I know - easy said than done right? Especially if there are things going on in your world that make you doubt yourself. You know, right now, I may not know exactly your challenges and what stops you from believing in yourself - but I want you to know that I too have moments when I don't believe in myself. I took a break from facebook for a month and in fact i'm due back this week (my 30 day break is almost over) and! after years of being on there and sharing my work I had some people questioning me and my work and (what felt like to me) my abilities. I was already on a downer and it really hurt. I know that you see me as a confident soul and you look up to me - I appreciate that - thank you - but know that if I am confident today it's because of all the challenges I have faced in my four decades on earth and the lessons that I have learned. It's still not easy - especially when you are in the public eye (believe me - i've been in the 'public eye' since childhood - call it the youngest child syndrome!). But I do what I do (this work) and I launched 'We Be Inspired' - an organisation dedicated to Personal development - as I want to share with you not only my journey but also how I have learnt and found ways to help myself and how I can help you insha'Allah. This year - 2014 - there will be many products and services dedicated to helping you live your best life and preparing for your best akhirah insha'Allah. But know that it all starts with you! Honestly. This moment is all we have and I'm not here forever - none of us are - so I want to share with you and teach you all that I have learnt and continue to learn so even if i'm not around (especially my social media breaks) then you will be ok insha'Allah. Listen, the thing is, all of us have our own challenges that we face daily and there really is only so much we can do to help each other at times. You may feel that your loved ones don't hear you out and are not there for you - but honestly they may be facing their own challenges too. I hope the quote above and the following short video inspires you and motivates you to believe in yourself now. And even if after watching this video you still are not sure and question or doubt yourself then know this for a fact that Allah (swt) created you for a reason and a greater purpose than what you think right now. There is a reason why He (swt) specially and specifically created you. He (swt) believes in YOU! Watch this video and know that Allah (Swt) is with you! :) Question: How can I help you this 2014 to live your life purpose? :)
Comment below and let me know so I can create the best products and services for you insha'Allah.
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So we're in Day 6 of 2014 already - how's it going for you so far? Ok, well, i'm not talking about 'New Years Resolutions' to be exact (and if you do make them - to each their own - and I do pray it's a success for you - I believe in you!) but I'm talking about actually getting up and just making it happen! See, what happens is that - and of course I myself have been guilty of this many times - we just talk, talk and talk and never really get up and make it happen. A dream is exactly just that a dream and can only become a reality when we get up, put in 150% ExCel Mode hustle and make it happen! I have had many dreams in my life and walhamdulilah many have become a reality (one of them is We Be Inspired - an organisation dedicated to Islamic Personal and Spiritual development). Yes we keep full trust in Allah however we have to get up and do our part - God helps those who help themselves. I mean honestly we've all sat formal exams once in our life at least and we know that to get a grade A we have to put in the study - it won't miraculously just happen - unless you're an uber-genius and someone who already knows the answers to the questions before you go in to the exam room - then where were you when i was at school/college/uni eh?! Anyways, it's all about getting up and making it happen - simple. Right, well, it sounds simple - i know - but sometimes can become a challenge to implement. Well, fear nada as the Queen of Inspiration and Motivation *Your Truly* is here to quick-fix it! Follow these quick simple tips. Just before you begin though - make the intention, check your sincerity level and now bismillah... Today's Tips and Action Points: 1. Have You got yourself a journal or notebook yet? Well hurry and get one - it's a MUST! - Here is where you write your before thoughts, after thoughts, progression level, random doodles and hearts and cars and whatever else. It's all a process - trust me! :) 2. Talk about it to your trusted souls, to yourselves, your angels, to God. Do have at least one talking session - it's good to share and get ideas back from trusted souls. - Plan it out in your journal or notebook - and yes God is the best of ALL planners (Remember the hadith where the man asked RasoolAllah “Should I tie my camel and have Tawakkul (trust in Allah for her protection) or should I leave her untied and have Tawakkul.” Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) replied, “Tie her and have Tawakkul.” Hadith Tirmidhi (I think we could do with a Masterclass on this subject - what you think?) 3. Now just go do it and go make it happen! - Take whatever is first on your list in your plan - don't discriminate your list - and just go ahead and do it. This applies to all industries and areas you want to work on. Well I did say it was simple - it's just us - we like to complicate things for ourselves! Remember the verse from the Qur'an; "Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." (13:11 - partial). Time to kick start 2014 on this new mantra and make it happen now! Did this post help you kick start your; 'I will do it now!' mode? Comment below and let me know :) [PS: VIP Days are now open for 2014 - this is where you get to work with me in person via Skype (if you are abroad) or in your locality (UK) and we work on creating the life you want now - family/personal/relationships/biz - you choose. To find out more, available dates and fees email me now on webeinspired@selfaware.com] Here's from me wishing YOU and your loved ones a blessed 2014! Each moment is our only moment that knows the moment that was, is and will be. And each moment could be our last! God has put us here for a greater purpose - for ourselves (our worship to Him (swt) alone) as well as for the greater good of humanity. Now is all we have! Now is when we live our truest purpose and now is when we make those dreams come real. Enough of just talking and planning. Talking is good. Planning is better. But acting it and making it real is even better! We plan and God is the best of ALL planners. We make the intention, say bismillah and put in 150% of ExCel mode to make it real. We let go of the attachment - of owning the end result. That end result is not in our hands - as God decides whether it shall be. And when God says Be - then it shall be! 'Wait, so what is the point of it all or working hard for it then?' I hear you say. Well, what else are you going to do with your life eh? And anyway Heaven must be won - it's not given to anyone on a silver plate! And all those dreams, wishes, ambitions. hopes you have - well they won't be worth to you if you don't actually get up and make them happen now. Enough of time wasting, wallowing in self-pity, and living in the past. The past has gone - learn the lessons! The future? Well, tomorrow is not here yet - so just make dua that when it does come by then it is a blessed one. This moment? Now? Well, that's all YOU and I have! So, make the intention now - yes right now - that you're going to create positive changes in your life, live your best life helping humanity and prepare for you best akhirah now. It is now or never. There's a reason why YOU are reading this! I don't know your life story - but I know that we are connected - and I know that God wants you to read this right now as YOU have something great to create with your life. Are YOU ready to cease this year with your mind, body and soul? With blood, sweat and tears? Then welcome aboard 2014. May God grant you success and happiness in all areas of your life! Onwards and Upwards! Comment below and let me know if you're on this now, OK? :) Ps - We Be Inspired - One Life, One Chance, One Vision - live it now! :) Who is your role model today? Who do you look up to?? Who do you follow and try to emulate??? We humans have been created as social beings and that's where we thrive and survive. We look up to others who inspire us and are dong great things and we want to be like them. It could be anyone from our pious predecessors - all the way to movie stars, musicians and celebrities. When it comes to the celebrities we know everything about them and can go on forever. But what about our pious predecessors? How much do we know about them and how far are we willing to travel to learn and then emulate them? Listen, none of us will be like our pious predecessors or even the celebrities we follow. You and I are uniquely created and each of us has that something special to offer the world. And just as we look up to celebrity females for life tips and hints (sometimes real bad examples!) we need to look into our pious predecessors. Ready to take a journey into the past and get lessons from a great woman in Islam who has a whole surah in the Qur'an named after her, was the mother of a Prophet AND has valuable lessons to teach us today? Introducing Maryam (as) - the Virgin Mary - the Mother of Prophet Jesus (pbuh) and MY role model! Although there are not many books written on her (I have one i will recommend in the class) I attended an online 9 week tafsir class about 2 years ago and after re-visiting the tafsir I picked up so many personal development lessons from just the first 30+ verses. My jaw dropped - how did I not see this before? Well, maybe because right now is the right time and right now is when it was written and decided from above that I should teach you all this Masterclass. This is an online 90 minute (max) Masterclass where we will go through the story of Maryam (as) and then take out the personal development gems and dissect them to see how we can apply them to our life today. There are lessons