Make someone smile today

T Azeez Luthfullah, Br Sheikh Ismail, Moulana Syed Jalaludeen Umari, Br Adil Sait and Dr S.Q.R Ilyas

It takes just a second to change our lives.
A careless driver, a passing snake, a scream unheard…
Our whole world can turn upside down without a moment’s notice.
We may even die before we know it.


I’m not saying that we should not do anything with our lives.
We all know the story of the man who refused to leave his room for the fear that a car might run over him or a tree might fall on him, and finally was killed when a painting that fell from the wall hit him on the head.
I want to say just this:
In the little time that we live, let’s do good things.

Lend a helping hand, now and then.
Add colour to someone’s life.
Go on. Make someone smile today..

Poet at Heart. Here 

Five ways to give 'physical' Sadaqah

The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Every good deed is charity.” (Bukhari)

He also said: “On every person’s joints or small bones (i.e. fingers and toes), there is sadaqah (charity) due every day when the sun rises. Doing justice between two people is sadaqah; assisting a man to mount his animal, or lifting up his belongings onto it is sadaqah; a good word is sadaqah; every step you take towards prayer is sadaqah; and removing harmful things from pathways is sadaqah.” [Muslim]

 

So based on the hadeeth above, here are five ways you can start to give ‘physical’ sadaqah this ramadan. The list is hardly exhaustive however as you read, ask yourself how you can implement these acts of charity in your daily schedule to increase your good deeds inshaAllah:

1. Always start with a smile:

We can never underestimate the wonders behind a smile. The Prophetic teachings tell us that every smile is charity.

So step one is to make sure you smile; often opportunities in the day arise where we can effortlessly smile and spread the salaam, such as when your on the road travelling, going to work, at the mosque, when you pass by a homeless person, when you meet guests or see children (as often it brings a smile to their face too!)

2. Remember Allah frequently:

To remember Allah is to give sadaqah with your tongue. The value and weight of dhikr are heavy and outstanding, and is our key to being rich in our relationship with Allah (Subahanahu Wa Ta’la). In an amazing narration the Prophet advised the one who could not give money to charity, or offer anything from their possessions, to increase in performing dhikr as a better equivalent.

Allah (Subahanahu Wa Ta’la) says in Surah Al-Baqarah: ‘Remember Me, and I will remember you’ [2:152].

You might wonder where you can start as there are so many adhkars for so many occassions.

Productive Ramadan. More Here

My Little hands

I clean the shoes on their feet

That they thrust at my 7-year old face

But I understand, he’s a city man

My little hands dare not make him late.


I wake up to work, I walk to work

I sleep only so that I can work

When I get to work I’m beaten to work,

Even though I never stop,

Harder, faster, better or beating

I eat whatever makes me work.

One day we were awarded an hour’s break,

So I leaned back on the factory’s outer wall,

Looking at the buildings, and roads and shimmering dresses,

And thought: I had a hand in them all!

But as I looked at my hands,

Bruised and rough, like a tired old man’s,

I wondered: Is a hand in them all I will have?

What I was to shed as tears for my predicament,

I shed it all as sweat.

But suddenly, I was surprised to find,

A tear slowly creep out of my eyes,

How could it be? I asked myself

But then I realized…

It was just how my body sweats… in my hour of rest.

Zaynab Chinoy in her blog. Here

A beautiful poem on 'Memory'

Why does She knock on my door
Every time it rains,
Every time the wind whispers in my years,
Every time I watch a leaf fall down-
Memory.
That treacherous witch.


She comes in disguises
Déjà vu.
Whenever I breathe in a fragrance,
Turn around in a crowd,
Or hear a song.
She steps in, ever so lightly.


Whenever I gaze at the sky,
See a child smile
Or hear the waves hum,
She closes in on me.
In an unguarded moment
She tramps on me.

She walks all over my mind
Till my eyes sting
And my knees go weak,
Till my heart hurts
So much that I feel the pain
Creeping to the tips of my toes.

 Poet at Heart Here

It is with hope that I lead my life.

I stumble, I often fall.
Yet I strive to stand tall.
For, though the path is dim,
I know it ends only in Him.

He beckons me, so I keep going.
To please Him am I sowing
The better I try, the more I reap
Because His promises He is known to keep.

He covered me with His light.
Now I'm not afraid, He's my knight.
In joy or sorrow, night and day,
Before Him do I kneel to pray.

He beckons me, so I never give up.
I need His love, if only a cup,
With His help, I'll always try
He is with me whether I laugh or cry.

His pleasure and blessings are all I seek.
I've been singing His praises since I learned to speak.
The ground may shake beneath my feet
But He is with me, I never feel the heat.

He beckons me, so my spirits soar
I believe in Him to the core.
And therefore, in spite of all strife,
It is with hope that I lead my life.

Courtesy : Poet at Heart
Another inspiring anecdote: Have Faith in Allah Here

"I want to tell the world" : A heart stirring poem for Palestine by Nahida

I want to tell the world 

I want to tell the world a story

About a home with a broken lantern

  

And a burnt doll

About a picnic that wasn’t enjoyed

About an axe that killed a tulip

A story about a fire that consumed a plait

 

A story about a tear that couldn't run down

I want to tell a story about a goat that wasn’t milked

About a mother’s dough that wasn’t baked

About a wedding that wasn’t celebrated

And a baby girl that didn’t grow up

About a football that wasn’t kicked

About a dove that didn’t fly

I want to tell a story about a key that wasn’t used

About a classroom that wasn’t attended

About a playground that was silenced

About a book that wasn’t read

About a besieged lonely farm  

And about its fruits that weren’t picked

About a lie that wasn't discovered

A story about a church that’s no longer prayed in

And a mosque that no longer stands

And a culture no longer rejoiced

I want to tell a story about a muddy grassy roof

About a stone that faced a tank

And about a stubborn flag that refuses to lie down

About a spirit that cannot be defeated

I want to tell the world a story

Now light a little candle for Palestine

You can do it

Light a candle One little candle
Watch the darkness fade away

Just try it out

One ray of light
Wipes away the gloomiest
Jet-black nights
As the dawn breaks

Just observe

Can you see that
All the might of darkness
In the world
Cannot extinguish
The faintest flicker
Of a beam of light

Light a candle
One little candle
Watch the darkness fade away

You can do it

Hey.. WORLD

Did you hear me?

 The author's name is Nahida. Nahida is a Jerusalem-born Palestinian refugee living in exile for over 42 years. She was forced to leave her homeland, Palestine at the age of seven during the six-day war. She is a mathematician by profession. She started writing about three years ago when her friends insisted her to write about her memories, experiences, and feelings as a Palestinian. She did… but it all came out - for some strange reason- sounding -as you would feel - like poetry! So far she has published two books (I Believe in Miracles, and Palestine, The True Story). Write to her at: nahidaexiledpalestinian@gmail.com

From Poetryforpalestineblog