My Lord! Cause me to come in with a firm incoming and to go out with a firm outgoing. And give me from Thy presence a sustaining Power.” [Al Qur'aan 17:80]
An essential element of a successful blogging is the desire to receive feedback. Nearly as important as the desire to receive is the willingness to make changes that the feedback addresses. We should get feedback about our efforts from several different readers. Each reader can provide a unique perspective that should be taken under consideration. Alhamdulilah people are posting in this blog so perhaps we can you this page to collect their feedback? Feedback is necessary for the continued growth and well-being of any blog or website because it is the simplest and most effective way to put your finger on the pulse of your readers. It will allow you to make adjustments as needed in order that you will continue to improve and draw in more of an audience inshahAllah.
Assalm-o-alekum
I do reply to the responses when necessary, partly due to my time wasting habits I have been a little busy so that is one reason for not replay to recent posts. Inshallah I will make effort to reply to posts more often.
Jazakallah Khair for all your suggestions and comments, they are of great help.
Walikum salam warahmatullahi wabrakatuhu
If you do not reply to responses from your readers, no discussion will generate and they’ll loose interest in posting comments.
Iblis (Satan) organised an international conference, which was attended by his followers from all over the world. In his opening address, he said:
Oh my friends and helpers, we cannot stop righteous, pious people – believers in Allah, from going to the mosques. We cannot stop them from reading their Holy Book and familiarising themselves with the Truth. We cannot stop them from establishing a deep and meaningful relationship with Allah. But remember, if they are successful in establishing this relationship with their RAbb, we will lose our hold on them. Remember, Allah has told me about them: “Indeed, over My (believing) servants there is for you no authority.” So let them go to their place of worship and let them continue with their normal routine. But snatch one thing away from them – their time. Then they will not be able to establish the required connection with their Creator. This is what I want you to do. O my followers, make them inattentive and careless in achieving that closeness, that important relationship with Allah, which is the purpose of their existence. Without bonding with Him, their lives will become meaningless.
The delegates loved every word he said. This mission gave meaning to their lives. They sat up and asked: “How shall we do it, O Master?”
“It’s not difficult,” said Iblis. “Just keep them preoccupied and contented with the unimportant, unnecessary things in their lives. Be creative. Invent numerous ways to keep them busy, busy, busy. Incite them to spend extravagantly and then go around borrowing for their needs. Encourage the wives to spend and spend. Plant ambition in the husbands – they must be ahead in the race for money, status, power. Let them work and work 18-20 hours a day, 7 days a week, to compete in fulfilling the demands of their material self. Deprive them of time to spend with their children. As the family gradually becomes dysfunctional and falls apart, their homes will cease to be a source of peace. With the increasing pressure of work, reluctant to go home, they will look for that peace outside. Make their minds so occupied, they will not be able to hear that small voice crying out to them that something is not right.Encourage them to turn on their radios, CDs and cassettes when they are driving. At home, make sure their PCs , TVs , VCRs, DVD Players and radios are operating round the clock. Let their mobile phones ring incessantly. Their minds, numbed by all the activity, will have no time to think of Allah or their duty to worship Him, at least in the way they should. This way their connection with Allah will be weakened. Fill up their tables with magazines and newspapers. Assault them with a barrage of news, so that their minds are constantly occupied. On the road, let them be distracted by massive billboards and ads, tempting them to buy things they don’t need. Flood their mail-boxes with letters and junk mail. Whatever little time they have left, will be taken up by this. In their recreational activities, let them be excessive. When they return home, they will be so tired and irritable, they will remain so the whole of next week. And don’t let them go near nature, in case they ponder and reflect on Allah’s signs in the universe; instead send them to concerts, cinemas, and stadiums. Keep them busy, busy, busy.
Convince them that religion is ‘personal’, the inherited beliefs of their ancestors are best and that ‘majority is authority’. Even when they attend assemblies of Allah’s remembrance, keep their minds preoccupied with worldly thoughts. Or let the arguments between religious scholars where each one claims that he is the only one on the right path, make them so disturbed that they will not go to such assemblies again. And make them waste their goods deeds by gossiping and backbiting.
