Spread the Love, and Spread the Knowledge!

Assalamualaikum!

Now, we are very glad and pleasant to open the opportunity for you guys out there to join us.

Be one of the author the entries of this blog. Spread the knowledge, the love and the dakwah to open community.

This is your chance! Grab it now. Don't miss out this opportunity.

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All of the writings, depends on your own creativity.

Some of suggestion form of articles, that we can suggest are:

1. Share a video link (talk, events, dakwah films/short videos), elaborate about the main concern about the video, or lessons can be obtained through watching it.

2. Share an address link of article (from another blogs, such as Angel Pakai Gucci blog, Temetemerity blog, Ana Muzakkar blog, Muharikah website or any blogs/website/wordpress of any islamic figures),and you may want to elaborate some more.

3. Short stories!

4. Poems!

5. Common form of articles: reviewing certain issues and provide the main resources used. You may include words from Al-Qur'an and Hadiths.

6. Share any comic strips! It might be from your own or other peoples (ensure that you give credit to that people). You can include your opinion and elaborate further the issue discussed in the comic and relate them, with Islam.

Fuuhh.. Other type of form, we Think, you should find it yourself. Use your CREATIVITY.

REMEMBER:

*Any words from Al-Quran that included, must be checked to be ensure that its from the correct ayaat, and surah.

*Any words from Hadits that include, must be ensured that, it is hadiths shahih.

*If there are any violations of words used, which hurts other sensitivity, we have rights to not post it.

*After sending this form, you must know that, you are the one responsible to what you write.

Thank you again, for viewing this form! ^_^

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It's  so easy!

1. Email us your article, by uploading your article/sharing stuff. You may also upload any preferred picture which you want to use in the article (don't forget to give the link address of the picture)
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2. Make a title, with this format: [Article] Your Entry Post's Title

3. Include your personal information, by filling up this form:
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4. Alhamdulillah, you may raise your hand, and make du'a. May Allah bless our efforts. Insha-Allah.

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Ya Badrotim

Assalamualaikum. 

Just want to share this nice video. :)

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Itu Dia... Zombie

Itu Dia….Zombie!

Keadaan sekeliling suram. Awan tampak gelap. Bergerak perlahan.

Dari jauh sudah kelihatan.

Kelibat makhluk.

Jalannya terhuyung-hayang. Perlahan.

Seolah lemah tak bermaya.

Keadaannya serabai. Tidak terurus.

Dan mulut, seolah berkata sesuatu. Terkumat kamit, suara yang dalam dan halus. perlahan..

Eh, tak-tak!

Saya tidak mengambarkan perihal zombie ye. Saya hanya mengambarkan student yang sedang bersiap sedia menghadapi exam final.. walaupun sebenarnya dari jauh, dah nampak macam zombie! Wahaha..

Tak dinafikan, bila tibanya musim peperiksaan, maka banyaklah zombie-zombieakan yang dilahirkan. Seolah menjadi trend. Seolah adanya virus yang merebak!

Maaf, saya tidak merujuk zombie pada sudut fizikal ya, jika ada, tetapi merujuk pada sudut yang lebih penting. Lebih berbahaya kepada kesihatan jiwa manusia.

Iaitu,

zombie dari sudut spiritual. Sudut dalaman.

Insan yang hatinya menjadi kering.

Lebih kering dari ikan kering dengan garam extra.

Insan yang hatinya menjadi jauh. Lebih jauh dari planet Nameck di Galaksi lain.

Hati yang kering dan jauh dari Allah.

Semuanya, dek peperiksaan yang semakin dekat. Aduh.

Mengejar masa.

Ya, dek kerana tarikh exam yang sudah dekat, dan banyak perlu di’cover’, lalu syaitan membisikan, untuk mengurangkan amal-amal harian kita.

Solat sudah mulai lambat.

Quran sudah mula tak sentuh.

Solat sunat, apa tu..?

Eh surau, kat mana ek..?

