The Muslim iPod

Quran Digital Book

Attachments

A car.. old letters.. old pictures.. a bracelet.. earrings.. a mobile phone.. if, la sama7 Allah, there's a fire.. What's the one thing that you'd grab before you run out? What's the one thing you'd get upset over losing?

Over the years, we develop attachments to certain material objects and even to certain people. When we lose them, we get upset or even depressed. We can't believe that we've lost them/it. And while yes, we may never realize how truly we miss something until we lose it, why do we get so attached?

Allow me to strip away all emotions and feelings aside. Aren't we bound to lose everything at some point? Life isn't endless. Everything and everyone will eventually cease, whether we like it or not.

I guess over the years I've built up some sort of resistance or tolerance. If I lose something, then so what? Why get so bent out of shape over something materialistic? Because it has sentimental value? O ba3dain..? It's not like getting upset will change the reality of it. Besides, I've got memories to remind me of things that are precious and things that I cherish.

Friends drift away? That's part of life. People come into our life to serve a certain purpose. Sometimes they stay for a long time, sometimes only temporarily. Whatever that purpose is, just thank God that they played a role. If they disappear, then life, believe it or not, will go on.

We hold on to the past, forgetting that life is continuous. It doesn't stop, not for you and not for anyone else.

I know I sound heartless. At the end of the day, what matters is what we CAN take with us. It's not how much money we made, how big of a house we live in, how many friends we've made, nor how many possessions we have. It's how people view us and remember us, our deeds, and how we lived our life.

Laish?

Why is it that we never know what we've got till it's gone?

The Distance

Are you laughing
While I cry?
Are you meeting people
While I say goodbye?

Is the sun shining?
Does it look like rain?
Can you feel my emptiness?
Can you sense my pain?

Are you laying in bed,
Dreaming your cares away?
While I rise to greet the sun,
And face another day?

Is the love we have,
Still in existance?
Or did we lose it all
Through the distance..?

How many...?

How many smiles have you smiled? How many tears have you cried? How many memories have you created? How many nights have you slept? How many moments have you relished? How many dreams have you made come true?

Do you measure your life by how many years since you were born, or by how many days you've actually lived?

يا قمر

ليش يا قمر.. فرق الزمان بيننا و سرق منا الحنان؟
ليش يا قمر.. حبيبي إبتعد و تركني في دنيا مالها أمان؟
ليش يا قمر.. أنا وحيد أيامي ما إلتمت حوالي غير الأحزان؟
ليش يا قمر.. خليتني بهالدنيا عليل و تركت دموعي تمسح من على قلبي دمي السيلان؟
حياتي.. ما صار لها معنى أنا جسد بلا روح متروك لغدر الزمان
إنكتب لي أعيش بعذاب وحيد.. محروم.. و ولهان

ليش يا قمر.. وين راح الامل وين راح و تركني حيران؟
ليش يا قمر.. قلبي إبتعد ما ترك لي غير ذكريات الزمان؟
ذكريات ما لي غيرها هي دم جسدي العطشان
بها باواصل المشوار على أمل يرجع لي الحنان
ليش يا قمر.. ما اقدر أوصل لك و ألقى عندك ألامان؟
هذا حالي و ما أرجوا منك يا قمر غير إنك تخرجني من دنيا الحرمان
من دنيا ما أقدر أعيش بها دونك.. يا بئر يروي ظمأي, أنا عطشان

3eedkom Embarak

While the rest of the world celebrates "3eed el 7ejaj", el 7ejaj themselves are still in Mecca finishing their rituals. Between rammy el jamarat wil 6awaf wil sa3ee, they're still a couple days away from ending their Hajj journey.

To all 7ujjaj Bait Allah: "Allah eridkom bil salameh inshAllah o yetqabal a3malkom o 6a3atkom. Ya36eekom alf se7a o 3afya.. Kil 3am winto ib5air ya asas hal eid!"

To the rest of us out there: "3eedkom embarak o ja3al Allah ayamkom sa3eeda.. yen3ad 3laikom bil 5air inshAllah.."

The Moment

For those of you who read and/or commented on my last post, the answer is "The Moment". That one moment in time that we don't notice and don't pay enough attention to. The moment that we don't appreciate nor realize its true value.

We waste time like it's endless. We watch tv, chat online, check email, blog, nap, and the list goes on and on. When's the last time you turned off the tv, put down the newspaper, or walked away from your computer to just read some Quran or pray rak3atain for God?

How many times have you picked up the phone and talked endlessly with friends? How many times have you sat there and sms'ed back and forth? How many movies have you waited on and ran to see? How many moments did you waste instead of going to see a family member or sit and talk to/with your parents/siblings?

There are so many things we could use our time for better than what we're doing. When people tell you "Live each day as if it was your last", I tell you, "Live each moment as if it's your last.. cuz it just might be!"

