Cheerful Tuesdays: The Conquest to Rejoice in Knowledge

Today is an important day. The day when I set foot on my mission - to rejoice in knowledge.

For many months, I have been sitting at the side of the field, not being able to join the winning crowd, as my feet were tied by the fake promise.

But fate has invited me back into the winning crowd.

Who are they? People with minds dedicated to winning, to triumph over worldly nothingness.

People with a mission that is not selfish for money. People who are blessed with the joys of nature and the fruitfulness of their age. People with no time to waste on useless knowledge.

The winning crowd have not much money. They have not much status. They have not much assets and investments.

They are ordinary people who believes that their lives are not self-controlled, and everything falls into place perfectly due to the Hands of God.

The winning crowd smile in anger and rejoice in knowledge. They are not living in a dream. They live the now, and plan for the future of mankind. They put others before self, and they are often the least popular and often forgotten in the fast growing materialistic society, where having wealth and high ranks mean more than anything else.

Brands, technology, politics - terms that do not bother the winning crowd. They will win even without knowledge of these areas.

The souls of the wining crowd are heavily guarded by the unseen armies of God, through the little but continuous efforts of remembrance, of the Highest Authority.

I would like to participate, and may this membership lasts till Eternity.

When Working Moms Earn, Save, Invest for Allah

Send the right cues to your children on the importance of appreciating  and managing wealth for the sake of Allah. What have we spent for Allah, especially for Allah today?

In the hustle and bustle of city life, the busy working mom will often live according to schedule, the demands of work and the needs of her family.

Without the right spiritual motivation, she will soon be living in a mental state ruled by social influence and most dangerously, materialism. Soon, her children too will be subconsciously taking in the cue that life is about being rich, buying expensive things, and being respected by others. Even in school, the values taught to the children circle around getting good grades that will allow getting a job that pays well.

Nothing wrong with getting a good pay, but the disturbing thing is what do they use the large amount of money for? Often the hard earned money is lavished on branded goods and high tech gadgets that soon got outdated and the desire to stay current with the trend then becomes overpowering. So more and more money is spent on goods that are far from necessary!

Remember that most of those who will dwell in Heaven are poor people. Remember that the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. gave up almost all of his wealth to help the poor and needy, and to spend according to what God has commanded him to. There is no fear at all about not having enough for himself. He has trusted in God and God will take care of that.

And remember that the more wealth we have, the more accountable we are in the Hereafter, where Allah will question us on how well we have used our wealth in the ways that please Him.

God loves those who work to earn a living, and God wants us to wisely manage what we earned. To put the Now and the Hereafter in the right perspective. My former ustaz, the late Kiyai Haji Kassim Bin Adenan always mentioned this in his lessons:

"Use your lifetime to plant, (invest) for akhirat."

Lifetime is not about realising materialistic fantasies...huge modernistic houses, expensive requirements for entertainment, luxury cars, fine dining. Such desires often stem from the feeling of ungratefulness. The temptation that always lures you to getting more than what you have.

Of course, at times, you feel like having that extra piece of something, perhaps an occasional expensive item to add to your wardrobe. But before you make that purchase, just reflect back on what better use of that money, if you had put it to help someone in dire need. Or simply, instead of buying something really unnecessary for yourself, e.g. a Gucci handbag when you already have a Kate Spade tote bag, buy something necessary for yourself or for another person that will remind us of Allah.

One suggestion is to save that money and bring your family to the places where our Prophet and his Sahabah have left behind their footprints, and also visit the living Sheikhs, the people who have been devoting most of their lives in gratefulness and longing to meet their Creator and their beloved Prophet. They are the people who are blessed with the ability to help others see the ultimate Truth needed to lead a successful life now and in the Hereafter. 

You will never know when the switch will be turned off. If the inevitable happens and God takes back what He has been giving you so far, it is a little too late to properly "invest" in akhirat.

Let's now think about what we have spent for Allah, especially for Allah today. Let's step back and look at the bigger picture. Remind ourselves: Invest for akhirat.

A beautiful prayer that a mom should recite each time she leaves the house for work in the morning:

O Allah, please bless me and my family with the benefits of this job, and guide us to use them well in ways that please You. And keep us away from the harm and the shortcomings of this job, that we know or we do not know of.

Starting Life Afresh

It's the New Muslim Calendar Year. And praise to the Almighty, I have made several little improvements in my habits, and my living space.

To improve quality of life, yourself, your family, your friends and acquaintances.

Life must begin with a pure intention, followed by systematic means of achieving that goal.

Live on the foundation of truth and seek the best path. Each individual is born with a mission and so do it well.

A quote from my late teacher,

Be like the bees, work hard to make honey, something useful for everyone.

Points to think about:

How can I make my days more fruitful?
How do I inject more meaningful task in my family's daily activities?
How do I make my parents happy in the long run? What can I plan for them?
How do I contribute to the community with the skills that I have?

I believe there is something I must do before I grow older. So let's not waste the precious time. Be 'that' person now. The best of what you are!