Another Good Day

Bismillah.. Assalamu'alaykum..

I was told off by a teacher on how to do my work this morning, as I missed few tasks due to my ignorance or negligence (and unintended one, seriously)

*I wasn’t aware of my tasks/duties- overlooked the description of the tasks in the given instruction previously, astaghfirullah, may Allah forgive me, I admit it was my mistake and I really appreciate that she pointed it out Alhamdulillah. May Allah reward her*

I was listening to her complaints on another teacher on how she should be more responsible next time..

(While bearing in mind, she was late-must be for a good reason- since I hadn’t clarified with the other teacher or told her exactly what had been going on here- it wouldn’t be fair to judge, right? Even if she was found to be guilty, things could still be managed and probably corrected, eyh? :)

InshaAllah.

I am even more convinced now that in correcting people, we need to have wisdom. Having knowledge without wisdom, without a supporting personality would not be effective- it might work but not to its utmost potential. And most of the time, things don't usually work out, qadarullah..

And I was pondering upon all those things she said to me…

The best part of it, all those words penetrated DEEP into my lil’ boxes in the head after they sliced the one in the chest…

zaasssshh

*Ouch*

:D

Allah Al Haleem…

Allah Al Hakeem…

Alhamdulillah, I praised that sister for addressing the issue with her best manner, politely. Amazing that it was with hikmah that I didn’t find it offensive :P

Alhamdulillah..

*Ya Allah, what a shame!*

I learn that first impression does play its role to people’s heart. Have good akhlaq, people will love us. And as I recalled, I realized at that moment, how wonderful our Prophet Muhammad SAW was… He (SAW) had the best manner towards every single person around him (SAW). May Allah help and guide us to refine/beautify our akhlaq that people see the beauty of his (SAW) teachings thus the beauty of Islam. Aamin.

I also learn that as a muslima, I should set myself as an example in spite of all the incoming constructive criticism I received. (Alhamdulillah- All praises due to Allah)

Hehe. Criticism? I take that as a token to self-improvement. InshaAllah… Alhamdulillah…

*Good time to break the ego ukhty!* (T_T)

May Allah open my heart to be courageous and positive enough to listen to my own flaws- the hideous part of me, indeed- to be able to improve myself, within my utmost capability, inshaAllah…

*within my UTMOST capability- I’m trying to tell you how weak I am as HIS slave. Yet not giving up to improve to excellence (not to perfection). Wallahi, no one is perfect. Expecting that would just lead you to your greatest frustration and distress.  Wa na’udzhubillah!*

Ya Rabb… help!

:D

*A post to remind me to be better today than yesterday*

Abu Huraira -May Allah be pleased with him- has related that the Prophet (Sallahu alaihi wa salam) said,

“Hasten to do good deeds; (there will be) fitnah like a portion of a dark night, wherein an individual wakes up as a believer and begins the night as a disbeliever or he begins the night as a believer and wakes up as a disbeliever. He sells his religion for a portion of the dunya (this worldly life).

More details and explanation of the above hadeeth can be found here: Hasten to Do Good Deeds

ALLAH'S SAYS Vs syaithan's says

Shaitan says that your hijab doesn't make you look pretty.
Allah tells you that your beauty is only for your husband to see.

Shaitan says your eyebrows are too bushy; they need to be shaped neatly.
Allah reminds you that there's no need to change His creation because He has created you with beauty.

Shaitan says you look hot in those skinny jeans and transparent tops.
Allah warns you that hell is hotter and shaitan's plan always flops.

Shaitan offers you moments of worldly pleasures.
Allah promises you in the Hereafter many treasures.

And yet,
such is the plight of us Muslims,
we follow our whims
as if there is no Day of Accountability to come,
where Jannah will only be given to some. :(

Him? Not now, please

A post i've been keeping for soooo long!
It's for you my love..

Bismillah..
******************************

Ukhty habibty,

I know you think a lot of him.
I know you worry a lot of his well being.
I know you care about him.
I know you miss him.

Fair enough to say,
ok, you 'like' him.
and not too extreme to say, 'love' him?

But dear sister,

He doesn't deserve your attention.
He doesn't deserve your care and concern.
He doesn't deserve your thoughts.
He is not worthy of all these- yet.

He is NOT your husband.

