Interest Charge/ Riba

We are happily signing up study loan because we are intimidated by the statement ‘0% interest’ charge.

We are excitedly taking up HDB home loan because ‘lowest interest’ sounds better than high interest rate.

We feel so calm when taking up a loan because it says that it can be payable within 12 months without interest.

Oh how the banks will not disclose to you that there are hidden charges and interest handling charges involved.

How the banks will not disclose to you that if you do not make the full payment at the end of the month, interest rate occurs.

No wonder Allah forbids interest/riba in everything we do. 

‘Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest’ – (Surah Al Baqarah: 275)

Slowly But Surely

When I am always on the verge of giving up, I will ponder upon this verse;

Many still do not know the real ways of covering up, or even do not have the strong urge or necessity to dress properly.

Simply armed & influenced by the media of the way of wearing & dressing up, they emulate the Kuffar way of life and totally forgot about the true purpose of who creates them, who brings them here in this Dunya and who gives them the opportunity to be famous.

Slowly but surely, my fellow sisters in Islam.

"You don’t watch tv? You got no life is it?"

Wow wow wow. Just by reading at the title of this entry, it pains me if people were to say. Like hello, must we watch television to say that we have a luxurious life? Must we recognize, remember and jot down all the celebrities in Hollywood to say that we lead a known life? Must we know all the various channels exist in Mediacorp and popular television programmes to be named a Singaporean? Ermm. I don’t think so.

I was looking through my friend’s new Ipad Mini and I saw she downloaded many American movies and exciting games. Me being me, I asked which of the many movies she downloaded was her favourite and whether she would diligently follow every season after every season finishes. She happily said that she always downloads new episodes and in turn asking me what my favourite movies are. My answer?

“I rarely watch television. And oh, I don’t know how to switch on my television too”

Yup. A straight and blunt answer I gave. Her reaction was so surprised that people my age don’t know how to switch on a television. Well, if I don’t bother to watch television, why should I need to know how to switch on one? At home, Musa and Papa will be the ones that know how to operate it. Here comes another question where she asked won’t my life be bored if I don’t watch a television as a source of entertainment?

I looked at her and smiled gleefully. Different people take up different sources of entertainment. To some, they party and dance for their leisure purposes. Others love blogging, go café hunting and singing. It does not mean your source of entertainment is the same as others too. And you can’t just look down on people when they say their standard of entertainment differs from yours. Like how I always like to dress up in black and others like to dress up in many outstanding colours.

Next, comes a very fantastic question from her. “If you don’t rarely watch television, what do you usually do then?”

Heh heh heh. A bonus question. I sound like a lady from the cave but hey I do watch television ONLY when I have done memorizing certain surahs. And do you know that I love watching “Running Man?” And if they have Running Man edition in Singapore, I would be the first person to volunteer but it must be an all Muslimah participants’ kind of show. HAHAHA. What a dream.

Ooops. Back from answering the question, truth be told, I WAS an avid listener of radio stations like 98.7fm and Ria89.7fm back in secondary school days. All night before I slept, I would always tune in to aforementione radio stations to lullaby me to sleep. At night, I watched Suria channel and did mesmerize by the beauty of Suria actresses and was always hyped up to see the next episode of that particular show. Yup. That was how addicted and self-indulged I was to the media. Then, years later, reality hit me, and I know what my purpose of life in this world was.

When I read that verse, it made me in doing some serious reflection. All this while, I was not doing what Allah likes or prefers me to do. Listening to music and watching television programmes that were not of beneficial, really wasted every minute of my precious time in this world. I could have used that time in memorizing surahs and hadiths, read Sejarah Prophet Muhammad s.a.w or even listening to ulama lectures in youtube.

One can watch television, dance, go surfing and all, but it has to be done moderately and with the remembrance of Allah. If the activity you do is clearly haram, I suggest you should avoid doing it. Besides, by memorizing hadiths/surahs or listening to Islamic lectures, it will mould you into a better person right?