March forward my commandos. Busy them in winning each others hearts and flood their lives with so many good aims, they will have no time to ask Allah for help in achieving them. Very soon they will exhaust themselves, sacrificing their health and their family life for these ‘lofty’ goals. This will be good, this will be super, this will be great!”
What a convention it was! Such a roaring success! What a thunderous applause! With great zealousness and enthusiasm, all the delegates – Satan’s forces went their respective ways and got cracking with their assigned tasks. So Iblis succeeded in his mission and the believers were seen running around here and there, busy, busy, busy.
BE WARNED! Iblis means ‘deprived of hope’, ‘in utter despair’ and his abode is Hell. He has set out to destroy Adam’s descendants, “except for few.” May we, by Allah’s grace, be amongst those who recognise Satan’s wiles and do not fall prey to them -aameen
Whatever you focus on consciously or unconsciously, you get it. While driving a car if you look to the roadside, your car will also turn to it in a few moments. If you keep on looking straight, you will stay on the road. This is the power of focus. Most people do not focus on what they want in their lives. They, including myself many times, become impatient and the moment they lose focus, they hit the dead-end. You find these people trying to do too many things simultaneously or keep chaing their tracks. Since they lack focus, they continue wandering. They do not get anywhere. PCs , TVs, VCRs, DVD Players, radios and cellphones; magazines and newspapers; massive billboards and ads; malls and resturants, even family and friends distract us focus and deviate us from our goal. When people get too indulged in entertainment and lesiure activities they have nothing in their life to focus on. They just kill time. If they never know where they are going, they will land nowhere.
Can you imagine winning a game without focusing on it? No. So make sure that:
1. Have something to focus on (life passion or any other goal).
2. Focus on big positive things only i.e. Allah says in the Quran “Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation. SO HE WHO IS DRAWN AWAY FROM THE FIRE AND ADDMITTED TO PARADISE HAS ATTAINED TRUE SUCCESS. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion” – 3:185 So what are the deeds am I doing to enter Paradise? What is my target? Imaam Ali Al Huzaifi ( Imam of Al-Masjid al-Nabawi), goal was to make a million people hufadh of the Quran. Ustaza’s goal was to teach the Quran. For Bilal radi Allahu anhu it was several units nafil salah after everytime he performed wudu. What about me? What is that one special thing I am doing (other than the 5 pillars of Islam)? What are my plans? What is my focus? Just my degree? Just my family?
3. No matter how difficult it seems, never lose sight of your goal or target.
The other day I was going through my notes for ‘Muslim Heroes’. In this subject, at Al Huda we learned the trials and triumphs of early Muslims as individuals. Their various paths to Islam – sometimes direct and sometime long and torturous, their devotion to the noble Prophet salahu alyihi wa sallam, their endeavours in peace time and their adventures in war – all serve to cast them in a heroic mould. Their stories helped to lay the foundations of an ideal life and character.I learned that Islam was something they genuinely loved. They fully accepted the revelation and applied it in individual and collective life. They adhered to the Quran when it was still the subject of controversy, recognized the Prophet sallau alyihi wa sallam at the very beginning. They spent their wealth for the sake of truth which was yet to be established. They placed the Hereafter before the world and remembered death always. They were content to remain in obscurity. They realized their limitations and took responsibility. They bore no grudges, avoided conflicts and concentrated on common goal. They made rational decisions during emotional crises, enjoined good and forbade evil. They sold their lives and wealth in the way of Allah. The study of the lives of the companion radi Allahu anhum was a rich storehouse of knowledge, guidance and inspiration. It will be heartwarming and imaan escalating for you to study and take lesson from their lives.
