بِسْــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِالرَّحْمَنِ اارَّحِيم
In the name of Allah Most Compassionate, Most Merciful
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Assalamualaikum wrh ^^
So, finally I iz back after a long hiatus. So sorry, the beginning of a new semester always consumes a lot of time and energy.
"To change is not to be someone else. To change is to be the best version of yourself" - Aiman Azlan
If you have read both Change 1.0 and Change 2.0, and would like to only continue where you left off, click here
or
If you'd like to start from the very beginning, below are the 'steps' and the summary for each cos I know sometimes I babble too much hehe. Click 'read more' for the full version ;)
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First step: Realising the purpose of your life
So, what is the purpose of life? Mine used to be to find my prince charming and live happily ever after. No kidding, I used to have a nice long list of my 'Dream Guy' lulz. But that was before my epiphany, before I realised there's totally more to life than chasing a supposedly 'true love' from my supposedly 'prince charming', or getting good grades, getting a good job, getting married, having a family.. then what, right? The true answer?
"I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve(worship) Me" [Quran 51:56]
Our whole life should be an ibadah for Him, from the moment we wake up, to our class, to the cafe, and back to our bed, it should be all because of Him, because we want to find His blessings in all that we do. How? By having intention (tajdid niat) lillahi taala(:
The second purpose,
"Behold, your Lord said to the angels: 'I will create a vicegerent(khalifah) on earth'..." [Quran 2:30]Here's another task of ours. To be a khalifah. Which means to be a leader on this Earth. One that leads another to good and forbids another of an evil conduct. Because we wouldn't want to be living in Jannah alone, would we? We'd want to bring as many of our beloved family and friends together with us, in sha Allah :)
Read the full version?
Second step: Find friends who can help you with your change.
It's always so much easier to do something when everyone around you is doing it too, no? Once you're feeling down, there's always that support system, pulling you back up on your feet at just the right moment. So these are the friends you should be looking for. Ukhuwwah fillah is the most wondrous thing, you've only known the person for a few minutes, but that bond feels so special and strong, because it is solely because of Allah. Uhibbukunna fillah, abadan abada ♥ [Awwwww hehe]
Read the full version?
Third step: Do what has been made compulsory to you
Never ever leave what Allah has made compulsory to us, i.e. To pray 5 times a day, to fast in the month of Ramadan, to pay zakat etc. But I'd only like to stress on the first one. Prayer. Because we all know that our prayers will be the first thing to be asked by Allah on The Day of Judgement. Always pray on time, if possible as soon as it is due. Try to be khusyuk in prayers. Try to pray in jamaah as often as possible. Hopefully when we try to do our best in the deed that Allah loves most, which is the 5 obligatory prayers, in sha Allah He will ease our transition to a better person. (:
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Fourth step: Own, read, practise & love the Quran (Translation)
"Our life is just an open-book test" So read the book! The Quran is actually just a collection of love letters from our Creator, the biggest miracle that's been bestowed upon our beloved Rasulullah s.a.w. We will be rewarded by simply looking at the Al-Quran, what more if we read, try to understand and practice it in our daily lives. Honestly, nothing acts as the best antidote for me whenever my spirit or iman is in bad shape. It will always be a verse of the Quran.
So let's love our Quran :)
Read the full version?
Fifth step: Do nafl (sunat) deeds
There is this one very interesting hadith Qudsi
"My slave continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory (nafl/sunat) deeds so that I will love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask (something) of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant it to him" [Fath al-Baari]
What can be more beautiful and worthwhile than to be loved by Allah? :')
Sixth Step: Increase our Knowledge of the Deen
Rasulullah s.a.w said "....Verily, the eminence of an ‘Alim over a devout worshipper is that of the full moon over the stars." [Narrated by Abu Darda']
Sabda Rasulullah S.a.w: “ Seseorang yang alim itu lebih kuat pengaruhnya atas syaitan daripada seribu abid (yang tidak alim) [Hadith riwayat At-Tarmizi, ibn Majah]This clearly means that we not only have to solely do ibadah to Allah, we need to have knowledge to go along with it too!
Read the full version?
Seventh step: Leaving our old 'jahiliyyah'
Everyone has their old demons. Whether or not it's still haunting us up til this day, is totally up to us to decide. There's no such thing as 'I can't help myself' or 'It simply takes over me' because we are in control of ourselves. We decide whether or not to stop doing something. Yes, it is hard, undoubtedly so. But then again, it's worth it, I promise (in shaa Allah).
