Look Up

                                                 

                                                                     Look Up

                                                   By: Salma Hossam Mohsen

 I’m about to explode!

              I feel that way a lot, I’m about to explode from the thoughts in my head, from things happening around me, from words left unsaid…
It’s just the feeling that you have something to say but you’ve never been able to do so.

            We all have a dream or better yet many dreams. We are afraid and over think, a million thoughts pass through your head in just one second.              

You reach that point when all you really want to do is SCREAM!

          Now imagine with me that you’re praying and when you do sujoud hold on to the ground and pull yourself down! In your head with your inner voice shout and say “YAAAA RABBBB!!” AS LOUD AS YOU CAN AS IF YOUR DROWINING AND BEGGING TO BE HEARD FOR ONE LAST TIME…

        Then breathe and let it sink in that Allah has heard you, and whatever it is that’s deep down in your soul will happen.

     “And when My servants ask Thee (O’ Prophet) about Me, then verily I am near, I answer the prayer (Dua) of the supplicant when he beseeches unto Me. So let them hear My call, and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.” [Quran 2: 186]

     Read this Ayah once and twice , read it many times till it sinks in. Yes god is there, yes He can hear your prayers, even your silent prayers. He is closer to you than your jugular vein. I’m overwhelmed by the love and mercy Allah has for us.

     How can we despair when He is so near? I constantly ask myself don’t I have faith!?

     I say this to you and to myself, the next time you feel that you can’t take it anymore, that you can’t breathe, that you want to scream and be heard LOOK UP! Do not be despaired from the mercy of Allah “I am near, I answer the prayer” that is a fact!

     We all want a sign, here is your sign “We shall show them Our signs in the Universe and within themselves, until it becomes clear to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that your Lord is the witness of all things?”[Quran 41:53]

    You are a sign, you are a miracle believe in yourself and in the beauty of your dream. Believe in all the good that the future holds for you and in the day when you will finally be able to look at Allah’s face (SWT), because you said “Ya rab, I want you please want me too”. Now wait in anticipation for that dream never doubt it, work for it because it’s near, speak to Allah for he is Mighty.

    One last thing! When you get that thing you want (FACT) don't forget to look up again and thank god and shout “ELHAMDOLLELAH” the same way you asked for it, be at least equally thankful for it!

 

اللهم تولانا برحمتك ولا تكلنا الى انفسنا طرفه عين اللهم انا توكلنا عليك

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The Voice in My Head & The Void in My Heart

Asalam Aleykom everyone,

     The article that I am about to share with you, is one of my SuperMuslims articles. Links to the full magazine are at the bottom. The theme for that month was honesty. I share with you this story because I know that sometimes its hard to be honest with ourselves, I know that its a struggle. But trust me when you are honest with yourself, you become a much happier person.

                             The Voice in My Head & The Void in My Heart

                                                  By: Habiba Ghanem

“You are happy. You are happy. Everything is great minus a few bumps in the road, you are still happy,” the voice in my head assured me.

But as time passed by the voice in my head, started asking questions, “Are you happy? Is this worth it?”

“Yes, yes, shhh,” I would say.

“But what about the signs? Don’t they say something? Why are you overlooking them?” The voice kept asking.

“Those signs are just a few bumps, don’t worry. I’ll just keep making duaa. This is a chance for me to get closer to Allah (SWT),” I assured the voice in my head.

                                                               ---

At least I was right about one thing, Allah (SWT) was testing me, but for awhile I was going about this test in the wrong way. Instead of moving towards Allah (SWT) I was moving away.

The more that I lied to myself and the more that I purposely overlooked signs, the bigger that my ignorance got. In other words, I had allowed shaytan (satan) to play with my head and the more that, that happened the more that my nafs (ego) was affected.

Now that I look back, I see how selfish I was. I had seen the confusion and sometimes pain in the eyes of those around me but I ignored it. I was hurt too. Confusion and frustration became my close friends.

Despite what I was going through I still prayed to Allah. At first I used to ask Him to make things work out the way that I wanted. But as my inner struggle grew I started asking Allah to present what was best for me. I think that, that was the starting point of me being honest with myself, not fully honest but there was progress nonetheless.

Throughout the tough time that I was facing, Allah (SWT) sent a few gifts. Indeed, “So verily with every difficulty there is ease 94:6” 

 

The first gift that was sent to me was the “Help Club” (A club at my university.) My first group of Al Sohba Al Saleha entered my life. Suddenly, people with great hearts surrounded me. They were people who loved each other for the sake of Allah (SWT). It was just the kind of environment that I needed. They taught me so much and their presence eased my struggle.

Then out of nowhere there was something inside of me that was encouraging me to be a better person. I knew that I was on a path but I had no idea where it was taking me. The more that I wanted to improve myself; and the more that I worked on improving myself, the louder that the compressed voice became. My stubborn self wouldn’t go down without a fight though.

Slowly but surely, I started listening to the voice inside my head. I could no longer ignore the hole in my heart. My struggle was stopping me from becoming the person that I truly and deeply wanted to become. It took awhile for me to admit that but once I did, I got passed my problem and I haven’t looked back ever since.

You see, the more that I became honest with myself the more that I opened my heart to Allah (SWT) I put my trust in Him, and He never let me down. I left everything up to His will, as I should have from the beginning. I hated to admit it at the time, but deep down I knew I was miserable and my heart was never at ease. As soon as I started leaving things up to Allah; believing with all my heart that this was for the best, I got a taste of the state of tranquility and happiness that I was in need of.