Solat Jemaah? eh belum hari Jumaat lagi la. Raya pun jauh lagi.

Jatuh kerusi terduduk.

Sedikit demi sedikit, syaitan menarik kita jauh dari Allah.

Dan kita tak sedar pun.

Bahkan, kita merelakannya.

Membiarkan hati kita jauh dari merasa dan menghayati hidup sebagai Abdullah. Semuanya kerana exam.

Apa tanda-tanda hati menjadi kering dan kontang?

Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang beriman itu ialah mereka yang apabila disebut nama Allah (dan sifat-sifatNya) gementarlah hati mereka; dan apabila dibacakan kepada mereka ayat-ayatNya, menjadikan mereka bertambah iman, dan kepada Tuhan mereka jualah mereka berserah.

Al-anfal 8:2

Dia tidak merasa langsung sedikit getaran dalam hatinya.

Bahkan dia tidak merasa kesah pun akan perhubungannya dengan Allah.

Tidak kisah akan keadaan Ibadah dia sekarang.

Tujuan yang jelas.

Jadi, kunci untuk kita benar-benar mengeluarkan dri kita dari menjadi Zombie kering kontang ini adalah dengan memahami tujuan kehidupan kita.

Kenapa kita perlu memahami instead of mengetahui? Oh, pardon my rojak’s.

Kerana faham itu berbeza dari tahu. Faham itu dari hati, membuahkan perasaan dan keinginan. Tahu itu ilmu semata.

Seorang professor psychologydari University of Pennsylvania,Martin Seligmanmenjelaskanbahawasetiapmanusia mahukan kebahagiaan. Tidak mahu tidak, dia akan mencari kebahagiaan itu. Tetapi, kebahagiaan bagaimana dan apa? Allow me to describe in English ey.. Slurpp.. (sambil menghirup air teh)

“we can experience and progress to three kinds of happiness: 1) pleasure and gratification, 2) embodiment of strengths and virtues and 3) meaning and purpose. “

1.     pleasure and gratification

this kind of happiness is easy get. We watch football, we feel happy. We listen to music, we feel happy. Eat, watching drama, comedy series, hang out with friends at mamak’s etc.

But, it is transient. Only for a brief. A momentarily joy.

And thus, people will continue, on and on, searching for this momentarily joy. It’s a vicious cycle. After the joy is over,we will look for it again. And again. We would even go over the boundaries just because, the previous excitement is not so exciting anymore. We would might not becoming a human at all.

2.     embodiment of strengths and virtues

The second level of happiness is through accomplishment. We set our aim, and we strive for it. Upon accomplishment, we feel happy. We feel accomplished. Fulfil. And it will last longer than the previous one. It’s like when you have already finished cooking, or making cards, or even winning a 2 hour game. Feel  me?

3.     meaning and purpose.

But above all of these types of happiness, this is the highest. It lasted longer. Doesn’t even need any extra effort. Doesn’t need multi billion project to fulfil you. Even by a simple act you are already happy. Even by lifting rubbish from the road, is enough.

Meaning and purpose.

Jadi, dengan kita jelas dan faham akan tujuan hidup kita, kita akan lebih bahagia.

Jadi, bahagia kah kita sekarang?

Dan kita mahu mengejar kebahagiaan yang mana? Dan kepada apa?

Tujuan Kehidupan.

Kepada Allah.

51:56 – beribadat kepada Allah

2:30 – khalifah

Jadi, dengan memahami jelasnya tujuan kehidupan kita, sepatutnya, tidak menjarakkan kita dari Allah.

Bahkan, Allah telah mengingatkan kita bahawa kitadicipta, bukan main-main.

"Maka adakah patut kamu menyangka bahawa Kami hanya menciptakan kamu secara main-main sahaja, dan kamu tidak akan dikembalikan kepada Kami?"

Al- Mu’minun 23:115

Bahkan kita dicipta dengan tujuan.