midnight stroller said
An essential element of a successful blogging is the desire to receive feedback. Nearly as important as the desire to receive is the willingness to make changes that the feedback addresses. We should get feedback about our efforts from several different readers. Each reader can provide a unique perspective that should be taken under consideration. Alhamdulilah people are posting in this blog so perhaps we can you this page to collect their feedback? Feedback is necessary for the continued growth and well-being of any blog or website because it is the simplest and most effective way to put your finger on the pulse of your readers. It will allow you to make adjustments as needed in order that you will continue to improve and draw in more of an audience inshahAllah.
midnight stroller said
How come you don’t reply to responses to your post?
awaqas1 said
Assalm-o-alekum
I do reply to the responses when necessary, partly due to my time wasting habits I have been a little busy so that is one reason for not replay to recent posts. Inshallah I will make effort to reply to posts more often.
Jazakallah Khair for all your suggestions and comments, they are of great help.
midnight stroller said
Walikum salam warahmatullahi wabrakatuhu
If you do not reply to responses from your readers, no discussion will generate and they’ll loose interest in posting comments.
midnight stroller said
NO TIME TO THINK
http://www.farhathashmi.com/dn/IblessSpeaks/tabid/108/Default.aspx
Iblis (Satan) organised an international conference, which was attended by his followers from all over the world. In his opening address, he said:
Oh my friends and helpers, we cannot stop righteous, pious people – believers in Allah, from going to the mosques. We cannot stop them from reading their Holy Book and familiarising themselves with the Truth. We cannot stop them from establishing a deep and meaningful relationship with Allah. But remember, if they are successful in establishing this relationship with their RAbb, we will lose our hold on them. Remember, Allah has told me about them: “Indeed, over My (believing) servants there is for you no authority.” So let them go to their place of worship and let them continue with their normal routine. But snatch one thing away from them – their time. Then they will not be able to establish the required connection with their Creator. This is what I want you to do. O my followers, make them inattentive and careless in achieving that closeness, that important relationship with Allah, which is the purpose of their existence. Without bonding with Him, their lives will become meaningless.
The delegates loved every word he said. This mission gave meaning to their lives. They sat up and asked: “How shall we do it, O Master?”
“It’s not difficult,” said Iblis. “Just keep them preoccupied and contented with the unimportant, unnecessary things in their lives. Be creative. Invent numerous ways to keep them busy, busy, busy. Incite them to spend extravagantly and then go around borrowing for their needs. Encourage the wives to spend and spend. Plant ambition in the husbands – they must be ahead in the race for money, status, power. Let them work and work 18-20 hours a day, 7 days a week, to compete in fulfilling the demands of their material self. Deprive them of time to spend with their children. As the family gradually becomes dysfunctional and falls apart, their homes will cease to be a source of peace. With the increasing pressure of work, reluctant to go home, they will look for that peace outside. Make their minds so occupied, they will not be able to hear that small voice crying out to them that something is not right.Encourage them to turn on their radios, CDs and cassettes when they are driving. At home, make sure their PCs , TVs , VCRs, DVD Players and radios are operating round the clock. Let their mobile phones ring incessantly. Their minds, numbed by all the activity, will have no time to think of Allah or their duty to worship Him, at least in the way they should. This way their connection with Allah will be weakened. Fill up their tables with magazines and newspapers. Assault them with a barrage of news, so that their minds are constantly occupied. On the road, let them be distracted by massive billboards and ads, tempting them to buy things they don’t need. Flood their mail-boxes with letters and junk mail. Whatever little time they have left, will be taken up by this. In their recreational activities, let them be excessive. When they return home, they will be so tired and irritable, they will remain so the whole of next week. And don’t let them go near nature, in case they ponder and reflect on Allah’s signs in the universe; instead send them to concerts, cinemas, and stadiums. Keep them busy, busy, busy.
Convince them that religion is ‘personal’, the inherited beliefs of their ancestors are best and that ‘majority is authority’. Even when they attend assemblies of Allah’s remembrance, keep their minds preoccupied with worldly thoughts. Or let the arguments between religious scholars where each one claims that he is the only one on the right path, make them so disturbed that they will not go to such assemblies again. And make them waste their goods deeds by gossiping and backbiting.