Remember, the things you do is the world will be held accountable for. Do good so you can earn good deeds and rewards when in Akhirah insya’allah. 

:)

When people treat you fairly, you treat them good.

When people treat you nastily, you treat them twice as angelic. 

"Marry a Religious Woman"

Ibn 'Uthaymeen (rahimahullaah):

"Marry a religious woman. She will neither abuse your right nor reveal your secret and she will take care of your property and your child in the best way." 

[Sharh al-Bukhari, Nikah, 2]

5 Powerful Ways of a Strong Iman

My friend sent me this resource which I thought it was quite beneficial to be shared.

Adapted from: Maestrouzy


Iman (faith) is a priceless gift from Almighty Allah. He has given it to each and every person who acknowledged him as the only one worthy of being worshiped. And it is up to us to safeguard that gift and keep it strong until we return to Allah.

Qur’an says: “Say not that you have iman, rather say that you are Muslim, for iman has not yet entered your hearts.” (49:14)

The objective of this article is to discuss some basic steps to keep your Iman strong. If you follow these instructions from top to bottom, Insha Allah you will notice a remarkable growth in your Iman.

1. Remember that Allah is always available.

There are times that you don’t feel the presence of Allah, and you think you are lonely and you have no one to let know about your struggles, but never forget that Allah is always with you; even when you feel sad or glad, He is there for you. True Iman is developed when you realize that Allah is always available.

“We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein”. (Sura 50:16)

2. Daily relationship with Allah.

Having a relationship with Allah on a daily basis is a great privilege. It’s a vital part of your spiritual life. Hence, to maintain a strong Iman you have to be in a continuous relationship with Him by spending more time in prayer and reading the Quran. Remember! Allah wants a real relationship with you, so try to spend more time with him and always be thankful for His blessings.

3. Keep in touch with a Spiritual guide.

We can understand this from our daily experiences. For example; if you want to become proficient at a particular skill, you naturally seek an experienced person to guide you. If relying upon an experienced person is necessary for these simple achievements in this world, how much more crucial it is for a strong and a firm Iman which will help us to attain success in the both worlds.

4. Get involved yourself in Islamic gatherings.

Try to attend Islamic gatherings on a daily basis. This great way to preserve a strong Iman, because if you feel like your Iman is becoming weak and it hasn’t been as strong as it used to be, there will always be someone who will offer his support to work through your struggle.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said this regarding Islamic  gatherings: “Whenever a group of people gather and remember Allah and talk about him, then they separate, It will be said to them “ Allah has forgiven your sins and replaced your bad deeds with good ones.”

5. Calling people towards Allah.

One of the most efficient ways for a strong Iman is to call people towards Allah (Da’wah). It is said that the Iman of the prophets were always on the rise because they dedicated their whole life towards Da’wah. Da’wah is an essential part of Islam, and you don’t have to wait for your Iman to be strong enough to call people towards Allah, because Da’wah itself will make your Iman Strong.

 Prayer for a strong Iman: 

“Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate now after you have guided us, but grant us mercy: for you are the grantor of bounties without measure” (Ala Imran, verse-8)

Do you know any other ways that would help to keep your Iman strong? Share your comments below; so that it might encourage some other Muslim, and feel free to share this article with your friends.

2 things prevent you from Happiness

Your eyes will definitely be glued to those “tai tai” that carries branded bags, wears MAC makeups and applies Salvatore Ferragamo perfume.

For guys, they will envy those who have sophisticated cars, sleek laptop bags and branded blazers for work.

Deep down, how you wished you could obtain all these costly materials, branded assets without having to work real hard so that when you wake up, millions of dollars are waiting for you to spend occasionally.

Like they say, Money doesn’t go on trees. If it grew, everyone would already be millionaires. There’ll be abundant of lazy people, many technologies exist in lightening up our tasks and all we did is to order around. By then, we won’t know what the meaning of hardship is.