Jadi, dalam kita menjadi hamba Allah ini, bukan hanya 5 kali sehari ketika bersolat. Habis sahaja bersolat, maka kita bukan hamba Allah. Lalu pergaulan kita, makanan, pakaian, bahasa percakapan,post di Facebook kita seolah tiada kaitan dengan Ibadat.Tetapi sebenarnya, seluruh hidup kita itu, bertujuan untuk beribadat kepada Allah.

Dalam setiap perkara yang kita lakukan..

Setiap perkara.

Ketahuilah, kehidupan sebagai seorang pelajar, menduduki peperiksaan, adalah satu dari fasa-fasa hidup yang wajib kita lalui. Sebagaimana kita telah pun melalui fasa kanak-kanak dan remaja.

Jadi, menyedari ini adalah fasa kehidupan yang perlu kita lalui, maka kenapa kita menjalaninya dalam keadaan kita melupakan tujuan asal penciptaan kita?

Kita Abdullah, sebelum exam, selepas exam, ketika tiada langsung exam.

So what is your excuse for taking your Ibadah lightly just for the sake of exam..?

Mula awal

Jadi, perjalanan dalam menjadi Abdullah, harus dimulakan awal.

Biasakan diri dengan ibadah-ibadah sunat. Baca ayat-ayat cinta Allah. Banyakkan berada dalam suasana yang baik.

Ya, ia boleh jadi lambat. Tetapi itu lebih baik dari tak buat.

Kerana cinta itu kata kerja. Bukan kata nama.

Bekerjalah dalam mencintai Allah.

You will find your happily-ever-after life, here in Dunia.

Senyum. 

Again, pardon my rojak’s..

Salam.

Written by: Zulhafifi Bin Dzulkafli

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SUDILAH KIRANYA ENGKAU

SUDILAH KIRANYA ENGKAU...MEMANDANGKU DENGAN PANDANGAN RAHMAT & KASIH SAYANGMU...

Seorang pemuda yg resah gelisah hatinya kerana dosa lalu, singgah di surau kecil berdekatan kolejnya. 

Kelihatan kelibat seorang pak cik tua, bersih pakaiannya, jernih air mukanya sedang menunaikan solat fardhu Zohor. Lantas si pemuda pendosa menurutinya sebagai makmum.

Usai solat, si pemuda memberanikan diri bertanya bagi meleraikan kekusutan hati,

"Pak cik...saya ada satu kemusykilan, yg sekian lamanya menghantui sanubari. Saya selalu berbuat dosa yg saya tak mampu ungkapkan, dan saya juga sudah selalu ingin memperbaiki diri. Solat, Qur'an, taubat SEMUA sudah saya lakukan! Namun, saya masih tewas dgn hasutan.."

Pak cik bermuka jernih memandangnya dgn penuh makna, seraya membuka bibir menuturkan perkataan penuh makna,

"Wahai pemuda, utk benar2 berhenti dari dosa dan noda memang tidak mudah, dan memerlukan pengorbanan tak terperi sebagai seorg insan. Pak cik nak tanya boleh?"

"Apa pak cik nak tanyakan dari saya?"

"...adakah engkau istiqamah dgn solatmu?"

Pemuda menjawab,

"Ya, itu satu2nya amal saya yg paling terjaga. Sekurang2nya saya tak pernah lagi meninggalkannya. Cuma mungkin sekali-sekala terlepas waktunya."

Pak cik misteri merenung anak mata si pemuda dalam2. Ah! Dia masih terlalu muda, utk disia2kan. Ummah memerlukannya!
 

"Wahai pemuda, jikalau demikian maka apa yg dapat pak cik nasihatkan, PERBAIKILAH AKAN SOLATMU, DAN TINGKATKANLAH MUTUNYA. Mudah-mudahan Allah SWT membuka jalan ke arah kebebasanmu dari belenggu lalu dgn amalmu yg satu!"

Si pemuda terkesima. Memang ringkas solusinya, bahkan mampu utk dirinya nan kerdil. Belum pernah dia menerima nasihat seringkas tapi penuh makna sebegini, dari seorg hamba Allah yg misteri. Hatinya berbaur haru dan gembira, kerna mungkin inilah caranya!

