You know your Islam is in trouble when...

...the last thing you learnt about Islam, the Quran, or Jihad was from CNN
...all your conversations with your friends have to do with guys/girls, or movies, or guys/girls in movies
...you spend more nights at the club during Ramadan than at a Masjid
...you can't remember the last time you asked someone a question about something you didn't understand in Islam
...you find time to watch three movies a week but find yourself too busy to pray Salah regularly
...that Quran translation you were given last 'Eid is still sitting on the top shelf of your bookrack
...the 'inner voice' you hear when you are in complete silence sounds surprisingly similar to the latest hip-hop song you heard
...you don't know any people who you can say Salaams to without feeling embarrassed
...the feeling that God is watching you in all that you do is never more than a passing thought
...you are available to receive phone calls at 2 a.m.
...your clothes and hair smell of cigarettes on Sunday mornings even though you don't smoke
...knowing something is right or wrong and feeling guilty about it does not effect whether you actually do it or not
...you gave hope of ever entering Paradise because you don't feel you deserve it after 'all that I have done
...when you want something in your life you fantasize about it and say "I wish!"
...you can't figure out why you are never truly happy deep in your heart and why nothing good in your life ever seems to last (why does it always have to end?)
...the happiest day of your life so far was on a Christmas, Valentine, or a dance
...you are loneliest when you are sad or when something bad has happened to you (where did all my friends go?)
...you don't think of the Prophet at least once a day
...when you hear of Muslims dying somewhere in the world, you consider it part of 'politics' which you have nothing to do with
...your 'best friend' is a person of the opposite gender yet not your husband or wife
...you have no motivation to change things in your life
...when your faults are pointed out to you, you reply "This is who I am, for better or for worse!"
...listening to the Quran does not make you feel guilty
...you are actually flattered when people on the street stare or ask you ou
...you friends never object to any of your bad habits or behaviours and vice versa
...you don't care whether you go to heaven or hell since no one can really be sure about these things
...to you, Islam is just another 'organized institutionalized religion'
...you actually agreed with everything your philosophy professor taught in class
...you generally feel crappy and often find yourself telling people that you consider and justify your sins as 'a part of who I am'
...you want to travel around the world someday but Makkah is not one of your planned stops
...your parents hate you and have said so to you
...you read the horoscopes yet have never performed Salat-ul-Istikharah
...you have never felt like falling down on your face and crying to Allah
...you look down upon people who are more practicing than yourself as 'just mullahs and ustaz'
...your past bad experiences with some Muslims prevent you from getting closer to Islam and other Muslims

A Story to Remember

Muniba, a young Muslim university student, was home for the summer. She had gone to visit some sisters one evening & the time passed quickly as each shared their various experiences of the past year. She ended up staying longer than she had planned. Evening came & Muniba had to walk home alone. But she wasn't afraid because it was a small town and she lived only a few blocks away. As she walked along under the tall elm trees, Muniba asked "God" to keep her safe from harm & danger. When she reached the alley, which was a short cut to her house, she decided to take it. However, halfway down the alley, she noticed a man standing at the end, as though he was waiting for her. She became uneasy & began to pray, asking for "God's" protection. Instantly a comforting feeling of quietness & security wrapped around her; she felt as though someone was walking with her. When she reached the end of the alley, she walked right past the man & arrived home safely. the following day, she read in the paper that a young girl had been raped in the same alley, just twenty minutes after she had been there. Feeling overwhelmed by this tragedy & the fact that it could have been her, she began to weep. Thanking the Lord for her safety & to help this young woman, she decided to go to the police station. She felt she could recognize the man, so she told them her story. The police asked her if she would be willing to look at a line up to see if she could identify him. She agreed & immediately pointed out the man she had seen in the alley the night before. When the man was told he had been identified, he immediately broke down & confessed. The officer thanked Muniba for her bravery & asked if there was anything they could do for her, she asked if they would ask the man one question. Muniba was curious as to why he had not attacked her. When the policeman asked him,he answered, "Because she wasn't alone. She had two tall men walking on either side of her.