in God-Consciousness, awareness, trust, keeping secrets, hope, guarding one's soul, pain-relief and so much more! Exactly - a lot to cover. We will not cover the verse by verse translation (as I said above I attended 9 online lessons) however that will be available for anyone offline to book. You will get the replay link (so no worries if you can't attend live, but you MUST register and purchase a ticket) as well as a pdf handout with all the personal development gems. I'm really excited about teaching this class on Monday 30th December at 9pm GMT insha'Allah. Register Here for this Masterclass! [Ps - This class is for sisters only - so brothers reading this post please share this post with the women in your family and let them know about the class and don't worry i will have another Masterclass end of January 2014 which will be for everyone insha'Allah!] So, which of you sisters is attending this Masterclass? Let me know! :) ...To live a successful, productive, powerful, energetic, fulfilled and spiritual life you have to 'Be Your Authentic Self.' ***What does this mean?*** It means being who you were created to be. It means your soul being happy in your body. It means accepting your flaws and shortcomings and working to better yourself. It means celebrating your strengths and achievements. It means having an 'Attitude of Gratitude' - thanking Allah (swt) at every point and really truly appreciating from within - from the soul. And when your Lord proclaimed: “If you give thanks , I will give you more, but if you are thankless, verily! My Punishment is indeed severe.” [Surah Ibrahim 14:7 - partial] ***But what if the 'Authentic Me' is not so good?*** Simple - you work on yourself, daily! Everyday we work on ourselves to make ourselves better - there is no such thing as perfect but YOU are the perfect YOU and there is only one of you - so nurture the YOU. 'You say that you are just a body but inside of you is something greater than the universe!' Imaan Shafi You were put in this world as a unique being so celebrate that and allow yourself to grow, learn, develop, mature and enjoy the one life you have in this world. If you spend a life time of trying to be like someone else then you are only harming yourself as you will never be happy or fulfilled in any area of your life. Don't compare your life to anyone else - as each one of us has a unique journey and we are all travelling upon different roads. When you are not the authentic you then you are being one way to one person and another way to someone else - a bit like lying - and we know that lying ultimately hurts only us. So go ahead, make a vow today to start being the authentic you and working on your daily self-development - at least 30 minutes each day. When you are being your authentic self then all the doors of opportunities will open up to you, you will make a greater impact in the world and you will be the complete person that you were created to be. Today's Tips & Action Points: 1. Grab your pen and notebook/journal and write down who you are, who you have been up until now and who you want to be from this moment onward. 2. Schedule in at least 30 minutes a day (to start with) to read up on personal development material (or go through our previous blog posts) and start to put those teachings into practice. 3. What is your unique purpose in this world and what will you do to make this world a better place? Now go work it! :) I think this following dua is beautiful. On the coming of dawn the The Messenger of God (may peace be upon him) used to say in his prayers: "O Allah (God), illuminate my heart with light, and my eyes with light and my ears with light and let there be light on my right and light on my left. Let there be light above me and light below me, let there be light in front of me and light behind me. O Allah, make me a light" Leave me a comment below and let me know what message you took away from this post and let's become an active community here who help to inspire and motivate each other towards goodness insha'Allah! :) Wishing YOU and YOUR loved ones a blessed, productive and successful year ahead :) We don't usually 'celebrate' or 'wish' each other when it is the Islamic New Year - but why not? I agree that our Beloved Prophet (pbuh) and his companions did not wish each other - and I'm not adding a new thing into our deen (before you go all crazy on me) - however in a world where our youth are confused and constantly told 'halaal/haraam' - we need to teach them about our deen - we need to teach them about the Islamic months and their significance. We need to relate to them. In a world where our fellows humans are constantly harmed or tortured by fellow humans we need to spread some peace love and lots and lots of duas. So my dua is that Allah (swt) showers His infinite mercy on each of us - puts barakah in our life, time and purifies our intentions and sincerity. We have one life here on planet Earth and each moment is our only moment. Make each moment count. Aspire to inspire before we expire. Live a life on purpose with purpose. Do something great for yourself, your family, the Ummah of Rasool-Allah