Your parents, close sisters and friends,
They deserve your attention, concern, love and time..

Most importantly, you have ALLAH and HIS Rasul (s)! More to learn, know about. What else to give Them their due right- that is to LOVE Them more than anything?..

Allah and Rasulullah (s) and all these people around you have their rights that you need to fullfil,

NOT HIM-yet.
Not him, not until he's halal for you!!

After all, who promises you he's the one that Allah had decreed for, to be your future husband?

What if his name wasn't written in lauh mahfuz all this while??
And that you'd been spending time crying over nights- for him?

Let not what is not in your hands distracts you from focusing what's in your hands now..

Face it, he is not worthy of your attention, energy and time- yet.

I hate how he takes you away from us all, now.

Not now, please..

We keep making dua if he's the one for you, Allah will bless you both with marriage, one day. InshaAllah.

If it's not him, i believe Allah will definitely give you someone better- THE BEST!
That's what you asked from HIM right?
And never didn't HE answer your dua, did HE?
Maybe a lil bit delay in time, but worth waiting, eyh? :)

So no worries...

Stay focus, my love.
Bare with us.

InnAllaha ma'assobirin.. :)

*Stay strong*

A post to keep you and me-strong, with so much love and peace,
Umm Teem

'SisterHood', As Defined in Our Own Way :)

Bismillah. Assalamu'alaykum!


Mode: Happy

[Me] Assalamu'alaykum my kakak! My oh my. i wish there's a bro like u so that i can marry him :D
Miss u n ur sister. Hope to c u girls soon inshaAllah :)

‎[Sis P] :O

[Me] What does ':O' suppose to mean?? :D

[Sis P] hehe, i first read n went like 'waaaaaaat!' in my head, so i comented such. haha

[Sis Q] Wa alaikum assalam wrt wbt my super cool adik!

Lol! what a lovely msg! hehehe! I wish the prince who forgot his way or lost his horse saw this msg! :P 

Miss you more my dear! see you soooon habibti ♥ ♥ ♥

As i posted to my dear friend's FB wall (Sis Q). We used to tease each other, what a great couple we could be with a spouse of each other's personality- uhuh. we are that close as sisters that we could joke around this way. Alhamdulillah. So don't get us wrong! We are normal human beings with normal fitrah Allah has created. We don't fall in love with girls.. :)

And she replied (So did her lovely younger sister- Sis P). Haha.

*Guess i really miss all of my friends, or dearer to call them my 'sisters', who i love for Allah's sake..*

"There are some people who your heart knows so well that you count their company as one of your greatest blessings of this life.."

As posted by another sister.. My, oh my.. You read my mind ;) 

***********************************************

I always have fun with you all whenever we get together. 

How our gatherings always bring serene, happiness and tranquil to my heart. Deeply immerse in  warm, soothing sense of love- deep in the heart, the ONLY place which holds one's eman.. 

*Did i describe it correctly?*

How we spent our good time sharing stories, lessons learned throughout the day...

And the best part of it, how we came to relate all these with Islam. Awesome! MashaAllah..


How we remind each other of taqwa and patience in times of hardship and remind each other to say 'thank you Allah!' in times of ease.


How you girls rush to be the first to conceal each others' faults and giving your  hands to correct me while being the best advisor/counsellor to one another when i'm truly in need. Surprised to know you girls really get to know each others' updates so quick! Good WCCC, i'd to say. Wireless-care-and-concern connection ;)

MashaAllah.

I really thank Allah for all these great blessings:

• righteous (and fun!) companions (and Allah knows best). 
• sweetness of faith and the 'eman-rush'.
• All the good times we had in remembering, talking about and calling for Allah (and will always continue experiencing them, inshaAllah). Recalling on those moments we were in troubles (and we could still laugh? LOL) Cool. Guess this 'emergency moments' is one of our best teachers (!) to teach us beautiful patience, total reliance and hope on Allah. Another best part of it, we faced all these amazing facets of life together, biithnillah.
• The chance to improve ourselves to be better muslima.. 

This is what i called "Sisterhood", just the way we define it. ;)

Life is awesome with this awesome deen of its awesome people, who choose to believe its awesome gift of life offered. 

Alhamdulillah.

Thank you Allah.

