Ayah of The Day 1 >> Quran 2:164

The first favorite ayah that caught my attention last Ramadan was the 164th verse in the 2nd chapter of the Quran, the name of the chapter (surah) is "The Cow" or "Albaqara".

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلاَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَالْفُلْكِ الَّتِي تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنفَعُ النَّاسَ وَمَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاء مِن مَّاء فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الأرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَآبَّةٍ وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ وَالسَّحَابِ الْمُسَخِّرِ بَيْنَ السَّمَاء وَالأَرْضِ لآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ


"Surely, in the creation of heavens and earth, and the alternation of night and day, and the ships that sail in the sea, carrying that which benefits men, and in the water Allah sent down from the sky, then revived with it the earth after it was dead, and in every creature He has scattered on it, and in turning of winds, and in the clouds employed to serve between heaven and earth, there are signs for those who have sense."

I believe that the meaning of the ayah is very clear; Allah is stating that those who use their sense and logic will find signs as they observe the creation. The reason why I liked this ayah is because it explicitly shows how highly required it is by our creator that we pay attention to the details around us and not just take this world for granted. We need to observe and reflect on every little being because no matter how little it may seem, just like us, it was meant to be a part of this universe. We need to study the laws by which this universe is governed, we need to explore and make sense of them in stead of just sleeping at night knowing that the sun will rise again in the morning only because it always does.

This ayah reminds me of the importance of meditating and observing and I can relate to it whenever I study something new in science. No matter how busy life gets and how horrible the worldly events may seem, there's always this beautiful shivering feeling and amazement that visits me whenever I realize the brilliance and perfection of the balance that God has offered to us with his creation and laws.  I always end up saying "Sobhan Allah" - Praise be to Allah for this perfectly created universe. This state of mind I reach when I meditate or study science strengthens my faith and trust in Allah for I become purified by يقين certainty and thoughts that reminds me of a quote by Ralph Waldo that goes like this: "All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I haven't seen".

It's just sad how many Muslims nowadays forget such teachings of the Quran where we are asked to study the universe and not just take it for granted. How come it is the case that we now only "receive" knowledge that was observed by others? how come we stopped exploring God's creation and waiting for others to make sense of it and make our lives easier? how come we have the truth in our hands and others are working hard enough to prove it? How come many people who claim to be "religious" rarely speak of anything that has to do with "thinking","reflecting" and "reasoning" even though they were mentioned hundreds of times in the Quran!?

Anyway, I advise you all to take a 10 mins break every day and dedicate it to meditation; observing the world around you, appreciating the brilliance of all that exists and understanding the signs of the Creator... and  say: Sobhan Allah.

My Ramadan's "Ayah of the day"s

The Quran is truly beautiful.

It's beautiful not just because of how comprehensive and perfectly written the Quran is but because of the state of mind you experience when you contemplate on the words of Allah. It is for this reason that I decided this Ramadan, I want to do more with the Quran than just reading it. I need to experience the pleasure of understanding it and meditating on its meanings. So everyday, as I was reading the Quran, I stopped at the verses that caught my attention and tasted the pleasure of contemplating on them, then shared them with others (on facebook).

Now that Ramadan is over, I will do more than just sharing my favorite 30 verses from the Quran; I'll be writing more about each verse (ayah), why I liked it, how I understand it, what its interpretation is and when/why it was revealed to the prophet (pbuh).

