Steps in achieving tranquility of the heart

By: Jinan Bastaki

Source: http://www.onislam.net

Sometimes it feels like it’s just too much – these fluctuations in our faith, the repeated sinning, the feeling that “I just don’t deserve Allah’s mercy.”

The tests always feel like punishments. There is a constant worry about the future: my marriage, my money, my career, my nation… And some difficulties just feel like they are too great to overcome. We know we’re not supposed to ask this, but the question at the back of our minds is: “Why me?”

We have all heard that we should never despair of God’s mercy. And on the surface, we try not to, but the Devil has a trick. We tend to despair of ourselves and our incapacity to change things, especially the inner turmoil that we feel. And the effect of this is basically the same as despairing of God’s mercy. We do not always accept that God can take us out of the situation we are in and we don’t need to ‘deserve’ the trouble; God isn’t punishing us and we don’t need to be perfect.

This doesn’t mean, however, that we shouldn’t strive, or take ourselves to account when we do mess up. The key is to develop our relationship with God during that trouble. If we know God, no situation is too hopeless. No sadness is ever permanent. We perceive trials as they are meant to be perceived – as tests of our trust in God, forcing us to put our knowledge into practice and bringing us closer to Him. These trials could potentially be a punishment too, that is if we let it affect us negatively by completely turning away from Him because of our sadness. But our awareness of our own state and our understanding of God’s mercy allows us to turn the punishment into something positive that is manifested through repentance to God, alongside increasing in good deeds in order to erase the bad ones.

The first exercise is for us to consciously realize that God knows. Whatever grief we go through, whatever hardship we endure, we must understand that we are never alone. Even if we feel abandoned by the world and those closest to us, God is there. He reminds us in the Quran: {Fear not. Indeed, I am with you [both]; I hear and I see.} (Ta-Ha 20: 46)

As long as we begin by recognizing that God is with us and He is close to us, there remains a solution to our inner worries. There are things we need to know in order to develop our relationship with God. Then there are things we need to do in order to maintain that closeness to God. And finally, there are things we need to aspire for to achieve the ideal relationship with our Lord. We pray that by the end of the series, we will all have developed a stronger relationship with God.

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.“

Ten Things You Need to Know About Gaza

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/gaza-10-things-you-need-to-know_b_2139356.html

As Palestinian militants in Gaza fire rockets into Israel and the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) bombard the Strip ‘in retaliation’, here are 10 things you should probably know about Gaza:

1) “PRISON CAMP”

David Cameron once referred to Gaza as a “prison camp” and “some sort of open-air prison”. 1.7million Palestinians are crammed into just 140 square miles; Gaza is one of the most crowded places on earth.

Israel, despite withdrawing its troops and settlers from the Strip in 2005, continues to control its airspace, territorial waters and border crossings (with the exception, of course, of Gaza’s land border with Egypt).

2) (UN)FAIR FIGHT

Remember: according to the Israeli human-rights group B’Tselem, in the last major conflict between Israel and Hamas – ‘Operation Cast Lead’ which kicked off in December 2008 – 762 Palestinian civilians were killed, including more than 300 children, compared to three (yes, three!) Israeli civilians.

We seem to be seeing a similar imbalance in bloodshed this time round: “More Palestinians were killed in Gaza [on Wednesday] than Israelis have been killed by projectile fire from Gaza in the past three years,” wrote Palestinian-American activist Yousef Munayyer on the Daily Beast website.

3) “COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT”

Why do they hate us, ask ordinary Israelis? Well, Gaza has been under siege since January 2006, after its residents dared to elect a Hamas goverment in free and fair elections. The subsequent economic blockade imposed upon the Strip by the Israeli government at one stage prevented the residents of Gaza from importing, among other things, coriander, ginger, nutmeg and, even, newspapers.

Most international lawyers, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC), consider the blockade to be illegal under international humanitarian law; in 2009, a UN panel, led by distinguished South African judge and self-confessed Zionist Richard Goldstone, accused Israel of imposing “a blockade which amounted to collective punishment”.

