Only one Advice

I'm often touched by my readers' comments, and I feel grateful to
Allah that I have the opportunity to help people through my writing.
However, I will no longer advise people personally through email or
Facebookchat. I have so many business and personal projects going, and
I also have a daughter to take care of. And I have my own struggles.
I'm doing my best just to walk the path, and raise Salma up right.
I have to be blunt about another thing: sometimes sisters read my
writing or poetry here and then wantto message me privately. I'm not
comfortable with that. Please take my writing as it is: a gift, a
sharing of whatever wisdom I have acquired, and an expression of love
to all. And if you benefit from it then Alhamdulillah.
If you need advice on a marriage or family issue, please to go my
IslamicAnswers.com website and submit your question to the team.
Besides, I really have only one answer to almost any question:
"Take responsibility for your own choices and happiness. Live up to
your talents and make something happen. Eliminate 'I can't' from your
vocabulary. Create opportunities. People will tell you 'no': you tell
them 'yes'.
Turn to God for guidance with an open heart and have the courage to
followwhat comes, rather than clinging to your own imagined outcomes.
He will always provide a way out, will always open a door; you only
need eyes to see it, and that comes from sincerity.
Be sincere with yourself above all, because if you'relying to yourself
then you're stuck. Focus on yourown mistakes rather than the mistakes
of others, butonly in order to learn and do better. Don't bind
yourself with guilt and self-pity. Regret for the past is a waste:
it's gone and you can't change it, so forgive yourself and forgive
others.
Believe in something greater than yourself. You have a purpose in this
life, a mission, and most likely you know in your heart what it is, so
find a way to follow that path, one step at a time.
Guard your spirit from harm but be open to love. Choose compassion
again and again, even when the world makes it hard. Be patient with
your family and friends. Don't hold your love back: you only go
through this world once, so let your love shinelike the sun."
Finito. If this has been helpful, then make dua' forme. Jazakum Allah
khayr, may Allah reward you all.

A Trip to the Zoo

Asalamu Aliakom Wa Rahmat Allah Wa Barakatu. I would like to apologize
to my readers for not writing any new stories during the entire
summer. It has been a hectic summer for me, andthe ongoing events in
Palestine have dulled my desire to write. This, of course, is no
excuse, so I ask that you be patient with me, as I attempt to rekindle
the fire of writing within me.
Most of us at one point in our lives have visited the local zoo.
Although I am sure many of our brothers and sisters who have young
children may classify their own homes as zoos, this is not the kindof
zoo I am writing about today!
Every zoo has a wide variety of animals. As a child I used to take
great joy in visiting the zoo. From the roaring lions to the graceful
giraffe, I lovedit all. Over the course of my lifetime, I have been
tomany zoos, yet there was one visit that I shall never forget.
It was the mid eighties and my family and I were visiting Egypt during
the winter. Winters in Egypt are not as exciting as the summers, but
there is still a lot a person can do. My mother and her sister decided
to take us to the International Zoo in Madinat Nasr (Nasr City). Oh
the sheer excitement after hearing we were going to visit the zoo! I
ran all over the home shouting, "We're going to the zoo, we're going
to thezoo!" This was going to bea fun day.
The International Zoo was much like any typical zoo. It had its trees
and plant growth which attempted to enhance the feeling of being in
the wild. A quick look to the right, and therewere the wild African
monkeys. A look to the leftand one could see a peacock showing off its
beautiful feathers. I lookedin awe at each of the animals and thought
to myself that this was truly a grand place to visit.
As we ended our tour of the zoo, we came upon the most well known
animal of Arabia, the camel. It was sitting in the middle of its gated
clearing watching the passers by as if monitoringfor anyone heading in
its direction. Earlier we had stopped by a food stand and purchased
some popcorn and "coca-cola gummies" to eat. As I chewed on my popcorn
I watched the camel staring at us and licking its mouth periodically.
Both my mother and aunt commented that the camellooked hungry and
decided to feed it some of our coca-cola gummies. The camel had a
serious appetite. It finished all the candy we had. My mother and aunt
tried feeding the camel some popcorn but itwasn't interested. Seeing
as our day had come to an end, we decided to head towards the exit.
Suddenlymy mother felt the clamping of the mouth of an animal on her
shoulder.Lo and behold it was the camel himself! My aunt pulled us
away and yelled"Get away from the camel!" Oh no, it hadn't had enough
candy and now it was going after my mother.
Alhamdulilah, the camel only caught on to a shawl my mother was
wearing. With a tug she was able torelease the shawl from its mouth
and quickly ran away to put some distancebetween herself and the
hungry camel. Some school children on a field trip noticed the
incident and a young girl exclaimed, "Stay away from the camel, it
bites!"
Realizing that we had more than our fair share offun-filled adventure
we headed back home. The ironic thing is that I don't ever recall
seeing a "Do not feed the animal" sign. Now whenever I visit a zoo, I
think twice about feeding the animals.
Jazakom Allahu Khairan forreading. 'Til next time Insha Allah.