These are my favorite 30 Ayahs of Ramadan 2011 :)

Ayah of the day 30:



"And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me" Quran 51:56

Ayah of the day 29:



"O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." Quran 49:13

Ayah of the day 28:



"O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful." Quran 49:6

Ayah of the day 27:



"And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel [evil] by that [deed] which is better; and thereupon the one whom between you and him is enmity [will become] as though he was a devoted friend." Quran 41:34

Ayah of the day 26:



"Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." " Quran 39:53

Ayah of the day 25:



"and do not turn your cheek away from people, and do not walk on the earth haughtily. Surely, Allah does not like anyone who is arrogant, proud;" Quran 31:18

Ayah of the day 24:



"Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done that perhaps they will return [to righteousness]." Quran 30:41

Ayah of the day 23:



"And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought." Quran 30:21

Ayah of the day 22:



"O ye who believe! enter not houses other than your own, until ye have asked permission and saluted those in them: that is best for you, in order that ye may heed (what is seemly)." Quran 24:27

Ayah of the day 21:



"Allah will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which you used to differ." Quran 22:69

Ayah of the day 20:



"And of the people is he who worships Allah on an edge. If he is touched by good, he is reassured by it; but if he is struck by trial, he turns on his face [to the other direction]. He has lost [this] world and the Hereafter. That is what is the manifest loss." Quran 22:11

Ayah of the day 19:



"And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds." Quran 21:107

Ayah of the day 18:



"Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided." Quran 16:125

Ayah of the day 17:

"We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)." Quran 15:9

Ayah of the day 16:

"Have you not seen how Allah has set forth a parable: A good word is like a good tree, having its root firm and its branches in the sky.It brings its fruits at all times with the will of its Lord. Allah sets forth the parables for the people, so that they may take lesson...."

Ayah of the day 15:



"The deeds of those who refuse to believe in their Lord are like ashes blown away by the wind on a stormy day. They will not be able to gain anything out of what they did. That is the farthest point of straying away from the right path." Quran 14:18

Ayah of the day 14:



"Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured." Quran 13:28

Ayah of the day 13:



"And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision, and He knows its place of dwelling and place of storage. All is in a clear register." Quran 11:6

Ayah of the day 12:



Say: "See ye what things Allah hath sent down to you for sustenance? Yet ye hold forbidden some things thereof and (some things) lawful." Say: "Hath Allah indeed permitted you, or do ye invent (things) to attribute to Allah." Quran 10:59

Ayah of the day 11:



"O mankind! there hath come to you a direction from your Lord and a healing for the (diseases) in your hearts,- and for those who believe, a guidance and a Mercy." Quran 4:57

Ayah of the day 10:



"Say: "Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector": and on Allah let the Believers put their trust." Quran 9:51

Ayah of the day 9:



"But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in Allah: for He is One that heareth and knoweth (all things)." Quran 8:61

Ayah of the day 8:



"Say: "Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds:" Quran 6:162

Ayah of the day 7:

Say, "Not equal are the evil and the good, although the abundance of evil might impress you." So fear Allah, O you of understanding, that you may be successful." Quran 5:100

Ayah of the day 6:



"For this reason, We decreed for the children of Isra‘il that whoever kills a person not in retaliation for a person killed, nor (as a punishment) for spreading disorder on the earth, is as if he has killed the whole of humankind, and whoever saves the life of a person is as if he has saved the life of the whole of humankind. Certainly, Our messengers have come to them with clear signs. Then, after all that, many of them are there to commit excesses on the earth." Quran 5:32

Ayah of the day 5:



"O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do." Quran 5:8

Ayah of the day 4:



"O men, fear your Lord who created you from a single soul, and from it created its match, and spread many men and women from the two. Fear Allah in whose name you ask each other (for your rights), and fear (the violation of the rights of) the womb-relations. Surely, Allah is watchful over you." Quran 4:1

Ayah of the day 3:



"You shall never attain righteousness unless you spend from what you love. Whatsoever you spend, Allah is fully aware of it."