Dia terimbas kembali sebuah hadis yg dipelajari waktu persekolahannya, tika hatinya masih suci. Sebuah hadis disampaikan Nabi SAW yg mulia. Allah SWT tidak akan sesekali membebankan hambaNya, dan tidak sesekali Dia meninggalkannya. Apabila hambaNya menghampiriNya dgn berjalan, maka Dia, akan berlari menghampirinya. 

Dalam lamunannya tanpa tepi, si pemuda terlupa mengucapkan terima kasih kepada si pak cik misteri. Tersentak dari lamunan, dia berpaling- tapi si hamba Allah yg membantunya yakin dgn rahmat infiniti Ilahi itu, telahpun berangkat pergi.

Siapakah dia?...Semoga Allah merahmatinya. 

Sesaat pertemuan, seribu kenangan. Sebuah kisah bukan rekaan. Dari seorg teman.

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Dalam mengubah diri, ISTIQAMAH ialah kuncinya. Beramal sesuai kemampuan, tapi sentiasa menanam azam, utk menaiktarafkan. 

Semoga akhirnya Dia memandangku, dgn pandangan rahmat & kasih sayangNya...

~Written by : Amirul Arif Yaakub.~

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The Circle Of Life

Peace be upon you brothers and sisters. May Allah bless all of you. To our brothers and sisters who have taken and will be taking their examinations, I would like to wish all of you a good luck and may all of you succeed with flying colours.J

Dear brothers and sisters,

Have a look at our own lives, we frequently complain at every little thing? We might think that our lives are more distressing and pity compared to our friends or relatives. Why are they wealthy? Why am I so unlucky? Is this my fate of life? Indeed, we always view the contrary whenever we see successful people. Having this kind of thoughts makes us give up easily and assume that this is our destiny while we actually have no knowledge about it at all. Therefore, it is important to realise that our fate is in the hands of Allah, who is All-Knowing. Allah knows what best for us. If we do not get what we have planned and worked for, there must be hikmah behind it. This is because Allah has a better plan for us in the future or the hereafter. Yet as a Muslim, we should strive for the best, work hard and always pray to Allah after that. This is what we call as tawakkal. The question is how we can get a good destiny? In this blog, I would like to share a few steps on how we could change our destiny with Allah’s will.

Prayer &Doa’

This is one of the first things that we must always bear in our mind as a Muslim. Performing five times prayers in a day is the second pillar of Islam after reciting the two Syahadahs. It is vital for a Muslim to obey Allah’s commands by accomplishing all the five pillars. Besides performing prayers, another act that can change the qada’ and qadar with Allah’s will is doa’.

According to Tsauban R.A, the Prophet says, “Nothing can resist the fate besides prayer”. - Authentic hadith narrated by IbnHibban in his Sahih. (Agreed upon by al-Zahabiauthencity).

Hence, there is no excuse for us to stop praying to Allah. Furthermore, Allah has listed out a few times and places where doa’s is certainly fulfilled (Mustajab). This shows that Allah has a full of compassion on us and He is indeed the Most Merciful.

Good Deeds

Sometimes, doing something for the benefits of ourselves is not good enough. What we should be reminded is that we must always perform good deeds for the others such as charity. Though, the easiest way to be a generous person is by volunteering in any community services or by just helping the unfortunates. Allah loves people who are willing to sacrifice their work and time for other people’s convenience. By doing this, insyaAllah we will be rewarded with pahala.

This is based on the hadith narrated by Anas bin Malik, saying that the Prophet said: “The charity is able to suppress the wrath of al-Rabb (Allah).” Hadith narrated by Tirmidhi no. 664.