More Than a Hero

More Than A Hero: Muhammad Ali's Life Lessons Through His Daughter's Eyes."

"If memory serves me correctly, I was wearing a little white tank top and a short black skirt. I had been raised Orthodox Muslim, so I had never before worn such revealing clothing while in my father's presence. When we finally arrived, the chauffer escorted my younger sister, Laila, and me up to my father's suite. As usual, he was hiding behind the door waiting to scare us. We exchanged many hugs and kisses as we could possibly give in one day. My father took a good look at us. Then he sat me down on his lap and said something that I will never forget. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Hana, everything that God made valuable in the world is covered and hard to get to. Where do you find diamonds? Deep down in the ground, covered and protected. Where do you find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the ocean, covered up and protected in a beautiful shell. Where do you find gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock. You've got to work hard to get to them." He looked at me with serious eyes. "Your body is sacred. You're far more precious than diamonds and pearls, and you should be covered too

UKHUWWAH

Maksudku dengan ukhuwwah (persaudaraan) adalah: Hati-hati dan roh terikat dengan ikatan akidah. Ikatan akidah adalah ikatan yang paling kukuh dan mahal. Persaudaraan sebenarnya adalah persaudaraan iman dan perpecahan itu adalah saudara kepada kekufuran. Kekuatan yang pertama kepada kita adalah kekuatan kesatuan, tidak ada kesatuan tanpakasih sayang. Kasih sayang yang paling rendah adalah berlapang dada dan yang paling tinggi ialah martabat `ithar' (melebihkan saudaranya daridirinya sendiri).

Akh yang benar dengan fikrahnya akan melihat saudaranya lebih utama untuk diberikan perhatian dari dirinya sendiri kerana kalaulah mereka tidak bersama dengannya pasti mereka akan bersama dengan selain darinya.Sesungguhnya serigala akan membaham kambing yang kesesatan. Mukmin dengan mukmin yang lain adalah seperti sebuah bangunan yang menguatkan antara satu sama lain. "Mukminin dan mukminat sebahagian mereka adalah pemimpin kepada sebahagian yang lain." Inilah situasi yang perlu kita wujudkan.

Risalah Taalim - Imam Hassan AlBanna

CiNta Ku RuPaNYa HaNya Lah PalSu

YA ALLAH…..

Setiap kali Kau memanggil aku cuba dan berusaha untuk datang kepadaMu sesegera mungkin. Kadangkala aku mengadapMu bersama hati yang tidak takut dan malu kepadaMu. Tapi biasanya hanya fizikal yang ku bawa bersama-sama menyembahMu, sedang hati masih sombong dan kosong denganMu.

Sesekali aku bersimpuh di bawah Duli KebesaranMu dengan begitu berhati-hati serta menjaga adab-adab memasuki ‘ istanaMu’ , fizikalku rukuk, hatiku pun turut rukuk, fizikalku sujud, hatiku pun turut sama sujud. Malangnya itupun hanya sekali-sekala. Biasanya hanya aku ‘bersenam’ semata-mata dihadapan KebesaranMu. Katanya , upacara menyembahMu merupakan saat yang paling manis dan menakjubkan, pertemuan yang paling bermakna diantara seorang hamba dengan Penciptanya. Majlis yang gilang gemilang bermandikan cahaya dari syurga. Suatu nikmat kekhusyukan menyembahMu yang sungguh lazat tidak terhingga, hinggakan mabuk dan tenggelam dalam persada percintaan denganMu.

Aduh! Indah sekali khabarnya pengalaman itu mengatasi segala dan sejuta nikmat nan indah yang pernah wujud didunia ini. Begitu sekali rupanya melayani hamba-hambaMu.

Tapi Ya Allah, siapalah aku untuk mengecapi pengalaman indah dan penuh bermakna itu, ianya hanya layak untuk para siddiqin dan muqarrabin. Yang hati dan cintalah hanyalah satu untukMu semata-mata. Sedangkan aku adalah seorang hamba yang dilumuri noda dan dosa, hanya menanti waktu, andai tidak mendapat pengampunan dari Mu, neraka manalah agaknya yang bakal menanti selayaknya kedatanganku nanti.

