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CULTIVATING ONE'S CHARACTER

'A believer plants a palm tree and fears that thorns will grow'

We have to constantly search our behavior to insure its consistency with that of the believers.

While walking in the market not so long ago, I happened to see a group of foreign Muslim sisters heading my way. Needless to say I was very happy, because it is not often that I run across other Muslim women when out and about.

From the manners of giving the salams, I greeted them first. To my dismay, they all looked at me from the top of my khimar-clad head to where my Abaya (outer garment) pooled around my feet with a look of total disgust, and walked away without uttering a word in response. I was so hurt and shocked that all I could do was stand there with my mouth wide open behind my niqab.

It never ceases to amaze me how many of us claim to follow the Qur'an and Sunnah, yet our actions are in total contradiction to what we say we believe. It was part of the manners of those who lived with the Prophet, Sal-lallahu alayhe wasallam, that they would constantly search their thoughts, hearts and behaviors, to make sure they were consistent with those of the believers, and to discard those things which were characteristic of the hypocrites.

For Allah Ta'ala says, "They say, 'We believe in Allah and in the apostle, and we obey:' but even after that, some of them turn away: they are not (really) believers." [24:47]

Along with this, Allah Ta'ala paints for us a complete picture of the believers when He says, "Those who turn (to Allah) in repentance; that serve Him, and praise Him; that wander in devotion to the cause of Allah; that bow down and prostrate themselves (in salah); that enjoin good and forbid evil; and observe the limits set by Allah - so proclaim the good tidings to the believers." [9:112]

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"...How can I cover what Allah has blessed me with of silky soft hair and captivating beauty?..."

Get on the train of repentance my sister, before it passes by your station. Deeply consider my sister, what is happening today before tomorrow comes. Think, my sister - starting now.

All praise is due to Allah Ta'aala as is deserved by His Majesty and Great Power. I send prayers and ask for blessings upon His Noble Messenger who drew the path for us to the pleasure of Allah and His Jannah. This path is a straight one that is surrounded by virtue from all sides and attends to the best moral characteristics which are increased by the clothing of purity, concealment, and chastity. It is the path trod by the two halves of human society, namely the man and the woman, toward harmonious contentment and happiness in this life and the Hereafter.

This is precisely why the Protector, the blessed and above all imperfection, has made wearing hijaab an obligation upon the woman as a safeguard of her chastity and protection of her honor and sign of her faith (Eemaan). It is on account of this that societies (both Muslim and non-Muslim) that have distanced themselves from the way of Allah and deviated from His straight path, are ill societies in need of treatment that will lead them to recovery and happiness.

Among the pictures that point to the distance of society from that path and that make clear the level of its deviation and separation from it is the open spread of women not just uncovering their faces but enhancing and making a display of their beauty. We find that, regretfully, this is commonly manifested in Islamic (Muslim) society despite the fact Islamic clothing is also widespread (and available). So then, what are the reasons that have led to this digression?

We put this question to a varied group of women from whom we derived ten major excuses and upon examination and scrutiny, the frailty of the excuses became evident to us.

Stay with us dear Muslim sister in these few lines so that we can know through them the reasons for turning away from the hijaab and then discuss each:

Excuse One: I'm not yet convinced (of the necessity) of hijaab.

We then ask this sister two questions:

One: Is she truly convinced of the correctness of the religion of Islam?

The natural answer is: Yes, she is convinced, for she responds "Laa ilaaha illallah!" (There is no God but Allah), meaning she is convinced of the 'aqeedah, and then she says: "Muhammadun rasoolullah!" (Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah), meaning by that that she is convinced of its legislation or law (sharee'ah). Therefore, she is convinced of Islam as a belief system and a law by which one governs and rules her life.

Two: Is the hijaab then a part of Islamic Law (sharee'ah) and an obligation?

If this sister is honest and sincere in her intention and has looked into the issue as one who truly wants to know the truth her answer could only be: "Yes". For Allah ta'aala, Whose Divinity (Uloohiyyah) she believes in has commanded wearing hijaab in His Book (Al-Qur'aan); and the noble Prophet, ('alaihi salaat wa salaam) whose message she believes in, has commanded wearing the hijaab in his sunnah.