HusnuZon (Having Good Intention) of Allah and Others

At some point in our lives, we might have met people who keep blaming Allah whenever they had a misfortune. To them, Allah does not love them anymore or Allah has acted unfairly to them, and many other excuses. It is absolutely irrational for us to blame Allah for whatever we encounter in our lives. Do keep this in our mind; has Allah not given us enough? We should be grateful since Allah has created us and given us a life. Most importantly, born as a Muslim is one of the biggest awards that Allah has had ever conferred us. Also, we should always have good intention not only to Allah but other people as well.

The Prophet says:"Do notdie unless youare husnuzon(good intention) ofGod." -AuthenticHadithnarrated by Muslim, Ahmadandal-Bayhaqi.

I would like to share a story about an ordinary young lady who has a bad perception towards a young man in a railway station which takes place in the U.K. This lady is on her way to her hometown. While waiting for the train to come, she gets herself a newspaper to do the crossword, a cup of coffee and a packet of cookies. As she goes and sits on a bench, a perfect ordinary-looking young man sits beside her, wearing a business suit and carrying a briefcase.

At first, the lady does not notice anything weird in that man. Suddenly, the man leans to his left and picks up the packet of cookies, tears it open, takes one out, and has a bite of it. What she does is has a look at the newspaper, takes a sip of coffee, tries to do the crossword as she cannot do anything. What do you think happens next? She will just have to go for it and there she tries very hard not to notice the fact that the packet is already mysteriously opened. She takes out a cookie for herself. She thinks, that will settle the man. But it is not because a moment or two later, the man does it again. He takes another cookie.

He takes one, she takes one, he takes one, and she takes one. It feels like a lifetime. Finally, when they get to the end, the man stands up and walks away. Well, they exchange meaningful looks then he walks away, and the lady breathes a sigh of relief and sits back. A moment or two later the train is coming in, so she tosses back the rest of her coffee, stands up, picks up the newspaper, and underneath the newspaper are her cookies. As she notices her cookies, she feels embarrassed as she is the one eating the man’s cookies.

Hence, this shows us that having good intention of others is essential and this helps us build rapport with other people and become a respectful person.

Effort & Hard work

Last but not least, we could change our fate of life by effort and hard work. We must not solely depend on chances or luck for us to get what we want. If our first attempt doesn’t work, try to find a new way to reach to the top and never give up if we ever fail. Many people in this world from the past had shown to us that hard work really pays. For instance, our Prophet Muhammad S.A.W never gave up preaching the people about Islam. He is the best role model that we have in Islam. There is no reason for us to never put an effort in order to become successful.

There is a saying that journey to a million miles begins with a single step. So, start your journey by setting a goal in every single thing that you do. Always begin with basmallahand remember Allah once you are at the top.InsyaAllah you will succeed.

At that’s it for this time, thank you for willing to spend your time reading this article. I hope it benefits you. Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

Written by,

Muhammad Anwar bin Azrin

Bureau of Economy

MSOC 2013/2014

 "One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter"

- James Earl Jones

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From A Reader: The Arts Of Being Happy

Assalamualaikum :)

Hi. I’m one of the MSOC-blog’s readers. And when I read the recent post on "the art of being happy" I smiled to myself as I too seem to have forgotten that I shouldn’t be putting conditions to be happy and because that’s exactly what I’m doing right now.

“If only I can finish covering all the systems, go through all the past year papers AND remember everything during my 1^st Professional Exam, I would be the happiest person on earth”

And to make things worse, I was reminded of a post I wrote some time ago (about happiness. Attached below), claiming how I *rarely* put conditions to be happy.

Duh. What a hypocrite. I’m basically putting lots and lots of conditions to be happy now.

If I can get a Secret Recipe cake, if we (me and my housemates) can borrow Arman’s oven, if I can get Pnut’s camera for a day, if my pieces can get published, if I can get a really good cup of coffee and of course, the exam one.

And as I read my post back, I realized that what we all need is – a constant reminder. Thanks for the post as it technically brought me back to being happy, just with what I have.

Working hard for exam and all the other things in life is kind of a necessity but it’s also something else. Not a condition to be happy. (Someone should explain that in another post).

