A Ray of Hope

Peace be on you all!

Since the time I've decided to take Islam as one of my subjects, I couldn't neglect the negative comments passed on this religion. You can see it on every social networking website. And it drives you crazy and you're like "Really?! How come I never came across that one!" And some of them are baseless. 

Like in one interview from some political figure, they were talking about how Shias are different from Sunni. I wouldn't want to get into details but I felt so sorry for them. There's NO SECTS IN ISLAM. If you're a Muslim, welcome to the Deen group buddy! Doesn't matter what group you belong to or what your social status is. That doesn't matter at all! You're a Muslim. No added class to that. 

Anyway coming back to the topic, when one speaks about Islam, chances are almost rare that the person won't raise any question against the religion. It may not be completely against the topic, but it's not even in favour of the topic. On my India trip this year, one girl had asked me why aren't Muslim women allowed inside mosques and especially on Ramadan. I had to give her a glimpse of the Ramadan in Saudi Arabia. Masha Allah the mosques are packed with ladies so much so that they have to raise tents for the ladies.

I have often faced this issue where people have different concepts of this religion in their minds. Concepts that are irrelevant and logic less and proof less. 

Sometimes it's about the comments passed on Islamic articles or videos. And when you're reading it you go like "Nooooooooooooooo!!". It's like they vent out all their frustration of their lives on this religion. "Why is the global economy falling? It's cause of Islam." Umm does that even make sense? No. But again it's a person's choice and May Allah direct every person's choice to what is right. 

So under such conditions, where is the ray of hope? It's around every Muslim. :)

On my recent trip to India, I found out that people are more than curious to know about Islam and our practices. But they won't look into the right sources to learn about our Deen or to get their doubts cleared. If you have a really good non muslim friend, they will ask you their doubts directly. But otherwise they will indirectly try to seek an answer from you. In such cases, it becomes really important on how we portray our Deen.. This is very crucial because they judge our Deen by watching our actions. We need to give something worthy to look forward to. 

To all the Muslimahs out there! We are walking examples of our Deen! We represent Islam wherever we are! Our Hijab speaks for us! One of the most beautiful definition for Hijab is that it makes the world recognize us as Muslims. It regains a sense of morality in people when we walk by. We are respected by men, not because we ask them to but because our hijab makes them respect us. It is a sign of purity and modesty. It is pride for us Muslim women to be gifted by hijab by our Creator, our Lord. So when we're readily recognized as people of Islam, it's really really necessary to watch our actions.. 

Kids are great imitators and adults are great commentators. Give them both something great to imitate and comment. 

May Allah make it easy for us to spread Islam. :)

As Salam Alykum.

Yes! I can do it!

May the peace and blessings of Allah be onto you!

"How do I make my prayers consistent..?" was the question I left my readers with in the previous article. So it's time we get to work ;)

Let's accept the fact. We, young Muslims do not find comfort and joy in our prayers. We tend to treat the 5 daily prayers as a burden due to which our love and passion for Salah has vanished.. 

Our hearts have become hardened and sadly we have become the so-called 'depressed' generation! As a result many of us are searching for 'cures and remedies' through any means available... 

Phrases like "Let's go for shopping!" "Dude, let's party hard!" "Chill Mahn, we'll take revenge!" "Just sleep!!!" are SO COMMON for the 'next gen'. 

By doing so, we are just TEMPORARILY avoiding that depressed state. Eventually after shopping or partying or sleeeeeping, we are still 'dukh bhari aatma'. :(

We are unable to find any remedy to our sadness because we have ignored the greatest medicine (Yes, you know where I'm going...) It's Salah! 

The youth needs to realize the potential role of prayer in changing our life.

Absentmindedness (HUGE word..phew!!) destroys the quality of our Salah. The ability to concentrate in Salah can be improved by taking adequate preparation before the prayer and also using certain techniques during the prayer.

Here I will divide my article into two parts. Firstly I will talk about the steps that we can adopt prior to offering Salah... Which I call EXTERNAL STROKE and I have divided it into 2 :

1. Spiritual ES (External Stroke)

# Avoid praying in a state when you are mentally or physically fatigued -

In such cases I suggest, one can have few dates and a glass of water. I've tried it myself and it's a great energy booster! :D

# Keep your mind free of worldly worries - 

Happens all the time. For once, just let go of all your worries and pray with a piece of mind. You are standing in front of The One who can knock out all your worries in the blink of an eye! So concentrate! ;)

# Plan what verses/duas you are going to recite -

Sometimes, we are so lost in our wordly affairs, we hardly realize what we are reciting in our prayer. Planning it prior, will help us focus and concentrate better.

# If you do not understand Arabic, then it's better you read the meaning of the duas before hand -

Now this takes a lil effort. But trust me, it's all worth it! It will help you concentrate better. I went through the same trouble but Alhamdullilah I'm working my way out of it. I suggest to start lil by lil. For instance, you can start with the duas recited in Ruku and Sujood. And then the dua recited after the first takbeer (Sana'a). Then the meaning of the surah that you plan to recite in your Salah and so on.. :)

# Remind yourselves that engaging in prayer offers you an opportunity to release yourself from the tensions of this world.

It is a forgotten fact that Salah is the comfort of our lives. Therefore cherish this opportunity to remove the burdens of this world from your shoulders.

# Use your prayer as a source of strength, inspiration and enthusiasm for your life and activities.

2. Physical ES

# Fulfill all your personal needs before you commence your prayer. Eg: thirst, hunger, call of nature etc.

# Pray in a pure physical state. Perform wudhu with care and perfection

# Choose a place that is clean, free of noise and one where there is no distraction.

Now that we have discussed about the ES, it's pretty obvious what the next step of preparation is, INTERNAL STROKE which is on it's way in the next article... ;)

As Salam Alykum