and the entire humanity. Be Creative. Be Passionate. Be on Purpose. [Ps - We have a special Masterclass coming up insha'Allah to set the tone for the year ahead and my new baby niece came into the world today!] ...Yes, I have attachment issues too. Well, I am a human after all. But my attachment issue is not with humans (I love my parents, siblings, family friends) or animals (and I love cats and my Mano). My attachment is with my Allah-Ji whom I've been extremely close to since childhood. He's my bestest friend. When I was little, lying in the garden one summer afternoon, I looked up to the sky and was making shapes with the clouds. With one of them I made a castle. I said; 'That is Allah-Ji's Castle - His Home' and I imagined I was Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk and I planted some seeds and then a massive beanstalk shot up and became a ladder and I climbed up and went into the castle. I was only about 7, 8 or 9 then. I bug him 24/7 and tell Him everything. Actually, He already knows everything. But I still bug Him with my stories. This attachment is so intense that I can be without humans and seclude myself to worship Him and talk to Him. Only He understand me and my tears! It's a childhood thing. It's from Him. And i'm eternally grateful as this has allowed me to understand His creation, the human emotion and our ultimate purpose. By the way, just before you think it, i'm no where perfect and I don't have any intentions of trying to be perfect and I don't claim to be given a free ticket to Jannah. Non of us have been given that ticket. We have to work it. Jannah must be won! I invite you to learn more about Allah through His names and attributes. This well help you in your ibaadah - in your Salah and your Qur'an. Allah (swt) says: “Take one step towards me, I will take ten steps towards you. Walk towards me, I will run towards you.” Hadith Qudsi (partial). Attachment issues - especially those with humans - especially with a haraam relationship - are a way of saying that we have an unfulfilled need - which usually stems from childhood. Take a serious look at your life and see where this is coming up for you. To read more about this click here to read the post on 'All about Love'. God has created you for greatness and a higher purpose. Let's not waste our time on attachments and let's once and for all deal with them and heal our souls. We will be accountable for it on the Day of Judgement. Start your Monday on the right foot or on the right note (whichever you prefer) - if you were to die right now, are your ready to meet Allah? Are you ready to understand your relationships and tread wisely. The only one who can save us is Allah - yes even from our own destruction. Get motivated to re-connect with Allah right now. And for the ladies reading this register for my *FREE* Diamonds Masterclass. I reveal my top 3 secret on how i said enough is enough and started living my life on purpose again. You too can become close to Allah and attached to Him. He too can be your bestest friend - if only you allow Him to be. Will you give Him that permission now? He's waiting for you! :) Love, love and love! It seems everyone is into love. Wants to be loved. Is in love. Is complete and fulfilled by love. Is broken by love. Is confused by love. And wants to be loved again. Me too! I’m all about love! Ok, well it’s not 14th February (Valentino’s Day – as I like to call it) and maybe I should save this post for then (I’ll repost it then!) but I really want to get into this topic today as it’s not just a Valentino’s day thing but an everyday thing. And in fact love is not actually or just about Valentino’s day – that’s just some crazy commercialised holiday – as are so many other holidays. Today I’m not here to talk about love as in spoucy type or when you get married etc, but I’m going to talk about everyday love, eternal love, internal love and that love that is simmering within us 24/7. This love is beyond marriage or children. It is much, much more. It’s basic stuff really. And in fact, it is practiced by each of us daily – albeit unconsciously at times. And you know what – this love is pure. It’s like the baby love – you know when a baby just wants to be loved by its parent and isn’t aware of anything other than pure mummy/daddy love. I want to talk to you about this love today – which is deep within us – because this love can actually make us or break us. And it does daily – depending on how we use it. And, no, it’s got nothing to do with the opposite gender at all! Confused? Keep reading. This post is about love in the context of personal and spiritual development of the individual. According to Maslow love and belonging are third on the level of human needs (after physiological and safety needs are fulfilled). Humans need to love and be loved and this need is particularly strong in childhood and any deficiency in it can affect us in our adult life. And any deficiency in adult life can lead to loneliness, anxiety and depression. God created us social being and to be part of a social network. The Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) teaches us