What do we call a person who says they believe in and are content with the correctness of Islam but who nonetheless does not do what Allah or His Messenger have ordered? Certainly they can in no way be described as those whom Allah speaks of in this aayah:

The only saying of the faithful believers when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them is that they say 'we hear and obey' and such are the successful. [Soorah An-Noor 24:51]

In summary: If this sister is convinced of Islam, how then can she not be convinced of its orders?

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Ways to Stay Proactive for Single Muslimahs | Productive Muslim

"Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You are over all things competent." [Qur'an: Chapter 66, Verse 8]

We all wish to marry and settle down with a comforting partner in our lives. Especially women. They begin to hope and dream of a husband usually during their teens. The budding desire to have half our deen completed as soon as possible is quite strong in women. Women want to have a spouse who practically makes her life incredible with each passing moon, and kids who make her home a heaven. Truly, which woman wouldn't want a picture perfect family in her life?
Every female wants this dream. And with this desire, comes a pressure for many Muslim females i.e., getting married at a youthful age. That's right. While men do not deal with this pressure, many women do. The younger, the better.
On the other hand this tradition often leads towards too many low self-esteem points for single sisters out there who haven't found their other half yet and feel like they are either forever alone or forever destined to be single.
Soon, they begin to develop serious depression as they watch their friends and even younger peers get married. Many are even left feeling like their youth is wasted if they are not married while they are young.
This article is penned down as a gift and advice from one single sister for her other single single sisters out there who are feeling down and need help to see the light of iman. I hope that you can gain wisdom from this and beat the obstacles to being productive, as Islam inspires us to do.
Identify the Negative Thoughts That's Bringing You Down
The first and most foremost step is to realise the basic things that disturb you regarding your single marital status. Then using Hikmah, overcome that notion with a highly productive and halal thing in life to turn your sad days into blissful ones.
I have listed below major thoughts that come to mind and lure us towards negativity. Hunt them down, sisters - with antidotes! - before they hunt you down.

1   What good I am if am not married in youthful age?
2 Oh! What would become of me if I cross 25! I'll get even older.
3   How will I enjoy my life if I am not married soon?
4   Oh no! What would my relatives say! She finished her studies but she's still not married?!
5   Why has Allah (glorified and exalted be He) put me through this?
6   I have to hunt a husband soon or I'll be too old to get married one day.
7   Am I not pretty?
8   I am a failure.
9   Maybe I should give up the hijab!

10.  And so on.

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In this deadline-demanding, rat race society, it seems like we’re pushed to run and run everyday beyond our capacity. Suddenly, one day passes like an hour, and an hour seems like a passing mosquito. But now, instead of making stress a scary green monster that’s ready to eat you alive, we’re going to find out how to manage stress and keep it under control.

1. Address the Root Problem
What would you do if suddenly in the middle of night, your fire alarm rings? Would you switch off the alarm and go back to sleep? Of course not! You’ll search the house and try to find the source and spring into action to douse it out.
Likewise, your stress. You don’t just slap a “this too shall pass” attitude then turn on the TV comedy show to distract yourself from the problem. Stress is merely a smoke, and fanning the smoke alone won’t save your house from the fire.
Now do a quick contemplation: write down the things that stress you. Stuff you have to accomplish, including those you must do but you’re just “finding no time” to do. Just write them all down, from big stuff like “I want to publish a novel!” to something as trivial as giving your cat a bath. This is only the start. Next you’ll have to:

2. Reassess Your Priorities
The cause of stress is typically poor self management and time management. Very often, we get mixed up between which stuff needs a higher priority than others. We lack self discipline and try to do several things at once or end up switching between tasks because the others are not desirable enough to do. We end up getting lazy and procrastinate, opting to rush within the last minutes.
In one of the productivity seminars I attended, the coach inserted some pebbles to a jar. He inserted all the bigger pebbles first, then the smaller ones, then the sand, until the jar was full. He asked the participants, “What message can you get from this?”.
“You can multi-task in between your schedule”, one participant replied.
“No”, he answered. “The message is: you must prioritize your bigger goals first, the bigger pebbles. If you inserted all the sand first, or the smaller pebbles, there wouldn’t be enough room for the bigger pebbles.
“Likewise, your time. If you keep wasting it for insignificant goals, you’ll lose your valuable asset for life, and you’ll lose in the long term.
“What is your bigger goal in life? How do you treat and value your time according to it?”