Having to compare what others have- The high job position she attains and how many Louis Vuitton bags in her possessions, one definitely feels the pinch of not achieving those assets personally. What’s worst, these dishearten people will go to resort in taking up loans deals in purchasing cars, houses and bags. What’s the thing that they’ll gain lose? Unhappiness.

Unhappiness in not living the same standard with those “tai tai” and failure in mimicking their sophisticated wealthy character.

And what Shakyh Assim Alhakeem said is true,

"Two things prevent you from happiness; Living in the past and Observing others."

So many spouses have a miserable marital life because they are unable to forget. The past haunts them while they are themselves negligent of their own shortcomings and faults. 

Many Muslims lead a miserable life because they can’t bear the idea of others enjoying things they don’t have. Envy is like wildfire; burning itself. It leaves the person restless and living in pain and agony. Learn to move away from the past and to appreciate what you have without envying others."

Ya Allah

Ya ALLAH dont take my soul away until you are happy with me, Aameen

Ya ALLAH give me death while i m in sajdah. Aameen

Ya ALLAH let the last words of my life be the kalma Shahadat. Aameen

Ya Allah If i die in Sleep let My heart beat the zikr of ALLAH. Aameen

Oh ALLAH, the GUIDER of the lost souls, Forgive The Entire Ummat!! Aameen 

Ya ALLAH Forgive My Parents, My Teachers, My Family,My Friends.

Can Parents Determine My Marriage Partner for Me without My Consent?

Question:
My parents don’t want me to get married to a person I like. How can I convince them? Isn’t it my right to get married to whomever I wish? Do the parents have the right to determine their children’s choices even when the children are following Islam?

Answer:
Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh

Thank you for your question.

Communication is very important in matters such as determining a suitable marriage partner. In most cases, parents are looking out for the best, regarding their children. Parents are duty bound to provide encouragement and sincere guidance. However, parents are not to force their children into a marriage. You should respectfully communicate to your parents, your choice of a good spouse. Your consent is mandatory for the marriage to be valid.

“A previously married woman has more right regarding herself than her guardian, and the permission of a virgin must be sought (for marriage).” (Sahih Muslim)

A young woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) and told him that her father had married her off against her will. The Prophet (peace and blessings of upon him) gave her the choice (to nullify the marriage or stay in the marriage)” (Sunan Abi Dawud)

“It is not permissible for the guardian to force a sane mature virgin woman to marry... if she refuses (to marry someone), she cannot be made to marry.” (Mukhtasar al Quduri)

And Allah knows best.

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Badat
Hadith of the Day Imam
Imam of the Islamic Foundation of Toronto and Director of Mathabah Institute

It's better to give they say...

“ Nabilah. Come follow Papa to NTUC.”

Mad fatigued and lazy as a bee, I was at the point of time. Knowing that I haven’t been going out with Papa ever since I’ve started my internship, I agreed in tagging along with him. Attending religious classes every Monday and doing housework chores with Papa were some of the things I did during the semester break. I didn’t continue my job as a Part Timer in my previous retail job as I thought I would love to spend my 2 months of holidays bonding with my lovely parents. I know that I put good use as now, for internship, I don’t have time to catch up with my friends, what more my family. 

NTUC is the best place for shopping of groceries, every day basic necessities and electrical appliances. Mainly, whatever items you need, will they provide the fresh items, new packaging and worth-it. I prefer shopping to NTUC then Shop & Save, Sheng Siong though.

Looking at Papa who was busy choosing vegetables, I could see that he is a very meticulous, proper and well-kept individual. He always provides me tips on how to choose good fruits, well-maintained can drinks and fresh chickens. He also teaches me on how to be thrifty. Whenever there’re any sales promotions, he would rather purchase the items than buying non-sale items. Of course, the sales items one buys, caters to your needs and not wants. You don’t just buy items that are cheap, affordable and on sale but to keep it at home for display purposes, right?