A post to appreciate

Umm Teem

[HIGHLIGHT!] Bea-YOU-tiful

‎"Ugly-ducklings" (a.k.a REAL-NORMAL women) vs "Swans" (Airbrushed women)

How you define bea-YOU-tiful? Hmm.. (".)

http://dearlittleauntie.blogspot.com/2011/12/bea-you-tiful.html

But She's Different

But She’s Different

Seeing her being likeable by all people in her circle, hearing good things (almost on everything!) about her from every people who knows her, with her personality who always seems to be happy and making people around her happy with her presence- makes you wonder, “Who is this girl?”

Glaring at her once, you might say, “She seems normal, just like other ordinary Muslim women.” She prays five times a day, just like others. Ok, her hijab- she wears proper hijab; loose and modest clothing, she covers herself well, just like many others. Her friends- She seems to be making friends with everyone, not a big deal! But after spending more time with her, you came to learn more about her. You came to learn one beautiful thing about her which distinguishes her from other ordinary Muslim girls- HER AKHLAQ. It’s her beautiful manners that make her different. It’s her beautiful heart, beautiful soul- attract you most. You have met many Muslim women but she’s different...

She’s always happy. And she makes you feel happy too. You wonder why. Why you feel different in her company? Why do you feel so peaceful and tranquil being in her presence? Now you understand why. She may seem to be ordinary on the outside, but from the inside she is extraordinary. She’s a girl who tastes the joy of faith.  True indeed, “Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest...” (Ar-Ra’d:28)

She observes her duties as a believing woman to her Lord well. So does her towards HIS creations. She’s kind, nice, friendly and generous to all her sisters. She observes her speech- she tries best not to lie even when she’s joking nor she backbites. She speaks nothing except what’s good and beneficial. She observes her actions- not to be hasty nor does she want to act foolishly. She thinks wisely before acts. Then you realize, every single moment you spend with her increase you in knowledge, good deeds and most importantly- your faith. Above all these, you learn that the only thing which drives her to be as such is only one simple concern: “Is Allah pleased with me? Is Allah happy with me?”

Now you wonder why you can’t be like her.
Ukhty, you have the answer.

Yes you can. All you have to do is just start being one. Set the right intention-to please Allah alone. Then strive to do things (in your utmost capability) which please Allah most. Know this: what pleases Allah will please others whom HE is pleased with as they are pleasing HIM too...

So start today. Don’t delay...
May Allah be your best Supporter and best Companion, assisting you to be different and better than yesterday, inshaAllah? Yes. InshaAllah... InshaAllah...

Till we meet again. Wassalamu'alaykum...

When I Told You Not To..

source: click here

When i told you not to take off your hijab,

I wasn't trying to prove

that i'm way better than you.

When i told you not to take off your hijab,

I understood how you felt,it has never been easy,

to hold on to your believe,

just as how you wanted to.

When i told you not to take off your hijab,

i wasn't ignoring you,

and all the trials HE has put you thru'..

How could you take off you hijab,

it's HIS order to obey and you need to,

when all that He wanted,

was just the best for you?

You're beatiful, i know..

And do you really need people to tell you so?

You think HE's cruel and injustice, to give you this precious gift

then not letting you to show?

When i told you not to take off your hijab,

i was just reminding you of HIM,

of our loving LORD,Who creates you beautifully,

and Who just want to preserve your beauty.

You know it's hijab to secure your beauty,I know you feel guilty

so why would you want to take it off, honey?

You'll never win this game,

which you called "please-people' you're playing..

It's Allah ALONE you're pleasing..

So care not what they say,

no worries, let them walk away.

When i told you not to take off your hijab,

i was just being concern,

wanting the best for you,

because i do care and i do love you..

Source: click here

A Step Towards Tolerance Documentary

Bismillah..

Assalamu'alaykum!

I found this video while reading a website. It's very interesting! MashaAllah..

MUST WATCH! Beautiful documentary. A non-muslim woman experienced herself how it felt like wearing head-cover (hijab) in west.

There were parents who even looked 'ready to FIGHT' with her when she waived at their kids while SMILING-That's all she did, no offense :(

A Social Experiment

by ~asmilingmalice

I wrote this on January 22, 2011. At first I wanted to keep this story between me and a few close friends, but in light of what has just recently happened at the Islamic Center of America, I feel that I have to share this story. This is no longer an issue on religion. This is outright discrimination and intolerance. If my story can inspire others, or at least affect someone on a personal level, then I've done all that I can do.