Be True, and Be You

Listen to the quiet voice inside yourself. The persistent voice that
tells you that there's something more to life, that calls you to do
something meaningful, toexperience the world in a profound way. So
many ofus dismiss that voice, suppress it. We are told that our dreams
are not realistic or practical. We are told that we should settle for
what is reliable, and will pay the bills, and garner us the respect of
our peers.
But if we do not listen to that quiet voice, then whowill? There is no
external advocate who can read the yearnings of your heart and speak
up on their behalf. You must be the champion of your own soul.
On the authority of Abu Malik Al-Harith bin Asim Al-Ashari said that
the messenger of Allah 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 his soul, either
freeing it or bringing about its ruin."
(Related by Muslim).
You are the vendor of your soul: either freeing itor bringing about
its ruin. You free it by worshiping Allah in love, gratitude and fear;
keeping the praises of Allah on your tongue and in your heart; praying
and fasting and living righteously (as opposed to self-righteously);
by showing love and concernfor other human beings; and by being true
to yourself.
Allah created you with a unique nature. Do you think it's only your
fingerprints that are unique? Or your retinal scan, palm print, voice
print and DNA? Do you believe that your uniqueness is encapsulated by
measurable biometrical data? No, your uniqueness extends to your own
wonderful thought patterns, your special heart, and your soul. You are
you, not anyone else.
You are not an assembly-line robot, or a machine put here to consume,
produce and expire. You are different from everyone else in the world
because you are you. Respect that, and don't try to force yourself in
an uncomfortable or even impossible mold that someone else has
dictated for you. Be true, be you , and free your soul.
I'm not talking about sinful desires. I am speaking of the quiet and
inspired urgings of your heart. Maybe you dream of working in disaster
relief, helping all those poor souls who suffered after the Indian
Ocean tsunami, or from the earthquake in Haiti. Maybe you have an
inner artist and you'd like to pursue that passionately and see where
it takes you. Maybe you love children and would like toteach; maybe
you are not satisfied with current school curricula and you have an
idea of starting your own school. Maybe you've always fantasized about
being a karate black belt, or helping poorvillages in Africa become
self-sustaining, or campaigning for human rights.
Maybe you're single and you have feelings for a certain person, or
just an undercurrent of admiration and respect, but you fear
rejection; or maybe the person comes from a different cultural
background and you worry that your family or your peers would not
approve.
I could go on and on, but you get the point. Don't be afraid of your
dreams. Life is short; it passes so quickly, much sooner thanwe
expect, and when we get to the end of the roadwe will regret only that
we suppressed our hearts,and shoved them down into silence.
We will never regret pursuing our dreams, taking bold chances,
expressing our love, whether or not we succeeded or failed, whether we
experienced great joy or intense pain. In the end the difference
between success and failure in any venture is inAllah's hands anyway.
All you can do is try, and trying is everything.
Stand up for your inner voice. Listen to it.
Stand up for your dreams.Give them a chance.
No one else will do it for you.

1b- The Benefits of becoming a Murîd

1b-
14. Associate very little with rulers and those who hold high positions.
15. Stay very far from irreligious people.
16. Do not search for the faults of others. Do not have evil thoughts
about anyone. Instead,look at your own faults and try to put them in
order.
17. You should be very particular in offering your salât in the proper
manner, at the proper time and with great concentration.
18. Always occupy yourself in the remembrance of Allah either with
your heart or tongue. Do not be neglectful in this regard at any time.
19. If you experience any satisfaction in taking the name of Allah and
your heart feels happy over this, then express your gratitude to
Allah.
20. Speak in a nice, humble way.
21. Set aside specific times for all your different tasks and abide
strictly to these times.
22. Consider whatever regret, sorrow or loss you may experience to be
from Allah. Do not be despondent. Instead, think that you will be
rewarded for this.
23. Do not think about worldly matters, calculations, profits
andlosses, etc. all the time. Instead, think about Allah.
24. As far as possible, try to helpand benefit others irrespective of
whether it be in worldly affairs or Dînî matters.
25. Do not eat and drink too littleto the extent that you become weak
and fall ill. Nor should you eat and drink too much to the extent that
you feel lazy in carrying out the different acts of 'ibâdah.
26. Do not have any desire or greed for anything from anyone except
Allah. Do not allow your mind to wander towards any place thinking
that you will be able to gain certain benefit or profit from there.
27. Be restless in your quest for Allah.
28. Be grateful for the favours that are bestowed upon you
irrespective of whether they areplenty or few. Do not be depressed
with poverty and destitution.
29. Overlook the faults and mistakes of those who are under your control.
30. If you learn of any fault of someone, conceal it. However, if the
person plans to cause harm to someone else and you learn of it, then
warn the other person beforehand.
31. Be in the service of guests, travellers, strangers, 'ulamâ, and
the pious servants of Allah.
32. Choose the company of the pious.
33. Fear Allah all the time.
34. Remember death.
35. Set aside a certain time daily wherein you should think aboutall
your actions for that day. When you remember any good action, express
gratitude. When you remember any evil action, repent.
36. Don't ever speak a lie.
37. Don't ever attend gatheringsthat are contrary to the Sharî'ah.
38. Live with bashfulness, modesty and forbearance.
39. Do not be conceited by thinking to yourself that "I
havesuch-and-such qualities in me."
40. Continue making du'â to Allah to keep you steadfast on the straight path./