And remember, He is the Al-Ghaffur (Most Forgiving) and the Ar-Raheem (Most Merciful) :')
'But without doubt, I am He that forgives again & again to those who repent, believe & do right & are ready to receive true guidance' - Al-Quran [20:82]
"And My mercy encompasses all things" - Al-Quran [7 : 156]Read the full version?
Eighth step: Istiqamah
Be constant. So often we try to change but then we return to our old state. Nauzubillahminzalik.
For this we need to be constant in all that we do and be careful not to slide back to our old jahiliyyah. Remember why we wanted to change in the first place. Remember, you're never alone. Allah will help you throughout the journey, in shaa Allah :D
Read the full version? To the bottom of the post?
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Fifth step: Do nafl (sunat) deeds There is this one very interesting hadith Qudsi
"My slave continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory deeds so that I will love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask (something) of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant it to him" [Fath al-Baari]
What can be more beautiful and worthwhile than to be loved by Allah? :')
So what do I mean by nafl deeds? There are loads; Solat Sunat Dhuha, Solat Sunat Rawatib (before and after obligatory prayers), Solat Sunat Witir, Tahajjud etc etc. Even reading the Quran or Ma'thurat is a nafl deed. But stress not, you need not begin to do it all at once.
Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "The best loved deeds to Allah are the ones that are continuous(istiqamah) even if they are not very many." [Bukhari and Muslim]Even something as simple as saying 'Bismillahirrahmanirahim' everyday before wearing your shoes, if done continuously, can bring about the love of Allah. Isn't He the sweetest? :')
But of course, nothing beats the feeling of closeness to Allah as to when we wake up in the quiet of the night only to pray to Him. And in that moment, it is only you and Him, no one else. At that moment, you can feel His love overwhelming you all over. Masya-Allah. Allahu Allah..
Here's a list my darling Akak Naqibah made for us during the holidays. [Click here] Simply a list of nafl deeds that one might consider to practice in one's everyday life, in sha Allah. May Allah ease :)
Sixth Step: Increase our Knowledge of the Deen
Rasulullah s.a.w said "....Verily, the eminence of an ‘Alim over a devout worshipper is that of the full moon over the stars." [Narrated by Abu Darda']
Sabda Rasulullah S.a.w: “ Seseorang yang alim itu lebih kuat pengaruhnya atas syaitan daripada seribu abid (yang tidak alim) [Hadith riwayat At-Tarmizi, ibn Majah]
It is better to be an 'alim (one who is with knowledge) than an 'abid (one who only does ibadah) because with knowledge you will know the absolute truth about the religion. When someone asks you concerning your religion, you will be able to answer it in sha Allah, and at the same time you'll know the importance of doing ibadah, hence you'll attempt to do it as much as possible. Whereas an 'abid will only do ibadah as a form of mere rituals. They do not advice others, and they do not know what to answer when questions are being thrown at them regarding their Lord. They simply do ibadah, without really knowing the actual meaning and wisdom behind it.
Hence, we should seek for as much knowledge of the deen as possible! As I'm sure you're well-informed, there are so many sources of knowledge on Islam all over the internet. For videos there's Fattabiouni, Nouman Ali Khan, Yusuf Estes, Ustaz Don, and the list goes on and on. For blogs there's Angel Pakai Gucci, Aishah Syakirah, Yasmin Mogahed etc etc. They're all very convenient, merely a mouse's click away.
But let's try to find other alternatives as well. Let's try to be present at actual discussions of knowledge. Say, at an Ustaz Azhar Idrus's talk, an Islamic Conference or simply just dropping by at a nearby mosque/surau especially during Maghrib/Isya' where they would normally have Tazkirahs. For muslimah in INTEC, do drop by Surau Akasia every night. You're sure to find something, at the very least a new friend in sha Allah(:
Because being at the actual events instead of listening to it online will (usually for me, I don't know about other people?) have a greater effect on our hearts. To be there with people who are also hoping to find Allah's blessings. To have a face-to-face and heart-to-heart discussion on Allah. To be present at an event where angels are surrounding you. That is truly amazing, an uplift of the iman, in sha Allah.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “One who treads a path in search of knowledge has his path to Paradise made easy by God…” - Riyadh us-Saleheen
Seventh step: Leaving our old 'jahiliyyah'
Everyone has their old demons. Whether or not it's still haunting us up til this day, is totally up to us to decide. There's no such thing as 'I can't help myself' or 'It simply takes over me' because we are in control of ourselves. We decide whether or not to stop doing something. Yes, it is hard, undoubtedly so. But then again, it's worth it, I promise (in shaa Allah).