Well. Below is my post about happiness *with some editing*. Hope it’s beneficial, insyaAllah.
(originally posted at http://thefinaldefence.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/o-e/ on Mar 8,2012) 

…..
Title: O.E.

Okay. Now, I would like to story-morry about how to be happy. Not that I don’t have my own downs, my sad times, my gloomy days. Almost every day would be my bad-tudung-day (if my tudung isn’t folded –if you know what I mean-, then you should know that it's a BTD!). But then, I believe that despite all, I have more happy times than sad ones, Alhamdulillah.

How?

Easy, just appreciate everything you have.

The idea of appreciating everything hit me hard when I always listen to my chemistry lecturer (Madam –now Dr.- Shanti) saying ,
"You must appreciate this formula,". And, I’ll go  "(??)How do you “appreciate” a formula – ‘cuz after all it’s a FOR-MU-LA?".

Truth is, till today I don’t know if what I understood from what she said is actually what she was trying to say. Anyway, I believe there'retonnes of ways of APPRECIATING.

The last time I played “AciLigan” (a game where you have to run and catch your friends or run away from your friend who's supposed to catch you) was when I was 12 and that was one game I shall not forget to the dayI die (well, unless i got amnesia or Alzheimer’s). The suspense, thrill and ‘heart attack’ it can give you is simply awesome. I loved it. So, after A-Level the other day, after sets of badminton games, I played this game with a friend. It was brief though – for a very short period. But I was contented.

I haven’t ride on a motorbike for years. When my uncle took me on his bike the few days ago, I was super-delighted! Like super-super-super happy you know! I don't understand it myself. I mean, okay I was on a bike, so? No no, it was not JUST, because it was SO awesome. How it feels when you have always been in a car, or bus when travelling? You see everything through the window (opened or closed). It is so different when I put the helmet on, with the plastic shield covering part of my face. I'd lift that up,I don't want anything to block my view of the beautiful scenery that seems so near yet so far and better still, while I’m moving! The air moving fast, thinking of whether I hit the air or did it hit me, it made me feel so much better than standing in front of a fan on a very hot day. It is really cool that you can feel the invisible gases that make up the air hitting your skin. The lights from the various cars and buildings, the noise and sounds they made, the thick black sky that changes in pattern and colour as we move. It was like a roller coaster ride (ignore the fact that I never ride on a roller coaster).  I was happy. Full stop.

Yeah, those are the two things (from many others)which I am happy for. I have wonderful friends who never stop annoying me, that's bliss. I mean, how many people get friends to fight but don't end up being enemies? See what I mean?

It's all about looking at things the right way. Some people say your mood depends on what you did in the morning ie how you start your day. Well, it might be true but I don't stick to that. You did something wrong? You feel bad? Ah-ha! You realized it already? Nah, start changing, now! The day has not ended yet. :)

If you set yourself conditions to be happy, then it might be too difficult to be happy. "I'll be happy when all the debts are paid" "I'll be happy if only I get all As" "I'll be happy when I move to a new home"

These 'when's and 'if's are very uncertain. How can you achieve anything when you're not happy working towards it?

It is difficult to be happy when everything seems to be going against you. But being happy despite all means being grateful to Allah subhanahuwata'ala continuously. It's hard, but it's possible.

So everyone, be happy. If you know the true meaning of it, life will be so much easier, MasyaAllah.

See ya!

Oh, by the way, O.E. stands for Over Excited. :)

The writer is (as she claims)an avid bloggerwho loves to write her mind out. Feel free to check out her site at http://thefinaldefence.wordpress.com/ . Comments and ideas are most welcome.

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The Art of Being Happy

The Art of Being Happy

I was recently asked by my non-Muslim friend, what makes you feel happy in this life. That’s easy! Of course I have lots of reasons to be happy. The list are long, to put them in words, it’s pretty hard though. And I do feel that this topic is of paramount importance especially in this era where many people are suffering from melancholy at some point in their life.

credit to google image

What is Happiness?

