Be Brave

Say how you feel, leave the job you hate, find your own passion, love with every ounce of your body, stand up for things that matter, don’t Settle and never apologize for who are you.

Zadie Smith’s 10 Rules of Writing

1. When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.

2. When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.

3. Don’t romanticise your ‘vocation.’ You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no ‘writer’s lifestyle.’ All that matters is what you leave on the page.

4. Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you can’t do aren’t worth doing. Don’t mask self-doubt with contempt.

5.Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.

6. Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won’t make your writing any better than it is.

7. Work on a computer that is disconnected from the ­internet.

8. Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.

9. Don’t confuse honours with achievement.

10. Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand — but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never ­being satisfied.

Neil Gaiman’s 8 Rules of Writing

1. Write.

2. Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.

3. Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.

4. Put it aside. Read it pretending you’ve never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.

5. Remember when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.

6. Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.

7. Laugh at your own jokes.

8. The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it ­honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

Live for Today

Today share one more smile, today pray one more time, today drink one more tear, today live one more life, today see one more dream, today who knows, there may be no tomorrow

Seven Minutes

After the heart stops, there are seven minutes of brain activity left. Seven minutes, four hundred twenty seconds, where the brain replays all the best moments in your life, as if to make the journey to extinction easier. Everyone sees different things; some see summer days at amusement parks, while some see quiet nights with a book. Some see senior prom while some see their thirty first birthday. I saw you. I saw the glisten of your midnight hair and the gleam of your star bound eyes. Six minutes left. I saw the flecks of hazelnut that pepper your cheeks, and dance around dimples too proud to go unnoticed. Those adorable little dimples compliment your shy smile so perfectly. Five minutes left. They always were a feature you were proud of.. they even showed when you frowned. Four minutes left. I saw the regret of the words I wish my tongue molded for you; I saw the shame of the ones my tongue did. Three minutes left. I saw the glass ladder we tiptoed up; I saw the cracks on the rungs where your ultimatums pierced through. Two minutes left. I saw the glitters of the shards when every bolt fell apart. They were beautiful, resembling something like a million diamonds floating down from the sky. It reminded me of us with how quickly they dissipated after hitting the ground. One minute left. It’s a shame. We crawled and we climbed, and in the end, we made it to a place just shy of happiness. Zero.

Moments

In winter night, I was walking on a street and going to buy some stuff from shop and saw some dogs fighting at the end of street so, I starts to walk fast so it could be easy to pass from them, my eyes were on dogs so it was difficult to look in front. I just accidentally and unintentionally bump to stranger and fall on the street, the person which I got bumped was a girl, who was dressed in black with the white gloves in hand and cartwheel hat on head, she also walking faster for the same reason and fall on the street as I was,  but she quickly rally her belonging and start walking, it seem that she was very shy girl. When she already then, I stood up from the street and saw that she forgot her watch to pick up which is collapse from her hand by breaking, I was unable to saw her face because of her hat and when she stood she immediately start walking, I suddenly pick up her watch and run after her, I also don’t know the name of her so I call her by excusing and when she turn back. At that moment, it seemed to me that time stood still. When I looked into her dark eyes and saw that her lips were poised between a laugh and silence, I learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke, the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their hearts. Something that exerted the force whenever two pairs of eyes met, as had their here on the street, we are also able to communicate with our face expressions.Sometimes you can’t explain what you see in a person. It’s just the way they take you to a place where no one else can. I stepped closer to the girl and when she smiled I did the same “What’s your name?” I asked, “Fatima,” the girl said, averting her eyes. And that was the moment when, I forgot every problem and every thing related to me and feel the silence of the world. I was not able to talk more, I was speechless, I was lost staring at her, I tried saying something but i discover that i was unable to say anything, she was like hello!!! why you call me, without saying anything, I gave back her watch and turn straightaway showing her that, I m going on my way. After the few moments the sound of her heels echo in my ear, Eventually I turn back and keep watching to her, as she was going forever, I was ashamed of myself that, I want to tell her that she could ever know just how beautiful she was that even on the darkest night, she was brightest star. I really want to talk her, I want to touch her passionately with my words, and speak to her loudly with my actions, but they are only thoughts. Sometimes you just know things aren’t gonna work out but you think anyway. At the end of the street she switch back with a big smiled on her face and her eyes told everything, and it also the sign of beautiful flowers which take time to bloom. I didn’t want her to exist only in the past of today’s souls, so I wrote.. I wrote about her.