many different aspects of our social life – how to interact and deal in different social settings and to create successful social spheres. Here’s the thing. This is all awesome and brilliant – and I totally agree with it. However, our childhood conditioning can lead us to seek love and focus on it more than doing anything else in life. What I mean by this is – and I speak from personal experience and in fact it is something I have to also work on a lot in my life – we always want to seek approval from those who we love when we want to take a step into whatever it is we want to do. This form of approval can be from anyone really. Mostly it is family. However if we have had childhood family issues then we seek it elsewhere. Some reading this may disagree – but in my personal coaching and mentoring capacity and getting to know many people from across the globe I have noticed that we tend to seek approval even if it is from our boss and even if we act all ‘nothing hurts me – business is business!’. Deep down inside we have a craving – we need to fulfill it – we need to belong! We are seeking love and trying to fill the ‘void’ within us. Now when we seek constant approval from those we love and we don’t get it we start to self-sabotage our own dreams and life. We don’t even realize that we do it – it seems so normal. I want you to focus back on you today. I want you to start loving yourself today. I always say love and respect yourself if you want to be loved! Love doesn’t cost a thing! You don’t have to go out there and purchase a magic pill to love yourself. It’s free! And think about it for a moment – the love that you’re craving – whoever you’re craving it from – they are also craving it too! Did you even know that? Like wow! So, I mean, here we are being selfish and wanting to be loved yet how much do we love the one we want to be loved by? Unconditionally? This is no manipulation game! This is no; ‘If you love me and I will love you’ or ‘If you’re there for me I will be there for you’. No! This is the pure love that comes from within. It’s natural. You just love – because you do. No expectations. Read that again. NO EXPECTATAIONS. The reason we are stuck where we are is because we are yearning to be loved and accepted and we want to hear it in words or feel it with love or tangible objects. But that is not necessary at all. Yes, it’s part of it. But not the main part. You know I have a very close relationship with my parents and siblings since childhood. Whenever anyone asked me; ‘Do you love Abu more or Ami more’ I used to get confused and say both. ‘No, you have to choose one’, they used to say. And me? I used to start crying! As I got older things changed. Life changed. Its’ supposed to – it’s natural! And all I ever wanted was to ‘feel’ that love as I felt it as a child. Every time I asked my parents; ‘What shall I study/work/do?’ they always replied with; ‘Do what you want and feel happy with!’. Ok, which kid does not want to hear this and do what they feel, right? But me? I thought they didn’t love me anymore. I thought they were too busy for me. But they weren’t. They were always there for me – but had a different way of expressing it. You know if my parents never said; ‘Do what you want and feel happy with’ then today I wouldn’t be who I am – at all! Honestly! But the crazy part is – I stopped loving myself! I hated ME! My own soul! Like, what?! Yes, I hated me – because I thought the ones I loved didn’t love me! You feel me on this? Ah man! How wrong was I?! And because of this, I didn’t take the steps I needed to in life. I was never confident. Actually, everyone thought I was confident. But I wasn’t! I faked it. There – I confessed! (But, it worked!). It’s like I had to start from square one and love myself again. Love myself enough to believe in me. Love myself enough to love others without attachment. They pure type – for the sake of Allah type. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “None of you truly believes (in Allah and in His religion) until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself” [Bukhari and Muslim] It doesn’t cost anything to love your sister and brother in Islam or humanity. How could we want bad things to happen to them? We don’t wish bad on ourselves. If we follow this Hadith correctly then there would be no hatred in the world and we wouldn’t need to search for love here and there and we wouldn’t have attachment issues. And in fact the only one we need to be attached to and ask of is our creator – our Allah. “And yet there are some people, who replace Allah with rivals, loving them as Allah is loved. But the believers love Allah more intensely” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:165) When you develop deep love for Allah then you will love everyone unconditionally and you will be good to them and wish good for them without attachments. You won’t need to worry about attachments or fall into them. You will see that your family mean well and your siblings mean well. You will see that those around you mean well. Obviously I’m not talking about someone who has taken your rights off you and has deliberately