Even though I had gotten passed my struggle (with Allah’s help of course), He sent me more blessings. I was introduced and given the opportunity to join two other organizations; Serenity Society; (a new club that started at my university) and SuperMuslims. Both of those groups work to remind others of the reason of our existence.  The people that Allah sent to me throughout everything that I was going through, were a sign from Him. He wanted me to continue on my path and He provided people to help me and inshAllah will continue to help me and I can’t thank Him enough for his blessings.

You can’t fight what Allah has planned for you, be sure that his plan is better. Take it from someone who has been there. Lying to yourself won’t make things better on the contrary it makes things worse. Don’t let shaytan (satan) get the best of you. No matter how hard something seems know that Allah (SWT) will be there to guide you, just turn to Him. 

SuperMuslims: 

SuperMuslims Magazine Issue:

http://issuu.com/supermuslims/docs/supermuslims_honesty

Facebook Group: 

 http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/supermuslims/

Twitter: 
 http://twitter.com/#!/supermuslims6    

Website: 
http://supermuslims.tumblr.com/ 

Facebook Page: 
http://www.facebook.com/SuperMuslims


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The Bigger Picture

                                                               By: Raghda Serag
 

There was always a part of me that felt guilty, a part that knew something was wrong and never felt content. Nonetheless, I kept searching for my happiness in all the wrong directions… it was as if I insisted on being unhappy. I grew up in a family who’s close to god and I always felt guilty for not doing what I’m really here to do. I also felt guilty for how I could never step back and look at the bigger picture…the real one.

I was so into well..."life," what am I going to wear? How will I do my hair … short… long… short again? When will my next trip, birthday, or outing be? Basically anything but why I'm really here. Then all of a sudden with no rational thinking I felt guilty and thought that wearing the veil would make me complete and at peace, even though I did not think it through or even try convincing myself first. This was a huge mistake for me. I didn’t even have answers to my OWN questions inside my head… like why does god want me to suffer, look uglier and to carry that burden? (AstghfuAlllah) So I took it off after feeling agonizing pain of just wrapping it around my head, thinking that I will gain my happiness back which I never really felt.

After a few months of being around good Muslim friends who were nothing but amazing and supportive, I started to love everything about my religion and not feel the burdens that I used to feel before. They were truly an inspiration...a gift from Allah (SWT).

The questions that I had in my head were answered silently inside of me until it suddenly hit me...How could I be that BLIND?? How could I not see how Allah (SWT) wants nothing but our benefit and everything that was asked from us was for our own sake? How could I love Him and not do a thing He asked me to? So, I said ok I’ll try my best in everything and I’ll wear long sleeves but no to veil since I failed at it miserably before. Then I began to see the bigger picture of how my religion focus on details that shape us and build us into better characters. A religion that cares about human beings, animals, family bonds and friendships and much more. It basically sums up our lives. How could I not see how god loves me and wants nothing but my protection from all the things that I used to chase that did nothing but ruin me and left me broken?

So at last I felt at ease with the decision of putting the veil on again after being fully convinced that its right and feeling that it’s a part of who I am now. I keep praying to god to help me through and I pray to continue working on being a better Muslim…
"يا مقلب القلوب ثبت قلبي على دينك "

           

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The Path of Friendship

Asalam Aleykom everyone!

           This months SuperMuslims issue is extra special. Its theme is friendship! This is one of the greatest issues that we published so make sure to check it out! (Links provided at the bottom)

                                                              Salams (Peace)

                                                          The Path of Friendship

                                                            By: Habiba Ghanem

             "Close friends, that Day, will be enemies to each other, except for the righteous"

               Take a moment to ponder over the above aya from Surat Az-Zukhruf.

             Are your friends leading you closer to paradise or closer to hell fire?

           

             When you choose your friends, you choose a path. Your friends can be people who remind you of Allah (SWT) or they can be people who lead you away from Him.

            The Prophet (PBUH) was reportedly asked: “Which of our companions are best?” He replied: “One whose appearance reminds you of God, and whose speech increases you in knowledge, and whose actions remind you of the hereafter.”

            Do you have such friends; do you have friends who inspire you to be a better Muslim?

            To have friends whom you love for the sake of Allah (SWT) is a great gift from Him. It’s a special kind of love. Of all the people in the world Allah (SWT) chose you and your group of friends to come together for His sake. They are the people who will help you up rather then bring you down. With Allah’s guidance you can all lead each other to paradise.

لأبن الجوزي كلام وفقه جميل من الحسن البصري”

‎​إن لم تجدوني في الجنة بينكم فاسألوا عني ...

            إن أهل الجنة إذا دخلوا الجنة ولم يجدوا أصحابهم الذين كانوا معهم على خير بالدنيا فإنهم يشفعون لهم أمام رب العزة ويقولون: ”يارب لنا إخوان كانوا يصلون معنا و يصومون “معنا لم نرهم“ فيقول الله جل و علا : اذهبوا للنار و أخرجوا من كان في قلبه مثقال ذرة من إيمان

            Your friends can save you but you must pick the right ones. To have an eternal bond, one that will last even in paradise where you will gather to enjoy the fruits of your labor, you must be wise. As the aya stated; Close friends, that Day, will be enemies to each other, except for the righteous. 

SuperMuslims: 

SuperMuslims Magazine Issue:

http://issuu.com/supermuslims/docs/supermuslims_friendship?mode=window&backgroundColor#222222

Facebook Group: 

 http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/supermuslims/

Twitter: 
 http://twitter.com/#!/supermuslims6    

Website: 
http://supermuslims.tumblr.com/ 

Facebook Page: 
http://www.facebook.com/SuperMuslims


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