30 Simple Sunnahs to follow

I am glad we already do most of things mentioned below.Let's try more.

1. Smile often
2. Recite Masnoon Dua for waking up
3. Use Miswak
4. Say the Dua for entering washroom
5. Read Shahada after performing Ablution
6. Say the Dua after leaving washroom
7. Reply to Azan
8. Recite Ayat al-kursi after Namaz
9. Wash hands before eating
10. Say Bismillah before eating
11. Drink honey water before breakfast
12. Eat an odd number of dates
13. Eat with your right hand
14. Rinse mouth after eating
15. Drink water sitting
16. Drink water in three sips
17. Say Alhamdulilah after eating or drinking
18. Say the Dua for drinking milk
19. Comb your hair beginning from right side
20. Say the Dua for wearing new clothes
21. Take off and put on your shoes beginning with the right
22. Say ‘Allahu Akbar’ when going upstairs
23. Say ‘SubhanAllah’ when coming down the stairs
24. Say Salam to those you know and those you don’t know
25. Make Ablution before sleeping
26. Apply surma before sleeping
27. Read or listen to Surah Al-Mulk before sleeping
28. Dust your bed before sleeping
29. Cut your nails within 40 days
30. Take bath on Friday

Favorite Verses

During my Quran course, we were required to pen down 5 rules for ourselves after completing each juz. I used to write my favorite verse from the respective juz with that. Arabic version of these verses is so beautiful if you understand Arabic. Here is the translation of those verses anyway:-

1. Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, "Be," and it is. [2:117]
2. And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me… [2:186]
3. .. and whoever believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it..[2:256]
4. And whoever holds firmly to Allah has [indeed] been guided to a straight path.[3:101]
5. …and sufficient is Allah as an ally, and sufficient is Allah as a helper..[4:45]
6. .. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.[4:171]
7. To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is within them. And He is over all things competent. [5:120]
8. So whoever Allah wants to guide - He expands his breast to [contain] Islam..[6:125]
9. - then know that Allah is your protector. Excellent is the protector, and Excellent is the helper. [8:40]
10. … and remember Allah much that you may be successful.[8:45]
11. …and if He intends for you good, then there is no repeller of His bounty. He causes it to reach whom He wills of His servants. And He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.[10:107]
12. And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days - and His Throne had been upon water - that He might test you as to which of you is best in deed. [11:7]
13. And He gave you from all you asked of Him. And if you should count the favor of Allah , you could not enumerate them..[14:34]
14. Indeed, Our word to a thing when We intend it is but that We say to it, "Be," and it is. [16:40]
15. Indeed, this Qur'an guides to that which is most suitable and gives good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a great reward. [17:9]
16. .. and never have I been in my supplication to You, my Lord, unhappy. [19:4]
17. ..and hold fast to Allah . He is your protector; and excellent is the protector, and excellent is the helper. [22:78]
18. Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things. [24:35]
19. And grant me a reputation of honor among later generations. [26:84]
20. Is He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes evil and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is there a deity with Allah ? Little do you remember. [27:62]
21. And whoever submits his face to Allah while he is a doer of good - then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold. And to Allah will be the outcome of [all] matters. [31:22]
22. ..But whatever thing you spend [in His cause] - He will compensate it; and He is the best of providers. [34:39]
23. His command is only when He intends a thing that He says to it, "Be," and it is. [36:82]
24. 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." [39:53]
25. And He answers [the supplication of] those who have believed and done righteous deeds and increases [for] them from His bounty..[42:26]
26. And those who believe and do righteous deeds and believe in what has been sent down upon Muhammad - and it is the truth from their Lord - He will remove from them their misdeeds and amend their condition. [47:2]
27. Whoever is within the heavens and earth asks Him; every day He is bringing about a matter. [55:29]
28. And whoever relies upon Allah - then He is sufficient for him. [65:3]
29. ..and their Lord will give them a purifying drink. [76:21]
30. For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. [94:5-6]

Inter-Views

My interviews always remind me of the joke where the interviewer asks the candidate, 'what is your weakness' and the candidate responds with ‘honesty’. Interviewer goes like, I don’t think being honest is a weakness and the candidate replies, 'I don’t give a shit to what you think'. Anyhow, here I am, stating some of my not-so-required honest encounters. 