A Social Experiment

Yesterday, I went to the Islamic Center of America. I felt incredibly out of place, being a non-Muslim who wasn't wearing a hijab, and I was very nervous when stepping into the office. Out of respect, I did the best I could to hide my hair by pulling up my coat's hood. I went to the lady at the desk, greeted her with "assalamu alaikum," and she was very happy to answer my questions about the mosque and where to buy a hijab, among other things. She told me that I could observe the prayers, gave me an e-mail to a man who could give me a tour of the center, and told me how to properly wear the hijab. It was a surprisingly warm welcome and I felt pretty at ease.

After observing the service, I noticed a man was selling something in one of the hallways. I walked over there and saw a collection of jewelry and hijabs. I decided that if I were to come back, I should have more than just my coat's big hood. So I bought a pretty green hijab, then stepped into the lady's room to try it on. It's there I met Sona. She was 27-years-old and had converted to Islam a year ago. She helped me with the hijab, we exchanged numbers, and she told me that she would answer any questions I had about the religion, the culture, among other things.

After we parted ways, an idea occurred to me when I was driving home from the mosque. Back in high school, I wanted to do a social experiment for my Sociology class. My sister gave me the idea to wear a hijab out in public to see how people treated me. Back then, I didn't know where to find a hijab. Now that I had one, I thought I would give that experiment another shot. So I put on my new hijab and set out to three public places: a bookstore, the mall, and a restaurant.

The bookstore wasn't entirely unpleasant. There weren't too many people there to begin with, and because the ones there were absorbed in books, it explained why they didn't pay all that much attention to me. One of the ladies who worked there asked me if I needed any help and showed me where the bookstore kept the Qur'an. Overall it was pretty nice.

The mall and the restaurant were quite different.

I wrote this in my status on Facebook: Muslims put up with some of the worst customer service. I am not exaggerating when I say this.

When I stepped into that mall, I realized just how different this particular outing was going to be from others I've had in the past. The first store I walked into was Best Buy, but I visited every store in the mall at least once. No sooner did I step into Best Buy, I noticed how different things were. First of all, the person at the door didn't greet me like he did to other customers entering the store. I didn't think nothing of it at first, and instead I went over to look at the CDs and DVDs in the store. Usually when a customer is browsing the store, one of the employees will approach them and ask if they need any help finding something. This didn't happen once, not even when I made direct eye contact with an employee whom I went to school with. She didn't recognize me. I can't blame her for it, since my long hair was covered up, but I couldn't help but feel that all she saw was my hijab and not me, let alone a customer.

The salespeople at the mall were pretty much the same. There were only a select few who actually said more than one word to me. The employees would not welcome me into their stores. They wouldn't ask if I needed help. They wouldn't ask if I wanted to try on an outfit, even when I was holding it in my hands. They never said "We hope to see you again!" or "Have a nice day," when I left the store. Judging by this consistent reaction from salesperson to salesperson, I couldn't help but feel that they were glad to be rid of me and most definitely didn't hope to see me again. To make matters uncomfortably worse, in every store I went into, I noticed that the same security guard was there. From Spencer's to Borders, this security guard wasn't making it a secret that he was following me everywhere I went.

I want it noted that when I stepped into the mall, I was not wearing a burqa (Muslim clothing that covers all of the body and the face), a chador (Iranian clothing that covers the entire body) or a niqab (a veil that covers the hair and face which reveals only the eyes). In post-September 11th America, the clothing listed would understandably be considered suspicious in case of a burglary or a bomb threat. The clothing makes it difficult, if not impossible, to make a clear identification in case of those threats. Had I been wearing those, I would understand the neglectful salespeople and the security guard trailing me, but all I wore was a hijab. All I was covering was my hair.

I also want it noted that when I entered the mall, I was all smiles: I looked people in the eye and smiled at them. I waved to children. I was just as happy and as approachable as I would have been without the hijab. If I were to smile at someone's child without covering my hair, parents wouldn't get defensive over it and give me dirty looks. They would have smiled back at me. If I wasn't wearing my hijab and smiled at a person who was walking my way, they wouldn't turn their head away from me or refuse to make eye-contact. They would have smiled back. If I had walked into a JC Penny's, a Macy's, a Hot Topic, a Spencer's, or a Forever 21 without my hijab on, people wouldn't have ignored me and avoided me. They would have greeted me and jumped to assist me. If I wasn't wearing my hijab and walked around the mall, I wouldn't have a security guard following me into every store, because they probably would be hounding some other Muslim woman.