Cutting the story short, we took bus home. I could see that Papa talks, listens and communicates well. He knew when to cheer me up when I’m bored during the journey. Discussing about what were my plans after poly life, Papa always supports and gives me the green light to do whatever I want, as long as it is not something absurd.

As we were the only commuters left in bus 265, Papa being a very amiable person, communicated with the bus driver. Something about him is, everywhere he goes, there’ll always be his friends approaching him, shouting for his name and chatting with him. He’s someone that is not arrogant or chooses to talk with someone that he doesn’t like. He hangs out with everybody and even my sayang Wardah, likes my Papa. Maybe you want to become my Papa’s daughter in law? *Giving hints*

When it’s time to reach my bus stop, Papa was still seeing chit chatting with the Malay bus driver. I couldn’t care less than to tap out my ez link card, leave the bus and wait for him at the nearest traffic light. For someone that loves building rapport, how random could my Papa get in still talking with the bus driver. I wondered what were they discussing about as they took quite a long time talking and they had just known each other for goodness sake.

“I gave the bus driver the chickens that we just bought. He has to return home to Malaysia and come to  work early tomorrow. Don’t worry, we still have chickens at home. Later Papa will cook for you, okay? ”

I didn’t know what to react. To weep or to pat my Papa’s shoulders. Weeping as my Papa really did show some act of kindness in giving the favourite food of mine, to the bus driver and patting my Papa’s shoulders as he was really very thoughtful in giving others food. He simply doesn’t care whether the recipient has known him for long, his good friends or cousins. He just gives to whomever. 

A Strong Woman

I can write up many motivations blog entries, but I’m a human with feelings and if I chance upon something that breaks my heart, I’ll be feeling dejected too. The words you said beautify my world only for a few seconds. Not keeping up with your promise, I cried a lot lately. I thought I could trust your words but I was none other than an imbecile fish that blatantly got caught under your bait. You can say all the amazing idioms just to fish me, but I’m not going to fall for the trap no more. 

I hopped over to Facebook, and saw this which I thought was quite stupendous…

May Allah guides us all and helps us in being women of a strong Iman.Amin Thumma Amin.

The Best Exam

I remembered during N and O level examination times where I memorized the important facts and useful words that could help in my composition, crazily. Staying up till the wee hours actually no, I used to sleep early and wake up at 4am for tahajjud prayers and then proceeded on to study and memorizing of school-related facts. 

Now that my school has no examinations and tests are conducted in an open book style, I don’t really burn the midnight oil to memorize facts, theories and all. Truth be told, whatever I learnt during secondary school, I had forgotten. Nyehehe. I forgot what the formulas for prism and cylinder are, how to start a Malay composition and what’s the name of a flower parts in Biology subject. 

In the midst of an examination, we are taught not to copy, get help from friends and open a book to check for answers. We’ll get a warning or barred from taking the exam if we do that. But how about tests/examination given from the Almighty?

Masya'Allah, how true is this?  

True Reality Of A Good Character

Al-Hasan al-Basri rahimahullaah said : The true reality of good character is

Doing good to others, Withholding from harming, and Having a cheerful face...

Al-Qaadee `Iyaad said:
It is to associate with the people in a beautiful manner, to have a cheerful face, to show love for them, to show compassion for them, to tolerate the harm they cause, to be forbearing with them, to have patience upon disagreeable things, to abandon having pride or being arrogant towards them; and to avoid harshness, anger, and taking them to account.

Imaam Ahmad ibn `Umar al-Qurtubee, rahimahUllaah, (d.656 H) in his explanation of the Abridgement of Saheeh Muslim, al-Mufhim (6/116-117)

Jealous & Ungrateful Much?