hurt you physically or emotionally or those oppressive tyrants across the globe. I’m praying that my tribe of followers have more knowledge and wisdom to think I’m condoning all that! But what I am trying to say is that we need to move away from; ‘Oh I was attached again and he/she hurt me again’. That is victim mentality – and no one wants to be there. The only one allowing yourself to fall into that trap is you. You’re scared of being alone, rejected, not wanted. I know! I’ve been exactly there! Understand who YOU are! Understand why YOU feel the need to be loved and then fall into this scenario. Mine was straight up – I was looking for that ‘support’ from my parents and when I didn’t get it (or understand their way of giving it) I looked elsewhere! Wrong move! Now – it’s all good. Now I understand. Now I know that everyone who comes into my life is for a reason. Allah has sent them for a reason. And if they have to go – Allah said so! You don’t become bitter. You don’t hate. You just…be. Love doesn’t cost a thing! You don’t have to be selfish with it. You don’t have to ‘astagferullah’ about it. It is who we are and there’s plenty to go around the world. Allah is the one we need to turn to at each point. He (swt) is the one who helps us, guides us and heals us. Don’t hate any one. Everyone is on their journey. You’re not the only one in this world and the world doesn’t owe you anything. When you realise this you can actually start to heal your wounds. You can close previous chapters. You can forgive and leave them to God and move on. You are much stronger than you’re giving yourself credit. And this is not the time and place to be getting all humble and modest. Think about it – others have moved on and getting on in life – so what about you? Get to know yourself again. Get to know God again. This is deep stuff – I know – it doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s a start right? Once you become aware of this and focus on the purpose why Allah created you and how limited your life truly is then you won’t waste it. Attachments are all about a need which was not fulfilled and most likely from childhood. Seriously. Think about it and dig deep. Where in your life does this issue come up and with whom? I’m not talking about today – trust me – I’ve given you a direct example of my own life. Once you realise this – work on it and understand the context then you’ll be able to move forward. When it happened with me I went through this process also - with Allah. I talked to Him (swt) and asked Him to show me the way. You need to do this for yourself and do it now. If not you’ll always be stuck. You’ll misunderstand love. Love is an emotion deep within. Allah put it there. Don’t fight it! Don’t be bitter against love. That’s wrong. Will you hate everyone and everthing? That’s what we end up doing really! And if it does go down the haraam road then trust me it’s something you need to look into your life. Wait till Allah makes it halaal for you! Why is it that we become so attached to s/he and our parents become our enemies? Where is this coming up in your life? Work on it and heal it. Maybe you’ve never seen it this way before. I hope it truly helps. As even when you’re married your love for Allah will be more – as you know that He is the one who gives and takes and He is our Creator. He (swt) is not here to hurt us. We hurt ourselves. Love yourself again if you want others to love you. Love Allah even more and watch the doors of goodness He (swt) opens up for you. There are numerous verses in the Qur’an about love – and I could just quote them. All things start with us – even going to brush our teeth! If you want to make the most of this one life Allah has given you then now is the time. I invite you to a world of love and happiness – which is already awaiting you now. Action Points: 1. Reflect on your life and your relationships – where can you improve and what needs to be resolved. Get on to it. 2. Learn about Allah and our purpose. Learn about RasoolAllah and his mission. 3. What do you want from your life now and whose approval are you waiting for? Be real – to yourself – and now you know what steps to take insha’Allah. Leave me a comment and let me know what you thought about this article. ...Today I was going to give up and quit it all - all of it! I cried - a lot. Sometimes it gets really overwhelming and just too much for one soul. I made a dua in the early hours and asked Allah to show me the way. I've never been more serious about quitting than today. Today is also the Day of Arafah. Millions of people are right now on the plains of Arafah begging for Allah's mercy and forgiveness. A day when many are guaranteed salvation from the Hell-Fire and those who return from Hajj return as a new born - sinless - a Hajj Mabroor. I remember it clearly - like it was just today. It was 5th March 2001 - I was on the plains of Arafah with my parents and millions of other Hujjaj. A childhood dream come true and one of the youngest from my clan to do my Hajj. I was just 20 years old (actually, two weeks after I returned I was to turn 21 and I was in my final semester of my