swag

Bismillah..

Heard of it, but only recently I saw one that exudes that definition.

Swag in Urban dictionary:

1. appearance, style, or the way he or she presents them selves.
He got a killa swag.


2. The way in which you carry yourself. 
Swag is made up of your overall confidence, style, and demeanor. Swag can also be expanded to be the reputation of your overall swagger. You gain swag, or "Swag up", by performing swag worthy actions that improve this perception. A person can also "swag down," by being an overall pussy and garnering negative swag for their actions. Swag is a subtle thing that many strive to gain but few actually attain. It is reserved for the most swagalicious of people. Swag can also be quantified, with point systems existing in some circles of friends.


3. the way one carries their self.
I'm really diggin your swag


4. The most useless word in the English language.
My swag is off the charts!


5. Promotional merchandise for a band, record label, or other entity in the music business, usually distributed at concerts. 


6. Stuff We All Get - Relating to the trade show convention industry, where exhibitors hand out "free stuff" to visitors. Most of the time these items are purely promotional materials, and are fairly worthless. ie. pencils, mugs, and mouse pads. 
SWAG always has the company name, logo, slogan, product, service, and contact information clearly printed somewhere on the item/s. 


7. Coolness
That kid James has maximum swag.

"be true... to yourself"

- - -

Have faith

Bismillah..

"Hold on to Allah SWT

and let yourself go

Have more faith in yourself."

 

Trust is given when you believe..


I trust you


you can do it!"
 :D


- - -

soft gooey centre

Bismillah..

I've been...careless, this week.

what's with the self-destructive ways, weak, rebellious

all the while..aware..painfully aware that I'm running to that wall

Alhamdulillah, Allah swt sent me a little incident to reflect my ways.

my dear car, you must've been tired with these constant attention ^^"

(it got stuck in a mud hole..and again a team of laughing cousins to  lift it off)

and this happen right after I read these verse

 Your attentiveness, Ya Allah..

touched my heart with the softest whisper :")

Surah Al-Anfal:


If you have an ounce of kindness in your heart, Allah will make you a learned one.

"Had Allah known any good in them, He would have made them hear. And if He had made them hear, they would [still] have turned away, while they were refusing."

"Kalau sekiranya Allah mengetahui kebaikan ada pada mereka, tentulah Allah menjadikan mereka dapat mendengar (memahami). Dan jikalau Allah menjadikan mereka dapat mendengar, niscaya mereka pasti berpaling juga, sedang mereka memalingkan diri (dari apa yang mereka dengar itu)." 

- verse 23

He would guide your heart, the rights and the wrongs.



O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart and that to Him you will be gathered.


Hai orang-orang yang beriman, penuhilah seruan Allah dan seruan Rasul apabila Rasul menyeru kamu kepada suatu yang memberi kehidupan kepada kamu, ketahuilah bahwa sesungguhnya Allah membatasi antara manusia dan hatinya dan sesungguhnya kepada-Nya-lah kamu akan dikumpulkan. 
- verse 4

..and He would give something much better than what is being taken from you. Don't fear of leaving your jahiliyyah, because He'll give something much much valuable...and to be forgiven?


O Prophet, say to whoever is in your hands of the captives, "If Allah knows [any] good in your hearts, He will give you [something] better than what was taken from you, and He will forgive you; and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."

"Hai Nabi, katakanlah kepada tawanan-tawanan yang ada di tanganmu: "Jika Allah mengetahui ada kebaikan dalam hatimu, niscaya Dia akan memberikan kepadamu yang lebih baik dari apa yang telah diambil daripadamu dan Dia akan mengampuni kamu". Dan Allah Maha Pengampun lagi Maha Penyayang. 

- Verse 71

O Allah, You hit my heart with the right notes~ :")))

- - -

Mist

Bismillah..

"Maka apakah mereka tidak melihat akan langit yang ada di atas mereka, bagaimana Kami meninggikannya dan menghiasinya dan langit itu tidak mempunyai retak-retak sedikitpun?



Dan Kami hamparkan bumi itu dan Kami letakkan padanya gunung-gunung yang kokoh dan Kami tumbuhkan padanya segala macam tanaman yang indah dipandang mata,


untuk menjadi pelajaran dan peringatan bagi tiap-tiap hamba yang kembali (mengingat Allah)."


Surah Qaf, 50: 6-8

- - -

Just the way you are..

