New Muslim: How to Minimize the Stress?

Source: onislam.net

By: Theresa Corbin

With negative pressure from fellow Muslims at the mosque, the daily media pressure of negative news about Muslims and Islam, and all the challenges of learning a new religion and getting the right understanding about Islam, many new Muslims find themselves more stressed than ever before.

Which can lead them to wonder where is the peace promised in Islam?

How does a new Muslim cope with all these pressures?

3 Steps to be the Best Child to your Parent!

By: Zohra Sarwari

Source: http://zohrasarwari.com/

Bismillahhe Rahmanee Raheem – Often when I give a speech for the Muslim Youth, at the end of it I am asked “How can I change and be the best child to my parent?”

SubhanAllaah, this shows me that if we were to teach our children the importance of parenthood, then they would actually reflect on the subject and possibly change their behaviors for the better.  Glory be to Allaah for all of His favors.  The problem that many of us have is that we do not teach our children how to be the best child.

InshAllaah today I will be teaching just that.  I am writing this article for all of the youth out there who want to know in 3 simple steps how to be the best child inshAllaah.   If you are one of those youth, then I would like to begin by saying mashAllaah I am proud of you first for reading this article.  That tells me a lot about you as a person.  If you have the courage to admit that you could be a better child, and you want to learn more skills that alone says a lot about your character.  However, to fully benefit from this article you need to actually put the information from this article into action- inshAllaah.

Before we get started I want to ask you one question.  Will you commit to me that you will use these 3 steps as often as you can until it eventually becomes habit?  Please say YES.  InshAllaah you said yes, and our journey begins.

Let’s start with Bismillah:

 

Step 1.  Always say “At your Service Umme or Abi (Mom or Dad)”:

What does this mean.  Well when you’re called upon to do something without a second thought say “At your service Umme or Abi.  That means I am ready to do as you wish.  With those words coming out of your mouth, your actions inshAllaah will be sincere as they take into effect next.   You see sometimes the words coming out of our mouth helps us put our actions to ease as they take effect into the next few minutes.  Believe me just saying this will make you smile and be ready to serve your parents.

 

 Action Step:  Practice saying “At your service Umme/Abi.  Say this 20 times to yourself, until you feel comfortable saying it inshAllaah.

It should be natural and easy to come out of your mouth.   Everytime you say these words to your parents and actually do what they ask you to do inshAllaah Allaah will bless you more, and you will feel happier.  When our parents are happy with us, Allaah subhana wa Tala is happy with us, when our parents are angry with us Allaah subhana wa Tala is angry with us.

The Prophet (Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said:“The pleasure of Allaah is from the pleasure of the parents, and the anger of Allah is from the anger of the parents.”

So let’s not make our parents angry and instead earn their pleasure, for when we do good to them, we make our Lord happy.  SubhanAllaah what a beautiful religion Islam is, Allaah subhana wa Tala only wants the best from each of us.   By taking the action step as I proposed you’re on your way to success inshAllaah.

Couples Who Spend Big On Weddings Likely to Divorce Sooner, Find Scientists

Source: uk.news.yahoo.com

By: Tom Porter

Couples who spend thousands on lavish weddings are likely to divorce sooner than those who enjoy more modest nuptials.

Researchers Andrew Francis and Hugo Mialon at Emory University in Atlanta found that women whose weddings cost $20,000 (£12,450) or more were 3.5 times more likely to end up divorced than those whose weddings cost $5,000 to $10,000.

Imam Zaid Shakir: Humanity Knows No Bounds (Video)

 Imam Zaid speaks about the boundless capacity humanity has for evil and for good and whilst some people may have lost their way in this world it is our imperative to help others find their way again.

It’s never easy to let go. Or is it?

Source: http://lionofallah.com/

Most of us would agree that there are few things harder than letting go of what we love. And yet, sometimes that’s exactly what we have to do. Sometimes we love things that we can’t have. Sometimes we want things that are not good for us. And sometimes we love what Allah does not love. To let go of these things is hard. Giving up something the heart adores is one of the hardest battles we ever have to fight. But what if it didn’t have to be such a battle? What if it didn’t have to be so hard? Could there ever be an easy way to let go of an attachment? Yes. There is. Find something better.

