What you should do when you have nightmares

A couple of nights ago, I woke up to a nightmare that I have not encountered for quite a long time. I realised I was sleeping very still on my left ribs. All my body was quite numb. At that moment, I quickly grabbed my small du’a book to look for what to do. Yes, I’ve never thought I would face this situation in a sudden, so I was not prepared (even I have read about it before).

After reading the du’a, I spitted 3 times to the left and seek refuge in Allah from the devil. Then, I changed my position, sleeping on my right ribs.

A few days later, I came across a video shared by a friend in Facebook about sleeping position which can caused nightmares. It was brilliantly showed that the research these Westerners made proven what have been told by our Prophet Muhammad (sallalahualaihiwassalam) more than a thousand years ago.

There are four steps you have to do when you have a nightmare:

  1. Spit 3 times to your left. (Hadith Muslim). Just pretend spitting, without spitting actual saliva.
  2. Seek refuge in Allah from the devil and from the evil you have seen – 3 times. (Hadith Muslim)
  3. Do not tell anyone about your dream. (Hadith Muslim)
  4. Change your position to the other side. (Hadith Muslim)

However, that night, I supplicated this du’a too:

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It’s very important for every Muslims to prepare themselves to sleep in following the sunnah way to prevent from any evil or disturbance during our sleeps. I have not been practising the adhkar before sleeps for many months, I think I should get back to it soon. Remember, our sleeps are considered equal to death, maybe small death. May Allah protect us all.

TMEAG Course Demonstration

I’ve been in the class for almost 3 weeks already and Alhamdulillah it is the most educational and interesting Tajweed class I’ve ever attended. My classmates are from various backgrounds and countries, but we have no excuse to learn in one virtual class. Tajweed Made Easy program is suitable for all as the method is easy to understand. My goal is to recite the Quran as perfect as possible and perhaps in the future, I will be able to teach others especially my family. Shaykhah Wafaa once did say,”Each family must have a ‘black’.” Black here means the colour code given to the highest ranking group – just like the Taekwando, you want to get the black belt, isn’t it?

Ever wonder how an online class is being conducted? Try the Online Demonstration Class organised by Tajweed Made Easy Academy Global where it will help you to understand and experience the virtual class better. Book your slot asap!

TMEAG Course demonstration

3 tips to develop humility in your heart

Every thing we face, every person we meet & every incident occurs to us is actually a test

There are many good acts can be done in our lives to attain happiness and create humility in our hearts. These are some examples of what I think every human being should practice:

  1. Show gratitude to others

It is a norm for us to greet people we know with a smile. Then, another sunnah habit is to provide salam. I think most of us have no problem doing it. But do you greet or even smile at the strangers especially those whose doing multiple services around you. How many of you actually smile at the cleaning lady in public toilets? Maybe you should try to give a smile and greet them every time you need to use the toilets, it could bring joy and make their days too. Generally, we choose who we want to be nice to, preferably to those who bring benefits to us.

For example, we select friends who are most popular, wealthy or have certain criterion and interests but neglect those who are poor, disabled and weak. Some of us treat the waiters in restaurants badly – no thank you being mentioned to them when they serve food, throw money rudely on the counter or even ignore the cleaning lady at public toilet. Easy explanation, they don’t mean anything to us.

This in fact not true at all. We might not know them and we might think that they have no influence in our daily lives.  But have you ever thought that every single thing we face, every person we meet and every incident occurs to us is actually a test.

And the worldly life is not but amusement and diversion; but the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah , so will you not reason? (Al-An’am ayah 32)

Spread love by showing no discrimination towards other human beings especially to those who are less fortunate and do not be biased with certain people who are less important to us. Nevertheless, they are in our lives with purpose and the purpose might be a test.

And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace (Al-Furqan ayah 63)

And do not turn your cheek [in contempt] toward people and do not walk through the earth exultantly. Indeed, Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful. (Luqman ayah 18)

2. Look out for reminders and constantly remind others

Have you ever come across Islamic reminders on social media which you feel that these reminders are exactly what you need at the moment? Human are made to be forgetful. Thus, it’s our duty to constantly remind each other about the deen using whatever medium we can access to.

And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers. (Ad-Dhariyat ayah 55)

But, preach is nothing good if there is no act upon it. Apparently, those who pass down the reminders should carry out the deeds or at least trying to work on them.

There are times when we are so focus with our worldly lives, we tend to disregard our connections with the Ultimate Creator. Thus, we feel empty. Yes, imaan can goes up and down connected to the link we have with Allah (azzawajal). At this point, any kind of reminders would certainly help us to shift our thoughts to the hereafter – the eternal home.