It is better to do what matters most now, than to watch all hope slip away over time.

 It is better to do what matters most now, than to watch all hope slip away over time.
 Es mejor hacer lo que más importa ahora, que para ver toda la esperanza se escape durante la hora.
 Het is beter om te doen wat het meest telt nu, dan om naar te kijken alle hoop weg te glijden in de tijd.
 Il est préférable de faire ce qui importe le plus maintenant, que de regarder tout espoir filer sur l’heure.
 Es ist besser, zu tun, was am wichtigsten ist jetzt, als zu beobachten, alle Hoffnung weg gleiten über die Stunde.
 這是更好地做什麼，最重要的現在，而不是看所有的希望溜走隨著時間的推移。
 Det är bättre att göra det som betyder mest nu, än att titta på allt hopp glida bort över tiden.
 Лучше делать то, что самое главное сейчас, чем смотреть всякую надежду ускользнуть с течением времени.
 Bu zaman içinde uzak tüm umut kayma izlemek yerine, artık en önemli şey yapmak daha iyidir.
 E ‘meglio fare ciò che più conta oggi, oltre a guardare tutti scivolare via la speranza nel tempo.
 Hal ini lebih baik untuk melakukan apa yang paling penting sekarang, daripada menonton semua harapan menyelinap pergi dari waktu ke waktu.

You can’t fix yourself by breaking someone else.

 You can’t fix yourself by breaking someone else.
 No se puede arreglar usted mismo rompiendo otra persona.
 Je kunt jezelf niet oplossen door het breken van iemand anders.
 Vous ne pouvez pas résoudre vous-même en brisant quelqu’un d’autre.
 Sie können nicht selbst beheben durch Brechen jemand anderes.
 Dǎpò biérén nǐ bùnéng xiūfù zìjǐ.
 Du kan inte fixa själv genom att bryta någon annan.
 Vy ne mozhete ispravit’ sebya , lomaya kogo-to drugogo.
 Başka birini kırarak kendinizi düzeltemez.
 Non si può risolvere da soli rompendo qualcun altro.
 Anda tidak dapat memperbaiki diri sendiri dengan melanggar orang lain.

Fear your sins more than your enemies.

 Fear your sins more than your enemies.
 Teme a sus pecados más que sus enemigos.
 Vreest uw zonden meer dan je vijanden.
 Craignez vos péchés plus que vos ennemis.
 Fürchtet euren Sünden mehr als Ihre Feinde.
 Dānxīn nǐ de zuì bǐ nǐ de dírén.
 Frukta dina synder mer än dina fiender.
 Boytes’ svoikh grekhakh bol’she vashikh vragov.
 Daha fazla düşman daha senin günahlarını korkuyorlar.
 Paura vostri peccati più i vostri nemici.
 Takut dosa-dosamu lebih dari musuh Anda.

Strength doesn’t come from what you can do; it comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t do.

 Strength doesn’t come from what you can do; it comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t do.
 La fuerza no viene de lo que puede hacer, sino que proviene de la superación de las cosas que una vez pensó que no podía hacer.
 Kracht komt niet uit wat u kunt doen, het komt uit het overwinnen van de dingen die je ooit dacht dat je niet kon doen.
 La force ne vient pas de ce que vous pouvez faire, il s’agit de surmonter les choses que vous pensiez lorsque vous ne pouviez pas faire.
 Stärke nicht von dem, was Sie tun können, kommen, es von der Überwindung der Dinge, die Sie einmal gedacht, dass man nicht kommt.
 Lìliàng bùshì láizì nǐ kěyǐ zuò shénme, tā láizì kèfú nǐ céngjīng rènwéi nǐ bùnéng zuò de shìqíng.
 Styrka kommer inte från vad du kan göra, det kommer från att övervinna de saker som du en gång trodde att du inte kunde göra.
 Sila iskhodit ne ot togo, chto vy mozhete sdelat’ , eto proiskhodit ot preodoleniya , chto vy kogda-to dumali vy ne mogli sdelat’ .
 Güç ne yapabilirim gelmiyor, bu kez yapamayacağını düşündüm şeyleri üstesinden geliyor.
 Forza non viene da ciò che si può fare, ma viene da superare le cose che una volta si pensava non si poteva fare.
 Kekuatan tidak datang dari apa yang dapat Anda lakukan, yang datang dari mengatasi hal-hal yang Anda pernah berpikir Anda tidak bisa melakukan.