YA ALLAH…

Masakan tidak Ya Allah, penyembahanku terhadapMu sungguh lalai, pantang larang istanaMu seringkali ku langgari, ucapanku sewaktu menyembahMu masih biadap dan penuh kesombongan. Di waktu hamba-hambaMu yang lain bersiap sedia menunggu setiap waktu sebelum Kau memanggil, manakala aku hamba yang culas dan ingkar ini masih lagi lalai dan leka menunggu sehingga Kau memanggil dan terus memanggil, kadangkala sampai membiarkan Kau menunggu beberapa ketika sebelum hadir mengadapMu, dalam keadaan tergesa-gesa, sedangkan Engkau tidak pernah jemu-jemu memanggil dan menjemputku yang berdosa ini mengadapMu.

YA ALLAH…..

Cintaku rupanya hanyalah palsu, rinduku hanyalah kaku. Aku rupanya masih belum kenal erti cinta dan kerinduan yang sebenarnya. Bila tidak kenal manakan datang cinta, bila tiada cinta mana mungkin timbulnya rindu. Itulah dia aku, sering terlewat untuk sampai ke persada keagunganMu.

YA ALLAH…

Alangkah kecutnya perutku bila terkenang kata-kata Saidina Umar “ jika seluruh penduduk kota Madinah ini masuk syurga kecuali seorang, maka aku rasa yang seorang itu adalah aku”. Betapa seorang yang bergelar khalifah, yang telah dijamin masuk syurga pun merasakan tidak layak untuk kesana, apatah lagi aku yang bergelumang dengan noda dan dosa ini.

Walaupun aku sedar siapa diriku, tetapi aku ingin berbaik sangka denganMu. Bukankah Engkau Maha Pengasih dan Maha Penyayang? Malah kasih sayangMu mengatasi sifat-sifat keagunganMu yang lain. PengampunanMu mengatasi kesalahan insan. Kasih sayangMu melewati kemurkaanMu. Biarpun aku tidak layak dan tidak mampu, namun aku merayu padaMu terimalah aku dalam keredhaanMu dengan bersandar dan bertawassul kepada para kekasihMu, terutamanya kekasih agungMu Nabi Muhammad saw, juga dengan kemuliaan guruku, pemimpinku, ayahku, terimalah aku dengan keberkatan mereka. Pandanglah aku yang lalai dan cuai ini demi mereka, demi dia yang Kau kasihi dan yang Kau muliakan.

YA ALLAH…

Kau sesungguhnya sangat mampu untuk melayakkan aku melalui prosesMu yang agung. Mudah-mudahan masih belum terlewat lagi untukku mengintai cintaMu, melambai rahmatMu dan merisik khabar rindu denganMu. Moga-moga cinta dan rindu ini terbalas jua hendaknya.

Sahabat itu cintaku

Ku cuba mengenali erti cintanya
Dahulu..
Berulang kali dia katakan sayang padaku
Aku percaya itu
Tapi kini mengapa
Hati ini menidakkan
kasih sayangnya itu

Acapkali bersamanya
Ku buang duka ku
Ku tanam dendam ku
Ku campakkan rasa pedih jiwaku

Cinta manusia itu adalah sahabatku
Sahabat yang ku sangka mencintaiku
Sahabat yang ku sangka menyayangiku
Sahabat yang menjadi peneman sepiku
Melayani senda gurauku
Rupanya hanya lah permata usang tak laku..

Terkadang aku keliru
Dia kah cinta itu
Sentiasa membuat hati ku pedih bagai di palu
Yang kekadang membuat aku ingin pergi jauh
Hingga cinta itu aku ragu

Di kala sepi membungkam diri
Dia yang ku tunggu
menjelmakan diri
mewujudkan ketenangan dalam diri
Dia sahabat teman sejati
Cintanya padaku tak akan berganti
Kerana cintanya atas cinta ilahi
Dia lah sahabatku..
Menemani dukaku
Mengajari zikirku
Menemaniku mengenali
Penciptaku..

Terima kasih sahabat
Ku telah temui cinta itu..