The one where I didn't know it’s an interview:

This was the one where I thought I was having a meeting with a coach and I spoke my heart out about the subject I specialized in, my teachers, my institution and everything I could possibly talk about. I could have simply not said the names when he asked me if there are any teachers that I don’t like but Noo.

The one where I kept on talking about the things I can't do:

I had to fill a form which had 4 spaces to mention one's weaknesses, and I filled all of them. WHO DOES THAT!!

The one where I was told it’s just about interests and hobbies:

Interviewer: So you have got 4 GPA in both micro and macro economics, were you really good in these subjects?

Me: I was just okay, umm, our teacher was really good, um in terms of giving good grades.

Interviewer: And what about statistics?

Me: (In my head: O God, how do I explain it was the same teacher) I was okay. Umm the teachers were really good, we had short courses and they would just give good grades.

Interviewer: This essay, you wrote only 2 paragraphs. Why is that?

Me: I ran out of time, left essays for the last and started off with English portion with marking random options. (And I went quite after this)

Interviewer: One of your references said, you are an all rounder. So what interests do you have apart from academics?

Me: What? Me? All rounder. One of MY references said that? Oh I have no Idea. (I did tell him about my interests later, but the phase where I started thinking about who would have said that. phew)

Don’t judge the way other people connect to God!

I have seen people telling others that the way they are using to connect to god is not right and there are better ways etc. Anyhow, I came across a story in the book, The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak,which I absolutely loved. Here it is:

“Allow me to tell you a story.” And here is what he told us: One day Moses was walking in the mountains on his own when he saw a shepherd in the distance. The man was on his knees with his hands spread out to the sky, praying. Moses was delighted. But when he got closer, he was equally stunned to hear the shepherd’s prayer. “Oh, my beloved God, I love Thee more than Thou can know. I will do anything for Thee, just say the word. Even if Thou asked me to slaughter the fattest sheep in my flock in Thy name, I would do so without hesitation. Thou would roast it and put its tail fat in Thy rice to make it more tasty.” Moses inched toward the shepherd, listening attentively. “Afterward I would wash Thy feet and clean Thine ears and pick Thy lice for Thee. That is how much I love Thee.”

Having heard enough, Moses interrupted the shepherd, yelling, “Stop, you ignorant man! What do you think you are doing? Do you think God eats rice? Do you think God has feet for you to wash? This is not prayer. It is sheer blasphemy.” Dazed and ashamed, the shepherd apologized repeatedly and promised to pray as decent people did. Moses taught him several prayers that afternoon. Then he went on his way, utterly pleased with himself. But that night Moses heard a voice. It was God’s. “Oh, Moses, what have you done? You scolded that poor shepherd and failed to realize how dear he was to Me. He might not be saying the right things in the right way, but he was sincere. His heart was pure and his intentions good. I was pleased with him. His words might have been blasphemy to your ears, but to Me they were sweet blasphemy.”

Moses immediately understood his mistake. The next day, early in the morning, he went back to the mountains to see the shepherd. He found him praying again, except this time he was praying in the way he had been instructed. In his determination to get the prayer right, he was stammering, bereft of the excitement and passion of his earlier prayer. Regretting what he had done to him, Moses patted the shepherd’s back and said: “My friend, I was wrong. Please forgive me. Keep praying in your own way. That is more precious in God’s eyes.” The shepherd was astonished to hear this, but even deeper was his relief. Nevertheless, he did not want to go back to his old prayers. Neither did he abide by the formal prayers that Moses had taught him. He had now found a new way of communicating with God. Though satisfied and blessed in his naïve devotion, he was now past that stage—beyond his sweet blasphemy.

“So you see, don’t judge the way other people connect to God,” concluded Shams. “To each his own way and his own prayer. God does not take us at our word. He looks deep into our hearts. It is not the ceremonies or rituals that make a difference, but whether our hearts are sufficiently pure or not.”

وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ - Be polite and cautious

Arabic language always fascinates me for being so rich in its meaning. I love the fact that we have to use a lot of terms to explain one Arabic word.

Anyway, I was reading surah Al-Kahf today and I came across the word وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ . It reminded me of the time when we studied its explanation in class and I just felt the need to share it with everyone.

وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ is right in the middle of Quran with an amazing advice for all of us, umm okay, may be two. The root word is  ل ط ف , which means:

1- To be thin, delicate, refined, to do something with proper planning, to know the complication of all affairs

2- To be polite, gentle, courteous, kind

and the meaning of the word وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ used in surah Al-Kahaf is, let him be polite, let him behave with great care, let him behave with caution, let him be courteous.

So you know, 2 rules:

1- Be cautious

IN ALL MATTERS. During exams, while driving, at workplace, while fulfilling any assigned responsibility, when dealing with people

2- Be gentle

WITH EVERYONE. Whether your parents, children, siblings, teachers, students, service providers, guards, drivers, maids, strangers, colleagues, boss, sub-ordinate, ANYONE

Simple as that.

Purpose of Life - Race towards all that is good

In my previous blog: Hum Kyon Hain where I shared verses of Quran on purpose of creation, I thought I should make a list of good deeds as a reminder to myself and to others. This will help us do small acts of kindness and make us feel good about the things that we already do and never think of those as something worth doing.

I will keep updating the list whenever someone shares simple examples of good deeds with me and whenever I want :D

Smile

Help someone cross the road by stoping your car

Play with kids

Help at home by doing chores

Give food to homeless

Donate money for a worthwhile cause

Donate your old books to some local library

Donate your old clothes to those who need

Volunteer WHEREVER you can

Plant trees

Collect garbage on your way and throw in bin

Mentor someone

Be generous to waiters

Donate blood

Help someone with preparation of exams

Say thanks to maids, drivers, guards

Get at least one person enrolled in school. Government schools don't charge fee.

‘...and never have I been in my supplication to You, my Lord, unhappy’

I have been thinking to write on the subject of Dua from long but laziness took over.

I think I was in grade 2 when I read in an Urdu book, ‘jooti ka tasma b toot jae to Allah se mango’ (Ask from your lord, even If your shoelace is broken). And somehow, I have been a firm believer of this statement since then. I remember when I used to ask for literally everything from Allah (SWT) from a red car to achar (pickle) in lunch.

Dua is usually perceived as asking for something from God. Recently, in Quran in Surah Maryam, I read about mother of Maryam A.S, having conversation with Allah (SWT) when she was expecting. The expressions which are used in Quran made me feel so good. She wasn’t really asking for anything but she would just go on about telling Him stuff that she’s been thinking about and what she would do once she gives birth to her child. This reminded me of the literal meaning of Dua, which is, to call upon. So what I believe is you don’t particularly need to sit down on a prayer mat or go to the mosque to ask for what you want. It is all about having conversation with the One whether you are lying on the bed having stupid thoughts or you are in class, daydreaming.

This blog may sound so lame to someone who doesn’t believe in praying, and also to someone who does have faith in it, for being so obvious. But I had to write it anyway.

In Quran, Allah says:  

أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ

 ‘I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.’ [2: 186]

This verse is so satisfying. The word أُجِيبُ has the meaning of responding and providing with what someone is asking for in it. How can one not believe in praying or lose hope that his prayers might not be answered, when it is stated this clearly in Quran.

Quran tells us about Duas of different prophets. This one from Musa A.S is my favorite. 

رَبِّ إِنِّي لِمَا أَنْزَلْتَ إِلَيَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَقِيرٌ

"My Lord, indeed I am, for whatever good You would send down to me, in need." [28:24]

The word فَقِيرٌ used here is translated in English as ‘in need’. This word is used for beggar when used as noun. The beauty of this word used in this particular Dua gives me so much pleasure. Think of it. How does a beggar beg? He would praise you, would tell you his problems, would tell you how beautiful everything is that you own, would tell you to give him what he is asking for because you have beautiful kids and wife, AND won’t leave until you give him what he is asking for. This encourages me to make Dua from Allah (SWT) like a beggar, praising Him, telling Him all the problems, talking about things He has created beautifully, and not leaving until I get what I am asking for.

I don’t get to whom else we can go if not Allah (SWT). We just need to have faith that we will get what we want, and ask for it knowing He is the owner of the whole universe and He owns what we want. Also, there are times when we pray with ifs and buts. What’s the point of making Dua if we have to say, O lord! Give it to me "if this is good for me". Why don’t we ask for what we need and the good in it as well? The One who has the power to provide us with what we want, also has the power to make it good for us in every aspect.

Have faith, Ask for it. May all your prayers be answered : )