“Look at those below you (less fortunate than you), and don't look at those above you, for this is better.” [Muslim]

 “True enrichment does not come through possessing a lot of wealth, but true enrichment is the enrichment of the soul.” [Bukhāri]

Marry A Practicing Muslim

• He can make you all smiles when he messages you; lifting up your gloomy mood.
• He can treat you in dining to the most expensive restaurants; just to satisfy your hunger needs
• He can accompany and offer you to carry your shopping bags; just to make sure you always there beside him
• He can surprise you with gifts; to make sure he’s the only guy that make you happy & feel appreciated.

He’s oh so sweet, gentleman and caring doesn’t? But it will be of no meaning if the He we’re talking about here aint religious or practicing the deen. Oh yes, I may sound very sarcastic, biased or antiquated to some. But really. It’s of no use getting a man that aint practicing his religion.

If you get a man whom is upon practicing his religion, then you’re lucky as it will benefit you. A man that studies about religion roughly knows the ways to treat woman in a rightful manner, provides the woman needs and teaches and guides her well.

"More women need to be infatuated by a man with an education, ambition, faith, goals & RELIGION rather than a dude with "swag".

In time to come, Swag doesn’t pay your bills."

You're Insecure, Don't Know What For.

I always come across people tweeting about them feeling insecure in Twitter especially the girls. Some of the cliché sentiments I’ve always seen/heard….

“I feel insecure after looking at pretty girls pictures at Instagram”

“Omg. That girl has slender body and thin legs. So insecure can?! ”

“Whatever the blog shop model wears, she looks so gorgeous! If I were to wear, I look no different from a garbage bag”

Insecure means having no confident or uneasy in oneself. It is due to one having a low self-esteem, depression and low self-confidence. It is not about the mental disorder but, it is a state of mind. Insecurities invade when something bad happens to a person. From someone cheating on them, teasing how ugly they are or telling one that the clothes don’t suit them. Yet again, it all lies on society. Society puts so many labels on us. When a girl wears something skimpy, society refers her in being a slut. And when she wears something all-covered up, society deems her as being antiquated. When a girl applies makeup, society considers as a plastic girl – no natural face being outshine. When a girl doesn’t wear any make-up, society judges her as being oh so lazy. Society Society… You cannot just mute their incessant talking. Even if you were to give them a lorry full of diamonds, they were still blabber about how low the values of diamonds are.

Honestly, if I hadn’t seen my friends tweeting about being insecure, I wouldn’t know the actual meaning of it. I asked myself. Why would they be insecure? Isn’t God has given us each natural beauties, talents and personalities? Every human is gifted with different things. It’s up to each individual on how to make their talent be outperformed and recognized by others. Serious talking, I’ve never ever feel insecure. Like. What for? Why must I compare myself from all those ladies out there? Shouldn’t I be appreciative and thankful for what God has given me?  Well at least, I get to breath fresh air every day, eat with my mouth and walk with my two feet.

One will never be satisfied about what God has given them if they were to always look at someone who is perfect or higher in rank. It was said that, one should take the poor as a model for them to reflect on what God has granted us all these years. Example, children in Palestine and India could not have the opportunity to breathe fresh air. It’s polluted with gases and toxics. Why must one be feeling envious about a particular model’s skinny legs? Mostly children in Africa have thin legs as they have no food to eat. We complain that a particular model could always pull off any outfits given to her, be it a sweater or plain dress. But do you know that children in Africa do not have any clothes to wear? Or maybe their clothes are torn.

 Just because you do not have a body like Victoria Secret’s model, a beautiful face like Selena Gomez or slender legs like Kate Moss, it doesn’t mean you are not good enough. Scrub off those negative thoughts and believe in the fact that the only limits that stop you are those limits that you place on yourself. How are you going to be confident when you yourself don’t love your own self?

Reading Hinna Farooq’s blog, she shared with us on what are some of the ways one could implement to drive their securities away which I thought it’s quite true.

