Beating Procrastination: Keeping a Daily Relationship with the Quran

Source: http://productivemuslim.com/

Procrastination affects us all – however, the most serious procrastination is the one that keeps us away from Allah’s path and away from good deeds.

It’s interesting how people normally procrastinate to do good deeds or beneficial actions, but would rarely procrastinate when it come to bad deeds or useless tasks! It reminds me of what Imam Zaid Shakir said in our recent interview with him, he said clearly ”procrastination is from shaytaan”.

I want us to tackle a growing problem amongst many Muslims today: It’s the procrastination from reading/reciting the Quran on a daily basis. We call it procrastination, but in some cases, it can be called complete abandonment (may Allah protect us).

Every Soul Shall Taste It

By: Jinan Bastaki

Source: http://www.suhaibwebb.com

“The eyes surely tear,

and the heart is surely in pain,

but (with my tongue) I will only say that which is pleasing to Allah,

and we are indeed sad at being separated from you, O Ibrahim.”

—Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him), upon losing his child Ibrahim at 2 years old

Al-Muhye, Al-Mumeet: The Life-Giver, the Life-Taker

These two names often come together, but I will be brief on al-Muhye, as I want to elaborate on it further in a separate article, and focus more on al-Mumeet here. These names are not mentioned in this exact form in the Qur’an, but their meaning is conveyed in numerous places. Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala(exalted is He) says:
“He gives life and causes death (yuhyee wa yumeet), and to Him you will be returned,” [Qur’an, 10:56]

Al-Ghazali explains these two names, stating that “none is the creator of life and death but God—may He be praised and exalted, and so there is no life-giver or slayer but God—Great and Glorious.”

Allah gives life to things that are dead. We all witness the death of nature around us; a seed—a lifeless thing—is planted and given nourishment, and grows into a tall sturdy tree that gives us flowers and fruits. Then in autumn, the leaves fall, and the trees stand inanimate through the winter. But come spring, the flowers bloom again.  Indeed he is al-Muhye: He gives life. And perhaps the greatest manifestation is our own life: the growth of a human being, with a soul, from a sperm and an egg. Indeed, these are signs for people who reflect:

“He brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living and brings to life the earth after its lifelessness. And thus will you be brought out.” (Qur’an, 30:19)

86.5% of Israelis Disagree with Ceasefire, Poll Finds

Read original source: http://www.newsweek.com/majority-israelis-are-unhappy-ceasefire-poll-argues-261555

By: Mohammed Zeyara

“86.5% of Israelis oppose the ceasefire in the Gaza strip according to a poll sponsored by Roni Rimon, a former strategist of prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s party.” -Damien Sharkov from Newsweek.

I hope people realize how big of a deal this is. When almost 90% of Israeli’s say do not ceasefire, what does that mean? It means they are not being hurt. So the resistance in Gaza claiming that they do not target civilians is true. It also means that they are supporting the massacres in Gaza and want to watch more Palestinians murdered. We’ve obviously seen that from multiple events they’ve done. Such as sitting on hilltops and chanting every time a bomb falls on Gaza. Or singing in protests “death to Arabs.” Or their ministers saying kill all Palestinian women. Or beating up Palestinian women in the street of Palestine. And much much more.

And Israel’s silly excuses are “self defence” and elimination of Hamas. If you are a believer of these excuses, please put down your ego, open your mind, and reflect on the current situation. Israel has been massacring Palestinians far before Hamas was formed or labeled as a terrorist group. Just yesterday Israel bombed a UN school which was a refuge for families seeking safety killing 10 people. Eye witnesses (even people who do not support Hamas in Gaza) say not a single “Hamas rocket” was fired from anywhere near. What about this UN car (attached), was a “Hamas” soldier running behind it and launching rockets to Israel, forcing Israel to target both? Or was a Hamas soldier “hiding” under the car for protection?

#SpeakupforGaza

You can make progress or you can make excuses, but you can’t do both.

 You can make progress or you can make excuses, but you can’t do both.
 Puede avanzar o puedes poner excusas, pero no puede hacer ambas cosas.
 U kunt de voortgang maken of u kunt excuses te maken, maar je kunt niet beide doen.
 Vous pouvez faire des progrès ou vous pouvez faire des excuses, mais vous ne pouvez pas faire les deux.
 Sie können Fortschritte machen, oder Sie können Ausreden zu machen, aber man kann nicht beides tun.
 Nǐ kěyǐ qǔdé jìnbù, yě kěyǐ zìjǐ zhǎo jíkǒu, dàn nǐ bùnéng liǎng zhě dōu zuò.
 Du kan göra framsteg eller så kan du göra ursäkter, men du kan inte göra både och.
 Vy mozhete dobit’sya progressa ili vy mozhete opravdyvat’sya, no vy ne mozhete sdelat’ oba.
 Eğer ilerleme yapabilir veya mazeret, ancak her ikisi de yapamaz.
 È possibile fare progressi o si può fare scuse, ma non è possibile fare entrambe le cose.
 Anda dapat membuat kemajuan atau Anda dapat membuat alasan, tetapi Anda tidak dapat melakukan keduanya.