It's Gone!

Did you feel that? It just passed right by you. You didn't notice it? That's a shame. You blinked and it went away.

Guess you weren't paying attention. No, it won't come back. You should've taken better care of it when it was here. Guess you got so used to it, you didn't even notice. You should've thought about it at the time, not after it's too late. Yes, it is too late.

Want to try again, without messing it up this time round?


(--know what i'm talking about?)

The Re-birth – Part IV

"و أذن في الناس بالحج يأتوك رجالا..."

3arafa:
I have never in my life felt as safe as I did as when I was at 3arafa. There are no words that I can put together that would truly be reflective of my feelings then. 3arafa, the day you feel all your sins are washed off; you are reborn.

You literally feel the presence of Angels around you. No one will be able to truly appreciate what I mean other than those who have actually been there. Had I not already put on the 7ejab prior to leaving home, there was no way I was going to walk out of 3arafa not met7ajba.

"God is so merciful that He is willing to forgive me for ALL my sins, and I can’t put a piece of cloth on my head? I can’t cover my hair? 3aib 3lay ibsara7a."

There will never be another wagfa ib 3arafa again where I will not recall all the feelings of that day and lower my head thanking Allah for His Greatness.

"اللهم اعوذ بك من الفقر و من شتات الامر و من شر ما يحدث بالليل و النهار أمسي ظلمي مستجيرا بعفوك و أمسي خوفي مستجيرا بأمانك .."

Mozdalefa:
This is where a huge dose of reality was handed to me. Looking around, you see many different people from all parts of the world and all parts of life. You see poverty in its rawest form, yet poverty moved by faith! Simply unreal.

This is where I felt how weak I was as a mortal. This is where it became clear that at the end, it doesn’t matter what educational degree I hold, what job title I carry, how much money I make.. it doesn’t matter what country I was born in and if I can speak languages or not. What matters is how my actions will have earned me a place in Heaven or not. Looking around, I realize those who have lived much more humble lives were on the same level as me standing there, possibly even higher when it came to what really matters!

Road to Mina:
Heading to Mina, anything that can go wrong went wrong. Our bus got lost in the midst of the human oceans of people walking around. It was barely moving as a result and what should’ve taken us 1 hour, at most, took us 9 hours! During that ride some people started to whine and complain that we were late, that we were on the bus too long, etc.

Somehow, I felt completely calm and serene. My mother looked at me and asked if I was ok. I replied, “Never been better. We’re going to narjim el shay6an. He’s trying to mess things up for us. La etkhaloneh yaghlebkom. Don’t sit here and whine. Read Quran, read du3a2, do anything constructive. Complaining will just give el shay6an what he wants.”

So we, as a group, started reading Du3a2 and the more we read, the faster the bus was able to move. The minute we all said out loud “Allahuma Salleee wa Sallim 3ala Mohammed, wa 2al Mohammed”, the bus moved and kept on moving. Sub7anak ya Rab!

Ramee El-Jamarat:
So many people gathered around, throwing pebbles (rajm el shay6an.) We decided to split up. Three of my aunts and I decided to battle this together. We held on to each other like a train. I lead the pack and walked into the crowd. Again, sub7an Allah, somehow the path opens up and we find ourselves against the railing, right in front of the wall. I grabbed my seven pebbles. As I looked up and aimed to throw, I saw many other pebbles flying in the same direction.

Somehow, as the pebble leaves your hand, your eyes follow it and you know EXACTLY which one your’s is and you see where it hits. You know right there and then whether you’ve hit it right or not. As each pebble leaves your hand you get more and more upset with el shay6an and you throw the next one even harder. You realize all those times el shay6an managed to convince you to sleep a little longer till salat el fajr passed you. You remember all those times el shay6an waswas lek and you realize how silly it was to not see it and stop el shay6an from having an effect on you!

Final 6awaf:
Right before we began our final 6awaf, it started to drizzle lightly. Smiling, we all looked up to the sky. El mo6ar khair, abwab el sama maftoo7ah! Then, it poured down!! Rain completely washed us. But that didn’t bother us, on the contrary, we were smiling like we’d never smiled before! Does this mean that Allah teqabal minna and is washing our sins?

Although we were worn out by all the events over the past few days, the harder it rained the more energy we had. We finished el 6awaf with greater ease than our first 6awaf when we arrived. Then, it happened. During our 7th and final sho6 around el Ka3ba, the rain stopped. I looked up and there it was. The most beautiful, huge, colorful rainbow right above el Ka3ba and the sky was orange.

Aneh 7ajjiya. How great it feels to actually BE one. It’s not just a word people use anymore. It’s a title I have earned proudly.

"لا اله الا أنت سبحانك اني كنت من الظالمين"