When you always feel angry, sad, disappointed, restless or even hateful, probably it is the time for you to check your connection with Allah. When was the last time you read the Quran, do zikr and pray tahajjud at night? Or at least, listen to good tazkirah or attend an usrah? We need constant reminders in our lives, getting involve in these Islamic activities would help to boost our imaan, inshaAllah.

3. Do daily charities

Charities can be done in many ways. But some of us limit the act of charity to provide money, food and essential items to the poor and needy only. In fact, since we don’t meet the poor every day, we tend to forget about the importance of giving sadaqah (charity). Try to give sadaqah every day, you will feel more humble and at peace. For instance, keep a plastic of cat food at home or in your car (even for those who don’t have a pet); whenever there is any stray cat or dog crying for food, you know what to do. Other than that, don’t throw away your leftovers – rice or bread – put them outside your place; the birds would love some easy food to be shared.

If you cook something nice, make some extra portion; pack them and head over to your neighbours. A homemade nasi goreng with a sincere smile of yours would never be turn down for sure. Equip ourselves with the spirit of always giving. Give give give, inshaAllah, He will do the same to us too.

So there you go with 3 simple acts we can do to constantly plant humility in ourselves. There are many acts we can definitely perform, but it is good to start somewhere. Allah loves small but consistent good deeds than any huge deeds which are done once in a blue moon.

Narrated `Aisha رضى الله عنها: Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم  said, “Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately and know that your deeds will not make you enter Paradise, and that the most beloved deed to Allah’s is the most regular and constant even though it were little.” [Sahih Bukhari]

Teach

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I cook lunch and dinner mostly every day. Husband prefers to eat at home but occasionally, he ask me out for a date. Just like last night, once he came back with a stress look on his face and the phone was non stop flooding with messages and calls, he told me to get ready after dinner (we had to eat at home first cause I’ve cooked dinner) and went out for a drink at my favourite bakery, The Loaf.

Having ice chocolate overlooking the beautiful bay, it was a jovial evening chit-chatting with husband about my trials and goals in teaching. Even though the conversation was pretty serious and deep, I know one of the reasons was to distract his mind from wandering into his never-ending work issues.

Back to the matter of teaching. It was quite hard for me to adapt to teaching at first, knowing I have no teaching background whatsoever. But as a year passed by, I began to fall for this job. One thing I’m sure most of the teachers might agree with me is that whenever you teach something, you actually learn something. That’s the fun part! Learning!!!

Many times, when students question me about something, I will try to look for the answers eagerly. There was once, when a student asked about Pluto (it was part of the solar system back then when I learned about it in primary years ago) cause it was not in the school text book anymore, both of us joyfully explored the internet to quest for more information about the small planet.

The more I teach, the more I feel that I need to learn as much as I can. It’s an endless process which I now feel immensely attached to it. And I think one of the good ways to share knowledge is too have a good circle of friends who share the same profession too. Anyone here is a teacher?

Give space for people to change, please!

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When I looked down the memory lane, mesmerising all the sweet and bitter moments in life, I could easily felt the most gratitude towards my creator, Allah SWT, whom made my journey so interesting. How I’ve struggled, cried, laughed, trembled, overjoyed, loved, and tried so hard in every incidents occurred to me, I have learned so much. I would never regret with every single things and actions I made previously. As I know, those things that happened, brought me where I am right now. I learned things the hard way. Meaning, I went through difficulties in life to finally turned me into a better woman. But one thing for sure, I do not change overnight.

I went through so many phases of improvements just to get me strive for the better and this reminded me not to feel comfortable at where I am every time. I’ve seen so many people out there trying to be judges punishing others who have not entirely change in becoming better Muslims yet. Perhaps you don’t see this much pressure on normal people but you might come across those who are known publicly. A little change they made on themselves; e.g. started to wear headscarves but with tight clothes will be totally condemned and cynically ‘advised’ with harsh words. I just don’t agree with this kind of attitude. I myself had drown in the so-called muslimah fashion world where wearing headscarf with tight clothes are norm to the society. But deep down inside I felt that I wanted to improve myself and slowly change my clothing piles. Changes happen when there is a little cry in the heart seeking for something to replace the old parts of ourselves. But a change requires a small or big trigger in us pushing to make the first move. Yes, that’s what it is – the first move.