No more excuses, no more wasting of precious time, for now is as good a time as any, to begin doing what matters most.

 No more excuses, no more wasting of precious time, for now is as good a time as any, to begin doing what matters most.
 No más excusas, no más pérdida de tiempo valioso, por ahora es un momento tan bueno como cualquier otro, para comenzar a hacer lo que más importa.
 Geen excuses meer, geen verspilling van kostbare tijd, want nu is een goed moment als enige, om te beginnen met het doen van wat het belangrijkst.
 Plus d’excuses, pas plus gaspillage de temps précieux, pour le moment est aussi bon que n’importe quel moment, pour commencer à faire ce qui importe le plus.
 Keine Ausreden mehr, nicht mehr verschwenden kostbare Zeit, denn jetzt ist so gut wie jeder eine Zeit, zu tun, was am wichtigsten ist, um zu beginnen.
 Méiyǒu gèng duō de jíkǒu, bǎoguì de shíjiān méiyǒu gèng duō de làngfèi, xiànzài shì yīgè hěn hǎo de shíjiān wéi yǐ rèn, kāishǐ zuò zuì zhòngyào de shìqíng.
 Inga fler ursäkter, inte mer slöseri med värdefull tid, för nu är så god tid som någon, att börja göra det som betyder mest.
 Net bol’she opravdaniy , ne boleye trata dragotsennogo vremeni , dlya teper’ tak zhe khorosho , kak i lyuboye , chtoby nachat’ delat’ to, chto vazhneye vsego.
 Şimdilik fazla bahane yok, kıymetli zaman artık israf, en önemli şey yapıyor başlamak için, herhangi bir gibi bir zaman iyidir.
 Niente più scuse, niente più spreco di tempo prezioso, per ora è un momento buono come qualsiasi, per iniziare a fare ciò che più conta.
 Tidak ada lagi alasan, wasting tidak lebih dari waktu yang berharga, untuk saat ini adalah sebagai baik waktu yang tepat saja, untuk mulai melakukan apa yang paling penting.

No more excuses, no more wasting of precious time, for now is as good a time as any, to begin doing what matters most.

 No more excuses, no more wasting of precious time, for now is as good a time as any, to begin doing what matters most.
 No más excusas, no más pérdida de tiempo valioso, por ahora es un momento tan bueno como cualquier otro, para comenzar a hacer lo que más importa.
 Geen excuses meer, geen verspilling van kostbare tijd, want nu is een goed moment als enige, om te beginnen met het doen van wat het belangrijkst.
 Plus d’excuses, pas plus gaspillage de temps précieux, pour le moment est aussi bon que n’importe quel moment, pour commencer à faire ce qui importe le plus.
 Keine Ausreden mehr, nicht mehr verschwenden kostbare Zeit, denn jetzt ist so gut wie jeder eine Zeit, zu tun, was am wichtigsten ist, um zu beginnen.
 Méiyǒu gèng duō de jièkǒu, bǎoguì de shíjiān méiyǒu gèng duō de làngfèi, xiànzài shì yīgè hěn hǎo de shíjiān wéi yǐ rèn, kāishǐ zuò zuì zhòngyào de shìqíng.
 Inga fler ursäkter, inte mer slöseri med värdefull tid, för nu är så god tid som någon, att börja göra det som betyder mest.
 Net bol’she opravdaniy , ne boleye trata dragotsennogo vremeni , dlya teper’ tak zhe khorosho , kak i lyuboye , chtoby nachat’ delat’ to, chto vazhneye vsego.
 Şimdilik fazla bahane yok, kıymetli zaman artık israf, en önemli şey yapıyor başlamak için, herhangi bir gibi bir zaman iyidir.
 Niente più scuse, niente più spreco di tempo prezioso, per ora è un momento buono come qualsiasi, per iniziare a fare ciò che più conta.
 Tidak ada lagi alasan, wasting tidak lebih dari waktu yang berharga, untuk saat ini adalah sebagai baik waktu yang tepat saja, untuk mulai melakukan apa yang paling penting.