Hijab or pleasing your Lord by wearing hijab?

Are you ready to meet Him without Hijab?

And what about you, sister who are “in relationship” or “open relationship”, are you ready to meet your Lord today? Tomorrow?! What do you choose pleasures of this Dunya or pleasures of akhirah?!

May Allah guide us all to what pleases Him and grant everyone who is reading these lines good ending, Ameen

WaKe uP StrAnGeR

i woke up today thinking what youths always think about and what they are always talking about and funny enough it led me to very un productive ways that youths of today are always having in mind . well, some of the things that i noticed were when youths meet they talk about illegal relationship most time the hotest topic is about sex and you wonder what happened to the shyness of the three letter words where once one had to hide to even pronounce but today we are carrying it everywhere as if its not a big deal well this thought of the un productive youth .
the productive so called well this ones are the geeks they tend to be school or education oriented they will be talkng about being successful in life and how much they want to earn and become rich and they want to be independent and women especially wants independence so that men dont bring to them nonsense well this sounds so cool but to me still un productive or productive selfishness .
we have forgoten our positions as young people we are in charge to make a change in the ummah , we should be the ones clearing and eliminating calamities in the world today but instead we are the ones contributing in the destroying of this world .
may be when we look at sahabas may Allah be pleased with them will be like thats another generation and please we are in another world full of technology and stuff but we dont even know or even bother to look around us and see examples or legends that made it through in this era of ours . we have people to look up to its we choose not to look up but lower gazes for wrong reasons put ur gaze up for investment and lower your gaze for sins .
one of our leading legend( may Allah be please with him)start by knowing him and know we still have chance to make the difference .

Dr. Abdul Rahman Al Sumait

http://direct-aid.org/english/drs

ExPeCtAtIoN

DIFFERENT WAYS TO VIEW EXPECTATION

ALWAYS  LOWER UR EXPECTATIONS 

WHEN YOUR GIVEN MORE U CAN EASILY APPRECIATE 

WHEN YOUR GIVEN LESS ITS EASY TO FORGIVE 

How We dO iT

Weak Muslims are not Proud of Islam

The true strangers will always be proud of their God-sanctioned religion. On the contrary, the weak-Muslims try to hide their Islamic identity for fear of being labeled as “fundamentalist”. The men are shaving their beard and women are trying to make their hijab look like the latest fashion. If presented with food or drink that is haram, instead of saying “I cannot eat it because it is unlawful in Islam”, they say we are full at the moment, or they say we do not like the particular food. They feel embarrassed accompanying Muslim as friends; instead they take non-Muslims as best friends….

The Rightly-Guided Predecessors were always proud of Islam [A good example is Rabi`e ibn Amir]

When the companions accepted Islam, they became proud of it and felt that all other ideologies and ways of life are inferior to what has been revealed to them from above seven heavens. In the battle between the Muslims and the Persians, Rostom, the leader of the Persian army, asked to negotiate with the Muslims. Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas, the Muslim leader in that battle, sent a group of companions among which was Rabi`e ibn Amir. The Persian leader prepared a magnificent reception in order to impress those “Bedouins” and weaken their position. The Persians asked Rabi`e to enter without his arms. He refused and entered with his arms and his horse and tied his horse next to Rostom. Rostom asked: “What brings you?” Rabi`e said: “Allah has sent us to convert mankind from the worship of people to the worship of Allah and from the narrowness of this life to its wideness and from the oppression of the religions to the justice of Islam. Allah has sent us to His creatures with His religion. Whoever accepts it, we accept from him and whoever refuses, we fight him until we get the Promise of Allah?” “And what is His Promise?” asked Rostom. “Paradise for those who die and victory for those who survive” answered Rabi`e. Rostom said: “Can you delay this matter until we think about it?” Rabi`e answered: “Yes. How many days you need, one or two?” Rostom said: “More. Until I write to my people.” Rabi`e said: “We can’t. Our Prophet does not authorize us to delay our enemies more than three days. So make up your mind."

KeePing The Smile

StrAngers aGainst EnemY

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175. it is Only Shaitân (Satan) that suggests to You the fear of his Auliyâ' [supporters and friends (polytheists, disbelievers In the Oneness of Allâh and In his Messenger, Muhammad )], so fear them not, but fear Me, if You are (true) believers.

According to ibn Kathir explanation of this ayat he says

Allah says its only shaitan that suggest to fear his friends.

Meaning shaitan threatens you to his friends by trying to make them seem fearfull and powerfull

Allah says fear them not but FEAR ME (ALLAH) if ur true believers indeed I shall suffice you and make you prevail over them .

Indeed as strangers we should be mindfull of shaitans plot , imagine how many times we have feared to do the right things just because we were scared of someone or something other than Allah (subhana wataala) . how many times have we done wrong things for sake of people well countless this are what shaitan makes to us to look powerful and yet we have power over them by worshipping and obeying Allah we will gain more power than shaitan the cursed one .

