Open Your Eyes

This is a short and beautiful video about sincerity in Islam by Sheikh Yusuf Estes. Please watch the video; it’s a great reminder to us all and can be beneficial to all ages :)

Pray On

We all know that praying is one of the five pillars of Islam. But what does prayer mean to you? Does it mean something your religion requires of you to do in order to be considered a Muslim?

To us, prayer is something we look forward to. It gives us relaxation, a chance to repent, and ask for things we would like to happen or get. It gives us a one on one time with our Lord, who will always listen to us and help us in times of need.

Making Dua

Developing a close connection with prayer may be difficult. Why? Because we pray so often, sometimes we just squeeze some time in for it and become careless about praying. We must understand that prayer is a blessing. It’s time we must make to connect with our Lord and be grateful for all that has happened to us. If you’re having a rough day, go and pray. You will feel more closer to Allah (SWT) and relaxed.

Prayer actually helps you to become a better Muslim and change for the better. Many people, probably including yourself, find it easier to confess the sins you did. This isn't because you won’t get punished for it physically, but because you understand you did something wrong, and should vow to not intentionally do it again. We always make mistakes, and Allah (SWT) knows that. But we need to recognize that doing bad things and repenting shouldn't be a habitual process. We need to attempt and commit to not doing the sin again.

When you recognize your faults, you are more likely to be able to change them. If nobody tells you what you're doing wrong, its not expected for you to be able to recognize your faults and change them. When you pray, you ask repentance from Allah (SWT) for the bad things you did. That’s when you know you need to change. Allah makes it so easy for us by always forgiving us. We become sincere people when we recognize that we make mistakes and are willing to invest effort and time to fix them.

Don’t just “make time” for prayer. You need to “give up” time for prayer.

Society Sincerity

Bikers Helping Children

Many people would be surprised when looking at this picture. Bikers are usually stereotyped as “junky”, but in this picture we see them helping a child that’s being abused. We’ve been talking about how your outside appearance doesn’t define the type of person you are, and we see this again here. People have different intentions, and we tend to judge them based on their looks.

Yes, Islam teaches you to dress modest so that you look put together, but there are still many other groups of people who don't “dress” like Muslims but have better intentions and actions than many Muslims. We should be a group of people who others look up to.

In today's society, we have many stereotypes of Muslims due to ISIS, Taliban, 9/11, and other terrorist led events, but even though we as mu slims know that most of the news isn't true, the rest of the world does not. That is why there are debates about Islamophobia on every social media site, news network, and face to face conversation. We should learn a lesson from this group of bikers, because most of us know that we wouldn't do anything near this act of kindness.

Try to do something that benefits the community, whether the people you help are Muslim or not. Don't encourage the stereotypes by your actions or words, but discourage them by being kind and showing that Muslims are nothing close to what we are "known" to be.

Muslims as a whole need to work on how to react. We are all aware of the hidden truths, but we react to the false accusations through anger and ignorance. We need to stay calm, and still act sincerely to everyone around us, whether we would like to or not. Allah will grant us all more good deeds if we force ourselves to act sincerely around people who act like hypocrites to us. After all, what defines Islam from other religions?

Altering your Identity

Here’s an article by by Shaikh Saalih al-Fawzaan al-Fawzaan حفظه الله:

The Dangers of Smart Phones and Social Networking – Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan

أخطار الاجهزة الذكية وبرامج التواصل الاجتماعية – لفضيلة الشيخ العلامة صالح بن فوزان الفوزان – حفظه الله

All praises are due to Allah for His favours and kindness and I thank him for his assistance and for his blessings.

I testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah alone, having no partners, and I testify that Muhammad is his slave and messenger – May Allah mention him, his family and his companions with praise and send an abundance of peace upon them.

To proceed: O mankind… Know that from the greatest of hindrances preventing you from being upright are trials and tribulations that block you from the path of Allah and cause you to fall into misguidance.

How great in number they are in this time, and how numerous are the callers calling to them through their writings, through their tweets on Twitter and those things like it – through the various means of communication that are widespread amongst the people and have filled their homes.

How numerous are those that go astray because of these evil channels.

So be weary of them, O slaves of Allah.

Be cautious of them and don’t look into them. Don’t bring them into your homes. Don’t leave them with your children and your wives because they are what hinder from the religion and from the path of Allah, and divert them from being upright and cause them to fall into deviation and misguidance.

How numerous are the ones who were misguided and deviated. They deviated and their features changed. Their ways changed and this is evident through their conduct, their sayings and their actions.

They are stuck to these means day and night. Their eyes are fixed to these things in these wicked devices. What came? What happened?

All the time… until they have become afflicted by using them all the time… they have become afflicted with addiction…

It is mentioned by the experts that those that have fallen into this, becoming afflicted with addiction, they cannot bear to be without it, and this is something apparent.

You see them staring at these devices all the time… in his pocket… in his car… all the time… to the extent that he doesn’t talk to the one next to him, or his family or to his children in his house.

He’s always with these sites. Even to the extent that he doesn’t pray – he doesn’t get up to pray! He’s afraid he’s going to miss something.

He doesn’t sleep because he’s afraid to miss something or to present something.

This is because he has been afflicted with addiction so he cannot bear to be without it.

If only he had avoided it from the beginning, he would have been safe from it.

So, have fear of Allah, O slaves of Allah. Protect your religion from these distractions, trials and evils.

Know that the best of speech is the book of Allah and the finest of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), and the worst of affairs are the newly invented ones and every innovation is misguidance.

