Reaching for the light

Click on the image above and allow yourself a few minutes to do
nothing but gaze at it. Really think about what you are seeing.Isn't
it beautiful and astounding? SubhanAllah.
To me, the amazing thing is that it's a simple image of a small (some
might say insignificant) creature in Allah's universe. It's not a
big-budget film popping with special effects and designed to elicit a
canned emotional response, or a classic novel, or a grand symphony, or
a skilled musician playing a soul-stirring solo on a guitar.
It's just a capture of the light shining on a little flower that most
of us would probably pay no attention to if we walked past it.
Rather than insert my thoughts here, I would like to ask you:
What does this image do for you? What does it make you think? How
doesit make you feel?

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ADVISE :- ~ “Someone’s opinion ofyou does not have to become your reality.”

Don't blindly accept other people's negative judgments of you. Reject
their pessimism. Be strong, know yourself, and know that no one else
can define you. Other people's insults may hurt, but they don't define
you. Some people love to say "no", to tell youwhat you cannot do, to
tellyou why your dreams are impossible or impractical, to tell you
what a fool you are, to tell you not to bother trying. Such people
claim to be pragmatists and realists.
In reality, such people are poison. It is their opinions that are not
based in reality. It's their opinions that are founded in cowardice
and cynicism. Their opinions are inherently self-limiting. They have
locked themselves into prisons of the mind. They have taken the ships
of their dreams and smashed holes in the hulls before ever setting
sail. Because they have given up on their dreams, they want you to do
the same.
Either that, or they look at you and they see a bundle of
preconceptions. They seea stereotyped image created in their own
minds,someone who to them is the "wrong" race, or the "wrong"
religion, or has the "wrong" qualifications, and based on that they
willtry to tell you what's "wrong" with you, and to set roadblocks in
your path.
Don't let them define you. Don't let them tell you whoyou are, or what
you can orcannot do.
Mistakes and Appearances Do Not Define You
You are much more than just the sum of the mistakes you've made. Your
past mistakes are not brands of shame, but teachers, stimuli to change
and do better.
You also cannot be judged by the superficial circumstances of your
life: your nationality, race, age, the language you speak, your
favorite foods or colors, your birth date, your height or weight,
whether your lips are narrow or full, whether your hair is lustrous or
thin,whether you have six-pack abs or love handles. These things do
not define you.
For you pop culture fans out there, there's a scene inThe Matrix where
Neo is riding in a car, gazing out at the city, at all the places he
used to know. He says, "I used to eat there. Really good noodles. I
have these memories from my life. None of them happened. What does
that mean?" And Trinity replies, "That the matrix cannot tell you who
you are."
Free Your Soul
So what truly defines you? Two things: your beliefs, and your
character. What you believe, and how thosebeliefs manifest in the way
you act in the world, the way you respect yourself, the way you
maintain yourintegrity no matter what, the compassion and love that
you show to those lessfortunate, your courage, your talents, your
beautifuldreams. Your faith and modesty, sincerity, friendliness, work
ethic, hospitality, willingness to forgive.
These are the things that truly define a human being. No one can
dictate them to you, no one can give them or take them away. Only
Allah can guide you, and only you can choose what to do with that
guidance.
Abu Malik Al-Harith bin Asim Al-Ashari said that theMessenger of Allah
(peace be upon him) said:
"Purity is half of faith. Alhamdu-lillah [Praise be to Allah] fills
the scales, and Subhana-Allah [How far is Allah from every
imperfection] and Alhamdu-lillah [Praise be to Allah] fill that which
is between heaven and earth. Prayer is light; charity is a proof;
patience is illumination; and the Quran is an argument for or against
you. Everyone starts his day and is a vendor of hissoul, either
freeing it or bringing about its ruin."
You are the vendor of your own soul. You set your soulfree, so that
your spirit rises like the sun; or you ruin it, debasing yourself. You
shape your own character. You define yourself. No one else can tell
you who you are. No one else has the right.