 “Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy”-Wikipedia definition. And most of us would think that we would be “happy” if we were able to obtain some life achievement (being a doctor, own a mansion, married to a perfect person) or that our happiness would disappear if we failed in exam, chased by Ah Long.. err etc etc)

But psychologists have found that happiness is a state that we can cultivate, that does not have to be permanently affected by the things that happen to us externally. The more we work on our happiness, the easier it is to come back to it after times of hardship.

Thus, happiness is not simply a giddy feeling that we get now and then. It is something more of what we can be described as a general state of contentment, or redha.

Sa’ad bin Abi Waqqas, radi Allahu `anhu  (may God be pleased with him), who is one of the ten Companions promised paradise, said to his son: “If you ask for wealth, then ask for contentment to accompany it. If contentment does not accompany it, then no money will satisfy you.”

We all want that contentment, and lets work for it by following the guides given by Alllah from the Quran.

How to be happy

1.      Gratefulness: We are told in the Qur’an: “And if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful” (Qu’ran, 18:18). MasyaAllah, indeed we are blessed by ni’mat given by Him but we keep on complaining to get this and that. Thus, instead of focusing on what we do not have, or the negative things that happened to us in a day, we should focus on what we have been given.

2.      Optimism: He teaches us to be optimistic even in times of distress, when He says, “So verily, with the hardship, there is relief. Verily, with the hardship, there is relief,” (Qur’an, 94:5-6). Every hardship comes with at least two reliefs, so focus on the good that Allah (swt) gave you to help overcome the bad. Moreover, we are also reminded “But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not,” (Qur’an, 2:216). Being optimistic means not seeing simply the hardship, but what could be behind the hardship in terms of lessons, and seeing that it could be a good thing.

3.      Purpose: A recent UCLA study showed that the happiness that comes from having a deep sense of meaning and purpose in life can contribute to favorable gene-expression profiles. When you know what you are pursuing, it makes everything worth it? We all know we were sent worship God, (Qur’an:51:56) and to become the caliphs in this world (qur’an:2:30), thus these purpose of life will make our life worth to live in.

4.      Love: We all have people that love us and we have people that we love. Fostering a  good relationships with our family and friends will definitely bring happiness to our life. Because it is not only a duty, but also something that enriches our life.

Practical Tips

This is a list that might help:-

1. Realize that happiness is truly from within.
2. Build hope and faith in Allah, and develop your relationship with Him: Study His Names, focus on connecting to Him through your prayers, reflect over the Qur’an and have secret good deeds that no one knows about but Him.
3. Develop yourself: Prophet ﷺ said that wisdom is the lost property of the believer, so we should be seeking wisdom in all its forms.
4. Smile: It’s a sunnah (tradition of the Prophet ﷺ)
5. Do good: There are countless ahadeeth (sayings of the Prophet) that encourage us to do good for others, without expecting anything for ourselves.

6. Express gratitude: “If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor],” (Qur’an, 14:7). You will be given more—materially—but also spiritually. There will be barakah, which means increase.
7. Good friends: The Prophet ﷺ taught us that “A good friend and a bad friend are like a perfume-seller and a blacksmith: The perfume-seller might give you some perfume as a gift, or you might buy some from him, or at least you might smell its fragrance. As for the blacksmith, he might singe your clothes, and at the very least you will breathe in the fumes of the furnace,” (Bukhari).
8. Develop a relationship with your family: The Prophet ﷺ tells us, “The best of you are those who are best to their families,” (Tirmidhi).
9. Take a break: Do you like knitting? Maybe take time out and watch a documentary. Play martial arts. Do some yoga. Go out for coffee. Chill in the park. This is not haraam and is not considered a waste of time if we are being balanced (and as long as the thing itself is not haraam).
10. Sleep well:. When a man came to the Prophet ﷺ saying that he prayed all night long, the Prophet ﷺ  reminded him that his body and his family had rights over him. In the Qur’an, we are taught that Allah (swt) “…made your sleep [a means for] rest, And made the night as clothing, And made the day for livelihood” (78:9-11).