Beloved

I love her, the way she treat me, the way she hug me with full of joy, the way she snatch my phone when, I was busy in it, the way she get possessive when, I am dealing with female client, the way she disturb me when, I was doing my own work, the way she want attention from me, the way she want me to kiss her forehead, the way she got afraid while watching horror movie and squeezed my hand, the way she fed me food with her own hand, the way she oil my hair, the way she enjoyed to clutter my hair, the way she put her fingers in my ear, the way she pull my hand to show something interesting while walking, the way she praise the tea made by me even it is not admirable, the way she enjoyed to interrupt me while she can’t able to sleep, the way she laughed, the way she shout, the way she cry, the way she smile, the way she become happy on little things, the way she become sad on little things, the way she missed me, the way she plan, the way she enjoy, the way she walk, due to all these mature and stupid things the she do, I becomes all hers, I am here at her service. And I, won’t ask for any leave, nor any promotions, I only want my salary, which would be, a few thousands smiles, a few millions hugs, a few billions kisses. That’s all, I want.

Are You a Muslim Who Doesn’t Pray?

You want to pray, but you just.. Can’t.

Perhaps you’ve always wanted to be one of those people who pray.. It seems so easy for some. They just get up and do it. Perhaps you were one of those people at one time, but now.. Not so much.

Something inside you is broken. Scratch that.. It’s not exactly broken.. More like, it feels hollow inside. Something is missing. You feel nothing.. Numb.

So how do we get from this to praying? The problem with most advice on salah is that it looks at things from a reactive point of view instead of a proactive point of view. Not praying? Well, just start. Or better yet, take one salah at a time and keep building until you reach five. Good advice, no?

No. It doesn’t address what leads a person towards salah to begin with.

For some one who feels that hollowness inside, ‘just praying’ does nothing to stir the soul. It doesn’t fill you up. And, in fact, it can deplete you even further. No, you need to start somewhere else.. You need to fill yourself up before your actions all follow suit.

We pray because of one simple reason: We love Allah. It’s the loving Allah part that makes it easy. It’s the loving Allah part that makes you stand up when you’re exhausted. Without that piece of the puzzle, nothing else will make salah stick.

When we look at the early Muslims, when Islam first came down, were there a lot of commandments? No, there weren’t. The early surahs are filled with lessons about Allah, about His Angels, His Messengers, His Books. The rules and regulations came later, after the foundation was built. So when we look at our own lives, why do we focus on the rules and regulations without paying attention to the foundation first?

If we want to be amongst those who pray.. Who pray regularly and easily.. Who jump up when the time for salah begins.. Then we need to begin first by building a love for Allah. And in order to do this, we need to KNOW Him.

I always tell people who aren’t praying to begin first with dhikr. Say SubhanAllah 100 times each day. And as you do so, reflect on our own weaknesses, and the Greatness of Allah. Reflect on how it is only with His Help that we are able to do anything. When you do this, you’ll start a habit of THINKING about Allah. You’re remembering Him.

And what happens when you remember Allah? It starts to soften your dead heart.. You start to have more peace.. And most importantly, He remembers YOU.

Ibn al-Qayyim stated, “In the heart there is hardness which can only be softened by remembrance of Allah. So the slave must treat the hardness of his heart with the remembrance of Allah.”

“Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.” (Qur’an, 13:28)

“I am to my servant as he expects of Me, I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in his heart, I remember him to Myself, and if he remembers me in an assembly, I mention him in an assembly better than his…” (Bukhari and Muslim)

Be MINDFUL of this as you sit each day doing some dhikr. Think to yourself, I am walking towards Allah.. As the last hadith goes on to say..

“… When he comes closer to Me by a handspan, I come closer to him an arm’s length. If he draws closer to Me by an arm’s length, I draw closer by a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him. If my servant comes to Me walking, I go to him running.” (Al-Bukhari)

You’re not praying (yet) but be mindful that you are getting closer. Allow yourself to be in a state where you know you aren’t doing what you’re supposed to, but you’re taking steps to get there. One of the tactics of Shaitan is that he leads you to believe that it’s all or nothing. Either you’re praying, or you’re sinfully not. So when we’re not, a dark cloud of guilt hovers over us, leaving us in darkness, unable to move forward.

Do you know the story of the man who killed 99 men?

Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Prophet of Allah (PBUH) said: “There was a man from among a nation before you who killed ninety-nine people and then made an inquiry about the most learned person on the earth. He was directed to a monk. He came to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. He replied in the negative and the man killed him also completing one hundred. He then asked about the most learned man in the earth. He was directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed one hundred people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. He replied in the affirmative and asked, `Who stands between you and repentance? Go to such and such land; there (you will find) people devoted to prayer and worship of Allah, join them in worship, and do not come back to your land because it is an evil place.’ So he went away and hardly had he covered half the distance when death overtook him; and there was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of torment. The angels of mercy pleaded, ‘This man has come with a repenting heart to Allah,’ and the angels of punishment argued, ‘He never did a virtuous deed in his life.’ Then there appeared another angel in the form of a human being and the contending angels agreed to make him arbiter between them. He said, `Measure the distance between the two lands. He will be considered belonging to the land to which he is nearer.’ They measured and found him closer to the land (land of piety) where he intended to go, and so the angels of mercy collected his soul”. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

In another version: “He was found to be nearer to the locality of the pious by a cubit and was thus included among them”. Another version says: “Allah commanded (the land which he wanted to leave) to move away and commanded the other land (his destination) to draw nearer and then He said: “Now measure the distance between them.’ It was found that he was nearer to his goal by a hand’s span and was thus forgiven”. It is also narrated that he drew closer by a slight movement on his chest.