1. Accept your flaws. After accepting your flaws no one can ever hurt you. Take me for example, I’ve accepted that I live with a lifelong skin-disorder and I absolutely love the skin I’m in, ever since I made the conscious decision to accept this, no one has ever bugged me or bullied me about it ever since and we’re talking about a girl that was constantly bullied about how ugly her skin looked.
2.  Surround yourself with people giving you good feedback, good but also genuine! This may be difficult at first but once you’ve surrounded yourself with a solid group of people giving you positive feedback then your confidence will defiantly rise up and you’ll feel so much better about yourself. 
3.  Most importantly, believe in yourself, be honest with yourself and love yourself. This links to the first point which is accepting flaws, you can only accept your flaws, if you love yourself. So learn to love yourself make a note about all the good things about you, think deeply about this and write down everything good that comes to your mind. 

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.  (Dr. Seuss)

Btw, this Hinna Farooq hails from London. Assalamu Alaykum! I’m from Singapore!  Nice reading your motivation entries!

Blessed Nisfu Syaaban

Alhamdulillah. I guess many know that on the night of Nisfu Syaaban itself, it rained the whole night. In Islamic terms, raining means mercy, which means rahmat in malay. Thanks Allah for giving us the rain. It was said that the best moment to supplicate to god is when it rains. May Allah always be with me and guide. Thanks to the guidance you have showed me. Never did I regret in turning back to where I am now.

Till the next entry. In Shaa Allah

Nabilah Said

:)

SINGLE?

It means Allah has planted special flowers in "Jannah" for your MARRIAGE;And it will blossom at the right time. In Shaa Allah.

-Ayesha Fathima-

New Islam brother.

Attended religious preach (syarahan) with Harmiriaty yesterday. Topic was about Facebook & Rasulllah s.a.w. Guest speakers were Ustaz Mohd Zain & Mr Fadzuli Wahab, the founder of Islamic Events.sg website.

Harmiriaty!

Tumblr muslimah  from TouchedSoul! I love all her reblog islamic posts! No wonder her domain name is touchedsoul. Her tumblr posts really could touch one's soul.

Never did I regret spending my Saturday night attending this meaningful & fruitful event. The were myriad of attendees and some people have no choice to listen to the preach while standing outside the room. See how eager Muslims are in hearing sermons from knowledgeable and pious people? 

And this was the first time, I ever witnessed a chinese guy converted into Islam. Alhamdulilah for the convert, Brother Andy. You really made a good and right choice in choosing Islam. May Allah s.w.t guide and bless you. Amin.

 

Till we meet again. In Sha Allah.

Nabilah Said.

Read Quran.

And yes. I found this somewhere and I thought it will be beneficial for me to share it here. I always make a point of reading Quran after my 5 times prayer. Manage to read the surah properly with properly pronunciation and intonation. Mummy advises me to not only read it but to also know the real meaning of all the Surahs. So that I will at least know what Quran has got for me in this life(Dunya) , how I can make my life more meaningful and blessed and to follow Allah's sayings and Muhammad s.a.w sunnahs. 

I haven't been updating my blueish blog religiously though. Due to some family commitments, work and time that is devoted to Allah, I think I can only post one to two posts per week. Oh well. At least I didn't totally neglect it right?! And should I post pertaining to my work here? Hmm. Shall think about it.

While I was checking and scrolling down my tweets yesterday, I found a tweet that caught my immediate attention.

"Amal ibadah yang pertama sekali diperiksa di hari kiamat adalah SOLAT".#UstAzharIdrus

Totally. Alhamdulilah, in my workplace, I manage to find one serene and clean place to pray! It's a dressing room. Really grateful that my manager allows me to do my ibadah there! YAY!So, I will have to bring extra bag to put my praying necessities in there.

So, after reading all this, have you PRAYED & read the QURAN?
If you havent, what are you waiting for? :)

Till we meet again. In'Shaa'Allah.

Nabilah Said.