When the first time I thought of covering my feet when I go out, I quite hesitated. Worried I might not be able to istiqomah or consistent in wearing socks but the determination to change has overcome my concern. There were people around you who would constantly checked on you, looking for any imperfection in you, just to pull you down. Although some meant to sincerely advise you, the words they choose might hurt you in many ways. I have seen many public figures who donned the hijab at the first phase, received some irritating comments pushing them to change 360 degrees into an ustazah. Comments on the headscarves being too short, not wearing socks, no inner wear underneath their see-through headscarves, etc.; were given in blunt, negative contexts. The person who is accepting these comments will eventually feel agitated because things they are slowly improving are still not enough in the eyes of the communities.

Giving advice is a form of da’wah. Apparently, da’wah has to be done with hikmah. You can’t be preaching about how ugly and horrendous the hell would be without revealing about the beautiful, alluring paradise. Getting others to perform good deeds requires proper da’wah invitation which comprises intellectual speaks and humble approach. My husband used to debate with me about an Islamic topic but I just couldn’t accept his argument. In the end, he made me watch a video of a famous shaykh who explained in detail about the ibadah. Alhamdulillah, with Allah’s decree, I accepted the fact with an open heart and thanked my husband for his method of da’wah – by using the video. I guessed not everyone able to absorb any form of preaching, thus we need to find suitable method to deliver our messages deliberately.

Rasulullah SAW said: “Whoever guides (another) to a good deed will get a reward similar to the one who performs it.” (Sahih Muslim)

I always emphasised on seeking  beneficial knowledge through out our lives. These knowledge will guide and help us to improve ourselves as human beings, especially as the servants of Allah. Without knowledge we will tend to go against the teaching of Rasulullah SAW as we do not know which is right or wrong. But there are others who have good knowledge but act arrogantly and quite conceited. With this attitude, they are keen to judge others who has not got better knowledge by giving inappropriate comments and hurtful thoughts.

Our words are du’a. Thus, speak or write with wisdom. Do not try to hurt others with our words even though we meant to give good advice. If we would like to give da’wah and corrected others’ faults, choose proper words and deliver them humbly. InshaAllah, Allah will make it easier for others to accept them.

Instead of saying, “Your hijab is not how a Muslim woman should wear!”

You can change it with, “MashaAllah, you look beautiful wearing hijab. I pray that you’ll continue learning about the hijab and may you always try to improve yourself wearing the full hijab.”

Be mindful that some people might struggle to change, they are probably starting at a very slow pace, but do not critic their effort. Show some respect and encourage them to keep going. We will never know the person we have been criticised before might be the one who is better than us in the akhirah. Allah knows best.

Spread the khayr

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We’re nearly come to half month of Ramadan and this happened so quickly, I thought it was just yesterday we started the first day fasting. Subhanallah…

They are many new things I encountered and learned in this month. But a good lesson came from a story told by my ustazah about a Muslim woman who passed away a few days ago. She battled with cancer for many years, but she was very determined and positive even she was bedridden in her last few months of her life. According to ustazah, she wanted to learn tajweed and took class from her hospital bed. But the one thing that I truly admired is her determination to keep giving dakwah to others even though she was paralysed. And she did this through her mobile phone. MashaAllah…

I do remember her story when Shaykh Omar Suleiman posted about her in his Facebook a few months ago. He visited her at the hospital and eventually asked everyone to make du’a for the lady. A nicely written post about the sister is available here.

I kept thinking to myself, others are constantly doing good and keep giving back to the communities even they are not healthy and capable to move. Yet, we are still living in sins, talking bad about others and reading gossips. We need to wake up!

A wise words from ustazah,

“Do good for as long as you can. Don’t leave it for tomorrow.” 

How i memorised the Qur’an in 4 months.

Something I want to practise inshaAllah… May Allah ease us to memorise the Quran 🙂

Fadhil Azman's

Alhamdulillah, I thank Allah for the blessings He constantly gives. I asked Allah to always ease my affairs in revising the Qur’an & give me the means to share with and inspire others(?)

I’d like to make it clear that I have memorised around 9 juzu’ in all the years in my primary school, secondary & pre-uni. So it was kind of memorising 20 plus new juzu’ and revising back the other 9 during these 4 months. I am also not having any commitments other than birrul walidain(doing good to parents) hehe. But by Allah, those who have the intention and desire to memorise the Qur’an for Allah, He will make it easy for you insyaAllah. This is, from my experience.

Below are my tips ;

1- Purify your intentions. 

This is the utmost important point that one should always be mindful of, do it sincerely for the sake of Allah. Hoping for His mercy, obtaining His pleasure &…

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Mujawwad and Murattal?