All I did was cover my hair. I didn't insult these people. I never did anything to these people. I didn't get into an argument with them, or threaten them, or cause any sort of trouble that would warrant this cold behavior, let alone the attention of a security guard. All I did was cover my hair.

However, I feel that the greatest display of outright discrimination took place at the restaurant. This was my former workplace and many of my ex-coworkers were still working there. None of them recognized me, and as soon as I walked into the restaurant, the hostess (a former co-worker who was looking me right in the face) looked positively stunned that a Muslim woman walked into the place. She didn't recognize me, but led me to a table. I took my seat and opened up the menu, but at the same time my eyes were scanning the area. This table was assigned to a waittress, but a waittress never came to me. Usually, after a person is seated, the waittress comes to the table immediately and asks you if you want a drink. I had to wait for at least five to ten minutes before the hostess returned and asked me if I wanted anything to drink.

None of the waittresses ever came to my table to take my order. None of them asked me if I wanted a refill for my water. None of them asked if I was doing alright or if I needed anything else. To make matters worse, it is expected of the waittresses to ask the customers these questions even if they are not waiting on them. Not one of these waittresses wanted to make eye contact with me, nor did they want to come by me.

It wasn't until I waved at one of my former managers that he even recognized me. It was then that my hostess recognized me. After I told her about everything that happened today, she looked positively shocked. I would hope that she recognized the same discrimination being carried out in this establishment as it did in the previous ones. If this is how the waittresses would treat a girl with just her hair covered, they would definitely treat an actual Muslim woman in this way.

When I was younger, I would hear how people truly felt about Native Americans. Since I look more like my mother and less like my father, these people would be more open about their opinions around me than they would have if my hair was black and my skin was darker. I still get defensive when something like this happens and I've always felt that it was discrimination. However, this was the very first time in my life that I have truly felt discriminated against. When people were talking about Native Americans, they weren't thinking of the white, blond haired woman with 1/4 Ojibwa in her. But when people were ignoring me, glaring at me, following me, denying me service, and weren't welcoming me into their stores or their restaurants, they did it to me. In their eyes, they knew exactly what I was and they didn't want anything to do with me. Even though I did nothing to them but smile.

If this is how we treat Muslims in this country, there will never be peace. There will never be an understanding between religions and cultures. If we shun them, ignore them, and make it blatantly obvious that we don't want them here, we are going against everything that this country is supposed to stand for. And if we carry this ideology that "we don't want them here," "we don't want you to come back here," and "it would be better if you just weren't here at all," how does that make us different from Al Queda, the Nazis, the Westboro Baptist Church, the Ku Klux Klan, or the many other various hate groups in the world? It is this ignorance and this thought process that leads to holocausts.

Look beyond the veil.

______________________________________

"A week after visiting the Islamic Center of America, a man was arrested for attempting to bomb it.

Only a few days ago, Florida Pastor Terry Jones traveled all the way to Dearborn, Michigan to burn a Qur'an infront of the Islamic Center of America.

This is the same pastor who wanted to burn hundreds of Qur'ans on September 11th.

I wanted to keep this story private. But I can't anymore. This is me. This is my experience. And I feel now, more than ever, that it's important to share this with all of you.."

*asmilingmalice

STOP THAT!

STOP calling your sisters with bad names..

STOP classifying, judgementing them..

STOP hurting their feelings by any means!

START making friends with your sisters.

START loving them for Allah's sake!

Who knows if you could be the START for them to know/practise ISLAM BETTER THAN EVER?

SHARE the beauty of ISLAM-SISTERHOOD with every sister you know/ meet, even if it's to be a SIMPLE SMILE..

I love my sisters..

No matter where you are from..

Who you are..

Whatever you are..

However you are..

We are all here to help, complete each other..

InshaAllah..

~May our sisterhood brings us benefits in all of our affairs in this world and the hereafter. Aaaamin!~

Wassalamu'alaykum warahmatullahi wa barakatuh..