Bismillah..

cool water, warm sun

heads barely out of the clouds, it's school holiday and yet, at 7am, was standing at the beach

laid out canvas, banana-flavored drinks, cream puddings, three different types of fried noodles

water pistols, a bucket of assorted kids galore of a child's idea of an ideal picnic

no expectations, perceptions

just pure play

and of warm reunions

.
.
.

..and it was at those shoreline I learned about being protected, about being cared for

someone confided in me

when you're young, often you felt wronged

that grown-ups know 'nothing'

weak, incapable of providing what you needed the most

what I heard made me cry

because they know they lack a lot of things (knowledge, experience, etc)

can't provide a proper soil

the sun's glare too strong

winds too harsh

yet they traveled far to carry a few beans out
 to have a taste of proper sunlight, proper rain

before being planted back into home-soil

so they'd adapt

made strong, made true

..and its the sacrifices they continually made

at first, I thought

that being indebted is making yourself into a fool

a price paid for an uncertain future

yet, it's the future I'm looking into now

sunflower faces beaming at me

blooms from that effort, from that sacrifice

MasyaAllah, how can I compete with that?

the fact that I'm really too young

that with all my fierce sense of what is right

couldn't compare to elders patience

in facing praises and critics

on hearing own faults paraded

they bear with it

and am in awe and warmed by that gesture

I know I'm being cryptic now

but please bear with me

coz' that's who I am

accept it or leave it

...the lesson was

accept someone for who they are

their strength, their weakness

because there's a lot we don't know actually

no matter how much we think we knew

we don't

what a strange world it is

that misfits paved the way for perfection

in amal, ibadah, etc

compared to flawless heroes

I think I love these misfits better

so don't worry if you had a bumpy rides in your life

one word

"beramallah"

although people would see you as a fool

Allah SWT see you as much better than that :D

- - -

"Sesungguhnya Allah tidak menganiaya seseorang walaupun sebesar zarrah, dan jika ada kebajikan sebesar zarrah, niscaya Allah akan melipat gandakannya dan memberikan dari sisi-Nya pahala yang besar."
An-Nisa, 4:40


.
.


Dalam kitab Shahih Muslim disebutkan sebuah hadits dari Abu Hurairah radhiallahu 'anhu bahwa Rasulullah Shalallahu 'alaihi wasallam bersabda (dalam sebuah hadits yang cukup panjang, namun kami ketikkan dalam bentuk poin-poin):


1. Siapa yang melepaskan satu kesulitan dari kesulitan dunia pada seorang mukmin, maka Allah akan melepaskannya dari kesulitan di hari akhirat.


2. Siapa yang memudahkan orang lain, Allah memudahkan kesulitannya di dunia dan akhirat.


3. Siapa yang menutupi aib orang muslim, Allah akan menutupi aibnya di dunia dan akhirat.


4. Allah tidak akan berhenti menolong seorang hamba selama ia tidak berhenti menolong saudaranya.


5. Siapa yang melewati jalan, di jalan itu ia mencari ilmu. Maka Allah akan memudahkan baginya jalan ke surga.


6. Sekelompok kaum berkumpul di rumah Allah, membaca kitab Allah dan mengkaji isinya, maka pasti akan turun ketenangan di dalam hatinya, mereka diliputi rahmat, dikelilingi para malaikat, dan Allah akan membanggakan kaum tersebut kepada malaikat.


7. Siapa yang lambat amalnya, nasabnya (keturunannya) tidak membuatnya cepat.
(Maksudnya, kemuliaan seseorang itu tidaklah dilihat dari keturunannya, namun dari amalnya).


- - -

witness

Bismillah..

"All men are members of the same body, Created from one essence
If fate brings suffering to one member, The others cannot stay at rest
You may remain indifferent
To the burden of others.
Do not deserve to be called human."
- Oneness of Mankind (Iranian poetry)

I remembered

he asked of us of what we'd do

to raise our hands if its our true intent

then he pointed upwards, saying

"He (Allah swt) bears witness over you (of what you say/d0)"

because we made a promise

"..Kami telah menjadikan kamu (Umat Islam) "umat pertengahan" agar kamu menjadi saksi atas (perbuatan) manusia dan agar Rasul (Muhammad) menjadi saksi atas (perbuatan) kamu.."

