Ultimate Happiness

In the Name of the Most Compassionate the Most Merciful,

I was planning to go to Poland this coming weekend to celebrate one of my soul mates on her birthday. I'm not going to lie, I was really looking forward to it so I was a bit disappointed that she cancelled, but I definitely understand her. Thing is, she is studying med-school in Poland and she hasn't seen her family for months plus she is exhausted from studies so she definitely needs a break as well as see her family, and what time is better than on her birthday?! (: My disappointment turned into contentment fairly fast; sometimes we need to sacrifice our own happiness in order to make other people happy, and isn't that what ultimate happiness is? Alhamdulillah 'ala kulli haal (praise be to God in all situations).

I just saw a video clip of a man called Abdul Sattar Edhi, the founder of Edhi Trust. Wow, I was left in tears after watching that video, unfortunately it's on Facebook so I can't share it here. To summarize, Edhi barely had any money for himself but had a dream of helping other people in need so he started begging on the streets in order to get money to start helping people. He bought an ambulance and began helping people to and from the hospital, and he did this for 48 years. Slowly but surely, he opened schools, orphanages and women shelters. What amazes me is that some people who are filthy rich give nothing to the needy while other people, like Edhi, who doesn't have much give more than they can afford. And from experience I've noticed that poor people often are the most generous. Edhi uttered something which stuck on my mind: "People are educated but they're all flawed, humanity is flawed. We have not become humans." Which is very true in the country of Pakistan, I'm starting to lose hope on that country; seems like it has lost its sense for humanity. People in so called Muslim countries have failed to see each other first and foremost as fellow human beings; all they see are sects and ethnicities, and they kill each other for their differences instead of looking at their similarities. We don't have to accept each others beliefs but we should respect them.

The love we should have 
is the love which looks at everything through Him. 
We must discover that love inside each and every thing we see.

If we can find this and make it our own, 
then everyone will be a brother or sister 
born with us.

This is the only kind of love in which God is present,
the only love which is lasting.
This is grace, this is wisdom and light.

This love is the shining beauty of our face,
the beauty of our heart, our wealth, our life.
This is what makes our soul beautiful.
This is what makes the house of our life beautiful.

          - Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen


I pray that God blesses me with such a big heart so that I can give beyond my capacity.


Peace,
S.

Words of Wisdom

In the Name of the Most Compassionate the Most Merciful,

"You should desire for others what you desire for yourself, and hate for others what you hate for yourself. Do not oppress, just as you do not like to be oppressed. Do good to others just as you would like good to be done to you. Dislike in yourself what you dislike in others. Accept that treatment from others which you would like others to accept from you. Do not talk about what you do not know, for what you know might be very little. Do not say to other what you do not like to be said to you."

                                                               ~ Imam Ali (A)





Peace,
S.

A high level of Love

In the Name of God the Most Compassionate the Most Merciful,

I stumbled upon a facebook picture of Mohammed Ali that says:

“I don’t smoke but I keep a match box in my pocket. When my heart slips towards a sin, I burn a match stick and heat my palm. Then I say to myself: ‘Ali You can’t bear even this heat, how would u bear the unbearable heat of Hell?’"

Had I come across this picture say 3 years ago, I would have been amazed by this quote and thought "What a great reminder!" However, when I came across it I thought that it wasn't a very high level of faith to only obey God in fear of hell or in love for paradise. It's something I've been pondering on for a while now...I believe that we're supposed to aim for higher levels; we're capable of reaching much higher levels than we think, but we're satisfied with simply refraining from haram and hope for paradise. Imagine abstaining from haram (unlawful) things and doing halal (lawful) completely, if one does this with neither fear of hell nor hope of paradise but out of love for God because He is worthy of it, one will start seeing God in everything. Every breath you take will be praising God (:


Peace,
S.

Eid e Zahra

In the Name of God the Most Compassionate the Most Merciful,

On Saturday I was invited to a dear friend of mine who wanted to get together after a long time due to Muharram and Safar. Eid e Zahra, or Eid e Shuja, is the day which marks the end of the mourning period after the events of the battle of Karbala.

So, a dear friend of mine invited me and other wonderful sisters to a Dutch-treat or you might call it a covered-dish supper where everyone is supposed to bring a dish of food or dessert to the party. Of course, there were a lot of yummy stuff for my tummy! Delicious food and lovely company was a great way to celebrate it. I'm laughing out loud just thinking about charades. We were about 20 very diverse bunch of gals that played charades. Can you imagine how it looked? It was the most fun I had had in a long time I must say (:

New Year's Eve & Stockholm

In the Name of God the Most Compassionate the Most Merciful,

The Stockholm trip with my friends was a lovely one! I fell in love with Stockholm; it's a charming city indeed with plenty of old buildings and a lot of history, definitely my cup of tea! (:

Now it's back to reality.

I have to finish my papers that I've been procrastinating since a month back. I constantly tell myself I'm not going to leave things till the last minute, but somehow I seem to forget every single time. I really don't want to procrastinate anymore. I hate the feeling of panic and anxiety that makes my tummy cringe. So much for my New Year's resolution...I have to come up with a better strategy to deal with this. I just remembered - my cousin and I made a pact to participate in a half-marathon in May in Copenhagen (Denmark), and the funny thing is, I can barely make it up the stairs at home. This shall be fun.

New Year Resolutions:

Stop procrastinating. Stay positive. Spread more joy and love around myself. Be more patient. More ambitious. Deepen my relation with Allah (swt). Start working out. Become more confident. Read more books. Don't let negative people get to me. Let go of the past. Live in the present. Stay better in touch with friends & family. Smile towards strangers. Do small acts of kindness every day.

Peace,

S.

Exchange Girls

In the Name of God the Most Compassionate the Most Merciful,


Some of the girls that I bonded with in Canada last semester are coming to visit me today! We're going to stay in Malmö for a few days and after New Years Eve we're heading to Stockholm for a few days. My lovely girls are from Argentina, Germany, UK and Norway, and we're all reunited after 8 months :) I still haven't properly planned what to show them here in Malmö, but we'll figure something out. There's always something to see. *EXCITED*.



Peace,
S.

Oops

In the name of God the Most Compassionate the Most Merciful,

I just remembered my blog out of nowhere. I was supposed to blog throughout my whole exchange in Canada which didn't happen. But to summarize my experience: I had an amazing experience, alhamdulillah. I met beautiful souls and saw beautiful places. I visited Ottowa, Montreal, Quebec, New York City and Washington D.C. 

This immense love for travelling has been sparked inside my heart, and I would love to explore God's creation little by little insha'Allah. As Rumi beautifully puts it: 

“Travel brings power and love back into your life.”

Peace,
S.