Stay with the body of Muslims upon the truth because Allah’s hand is upon the Jamaa’ah, and whoever deviated then he deviated in the hellfire.

http://www.islamictreasure.com/3042-the-dangers-of-smart-phones-and-social-networking-shaykh-saalih-al-fawzaan/

Us, teenagers are basically living our lives on social networking sites. Why? Because everyone is on it and it gives us pleasure. This article isn’t saying that nobody should even have a single social network account, but rather that we need to become aware of how we are becoming addicted and changing ourselves.

Online, we are completely different people. We post pictures, say things, and comment on things that seem to be interesting or funny to others. We never stop to think, though. Are we changing because of all these interactions online? Who are we? Are you the “Maryam Hussain” that your parents raised, or are you the “Maryyyyy” that appears on all your profiles?

Who are you?

All we want to do is become “popular” and “cool” to our followers. We change ourselves for the sake of others. How sincere does this sound? Not much. If we aren’t even sincere to our own identity, how do we expect to be sincere to our family, friends, and most importantly, Allah (SWT)?

How many times do we sacrifice our time for helping a friend out or spending time for family, instead of browsing through our twitter feed? Probably never, or not too often at the least. We need to prioritize our life. What’s more important? Making sure you favorite a tweet or taking care of a sick family member? Reflect on this and think about your time the next time you spend one hour stalking people.

Don't Judge

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, Allah does not look at your appearance or wealth, but rather He looks at your hearts and actions.”

What does this hadith remind you of? It remind us of the common saying of “don't judge a book by it’s cover”.

The moral behind this hadith  is that individuals who are living in poverty and are on the lowest level of the social pyramid, can have the purest heart.

In today's society we judge a person by their financial status, what college they go to, or what position they are in the class, but not the manner they treat other people in. We have our own expectations that we judge people through, and it’s hard to change it because we continue withholding this habit.

In Allah’s eyes, the person who uses their wealth to benefit the ummah is the highest. Social status or how “cool” you are is a prestigious worldly goal for people; many people go to extremes to prove themselves to their friends. In the end, all of this is useless. Why bother to put effort in pleasing other people when your final assessment is whether you pleased Allah or not? What is more beneficial to you in the long run? Impressing your friends or achieving a high status in Allah (SWT's) eyes?

You never know what struggles a person is going through in their lives. The people who you think look “bad” may be more sincere than you. Someone you think has a strong faith may be doing terrible things behind your back. The important thing is that you don’t know their intentions and you do not have a right to judge them based off your own assumptions.

Take a look at the picture below. It’s a great example of how we end up judging others.

Judging Others

So, purify your heart, your intentions, and help a brother/sister in need. At the end of the day, your good deeds by far exceed any worldly pleasures.

Chapel Hill Shooting

On February 10th 2015, we lost 3 palestinian heroes (Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha). They were killed in their home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Their death was unfortunate, and it was a wake up call for all the Muslims of America to understand that the media isn't always supporting the Muslims.. It took Fox news a day to broadcast the happenings of the event.  

Deah, Yusor, and Razan

This event caused a massive explosion of arguments on Islamophobia. It affected the Muslim youth immensely. Many Muslim youth throughout the world saw this as a threat to their own lives.

These 3 young college students are great examples of sincere Muslims. Barakat had recently started a charity for the families in Syrian refugee camps to get free dental treatments. Yusor and Razan along with Barakat passed out food to the homeless every Thursday. Their actions were an inspiration to many people around the world. They are a great example of sincerity because they did things for others and focused on helping those people who need it.

Muslims reacted to this event in different ways, but mostly they were enraged and upset. Of course the loss of young people is depressing and unfortunate, but everything happens for a reason, right? Maybe this was a test from Allah to see how Muslims would react to such a thing. Maybe this was a sign from Allah to strengthen our community bonds, Maybe this was a blessing from Allah to give inspiration to people around the world. We don’t know exactly why Allah made this happen, but what we can do is learn from it. Apply it to your own life. Be an inspiration to others. Make positive changes in your community.

Before going to sleep every day, reflect on your actions and how you can become a better person the next day. Think about who you really want to be.

InshAllah these three people will be blessed the highest level of Jannah.

Make Dua and read Surah-e-Fatiha for #Ourthreewinners

Ameen.

Being Sincere

Sincerity is the act of having pure intentions. Once we understand that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, we will also understand the true meaning of sincerity.

Sincerity isn't just being nice to people and telling the truth, it’s picking up that dollar that you found on the floor and putting it into lost and found, its hearing a rumor about someone and not spreading it. Sincerity is making the right choices, to not only be honest to other people but also to yourself, your Lord, and your faith.

A quote by Imam Ali (A.S) states, "Life consists of two days, one for you and one against you. So when it's for you don't be proud or reckless, and when it's against you be patient, for both days are test for you."

What does this quote really mean?

Well, it should make us realize that we have to stay positive and optimistic in every situation. An extreme of anything is wrong. Being sincere should be a part of our personality, not something we are, on and off. You never know what life may hit you with. It’s important to be prepared for the worst. None of us know the day we will die, or the day we will lose a loved one. If we get used to being sincere people with an open heart, kind face, and giving hand, we will be fully prepared for anything that comes our way.

If we don't live life with sincere intentions, we’re going to end up regretting our decisions in the afterlife. It’s better to not indulge into the desires of this life, so we can succeed in the afterlife. Feeling “accomplished” with our materialistic desires rather than our spiritual ones should not be our goal.

Alway remember, being sincere isn't only sunnah, it's a basic rule of moral behavior.