The answers often lay right infront of you, the problem is you seek in the distance, when in reality the answers are simple.

 The answers often lay right infront of you, the problem is you seek in the distance, when in reality the answers are simple.
 Las respuestas a menudo ponen justo en frente de ustedes, el problema es que usted busca en la distancia, cuando en realidad las respuestas son sencillas.
 De antwoorden liggen vaak direct voor u, het probleem is dat je zoekt in de verte, terwijl in werkelijkheid de antwoorden zijn eenvoudig.
 Les réponses pondent souvent juste en face de vous, le problème est que vous cherchez dans la distance, alors qu’en réalité, les réponses sont simples.
 Die Antworten lagen oft direkt vor Ihnen, das Problem ist, die Sie suchen in der Ferne, wenn in Wirklichkeit die Antworten sind einfach.
 Zhèxiē wèntí de dá’àn wǎngwǎng huì zài nǐ yòu qiánfāng, wèntí shì nǐ xúnqiú de jùlí, dāng xiànshí zhōng de dá’àn hěn jiǎndān.
 Svaren låg ofta rätt framför dig, är det problem du söker i fjärran, när det i själva svaren är enkla.
 Otvety chasto lezhal pryamo pered vami , problema v tom, vy ishchete na rasstoyanii, kogda na samom dele otvety prosty.
 Cevaplar genellikle sizin infront yatıyordu, sorunun gerçekte cevapları basit zaman, mesafe aramak olduğunu.
 Le risposte spesso depongono a destra davanti a voi, il problema è che cercate in lontananza, quando in realtà le risposte sono semplici.
 Jawaban sering berbaring infront dari Anda, masalahnya adalah Anda mencari di kejauhan, ketika pada kenyataannya jawaban sederhana.

You will keep making the same mistakes until you start to learn, your mistakes speak about you, if you would listen.

 You will keep making the same mistakes until you start to learn, your mistakes speak about you, if you would listen.
 Va a seguir cometiendo los mismos errores hasta que empiece a aprender, sus errores hablan de usted, si usted desea escuchar.
 U zal blijven dezelfde fouten maken, totdat je begint te leren, je fouten spreken over jou, als je zou luisteren.
 Vous continuer à faire les mêmes erreurs jusqu’à ce que vous commencez à apprendre, vos erreurs parlent de vous, si vous voulez écouter.
 Sie werden immer wieder die gleichen Fehler, bis Sie zu lernen beginnen, Ihre Fehler sprechen über Sie, wenn Sie hören.
 Nǐ huì bùduàn fàn tóngyàng de cuòwù, zhídào nǐ kāishǐ xuéxí, nǐ de cuòwù tánlùn nǐ, rúguǒ nǐ yuànyì tīng.
 Du kommer att fortsätta att göra samma misstag tills du börjar lära dig, dina misstag talar om dig, om du vill lyssna.
 Vy budete prodolzhat’ delat’ te zhe oshibki , poka vy ne nachnete uchit’sya, vashi oshibki govoryat o vas , yesli vy khoteli slushat’.
 Eğer öğrenmeye başlamadan, aynı hataları yapmaya devam edecektir, senin hataların senin hakkında konuşmak, dinlemek olsaydı.
 Potrai continuare a fare gli stessi errori fino a quando si inizia a imparare, i vostri errori parlano di te, se volete ascoltare.
 Anda akan terus membuat kesalahan yang sama sampai Anda mulai belajar, kesalahan Anda berbicara tentang Anda, jika Anda mau mendengarkan.