Quran 3:92

Ayah of the day 2:

"When My servants ask you about Me, then (tell them that) I am near. I respond to the call of one when he prays to Me; so they should respond to Me, and have faith in Me, so that they may be on the right path" Quran 2:186

Ayah of the day 1:

"Surely, in the creation of heavens and earth, and the alternation of night and day, and the ships that sail in the sea, carrying that which benefits men, and in the water Allah sent down from the sky, then revived with it the earth after it was dead, and in every creature He has scattered on it, and in turning of winds, and in the clouds employed to serve between heaven and earth, there are signs for those who have sense." Quran 2:164

My next post isA will be the beginning of a series of posts in which I give focus on each of the above ayahs to express my thoughts. I am doing this in efforts to share the beautiful taste of disconnecting from life and purely meditating on the words of the One who knows best.

It's been a while!

Wow! the last time I posted anything on my blog was more than 2 years ago!

A lot of things have happened in my life; on the personal, social and even the NATIONAL level lol. Lots of changes have occurred, lots of surprising events have taken place, lots of people have been met and lots of experiences have been went through and all of this have lead to the emergence of a lot of thoughts, feelings and ideas that were born in my head. Unfortunately, not all of them were properly expressed though.

Writing has always been my best communication channel. I fell in love with writing when I was around 8 years old and making up lame pop songs, then my passion for writing grew more as I became a teenager writing deep emotional poetry but it was only when I started this blog to share my random thoughts that I realized my passion.

There is this special connection between my mind and the pen (or in this case the keyboard) that pleasurably translates my thoughts and feelings into words. So even though I might not be the best at it, writing still helps giving me a sense of fulfillment and happiness.

Because of how busy my life suddenly got 2 years ago, I barely got the chance to reward myself every now and then with writing... but the accumulation of unexpressed thoughts in my head was too much pressure to handle that I almost had a break down. Of course it wasn't just the fact that I had no time for writing that frustrated me but it's the idea of not having time to do ANYTHING that I feel like, the idea of not being in control. My overcrowded life overcame me and I lost control over my life. But this had to stop!

So I sat down with myself and had one of those "we need to talk" conversations that ended up with many promises one of which was to never EVER let go of a source of passion. No matter how busy my life is, no matter how stressed my mind gets, no matter how tired my eyes feels , it never hurts to spend extra 30 mins before sleep on something that makes me happy. 30 mins of reflecting life events and putting them in front of my eyes. 30 mins as a chance to look at the full picture. 30 mins to let out negative energy and thoughts. 30 mins to highlight positive emotions. 30 mins to dream and visualize. 30 mins to inspire and get inspired. 30 mins to give me a reason to wake up the next morning and gladly survive life. 30 mins are not too much to ask for :)

So to my blog, I shall return.

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Isn't it amazing when you receive messages in life that shows you are not alone?



I mean... I swear right after I was done with this post, I read a couple of pages from "The Pilgrimage" by Paulo Coelho and I ran into this statement:



"The first symptom of the process of our killing our dreams is the lack of time. The busiest people I have known in my life always have time enough to do everything. Those who do nothing are always tired and pay no attention to the little amount of work they are required to do. They complain constantly that the day is too short. The truth is, they are afraid to fight the good fight."

Object Oriented Romance

You initiated the constructor of my heart

But i just can't run it, cause the server wont start

You're the parameter of my methods

For you define all my variables

You use the right syntax

To compile my emotions

You call the right subclasses

That extend your devotion

You need no IF conditions

To prove our compatibility

You're the one who fixes my bugs

Understanding my dynamic property

Each and every single day

You add a new index to my array

A new feeling of some data type

That inherits the super class of my life

No warnings No errors detection

No SQL or NullPointerException

But something is still keeping us apart

This bughead server wont freakin start!!

Me, Myself and I

I'm just trying to find a way to explain
How i am seriously turning insane
Crazy is what i used to call Me
But Myself has now acquired the name

Speaking of Me and Myself
It's been a long time since we talked
I think we should get together
The three of us shall take a long walk

As we're wandering through the woods
Our thoughts struggling in my head
I decided to say some random words
To break the ice and move ahead

The word "love" came up
I found myself rising above
For she believes in its powers
And it's all what she's thinking of

She said:
"Feel it from the inside
And spread it all around you
Smile at every face you see
And leave the past behind you"

And then she started chanting
"Om Shanti Peace peace
Peace, love and understanding
Please please please"

But then there was me
Sarcastically starting to clap
While laughing hilariously she said
"Could you please cut the crap?"