And remember, He is the Al-Ghaffur (Most Forgiving) and the Ar-Raheem (Most Merciful) :')
'But without doubt, I am He that forgives again & again to those who repent, believe & do right & are ready to receive true guidance' - Al-Quran [20:82]
"And My mercy encompasses all things" - Al-Quran [7 : 156]Everyone has their own jahiliyyah, hence everyone has their own jihad. Personally mine was the fact that I couldn't live without a boyfriend. I just needed someone in my life constantly. But I forgot that Allah should be enough for me, and that I shouldn't be looking for a kind of love that isn't rightfully mine yet, which isn't halal for me yet. Hah, my next post will in sha Allah be about this, cos it'll be too long if I were to explain it here mehe.
Another jihad for me was covering my aurah more properly. I started wearing the tudung when I was twelve, because a friend of my constantly reminded me to do so :) I was covering my hair, but I didn't really take into account the true definition of hijab i.e. the proper covering of our aurah. So I'll say that I started wearing the tudung when I was twelve but I've only started covering my aurah properly last year. But of course I've still much to improve, I'm still very far away from wearing a proper tudung labuh :(
So for girls, let's start with baby steps. Maybe we can first cover our feet by wearing socks, and cover our arms with handsocks. Then start wearing our tudung (normally bidang 45 right?) in such a way that it appears to be longer than it actually is. Once you've gotten used to that, there will be an urge to wear an ever labuher (forgive my lack of vocabulary) tudung. Don't worry, I freaked out too when I first started wearing a longer tudung. I was like "OhmyRabb is it too soon? Do I look weird? What will people say?" Well the trick is to just do it. Don't overthink it. Will Allah love what we'll be doing? If yes, by all means, do it. If no, leave it.
"Whoever seeks ALLAH's pleasure at the cost of men's displeasure, will win the pleasure of ALLAH and ALLAH will cause men to be pleased with him. Whoever seeks to please men at the cost of ALLAH's displeasure, will win the displeasure of ALLAH, and ALLAH will cause men to be displeased with Him." - Hadith Qudsi[Reported by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih].
Eighth step: Istiqamah
Be constant. So often we try to change but then we return to our old state. Nauzubillahminzalik.
For this we need to be constant in all that we do and be careful not to slide back to our old jahiliyyah. Remember why we wanted to change in the first place. Remember, you're never alone. Allah itu, dekaaat sangat :)
"When My servants ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calls on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way." Al-Quran [2:186]
Let's practice this do'a. May Allah keep our hearts firmly on this path to attain His love, mercy and blessings, in shaa Allah :')
رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغۡ قُلُوبَنَا بَعۡدَ إِذۡ هَدَيۡتَنَا وَهَبۡ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحۡمَةًۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلۡوَهَّاب
Rabbana la tuzigh qulubana,ba'da iz hadaitana wa hablana milladunka rahmatan,Innaka Antal wahhab.|"Our Lord! (they say), Let not our hearts deviate after you have guided us, and grant us from Yourself mercy; Indeed, You are the Bestower" Al-Quran [3:8]
"اللهم يا مقلب القلوب ثبت قلبي على دينك"Allahumma, Ya Muqallibal Qulub, Thabbit qulubuna `ala deenik | O Allah, O turner of hearts! Keep our hearts steadfast on Thy religion.
So I shall end this post with a video and another Hadith Qudsi that I think relates a lot to the topic we're discussing.
If there's any khilaf in any of the Quran verses or the hadiths that I've included, please do tell(:
Jazakallahu khairan in advance ^^
And jazakallahu khairan katheeran to you for reading this. May Allah ease our way to His love in sha Allah.
Allahumma ameen :)(:
“Allah says, ‘I am just as My servant thinks I am, and I am with him if he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I too, remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a group of people, I remember him in a group that is better than them; and if he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.’ “ [Sahih Al-Bukhâri, 9/7405 (O.P.502)].
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