Thursday, February 7, 2008

Saying Goodbyes...

What is Halal is clear and what is Haram is clear. Midway between them are things which people do not know whether they are Halal or Haram. He who keeps away from them will protect his religion and will be saved. He who aproaches them is very near to Haram, like a shepherd wandering his flock near Hima (protected grazing land), who could soon enter the forbidden area, and Allah's protected area is what He has declared forbidden.”

People often say goodbyes to their loved ones, families, relatives and friends. But how often do people say goodbye to their favorite food or drinks, singers or actors, idols, sport or games, outfit, habits and social gatherings? Not very often. Because our minds have been "poisoned" with the food we ate, the carbonated drinks we sipped, the singers and idols we exalted, the actors we jacked so high up, the sports and games we played even when Allah is calling (azan) and the undoubtedly unlawful friendly environment we all involved in.

Usually, that is how neglectful, ignorant, naive and stubborn humans can be and they will continue to sail over the rough seas in their shameless dingy vessel until death becomes of them or when they are encountered with something remorsefully tragic or when Allah's guidance sinks in. (read between the lines).

Enough!! I DON'T want to listen to this ####!!
If you want to preach, got the mosque, I'm sure there will be someone there will be glad to listen to your poems!!!


That is our nafs (lust) shouting. Since our mind and body has been poisoned, it often fights back and will try to be more defensive towards the truth (the reality of things). Naturally, we like to hear what our nafs is whispering. Little did we know what our nafs works hand in hand with satan and these two will try to deject the little solemn voice that says, "hmm..this isn't right, I shouldn't even be here" or "hmm..is this halal..should we just leave?" or "[pause]...I think Allah's wrath will come running if I do this".

I just can't help it, the temptation is TOO strong and besides, everyone else is eating/doing it, so why can't I!?

Sad but true, muslims themselves are overwhelmed by this overpowering force that caused us to be caught in many situations where "if you're not in it, then you're just out of date" or "you're such an anti-social person, I don't wanna befriend you anymore". Even with the little knowledge that we have and the environment we are in, can we really blame ourselves for our won actions and behaviors? Despite that we are all trapped...

Is it over...? I REALLY wish there was something I can do to change the way I am..I REALLY DO.. *sad*

Changing isn't easy. It takes a lot of patience & willpower. Our mindset needs to be clear as well, and at the back of our mind, we need to be confident that Allah is with us (as He always is), He is with those who are willing to help themselves and with those who cleanse themselves for the better and believe that there is life after death and those who does good for His sake will be returned to paradise for eternity and those who does evil will also be "rewarded" and have fiery flames as their roof, their walls and their floors.

The first thing is to
tune back our mind to channel Islam. We need to make sure that all we do is in accordance with the principles and laws of Allah. We need to reject SLOWLY the things we are unsure of, the things we have made us lost and the things which have made us once ungrateful servants of God. We need to filter our the negativities and bring in the history of pioneers of Islam. And we need to make Prophet Muhammad as the person we look up to. Not some swanky beat down celebs. It needs to be clear because we want to go straight this time, not left or right. Also, we sure don't want our lust to take over our mind and corrupt THE PLAN.

The second thing is to change our eating habits because food provides the necessary proteins and energy to our body. If we don't eat, our body gets weak (just as people in Palestine, may Allah save them all) and moody. And when our body is weak, our mind can't think straight. Great care needs to be taken here. Based from hadeeth mentioned earlier, what is haram is clear and what is "in between", is better avoided. They are the things which are unsure of. Humans will naturally tricked into believing that whenever there's a label "HALAL", its halal. Well, not necessarily. We need to look at the companies and pepole who makes them and as we all know, most multinational producers are owned by jews. They are owners of MAGGI (nestle), MILO, COKE, MIRINDA, Marks & Spencer, Self-fridge, kitkat, cadbury and many more [the lists can be gotten here. These are the kind of food we need to avoid not because we need to but we HAVE TO.

We also need to avoid restaurants which have non-muslims as their cook / chef, non-muslims as the bosses (managers) and "so-called-muslims" as their waitresses. Why? Because Allah only accepts what is pure. Based from the hadeeth:

“Verily Allah the Exalted is pure. He does not accept but that which is pure. Allah commands the believers with what He commanded the Messengers. Allah the Almighty has said: "O you Messengers! Eat of the good things and act righteously" [23:51-53]. And Allah the Almighty also said: "O you who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided you with" [2:167-172]. Then he (the Prophet) mentioned (the case of) the man who, having journeyed far, is disheveled and dusty and who stretches out his hands to the sky (saying): "O Lord! O Lord!" (while) his food was unlawful, his drink was unlawful, his clothing was unlawful, and he is nourished with unlawful things, so how can he be answered?”


The third component that we need to take care of is our soul. Just like our body, our soul needs to be fed as well. We need to feed our soul with a lot of readings and remembrance of Allah. We can read books written by great muslim scholars as well as non-muslim once, just as long as its beneficial to the development and progression of Islam. But the most important that we all should read is The Qu'ran (Kitabullah) and the Prophet Hadeeths [just be sure its sohih (genuine)]. This way our soul will be enriched and nourished. That way, we would be somewhat better than the rest (but not to be proud) and complete.

"O Ka’b b. Ujrah, no flesh which was nourished on ill-gotten gains will enter Paradise, as the Hellfire is more deserving of it.” (Related by Ahmad)

So, when are you going to say YOUR goodbyes?

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