Surah Al-Baqarah, 2: 143


This is a message to muslims on their role on mankind.
That 'salaam' would pass through our fingers, regardless of race, skin colour, that wherever we go..we bring light, we ease of burdens, we help..even though stones would be thrown back at us or anything.
because our existence is not merely our own
that the message of rahmat passes to these people, too
that Allah SWT never forgets
..and its our role to pass that message on

"Dan mereka bersumpah dengan (nama) Allah dengan sumpah sungguh-sungguh, bahwa jika engkau suruh merka berperang, pastilah mereka akan pergi. Katakanlah, "Janganlah kamu bersumpah, (kerana yang diminta) adalah ketaatan yang baik. Sungguh, Allah Mahteliti terhadap apa yang kamu kerjakan."

Surah An-Nur, 24: 53  

"make true of your promise."

- - -

My heart

Bismillah..

Heard of marriages lately, conversations, facebook posts, etc.. 
actually a bit weary of it. 
.
.

Why?  

 Probably because I felt there's something wrong with openly expressing love to someone 'before' marriage. Even engagement is not a sealed thing.

Someone close to me shared this, and its  a moral that I hold on to.

 She had a fiance, about to get married after they finished their studies. They observed their distance, syariat-wise, everything...and everyone knows how much he loves her, though she puts on a straight face everytime, guarding her heart and his (from Zina Hati). Fate has it, Allah SWT loves him more (he passed away before their nikah day, only a few months away).

A wake-up call on the remembrance of death in every wakes of life, in every 'grand' plan. To always be wary...

I couldn't imagine facing that, to be thus heartbroken. 

Yet, she's a strong person.  Allah SWT sent her someone whose character amazes me. He didn't pay much heed on death, if he's gravely sick, etc. because no matter what, as long as he's breathing..he'd live his life like it was his last. His studies, his life..he'd give the best..because time is that precious to him. Literally. He'd wake up from a coma and the first thing he'd ask of the nurse is whether he can go out to attend his classes.

I wondered about that

then, how should we love?

because it is our fitrah

how should we find our mirrors that reflects us?

 Then I came to this ayat

"Teman-teman karib pada hari itu saling bermusuhan satu sama yang lain, 

kecuali mereka yang bertakwa.

"Wahai hamba-hambaKu! Tidak ada ketakutan bagimu pada hari itu, dan tidak pula kamu bersedih hati. (Yaitu) orang-orang yang beriman kepada ayat-ayat Kami dan mereka berserah diri. Masuklah kamu kedalam surga, kamu dan pasanganmu akan digembirakan."

Az-Zukhruf, 43: 67-70 

..and the first person who came out from my mind is someone I shared my childhood and youth with.

this heart belongs to Allah swt,

and He gave me this inclination to love Rasulullah SAW in my childhood 

and this one sahaba', through my youth.

When I read this hadith, I fell in love..

Sahabat Abdullah bin Umar bin 'Aash berkata, "Ada tiga orang Quraisy yang paling baik akhlaknya, paling cerah wajahnya, 

dan paling besar malunya. 

Apabila mereka berbicara, tidak akan pernah berdusta dan kalau Anda yang berbicara kepada mereka, 

baik hak maupun batil mereka tidak akan mendustakannya. 

Mereka adalah Abu Bakar ash-Shiddiq RA, Abu 'Ubaidah bin Jarrah RA dan

Utsman bin Affan RA."

Rasulullah s.a.w bersabda, "yang paling pengasih di antara umatku adalah Abu Bakar, yang paling keras dalam agama Allah adalah Umar, dan yang paling pemalu adalah Utsman ..." (HR At-Tirmidzi).

...and he is Rasulullah SAW's companion in Jannah.

Tercatat dalam "Arriyadh Annadhirahfi Manaqabil Asyarah" dari sahabat Abu Dzar ra, bahawa Rasulullah masuk kerumah Aisyah ra dan bersabda:

"Wahai Aisyah, inginkah engkau mendengar khabar gembira?"

Aisyah menjawab: "Tentu, ya Rasulullah." 

Lalu Nabi SAW bersabda, "Ada sepuluh orang yang mendapat khabar gembira masuk syurga, Iaitu:

Ayahmu (Sayyidina Abu Bakr) masuk syurga dan kawannya adalah Ibrahim; 

Umar masuk syurga dan kawannya Nuh; 

Uthman masuk syurga dan kawannya adalah aku; 

Ali masuk syurga dan kawannya adalah Yahya bin Zakaria; 

Thalhah masuk syurga dan kawannya adalah Daud; 

Azzubair masuk syurga dan kawannya adalah Ismail; 

Sa'ad masuk syurga dan kawannya adalah Sulaiman; 

Said bin Zaid masuk syurga dan kawannya adalah Musa bin Imran; 

Abdurrahman bin Auf masuk syurga dan kawannya adalah Isa bin Maryam; 

Abu Ubaidah ibnul Jarrah masuk syurga dan kawannya adalah Idris Alaihissalam."

how can I describe my love for this man?