She said:
"Wake up honey it's reality
Where love does not exist
Nobody cares and nobody will
as long as you insist!"

"We're all alone in this world
Striving for peace of mind
The peace you're talking about
It is beyond space and time"

And then there was silence
It was my turn to speak
I regret the chosen topic
For it makes me feel weak

I said:
"Love is what i thought
But not what i felt
Loneliness is what i fought
But in my heart is where it dwelt"

"I'm stuck in the middle
of love and loneliness
Hope and despair
Strength and weakness"

"My words, My thoughts
My intelligence, My personality
My insecurities, my failings
My emotions, My Insanity"

Again I started hearing it
Disturbance in my brain
At night it wont let me sleep
At night when voices scream

In my head they keep roaring
They're angry with my mind
yet all I'm struggling for is
Kissing away the image of your smile

What's happening to Me?I am hurting myself!
This must be put to an end
I'm talking to Myself, but she 's not inside
I can't seem to find Me as well

Now I'm lost in the woods
I can't find my way home
Why did i take life so seriously
Why didn't i just let go?

... It's okay if you don't understand a word in this poem! LOL

She Thought...

The thoughts in her head
The feelings in her heart
The words on her lips
The tears in her eyes

The pain through her veins
The struggle within her soul
The guilt on her chest
The weakness of her all

She thought she had this life
She thought she understood
She thought she got it all
She got it all wrong

She thought it was the time
When things were finally fair
She thought there could be more
She lost all what was there

She thought that you were true
She thought this time it's real
She thought she had a clue
Now there's too much to heal..

As she was breaking down
She knew what she had to do
It was her last resort
To end what she's going through

At dawn when the air was thin
And the sky was very low
Gathering herself she swallowed her fears
Then she was ready to go

On her way she was chased
By images from her past
But nothing could break her will
Nothing could hold her back

After a long painful journey
She made it to the top of the hill
The wind was blowing angrily
Yet she strongly stood still

It was the time and the place
Tears started running down her face
Of all the sins of disgrace
This was her favorite mistake

She closed her eyes and smiled
What's left was only a while
She could finally feel peace of mind
She took her last breath and died..



p.s: That's a very depressing poem, I was not feeling well when i wrote it ... So i definitely do not mean it ..I hope it doesn't encourage any suicidal thoughts in any one 's head!!! lol

The Whole "Hijab" Thing

Terms used:
Hijab: The Veil/ higab
Hijabbed: Wearing a Hijab
Hijabi: a girl wearing a Hijab
:)

Hello!

Today I'll discuss many of my thoughts on Hijab but whether it's an Islamic obligation on women is NOT one of them. Actually i will not be talking about Hijab as a concept but how people view it. I just think that the issue of Hijab is overrated, Yeah..I think people (either supporting or fighting it) are unnecessarily making a big deal out of it. Usually people in our beautiful Arab societies make big deals out of issues that are worth a chewing gum just to appear like they have some points but we seriously need to grow up and stop dividing the community into groups more than it already is because now there's a "Mo7agaba" and a "Mesh Mo7agaba"... I'll get to this division later but let me start the discussion properly.

In the last couple of years, some religious Muslim people started encouraging girls to wear the hijab and thus devoted Muslim girls started wearing it (which is not bad). However, almost all religious discussions were then directed towards the Islamic dress of women and ignored anything else (like the basic principles of the Islamic faith, the behavior of a Muslim, the purpose of our life....and more important issues).

This lead to a huge gap between the people's attention to their appearances and their realization of their spirits, they became separated. That's a huge problem because being disconnected from your true self means that you're unbalanced which means that you're not able to think clearly! With time, people unintentionally began relating the personality of a girl to what she's wearing. They could even judge the strength of her faith and the more covered she is, the more respected she became even if she doesn't even pray, she is to be considered a good Muslim.