March forward my commandos. Busy them in winning each others hearts and flood their lives with so many good aims, they will have no time to ask Allah for help in achieving them. Very soon they will exhaust themselves, sacrificing their health and their family life for these ‘lofty’ goals. This will be good, this will be super, this will be great!”
What a convention it was! Such a roaring success! What a thunderous applause! With great zealousness and enthusiasm, all the delegates – Satan’s forces went their respective ways and got cracking with their assigned tasks. So Iblis succeeded in his mission and the believers were seen running around here and there, busy, busy, busy.
BE WARNED! Iblis means ‘deprived of hope’, ‘in utter despair’ and his abode is Hell. He has set out to destroy Adam’s descendants, “except for few.” May we, by Allah’s grace, be amongst those who recognise Satan’s wiles and do not fall prey to them -aameen
awaqas1 said
Amazing article, I think it should have its own post.
midnight stroller said
Whatever you focus on consciously or unconsciously, you get it. While driving a car if you look to the roadside, your car will also turn to it in a few moments. If you keep on looking straight, you will stay on the road. This is the power of focus. Most people do not focus on what they want in their lives. They, including myself many times, become impatient and the moment they lose focus, they hit the dead-end. You find these people trying to do too many things simultaneously or keep chaing their tracks. Since they lack focus, they continue wandering. They do not get anywhere. PCs , TVs, VCRs, DVD Players, radios and cellphones; magazines and newspapers; massive billboards and ads; malls and resturants, even family and friends distract us focus and deviate us from our goal. When people get too indulged in entertainment and lesiure activities they have nothing in their life to focus on. They just kill time. If they never know where they are going, they will land nowhere.
Can you imagine winning a game without focusing on it? No. So make sure that:
1. Have something to focus on (life passion or any other goal).
2. Focus on big positive things only i.e. Allah says in the Quran “Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation. SO HE WHO IS DRAWN AWAY FROM THE FIRE AND ADDMITTED TO PARADISE HAS ATTAINED TRUE SUCCESS. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion” – 3:185 So what are the deeds am I doing to enter Paradise? What is my target? Imaam Ali Al Huzaifi ( Imam of Al-Masjid al-Nabawi), goal was to make a million people hufadh of the Quran. Ustaza’s goal was to teach the Quran. For Bilal radi Allahu anhu it was several units nafil salah after everytime he performed wudu. What about me? What is that one special thing I am doing (other than the 5 pillars of Islam)? What are my plans? What is my focus? Just my degree? Just my family?
3. No matter how difficult it seems, never lose sight of your goal or target.
midnight stroller said
What do you think about having something on Saad bin abi Waqqas radi Allahu anhu? I absolutely love his character and contribution to Islam.
awaqas1 said
I don’t know much about him, but i would like you to share what you know about his character.
Inspire us all, inshallah
midnight stroller said
The other day I was going through my notes for ‘Muslim Heroes’. In this subject, at Al Huda we learned the trials and triumphs of early Muslims as individuals. Their various paths to Islam – sometimes direct and sometime long and torturous, their devotion to the noble Prophet salahu alyihi wa sallam, their endeavours in peace time and their adventures in war – all serve to cast them in a heroic mould. Their stories helped to lay the foundations of an ideal life and character.I learned that Islam was something they genuinely loved. They fully accepted the revelation and applied it in individual and collective life. They adhered to the Quran when it was still the subject of controversy, recognized the Prophet sallau alyihi wa sallam at the very beginning. They spent their wealth for the sake of truth which was yet to be established. They placed the Hereafter before the world and remembered death always. They were content to remain in obscurity. They realized their limitations and took responsibility. They bore no grudges, avoided conflicts and concentrated on common goal. They made rational decisions during emotional crises, enjoined good and forbade evil. They sold their lives and wealth in the way of Allah. The study of the lives of the companion radi Allahu anhum was a rich storehouse of knowledge, guidance and inspiration. It will be heartwarming and imaan escalating for you to study and take lesson from their lives.
midnight stroller said
Where is everyone?