Ramadan came again this year. Alhamdulillah. I’m very pleased to enjoy this Ramadan with embracing the Quran in depth by joining Tajweed Made Easy’s Ramadan Class – Colorful Ramadan. I’ve been eyeing on TME (Tajweed Made Easy)’s class for so long! Just couldn’t find a suitable slot to join yet, but alhamdulillah, Allah made it easy for me to enroll in Colorful Ramadan class which started the first day of Ramadan.

I’ve learned many new things especially on tajweed. MashaAllah, the more I learn about Quran, the more interesting it is to me, I can’t help to look forward for the class every day.

But one thing I learned from Shekhah the other day was about reading in Mujawwad style. Do you know what it Mujawwad?

Mujawwad is an adjective which comes from the noun tajweed which means pronouncing the words and letters of the Quran correctly and according to the classic Arabic. Mujawwad is a melodic style of Qur’an recitation which is known throughout the Muslim world. (Wikipedia)

Example of reciters who read in this style is Al-Minshawi and Abdul Baset. MashaAllah, I don’t even know about these reciters as I was exposed to murattal reciters such as Shaykh Sudais and Minshari Rashid.

I’m sure some of you are a little bit confused with Mujawwad and Murattal. Do check out this video for better explanation about these styles.

Hope we can understand more about the recitations of the Quran and learn about the meaning wholeheartedly. InshaAllah… By the way, who’s your favourite reciter? Mine is as below! 🙂

Ramadan activities

Ramadan is coming over too greet us tomorrow inshaAllah. A month full of blessings and we’ve been waiting for it to come for a year. Each year, I will plan some goals and good deeds that I want to do, including intend to get rid of the bad habits (may Allah permits).

A friend of mine determines to finish the whole Quran this Ramadan, so she made a timetable specially for this routine. I guess it is a smart move to plan your activities in Ramadan so that you can make the best out of it too.

I wanted to plan for iftar and suhoor cooking recipes too! I know, some of you might think that we shouldn’t concentrate of what food to eat in Ramadan as this Holy Month is not all about FOOD. But as a wife, I’m responsible to ensure my family is eating good food and assure that we will not put any food to waste. Thus, a good meal plan is necessary for my family so that I will not waste too much time in the kitchen. Something easy to make and deliberately healthy are my key points in choosing what to cook for the family.

Even as a homemaker, I prefer to list down my itinerary for a day in Ramadan so that my day is filled with beneficial activities and put away the useless and unnecessary ones. Do you have any goals to achieve this Ramadan? Do you plan your activities? Let’s share the tips and activities so we can encourage each other to do good in this 30 days!!

Ramadan Kareem!

A Sisters Ramadan

I’ve been living far away from Kuala Lumpur for the past one year and during that one year I didn’t managed to attend any Islamic conferences, talks or seminars in the main city due to the distance. I was a fan of these events, particularly which are organised by some local and international event organisers like Mercy Mission, Al-Maghrib, Nur A’la Nur Academy, iMuslim, Young Muslim Projects and many more.

But thanks to technology (clap clap internet!), there are conferences and talks which available online, live from the actual events! Alhamdulillah. There is absolutely no excuse for me to say no in joining the conferences as my internet connection is moderately acceptable here.

The next online Islamic conference which will be held soon is ‘A Sisters Ramadan’ by Charity Right on 20 June 2015. Looking at the title, I’m sure you can guess that the conference is merely for women only, thus I encourage all Muslim women to join this event (if situation permits for you). It will be at two different time zones, 1PM – 8 PM (GMT) – United Kingdom; and 1PM – 8PM (PDT) United States. So, you may choose which suitable time applicable you for. Remember, it will be Ramadan by then, thus choose your time wisely. Since I live in Malaysia, I prefer to sign up for United States session (it will be suhoor time, inshaAllah ).

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Another good news! The conference is FREE!!! Please wait no more, it’s a good ladies conference all about things we can do in Ramadan especially in ibadah despite being a woman who has daily chores and responsibilities.

Speakers are Zohra Sarwari, Haleh Banani, Sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury, Dr Bilal Philips, Sheikh Alaa El Sayed and Sheikh Sajid Ahmed Umar. An amazing line up, isn’t it? For registration, you may click here and do spread the news to your other girlfriends!

Let’s be mentally and physically prepared to welcome this Ramadan. Gain more knowledge and share it with others. By the way, if you know any other Islamic classes, seminars, talks and conferences, online or onsite, do share with me by commenting below. Would love to share with other knowledge lovers too!