A stranger is mindful of his obedience to Allah , they know that Allah is the only one who is in charge and  

He will take care of things .so,

STRANGER BE ALERT TAKE CHARGE THRUOUGH OBIDIENCE OF YOUR RABB

A stranger live up to Allah’s standards which are laid down in Qur’an and Sunnah.

Because something is tradition doesn't make it right

“Just because something is tradition doesn't make it right.”  This is what Anthony J. D'Angelo, in The College Blue Book said. You may be tempted to follow something because it has been endorsed by many people. Anatole France said that “If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.”  And according to Grace Hopper, “The most damaging phrase in the language is:  “It's always been done that way.” In this battle against conventional beliefs/ways you need to heed the words of Alan Keightley who said “once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.” Therefore, you need to break away from the crowd/masses/cultures. You are not forced to live up to the society’s standards because this standards may not be right. Malcolm Muggeridge once quipped: “Only dead fish swim with the stream.”  Non-conformity can be defined as “the refusal to accept man-established customs, attitudes, or ideas.” A stranger live up to Allah’s standards which are laid down in Qur’an and Sunnah.

YOUNIQUE

You need to be unique, different from Kuffar, different from the weak Muslims. Different in your actions and different in your speech. When you intend to do something in future, you say “InshaAllah”. A weak Muslim will say “O.K. See you tomorrow”; When you start something, you say “Bismillah”; when you encounter a sad situation you say “Allahu-l-mustaaan”/ “SubhaanallahAllah”; When you hear someone is dead, you remember “Innah Lillahi wainnah ilayhi raajiuun”; when you say bye to someone, you add “Baarakallahu fiik/Allahu yahdiik”; Instead of clappin hands when someone achieves something, you say “MashaAllah TabaarakaAllahu”….e.t.c. and by being like this, you will be different in speech with the weak Muslims. You will indeed be a Real stranger.

7 UNDER THE SHADE

The Prophet (SAW) said: “There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade:

1.) A just ruler
2.)AYOUTH WHO GREW UP IN TH WORSHIP OF ALLAH THE MIGHTY AND MAJESTIC 
3.) A man whose heart is attached to the mosques
4.) Two men who love each other for Allah’s sake, meeting for that and parting upon that
5.) A man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but he says: ‘I fear Allah’
6.) A man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity
7.) And a man who remembered Allah in private and so his eyes shed tears

STRANGERS AT WORK

During a job interview, one of the common questions the interviewer can ask is ‘Tell Us about Yourself’ interview question. They expect your answer to touch something about your education, career, strengths, achievements, goals and objectives, hobbies, e.t.c A stranger is that person who does not belong, someone unique, someone with strange ideas and practices. A nonconformist. You should rejoice that you are different and if someone poses the question “Tell us about yourself” or “Describe Yourself”, without a hint of apology or defensiveness, in all seriousness, and in blunt and uncompromising language, and through brutal honesty, this is what a true stranger is supposed to say:

The right answer for a Muslim Man

I am a fundamentalist Muslim, I struggle to observe the fundamentals of Islam; I get entertained by praying five times a day; I keep beards; my clothes don’t go beyond my ankles; I am not engrossed in luxuries and comfort; I don’t listen to music, don’t watch movies; Yes, I can’t watch soap operas because its haraam; happy to be without a girlfriend, I don’t even shake hands with [non-mahrem] women; I don’t have a facebook account; I am dutiful and obedient to my parents; when I see a munkar, I stop it with my arms, if that’s hard I stop it with my tongue; I don’t smoke; I don’t celebrate May Day, Christmas Day, Mothers' or Fathers' Day, Independence Day, Birthdays e.t.c ; rather I celebrate Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr; I don’t desire to go stay in non-Muslim countries ; I identify myself first as Muslim and only secondarily as Kenyan; I don’t watch football matches because it’s a waste of time and because the “Football matches that are played for money and similar prizes are haraam, because that is gambling” ; I spent my time reading the Qur’an, listening to Islamic lectures; I am always eager to learn more about my religion; my ultimate goal is to win a position in Jannatul-Firdaus; I am honest and always speak the truth because God said “O you who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are true (in words and deeds).”[Q 9:119]. . . .

The right answer for a Muslim Woman

…I wear a full jilbab including niqab; dressing modestly is our principle; I don’t shake hands with non-mahrams; I am proud that I don’t have a boyfriend; I submit to all laws of Allah because they are just and beneficial to my life; I don’t mind being married to a polygynous husband [i.e. I don’t mind being married as a second, third or fourth wife]; I thank God that inside our homes is the ideal place for our dwelling, I am/will be happy to be a ‘stay-at-home mother’; I never engage in backbiting circles; to my parents, I am respectful, obedient; honoring parents and upholding the ties of kinship is my habit; We speak what is kheir, otherwise we shush; I don’t apply perfume when I go out of the house; my role models are Fatima, Aasiya, Maryam and Khadija; . . . .

We exactly know what our Way of Life (Islam) wants us to be and hence we are never slaves to man-made fashions. Quentin Crisp already said that “Fashion is what you adopt when you don't know who you are.” You should become a Real stranger till people look at you and say, “Wow, that person is so different from everyone else and is a complete rebel, I am totally scared.”