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HADEES - ~ Hadeeth Qudsi Introduction

Hadeeth Qudsi. But what is Hadeeth Qudsi and how do they differ from
other Hadeeth? The following discussion is given in the introduction
to the book titled "Forty Hadeeth Qudsi" published by: Revival of
Islamic Heritage Society, Islamic Translation Center, P.O.Box 38130,
Aldahieh, Kuwait.
Hadeeth Qudsi are the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and
Blessings of Allah be upon him) as revealed to him by the Almighty
Allah. Hadeeth Qudsi (orSacred Hadeeth) are so named because, unlike
the majority of Hadeeth which are Prophetic Hadeeth, their authority
(Sanad) is traced back not to the Prophet but to the Almighty.
Among the many definitions given by the early scholars to Sacred
Hadeeth is that of as-Sayyid ash-Sharif al-Jurjani (died in 816 A.H.)
in his lexicon At-Tarifat where he says: "A Sacred Hadeeth is, as to
the meaning, from Allah the Almighty; as to the wording, it is from
the messenger of Allah (PBUH). It is that which Allah the Almighty has
communicated to His Prophet through revelation orin dream, and he,
peace be upon him, has communicated it in his own words. Thus Qur'an
is superior to it because, besides being revealed, it is His wording."
Hadeeth Collection
Hadeeth Qudsi 1:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah(may Allah be pleased with him), who
said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His
book which is laid down withHim: My mercy prevails over my wrath.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).
Hadeeth Qudsi 2:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah(may Allah be pleased with him), who
said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah Almighty has said:
The son of Adam denied Me and he had no right to do so. And he reviled
Me and he had no right todo so. As for his denying Me, it is his
saying: He will not remake meas He made me at first (1) - and the
initial creation [of him] is no easier for Me than remaking him.As for
his reviling Me, it is his saying: Allah has taken to Himselfa son,
while I am the One, the Everlasting Refuge. I begot not nor was I
begotten, and there is none comparable to Me.
(1) i.e., bring me back to life after death.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by an-Nasa'i).
Hadeeth Qudsi 3:
On the authority of Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhaniyy (may Allah be pleased
with him), who said:
The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) led the morning prayer for us at al-Hudaybiyah following rainfall
during the night. When the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) finished, he faced the people and said to them: Do
you know what your Lord has said? They said: Allah and his Messenger
know best. He said: This morning one of my servants became a believer
in Me and one a disbeliever. As for him who said: We have been given
rain by virtue of Allah and His mercy, thatone is a believer in Me, a
disbeliever in the stars (2); and as for him who said: We have been
given rain by such-and-such a star, that one is a disbeliever in Me, a
believer in thestars.
(2) The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that rain was brought about by the
movement of stars. This Hadeeth draws attention to the fact that
whatever be the direct cause of such natural phenomena as rain, it is
Allah theAlmighty who is the Disposer of all things.
It is related by al-Bukhari (also byMalik and an-Nasa'i).
Hadeeth Qudsi 4:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah(may Allah be pleased with him), who
said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah said:
Sons of Adam inveigh against [the vicissitudes of] Time, and I am
Time, in My hand is the night and the day (1).
(1) As the Almighty is the Ordainer of all things, to inveigh aginst
misfortunes that are part of Time is tantamount to inveighing against
Him.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim).
Hadeeth Qudsi 5:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah(may Allah be pleased with him), who
said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (glorified and
exalted be He) said:
I am so self-sufficient that I am inno need of having an associate.
Thus he who does an action for someone else's sake as well as Mine
will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with
Me.
It was related by Muslim (also by Ibn Majah).
Hadeeth Qudsi 6:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah(may Allah be pleased with him), who
said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say:
The first of people against whomjudgment will be pronounced on the Day
of Resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be brought
and Allah will make known to him His favours and hewill recognize
them.....

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It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his nafs (self) makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his)jugular vein,” (Al Qur'an 50:16). “And why the jugular? Whydoes Allah (swt) choose to mention this part of us? The jugular v

It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his nafs
(self) makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his)jugular vein,"
(Al Qur'an 50:16).

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