final year of my law degree at University). So many dreams in the eyes of a young 20 year old. I'm childhood ambitious. I have grand dreams. Not just for myself though - i'm not that selfish. I have grand dreams for our Ummah and for the entire humanity. I have grand dreams which involve YOU - yes YOU reading this now. I want to see YOU succeed in all areas of your life - in this world and the next. I walk the talk and expect 150% ExCel Mode from myself. That is what I operate at. You might say i'm too harsh on myself - or that I expect too much of myself. You're right - I do! I only have one life here - just one chance to work for that one vision Jannah al-Firdaus. It all starts here though - right here - in my front room, by the fire. It all starts in this world. How else will you and I achieve our ultimate vision of Jannah al-Firdaus if we don't work it here. Jannah has to be won - it won't be given to us on a plate. On a day like Arafah when gazillions are begging for Allah's mercy and forgiveness - here I was ready to quit - today 2013. I'm extremely sensitive. Only my very close souls know this. Everyone else see's the confident me. But my close one's know how deep I am and how sensitive I am and how I take things to heart. I don't cry in front of anyone - not my family, not my friends. Just with Allah - and Mano (my cat). I'm not overly emotional - like I don't burst out crying if you don't like me. Not me! I may have my shy and sensitive girly side - but i'm very much tom-boyish also. I have zero-tolerance on women and men who just cry over tiny things! I'm the; 'Yes we can! Let's do it now' type. So, for me to even be sharing a piece of my heart with the entire universe is deep. This is the vulnerable me - one which you might not see again - or might see on a very rare occasion - like today. I'm willing to give you a glimpse into my heart and soul - and be vulnerable like this whilst I have tears in my eyes. I share with you as you may be going through your own journey, trying to find who you are and what you want to be or supposed to be doing. You may feel lost and confused. You're trying and trying and yet nothing is working. No one is supporting you - like you thought they would! Just like me you may be ready to give up. I went to sleep crying with my dua of guidance. And then I woke up to a message from a sister who made dua for me and said; "...jazakAllahu khair for your posts they really are inspiring and I just wanted to say never give up what your doing mashaAllah. May Allah grant you a long and productive life sis and remove all your sins ameen. Don't let others negativity affect you. I know its hard but you touch more hearts than u know inshaAllah. Allah chose u for this - I don't see anyone else doing what u do and that is your calling so keep close to Allah and don't get knocked backed wen the road is so tough. Ur work is inspiring and an encouragement to others". I think I'm gona cry again! This one message has taught me so much instantaneously and touched my core. And the weird part is that this sister had no idea what i was feeling. She is someone i met a year ago and we have the usual facebook and whatsapp contact. This was deep. Read her message again - it's from me to you now. I'm ready to redirect my intention and focus. I'm here til Allah decides my time is up. For now - i'm staying :) Bismillah-ExCel! Begin the day and the week on the 'Right Intention'. In Islam actions come from intentions and each person will have what s/he intended (That is a hadith which i just summarised in my own quick words). Here's the thing though. In the West we have become accustomed to living in a Matrix. We go to work all week and then weekend we party and then we have Monday Blues. Who created this Monday Blues concept? Each day we wake alive is another day for us to ask for Allah's forgiveness. His mercy and His help. We ask Him (swt) in each prayer; 'Guide us to the straight path' yet we have Monday Blues? We as Muslims need to snap out of this! And yes we can. Monday is also a Sunnah fast day - so fast. Surround yourself with good friends, books, articles - all things which will uplift your soul and help you - especially if you have an emaan low. This doesn't mean that we don't think about others who are being oppressed in the world - however, honestly, how can we help them if we need help? I mean if we are low on emaan or if we are negative then how can we help our Ummah. Helping those oppressed is not just through monetary means but also by being strong Muslims. Eats well. Sleep well. Read well. Be well. If you are well then insha'Allah you can help others also. And then if you are down others can help you also. That's the way it works. So no more Monday Blues - let's make our moments count as each moment is our only moment - and this should be a sufficient reminder for us. Have a blessed week ahead and let me know what you've got planned! :) If you're a sister reading this and you missed the 'Diamonds Masterclass' - then click here to register to the class right now! :) |
AuthorNadia Leona Yunis Archive
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