11. Eat well: Allah (swt) says: “O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess” (Qur’an, 7:31).
12. Be fit
13. Have discipline: Jaber bin Abdullah (ra), one of the companions, was carrying a piece of meat. “Umar saw him and said, ‘What is this Jaber?’ To which Jaber replied ‘I desired some meat so I bought it.’ Umar looked at him and said ‘And do you buy whatever you desire?’”

May Allah grant us happiness in this dunya and hereafter. Aminnn.

Tips taken from Suhaibbwebb.com

-Written by Fitrahana Sururi (3rd Sem Medical Student).

-28th October 2013.

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Eid-ul-Adha

Peace upon to you my brothers and sisters. Alhamdulillah, thank God that today we still live in Islam. May Allah always bless us and pour out forgiveness to all of us. As we acknowledge, we will be celebrating Aidiladha next week. As many are aware, it is one of the biggest and most important events in the annual Muslim calendar.

            Eid-ul-Adha is  the  Muslim festival that marks the end of the pilgrimage to Makkah  known as Hajj. Eid-ul-Adha is also known as the “Feast of Sacrifice,”and it commemorates Prophet Ibrahim’s faith and devotion to God.

According to Islam, God asked Ibrahim to sacrifice his son, and although he was a good man and loved his son very much; his faith and devotion to God was strong enough that he would accommodate God’s request. Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his own son for God caused God to spare his son’s life in which a lamb was sacrificed in his place.

Islam encourages us to be ever willing to sacrifice in the name of God and actually sacrifice can come in many forms such as time, energy, and material. And we should realise that sacrifice is not only limited on the day of Aidiladha but should be practice in our daily life as our devotion to God.

This is mentioned in verse 2 of Surah al-Kauthar in the Quran: "Therefore to thy Lord turn in prayer and sacrifice."

            Indeed, the true apotheosis of qurban goes beyond the sacrificing of animals. In the context of contemporary society, we need people who are willing to come forward to help others in need.

            The act of qurban should be extended to our everyday lives in the form of altruistic acts. One form of altruism is organ and tissue donation. In Malaysia, the number of organ pledges has increased over the years.

            We as muslim in Malaysia should be aware the majority of the pledges in Malaysia are from non-Muslim and in fact many Muslims are those who are waiting for the organ donations. However, many Muslims are still reluctant to do this donation although National Fatwa Committee has deliberated way back in 1970 that organ donation is permissible in Islam. This reluctance may be the result of a lack of information, lack of understanding or pure selfishness. Nevertheless, we should keep in mind that the reward for saving other people's lives is also significant in the eyes of Islam.

 This is stated in verse 32 of Surah al-Maidah where God says to the effect: "If anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people."

            We should keep in mind that doing service for humanity is one of the greatest ways we can show our devotion to Allah. Allah likes it so much when we help others that He forgives us our sins for something as simple as moving some thorns out of the path where people walk. Allah grants His forgiveness to those who sacrifice of themselves to help the victims of misfortune.

Abû Hurayrah quotes the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying: “A man was going on his way when he saw brambles in the path. He moved these out of the way. Allah so esteemed his virtuous act that He granted him forgiveness." [Sahih Muslim] The main lesson to draw from this hadith is the prayers and other ritual acts of worship that we perform are fruitless unless we engage in the service of humanity.

The value of helping others is a universal truth, because Allah does not ignore the person who makes sacrifices in the service of fulfilling people's needs. We as Muslims should try to cultivate the habit of giving service to humanity, seeking only Allah's pleasure and His reward in the Hereafter. J

Editted by : NOR AZLIN BINTI MUSTAPA

ACADEMIC AND TARBIYAH BUREAU

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

Based on articles in official portal of INSTITUT KEFAHAMAN ISLAM MALAYSIA (IKIM) and Islam Today Website.

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