What is awesome about this story is that he hadn’t dramatically changed in terms of his actions. He was just WALKING towards change. And that was enough for Allah. Allah is so patient that He watches us disobey Him. And He waits. Waiting for us to turn back to Him. SubhanAllah!

So begin by walking towards Him. And be mindful that when you do your dhikr, you are taking a step.

Another good step is to begin learning His Names. When you KNOW Him, really know Him, you can’t help but attach your heart onto Him. Knowing Allah’s Names will draw your heart closer to Him. And as it does so, you will remember Him more..

Over time, your desire to please Him and turn back to Him will increase.. And this, my friends, is what will fill you up. This is what will take away the hollowness.. THIS is what will make salah easy. THIS is where the advice, ‘take it one salah at a time’ will be beneficial. When you get to this place, it won’t be such a giant leap to contemplate standing up for one prayer. And slowly, one will become two.. And so on..

But before you begin building your prayers, take the time to build your foundations, just as they early Muslims did. Start with baby steps, like doingdhikr or learning His Names.

Found it.

I found the light, now there is some attraction in the path. I found every happines, now life is showering on itself, I’ve learn how to live life. Remember yesterday that moment had come in which there was such a magic, I became as if I was new. Who knows what sort of moment was it. The heart says that go there, wherever your desire take you. Now let whatever happen

Love

I want love to be simple. I want to trust without thinking. I want to be generous with my affection and patience and love unconditionally. It is easier to love a person with their flaws than to weed through them. I want to love the whole person, not parts; and this is how I want to be loved.

Pay Attention to the Detail

A wise man once sat in the audience and cracked a joke. All laughed like crazy. After a moment he cracked the same joke again and a little less people laughed this time. He cracked the same joke again and again, when there was no laughter in the crowd, he smiled and said: “When you can’t laugh on the same joke again and again, then why do you keep crying over the same issue over and over again?”

Learn from Mistakes

Thomas Edison tried two thousand different materials in search of a filament for the light bulb. When none worked satisfactorily, his assistant complained, “All our work is in vain. We have learned nothing.”
Thomas Edison replied very confidently, “Oh, we have come a long way and we have learned a lot. We now that there are two thousand elements which we cannot use to make a good light bulb.”

Quotes

"War does not determine who is right - only who is left."
"Your beliefs don't make you a better person, your behavior does."
"If A is a success in life, then A equals X plus Y plus Z. Work is X; Y is play, and Z is keeping your mouth shut."

Struggle

Dear Self, I know you struggle sometimes but just in case I don’t tell you enough, you’re beautiful. Thank you for being so strong and transparent. The world sees you even when you feel invisible. I appreciate your heart and your stubbornness. Your willingness to love even after being discarded and forgotten is admirable. I am so proud to know that you’ve grown to acknowledge your worth.

Not to Stop Trying

As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not. He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were. Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

Be Positive

Six year old boy decided one morning to make pancake for his parents. He found a big bowl and spoon; He pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor. He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten. He was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for his parents, but it was getting very bad. He didn’t know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove, (and he didn’t know how the stove works!). Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean up all mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky. And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big tears came in the boys eyes. All he did wanted to do was something good, but he did made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him. Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him.

Moral of Story: That’s how Allah (SWT) deals with us.

Priorities

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up the remaining open areas of the jar.

He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter – like yourJOB, your house, your car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party, or fix the disposal.”

“Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

Start Taking Decision

No one has the right to tell you who you are and control your life, cause it’s your life. Your life is meant to be lived by no one else but yourself. We sometimes let people get the best of us, destroy us and change our options on what we believe is true. Only you know what’s right for yourself, you have the power, you make the choices and you learn. Each experience we go through in a life is a lesson to be learned. We all make mistakes, why is that so hard for some to understand? No one should be judged by the mistakes they have made. It’s past news. Everything happens for a reason, and without the hard times, how would we ever realize our true strength? It’s only through a time of suffering when we realize how strong we truly are inside, when we realize how much we can actually put up with and deal with before we eventually break.