redha.

Do not fall into despair if blessings come late, even though you keep asking for them, because Allah has promised to heed prayers. Yet the wish to be granted will be granted because He wishes it for you, not because you wish it for yourself. Ibn `Ata’ Allah al-Iskandar

Assalamu'alaikum wbh,

it has been a very busy (filled with activities and 'stuff' to do) weeks indeed, that I found myself being exhausted and yet still have the time to do more stuff. How amazing is that? :)

Alhamdulillah I am in the best of health, the best of age, the best of contentment! Masya Allah. Kaifa haluki dearest? It's enough to know that you still read this blog, even though it hasn't been progressing well as well as how it really is in real life :) Alhamdulillah... but at least :) the effort still counts, yes?

May you are in the best of health and iman!

Alhamdulillah, Allah has given me abundant rezeki these past few weeks. I am just so content and overwhelmed with the things I got to do that I just feel thankful to Allah for giving me such opportunities. I suppose with all the 'free' time I have in my hands, I have nothing better to do than grabbing every free time I have to do more stuff of my interest - anything that has something to do with my ad-deen, of course.

Raihan's Demi Masa song is a good reminder to myself first and foremost.

Ingat 5 perkara sebelum 5 perkara;

sihat sebelum sakit

muda sebelum tua

kaya sebelum miskin

lapang sebelum sempit

hidup sebelum mati

I am redha with the fact that I am yet to be dubbed as a 'working citizen', hence I am also redha that Allah knows best, that it is not my time yet, perhaps this time around, it is best for me to make use of that free time to spend my time with those of from whom I can learn and gain more knowledge about Islam, perhaps this time around, I am supposed to work more on tarbiyah-ing myself, muhasabah diri, preparing myself for what I really want in this life, what are my goals, where do I wanna go from here and what do I want to achieve in the end? By terming 'in the end', I mean akhirah. Plus, I get to work more on doing voluntary works helping people :) that gives me the satisfaction I can't describe.

It all comes back to niat, I suppose.

innamal a'malu binnyah - setiap perbuatan tergantung daripada niat.

If we do something for the sake of Allah and to achieve His redha, then we tend to not expect a lot from people, we don't expect much about being appreciated and recognized for doing something, because we know there is a much greater 'gift' in the eyes of Allah, that Allah has provided a much better recognition for those who have faith and believe in His promises. And these past few months, I have learnt a lot about the difference in doing something for the sake of Allah - nawaitulillah - and for the sake of something other than Allah - nawaitu-whatever.

Yes, true, sometimes recognition and praises can help to motivate us to continue doing what we are doing, and then what? After you get recognition and praises, don't you ever get tired of trying to improve yourself in order to get more praises and recognition from people? Isn't it exhausting? People can also get tired of complimenting you. But then what do I know? heehee. husnuzhon, neez! hati dan fikiran, sangka baik!! :)

Coming back to doing something for the sake of Allah, I suppose, the difference is that you feel that 'extra' contentment, that feeling of satisfaction because you know you do something good and you know that Allah is your witness. She said that, "if we are chasing after fame, it would be very easy for us to do and get that, but because our intentions are not heading towards that (fame and recognition) but because we love doing this for the sake of Allah and to continue what Rasulullah s.a.w. has started some 1400 years ago, so we need no recognition from others except the redha of Allah, and so that when we are gathered at Padang Masyhar later, we would be able to stand beside Rasulullah s.a.w. and say to him that we have tried our best..."

and that is what matters the most.

Okay, I think I'm beginning to go astray from my initial topic. So I think I better stop here because it's FRIDAY and you know what happens on FRIDAY! ;) So I need to get ready. I miss my girls!!

I love my Halaqah Muslimahs! KKH& GG!