  Rasulullah shallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam berkata:

 ”أَلاَ أَسْتَحِي مِنْ رَجُلٍ تَسْتَحِي مِنْهُ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ. “

Bagaimana aku tidak merasa malu dari seseorang yang malaikatpun merasa malu kepadanya? 

Sahih: Dikeluarkan oleh Muslim di dalam Shahihnya – hadis no: 2401 (Kitab keutamaan para sahabat, Bab keutamaan ‘Utsman). Juga dikeluarkan oleh Ahmad di dalam Musnadnya, jld. 1, ms. 71 dan Ibn Hibban di dalam Shahihnya – hadis no: 6907.

His akhlak, his modesty, his strong-hold towards the Quran and fasting, his generosity. If I'm to put all the hadith that describes him here, it'd be a seriously long post, but I'd like to share the most moving part in reading his biography.

We know he's famous for the disagreement among the muslims. His death, with blood on his mushaf...but do you know that Rasulullah SAW foresees these? 

His (Rasulullah SAW) face darkens when he knew, and when he turned to Uthman, he said to never let go of his caliphate position although the people would 'insist' he step down. This beautiful, kind, soft-hearted man had to resolve his heart, because this amanah (caliphate) is Rasulullah SAW's will (wasiat). 

..and do you know what happen the night before he was killed?

There are two things that Sayyidina Uthman hold fast to: Quran and fasting. That night, he dreamt he saw Rasulullah SAW, Abu Bakr and Umar standing and smiling, saying.

"Good news, O Uthman, you are going to break your fast with us tonight (in Paradise)"

O Allah, I know I can't ever match with his ibadah, amal, etc..but if love is enough..

will I ever meet him?

..at the very least, his likeness?

- - -

khawab (= dream, in urdu)

Bismillah..

just finished reading the sequel book. 

..tears just came streaming at every 5 pages

I don't know.. of loss, of hope.

I've read the first book two years ago..

I'm just going to say..it's imperfection makes it more human.

deeply human..because this isn't a novel.

it's a compellingly true story

..and am continuously to be in love with this Haji Ali, who died in 2001. 

This man who was illiterate, yet humbly and patiently said to Greg...

whilst he was in haste to get the construction going as soon as possible, to make true of his promise to build Korphe's first-ever school to this elder. 

He showed Greg a safe, in which he took out a battered Qur'an, apparently worn from constant turning of pages, as if..every night a wrinkled hand would lovingly stroke each sheaf of paper...

 Yet...he said these,

 that this Quran was his most prized possession..

and yet, he was unable to read it. 

He hope his grandchildren can.

"The first time you share tea with us, you are a stranger.

The second cup, you are a friend. 

but with the third cup, you become family - and for our families we are willing to do anything, even die."

- Haji Ali

On October afternoon in 1999, Kirghiz horseman rode out of the Wakhan, Afghanistan. The place is so remote, so desolate..it's called Bam-I-Dunya (Rooftop of the World), specifically in Bozai Gumbaz.

They rode out for months through chains of mountains to meet this American kind soul, with a request to build a school. This journey is met with difficulties and challenges that it took almost a decade to fulfill..and the wait is really worth it.

A dying man's wishes...so that a little four-room structure would be built, the highest school in Afghanistan, in the land that people almost forget, or ceased to value. A message of raw hope and empowerment.

"If I could somehow have found a way to share the story of the tiny four-room schoolhouse that was nailed together upon the Roof of the World with my old mentor and friend, Haji Ali - a man who never learned to read or write, and who now lies in his grave under the apricot trees next to the barley fields of Korphe - I believe he would have nodded with approval.

He was a man who understood the virtue of small things." 

-Greg Morteson

---

my life,

my pride,

all in the cause of Allah SWT.

my dream

Your Redha

I'm taking my life in stride

to embrace who I am

my strength

and my weakness

O Allah, forgive me if I strained their patience

but You gave me this heart and head

to judge

my destiny, my fate

is Yours alone

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