Sri Lankans struggle to find clean water (Video)

 More than a million people in Sri Lanka are struggling to find clean drinking water, after a 10-month drought enveloped parts of the island nation. Authorities are predicting that draught will trigger the paddy harvest to fall by around 17 percent, from the 4 million tons recorded in 2013. The government is renovating irrigation tanks to help deal with the crisis. It is spending millions of dollars to clean up and repair the irrigation network. Al Jazeera’s More than a million people in Sri Lanka are struggling to find clean drinking water, after a 10-month drought enveloped parts of the island nation. Authorities are predicting that draught will trigger the paddy harvest to fall by around 17 percent, from the 4 million tons recorded in 2013. The government is renovating irrigation tanks to help deal with the crisis. It is spending millions of dollars to clean up and repair the irrigation network. Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez reports from southern Sri Lanka. reports from southern Sri Lanka.

Listen to this if you are depressed, hopeless (Video)

 This is a religion of hope. We live on hope. “There’s no room for hopelessness. This world was never meant to be a paradise. All of the hardships that you suffer in your life, if you believe in God, you will find those rewards on the Day of Judgement.“

The middle of Ramadan: a gift of forgiveness

Forgiveness has been a recurring theme throughout the realm of creation.

From the moment God created the first man – Adam (peace be upon him) – Iblis (Satan) was denied forgiveness after defying God’s command to prostrate before the first man of creation.

Iblis was left to roam around Paradise, but wasn’t forgiven and it’s a well known narration that Iblis would never be forgiven despite his duration on earth, and will eventually become a dweller of Hellfire.

The story of creation of course continues with the creation of Hawa (Eve). Adam and his wife, Eve, were lured into consuming forbidden fruit, both made the first error as far as God was concerned, as they defied God’s one single commandment to stay away from the forbidden fruit. Both husband and wife asked God for forgiveness for transgressing His instruction.

Both of them were forgiven after repenting, but were also assigned the position of vicegerents on Earth. From then on, the offspring of Adam and Eve have always committed errors, and forgiveness has always been on the platter as far as the relationship between man and God is concerned.

God promises: {And seek forgiveness of Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Compassionate.} (Al-Muzzammil 73: 20)

The fact that God talks about forgiveness shows how deficient human beings really are. Humans do commit error and do engage in wrong doings, but there is an important facet to this flaw in our own beings, that we may be completed by turning back to God and asking for His forgiveness.

There is also no measure as to how much error one can commit, as God being Al-Ghafour (the All-Forgiving) promises that He will forgive those who ask forgiveness. Part of being human includes committing wrongdoings and incurring sin. However, just because we were created that way – with the grand possibility to follow evil – it doesn’t justify making the active choices to engage in bad deeds without any conscientious effort to repent. The whole silver lining as a circumference of a bad deed is the fact there is an opportunity to make that change and beg for forgiveness from God.

{And whoever does evil, or wrongs his own soul, but afterwards seeks Allah’s forgiveness, will find Allah is Forgiving, Compassionate.} (An-Nisa’ 4: 110)

In particular, the middle of Ramadan encompasses the 10 days of Forgiveness, and this is when Muslims are commanded to ask for forgiveness the most. The important thing to note about forgiveness is its root comes from God. With God being Al-Ghafour(the All-Forgiving), Muslims pay heed to God’s power to forgive. Without God’s forgiveness, admission to Paradise would be impossible. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that whosoever stands in worship on this night with sincere faith and with genuine hopes of gaining reward his previous sins will be forgiven. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

In fact, one who fasts sincerely and successfully from one Ramadan to another will have his sins forgiven. So obviously, the month of Ramadan is one of full forgiveness, and to solidify this, Prophet Muhammad said:

“The smell from the mouth of a fasting person is sweeter in the sight of Allah than the fragrant smell of musk. For believers who are engaging in the fast, the fish in the sea seek forgiveness until they break their fast. Paradise is decorated everyday for the person who fasts; the evil minded Satan is chained; and on the last night of Ramadan, all their sins are forgiven.” (Ahmad)

But What Is Forgiveness?

Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque in Grozny (IMAGE)

 

It is one of the largest mosques in Russia and is officially known as the “The Heart of Chechnya”. Good work Sister Shilah Shaheed!
“Ramadan may take you to many places. Muslims have influenced the world in numerous ways, especially in architecture and city planning. We can find Allah’s inspiration in the strangest places! Look at this courtyard with its amazing arches. This is not Alhambra Palace in Granada. Where do you think it is? Ramadan Mubarak!

 

By Abdullah Hakim Quick