Consequently, Hijab became more of a cultural thing ...which is not the point. But group A which i was talking about in my post "Muslims in Egypt" appeared.

As more girls started wearing the hijab, another group of Muslim people (group B) noticed that and were upset, either because they're against the idea of Hijab in general or because of how group A prioritized it over other things. As a result, they considered themselves against the Hijab Movement and started fighting it!

They developed some opinions like: Hijab is a backward step in the society!, Men force women to wear it, it's against women freedom....!

Accordingly girls are being judged again according to their clothes. If she's hijabbed then most probably she was brainwashed by men to do so. She must be uneducated or narrow minded and she can't think on her own. She definitely needs help!

Hundreds if not thousands of groups and events on facebook calling girls to take off their Hijab because they're "free". Many websites and campaigns against wearing the hijab. Slogans, articles and pictures making fun of the Hijabis and offending the hijab calling it things like ignorance and retardation...But they're still calling for the "freedom" of girls. Do i smell contradiction?

Despite the fact that i do wear the hijab, i'm not taking sides here. As a matter of fact i'm against both sides! lol. No really, I totally respect those who support the hijab and those who fight it. But don't you think that there are MUCH MORE important things to talk about? In our society: drugs, sexual harassments, real ignorance, poverty...but we're still discussing whether a girl should cover her hair or not. Why don't we all act upon our beliefs. If you believe in Hijab, just put it on and leave the others alone. If you believe Hijab is pointless, forget about it. It's okay to share your opinions but you guys are spending too much effort and time on something that won't really make a difference!

Actually what's truly and personally pissing me off is not only the way people think of hijab but the pressure both sides of the debate are putting on the girl wearing it. It's like everybody is waiting for the Hijabbed girl to sin...

Hijab-Supporters are criticizing her actions that are not "suitable for a girl who wears hijab"!
Hijab-Fighters are criticizing her actions that "prove that the hijab she's wearing is pointless"!

In the end, you're always going to hear this sentence from both sides:
"Shoof ya akhy mo7agaba we bet3ml eih!"

It's like the day i decided to cover up i announced to the world that i'm perfect...
Everybody is expecting me to dress in the perfect modest way! (I'm not saying i'm not supposed to dress modestly, that's what the concept of Hijab is all about to most people but it still doesn't give you the right to assume i was intentionally wearing my slightly tight jeans to drag attention). Not only that, but i'm expected to ACT in a certain way as well. Come on! I mean it's a piece of cloth not a halo or a sensor that's supposed to electrify me whenever i'm about to commit a sin!

I'm wearing the hijab for my own personal reasons. Girls have brains, remember? I am able to judge for my own self and make my own decisions. I'm not waiting for you to brainwash me about how i've been brainwashed my whole life! You don't even know what i'm thinking. You don't know what Hijab represents for me and how my life is affected by it.

I'm not giving excuses for myself or for any Hijabi who makes mistakes, I know some silly mistakes are sometimes done which contradict the concept of Hijab but so what? You sometimes pray your daily 5 prayers perfectly and sometimes you're mind is thinking about something else, some other day you miss the duhr Prayer but usually you're doing your best to wake up for Fajr. You see...we are all human beings we are all doing our best. And seriously that's the most important thing of all, that we make sure that WE are doing our best and not Others!

Don't you see that Satan himself is satisfied with this division? Can't you see how weaker and weaker we become each day? How we're being humiliated in front of the whole world!? There's incredible technology in the real world but in our world we're still concerned with the hijabbed girl that smokes shisha.

Let's bring back the Glory of our beautiful faith.
Let's learn to love each other and focus on our similarities and forget about our differences. And direct all our energy to something useful.
I hope i was able to deliver my message correctly...